Venezuela Shipping

I'm guessing this wasn't a wooden finger pier in the mangroves somewhere. Probably a commercial dock where divers load drugs into hollows in hulls below the waterline. This system has been in place at least since the 70's, and participation is not optional.

The BBC is reporting that Columbian officials identified the target as a possible cocaine lab in the port of Maracaibo.
 
So Maduro is gone and apparently Delcy Rodriguez is running the place. Very interesting person. Her and her brother are longtime Castro agents. She was assigned to Chaves and Maduro by Castro. Much like with Hillary and Clinton, she orchestrated Maduro's rise to power after Chavez was gone. There are reports that she has fled to Russia. All in all, I think she is going to be a big problem for the US if she is recognized as Venezuela's leader by most other nations. New puppet, same puppeteer. Flipping Maduro to get at the Rodriguez's might be a viable play.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/venezuela/article313527079.html

If we keep pulling on this string, we aren't anywhere close to being done.
 
From wikipedia

The most recent Nobel Peace Prize was awarded in 2025 to María Corina Machado for her efforts to promote democratic rights in Venezuela and to achieve a peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.
 
My guess is they are anti-woman, but it could be they want some time to pass for people to be freer to decide.
 
fallguy said:
it could be they want some time to pass for people to be freer to decide.
Click to expand...
You are very kind, but make no mistake. They want to seize the country's oil and other mineral wealth. We'll see, for example, if they continue to pursue the many drug traffickers who are still around.
 
That is simply not a fully valid story or only part of it. US companies assisted Venezuelan oil production decades back and lost bigtime when V nationalized the oil business.

from Apple AI and various sources

Venezuela nationalized its oil industry on January 1, 1976. This move was part of a broader effort to gain control over its natural resources, which had previously been dominated by foreign companies. The nationalization led to the establishment of Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), the state-owned oil company.

Reasons for Nationalization
  • Economic Control: The Venezuelan government aimed to increase its share of oil revenues, which had been largely benefiting foreign corporations.
  • Political Strategy: Nationalization was seen as a way to assert national sovereignty and reduce foreign influence in the country.
Impact of Nationalization
  • Revenue Generation: The nationalization allowed the Venezuelan government to capture a larger portion of oil profits, which were used to fund social programs and infrastructure.
  • Decline in Production: Over the years, mismanagement and corruption within PDVSA, along with economic sanctions, have led to a significant decline in oil production. Despite having the largest proven oil reserves in the world, Venezuela's output has dropped dramatically.
Current Status
Today, Venezuela's oil production is significantly lower than its potential, with production levels around 800,000 barrels per day, far below its historical highs. The country continues to face challenges in revitalizing its oil sector due to political instability and economic sanctions.
 
Basically, if we end up bumping chests with the Chinese in the pacific, we don't want the western hemisphere to be funding both sides of the conflict. Now we have diverted a large cash flow from eastern interests to western interests. It was a necessary precursor to any challenges in the Pacific. This is why I think we will keep pulling the string. As long as it keeps unwinding in the western hemisphere, we ought to keep after it.

While it'd be nice to be able to wind the operation down, return the fleet, have some parades and give out some medals while we refit and see how things turn out in Venezuela, I don't see that happening.
 
fallguy said:
That is simply not a fully valid story or only part of it....
Click to expand...

It is still not as simple as that.

Hugo Chávez founded a revolutionary movement within the armed forces in 1977, in the hope that he could one day introduce a leftist government to Venezuela: the Venezuelan People's Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación del Pueblo de Venezuela, or ELPV). He then went on to found Movimiento Bolivariano Revolucionario 200 or MBR-200 in 1982 with PRC support and led a coup attempt in 1992 for which he was imprisoned and then pardoned from prison two years later. After his release, on 14 December 1994, Chávez visited Cuba where he was received by Fidel Castro with head of state honors. During his visit, Chávez gave a speech at the Aula Magna of the University of Havana before Fidel and the Cuban high hierarchy where, among other things, he said "We have a long term strategic project, in which the Cubans have and would have much to contribute" and "it is a project of a twenty to forty year horizon, a sovereign economic model". In July 1997 Chávez registered the new Fifth Republic Movement with the National Electoral Council and won by a slim margin in 1998. In 2001, Chávez accused the Fifth Republic Movement of bureaucratization under Luis Miquilena and proposed the re-launching of the original MBR-200. This would eventually lead to the consolidation of his movement under the United Socialist Party of Venezuela label in 2007.

