Public sentiment regarding the U.S. military deployment in Venezuela is predominantly negative and divided, with many expressing deep skepticism about the true motivations behind the intervention, particularly concerns about imperialism and oil interests overshadowing any legitimate aim of combating drug trafficking. Many commenters highlight their discontent with perceived hypocrisy in U.S. actions and express strong support for Venezuelan sovereignty, fearing further escalation of conflict.

United States Government

Venezuelan Government

Ah boy, mods feel free to punish me for this comment because it's not the most relevant for this subreddit.

This whole thing with Venezuela is just Marco Rubio. I'm not going to pretend I know the man, but I am well aware he's built his entire political identity on hating "communism" because his parents are Cuban immigrants, and Rubio claims they fled Cuba for political freedom. The problem: [Marco Rubio has acknowledged his story is fake](https://www.npr.org/2011/10/24/141663197/rubio-tries-to-clarify-how-his-family-left-cuba).

His parents arrived in the US before the Cuban Revolution, but ultimately couldn't return because they didn't want to live under Castro. That in and of itself makes a fairly compelling narrative, but Rubio has convinced himself that his parents fled *after* the revolution. Therefore he is a man born in exile,  and compelled to be the torchbearer of Democracy:tm: through the overthrow of all governments he doesn't like.

So now we are living in the world where "Lil Marco" is trying to trigger a war because he can't tell the difference between reality and fiction anymore. At least Henry Kissinger was self aware.

throwaway12junk

&gt; Venezuela, whose government Washington has long accused of harboring drug traffickers and *undermining democratic institutions.*

This is really funny given the USA's history in Latin America

Also, funny given the USA's current admin history with the people of the USA... or not so funny, since I live here.

EvidenceBasedSwamp

If you are Venezuela and you know the war is going hot, what do you do? You have KH-31 missile that can be launched by SU-30's (that is, if they can even get off the ground). Maybe some Iranian knockoffs here and there. 

US won't invade so you can't really plan on building IED's and go all Iraq. The Venezuela Navy is a joke.

heliumagency

I feel like this isn't really about drugs.

Uranophane

Don't worry.... Trump said "no new wars", so it will be a 3 day special operation instead.


Wait....I just had déjà vu but don't know why

toshibathezombie

A country filled at the top with warmongering bootlicking assholes. nevermind the brown-nosing vassals that blindly follow and facilitate their imperial strong handing.

the_bfg4

From the US perspective, got to be a lot of hopium that this can be done quick and cheaply and not devolve into a huge money sink of a war. Can't be the only one that thinks the deficit spending power is starting to show a lot of wear and tear. A screw up and another credit rating downgrade and even worse conditions for managing the debt

noonetoldmeismelled

Yes, deploy the carrier that just moored in Croatia to Venezuela. Don’t deploy the two carriers that have just been conducting carrier qualification training off the East Coast (*Truman* and *Bush*).

beachedwhale1945

We have a great relationship with the Colombian military and Petro is helping Maduro hide the labs. I wouldn't be shocked if we try a twofer and topple Maduro while supporting a Colombian coup. The military is getting pretty tired of being undermined by Peteo

Better-Passion-566

&gt;The navy would also need to deploy a group of battleships and, perhaps, submarines that could launch a steady stream of Tomahawk missiles at military targets, such as air bases, air defense facilities, and communications and command and control centers. 

What *battleships* would those be, exactly? Weird error on the writer's part.

VivaKnievel

The idea of this is deeply unpopular with the US general public.  With such little public support the likelihood of an intervention is minuscule. 

Occamslaser

Submission statement: The two main options for a US military intervention in Venezuela are an air and naval campaign, conducted by the US Air Force and the US Navy, or a ground invasion. The article discusses the pros and cons of each option, with comparisons to previous conflicts like the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the 2011 NATO-led air campaign in Libya, and the 1989 US intervention in Panama, and concludes that an intervention would be ill-advised.

