Venezuela air attack

The major powers divide their global influence, conquer lesser nations, and pocket the profits.

I am speaking, of course, of the treaty ofTordesillas, in 1494, when power over the known world was divided between Spain and Portugal (by the agreement of Spain and Portugal) education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/treaty-tordesillas/

"The story goes back to the earlier advances of Portuguese and Spanish explorers into the eastern Atlantic in the 15th century. Already at the time, first the Portuguese and then the Castilian crowns successfully lobbied the papacy for recognition of an exclusive right to navigate, trade, and vest their authorities over the coasts of Africa and the isles in the Atlantic. The first voyage of Christopher Columbus (1451–1506) across the ocean in 1492 formed the occasion for the promulgation of a series of papal bulls by Pope Alexander VI (1431–1503). Through the bull Inter Caetera of 4 May 1493, the pope granted the two Iberian crowns an exclusive right to the outer-European world, dividing their respective spheres of influence by drawing a line 100 leagues (320 miles) west of the Azores and the Cape Verde Islands. Portugal could lay claim to any territories to the east of that line, while Spain was allotted the lands and seas to the west of it. The following year, the two parties amended the bull in the Treaty of Tordesillas (7 June 1494), by agreeing on a different line, running 370 leagues (1,185 miles) westwards from the Azores and Cape Verde Islands. This brought, inadvertently, the eastern shoulder of South America into the Portuguese sphere. After the first circumnavigation of the world, the two Iberian powers agreed on the dividing line in the Pacific between their spheres (Treaty of Saragossa, 22 April 1529)." opil.ouplaw.com/page/714

I wonder where the line has been drawn to divide the spheres of influence between Russia and the USA once Trump has annexed Venezuela, Greenland, Mexico, Cuba, and all his further planned colonies?

You have to go back a bit to see what is happening.

www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/fossil-fuel-industry-donors-see-major-returns-trumps-policies

I am paraphrasing here.

Venezuela gave up 50 - 80 million barrels of oil, which Trump has declared that he alone is in charge of. It will be sold on the open market and Trump will decide how it is spent, so he says. Of course to help the people of Venezuela.

Except he already has the oil companies in Venezuela and no one knows what he promised them.
At the very least, we should be looking at payments bribes from the oil companies.

Follow the money.

imaround

The oil companies are already on planes and Venezuela will send oil to the US, who will sell it at market price and "hold" the profit, to be controlled by Trump, so it will benefit the people of Venezuela.

Looks like he didn't have to wait long to profit.

What you write all sounds plausible.
But in reality, I am not sure I understand any of it.

Would you mind rewriting it? [you don thave to if you dont want to].

The US has now decides to stop oil tankers at sea to stop sanction breaking, the UK helped stop one yesterday in mid Atlantic.
If this continues we need to decide, do the sanctions mean anything and how far are we willing to go to enforce them. Many other countries take Russian and Iranian oil at a discounted price where do we draw the line.

With Trump and his politics all we need to do is follow the money!

AGAA4

Thank you MaizieD very interesting. If the US dollar is in jeopardy from new currencies then it makes the attack on Venezuela and possibly others using different currency much more understandable.
The reasons given by the US were fake.

Saddam Hussein moved the oil sales from US dollars to Euros and Gaddafi from US dollars to gold dinars challenging the petrodollar system. Both assassinated.

I'm really concerned about what is happening in the US and if I had family living there, especially if they were female and non white. I'd be very worried. Of course, for most people in the US life has been little affected by Trump so far, especially if they are white middle class with disposable income so it's not like Venezuela where ordinary people are hugely affected by the actions of the government they have had for years. However, tyranny always starts small and whereas the tyranny of the government in Venezuela tends to stay in Venezuela, the tyranny of a US President affects the whole world (eventually). We should all be very concerned, privileged or not!

To be honest I have never heard anything as privileged as comparing the situation in Venezuela with America. Non males made me smile though.

Don't know if this has been hinted at already, but Rubio's own elders had form in the Cuban drug scene.
Source unverifiable as yet, on Facebook. But sometimes the truth bubbles up from there, and GNs are great at filtering, which is why I am bothering to post.

@David,
Trump, the convicted felon whose administration has actively targeted the rights of women and minorities, is as bad as Maduro. I gave birth to children in the US. One is still there raising two of my grandchildren. They are biracial and my family’s fears for them are real. My son’s wife’s family has been there for generations. Do not dismiss their fears by reducing the challenges for non-white non-males to a matter of packing up and fleeing. Your downplaying of what is happening there is so privileged it’s shameful.

