Post B1iOTVUhROxFgmYYAS by cxj@phpc.social
(DIR) More posts by cxj@phpc.social
(DIR) Post #B1iGeygiRLjJmg8Sf2 by Nonilex@masto.ai
2025-12-28T16:38:45Z
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#GiftArticleOn a spring night in the Oval Office, #Trump asked Secy of #State #MarcoRubio how to get tougher on #Venezuela.It was just before Memorial Day, & anti-leftist Cuban American lawmakers whose votes Trump needed for his signature domestic policy bill were urging him to tighten a vise on Venezuela by stopping #Chevron’s #oil operations there.#law #criminal #murder #WarCrimes #ExtrajudicialKillings #Congress #WarPowers #oil #piracy #theft #InternationalLaw https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/27/us/politics/venezuela-trump-maduro-oil-boat-strikes-immigration.html?unlocked_article_code=1.AFA.MIbS.1TAqf8xs8eJg&smid=nytcore-ios-share
(DIR) Post #B1iGoYGLXla6iuMn1k by Nonilex@masto.ai
2025-12-28T16:40:48Z
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But #Trump did not want to lose the only US foothold in Venezuela’s #oil industry, where #China is the biggest foreign player.Trump was considering allowing Chevron to continue. But he told #Rubio, a longtime hawk on #Venezuela & #Cuba, that they had to show the lawmakers & other doubters they could bring the hammer down on Nicolás #Maduro, the “leftist” [really NYT? That’s just a lazy descriptor.] autocratic leader of Venezuela, whom Trump had tried to oust in his first term.#law
(DIR) Post #B1iGuuCksOogVriU88 by Nonilex@masto.ai
2025-12-28T16:41:58Z
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Another aide in the room, #StephenMiller [aka Satan], said he had ideas. As #Trump’s homeland security adviser, he had been talking with other ofcls about Trump’s campaign vow to bomb fentanyl labs. For various reasons, that notion had faded, & in recent weeks Miller had turned to exploring attacks on boats suspected of carrying drugs off the shores of #CentralAmerica.#law #criminal #murder #WarCrimes #ExtrajudicialKillings #Congress #WarPowers #Venezuela #oil #piracy #theft #InternationalLaw
(DIR) Post #B1iH9blfhr2xfy3jX6 by Nonilex@masto.ai
2025-12-28T16:44:38Z
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#StephenMiller’s deliberations had not focused on #Venezuela, which does not produce fentanyl. But 3 separate policy goals began merging that night — crippling #Maduro, using #military force against [alleged] drug cartels & securing access to Venezuela’s vast #oil reserves for US companies.Two months later, #Trump signed a secret directive ordering the #Pentagon to carry out military operations against Latin American drug cartels & specifically calling for maritime strikes.#law #murder
(DIR) Post #B1iHHaDlLF2jC908u0 by Lizette603_23@mastodon.social
2025-12-28T16:46:01Z
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@Nonilex he's never been much more than the orange pustule's Goering
(DIR) Post #B1iHI8yk74pCzhF8qm by Nonilex@masto.ai
2025-12-28T16:46:10Z
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Though the justification was drugs in general, the operation would concentrate enormous naval firepower off the coast of #Venezuela.The result has been an increasingly militarized pressure campaign intended to remove #Maduro from #power.It has been marked by #US strikes that have killed at least 105 people on boats in the #Caribbean & the eastern #Pacific, a quasi-blockade of #oil tankers entering & leaving Venezuelan ports & threats by #Trump to carry out land strikes in Venezuela.#law
(DIR) Post #B1iHcmvTIelIgDYbSa by Nonilex@masto.ai
2025-12-28T16:49:54Z
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It reflects overlapping drives by #MarcoRubio & #StephenMiller, who have worked on policies against #Maduro. Each has come to it with a focus on long-held goals: for Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants who also serves as #Trump’s national security adviser, a chance to topple or cripple the govts of #Venezuela & its ally, #Cuba; & for Miller, an architect of Trump’s anti-#immigration policies, the opportunity to further his goal of mass #deportations & to hit criminal groups in #LatinAmerica.
(DIR) Post #B1iHo5bADU2VmERmd6 by Nonilex@masto.ai
2025-12-28T16:51:57Z
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This account of how #Venezuela moved to the center of the #Trump admin’s #ForeignPolicy agenda this year — to the point of a possible #war — is based on interviews with current & former #US officials, almost all of whom agreed to speak only on the condition of anonymity because of sensitivities about national security & fear of retribution.#law #criminal #murder #WarCrimes #ExtrajudicialKillings #Congress #WarPowers #oil #piracy #theft #InternationalLaw
(DIR) Post #B1iKMzwPRSv6H69rXt by grammasaurus@mastodon.social
2025-12-28T17:20:37Z
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@Nonilex My quick skim through the article shows that nowhere does it mention the ridiculous lack of qualifications of either Rubio or Miller. The cabinet is populated with vengeful men who are no more mature than middle school boys. Seems like that would be worthy to point out. sigh. I know, we’re talking about the NYT, so what did we expect?
(DIR) Post #B1iOTVUhROxFgmYYAS by cxj@phpc.social
2025-12-28T18:06:29Z
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@Nonilex Machinatons almost worthy of Kissinger. Too bad this article is in the NYT, aka the mouthpiece of the oligarchs.
(DIR) Post #B1iTrkd3JzsdLiqKlE by elasticsoul@mastodon.social
2025-12-28T19:07:00Z
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@Nonilex Does anybody know who the Trumpists want to replace Maduro with? I'm guessing it will be someone who's the opposite of a decent human being, probably a rightwing dictator who will allow the Americans to loot #Venezuela. "The result has been an increasingly militarized pressure campaign intended to remove #Maduro from #power."