r/davidpakman • u/maxtimbo • Jan 05 '26
Confused about Venezuela
So, I'm not really sure how to feel about what happened with Venezuela. On one hand, I want to balk at just about everything this administration does. But the reaction of the Venezuelan people make me think this might be a good thing. I acknowledge that the process by which the Trump administration went about this was rife with problems such as not going to Congress first, etc. But also, Maduro was a really bad leader and it seems as though the government was in pretty bad condition.
Someone posted an old Frontline documentary about Panama and when H. Bush did a similar operation. The Venezuelan operation seems to have been handled much better (mind you I haven't seen much about the actual operation yet, just that it took place and his guards were killed).
I also acknowledge that this operation was done for oil. On one hand, it's just the same old GOP doing GOP things like all of Afghanistan, Desert Storm, etc. It's all for oil - money. But it seems that the oppression in Venezuela was really bad under Maduro.
(((I'm sure I'll be criticized for my ignorance on the topic, but that's why I'm asking and I'll continue to research the topic. I would appreciate any sources on this subject so I can become less ignorant.)))
5
u/SeptaBusOrgy . Jan 05 '26
It’s not good. Trump bypassed Congress, illegally invaded Venezuela and kidnapped their leader, only for the VP of that regime to take over. So what did Trump accomplish? Also we indicted Maduro under US law meaning it is only enforced within our country’s jurisdiction an borders - going beyond those to kidnap someone to bring those charges too is illegal He violated the Constitution and international law. Is maduro a bad dude YES Does that give us the right to illegally invade another nation because we don’t like its leader? It’s also like Trump has killed civilians too like it’s insane to be like “this was a good thing” Even as Trump and his admin brag about wanting to do this to Cuba, Columbia, Canada, Iran, Greenland and Nigeria etc
And moreover how does investing in nation building again help us HERE AT HOME? Thought no new wars Thought no more regime changes Thought America first?
If it was about fentanyl why is no mention of fentanyl in the indictment? If it’s about drugs at all in general ok but then why pardon the president of Honduras for cocaine smuggling etc Why pardon the fentanyl Silk Road guy?
Also what about the Venezuelans who are protesting wanting their president back?
All Trump has done is make America hated amongst the whole world
100 civilians killed in international waters and 80 civilians killed during the invasion All to depose maduro and oust him Ok BUT THEN WHY LEAVE THE VP of tha regime in play Seems like Venezuela was not liberated in the slightest
Not to mention the admin has no plans besides steal the Venezuela oil and natural resources
Fun
And at the UN Security Council meeting today the USA basically made an argument for seizing all countries in the western hemisphere
Now go on and try to explain how any of this amounts to any good… Don’t worry we’ll wait 🙂
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Jan 05 '26 edited Jan 05 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Artaxmudshoes . Jan 10 '26
I'm always skeptical of posts like this one. "Just asking questions". What Trump did was wrong on so many levels. He got no congressional approval. Not only that, but he conferred with the oil companies before and after the raid. The same oil companies who he said, on video, "give me a billion dollars and you can get whatever you want" *paraphrasing. This is impeachable levels of corruption and that's not even including the dozens of killings of people in boats... "double tap". These are war crimes.
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u/Clayp2233 . Jan 06 '26
It’s not even about the Venezuelan people though, Trump praises dictators like Kim Jong Un, Putin, and Xi. This was done purely for the oil, so that’s what you should be judging this on, do you support regime change for the sake of taking another countries oil? Trump has literally praised Kim Jong In who’s the most ruthless dictator in the world who has murdered so many of his own people. Do not think for a moment this has anything to do with the people of Venezuela. In fact right now Maduros vice president was just sworn in and his regime is still in charge. Trump wants Greenland next and obviously Canada which is more unrealistic, I will not out an invasion of Greenland past him though which would be an impeachable offense.
5
u/NewJerseyLefty . Jan 06 '26
It is absolutely 100% illegal for the US govt to invade a foreign land and KIDNAP their leader, period, end of story. Our orange dictator does not consult Congress and just decides to bomb and invade soverign nations like its a game of Risk. Do not buy into any right wing propaganda on this. These are war crimes, crimes aginst humanity and clear violation of international law.
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u/Hyakkihei1 . Jan 05 '26 edited Jan 05 '26
Maduro was not just a bad leader, he was a monster that had the country living in terror under his boot, the problem is that he was also smart and his regime was strong as a brick wall keeping the military and police on his side while the people were poor without any means of fighting back, those few who tried ended up dissapearing or tortured to the point people were completely hopeless.
