"US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Venezuela that strong action would be taken if Guyana is invaded or an attack is launched on ExxonMobil's oil assets in the Stabroek Block."
https://www.spglobal.com/energy/en/news-research/latest-news...
Why take a chance?
Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes
561–570 of 1001 posts
Re: Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes
#562It'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.
Neither Trump nor the GOP cares about the stability of the country or the health of its citizens. They care about distracting from problems (Epstein, affordability, etc) and about how they can extract Venezuela’s oil and minerals so they can make billions off this theft
https://english.elpais.com/international/2025-12-22/oil-gold...
As long as they can protect the mining and refining operations the rest doesn’t matter. And I fully expect the America First, America Only group that claims to be the next thing after MAGA, to find ways to justify this regime change and corruption.
Re: Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes
#563[flagged]
Re: Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes
#564I 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…
"But since then the world has just progressed toward darker and darker ages." For a different perspective you should read Better Angels by Pinker.
Re: Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes
#565I 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 will just say something else: I grew up as a kid between the 80s and 90s
We didn't start the fire, it was always burning.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Didn't_Start_the_Fire#Histo...
Nothing happened in the 50s.
Re: Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes
#566Two wrongs don’t make a right. Regardless of your opinion on Maduro, you can still acknowledge that the head of a sovereign state being captured in an unannounced/unnamed military operation by a superpower is wrong from a principled standpoint, and that it’s destabilising a country with 30+ million people if not the entire region.
If two wrongs didn't make a right, we wouldn't punish people who commit crimes.
It should be up to the Venezuelans to decide who leads them. Maduro decided to ignore the will of the people when he held power through clear and blatant election fraud. If some sort of global public service could reach out and punish all politicians who do this, the world would be a better place.
If you are unfamiliar with Venezuela, this is a good primer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZHXW1vOBI4
From a few days ago, "The Crisis in Venezuela. Explained." It's from Warfronts, one of Simon Whistler's projects. He is neither American nor lives in the US.
Re: Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes
#567[flagged]
Re: Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes
#568If 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 also is predominately heavy crude oil, something the US lacks (it's what it mainly imports, with domestic shale oil being 'light') even though a lot of it's refineries are optimised for this.
Re: Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes
#569It'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.
Remember the end of Saddam and what came after that.
Re: Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes
#570Before jumping in with an opinion on this event, it's a good idea to bone up on the modern history of Venezuela. I recommend this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZHXW1vOBI4
From a few days ago, "The Crisis in Venezuela. Explained." It's from Warfronts, one of Simon Whistler's projects. If you're looking for bias, he is neither American nor lives in the US.