Posting as someone with direct family ties to Venezuela.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fake AI pro-Trump Venezuela rallies. Literally no one in the world supports Chump and his mercenaries except the 30% of nimrods in America who still support him plus Israel and its 80% of Israelis that support genocide.

You think all videos and celebrations are fake, but I’ve seen video on news stations in Europe (reporting from Columbia, Argentina, Chile, Florida) with their own correspondents. Those were not fake. Those were live reports from news stations. I also know several Venezuelan colleagues - all these people are expats - yes, but they are all genuinely celebrating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fake AI pro-Trump Venezuela rallies. Literally no one in the world supports Chump and his mercenaries except the 30% of nimrods in America who still support him plus Israel and its 80% of Israelis that support genocide.

You think all videos and celebrations are fake, but I’ve seen video on news stations in Europe (reporting from Columbia, Argentina, Chile, Florida) with their own correspondents. Those were not fake. Those were live reports from news stations. I also know several Venezuelan colleagues - all these people are expats - yes, but they are all genuinely celebrating.

Yup, just like the Iraqis who cheered after Saddam was gone, and the Libyans with Gaddaffi and on and on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hang on. Are these posters here who still think this is not about oil? Trump has been abundantly clear since the weekend that this is about oil. Like, no one is pretending it's not.

Rubio tried to walk back Trump’s words about taking Venezuela’s oil and say it was about drug trafficking on Sunday. And got pissy when people quoted Trump’s words back at him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My wife is Venezuelan. She desperately wants to be able to go back someday—to visit safely, to see family, to recognize her own country again. Right now, that’s not possible. Much of her family is current or former military, and they want exactly what civilians want: freedom from an oppressive regime that destroyed their country from the inside.

She does not like Trump. Let’s get that out of the way. But let’s also stop pretending Venezuela is a Democrat vs. Republican issue. It’s not.

Under Maduro, people were run over by armored vehicles. Protesters were shot. Elections were a farce. The country became a narco-state while ordinary people starved or fled. That reality didn’t change depending on who was in the White House.

And for those suddenly clutching pearls about U.S. involvement—Biden continued dealings with Venezuelan oil despite repeated warnings from human-rights organizations. So please spare us the selective outrage.

China and Iran didn’t embed themselves in Venezuela out of goodwill. They wanted oil, minerals, leverage. Everyone knows this. Acting shocked now is disingenuous.

Here’s what’s missing from most of these takes: the majority of Venezuelans want the regime gone, even if that comes with hard compromises. They understand the cost because they’ve already paid it.

This isn’t about loving Trump.
It’s about wanting Venezuela back.

Your wife and the 60,000 other Venezuelans in the U.S. should go home and set up the government they want. It's not the United States' job to police the world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My question--

How many people in the world don't like the govt they're stuck with? And if you think another country should rescue them, what should be the basis for picking the countries to rescue? In one site I looked at which rates countries by their "freedom" score, Venezuela's score was not great--but there were 28 countries (including Russia, and a separate entry for Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine) with worse scores.

Exactly! What stops Zelensky to execute the same operation and to arrest Putin as a criminal of war?

[Anonymous]

For OP, does your family think trump will allow an election? He is known for tampering with ejections and not honoring the results… what is the thinking in Venezuela?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My question--

How many people in the world don't like the govt they're stuck with? And if you think another country should rescue them, what should be the basis for picking the countries to rescue? In one site I looked at which rates countries by their "freedom" score, Venezuela's score was not great--but there were 28 countries (including Russia, and a separate entry for Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine) with worse scores.

I don’t like our government, I want Denmark or Sweden or uk to swoop in and take us over so we can get a higher standard of living, return to being leaders in science, and free medical care!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hang on. Are these posters here who still think this is not about oil? Trump has been abundantly clear since the weekend that this is about oil. Like, no one is pretending it's not.

Rubio tried to walk back Trump’s words about taking Venezuela’s oil and say it was about drug trafficking on Sunday. And got pissy when people quoted Trump’s words back at him.

