USA invades Venezuela and captures its President and his wife!

To post in this sub-forum you must have made 100 posts or have Trust status or have completed our ID Verification

Forums › Politics › USA invades Venezuela and captures its President and his wife!

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

30048 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 9455

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3450131 5-Jan-2026 19:15

ezbee:

Its like Trumps plan for healthcare.
Just break everything leave people in desperate situations.
There is more money for him to spend on himself.
I'm ok.

He then appoints a whole cabinet of golf buddies and crazies that are of similar ilk.
Tariffs will solve all our economic problems and feed endless speculation.
Outright threaten Japan, South Korea etc, give us 100's Billions, feed speculation or else.
Turn the economy into a pyramid scheme, rug-pull.
I'm ok so its ok.

Just shut up and buy the dip.

Its not consistent, we pardon one drug dealing dictator, then grab another for drug dealing.

The Maduro drug charges are going through USA courts, so he has his days in court.

Maduro is no head of state, nor is his deputy a deputy, they lost an election and never left.
Then next time learning their lesson made sure using all their dictatorial power.

Did what Trump tried to do, but Trump failed.
Then did what Trump and GOP is trying to do now for a threepeat.

Trump and enablers believe they are dealing with people like them! We can do a deal.

Anyhow plan was not to support a return to democracy. They are already our people.
Just give the next level autocrat a promotion.
Then they will swear allegiance to you.

Could be out of a Mafia story or film.
Maybe Trump saw a movie in the 80's and is replaying it.

Thats pretty much it.

Great post

tdgeek

30048 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 9455

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3450138 5-Jan-2026 19:30

Re Maduro's court case. If he is the legitimate leader he has immunity, so cannot be charged, his defense will argue that

Trump will argue he is the legitimate leader, so the charges stand. This means that given he removed Maduro, that he doesnt want Maduro's autocratic and drug based regime

But he supports the regime anyway as he favours Rodriguez the VP over the 67% election winner, the opposition.

Noteworthy that the words drugs and democracy were not mentioned in his never ending speech.

Its a very divided world, and in many ways that could be what many of us will favour. It will sort the men from the boys, and hopefully the norms will stabilise. Regrettably at the cost of lives and hardship of the citizens, who for Trump and Putin and others, dont really matter

gzt

18685 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 7826

Lifetime subscriber

#3450168 5-Jan-2026 21:13

tdgeek: Re Maduro's court case. If he is the legitimate leader he has immunity, so cannot be charged, his defense will argue that

Uh.. do you mean diplomatic immunity?

tdgeek

30048 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 9455

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3450186 6-Jan-2026 06:37

gzt:
tdgeek: Re Maduro's court case. If he is the legitimate leader he has immunity, so cannot be charged, his defense will argue that

Uh.. do you mean diplomatic immunity?

Thats what Ive seen on media coverage. Same applies to past legitimate leaders.

kingdragonfly

11992 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 12885

Subscriber

#3450187 6-Jan-2026 07:12

gzt: Trump threatens Venezuela's Vice President with a fate worse than Maduro's removal.

kingdragonfly

11992 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 12885

Subscriber

#3450189 6-Jan-2026 07:20

Crime is a risk calculation when consequences are optional.

For Greenland, Trump's unpunished crime is merely a precedent.

Lenovo

Shop now for Lenovo laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

quickymart

14940 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 13954

ID Verified

#3450241 6-Jan-2026 08:09

https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/venezuela-maduro-court-trump-01-05-26

Maduro has said he's not guilty and insisted he's still the president of Venezuela, although I think the voters who voted against him in the election he rigged (and actually lost) would beg to differ.

gzt

18685 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 7826

Lifetime subscriber

#3450244 6-Jan-2026 08:28

tdgeek: Thats what Ive seen on media coverage. Same applies to past legitimate leaders.

Ah got it. TVNZ News has a run down of the arguments. Tldr - Bill Barr wrote the AG opinion on that to guide the justice dept back in 1989 as an Assistant AG for President George Bush Sr's indictment of Noriega. Bill Barr was also Trump's 2016 first term AG and also had some role in the Maduro indictment:

https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/01/05/maduros-case-will-revive-legal-debate-over-immunity-for-foreign-leaders/

There is a difference in the sense Noriega remained a military general at the time of his arrest and did not actually occupy a constitutional position in the government of Panama. Maduro is in fact the constitutional president of Venezuela.

While that is a valid legal argument I'm guessing it is unlikely to fly far in the Trump dominated legal environment. For that reason it's likely the case will eventually revolve around whatever evidence the Trump government has for whatever charges.

