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?

I spoke to a Guatemalan who works in tourism recently. We chatted a bit about American interventionism. His take was that Americans have no idea. No grasp of their own history. And these are the Americans who travel.

I assume the new American history focus in their schools will cover this. LOL JK.

Unfortunately when a dictator is removed, it's a question of "be careful what you wish for...." things do not immediately get better just by removing a despot. As always it's the poorest and most vulnerable who will suffer.

I wonder if Trump will invite Iran's supreme leader and his wife to vacate their palace!

People flee Venezuela to go to many places including the US. Would you do the opposite?

My Venezuelan colleagues (all who fled the regime and desperately send money home) are celebrating this morning. They’re shocked Europeans aren’t happy for them.

They’re sad it took bombing, but they’ve been trying and failing for years to oust the illegitimate Maduro regime and are glad someone is finally helping. They hope the opposition (who won the last election) can be installed and the constitution reviewed to ensure a (faux) socialist dictatorship can’t take over ever again.

America just doing what it does best. Nothing to see here.

America and Russia.

Russia condemning The US attack as armed aggression shows Russia doesn't see its invasion of Ukraine as problematic.

Apparently its a negotiated exit of the corrupt leader. On the positive side maybe the country can elect a better leadership. On the negative side its armed aggression against another country

Their options are;

Status quo
Trump
Change from within

The first two are utterly horrific. The last is complex, dangerous, slow, not guaranteed to work and could still be horrific.

There are no good, easy choices. But Trump isn’t the answer.

It’s a well known phenomenon that ‘poor with no resources’ is actually better than ‘poor with huge natural resources’. Look at Africa. The Venezuelans were fucked as soon as the extent of the oil reserves was known. Money makes for terrible choices in the majority world.

Well there are plenty of other bad leaders in the world

It still does not make it the USA's business to selectively remove them

This is all about oil and greed

Don't believe Trump's propaganda

Interesting. Thanks for the insight into the feelings of actual Venezuelan people.

Sorry, not sure I understand what you're saying? I'm not denying Venezuela is in a dreadful state, but I am saying 1. that the US is hardly a model of having your house in order, and 2. the aid we did have for fleeing Venezuelans was stopped under this administration, so it's not looking like humanitarian aims are high on the list.

I'll be pleasantly surprised to see the comprehensive plan to bring democracy to Venezuela in the aftermath of this. Hint: there isn't one.

sure Jan

They make a desert and call it peace. Tacitus.

But this is probably the most bigly peaceful war president in the history of everything.

😁 “This goes against my preferred political/ideological position therefore it must be a lie/bot/agitator!”

I thought the Venezuelans were pretty pleased Trump is trying to overthrow the government? Aren't they fed up with how Venezuela has been wrecked by corruption.

They trust the man who deports and locks up Venezuelan refugees in Salvadoran torture prisons without due process?

I wouldn’t.

I think maybe the ones who fled do feel this way. The ones who are currently being bombed, maybe less so.

Well we’re here on mn not facing starvation nor a leader who won’t share any oil wealth with people whatsoever. To the extent people flee and children have malnutrition.

People saying they should somehow sort this out after many years isn’t help to help them, especially when it comes from a place of privilege.

Let’s see how the people who live there or can return feel about their leader going.

https://fortune.com/2025/12/18/venezuela-oil-trump-chevron-seized-assets-blockade/

It’s about oil.

And yes - Greenland next.

It essentially means Iraq 2.0 🫠

Declare fentanyl as a WMD (even though only an estimated 1% of the world’s drug exports come from Venezuela), and invade on the grounds of preventing drug exports……a nice cover for all those Venezuelan oil fields that need liberation 👀👀🫠🫠🫠

No one isn’t happy for them in a “we think Maduro should stay” kind of way.
But I’d say that as a general point it really isn’t good that the US president can just decide to do this without congress.
And there is far from any guarantee that a democratically elected government will be what fills the gap. I hope that that is what happens, obviously. But it takes more than just physically removing the dictator to change a regime. And I do not believe Trump has done this out of concern for the people of Venezuela, so I don’t think his focus going forward will be on them.

So many normal Afghans helped and supported the US. Were happy they were there. I suspect many of them are now dead or imprisoned after their withdrawal. And it’s worse than it ever was.

Interventionism doesn’t work 90% of the time. 100% in the case of the US. They install right-wing scum to stop left-wing scum. Or not scum in many places (CA). As PP said, remember Iran-Contra FFS.

Light-touch, grass roots-led, locally controlled democratic process is not what they support. And they won’t here. They should but they don’t. In fact Trump defunded USAID who did that kind of work.

They’re happy a corrupt dictator who starved, beat, and destroyed their lives and the economy is gone. Not everything is perfect, but they’ve finally removed an obstacle that has clouded over their lives for many years and was impossible for them to defeat internally. So no, they’re not sad to see a tyrant leave.

But truly, feel free to have some conversations with Venezuelans, they’re very willing to discuss this issue.

I’m in Denmark and know all too well the concerns about Trump threatening sovereignty - the Greenland issue is scary. But right now, I am happy for my friends.

Venezuela's economic position is poor and they are heavily supported by Russia. This may be a mad land grab by Trump, or may be part of somethng mre complex. It will be interesting to see if the UN find their balls, but I doubt it.

Surely they are not ‘currently’ bombing anyone as Maduro is not there? Hence it’s not a war.