What is going on in Venezuela?

[ooherrmissus14]

This seems to have come from nowhere- have I missed something or is Trump just looking for a way to distract from the Epstein issue?

What we know about Maduro's capture https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crmlz7r0zrxo

@ooherrmissus14 Why not try the BBC or Sky News? This is a discussion forum and might not be factual. We have great reporting on many aspects of world news and overall it’s reliable. Our newspapers are regulated too.

International law is a toothless concept. It might punish people if they are caught but they rarely are. Cannot see Putin upholding international law any time soon.

Hang on, I thought there was something else going on? Recalling a Rest is Politics episode, wasn’t there an election and the current president rigged it? The defeated candidate (can’t remember name) subsequently won the Nobel Peace Prize and dedicated it to Trump. So he’s going in to ‘restore order’ (or do he says) though no doubt there is the issue of drugs and oil. Perhaps this woman is a puppet for him?

that said, he’s aggressively invaded another country. Just another Putin …

People would be dancing in the streets if Trump was removed from office, since more Americans disapprove of him than approve and it would be the case for many other leaders. It happened in Iraq. It doesn't mean that's the end of the story.

I have read those sources- I posted a BBC link in my original post. However, I always find I get more in depth knowledge reading the discussions on here as people put alternative views across and these get debated.

Same with Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Freiderich Merz.

So where does this end? The same could apply to North Korea, Iran, any country with a dictator and resources that Trump thinks are his for the taking.
The similarities with Putin are frightening.

I literally said “and it would be the case for many other leaders”.

Why will a bomb hit us?

BBC reports that global reaction has been mixed.

Brazil’s President Lula described the US’s actions as crossing “an unacceptable line”.

However, Keir Starmer said the UK will “shed no tears” about the end of Maduro’s regime and will seek a “safe and peaceful transition” in discussions with US counterparts.

Far more drugs get into the US from Colombia and Mexico no?

There is a serious drug problem in the US but what is Trump doing to tackle it internally? Sweet FA.

The “oh it’s the drugs” is an excuse, he wants the oil and the money from it. He is a self loving, bumbling orange lunatic. He needs to get off his high horse and look at his own criminal convictions, maybe another president can show up and arrest him? Wouldn’t surprise me if he was in cahoots with the Venezuelan President

"No saints and dodgy too' is a bit of an understatement.

Successive US presidents including Trump do a lot to try to tackle the drugs problem internally. Not always successfully but they do put a lot of resources into it.

And your allegation about Trump being in cahoots with the Venezuelan president are pure speculation & very far-fetched.

But it hasn’t worked? So how is bombing Venezuela and arresting their president going to help? I understand the Venezuelan president is an arsehole to put it lightly, but to it’s plain to see drug smuggling is not the reason.

My “allegation” as you say may be far fetched in your opinion, however like I said I would not be surprised.

What right does Trump have to decide he will now essentially take over another country?

I do however hope, whatever the outcome it works well for the Venezuelans and they prosper.

I think the US acted illegally. No nation has the right to go in and remove a leader, no matter how 'bad' that leader is. I mean, why not send someone in to snatch Starmer out of office - no matter how much I dislike Starmer and what he's doing to the country, I also know that would be completely wrong. Removing leaders in that way just starts another series of problems.

Trump's now got his eye on Cuba (so he said in his long boastful speech) - and he also made no secret of the fact he's done it at least partially to get his hands on what he called 'our' oil! That's what this is really about.

So the Venezuelan government pissed off the big oil companies in the US and Trump saw that they were losing money. So he invaded them and took control. It was easy to do as they are small and their president was corrupt.

Since it is not really acceptable to do this, Trump did it under the guise of drugs.

Is that about it?

It’s also worth noting that Trump has recently pardoned the former president of Honduras who was convicted of serious drug trafficking charges in a US court. So that tells you how much he cares about those trafficking in drugs to the USA.

“We're going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the county.” AND “We’re going to have a presence in Venezuela as it pertains to oil. We’re going to be taking a tremendous amount of wealth out of the ground.” - Trump, after invading Venezuela for oil

“[She] doesn't have the support within or the respect within the country“ - Trump, regarding the leader of opposition, who has a 72% approval rating in-country… so he doesn’t give a fuck what Venezuelans want

sources:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd9enjeey3go.amp

https://fortune.com/2026/01/03/trump-venezuelan-regime-change-nicolas-maduro-oil-us-energy-companies-investment/

Yep. That’s the whole thing. He’s already made it clear that he’ll be supporting Maduro’s second in command, who is currently in Russia. So much for the will of the people.

Just pointing out that you were wrong in your supposition that Trump is doing nothing internally to try to tackle the drug problem.

I believe drug smuggling is part of the reason for US actions, the other is oil. While Trump’s motives include self interest as always, it’s likely to be a positive thing for Venezuelans as well as the US.

I agree with Starmer’s position on this issue. He said in his official statement that the UK considers Maduro to be an illegitimate president & will shed no tears over the end of his regime.

I dont think so much about taking the oil itself. Its about making sure the oil is traded in usd so dollar so every country has to use dollars to buy oil. Venezuela had opted to sell in yuan a few years ago. I think the same happened but with euros in Iraq and gaddafi tried to do a dinar in Libya.

I used to think the US needed the actual physical oil when it invaded somewhere for oil, and it must need some, but it needs us all to buy in dollars too not start using yuan or a different currency.

Im sure there other factors too like location.
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Many countries have nationalised oil companies and control their national assets the way they see fit and it is not up to other countries to take over because they don’t like it.

The Monroe Doctrine basically allows for this stuff in South America. US always sees it as its backyard, and won’t tolerate overt interference from Russia or China there

That wasn’t the only problem with the president though.

So Trump supports vice president to take over in the interim and straight after been sworn in she defies Trump and says Maduro is only President. This is what happens when you jump in with both feet with no congress approval or plan.

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/world/americas/delcy-rodriguez-maduro-only-president.html

Trump has said Venezuela will be run by a group of people as an interim measure. That was in the BBC link posted up thread.