Deploying U.S. Troops in Venezuela Could Become a ‘Force Protection Nightmare’ Amid Insurgency Threat, Retired Colonel Warns: ‘The Venezuelan military has had plans for years that indicate it would engage in guerrilla warfare’

https://fortune.com/2026/01/03/us-troops-venezuela-deployment-force-protection-insurgency-threat-maduro-military/

44 Comments

  1. Thank God the good old wars against the commies are back again, the lame wars against the desert peoples are over.

  2. USMC_ClitLicker on

    This seems eerily familiar… Deposing a state leader (Saddam), not installing an interim government (Iraq), focusing on the extraction of oil and natural resources (Halliburton and Schlumberge), and facing an unknown and motivated group of insurgents (Shia and Sunni sectarian group made up of former military)…

  3. Independent_Term5790 on

    I genuinely don’t think I or my daughter will experience a period of peace. Like it crazy to think about being in a country that isn’t in constant conflict.

  4. HonoredPeople on

    Yep. Our people are going to suffer, their people, all people.

    I get why he would do it. Trump needs an access to South America and it’s a good place to stage his next move.

    We’ll start hearing about how another country is causing some issue. Most likely Panama.

    What a bastard.

    Whelp. Trumps got his dump country for ICE all locked as well. Plus the resources.

  5. YgramulTheMany on

    Imagine if Bush had said in the lead up to the Iraq war, “Its okay, all you protestors can put down your picket signs. This is all on the up and up, cause we’re going to take all their oil and give it to multinational oil corporations, so nothing to complain about, folks!”

  6. PsychLegalMind on

    This action and indirect occupation entails significant risks that will have consequences for decades to come. There is no upside when it comes foreign relations in Latin America. We are already at war in the Middle East and Europe and a front may open up in the Taiwan Straits. We are overextended.

  7. The same military let them walk right in and capture their president with nary a shot fired. They’re probably on Trump’s pay roll

  8. PopPalsUnited on

    So we have invaded another nation to openly steal their oil in order to sell it to China and Russia.

    Fuck the President. He’s a criminal and no one in our government will do a god damn thing about it.

    When does it become the job of the people to set things right? Protest and make as much noise as possible. What’s being done is illegal and immoral.

  9. guitarshredda on

    Will Venezuelans keep “celebrating in the streets” if the guerilla warfare starts?

  10. He talked about rebuilding their infrastructure for oil, how about instead of invading a foreign country and spending money there ( yet again…. ) we invest that money here to retool our refineries (at least some…) to be able to refine the sweet crude we have in abundance in the States rather than having to ship it out and import sour crude that we are setup to refine? Sounds like a strategically sound national security investment to me…

  11. space_cow_girl on

    Has anyone explained why our laws and courts are so powerful, we can kidnap the president of a different country, and try them for crimes here, but too weak to try our own president for his obvious crimes? 

  12. so this is going to be a repeat of iraq and afghanistan and syria only thing is i doubt the us military is prepared this time.

  13. Canuck-overseas on

    This is Pandora’s box. Iraq and Afghanistan were occupied by the US for NEARLY 20 years. That’s what it takes to replace a regime. What Trump did was simply kidnap one figurehead, but the regime still exists, indeed, the Venezuelan military still has all their weapons, nothing substantive has changed. Why would they kowtow to Trump? What is he gonna do? Launch yet another raid?

  14. Oh! Was this all done without any preparations for the consequences? Well knock me down with a feather!

  15. Yet another dumpster fire of an idea from our Republican Party. Cool. Cool cool cool cool cool.

  16. Pristine_Routine_464 on

    I am wondering if China and Russia think this gives them the greenlight to take over Taiwan and Ukraine. It doesnt set a great example.

  17. Is the current army big enough for his ambitions? Maybe if we’re really lucky he’ll only draft maga to the frontlines since they love him so much

  18. Honestly, I hope they kick our asses. Good. We’re in the wrong here and we deserve every single bit of pain we get from this invasion.

  19. Significant-Dog-8166 on

    Oh and then there’s the really fun part – cartels can just pick off oil workers for ransom and repeat as much as they want. Even without a military, every human in Venezuela is a potential new combatant towards every westerner.

  20. JamestotheJam on

    We’re 38 trillions dollars in debt. We can’t afford to get involved in Venezuela. Trump is insanely incompetent.

  21. Stoic_WhiteFox on

    The US citizens hasn’t benefited from any oil extraction. Look at iraq. Did your coat of living go down?

  22. I’ve already read this in Tom Clancy’s “Clear and Present Danger”. That was 30 years ago.

  23. PotatoHighlander on

    Venezuela is massive and mountainous like 3x larger than Vietnam about x2 the size of Afghanistan, its cities are incredibly dense. An operation here would be a bloodbath and disaster.

  24. Icy_Transportation_2 on

    Ah right, was that the reason for the Vietnam war? That capitalism was afraid of communism so it staged a false flag attack to engage in a war that lasted over 2 decades and killed over a million people?

    Was that “capitalism’s” goal? To prevent communism? Or democracy to defeat “communism”, which sounds strange to me because you can have both market structures in different political ideologies.

    But I don’t want to get bogged down in some
    Sort of anti communism anti capitalism debate

  25. Iceologer_gang on

    Oh but I thought this was over!!! Surely a major political event that took 3 hours could not have ramifications for the following years. What a shocker. Conservatives really can’t think.

  26. Thinking they wouldn’t defend their own country is demented. This is how you create terrorists.
    Maybe that’s what the Trump regime wants. More violence gives them excuses to oppress

  27. It’s illegal to invade a sovereign nation and take its resources. Chevron is their new leader backed by the U.S. military. History repeats itself.