Johannes Sundstrom<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The aim with this text is to demonstrate that the current international world order is neocolonial and necropolitical at its core, by discussing the most recent US military invasion of Venezuela and the subsequent oil grabs in the country, followed by an extensive energy embargo against Cuba in 2026. This text will mainly draw on Achilles Mbembe\u2019s article Necropolitics (2003), Giorgio Agamben\u2019s text Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life (1998), and Frantz Fanon\u2019s The Wretched of the Earth (1963) and his views on violence, especially in the international context.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Necropower can be viewed as the (sovereign\u2019s) ability to determine whose life is \u201cgrievable\u201d or not \u2013 to borrow a term from Judith Butler (2009). The idea or logic behind necropower could be linked to the sovereign\u2019s (e.g. United States) power to spare or destroy life. Mbembe links together the power of sovereignty and necropower: \u201cIn this case, sovereignty means the capacity to define who matters and who does not, who is disposable and who is not.\u201d (Mbembe 2019, 80), where \u201cdisposable\u201d aligns with Butler\u2019s argument about whose life is \u201cgrievable\u201d or not. Agamben (1998, 15) argues that the power of the \u201csovereign\u201d lies in its ability to pause or ignore the \u201cvalidity of law\u201d, which means that the sovereign\u2019s power lies both inside and outside the law (i.e. international law in this case). One could argue that it is through this self-justified \u201cright of exception\u201d and the material and military power that enables these neocolonial actions against Venezuela and subsequent necropolitical actions against Cuba by the United States. Mbembe discusses the connection between sovereignty and the material destruction of populations: \u201c[\u2026] sovereignty whose central project is [\u2026] the generalized instrumentalization of human existence and the material destruction of human bodies and populations\u201d. (Mbembe 2003, 14)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In January 2026, we witnessed a short military invasion of Caracas and the kidnapping of Venezuelan president Maduro. An operation which could be described as a \u201chit and run operation\u201d (Mbembe 2003, 30). Additionally, the subsequent increased influx of American multinational oil companies signals another step towards controlling Venezuelan oil, a country which arguably is sitting on the largest crude oil reserves globally. The short military invasion and kidnapping were condemned by the United Nations Security Council, however, given the US\u2019s veto power, any resolution that would condemn or \u201clegally\u201d bind them by international law for their actions would always be blocked. The United States, could through the veto, \u201cuphold\u201d its \u201cright of exception\u201d in terms of their neocolonial practices in Venezuela. The fact that the United States colonized Venezuela\u2019s oil reserves seemed to have slipped the minds of mainstream media right up until recently (September 2026). Earlier this year, US-owned Bloomberg News even reported on February 20th, 2026, and called it: \u201cthe US effort to rebuild Venezuela\u2019s oil industry\u201d (Bloomberg News, 2026). However, more recently as stated, other big media outlets, including BBC (2026) and Qatari Al Jazeera (2026) recently started to question these US oil projects in Venezuela. The question is, why did it take so long to start reflecting over these neo-colonial actions carried out by the United States in January of this year?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This year we have also witnessed the consequences with US oil grabs in Venezuela, especially in Cuba. Cuba used to receive much of its energy supplies (through oil) from Venezuela, which now has been abruptly stopped by the US in recent months (January 2026). This has caused major disruptions to daily life and Cuban livelihoods. In September 2026, during the latest UN General Assembly, the Cuban Foreign Minister Rodriguez called the US energy and oil blockade an act of \u201ccollective punishment\u201d (UN News 2026). In this case, one could argue that the US carries out necropolitical energy blockades against Cuba and its population by denying them energy resources (i.e. oil), essential for survival. The US president did not even attempt to hide his view on the situation in Cuba during a speech on March 7 in 2026 when he said that Cuba is \u201cin its last moments of life\u201d (France24 2026, 9:42).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These actions can arguably be linked to the concept or \u201cbare-life\u201d (Agamben 1998) where one could claim that the United States considers the Cuban population \u201cdisposable\u201d (Mbembe 2019) and \u201cnongrievable\u201d (Butler 2009). However, we must remember that we are simply witnessing a continuation of blockades and embargoes against Cuba and its population since the early 1960s following the Cuban Revolution during the Cold War. Fast-forwarding to today\u2019s political rhetoric, the argumentation hasn\u2019t changed. Cuban communism is existentially dangerous for the US, (a similar argument used against socialist Venezuela), therefore, the United States justifies its neocolonial and necropolitical actions through a \u201crhetoric of modernity\u201d and the promise of \u201cprogress\u201d (Mignolo 2019), by repeating over and over again that Venezuela and Cuba are failed states and that they need saving. The \u201csaviour\u201d just happens to be the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This \u201cpromise of progress\u201d has been repeated many times, both in Venezuela regarding its oil production and US multinational oil companies and in Cuba, since US officials often refer to Cuba as a \u201cfailed state\u201d led by \u201cincompetent communists\u201d (Bloomberg News 2026, 0:55), which needs \u201csaving\u201d. Mbembe explains that \u201c[\u2026] the two narratives are incompatible [\u2026]\u201d (Mbembe 2003, 27) and the two narratives being capitalism and communism, which once more reminds us of a post-Cold War environment. However, it is often used in the context to justify what Mbembe refers to as the \u201c[\u2026] state of siege [\u2026]\u201d when \u201c[\u2026] Entire populations are the target of the sovereign. The besieged villages and towns are sealed off and cut off from the world.