I wonder if he remembered to mention that the "Cartel de Soles" of which Maduro is the purported leader is a made-up thing. (Not saying that Maduro is NOT involved in drug trafficking, but he is not the head of a cartel in the usual sense.)

[Anonymous]

It’s going to get ugly. Trump didn’t think this through. Venezuela wants an election, but trump will never let that happen. Soon, it will become clear and the collectivist will continue to enforce Maduro regime

[Anonymous]

Venezuelans still are not free, they are scared don't know what will happen next. They are scared to talk to me on WhatAPP, government might be hearing what they are talking about. Nothing changed since Trump did this, some are happy but everything is unclear. They didn't plan it well at all. boarders are closed/.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For OP, does your family think trump will allow an election? He is known for tampering with ejections and not honoring the results… what is the thinking in Venezuela?

I have family there, and they don't know. Nothing was planned, and they will love an election and such, but they don't know what its going on. There are too scared to talk about they are reading WHATAPP messages if you go out. They are not free at all. We are not sure if anything will ever changed.

[Anonymous]

The latest is that Machado wants to return to Venezuela soon and is urging that the country hold elections. Trump has no plans to allow that anytime soon.

"I'm planning to go back to Venezuela as soon as possible," said Machado, 58, who escaped from Venezuela in disguise in October to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, which she dedicated to Trump. "We believe that this transition should move forward," she told Fox News in an interview. "In free and fair elections, we will win over 90% of the votes."

Trump, however, has said the U.S. needs to help address Venezuela's problems before an election, calling a 30-day timeline unrealistic. "We have to fix the country first ... There’s no way the people could even vote," Trump told NBC.

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/maduro-opponent-machado-vows-return-venezuela-wants-election-2026-01-06/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The latest is that Machado wants to return to Venezuela soon and is urging that the country hold elections. Trump has no plans to allow that anytime soon.

"I'm planning to go back to Venezuela as soon as possible," said Machado, 58, who escaped from Venezuela in disguise in October to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, which she dedicated to Trump. "We believe that this transition should move forward," she told Fox News in an interview. "In free and fair elections, we will win over 90% of the votes."

Trump, however, has said the U.S. needs to help address Venezuela's problems before an election, calling a 30-day timeline unrealistic. "We have to fix the country first ... There’s no way the people could even vote," Trump told NBC.

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/maduro-opponent-machado-vows-return-venezuela-wants-election-2026-01-06/

Trump waited until she left the country to make his move. He has no intention of allowing her back in or to lead. Anyway, the collectivos won’t allow it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My wife is Venezuelan. She desperately wants to be able to go back someday—to visit safely, to see family, to recognize her own country again. Right now, that’s not possible. Much of her family is current or former military, and they want exactly what civilians want: freedom from an oppressive regime that destroyed their country from the inside.

She does not like Trump. Let’s get that out of the way. But let’s also stop pretending Venezuela is a Democrat vs. Republican issue. It’s not.

Under Maduro, people were run over by armored vehicles. Protesters were shot. Elections were a farce. The country became a narco-state while ordinary people starved or fled. That reality didn’t change depending on who was in the White House.

And for those suddenly clutching pearls about U.S. involvement—Biden continued dealings with Venezuelan oil despite repeated warnings from human-rights organizations. So please spare us the selective outrage.

China and Iran didn’t embed themselves in Venezuela out of goodwill. They wanted oil, minerals, leverage. Everyone knows this. Acting shocked now is disingenuous.

Here’s what’s missing from most of these takes: the majority of Venezuelans want the regime gone, even if that comes with hard compromises. They understand the cost because they’ve already paid it.

This isn’t about loving Trump.
It’s about wanting Venezuela back.

Your wife and the 60,000 other Venezuelans in the U.S. should go home and set up the government they want. It's not the United States' job to police the world.

STFU you stupid ICE-sycophant MAGA!

[Anonymous]

The Grift is On!

Trump says U.S. taxpayers will reimburse oil companies for rebuilding Venezuela's infrastructure

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/energy/trump-venezuela-oil-companies-reimburse-rcna252434