party_pants said:

dv said:

There does seem to be some disagreement within the US admin, as Rubio is indicating that major operations are over, while DJT has run on talking about regime change and boots on the ground.

Maduro’s absence means his VP Delcy Rodriguez becomes acting President. The other arms of the government carry on.

I give it a week before the whole country falls apart and things turn to shit.

The country is awash with guns. The previous dictator handed out free AK-74s to his “supporters” during his reign. They have not been handed back. Expect different groups to start fighting amongst themselves for whatever spoils they can take from the collapse of the old regime.

None of that matters to the US.

As long as the American oil and mining companies’ operations are not molested, the Venezuelans can slaughter each other as much as they like.

To that end, firms like Exxon and Newmont will probably pay bribes to various Venezuelan factions of various viewpoints to ensure that their operations aren’t interfered with. Of course, they’ll have their own ‘security’ like Academi (formerly Blackwater) on site, just to make sure.

I suggest that the American firms will move in very quickly, indeed, to take advantage of the chaos/celebrations caused by Maduro’s removal. While Democrat Senate minority leader Dick Schumer may not have been briefed on the planning for this military venture, i’d bet that the oil and mining firms were well aware of it.