US would get the oil regardless of who they back, there's nobody else with the technical capabilities to extract at scale in Venezuela. This is a completely ridiculous argument.
No it's not, the current regime is very open about how excited they are about getting that oil and very hand wavy about everything else.
It would be ridiculous to argue that the current regime has any genuine concerns or interest about democracy, drug trafficking (even just pardoned one), or the legitimacy of Venezuela's government.
> the current regime is very open about how excited they are about getting that oil and very hand wavy about everything else
Yes, because it makes sense to trust what the Trump admin tells you.
Oil might be one of the many excuses they give, but it's obviously a lie because there is nobody else in the world capable of profitably extracting Venezuelan crude at any meaningful scale.
It would be ridiculous to argue that the current regime has any genuine concerns or interest about democracy, drug trafficking (even just pardoned one), or the legitimacy of Venezuela's government.