I find myself in an unusual position with this. I don’t trust government, don’t vote and I am anti-war. I’ve been against pretty much every war in my lifetime.
Yet despite all of this, I found myself celebrating the decision to remove the “leader” of a country, defending it publicly in the face of all the arguments and scepticism. I spoke to Venezuelan friends who were ecstatic and watched videos from around the world where the diaspora were celebrating, all while online commentators and talking heads spoke of “international law”.
This is an surprising take from Peter McCormack. McCormack made a documentary about Venezuela (although, I can't seem to find if he ever released it) and so he probably knows more than the average bear about things there.
Either he was removed with the help of a stronger power or he continued indefinitely.
Sure, but I wish he had said something in this piece about the next steps. From what I've read it looks like Maduro's henchman (and son?) are now in charge of Venezuela. Doesn't really seem like a great improvement for people...
I am Venezuelan. I left many years ago; Chávez was still alive then.
My opinion is that what Trump has done is the least bad option, but it's still bad...
We have been governed by thieves and drug lords for decades, where personal enrichment has been the priority, with a high temporary preference. The country's oil industry is destroyed; there has been no investment in infrastructure for many years...
The opposition has always been divided, and each leader has tried various strategies, but with little to no success.
Trump has intervened in or kidnapped a president, disregarding all international laws...
I have very close relatives living in Caracas. A few days ago, they were celebrating the arrival of the Americans; today they are nervous because they have realized that countries invaded or intervened in by the USA very rarely improve...
The truth is that no one knows what's going to happen in Venezuela.
Total uncertainty is what our country, my friend @Bitcoiner1 , is experiencing. We all emigrate at different times; I've been away from our homeland for three years. The truth is, they removed the narco-dictator but didn't eradicate the cancer of socialism at its root doesn't bring me any joy, a positive outlook, or a bright future. I hope everything turns out well for the good of all.
I spent some years in Latin America for work and a colleague told me the dilemmas of trying to rid the cartels from power.
You decide you want to remove a drug boss. Ok well he is 58 y/o, he has political connections, connections with law enforcement, etc....while all those things lead to corruption, they also tend to moderate him. Over the years he has learned to take care of problems in a more sophisticated way.....Well you want to clean house, so you take him out. His 40 y/o son takes over....so you take him out....his 33 y/o nephew takes over, so you take him out....pretty soon that cartel is run by 21 y/o running around with a machine gun thinking the solution to every problem is to start shooting. Eventually, after a long and bloody war, that cartel will be taken over by a rival. The competitor cartel just got stronger. In the end what really was achieved?
My take is nuanced (as I imagine yours is as well), but I think on-balance its probably good to take out Maduro and leave the supporting cast. You have at least moved the negotiation needle towards your side....they now know they are expendable.
Its not a great upgrade for the people, but at the end there is only so much that can be done. Taking out everyone in power is going to create a powder keg "gang war" scenario. Ultimately ridding a society from corruption needs to come from the people (and I 100% say that as an American who thinks we need to do the same with our own corruption).
Venezuela will be corrupt for the foreseeable future
Regarding "not a great upgrade for the people', these idiots voted for Chavez and Maduro so they can pound sand.
I predict the current interim government will collapse because of internecine conflicts.
The military holds all the power especially in a country where no civilian can own a gun legally.
I don't trust Peter McCormack at all since his relentless pro-covid vaccine ranting in 2021/2022.
Where there any other bitcoiners that were like this? As far as I know, he was the only one.
A huge flaw like this in his judgement = zero trust for a lifetime.
You dispute that the vaccine works to reduce spread of Covid?
I don't know what Venezuelans will gain from this, freedom? It's just a change of ownership in my eyes.
Oil and other resources will be pillaged by USA while the country gets further destabilized. It's also a signal that now invasions are not a taboo anymore.
At the end of the day Venezuelans will still get fucked, this time by another pimp.
I don't see how this is any worse than what we had last week?
Not like we've seen any benefits from our own oil in decades. Pillaged by Cuba. The country had no semblance of "stability" whatsoever.
We were already fucked beyond belief. How are we any worse off now?
Well I didn't say that it's worse, I said that now Venezuela has a new pimp.
The point is that in substance the faith of you guys didn't change much, it's just sad that both Maduro and this happened.
None of us are under any delusions that trump loves us or even cares at all. We're just happy to reap the benefits, cautious about the future, and hopeful for the first time in a quarter century
That's a nice attitude, I hope the best for you.
Appreciate you man. And I want to mention, since I said "it's hard for people who haven't lived there", that the fact that you haven't lived there or aren't from there doesn't matter at all. I hate how people just dismiss the opinions of non-venezuelans. I have opinions about Qatar and Israel and Australia. Don't need to be from a place to have an opinion about it.
Yea that's what I'm getting from most people.
I don't see it that way. It's hard for someone who hasn't live it to know just how fucked we were.
"Definitely bad" to "maybe bad, maybe good, maybe neutral, who knows" feel like an unbelievable improvement.
I remember the 2024 elections, every single Latino I know was SO excited to finally get maduro out, except the Venezuelans. We all knew. Every one of us had lost all hope.
Just 1 example of this, my friend who lives in Toronto
It's not an invasion, but still, the idea that you can't make a bold move like this because it might encourage Russia or China is misguided in my opinion. They don't listen to harsh language. They definitely do take heed of actions, and they will have just learnt an awful lot about how they shouldn't mess with the US. And with limited access to cheap Venezuelan oil, China will now find it much harder to invade Taiwan.
-Tom
Funny to see Peter over the years go from libbed up to very based. The future of Venezuela is certainly uncertain but this "international law" BS from the left is stupid.
I'm Venezuelan.
The situation is extremely complicated, it could go either way, very good or very bad.
This is a massive improvement over last week when things were extremely simple. We were very simply fucked indefinitely.
As for what comes next, there's no certainty, only opportunity.
But finally.. opportunity
I hope it all works out well for Veneuzuelans.
-Tom
Viste la película " los chicos del swing" así sale en español, estos jóvenes amigos terminaron sufriendo el régimen fascista algunos a favor de Hitler fueron capaces de denunciar a sus propios familiares y amigos bastaron sus ideas y creerlas para no temer entregarlos o disparar a los que conociste. Así son los regímenes dictatoriales te enseñan desde niño a ver a tu familia como enemigo si no piensan igual, eso sucede en Venezuela, por eso se hace difícil ir en contra porque no sabes quién es quién. La falta de confianza mantiene a los toros divididos así el león puede comer de lo contrario su reino se vendría abajo.
This is where the paradox of anti-war principles collides with the raw realities of governance and power. You can oppose interventionism in principle and yet feel genuine relief or even elation when an entrenched authoritarian is removed. The contradiction is only apparent on the surface. The deeper issue is that the removal of a leader in a country like Venezuela inevitably exists within a power structure where external influence is both likely and sometimes necessary for change, yet often corrupts the outcome beyond recognition.