socaltownie said:

---

I read that it would take 58 BILLION to increase production.

---

17.5 trillion could easily cover that 58 billion, no?

I would add that mostly I think this is an effort for Rubio to fulfil the cultural dream of regime change in Cuba. My understanding is that this already basketcase economy is even more threatened if the US can exert pressure on Venezuela to cut off support. Thus really not about drugs (or, see above as to the challenges of increasing output) the oil but trying to squeeze Havana.

I am not sure that isn't a false dream. Not that the Castroites are good but that given a 70 year divergence I am having a really hard time believing that the Cuban immigrants are going to be welcomed with open arms (and return of expropriated property) by those left behind. But I am not a student of cuban politics so maybe this works.

socaltownie said:

---

BearlySane88 said:

---

socaltownie said:

---

BearlySane88 said:

---

oski003 said:

---

chazzed said:

---

It's going to be amusing to see the mental gymnastics oski003 comes up with to defend his dear leader.

What will be very far from amusing are all of the consequences. Trump's wars will cause so much unnecessary suffering. In terms of being a warmonger, he is just like any other Republican president.

BREAKING –

Trump becomes the first US president to bоmb 7 countries in one year pic.twitter.com/grd63QHVZJ

— Global UPDATES (@GlobalUpdates24) January 3, 2026

---

I am not a fan of this, but I prefer a measured wait and see approach. I am particularly worried that this green lights China to invade Taiwan.

---

I don't disagree with you and don't necessarily agree with this guy but an interesting alternate perspective

By acting in Venezuela and aiding the Iranian opposition, @realDonaldTrump might have prevented an imminent 🇨🇳 invasion of 🇹🇼.

Beijing needs oil that is not subject to US pressure. That means Russia, Venezuela & Iran. 🇨🇳 has been buying 60-90% of Venezuelan and 85-90% of Iranian…

— J Michael Waller (@JMichaelWaller) January 3, 2026

---

Bad take. They pump less than 1m a day. Russia currently 10m a day.

---

But they could pump a hell of a lot more now, right? And controlling it so it isn't going to Russia is a net positive?

Again, I don't know enough about the oil world to have hard line opinion this.

---

Nope. I read that it would take 58 BILLION to increase production. I am n ot an oil man ;-) but my understanding is that it is really an infrastructure intensive activity - think pipelines, storage, a ****LOAD of electricity since most oil is no longer under the kind of pressure that popular culture has as a "gusher" and needs to be pumped, etc. etc. etc.

Essentially the Chavez regime pillaged their oil infrastructure for decades. This article suggested a decade or more before we would see a meaningful increase in production.

And "fun fact" - adding that supply to the market drives down price (absent increase in demand) and where that hurts the most is in shale production - which of course is in Maga territory like Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Fun fact Number 2. Absent a lot better people in charge of the coming occupation oil infrastructure is really easy to disrupt with both active and passive resistance. This is going to be a **** show.

---

A lot of the reason for the heavy-handed attack on Venezuela was because China was going to build that oil infrastructure for them, in addition to other infrastructure projects (powerplants, mining operations etc).

In 10-20 years the Middle East and Gulf countries are going to fall into China's economic orbit, that is pretty inevitable considering geography and trade, with China supplying most of their imports and buying their oil. Without Venezuela and its sizeable resources, the long term survival of the petrodollar as well as the ability of the US to service a $40 trillion debt are threatened. That is the big picture.

His Excellency Marco Rubio, Viceroy of Venezuela

His first edict: Angel Falls will henceforth and forthwith be known as…

Biden Falls

Biden gives "All Clear,"



…Trump invades Mexico..

Things that didn't happen for $1000 please

and the answer is: My $2000 tariff relief check

cal83dls79 said:

---

and the answer is: My $2000 tariff relief check

---

You would have found a way to blame Trump even if you did get it. Yall must be exhausted. Got a long 3 years ahead of you

Stock up on firewood. I have, it grows in my back yard

What an answer. That's quitting in typed form

UNITY OVER DIVISION

VOTE BLUE

Go Bears Forever

PAC-10-BEAR said:

---

China went to meet with Maduro today to discuss joining forces, then Trump captures Maduro the same day.

