Let's talk about talk about Trump, Venezuelan factions, and signs of cracks.... - Belle of the Ranch

[TexasTowelie]

Well, howdy there Internet people. It's Belle again. So, today we're going to talk about Trump, Venezuelan factions, and signs of cracks.

The US operation happened and we're still watching developments as different groups push their interests. We've already had five different factions appear to either lay claim, try to claim, or exert recognized influence over who is actually going to run the country. And there are more waiting in the wings.

The UN has condemned the operations, saying, "It is clear that the operation undermined a fundamental principle of international law that states must not threaten or use force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state."

Steven Miller confirmed that idea that the US is using military power to exert influence over events and country. "By definition, we are in charge because we have the United States military stationed outside the country. We set the terms and conditions." Veterans who have been stationed in countries the US was facing active opposition in found that line incredibly humorous.

When talking about why Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado wasn't put in power, he said it was not even a serious question. He said, "It would be absurd and preposterous for us to suddenly fly her into the country and to put her in charge." He said, "The military there wouldn't view her as legitimate." That sounds bizarrely like the Venezuelan military and not the US is in charge. We joked about how Machado wasn't put in power because she won the peace prize Trump wanted. Well, now Machado is reportedly headed back to Venezuela and has started repeatedly praising Trump in public and offered Trump her Nobel Peace Prize. It's worth noting that she's always been pretty aligned with Trump.

In the US, Maduro and his wife have entered not guilty, please. He has said he is still president of Venezuela and that he is a POW.

Back in Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez was sworn in as acting president. Gunfire and anti-aircraft fire happened overnight in the capital of Venezuela. Reporting suggests the fire was related to drone flights that weren't authorized. There is no confirmation of who was operating the drones.

So, Maduro says he's still president. Rodriguez was sworn in as acting president. Machado wants to be president. The US says it's in control, but won't install Machado because the Venezuelan military won't allow it.

Meanwhile, it's important to understand that in Trump's vision of Venezuela's future, the oil companies are really running the country. For that, Machado, who is a capitalist, would be his best choice. But again, the Venezuelan military seems to be in his way.

We haven't even seen the non-state actors or the factions backed by other nations surface yet, and it's already getting complicated. The divisions that have already been set are unlikely to be resolved by any government in Venezuela that is heavily influenced by military threats from another country. The US is absolutely setting a chain of events in motion that won't be resolved for an incredibly long time.

Anyway, it's just a thought. Y'all have a good day.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

1. MaddowBlog-'Slush fund': Democrats push back against Trump's plan to control Venezuelan oil sales

The president said he’d create a pool of money from Venezuelan oil sales. Democrats said that can’t legally happen.

Legal: Congress has what’s known as “the power of the purse.”

Illegal: When Trump says, “I’ve decided to create my own purse.”
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-01-08T14:45:48.486Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/slush-fund-democrats-push-back-against-trumps-plan-to-control-venezuelan-oil-sales

Late Tuesday, Donald Trump announced his intention to sell Venezuelan oil to create a massive pool of money that he can distribute at his own discretion. On Wednesday morning, the pushback began in earnest. The New York Times reported:

President Trump’s declaration that he would personally control the proceeds from oil produced in Venezuela drew instant condemnation on Wednesday from Democrats in Congress who noted that the president had no constitutional authority for such an undertaking.

‘The president cannot grab Venezuela’s oil for his own slush fund. Period,’ Senator Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland and a member of the Appropriations Committee, said on Wednesday.

As constitutional debates go, this one’s easy. The sitting American president announced a plan in which Venezuela would “turn over” roughly $3 billion in oil to the United States. The Republican administration would then sell the foreign country’s resources and, according to Trump’s written statement, the resulting money would be “controlled by” him.

In the U.S., the president can’t create his own pile of money that Congress never approved and then start allocating those funds as he pleases. The Appropriations Clause of the Constitution gives lawmakers what’s known as the power of the purse. When Trump effectively responds, “I’m going to have my own purse,” there’s a problem.....

In other words, the American president is seizing control of a foreign country’s resources, selling those resources and generating a pool of money. Now he’s planning to give the foreign country (of which he claims to be in charge) some undetermined amount of the proceeds, to be spent on American products.

It sounds less like a “deal” and more like a “shakedown.”