\u201d (Mbembe 2003, 30). In this case, the \u201cbesieged villages and towns\u201d are the Cuban population in Cuban cities, villages and towns, and they are the target of the \u201csovereign\u201d (i.e. United States).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perhaps Fanon (1963, 29) was right when he said that the (neocolonial, my emphasis) colonial world was a divided or compartmentalized world. Fanon also discusses the American sanctions and embargoes against Castro\u2019s Cuba back in the 1960s and explains that \u201cThese former colonies [Latin America, my emphasis] since their liberation have suffered the brazen-faced rule of Western capitalism in terror and destitution\u201d (Fanon 1963, 76, footnote). Fanon refers to newly independent countries in the Americas, and since the US basically took control over Cuba after the Spanish-American War in the late 19th century, Cuba has been at the mercy of the United States, up until its revolution in 1959 and continious to be through blockades, sanctions and embargoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To conclude, if we apply Fanon\u2019s thinking to the international system (as with the case of Venezuela and Cuba today), we can see that the United States (i.e. the sovereign) continuously creates and consolidates a compartmentalized and divided neo-colonial world in the Americas, through trade embargoes, energy blockades and oil grabs. Already in the 1960s, Fanon observed and foresaw the extended suffering of the Cuban people (Fanon 1963, 77, footnote) which we still witness today. Whether these actions are considered necropolitical or neo-colonial, I will leave it up to the reader to decide, however, one thing is certain. Venezuelan oil is no longer in the hands of Venezuela and through the continuous energy blockade against Cuba, the US president considers Cuban lives \u201cdisposable\u201d and \u201cnon-grievable\u201d as we have seen in his speeches and the US has reduced the Cuban population to \u201cbarelife\u201d as they continue to be at the mercy of the sovereign, the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
References <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Agamben, Giorgio. 1998. Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life, translated by Daniel HellerRoazen (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1998), 15\u201367. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Al Jazeera. \u201cWhy are people calling Venezuela oil deal a new form of US colonialism?\u201d. September 1, 2006. https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/video\/newsfeed\/2026\/9\/3\/aje-onl-nf_us-venezuela-oildeal_colonialism-030926. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
BBC. \u201cRemarkable US Oil deal puzzles analysts and angers many Venezuelans\u201d. September 1, 2006. https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/c93vkgk5e1yo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bloomberg News. \u201cIs Cuba Finally Ready for Capitalism?\u201d Published August 16, 2026. Accessed September 30, 2026. https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=AWMrdf_ToJk&t=300s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Butler, Judith. Frames of War: When is Life Grievable? London: Verso, 2009. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fanon, Frantz. 1963 (2001). The Wretched of the Earth. Translated by Constance Farrington. Penguin Books. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
France 25 English. \u201cCuba could collapse. Here is what Trump wants\u201d. August 3, 2026. Accessed September 29, 2026. https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=M_NTF1sqZGo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mbembe, Achille. \u201cNecropolitics.\u201d Public Culture, vol. 15, no. 1, 2003, pp. 11\u201340, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1215\/08992363-15-1-11. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mbembe, Achille. 2019. \u201cNecropolitics\u201d. Public Culture vol.15, no. 1. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mignolo, Walter D., and Walsh, Catherine E. 2018. On Decoloniality: Concepts, Analytics, Praxis. Durham: Duke University Press. Accessed on April 7, 2026. ProQuest Ebook Central <\/p>\n\n\n\n
United Nations News. \u201cCuba warns against \u2018law of the jungle\u2019 as Foreign Minister denounces US pressure\u201d September 26, 2006, New York. https:\/\/news.un.org\/en\/story\/2026\/09\/1168458<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Johannes Sundstrom The aim with this text is to demonstrate that the current international world order is neocolonial and necropolitical at its core, by discussing the most recent US military invasion of Venezuela and the subsequent oil grabs in the country, followed by an extensive energy embargo against Cuba in 2026. This text will mainly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19952,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[72398,72420,72429],"class_list":["post-498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogg","tag-colonial-and-postcolonial-studies","tag-decolonial-theory","tag-decolonization"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\r\n