I think this one is Rubio’s baby. Miller doesn’t give a shit about what happens to brown people.
True, but it’s not about brown people, it’s about getting oil money.
Except they won’t even get that, because it isn’t profitable to extract and process Venezuelan oil with the price of crude being as low as it is right now. It’s not the mid-2000s when US production was dwindling and oil was $150 a barrel - we’re a net exporter these days. Nobody is going to spend the tens of billions it would take to rebuild Venezuela’s oil infrastructure and process their super-heavy tar sands when they can get it from North Dakota at a fraction of the cost, and even if they tried it would take decades before they saw a profit on it, which is untenable in this psychopathic economic cycle we’re trapped in where the only thing that matters is that the numbers on the next quarter’s P&L statement are bigger than this one’s.
Venezuelan oil is a white elephant.
Weren’t we assured that Maduro was abducted because there was a criminal indictment for him, and he’s been brought to the U.S. to face justice?
What crimes has Rodriguez committed? I don’t put it past Trump to make some up, if he remembers to. It just drives me nuts when their stories change by the day and no one seems to notice.
That’s one of the biggest problems as I see it. The media lends equal credence to whatever the politicians say, even if it’s complete bullshit and/or nonsense.
What we need is for credible and well-placed journalists to be calling them out on their BS. Like pointing out that we don’t have the resources to govern another country, and that what he’s saying is largely BS.
I feel like if they did that enough, the people would realize that he’s entirely full of shit. Or they’d retreat back into their Fox/Newsmax/whatever alternate media ecosystem where everything he says is perfectly sensible and golden.
But I feel like the contrast between the two might possibly sway some people into questioning… something.
She has dared defy Trump, center of the universe and rightful ruler of everything that exists. There is no greater crime.
Being Maduro’s VP, it’s guilt by association.
Remember it doesn’t need to make sense for America, it only needs to make sense for Trump’s own grift, so public money can be used to make this “work” economically. But, at the end of the day, if it’s really not worth trying to pump more shale then they won’t, they’ll just take whatever has already been tapped and give Trump (personally) some of the cut.
American journalism was always too deferential IMO, but now on top of that we have the implicit and explicit threats of the administration.
I was watching CNN and there was no mention of the illegality of this, or how congress / Armed Services Committees were not even informed let alone consulted. It was just talking in a procedural way about what happens next. I didn’t watch for that long, I’m sure some of that must have come up (surely), but what I saw was just breathtaking in tone.
I’ll just post the commentary of my AI after giving it a variety of potentials that I can imagine and letting it decide which it found the most plausible:
Following the capture, specific firms and executives have moved into position to act as the “new management” for Venezuela’s infrastructure.
Amos Global Energy (Ali Moshiri) Ref
- Raising $2 Billion. Moshiri, former Chevron head of Latin America, is actively pitching institutional investors on a private placement to acquire PDVSA assets. Moshiri stated interest went from “zero to 99%” overnight. He cited the Trump administration’s “commercially friendly” stance as the catalyst.
Chevron Ref
- As the only U.S. major currently with a license to operate in Venezuela, Chevron is the primary vehicle for immediate expansion. Trump explicitly named “very large U.S. oil companies” as the force that will “fix the badly broken infrastructure.”
“The Lost Assets” Group Ref
- Firms like ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips (who lost $5B+ in previous nationalizations) are being told they must “return and invest” to receive any compensation for past losses. This effectively forces these companies to become the administration’s “boots on the ground” for reconstruction.
The “Reimbursement” Mechanism: Trump has stated that the U.S. will be “reimbursed” by the oil. This implies a royalty structure where private equity firms operate the fields and a percentage of the revenue is funneled directly back to the U.S. Treasury (or potentially specialized “reconstruction funds”).
Asset Liquidation: The administration is treating the entire country of Venezuela as a distressed asset in a bankruptcy proceeding. By removing Maduro, they have effectively cleared the “titles” to the oil fields, allowing them to be re-auctioned to private allies.
The “CEO-Sovereign” Precedent: This is a departure from traditional nation-building. Instead of using the State Department or USAID to rebuild, the administration is using Private Placement Memorandums (PPMs). This creates a “shadow” reconstruction effort that is accountable to shareholders and the executive branch rather than Congress.
- The “Vegas in the Jungle” Scenario: If the goal is private gain, we should expect to see the “New Venezuela” look less like a democracy and more like a Special Economic Zone. Look for the establishment of “Free Trade Zones” where U.S. law doesn’t apply, allowing for the unregulated movement of goods, capital, and “contraband” that bypasses the formal U.S. economy.
- The “Loyalty-Based Legalization” Model: You noted the pardon of figures like Juan Orlando Hernández (JOH) as a potential signal. A superior take is that the President isn’t looking to join the drug trade, but to legalize the participants who are loyal to him. By pardoning a former “narco-president,” he signals that the definition of “criminal” is determined by loyalty to the President, not by the act itself. This creates a “Protection Racket” where the “protection” is a Presidential Pardon, and the “payment” is geopolitical and financial fealty.
- The Sovereign Wealth Seizure: There is roughly $5 billion in Venezuelan gold and assets currently frozen in London and New York. By “running” the country, the administration can appoint a “trustee” to release those funds. If that trustee is a business associate, the “capture” of Maduro becomes the largest asset-recovery commission in human history.
Also they’ve mentioned a few times about who Venezuela sells oil to, so this is part about seizing the assets, and part about controlling them. Eg China won’t be able to buy Venezuelan oil any more.
So, people generally get really, REALLY angry when you bomb and invade their country. That begs the question; how many new terrorists emanating from brand new sources are we going to create now that Trump has decided to do this stuff?
I’m very concerned about this. Being the megalomaniac that he is, Trump seems to honestly believe we will suffer no consequences for our actions. There are always consequences.
And Vance is liable for gilt by association.
I see what you did here 
1.) I can understand Venezuelans being happy about Maduro being out of office
2.) That doesn’t mean they’re happy about the US being there. In fact, I suspect they’re seriously pissed about the neocolonialist implications, so it’s probably a good idea that Trump left “no boots on the ground”
3.) On the other hand, telling Rodriguez to toe the line or she’;ll get it next sort of presumes that people are going to listen to her.
4.) I predict a long guerilla war. Narco kings tend to be well-armed.
He won’t suffer consequences; the rest of us are utterly expendable to him. So he has no reason to care, by his standards.
It does not matter, as the terrorism will occur during a Democrat administration, so all blame can be put on them for the upcoming Venezuelan disaster and inevitable pullout of troops.
Against whom? Trump has done nothing to indicate he’s going to do anything to “run” Venezuela. He didn’t even try and install a puppet regime, let alone actually send occupying troops. And the press let him get away with just saying that. Without actually pressing administration officials on what that meant and what their plans were to make it happen.
Against anyone who comes in and tries to enforce US actions that the Venezuelans don’t want. Or maybe against any actions at all, just to show non-cooperation.
It was mentioned above that the price of oil will drop with Venezuelan oil on the market. Will Chevron et al want to produce more oil if it drives down prices?
What if – instead of spending a gazillion dollars on Venezuelan oil extraction/refining infrastructure – Chevron just sat on the Venezuelan oil, restricting supply and driving UP prices?