Posting as someone with direct family ties to Venezuela.

[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.

Trump is there to take the oil and he is not going to give Venezuela any royalties. He does not give a rats ass about the Venezuelan people. Listen to what he is saying.

US military and contractors occupation of Venezuela will be brutal. The US military has no rules of engagement. Look at Gaza that is what is coming.

Oh and your wife will be rounded up and deported. Stephen Miller played a big part in this.

I’m sorry you feel so strongly about deporting people that are here legally.

[Anonymous]

It is nit our job to fix this for Venezuelans. To risk our young people, and spend out tax dollars to free them. So Americans can pay lower gas prices? Our Trump’s donors can grow richer?

We have no right to decide who should rule other countries.

The whole drug explanation is a bold-faced lie. As proven by Trump’s recent pardon.

We need to fix our failing democracy before we remove other dictators based upon one man’s whim or greed.

(Putin and Netanyahu should be removed first, IF we are in this business, but we should not be.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here:

What’s honestly sickening to me is how tribal this has become.

So many people are reacting based on who they think they’re supposed to hate or defend, not on what Venezuelans have actually lived through. If your family had been there—if you’d watched them lose everything, if you’d worried daily about their safety, if you’d lived under that level of oppression—you would not be treating this like a thought experiment or a team sport.

For years, we’ve been sending remittances—boxes of food, medicine, money—just so family members could survive. Not thrive. Survive. That’s the reality people gloss over while posting hot takes from the comfort of their homes.

This outrage feels hollow when it ignores the human cost. When it erases the people who were beaten, silenced, imprisoned, or forced to flee. When it pretends moral purity matters more than ending suffering.

If this were about your parents, your siblings, your cousins living under that system, your tone would be very different.

This isn’t about left or right.
It’s about people who want their country—and their dignity—back.

Tribalism has rotted the conversation. And watching people minimize real pain because it doesn’t fit their politics is heartbreaking.

Many families and countries unfortunately live under oppressive regimes. You live in the US, and are writing as if no other country has these issues. They do. Why did Trump ‘help’ Venezuela? oil. Do I think you are going to stop needing to send remittance? Of course not. This was not for humanitarian reasons. Trump doesn’t care how the people of Venezuela have suffered.

Not OP, but I have family in Panama so have been hearing about the crisis for the past 10 years because when I visit there are so many Venezuelan refugees there. While it is true many families and countries live under oppressive regimes, the humanitarian disaster in Venezuela is on a whole other level.

7 MILLION people have fled- that is more than fled Syria. Over 20% of the population has had to flee Venezuela many because they couldn't even get one meal a day to eat. Kids have been starving in Venezuela. Venezuela’s bout with hunger is striking given that the nation had one of the highest standards of living in the region just a few decades ago thanks to its formerly abundant oil wealth.

There are plenty of people who hate Trump but are pleased something was finally done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP AGAIN:
Two things can be true at the same time.

Yes, this is about human rights. About political prisoners, sham elections, protesters run over by armored vehicles, and families forced to flee or rely on remittances just to survive.

And yes, it’s also about international security and oil.

Venezuela sits on enormous resources. The U.S. helped build much of that oil infrastructure decades ago, when Venezuela was a functioning partner with one of the most advanced energy systems in the world. That system wasn’t “sanctioned into collapse”—it was gutted by corruption, politicization, and a regime that rewarded loyalty over competence.

Pretending China and Iran embedded themselves there out of altruism is laughable. They wanted oil, minerals, leverage, and influence in the Western Hemisphere. That matters whether you’re progressive or conservative.

This isn’t a Republican or Democratic issue. Biden continued Venezuelan oil dealings despite repeated human-rights warnings. Trump taking action doesn’t magically erase the reality on the ground.

For families like ours—sending remittances, shipping boxes of food and medicine, hoping one day it’s safe to return—this isn’t abstract. It’s lived experience.

You don’t have to deny strategic interests to care about human rights.
And you don’t have to ignore human suffering to acknowledge strategic interests.

Refusing to admit both is exactly how the conversation gets dumbed down.

What's confusing me about your post (and many comments from Venezuelans) is why are you feeling so optimistic about human rights? I understand that Maduro was a monster, and in that sense his abduction at least offers a glimmer of hope. But nothing I've heard has suggested that conditions will improve in Vz after his departure. The same people are in power. The Chavist paramilitaries are still blocking roads and enforcing loyalty. The economic system is the same.

