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Will Trump bomb Venezuela?
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"There's a mild build-up of personnel and weapons... Trump might be sending B1-Bs to the region... For a peace laureate wannabe who doesn't start wars, what can we expect?" The unexpected 😅 Mrs x | |||
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"Fianchettoing a bishop" A strategy that works from India to Sicily. | |||
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"It's trump he'll probably drop a few hundred thousand maga cap's on them. " It's trump he will prolly bomb Uruguay thinking it is Venezuela | |||
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"Fianchettoing a bishop A strategy that works from India to Sicily."  | |||
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"An overseas war is always a useful way in distracting the general population from embarrassing domestic issues." i.e. the Epstein files | |||
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"He is going to end up uniting Colombia and Venezuela … bit bad since they don’t like each other!" Huh? Most of the people are fed up with Maduro's oppression, and would gladly welcome Trump/USA with open arms for liberation. Certainly looooooong before uniting with Columbia/Columbians, whom they have a difficult relaionship with, to say the least... | |||
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"He is going to end up uniting Colombia and Venezuela … bit bad since they don’t like each other! Huh? Most of the people are fed up with Maduro's oppression, and would gladly welcome Trump/USA with open arms for liberation. Certainly looooooong before uniting with Columbia/Columbians, whom they have a difficult relaionship with, to say the least..." It’s not just Venezuelan boats the us have been blowing up in the Caribbean.. but also Colombian One of the boats the us claim was a drug boat was a fishing boat that has been in distress according to the Colombians … another boat strike where people survived and the us picked them up.. there was so little evidence that they were drug smugglers that the us handed them back to Colombian authorities That’s what caused the Colombian president to call Trump a murderer.. to which trump slapped back by placing sanctions on him If the us do go ahead with threatened “last strikes” it will be interesting to see the reaction of the country… | |||
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"It’s not just Venezuelan boats the us have been blowing up in the Caribbean.. but also Colombian One of the boats the us claim was a drug boat was a fishing boat that has been in distress according to the Colombians … another boat strike where people survived and the us picked them up.. there was so little evidence that they were drug smugglers that the us handed them back to Colombian authorities That’s what caused the Colombian president to call Trump a murderer.. to which trump slapped back by placing sanctions on him If the us do go ahead with threatened “last strikes” it will be interesting to see the reaction of the country… " Okay? The general public in Venezuela already aren't the biggest fans of Columbia and a lot of that is to do with their drug trafficking. And they would welcome US liberation. So, again, Trump blowing up Columbian boats, including the unfortunate odd fishing boat amongst the drug traffickers, isn't going to unite them against the US anytime soon. The Venezuelans WANT the US to come in and take out Maduro's regime. | |||
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"Interesting reports from the US that their own intelligence assessment is that "little to no" fentanyl enters the USA via Venezuela or Colombia. Additionally some of the recent footage of alleged drug boats being struck by the US military is several years old. The resignation of the US Admiral overseeing operations on the Caribbean is also quite telling. Is the orange one attempting his own Tonkin Gulf Incident. The original one didn't turn out too good for the US in the long run." Not sure what footage you are looking at, but would venture to say that drug boats were not being blown up as they were running several years ago. Perhaps set on fire after they were seized and offloaded to sink them so as not to be a danger to navigation. With these images being mistaken as a struck drug runners. | |||
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"The mango maniac unilaterally declares war on another country and nobody says anything" We might have said something if he actually had declared war. | |||
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"The mango maniac unilaterally declares war on another country and nobody says anything We might have said something if he actually had declared war." So sinking boats and murdering people indiscriminately without trial isn't a declaration of war ? I guess the Russian army are enjoying a short holiday in Ukraine | |||
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"The mango maniac unilaterally declares war on another country and nobody says anything" "We might have said something if he actually had declared war." "So sinking boats and murdering people indiscriminately without trial isn't a declaration of war ?" Sinking boats in international waters for a defined reason which isn't predicated on a specific country is just criminal behaviour, it doesn't amount to a war. If he declared all Venezuelan boats to be legitimate targets, that would be war. If he sticks to just "drug runners" and doesn't target them based on nationality, then he's just acting illegally. | |||
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"The mango maniac unilaterally declares war on another country and nobody says anything " This.. Russian ghost fleet is fine as that's used to finance death in Ukraine, women and children but hey the USA can sell more weapons to them to try and defend themselves.. Venezuelan ghost fleet not fine.. Because the orange man child wants regime change.. Democracy my arse.. | |||
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"The mango maniac unilaterally declares war on another country and nobody says anything This.. Russian ghost fleet is fine as that's used to finance death in Ukraine, women and children but hey the USA can sell more weapons to them to try and defend themselves.. Venezuelan ghost fleet not fine.. Because the orange man child wants regime change.. Democracy my arse.." But who's going to tell him "NO" he's basically the equivalent of the school bully with noone able to stand up to him. | |||
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"The mango maniac unilaterally declares war on another country and nobody says anything We might have said something if he actually had declared war. So sinking boats and murdering people indiscriminately without trial isn't a declaration of war ? Sinking boats in international waters for a defined reason which isn't predicated on a specific country is just criminal behaviour, it doesn't amount to a war. If he declared all Venezuelan boats to be legitimate targets, that would be war. If he sticks to just "drug runners" and doesn't target them based on nationality, then he's just acting illegally." Drug runners ? Have you seen evidence the rest of us haven't ? Maybe I missed the trial and verdict 🤷♂️ | |||
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"The mango maniac unilaterally declares war on another country and nobody says anything This.. Russian ghost fleet is fine as that's used to finance death in Ukraine, women and children but hey the USA can sell more weapons to them to try and defend themselves.. Venezuelan ghost fleet not fine.. Because the orange man child wants regime change.. Democracy my arse.." Americans knew what they were getting when he was voted in. | |||
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"Donald Trump: "Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America... It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before…" Them's fightin' words!" The Tangerine Tyrants grasp of geography is outstanding. How much of his awesome armada has he spirited ashore - has anyone bothered to tell him that Venezuela isn't an island so his boats can't surround it! Man is a total fuckwit. | |||
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"Donald Trump: "Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America... It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before…" Them's fightin' words! The Tangerine Tyrants grasp of geography is outstanding. How much of his awesome armada has he spirited ashore - has anyone bothered to tell him that Venezuela isn't an island so his boats can't surround it! Man is a total fuckwit." I'd put money on it he's more intelligent then you and most of the people who type absolute bollocks on these forums, Do you honestly believe he makes every decision that comes out of the white house ? | |||
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"Ah, a fanboy." I'm neither a fan or a boy  | |||
