I think capturing Maduro was the right call. He was a tyrant who deprived his people of basic rights and ran a drug operation that killed people. However, I am worried about the need for congressional oversight and what will happen to the Venezuelan people now. I hope to God the transition of power runs smoothy to the opposition led by Edmundo Gonzales and Maria Corina Machado, but I have little faith in the administration to handle it properly.
When you say “unless the country becomes a failed state first”, you neglect to mention *which* country you’re referring to; Venezuela, or the US. Because we are teetering on the brink of that and sliding ever closer to becoming a failed state with the largest nuclear stockpile in the world. The number of US and international laws this invasion likely broke is staggering. Everything from the US Constitution to the Geneva Conventions, which now apply because they also broke the laws of the UN Charter which says once a nation invades or attacks another nation, a state of war exists in fact — and in law. This was not self defense. Drug trafficking is a crime, not a military action, no matter what orange Julius and his enablers tell you. It was not law enforcement, which is constrained by multiple international laws, the most basic of one being that you don’t get to use deadly force in making your unlawful extradition and roughly 80 Venezuelan civilians are dead as a result.
Also, heads of state are immune to foreign prosecution while they remain heads of state. Trump should be very concerned if that law breaks down over this, because HE depends on that protection as much as anyone. And whether you like Maduro or not, and whether his election was legitimate or not, he *is* the recognized leader of Venezuela. That is not something Donald Trump gets to decide.
In a functioning democracy there would be consequences for this. It remains to be seen whether American has the sack to enforce its own laws. If it does not, you can be sure that Putin and Xi are watching what happens very carefully. Because this wasn’t just a kidnapping, it was a test launch. It was never about drugs, it was a test to see how far Trump could go before somebody stopped him. It started here at home, and we failed to stop him there. Now the rest of the world has to suffer for that fecklessness.
We have no boots on the ground, no control over the state, and no control of the government. The Venezuelan military at 400k strong remains in place and his deputy has been sworn in as president. There has been no change of government, and there won't be absent a deadly bloody invasion that will make Afghanistan seem tame.
Trump's decision to launch this was impulsive yes. Based upon the presser that followed and Rubio's shifting narrative I am 100% certain that they had a plan to get Maduro but no consistent plan for what comes next. Even Rumsfeld knew you needed a plan, even if his was a failure. Whether it was personal, or about Drugs or about China (see https://substack.com/home/post/p-183330343) is up for debate. I suspect it was all of the above plus a distraction from Epstien.
We shouldn't expect anything to really change because real change is hard and would require competence, investment, and coherence that Trump does not have. If anything we should only expect him to take this hubris and go after Cuba and Greenland.
That said I absolutely agree that MAGA will fall in line. The supposed moralists brushed aside the Access Hollywood tape, the Anti-War Trump Voters will brush aside this.
Thanks for keeping the Epstein monstrosity alive. Everyone knows that kidnapping Venezuela’s leaders are a massive distraction from Epstein, Jack Smith’s damning testimony that was released on New Year’s Eve when few have were paying attention to the news, and the 5th anniversary of trump, his thug’s attack on our Capitol on Jan 6 and more.
We’ll see if the magas have a negative reaction to all of these wars donnycon’s trying to start. I doubt it. Cults are notoriously tough to get out of.
What’s your thoughts on Don Davis siding with the R’s on Venezuela? I’ve not been happy with several of his votes this being one. I know he votes mostly along party consensus lines, but really some of his choices make me pull back on working to get him re-elected.
I think capturing Maduro was the right call. He was a tyrant who deprived his people of basic rights and ran a drug operation that killed people. However, I am worried about the need for congressional oversight and what will happen to the Venezuelan people now. I hope to God the transition of power runs smoothy to the opposition led by Edmundo Gonzales and Maria Corina Machado, but I have little faith in the administration to handle it properly.
When you say “unless the country becomes a failed state first”, you neglect to mention *which* country you’re referring to; Venezuela, or the US. Because we are teetering on the brink of that and sliding ever closer to becoming a failed state with the largest nuclear stockpile in the world. The number of US and international laws this invasion likely broke is staggering. Everything from the US Constitution to the Geneva Conventions, which now apply because they also broke the laws of the UN Charter which says once a nation invades or attacks another nation, a state of war exists in fact — and in law. This was not self defense. Drug trafficking is a crime, not a military action, no matter what orange Julius and his enablers tell you. It was not law enforcement, which is constrained by multiple international laws, the most basic of one being that you don’t get to use deadly force in making your unlawful extradition and roughly 80 Venezuelan civilians are dead as a result.
Also, heads of state are immune to foreign prosecution while they remain heads of state. Trump should be very concerned if that law breaks down over this, because HE depends on that protection as much as anyone. And whether you like Maduro or not, and whether his election was legitimate or not, he *is* the recognized leader of Venezuela. That is not something Donald Trump gets to decide.
In a functioning democracy there would be consequences for this. It remains to be seen whether American has the sack to enforce its own laws. If it does not, you can be sure that Putin and Xi are watching what happens very carefully. Because this wasn’t just a kidnapping, it was a test launch. It was never about drugs, it was a test to see how far Trump could go before somebody stopped him. It started here at home, and we failed to stop him there. Now the rest of the world has to suffer for that fecklessness.
Change won't come, not for the better.
We have no boots on the ground, no control over the state, and no control of the government. The Venezuelan military at 400k strong remains in place and his deputy has been sworn in as president. There has been no change of government, and there won't be absent a deadly bloody invasion that will make Afghanistan seem tame.
Trump's decision to launch this was impulsive yes. Based upon the presser that followed and Rubio's shifting narrative I am 100% certain that they had a plan to get Maduro but no consistent plan for what comes next. Even Rumsfeld knew you needed a plan, even if his was a failure. Whether it was personal, or about Drugs or about China (see https://substack.com/home/post/p-183330343) is up for debate. I suspect it was all of the above plus a distraction from Epstien.
We shouldn't expect anything to really change because real change is hard and would require competence, investment, and coherence that Trump does not have. If anything we should only expect him to take this hubris and go after Cuba and Greenland.
That said I absolutely agree that MAGA will fall in line. The supposed moralists brushed aside the Access Hollywood tape, the Anti-War Trump Voters will brush aside this.
Thanks for keeping the Epstein monstrosity alive. Everyone knows that kidnapping Venezuela’s leaders are a massive distraction from Epstein, Jack Smith’s damning testimony that was released on New Year’s Eve when few have were paying attention to the news, and the 5th anniversary of trump, his thug’s attack on our Capitol on Jan 6 and more.
We’ll see if the magas have a negative reaction to all of these wars donnycon’s trying to start. I doubt it. Cults are notoriously tough to get out of.
What’s your thoughts on Don Davis siding with the R’s on Venezuela? I’ve not been happy with several of his votes this being one. I know he votes mostly along party consensus lines, but really some of his choices make me pull back on working to get him re-elected.