This isn't "Trump will get the oil in exchange for an improved human rights situation on the ground". Trump doesn't give a rats ass about human rights, and he'll make no demands on the new government to improve the domestic situation in the country.

There is much uncertainty surrounding the near future in Venezuela and especially so with an incompetent American POTUS running the show but the first step in getting people out from underneath an oppressive dictator is to remove the dictator. There will be inevitable challenges with steps 2 and 3 but Venezuelans celebrating step 1 is completely understandable.

I am hopeful that by removing maduro business and tourism will return to Venezuela, providing stable economy and an opportunity for future prosperity for the people.

Trump kidnapped Maduro but left the Chavista power structure in place, so I'm not sure I see how anything has been solved.

And how many of our tax dollars were spent on this illegal action, with zero Congressional authorization.

So much for the US Constitution, and all player’s oaths of office.,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Plenty of countries have oppressive regimes that persecute citizens. No one else is sitting on the world’s biggest oil reserve though. 🤔

h

+1
If this was about drugs, we’d be talking about Mexico.

[Anonymous]

Ok OP.

And most Americans don't want a president who does not obey the constitution. This could have been done a legal way and still accomplished. It wasn't.

So OP, you are saying you want citizens of the US to be subject to a banana republic dictator just like the one removed from Venezuela.

The rest of us without ties to Venezuela don't want this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This isn’t about drug trafficking or drug smuggling or corruption. It’s about oil. Power vacuums rarely lead to peaceful transitions of power. I hope your wife gets to visit her family sometime soon, but Trump doesn’t actually care about the people of Venezuela. See the hypocrisy of pardoning the Honduran president.

This is what you don't seem to understand, to the people of Venezuela, WHO CARES if Trump doesn't care about them. WHO CARES if Trump is out to enrich himself. Maduro didn't care about them either. Maduro was not making them rich off their country's resources. All the ills and complications that will come with Trump are not a loss to Venezuelans, they were already losing! Change in any form is a gain at the moment. It may prove not to be over time, but right now in the immediate moment, the only thing that matters is that their oppressor is out. Yes, even if that means welcoming another oppressor with open arms.

I get that this is good for OP’s wife.

But most of us are not Venezuelans and don’t get how they jumped to the front of the line of world citizens who need our rescue.

I would rather kidnap Netanyahu until he rebuilds Gaza. Or Putin until his troops leave Ukraine.

(But I am not a corrupt thug, so would respect international law if I was in power. )

[Anonymous]

USA is not supposed to be the international police force.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you are wasting your breath on DCUM’s rich white progressives.

Again, progressives aren't the problem. Our problems are the hyper-partisan Republicans and Democrats.

It’s the tribalism that leads us to the slaughterhouse.

-OP

I blame social media and the news more than anything. They profit off of this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you are wasting your breath on DCUM’s rich white progressives.

Again, progressives aren't the problem. Our problems are the hyper-partisan Republicans and Democrats.

It’s the tribalism that leads us to the slaughterhouse.

-OP

I blame social media and the news more than anything. They profit off of this.

The major political parties are the big winners in a divisive political climate. Hatred and fear brings in a lot more "donations" to fund campaigns than does moderation and cooperation. We're all duped.

[Anonymous]

OP, I am cautiously optimistic for your wife and her fellow Venezuelans. I personally have roots in a country that overthrew a military dictatorship (although in their case they did so without external assistance), so I have a sense of how good many Venezuelans are feeling right now. I hope your wife can reunite with her friends and family soon in a safe environment.

That being said, I don't have a lot of faith in the current administration to do the right thing for Venezuela which, in my mind, includes helping them hold free and elections as soon as possible so they can transition to a democracy. I also haven't hear anything about them bringing food and medications and other critically needed supplies into the country to provide immediate relief to the suffering population.

I also don't think that the current administration gives a rat's a** about humanitarian issues in general. If they did, they would not have attempted to rescind TPS status for the following countries in addition to Venezuela (on this list, Haiti is in even worst shape than Venezuela):

Afghanistan
Cameroon
Ethiopia
Haiti
Honduras
Myanmar (Burma)
Nepal
Nicaragua
South Sudan
Syria

Nor would the current administration have destroyed USAID, our national foreign aid agency. Or closed our refugee program to everyone except white Afrikaners. If they cared about actual human beings.

