White House gives Maduro ultimatum as U.S. moves toward land operations

[GJGCA]

Source: Miami Herald

As Washington prepares to launch land attacks inside Venezuela, a long-awaited phone call between the White House and Caracas aimed at defusing the crisis carried a blunt message for strongman Nicolás Maduro: You can save yourself and those closest to you, but you must leave the country now, sources familiar with the exchange told the Miami Herald.

The call — which The New York Times reported took place last week — quickly reached an impasse as it became clear that the two sides’ positions were far apart. Washington demanded that Maduro and his top allies leave Venezuela immediately to allow the restoration of democratic rule, while regime leaders proposed handing political control to the opposition but retaining command of the armed forces.

According to the sources, the U.S. message to Maduro was direct: Safe passage would be guaranteed for him, his wife Cilia Flores, and his son only if he agreed to resign right away.



Read more: https://amp.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/venezuela/article313261442.html

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Same script that was made for Sadam Hussein to get out or FAFO.

[VMA131Marine]

4. Just what we need ...

A land war in Venezuela …

Maybe Trump thinks he can just take Caracas and that will be the end of it but I have my doubts.

[Sneederbunk]

37. The innocent victims await.

[melm00se]

43. Venezuela

has the geography to support a strong insurgent force.

[VMA131Marine]

56. Just like Vietnam.

[slightlv]

20. I was thinking the same thing.

We protested against going in... before and after to no avail. Is there anything we can do to stop this? Im thinking no... as long as they can pull our money they don't care. Use our tax dollars to set things up for them to make millions if not billions. It just seems like we should have some say... he isn't even using his tax dollars cos he doesn't pay... which is why we have never seen a tax form from him. The extrajudicial murders drives me nuts... but declaring war? I thought congress had that power!

[Cha]

45. Then bush2 FAFO.

[Irish_Dem]

2. Looks like Trump is determined to steal Venezuela's oil.

[ananda]

8. What do you think of the Russian presence there?

Maduro appealed to Putin for help, and he sent a
bunch of soldiers and a general over there.

[GreenWave]

12. Or you of this powerful song...

?list=RDwoFCS6n7D1c

[Irish_Dem]

18. No one believes Putin has any military resources to spare right now.

He is barely holding his own in Ukraine, his economy is in shambles,
and he could lose his power in Russia as it is.

So we are most likely looking at Putin posturing against Trump to get Trump to hand him Ukraine.
Trump can have Venezuela if Putin gets Ukraine.

Or Trump and Putin are doing a bit of Kabuki theatre together as they steal global oil and resources
and divide up the spoils. It is all political theater and they are in cahoots.

My best guesses at this point.
We should know more over the next month.

[ananda]

22. Very interesting.

I have a hard time seeing Trump doing thinking
all that sophisticated, but if he's not doing the
thinking here, then who is?

Why would anyone in their right mind think
this way anyway?

We are stuck in the middle of some pretty dark
insanity here.

[Irish_Dem]

63. Smash and grab theft is not all that sophisticated, especially for a mob boss.

Trump still understands the basics of how to steal, extort, threaten, bribe, etc.

And we have seen Kushner recently raise his ugly head in these events.
The idea is to hand over Ukraine to Putin.
Steal all of Ukraine's resources and pump American dollars ("investments&quot into Russia.

Putin hopes to restore his shattered economy and become an economic powerhouse in Europe.
With the ability to bribe and threaten Europe again with oil and business deals.

[Ilikepurple]

19. I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around it.

Putin and Trump are obviously allied to some degree with Putin seemingly having the upper hand in the past. With the power Trump wields now, it’s hard to know who has the upper hand presently. Is Trump cutting his puppet strings and going in without Putin’s blessing? Or have Trump, Putin, and Xi have some understanding about Venezuela, Ukraine, and Taiwan? It’s bad either way, but I fear the latter more.

[ananda]

21. OK, it's complex all right.

I know what you mean.

Putin is pretty desperate for oil these days,
and Xi also wants to control Taiwan.

Maduro appealed to both of them for help,
and all Trump wants to do is get all the oil
for himself I expect.

However, alienating both Putin and XI might
significantly shift Trump's stature on the world
stage.

Europe and NATO don't even seem to be in the
picture on this, which feels really weird.

[RazorbackExpat]

52. Xi is getting his panties in a bunch because the Japanese defense minister

has said that Japan will defend Taiwan if China tries to invade. The Chinese government has issued travel advisories about Japan, and Chinese bots on the internet are saying that it's "dangerous" in Japan. And yet Japanese TV stations sometimes interview Chinese visitors in Japan and they usually say they feel safe here.

[Irish_Dem]

65. We know there is ratfuckery afoot. We just don't yet know the nuances of it.

Putin needs Trump to hand him Ukraine and start pumping US dollars into Russia's economy.
Xi needs Trump to give him cover/permission to invade Taiwan and good trade deals.

