#us-intervention

#us-intervention

There's a reason why there's no profit motive in government,

This week, Sanchez did not wait for a joint EU statement to issue judgment on the US's illegal military intervention to capture the Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro: he swiftly joined Latin American countries in condemning it. A few hours later he went even further, saying the operation in Caracas represented a terrible precedent and a very dangerous one [which] reminds us of past aggressions, and pushes the world toward a future of uncertainty and insecurity, similar to what we already experienced after other invasions driven by the thirst for oil.

the capture of Nicolas Maduro. However, the outlook darkened as the hours passed, and the main anti-Chavista leaders, headed by Maria Corina Machado, adjusted their priorities in response to Donald Trump's affront. While the initial reaction of the opposition leadership was a willingness to immediately replace Chavismo, the harsh reality imposed by the Republican president's choice of Delcy Rodriguez ultimately redefined their strategy.

I watched the January 3 rd nightly coverage on CBS and NBC of the U.S. assault on Venezuela and the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, and what I witnessed was not journalism but the choreography of propaganda. CBS, in particular, offered thirty uninterrupted minutes of state-sanctioned fantasy, anchored by a fawning interview with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, a man implicated in the killing of more than one hundred people at sea without evidence, accountability, or due process.

Nicolás Maduro wasn't due to arrive at his arraignment yesterday in downtown Manhattan until noon, but a large crowd had already formed outside the federal courthouse by 9 a.m. Actually, two crowds. One had come to tell Donald Trump to keep his hands off Venezuela. The other, which seemed largely Venezuelan, had come to celebrate. Maduro was, until Saturday, a widely hated ruler. His last election campaign consisted of threatening his people with a "bloodbath" if he lost.

As a stunned world processes the U.S. government's sudden intervention in Venezuela - debating its legality, guessing who the ultimate winners and losers will be - a company founded in California with deep ties to the Golden State could be among the prime beneficiaries. Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves on the planet. Chevron, the international petroleum conglomerate with a massive refinery in El Segundo and headquartered, until recently,

The capture of Maduro and Trump's comments comes at a time when even a country like Venezuela with one of the biggest oil resources in the world isn't a sure bet for attracting major oil companies. Many oil companies have been bruised by their past experiences operating in the country. The global oil market is currently facing an oversupply. Oil prices are below $60 a barrel, and long-term projections for oil demand are unclear as the world shifts to more electric vehicles.