The article above points out there may be a problem paying for an adequate defense strategy because US financial sanctions mean the US government must pre-approve all spending on Maduro's legal defense - a potentially huge strategic legal advantage to US government there.

Tinkerisk

4800 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 3660

#3450256 6-Jan-2026 09:05

[sarcasm]Stop complaining! After all, he ‘coordinated’ with Putin beforehand. Putin gets Ukraine, and the clown gets Venezuela's oil and Greenland's mineral resources – for now, at least, and then we'll see, because he ‘needs’ it, after all. [/sarcasm]

My prediction: if he touches Greenland, NATO [as we know it] will come to a standstill.

[sarcasm] After all, the Inuit stole the fish from the American grey seals, and now he's taking back what belongs to him.[/sarcasm]

Qui nihil scit, omnia credere debet.
Firewalls do NOT stop dragons.
In effect we have everything to hide from someone, and no idea who someone is.

tdgeek

30048 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 9455

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3450260 6-Jan-2026 09:16

Right, the US Administration has stated that they see Maduro as a defacto President, i.e. he is not recognised as the rightful President of Venezuela. So the abduction isn't breaking diplomatic immunity. so that's covered off

BUT they are not recognisng the Opposition as the correct government. AND they are recognising the VP and now acting President as rightful. Cannot have it both ways.

However, its not about drugs, or citizens or democracy its about OUR OIL WAS STOLEN, plus handy to cut off oil to Russia and China.

And to control the western hemisphere, i.e. the Americas

SaltyNZ

8867 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 9550

Trusted

2degrees

Lifetime subscriber

#3450268 6-Jan-2026 09:35

tdgeek:

gzt:
tdgeek: Re Maduro's court case. If he is the legitimate leader he has immunity, so cannot be charged, his defense will argue that

Uh.. do you mean diplomatic immunity?

Thats what Ive seen on media coverage. Same applies to past legitimate leaders.

Not sure that necessarily applies. After all, Trump just pardoned the ex-president of Honduras... who had just begun his US jail sentence for trafficking drugs.

iPad Pro 11" + iPhone 15 Pro Max + 2degrees 4tw!

These comments are my own and do not represent the opinions of 2degrees.

Geekzone

Want to support Geekzone and browse the site without the ads? Subscribe to Geekzone now (monthly, annual and lifetime options).

tdgeek

30048 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 9455

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3450271 6-Jan-2026 09:44

SaltyNZ:

tdgeek:

gzt:
tdgeek: Re Maduro's court case. If he is the legitimate leader he has immunity, so cannot be charged, his defense will argue that

Uh.. do you mean diplomatic immunity?

Thats what Ive seen on media coverage. Same applies to past legitimate leaders.

Not sure that necessarily applies. After all, Trump just pardoned the ex-president of Honduras... who had just begun his US jail sentence for trafficking drugs.

Yep, although they have said they dont recognise Maduro as President. They send stuff all drugs, but they are a conduit for Colombia. Honduras guy sent 500 tonnes of cocaine, yest, yes, he ws pardoned form his 45 year sentence

gzt

18685 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 7826

Lifetime subscriber

#3450290 6-Jan-2026 10:17

Juan Orlando Hernández former president of Honduras was not a serving president when legally extradited and subsequently convicted. But like I said, the Trump administration has already blown past that issue and is unlikely to be slowed down by it in the current environment.

tdgeek

30048 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 9455

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3450294 6-Jan-2026 10:21

gzt: Juan Orlando Hernández former president of Honduras was not a serving president when legally extradited and subsequently convicted.

Correct, but that doesnt explain why he sent 500 tonnes of cocaine and got sentenced to 45 years, but was pardoned. Venezuela's activity with drugs is minute in comparison. So its not about drugs

quickymart

14940 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 13954

ID Verified

#3450326 6-Jan-2026 11:42

tdgeek:

My first point was Machado not Maduro

The Bulwark had some background as to why the orange buffoon may not be interested in having her "run the country": https://www.thebulwark.com/p/danger-and-foolishness-of-trump-foreign-policy

A remarkable piece of reporting on that front, via the Washington Post this weekend:

Two people close to the White House said the president’s lack of interest in boosting Machado, despite her recent efforts to flatter Trump, stemmed from her decision to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, an award the president has openly coveted.

Although Machado ultimately said she was dedicating the award to Trump, her acceptance of the prize was an “ultimate sin,” said one of the people.

“If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today,” this person said.

File under: shocking but not surprising.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7