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"The mango maniac unilaterally declares war on another country and nobody says anything We might have said something if he actually had declared war. So sinking boats and murdering people indiscriminately without trial isn't a declaration of war ? Sinking boats in international waters for a defined reason which isn't predicated on a specific country is just criminal behaviour, it doesn't amount to a war. If he declared all Venezuelan boats to be legitimate targets, that would be war. If he sticks to just "drug runners" and doesn't target them based on nationality, then he's just acting illegally." Actually it’s either a war crime…. Or it’s just murder, I don’t know which sounds better The interesting thing is they have now released the recording of 35 boat strikes… but yesterday the sec of defence said yesterday that they would not be releasing the video of the 2nd boat strike that killed the people hanging on publicly Not only that, they are not showing it to all lawmakers in the house and senate, only to those “ on relevant committees with the authorised clearance level “ Doesn’t scream “we are not hiding anything!” Does it… | |||
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"The mango maniac unilaterally declares war on another country and nobody says anything " He can’t just declare war….. he actually needs to go to congress for that (if that’s a safeguard for you) Again he is stretching the boundaries of his power via executive order, but because it’s Venezuela I don’t know if any organisation will challenge it in a court, because the United Nations or many countries don’t recognise his election win | |||
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"The mango maniac unilaterally declares war on another country and nobody says anything He can’t just declare war….. he actually needs to go to congress for that (if that’s a safeguard for you) Again he is stretching the boundaries of his power via executive order, but because it’s Venezuela I don’t know if any organisation will challenge it in a court, because the United Nations or many countries don’t recognise his election win" Yeah but this is Trump, he'll find a get around in order to get his own way. He's followed Putin's example by surrounding himself when sycophants all to scared to speak up. | |||
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"The woman. Who just won the Nobel peace prize seems to like him and if they invade she's likely to be the new president there" Well since she won the election she has a right to claim she is the legitimate president What is likely to happen is they will likely have another election Also… There is a big difference between liking Trump and hating maduro Trump is in it not for drugs, he is in it for the Venezuelan oil reserves | |||
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"Trump is in it not for drugs, he is in it for the Venezuelan oil reserves " The American government is in it not for drugs, they're in it for the Venezuelan oil reserves | |||
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"Trump is in it not for drugs, he is in it for the Venezuelan oil reserves The American government is in it not for drugs, they're in it for the Venezuelan oil reserves " Look into the history. The USA doesn't need the oil reserves there as it produces plenty for itself, enough to export. It's about regional influence, not drugs, not oil. | |||
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"Trump is in it not for drugs, he is in it for the Venezuelan oil reserves The American government is in it not for drugs, they're in it for the Venezuelan oil reserves Look into the history. The USA doesn't need the oil reserves there as it produces plenty for itself, enough to export. It's about regional influence, not drugs, not oil." The point I was making its not Trump acting alone its a policy of the American government past and present | |||
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"US media reporting that Maduro has been 'captured' and removed from the country.. Trump the man of peace.. "your not happy he is getting rid of someone who apparently stole an election? I thought u would be all for getting rid of someone like maduro | |||
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"Imagine Iran and Venezuela liberated in the same year ! Hopefully New York next.🙏" How fucking dare those rebellious New Yorkers elect someone using that there process called democracy.. | |||
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"Imagine Iran and Venezuela liberated in the same year ! Hopefully New York next.🙏 How fucking dare those rebellious New Yorkers elect someone using that there process called democracy.. "This is brilliant news for the people of Venezuela and Colombia. Don't forget that a third of its people have fled the country since Maduro came to power. | |||
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"US media reporting that Maduro has been 'captured' and removed from the country.. Trump the man of peace.. your not happy he is getting rid of someone who apparently stole an election? I thought u would be all for getting rid of someone like maduro"Im not a fan of oppression, or any country as we used to do back in our empirical hey day using military force in such things.. Trump won't use the same tactics on Russia will he.. Using violence on the weaker in this context isn't a good model for global security.. Maduro is or was another not very nice person who got where he was by nefarious means.. That's hardly a new thing nor is he the only one.. | |||
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"He doesn't give a fk about maduro or the Venezuelas. He only cares about Venezuelan heavy crude oil which american refineries are equipped for. And getting machado in, who coincidentally held meetings recently with someone of the largest companies and corporations in usa. Venezuela is ripe for the picking. And stopping all those drugs coming from Colombia or Venezuela or somewhere as well of course" Venezuela has some of the world's largest oil refineries but have massively suffered from inder investment by PDVSA. The Curacao government owns the former Shell redinery there and wants to reopen it. Most heavy crude processed in the US comes from Canada and GoM (nka GoA). | |||
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"Imagine Iran and Venezuela liberated in the same year ! Hopefully New York next.🙏" Why does NY need liberating? | |||
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"He doesn't give a fk about maduro or the Venezuelas. He only cares about Venezuelan heavy crude oil which american refineries are equipped for. And getting machado in, who coincidentally held meetings recently with someone of the largest companies and corporations in usa. Venezuela is ripe for the picking. And stopping all those drugs coming from Colombia or Venezuela or somewhere as well of course Venezuela has some of the world's largest oil refineries but have massively suffered from inder investment by PDVSA. The Curacao government owns the former Shell redinery there and wants to reopen it. Most heavy crude processed in the US comes from Canada and GoM (nka GoA). " Shell, ConnocoPhilips and Exxon were removed from Venezuela and all assets siezed. Chevron is huge across their and a 60/40 agreement with PDVSA, although Chevron are being paid in oil as PDVSA stopped paying Chevron. This move today could be very valuable to Chevron as they are already in Venezuela in agreement with both PDVSA and Washington DC | |||
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"He doesn't give a fk about maduro or the Venezuelas. He only cares about Venezuelan heavy crude oil which american refineries are equipped for. And getting machado in, who coincidentally held meetings recently with someone of the largest companies and corporations in usa. Venezuela is ripe for the picking. And stopping all those drugs coming from Colombia or Venezuela or somewhere as well of course Venezuela has some of the world's largest oil refineries but have massively suffered from inder investment by PDVSA. The Curacao government owns the former Shell redinery there and wants to reopen it. Most heavy crude processed in the US comes from Canada and GoM (nka GoA). Shell, ConnocoPhilips and Exxon were removed from Venezuela and all assets siezed. Chevron is huge across their and a 60/40 agreement with PDVSA, although Chevron are being paid in oil as PDVSA stopped paying Chevron. This move today could be very valuable to Chevron as they are already in Venezuela in agreement with both PDVSA and Washington DC" I don't disagree that Chevron could be a major beneficiary so may others. I worked in the oil business for 38 years and for two decades my big oil employer provided technical services to Petroven and Lagoven. I am probably one of the few people on here who has actually been to Venezuela, indeed we had our honeymoon there. It's my firm belief that the main beneficiaries of regime change will be the people of Venezuela. | |||
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"Imagine Iran and Venezuela liberated in the same year ! Hopefully New York next.🙏 How fucking dare those rebellious New Yorkers elect someone using that there process called democracy..