Both Russia and China have major oil investments in Venezuela
which has the largest oil reserves in the world. They will want a cut of the oil action.

Is Putin putting some pressure on Trump to make a Ukraine deal?

What talks are going on behind the scenes with Russia, China, US?

[Cha]

47. And, be a War Crimes "pres"... Don't

Russia and China have Oil Interests there? I read that yesterday on DU.


TY

[Irish_Dem]

64. Yes but Russia is depleted from the Ukraine war, and China is preoccupied with trade negotiations.

They are allies with Venezuela and heavily invested in the oil industry there, but not
backing Venezuela right now.

Russia is broke right now and spread thin with the Ukraine War.
China is worried about tariffs and trade deals. Plus China wants to invade Taiwan
and the US invasion of Venezuela gives him permission to do so?

Perhaps Trump is cutting deals with them now.

Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world, over 300 billion barrels.
It cannot afford to extract this oil due to high costs of doing so along with political and social issues.
Both China and Russia have oil investments in the country.

It is 100% certain that the major powers, US, Russia, China have their eye on the prize here.
Perhaps a deal is being cut as we speak. How to divide up the Venezuelan oil between them.
Trump steals the oil and sells some of the extraction rights to China and Russia.
For the right price.

I do not know what is going on behind the scenes right now.
We know Kushner is getting involved so we know the ratfuckery is ramping up.

[Cha]

71. Thank you for that..... I Hope

some Miricle Happens to Stop Traitor.

[enid602]

3. Ultimatum

I wish someone would give Trump the same ultimatum to allow the restoration of democratic rule.

[IronLionZion]

5. MAGAts think gas is about to become free

[mdbl]

6. WTF is this all about?

Please tell me it's something other than Donald Dump trying to oust a democratically elected leader and install a past dictator.

[sinkingfeeling]

17. Oil.

[EX500rider]

24. "...trying to oust a democratically elected leader " Maduro? Lost the last 2 elections but held on to power

On July 28, 2024, presidential elections were held for the term of 2025 - 2031, where the incumbent President, Nicolas Maduro, ran against Edmungo Gonzalez.
The result of the election became contested as the government claimed Nicolas Maduro won with 51.90% of the vote.

However, international organism including the Carter center and the United Nations contested this claim as being false and filled with irregularities.

On the other hand, the opposition published the detailed electoral results in the form of scanned copies of the tally sheets on the website resultadospresidencialesvenezuela2024.com
The opposition was able to obtain 83.50% of the reported tallies, showing that the candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia won with 67.08% of the votes

[Cirsium]

31. lol

Yeah, right, send in the Marines and teach them how to do democracy, MAGA style. What could go wrong?

Authoritarian regimes are the rule in Latin America, thanks to decades of "send in the Marines."

[IronLionZion]

51. MAGA is doing that here in the USA too

Authoritarian regime and soldiers in the streets

[Deuxcents]

7. Who are we to invade a sovereign country? Where is congress on this?

[GJGCA]

15. Melian Dialogue applies...

You know as well as I do that right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.

(modified a bit)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Melos#Melian_Dialogue

[Deuxcents]

48. I read your attached article and once again, as I've said before..this is the best place to learn about issues

Never heard of the phrase, Melian Dialogue before so thanks for your post

[MorbidButterflyTat]

39. That's what I'd like to know

The other day Piggy declared the airspace over Venezuela a no fly zone?? Who is he to do that?

OMG I hate that asshole.

[Bayard]

9. More threats to other countries--Nice country you've got there....

Goes along with his goal to become King of North and South America.

"The U.S. has placed a $50 million bounty on Maduro —the largest reward ever offered for a sitting head of state" Doesn't say if that's dead or alive.

[GreenWave]

10. This reeks of Cuban American rw bullshit.

If Maduro were a strongman, Venezuela would have control of its own oilfields.


But what does the writer call Trump?

[EX500rider]

25. "Venezuela would have control of its own oilfields." They do..

The Venezuelan government, through its state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), controls most of Venezuela's oil fields.

[GreenWave]

33. They do not.

Chevron must get US permission to pump the good oil..

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/chevron-granted-restricted-us-license-operate-venezuela-sources-say-2025-07-30/
No money from oil proceeds can be transferred to Maduro's gvmt WTF????

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/4/venezuela-has-the-worlds-most-oil-why-doesnt-it-earn-more-from-exports

Chevron is on the West where the good petroleum is for cars,

The Orinoco Belt is filthy bad oil and PDVSA has that under its belt.

Lies about Nationalization occurred during the presidency of Carlos Andres Perez where oil companies had their NAMES nationalized such as Maraven, Petroven etc.