&gt; There’s no such thing as risk-free military action. But in this case, the social, economic, and security costs of intervening far outweigh the benefits. Whether the United States launched limited air strikes or a full ground invasion, it would almost certainly get sucked in to a long, difficult campaign to stabilize Venezuela after the initial fighting was over. Such an engagement would cost American lives and money and hurt the United States’ standing in Latin America. An extended occupation would reignite anti-Americanism in the region, particularly if U.S. soldiers committed real or perceived abuses, and it would damage U.S. relations with countries outside the region, too. Finally, a war-weary American public is unlikely to stand for yet another extended military campaign.

[deleted]

Awful lot of words to say so little.

There won't be kinetic intervention.  The US loses nothing by letting Venezuela turn into a bigger dumpster fire.  Trump is calculating.  He sends troops to the US border right before elections to swell voter sentiment.  If the US does anything at all kinetic it will be timed in conjunction with the 2020 election and it will be done to make Trump look good, not because it benefits either nation-state.

BcuzImBatman8

&gt;There are two plausible ways the United States might use force in Venezuela: a precision bombing campaign and a full-scale invasion. 

Seems to me the author is missing the option where the US finds some disgruntled group(s) inside or outside the country and arms them ... or perhaps that's an initial step in both options.

jsteed

They found Saddam’s WMD’s in Maduro’s possession? 

lurker4lyfe6969

Why doesn't the US get South American powers (Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Argentina) to provide the ground troops for an invasion? And provide air and naval and logistical support.

Man I love the doublethink in the article.

 United States has a clear objective in [V](https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/south-america/2018-10-15/venezuelas-suicide)enezuela : regime change and the restoration of democracy and the rule of law.  And then talks about people who would fight a long war against US invasion. So people who US dislikes are not people ? 

Stromovik

I (and many of my colleagues) struggle to figure out why anyone is talking about a protracted US military engagement.

A combination of Special Forces preparing the battle space side by side with the CIA's S.A.D. would easy pave the way for quiet SEAL limited engagements which wouldn't even make the news in the US.

The end result is the same in Venezuela regardless if the US performs direct action or not. The only thing we really have to do is eliminate the troublemakers who would cause issues after the inevitable happens.

This is the entire IC consensus based on conversations I have at conferences and elsewhere.

I say just let CIA do what it does incredibly well in this section of the world.

While it's true they suffered some misfires in the Middle East, in Latin America they have a pretty incredible record. Even factoring in the Bay of Pigs incident, it's a pretty incredible record of success.

SolusOpes

I wonder how the trade war with China is affecting politics in Latin America.

Captainmanic

satrapofebernari

Content aside, this guy strikes me as a big douche.  Someone’s gotta keep YouTube afloat, I guess. But I really dislike the vet wearing weird tactical shit and/or sitting in their vehicle pontification videos. 

ce48

There is a Intelligence report from a few years ago that says a lot of these guys are Cuban Military wearing Venezuelan uniforms.

MikeNew513

Why is he yelling?  He's not in an auditorium and we all have volume control on our viewing devices.  Rant videos are weird...

OlemissConsin

It seems that America wants to test its ability to change regimes, and Venezuela is currently the most suitable laboratory animal. It is geographically close to the US, lacks an Iran like military industry/tradition, and is facing economic collapse. If, however, the USA can't get rid of Maduro this time, it suggests that there are serious issues with American hegemony.

Dtstno

Bully mentality. The US could just help to develop Venezuela into a functioning state, but instead they’re seemingly trying to break the country and put another dictator on top.

rixonian

They were always going to come for those oil reserves. Just bad guys doing bad guy stuff.

JeSuisKing

Is this another Vietnam type situation that can’t be won?

Bizkitgto

Just so happens Venezuela has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. 

Coincidence, I think not.

Instead of negotiating, which Trump claims no one is better, he would rather start a war. 

Not the President of peace

Laves_

The U.S. has deployed USS Gerald R. Ford to the Caribbean to combat drug trafficking in Venezuela, amidst rising tensions and accusations from the Venezuelan government.

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