This is brilliant news for the people of Venezuela and Colombia. Don't forget that a third of its people have fled the country since Maduro came to power. "He's killed and tortured far more people than Pinochet did in Chile yet the left still love him. | |||
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"Imagine Iran and Venezuela liberated in the same year ! Hopefully New York next.🙏 Why does NY need liberating?" Seriously? Did you not see the new Mayor give a Nazi salute yesterday? 😯 | |||
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"Imagine Iran and Venezuela liberated in the same year ! Hopefully New York next.🙏 Why does NY need liberating? Seriously? Did you not see the new Mayor give a Nazi salute yesterday? 😯" He didn’t give a Nazi salute. A brief look online using a search engine and a follow up search via Chat GPT tells me that there is no evidence that he gave a Nazi salute. | |||
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"The end of Cuban socialism also means the end of a lot of good things in cuba well. " The women will still be hot though. | |||
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"There are conflicting reports. Some of the Venezuelan opposition say that Maduro came to an agreement to leave. But this is contradicted by the US State Department saying that he will "face justice" in the US. So it's looking like the opposition are not telling the truth, plus if it was an agreed stepping down then the F-35 and missile attacks and all those Chinooks wouldn't have been needed. While very few will regret Maduro being removed from power, it's far from clear what the outcome will be other than massive destabilization. Ultimately what is the goal of the US adminitration here? " Agreed.. This as happened in Panama when the USA took Noriega could be a mess for the people of Venezuela in the short term.. To have abducted a person in Maduros position despite his faults has left a vacuum and the current regime still in power.. It doesn't prevent what Trump has been saying are the reasons behind him being taken and if some of those at the top see it as their chance for power then that isn't going to go well for the population.. Seems a bit more about a 'look at me, I'm a strong guy' from Trump .. | |||
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"Agreed.. This as happened in Panama when the USA took Noriega could be a mess for the people of Venezuela in the short term.. To have abducted a person in Maduros position despite his faults has left a vacuum and the current regime still in power.. It doesn't prevent what Trump has been saying are the reasons behind him being taken and if some of those at the top see it as their chance for power then that isn't going to go well for the population.. Seems a bit more about a 'look at me, I'm a strong guy' from Trump .." Yeah, power vacuums can lead to even worse people filling the void. US international stragety has always been something of a joke, but at least in the past there seemed to be some thinking involved - even if I disagreed with that thinking. As well as Trump's ego and good ol' filthy lucre, this seems to have been a pet project of Rubio's for many years - according to a 2020 LaPolitica article... "Senator Marco Rubio is on a winning streak in his relationship with Donald Trump. His most recent achievement is the nomination of his friend Mauricio Claver-Carone to the presidency of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Previously, he was the one who promoted Carlos Trujillo as U.S. ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS). And further back, he ensured that Elliott Abrams was appointed State Department envoy for matters related to Nicolás Maduro. His next objective is undoubtedly the most explosive: to get Donald Trump to approve an invasion of Venezuela before the presidential election. Members of the Republican War Room, convened to manage the Latino vote, have recently commented that, in at least two meetings, Rubio expressed support for military action in South America to secure Florida's votes in the Electoral College in November. That state, traditionally Republican, is now hotly contested by the Democrats, and the senator insists that the invasion guarantees 29 electoral votes. These are crucial votes, especially if the Republicans also lose Texas's 38. Rubio's problem is that his two closest allies with permanent access to the Oval Office, Mike Pence and Mike Pompeo, completely reject the use of force. The Vice President and the Secretary of State rule out invasion, which is why John Bolton had to resign as National Security Advisor." | |||
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"Does it really matter who the POTUS is, once the shit callers decide its in Americas interest to "stabilise" a country and install "democracy" (install US puppet government and secure the oil rights for big US corporations)" To be fair this has been the modus operandi of what ever country has held the biggest stick since time immemorial. This is realpolitik in action. What I don’t get is: why? The US has an ABYSMAL record when it attempts regime change. The last thirty years has shown that trillions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of lives doesn’t make a new country. As far as I can tell all they have done is open up a power vacuum close to their borders. That makes no sense to me. I guess the US must think this time will be different. Good luck with that. | |||
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"I think this will give the Chinese the OK to take control over Taiwan. Lmao at Putin. Pot kettle & black." This… so much for the moral high ground of the US Also it kinda puts the Venezuelan opposition in a spot as even though they legitimately won an election, how do they not be seen as a puppet regime until new elections happen Also … I kinda find it funny that they are charging maduro with drugs and weapons charges when literally 3 weeks ago they pardoned the former Honduran president who was in a us jail, who was doing a 45 year term on drugs and weapons charges!! | |||
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"I think this will give the Chinese the OK to take control over Taiwan. Lmao at Putin. Pot kettle & black. This… so much for the moral high ground of the US Also it kinda puts the Venezuelan opposition in a spot as even though they legitimately won an election, how do they not be seen as a puppet regime until new elections happen Also … I kinda find it funny that they are charging maduro with drugs and weapons charges when literally 3 weeks ago they pardoned the former Honduran president who was in a us jail, who was doing a 45 year term on drugs and weapons charges!!" The laws of the land, the Constitution, morality and integrity only apply when the other lot are in office.. | |||
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"It means their healthcare and education systems, by all metrics, some of the best in the Americas, will be destroyed. Cuban doctors literally go out across the world to give healthcare, they’re that high quality. Cuban life expectancy is the same as the US despite not having even a quarter of their wealth. And that also tells you how bad American healthcare is. " Most of that is just regime propganda. Why do you think so many Cubans left whenever they could, same as Venezuela. They are socialist failed states. | |||
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"Naturally Starmer has been quick to comment on this while saying nothing about Iran. He understands his base if nothing else." What has Starmer said? As far as I was aware he said he knew nothing about it and he didn't want to comment further until he had spoken to Trump. Have I missed something? | |||
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"Does it really matter who the POTUS is, once the shit callers decide its in Americas interest to "stabilise" a country and install "democracy" (install US puppet government and secure the oil rights for big US corporations) To be fair this has been the modus operandi of what ever country has held the biggest stick since time immemorial. This is realpolitik in action. What I don’t get is: why? The US has an ABYSMAL record when it attempts regime change. The last thirty years has shown that trillions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of lives doesn’t make a new country. As far as I can tell all they have done is open up a power vacuum close to their borders. That makes no sense to me. I guess the US must think this time will be different. Good luck with that." Also now they will have alot of Venezuelan refugees coming into America. Hmmmm if the orange arsehole is willing to do this then what does it mean for all it's other neighbours. Don't get me wrong Maduro is a vile human but change had to come from within not outside it's borders. | |||
