Yo, G! Straight up. Pompeo. Word! Bolton.

A rapper might be able to come up with better ideas than the neocons about what to do with Venezuela. Last week, on the morning of the big “coup,” I talked to a sweet woman from VEN. She was naturally worried about her elderly parents in Caracas. I pondered whether the regime would assassinate Guaido.

In the aftermath of a faltering opposition uprising in Venezuela, the Trump administration is looking at imposing new individual sanctions against the Maduro government and also scrambling for ideas that can have a greater impact on the ground, including military options.

The White House is calling for relevant departments to produce more options for the president to consider on Venezuela. The National Security Council is pushing the Defense Department for military ideas and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is seeking ways to entice Russia to pull away from Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

Current and former officials recognize there are not many more options other than military action or some type of internal revolt.

“It’s more sanctions, military or straight up Venezuela flipping,” said a senior administration official on condition of anonymity. “And that’s a problem. All they have to do is delay, delay, delay and they’re still in power.”

Pompeo, National Security Advisor John Bolton, Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan and Navy Adm. Craig Faller, commander of U.S. Southern Command, met Friday morning and discussed different options to increase pressure on the Maduro government, including military participation.

I’m not as worried now. Notice that Maduro hasn’t even threatened to arrest the US’s “legitimate” choice as president. I suspect that’s because the regime views him (and his neocon nut backers) as harmless objects of fun. That’s how low US foreign “policy” has fallen – Washington levels a gun at someone and all they do in response is laugh.

And, what of these options? Is one of them to simply leave it the hell alone? Or, how about just offering whoever is in charge that we will just keep buying the oil at market prices? Probably not.

This is a repeat of Syria. Russia, with a handful of troops and one or two ships, has checked US imperial aggression. Next, they’ll likely offer VEN a way out of depression via a switch to BRIC’s monetary policy and advice on tapering off the Bernie-esque domestic socialism. Then, they might offer a better internet alternative.

The options cons may well abandon that plan and move on. People of Nicaragua, watch out.