(MPN) There’s no denying that Venezuela is deeply embroiled in a significant crisis. While most are aware of the country’s recent string of violent protests, food shortages and government crackdowns on opposition protesters, few are aware of the opposition’s use of underhanded and downright illegal tactics, as well as the United States’ role in funding opposition forces.

The U.S. has long had its sights set on Venezuela, which possesses the largest proven oil reserves in the world, particularly following the “revolution” that began with the election of the late President Hugo Chávez and has continued under his successor Nicolás Maduro. But changing circumstances within Venezuela may soon push the U.S. to repeat a nefarious practice it has carried out elsewhere – funding a proxy war in order to prevent Venezuelan oil from falling into Russian and Chinese hands.

At first, the U.S. government seemed content to let Maduro’s administration run out of steam on its own. But the U.S. has already issued separate sanctions against the country three times this year alone, with more planned in the coming months, as evidenced by the introduction of a recent U.S. Senate bill that would target Venezuelan government officials. The bill, titled “Venezuela Humanitarian Assistance and Defense of Democratic Governance Act” (S.1018), would funnel $20 million to the Venezuelan opposition, which has already received an estimated $50 to $60 million since Chávez’s election in 1998.

And now, the stakes may now be too high for the U.S. to allow Maduro’s regime to collapse under the weight of economic sabotage. By all accounts, Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PDVSA is already on the brink of collapse.

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