BREAKING NEWS: Nicolás Maduro has been captured | America bombs Venezuela 🇻🇪🇺🇸

[Apparition of Jack]

Venezuela is going to turn into a failed state. 
 

I mean this sincerely, the rest of the world should prepare to host as many Venezuelan refugees as they can. I might even write my member of parliament expressing my concern.

[zazen]

1 hour ago, NewKidOnTheBlock said:

I like the efficiency tbh, not to be a glazer or something but US military might be one of the most efficient militaries ever created if it wants to be; precision strikes on a couple of targets and kidnapping the leader of the country and there's not a shit they can do about it

Same - imagine the Hollywood movies coming out about this. US and Israel are very competent at these kind of precision operations and shock and awe campaigns. They accomplished the operation at low cost to life - but maybe a cost will be paid in the long term depending on what happens next.

Their saying it was a negotiated exit - I don't think US would have risked a messy kidnapping had they not had them on side. Must be bought off military that allowed things to go this smoothly.

Only question now is whether factions fight with ensuing guerrilla warfare due to a power vacuum or does it stabilize under a US puppet like that nobel prize winner. Like what Jack says:

51 minutes ago, Apparition of Jack said:

That’s not the problem. The problem is what happens now?

Maduro might be captured but hes just one guy. His government, party, military etc still run the country. I don’t know much about Venezuela but I highly doubt millions of his supporters won’t go down without a fight. 
 

Also, even if literally every single Venezuelan was chomping at the bit to oust him (which I doubt), in general people hate it when you invade their nation and kill their people. There are probably huge swathes of apolitical / centrist Venezuelans who just became diehard patriots over night and will resist any US attempt to assert its will on their country. Regime change wars are incredibly tricky business, which the US has an absolute dogshit record on.

A lot of Venezuelans definitely despised Maduro - but what comes next like you said may be worse. We just have to look at history - which tracks till today as to which nations are ''demonised'' as a axis of evil or resistance by the current Western hegemony. The states with memory of submission refuse to repeat it - and that refusal threatens the universality of the current system.

After the fall of the USSR, Boris Yeltsin submitted to the Western order (economic shock therapy) which lead to high in-equality, privatized asset stripping and looting of the economy. That led to Putin coming in with a hard fist stabilizing things. Leading till today.

Iran learnt the same lesson earlier with the nationalising of their resources under Mossadegh leading to a British-US backed coup installing the Shah, which later lead to the revolution. Resisting till today.

China learnt the same lesson even earlier during Pax-Britannica from the century of humiliation and opium wars. Lesson being - never again allow external powers to dictate the terms of development.

There's a common pattern to why nations are lumped together to be ''contained''. They are civilizationally strong enough and geographically insulated enough to resist and rebel (in Irans case) submission to the US led, Western dominated order that sets the terms to their favor.

In the world system you either have those that are integrated (close allies) or submitted (weaker nations), or those that resist and hedge (swing states like India or the gulf). Much of the global south would like to resist or hedge but don't have the strength / leverage to do so. The rise of China leading the way with stronger nations in BRICS have given confidence to smaller / weaker nations to collectively re-balance the world order on equitable terms. What is being challenged is the West being able to unilaterally dictate - or 15% of the world population dictate to 85% of the world population because of a inherited colonial legacy system they reign supreme in.

Venezuela is being used a example to stay compliant to the current system and not defect - or else suffer the consequence. If you have a openly defiant example of a country in your own hemisphere - what signal does that send to other countries in that same hemisphere? ''Oh we can just trade outside the dollar system with China and engage in BRICS development projects and survive the hissy fit sanctions from daddy US?'' not so fast because you'll be couped hombre lol. Tao Te Geopolitics.

 

Edited Saturday at 04:18 PM by zazen

[Ulax]

1 hour ago, NewKidOnTheBlock said:

I like the efficiency tbh, not to be a glazer or something but US military might be one of the most efficient militaries ever created if it wants to be; precision strikes on a couple of targets and kidnapping the leader of the country and there's not a shit they can do about it

Yeah mission was gangster

[Husseinisdoingfine]

51 minutes ago, Twentyfirst said:

5 years later: Venezuelan immigrants arrive at American shores

Americans: "Ughh, we just want to be left alone, why is this happening"

This is the root of the entire American immigration crisis. America has a long history of intervening in South America.

 

There was even a leak in WikiLeaks that Haiti wanted to raise its minimum wage but the U.S. Embassy under Obama intervened to keep denim jeans cheap.

https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/wikileaks-haiti-let-them-live-3-day/tnamp/
 

Sincere question, but why is this context for the cause of illegal immigration NEVER brought up in America. Not by the media, politicians, no one. 

[zazen]

If the US really wanted to promote global democracy they could offer some kind of NATOesque democracy enforcement treaty.

Any leader whose approval rating sinks below a certain level gets efficient Maduro treatment. Bin Laden and Gaddafi era was whack a mole logic, now it’s pluck a homie logic.

Could be as easy as so:

Ironically - the countries that may trigger article pluck a homie more often aren the ones currently lecturing everyone else about democracy.

Merz, Starmer and Macron would get couped by their own rules. Real poll-itic.

Edited Monday at 03:31 PM by zazen

[Jirh]

What happens next is easy.

USA installs a puppet regime through whatever means, and supports it to shut down any opposition. Army men are pawns, they will fight for whoever pays them, so there's no worries there.

