Venezuela air attack

Venezuela sells it's oil to China, India and Russia at a discount and they usually pay in gold or some other non dollar way. There is a strong but complex link between oil prices, the petrodollar and the US economy, so part of this move by Trump is probably about forcing Venezuela to sell oil in petrodollars. Selling for gold weakens demand for the U.S. dollar and undermine its status as the global reserve currency which in turn affects it's borrowing capacity. Sorry this is the best way to describe it!

It wasn't for regime change.
It wasn't because of the drugs,
It wasn't for the Venezuelan people.
It was for the oil.

The sanctions in both cases Iran too, has resulted in oppression and poorer standard of living for both populations but has not had one iota of influence on the leadership. They have just made conditions worse and pushed them all closer to China who happily supports them

Just thought Blessed Art hadn’t registered the point you made so astutely yesterday. It does need repeating.

ronib

There has not been a regime change in Venezuela. The ruling party continues under its new president. Bit pointless from one point of view…

I did keep pointing that out yesterday.

There has not been a regime change in Venezuela. The ruling party continues under its new president. Bit pointless from one point of view…

David, TRUMP IS AN OPPRESSOR. He deserves the same fate you would have him bestow upon Maduro and anyone else.

You seem to think that white-majority western nations get to decide when poorer, resource-rich nations require regime changes while maintaining some weirdly hypocritical moral high ground. The rest of the world isn’t buying this imperialist fallacy anymore.

David49

BlessedArt

Re-read what you wrote David!

“It’s policy is not to interfere with domestic issues…”

That’s what nations do when they respect the sovereignty of other nations. Your tune would change if a nation decided that the US and/or the UK needed a new leader and murdered dozens of American or UK citizens to achieve it. Just pure hypocrisy. The US doesn’t have any moral high ground here. None. All the superpowers are as bad as each other. Acknowledging it and defending it or not the same.

The UK supported the sanctions on Venezuela because of human rights abuses are you saying we were wrong.

We have sanctions against Russia would you support removing Putin.

Strange leap in logic there

What does supporting sanctions on Venezuela (which, incidentally. I never have) to do with supporting removing Putin? (Which I don't, unless done internally.)

David49

BlessedArt

@ David,

That old chestnut? The old “us imperialists are grabbing your resources and installing our puppet to better the lives of you poor natives?” spiel doesn’t work for in 2026. The rest of the world is buying that nonsense anymore.

Guess what? Millions of Americans would have healthcare coverage and education assistance if the same happened to Trump as Maduro. And at least half of the US would be happy to see Trump in a dank, dark prison. Find a better story. Venezuelans will find their oil taken, poverty in place, and a much more polluted environment. Chevron literally killed people down there as oil companies often do with their reckless operations. Trump has now invited the rest to do the same. This evil, greedy plot was brought to the oil companies before Congress had a hint. It’s disgusting and condescending to even pretend this will do anything but create more poverty for the average Venezuelan as the American puppets enrich themselves and their US and European masters

Someone will buy Venezuelan oil currently it’s China, does China care what about human rights in any of the countries it trades with. No, its policy is not to interfere with domestic issues, child labour, blood diamonds, ivory, persecution, invading neighbours, sponsoring terrorism, are all supported by Chinas trade.

Before you condem the US consider the alternative.

It's global trade, David. Very few companies are ethical, they buy cheap and sell for as much profit as they can make. Few consumers are ethical, either. So they're content to buy despite the ethics of the country making the goods they buy. There's no place for ethics in a consumer society.

China has significantly raised the standard of living for much of its population though wealth inequalities remain wide.

Chatgtp summary:

In short, China has raised the material standard of living dramatically, but inequality and uneven distribution of wealth continue to challenge the sustainability and inclusiveness of that progress. Policymakers are aware of these issues and have increasingly focused on “common prosperity,” but its long-term impact is still unfolding.
Source :
Marshall Education:
www.marshalledu.com/chinarisinginequality?utm_source=chatgpt.com

BlessedArt

Those sanctimonious sanctions on Venezuela are what is driving the poverty. As I said, no moral high ground.

