American airstrikes on Venezuela, with Chinooks possibly flying in US military personnel.

DaveA said:
The timing is perfect in one sense. It moves our minds and concentration away from the Epstein Papers which much of the country has been eagerly awaiting. Coincidence ?
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Maybe it moves your mind away but I'm not part of the "our" that cares what took place years ago with those associated with Epstein. Whatever was going on then didn't affect me & it sure as hell doesn't affect me now.

But if it makes you happy to toss that in a discussion about Maduro maybe you can explain how that impacted your daily life.
 
RambleTamble said:
We're taking over Venezuela's oil!

1. Direct Control and Rebuilding
President Trump confirmed that the U.S. intends to "run the country" until a transition occurs and that American companies will lead the efforts to repair Venezuela's dilapidated energy infrastructure.
  • Commercial Involvement: Trump highlighted that the U.S. has "the greatest oil companies in the world" and expects them to be "heavily involved" in rebuilding the sector and "making money for the country".
  • Infrastructure Repair: Large U.S. companies are expected to spend billions to fix the infrastructure, which has been "a bust" under Maduro.

2. "Return" of Assets
A central justification used by the administration is that Venezuelan oil and land were "stolen" through nationalization during the Chavez and Maduro eras.
  • Asset Reclamation: Vice President JD Vance stated that a primary goal of the operation was ensuring that "stolen oil must be returned to the United States".
  • Ownership Claims: Top adviser Stephen Miller recently claimed that because the U.S. "created the oil industry in Venezuela" in the early 1900s, the resources should belong to the U.S..

3. Diplomatic and Economic Strategy
Leading up to the January 3 capture, the administration actively cleared the way for U.S. oil industry dominance:
  • Revoking Competitors: Earlier in 2025, the administration revoked the licenses of most international oil companies, leaving Chevron as the only major U.S. player operating there before the strike.
  • Ending Negotiations: In late 2025, Trump ordered an end to all diplomatic outreach aimed at negotiating oil access with Maduro, opting instead for military removal to secure those same resources.
  • Exclusion of Adversaries: When asked about China's interests in Venezuelan oil, Trump responded that while "they're going to get oil," the U.S. will not "take a chance... of letting somebody else take over" the country's resources.
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Murrmurr said:
This is partly why the US will "control" Venezuela until they establish a new gov't. Far more pressing is that the CCP, Putin, and probably Iraq would love to inject their influence.
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There is a lot of conjecture floating around. The original indictment of Maduro was in March 2020, and no furter action taken. Sounds like the indictment was just window dressing. Now that the indictment leading to an arrest if you call it that is stiring up finger pointing and uninformed guessing.

Why don't we let this play out. I don't disagree that oil and drug activity both play a part in this current action. I tend to think that if the US had not stepped in now we would see a concerted effort by China or Russia or both to have worked covertly for their own purposes as well as hurting US interests in any way possible. I only hope that the information we do see isn't more of the tripe we have been force fed for years.

Seems all points of view stem from wanting something to be done. By the way I'm quite certain that the elete force that carried out this mission did not use slow, noisy, and clumsy Chinooks. That's my thought for free probably not worth any more than I charge for it.
 
Knight said:
Maybe it moves your mind away but I'm not part of the "our" that cares what took place years ago with those associated with Epstein. Whatever was going on then didn't affect me & it sure as hell doesn't affect me now.

But if it makes you happy to toss that in a discussion about Maduro maybe you can explain how that impacted your daily life.
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None of the above affects my daily life in any way apart from slightly disturbing me..
..
 
Rider77 said:
.... By the way I'm quite certain that the elete force that carried out this mission did not use slow, noisy, and clumsy Chinooks. That's my thought for free probably not worth any more than I charge for it.
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Many Venezuelans filmed the Chinooks.

The recordings are posted on YouTube, among several other sites, and were shown on TV news.
 
what a fffffffffffffffffffff...................mess us humans are getting ourselves into - if this WAS a God experiment it seems to have all gone wrong??
 
Regardless of the motive for this (and I refuse to believe it was truly to improve the lives of the Venezuelan people), it will be interesting to see how it all plays out. Some are rejoicing because they have been so oppressed and others are protesting because it could be considered a violation of International Law and if this could happen they are wondering what could be next. Right after this happened, Venezuelans were rushing to stock up on essential goods.

There are also many Maduro supporters still in power and the US has so far refused to support Machado, who actually won 70% of the popular vote during the last election. I'm hoping some good candidates will come forward and the US will support them and clean house in the Maduro regime. Only until this happens will Venezuelans and those around the world truly have reason to celebrate. We've gotten ourselves into something that could take years to correct.
 
smiley said:
what a fffffffffffffffffffff...................mess us humans are getting ourselves into - if this WAS a God experiment it seems to have all gone wrong??
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How can you say that?

