What’s happening in Venezuela and what does it mean?

[theotherfossilsister]

I’m confused- has the US gone to war with them? What are the implications if so?

You always add such intelligent nuggets of deep thought to the conversation.

Wherever you mean. Venezuela libre 🇻🇪

Sorry, what's your AIBU?

If you don't have one, move your post to the right place and leave this as a safe space for those of us who don't want to read about world affairs

AIBU can never be described as a "safe space" 🤣

Charged with drug offences. I assume this is how he gets around the rules surrounding war. Congress doesn’t need to approve the arresting of each and every criminal.

This is in chat anyway, not AIBU.

Well it is not libre yet, is it. Maduro's regime is still in charge right now, just sans Maduro.

Ha ha. I love how combative AIBU posters are. They can’t even be bothered to make sure they are correct before they launch!

Thanks for the article, it does well summarising the process over the last few months.

Colonel Larry Wilkerson, who worked closely with Colin Powell in the George W. Bush has been speaking about the absolute dearth of seasoned diplomats and experienced Military personnel in the current administration. That only 1 General retired resigned following Hegseth's illegal murder of Venezuelan fishermen speaks volumes. Trump is a rogue with no one reigning in him.

As per many of America's previous "interventions" the chances of blowback and unintended consequences is high.

This lady puts it really well:
Debbie Wasserman Schultz, co-chair of the bipartisan congressional Venezuela democracy caucus, welcomed Maduro's capture, but said she was alarmed by Donald Trump’s decision to take action unilaterally.
She said in a statement:
The capture of the brutal, illegitimate ruler of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, who oppressed Venezuela’s people, is welcome news for my friends and neighbors who fled his violent, lawless, and disastrous rule.
However, cutting off the head of a snake is fruitless if it just regrows. Venezuelans deserve the promise of democracy and the rule of law, not a state of endless violence and spiraling disorder. My hope is it offers a passage to true democracy and liberation. This action offers beleaguered Venezuelans a chance to seat their true, democratically elected president, Edmundo González.
I’ll demand answers as to why Congress and the American people were bypassed in this effort. The absence of congressional involvement prior to this action risks the continuation of the illegitimate Venezuelan regime.

This has been brewing for months and the US has been sanctioning Venezuela before that for years, impoverishing the population. It seems to be about over throwing the Maduro regime, which apparently isn't prepared to hand over Venezuela's oil and other natural resources to the US. They want to install Maria Marchado who is prepared to do so and just won a not in the slightest bit rigged Nobel Peace Prize, despite publically declaring that the US starting a violent attack to overthrow Maduro is justified.
I am particularly sickened that the man who ran his election campaign on the basis of being a peaceful President is continuing multiple wars and starting two others at the same time (the US will also be involved in the uprising in Iran).
If this was anything to do with drugs, as claimed, they would be attaching Canada and other countries before Venezuela.

Isn't 'possession of machineguns' (sic) considered one of the fundamental cornerstones of American life?

If they convict him on drug offences, wouldn't Trump just pardon him?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9qewln7912o

He’s not helping the people there though? Hence the lack of food and masses leaving.

On Iran poor people there too.

Larry Wilkerson is well worth listening to. There are a number of genuinely well informed people out there who have been discussing this for some months.

Russia is condemning this invasion so that it can do the same when the US begins manoeuvres on Greenland. Russia will enter into negotiations with the EU to help protect Greenland in exchange for the Ukraine, because Europe has no appetite for boots on the ground and NATO isn’t functional (enough).

This is all about US versus Russia versus China. Europe isn’t even a player, and the UK post-Brexit is just a little squit jumping up and down on the sidelines trying to attract attention.

Brexit could end up being the best thing that happened to the UK in the last 100 years if it does come to war in Europe.

No. Venezuelans go to neighbouring South American countries or Spain. Most of them bring valuable skills with them and make a useful contribution.

Yes all this is US / China / Russia agree

Hypocritical isn’t it.

’On American soil in American courts’ …

Any guess where these two are being held? In America?

We don't have accurate details of what he is doing but we do know that the US has been sanctioning the country, causing terrible poverty.

Even if Maduro has been deliberately impoverishing his people, how is that justification for the US invading a sovereign country, bombing and destroying infrastructure, arresting the democratically elected leader, and installing their own US friendly leader so that they can steal the oil, etc?

UK is still a NATO member. NATO article 5 is nowt to do with the EU.

My first thought was WTF this morning, and then a radio piece on dire conditions in Venezuela and then this thread. The link below arguing for sanctions and the reasons to do it has been the most compelling so far.

Although your post mentions sanctions impoverishing people so maybe that’s not the answer.

You do know that there are poor people in the UK too and many other countries in addition. Many of them are extremely unhappy with their leadership too. Are you a fan of Labour?
Should the US be attacking them all too? I'm really not following your logic here.

Sanctions are the new method of executing "regime change" in uncooperative "regimes" aka won't let American companies exploit their resources cheaply.
The aim to make ordinary civilians suffer and rise up.

The only advantage with Trump and his ilk is that they are so nakedly transparent that they've trampled all over International Law and shown it to be not worth the paper it is written on.

On Iran:
Former CIA director Mike Pompeo directly referenced Mossad (which will include US intelligence as well as they are one and the same and America often uses Israel to act in it's stead) being on the ground in Iran.

What a start to 2026, hope we get to see 2027......

This BlueSky post from a month ago now looks sadly prescient. Clarkson is a Lecturer for European Politics and History at King's College London.

(Apologies if this is already on this thread and I missed it.)

https://bsky.app/profile/aphclarkson.bsky.social/post/3m6fu7n2pas2q

Alexander Clarkson
‪@aphclarkson.bsky.social‬
Plausible worst case scenario with Venezuela in four steps:

1. Rubio and Venezuelan exiles sell the idea of decapitation strikes against Maduro to Trump as the one big thing that solves Venezuela, cartels and Cuba for the US.
22:18 · 24 Nov 2025

2. Decapitation strikes hit Venezuela, prove successful, Trump declares victory and then gets bored and walks away.
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3. Returning Venezuelan exiles and opposition networks find themselves without promised US support, army factions, militias, narco-gangs, illegal mining paramilitaries, Colombian insurgents like ELN pick sides and a country with 6 million weapons in circulation plunges into escalating conflict
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4. Former opposition networks, Chavistas that want a fresh start, civil society can't stop a multi-sided civil war as Trump posts racist memes and Vance does a podcast, violence spreads across borders forcing Trinidad, Guyana, Brazil, Colombia and the Netherlands thru Curacao into difficult choices
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This is a worst case scenario. It's as likely that Trump is just bluffing or does a minor hit that doesn't change much in Caracas

But that what were once considered wildly scifi scenarios for the whole Western Hemisphere are becoming plausible should profoundly worry the EU and the wider world too
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