(01-06-2026 11:14 AM)maximus Wrote:  Commie Toms parents must have paid his wifi bill.

Sent from my SM-S928U using Tapatalk

His spousal support finally check made it. It was delayed by the holidays.

(01-06-2026 10:48 AM)olliebaba Wrote:  

(01-05-2026 05:34 PM)TripleA Wrote:  Dang it, I miss the narco-boat strikes.

Trump just saved a bunch of sailors lives by ousting Maduro, they should thank Trump.

You mean those innocent pleasure craft drivers who love midnight 75MPH boat rides.... Yea, the boating community down there must be excited!

(01-06-2026 11:21 AM)Eldonabe Wrote:  

(01-06-2026 10:48 AM)olliebaba Wrote:  

(01-05-2026 05:34 PM)TripleA Wrote:  Dang it, I miss the narco-boat strikes.

Trump just saved a bunch of sailors lives by ousting Maduro, they should thank Trump.

You mean those innocent pleasure craft drivers who love midnight 75MPH boat rides.... Yea, the boating community down there must be excited!

"But muh innocent fishermen! REEEEEEEEE! "

(01-06-2026 11:14 AM)mlb Wrote:  

(01-06-2026 10:44 AM)olliebaba Wrote:  So in your wise thinking you would still have Maduro as prexy as long as the status quo remained? It seems to me that your idea is to just let the Venezuelans suffer more so that there aren't any more Maduros.

As for the present president Delcy she will remain UNTIL her replacement is elected or sworn in because there was already an election and Maduro lost thus making his next in line null and void. ALL the people who were in their positions should be fired in the coming months, not immediately, just let them think they're secure in their jobs and when an alternative is positioned then that person can fire him because at that point the new guy/gal will hold the reins of the people under him/her, but not until then. The military for instance will hold allegiance to the new leader and not before he/she is installed. It's a delicate procedure and has to be thought of well.

Uhh... no. If I were to would go in and remove the head of state, I'd actually run the country. I would not put in a "proxy" that was aligned to the previous head of state hours before. Have our military actually run the elections, then I'd get out after the new president took over and had firm control of the government and the military.

We clearly didn't want to do that, nor did we want to destroy their military. I'm just not positive that removing a head of state, legitimate or not, and allowing a power vacuum is a wise decision. We already know that the cartels have power down there, and I'm afraid we're going to create a war between them that causes even more misery for the people of that country.

And to a larger point, why the **** are they doing this now? There is no immediate threat to the USA from anything coming out of Venezuela.

The drug angle is flimsy...VZ doesn't even export much, if any, Fentanyl.

And even funnier, one of the pieces in the indictment is for him having a certain type of gun...pretty funny coming out of the pro-2A crowd.

I was quoting some dumb S democrat who called them sailors. He should be happy now, no more floating sailors from Venezuela.

(01-06-2026 11:39 AM)olliebaba Wrote:  I was quoting some dumb S democrat who called them sailors. He should be happy now, no more floating sailors from Venezuela.

Oh, I know. What I said still stands because they've also used that argument.

(01-06-2026 11:37 AM)Redwingtom Wrote:  And to a larger point, why the **** are they doing this now? There is no immediate threat to the USA from anything coming out of Venezuela.

The drug angle is flimsy...VZ doesn't even export much, if any, Fentanyl.

And even funnier, one of the pieces in the indictment is for him having a certain type of gun...pretty funny coming out of the pro-2A crowd.

Look, the guy has abused people and allowed drug lords to operate freely from the country for a long time. He needed to go. I just am not sold that the way they are doing it is the right way. Time will tell... so, to go back what I said, I'm keeping an open (but skeptical) mind regarding the plan that has been hatched.

(01-06-2026 11:44 AM)mlb Wrote:  

(01-06-2026 11:37 AM)Redwingtom Wrote:  And to a larger point, why the **** are they doing this now? There is no immediate threat to the USA from anything coming out of Venezuela.

The drug angle is flimsy...VZ doesn't even export much, if any, Fentanyl.

And even funnier, one of the pieces in the indictment is for him having a certain type of gun...pretty funny coming out of the pro-2A crowd.

Look, the guy has abused people and allowed drug lords to operate freely from the country for a long time. He needed to go. I just am not sold that the way they are doing it is the right way. Time will tell... so, to go back what I said, I'm keeping an open (but skeptical) mind regarding the plan that has been hatched.

And that's fair. I understand, mlb. But I don't think the guy you replied to does. (Or he does but doesn't care.)

