Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

...to ask why nobody is talking about the 32 people killed in the raid on Venezuela?

69 replies

QwertyAtThirty · 05/01/2026 20:47

32 people (largely forming Maduro's security team) were killed when the US attacked Venezuela.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj9r0eyw0jno
Why isnt that part of the discussion about whether the US's actions were justified / were an act of warfare / violated international law? Apart from reports such as the one linked above, it's not mentioned in any of the commentary I've seen or heard about the legality of the event. Is it because they died protecting Maduro and are therefore considered the "bad guys" and accepted by the international community as collateral damage in a way they wouldn't be if they were civilians?

I suppose my AIBU is: AIBU to think the fact that lives were lost warrants a place in the discussion?
YABU = they're not worth mentioning
YANBU = their deaths should form part of the conversation

A firefighters passes by a burnt military vehicle at La Carlota air base in Caracas on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after launching a "large scale strike" on the South American country.

Thirty-two Cubans killed during US attack on Venezuela

Cuba's president said military and intelligence operatives were providing protection to captured leader Nicolás Maduro.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj9r0eyw0jno

OP posts:
RecoveringLawyer72 · 06/01/2026 00:33

Robert Wilkie’s interview on the Today programme this morning was revealing!

GaIadriel · 06/01/2026 00:46

Well, they reckon at least 110 Venezuelans were killed in airstrikes in Nov. These were supposedly against drug trafficking boats but many oil tankers were also seized and Trump stated that US investment in the Venezuelan oil market would be welcomed.

Hard to know the truth but human rights groups have apparently called them war crimes or human rights infringements, something like that.

However, I'm struggling to feel bad for the regime tbh. At least 20,000 Venezuelan citizens were killed in extrajudicial executions in 2019 alone which kinda puts the other figures in perspective.

PollyBell · 06/01/2026 00:48

So you started a thread on a forum to ask why other people are not talking about something you started a thread on?

when people wonder why people are not talking about something isnt is usual just to start a thread yourself to talk about it?

GaIadriel · 06/01/2026 00:59

PollyBell · 06/01/2026 00:48

So you started a thread on a forum to ask why other people are not talking about something you started a thread on?

when people wonder why people are not talking about something isnt is usual just to start a thread yourself to talk about it?

But tbf you wrote a post to ask why somebody started a thread on a forum to ask why other people are not talking about something they started a thread on? 🙃

Jamaicaningmecrazy · 06/01/2026 01:33

They don’t care about babies being snipped. They are not going to care about this.

PollyBell · 06/01/2026 02:02

GaIadriel · 06/01/2026 00:59

But tbf you wrote a post to ask why somebody started a thread on a forum to ask why other people are not talking about something they started a thread on? 🙃

True but I did not start a thread on it

QwertyAtThirty · 06/01/2026 06:34

kirbykirby · 05/01/2026 22:58

Why is no-one/mainstream media talking about the massive protests in Iran for the past nine days and all the protestors who've been murdered by the regime in that time?

Yes, also a good question! I only know about this from Iranian friends' SM posts.

OP posts:
QwertyAtThirty · 06/01/2026 06:35

Jamaicaningmecrazy · 06/01/2026 01:33

They don’t care about babies being snipped. They are not going to care about this.

What does "babies being snipped" mean? Circumcision?

OP posts:
QwertyAtThirty · 06/01/2026 06:38

MangaKanga · 05/01/2026 23:49

Yep. Though history has shown again and again what a fat lot of good it does cosying up to and depending on America. Remember Prince Sirik Matak in Cambodia? His dying words were something like, "The only mistake I have made was believing in you, the Americans" shortly before he was executed by the Khmer Rouge. That was just over 50 years ago now.

The murderous airstrikes against civilian boats that America boasted about in September, including going back to bomb two survivors clinging to the wreckage? There is no scenario under which this is neither murder nor a war crime. Trump was testing the waters- would anyone have the guts to hold them to account for this? No one did.

Hm. And if nobody held him to account for that, so he escalated to this, and nobody's holding him to account for this....
The poster who called it "fucking terrifying" is right!

OP posts:
Parsleyandthyme · 06/01/2026 06:40

I agree -they are just nobodies in US eyes

Ihatetomatoes · 06/01/2026 09:13

America has shown it can do what it likes and it knows it. The same applies to Russia.

