As promised, here are the key points from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has spoken to US media outlets this morning.
- This is “not a war against Venezuela”, he says - this follows strikes on the country on Saturday and the extraction of its president, Nicolás Maduro
- The US will judge Venezuela by “what they do” next, Rubio says, adding that Washington will keep “multiple levers of leverage” to protect its interests
- Speaking to ABC, Rubio says congressional authorisation wasn’t needed before the operation “because this wasn’t an invasion”
- He says that he hopes Maduro’s removal will lead to “a better Venezuela”, but adds that the “number one objective is America”
- Asked whether he thinks Interim President Delcy Rodríguez is now the legitimate president of Venezuela, he says the US does not believe the regime is legitimate
I guess the term “act of war” becomes meaningless when the act is done by someone nobody will hold accountable.
It’s been meaningless since Vietnam
Far earlier than that. Look up the career, and post career, of Smedly Buttler. He was a marine commander who publicly spoke out about how he had been used as a thug for capitalism.
Particularly in the creation of Banana Republics.
Prescott Bush tried to use Buttler to overthrow FDR, but Buttler went to Congress and reported the plot. Nothing was ever done and then we got two Bush presidents.
Who’d thunk it someone from the damn Bush family pushing for conflict. Something Prescott’s son, George, did and George’s son, Dubya did. If Jeb actually got into office, surely he’d go to war too.
Jeb was already at war with his own charisma
It’s regime change. Again. We’ve engaged in regime change many, many times in South and Central America (as well as other parts of the world) over the years, through various methods. This is, once again, the US asserting what it believes to be its “right” to rule over all of the Americas.
Oh. I see. We are not at war. We are only bombing them, stealing their oil, and kidnapping their leader. Those are totally just friendly things normal countries do to each other.
I heard about bombs and Maduro, but oil is new. How are they even accomplishing that? Is US taking over their fields?
They’re stealing oil tankers that leave the country and emptying the oil in the US
Just dumping it in a field so they can pump it back out and pretend it was there the whole time.
Trump and Rubio have said they’ll coerce the remaining government to open up the oil fields to US companies.
Trump also said that the vice president can remain in charge as long as she does what the US wants. Understand the implication here - the Venezuela government are bad people who stole an election and commit human rights abuses, but that’s all okay to the US. They can keep doing that - they just have to open up their oil fields. If the US had said “we’re making Venezuela a democracy again”, that would at least provide some moral cover. They’re not though. It’s just oil. The US doesn’t even pretend to value rights and freedoms anymore.
When I was a teenager during the 2000s, I bought the BS that the US’s motivations around the world were actually benevolent. The Iraq war might have been started on faulty information but at least they were spreading democracy. I thought the people saying the motivation was oil were overly cynical. Guess I was wrong.
They take him to New York of all places. Not just completely out of the southern hemisphere, but almost to the most northern point of the United States. Just to be in Mamdani’s location, as a bullying snipe. Fuck these fascists.
Just to be in Mamdani’s location, as a bullying snipe.
Can you explain what you mean by this? I’m not sure I understand how this is anything to do with Mamdani.
Why not hold him at a military base or anywhere else. Is there a legitimate reason for NY etc. Or is this anything more than a bullying show of power. That trump can do this and dump him of in Mamdani’s back yard with no repercussion. He’s a petulant man child. Maybe there’s a minimally legitimate reason for this. But you know he’s definitely childishly enjoying it for other reasons too.
The SDNY office is needed for this bullshit
How so?
It is subservient to trump. Former Giuliani office. Scandal-plagued.
The Southern District of New York (SDNY) has faced significant scrutiny due to various scandals, including high-profile resignations of top officials and ongoing investigations into corruption and misconduct. Recent events have drawn comparisons to historical moments in the DOJ, highlighting the challenges and controversies within the district.
Overview of the SDNY Scandal
The Southern District of New York (SDNY) has recently faced significant turmoil, leading to a series of high-profile resignations and investigations. This situation has been referred to as the “Thursday Afternoon Massacre,” drawing parallels to the historical “Saturday Night Massacre” during the Watergate scandal.
Key Events
Resignations
- Several top officials within the Public Integrity Section of the SDNY have resigned.
- This mass resignation has raised concerns about the future of ongoing investigations, including a notable case involving New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
Investigations
- The SDNY is currently dealing with multiple cases, including allegations of bribery and campaign finance violations involving public officials.
- A recent case involves Joshua Wander, co-founder of 777 Partners, charged with a $500 million fraud scheme, highlighting issues of financial misconduct within the district.
Implications
The fallout from these events has created uncertainty regarding the SDNY’s ability to effectively pursue its investigations. The directive from Washington, D.C., to drop the Adams case has particularly drawn attention, as it limits the district’s options moving forward. The situation continues to evolve, with potential impacts on public trust and the integrity of the judicial process in the region.
Oh, LOL. Well, yeah, I thought you were implying there was some legitimate reason for them to be there though. But yes, ACAB and all of course.
So if another country comes and abducts trump we won’t be at war with them, got it
Can you imagine a world where abducting Trump wasn’t seen as an actor of war by just about everyone in the US? I wouldn’t be upset to see Trump hung as a traitor, but if Canada came in and abducted him, I’m fairly sure I’d see it as a breech of our sovereignty. I’d actually be pretty conflicted at that point…
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And bombed grandmothers in their apartments during our ‘law enforcement operation.’
United States or America executes various acts of war, killing literally boat loads of innocent sailors
United States or America directly attracts the same nation, murdering innocent soldiers and citizens
Just to be clear, we are not at war!
Well I could easily have been mistaken about that!
Trying to gas light the population of two entire countries is pretty ballsy.
War is peace.
Freedom is slavery.
Ignorance is strength.
And as always, England prevails.
Russia is still not at war with Ukraine if you ask them
The US will judge Venezuela by “what they do” next, Rubio says, adding that Washington will keep “multiple levers of leverage” to protect its interests
Well that’s a threat. I’m sure he means that the country’s population should just bend over for the US so that American oil companies can come in unimpeded.
Fuck the USA
He says that he hopes Maduro’s removal will lead to “a better Venezuela”, but adds that the "number one objective is America
Right.
There is no war in Ba Sing Se
“levers of leverage,” running 32 separate instances of euphemism.exe simultaneously is making Marco-bot glitchy
Something something Ba Sing Se
Rubio is a fucking war criminal. What the fuck happened to that guy? He was never a bastion of morality or anything, but over the past year, he’s completely transformed into a monster.
He’s always been a bloodthirsty neocon with a fetish for regime change in Latin America. The Trump administration is just freeing him of the pretense of civility. Wait until they get to Cuba; he’ll be demanding we make them a U.S. territory to, “free,” them from communism.
He was one of the biggest cheerleaders for the genocide in Gaza.
And given how many American politicians support that genocide, that’s saying something.
