Trump's War With Cartels, Venezuela & Capture of Maduro

Welcome to the Precious Metals Bug Forums

Welcome to the PMBug forums - a watering hole for folks interested in gold, silver, precious metals, sound money, investing, market and economic news, central bank monetary policies, politics and more.

Why not register an account and join the discussions? When you register an account and log in, you may enjoy additional benefits including no Google ads, market data/charts, access to trade/barter with the community and much more. Registering an account is free - you have nothing to lose!




Of course it was nonsense. Everyone in IT knew it. But let's please not badmouth it. I made a shit ton of money off of Y2K so I will forever be grateful for the power of irrational fear in stupid people.
 
CiscoKid said:
Of course it was nonsense. Everyone in IT knew it. But let's please not badmouth it. I made a shit ton of money off of Y2K so I will forever be grateful for the power of irrational fear in stupid people.
Click to expand...

Remember Gary North? He made bookoo bucks off of Y2K.

Gary North (economist) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

You've piqued my curiosity. Would enjoy hearing how you made a shit ton of money off of Y2K. Not being funny here, just like neat stories, especially about making money.
 
Re: Venezuelan celebrations around the world, per Grok:

"The mass exodus from Venezuela, driven by economic collapse, hyperinflation, food and medicine shortages, and political instability, began intensifying in 2014 and accelerated significantly from 2015 onward. This migration crisis has continued through the present day, with nearly 8 million Venezuelans fleeing the country as of recent estimates."

The folks who could get out, did and they are likely celebrating Maduro's ouster. The folks still left in Venezuela are either too poor to matter, misguided ideologues or on the "gravy" train.
 
Now I know how the Germans felt when they realized Hitler was mad, there is NOTHING to stop us from invading and freeing Canada and Greenland... Canada would take a week maybe, Greenland a weekend...
 


Not much of a story. I was working for a certain Agency in 1999 when my telephone rang, and I was offered a different job. This was noteworthy because only certain individuals knew who I worked for, let alone how to establish contact with me. My resume didn't exist in normal channels. The government "recruiter" made me a ridiculous offer that I found very hard to turn down. Basically, they would double my already preposterous salary if I went to work for a certain Department doing IT work. I told the recruiter that I knew nothing about IT work, and she assured me that I was perfect for the job. I made the switch, with no little trepidation, and spent the next 14 years doing IT work, getting nice promotions and raises and a few out-of-cycle bonuses along the way. Is this a great country or what?
 
Beijing’s Shield Fails! Venezuela’s “Strongest Air Defense in South America” Collapses in U.S. Military Action

For years, the Venezuelan military poured vast sums into acquiring Chinese-made military equipment, building what it claimed was the “most modern” defense system in South America. At its core was an air-defense network centered on the JY-27 counter-stealth radar, once believed capable of effectively countering U.S. stealth aircraft such as the F-22. Meanwhile, its Marine Corps—equipped with VN-16 and VN-18 amphibious armored vehicles—was widely regarded as a formidable armored force in the region.

However, during the latest U.S. military operation, these Chinese-built systems suffered what has been described as “catastrophic paralysis.” Radar systems were blinded in the first wave of electronic warfare, while heavy ground equipment—lacking air superiority and protective cover—failed to deliver expected combat performance and was destroyed or abandoned. Military analysts say this highlights the significant technological gap that still exists when Chinese weapons systems face top-tier opponents like the U.S. military in complex electromagnetic and precision-strike environments.

A Paper Defense Line: Why Venezuela’s Chinese Weapons Proved “Helpless” Against the U.S. Military

As U.S. operations in Venezuela advanced rapidly, the “steel defense line of South America,” once expected to mount fierce resistance, collapsed in a remarkably short time. The conflict has not only reshaped Venezuela’s situation, but also subjected its main arms supplier—China—to an embarrassing technical reckoning.

For years, Venezuela was viewed as a showcase for Chinese military equipment in Latin America. Yet real combat results indicate that systems promoted as “capable of countering the West” proved extremely fragile when confronted by the U.S. military’s system-of-systems warfare.

The ‘Counter-Stealth’ Myth Shattered: Radar Systems Go Blind First

At the heart of Venezuela’s air-defense network was a radar array produced by China Electronics Technology Group. Venezuelan forces fielded the JYL-1 three-coordinate long-range surveillance radar and the JY-27 meter-wave radar, often touted as a “stealth killer.” Officials had boasted that the JY-27 could lock onto U.S. F-22 and F-35 stealth fighters from hundreds of kilometers away and guide Russian-made S-300 missiles to intercept them.

Combat results, however, show that within hours of the operation’s start, the United States Armed Forces launched an intense electronic-warfare offensive. On-site assessments indicate Venezuelan radar screens were immediately flooded by powerful jamming, followed by precise strikes from anti-radiation missiles. The so-called “counter-stealth” capability never came into play; the entire air-defense command system was effectively blinded at the outset of hostilities.

Ground Armored Forces: An Abandoned Steel Tide

Venezuela’s Marine Corps had long been considered South America’s best-equipped amphibious force, largely thanks to comprehensive Chinese mechanized equipment. Its frontline assets included the VN-16 amphibious assault vehicle with a 105-mm gun, the VN-18 infantry fighting vehicle, and the VN-4 “Rhinoceros” armored vehicle widely issued to the National Guard. Fire support was provided by the SR-5 multiple rocket launcher system.