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"Trump has apparently justified this action by saying that it will save hundreds of thousands of US citizens from dying from imported drugs. At least that figure is more believable than US Attorney General Pam Bondi's claim that Trump's war on drugs has saved the lives of 258 million US citizens. The entire population of the US is about 342 million so Trump has apparently saved 75% of the population. What a hero he is. It must be quite difficult to find people as stupid and as sycophantic as Bondi but Trump managed to fill an entire cabinet with them." The king of hyperbole surrounds himself with similar sounding buffoons. | |||
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"Naturally Starmer has been quick to comment on this while saying nothing about Iran. He understands his base if nothing else. What has Starmer said? As far as I was aware he said he knew nothing about it and he didn't want to comment further until he had spoken to Trump. Have I missed something?" He says the UK had no involvement in this. | |||
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"Trump has apparently justified this action by saying that it will save hundreds of thousands of US citizens from dying from imported drugs. At least that figure is more believable than US Attorney General Pam Bondi's claim that Trump's war on drugs has saved the lives of 258 million US citizens. The entire population of the US is about 342 million so Trump has apparently saved 75% of the population. What a hero he is. It must be quite difficult to find people as stupid and as sycophantic as Bondi but Trump managed to fill an entire cabinet with them." The interesting thing is that in the initial charging sheet.. they don’t mention fentanyl at all… it’s apparently been all about cocaine after all! So if it was all about cocaine why did his pardon the Honduran president? Trump has let the game slip in his Fox News interview this morning.. he said the us wants a heavy involvement in Venezuelas oil industry | |||
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"Naturally Starmer has been quick to comment on this while saying nothing about Iran. He understands his base if nothing else. What has Starmer said? As far as I was aware he said he knew nothing about it and he didn't want to comment further until he had spoken to Trump. Have I missed something? He says the UK had no involvement in this. " Which is what I thought. Seems like a reasonable thing to say if it is true. | |||
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" Trump has let the game slip in his Fox News interview this morning.. he said the us wants a heavy involvement in Venezuelas oil industry " So like every other President ever he's using foreign policy and military strength in US interests, but unlike Obama and Biden he actually seems to be making a success of it. | |||
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"The interesting thing is that in the initial charging sheet.. they don’t mention fentanyl at all… it’s apparently been all about cocaine after all! So if it was all about cocaine why did his pardon the Honduran president? Trump has let the game slip in his Fox News interview this morning.. he said the us wants a heavy involvement in Venezuelas oil industry" I think it's pretty obvious that this has nothing to do with drugs or supporting democracy. | |||
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"The interesting thing is that in the initial charging sheet.. they don’t mention fentanyl at all… it’s apparently been all about cocaine after all! So if it was all about cocaine why did his pardon the Honduran president? Trump has let the game slip in his Fox News interview this morning.. he said the us wants a heavy involvement in Venezuelas oil industry I think it's pretty obvious that this has nothing to do with drugs or supporting democracy." Everyone seems to have an opinion as to what all this means but it would seem that literally no one outside the US administration has any idea about what happens next inside Venezuela. At the moment every indication is that the US doesn’t appear to have a plan for what happens next in Venezuela. Historically when leaderships change and there is no successor then that leads to a power vacuum and chaos. In a country that is riven by narco cartels then it would seem a distinct possibility they will take advantage of that chaos. I don’t see how anyone can be making statements about what this is all about unless you are able to show what the next day plan is. I won’t hold my breath. | |||
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"Everyone seems to have an opinion as to what all this means but it would seem that literally no one outside the US administration has any idea about what happens next inside Venezuela. At the moment every indication is that the US doesn’t appear to have a plan for what happens next in Venezuela. Historically when leaderships change and there is no successor then that leads to a power vacuum and chaos. In a country that is riven by narco cartels then it would seem a distinct possibility they will take advantage of that chaos. I don’t see how anyone can be making statements about what this is all about unless you are able to show what the next day plan is. I won’t hold my breath." I'm not sure that the Trump administration is sophisticated enough to plan ahead. Everything seems driven by Trump's ego, the musings of a few fascist nutjobs and a general desire to make as much money as possible as quickly as possible before everything collapses. AFAIK most of the cocaine comes from Columbia, Bolivia and Peru rather than Venezuela. And cocaine doesn't kill many people. Fentanyl kills tens of thousand but it's coming from Mexico, China and India not Venezula. | |||
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"I think this will give the Chinese the OK to take control over Taiwan. Lmao at Putin. Pot kettle & black. This… so much for the moral high ground of the US Also it kinda puts the Venezuelan opposition in a spot as even though they legitimately won an election, how do they not be seen as a puppet regime until new elections happen Also … I kinda find it funny that they are charging maduro with drugs and weapons charges when literally 3 weeks ago they pardoned the former Honduran president who was in a us jail, who was doing a 45 year term on drugs and weapons charges!!" Since when has the US ever had a moral high ground? | |||
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"Trump has apparently justified this action by saying that it will save hundreds of thousands of US citizens from dying from imported drugs. At least that figure is more believable than US Attorney General Pam Bondi's claim that Trump's war on drugs has saved the lives of 258 million US citizens. The entire population of the US is about 342 million so Trump has apparently saved 75% of the population. What a hero he is. It must be quite difficult to find people as stupid and as sycophantic as Bondi but Trump managed to fill an entire cabinet with them." Surely there's not that many crack heads over there | |||
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"If the attack on Venezuela succeeds and stops the flow of drugs into the US (at least from that direction) surely the druggies will source their product from elsewhere or swap to another drug of choice. I can't see today's visual extravaganza having much effect on the original problem but it does serve as a wonderful distraction and shows the world what a macho guy the Mango Mussolini really is." What drugs come from Venezuela to the US and in what quantity? Has Trump taken over Venezuela because of a drug problem? I wonder if he realises that Venezuela has lots of oil (lots and lots) - hopefully not, as otherwise he might take control of that as well as sorting out the perceived drug problem .. | |||
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"Does it really matter who the POTUS is, once the shit callers decide its in Americas interest to "stabilise" a country and install "democracy" (install US puppet government and secure the oil rights for big US corporations) To be fair this has been the modus operandi of what ever country has held the biggest stick since time immemorial. This is realpolitik in action. What I don’t get is: why? The US has an ABYSMAL record when it attempts regime change. The last thirty years has shown that trillions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of lives doesn’t make a new country. As far as I can tell all they have done is open up a power vacuum close to their borders. That makes no sense to me. I guess the US must think this time will be different. Good luck with that. Also now they will have alot of Venezuelan refugees coming into America. Hmmmm if the orange arsehole is willing to do this then what does it mean for all it's other neighbours. Don't get me wrong Maduro is a vile human but change had to come from within not outside it's borders. " Nonsense most of those who wanted to leave Venezuela left when Maduro rigged the election result and before that when Chavez came to power. About a third of its 25m population by most estimates. Colombia is hoping that with the overthrow of Maduro the 3m Venezuelans they are hosting will return. A Brit friend of mine (born and bred in Mexico) is married to a Colombian from Cucuti (look it up) and they are celebrating today as are the owners of the Venezuelan tapas bar near our place in Almeria; there's an estimated 0.5m Venezuelans living in Spain. Of course there's uncertainty but at least now there's hope. | |||
