The United States of Venezuela

[falafel]

if you read the article, it speaks to how there is a door on the belly that allows for bombs to be dropped. This style plane also hides any and all weapons that are usually in plain sight under the wings. Hence the purpose of a covert plane to be used by the military to strike.


NYTimes article quote:

Interesting, thanks dabrock. It seemed crazy to me that the government would resort to this. I know we are not afraid of boats in the Caribbean identifying US bombers 30,000 ft or more in the air. That seems hilarious that these smaller operators would see the plane and change course (or that it would even matter if they did). I wonder what the purpose of these planes, at least in this instance, is.

[Bo Diddley]

Shit, I thought about that . At least you confirm it is a passenger airplane!

Yes, I know the military uses a lot of commercial airplanes. I took a couple flights in a T-43 my freshman year at BYU while in the AFROTC. That's a converted 737 with several navigation stations set up designed to train navigators. I remember how cool that seemed to me at the time.

My uncle flew a KC-10 extender for many years. It was an air force refueler using the same airframe as the DC-10. That's the one that had problems with the engine falling off. I'm pretty sure they don't use the KC-10 anymore.

[dabrockster]

We are beginning to see how removing Maduro and no other involvement will turn Venezuela and neighboring countries in a unstable situation on the borders. Reports now showing the border of Venezuela and Columbia are beginning to be taken over by groups we have not heard about in a while Where they had strong roots in Venezuela and now expanding their control..

Around 4:40 a.m. on Jan. 6, just a few days after the U.S. capture of Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, armed men intercepted a bus carrying civilians and several policemen on the main highway near Tibú, a town on the Colombian side of the border with Venezuela. They ordered passengers to hand over their phones for inspection, and then proceeded to kidnap five police officers.

The assailants were members of the National Liberation Army, or E.L.N., a Colombian guerrilla group that started off mounting a leftist insurgency in the 1960s but has since expanded into criminal enterprises. As many as half of its roughly 6,300 fighters are now based in Venezuela, where they have, at least until this month, enjoyed an alliance of mutual convenience with the government.

In the lead-up to the U.S. raid in Caracas, it appears the Maduro regime gave the group a green light to expand its control of the border, fearing, according to Colombian military officials, that Colombia might serve as a back door for U.S. military operations. The E.L.N., which dominates the area’s illicit economies and uses the frontier as a safe haven, has taken advantage of the opportunity to consolidate its grip along the perimeter, which stretches from the Atlantic coast down to the Amazon jungle.

Now the E.L.N. stands emboldened to challenge the authority of the Colombian state — and U.S. ambitions in Venezuela. The borderlands are webbed with lucrative corridors where the E.L.N. and other armed groups move seamlessly and often exercise more control than the government. With profits flowing from illegal mining, drug trafficking and human smuggling, both the Colombian guerrillas and complicit members of Venezuela’s security forces have deep interests in maintaining the status quo in Caracas and resisting attempts to bring rule of law to these territories.


The threat from empowered armed groups and their backers will persist as Mr. Trump endeavors to exert control over Venezuela. As of now, the E.L.N.’s most likely allies in the Venezuelan government, including the ministers of defense and interior affairs, remain in their posts. But the E.L.N. has repeatedly said that it stands ready to attack U.S. interests if they threaten the Chavista regime in Venezuela.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/14/o...smid=url-share

[myboynoah]

Shouldn't surprise anyone.

[dabrockster]

Shouldn't surprise anyone.

Nope. Which is why I was not Ok with just taking Maduro but they needed to remove the current regime and help support Venezuela with (Sadly. And the only avenue to really get things righted) was with military bases and boots on the ground.. As well as the winner of the last Presidential Election.

Keeping the same regime and the gestapo arm of his leadership was a bad decision.

[myboynoah]

Nope. Which is why I was not Ok with just taking Maduro but they needed to remove the current regime and help support Venezuela with (Sadly. And the only avenue to really get things righted) was with military bases and boots on the ground.. As well as the winner of the last Presidential Election.

Keeping the same regime and the gestapo arm of his leadership was a bad decision.

Have no idea how much forward planning went into this. Obviously wouldn't put boots on the ground to implement regime change and provide security. That would have been a disaster. So keeping the current regime in place provides some form of internal security.

I guess they think they can facilitate change and manipulate decision-making via financial pressure. That seems pretty iffy and will hurt the most vulnerable.

I still don't know what Trump, as acting el president, is trying to accomplish in VeneSuela.

[BigPiney]

This is why so many people were not happy with the removal. It was extremely well executed and he was a.very bad dude. But the Trump admin seems to have no plan whatsoever for the power vacuum that is left behind. They have don't seem to have anyone smart enough to think beyond Trump's whims.

[Bo Diddley]

Have no idea how much forward planning went into this. Obviously wouldn't put boots on the ground to implement regime change and provide security. That would have been a disaster. So keeping the current regime in place provides some form of internal security.

I guess they think they can facilitate change and manipulate decision-making via financial pressure. That seems pretty iffy and will hurt the most vulnerable.

I still don't know what Trump, as acting el president, is trying to accomplish in VeneSuela.

Even with boots on the ground, we've been down this road before and it is not easy. In fact boots on the ground introduces its own set of complications to the process.

[Donuthole]

Extracting Maduro and leaving his unlawful, non-elected VP and the rest of his henchmen in place is just shameful. Going in and taking him out without a plan--or with the plan being anything other than to put the actually elected President in place--was reckless and potentially creates an even less-stable Venezuela. Incredible. You could almost make the case that the reason this was done without a long term plan was to distract and deflect attention from other events.

