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 …