I agree that at least part of what USA/Trump did was for control of the oil and to stop China/Russia’s influence. I also agree USA could be using the drug part as an excuse for regime change as it is the only quickly indictable part of their issues with him. However, I’d be interested to know how true that article is as it seems to be from a reputable source and, therefore, how true the USA/DEA drug charges are??
My guess is that as bent as Team Trump are, they wouldn’t be able to stitch up this caricature villain for an American courtroom without at least some real evidence, but equally that it is possible the Maduro link to the cartels was exaggerated to provide a meatier pretext for intervention.
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Maduro is a crook and a despot. So is Trump. The Chinese aren’t too happy which tells you much about why his has happened (along with oil). The idea Venezuelans are going to be quite happy as some kind of annex of the American oil industry seems fanciful. The Greenland threats are interesting and would see a decisive break between the US and Europe (including even the UK perhaps). Weird times.
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Mad (no pun intended) to think that a single human being would rather the world end by way of mutually assured destruction, than admit he is all over the Epstein Files.
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there are so many different elements to this that it blows your mind. It’s essentially like one of those wargames with multiple villains all vying for the same natural resources. the democracies of the world are going to face some nasty decisions… good luck getting the yoof onboard with military service, rearmament and conscription
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100% right on the complexity of this issue. For my Venezuelan friends they are all the definition of ‘conflicted’ - they have hated Maduro for years, and even left the country because of his regime, but hate Trump far more and hate how this has been handled (and also for the future, for what the US will do to the country).
In an ideal world (which we are far from), Venezuala would have dealt with Maduro internally…not by Trump swooping in via a zoom call from a Mar-A-Lago basement.
I also think this has totally destroyed any credibility that the UN and / or NATO had to wield power and keep powerful countries in check…as well as killing the idea that the US has a functioning congress that could keep a president in check from invading soverign countries on a whim.
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The article is definitely sensational. Some of the sources seem questionable.
Pablo Escobar would be rolling over in his grave at this comparison. Venezuela doesn’t produce any drugs, at most it’s a conduit to europe. I’d say Maduro is more in the realms of Hernndez than Escobar (though not politically).
Yes Maduro was a terrible president, but to think that he has control of the world’s richest reserves of oil, but would prefer to be a Machiavellian drop-shipper for coke and fentanyl is fanciful. Sending small speed boats 1500 nautical miles across open ocean doesn’t seem like a multi billion dollar business model to me.
While he may have turned a blind eye to drug trafficking cartels, I doubt it’s anywhere near as much as gets trafficked from the USA to Canada.
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Yes, the Escobar comparison is clunky and not needed. You’re correct, Hernandez is a far better comparison. Maduro just had $10 billion in Swiss bank account frozen so it seems bigger than just small boats, more akin to Hernandez as you say, altho Trump freed him early along with other narcos like Zepeda, Ulbricht etc. 
Enjoyed that, Jonathan Silver sounds like a really talented, interesting guy who did a lot in his short life.
Alternatively he’s syphoned off billions of dollars of oil money from the nationalised oil industry and left the country of Venezuela bankrupt. $8b isn’t a huge amount for a country pushing out $4b+ a year in just crude exports.
I suspect he’s a crook, and he’s robbed both the country’s coffers and profits (like many politicians). But I still think he’s as much a major drug kingpin as Hussein was the owner of nuclear weapons.
We’ll probably never be presented with the whole truth though.
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Give it a few weeks Trump will be all ‘I’ve spent some time with Maduro, he’s a real nice guy, actually we have a lot in common…’
Cue the deals.
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Really nice review of Emma Warren’s book on youth centres in the TLS. Paywalled but here’s a preview below and a Dropbox link…
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Helps to put some of the current madness into context
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Small claim, Jonathan Silver later took over Saltaire Mill where there are permanent exhibitions of Hockney’s work. I know Jonathon Silver’s daughter and was at her wedding at Saltaire mill where David Hockney was a guest!
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Nice lunchtime read this…
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𝅘𝅥 grim shiiiiit 𝅘𝅥𝅯𝅘𝅥𝅯
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It’s pretty unconscionable to me that the end of the transatlantic alliance is being openly discussed, really for no reason other than one man’s greed and ego…
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