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I haven't been keeping track of this realm of politics closely. Is there a concise well-informed summary anywhere? Unfortunately everything I find contains a de
by arjie 10mo ago
I haven't been keeping track of this realm of politics closely. Is there a concise well-informed summary anywhere? Unfortunately everything I find contains a degree of polemic that I find is usually accompanied by low-information content.
- logicchains 10mo agoTrump blamed Venezuela for stealing US oil when it nationalized US oil companies there, and for shipping drugs to America, and for creating Dominion voting machines which he believes were used to cheat in the 2020 election. Some in his administration have also blamed Venezuela for working with Iran/Hezbollah/Hamas. One or more of those could be the reason for the invasion.
- dragonwriter 10mo agoTrump also blamed Venezuela for literally conducting an invasion of the United States (not just in rhetoric, but as his legal justification for invoking the Alien Enemies Act in March of 2025.)
- SilverElfin 10mo agoTrump is blaming Venezuela for the fentanyl crisis in America. But it’s actually about stealing Venezuela’s oil and minerals: https://english.elpais.com/international/2025-12-22/oil-gold-and-rare-earth-elements-the-backdrop-to-us-political-tension-with-venezuela.html https://english.elpais.com/international/2025-12-22/oil-gold... Once a puppet regime has been established, you can bet Trump-related companies will get contracts to extract this stuff.
- JumpCrisscross 10mo ago> it’s actually about stealing Venezuela’s oil and minerals It's multi-faceted. Venezuela is a hive of Russian, Chinese and Iranian activity in the Western Hemisphere. That is–long run–a problem for America. Venezuela is also a brutal dictatorship that is oppressing its people and producing waves of migrants. Finally, Venezuela is rich in underdeveloped mineral and energy resources. (Caveat: Exxon currently pumps those wells.) Venezuela is also not Epstein, so, idk, there's that.
- drysine 10mo ago>Venezuela is a hive of Russian, Chinese and Iranian activity in the Western Hemisphere. That is–long run–a problem for America. Hmm, the Ukraine is a hive of American, British and German activity near Russian border. That is–long run–a problem for Russia. How does that sound?
- JumpCrisscross 10mo ago> Ukraine is a hive of American, British and German activity near Russian border. That is–long run–a problem for Russia. How does that sound? Like a bad reason to go to war. Same here. I'm not justifying the war. I'm just saying the reasons are–or at least reasonably can be–more complicated than one dimension.
- drysine 10mo agoBad or good, you call it a reason.
- blfr 10mo agoSounds like Russian leadership should have known they're not a match for Americans. A costly misjudgement.
- avidiax 10mo agoMaduro isn't a good leader. He's been very repressive, very likely stole the 2024 election from his opponent. Venezuela has terrible economic problems and food and medicine shortages. They have been assisting Russia, operating a shadow fleet of oil tankers that routinely disable transponders to evade international sanctions against each other. They've also been helping Iran to manufacture UAVs. They are also a narco-state. The cartel there has at least partially captured the government. Installing a more palatable leader and administration would perhaps allow the sanctions to be lifted, oil to be sold on the global market, and aid to flow in. The brain drain from the country might partly reverse. Or, it could devolve into a civil war, insurgency, mass refugee exodus, etc. All the above describes many countries, more or less. Why the US is targeting Venezuela in particular likely has to do with oil, geopolitical principle (Monroe doctrine) and advantage (weaken Iran and Russia), Venezuelan immigration to the U.S., distraction from Trump's failing health, personal & political scandals, "red meat" for the base and war-hawks, and the political security afforded to a "war time" president.
- estearum 10mo agoTo be more explicit: Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the entire world and, due to the above, are not inclined to transact it with the US. This deserves far more than the two little sidenotes you've dropped in here. POTUS demonstrably does not give a fuck about countries "assisting Russia", "being repressive", "stealing elections" or "having economic/food/health problems".
- ergocoder 10mo agoBut the side benefits are highly welcome
- athrowaway3z 10mo agoI highly doubt that weakening Iran and Russia is the goal here, and I'm not even sure how people got that idea. This isn't 2010 anymore. These decisions require a pretty broad coalition to get a workable plan in front of Trump for him to activate for attention. So there is never 1 single reason, but my 2cents are that: - Most of the oil export goes to China. Especially with the recent metals kerfuffle, this is a quick way to improve the US' negotiation position. - The hawks in the army are getting restless and are clamoring for real-world modern drone warfare experience - especially if Taiwan turns hot. Getting a trial run in your backyard in similar terrain is good practice. (Assuming they'll send in an occupying force, and it's contested by china backed insurgents).
- yuppiepuppie 10mo agoJohn Stewart had a good piece about it on The Daily Show a few weeks ago. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=C5QGzYFjVaU https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=C5QGzYFjVaU