Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes • Hacker News Board

Re: Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes

#551

Post by Zenst » Sat, Jan 03, 2026, 3:52 PM UTC

jacquesm wrote: post #311

It's funny how many people already see this as a book that is opened and closed on the same day. That's not how these things work. This is like the first stone of an avalanche. It could stop here, or it could roll on for quite a while. It will take months or even years to know whether or not the outcome here was desirable or not and what the final tally is. Remember the 'Arab spring' and what came after.

Reports that Maria Corina Machado (peace prize winner) will be the next leader - so that is a good sign. I've also seen many reports and videos of locals celebrating.

Re: Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes

#552

Post by politics1989 » Sat, Jan 03, 2026, 3:53 PM UTC

epolanski wrote: post #498

I will spare saying the obvious illegality of such actions and how serious this is. I will just say something else: I grew up as a kid between the 80s and 90s, when the world felt like it was going towards a brighter age of peace and respect. Berlin wall falling, China opening, Apartheid ending in South Africa, even Palestine and Israel were moving towards a more peaceful future. But since then the world has just pro…

I agree with your condemnation of this and other conflicts, but disagree that this is in any way new or worse than any purported golden age.

One month after the Berlin Wall fell the US invaded Panama to kidnap its leader so he could stand trial in the US on drug trafficking charges [1], an almost identical situation to this one.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_invasion_of_Pana...

Re: Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes

#553

Post by thomassmith65 » Sat, Jan 03, 2026, 3:54 PM UTC

SchwKatze wrote: post #282

As a Latino and friend of several people that scaped from Maduro's regime I can easily say that people in South America are happy as ever. Also, some people seems to miss the fact that South America military power is very weak, and we, culturally, are way less proned to fight and die than people in middle east. Yeah, we know this is all about oil, and I'm interested to know what kind of democracy will emerge. But the…

It's the international community who should decide this sort of thing.

Did the UN agree to this invasion?

Nations aren't supposed to unilaterally attack other nations.

Re: Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes

#554

Post by torlok » Sat, Jan 03, 2026, 3:56 PM UTC

ternaryoperator wrote: post #546

If you think this is primarily about drugs and authoritarianism, don't overlook this one important dimension: the country with the largest proven oil reserves in the world is...Venezuela. [0] https://www.baidarcenter.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/8...

It's not just oil, it's heavy crude oil; the type US is equipped to process, and rapidly running out of.

Re: Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes

#555

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Jan 03, 2026, 3:57 PM UTC

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #458

What a publicity hound. Ratings plummeting? Nothing like a foreign war to pump the numbers. Best it be a puny helpless country, so nobody (important) gets killed. Just some brown folk from South America, nobody cares about them. Anything to serve the ego; absolutely no crime or moral outrage is off-limits. Long as it serves that endless pit that is ego.

[deleted]

Re: Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes

#556

Post by braiamp » Sat, Jan 03, 2026, 3:59 PM UTC

legitster wrote: post #178

I almost feel bad for the people who instigated the War on Terror. They did not know how badly it would go - and they worked really hard and tirelessly to build and sell their illegitimate case to the American public. This administration is making the same mistakes - but in living memory of the first, with a less noble prize, and with complete derision of Congress and Americans' intelligence.

Any war on is illegitimate by default. Because there will not be any argument that survives scrutiny capable of defending it.

Re: Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes

#557

Post by ronbenton » Sat, Jan 03, 2026, 4:00 PM UTC

ternaryoperator wrote: post #546

If you think this is primarily about drugs and authoritarianism, don't overlook this one important dimension: the country with the largest proven oil reserves in the world is...Venezuela. [0] https://www.baidarcenter.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/8...

Trump pardoned a drug kingpin exactly one month ago. Of course this isn't about drugs.

Re: Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes

#558

Post by throw__away7391 » Sat, Jan 03, 2026, 4:00 PM UTC

epolanski wrote: post #498

I will spare saying the obvious illegality of such actions and how serious this is. I will just say something else: I grew up as a kid between the 80s and 90s, when the world felt like it was going towards a brighter age of peace and respect. Berlin wall falling, China opening, Apartheid ending in South Africa, even Palestine and Israel were moving towards a more peaceful future. But since then the world has just pro…

That's because the WWII generation who created these institutions and laid the groundwork for many of these change were still around for all that time. Around 2016 the last remaining members passed away. Now we have the boomers in charge and they are at long last able to enact all their fantasies without restraint in their final few years before they too pass.

Re: Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes

#559

Post by givemeethekeys » Sat, Jan 03, 2026, 4:00 PM UTC

epolanski wrote: post #498

I will spare saying the obvious illegality of such actions and how serious this is. I will just say something else: I grew up as a kid between the 80s and 90s, when the world felt like it was going towards a brighter age of peace and respect. Berlin wall falling, China opening, Apartheid ending in South Africa, even Palestine and Israel were moving towards a more peaceful future. But since then the world has just pro…

I agree that the outcomes were largely how Americans wanted them, but in the 80's and 90's we had plenty of big and little problems as a world:

- USSR vs. Afghanistan.

- The chaos after the collapse of the USSR

- Russia vs. Chechnya

- US interventions South America

- US in Somalia

- The Gulf War

How much of our upbringing was our limited media exposure?

Re: Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes

#560

Post by elktown » Sat, Jan 03, 2026, 4:00 PM UTC

jacquesm wrote: post #311

It's funny how many people already see this as a book that is opened and closed on the same day. That's not how these things work. This is like the first stone of an avalanche. It could stop here, or it could roll on for quite a while. It will take months or even years to know whether or not the outcome here was desirable or not and what the final tally is. Remember the 'Arab spring' and what came after.

These threads makes it depressingly obvious how "might makes right" is the main underlying principle in the end - albeit periodically latent. Suddenly proportionality disappears and it's one of the worst regimes out there, a narco-state. Obviously unlawful actions is reported as "legally questionable" etc. It doesn't even matter that the current US administration is an unusually vulgar example of erratic, dishonest, and self-serving leadership.