AirborneElephant · 06/01/2026 09:43

They weren’t civilians, so in the context of an outright act of war it’s not considered a breach of international law. Choosing to be a bodyguard to a violent dictator does come with risk.

notimagain · 06/01/2026 09:56

AirborneElephant · 06/01/2026 09:43

They weren’t civilians, so in the context of an outright act of war it’s not considered a breach of international law. Choosing to be a bodyguard to a violent dictator does come with risk.

Yep, not sure of the exact rules that might have applied here but AFAIK were are not talking about 32 janitors or housekeeping staff being caught in the line of fire..

It does look as if Maduro had decided to surround himself with what could be regarded as mercenaries...

VillaDiodati · 06/01/2026 10:11

MangaKanga · 05/01/2026 23:49

Yep. Though history has shown again and again what a fat lot of good it does cosying up to and depending on America. Remember Prince Sirik Matak in Cambodia? His dying words were something like, "The only mistake I have made was believing in you, the Americans" shortly before he was executed by the Khmer Rouge. That was just over 50 years ago now.

The murderous airstrikes against civilian boats that America boasted about in September, including going back to bomb two survivors clinging to the wreckage? There is no scenario under which this is neither murder nor a war crime. Trump was testing the waters- would anyone have the guts to hold them to account for this? No one did.

I thought those 'fishing boats' were drug runners operated by Tren de Aragua? They seemed pretty powerful for mere 'civilian boats' what with their numerous large engines in contrast to fishing boats which have much smaller and usually only one or two engines? It's a mystery for sure...

Duckyneedsaclean · 06/01/2026 10:18

Have you spoken to anyone from Venezuela about it? All seem to be overjoyed.

MangaKanga · 06/01/2026 10:24

VillaDiodati · 06/01/2026 10:11

I thought those 'fishing boats' were drug runners operated by Tren de Aragua? They seemed pretty powerful for mere 'civilian boats' what with their numerous large engines in contrast to fishing boats which have much smaller and usually only one or two engines? It's a mystery for sure...

Even if they were, why do you think America has the right to murder them without trial?

VillaDiodati · 06/01/2026 10:30

MangaKanga · 06/01/2026 10:24

Even if they were, why do you think America has the right to murder them without trial?

Drug runners who are flooding a country with deadly substances and killing untold numbers deserve all they get in my eyes.

midsummabreak · 06/01/2026 11:15

Duckyneedsaclean · 06/01/2026 10:18

Have you spoken to anyone from Venezuela about it? All seem to be overjoyed.

That’s a good ploy isn’t it while their oil resources are stolen

GasPanic · 06/01/2026 11:15

notimagain · 06/01/2026 09:56

Yep, not sure of the exact rules that might have applied here but AFAIK were are not talking about 32 janitors or housekeeping staff being caught in the line of fire..

It does look as if Maduro had decided to surround himself with what could be regarded as mercenaries...

If this guy did decide to surround himself with a security team made up of non nationals - it's not normally a good sign.

Ifailed · 06/01/2026 11:20

GasPanic · 06/01/2026 11:15

If this guy did decide to surround himself with a security team made up of non nationals - it's not normally a good sign.

So murdering "non-nationals" is ok then?

Santangelo · 06/01/2026 11:31

How many Americans have been killed by drugs brought in from Venezuelan crime gangs? Have you got any sympathy for them? Thought not.

FFSToEverythingSince2020 · 06/01/2026 11:32

The death toll is up to 80, according to Venezuelans, with 32 of the dead being Cubans. Apparently, one of the missiles or bombs they dropped was off target and hit a residential complex - this is what I’m hearing from inside Venezuela. I think it must be true to be able to reach a death toll of 80?

And then, the injuries. I imagine the US troops who took Maduro didn’t exactly announce who they were, so Maduro’s wife probably thought they were there to assassinate her and her husband; if you’ve seen, she has head wounds from fighting, and it looks like the marks you get from being clubbed upside the head. Such brave soldiers, injuring an unarmed woman. I imagine the leaders of Cuba and Colombia are sleeping with a gun under their pillows.

