As promised, here are the key points from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has spoken to US media outlets this morning.

  • This is “not a war against Venezuela”, he says - this follows strikes on the country on Saturday and the extraction of its president, Nicolás Maduro
  • The US will judge Venezuela by “what they do” next, Rubio says, adding that Washington will keep “multiple levers of leverage” to protect its interests
  • Speaking to ABC, Rubio says congressional authorisation wasn’t needed before the operation “because this wasn’t an invasion”
  • He says that he hopes Maduro’s removal will lead to “a better Venezuela”, but adds that the “number one objective is America”
  • Asked whether he thinks Interim President Delcy Rodríguez is now the legitimate president of Venezuela, he says the US does not believe the regime is legitimate
  • ceenote@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    57
    ·
    20 days ago

    I guess the term “act of war” becomes meaningless when the act is done by someone nobody will hold accountable.

      • chaogomu@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        18
        ·
        20 days ago

        Far earlier than that. Look up the career, and post career, of Smedly Buttler. He was a marine commander who publicly spoke out about how he had been used as a thug for capitalism.

        Particularly in the creation of Banana Republics.

        Prescott Bush tried to use Buttler to overthrow FDR, but Buttler went to Congress and reported the plot. Nothing was ever done and then we got two Bush presidents.

  • TheDemonBuer@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    26
    ·
    20 days ago

    It’s regime change. Again. We’ve engaged in regime change many, many times in South and Central America (as well as other parts of the world) over the years, through various methods. This is, once again, the US asserting what it believes to be its “right” to rule over all of the Americas.

  • Ashenlux@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    24
    ·
    20 days ago

    Oh. I see. We are not at war. We are only bombing them, stealing their oil, and kidnapping their leader. Those are totally just friendly things normal countries do to each other.

  • Phoenixz@lemmy.ca
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    11
    ·
    20 days ago

    United States or America executes various acts of war, killing literally boat loads of innocent sailors

    United States or America directly attracts the same nation, murdering innocent soldiers and citizens

    Just to be clear, we are not at war!

    Well I could easily have been mistaken about that!

  • switcheroo@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    7
    ·
    19 days ago

    Kidnapping a president is an act of war, wtf!

    Ngl though if someone wants to start a war with us, they can fucking have our shitstain “president”.

  • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    7
    ·
    19 days ago

    Rubio is a fucking war criminal. What the fuck happened to that guy? He was never a bastion of morality or anything, but over the past year, he’s completely transformed into a monster.

    • pjwestin@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      19 days ago

      He’s always been a bloodthirsty neocon with a fetish for regime change in Latin America. The Trump administration is just freeing him of the pretense of civility. Wait until they get to Cuba; he’ll be demanding we make them a U.S. territory to, “free,” them from communism.

  • rayyy@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    18 days ago

    Riiight, and if Venezuela doesn’t heel to the deranged orange buffoon they he will send more warplanes on “not be at war” bombing missions.