Savage.

In fact, the Chinese delegation is still in Venezuela.

Trump captures Maduro and sends a powerful message to Xi and China at the same time.

Savage. pic.twitter.com/xpjOOidNp3

— Mila Joy (@Milajoy) January 3, 2026

The Chinese delegation is still in Venezuela.

---

Those Chinese defense systems did a bang-up job.

VENEZUELA: Biden raised Maduro’s bounty to $25M, declared him a fugitive, & denied him head of state immunity making it lawful for US troops to arrest him on Venezuelan soil. Democrats now call the arrest Biden enabled and authorized 'illegal'. pic.twitter.com/23ffxTIzYZ

— @amuse (@amuse) January 4, 2026

Except how does building physkcal infrastucture build "leverage"? You can not reposses a powerplant and easily ship it back to beijing. What ome can do is threaten to halt future investment but the world is awash in capital.

I think the thing that none of us currently know is the internal dynamics there and whether a us clinet state is accepted or gives rise to armed resistance. And if us citizens start being kidnapped or ieds staet to explode then what? I am NOT a fan of nation building and that seema to be whatnwe are jumping into.

BearlySane88 said:

---

cal83dls79 said:

---

and the answer is: My $2000 tariff relief check

---

You would have found a way to blame Trump even if you did get it. Yall must be exhausted. Got a long 3 years ahead of you

---

Since you appear to be the most "informed" person here and have all the answers as to what happened and what didnt happen given all of your posts. . . can you tell us (y'all) here WHY TRUMP'S MISSION neglected to arrest the Minister of Defense (Padrino) who has ties to Russia and the Minister of the Interior (Cabello) . . . even though they have bounties on their head and we're named in the 2020 indictment as narco-terrorists?

Why are Maduro's colleagues still in power?
What's the plan?

DiabloWags said:

---

BearlySane88 said:

---

cal83dls79 said:

---

and the answer is: My $2000 tariff relief check

---

You would have found a way to blame Trump even if you did get it. Yall must be exhausted. Got a long 3 years ahead of you

---

Since you appear to be the most "informed" person here and have all the answers as to what happened and what didnt happen given all of your posts. . . can you tell us (y'all) here WHY TRUMP'S MISSION neglected to arrest the Minister of Defense (Padrino) who has ties to Russia and the Minister of the Interior (Cabello) . . . even though they have bounties on their head and we're named in the 2020 indictment as narco-terrorists?

Why are Maduro's colleagues still in power?

---

The logical explanation is by getting the top guy, we were able to get the other two under our thumbs.

Gee, I wonder if anyone inside the Trump administration tried to capitalize on their advance notice of the Maduro kidnapping. Grifters gonna grift.

https://www.axios.com/2026/01/03/maduro-capture-bets-trade-prediction-markets

Someone made a huge profit predicting Maduro's capture. Here's what happened

Traders and speculative bettors earned huge profits on prediction markets because of the capture of Venezuela President Nicols Maduro.

Why it matters: Though the capture of Maduro seemed to come out of the blue for many Americans, some were ahead of the curve, netting them thousands of dollars.

These bets many of which were on Maduro's capture, and are now on what happens next to the ousted leader will renew longstanding questions about inside information and access to prediction markets.

Driving the news: Traders on Polymarket appeared to anticipate Maduro's capture late Friday night, before President Trump announced it early Saturday morning.

The market for whether or not Maduro would be out of power climbed shortly before 10pm ET on Friday, after hovering in the low single digits for weeks, per the Wall Street Journal.

What appears to be a newly created account appeared to invest $30,000 Friday in Maduro's exit. After Maduro went into custody Saturday morning, that same investor netted $436,759.61.

Polymarket did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment Saturday morning.

State of play: Polymarket was packed with questions related to the Venezuela news Saturday morning.

