Sun Quarter Pass, 5th Day of Childwinter, 526 M.E. (Electra): The real reason the U.S. invaded Venezuela has nothing to do with drugs, HOSCA claims. Venezuela accounts for less than 1% of the cocaine entering the U.S. and virtually none of the fentanyl. It's not about fighting terrorism, either; there's zero evidence that Maduro runs a "terror organization." And it's certainly not about preserving democracy - the US supports a Saudi royalty which doesn't tolerate or allow any elections. 

It's not even about oil, at last not directly. HOSCA claims it's about preserving the value of the U.S. petrodollar system and maintaining a 50-year-old agreement that lets the U.S. print money and has kept it the dominant economic power for half a century. 

In 1973, Nixon and Kissinger got the Saudi royal family to agree that America would provide military protection for Saudi Arabia's oil fields in return for the Saudis pricing their oil exclusively in U.S. dollars. The Saudis were to refuse all other currencies, except the dollar, as payment for their oil exports in exchanged for the military protection. Since the signing of the agreement, all OPEC oil is quoted in US dollars.

The agreement created an artificial, global demand for U.S. dollars. Every country on Earth needed dollars to buy oil. This allowed the U.S. to print unlimited money to funds the military, entitlement programs, and deficit spending. The petrodollar is more important to U.S. hegemony than aircraft carriers.

But then in 2017, Maduro threatened that system by announcing that Venezuela would "free itself from the dollar" by implementing a new international payment system using other currencies, including the Chinese yuan, the Euro, and the Russian ruble. Venezuela's petroleum ministry began listing oil prices in yuan rather than U.S. dollars for the first time.

The proven oil reserves in Venezuela are the largest in the world, totaling 303.3 billion, more than Saudi Arabia's 297.7 billion barrels. For the first time, some 20% of the globe's petroleum preserves were available for purchase in yuans, not dollars.

The U.S. takes that kind of challenge to the dollar's supremacy seriously. In 2000, Saddam Hussein announced that Iraq will sell oil in euros instead of dollars. This was the real reason Bush Junior invaded Iraq and had Saddam deposed and killed. Not terrorism, not WMD's, not to finish what Daddy had started. After the war, Iraq's oil switched back to dollars and the WMDs were never discovered because they never existed.

In 2009, Gaddafi proposed a gold-backed African currency for oil trade. In 2011, Obama had NATO bomb Libya. Gaddafi was killed and his African currency died with him.

Then Maduro, with five times more oil than Saddam and Gaddafi combined, started actively selling petroleum in yuan. Now he's on trial in Manhattan for whatever charges the DOJ comes up with. 

The world is watching a sovereign nation get invaded for trading outside of the dollar. Russia, China, and Iran have already denounced the invasion and kidnapping as "armed aggression."  

The deeper problem is the petrodollar is already in decline. Due to U.S. sanctions, Russia has been selling oil in rubles and yuan since it invaded Ukraine. Iran has been trading in non-dollar currencies for years to get around U.S. sanctions. Saudi Arabia is openly discussing yuan settlements, and the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) have expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, and are actively pursuing payment systems that bypass the dollar entirely.   

Every country now clearly sees that if you threaten the dollar's hegemony, you get invaded. The U.S. has shown its hand. The invasion is an admission that the dollar can no longer compete on its own merits. 

If you have to bomb countries to keep them using your currency, your currency is already dying.