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"Looks like Trump has just put the US on the hook to own whatever happens in Venezuela. Apparently they are going to "run" the place. Guess that will need a full invasion?" Depends on how much opposition they receive from the Venezuelans. I don't think there will be much opposition at least for the first few days as many seem to be happy that Maduro is gone. A lot depends on how long this "transition" is going to take place. | |||
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"Looks like Trump has just put the US on the hook to own whatever happens in Venezuela. Apparently they are going to "run" the place. Guess that will need a full invasion? Depends on how much opposition they receive from the Venezuelans. I don't think there will be much opposition at least for the first few days as many seem to be happy that Maduro is gone. A lot depends on how long this "transition" is going to take place. " I guess they didn’t have much opposition at the start in Iraq and Afghanistan so that bodes well | |||
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"Looks like Trump has just put the US on the hook to own whatever happens in Venezuela. Apparently they are going to "run" the place. Guess that will need a full invasion? Depends on how much opposition they receive from the Venezuelans. I don't think there will be much opposition at least for the first few days as many seem to be happy that Maduro is gone. A lot depends on how long this "transition" is going to take place. I guess they didn’t have much opposition at the start in Iraq and Afghanistan so that bodes well "Yeah they don't really have a good track record sticking to the promise when it comes to these "transitions"  | |||
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"Looks like Trump has just put the US on the hook to own whatever happens in Venezuela. Apparently they are going to "run" the place. Guess that will need a full invasion? Depends on how much opposition they receive from the Venezuelans. I don't think there will be much opposition at least for the first few days as many seem to be happy that Maduro is gone. A lot depends on how long this "transition" is going to take place. I guess they didn’t have much opposition at the start in Iraq and Afghanistan so that bodes well "I think the presence of violent religious fanatics in those countries may have been the most serious issue. | |||
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"So let's get this right. President Trump orders the seizure of an unpopular political leader from another country to take back to the US. More evidence that we are no longer at the top of the list for preferential treatment. " 🤣🤣🤣🤣 | |||
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"Looks like Trump has just put the US on the hook to own whatever happens in Venezuela. Apparently they are going to "run" the place. Guess that will need a full invasion? Depends on how much opposition they receive from the Venezuelans. I don't think there will be much opposition at least for the first few days as many seem to be happy that Maduro is gone. A lot depends on how long this "transition" is going to take place. I guess they didn’t have much opposition at the start in Iraq and Afghanistan so that bodes well
I think the presence of violent religious fanatics in those countries may have been the most serious issue."Vietnam didn’t have religious fanatics and that ended ignominiously. The issue is that countries generally have people who don’t want an invader there. It doesn’t take many to wage a guerrilla war and the US demonstrated capability of dealing with guerilla warfare is beyond laughable. | |||
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look like a new low in regional strategies.. | |||
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"Greenland next?" Rubio more or less said that Cuba was next. | |||
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"This latest gem from the resident of the White House in saying 'we will run Venezuela' after abducting Maduro with the same regime in place makes there being no transition plan for when Iraq fell (even with the classic stupidity of bombing the irrigation ministry and leaving the oil ministry untouched look like a new low in regional strategies.."Dismissing all existing regime officials was probably the most catastrophic error of the Iraq invasion. Keeping Maduro people in place to stop Venezuela descending into chaos while fresh elections can be organised seems hugely sensible and responsible. | |||
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"This latest gem from the resident of the White House in saying 'we will run Venezuela' after abducting Maduro with the same regime in place makes there being no transition plan for when Iraq fell (even with the classic stupidity of bombing the irrigation ministry and leaving the oil ministry untouched look like a new low in regional strategies..
Dismissing all existing regime officials was probably the most catastrophic error of the Iraq invasion. Keeping Maduro people in place to stop Venezuela descending into chaos while fresh elections can be organised seems hugely sensible and responsible."So no need for the Nobel peace prize winner and the losing opposition party in 2024 to stand for election then? | |||
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"Greenland next?" I think this has just become a lot more likely. The security strategy that was released last year was very heavy on hemisphere security. Trump mentioned security buffers in that press conference. That will be the same excuse used to take over Greenland. They have already pushed that line in the past. | |||
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"Dismissing all existing regime officials was probably the most catastrophic error of the Iraq invasion. Keeping Maduro people in place to stop Venezuela descending into chaos while fresh elections can be organised seems hugely sensible and responsible." Awww, you sweet innocent little thing. You actually believe this is about democracy rather than oil. | |||
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"Dismissing all existing regime officials was probably the most catastrophic error of the Iraq invasion. Keeping Maduro people in place to stop Venezuela descending into chaos while fresh elections can be organised seems hugely sensible and responsible. Awww, you sweet innocent little thing. You actually believe this is about democracy rather than oil." Possibly you could discuss the issue at hand without personal abuse ? | |||
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"Dismissing all existing regime officials was probably the most catastrophic error of the Iraq invasion. Keeping Maduro people in place to stop Venezuela descending into chaos while fresh elections can be organised seems hugely sensible and responsible. Awww, you sweet innocent little thing. You actually believe this is about democracy rather than oil." How do you see this as an oil grab and what is the expected outcome from such a move? | |||
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"Dismissing all existing regime officials was probably the most catastrophic error of the Iraq invasion. Keeping Maduro people in place to stop Venezuela descending into chaos while fresh elections can be organised seems hugely sensible and responsible. Awww, you sweet innocent little thing. You actually believe this is about democracy rather than oil. How do you see this as an oil grab and what is the expected outcome from such a move? " It's quite the opposite of an oil grab, It will be the returning of assets to Shell, ConnocoPhilips and Exxon who were removed from Venezuela and all assets siezed. Only Chevron was allowed to remain When Shell, ConnocoPhilips and Exxon were removed from Venezuela and all assets siezed these companies had huge asset loss after getting production flowing. People have very short memories | |||