(01-06-2026 11:44 AM)mlb Wrote:  Look, the guy has abused people and allowed drug lords to operate freely from the country for a long time. He needed to go. I just am not sold that the way they are doing it is the right way. Time will tell... so, to go back what I said, I'm keeping an open (but skeptical) mind regarding the plan that has been hatched.

I doubt anyone in charge cares if you think they're doing it right.

(01-06-2026 11:47 AM)BartlettTigerFan Wrote:  I doubt anyone in charge cares if you think they're doing it right.

Of course not. They don't care if the Republicans, Democrats, or MAGA people agree either, they are doing what they want to do. But this is a message board where we all give our opinions on the politics of the day, so I have no problem stating my opinion on it.

(01-06-2026 11:44 AM)mlb Wrote:  

(01-06-2026 11:37 AM)Redwingtom Wrote:  And to a larger point, why the **** are they doing this now? There is no immediate threat to the USA from anything coming out of Venezuela.

The drug angle is flimsy...VZ doesn't even export much, if any, Fentanyl.

And even funnier, one of the pieces in the indictment is for him having a certain type of gun...pretty funny coming out of the pro-2A crowd.

Look, the guy has abused people and allowed drug lords to operate freely from the country for a long time. He needed to go. I just am not sold that the way they are doing it is the right way. Time will tell... so, to go back what I said, I'm keeping an open (but skeptical) mind regarding the plan that has been hatched.

Yeah...lots of dictators need to go. I seem to recall many here not wanting to be the world's police force.

But I am curious, when have we EVER done this the right way, in a country of size or import?

And do you have even the slightest confidence that someone like trump, drunk pete, and 'lil Marco are going to be able to pull it off?

This is confusing. The protestors are saying this is about oil but Tom says no. The Biden administration launched a CIA operation on Maduro regarding narco-terrorism and placed a 25 million dollar bounty on his capture:

https://www.globalsecurity.org/intell/op...-biden.htm

"The most concrete evidence of U.S. intelligence activities during the Biden era emerged in February 2024 when the Associated Press obtained a secret DEA memo detailing Operation Money Badger, a covert program that deployed undercover operatives into Venezuela to build drug-trafficking cases against Maduro and his inner circle. The 2018 memo, which predated Biden's presidency but continued into his term, acknowledged that the operation was conducted unilaterally without notifying Venezuelan officials and was arguably a violation of international law. While the memo originated during the Trump administration, reporting indicates the operation may have continued in some form during Biden's tenure, though the administration shifted focus toward diplomatic engagement and brought fewer new prosecutions of Maduro insiders compared to the previous administration."

but they were not a threat according to Tom.

Personally I'm not thrilled about us doing this although the operation was about as well executed as anyone could hope. Especially in light of previous operations aka Afghanistan and shows that we actually have people in charge who are competent. If it keeps China and Russia out of our hemisphere then it certainly is in our best interest.

(01-06-2026 12:02 PM)bearcat65 Wrote:  This is confusing. The protestors are saying this is about oil but Tom says no. The Biden administration launched a CIA operation on Maduro regarding narco-terrorism and placed a 25 million dollar bounty on his capture:

https://www.globalsecurity.org/intell/op...-biden.htm

"The most concrete evidence of U.S. intelligence activities during the Biden era emerged in February 2024 when the Associated Press obtained a secret DEA memo detailing Operation Money Badger, a covert program that deployed undercover operatives into Venezuela to build drug-trafficking cases against Maduro and his inner circle. The 2018 memo, which predated Biden's presidency but continued into his term, acknowledged that the operation was conducted unilaterally without notifying Venezuelan officials and was arguably a violation of international law. While the memo originated during the Trump administration, reporting indicates the operation may have continued in some form during Biden's tenure, though the administration shifted focus toward diplomatic engagement and brought fewer new prosecutions of Maduro insiders compared to the previous administration."

but they were not a threat according to Tom.

Personally I'm not thrilled about us doing this although the operation was about as well executed as anyone could hope. Especially in light of previous operations aka Afghanistan and shows that we actually have people in charge who are competent. If it keeps China and Russia out of our hemisphere then it certainly is in our best interest.

Not sure what you're confused about, but I said this was about oil...just as trump keeps on saying.

They're just using the drug angle to justify removing him. Yes, they supply drugs to the world which is bad. But not Fentanyl, the stuff that leads to the most deaths of those afflicted with Substance Use Disorder. And in case you're not familiar, SUD is a disease that is not curable.

