The dramatic arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro sent shock waves around the world. Yet nowhere was the reaction more negative – and more baffling – than in the European Union, where outrage swept through public discourse, a stark contrast to the generally positive reaction in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Much of this anger was aimed at Donald Trump and, more pointedly, at the U.S. oil industry, which once again has become the convenient scapegoat for complex geopolitical realities.

Until his arrest, Maduro was universally condemned across the European Union as a dictator responsible for his people’s suffering and for widespread international drug trafficking – and as an unelected, illegitimate president.

But after his arrest by U.S. authorities, the EU media rapidly changed their tune. Suddenly, Maduro was portrayed as a victim – a martyr in the ongoing battle between American imperialism and the so-called defenders of sovereignty. This shift is hardly surprising. Most EU journalists lean left politically, and given Maduro’s communist background, they now seek to cast him in a heroic light. Comparisons to Nelson Mandela have even surfaced.

The European Union finds itself in an awkward position. Just weeks ago, it acknowledged Maduro’s authoritarian rule. Now, perhaps fearing public backlash, it hesitates to endorse the legitimacy of U.S. actions and instead allows the narrative to be dominated by accusations of American overreach.

As a professor of energy policy, I am deeply frustrated by the European Union’s persistent hostility toward the oil industry. The EU press frames the........

© Independent Journal Review