Trump said that Venezuela’s new leader, Delcy Rodríguez, would help the United States run Venezuela. She quickly said the opposite.

Trump said Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as Venezuela’s interim president and would act as a partner in letting the United States run the country.

“She’s essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again,” he said.

Less than two hours later, Ms. Rodríguez — who was Nicolás Maduro’s vice president — delivered a televised address to Venezuela that made clear she viewed the United States as an illegal invader that must be rejected.

  • chiliedogg@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    I’m an American and believe the nations of the world should sanction us into economic ruin over this (and everything else from the last year).

    • ricecake@sh.itjust.works
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      Nah. Just a targeted police action to arrest the rogue elements who purport to be the lawfully elected government.

      They’d be justified in sanctions, but I don’t think that it would actually accomplish anything. The people doing this shit don’t give a flying fuck about them because it would hurt you and me, not them.

    • comrade_twisty@feddit.org
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      It’s impossible for any western country to sanction the US, we are 100% dependent on US payment processing, trade in USD and US security guarantees (which even if questionable are better than nothing).

      • perestroika@slrpnk.net
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        It is possible for China to start selling US government bonds, essentially refusing to lend the US money and hold its debt. But I don’t think they’ll do it as a sanction for this event. They’ll do it when they think it’s optimal for their own plans. When a US president needs punishment from their perspective. The current president, from their perspective, doesn’t need punishment because he’s making enemies all over South America and shouldn’t be disturbed while doing that.

        As for European countries, I am fairly confident that US defense industry is already frustrated by inability to sell long-term projects. Ukraine will buy what it can right away, but others will think twice. By the way, I’ve got an F-35 to sell you… but you’re only allowed to use it for US-approved conflicts. ;)

    • Clent@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      2 months ago

      If they don’t, Greenland will be next.

      This is starting to smell like appeasement real fast.

      • SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca
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        2 months ago

        In the short term, yes. In the long term, everyone is moving away from the US. The US has declined significantly in the last year, and that decline will continue because while everyone is still saying the US is an ally, we all know the US is really an adversary now. It’s not going to be a big event that will register for brain rotted Americans that have no attention span. It’s something that will change year over year.

        It’s just not in our best interests to openly antagonize Trump at the moment. Trump is an old man and he won’t live forever, but the impact of the things he’s done and the inaction of the American people means the US will not be trusted by any country for generations.

      • nondescripthandle@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        2 months ago

        Brother, a South African Billionaire poured all the money he could into the last election until it was broken. An Australian media mogul set the stage for this with 30 years of propaganda and Europe themselves built a system of reliance on America, all of which were necessary steps to getting here. This doesn’t happen without Fox news, without Elon Musk, or without Europe being so entangled in the US they can barely enact any sanctions without destroying their own countries.

          • nondescripthandle@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            2 months ago

            All I’ve said is we’re not the only ones who need to change which is pretty unarguable. It’s so strange seeing people misinterpret that the second they feel called out. Why is it controversial for the top level commentor to ask for sanctions, aka ask for other people to aslo not support a war mongering country? Is that not what we all agreed was best to do to Russia? Or would sanctioning the US inconvenience you too much?

          • nondescripthandle@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            2 months ago

            I don’t remember having a say in Citizens United, or the defense contracts of other countries. I can say I’ve voted for every politician on my ballot that promised to challenge CU and/or reduce military spending though. But those votes aren’t always democrats so half the time people tell me I waste my vote for it.

      • chiliedogg@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        Global problems need global solutions, and the current American government is absolutely a global problem.

        The whole world is sick of America trying to fix the world because we fuck up everything we touch. You really want us fixing this shit ourselves?

      • chiliedogg@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        I march, I vote, I speak out, I financially support the opposition and legal causes trying to stop this shit, and I ask for help. There’s not much else I can do short of violence, and even that’s not a viable option since the non-GOP party decided guns were bad and convinced their supporters to disarm themselves.

  • chronicledmonocle@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    On the one hand, Maduro’s leadership is illegitimate and horrible.

    That said, the US isn’t invading because they want to bring peace and democracy to them. It’s because they want to get oil production for private businesses back into the country and because they didn’t “fall in line”.

    Fucking US Imperialism revival going on…

    • amorangi@lemmy.nz
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      Say you’re living in a house with a shitty landlord. The local mobster turns up at his house, beats him up, and steals the keys to his tenants’ houses. The tenants cheer! The mobster then proceeds to turn up at your house, open the doors with the keys, and steals all your shit.

      The mobster is not on your side and never was.

    • wheezy@lemmy.ml
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      Agreed. But, going forward. Don’t even give the first “hand” point. It’s meaningless. All it does is give a “both sides” opening for the normies to think there is debate.

      This isn’t 2010. The fascist don’t arguing in good faith. Just state that this shit is wrong, why it’s wrong, and move on.

      We ARE the Nazis. There isn’t a “well, you would invade if Hilter was leader” argument to be had. This is the equivalent of Hilter invading Venezuela. There are no scenarios in which “one hand” needs to be said.

      I really hope people start to understand this. Because, at this point, any “hand” given to America is like giving justification for Nazi Germany.

