In his Tuesday post, Trump referred to President Nicolás Maduro’s government as a “Hostile Regime” and accused it of using oil to “finance themselves” and commit crimes. The Maduro government, in a statement, said Trump’s actions were “grotesque” and “warmongering threats.”

“On his social media, he assumes that Venezuela’s oil, land, and mineral wealth are his property,” the statement said. “Consequently, he demands that Venezuela immediately hand over all its riches. The President of the United States intends to impose, in an utterly irrational manner, a supposed naval blockade on Venezuela with the aim of stealing the wealth that belongs to our nation.”

US lawmakers also expressed outrage.

“A naval blockade is unquestionably an act of war,” Representative Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) said on X following Trump’s post. “A war,” he added, “that the Congress never authorized and the American people do not want.” Castro is a part of a bipartisan group of congressmembers putting forth a resolution to be voted on Thursday in the House, directing the president to end “hostilities” with Venezuela.

    • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      17
      ·
      10 months ago

      Which is really deeply ironic, considering the first campaign that made a real name for the USN and the USMC outside of the revolutionary war (as well as the first major campaign outside of the “new world” - that is, very far from the continental US) was against Ottoman Tripolitania, when we stoped paying them bribes that were effectively protection money so they wouldn’t pirate US merchant ships. Hence the lyric: “to the shores of Tripoli” (from the USMC anthem).

      • AxExRx
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        10 months ago

        Huh, TIL. tbf, ive only heard the line as part of Tom lehrer’s ‘send the marines’ (“to the shores of Tripoli, but not to Mississipoli…”)

    • n0respect
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      8
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      10 months ago

      Every one of those sailors had an obligation to refuse their orders, and chose to not do so.

      • Makhno
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        10 months ago

        Leave my mans pealing potatoes in the galley out of this 😤

        • n0respect
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          10 months ago

          Ok it was a little broad. Your punishment for refusing would be peeling potatoes anyway.

  • ryper@lemmy.ca
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    18
    ·
    10 months ago

    In a sensible world, a country that regularly goes to war to get more oil wouldn’t be sabotaging every attempt to reduce its oil consumption. If the stuff’s that hard to get, stop wasting it, and then maybe you won’t need to go to war so often.

    • Makhno
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      10 months ago

      We need the experts to call it theft so that half of the American populace can disregard everything they say. Following the advice of experts died during covid

  • MiddleAgesModem
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    6
    ·
    10 months ago

    You don’t need to be an expert to know oil in Venezuela belongs to Venezuela.

  • AxExRx
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    8
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    11 months ago

    Naval blockades sound like a belly- button problem.

  • Ilixtze@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    9
    arrow-down
    5
    ·
    10 months ago

    Americans are so stupid and immoral they need experts to tell them killing and stealing is illegal.

    • PattyMcB
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      10 months ago

      Not all of us. Some of us are telling the fuckers to stop