Greg Palast: I met Chavez and Maduro. I know drugs are not the reason Trump wants war with Venezuela

[cbabe]

https://www.rawstory.com/raw-investigates/trump-venezuela-2674228487/

I met Chávez and Maduro. I know drugs are not the reason Trump wants war with Venezuela

Greg Palast
October 25, 2025 5:30AM ET

I met with Venezuela’s President Hugo Chávez just days after he was kidnapped. I’ll tell you about that, and the current President Nicolás Maduro’s visit to my New York office. But first you must know three things about Venezuela, to understand why Donald Trump has ordered a covert operation to overthrow their government.

1.Venezuela has the largest reserves of oil on the planet.
2.Venezuela has the largest reserves of oil on the planet.
3.Venezuela has the largest reserves of oil on the planet.

Look it up: According to OPEC’s own site, Venezuela’s 303 billion barrels in proven reserves are four times the reserves of Saudi Arabia.

(By the way, Donald, when you announce a “covert” operation, it’s no longer covert. But never mind.)

For years, I was BBC Television’s correspondent covering Venezuela and US attempts to overthrow their elected government. Trump invented nothing. This is at least the fourth US-backed attempt at overthrow and assassination of a Venezuelan president.

… more …

[Ocelot II]

1. Iraq redux?

[tulipsandroses]

6. Remember when he said " We should have taken the oil?"

Who knows what is going to happen. I have my tin foil hat on. If there is a terror attack, can we trust that it is real? I hope there are people working hard to protect us in this administration to prevent any real attacks.

[Mr.Bee]

21. It's All About The OIL

and the Oil Billionaires telling him what to do.

[cbabe]

7. Long in planning: how to start a war

Last edited Sat Oct 25, 2025, 03:43 PM - Edit history (1)

First the fake Venezuelan gangs with tattoos invading us.

Then murdering fishers.

Pentagon banning real news.

Us bombers flying over (same as Russia eu flyovers).

Us naval ship.

Threat to take out all airports.

Continue us congress shutdown.

And on …

[Irish_Dem]

2. Trump wants a cut of the drug trade profits and the oil.

He is jealous of Putin who runs a drug/sex operation and has stolen all of Russia's oil.
Putin is the richest man in the world and Trump wants that title.

[calimary]

4. You can simplify it down to "trump wants."

He wants. That’s all he cares about and all he’s ever cared about. It’s as simple and basic as “he wants”.

And I am SICK of it. AND I’m totally sick of HIM!

[LiberalArkie]

49. Or as he probably says "Mine", "Mine", "Mine"

[not fooled]

52. And I'm SICK of the 77 millon idiots

who thought that returning a lifelong criminal, convicted felon, rapist who killed a million Americans with COVID to the White House was the way to go, and are now expressing surprise that he is acting like one. And were too stupid or willfully ignorant to realize that there were checks on him during his first term which would be gone next time, i.e. things would be much, much worse.

Election rigging (voter roll purges) and god (DOGE) know what else aside, which blocked a Harris presidency.

[calimary]

60. You're not the only one.

I bet a lot of those jokers turn against him when they realize what’s what.

[wiggs]

10. alternative: I doubt Russia and SAE and Qatar would like us taking over Venezuela's oil...UNLESS

...the plan all along for TSF has been to make alliances with Russia and Middle East so that just a handful of kings/dictators control most of the global oil reserves. They can set prices, make demands, dole out oil to friends, etc.. This was a theory floated in 2017 when it was clear who TSF was making friends with and placing in postions of power.

Of course to do that you'd have to torpedo policies around climate change, renewable energy, sustaining democracy, scotus integrity, etc..

[Irish_Dem]

14. I believe the dictators of the world have a plan in place.

They have divided up the globe into territories.
(Russia gets Europe, Trump gets North and South America, China gets the Pacific.)

And yes they have divided up the world's resources too.

Yes they are destroying anything that helps the people.
And democracy and rule of law. They are the law.

