Source: RT en Español
What it’s about: In a video address published by RT, Héctor Rodríguez, Governor of the state of Miranda in Venezuela, advised the audience not to fall for the U.S.’s false pretenses for starting wars in foreign countries. He states that the U.S.’s goal is not to promote human rights and democracy in these countries but to gain control of the country’s energy resources like petroleum and gas. Rodríguez continues by saying that Venezuela would like to have better relations with the U.S., but Venezuela would not bow down and cede its sovereignty or its natural resources, it want’s respectable relations. He ends his remarks by stating that the world is entering a new pluri-polar world with new big players like Russia and China.
Why it’s misleading: This is not true. Using the example Rodríguez offered, the Syrian Civil War is part of the larger wave of 2011 Arab spring protests that grew from citizen discontent with their leaders. The U.S. stepped in after President Bashar al-Assad chose to violently suppress protests, launching a severe human rights and refugee crisis.
Similarly in Venezuela, President Nicolas Maduro also refuses to give up power and refuses to acknowledge the country is facing a humanitarian crisis due to the country’s spiraling economy. Furthermore, there’s no evidence that the U.S. is actively planning on carrying out a unilateral military intervention in Venezuela.