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"Dismissing all existing regime officials was probably the most catastrophic error of the Iraq invasion. Keeping Maduro people in place to stop Venezuela descending into chaos while fresh elections can be organised seems hugely sensible and responsible. Awww, you sweet innocent little thing. You actually believe this is about democracy rather than oil. How do you see this as an oil grab and what is the expected outcome from such a move? It's quite the opposite of an oil grab, It will be the returning of assets to Shell, ConnocoPhilips and Exxon who were removed from Venezuela and all assets siezed. Only Chevron was allowed to remain When Shell, ConnocoPhilips and Exxon were removed from Venezuela and all assets siezed these companies had huge asset loss after getting production flowing. People have very short memories " Excellent point. The Chavez takeover of private assets is what led directly to Venezuela's disastrous economy as his cronies were totally unfit and unable to operate the industry, despite the unearned gift of huge oil deposits. They did of course enrich themselves though. | |||
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"Really interested in how the US plans to actually take control. What does that mean? Are they expecting the opposition to step up and take over or will the US need to put military on the ground and put in US “governors”? This has to happen quickly doesn’t it?" It does yes, one might have expected details if there was a plan in place pre arranged etc.. The longer its vague and lacking in detail isn't good, the briefing was big on how complicated and successful the abduction was but very sparse on what next, whom etc.. | |||
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"Dismissing all existing regime officials was probably the most catastrophic error of the Iraq invasion. Keeping Maduro people in place to stop Venezuela descending into chaos while fresh elections can be organised seems hugely sensible and responsible. Awww, you sweet innocent little thing. You actually believe this is about democracy rather than oil. How do you see this as an oil grab and what is the expected outcome from such a move? It's quite the opposite of an oil grab, It will be the returning of assets to Shell, ConnocoPhilips and Exxon who were removed from Venezuela and all assets siezed. Only Chevron was allowed to remain When Shell, ConnocoPhilips and Exxon were removed from Venezuela and all assets siezed these companies had huge asset loss after getting production flowing. People have very short memories " It is an oil grab in the minds of some people and that is what I want to understand. | |||
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"It sounded good. But short on details that matter. He doesn't think the democratically elected candidate has the required respect of the country? So, Trumps plan is....leave Manduro's deputy in control. ....and it's not about oil?" Basically some kind of suzerainty? That could actually work if the threat of death/replacement was sufficiently high on whomever was left in charge. The mongols used to do something similar. Trump probably is the only person who could get away with it due to his extreme unpredictability. As soon as he went then the fear of the vassal would lapse. | |||
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"How do you see this as an oil grab..." Because I watched the press conference where Trump said this was what it was. "...and what is the expected outcome from such a move?" I have no idea what the political outcome will be as it seems to be an open-ended situation with no plan for anything other than extracting oil. | |||
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"How do you see this as an oil grab... Because I watched the press conference where Trump said this was what it was. ...and what is the expected outcome from such a move? I have no idea what the political outcome will be as it seems to be an open-ended situation with no plan for anything other than extracting oil. " Extracting oil and doing what with it? I'm curios why people are thinking Trump has some kind of evil oil plan. He was clear what the plan is and it benefits all parties especially the country of Venezuela. | |||
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"How do you see this as an oil grab... Because I watched the press conference where Trump said this was what it was. ...and what is the expected outcome from such a move? I have no idea what the political outcome will be as it seems to be an open-ended situation with no plan for anything other than extracting oil. " I think there is a strategy of sorts but it is conflating multiple things. 1. Oil is a big thing. He wants to turn the nationalisation over and get billions for US oil companies. This is an extension of tariffs and his belief that mercantilism works. 2. He has been consistent on drugs and crime. The whole Fentanyl thing with Canada and Mexico at the start of his presidency. Same with rounding gang members and sending them overseas. Blowing up those speedboats over the past few weeks is amother example. 3. He is worried about hemisphere security. He wants to surround himself with buffer states. Greenland and Canada to the North. Venezuela is one of those in the south. Expect pressure on Mexico, Colombia etc. I think he sees himself as safeguarding the US and basically moving back to the historic isolationist world view that the US used to have. Whether that is viable is a different question but I think these are the drivers that tend to explain his actions. | |||
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"How do you see this as an oil grab... Because I watched the press conference where Trump said this was what it was. ...and what is the expected outcome from such a move? I have no idea what the political outcome will be as it seems to be an open-ended situation with no plan for anything other than extracting oil. I think there is a strategy of sorts but it is conflating multiple things. 1. Oil is a big thing. He wants to turn the nationalisation over and get billions for US oil companies. This is an extension of tariffs and his belief that mercantilism works. 2. He has been consistent on drugs and crime. The whole Fentanyl thing with Canada and Mexico at the start of his presidency. Same with rounding gang members and sending them overseas. Blowing up those speedboats over the past few weeks is amother example. 3. He is worried about hemisphere security. He wants to surround himself with buffer states. Greenland and Canada to the North. Venezuela is one of those in the south. Expect pressure on Mexico, Colombia etc. I think he sees himself as safeguarding the US and basically moving back to the historic isolationist world view that the US used to have. Whether that is viable is a different question but I think these are the drivers that tend to explain his actions." I agree, in terms of the US looking closer to home for self sufficiency. From the start of this term he was clear that Europe was of little interest and it was the East that gave him more worry. The Americas have great potential but pull in many different directions, if the US could stabilise this and bring resource benefits amongst their neighbours it would be a huge shift. | |||
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"How do you see this as an oil grab... Because I watched the press conference where Trump said this was what it was. ...and what is the expected outcome from such a move? I have no idea what the political outcome will be as it seems to be an open-ended situation with no plan for anything other than extracting oil. I think there is a strategy of sorts but it is conflating multiple things. 1. Oil is a big thing. He wants to turn the nationalisation over and get billions for US oil companies. This is an extension of tariffs and his belief that mercantilism works. 2. He has been consistent on drugs and crime. The whole Fentanyl thing with Canada and Mexico at the start of his presidency. Same with rounding gang members and sending them overseas. Blowing up those speedboats over the past few weeks is amother example. 3. He is worried about hemisphere security. He wants to surround himself with buffer states. Greenland and Canada to the North. Venezuela is one of those in the south. Expect pressure on Mexico, Colombia etc. I think he sees himself as safeguarding the US and basically moving back to the historic isolationist world view that the US used to have. Whether that is viable is a different question but I think these are the drivers that tend to explain his actions." Very well explained. | |||
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"This latest gem from the resident of the White House in saying 'we will run Venezuela' after abducting Maduro with the same regime in place makes there being no transition plan for when Iraq fell (even with the classic stupidity of bombing the irrigation ministry and leaving the oil ministry untouched look like a new low in regional strategies..
