By Walt Zlotow
Sure looks like Trump is initiating regime change in Venezuela. He’s sent a US armada of ships including its most advanced aircraft carrier, planes and troops to Venezuela’s neighborhood. Trump’s hoping to intimidate Venezuelan President Maduro to go quietly so he can replace him with a compliant US puppet. For emphasis he’s issued a $50 million dollar reward for his arrest, and blasted 17 small, unarmed boats to smithereens near Venezuela, murdering dozens.
Trump doesn’t care one whit about ending imaginary Venezuelan drug smuggling into the US. That is simply a plot device to control Venezuela’s massive oil reserves via a US puppet ruling Venezuela, and to sever Venezuela’s newfound political, economic and military ties to Russia and China. Neither will stand by to an American regime change operation, much less an outright invasion, without offering help to resist US aggression. Trump may be the president upon whose watch the Monroe Doctrine went poof.
No nation in Central or South America supports Trump’s march to war against Venezuela. Indeed no nation in the world, outside of possibly Israel, supports this impending abomination of foreign intervention.
US firepower is so dominant they can quickly take out Maduro if Trump’s newly rechristened Secretary of War Pete Hegseth lights the fuse. But neither the Maduro government nor its citizens will go quietly. Resistance both during and after the incursion will likely be ferocious. Get ready for US body bags to start arriving at Arlington.
Trump would be wise to converse with former President George W. Bush to get his thoughts on the nearly 4,500 senseless US deaths in Iraq and the 2,400 senseless US deaths in Afghanistan after Bush’s ‘war fighters’ quickly deposed Saddam Hussein and the Taliban respectively. To what end? We’re still defiling Iraq with 2,000 troops Iraq wants out but, like being in a roach motel, will never leave. It took 20 years but the Taliban kicked out the US invaders that stayed thru 3 presidencies till Biden left.
The last possible firewall preventing Trump’s impending invasion, Congress, abdicated their responsibility by refusing to invoke the War Powers Act forbidding war without Congressional approval as required by the Constitution. Only 2 of 100 Senators voted for peace. All 49 Democrats who voted to prevent were more likely motivated by political opposition to anything Trump. When it comes to US militarism abroad, Democrats are almost always on board.
The 49 Republicans voting for presidential war did so because they love both robust militarism and their deranged, war loving president keeping them supported by Trump’s MAGA base. Only Republicans Lisa Murkowski and Rand Paul voted against their party’s impending war out of principle.
Besides a powwow with Bush Jr., Trump might seek a séance with late warmonger down in War Lovers Hell LBJ. If he could communicate from his everlasting place of infamy over Vietnam, he might tell Trump, ‘Faggedaboudit Donald, I lost 58,000 US boys for nothing. Pivot to peace while you’re till earthbound.’
Walt Zlotow, West Suburban Peace Coalition, Glen Ellyn IL
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I don’t know about the Donald but the lunatic in charge of War, Hegseth, seems determined to start World War 3 with this insane brain fart:
@9.49 am
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2025/nov/13/donald-trump-jeffrey-epstein-files-us-government-shutdown-latest-news-updates
The Trump administration believes it has every right to determine who should be in charge of the government of Venezuela. They have been trying to displace Venezuelas’ legal government since Trump’s first tenure of the White House. The motives are clear – the rape and pillage of Venezuelas’ natural assets and the subjugation of Venezuelas’ citizens. This has nothing to do with justice or democracy. It is plain criminal activity and is a continuation of the most evil aggregation of human endeavour known essentially as the CIA. If you have any doubts about the honesty and integrity of USA foreign policy, the link below will demonstrate the incredibly tangled web of intrigue that is being played out against Venezuela today.
https://thegrayzone.substack.com/p/white-house-insiders-knew-of-2020?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=474765&post_id=178758646&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=4an0y2&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
Have you wondered why the Trump administration are showing so much interest in Venezuela?
Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world, followed by Saudi Arabia and Iran. As of 2023, Venezuela’s estimated reserves are around 303 billion barrels, which is more than any other country.
Venezuela could be one of the most prosperous countries in the world. In August 2017, the first administration of Donald Trump imposed sanctions which prohibited Venezuela’s access to U.S. financial markets. Beginning in January 2019, the U.S. applied additional economic sanctions to individuals or companies in the petroleum, gold, mining, and banking industries.
Trump has effectively crippled the Venezuelan economy during his two terms in office, his intentions now appear to be regime change.