Venezuela - US Conflict: News, Updates

[ghazi52]

'Military on the streets, some guarding supermarkets' in Guayana City​

Ahmed Adan
BBC

Angela*, who's in Guayana City, in Bolivar State, Venezuela, says that in the last two days, she saw few people in the streets, and there were no cars.

“On Saturday, supermarkets were full of people, and there were long lines. But today, the situation is calm, and there are more people in the streets," she tells BBC World Service.

"You can see some military in the streets, some of them guarding supermarkets, because owners are scared of theft or robbery. And the guards on the streets are preventing riots or violence.”

She adds that “she, her family and friends are all scared to go out”.

 

[ghazi52]

Trump claims US oil firms could be 'up and running' in Venezuela within 18 months​

Kayla Epstein

President Donald Trump says the US oil industry could be "up and running" with increased operations in Venezuela within 18 months, after a surprise military operation removed President Nicolás Maduro from power.

Trump told NBC News that "a tremendous amount of money will have to be spent, and the oil companies will spend it, and the oil companies will spend it, and then they'll get reimbursed by us or through revenue".

Representatives from major US petroleum companies planned to meet the Trump administration later this week, BBC's partner CBS News reported.

Analysts previously told the BBC it could take tens of billions of dollars, and potentially a decade, to restore Venezuela's former output.
Trump's remarks came days after he said the US would "run" Venezuela after the ousting of Maduro - who has now been brought to the US to face criminal charges.

Speaking to NBC about his 18-month timeframe, Trump speculated that oil production could ramp up "in less time than that, but it'll be a lot of money".

He has been explicit for about his ambitions for American petroleum companies to scale up their operations in the country.

"Having a Venezuela that's an oil producer is good for the United States because it keeps the price of oil down," Trump added.

 

[j_hungary]

It's all a ruse orchestrated by the Venezuelans themselves.

Delcy and a senior cabal of elites/military is scamming Venezuela into believing there is some sort of "resistance" or "independence" of Venezuela.

Trump needs her to comply with several key issues and that is all - she can put on whatever show of "mobilisation" she likes.

The issues probably relate to historic oil infrastructure funds, acquiescence to Trump's oil pricing demands to reduce reliance on GCC nations, and Venezuela's past support of Palestinian sovereignty. Delcy will play ball and quietly yield on all of these issues. Trump and his handlers will be satisfied.

Bookmark this post and if my prediction is wrong, let me know.

Trump's oil play is not really directed at the American, it's more or less directed probably at the Chinese and more openly to OPEC. Whether or not Trump can control the oil field in Venezuela is one thing (even if the 3 Giants (BP, Exxon and Shell, I dont think Aramco want a piece of this) wants to invest it's going to be years if not decade away from reinstalling those infrastrtucture again and by then Trump and the subsequent regime even if MAGA can hold on to the seat post 2028, it would be too far out and we will lost control with Venezuela. I don't think oil company would want to invest in this mess unless the US outright controls Venezuela (as in an Afghanistan-style occupation) instead of relying on Rodriguez playing ball.

On the other hand, Trump said the oil company is ready to invest $100 billion plus in Venezuela, which is almost twice as much as the US fracking investment in 2024. I don't know how that would make sense to invest in Venezuela instead of spending the money on fracking back in the States.

 

[j_hungary]

I read the summary of charges as posted on Fox News. Bizarre to say the least. Wasn't aware the NFA of 1934 also applied to Venezuela.

He wasn't charged with him processing machinegun in Venezuela

He was charged as part of a conspiracy, as a criminal organisation, having imported machine gun into the US and used it in the US.

The dealer carries machine guns, and the DOJ is alleging that those machine gun was materially supported by Maduro's criminal syndication, since it is "his" organisation, that's him the DOJ levies the charge against.

 

[Abid123]

That is a false statement.

Of course a freaking yankee out of all people will claim that. Lol..m

 

[F-22Raptor]

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The vast majority of Central and South Americans support the capture of Maduro.

 

[j_hungary]

That's literally not how this shit works, and is an uneducated view of what capitalism and free market is.

I don't want to hear an opinion about economics from someone who probably doesn't even know what the accounting equation is, and doesn't understand credits and debits.

You arent making an argument, you're making personal declarations and trying to pass them off as facts.

lol Capitalism had nothing to do with Free Market (and "free market" is free at all, I mean, look at how many Government Regulations and policies contribute toward the US Stockmarket, for example...)