Rubio saying that the USA has full control over Venezuela's oil

That is piracy imo.

LemonJam

David49 "The US is going to invest the money to rebuild the infrastructure. I have no sympathy for China grumbling about Venezuela...."

No one has mentioned sympathy for China to date.

We've yet to see whether Trump is able to put a realistic, achievable plan in place to achieve his aims.

We've yet to see whether the US is going to invest the necessary amount to rebuild Venezuela's oil infrastructure.

We've yet to see how the dynamic will play out between China, Russia, Iran and Cuba with regards to Trump achieving his aims.

Early days, if Venezuela becomes stable and cooperative sanctions will be lifted and investment will be possible, it’s up to them.
China, Russia, Iran and Cuba will complain and do nothing, Cuba has long been a thorn in the US side, but many Cubans have migrated to US

@Syracute

Trump went there for the oil. He removed Maduro for the oil. He is now getting the oil. So I say again, pointless call out. If he were refused his oil demand, your point would be more relevant. He has no opposition to his will there so the political party “in power” with Maduro gone is irrelevant.

Also, keep in mind that for everything you see on Venezuelans being harassed for supporting Trump’s illegal actions, there are plenty images/propaganda showing people openly cheering minus the “men on motorcycles”. You would see the same in the US if Trump was locked up. There will be supporters and opposition everywhere there is a polarizing figure. Doesn’t justify Trump’s greedy, murderous, resource grabbing, violation of a sovereign nation.

It's a much clearer explanation than I could manage tbh I think Trump is doing a great deal that is undermining the perceived stability of the dollar which is really bad news for the US. Their level of debt is manageable as long as the US is seen as financially stable. You might find the attached interesting Maizie
www.pgpf.org/article/the-federal-government-has-borrowed-trillions-but-who-owns-all-that-debt/

foxie48

Yes I mentioned it MaizieD foxie48 Tue 06-Jan-26 16:59:05

I think there's a lot driving this for Trump but I very much doubt he's going to get the result that he wants. The Colectivos are out on the streets making sure there's no visable support for the US and tbh I can't see how the US can control what's happening in Venezuela unless they put boots on the ground and I don't think they'll do that. It's an unholy mess in the making.

Sorry, my memory is very bad☹️

The article does make it very clear.

Foxie48 " It's an unholy mess in the making." 👍

Rodriguez is the immediate linchpin and as Trump has said if she/Venezuela doesn't behave he will do a second strike.

According to Politico the Trump administration has put Delcy Rodriguez/Venzuela under pressure with the following demands:

1) cracking down on drug flows
2) kick out Iranian, Cuban and other operatives of countries or networks hostile to Washington
3) stop the sale of oil to US adversaries.

Yes I mentioned it MaizieD foxie48 Tue 06-Jan-26 16:59:05

I think there's a lot driving this for Trump but I very much doubt he's going to get the result that he wants. The Colectivos are out on the streets making sure there's no visable support for the US and tbh I can't see how the US can control what's happening in Venezuela unless they put boots on the ground and I don't think they'll do that. It's an unholy mess in the making.

Thank you MaizieD very interesting. If the US dollar is in jeopardy from new currencies then it makes the attack on Venezuela and possibly others using different currency much more understandable.
The reasons given by the US were fake.

I haven't checked through the thread, but has this been mentioned before?

The US sees Venezuela as threatening the dominance of the petro dollar.

This an extract from a long article

To understand what’s at stake, we need to grasp what former French Finance Minister Valéry Giscard d’Estaing famously called America’s “exorbitant privilege.”[^1] Since the 1944 Bretton Woods agreement, and especially after the 1973 arrangement with Saudi Arabia that created the “petrodollar,” the US dollar has functioned as the world’s primary reserve currency. This status grants the United States an almost supernatural economic power.

When you need dollars to buy oil, settle international debts, or participate in global trade, you create automatic demand for American currency. This demand allows the US government to borrow at lower interest rates than any other nation, effectively financing its deficits by printing money that the world is compelled to use. It’s the economic equivalent of owning the toll booth on every major highway in the global economy. The Congressional Research Service estimates this privilege saves the US government between $100-250 billion annually in borrowing costs.

More importantly, dollar dominance became America’s most powerful geopolitical weapon. Control the dollar system, and you control access to the global economy. Step out of line, and the United States can cut you off from SWIFT (the international banking communication network), freeze your reserves held in dollars, or impose sanctions that amount to economic excommunication. When Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, the US demonstrated this power decisively, and for years, it seemed unassailable.