[Clouds Passing]

20. Nitty gets theME

[Irish_Dem]

23. Which jackwad is Nitty?

[AloeVera]

29. Satanyahu aka Netanyahu

[Irish_Dem]

35. Satan must have emptied out hell recently and sent a package to Earth. :(

[mwmisses4289]

54. They were attempting to overthrow Satan and takeover hell.

So Satan reassigned them.

[Irish_Dem]

55. Satan is smarter than humans it appears.

[Irish_Dem]

30. I confess I have not factored this nasty piece of work into the paradigm.

I will rethink it.

But you are probably correct.

But he wont get his piece of the pie until he pays the piper (Trump).

Both Putin and Trump approve of his ruthless bloodshed.

[Attilatheblond]

51. And the huge pocket of natural gas just off the Gaza Coast?

Bibi does genocide for cheap.

[wiggs]

39. Not an unreasonable belief, sadly. nt

[BlueMTexpat]

40. And Africa?

Lots of minerals there!

Now that You-Know-Who has essentially destroyed USAID, its presence is no longer there to counteract. Thus, Russia and China will divvy it up.

Antarctica is still up for grabs.

[Irish_Dem]

41. China has been in Africa for decades.

They have troops stationed there and gave out many loan traps to African nations.

[BlueMTexpat]

44. Indeed!

China has the edge in Africa.

And now, without USAID presence there, it's clear sailing ahead.

[Irish_Dem]

45. Exactly. Trump cleared the path for China to take Africa.

[BlueMTexpat]

46. I loathe him

and the entire Republican Party so much that I can hardly breathe.

[Irish_Dem]

47. Yes. They sold their country down the river for cash and money.

And they did so by spreading as much hatred, violence, greed as possible.

They are the worst human beings on the planet.

[Irish_Dem]

42. I think Antarctica will be divided up or fought over.

[BlueMTexpat]

43. Definitely!

[erronis]

15. We all know how it ends up for the warlords who "agree" to divvie up the resources.

Agreements between thieves and tyrants aren't worth the toilet paper they are printed on.

[slightlv]

22. I believe by doing what you're suggesting,

they're setting up their own "cartel" to control the price and availability of oil throughout the world. I wouldn't doubt it; sounds right up his alley... as well as more than a few of his "trusted" cabinet members! Good thought, Wiggs...!

[markodochartaigh]

27. "Of

course to do that you'd have to torpedo policies around climate change, renewable energy, sustaining democracy, scotus integrity, etc.."

So, in other words, there is nothing that the oiligarchs were not planning to do anyway.

[Trueblue1968]

17. He is a criminal

#TrumpIsANationalDisgrace. #Trumpisacrook

[kimbutgar]

3. He's goading them into fighting back and use it as an excuse to start a war there

Something tells me the American people will be suffering from his government layoffs, increased poverty, lack of food and no government assistance during time of climate disasters there will be a backlash to another war for oil. Especially when we were successfully moving toward electric cars and solar energy.

[wcmagumba]

5. I read that the Venezuelan oil is "so called" dirty oil and is difficult to refine and turns out a sub-standard product.

[House of Roberts]

8. Koch Industries has a Texas refinery able to process high sulfur oil,

and could easily handle the Venezuelan oil. The Venezuelan oil being embargoed by the US after Chavez took over was the impetus for the desire to complete the Keystone XL pipeline to fully utilize the Koch refinery with the Canadian tar sands sludge.

[ananda]

11. So that's why Charles Koch has been speaking out lately.

hmmm

[slightlv]

24. Yeah, you can do anything with oil (or just about anything else)

without drawing in the Koch family. My family has been fighting them since the time of old man Koch... and we're still fighting. But poor vs rich, guess who wins in this country?

[Clouds Passing]

50. The cokes are dirtbags

[slightlv]

61. My great grandfather would wholeheartedly agree with you... as do I!

[eppur_se_muova]

37. Thanks for those important details. nt

[wiggs]

9. Where's the UN? nt

[lastlib]

13. Toothless

The repugs de-fanged it.