      • Godric@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        No. Forgetting truth is what got us here. Maduro was a sham-“elected” dictator, not some gardener making tomatoes.

        Words mean things, and using them dishonestly weakens the word. We are not Nazis, Trump is not Hitler, as there are not literal roving death squads literally rounding up and gunning down minorities as state policy. The US is not invading Venezuela for liebenstraum with the intent of genociding the people who live there.

        The words you’re looking for are “Mussolini” and “fascist Italy”. Can even mention invading Ethiopia! And maybe even relish in how Mussolini met his end :)

        • tocopherol@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          Venezuela’s elections were widely monitored, even independent groups from the US said they didn’t find irregularities. The people saying it was stolen are the same people asking Trump to take over, and they also support Israeli genocide and asked them to help as well. Do you have a direct source for your conviction that the elections were a sham?

    • MyMindIsLikeAnOcean@piefed.world
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      It’s unclear that they’re illegitimate.

      Yes, they certainly manipulated an election.

      …but “the west” was manipulating the same election.

    • slaacaa@lemmy.world
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      Yes. If they intervened right after the elections, there could be an argument, but now it’s obvious that it’s only about business. Trump and his cronies don’t give a shit about democracy

  • LoafedBurrito@lemmy.world
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    It’s insane how fast MAGA went from no wars to “we are so happy that a dictator was removed and the people of Venezuela are happy!”

    WTF!?!? It’s batshit crazy the lengths they go to to justify all his illegal actions.

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      It’s really easy to change your positions when there were never any principles behind it either way.

      This is what I’m so desperate for people to understand: these are empty people. In terms of politics, they don’t have beliefs in the way you and I do. They have hollowed out that part of themselves. This is why debate or the introduction of new facts never changes their minds, because it never made up their mind in the first place. Such a change requires your positions to be propped up by genuine belief in what you think is the right thing, where that prop can be knocked over.

      These people belong to a team, a clan, a cult, however you want to phrase it. The only thing that matters is that their side is in power and uses that power to act against those who aren’t. Any means to that end is valid to them. They’ll happily switch to whichever position is most convenient for them without missing a beat. They’re only justifying it to you to keep you busy and distracted, they never really believed a word they said. They just chose the words they thought would be most effective to win.

  • A_norny_mousse@feddit.org
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    2 months ago

    Significantly, Ms. Rodríguez delivered her address alongside what she called Venezuela’s National Defense Council, which included the nation’s defense minister, attorney general and the heads of the country’s legislature and judiciary. That unified front directly contradicted Mr. Trump’s claim that the United States would run Venezuela

    Good. Trump otoh, in good old mafia manner:

    Venezuelan leaders must comply with the United States or else. “All political and military figures must realize that what happened to Maduro can happen to them,” he said.

    • saimen@feddit.org
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      2 months ago

      “All political and military figures must realize that what happened to Maduro can happen to them,” he said.

      Problem is now they are prepared and probably get support from other countries.

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    I think what we are seeing is Trump telling the truth. Rodriguez is likely a puppet of the US. She is trying to save face to be able to actually prevent popular uprising.

    This works for both of them. Trump gets to tell the truth about US influence and control of Venezuela. It’s makes him look strong and this is the only message most Americans will hear. And Rodriguez gets to look to be against the occupation; while working closely with the US in reality. And this narrative is what will be pushed heavily in Venezuela.

    Maduro heavily armed his supporters. This wasn’t meant to actually stop the invasion of Venezuela. It was meant to create insurgent groups of resistance that would put America in another Iraq situation. But the US wasnt deterred by this.

    This seems to be an attempt to bring Maduro supporters in line and give the US time to insert their puppets at all meaningful levels of power in Venezuela. (The resistance to occupation part).

    At least that’s my take on this. The US is in the wrong here. Clearly. But, I’m not going to jump to believe a leader that is only sitting in that position because the US allows them to be. They kidnapped the leader of a foreign nation. You think Rodriguez would be allowed a microphone for anything but the purpose of US imperialism? No.

    Do I think this will work? Will it actually stop resistance groups in Venezuela? No, I don’t think it will. But only time will tell.

    TLDR: Rodriguez is just trying to not look like a complete puppet and trying to save face.

    • SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca
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      2 months ago

      Trump is always playing 4D chess we just can’t understand!

      Or maybe, just maybe, a guy convicted of 34 counts of fraud only knows how to scam people and doesn’t actually know how anything works in the world.

      • ඞmir@lemmy.ml
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        2 months ago

        He’s blatantly admitting he wants oil, so he’s accidentally telling the truth

        • plyth@feddit.org
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          The US don’t need the oil. Cuba needs the oil and will be next. The US needs oil to be traded in Dollar and they need the Americas to be free of Chinese influence when they are going to contain China. So Nicaragua will also be liberated.

          I would say it’s crazy but the oil is a lie.

          • wheezy@lemmy.ml
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            I kind of assume at this point that when people say “they want the oil” they mean “they want control of the oil”. But maybe I’m just too charitable.

            Either way. The oil isn’t really a lie. It’s just a simplification of why controlling it is important to US capitalst interests.

            • SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca
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              Oil is all about control and power. Many Americans vote based on gas prices and then do whatever mental gymnastics needed to pretend wars that “coincidentally” happen in countries with oils weren’t at all influenced by their voting habits.

              MBS could wake up tomorrow and make some moves to raise the price of gas. So every world leader has to suck up to him no matter how many people that psychopath chops up with a bone saw. Because of extreme dependency on oil the entire economy can change based on the whims of a psychopath.

              Our insane dependency on oil means our economy is under the control of psychopaths. In order for the GOP to have any chance of maintaining power, they need the gas prices to drop before November. Suck up to MBS, suck up to the oil companies, and get that Venezuelan oil to US refineries and get those gas prices down. The GOP will likely take a hit in the mid terms either way, but if they get the price of gas down, it will soften the blow.

              Something about automobiles have turned a lot of people into little psychopaths that don’t care if people die (though they pretend to be against it LOL) so long as a tank of of gas is a little cheaper. GOP is bad for doing wars, but they’ll still vote GOP for cheaper gas while loudly proclaiming they’re against wars so they don’t feel complicit.

          • Warl0k3@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            Yeah, why did we start thinking trump isn’t lying just because his lies now align with our preconceptions?

            While it’s not quite a lie (I’m sure it factors in), this occurred days after Maduro announced a very positive meeting with a Chinese trade envoy. It’s very transparently a power consolidation thing, and the oil is just a convenient bonus.

    • saimen@feddit.org
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      I don’t know. Could also be that Rodríguez made a deal with Trump only to betray him now with the protection of Russia.

    • cheesybuddha@lemmy.world
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      Wait, are you saying that the US still has boots on the ground in Venezuela? Do they still have physical influence in the country? That’s the only way they could ‘allow’ or ‘disallow’ an official to address their people, right?

      I guess I was under the impression that they just kidnapped the leader and left. I thought, from what I saw from the Venezuelan officials, that the US dose not currently have a continued presence in the country.

      • wheezy@lemmy.ml
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        The status of this was pretty unclear at the time I wrote the comment. I highly doubt we’re getting accurate info from there right now. But, I doubt Rodriguez is doing things out of fear; likely more out of self interest along with self preservation.

    • seriousslayerguy@lemmy.world
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      Will it become like Mexico? Full of cartels that the government can’t control

      Edit: I don’t know why the downvotes for a genuine question but ok

      • wheezy@lemmy.ml
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        Doubtful. Mexico is in a very different situation than Venezuela. To Americans though it’s hard to think much beyond “brown people that live south of us”.

  • Avid Amoeba@lemmy.ca
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    Even if she was willing to collab with the yankees, she no longer can appear that way after the terrorists ran their mouths about that.

  • DaddleDew@lemmy.world
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    Were they really expecting Venezuela to welcome the US as their new puppeteer just because they kidnapped their leader?

    • NOT_RICK@lemmy.world
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      I mean, do you remember W Bush’s post war Iraq plans? The party hasn’t gotten any less myopic since then.

    • PlaidBaron@lemmy.world
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      Have you seen modern US military engagements? Those motherfuckers dont learn from their mistakes.

      Well actually, they do. Theyve learned starting conflicts makes weapons manufacturers and military contractors big dollars. Especially when the economy is cooling off.

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    She has bigger balls than me, brave but I don’t think this will help her or Venezuela.

    Regardless, it’s nice to see people stand up against Goliath

    • bbbbbbbbbbb@lemmy.world
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      The US is only an imaginary powerhouse. The only real useful tool at our disposal are our nuclear weapons. The US hasnt won a war since WW2, and even then we were given such an upper hand in that fight by joining late and the Soviets changing sides, theres no shot we would have even won that war without Russia.

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        For an imaginary powerhouse, they sure pulled off the special forces operation of my lifetime, no casualties and kidnapping a President and his wife so he doesn’t get lonely.

        That’s a lot of resources to pull that off, satellites, AWACs, God knows what else. It’s a flex.

      • otterpop@lemmy.world
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        Yeah, we’re so imaginary we’ve kept Taiwan free and the CCP contained all this time, among dozens of other things. Opposing forces have said going against our special forces is like fighting against aliens because we’re so advanced, methodical and well trained.

        • bbbbbbbbbbb@lemmy.world
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          What does “contained” mean? China is probably the most influential global power right now due to economic pressure that the US ceded to them. They dont exactly need Taiwan for anything, why would they go to war over that country and risk thermonuclear destruction of the earth?

          And Im unaware of any forces talking about our special forces, i dont go looking for that information.

  • Seth Taylor@lemmy.world
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    Nothing Trump ever does ever lasts more than a few hours.

    “We conquered Venezuela”

    Two hours later: “No, you didn’t”

    • metallic_substance@lemmy.world
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      I think this is a situation where it’s fair to ask for proof of what you’re claiming. By no means am I saying you’re wrong, but I’d like to understand why you think this is so.

  • DylanMc6 [any, any]@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    2 months ago

    Maduro is NOT the only President of Venezuela. Furthermore, I recognize Delcy Rodriguez as the new Venezuelan President. I sincerely wish her the best of luck. Seriously!