Free Market is of simpliest term, price dictated solely by supply and demand without government interference, this is not a factor to Capitalists, because most capitalist countries, including the US, use trade barriers and artificial pricing to eliminate competition or further political agenda

Anyway, capitalism in the most basic term is production and goods are owned by individuals via a company, as opposed to Socialism, where the country owns the production and products via SOEs, individuals would want to grow their business and up their production instead of working for someone else because it belongs to them, where the own have turn over and the employee have dividents. Instead of the profits going into a country and being evenly distributed via social programs (socialism) or set in a communal background where everything is shared (communism)

There are good and bad for each system. The strongest con for Capitalism is "Greed" which is the building block for capitalism, but it also means you have a wealth gap and a hostile market.

 

[MH.Yang]

I also saw some Americans who support the belief that 'might is truth' cheering for the invasion of Venezuela.

I would like to remind you that based on the historical experience of the Chinese people, the values upheld by a country towards the outside world are usually quickly transmitted to its people.

Are you sure you can accept an American society that upholds the principle of 'might is truth'?

Are you sure you will be the powerful group?

I am Chinese, and our country is definitely not afraid of a world where 'might is truth'. I just hope that you people won't regret it in the future.

 

[AZ_HighCountry]

The man that can write a whole essay and you still dont know what he is talking about. Bless him.....

In other words, the ideal politician.

 

[AZ_HighCountry]

I have a degree in economics, particularly Austrian economics, I know my shit.

Now are you going to address my arguments or dodge them like most socialists I come across?

Suggest the both of you compare measurements in a separate thread. Perhaps in Member's Corner. But not here.

 

[AZ_HighCountry]

Folks, no need to remind everyone of the topic. Some of ya' have been wandering a bit. Some a little too much.

 

[LeGenD]

You mentioned in your first post about Raptors, Growlers, whole joint force and so the US military, POTUS also portrayed the whole op as such. But that's how ofcourse it needs to be marketed then what exactly what it is. It is nothing of that sort in reality. In essence the technological element in this op was only secondary (as opponent was certainly not a sophisticated military and no air power). The only core aspect of this op which gave you success was a dishonorable deceit. Had Maduro knew that US can stoop to that level of abducting a head of state of sovereign nation along with his wife then no amount of Raptors or growlers or US technological superiority at display could have achieved that. As he would have prepared for something that low. He had few normal guards protecting his residence. He certainly never imagined that head of states can be abducted.

Bro, let's have a look at the technical side of things. Maduro regime spent billions of USD to create a multi-layered defense network (CODAI) in Venezuela that was said to be most extensive in Latin America. At its core is a network of sophisticated radars supplied by the China such as JY-27 and JYL-1 to collectively provide early warning and facilitate detection and tracking of airborne threats from far away. This is the Lookout layer. Once the Lookout spots something, other radar systems in CODAI would come into play to help track it precisely such as the Chinese JY-11B and Russian 36D6 (switching from binoculars to a telescope). This is the Tracking layer. Both layers work together to alert missile systems on the ground to engage such as Russian S-300VM, Buk-M2, TOR and Pechora systems. This is the Shooters layer. CODAI can also alert Venezuelan Air Force to intercept airborne threats if need be.

So how all that could be neutralized? Intelligence agencies can help map radar sites, missile systems and command posts for kinetic strikes. EW systems can be used to determine when radars are turned ON and OFF and how to exploit them. There are tactics and techniques to disrupt C2 communications. The US is at the top of the food chain in all of these areas. When the time came to act, a vital Venezuelan power grid was struck and CODAI communications were disrupted. Please keep in mind that radars running on backup power operate at reduced capacity. The US had numerous options at its disposal to render the Venezuelan Tracking layer useless. The most dangerous SAM systems were struck and destroyed. The helicopters could also infiltrate by employing EW and flying very low to evade detection and other assets might have also provided cover to them. Venezuelan troops who attempted to stand in the way were swiftly struck and killed. There is visual evidence of these activities, some of it is made public. It is up to you to connect the dots.

It comes down to how you can break the kill chain. Air defense is a system, not merely a collection of equipment. Break any vital link and the whole chain can be rendered subpar. Maduro regime wasn't blind or stupid. They could see the military buildup near Venezuela. Ships and boats from Venezuela were being intercepted and struck. Maduro himself boasted that he have put all Venezuelan forces on high alert. What he didn't knew was how it would go down. Trump admin had solid homework and the playbook was different (i.e., decapitate from the get go).

There is all manner of speculation as usual. People jumping to conclusions prematurely. Look at them. They are weak. Some were bought. This and that. However, from a strictly operational standpoint, technological superiority is an advantage and it can be leveraged with a good plan for stunning results.

 

[wangdefa]

Friend, while I agree with most of what you are saying, and agree with most individuals here that condemn US attack on a sovereign nation, and taking out a sovereign leader; There is something we have to get correct here.