[Lonestarblue]

12. In 1953 the CIA overthrew the democratically elected government of Iran for their oil.

We’ve seen how that turned out. The US has plenty of oil, and we do not have the right to overthrow governments to satisfy the greed of a few people here—all of whom are already billionaires. Venezuela should be free to develop their oil as they choose, not as some idiot like Trump forces them.

[slightlv]

26. And, more than religion, wars are begun and fought to the bitter ends

because rich people don't want to do fair, competitive bids on natural resources. They want to strip the earth of all Her resources and claim them for their own. Greed... it always comes down to greed. Somehow we have to figure out how to punish greed and promote sharing and ethics. But we always did say you can't legislate morality. And here we are on the flip side. We can't legislate OUR morality on them. I'm afraid this is one of those 'hearts and minds' kind of thing. With no evidence the rich (for the most part) have neither heart nor mind, I don't hold out much hope.

[ShazamIam]

16. I agree, U.S. and EU oil corporations want control of Venezuela's oil and other resources as well. nt

[William Seger]

18. Dear Google AI, what does Project 2025 say about Venezuela?

An AI Overview is not available for this search

Aw, that's a shame because the Project 2025 people seem to do King #rump's thinking about most things (as his brain is understandably too busy to think about anything except King #rump). Maybe some journalists could skip the info-garbling middleman and ask the Project 2025 people directly?

[FakeNoose]

25. We could ask them, but we'd never get a truthful answer

By the way, Russell Voigt is one of the main authors of Project 2025, and he's currently working in the White House.

[JoseBalow]

34. Google is in drumpf's pocket. DuckDuckGo says this...

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=what+does+Project+2025+say+about+Venezuela%3F

Project 2025 emphasizes the need for the next U.S. administration to take significant steps against Venezuela's government, which it describes as "Communist abusers," while also aiming to support the Venezuelan people. The initiative suggests a focus on reshaping U.S. foreign policy towards Venezuela, potentially including measures to pressure the current regime. fullertonobserver.com whatisproject2025.net

Overview of Project 2025's Stance on Venezuela

Project 2025, initiated by the Heritage Foundation, outlines a strategy for U.S. foreign policy regarding Venezuela. It emphasizes a strong stance against the current Venezuelan government, led by Nicolás Maduro, which it characterizes as authoritarian and abusive.

Key Points on Venezuela

Policy Recommendations
Regime Change: The project advocates for actions that would put pressure on the Maduro regime, suggesting that the U.S. should take significant steps to address the situation in Venezuela.

Support for the Venezuelan People: It calls for measures to assist the Venezuelan population suffering under the current government, although specific strategies are not detailed.

Comparison to Authoritarianism
Centralization of Power: Project 2025's approach has drawn parallels to tactics used by Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, such as centralizing power and undermining democratic institutions. Critics argue that the project reflects a similar trend of consolidating executive authority in the U.S.

Broader Implications
Democratic Backsliding: Experts warn that the strategies proposed in Project 2025 could lead to a decrease in democratic engagement in the U.S., mirroring the erosion of democracy seen in Venezuela.

In summary, Project 2025 presents a critical view of the Venezuelan government and suggests a need for U.S. intervention while raising concerns about the implications of its own strategies for democracy at home.

[GreenEyedLefty]

53. I asked Gemini, here is what it said

Me: Is Venezuela mentioned in Project 2025?

GG:

The country of Venezuela **is mentioned** in the Project 2025 policy book, *Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise*.

It is typically referenced in the context of foreign policy, border security, and immigration proposals, particularly regarding the use of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and migration from the country.

One key theme connected to Project 2025's approach to Venezuela is a hardened stance against the regime, which aligns with the plan's broader goals to implement a more assertive and nationalist foreign policy. The Project's overall immigration proposals include mass deportations and stricter border control measures, which would directly affect the millions of Venezuelan migrants who have fled the country's humanitarian crisis.

While the full text of the policy document is very long, reporting and analysis of *Mandate for Leadership* confirm that Venezuelan-related issues are part of the policy recommendations.

