Is the Trump administration jumping on the regime-change merry-go-round? From Jose Alberto Nino at unz.com:
On a moonless night in September 2025, American warships patrolling the Caribbean Sea opened fire on a Venezuelan vessel, killing eleven people. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described it matter-of-factly as another drug interdiction operation. But to those watching the steady deterioration of U.S.-Venezuela relations over the past three decades, the deadly strike represented something far more ominous: the culmination of nearly thirty years of failed policy, botched coups, and mounting hostility that has brought two nations to the brink of armed conflict.
Today, experts estimate the odds of military conflict at roughly one in three before year’s end. With over 6,500 American troops deployed to the region, F-35 fighter jets prowling Venezuelan airspace, and President Donald Trump declaring the United States in “armed conflict” with drug cartels, the question is no longer whether Washington will escalate further but whether it has learned anything from three decades of counterproductive intervention.
The answer, unfortunately, appears to be no.
The current crisis accelerated after Venezuela’s disputed July 28, 2024 presidential election. While Nicolás Maduro’s government declared victory with 51.2% of the vote, opposition candidate Edmundo González claims to have won with approximately 67%, according to verified tally sheets from thousands of polling centers. The Carter Center declared the election failed to meet international standards and “cannot be considered democratic.”
González subsequently fled to exile in Spain in September 2024, spending thirty-two days hidden in the Dutch embassy before escaping the country on a Spanish military aircraft. Opposition leader María Corina Machado claimed his life was in danger from “growing threats, legal citations, arrest orders, and even blackmail attempts.”
The Trump administration’s response has been unequivocal military pressure. Since September, U.S. forces have conducted at least four deadly strikes against alleged drug vessels, killing fifteen people in total. The administration sent Congress a confidential notice declaring that drug cartels are engaged in an “armed attack” against the United States, asserting war powers without Congressional approval—a sweeping claim that treats counternarcotics as armed conflict.
Saw a video of Venezuela controls our elections with China and Iran but had to turn it off after a good belly laugh.
The big bad super duper power can’t even control elections?
What good is the OSS state then?