[Anonymous]

Trump didn’t remove Maduro because he cares about the well being of Venezuelans. He looks at the world as if he’s a 19th century imperialist. He even invoked the Monroe Doctrine. In Trump’s mind, Venezuela and its oil and minerals are his. And if what remains of the Chavist regime are compliant with his need to take over the Venezuelan oil industry that is fine with him. You’ll notice there was no mention of elections or democracy during his press conference.

If Venezuelans want their country back, they’re going to have to take it back themselves. I’d think with Maduro gone, now would be an excellent time to take to the streets. But if Venezuelans remain passive, not much is going to change.

There is zero popular support in the US for an occupation of Venezuela. Even putting US boots on the ground to protect the oil industry is going to have massive opposition in the US and around the world. Maduro is gone. There is an opportunity now. But it’s up to Venezuelans if they want to seize the moment and change things. And if they don’t, it will be samo samo but with different management.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here:

What’s honestly sickening to me is how tribal this has become.

So many people are reacting based on who they think they’re supposed to hate or defend, not on what Venezuelans have actually lived through. If your family had been there—if you’d watched them lose everything, if you’d worried daily about their safety, if you’d lived under that level of oppression—you would not be treating this like a thought experiment or a team sport.

For years, we’ve been sending remittances—boxes of food, medicine, money—just so family members could survive. Not thrive. Survive. That’s the reality people gloss over while posting hot takes from the comfort of their homes.

This outrage feels hollow when it ignores the human cost. When it erases the people who were beaten, silenced, imprisoned, or forced to flee. When it pretends moral purity matters more than ending suffering.

If this were about your parents, your siblings, your cousins living under that system, your tone would be very different.

This isn’t about left or right.
It’s about people who want their country—and their dignity—back.

Tribalism has rotted the conversation. And watching people minimize real pain because it doesn’t fit their politics is heartbreaking.

Many families and countries unfortunately live under oppressive regimes. You live in the US, and are writing as if no other country has these issues. They do. Why did Trump ‘help’ Venezuela? oil. Do I think you are going to stop needing to send remittance? Of course not. This was not for humanitarian reasons. Trump doesn’t care how the people of Venezuela have suffered.

Not OP, but I have family in Panama so have been hearing about the crisis for the past 10 years because when I visit there are so many Venezuelan refugees there. While it is true many families and countries live under oppressive regimes, the humanitarian disaster in Venezuela is on a whole other level.

7 MILLION people have fled- that is more than fled Syria. Over 20% of the population has had to flee Venezuela many because they couldn't even get one meal a day to eat. Kids have been starving in Venezuela. Venezuela’s bout with hunger is striking given that the nation had one of the highest standards of living in the region just a few decades ago thanks to its formerly abundant oil wealth.

There are plenty of people who hate Trump but are pleased something was finally done.

The humanitarian disaster is on a whole other level in:
Gaza
Haiti
Mali

I wonder why we chose to help Venezuela instead of our much closer neighbor Haiti?

[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.

Sorry you don't have direct ties to Venezuela. Your wife does. And any information you have will be through the biased lens of someone else. If you're an American male, you're especially susceptible to the simp syndrome. I've seen it many times before. The "adopted" culture expert American white knight.

Venezuela is complicated. Its history and economy as a former European colony and banana republic make it so. Yours is just one side of it. Does your wife's experience suck atm? Sure. But Chávez and Maduro were elected and idolized by many for specific reasons, and those reasons will only amplify if that group is squeezed out again. Democracy is a wonderful idea, but it didn't do anything for the marginalized groups before Chávez.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Trump didn’t remove Maduro because he cares about the well being of Venezuelans. He looks at the world as if he’s a 19th century imperialist. He even invoked the Monroe Doctrine. In Trump’s mind, Venezuela and its oil and minerals are his. And if what remains of the Chavist regime are compliant with his need to take over the Venezuelan oil industry that is fine with him. You’ll notice there was no mention of elections or democracy during his press conference.

If Venezuelans want their country back, they’re going to have to take it back themselves. I’d think with Maduro gone, now would be an excellent time to take to the streets. But if Venezuelans remain passive, not much is going to change.

There is zero popular support in the US for an occupation of Venezuela. Even putting US boots on the ground to protect the oil industry is going to have massive opposition in the US and around the world. Maduro is gone. There is an opportunity now. But it’s up to Venezuelans if they want to seize the moment and change things. And if they don’t, it will be samo samo but with different management.

+1