* **Temporary Protected Status (TPS) * One proposal closely associated with the Project 2025 network and already pursued in the current administration is the termination of TPS for Venezuelans.
* **Foreign Policy/Security * The policy framework advocates for a strong posture against the government of Nicolás Maduro, tying the country's situation to issues of drug trafficking and border security.

[Crowman2009]

19. Last time I checked, America's last jungle war didn't turn out so well.

And if our friendly fire incidents are any indication, those Venezuelans who were either friendly or neutral will turn against the invasion force.

[Wednesdays]

33. More than half a century ago.

Weapons and tactics have changed enormously since. This war is be mostly coming from out of the skies, as we have seen with those fishing boats.

[popsdenver]

28. Hey

I have been saying this since he blew up the first boat......LOL

Hell, AN AIRCRAFT CARRIER STRIKE FORCE???????????????/ ALONG WITH A HALF DOZEN OR MORE DESTROYERS?????

Trump and Putin have had their eyes on Venezuela for years........

[flashman13]

31. Trump needs no excuse to invade Venezuela. He will just do it because he can.

The peace, aka POS, president is planning a land war in Venezuela in the name of stopping drug trafficking. Actually the purpose is to steal Venezuelan oil. They have the worlds largest proven oil reserves, larger than Saudi Arabia. This will be an international crime of the highest order. Venezuela does have a large military. They will most certainly fight to defend their country. If need be they will go under ground and fight an endless guerilla war (See Vietnam, Iraq, etc.). American men and women will die and be maimed for life in order to satisfy a mad man's ego and greed.

I guess we will see if the American military has been so hollowed out that it will carry out such a blatantly illegal order.

[ultralite001]

32. Venezuela may become America's 51st state...

Because...

Oil... It's all about the oil...

+ Krasnov will require a war to acquire it... + whatever excuse it takes...

[Mblaze]

36. I remember the Citgo stations in our area.

I also remember Chavez supplying free oil to residents in New England in need who were facing a harsh winter. Republicans hated that because Chavez was a Socialist.

Leave Venezuela alone.

[Bev54]

38. Yep and if things keep going the way they are, Canada may well have to impose tariffs on the

oil we sell to the US which makes up about 60% of US oil. But according to Trump he doesn't need anything from us because he intends to take it from Venezuela.

[kbowman]

48. He wants to use the Enemy Aliens Act

All of the above causes are true, BUT, this is a twofer. He will also use a war to justify using the Enemy Aliens act to legally deport all Venezuelan immigrants and their countrymen on TPS. I think this is the real cause of him starting things by bombing boats. After all, wasn't he a big coke head in the 80's nightclub scene? (I think I remembered hearing that from somewhere, sorry, no link - been too many years). If this was really about drugs he would be bombing Mexican and Colombian boats.

[Justice Brandeis]

56. Another Blood for Oil war

Those always go so well for the U.S.

[mntleo2]

57. I Thought it was this but...

... I know about that oil reserve, and thought for a fleet moment, ''Nah ...'Who the hell am I? I am just a low income senior why would i know something like that?
Well, I have been following Greg Palast for a couple decades at least, he is usually right on with his reporting. Whoo boy ..."

Cat from Seattle

[Ol Janx Spirit]

58. When you are going to start a World War you must first secure the energy reserves you need to keep...

...your military running.

Show of hands: who doesn't think this megalomaniac has much more nefarious intentions?



It's a pretty good bet that the rising cost of the ballroom is for the massive bunker complex that is surely being built underneath it.

The implementation of tariffs; the cozying up to our enemies and distancing ourselves from our traditional allies; the complete undermining of congress' role in military operations; the overt nationalism; the purging of "non-citizens"; etc.--all adds up to something bigger if we are willing to think about it and see it.

But are we?

The American people show an impressive lack of ability to think ahead these days.... Free eggs and Argentinian beef are probably about all it will take to pull it off.

[AKwannabe]

59. 1,2,3!

Yup