Latin America
Related: About this forumTrump boasts he wanted to take Venezuela's oil after overthrowing its government
{Just found this while looking for something else. I'm stunned I never saw it before now!)Former US President Donald Trump boasted at a Republican Party rally that he wanted to take over Venezuela, and we would have gotten all that oil. This confirms the sinister motives behind Washingtons 2019 coup attempt to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro and install Juan Guaidó.
By Ben Norton
Published 2023-06-12
Former US President Donald Trump gave a speech in which he boasted that he wanted to take over Venezuela and exploit its large oil reserves.
When I left, Venezuela was ready to collapse. We would have taken it over; we would have gotten to all that oil; it would have been right next door, Trump said.
But now were buying oil from Venezuela. So were making a dictator very rich. Can you believe this? Nobody can believe it, he added.
Trump made these remarks on June 10, at a speech for a convention organized by the North Carolina Republican Party.
The US government initiated a coup attempt against Venezuela in 2019. The Trump administration appointed a little-known right-wing opposition politician, Juan Guaidó, as the supposed interim president of the South American nation, despite the fact that he had never participated in a presidential election.
More:
https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/06/12/trump-venezuela-oil-coup/
(You may recall a pathetic gaggle of US mercenaries tried to sneak ashore in Venezuela and were captured right away, with the upshot being Trump did send them 'though he denies it.)
rainy
(6,197 posts)Read Economic Hitmen by John Perkins
Baitball Blogger
(47,828 posts)Well, to be fair, in some instances it was a symbiotic relationship, until it wasn't.
GreenWave
(9,070 posts)SARose
(803 posts)In 1976, Venezuela nationalized her oil and created Petroleos de Venezuela. He was hired to oversee seismic exploration for a Venezuelan exploration company and later went to work as an advisor for PDVSA. I moved there as a new bride and we lived there for 10 plus years. It is a beautiful country with warm, fun loving people. In a lot of ways it reminded me of Texas.
The history of American oil companies there began in the 1930s under a dictatorship. Mobil, Gulf, Exxon etc established camps like military bases for their workers. They had their own schools, commissaries, clubs whatever - little America. Venezuelans were restricted to lawn work, maids, waiters, bus boys, etc. After nationalization, the camps were open to Venezuelans as American oil complies left in a huff. We were there during the Falklands War and left before Chavez became President.
If Trump had tried that - there would have been a war with most of South America.