Louis Römer
@lromeranth.bsky.social
🇨🇼🇳🇱🇺🇲 | he/him | PhD | anthropologist @vassar.bsky.social | opinions mine | retweet & like≠endorsements |
Pinned
Louis Römer
@lromeranth.bsky.social
· Sep 15
How did "free speech" become a cudgel to silence dissent? My latest in @bostonreview.bsky.social
www.bostonreview.net/forum/the-ri...
www.bostonreview.net/forum/the-ri...
Reposted by Louis Römer
"The stock story was the US managed a successful decapitation of the Iraqi state but made little plans for how to stabilize it afterward. We have a vaguely parallel situation in Venezuela, only the US hasn’t even overthrown the regime. It’s difficult to overstate how absurd this state of affairs is"
Venezuela Regime Change and the Theater of the Absurd
On Saturday, a friend and I were comparing notes on the events...
talkingpointsmemo.com
January 5, 2026 at 10:17 PM
"The stock story was the US managed a successful decapitation of the Iraqi state but made little plans for how to stabilize it afterward. We have a vaguely parallel situation in Venezuela, only the US hasn’t even overthrown the regime. It’s difficult to overstate how absurd this state of affairs is"
Reposted by Louis Römer
As it is hard to overstate the slap on the face of the entire Latin American left that the Bolivarian Revolution dealt by getting into an agreement with MAGA. It doesn't get more imperialist than this, guys.
Trump’s Betrayal of Venezuela’s Democracy Movement Is Hard to Overstate
open.substack.com/pub/theunpop...
open.substack.com/pub/theunpop...
Trump’s Betrayal of Venezuela’s Democracy Movement Is Hard to Overstate
If he continues to snub María Corina Machado, the heroine of the opposition, America will bear responsiblity for the country’s next tragic chapter
open.substack.com
January 5, 2026 at 9:03 PM
As it is hard to overstate the slap on the face of the entire Latin American left that the Bolivarian Revolution dealt by getting into an agreement with MAGA. It doesn't get more imperialist than this, guys.
Reposted by Louis Römer
Trump’s Betrayal of Venezuela’s Democracy Movement Is Hard to Overstate
open.substack.com/pub/theunpop...
open.substack.com/pub/theunpop...
Trump’s Betrayal of Venezuela’s Democracy Movement Is Hard to Overstate
If he continues to snub María Corina Machado, the heroine of the opposition, America will bear responsiblity for the country’s next tragic chapter
open.substack.com
January 5, 2026 at 8:28 PM
Trump’s Betrayal of Venezuela’s Democracy Movement Is Hard to Overstate
open.substack.com/pub/theunpop...
open.substack.com/pub/theunpop...
Reposted by Louis Römer
You know what is fascinating, Americans are so enamored with their armed forces that they can't even consider that those weapons were not even used. This was agreed upon with Delcy Rodriguez before hand. There is a reason they only took Maduro and no one else.
Hegseth on the Venezuela raid: "It seems those Russian air defenses didn't quite work so well, did they?"
January 5, 2026 at 9:09 PM
You know what is fascinating, Americans are so enamored with their armed forces that they can't even consider that those weapons were not even used. This was agreed upon with Delcy Rodriguez before hand. There is a reason they only took Maduro and no one else.
Reposted by Louis Römer
Something I see a lot of folks missing in discussions about what's happening Venezuela, particularly around oil, is the role U.S. oil majors' interest in Guyana—and the threat Venezuela posed to it—has in all of it. Explainer here: drilled.media/news/guyana-...
The U.S.-Venezuela-Guyana Oil Triangle
The U.S. interest in Venezuela isn’t just about the oil there, but also about the oil next door in Guyana, and the U.S. oil companies that have staked their future on it.
drilled.media
January 5, 2026 at 2:21 PM
Something I see a lot of folks missing in discussions about what's happening Venezuela, particularly around oil, is the role U.S. oil majors' interest in Guyana—and the threat Venezuela posed to it—has in all of it. Explainer here: drilled.media/news/guyana-...
Reposted by Louis Römer
We are all in a state of constant panic and terror. It’s important to take a second when you see something online that triggers you to ask yourself “am it really triggered or am I just experiencing nonstop psychic damage from the world and my brain sees this as an outlet for my fear and rage.”
January 5, 2026 at 9:53 PM
We are all in a state of constant panic and terror. It’s important to take a second when you see something online that triggers you to ask yourself “am it really triggered or am I just experiencing nonstop psychic damage from the world and my brain sees this as an outlet for my fear and rage.”
