Venezuela 2025

[Valerie]

Two questions:

1. Is the US going to war?
2. At what point did the US own Venezuelan oil fields?

The U.S. has been seizing Venezuelan government property for some time now, complete with courts and judgments authorising doing such.

If Maduro objects, he could show up in court, I guess, or open diplomatic relations with the U.S. and Canada. Instead, he’s just been in bed with Russia helping them smuggle oil which they aren’t supposed to do under sanctions.

Do you have examples other than the oil tanker that was seized the other day?

Listen to the President explain.

[barnhart]

Probably. It’s a bit ominous to equate ownership by American companies with ownership of America.

Hasn't this historically been the kind of thing that sometimes motivates the US government to go war or foment a coup/regime change? When these large US companies with political clout experience losses on foreign soil due to hostile foreign government actions, the US has sometimes taken action by way of the military or the CIA.

Examples: the Banana Wars, the 1953 coup in Iran, and the 1954 coup in Guatemala

I think that is an obvious parallel. The Venezuelan regimes of rescent history have not been praise worthy, however they have a reasonable complaint about US oil industry cutting exploitative contracts with dictators who owe more to US interference than to the Venezuelan people. That is how dictators like Chavez gain popular support, by demanding re-negotiation under threat of seizure. I would guess the average Venezuelan does not think the oil under the their feet belongs to the US because a corrupt ruler signed a self serving contract decades ago.

[Bootstrap]

Probably. It’s a bit ominous to equate ownership by American companies with ownership by America.

The lines between major corporations and government have blurred a lot recently. It's a major shift.

[R7ehr]

Probably. It’s a bit ominous to equate ownership by American companies with ownership by America.

The lines between major corporations and government have blurred a lot recently. It's a major shift.

I read once how for the last 300 years or so, most of the wests wars have been on behalf of their large businesses.

[Soloist]

Probably. It’s a bit ominous to equate ownership by American companies with ownership by America.

The lines between major corporations and government have blurred a lot recently. It's a major shift.

I read once how for the last 300 years or so, most of the wests wars have been on behalf of their large businesses.

Wars are generally fought for two reasons pride, and resources.
I’m sure there are probably exceptions, but that covers an awful lot.

[mike]

The lines between major corporations and government have blurred a lot recently. It's a major shift.

I read once how for the last 300 years or so, most of the wests wars have been on behalf of their large businesses.

Wars are generally fought for two reasons pride, and resources.
I’m sure there are probably exceptions, but that covers an awful lot.

Does it really make financial sense, though - in terms of the fiscal health of the US government - to fight a war to gain some kind of resource or other, like oil? Especially when the profits of gaining access to those resources might actually go to private companies rather than the US treasury? Seems like a large deployment like what is currently happening around Venezuela will eventually cost a small fortune, let alone if there ends up being an actual armed conflict. Does the US actually stand a chance to get repaid somehow for the cost of a war like this?

[Soloist]

Does it really make financial sense, though - in terms of the fiscal health of the US government - to fight a war to gain some kind of resource or other, like oil? Especially when the profits of gaining access to those resources might actually go to private companies rather than the US treasury? Seems like a large deployment like what is currently happening around Venezuela will eventually cost a small fortune, let alone if there ends up being an actual armed conflict. Does the US actually stand a chance to get repaid somehow for the cost of a war like this?

I suspect this is actually about Russia and China

[mike]

Does it really make financial sense, though - in terms of the fiscal health of the US government - to fight a war to gain some kind of resource or other, like oil? Especially when the profits of gaining access to those resources might actually go to private companies rather than the US treasury? Seems like a large deployment like what is currently happening around Venezuela will eventually cost a small fortune, let alone if there ends up being an actual armed conflict. Does the US actually stand a chance to get repaid somehow for the cost of a war like this?

I suspect this is actually about Russia and China

Do you think the logic goes something like this: If you're going to threaten Taiwan and Ukraine, look what we can do to countries like Venezuela?

[Soloist]

Do you think the logic goes something like this: If you're going to threaten Taiwan and Ukraine, look what we can do to countries like Venezuela?

I’m not defending this or condemning…

I suspect that the US government has been attempting to address us via soft methods and under Trump’s administration, they’re addressing it with a heavier hand. We see China and Russia, investing into countries and territories directly on our border, and the US views that as an economic and potential future warfare threat
So I don’t really think this is about threatening little countries. I think we’re still in a proxy war.

[Bootstrap]

Do you think the logic goes something like this: If you're going to threaten Taiwan and Ukraine, look what we can do to countries like Venezuela?

I think the logic goes something like this:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/u ... rategy.pdf