There’re still a lot of countries that haven’t responded to the invitation yet, so hopefully this discourages others from joining. Quite frustrating to see how many have already accepted though.

I don’t know what Trump himself expected, but I do think the neocons in his cabinet legitimately bought into their own propaganda about Maduro’s unpopularity and infighting with the Chavistas, and were genuinely surprised at the smooth power transition.

To be fair, it seems like the corporate side of Trump’s base doesn’t really care either way as long as they can get the deals they want, so it isn’t a huge blunder or anything of that sort, but it does mean all the anti-Maduro propaganda is wasted because he’s no longer in charge.

My respect for the DPRK and the PRC’s leadership just keeps increasing every time the US bombs or coups another country. Both countries beelined towards nuclear weapons the moment they were able to, then foresaw the consequences of an unfiltered internet dominated by wealthy western corporations and sought to rectify that. They then demonstrated the effectiveness of scientific socialism by developing faster than any other nation in comparable circumstances, showing how it is imperialism, not ‘authoritarianism’ or whatever, that cripples a nation’s economic development and the livelihood of their people.