Posting as someone with direct family ties to Venezuela.

[Anonymous]

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.

Similar responses for immigration. It is not black and white. You can support limits on immigration without being racist. You can support the rule of law and support deportations of illegal aliens without being racist. Democrats are unable to deal with both attitudes

But you CANNOT support the rule of law while also supporting Trump, who is himself a criminal many times over.

[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.

Well, thank goodness Trump is involved. He is in NO WAY a lying, thieving, excuse-making bullshitter whose only goal is to enrich himself.

Thanks. Best laugh I've had since I heard about Trump's invasion of Venezuela. Napoleon sent his relatives to rule over countries he invaded. I hope trump will follow Napoleon and send Eric as the emperor of Venezuela.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting that those criticizing the action about oil seem to forget that the oil is helping Putin attack Ukraine.

I’m not sure what you’re implying. Do you think that Trump and his cronies taking over Venezuelan oil is going to magically turn the Trump administration into Ukraine’s savior? If Russia wants the oil to attack Ukraine, it’s still going to get. It’s just that Trump and friends are now going to get $$ for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok, when do we get someone to
Abduct trump and take USA back?

I’d be on board for this. There would certainly be cheering in the streets too! Who is listening to us???

[Anonymous]

Hey, op! As terrible as Maduro is (and I’ve literally heard no one say he’s not) it has emboldened Trump and he’s back on his bs about Greenland (and colombia!) again-lands differently now though, doesn’t it?

no one is criticizing Trump out of loyalty dems, they are doing it because he’s a maniac.

[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.

Thanks for sharing; that was an interesting read. Do you think most people in Venezuela are happy about this? It’s nice to think they are. (FWIW, this struck me as wacky and lawless, and I’m opposed to it based on what I know, but, as long as it’s happened, it’s nice to think maybe it’ll be for the best.)

[Anonymous]

If Venezuelans wanted regime change, they should have fought for it. It isn’t America’s job to solve the problem. Musk closed USAID, sorry.

[Anonymous]

Also we only took Maduro; the rest of Maduro’s group is still there and running things.

[Anonymous]

Regime change courtesy of the US does not bode well for the target country. Anyone who has put their faith in the US to bring democracy to their country is not a student of history. Look at what happened in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya. The US not only fails, but leaves the country in a weaker, more corrupt, more unstable condition that it was prior to involvement.

OP, Maduro was a horrific leader, but I sincerely believe that things will be much worse now that the US is taking over. There will be a power vacuum, and the people the US puts in place to fill it will be corrupt and incompetent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting that those criticizing the action about oil seem to forget that the oil is helping Putin attack Ukraine.

I’m not sure what you’re implying. Do you think that Trump and his cronies taking over Venezuelan oil is going to magically turn the Trump administration into Ukraine’s savior? If Russia wants the oil to attack Ukraine, it’s still going to get. It’s just that Trump and friends are now going to get $$ for it.

It's about price, Cheap oil hurts Russia, and therefore helps Ukraine. Oil is already very cheap, and bringing more Venezuelan oil onto the open market lowers the price even further, which hurts Russia even more. And that helps Ukraine. The Russian economy doesn't survive with cheap oil. They are already in a lot of trouble, and a flood of oil on the market will bury them economically. Russia cannot sustain war with low oil prices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP Again:

I’m cautiously optimistic about what comes next. This could end worse, or it could end better. But the part many seem to miss is that under Maduro, the trajectory was already only “a lot worse.” There was no stable status quo—just continued decline.

Hope doesn’t mean certainty. It means recognizing that doing nothing guaranteed more suffering.

The dancing in the streets sight will be short lived if the conditions don’t stabilize. I hope that the VP (and now acting president) remains in power until the next election. My wife on he other hand wants a special election right away. I’m not sure what the US will do and understand that the more tinker with things the more it feels like we are installing a government. I definitely want to feel a sense of protection of American interests…oil and minerals…and potentially even US bases…but at the same time I want the people to have their own fair and true elections.

OP - what is your near term prediction - will (some?) Venezuela’s citizens return to Venezuela? Or will many more millions leave the country?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Can you give a timeline of the 7 million people who have fled Venezuela? Did most of them flee because of Chávez/Maduro or is it because of the US-led sanctions/embargo on Venezuela that caused the economy to collapse?

The purpose of sanctions is to agitate domestic discontent because everyone knows that sanctions only hurt the ordinary people. When people get restless, more draconian laws need to be enforced. Look at 2025 America to see exactly how this works. Obviously 2026 America is looking to be much worse with Chump starting fires in the rug all over the world for him to heroically put out.

People can debate all day about who is good and who is bad, but when outside states meddle in the domestic affairs of sovereign nations, the finger pointing is not just "you" and "me", but also "they".