Dismissing all existing regime officials was probably the most catastrophic error of the Iraq invasion. Keeping Maduro people in place to stop Venezuela descending into chaos while fresh elections can be organised seems hugely sensible and responsible.
So no need for the Nobel peace prize winner and the losing opposition party in 2024 to stand for election then? "Well I imagine she'll be allowed back in the country at least which will be an improvement on present situation. | |||
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"How do you see this as an oil grab... Because I watched the press conference where Trump said this was what it was. ...and what is the expected outcome from such a move? I have no idea what the political outcome will be as it seems to be an open-ended situation with no plan for anything other than extracting oil. Extracting oil and doing what with it? I'm curios why people are thinking Trump has some kind of evil oil plan. He was clear what the plan is and it benefits all parties especially the country of Venezuela. " Well when asked a few weeks ago what the us intended to do with the oil on the tankers they seized, trump’s answer was “sell it” So unless that has now changed.. I think we know If Trump was truely interested in democratic change, you think their administration would have reached out to the opposition to see what they could do, but according to their spokesperson they haven’t I don’t see how they think they can “run”Venezuela without us boots on the ground, or a regime now willing to do their bidding | |||
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"How do you see this as an oil grab... Because I watched the press conference where Trump said this was what it was. ...and what is the expected outcome from such a move? I have no idea what the political outcome will be as it seems to be an open-ended situation with no plan for anything other than extracting oil. Extracting oil and doing what with it? I'm curios why people are thinking Trump has some kind of evil oil plan. He was clear what the plan is and it benefits all parties especially the country of Venezuela. Well when asked a few weeks ago what the us intended to do with the oil on the tankers they seized, trump’s answer was “sell it” So unless that has now changed.. I think we know If Trump was truely interested in democratic change, you think their administration would have reached out to the opposition to see what they could do, but according to their spokesperson they haven’t I don’t see how they think they can “run”Venezuela without us boots on the ground, or a regime now willing to do their bidding " Trump says a lot, and a lot is from the hip. Running Venezuela, is probably a fine example of that. | |||
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"This latest gem from the resident of the White House in saying 'we will run Venezuela' after abducting Maduro with the same regime in place makes there being no transition plan for when Iraq fell (even with the classic stupidity of bombing the irrigation ministry and leaving the oil ministry untouched look like a new low in regional strategies..
Dismissing all existing regime officials was probably the most catastrophic error of the Iraq invasion. Keeping Maduro people in place to stop Venezuela descending into chaos while fresh elections can be organised seems hugely sensible and responsible.
So no need for the Nobel peace prize winner and the losing opposition party in 2024 to stand for election then?
Well I imagine she'll be allowed back in the country at least which will be an improvement on present situation."Trump has already said fairly strongly she isn't in the running, she was never going to be to be honest.. She's not a puppet.. In time she might be but not at present.. | |||
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"I think there is a strategy of sorts but it is conflating multiple things. 1. Oil is a big thing. He wants to turn the nationalisation over and get billions for US oil companies. This is an extension of tariffs and his belief that mercantilism works. 2. He has been consistent on drugs and crime. The whole Fentanyl thing with Canada and Mexico at the start of his presidency. Same with rounding gang members and sending them overseas. Blowing up those speedboats over the past few weeks is amother example. 3. He is worried about hemisphere security. He wants to surround himself with buffer states. Greenland and Canada to the North. Venezuela is one of those in the south. Expect pressure on Mexico, Colombia etc. I think he sees himself as safeguarding the US and basically moving back to the historic isolationist world view that the US used to have. Whether that is viable is a different question but I think these are the drivers that tend to explain his actions." 1. The nationalisation happened nearly two decades ago. I agree he wants to extract billions for the US oil companies as he was quite explicit about this. I don't understanded how this relates to tarrifs. 2. There is no real connection between drugs and the US running Venezuela. 3. The 2025 National Security Strategy document tells us pretty much everything about current US foreign policy - the Western Hemisphere belongs to the US, Europe is the new enemy, China needs to be kept in check, Putin can do whatever he likes and nothing else matters. | |||
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"I think there is a strategy of sorts but it is conflating multiple things. 1. Oil is a big thing. He wants to turn the nationalisation over and get billions for US oil companies. This is an extension of tariffs and his belief that mercantilism works. 2. He has been consistent on drugs and crime. The whole Fentanyl thing with Canada and Mexico at the start of his presidency. Same with rounding gang members and sending them overseas. Blowing up those speedboats over the past few weeks is amother example. 3. He is worried about hemisphere security. He wants to surround himself with buffer states. Greenland and Canada to the North. Venezuela is one of those in the south. Expect pressure on Mexico, Colombia etc. I think he sees himself as safeguarding the US and basically moving back to the historic isolationist world view that the US used to have. Whether that is viable is a different question but I think these are the drivers that tend to explain his actions. 1. The nationalisation happened nearly two decades ago. I agree he wants to extract billions for the US oil companies as he was quite explicit about this. I don't understanded how this relates to tarrifs. 2. There is no real connection between drugs and the US running Venezuela. 3. The 2025 National Security Strategy document tells us pretty much everything about current US foreign policy - the Western Hemisphere belongs to the US, Europe is the new enemy, China needs to be kept in check, Putin can do whatever he likes and nothing else matters." I am not defending Trump at all. Just trying to explain how I decode his actions. That doesn’t mean I agree with them. It’s the arc through which I think his presidency should be viewed if you are looking to see where he goes. 1 Tariffs and oil extraction are cut from the same cloth in so far as he thinks the US deserves more from people. It’s money and that’s all he wants. 2. He thinks Maduro is running a drug cartel. Whether he is or not I have no idea. This ties in with Trumps view that the US is a criminal cesspit that is being preyed on by others. Maduro is suspect no1 here. He is not being consistent here given he pardoned Hernandez last year but this is Trump. 3. He hasn’t any viable plans as to how he runs the place but then that’s no different to anywhere else the US has shock and awed their way into over the past three decades. | |||
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"This will likely strengthen Maduro as bombing a country's capital tends not to make the citizens of that country think favourably of the perpetrator. More people will now view Machado's sucking up to Trump as a sign of her being a traitor and a US puppet." You clearly don't know a lot about Maduro or the Venezuelan people. Most Venezuelans, both at home and ex-pats, have been HOPING and PRAYING for this exact thing to happen. For YEARS. Also, for everyone going, "err mur guurd, Trump just wants the oil!!1!" And? Just where and to whom do y'all think the Venezuelan oil is going currently? And has been for the last 26 years? Better it goes to the USA and Venezuela can actually prosper from it. Derp. | |||
