Quote:US forces are ramping up pressure on Venezuela in what increasingly looks like a modern naval blockade. Sanctioned oil tankers are being seized, drug trafficking vessels are being destroyed at sea, and Washington is turning economic sanctions into physical enforcement. This video breaks down why the US is targeting Venezuela’s oil lifeline, how shadow fleet tankers evade sanctions, and what a two-layer blockade really looks like in 2025. We analyze naval interdictions, cartel routes, escalation risks, and why this campaign matters far beyond Venezuela

Quote:CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s government accused the United States of attacking civilian and military installations in multiple states after at least seven explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard around 2 a.m. local time Saturday in the capital, Caracas.
The Pentagon and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Smoke could be seen rising from the hangar of a military base in Caracas. Another military installation in the capital was without power.
People in various neighborhoods rushed to the streets. Some could be seen in the distance from various areas of Caracas.
“The whole ground shook. This is horrible. We heard explosions and planes,” said Carmen Hidalgo, a 21-year-old office worker, her voice trembling. She was walking briskly with two relatives, returning from a birthday party. “We felt like the air was hitting us.”

Venezuelan state television did not interrupt its programming and aired a report on Venezuelan music and art.

The blasts come as the U.S. military has been targeting, in recent days, alleged drug-smuggling boats. On Friday, Venezuela said it was open to negotiating an agreement with the U.S. to combat drug trafficking.

The South American country’s President Nicolás Maduro also said in a pretaped interview aired Thursday that the U.S. wants to force a government change in Venezuela and gain access to its vast oil reserves through the monthslong pressure campaign that began with a massive military deployment to the Caribbean Sea in August.


Maduro has been charged with narco-terrorism in the U.S. The CIA was behind a drone strike last week at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels in what was the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the U.S. began strikes on boats in September.
U.S. President Donald Trump for months had threatened that he could soon order strikes on targets on Venezuelan land. The U.S. has also seized sanctioned oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela, and Trump ordered a blockade of others in a move that seemed designed to put a tighter chokehold on the South American country’s economy.

The U.S. military has been attacking boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean since early September. As of Friday, the number of known boat strikes is 35 and the number of people killed is at least 115, according to numbers announced by the Trump administration.
They followed a major buildup of American forces in the waters off South America, including the arrival in November of the nation’s most advanced aircraft carrier, which added thousands more troops to what was already the largest military presence in the region in generations.
Trump has justified the boat strikes as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the U.S. and asserted that the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels.

Meanwhile, Iranian state television reported on the explosions in Caracas on Saturday, showing images of the Venezuelan capital. Iran has been close to Venezuela for years, in part due to their shared enmity of the U.S.

(01-03-2026, 10:58 AM)F2d5thCav Wrote: Question of destination.  Guantanamo or El Salvador ?

Quote:America just toppled another regime. In this video, former infantryman Chris Cappy breaks down how U.S. Delta Force captured Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. In a high-risk nighttime raid on Fort Tiuna, backed by a massive 150-aircraft SEAD air campaign that shut down Venezuela’s air defenses. We analyze the helicopters, cyber warfare, CIA intelligence, legality, and, most importantly, who is actually in control of Venezuela now after Maduro’s arrest.

(01-04-2026, 06:13 PM)Kenzo1 Wrote: Interesting point is how Chinese SAM systems failed in Venezuela , if they were used .

Venezuela had at least HQ-9 air defense system and Chinese radars . Considering the possible future escalation around Taiwan , this would bevery bad for the PLA .

I dont know are the  HQ-9 SAMs destroyed , it would be even worse situation if US would get them in one piece and study how they work.

India also claimed that several Chinese made HQ-9 SAMs failed and were destroyed in recent clash with Pakistan last year.

(01-05-2026, 01:32 PM)727Sky Wrote: Cyber attack led the way.

(01-05-2026, 12:50 PM)Michigan Swamp Buck Wrote:

(01-04-2026, 06:13 PM)Kenzo1 Wrote: Interesting point is how Chinese SAM systems failed in Venezuela , if they were used .

Venezuela had at least HQ-9 air defense system and Chinese radars . Considering the possible future escalation around Taiwan , this would bevery bad for the PLA .

I dont know are the  HQ-9 SAMs destroyed , it would be even worse situation if US would get them in one piece and study how they work.

India also claimed that several Chinese made HQ-9 SAMs failed and were destroyed in recent clash with Pakistan last year.

I read a report that claimed that their warning system completely failed. No warnings on radio and TV, no air raid sirens, I don't think that they reacted much at all. They did minor damage to one plane that was still able to fly. As much as we've been doing down there, you think they would have had a viable defense warning system, even if it wasn't available to the citizens. A citizen's volunteer network could have been more effective IMO.

I bet they jammed their comms along with other dirty tricks. Maybe we disabled their warning system, and neither side wants to tell us that. I bet we used some new stuff on them, some tech we don't want to reveal.