How do you know this wasn't planned?

Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”

I'm pretty sure the millions of Venezuelans celebrating have hope.
 
Knight said:
I'm pretty sure the millions of Venezuelans celebrating have hope.
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This will only be a temporary reprieve, unless the Venezualan population sees new money, new jobs and better lives they won't see much difference between the old and new regimes. The temporary relief will turn to resentment quick enough, after all this is about 'running the place' not liberating the populace.
 
No-one should be taking eyes of China at this moment.

A tectonic shift in world superpowers could be just what will cause the third world war.
Mineral resources, technology and banking systems that underpin the economies, industrial might, and military power of dominant countries are in flux, and we ignore these elements at our peril.
 
Been There said:
Notable examples of U.S. presidents involved in unseating foreign leaders include:
  • Dwight D. Eisenhower The CIA, with U.S. approval, orchestrated the 1953 coup that overthrew Iran's democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh to consolidate power with the Shah. A year later, the CIA organized an armed force to oust Guatemalan President Jacobo Arbenz Guzman.

  • John F. Kennedy His administration supported the failed 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion targeting Fidel Castro's government in Cuba. The CIA also funded and encouraged the 1963 coup against, and assassination of, South Vietnam's President Ngo Dinh Diem.

  • Lyndon B. Johnson In 1965, Johnson sent over 22,000 U.S. troops to the Dominican Republic to prevent the return of former President Juan Bosch and a potential communist regime forming in the region.

  • Richard Nixon The Nixon administration actively worked to destabilize and eventually supported the 1973 military coup led by Augusto Pinochet that ousted Chile's socialist President Salvador Allende.

  • Ronald Reagan He ordered the invasion of Grenada in 1983 to overthrow the military government and protect U.S. medical students, an action also aimed at eliminating Soviet and Cuban influence.

  • George H. W. Bush In 1989, he ordered the invasion of Panama (Operation Just Cause) with 24,000 troops to depose dictator Manuel Noriega and bring him to the U.S. to face drug trafficking charges.

  • Bill Clinton He sent U.S. troops to Haiti in 1994 to restore the democratically elected government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide after a military coup.

  • George W. Bush In 2003, his administration launched the invasion of Iraq, which led to the overthrow and eventual execution of Saddam Hussein.

  • Barack Obama The U.S. and its allies conducted months-long airstrikes in Libya in 2011, which contributed to the fall of Moammar Gadhafi's regime and left the nation in political instability.
These examples demonstrate that U.S. involvement in foreign regime change is a recurring aspect of American foreign policy throughout history.
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I had not thought about how many countries trump has bombed in just one year. Eight: Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Palestine, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen. That's quite a record for the "President of Peace." (this was from a cousin of mine.)
 
mrstime said:
I had not thought about how many countries trump has bombed in just one year. Eight: Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Palestine, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen. That's quite a record for the "President of Peace." (this was from a cousin of mine.)
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I don’t think Palestine was bombed.

Donald Trump did not order U.S. bombings of Palestine (Gaza or the West Bank).

What did happen:

  • Israel carried out airstrikes in Gaza during Trump’s presidency.
  • The U.S. supported Israel politically and with military aid, but U.S. forces did not bomb Palestine.
  • Trump did order U.S. airstrikes in other countries (like Syria and Iraq), just not Palestine.
So when people say “Trump bombed Palestine,” that’s not literally true. They’re usually criticizing U.S. support for Israel, not U.S. bombs being dropped there.
 
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Rakaia said:
This will only be a temporary reprieve, unless the Venezualan population sees new money, new jobs and better lives they won't see much difference between the old and new regimes. The temporary relief will turn to resentment quick enough, after all this is about 'running the place' not liberating the populace.
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I'm pretty sure the Venezuelan population is smart enough & understands change will take more than a few weeks.

A little history for you.

America's organization wasn't immediate, taking roughly 12 years (1776-1788) from declaring independence to ratifying the Constitution, but the process involved decades of developing shared governance under the weak Articles of Confederation (1781-1788) before transitioning to the stronger U.S. Constitution, with early efforts starting around the French & Indian War (1754-1763) to manage relations and evolving through revolutionary resistance and war.
 
Rakaia said:
If they get away with this stunt then Greenland is next, then Canada.
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I share mrstime's apprehension. Among the countries the current U.S. administration would like to control, Colombia, Mexico, and Cuba would probably be easier to sell to American public opinion, before an attempted annexation of Canada.

Greenland, being an "autonomous territory of Denmark" (and Denmark being a European NATO member) might be a tougher sell than Spanish-speaking Western Hemisphere countries. On the other hand, probably few North Americans know much about Greenland.

(And please understand, I'm not implying American members of SF support U.S. control of all the foreign countries in the sights of the current administration.)
 
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