Reposted by Louis Römer
No one voted to occupy Venezuela
One in three Americans approve of the U.S. military strike on Venezuela that toppled the country's president and 72% worry the U.S. will become too involved in the South American country, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll
www.reuters.com/world/americ...
One in three Americans approve of the U.S. military strike on Venezuela that toppled the country's president and 72% worry the U.S. will become too involved in the South American country, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll
www.reuters.com/world/americ...
A third of Americans support US strike on Venezuela, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds
The two-day poll showed 65% of Republicans back the military operation ordered by Trump and 72% worry the U.S. will become too involved in the country.
www.reuters.com
January 5, 2026 at 10:12 PM
No one voted to occupy Venezuela
One in three Americans approve of the U.S. military strike on Venezuela that toppled the country's president and 72% worry the U.S. will become too involved in the South American country, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll
www.reuters.com/world/americ...
One in three Americans approve of the U.S. military strike on Venezuela that toppled the country's president and 72% worry the U.S. will become too involved in the South American country, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll
www.reuters.com/world/americ...
Reposted by Louis Römer
I’m usually at a moderate level of annoyance with the NYT but this is fucking outrageous. The US president doesn’t get to fucking pick another country’s leader, & headlines shouldn’t present it as just a normal decision, like picking a nominee for a mid-level federal agency. It’s not our colony!
January 5, 2026 at 10:06 PM
I’m usually at a moderate level of annoyance with the NYT but this is fucking outrageous. The US president doesn’t get to fucking pick another country’s leader, & headlines shouldn’t present it as just a normal decision, like picking a nominee for a mid-level federal agency. It’s not our colony!
Reposted by Louis Römer
I actually didn't think it was possible to get 94% of Americans to agree on anything.
One of the most lopsided results you'll ever see in a poll, from our weekend Washington Post poll www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
January 5, 2026 at 4:51 PM
I actually didn't think it was possible to get 94% of Americans to agree on anything.
Reposted by Louis Römer
A very important distinction between the Trump Admin and successful competitive authoritarian regimes is that the latter focus heavily on redistributing material resources to their supporters while the Trumpers keep the wealth for themselves and try to buy the rabble off with content and slop
Thinking again about how the administration sees its self as content creators first as it becomes clearer that we don't have a plan in Venezuela
January 5, 2026 at 4:05 PM
A very important distinction between the Trump Admin and successful competitive authoritarian regimes is that the latter focus heavily on redistributing material resources to their supporters while the Trumpers keep the wealth for themselves and try to buy the rabble off with content and slop
Reposted by Louis Römer
The imaginary occupation of Venezuela. It would take hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops to occupy Venezuela. Miller verbally abuse the corrupt Chavist leader Trump raised to power over Zoom. That's it.
This vile new Stephen Miller tweet, along with the news that Miller may run the occupation of Venezuela, is a good time for you to read our deep dive into Miller's actual worldview and agenda, especially this part comparing Miller's language with Pat Buchanan's:
newrepublic.com/article/2041...
newrepublic.com/article/2041...
January 5, 2026 at 7:59 PM
The imaginary occupation of Venezuela. It would take hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops to occupy Venezuela. Miller verbally abuse the corrupt Chavist leader Trump raised to power over Zoom. That's it.
Reposted by Louis Römer
Maduro is a dictator who ran his country's economy into the ground and Venezuela's people in fact voted him out as president, but this image is still awfully cringy. Pressing charges against him is counterproductive (ab)use of America's courts and debases them too.
"Je suis toujours le président de mon pays", a déclaré #NicolasMaduro 🇻🇪 devant le tribunal de New York, ce lundi
January 5, 2026 at 8:01 PM
Maduro is a dictator who ran his country's economy into the ground and Venezuela's people in fact voted him out as president, but this image is still awfully cringy. Pressing charges against him is counterproductive (ab)use of America's courts and debases them too.
Reposted by Louis Römer
"One in three Americans approve of the U.S. military strike on Venezuela that toppled the country's president and 72% worry the U.S. will become too involved in the South American country, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll."
www.reuters.com/world/americ...
www.reuters.com/world/americ...
Only 33% of Americans approve of US strike on Venezuela, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds
The two-day poll showed 65% of Republicans back the military operation that toppled the country's president and 72% worry the U.S. will become too involved in the country.
www.reuters.com
January 5, 2026 at 7:59 PM
"One in three Americans approve of the U.S. military strike on Venezuela that toppled the country's president and 72% worry the U.S. will become too involved in the South American country, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll."
www.reuters.com/world/americ...
www.reuters.com/world/americ...
