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Ziggy's avatar

I wonder if US oil companies will take Trump up on his invitation to pillage Venezuela? They're good at long-term planning, and know that the US might be under new management in three years--not nearly enough time to recoup any investment.

Max B. Sawicky's avatar

More than that, how does anybody expect the U.S. to "run Venezuela"?

Jordan Barab's avatar

The US is not going to run Venezuela. The petroleum companies are going to run Venezuela. From a narco state to a Petro state.

Larry Koenigsberg's avatar

"Narco state"? We only have our addled hallucinating Commander's word for it. For sure there are some Venezuelan traffickers (just like there are some US traffickers) but blowing up boats, including fishing boats, does not turn their ports into those of a "narco state."

Owen Paine's avatar

Not too sure what

The short run plan is

in big oils head

Beyond control of the rate and direction

Of the present out flow

World market prices

are the key factor

And more then big oil gets into that

Panel discussion

Larry Koenigsberg's avatar

Busting Maduro for drags after pardons of Ross Ulbricht and Juan Orlando Hernández is weirdly akin to any given US administraton cherishing US-aligned (or US-seducible) dictatorships while "Condemning in the Strongest Terms" dictatorships that preferred the other guys. But "our dope-dealers are good, yours are bad" -- it's too far-fetched. Is there even a word for bad faith so far beyond mere hypocrisy?

Trump was all for taking other states' oil as far back as 2011. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/21/donald-trump-iraq-war-oil-strategy-seizure-isis has details. The oil companies don't so much mind blood on their hands (e.g., Nigeria's Niger Delta) if they're in it for a good long suck. But I wonder if Venezuela will have an armed resistance. Maduro was not universally unpopular, and I suspect that even his opponents will not stand by as Chevron etc. come in to snatch their national wealth.

Maybe we'll have another forever war, to protect the oil companies.

Owen Paine's avatar

Oil is just a sweetener

In fact a plug at first will be applied

To wack cuba and perhaps threaten

To

freeze out prc

The existing regime can be toyed with

At low cost

beyond drone diplomacy

For 9nce an operation worthy

of old busch might insue