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"Also, for everyone going, "err mur guurd, Trump just wants the oil!!1!" And? Just where and to whom do y'all think the Venezuelan oil is going currently? And has been for the last 26 years? Better it goes to the USA and Venezuela can actually prosper from it. Derp." TDS would point to a bank account in Florida | |||
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"You clearly don't know a lot about Maduro or the Venezuelan people. Most Venezuelans, both at home and ex-pats, have been HOPING and PRAYING for this exact thing to happen. For YEARS. Also, for everyone going, "err mur guurd, Trump just wants the oil!!1!" And? Just where and to whom do y'all think the Venezuelan oil is going currently? And has been for the last 26 years? Better it goes to the USA and Venezuela can actually prosper from it. Derp." I posted early on in this thread that Maduro's rule is not legitimate and later that very few people will miss him. I think the guy is a monster and believe that most Venezuelans would be happy to see the end of the regime. But the US action has simply removed Maduro and his wife, leaving the rest of the regime in charge. In the press conference Trump talked a lot about oil but his only concrete mention of democracy was in dismissng Machado saying ""I think it'd be very tough for her to be the leader, she doesn't have the support... She doesn't have the respect". Gonzalez wasn't given any support either. Trump doesn't care about democracy or the Venezuelan people he cares about power and money. And AFAIK most Venezuelan oil is exported to China. | |||
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"This will likely strengthen Maduro as bombing a country's capital tends not to make the citizens of that country think favourably of the perpetrator. More people will now view Machado's sucking up to Trump as a sign of her being a traitor and a US puppet. You clearly don't know a lot about Maduro or the Venezuelan people. Most Venezuelans, both at home and ex-pats, have been HOPING and PRAYING for this exact thing to happen. For YEARS. Also, for everyone going, "err mur guurd, Trump just wants the oil!!1!" And? Just where and to whom do y'all think the Venezuelan oil is going currently? And has been for the last 26 years? Better it goes to the USA and Venezuela can actually prosper from it. Derp." I don’t think the Venezuelan people wanted the us government to take over either If the idea was that the opposition would take over then why hasn’t: a) anyone from the us administration talked to them B) Trump started bad mouthing the Nobel peace prize winner on social media Then today trump promised bigger strikes if the new leader doesn’t comply with his demands I don’t think becoming a de facto us Colony was part of their vision | |||
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"I posted early on in this thread that Maduro's rule is not legitimate and later that very few people will miss him. I think the guy is a monster and believe that most Venezuelans would be happy to see the end of the regime." Which seems to contradict somewhat the other thing you said to which I gave a direct reply. Which is why I quoted it. "But the US action has simply removed Maduro and his wife, leaving the rest of the regime in charge." It's an ongoing operation/situation. Maybe let's not try and call the game here when we've barely had time to absorb kick-off, eh? Do you really think the idea from the USA is to just take Maduro and his wife into custody and then wipe their hands and leave VZ to it? C'mon, now. Trump has even stated that a continued US military presence will be required for the transitonary period. This is obviously the case, and always has been. "In the press conference Trump talked a lot about oil..." So? Why wouldn't he? Venezuela has the world's largest known oil reserves, more than anywhere in the Middle-East. The USA put a lot of time, money and resources into having lucrative trade with Venezuela prior to Chavez, only to have it all pulled/st0len. "Trump doesn't care about democracy or the Venezuelan people he cares about power and money." And to quote a Venezuelan on the matter; "motives don't erase outcomes". The Venezuelan people don't care if Trump doesn't care but for the oil... they only care that he's the one who's finally done something about Maduro. "And AFAIK most Venezuelan oil is exported to China." Not to mention Cuba, Columbia, Russia, Iran... etc, etc. Who all have been taking the oil regardless, while Maduro's pockets are lined the people get poorer and hungrier. Rewind 26 years and under the USA oil contracts, y'know, the ones who actually paid for it, the VZ economy was flourishing. | |||
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"I don’t think the Venezuelan people wanted the us government to take over either I don’t think becoming a de facto us Colony was part of their vision" I think it's cute that you feel like you know what the Venezuelan people want better than they do/what they've been saying/begging for years and years. But hey. But in all seriousness. How many Venezuelans have you talked to about this? What have they said to you about how they feel about this situation? As someone who has, I can assure you, they welcome 'daddy Trump' and his military actions with open arms, full of joy and relief. My reply to them will be the same here; getting rid of Maduro is the easy part. Now the hard work of restoring Venezuela to what it once was, and could be again, starts. Hopefully the USA can follow through after a good kick-off. Time will tell. | |||
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"so still just a blatant oil grab then" VERY blatant. So thank God for Trump, and God bless the US of A for their actions, which might finally put a stop to it! | |||
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"so still just a blatant oil grab then" 👏👏👏🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇻🇪🇻🇪🇻🇪 | |||
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"so still just a blatant oil grab then VERY blatant. So thank God for Trump, and God bless the US of A for their actions, which might finally put a stop to it!" you're saying trump might finally put a stop to trump's blatant oil grab ... far out dude | |||
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"you're saying trump might finally put a stop to trump's blatant oil grab ... far out dude" Apologies. I mistook you for someone who knew what they're talking about. Silly me! Don't worry, the cure to ignorance is knowledge. So let the education commence. Question 1: to whom is the oil currently going? And under what circumstances? | |||
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" Don't worry, the cure to ignorance is knowledge." true ... perhaps you should get some ... let your education comence | |||
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"true ... perhaps you should get some ... let your education comence "I'm so sorry, that is the incorrect answer. 
Let's try again. Question 1: to whom is the oil currently going? And under what circumstances? | |||
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"true ... perhaps you should get some ... let your education comence
I'm so sorry, that is the incorrect answer.
"have you considered taking gcse's at night school ... that might help you | |||
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"have you considered taking gcse's at night school ... that might help you "Ouch. Now THAT is a devastating response. I think it's what the kids like to call, a "sick burn" or something. Something about me needing a topical oitment? I dunno. Anyway, I'm not sure how I can recover from such a scathing blow, but I'll try, okay? And hey, if you were at all worried about your replies coming across as childish in any way, shape or form, for whatever reason, I'm sure they're not and you're doing fine. M'kay? I'm POSITIVE. 
...
So yeah, another wrong answer. I'm so sorry.
Here we go; once more; Question 1: to whom is the oil currently going? And under what circumstances? | |||
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"have you considered taking gcse's at night school ... that might help you "Also, you're 55!? Fifty five years old? Holy shit. | |||
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