It goes on to explain the challenge from other countries buying oil in different currencies, notably the Chinese yuan. It's too long to quote more.

Well worth reading.

Article here:

kasperbenjamin.substack.com/p/the-real-reason-why-the-us-overthrew

David49 "The US is going to invest the money to rebuild the infrastructure. I have no sympathy for China grumbling about Venezuela...."

No one has mentioned sympathy for China to date.

We've yet to see whether Trump is able to put a realistic, achievable plan in place to achieve his aims.

We've yet to see whether the US is going to invest the necessary amount to rebuild Venezuela's oil infrastructure.

We've yet to see how the dynamic will play out between China, Russia, Iran and Cuba with regards to Trump achieving his aims.

I’m sure China will be able to buy Venezuelan oil at the world price, not the cheap price that they have been paying. The US is going to invest the money to rebuild the infrastructure. I have no sympathy for China grumbling about Venezuela, they are the country that us supporting Putin, buying 45% of their oil from Russia at a big discount.

As indicated the US oil companies are currently being cautious and waiting for assurances and guarantees from Trump.

Trump is full of bluster stating on social media Venezuela, without a plan or agreements in place "will be turning over" up to 50 million barrels of oil - worth about $2.8bn (£2.1bn) - to the US, adding he would control the money raised and use it to benefit the people of Venezuela and the US. He said the US oil industry would be "up and running" in Venezuela within 18 months and that he expected huge investments to pour into the country. However Trump has not yet met with the US oil industry.

Analysts have indicated however it could take tens of billions of dollars, and potentially a decade, to restore Venezuela's former output.

China, which has been the biggest buyer of Venezuelan oil in recent years, has also condemned Trump's announcement as well as the US's reported demands that Venezuela gives its oil exclusively to them. We have yet to see how the dynamic between Trump and China will play out.

ABC News has reported, that Trump had told Rodríguez to agree to an exclusive partnership with the US on oil production, and sever economic ties with China, Russia, Iran and Cuba. No such agreement is yet in place. Further there may yet be an election in Venezuela.

ConocoPhillips, a major US oil company that no longer has a presence in Venezuela, "is monitoring developments in Venezuela and their potential implications for global energy supply and stability", said spokesman Dennis Nuss. "It would be premature to speculate on any future business activities or investments".

Today a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that the US's "blatant military action against Venezuela, and its demand that Venezuela prioritise the US in disposing of its oil resources, is a typical act of bullying, a serious violation of international law, a severe infringement upon Venezuela's sovereignty, and a grave damage to the rights of the Venezuelan people. I want to emphasise that the legitimate rights and interests of China and other countries in Venezuela must be protected... cooperation between China and Venezuela is the cooperation between two sovereign states, which is under protection of international law and the domestic laws of the two countries."

The situation in Venezuela is chaotic and unstable.

I found a facebook comment made by Graham Jones, a former Labour MP who was, at one time, Chair of a Parliamentary Committee on Venezuela. He claims a great deal of expertise on the country.

He has this to say about its oil industry:

Another major factor is oil. Venezuelan crude is heavy, low-grade sludge requiring enormous investment to process. Up to the 1990s—and before Chavez—major foreign companies had the infrastructure, capital, resources, and skills to keep pumping stations and refineries operating.
During the Bolivarian revolution, when Hugo Chavez took power, he nationalised the industry, kicked the oil companies out, and took over their investment. That is the basis for Trump’s grievance.
More importantly, over the following 30 years the Venezuelan regime has been unable to manufacture parts or manage production well enough to sustain the industry. Output has plummeted to a fraction of what it was. State seizure has been a catastrophe.
Given Venezuela cannot currently support its own oil industry, it requires foreign expertise and investment. There is an argument for a proper framework to enable this. However, Trump’s “America First, no one else” posture is not exactly the sort of foreign investment approach that democratic countries can accept.
At the moment there is an oil embargo, so no one is benefiting from Venezuelan oil. Opening it up depends on where companies sell it and whether it returns to open markets.

Sorry, I don't know how to link to the specific post I'm quoting from. this is just a link to his facebook page. the post will be near the top.

www.facebook.com/GrahamJonesxMP

(he's no longer an MP. Lost his seat in 2019 and wasn't allowed to stand in 2024 because of his views on Palestine.)