Combat experience showed that without air cover and radar early warning, these costly amphibious vehicles became easy targets for U.S. attack aircraft and drones. Battlefield footage indicates many VN-series vehicles were not destroyed in tank-to-tank combat but were abandoned by crews after air strikes on beaches or highways. The SR-5 rocket artillery, lacking target data links, was unable to deliver effective strikes against U.S. troop concentrations.

The Absence of Air and Naval Power

Venezuela’s Air Force, operating K-8W trainer/light attack aircraft, was entirely grounded after the U.S. secured air superiority. Designed mainly to intercept light narcotics aircraft, these planes had no survivability in modern air combat. Patrol vessels armed with C-802A anti-ship missiles likewise saw their capabilities rendered ineffective under overwhelming U.S. battlefield awareness and electronic suppression.

Expert Analysis: A Comprehensive Defeat of Chinese-Style Command and Control

Military observers argue Venezuela’s failure was not due to the quality of any single weapon, but rather a comprehensive defeat of Chinese-style command-and-control systems. While China supplied advanced hardware—such as radars, armored vehicles, and air-defense systems—its ability to integrate them into a jam-resistant, highly survivable operational network still has significant room for improvement.
 

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT REVISES MADURO INDICTMENT, CHANGES DESCRIPTION OF "CARTEL DE LOS SOLES"

The Justice Department has released a revised indictment against Maduro with notable changes to how it describes "Cartel de los Soles."

The original indictment (2020):

Mentioned Cartel de los Soles 32 times and described Maduro as the leader of the drug trafficking organization.

The revised indictment (Saturday):

Mentions it twice.

Now describes it as a "patronage system" and "culture of corruption" fueled by drug money rather than a formal organization.

Prosecutors still accuse Maduro of participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy.

Background:

Experts in Latin American crime have long said "Cartel de los Soles" is slang invented by Venezuelan media in the 1990s for officials corrupted by drug money.

The DEA's annual National Drug Threat Assessment has never mentioned it.

Neither has the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.

Elizabeth Dickinson, International Crisis Group:

"I think the new indictment gets it right.

The new indictment's portrayal is exactly accurate to reality."

On Meet the Press, Secretary of State Rubio continued referring to it as a cartel:

"The leader of that cartel is now in U.S. custody.

That's Nicolás Maduro."

Maduro's next court date is March 17.

Source: NYT
 

Panic Everywhere,[DS] World Is Coming To An End,Message Sent,Patriots Are In Control – Ep. 3811

x22report.com

THIS IS BIGGER THAN VENEZUELA

Less than 24 hours after U.S. military pressure escalated in Venezuela, something far more telling happened, the infrastructure was already in place.

The United States quietly locked in a strategic silver smelter deal designed to process up to $1 TRILLION in Latin American precious metals, including Venezuelan supply.

Let that sink in.

An $8 BILLION state-of-the-art facility, jointly backed by Wall Street capital and the U.S. Department of Defense, now sits at the center of the supply chain.

This isn’t about invasion.
This is about control, security, and price discovery.

• Physical metals moving out of unstable regions
• Refining brought back under U.S. oversight
• Paper markets losing influence
• Strategic metals secured for energy, defense, and AI

When governments build first and explain later, it’s not speculation, it’s preparation.

Silver isn’t being hyped.
It’s being positioned.

Know What You Hold.
 

TRUMP TO RESTORE VENEZUELA’S OIL EMPIRE... BUT DO YOU KNOW THE HISTORY?

A century ago, it was American engineers who struck black gold beneath the Maracaibo Basin and transformed the country into the beating heart of Latin American energy.

Standard Oil, Gulf, and later Exxon built refineries, pipelines, and export terminals that made Venezuela the world’s second-largest oil producer by the 1930s.

Through the mid-20th century, U.S. companies ran the show.

They pumped, refined, and shipped millions of barrels north while Caracas collected royalties and dreamed of parity.

The 1948 fifty fifty profit deal was the first crack in the empire.

Then came 1976 and nationalization.

Carlos Andrés Pérez seized control, birthing PDVSA and ending direct U.S. ownership, but not dependence.

By the 1990s, the door reopened.

Chevron, ExxonMobil, and ConocoPhillips poured billions into heavy crude projects in the Orinoco Belt.

Then Hugo Chávez slammed it shut again, raising taxes, expropriating fields, and driving out firms that refused to play by his rules.

Maduro took the oil legacy and let rigs rust, workers unpaid, all while output collapsed to 700,000 barrels a day.

Now, after Maduro’s capture, Trump has drawn a new line in the sand.

The Donroe Doctrine is the Monroe Doctrine rearmed: the Western Hemisphere’s oil belongs to its own.

Chevron, the lone survivor through the sanctions era, is first in line to restore the fields that once fueled the free world.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright is already assembling oil executives to chart Venezuela’s rebuild, an American-led reconstruction of the hemisphere’s richest reserves.

With 300 billion barrels beneath its soil, Venezuela holds the key to hemispheric energy security.

Source: PDVSA, Council of Foreign Relations, Financial Times
 
Just a thought but had Maduro simply gave T the access to the energy / resources he wanted nothing would have happened. T would have sung his praises, claimed Maduro was a good guy and other such nonsense.

Instead Maduro is now sitting in a NYC jail on trial for machine gun possession (I'm not kidding) and narco crap while everything remains the same in Venezuela.

Now T is beating his chest like Tarzan, his insane boot licks are foaming at the mouth over the prospects of grabbing Greenland and invading other countries and the rest of the planet is wondering wtf happened to America.

Better get ready. I'm thinking something evil is coming our way.
 

US to KEEP the Venezuela Regime.. Attack GREENLAND NEXT​

Jan 6, 2026

10:12
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn more…