Lots of things to unpack...Trump says that the US will "run Venezuela...until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition" (to what?)

US Attorney General Pam Bondi says: "They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts" (Maduro isn't American and doesn't reside in America so what jurisdiction is at play here?)

Where does the oil go? ("I guess we keep it" said Trump)

If it's ok to send military forces in to effect regime change then China will be very happy regarding Taiwan. Is this a blueprint? 

Obviously Venezuelan oil reserves are at the heart of this. Oil. That outdated energy reserve. If, as a species, homo sapiens becomes extinct I hope we don't take all other species with us. That said we probably deserve it. Fucking idiots have lead us here. Fucking idiots. 

Starmer, "We need to get the full facts and I'll be talking to President Trump." Piss poor response. 

I think we've seen this coming for a while but it's still a shocker. There's a very good editorial piece in the New York Times this weekend, explaining exactly why this is an illegal move from Trump and how potentially dangerous this is for America. This is not the first time America has meddled in affairs south of its border (and almost certainly not the last) and it never ends well. Maduro was/is a nasty piece of work and, no doubt, many Venezuelans will be glad to see the back of him - but the army who did his dirty work for him are still in place and there's a strong Columbian rebel faction on the country's borders. Trump's action may well destabilise the whole region and start a civil war. There's also the issue of what happens when he finally takes this to Congress. What happens if Congress doesn't back him? His action then becomes illegal under American law, and it's already illegal under international law. 

He has opened a sizeable can of worms.

Agree with everything everyone has said here, just utter madness. This clip from Chavez when he was around was not only really prescient but a very good overview of the US history in the region.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/gR62wfbwCdI

I think this has shocked most of the world. The really worrying thing is it is probably an indication that the paradigm of international relations is shifting which is a seismic political event. Righteous indignation may make individuals feel good and comforted, but does nothing to deal with what is probably an emerging new world order and spheres of influence based on military strength.

Everyone has to work out how to deal with the change because if the world is going through a paradigm shift, the old techniques and responses across the political spectrum probably won’t be effective in the new world.

Very eloquently said Martin. I still have faith that the young people are going to save us!