At the start of the 21st century, Venezuela was the world's fifth largest exporter of crude oil, with oil accounting for 85% of the country's exports, therefore dominating the country's economy. Before the election of Chávez, the state-run oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) ran autonomously, making oil decisions based on internal guidance to increase profits. Once he came to power, Chávez started directing PDVSA and effectively turned it into a direct government arm whose profits would be injected into social spending. In 2001, the government introduced a new Hydrocarbons Law through which it sought to gain greater state control over the oil industry. The law increased the transnational companies taxation in oil extraction activities to 30% and set the minimum state participation in "mixed companies" at 51%, whereby the state-run oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), could have joint control with private companies over industry. By 2006, all of the 32 operating agreements signed with private companies during the 1990s had been converted from being primarily or privately run to being at least 51% controlled by PDVSA. Chávez had also removed many of the managers and executives of PDVSA and replaced them with political allies, stripping the state-owned company expertise.

In 2001, Venezuela was the first Hispanic country to enter a 'strategic development partnership' with the PRC. From 2003 until 2012, China-Venezuelan economic ties grew exponentially stronger. The amount of bilateral trade between China and Venezuela expanded about 24-fold from $742,417,000 in 2003 to $20 billion in 2012. Moreover, during this same time period, Venezuela became China's fourth largest supplier of oil. The two countries established the China-Venezuela Joint Fund in 2007.  The China Development Bank lent the fund $4 billion and the Venezuelan Economic and Social Development Bank (BANDES) contributed $2 billion.  The fund's goal is to offer capital for infrastructure projects in Venezuela to be built by Chinese companies.In September 2009 Venezuela announced a new $16bn deal with China to drill for oil in a joint venture with PDVSA to produce 450,000 barrels per day (72,000 m3/d) of extra heavy crude. Hugo Chávez stated that "In addition, there will be a flood of technology into the country, with China going to build drilling platforms, oil rigs, railroads, houses." In April 2010, China agreed to extend $20 billion in loans to Venezuela. Venezuela outlined the role of the venture as one which would link Venezuela's oil producing regions and agricultural farming areas. In 2011 the proposed Columbia-Pacific oil pipeline, a major project discussed by Colombia and Venezuela to export Venezuelan oil to Asia via Colombia's Pacific coast, was ultimately cancelled due to various issues, including political shifts, financing difficulties, and security concerns, with no significant construction ever completed.

Maduro assumed the presidency after Chávez's death in January 2013 and won the 2013 special presidential election. He has ruled Venezuela by decree since 2015 through powers granted to him by the ruling party legislature. On 19 October 2018, Maduro promised to raise oil exports to China and Russia to one million barrels a day, 'rain or shine'. China supported Maduro's claim of victory in the contested 2024 Venezuelan presidential election. In August 2025, China deployed the Liaowang, a Type 815 spy ship, to the Gulf of Paria to monitor U.S. military activity. On 19 November 2025, amidst a United States naval deployment in the Caribbean, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that China opposes "any interference in Venezuela's internal affairs under any pretext" and called on the United States to "choose a course of action conducive to peace and stability". On 25 November, while sending a congratulatory message to President Maduro, Chinese leader Xi Jinping stated that China supports Venezuela in "safeguarding its sovereignty and national security, the dignity of the nation, and social stability" and "resolutely opposes the meddling of external forces in Venezuela’s internal affairs under any pretext"

This is not about the US getting the oil, but rather cutting it off to the PRC.

EDIT: X-post with phil
 
Doesn't really matter the why, can't remember a time when a large outside force displacing a leader resulted in anything other than hardship for the local population followed by mass displacement and tension in what becomes host nations.
 
It certainly wasn't my intention for my thread to become a political discussion.
I realized it could, potentially, but hoped we would stay focused on the "shipping" component.

Now, the whole Venezuela thing has exploded and there is a much broader spectrum of discussion
most of which is not normally allowed or tolerated by the Moderators.

Before I ask for the thread to be closed, I will ask members to limit their posts accordingly.
I appreciate the informed perspectives offered but speculation and conjecture is unnecessary
and less than productive.

Thanks. Fair winds.
 
I don’t think the thread has gone off the rails by any stretch.

The mere mention of politicians names doesn’t mean anything has gone too crazy.

For me, I didn’t support shooting fishing boats, but I support removing Maduro. My position is fairly nuanced. I don’t believe we’ve even had a disagreement, more about filling in gaps about information.
 
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