When Venezuela wanted to use "its" good oil and charge more than a few pennies on the barrel to rebuild the country, the USA bawked like an Imperialist vulture.

[duckworth969]

38. Orinoco Belt

Could you explain what you mean about the Orinoco Belt petroleum reserve being “filthy bad oil”?

From Wiki:

“…Orinoco Belt are up to 235 billion barrels (3.74×1010 m3) which would make it the largest petroleum reserve in the world…”.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orinoco_Belt

https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/fs20093028

I know oil isn’t oil. But bad oil? That seems like hyperbole to me.

[GreenWave]

41. This oil was likened to the filthy oil field Canada that went through Keystone XL,

Here you go..

Venezuela’s oil is mostly heavy crude, which requires more complex refining processes to convert into usable products such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. Despite its vast reserves, the oil extracted from the Orinoco Belt is more difficult and costly to refine compared to lighter crudes, which has contributed to the difficulties in maximizing production from these reserves.

[NickB79]

46. That's largely because Venezuela doesn't have the tech or knowledge base to maintain domestic oil production

After nationalizing foreign oil resources to fund social programs, they quickly found out that they didn't have the ability to keep the oil flowing without foreign help. Oil fields declined, a brain drain of qualified petro engineers crippled the industry, and equipment wasn't replaced as it should have been.

So, they were forced to get outside assistance, and that left them open to US demands on American firms (like Chevron) who want to operate in Venezuela.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Venezuelan_oil_industry

After Hugo Chávez officially took office in February 1999, several policy changes involving the country's oil industry were made to explicitly tie it to the state under his Bolivarian Revolution.[26]: 191  Since then, PDVSA has not demonstrated any capability to bring new oil fields onstream since nationalizing heavy oil projects in the Orinoco Petroleum Belt formerly operated by international oil companies ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Chevron.[27][28]

The Chávez government used PDVSA resources to fund social programmes, and PDVSA staff were required to support Chávez. His social policies resulted in overspending [25][29][30] that caused shortages in Venezuela and allowed the inflation rate to grow to one of the highest rates in the world .[31][32][33]

According to Corrales and Penfold, "Chávez was not the first president in Venezuelan history to be mesmerized by the promise of oil, but he was the one who allowed the sector to decline the most", with most statistics showing deterioration of the industry since the beginning of his presidency.[34]

[EX500rider]

67. Venezuela paying Chevron to transport some of their oil

Is still them in charge of the oil

[Polybius]

29. If?

[thought crime]

11. This looks and sounds like a Medieval Siege

Trump seems to be acting like a Medieval King - Imagine that! It should be interesting to watch the ensuing plunder, which will no doubt be a big beautiful deal involving Oil.

[everyonematters]

13. It is commonly understood that Maduro has stolen elections and maintains power by force.

If the Trump administration wants to force him out, It probably won't be that hard. The question is, how much suffering and death is going to occur, and what will be the difference in Venezuelan's lives? Is this an attempt to exploit oil? If they take this action without any approval from Congress, it is clearly unconstitutional.

[GreenWave]

35. It is propagandistically "understood"

Jimmy Carter was okie dokie with the last rounds of elections. Jimmy Carter!

Trump's puppet claims he won and when you look at the oil reserves you can see why the pigs will lie like a rug to get their grubby hands on that oil. Trump wants that oil money.

Please don't anybody fall for simplistic domino theories, such as we are liberators, crap like that.

[EX500rider]

68. The Carter Center was not happy with the last elections and thought it was very improper

[SupportSanity]

14. Is this the Reichstag?

Will he start up the draft?

[sinkingfeeling]

16. Man, how I wish somebody could make the same demands to TSF.

[duckworth969]

23. Jungle War

If our past conflicts proved anything, jungle wars don’t go well for us.

Angry locals, cartel thugs, insurgents, patriotic fired-up trained soldiers, support from the Russkies and Chinese, etc.

I know people disagree about air war vs. land war effectiveness.

I’m a layman, but I don’t see drones and smart bombs making a war with Venezuela easy for us.

To win, you need boots on the ground. Boots on the ground means body bags and flag-draped caskets.

This is about oil and rare earth minerals.

[Aristus]

26. Did we really learn nothing from the last two pointless, fifteen year-long wars?

Do we have a 25th Amendment for nothing?

[Ray Bruns]

66. Apparently not.

So much for “America first!”

[yaesu]

27. I have a better idea, tRump and his fascist regime leave the US so democracy can return. Nt

[Bluetus]

32. Or kill 2 birds with one stone, Send Trump to Venezuela

as el Presidente and let maduro stay on as Vicepresidente. Vance can still be cabin boy. Trump and Maduro has a lot in common, and Trump really could be el Presidente for life.

