From: Walter Block <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, January 18, 2020 7:35 PM
To: ‘David Chávez Salazar’ Subject: RE: A few questions

Dear David:

I think you’re being too rough on Murray, too critical of him. He never gave his views on whether or not the French support was justified. You’re saying he should have said that it was unjustified. But, then you’re criticizing him not for what he actually wrote, but for what he didn’t write, and you think he should have written. That’s pretty tough.

I still don’t see how the US government is justified in invading Venezuela.

Best regards,

Walter

From: David Chávez Salazar
Sent: Saturday, January 18, 2020 7:20 PM
To: Walter Block <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: A few questions to start the year

Dear Professor Block:

Rothbard gave a talk at the Mises Institute in May 1994 entitled “America’s Two Just Wars: 1775 and 1861.” On that occasion he said:

“I want to now return to America’s two just wars. It is plainly evident that the American Revolution, using my definition, was a just war, a war of peoples forming an independent nation and casting off the bonds of another people insisting on perpetuating their rule over them. Obviously, the Americans, while welcoming French or other support, were prepared to take on the daunting task of overthrowing the rule of the most powerful empire on earth, and to do it alone if necessary. ”

In this statement, I see no opposition from Rothbard to foreign military aid during the American Revolution. If he was a critic, he would not say something like “Independence was an issue that only Americans had to solve. At no time should they have the support of any foreign state, such as France or Spain, to achieve it.”

However … I agree with Rothbard that the American Revolution was a just war, so a military intervention in Venezuela wouldn’t be too? In fact, Venezuelans are under an oppression a million times worse than the one suffered by the Thirteen Colonies under British rule. Therefore, it would not be legitimate then for the United States to support this just cause for the freedom of Venezuelans? since they by their own means cannot do so (the regime has disarmed civilians and maintains the unrestricted support of the military). For me, the most desirable solution would be to free the country through mercenaries and foreign military private support, such as a kind of “Lincoln Brigade” as you suggest, but what´s the real probability of that happening? I guess it´s very low.

Thank you.

Best regards,

David

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