The ‘freedom’ chant is just propaganda for the flag wavers and ‘patriots’.. Afghanistan and Iraq haven’t seen any ‘freedom either because that wasn’t the point was it? The Venezuelan people have been experimenting with what government they want for many years and left to their own devices they’ll eventually decide what’s best for them. Until then it should be nobody else business. Many other countries go thru the same evolution. If it weren’t for oil no one would give a shit about Venezuela.
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The fact of the matter is that the Venezuelan people have been asking us for help with this for DECADES. We’ve done it before in South America - through back channels and in secret - the US has always wanted conservative governments running things down there and boy, did we screw it up with El Salvador and Chilie. Just screwed ALL those people into a life that was barely worth living. HERE - we did it, said we did it, didn’t go assassinating people, told everyone we did it, were asked to do it for a long time, heard the stories from those that came in to the country through my home town of El Paso and they were BRUTAL. Regardless of Trumps motives - there is the Munroe Doctrine and etc also to consider - every single president since WWII has done stuff like this but not quite like this. I hate Trump. I’m terrified of the guy, but in this instance, it needed to be done, and it needed to be done WAY before now.
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When Chavez was in charge at least people had food? A MUCH better life by all accounts, until Maduro came in to play.
Who made the US the babysitter of Central and South America? Now that the border is closed off it is time for you guys to grow up, quit running away and make a stand. The US should be hands off the region unless another major power sticks their nose in.
That was the point of the Monroe Doctrine wasn’t it.
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Yep, but no major power is sticking their nose in except the US.
Good thing your book doesn’t matter….
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Well, the Munroe Doctrine did. Also the Venezuelan people asked us to. Plus, as various Venezuelan’s have said, they were being held hostage by China, Iran, Russia, and the drug cartels. That’s where all their money was going. And so your average Venezuelan had, like, government issued meals (crappy ones) that were with held if you expressed ANY dissatisfaction of their administration (such as it was).
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The “Peace President” has also spoken:
BBC forgot Nigeria on the list of countries being threatened.
The rest of the world is answering back:
Nobody talking about how the administration is openly dismissive of the rightfully-elected president and vice president, talking down about Nobel Prize winner Machado who dedicated that prize to Trump, and that they’re talking about just keeping the current regime otherwise as-is?
Maybe this will let the Venezuelans have control of their country back from the cartels and criminals, but if that’s the plan, Trump et al aren’t saying so…
Maybe El Naranja will confiscate her peace prize as a war trophy, or accept it as a gift from “grateful patriots”.
Interesting -
" The Foreclosure of a Country
There is a glitch in the Venezuela story that most people are missing. The official line is that we captured a dictator to “restore democracy” and “stop drugs.” But those reasons don’t explain the timing. There is a $13 billion transaction happening right now that does. It’s called the Citgo Auction.
Most people don’t realize that Venezuela’s “crown jewel”—the massive Citgo refinery network—is being sold off in a Delaware court this month. It’s a forced liquidation to pay creditors, but the auction had been frozen for years by political chaos. The capture of Maduro didn’t just change the regime. It cleared the title so the sale could close.
The winning bidder isn’t an oil major or a democracy activist. It’s Amber Energy, an affiliate of Elliott Management. That is Paul Singer’s fund, the most feared “vulture capitalist” in the world, famous for seizing sovereign ships to collect old debts. He isn’t betting on freedom. He’s closing a distressed asset deal.
The timeline tells you everything you need to know. The sale to Elliott was approved by the court late last year, but it needed a “change in political circumstances” to finally clear regulatory hurdles. Maduro was the obstacle blocking the transfer. His capture on January 3rd wasn’t a police action. It was the final signature on the closing documents.
This reframes the entire operation. We aren’t watching an episode of Law & Order; we are watching a foreclosure. The legal doctrine allowing the capture turns a President into a defendant, but the economic doctrine is simpler. It’s a distressed asset restructuring with a military escort.
The playbook is the same one private equity uses for a failing mall, just scaled up to a sovereign nation. You depress the asset value with sanctions, buy the debt for pennies on the dollar, and use the courts to force a liquidation. Then you send in the troops to evict the tenant so you can collect at face value. It’s a leveraged buyout with an air force.
If you look at who is getting paid, the “democracy” frame falls apart completely. It isn’t voters waiting in line; it’s a queue of corporate creditors like Crystallex, ConocoPhillips, and Siemens, with Elliott Management at the front. Marco Rubio isn’t representing a constituency here. He’s processing a payout.
That’s why the bonds rallied before the raid. The market wasn’t guessing about justice; it had inside information about the closing date. Power is just physics with a spreadsheet, and the spreadsheet says the auction is finally closed."
sir_terrynce
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yes agree some dodgy people have been let go
Clinton pardoned his brother on a cocaine charge, a business Clinton knew well.
He was on Barry Seals speed dial
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France, Denmark, Columbia, Panama, Russia and China? Hold out for Iran, Cuba and Sweden and we will have all the typical actors no one gives a shit about.
You don’t like America putting itself before anyone else. Deal with it or stop us. But please, refrain from copy and pasting your anti-(Trump) America drivel. All those nations are going to sit back and watch whatever happens, happen because they are individually and collectively, incapable of doing anything about it.
America is not infallible and we are not without risk of being drug into a very dangerous war. However, this America isn’t making idle threats about putting itself above all else and that is what is happening. You should be mindful of what side you fall on because even as much as you get worked up about our foreign policy, chances are you will need the US a hell of a lot sooner than she will need you.
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She may have won her primary in a landslide, but since she was subsequently questionably disqualified from the general election technically the real winner was Edmundo González. Though odd that since the US is saying that Maduro was “takable” since he wasn’t the legitimate winner, why is the US not aligning with either Gonzalez or Machado, but instead with a successor VP of the same corrupt regime of Maduro?
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There must be more to it than oil, worst quality hardest to extract and refine and the world has plenty hence the low price.
China and Russia both loaned billions to Venezuela so perhaps squeezing their influence is a good thing?
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That’s a good question that only a few on the planet has the definite answer to. If I was a cup half full, rose colored glasses guy I would say because the VP doesn’t have any indictments against her & the US wants to save legitimacy on the world stage by following the chain of command. But being a realist I’d guess the Venezuela VP & CIA has been communicating for last 3 months and she’s ready to be a puppet. Noreagia, Hussain & Bin-Laden were all on the payroll or worked with the CIA at one time. We’ve had worse partnerships. Besides, it will be easier to control a former villains sidekick living on borrowed time compared to a reputable elected official. We can’t put a bullet in the head of a Nobel Peace Prize winner because she demands too much at the negotiating table?
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USA hold the cards, leave the illegitimate leader to sit there with everyone knowing they can swap her out.
