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

Status
Not open for further replies.
Here's some interesting information...

1. Cocaine: Venezuela as a Transit Hub
Cocaine is the primary drug linked to Venezuela, but it is not produced there in significant quantities. Instead, Venezuela serves as a transit corridor for cocaine produced in neighboring Colombia.
  • Target Market: Analysts state that approximately 90% of cocaine leaving Venezuela is destined for Europe, Africa, and other global markets, where it is more lucrative, rather than the U.S..
  • U.S. Supply Volume: Estimates from late 2025 indicate that less than 10% of the cocaine entering the U.S. travels through Venezuela.
  • Primary U.S. Routes: The vast majority of cocaine (around 74%) reaches the U.S. via the Eastern Pacific and Mexico, almost entirely bypassing Venezuelan territory.

2. Fentanyl: The Mexico Connection
There is no evidence that fentanyl is produced in or trafficked from Venezuela.
  • Source: Fentanyl in the U.S. comes almost exclusively from Mexico, where it is manufactured using precursor chemicals primarily from China and India.
  • Entry Points: Fentanyl is smuggled into the U.S. primarily through legal ports of entry on the southwest land border, with over 96% of seizures occurring there.
  • Discrepancy in Claims: While current U.S. administration rhetoric has linked military strikes in the Caribbean to stopping "boatloads" of fentanyl, the DEA's own 2025 and 2026 assessments do not list Venezuela as a source or transit country for the drug.
 
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.
 

I cannot comment here without getting political. This thread will soon be frozen or removed, but I leave you with these thoughts.

Lives in the Balance by Jackson Browne

I've been waiting for something to happen
For a week or a month or a year
With the blood in the ink of the headlines
And the sound of the crowd in my ear

You might ask what it takes to remember
When you know that you've seen it before
Where a government lies to a people
And a country is drifting to war

There's a shadow on the faces
Of the men who send the guns
To the wars that are fought in places
Where their business interest runs
 
Illegal drug export isn't the only problem. Maduro is the #1 problem.

Venezuela was a thriving, stable country until Maduro bought his way into office in the last election and it's been plummeting toward 3rd-world level ever since. My cousin had a farm there. It was appropriated by Maduro, along with thousands of other farms, and private businesses, factories, services...you name it. The Venezuelan people want Maduro outta there.

In the first video I posted, the reporter said it's believed that Venezuela's military generals contacted US agents to coordinate a coup. He said the generals swore No Resistance so they could get rid of Maduro as peacefully as possible.
 
Murrmurr said:
Illegal drug export isn't the only problem. Maduro is the #1 problem.

Venezuela was a thriving, stable country until Maduro bought his way into office in the last election and it's been plummeting toward 3rd-world level ever since. My cousin had a farm there. It was appropriated by Maduro, along with thousands of other farms, and private businesses, factories, services...you name it. The Venezuelan people want Maduro outta there.

In the first video I posted, the reporter said it's believed that Venezuela's military generals contacted US agents to coordinate a coup. He said the generals swore No Resistance so they could get rid of Maduro as peacefully as possible.
Click to expand...
A lot of Americans would love to see various US political leaders ousted. Does that mean it'd be ok for China, Russia or other countries to kidnap and remove them?
 
Last edited:
I'm going to wait until the results of this action are known. Speculation is nice but concrete facts as to what happens in the long run suit me more.

I'm surprised that no one picked up on the fact that this operation was done in 30 minutes. That no info leaks were done to prevent this from taking place.

One of these situation where wait & see what's next is my only option.
 
For a number of years I worked with a lovely young lady who came from Venezuela as a teenager, along with most of her family. I'm thinking about reaching out to her to see if she has any remaining family there, and if they are okay. Of maybe it would just upset her. I dunno.
 
Buckeye said:
For a number of years I worked with a lovely young lady who came from Venezuela as a teenager, along with most of her family. I'm thinking about reaching out to her to see if she has any remaining family there, and if they are okay. Of maybe it would just upset her. I dunno.
Click to expand...
It looks like the US is bombing very specific targets, all military. The US has no beef with the Venezuelans whatsoever, and I don't doubt we've already coordinated aid if the people need it, and probably refugee status as well.

Like I said, my cousin has a farm there. I lived there with him for several months a couple decades ago. It was beautiful. His whole life was beautiful up until Maduro happened.
 
We had neighbors from Venezuela and they were different in the way they lived. They used to jump into the big garbage bins and look for items, the father and young sons. I didn't talk to them but heard them talk in their native language. We lived in an apartment complex at the time. They finally moved back to Venezuela. This was in the mid 90's here in Florida.
 
Trade said:
Another war for oil. :mad:
Click to expand...
We have oil. We have friends with oil. It isn't about oil.

Although U.S. companies developed Venezuelan oil fields until the country nationalized its reserves in the 1970s, which led to the expropriation of foreign oil assets, including those owned by American firms, this isn't retribution for what happened 50 years ago. And we're passed using it as leverage.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Back
Top