The question of "Maduro in U.S. custody by January 31?" spiked around 4:20am ET around the time of Trump's announcement after hovering at a low level for weeks.

There was a slight bump close to 3am ET, though.

Yes, but: The timing was still a surprise for some. The prediction site Kalshi showed the market for Maduro leaving office before February at around 13 cents.

Between the lines: There've been noteworthy prediction market swings over political battles, sports matches and other moments, so the idea that Maduro's capture was of interest to bettors isn't new.

Prediction markets really gained nationwide buzz after they shook up the 2024 presidential election, when they showed a stark disparity with political analysts.

What's next: Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) will reportedly introduce a new bill the Public Integrity in Financial Prediction Markets Act of 2026 to limit federal elected officials and some political figures from engaging in prediction markets.

The bottom line: It's clearly possible to profit off big news events.

But that might not be the case much longer.

Eastern Oregon Bear said:

---

From what I'm remembering from an article I read a few years ago, Venezuela nationalized their oil industry decades ago and kicked out the foreign oil companies and their experts. It then failed to do maintenance so their capacity to get oil out of the ground diminished greatly. Companies that did oil field maintenance didn't trust Venezuela to pay them, as did companies that produce oil field equipment. Probably wise as Venezuela was spending their oil money like a drunken sailor on other things. So, oil production is a small fraction of what it was years ago. That's why Venezuelans are living in poverty. I imagine that will continue for the foreseeable future as rebuilding the Venezuelan oil industry will take years, if not decades.

---

True.
For additional context, Venezuela was producing 3.5 million barrels per day in 1999.

Maduro started nationalizing the oil business from 2004 - 2007.
By 2007, major integrated players like Conoco and Chevron were out.

Fast forward to today, and Venezuela produces about 1.1 mbpd.
The U.S. currently produces 13 mbpd.

Recall that it took more than two decades for Iraqi production to return to "normal" production rates.
It was a little over 3 million bpd in 1990 just before Desert Storm and didn't get back to those levels until 2013.

If anything, Venezuela's neighbor GUYANA is the BIG PLAY.

Lower taxes, no nationalization, a lighter grade crude oil that pollutes less and is easier to refine.
And U.S. major integrated players are already there where there's a stable government and no political uncertainty.

Exxon Mobil estimates that the amount of recoverable oil for the Stabroek Block offshore is 10 Billion barrels.

ExxonMobil's resource estimate for Guyana block rises to 10 billion barrels | World Ports Organization

Phil Knight just inked him to a multi year:

DiabloWags said:

---

BearlySane88 said:

---

cal83dls79 said:

---

and the answer is: My $2000 tariff relief check

---

You would have found a way to blame Trump even if you did get it. Yall must be exhausted. Got a long 3 years ahead of you

---

Since you appear to be the most "informed" person here and have all the answers as to what happened and what didnt happen given all of your posts. . . can you tell us (y'all) here WHY TRUMP'S MISSION neglected to arrest the Minister of Defense (Padrino) who has ties to Russia and the Minister of the Interior (Cabello) . . . even though they have bounties on their head and we're named in the 2020 indictment as narco-terrorists?

Why are Maduro's colleagues still in power?
What's the plan?

---

That's rich, coming from you. I'll refrain from personal attacks and I will just encourage you to watch some of Rubio's many interviews from today. He's clearly laid that all out for you.

🚨🇻🇪🇷🇺 BREAKING: VENEZUELA has approved a new Strategic Partnership Treaty with RUSSIA pic.twitter.com/1GuNWcuWZm

— Legitimate Targets (@LegitTargets) September 21, 2025

Russia had a foothold in the western hemisphere.

• Venezuela crude oil to Russia despite sanctions
• Venezuela gold reserves to Russia
• Russia loaned billions to Venezuela
• Russian missiles to Venezuela for air defense.
• Russian Wagner Group to Venezuela for military presence and training.

bearister said:

---

Phil Knight just inked him to a multi year:

---

Lol. My students would have definitely approved of the Nike Tech fit Maduro was rocking. Top 3 most popular outfit this year. I'm guessing many got sets just like it for Christmas.