So you support the alternative to do nothing and accept that oppressors like Putin and Maduro can do what they want.

Those sanctimonious sanctions on Venezuela are what is driving the poverty. As I said, no moral high ground.

BlessedArt

Re-read what you wrote David!

“It’s policy is not to interfere with domestic issues…”

That’s what nations do when they respect the sovereignty of other nations. Your tune would change if a nation decided that the US and/or the UK needed a new leader and murdered dozens of American or UK citizens to achieve it. Just pure hypocrisy. The US doesn’t have any moral high ground here. None. All the superpowers are as bad as each other. Acknowledging it and defending it or not the same.

The UK supported the sanctions on Venezuela because of human rights abuses are you saying we were wrong.

We have sanctions against Russia would you support removing Putin.

*are not the same

Re-read what you wrote David!

“It’s policy is not to interfere with domestic issues…”

That’s what nations do when they respect the sovereignty of other nations. Your tune would change if a nation decided that the US and/or the UK needed a new leader and murdered dozens of American or UK citizens to achieve it. Just pure hypocrisy. The US doesn’t have any moral high ground here. None. All the superpowers are as bad as each other. Acknowledging it and defending it or not the same.

BlessedArt

@ David,

That old chestnut? The old “us imperialists are grabbing your resources and installing our puppet to better the lives of you poor natives?” spiel doesn’t work for in 2026. The rest of the world is buying that nonsense anymore.

Guess what? Millions of Americans would have healthcare coverage and education assistance if the same happened to Trump as Maduro. And at least half of the US would be happy to see Trump in a dank, dark prison. Find a better story. Venezuelans will find their oil taken, poverty in place, and a much more polluted environment. Chevron literally killed people down there as oil companies often do with their reckless operations. Trump has now invited the rest to do the same. This evil, greedy plot was brought to the oil companies before Congress had a hint. It’s disgusting and condescending to even pretend this will do anything but create more poverty for the average Venezuelan as the American puppets enrich themselves and their US and European masters

Someone will buy Venezuelan oil currently it’s China, does China care what about human rights in any of the countries it trades with. No, its policy is not to interfere with domestic issues, child labour, blood diamonds, ivory, persecution, invading neighbours, sponsoring terrorism, are all supported by Chinas trade.

Before you condem the US consider the alternative.

ronib

America might think it’s a super power and perhaps it is, but there are a few problems with the way it approaches its various projects. So what happens if the jury in New York finds the Venezuelan president and his wife not guilty of narcoterrorism plus other charges? Presumably there’s still the concept of proof and evidence in the USA?
Trump seems to have adopted the persona of a pantomime dame…

It’s seems if judges don’t agree with Trump they are penalised

BlessedArt

@ David,

That old chestnut? The old “us imperialists are grabbing your resources and installing our puppet to better the lives of you poor natives?” spiel doesn’t work for in 2026. The rest of the world is buying that nonsense anymore.

Guess what? Millions of Americans would have healthcare coverage and education assistance if the same happened to Trump as Maduro. And at least half of the US would be happy to see Trump in a dank, dark prison. Find a better story. Venezuelans will find their oil taken, poverty in place, and a much more polluted environment. Chevron literally killed people down there as oil companies often do with their reckless operations. Trump has now invited the rest to do the same. This evil, greedy plot was brought to the oil companies before Congress had a hint. It’s disgusting and condescending to even pretend this will do anything but create more poverty for the average Venezuelan as the American puppets enrich themselves and their US and European masters

How I’d love to see Trump locked away somewhere horrible for his remaining life! In my eyes he’s as much (if not more) a criminal as those he purports to accuse.

Furthermore he has pardoned and released some extremely dubious people!

