president Maduro captured after US strikes

[Avicula]

Agreed.

But we both know the USA will 'back' someone.
And that someone will be beholding to the USA for getting the job.

Ultimately, I suspect that the Trump administration will make a big show of the free and fair elections that will be held in Venezuela. If he REALLY wants to extend the olive branch to the greater global community, he will request UN oversight. 

The people of Venezuela will choose who they want to lead them. That is a good thing.

[UltraBudgie]

The problem is also with the judges and Venezuelan parliament (?) who are still there and supported and backed Maduro.

They need to go.

Reminds me of the debathification of Iraq.

Early in the occupation of Iraq two key decisions were made that gravely
jeopardized US chances for success in Iraq: (1) the decision to bar from
government work Iraqis who ranked in the top four levels of Sadam’s Baath
Party or who held positions in the top three levels of each ministry; (2) the
decision to disband the Iraqi Army and replace it with a new army built
from scratch. These two fateful decisions were made against the advice of
military and CIA professionals and without consulting important members
of the President’s staff and cabinet. This article will first examine the de-
Baathification order and then take up the even more far reaching decision to
disband the Iraqi Army.
Both of these decisions fueled the insurgency by: (1) alienating hundreds of
thousands of Iraqis who could not support themselves or their families; (2)
by undermining the normal infrastructure necessary for social and economic
activity; (3) by ensuring that there was not sufficient security to carry on
normal life; and (4) by creating insurgents who were angry at the US, many
of whom had weapons and were trained to use them.

https://pfiffner.schar.gmu.edu/files/pdf...%20PDF.pdf

Recipe for a long drawn-out occupation.

[UltraBudgie]

The 1/3 of the country who left need to return and straighten out their country.

I'm sensing a "two birds, one stone" opportunity.

Aren't there those on the left chanting "We're All Venezuelans Now!"?

We should believe them, and provide transportation assistance for their endeavours.

[FlyersFan]

Recipe for a long drawn-out occupation.

Which is why the 1/3 of Venezuelans who left need to return and straighten out their own country.   
Even if it's civil war.
It would be THEM fixing their own problems.

[angelchemuel]

Something or nothing.....
On the ticker tape on UK news station "Flight tracker shows US Special Forces heading to EU".
It was up for about half an hour and then taken down. Probably a false claim..... but all the same, no smoke without fire and all that.
Rainbows
Jane

[CriticalStinker]

Yep.

The fact is that Trump going into Venezuela and arresting Maduro and his wife is legal according to US Law.   We did the same thing with Panama 4 decades ago.   The courts went over it and said it's legal.   An international police action.   The Democrats coming out and saying it was an illegal move according to our law are flat out wrong and are just being partisan.

The problem comes after that when Trump said 'we will run Venezuela' for a while until a rightful president can be put in office.   That's not clear cut if he can do that according to US law.   And international law is even murkier.

The usual international players are lining up saying it's against international law or saying it's okay according to international law.   Opinions are flying in.   But it hasn't even been brought up in an international court.   It can't be.  Because it hasn't happened yet ... America isn't running Venezuela yet so there is nothing to rule on.

So we have to all just wait and see how it plays out with the lawyers.   And they can't do anything until Trump does something in regards to running Venezuela.   So far, what has been done is legal according to the US and has been done before (Panama).

I don't think it's just democrats pushing back, or questioning whether charging Maduro is the illegal part.

Post Bush, both parties have capitalized and arguably won elections by promising the US would shift away from wars, specifically regime change wars since we spent trillions on wars, part of which were based on lies.

Now we're promising to get involved in Venezuela, while also ramping up rhetoric for going after other countries. 

The big question of legality for me is how is one person making all these decisions when the constitution specifically puts that responsibility on congress. Problem is they did give some of that away with the war powers act, though we're well past the 60 days. The other problem is congress is spineless, and has been for decades. They don't want to vote on these issues, because their name is tied to it. 

Ultimately, we've decided as a nation all foreign policy and war is decided by the president. People are welcome to trust Trump if they want, but he is going to be gone soon. Our last three presidents before him were Biden, Obama and Bush. So for those who think this is the right thing, just remember what kind of people get into office. This kind of precedent was set well before this, but it's continuing on by a politician who promised no new wars, no regime changes, and America first. Which again, isn't unique. Obama was supposed to be hope and change and was Bush the third.

[FlyersFan]

on UK news station "Flight tracker shows US Special Forces heading to EU".

I doubt that a flight tracker would know what is special forces.
And I doubt that the US is invading the EU.
Looks like someone running the ticker is having fun trying to scare viewers.

[Solvedit]

What was existing in Venezuela wasn't working.
1/3 of the population left.
The remaining population was dirt poor and full of crime.
And the government was running drug operations and 
other illegal ventures.

Their international oil sales were cut back badly by government sanctions over the actions of the Chavez and Maduro regimes.  They will now be less dependent on drug sales.

[Astyanax]

I seem to recall Vietnam did not go very well.

The New Wave of Boat People won't have so far to sail.

[quintessentone]

Their international oil sales were cut back badly by government sanctions over the actions of the Chavez and Maduro regimes.  They will now be less dependent on drug sales.

You aren't really buying that lie are you?

Trump explaining why he pardoned Hernandez:

"President Donald Trump pardoned Juan Orlando Hernández, the former president of Honduras, on Dec. 1, claiming without evidence that his prosecution had been a “setup” by the Biden administration and that Hernández was targeted because he was president of a country where drug cartels operated.
 “If somebody sells drugs in that country, that doesn’t mean you arrest the president and put him in jail for the rest of his life,” Trump said in explaining the pardon."

Examining Trump's Pardon of Former Honduran President Convicted of Trafficking Drugs to U.S. - FactCheck.org