[Moliere]

I’m shocked this administration did something rash without having a long term plan in place…

[myboynoah]

Extracting Maduro and leaving his unlawful, non-elected VP and the rest of his henchmen in place is just shameful. Going in and taking him out without a plan--or with the plan being anything other than to put the actually elected President in place--was reckless and potentially creates an even less-stable Venezuela. Incredible. You could almost make the case that the reason this was done without a long term plan was to distract and deflect attention from other events.

Some might say that all of this recent crap is a way to turn the tide on a pretty miserable past three months for the White House. But this VeneSuela thing is very likely to go south and any number or ways. El Presidente will show the way!

[myboynoah]

Even with boots on the ground, we've been down this road before and it is not easy. In fact boots on the ground introduces its own set of complications to the process.

Yeah, that was a non-starter, which makes one wonder what the plan is. Also, how long is it reasonable to keep our naval assets in the region monitoring this situation?

[dabrockster]

US gets first $500 million Venezuelan oil deal, holding some proceeds in Qatar

The Trump administration’s first sale of Venezuelan oil is valued at $500 million, an administration official told Semafor.

The sale marks an initial milestone in the administration’s stewardship of Venezuela after the US ouster of its former leader, Nicolás Maduro, 11 days ago. President Donald Trump has indicated that the US would effectively run Venezuela for an indeterminable amount of time and take control of up to 50 million barrels of its oil — marketing and selling it while distributing the proceeds back to Venezuela in an arrangement with little precedent.

Trump signed an executive order on Friday that provided some details on how the US plans to block courts or creditors from tapping any revenue from those oil sales. Venezuela owes international bondholders, oil companies and others as much as $170 billion — one reason why US firms have been reluctant to help rebuild the country’s infrastructure.

Trump told ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance last week that the US is “not going to look at what people lost in the past, because that was their fault.”

The administration official told Semafor that the interim leadership in Venezuela, led by former Maduro No. 2 Delcy Rodríguez, has “fully cooperated” since the US-Venezuelan energy deal was announced last week, adding that the US has “leverage” through sanctions and oil sales.

Revenue from the oil sales is currently being held in bank accounts controlled by the US government, as indicated in Friday’s order, according to the administration official. The main account, according to a second senior administration official, is located in Qatar.

The second official described Qatar as a neutral location where money can flow freely with US approval and without risk of seizure. Trump’s order noted that at least some of the revenue would be held in US Treasury accounts.

https://www.semafor.com/article/01/14/2026/us-gets-first-500-million-venezuelan-oil-deal-holding-some-proceeds-in-qatar

[dabrockster]

Article reports that Columbia and Venezuela are meeting to discuss joining forces to fight rebel forces which could include U.S. forces.

Less than a week after Delta Force’s audacious capture of Nicolas Maduro, Colombia’s most wanted guerrilla leader made an unusual plea to his rival insurgents.

After decades of waging a bloody conflict over territories, drug trafficking routes and illegal economies, it was time to unite against a common enemy: Donald Trump.

“The shadow of the interventionist eagle looms over everyone equally. We urge you to put aside these differences,” Ivan Mordisco, the leader of the largest offshoot of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), said.

Among the rebel groups singled out by Mordisco, whose real name is Nestor Gregorio Vera, was the Left-wing National Liberation Army (ELN), Colombia’s largest and most powerful criminal guerrilla, which controls large swathes of the 1,400-mile border between Venezuela and Colombia.

“The war between Mordisco, or Farc dissidents and the ELN has been very, very bloody with a huge humanitarian impact, so it calls my attention that despite that, Mordisco is still saying ‘hey, stop this, let’s unite against our enemy, which is the US and its intervention’,” Jorge Mantilla, security analyst and expert on Colombian guerrilla groups, said.

“So the cards are on the table,” he added.

Gustavo Petro, the Colombian president and former guerrilla fighter, used the threat of such an alliance to call for a concerted effort to “remove” drug trafficking guerrillas. He said he had invited Delcy Rodriguez, Venezuela’s new leader, to cooperate in rooting out these insurgent forces.

Reports of a potential joint military operation against the groups from the US, Colombia and Venezuela could see the guerrilla group wiped out after more than 60 years.

Founded in the 1960s by students and union leaders inspired by the Cuban revolution, for more than half a century, the ELN has extorted, kidnapped and murdered Colombians in the name of the “revolution”.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/...uerrilla-army/

[Moliere]

Kidnapping and $12 Billion Battle Hang Over Conoco Return to Venezuela - WSJ

This is no secret and I'm not claiming a SUish on this, but I'd be shocked, generally shocked, if Conoco touched Venezueal at all in the next decade unless they get absolute guarantees from the US government that their investments will be protected of backed. I actually have zero doubt they'll spend a dime in Venezuela while Trump is president since they wouldn't trust any contract signed by his administration given how he treats creditors and others that go into business with him.

The company was one of the first Western oil firms to sign multibillion-dollar deals in Venezuela. But its foray backfired in 2007, when it refused to bow to then-Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez’s nationalization, and it has by far the most battle scars of its peers. ConocoPhillips is the country’s largest nonsovereign creditor and has been fighting tooth and nail to recoup the roughly $12 billion it is still owed.

And although the prospect of tapping into Venezuela’s vast riches might be alluring, people close to ConocoPhillips note it has an abundant backlog of safe, lucrative oil fields to drill—from West Texas to Alaska. The company has also invested billions of dollars in projects to liquefy and ship natural gas on the Gulf Coast and in Qatar.