@ David,

That old chestnut? The old “us imperialists are grabbing your resources and installing our puppet to better the lives of you poor natives?” spiel doesn’t work for in 2026. The rest of the world is buying that nonsense anymore.

Guess what? Millions of Americans would have healthcare coverage and education assistance if the same happened to Trump as Maduro. And at least half of the US would be happy to see Trump in a dank, dark prison. Find a better story. Venezuelans will find their oil taken, poverty in place, and a much more polluted environment. Chevron literally killed people down there as oil companies often do with their reckless operations. Trump has now invited the rest to do the same. This evil, greedy plot was brought to the oil companies before Congress had a hint. It’s disgusting and condescending to even pretend this will do anything but create more poverty for the average Venezuelan as the American puppets enrich themselves and their US and European masters

Charging Maduro and his wife of drug trafficking "conspiracies" is side theatre. The US justice department already has previously charged Maduro in March 2020 during Trump's early first administration. Trump himself openly acknowledged this weekend his motivation was his desire to seize control of Venezuela's oil reserves.

Yet only last month Trump freed former Honduran President, Juan Orlando Hernandez who had been convicted in the US of smuggling more than 400 tons of cocaine into the US.

Trump has a pattern of leniency for some alleged drug criminals. Hernandez is not an isolated case. Trump has pardoned and released a significant number of other figures involved in drug trafficking: Ross Ulbricht, Larry Hoover, Cesar Humberto Lopez-Lario, General Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda, etc.

As far back as 2019 it was alleged by some that Putin and Trump did a deal- Trump will lay off Putin's plans to expand into Europe, to conquer Ukraine first; Putin would in return lay off Trump's plans to expand into South America.

I tried to get a transcript of the CNN interview clip I posted because some people don't like following links but AI can't do it for me and none seems to exist.

This is the link to it on the CNN website. The insane terrifying rant starts 12.07 minutes into the 15minute interview.

edition.cnn.com/2026/01/05/politics/video/senior-white-house-aide-stephen-miller-says-us-military-threat-to-maintain-control-of-venezuela-digvid

America might think it’s a super power and perhaps it is, but there are a few problems with the way it approaches its various projects. So what happens if the jury in New York finds the Venezuelan president and his wife not guilty of narcoterrorism plus other charges? Presumably there’s still the concept of proof and evidence in the USA?
Trump seems to have adopted the persona of a pantomime dame…

ronib

*Elegran*. Trump is 79 years old. No way will oil extraction from Venezuela have a quick turnaround. How exactly can Trump and his family personally gain from it? Surely Shell and other major oil companies will want to see a huge profit from drilling?

Trump can't help himself. If there is money to be made out of something, he is first in the rush for it. He is 79, but he collects the stuff as though he will live for ever and needs it to keep up his lifestyle. If he doesn't live for ever, his family will inherit any cash, shares, etcetera that he has acquired, and they are unlikely to release their grip on them to anyone else.

MaizieD

I have just watched part of a CNN interview of Stephen Miller. This is the man who, it is claimed, was the major contributor to the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 and, it is claimed, is the person pulling Trump’s strings.

I think it’s terrifying

Would anyone here on Gnet nod along with what he is saying?

This isn’t an AI fake. The link is to BlueSky social

bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3mbplx5sygx2h

Absolutely terrifying.

MaizieD

I have just watched part of a CNN interview of Stephen Miller. This is the man who, it is claimed, was the major contributor to the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 and, it is claimed, is the person pulling Trump’s strings.

I think it’s terrifying

Would anyone here on Gnet nod along with what he is saying?

This isn’t an AI fake. The link is to BlueSky social

bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3mbplx5sygx2h

I’ve been watching him for a while.
He’s what we call a hired fist. If he wasn’t doing this job he could be an enforcer for the mob.
He’s with his own people, though.

Whitewavemark2

Anyone asked the Venezuelans?

Never ever think an authoritarian populist leader like Trump has the ordinary bloke in the street best interest at heart.

The don’t. Never have, never will.

Absolutely!