There are many obvious canards here, but I will focus on "West opened its borders": European countries imported labor from former colonies because Europe was completely destroyed during World War II. In the 1950s, it was the Dutch Caribbean that was sending remittances to the metropole.
Eyes wide open, folks. They're revealing the supervillain plot.
January 5, 2026 at 7:55 PM
There are many obvious canards here, but I will focus on "West opened its borders": European countries imported labor from former colonies because Europe was completely destroyed during World War II. In the 1950s, it was the Dutch Caribbean that was sending remittances to the metropole.
Reposted by Louis Römer
They're not calling him Narco Rubio for no reason. This story is insane, he has so many ties to drug cartel/CIA/anti-communist figures prospect.org/2025/12/23/n...
The Narco-Terrorist Elite - The American Prospect
Why is Marco Rubio so hell-bent on making Iran-Contra again?
prospect.org
January 4, 2026 at 9:05 PM
They're not calling him Narco Rubio for no reason. This story is insane, he has so many ties to drug cartel/CIA/anti-communist figures prospect.org/2025/12/23/n...
Reposted by Louis Römer
Most of these countries are having no trouble noting that the Maduro regime was systematically repressive while also pointing out that the U.S. has violated the UN Charter and international law. This is not actually that complicated.
January 5, 2026 at 4:29 PM
Most of these countries are having no trouble noting that the Maduro regime was systematically repressive while also pointing out that the U.S. has violated the UN Charter and international law. This is not actually that complicated.
Reposted by Louis Römer
January 5, 2026 at 4:00 PM
Reposted by Louis Römer
I would have more sympathy for this sort of take if Europe hadn't had nearly a decade to prepare for this. It's not even the first time *this guy* has been president of the US. There's some real, deep-seated institutional blindness here.
The problem isn't that Europeans don't understand that Trump's foreign policy is fundamentally kleptocratic, or neo-patrimonial, or neo-Royal, or whatever one wants to call it.
The problem is that they don't have a lot of good options for how to respond.
The problem is that they don't have a lot of good options for how to respond.
1/Leaders are abducted/allies are threatened but pundits and governments are scratching their heads on what the US is doing. Danish PM on Greenland "It makes absolutely no sense". Why? Because actors using old IR models when we need a new lens. Enter neo-royalism.
abcnews.go.com/Internationa...
abcnews.go.com/Internationa...
January 5, 2026 at 7:40 PM
I would have more sympathy for this sort of take if Europe hadn't had nearly a decade to prepare for this. It's not even the first time *this guy* has been president of the US. There's some real, deep-seated institutional blindness here.
Reposted by Louis Römer
The people who need the reminder — who need the alternative paradigms — are in the foreign-policy community. They're the analysts who re-code U.S. foreign policy in terms of "geopolitics" or "the national interest" and then, in effect, sanewash what the Trump administration is doing.
January 5, 2026 at 1:50 PM
The people who need the reminder — who need the alternative paradigms — are in the foreign-policy community. They're the analysts who re-code U.S. foreign policy in terms of "geopolitics" or "the national interest" and then, in effect, sanewash what the Trump administration is doing.
Reposted by Louis Römer
The problem isn't that Europeans don't understand that Trump's foreign policy is fundamentally kleptocratic, or neo-patrimonial, or neo-Royal, or whatever one wants to call it.
The problem is that they don't have a lot of good options for how to respond.
The problem is that they don't have a lot of good options for how to respond.
1/Leaders are abducted/allies are threatened but pundits and governments are scratching their heads on what the US is doing. Danish PM on Greenland "It makes absolutely no sense". Why? Because actors using old IR models when we need a new lens. Enter neo-royalism.
abcnews.go.com/Internationa...
abcnews.go.com/Internationa...
Denmark's PM urges Trump to 'stop the threats' of annexing Greenland
The prime minister of Denmark called on Trump to “stop the threats” of the U.S. annexing Greenland after renewed comments garnered international attention.
abcnews.go.com
January 5, 2026 at 1:44 PM
The problem isn't that Europeans don't understand that Trump's foreign policy is fundamentally kleptocratic, or neo-patrimonial, or neo-Royal, or whatever one wants to call it.
The problem is that they don't have a lot of good options for how to respond.
The problem is that they don't have a lot of good options for how to respond.