Venezuela used to be the shining star of Latin America. In the 50's Venezuela had one of the highest GDPs per capita in the world, comparable to West Germany and Ireland. In the 70's following the oil embargo of 1973 Venezuela had the highest per capita GDP in Latin America and the lowest inequality in the region. Family in Panama said it was common to see so many Venezuelans flush with cash come to Panama because of banking secrecy laws combined with the fact Panama uses the US dollar as currency, so it was a stable place to put their "petrodollars". They also were known as "dame dos" [give me two} because they would go shopping and were so well off they would buy two of everything.

Things started going south in around 2000. There was a strike of oil worker and around 20,000 oil workers who knew how to run and maintain oil production were all fired.

In 2007 Chávez demanded that all foreign oil projects be converted into joint ventures where the state (PDVSA) held at least 60% control.   ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips refused to sign the new terms. They walked away, leaving behind billions in assets AND cutting-edge technology. Venezuelan oil is extra-heavy" crude which is really thick and more challenging to process. So now with the oil workers fired and the engineers who knew how to use the technology to process this heavy crude leaving the country, the production of oil decreased. Exxon and Conoco sued Venezuela in international courts for billions of dollars which tied up money Venezuela could earn.

Year Production Context
(Million Barrels/Day)
1998 3.1 - 3.4 Peak production before the Chávez era.
2007 2.6 - 2.8 Nationalization Year: Exxon & Conoco exit; technical purges begin.
2012. 2.4 - 2.5 High oil prices hide the fact that production is slowly slipping.
2013 PRESIDENT MADURO TAKES OFFICE
2014. 2.3 - 2.4 The Crisis Starts: Global oil prices crash; PDVSA cannot afford repairs.
2017 1.9 U.S. sanctions begin; infrastructure starts failing rapidly.
2020 0.4 - 0.5 The Bottom: Production hits a 70-year low due to total neglect.
2024 0.8 - 0.9 Slight recovery due to Chevron's limited return and foreign help.

The Economy started tanking under Chavez who died in 2013. But when President Maduro took office there mass anti-government protests (known as La Salida) erupted due to high crime and inflation, leading to dozens of deaths and thousands of arrests, which prompting many to flee for safety.

2014 was really the tipping point because Venezuela has the "Dutch problem" of being hyper dependent on one resource which is oil. Venezuela’s economy was hyper-dependent on oil, which accounted for roughly 95% of its export earnings. In 2014, global oil prices plummeted from over $100 per barrel to less than $50. Then came economic mismanagement, a brutally oppressive and corrupt regime and hyperinflation.

In 2017 the US implemented sanctions.

Year Total People Outside Venezuela Key Driving Event
2014 ~700,000 Oil prices crash; first major anti-government protests against Maduro.
2015. ~1.2 Million Shortages of food and medicine become critical.
2016 ~1.6 Million Hyperinflation begins to take hold.
2017. ~2.3 Million Violent protests and "Constituent Assembly" crisis.
2018 ~3.4 Million Hyperinflation peaks; the "Humanitarian Corridor" opens.
2019 ~4.8 Million Presidential legitimacy crisis (Guaidó vs. Maduro).
2020. ~5.4 Million COVID-19 borders close, but migration some continues
2021 ~6.0 Million Mass displacement into Colombia and Peru stabilizes.
2022. ~7.1 Million Surge in migration toward the U.S. via the Darién Gap.
2023 ~7.7 Million Record crossings of the Darién Gap (over 320,000 Venezuelans).
2024. ~7.9 Million Post-election instability (July 2024) triggers new waves.
2025 ~8.2 Million Continued economic stagnation and political repression.

[Anonymous]

Don’t be stupid OP.

[Anonymous]

No. This is not how it's done, OP. If you are ok with what Trump has done, you are OK with Putin invading Ukraine. You are OK with China doing whatever it wants with Taiwan. You are OK with the American president illegally invading another country without the approval of Congress. And you are fine with our allies' horror.

I have close friends in Venezuela who have been suffering. And I am not saying it's ok for Biden or others to make deals for oil.

But this??? No

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting that those criticizing the action about oil seem to forget that the oil is helping Putin attack Ukraine.

I’m not sure what you’re implying. Do you think that Trump and his cronies taking over Venezuelan oil is going to magically turn the Trump administration into Ukraine’s savior? If Russia wants the oil to attack Ukraine, it’s still going to get. It’s just that Trump and friends are now going to get $$ for it.

It's about price, Cheap oil hurts Russia, and therefore helps Ukraine. Oil is already very cheap, and bringing more Venezuelan oil onto the open market lowers the price even further, which hurts Russia even more. And that helps Ukraine. The Russian economy doesn't survive with cheap oil. They are already in a lot of trouble, and a flood of oil on the market will bury them economically. Russia cannot sustain war with low oil prices.

Fingers crossed. Bury them.