Socialism and it’s worst form communism is garbage system. Socialism has never done any good for humanity whatsoever. Today most of the world is rich because of Capitalism, in fact even your nation, if it hadn’t adopted Capitalism and remained with Communism would have people starving everywhere dying by the thousands.

And you don’t need sanctions, or enmity, Socialism as a system impoverishes a people.

Is what the US did good? No, they are going against a rule based order defying every international custom.

Are Venezuelans going to he better off after? Most definitely, especially if they adopt Capitalism because Capitalism is the social system of private ownership of the means of production, in which economic calculation is possible through market prices formed by voluntary exchange.

In a way this is good for Venezuela as it’s people can get rid of that garbage system called socialism, but bad for the world because it erodes rules and international trust.

It was for oil and profit, but you gave the American kidnapping a legitimate slogan for a better future for the people of Venezuela, and you convinced yourself. It's a very interesting way of thinking. It's like when your boss paints you a dream, and you work hard to help him achieve that dream. He enjoys life richly, buys expensive private jets, and you're happy to see him happy.Lol

 

[j_hungary]

Maduro regime spent billions of USD to create a multi-layered defense network (CODAI) in Venezuela that was said to be most extensive in Latin America. At its core is a network of sophisticated radars supplied by the China such as JY-27 and JYL-1 to collectively provide early warning and facilitate detection and tracking of airborne threats from far away. This is the Lookout layer. Once the Lookout spots something, other radar systems in CODAI would come into play to help track it precisely such as the Chinese JY-11B and Russian 36D6 (switching from binoculars to a telescope). This is the Tracking layer. Both layers work together to alert missile systems such as Russian S-300VM, Buk-M2, TOR and Pechora systems. This is the Shooters layer. CODAI can also alert Venezeulan Air Force to intercept airborne threats if need be.

So how all that could be neutralized? Intelligence agencies can help map radar sites, missile systems and command posts for kinetic strikes. EW systems can be used to determine when radars are turned ON and OFF and how to exploit them. There are tactics and techniques to disrupt C2 communications. The US is at the top of the food chain in all of these areas. When the time came to act, a vital Venezuelan power grid was struck and CODAI communications were disrupted. Please keep in mind that radars running on backup power operate at reduced capacity. The US had numerous options at its disposal to render the Venezeuelan Tracking layer useless. The most dangerous SAM systems were struck and destroyed. The helicopters could also infilitrate by employing EW and flying very low to evade detection and other assets might have also provided cover to them. Venezeulan troops who attempted to stand in the way were swiftly struck and killed. There is visual evidence of these activites, some of it is made public. It is up to you to connect the dots.

It comes down to how you can break the kill chain. Air defense is a system, not a collection of equipment. Breaking any vital link and the whole chain can be rendered subpar. Maduro regime wasn't blind or stupid. They could see the military buildup near Venezuela. Maduro himself boasted that he have put all Venezuelan forces on high alert. What he didn't knew was how it would go down. Trump admin had a solid plan; the playbook was different; decapitate from the get go.

It is easy for people on the web to jump to conclusion. Look at them. They are weak. Some were bought. This and that. All manner of speculation as usual.

In a pure military standpoint, there is pretty much nothing Venezuela can do, the fact that from the time the American go feet dry to capturing Maduro and the Secret Service can't get him to safety on time means there is a serious compromise on the C&C structure.

This is a JSOC operation, which means there are going to be multiple elements to this attack. Nominally, you would need ground teams that are already in place and inserted before the attack to locate and communicate with real-time ground data, then you have air assets to fly CAS and interdict those A2/AD assets. Basically, cutting the path for the Helicopter to fly in for a pickup. You also have ga unship to sanitise the whole area. This is not a quick operation; this has been planned months ahead, designed to defeat each layer of Venezuelean defence.

Once the plan is in motion, this is going to go like this, regardless of who the adversary is here, it can be Russia, it can be China, an operation like this, you don't stop it during the operation, if you are China or Russia, you may have been able to detect the recce stage or you might be able to intercept one or more route in combat, but if you are allowing your defensive asset to be inflitrated like that, whether or not people were buy off, then the operation will only goes one way. It didn't matter who you are and what's your capability is, once you get to that point, you had already lose.

 

[Master Chief]

On the other hand, Trump said the oil company is ready to invest $100 billion plus in Venezuela, which is almost twice as much as the US fracking investment in 2024. I don't know how that would make sense to invest in Venezuela instead of spending the money on fracking back in the States.

Have you ever heard of an enterprise called the British East India Company?

Empire through commerce.