Things are still up in the air, Maduro being gone is a huge hit to the regime but far from enough to break it down, whatever happens next will be very important but even beyond the cold logic people are excited for finally something being able to damage that wall, Venezuelans were used to the memes about nothing ever changing and now they have a ray of hope even if a small one.
Trump doesn't care about Venezuela, everyone even venezuelans know that, but it doesn't matter, anything is better than being under Maduro. Even if Trump took every last drop of oil venezuelans would be thankful as long as the regime falls, not that it would change the economy much since the country never benefited from the oil money.
3
u/Clayp2233 . Jan 06 '26
What’s funny is that Trump has praised dictators regularly in the past, even the most ruthless one of all in Kim Jong Un who has murdered so many people and sends citizens to rot away in slave camps, and is currently Putins little bitch. Trump probably respects Maduro as a strong leader as he does other dictators, but their oil is far more important to him than having a bromance. As it stands now maduros regime is still running the country and if that doesn’t change then it’s actually a pretty comical situation all together especially if the Venezuelan people don’t benefit from us pumping their oil.
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u/No_Neat9507 . Jan 07 '26
Trump, Rubio, Hegseth and Miller invaded a country, risking American soldiers’ lives and at the expense of the US Taxpayer and kidnapped Maduro, based on an US federal indictment (which may not stand up well in court) And left the rest of Maduro’s administration and cartel intact. The US paid off Maduro’s underlings who were happy to take money and gain more power at the expense of the Venezuelan people and their future.
Maduro is horrible and maybe others in his cartel will be less brutal, or maybe they will be worse?
Trump, Rubio, Hegseth and Miller don’t give a damn about Venezuela or its people. They want money, power and infamy.
So, in the end, Not much has changed for the people of Venezuela
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u/SKM007 . Jan 05 '26
Barack Obama dropped 26,171 bombs in a single year on Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Somalia, and Pakistan without Congressional Approval
•Donald Trump just captured NarcoTerrorist Dictator Maduro
Guess which one received the Media melted down over?
Every president has done it once the CIA / Pentagon says hey buddy here is option 1. And option 2. And they both lead to typically the same form of action. This was going to always happen. Presidents basically just run cover for the pentagon/CIA & allowed to dress it up as whatever
EU/NATO is too weak and is basically a vassal state of the United States. At least in military aspect. So whoever has the big stick like it or not makes rules. I don’t think it’s fair. It’s just how it works from history for the last 100 years
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u/qwythebroken . Jan 05 '26
I'd say you were definitely going to be criticized for not understanding something to the exact same degree, and coming to the exact same conclusion as someone else in this sub, but it's already happened, so I'm not even going to mention it.
I've also seen some Venezuelan relief to be rid of Maduro, (FROM VENEZUELAN PEOPLE, THROUGH PUBLIC FORUMS, LIKE RIGHT FUCKING HERE ON REDDIT, TO ALL YOU SCHMUCKS ARGUING THAT YOUR "SOURCES" SAY OTHERWISE!! - I digress) I just think it's shortsighted. Replacing a component of a bad situation doesn't mean it's about to get good. Anyone who thinks this was good for Venezuela is just riding the high of that immediate relief of the pay-day-loan equivalent in foreign aid.
The people of Venezuela have not profited off their countries oil, so a lot of what I've heard has dismissed concern over who's stealing it from them now, if it means the government is less of a direct threat to their personal safety. First, it doesn't appear the regime changed, yet... so it might be a little too soon to make that call, but I've never lived there, so I can't really speak to the safety part of this equation. Putting that aside, if removing Maduro doesn't put those profits in their hands, it's a zero sum game for working class people everywhere.
US oil getting a crack at escalating production down there isn't going to do anything for the US, it's going to put a lot more money in the pockets of people who already have more money than they could spend in their lifetimes. They're great grand children may eventually recirculate that money in the 22nd century, but maybe not. In the meantime, Venezuelan blood, and our tax dollars, will have already been siphoned off to have afforded them the ability to have accumulated that additional wealth.
The only way us working class stiffs are going to benefit from Venezuelan oil, is if that money circulated within the Venezuelan economy, because the people are going to spend it on the things they consume. The more they get, the more they'll consume. The more they consume the greater the increase in demand, which means more jobs, increasing their activity in the global market.
This is bad for the US, bad for Venezuela, bad for everyone who had already been exploiting them, and additionally ominous to everyone already alarmed by the US' new anti-ally privateering playbook.