From: The Progressive
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Politics
WarrenPeace — 2 months ago(January 13, 2026 12:06 AM)
From: The Progressive
It’s not drugs, democracy, or even oil. It’s power.
By Stephen Zunes January 6, 2026 6:20 PM
The U.S. attack on Venezuela resulted from having an incredibly corrupt and autocratic-minded President using his office to enrich himself and his supporters, deploying the country’s armed forces against his own citizens, abusing the justice system to punish political opponents, and manipulating the electoral process to try to stay in power.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has engaged in similar behavior as well.
While there is no denying Maduro’s authoritarian rule, mismanagement, and corruption, that is not why the United States invaded. President Donald Trump acknowledged that a key American goal was to regain control of Venezuelan oil, the largest known reserves in the world, saying, “We’re going to rebuild the oil infrastructure.” While acknowledging that it would require billions of dollars in investment by U.S. oil companies to do so, he promised, “They will be reimbursed for what they’re doing.” As with many previous U.S. military interventions, it is based on lies.
First of all, Maduro did not steal “our” oil, as Trump and other U.S. officials have alleged. Even putting aside the question as to whether the United States somehow has the right to another country’s natural resources, Venezuela nationalized its oil industry back in the 1970s under the leadership of a pro-U.S. centrist government at a time when dozens of other oil-producing nations were nationalizing their oil companies. Rather than confiscating the companies without compensation, Venezuela agreed to international arbitration and paid billions of dollars to ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, and other U.S. oil companies.
Nor is it because of Maduro’s authoritarianism. The United States remains the world’s biggest diplomatic supporter and arms supplier of dictatorial regimes around the world, many of which are even worse than Venezuela, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Azerbaijan.
Trump’s alleged concern about drug trafficking is also nonsense, particularly in light of his pardon of former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who was found guilty by a U.S. jury of being responsible for supporting the shipment of 400 tons of cocaine into the United States. Hernández, like Maduro, was notoriously corrupt, suppressed pro-democracy protesters, and stole elections, yet the rightwing Central American leader received support from both Republican and Democratic administrations, which have criticized Maduro for similar behavior. Trump has also pardoned and released a significant number of other figures involved in drug trafficking while reducing support for public health responses to drug abuse.
Ironically, Venezuela is not a major player in drug trafficking. Despite administration claims to the contrary, Venezuela plays virtually no role in the manufacturing and smuggling of fentanyl, which largely comes through Mexico. Venezuela ranks well behind other Latin American countries in cocaine production and is not a major transshipment point of the drug to the United States.
Even if the indictment for drug trafficking against Maduro is legitimate, international law does not permit any nation to attack a foreign country and kidnap a criminal suspect. It also raises questions as to why it is that federal courts cannot hold a U.S. President accountable for alleged crimes, but they somehow have the authority to hold foreign presidents accountable for theirs.
Indeed, Maduro’s alleged criminal activities are not really what the U.S. attacks on Venezuela are about: The Trump Administration plans to take control of Venezuela, with Trump insisting “We’re going to stay until such time as a proper transition can take place.” He announced that the United States would “run the country,” that “we’re designating various people” to do so and “we’re going to make sure it’s run properly.”
When asked in a press conference exactly who would be running Venezuela, Trump said the “people that are standing right behind me, we’re going to be running it,” pointing at Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and General Dan “Raizin” Caine, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
But Venezuela still has a functioning government, with its vice president Delcy Rodríguez, who is seen to be more pragmatic and less authoritarian-minded than Maduro but is still a committed socialist and nationalist serving as acting president and apparently unwilling to cave to Trump’s demands. Trump explicitly declared that she could remain in power as long as she “does what we want.” Otherwise, Trump has threatened her and other government ministers, saying that if they defy his demands, “the United States retains all military options . . . . All political and military figures in Venezuela must understand: What happened to Maduro will happen to them.” Referring specifically to Rodríguez, Trump said, “If she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a -
BOSSMAN — 2 months ago(January 13, 2026 10:57 AM)
That's a waste of bandwidth.
Read and appropriate:
https://www.filmboards.com/board/p/22939971/permalink/#p22939971 -
cryptoflovecraft — 2 months ago(January 13, 2026 06:26 PM)
the primary focus of Congressional Democrats appears to be more with Trump’s failure to follow proper Constitutional procedures than his flagrant violation of the U.N. Charter and the brazenly imperialistic nature of the attacks and subsequent threats.
Unless that is also challenged, the threat of further war in Venezuela and beyond will grow.
Bingo! The Dem response to Trump's attack on Venezuela has been half-assed and tepid, to say the least. -
WarrenPeace — 2 months ago(January 13, 2026 07:44 PM)
Why is that?
Do they feel like they can't do anything to him?
They could at least start talking tough though for some reason that is not within career politicians and bureaucrats.
That is why I have mad respect for the Minneapolis Mayor.
Who says what is on his mind, is not afraid to show his anger which includes cursing, and he is one of the few I have ever heard respond to Turd Lump in his own language and ways.
Higher ranked Dems need to start acting like that.
Show some backbone for once against Turd Lump with their words.
Troll the ****er.
"Please vote to preserve the unique character of Warren…" - Robert Duvall -
cryptoflovecraft — 2 months ago(January 14, 2026 03:43 PM)
Why is that?
Do they feel like they can't do anything to him?
They could at least start talking tough though for some reason that is not within career politicians and bureaucrats.
They're politicians and they're afraid to be
too critical
of Trump's actions for fear of offending their wealthy donors which includes the military industrial complex, oil companies and even some of the wealthy Cuban/Venezuelan exile community (most of whom vote Republican but some vote Democrat). Thus, Trump's "greatest offense" was not getting Congressional approval for his attack on Venezuela that ultimately killed over 100 people (many of them civilians).
Higher ranked Dems need to start acting like that.
Show some backbone for once against Turd Lump with their words.
Troll the ****er.
I won't hold my breath waiting for that to happen. AOC, Ilhan Omar and some of the more progressive Democrats will condemn him outright for his warmongering, but the establishment Dems will only feign outrage, and it will be over more trivial matters like the legality of his actions but not the actions themselves. -
Yermom_Is_God — 2 months ago(January 14, 2026 04:00 PM)
AOC, Ilhan Omar and some of the more progressive Democrats
You could have just said "the retards."
"I am Kamala Harris, my pronouns are she and her, and I am a woman sitting at the table wearing a blue suit." -A fucking idiot
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