901–910 of 1001 posts
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...
If this is all true, then China has been pretty much given green light to invade Taiwan, in my opinion.
It is not because US isn't a hypocrite. Come on. How naive do we have to be about it this?
Two 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.
Err
> Since 2019, more than 50 countries, including the United States, have refused to recognize Maduro as Venezuela’s head of state.
Including the EU and its member states
> a country of 30+ million people
If those 30 M being the remainder after ~8 M fled the country (20% of the population) within the last 10 years, the „destabilization“ was already there.
Prediction: the regime will not fall. This will destabilize the country further, not so much the regime itself. There will be a decrease in oil production, marginally boosting world prices. What's probably being taken out right now is the regime's ability to react in any meaningful way to the oil embargo. It will also allow Maduro to throw his hands in the air and blame the US for all of VZLA's ills going forward. Mo…
I can't help but think this is going to end so poorly for the innocent men, women, and children in Venezuela. I feel for them. While Maduro seems to not be loved, these periods of violent transition can result in horrid outcomes for the local populace. I can only hope my fellow Americans start to see the light and vote the current administration out of office. I'm not hopeful.
Maduro is a dictator and a murderer but I'm sure most people should now be uncomfortable with the way this was handled. Its undoubtedly the whole region will be better off without its hold and no there won't be regime remaining because Maduro doesn't have popular support it requires to do so. I'm not sure if it's the right thing to do or if it will have negative implications in the future. I didn't liked when Russia…
This is BS. If he was an issue for the region he needed to be tried by his country by his own people and they should get their power back. A foreign power taking over the country to siphon it's oil doesn't help in any way.
It's the same situation with Trump, China swooping in and kidnapping Trump wouldn't help. We'd need the US population to fix it's own mess if we're hoping for any improvement.
We're just getting into another cycle of pain and grudges.
This is a masterpiece on how to sidestep a national debt crisis. 1. Don't acknowledge the problem directly. 2. Take over Venezuela's GDP by benevolent force or whatever he is calling it. 3. Pay off the debt interest with new funding windfall. 4. Profit
If you're ever confused by Don's actions, just remember: all he cares about is gaining more wealth (and power if possible). This was done to enrich Don and the oil barons who funded his campaign. [0] https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/09/trump-asks-oil-exec...
Replace Venezuela with Iraq, and Maduro with Saddam, and read this whole comment section. We never learn.
So the US will be excluded from the SWIFT banking system? Heavy international sanctions will be put in place? Europe will send weapons and money to help Venezuela defend itself? No? Oh... just checking.
This is about the cleanest extraterritorial action you can take. A guy probably did some seriously illegal stuff in your country and his, who was probably illegally elected, who probably had people killed.
Why not do this? Why not say to Venezuela, hand him over or we'll take him ourselves?
He's not going to gitmo, he'll have the same due process that every other American gets. Rights Maduro denied to millions. If you asked me to describe "justice" - I have to give this as a good example. He's going to die in prison like Noriega, after a fair trial.