So where do we go from here? Venezuela doesn't have the capacity to strike back. I assume this triggers a civil war for power. Maduro is a dead man flying to his future grave.
Presumably Venezuela has a continuity of government process, so the VP becomes head of the government? I don't see any indications that the regime has or would relinquish power, unless (more amenable) factions within it take advantage of this opportunity (perhaps this has been already coordinated).
Maybe the Venezuelan government remains intact, and now we have the embarrassing situation of a sovereign country asking for its head of state back.
(If I were in charge from this minute on, I’d offer Maduro a pardon, asylum and a mountain of cash to (a) assist with a regime change and (b) tell us all of Cuba, Iran, Russia and China’s nasty business.)
They might as well declare they are president of USA as well while they're at it. Maduro's regime was just publicly emasculated. They already had no legitimacy due to a fraudulent election and now they have no physical power either.
Without might makes right (US puppet) or some recognition of legitimacy, any leader is little more than a loudspeaker in a pretty house.
Doesn't matter because who's going to check them? SCOTUS? No. COTUS? No.
Unitary executive theory = plenary powers, e.g., they're a king in all but name surrounded by political loyalists with their hands on every lever of power that matters.
I think the president only needs permission from Congress to officially declare war (or rather only Congress can declare war), but the president is commander in chief of the US military and can do, for lack of a better term, “special military operations” without any approval (all joking aside, I think it means the president can always order military action just can’t declare war against another country, and I don’t believe the US has declared war on Venezuela).
Capturing the head of state has happened many times historically. I think the USA is the only sovereign state to have done it in recent history though (and multiple times at that!).
Of course all the headlines say Trump did this and that but the person behind this is Secretary of State (foreign minister for the tourists.) Marco Rubio. He will be low key about this right now because of Trumps ego but it will all come out later.
Rubios reasons are:
1. He is a Cuban American and his base is the Cuban exile community. They have been wanting to overthrow the Communist regime since JFK. As Cuba is utterly dependent on Venezuelan oil, this might be what finally does it.
2. He is setting himself to run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2028. Despite the isolationist tendencies of MAGA, there are still many Republican voters for whom kicking foreign commie ass is an impressive resume item.
3. Maduro is really horrible. All the “No Kings” types wringing their hands about Fascism should be happy that an actual authoritarian dictator has met his end.
Readit News
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46474859
Deleted Comment
Maybe the Venezuelan government remains intact, and now we have the embarrassing situation of a sovereign country asking for its head of state back.
My honest guess? Cuba.
(If I were in charge from this minute on, I’d offer Maduro a pardon, asylum and a mountain of cash to (a) assist with a regime change and (b) tell us all of Cuba, Iran, Russia and China’s nasty business.)
Without might makes right (US puppet) or some recognition of legitimacy, any leader is little more than a loudspeaker in a pretty house.
It all went to shit the year they killed Harambe.
Unitary executive theory = plenary powers, e.g., they're a king in all but name surrounded by political loyalists with their hands on every lever of power that matters.
Apparently modern old farts in power can only reanact things they've seen in their 'youth'.
Deleted Comment
I think that's a different thing.
Rubios reasons are:
1. He is a Cuban American and his base is the Cuban exile community. They have been wanting to overthrow the Communist regime since JFK. As Cuba is utterly dependent on Venezuelan oil, this might be what finally does it.
2. He is setting himself to run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2028. Despite the isolationist tendencies of MAGA, there are still many Republican voters for whom kicking foreign commie ass is an impressive resume item.
3. Maduro is really horrible. All the “No Kings” types wringing their hands about Fascism should be happy that an actual authoritarian dictator has met his end.
But mostly the first two.