The Empire’s Revolving Door: America’s Covert Colonization Playbook

Kino Smith
Mar 2
4 min read

by Kino Smith

Donald Trump’s recent attacks on Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky—once hailed as a “hero” against Russia, now dismissed as a “liar”—lay bare an enduring truth about U.S. foreign policy: seduce, exploit, abandon. This isn’t diplomacy. It’s a revolving door of covert colonization—where America elevates its allies, drains them of their resources, and discards them when they are no longer useful, all while expanding its military grip. The pattern is neither new nor accidental. From Latin America to the Middle East, from Africa to Eastern Europe, the empire moves in shadows, cloaked in the language of “freedom” and “democracy,” but leaving in its wake fractured states and corporate plunder.

President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky hurry in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, on Feb. 28, 2025. (AI artistic rendering)

The Hypocrisy Blueprint: Praise, Plunder, Abandon

U.S. foreign policy operates like a rigged game at a traveling carnival. Nations are drawn in with promises of aid, development, and security, only to find themselves trapped in a cycle of dependency and destruction. The formula is as predictable as it is ruthless:

Praise: Glorify leaders as “freedom fighters,” “visionaries,” or “champions of democracy.”
Exploit: Secure access to critical resources, military footholds, or economic leverage.
Abandon: Withdraw support, destabilize the region, and blame the victims for their collapse.

The result? A trail of broken nations, corporate windfalls, and an ever-expanding U.S. military presence to “contain” the very chaos it helped create.

Case Studies in Betrayal

Chile (1973): Democracy Overthrown for Copper and Control

U.S. Statement (1970): “We respect Chile’s right to self-determination.” – President Richard Nixon

Reversal (1973): Nixon, fearing the rise of socialism under President Salvador Allende, branded him “a Marxist cancer.” The CIA orchestrated a coup, funding right-wing militias to ensure his downfall.

Death Toll & Hardship: Over 3,000 killed, 35,000 tortured, and 200,000 exiled under Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship. Chile’s economy spiraled into hyperinflation, with poverty rates hitting 20% by 1983.
Blowback to the U.S.: Today, Chile’s vast lithium reserves (critical for U.S. electric vehicles) are under Chinese control, a consequence of decades of U.S.-backed neoliberal privatization that alienated Chilean voters.

Activists in Santiago, Chile, hold up portraits of the disappeared victims of the Pinochet regime during a demonstration on September 8, 2013, in remembrance of late President Salvador Allende. (AI artistic rendering)

Congo (1961): Killing a Visionary for Cobalt

U.S. Statement (1960): “We support Congo’s independence.” – President Dwight Eisenhower

Reversal (1961): Eisenhower authorized the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, labeling him “Moscow’s puppet.” The U.S. ensured the installation of a corrupt regime that would prioritize Western mining interests over its own people.

Death Toll & Hardship: 6 million lives lost in decades of proxy wars, 40,000 children enslaved in cobalt mines, and a 70-year-long resource curse.
Blowback to the U.S.: Tech giants like Apple and Tesla now face lawsuits over “blood cobalt,” while China dominates 80% of Congo’s mining sector—leaving the U.S. vulnerable in the race for green energy.

Ukraine (2022–2024): From “Hero” to “Liar”

U.S. Statement (2022): “Zelensky is the Churchill of our time.” – President Joe Biden

Reversal (2024): With political tides shifting, Trump dismisses Ukraine’s sovereignty, calls Zelensky a “beggar,” and suggests abandoning the country to Russian aggression.

Death Toll & Hardship: Over 500,000 Ukrainian casualties, 10 million displaced, and $1 trillion in infrastructure losses.

Blowback to the U.S.: Zelensky’s warning that America’s retreat will “haunt” it is proving true. As Trump flounders on Ukraine, Europe tilts toward China, and Russia’s untouched aluminum exports continue feeding U.S. industries, exposing Washington’s selective economic sanctions.

The Cost of Cheap Goods: Slave Labor & Strained Global Power

America’s economic supremacy depends on the extraction of cheap labor and resources, regardless of human cost:

Uyghur Forced Labor: U.S. tech and solar industries rely on Xinjiang’s polysilicon, produced under oppressive conditions.
Latin American Lithium: U.S. electric vehicle manufacturers benefit from Bolivian and Argentinian lithium mining, where Indigenous land rights are routinely ignored in favor of corporate expansion.

Result: American inflation remains controlled, but global trust in U.S. economic policies collapses.

Global Backlash: BRICS, Tariffs, and Isolationism

The world is recalibrating against U.S. dominance:

BRICS Dethroning the Dollar: India-Russia oil trades in rupees; China-Brazil transactions bypass the dollar in favor of the yuan.
Trade Wars & Isolationism: Trump’s $360 billion tariffs on China devastated American farmers; Biden’s “Buy American” policies alienated the European Union, triggering retaliatory tariffs.
Military Overreach: U.S. military bases in Syria, Iraq, and Africa fuel resentment, inspiring insurgent groups like the Houthis, who now disrupt Red Sea trade routes, pushing global oil prices up by 15%.

The Empire’s Self-Sabotage

America’s hypocrisy is no longer subtle. The world sees through the thinly veiled pretext of “democracy-building,” recognizing it for what it is—strategic economic domination. But as the empire tightens its grip, it also accelerates its decline. Allies grow wary, adversaries grow stronger, and a multipolar world emerges where the U.S. is no longer the sole superpower.

Trump’s fury at Zelensky isn’t just political theater; it is the empire raging against its own unraveling. The crimes once committed in secret are now broadcast in real-time. And unless Washington discards its colonial playbook, it will find itself not just isolated but irrelevant.

The Balance Sheet