Reposted by Louis Römer
"Vance wrote, 'You don’t get to avoid justice for drug trafficking in the US because you live in a palace in Caracas.'
OK? But apparently you do get to avoid justice for drug trafficking in the US if you’re a foreign head of state with ties to Trump’s inner circle..."
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
OK? But apparently you do get to avoid justice for drug trafficking in the US if you’re a foreign head of state with ties to Trump’s inner circle..."
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
After Venezuela operation, Trump haunted by his pardon for Honduran drug trafficker
Two Latin American strongmen were charged with drug trafficking. One was captured as part of a military raid, the other is free thanks to a Trump pardon.
www.ms.now
January 5, 2026 at 7:30 PM
"Vance wrote, 'You don’t get to avoid justice for drug trafficking in the US because you live in a palace in Caracas.'
OK? But apparently you do get to avoid justice for drug trafficking in the US if you’re a foreign head of state with ties to Trump’s inner circle..."
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
OK? But apparently you do get to avoid justice for drug trafficking in the US if you’re a foreign head of state with ties to Trump’s inner circle..."
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
Reposted by Louis Römer
These guys are in the goddamn 1920s. They think that the world is composed of racial blocks and “empire” is a viable path to maintaining white supremacy.
IT FAILED.
IT FAILED.
January 5, 2026 at 7:22 PM
These guys are in the goddamn 1920s. They think that the world is composed of racial blocks and “empire” is a viable path to maintaining white supremacy.
IT FAILED.
IT FAILED.
Reposted by Louis Römer
Underrated just how common this is in diplomacy wherein the dominant party knowingly makes a demand that cannot under really any circumstances be met because it's existential and then uses the rational answer by the weaker party as pretext to derail and then aggress
It's true that the zero enrichment demand has kept talks from succeeding - but that's the United States' fault, not Iran's for refusing to breach a redline it has constantly reiterated.
Trump doesn't want a deal that recalls the JCPOA, which, again, he left - not Iran. www.wsj.com/world/middle...
Trump doesn't want a deal that recalls the JCPOA, which, again, he left - not Iran. www.wsj.com/world/middle...
Iran’s Refusal to Dial Back Nuclear Program Lit Fuse on Currency Crisis
Tehran is sticking with the program despite crippling Western sanctions, as protests continue and President Trump warns against a bloody crackdown.
www.wsj.com
January 5, 2026 at 7:17 PM
Underrated just how common this is in diplomacy wherein the dominant party knowingly makes a demand that cannot under really any circumstances be met because it's existential and then uses the rational answer by the weaker party as pretext to derail and then aggress
Reposted by Louis Römer
I’m sorry. I can’t let this Miller bullshit pass.
After WWII “the West,” sometimes relatively quickly, sometimes not until the ‘70s, realized that the writing was on the wall: that they could spend vast sums in blood and treasure trying to defeat anti-colonial movements, and still lose.
After WWII “the West,” sometimes relatively quickly, sometimes not until the ‘70s, realized that the writing was on the wall: that they could spend vast sums in blood and treasure trying to defeat anti-colonial movements, and still lose.
Eyes wide open, folks. They're revealing the supervillain plot.
January 5, 2026 at 7:16 PM
I’m sorry. I can’t let this Miller bullshit pass.
After WWII “the West,” sometimes relatively quickly, sometimes not until the ‘70s, realized that the writing was on the wall: that they could spend vast sums in blood and treasure trying to defeat anti-colonial movements, and still lose.
After WWII “the West,” sometimes relatively quickly, sometimes not until the ‘70s, realized that the writing was on the wall: that they could spend vast sums in blood and treasure trying to defeat anti-colonial movements, and still lose.
Reposted by Louis Römer
So this is going to end up with Trump spending billions in U.S. government funds on Venezuela to support a corrupt regime, same as he spent billions in Argentina to keep Milei in power and billions in El Salvador for Bukele's prisons, isn't it? That's the "Donroe" Doctrine.
Trump’s Venezuela Oil Revival Plan Is a $100 Billion Gamble
Realizing President Donald Trump’s plan for a US-led revival of Venezuela’s beleaguered oil industry could be a years-long and challenging process costing upwards of $100 billion.
www.bloomberg.com
January 5, 2026 at 3:42 PM
So this is going to end up with Trump spending billions in U.S. government funds on Venezuela to support a corrupt regime, same as he spent billions in Argentina to keep Milei in power and billions in El Salvador for Bukele's prisons, isn't it? That's the "Donroe" Doctrine.