From Calling Somalis Garbage to Stealing Oil at Sea: America’s Piracy Rebrand Under Trump
Once upon a time, Donald Trump looked at Somalia and decided the problem was Somalis. He did not bother with history, colonial plunder, illegal fishing, or toxic waste dumping. He did not bother with context. He just reached for the nearest insult and called an entire people “garbage.” The message was simple. Civilised America enforces law. Barbaric others break it.
Fast forward to today, and America is now intercepting oil tankers in international waters and stealing cargo because it dislikes the government of the country that owns the oil. Same act. Bigger ships. Better accents. And a press secretary to tell the world this is actually about “values.”
The US Navy recently seized a Venezuelan oil tanker sailing in international waters. Not during a declared war. Not under a UN Security Council resolution. Not as part of any globally recognised enforcement mechanism. It was seized because Washington decided Venezuelan oil should not reach its buyer. The tanker was boarded, the cargo redirected, and the proceeds effectively confiscated. If that sentence describes anything other than piracy, then the dictionary has officially been sanctioned.
This is where the comedy turns dark. Somali piracy, according to Western narratives, was the ultimate symbol of lawlessness. Speedboats, rifles, ransom demands. Endless documentaries about how uncivilised the world becomes when Western power retreats. But when America does the exact same thing with destroyers, helicopters, and legal paperwork stamped “US District Court,” it magically transforms into “sanctions enforcement.” Apparently, piracy is only illegal when the pirates cannot write white papers.
Let us be painfully clear. US sanctions are not international law. They are domestic political instruments enforced globally through intimidation. No UN body authorised this seizure. No international court validated it. Most of the world does not recognise Washington’s right to decide who can sell their own oil. The legitimacy of this action does not come from law. It comes from aircraft carriers.
Trump’s America loves sovereignty the way it loves free speech. Only when it is convenient. Venezuela’s sovereignty is sacred until it interferes with American preferences. Then suddenly, Venezuelan oil becomes “tainted,” buyers become “criminal,” and theft becomes a moral obligation. It is colonial logic with a modern haircut.
The irony is thick enough to clog an oil pipeline. Somalia’s waters were looted for decades by foreign fishing fleets while the world looked away. When desperate locals fought back, they were labelled pirates. Today, the United States loots openly and calls it leadership. At least Somali pirates never pretended they were enforcing a “rules-based international order.” They never lectured anyone about democracy while stealing cargo.
And then Washington wonders why the world is drifting away. Why countries are building alternatives to the dollar. Why shipping firms, insurers, and governments are quietly asking uncomfortable questions. It is not because they admire Venezuela. It is because they understand the precedent. If America can seize Venezuelan oil today, it can seize anyone’s cargo tomorrow. The rule is simple: annoy Washington and your property becomes negotiable.
Trump did not just insult Somalis. He managed something far more impressive. He dragged the United States down to the moral level of the caricature he once mocked. Except Somali pirates were honest about what they were doing. They took ships because they could. America takes ships and calls it justice.
This is not leadership. This is piracy in a tailored suit. This is theft with a flag on it. And the most embarrassing part is not that America did it, but that it still expects applause while doing it.
Irony did not just die here. It was handcuffed, searched, boarded at sea, and escorted to a US port under armed guard, while the world was told to call the operation “lawful.”
