Venezuela Campaign (Corporate America)

The Venezuela Campaign was a protracted armed conflict that began with the 2021 invasion of Venezuela lead by the U.S to overthrow the government of Nicholas Maduro and capture the masterminds of the Friday the 13th Massacre.

Background
With longtime Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez's passing in 2013 and his subsequent succession by protégé Nicolás Maduro came renewed calls by western neoconservatives and neoliberals alike for NATO intervention and support for capitalist revolutionaries. Though the Chávez government had proven popular amongst the populace, and was remembered fondly by the vast majority of Venezuelans for lowering poverty and raising the literacy rate over the course of 14 years, NATO disliked Chávez and his entourage for their unwillingness to work with western corporations, and their alliance with other U.S allies such as Russia and Cuba.

Maduro had as anticipated largely continued Chávez's policies, both foreign and domestic. Despite rabid calls for U.S involvement throughout the 2010s, President Barack Obama for the most part left Venezuela out of U.S policy. Though the Obama administration did impose select sanctions against various Venezuelan officials, no direct attempt was made to cripple Caracas' economy or affect change in government, much to the chagrin of war-hawks from both parties.

The arrival of the Trump regime in 2017 spelled further U.S aggression towards their southern counterpart. Going back on his campaign calls for isolationism, Trump ramped up sanctions beyond gregariously, to the point where the Venezuelan economy was devastated beyond recognition. Trump's sanctions would remain U.S policy for years afterward.

Friday the 13th Massacre
In 2024, independent businessman and multibillionaire Howard Schultz was elected to the U.S presidency under controversial circumstances. Schultz had won on a campaign of bombastic American nationalism, defeating Democratic New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Republican former Ohio Governor John Kasich, both of whom had run to the left of Schultz on platforms of peace and global cooperation. On numerous occasions, Schultz argued that the past several administrations had not been hawkish enough in their dealings across the world, particularly in regards to Latin America, and that America had suffered as a result. Schultz immediately moved to begin arming and funding Juan Guaidó 's capitalist movement in Venezuela. On 13 June, 2025, a barge packed with bombs exploded in New York Harbor, killing 200 people. Following a month of federal investigation, President Schultz announced on 8 July, alongside the FBI Director, that the attack was perpetrated by Maduro loyalist Hector Villa. Both Villa and Maduro denied the allegations, despite Schultz's demand that Villa be turned into U.S custody within one week. With Villa still not handed over to U.S authorities, Congress was called into an emergency session on 15 July to vote on the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) of 2025. Introduced by Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), the AUMF gave Washington consent to invade Venezuela and pursue any organizations or individuals with ties to the Friday the 13th Massacre. The AUMF passed the Senate 98-4, with Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Jay Leno (I-CA), Jon Tester (D-MT), and Rand Paul (R-KY) against the legislation. Met with much more opposition in the House, the legislation also nevertheless passed 400-37. President Schultz signed the AUMF into law the same night.

The conditions surrounding the Massacre were met with skepticism by many even at the time of the event. RT journalist Qasem Mubarek was assigned to investigating the Schultz administration's claims, and was the most widely recognized of those few journalists openly scrutinizing the attack. It's been said by colleagues and family of Mubarek that he'd found a lead in the case, and was supposedly close to bringing his findings to RT. On 5 August, Mubarek was found dead in his New York hotel room. The coroner's report was claimed to have clearly shown Mubarek had intentionally asphyxiated himself with a plastic shopping bag, though the report was never made public by the NYPD. Rampant speculation naturally sprung up among conspiracy theorists, and the hashtag #MubarekDidntKillHimself quickly spread across social media as with #EpsteinDidntKillHimself had previously done in reference to deceased sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. A Manhatten bartender even later claimed a man "with a thick, Israeli or Arab accent" bragged to him about killing Mubarek, though nothing ever came of the rumor.

Mission Not Accomplished
Well before Congress approved military action against Venezuela, President Schultz met with and spoke with other NATO leaders including his good friend and United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson,  Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, German Chancellor Norbert Rötgenn, and French President Marine Le Pen. All staunchly agreed with Schultz's desire to attack Venezuela and pledged the support of their own respective millitaries. Trudeau for his part was the only leader from a left-wing party, and was castigated by progressive activists for his subservience to Schultz. Johnson was considered the greatest cheerleader of the invasion, and received acclaim from the neocons in his own party as a result. On 17 July, the United States and NATO began consistent bombing runs on major Venezuelan cities including Caracas, Maracaibo, and Valencia. Later that same day, troops were also deployed through the Colombian-Venezuelan border. Historically, the bombings have been viewed as bordering on if not being war crimes by many experts and historians. By the end of the invasion phase, at least 15,000 civilians were killed in the raids themselves. The initial push of NATO forces into Venezuela was characterized by mainstream media of being relatively easy. At the time, all major networks across the west including CNN, MSNBC, the BBC, and Sky News claimed scores of Venezuelan troops in fact surrendered on sight of invading troops. Years after the invasion, it finally became public knowledge that though some select FANB troops did indeed surrender early on, the vast majority remained dedicated in their loyalty to Maduro. Despite the media narrative, it took NATO months to reach Caracas. On 16 December, NATO alongside Juan Guaidó's Popular Will paramilitary began shelling Caracas from just outside the city. By the 22nd, government forces were weakened to the point that troops could enter the city. Within a week and four days of the assault on Caracas, General Vladimir Padrino López surrendered. Upon officially capturing the city, Venezuelan rebels found President Maduro in a innercity safe house, having committed suicide via self-inflicted gunshot. Maduro's recovered, bloodstained tie has since become a symbol of the invasion. The day following Caracas' surrender saw capitalist Venezuelans from various rebel groups and militias begin murderering not only government officials but also civilian supporters of the Chavistas in the Bloody Tuesday killings. At least 2,000 were killed across Venezuela, though some estimates have placed the death toll at close to 10,000. The wanton violence of the killigns as well as the gaudy masks often worn by the capilaists led many to compare the events to those of the Purge movies. A refugee crisis of Venezuelan socialists was created by the killings, with many fleeing by boat to friendly Cuba.

On New Year's Eve, Schultz announced Villa had not been found in Caracas, and pledged to keep troops in the country to assist new President Guaidó in combating Chavista holdouts while Villa was located.