The regime change and sanctions have failed in Venezuela. Sure, we made them suffer, but China has swooped in and bought up a lot of assets, invested a lot of money, secured a lot of oil, and is ramping up imports from Venezuela.

The days where we sanction a country and wait around for them to comply seem to be over. With the BRICS countries, everyone has an alternative. But until recently, it seemed like most of BRICS sat back and watched as the US sanctioned countries, but now they are going and in and replacing us.

What are we going to do now? I asked it about Russia as well. What is our go to move going to be when regime change and sanctions don’t work anymore?

If Venezuela wants to be Haiti, let them be Haiti. According to the IMF they rank just ahead of Papua New Guinea and Palestine. They are at 20% of the GDP from just 7 years ago.

Despite all their oil, they are 4th from the bottom in the Americas. Honduras, despite all their gangs, will soon pass them. Nicaragua with communist Oretega in charge is further back, but at least growing. At this pace, it won't take Maduro long to overtake Haiti as the poorest country in the Americas.

(09-14-2023 06:46 PM)Todor Wrote:  The regime change and sanctions have failed in Venezuela. Sure, we made them suffer

Maduro did that all by himself.

During the Cold War, many countries around the world gravitated towards either the Soviet-led bloc or the American-led bloc. Other countries, naturally, tried to play both ends against the middle.

In this generation, PRC has obviously replaced USSR as the leader of the non-American bloc, but the choice facing smaller/weaker nations continues to be alliance with the pro-American bloc or with the anti-American bloc. It is not surprising that someone like Maduro would choose anti-American. Indeed, it would be shocking if he didn’t.

It is true that the America of 2023 is far less capable of imposing its will on smaller nations than it was 30-50-70 years ago. And it’s true that anti-American elements will naturally gloat about this. Beyond that, we’ll have to wait and see what happens.

(09-14-2023 08:45 PM)bullet Wrote:  If Venezuela wants to be Haiti, let them be Haiti. According to the IMF they rank just ahead of Papua New Guinea and Palestine. They are at 20% of the GDP from just 7 years ago.

Despite all their oil, they are 4th from the bottom in the Americas. Honduras, despite all their gangs, will soon pass them. Nicaragua with communist Oretega in charge is further back, but at least growing. At this pace, it won't take Maduro long to overtake Haiti as the poorest country in the Americas.

Who cares how they live? We make nothing off them anymore, their refugees flood here, China steps in and buys at the rock bottom prices we drove everything down to, and steps in and benefits handsomely.

Is that a well played foreign policy move?

Now we’ll cry and whine and how China is taking over South American countries that we walk away from and refuse to engage. Why didn’t we just keep buying the oil and let them decide how to run themselves? Nothing they were doing is worse than the Saudis, so it was never a “human rights” issue. And China is in, and probably won’t be walking away.

Clueless it’s not China it’s Biden.

But amid last year's oil price shock, the Biden administration began to tentatively loosen some strictures on Venezuelan oil, including granting a license to Chevron to resume pumping in the country.

Geez you are a great propaganda machine.

Joe can't be bothered by this.

He's too busy saving America from maga and white supremacists.

(09-14-2023 09:31 PM)BlueDragon Wrote:  Clueless it’s not China it’s Biden.

But amid last year's oil price shock, the Biden administration began to tentatively loosen some strictures on Venezuelan oil, including granting a license to Chevron to resume pumping in the country.

Geez you are a great propaganda machine.

Just wait until this year's Oil price shock - oh wait it is already starting....

Early Wednesday AM I paid $3.57 a gallon - i had to do a round trip out to Boston. Upon my return late that afternoon, the same station was up to $3/77. IN ONE DAY!

Sanctions don't work anymore. Look at Russia, Latin American socialist states, etc. Just buy the oil at rock bottom prices. You have to be like that older guy who was dating a really young woman and someone said she's using you and he responded so am I.

(09-15-2023 03:04 PM)olliebaba Wrote:  Sanctions don't work anymore. Look at Russia, Latin American socialist states, etc. Just buy the oil at rock bottom prices. You have to be like that older guy who was dating a really young woman and someone said she's using you and he responded so am I.

They work well enough to send hundreds of thousands of refugees our way.