US attack on Venezuela will decide direction of South America’s vast mineral wealth

Outcome of aggression will determine whether rare earths and other resources drive energy transition - or strengthen US military power and oil interests

The US's first overt attack on an Amazon nation last weekend is a new phase in its extractivist rivalry with China. The outcome will decide whether the vast mineral wealth of South America is directed towards a 21st-century energy transition or a buildup of military power to defend 20th-century fossil fuel interests.

Although this onslaught was ostensibly aimed at one corrupt dictatorship in a miserably dysfunctional country, the ramifications are far wider.