(01-06-2026 09:31 AM)mlb Wrote:  

(01-05-2026 09:28 PM)TripleA Wrote:  

(01-05-2026 09:18 PM)hburg Wrote:  Apparently Venezuela government used anti-aircraft missiles to target drones. Also, the government there is arresting anti-Maduro protesters and journalists.

Yep, I saw that, too. They better cut that out and abandon their old ways. Like, ricky tick.

So apprently DJT doesn't have control of her?

She released them several hours later, right after Trump said something to her.

Want to rethink that now?

This isn't going to be easy. Trump's choices were leave the idiot Commie in charge temporarily, or let the country go leaderless until they can calm things down and have an election.

Per Fox News, Trump left her a list of 4 demands:

1. Crack down on drug flow

2. Kick out Iran, Cuba and other operatives of countries or networks hostile to the USA

3. Stop the sale of oil to US adversaries

4. Eventually facilitate free elections and then step aside

(01-06-2026 12:01 PM)Redwingtom Wrote:  And do you have even the slightest confidence that someone like trump, drunk pete, and 'lil Marco are going to be able to pull it off?

Much more so than this murderer's row of "leaders".

(01-05-2026 09:18 PM)hburg Wrote:  Apparently Venezuela government used anti-aircraft missiles to target drones. Also, the government there is arresting anti-Maduro protesters and journalists.

I already answered Part 2. She let them all go now.

As for Vz using missiles on drones, they shot down their own drones, lol.

(01-06-2026 12:08 PM)Redwingtom Wrote:  

(01-06-2026 12:02 PM)bearcat65 Wrote:  This is confusing. The protestors are saying this is about oil but Tom says no. The Biden administration launched a CIA operation on Maduro regarding narco-terrorism and placed a 25 million dollar bounty on his capture:

https://www.globalsecurity.org/intell/op...-biden.htm

"The most concrete evidence of U.S. intelligence activities during the Biden era emerged in February 2024 when the Associated Press obtained a secret DEA memo detailing Operation Money Badger, a covert program that deployed undercover operatives into Venezuela to build drug-trafficking cases against Maduro and his inner circle. The 2018 memo, which predated Biden's presidency but continued into his term, acknowledged that the operation was conducted unilaterally without notifying Venezuelan officials and was arguably a violation of international law. While the memo originated during the Trump administration, reporting indicates the operation may have continued in some form during Biden's tenure, though the administration shifted focus toward diplomatic engagement and brought fewer new prosecutions of Maduro insiders compared to the previous administration."

but they were not a threat according to Tom.

Personally I'm not thrilled about us doing this although the operation was about as well executed as anyone could hope. Especially in light of previous operations aka Afghanistan and shows that we actually have people in charge who are competent. If it keeps China and Russia out of our hemisphere then it certainly is in our best interest.

Not sure what you're confused about, but I said this was about oil...just as trump keeps on saying.

They're just using the drug angle to justify removing him. Yes, they supply drugs to the world which is bad. But not Fentanyl, the stuff that leads to the most deaths of those afflicted with Substance Use Disorder. And in case you're not familiar, SUD is a disease that is not curable.

Good. So you agree then that keeping China and Russia from accessing that oil is a good thing for us. Given the actions of previous administrations they also must have felt Maduro was a threat as well.

(01-06-2026 12:11 PM)TripleA Wrote:  She released them several hours later, right after Trump said something to her.

Want to rethink that now?

This isn't going to be easy. Trump's choices were leave the idiot Commie in charge temporarily, or let the country go leaderless until they can calm things down and have an election.

That sounds more like little to no short term plan then.

(01-06-2026 12:16 PM)mlb Wrote:  

(01-06-2026 12:11 PM)TripleA Wrote:  She released them several hours later, right after Trump said something to her.

Want to rethink that now?

This isn't going to be easy. Trump's choices were leave the idiot Commie in charge temporarily, or let the country go leaderless until they can calm things down and have an election.

That sounds more like little to no short term plan then.

Trucking shutdown.....annnny day now.

(01-06-2026 12:16 PM)mlb Wrote:  

(01-06-2026 12:11 PM)TripleA Wrote:  She released them several hours later, right after Trump said something to her.

Want to rethink that now?

This isn't going to be easy. Trump's choices were leave the idiot Commie in charge temporarily, or let the country go leaderless until they can calm things down and have an election.

That sounds more like little to no short term plan then.

Good grief.