Flawless victory.

[Jodistrict]

Now the United States can't complain when China takes Taiwan.   

[Twentyfirst]

@Husseinisdoingfine Crazy man crazy

South America NEEDS nukes.

[Jirh]

5 minutes ago, Jodistrict said:

Now the United States can't complain when China takes Taiwan.   

Complaining is for victims, not aggressors.

USA could let China take Taiwan, this scenario is not that far fetched. But there are plans and preparations for this scenario as well as many others.

The goal is not to prevent land invasion, but to prevent leaking technological advancements. And there are already preparations for this in place.

[Leo Gura]

16 minutes ago, Jirh said:

USA could let China take Taiwan,

No it can't. The business investments are too high.

A huge chunk of the S&P500 valuation lives in Taiwan.

[Stick]

I mean there is nothing US can do if China exerts some strength on Taiwan. Would only sour their relation. So whether US has deemed Taiwan protectable determines whether it will intervene to protect taiwan. After all business in China is high as well.

[Leo Gura]

When you understand that half the US Senate has their life savings invested in corporations that rely on Taiwan, you will understand why the US will never let Taiwan go.

[NewKidOnTheBlock]

41 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

No it can't. The business investments are too high.

A huge chunk of the S&P500 valuation lives in Taiwan.

I'd imagine conventional war for Taiwan and seas nearby would devolve into a complete chaos and a naval asset graveyard for all sides, I can't believe China specifically thinks it can just isolate the island with it's navy when we saw what Ukraine drones did to Russian navy in the Black Sea. Japanese and US navy would also suffer a similiar fate

[Husseinisdoingfine]

—❗️🇺🇸/🇻🇪 NEW: The first image of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima

@Middle_East_Spectator [Telegram]

Edited Saturday at 06:33 PM by Husseinisdoingfine

[Husseinisdoingfine]

—❗️🇺🇸/🇨🇺 President Trump: 'We may have to look at Cuba as well. It's a failing nation.'

 

@Middle_East_Spectator

[zazen]

China plays the long game - it won’t move unless the timeline gets compressed with the crossing of red lines on the US’s part - which they haven’t yet.

Chips alone won’t be fought over because a war means the loot (fabs) will be destroyed anyway. Both US and China are also heavily investing in domestic capacity for semi’s so Taiwan will lose that monopoly. Chips are critical but not existential to the point of going to war against a peer competitor over.

Taiwan hasn’t formally or de facto integrated into any sort of rival military architecture -  no permanent US bases, defence treaty flirtation, or NATO style command integration. Independence rhetoric is mostly symbolic but not crossed into being cemented structurally by law or UN recognition   - red lines haven’t been crossed the way they were in Ukraine where the time to act was compressed.

China has so far tolerated plenty of ambiguity and so has Taiwan maintained it without clear defection because all parties involved know the line.

“Lay low and bide your time” - some Chinese don.

 

Edited Saturday at 06:41 PM by zazen

[NewKidOnTheBlock]

39 minutes ago, zazen said:

China plays the long game - it won’t move unless the timeline gets compressed with the crossing of red lines on the US’s part - which they haven’t yet.

Chips alone won’t be fought over because a war means the loot (fabs) will be destroyed anyway. Both US and China are also heavily investing in domestic capacity for semi’s so Taiwan will lose that monopoly. Chips are critical but not existential to the point of going to war against a peer competitor over.

Taiwan hasn’t formally or de facto integrated into any sort of rival military architecture -  no permanent US bases, defence treaty flirtation, or NATO style command integration. Independence rhetoric is mostly symbolic but not crossed into being cemented structurally by law or UN recognition   - red lines haven’t been crossed the way they were in Ukraine where the time to act was compressed.

China has so far tolerated plenty of ambiguity and so has Taiwan maintained it without clear defection because all parties involved know the line.

“Lay low and bide your time” - some Chinese don.

 

I agree that China has a different political philosophy and think longterm, even in a timelines of centuries - that's why it makes no sense to me that it'd want to attack Taiwan directly and in such a short amount of time (2026/2027). Surely that must be some sort of western misinterpretation of Chinese motives? Not to glaze Chinese either of course but they gotta be smarter than that, they're not in the same desperate position Russia is. In fact, I'd wager Chinese long term goal is to slowly puppet Russia throught a series of disadvantageous trade deals (for the Russians ofc; which they're already in the full process of doing) and use puppeted Russia to weaken the west; in that sense, I see direct threats from Russia only

Edited Saturday at 07:19 PM by NewKidOnTheBlock

[Jodistrict]

1 hour ago, Leo Gura said:

When you understand that half the US Senate has their life savings invested in corporations that rely on Taiwan, you will understand why the US will never let Taiwan go.

That presupposes that the United States has the power to never let Taiwan go.

[Hatfort]

That was crazy, Trump making his peace.

They kidnapped Maduro, but they don't have the country in control. The vice president took her job in the absence of the president, and the rest of the government is intact, including the defence minister. Are they going to continue kidnapping officials? Put more boots on the ground to put Machado or any other puppet in charge of a dictatorship? This is not done.

[PenguinPablo]

5 hours ago, Lyubov said:

The MAGA fucktards will do a nice big 180 on how their isolationist dictator is “the president of peace.” “No more foreign intervention!” 

They lack the intelligence and infinitely comfortable with self deception and no capacity for cognitive dissonance.

Impossible to reason with.