Epoch Times Investigative Reporter Discusses What’s Really Going on in Venezuela
Via Jesse Kelly YouTube Channel:
Is Venezuelan Policy Really about the Monroe Doctrine?
The interview between Epoch Times investigative reporter Joshua Philipp and radio host Jesse Kelly centers on a striking shift in how Venezuela is suddenly being discussed in U.S. foreign policy and media narratives. Where Venezuela was long framed primarily as a narco-state tied to drug trafficking routes, cartel-linked “drug boats,” and regional criminal instability, Philipp explains that the focus has rapidly pivoted toward something far more strategic: oil—and the geopolitical consequences that come with it.
Philipp lays out how Venezuela’s vast energy reserves, once sidelined due to sanctions, corruption, and internal collapse, are re-emerging as a point of international contention. Rather than Washington emphasizing drug interdiction or criminal networks, the conversation has moved toward access, leverage, and control of energy supplies at a moment of global instability. Philipp suggests this reframing is not accidental, but rather reflects deeper shifts in U.S. priorities as energy security, supply chains, and great-power competition increasingly dominate strategic thinking.
A major component of the discussion is how this change in narrative masks continuity rather than reform. Philipp argues that Venezuela’s regime has not fundamentally changed its behavior, governance, or alliances. Instead, the external framing has changed because circumstances have changed. Energy markets are tighter, global conflicts have reshaped supply routes, and Western governments are reassessing which authoritarian regimes they are willing to tolerate or reengage with when resources are at stake. In this sense, the drug trade narrative has not disappeared; it has simply been deprioritized in favor of larger strategic concerns.
Kelly Wants to Know
The most consequential part of the interview comes when Philipp introduces a new player into the equation: Guyana. He explains that Guyana, a relatively small and historically overlooked South American nation, has suddenly become central to regional geopolitics due to massive offshore oil discoveries. These finds have transformed Guyana into one of the fastest-growing energy producers in the world, drawing the attention of global oil companies and major powers alike.
Philipp details how Venezuela’s renewed assertiveness—particularly its territorial claims over the oil-rich Essequibo region of Guyana—cannot be understood without recognizing the scale of these discoveries. What once appeared to be a frozen or symbolic dispute has become materially significant. Control over energy resources now sits at the heart of the tension, raising concerns about regional stability, sovereignty, and the risk of escalation.
Kelly presses Philipp on why this dynamic is not being more openly discussed. Philipp responds that Guyana’s sudden prominence complicates existing narratives. It introduces a regional energy competitor that disrupts Venezuela’s long-standing position as the dominant oil power in the area, while also creating new alliances between Guyana, Western corporations, and U.S. strategic interests. Acknowledging this openly would force policymakers and the public to confront uncomfortable questions about intervention, deterrence, and how far the U.S. is willing to go to protect energy investments abroad.
Throughout the interview, Philipp emphasizes that this is not simply a Venezuela story, but a broader illustration of how foreign policy narratives shift to match strategic needs. Issues once framed as criminal or humanitarian can quickly become reframed as economic or security imperatives when resources are involved. Kelly highlights how this pattern has repeated itself across regions, with the stated justification changing while the underlying power dynamics remain consistent.
The conversation concludes with a warning tone. Philipp cautions that the combination of energy competition, unresolved territorial disputes, and opaque diplomatic maneuvering creates a volatile mix. Guyana’s rise, Venezuela’s desperation, and global demand for oil intersect in ways that could redraw regional alignments and provoke conflict if mismanaged. Kelly underscores the importance of understanding these developments early, before they are presented to the public as faits accomplis.
Overall, the interview presents Venezuela’s “oil pivot” not as a genuine transformation, but as a revealing case study in how strategic interests reshape narratives—while quietly introducing new players like Guyana into the center of the geopolitical chessboard.
Kelly