I just don’t understand how the Americans who support Trump can be so lackadaisical; the man pardoned the president of Honduras, despite his direct involvement in the drug trade, but used drugs as the excuse for the Venezuelan action. The difference between the two countries: Venezuela has some of the largest reserves in the world of both oil and gold. No one is paying attention to the gold in this. Gold prices have skyrocketed, so mineral wealth probably plays a part in Trump’s greed for Venezuela’s resources.

And men and women have, sadly, always been killed for both gold and black gold. I just thought we were in 2025, and not 1810, when this kind of shite was accepted.

Death toll, confirming military and civilians:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj9r0eyw0jno.amp

Venezuela and gold:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/joelshulman/2026/01/05/venezuelas-oil-equals-the-magnificent-seven-gold-makes-it-eight/

A firefighters passes by a burnt military vehicle at La Carlota air base in Caracas on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after launching a "large scale strike" on the South American country.

Thirty-two Cubans killed during US attack on Venezuela - BBC News

Cuba's president said military and intelligence operatives were providing protection to captured leader Nicolás Maduro.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj9r0eyw0jno.amp

MangaKanga · 06/01/2026 11:44

Santangelo · 06/01/2026 11:31

How many Americans have been killed by drugs brought in from Venezuelan crime gangs? Have you got any sympathy for them? Thought not.

We have this thing called "law courts" and "due process," designed to give people a fair trial, a chance to be heard and, crucially, making the prosecution prove their case with actual evidence before any punishment is meted out.

Rather than a crazed orange despot murdering indiscriminately and boastingly posting the snuff footage like the amoral piece of shit psychopath he is.

If you weren't an apologist for a despotic regime, you'd acknowledge the virtues of such concepts as "the law" and "a right to a trial." But you won't give a shit till it is you they're summarily executing, I guess.

FellowSuffereroftheAbsurd · 06/01/2026 11:55

In the media, I think there is some hesitant 'which way is the wind going to blow' and 'which sources on this can we trust' going on.

For every day people, I think a large part is fatigue - same as pp mentioned what's going on in Iran or the genocide in Congo or so many other horrific things going on. We can only focus on so many things, and I think it's harder when we're left feeling that there is little we can do about it.

Personally, I've spent the last decade or so feeling like I'm in perpetual 'the US government has done what now?' to the point that this is no shock or much beyond 'ugh, not again' type of feeling.

Drug runners who are flooding a country with deadly substances and killing untold numbers deserve all they get in my eyes.

There is nothing to suggest those murdered were drug runners and excusing deaths by a government is how the US, UK, among others have gotten though many, many coups in the past. The issues in Iran? Directly traced to the US and UK coup over oil. The genocides in Congo - the UAE is funding weapons and drugging up kids for resources. The regular practice for power grabs and control aren't that subtle - they sell a tune about there being a threat, and aim no where near the cause.

If this was about drugs, Venezuela was the wrong target. It isn't a stronghold for either fentanyl (components are made in China and India, the processing and running mostly from Mexico with a smaller amount coming from Canada from the US's DEA own intelligence reports) or cocaine (it's called Columbian marching powder for a reason, largely grown and processed there, Bolivia, and Peru) or really any other drug. Some civilians become drug runners for gangs , and some governments either support or turn a blind eye to it, but Venezuela isn't unique or particularly represented in this issue compared to several other nations even by the US's own reports.

Even if their president is everything the news is saying and the people are overjoyed, the US government is not doing this out of any altruism or to help stop the opiate epidemic or anything else killing many ordinary people. They have and merrily put in again someone far worse if it gets them what they want.

How many Americans have been killed by drugs brought in from Venezuelan crime gangs? Have you got any sympathy for them? Thought not.

And all the other crime gangs? Or the American health care system where a lot of opiate addictions in the US begin? Or the lack of resources in addiction services from the US government?

I used to live in the US, I've seen the opiate epidemic first hand, all the ones I've known started as prescription drugs that ran out before the pain did, then they had to find their own way to manage & no help when it became too much. Killing more people in Venezuela isn't going to change any of that.

QwertyAtThirty · 06/01/2026 11:57

Santangelo · 06/01/2026 11:31

How many Americans have been killed by drugs brought in from Venezuelan crime gangs? Have you got any sympathy for them? Thought not.

Who said anything about sympathy? I have family members whose live have been utterly destroyed or lost due to drugs, and of course I have sympathy for anyone in that situation.
But let's not pretend this had anything to do with drugs.

OP posts: