It’s been about two weeks since Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro was captured by the US Delta Force in a stunning nighttime raid on his home. The failure of the US to declare war and speculation that the kidnapping was plotted as a distraction from the Epstein files further amplified the uncertainty surrounding this event. However, the removal of Maduro signaled the possibility of a long-awaited change to many Venezuelans. Celebrations took place in Caracas, the nation’s capital, as Maduro had overseen the country’s economic collapse starting in 2014 and its dubious 2018 election. Despite the best efforts of many opposition leaders, including last year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado, urgent reforms had been near non-existent, and the quality of living in Venezuela had become the lowest in all of South America.
The Venezuelan government was quick to react after the attack. It reorganized and re-established control over the country with lightning speed, defying the predictions of many military experts. The position of Venezuelan president, in fact, was only empty for a few short hours before being given to Vice President Delcy Rodríguez. Earlier celebrations and protests were crushed, a curfew was put in place, and mass incarcerations for dissent began to take shape the day after the attack. Trump faced mass opposition both at home and abroad for his actions. Protests broke out in New York, Chicago, and LA over his perceived breach of international law and traditional executive authority. The US also faced intense heat at an emergency UN Security Council meeting for breaching Venezuela’s sovereignty. China and Russia were especially tough, pressing the US about its perceived return to imperialism and gunboat diplomacy. These major powers may just find the justification for their own wars, as Russia continues to pound Ukraine and China increasingly looks to conquer the island of Taiwan.
Trump, though, hailed the capture as a total victory. Emboldened by his perceived success, he has reaffirmed US claims on Greenland, which caused a geopolitical split in NATO, and threatened strikes against other close US allies. He has also announced his plans to develop Venezuela’s massive oil resources in collaboration with major American companies, such as Chevron and ExxonMobil. Despite this, many of them have expressed hesitancy with the plan, expressing concerns of worker safety. In addition, as pointed out by many economists, today’s oil prices benefit massive corporations, so lowering prices by flooding the market with Venezuelan oil could cause a drop in profit. Currently, Maduro and his wife are being held in the infamous Metropolitan Prison Center in New York (the same prison that held Jeffery Epstein, P. Diddy, and, currently, Luigi Mangione), and are on trial for multiple charges of narco-terrorism.
Summary
Some Venezuelans are protesting Maduro’s kidnapping, while others are celebrating
Trump plans to use US oil companies to sell Venezuelan oil
Venezuela is still volatile, even though Maduro was replaced by his vice president
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