Venezuela

I think the big one will be Taiwan.

If China invade Taiwan, we really are in a position where we don't know if Trump will do anything, and if he does, what side will he be on?

All Xi has to do is name a Chinese city after Trump, do a deal on rare earths and chips, and Trump would have the US fleet ferrying PLA troops across the Straight.

I’m not sure about that. I don’t think he’ll want to relinquish power. He’s seen what happens when he’s no longer president and he’s running scared that he’ll be pursued once more for illegal and/or corrupt dealings.

He’s already started making noises about making a third term possible. And of course, if the US is at war he can suspend all elections.

When he was trying to drum up support in the last election he told people they would “only need to vote this once” and never again. Some people interpreted that as him planning to seize power forever which I thought was overblown at the time. Now given everything else, I think they may have been right.

I can’t quite remember the details but I’m pretty sure Project2025 said something about Trump remaining President beyond his term.

I don’t believe for a single second Trump will just stand aside, or that there will be a peaceful transfer of power when the next election is due.

I’m not normally a conspiracy theorist but he’s shown wanton disregard for any law that doesn’t benefit him. He adores power and won’t want to give it up.

I can't imagine he will hang around either, he is clearly too old to even stay awake after a meal so he will want to leave whatever he thinks will be his legacy...

Cuba will be next. In Trump’s first term, he immediately stopped the sensible progress that had been made by Obama in normalising relations with Cuba.

Trump’s actions show he has no regard for the rights of an independent country, agreed that Venezuela now deposed President was not good and presided over the country’s economic woes, however other countries commit human rights crimes, Trump has acted in this way due to the oil. It’s not his right to act in this way and Keir Starmer needs to say this as do other European states. Trump’s actions show a similar disregard for a nation’s sovereignty as Putin.

And despite what the Reform folk say, the EU is the only one who actually has democracy and freedom as an ideology.

Effectively, a Putin asset in the US has just used the US military to take over a nation, and install another Putin asset as it's prez.

And that country that has just been taken over is an oil supplier to China.

I suspect it’s Turkeys voting for Christmas. When those who think they want a Trump aligned country find that they are poorer and have fewer democratic rights they may regret their choices… too late to do anything.
The problem is that we pretend all opinions are equally valid. But it was a democracy that voted for Hitler. We must safeguard people from their own idiocy. How, I don’t know. But we must think seriously about how to do this.

I always thought the people who voted for Brexit were basically saying they'd rather be American than European anyway. I do think as a country we are ideologically split on this.

The reality is now there are three powers.

China
Russia
US

If we don’t want to be enslaved as a tiny country to one of those we MUST join forces with the EU. It’s the height of idiocy to imagine we can be ‘sovereign’ alone.

Reform’s ’sovereignty’ is just rich people making back room deals with rich people in US/China/Russia and all the rest of us getting increasingly poorer.

I have seen this mentioned as a joke thing. Maduro and wife are in NY without visas, so ICE should round them up and deport them.

I guess I can't imagine being a core MAGA supporter and welcoming new US compatriots from Venezuela, considering how hostile they've been groomed to be USA first.

That's a very interesting point which I doubt Trump has thought about. Has Venezuela has become the de facto 51st state?

The EU would want its pound of flesh… but now is the time when the threat is high and unity is an asset. At the very least we should be entering into many agreements that amount to the same thing.

Sadly I doubt this is possible as the cost of rejoining would bankrupt us.

Can anyone help me understand this: If US invades and admits to controlling a country, does that not make the citizens US citizens? I understand none of them will want to be American, but for immigration purposes this must be a legal minefield?

It is up to Venezuela to run its own country’s assets like oil as it sees fit. That they chose - like many other countries - to nationalise their oil is their choice. Same as Norway etc. The US has no right to another country’s assets. As for kidnapping their president, no words. Agree re Greenland. It’s all in plain sight which is frightening.

I wonder how much ordinary Americans are looking forward to the idea of another 'forever' foreign war.

It was good Saddam Hussein fell but look what replaced him. See also Libya and Syria. I doubt very much that ordinary Venezuelans will still be celebrating in a year.

You have to remember that Musk's grandfather was part of a coalition pre WWII that wanted to control everywhere from Panama to Greenland. They thought if they had that, they had all they needed. Oh and no democracy and no names, people would be given codes instead of names.

I reckon this is part of a grander scheme. Someone will have to get their hands dirty to stop them.

When Trump said the Venezuelans will be rich, I raised my eyebrows for sure.

I think what so many people are missing is it's not just the oil that matters, it's the type of oil. Heavy crude. The type of crude the US Gulf Coast refineries need, and that the US does not produce.

Trump coming out with his near socialist cry of "everyone will be rich", when what he actually means in there will be another level of cronyism on top of the cronies he appears to be leaving in place in VZ. They will be getting richer, Not the people.

And now it appears the VZ VP Rodriguez is going back on her word ? If that was the deal of course. It appears it's still going to be the same people running the place, with the same army and security forces. Except now they will also be protecting the Chevron workers, and be getting better paid for it.

And I fear Rodriguez will purge now. To consolidate her power, and to make sure she will not fall as Maduro did. She will be paranoid on steroids.

And give it a few days, and Trump will be ordering the 3/4 of a million or so Venezuelan folk in the US to "go home".

Don't get me wrong, it's good the Maduro is out. But it's what replaces him that worries me.

Couldn’t agree more about rejoining EU.