[MissouriDem47]

28. How Much Time

How much time does he have to get out of Dodge before Marshall Dillion puts the hurt on him?

[J_William_Ryan]

30. "Where is congress on this?"

Controlled by Republicans, who will do nothing to oppose Trump’s illegal war.

[Cirsium]

34. People right here

We have people right here who seem to be OK with this "topple the evil dictator" sabre-rattling insanity.

[GreenWave]

36. Venezuela is awash with Mal de Chagas, With RFK jr to "protect" our soldiers

read the worst case scenario...

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/chagas-disease-(american-trypanosomiasis)

Also if they try to seize the Orinoco oil fields and go for a swim in that sweltering heat, there are often tiny parasites that enter through the body's lower orifices. Then they attack and begin munching away!

[jmowreader]

40. Since Venezuela is in the Amazon basin, they also have dick-eating catfish

The fish is known as Candiru, and there are ten different species. Candiru are infamous for their alleged ability to crawl up inside your urethra and shoot out these massive spines to stay in place, resulting in you needing an emergency penectomy to survive the attack. They don't actually do this - they're too big. What they CAN do is bite through your skin and eat your muscles. It's been recorded that a school of candiru stripped an adult human's corpse of all flesh in thirty minutes.

[GreenWave]

42. Thanks, I had forgotten about them.

[IronLionZion]

53. RFK Jr. should go swim with them. It would be so manly and tough

[DownriverDem]

44. A war

for oil and money.

[Justice matters.]

49. Pedonold promised "no new wars" like

he also promised to "lower groceries prices" ... and his base of gullible idiots (many of them Latinos) believed him...

Given he raised the price of groceries with stupid tariffs instead, that's were he's going??

[rickyhall]

50. We just don't go to the trouble of declaring war any more?

[LudwigPastorius]

54. Regime change, eh?

I thought this was about "dangerous drugs" entering the U.S.

What a fucking lying sack of shit Trump is.

[Martin Eden]

55. "restoration of democratic rule"

Hypocrisy much, King Trump?

[SouthBayDem]

57. regular, non AMP link

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/venezuela/article313261442.html

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

58. Another war started by a chickenhawk

[Jack Valentino]

59. U.S. 'small hands' OFF Venezuela---- NO MORE IRAQ WARS!!!!

so much for 'peace' from this fascist administration!

[Skittles]

60. Cadet Bonespurs cannot stop playing with his GI Joes

[red dog 1]

61. "Trump Declares New Blood-for-Oil War"

"Donald Trump just announced he will pardon the former President of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernandez, serving time after his conviction for flooding the U.S. with cocaine -- while at the same time all but announcing he's going to murder Nicolas Maduro, President of Venezuela.
Trump has declared a "no-fly zone" over Venezuela and laid siege to the nation, acts of war.
You must know three things about Venezuela to understand why Donald Trump has openly ordered the overthrow of their government.
1) Venezuela has the largest reserves of oil on the planet.
2) Venezuela has the largest reserves of oil on the planet.
3) Venezuela has the largest reserves of oil on the planet.

[snip]

For years, I was BBC Television's correspondent covering Venezuela and US attempts to overthrow their elected government.
Trump invented nothing.
This is at least the fourth US-backed attempt at overthrow and assassination of a Venezuelan president."
https://gregpalast.com/trump-declares-new-blood-for-oil-war/

[DFW]

62. "Maybe six days, maybe six weeks, certainly not six months."

Cheney's Defense Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, after being asked how long he thought it would take to conquer Iraq.

(oops)

Hegseth and Trump must have only looked at a flat map of Venezuela. Any commander of an invading force looking at a topological map of the country would be ordering lots of trauma kits, antibiotics, and body bags, because an invasion of a country with Venezuela's terrain will mean that plenty of our guys will not be coming home, and plenty more will return in bad shape. After what our guys did to their people in those boats, they already know what our policy is on "enemy" combatants, so our troops shouldn't be expecting more lenient treatment, since they won't be expecting it from us.

If any of the American troops heading there have read up on what they are heading into, I doubt their enthusiasm level is very high.

Now that we're friends with Vietnam, there have to be some older local vets there in contact with our military people, telling them that they ought to have learned from our Vietnam experience that invading a country with that much jungle will not turn out well.

Refining the high-sulfur oil of the Maracaibo basin will be no picnic either. If the decide to do it in Louisiana instead of locally, then that is a state whose air I would not want to breathe in the near future.

[LudwigPastorius]

69. "...that is a state whose air I would not want to breathe in the near future."

The fumes coming off the street gravy on Bourbon St. at sunrise are bad enough, without added hydrogen sulfide from refineries.

[Torchlight]

70. I'm guessing the deal was trump would appease Moscow in regards to Ukraine

(which he did the past ten-day) if Putin pulls out of Venezuela.