🚨🇺🇸🇻🇪🇷🇺NEW: Venezuela’s President Maduro has reportedly turned to Russia for urgent military help, requesting missiles, radar upgrades, and aircraft repairs as U.S. forces step up activity near the Venezuelan coast.

Caracas has also reached out to China and Iran for drones,… pic.twitter.com/RVRGMUM5nH

— Defense Intelligence (@DI313_) October 31, 2025

Something's building in South America and it might not stay quiet for long.

Oct 2025

🇷🇺🇻🇪🇸🇾 Putin's betrayal of Maduro Three weeks ago, the president of Venezuela said that Putin promised him absolute and unconditional support on the phone, no matter what. Russia's support in the US special operation last night: nothing. pic.twitter.com/0VM12v4Vt4

— 🔰 Military-News (@MilitaryNewsEN) January 3, 2026

Reporter: Did you speak with the oil companies before the operation? Did you tip them off?

Trump: Before and after. They want to go in and they’re going to do a great job. pic.twitter.com/zxOG648Ww0

— Acyn (@Acyn) January 5, 2026

New - Approval of Trump's actions in Venezuela (Hispanics)

🟢 Support 40% (+7)
🟤 Oppose 33%

YouGov #A - A - 1/3

— Political Polls (@PpollingNumbers) January 4, 2026

bearister said:

---

His first edict: Angel Falls will henceforth and forthwith be known as…

---

In order for it to be renamed in his name, he has to first go over the Falls in a barrel - and I'm all for it!

There's all that oil, sure, but I also heard that Trump thinks this might get him the "Noble War Prize". His plan is to bookend that with his FIFA Peace Prize... which will be a first. "Even Washington and Lincoln never won both of these!"

The left remembered borders again. What an amazing shift we are witnessing.

chazzed said:

---

Reporter: Did you speak with the oil companies before the operation? Did you tip them off?

Trump: Before and after. They want to go in and they’re going to do a great job. pic.twitter.com/zxOG648Ww0

— Acyn (@Acyn) January 5, 2026

---

The oil companies got notice of the military actions undertaken by the U.S. before Congress was notified. Does this sound appropriate?

BearNIt said:

---

chazzed said:

---

Reporter: Did you speak with the oil companies before the operation? Did you tip them off?

Trump: Before and after. They want to go in and they’re going to do a great job. pic.twitter.com/zxOG648Ww0

— Acyn (@Acyn) January 5, 2026

---

The oil companies got notice of the military actions undertaken by the U.S. before Congress was notified. Does this sound appropriate?

---

Why should the bosses have to get info after their employees?

Congress are not the bosses. They work for us. They suck at it and forget it often but they work for us.

BearlySane88 said:

---

DiabloWags said:

---

BearlySane88 said:

---

cal83dls79 said:

---

and the answer is: My $2000 tariff relief check

---

You would have found a way to blame Trump even if you did get it. Yall must be exhausted. Got a long 3 years ahead of you

---

Since you appear to be the most "informed" person here and have all the answers as to what happened and what didnt happen given all of your posts. . . can you tell us (y'all) here WHY TRUMP'S MISSION neglected to arrest the Minister of Defense (Padrino) who has ties to Russia and the Minister of the Interior (Cabello) . . . even though they have bounties on their head and we're named in the 2020 indictment as narco-terrorists?

Why are Maduro's colleagues still in power?
What's the plan?

---

That's rich, coming from you. I'll refrain from personal attacks and I will just encourage you to watch some of Rubio's many interviews from today. He's clearly laid that all out for you.

---

Thanks for the update.

Sweaty Marco sounded just as clueless as usual.
He had no answers.






Marco Rubio blasts Donald Trump as he insists he won't be 'part of his freak show' | Daily Mail Online

Then you weren't listening. That's on you.