Readers Write: Risk of war in Venezuela, 50-year mortgages, Minneapolis housing costs

Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

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The Trump administration takes many illogical actions that are harmful to our country. Among these are the arrest and deportation of hardworking, law-abiding, taxpaying immigrants who are necessary for many sectors of the American economy and the chaotic tariff scheme that is fueling inflation, slowing economic growth and seems to be based on the quality and number of personal gifts given to President Donald Trump (a gold bar and gold Rolex clock brought Swiss tariffs down to 15% from 39%). But one of the most incomprehensible is a pwar on Venezuela (“US weighs strike on Venezuela,” Nov. 15). According to the article, we now have seven warships, the largest aircraft carrier in the world, and 15,000 US troops in the region.

Why are we spending millions of dollars per day on this massive military buildup that harms our relationships with other countries in our hemisphere, that takes military assets away from places where they are truly needed and that could lead to the death of our soldiers? After reading the article twice, I’m unsure. Maybe war preparations are taking place because Trump believes that Venezuela is sending drugs to the U.S. If this is really about drugs, much more cocaine and fentanyl are coming from China and Mexico. Will we be planning to attack those countries next?

If the goal is to reduce drug addiction and overdose deaths, our tax dollars would be better spent by restoring the funding to addiction treatment, research and prevention programs that has been cut by Trump, the Department of Government Efficiency and the Republican Big Beautiful Bill. Instead of attacking Venezuela, why not attack the reasons Americans turn to drugs? We could focus on funding mental health care, education, job readiness training, affordable health care and housing, and raising the minimum wage.

This war on Venezuela could provide the plot for a funny satire if the dangers and waste weren’t so real.

Mary Anderson, Minneapolis

In the Readers Write section of the Star Tribune on Nov. 17, there was a letter from someone who said they served in Vietnam in 1967. The writer claimed that the rules of engagement included the rule that “you do not kill your enemy, unless he or she is a threat to you or others” (“This is not what civilized people do”). Evidently the writer never heard of free fire zones, artillery, B-52 strikes, search and destroy missions or had a relative who died from fentanyl. These were not defensive-only guidelines. The military did sometimes add restrictions to reduce civilian casualties, especially in “pacification” zones, but combat operations were aggressive and often large-scale.

The Coast Guard could not stop the drug-running speed boats. Smugglers use “go-fast” boats and low-profile vessels designed to evade radar.

The U.S. cannot pursue into certain territorial waters without permission.

The region is enormous: The Coast Guard has to patrol millions of square miles with limited personnel and ships.

Some are disappointed that the current administration is not like the previous dithering bunch who could not stop illegal immigration and the drug trade. Why is it the left continues to throw up road blocks at a president who is finally taking action against international criminals?

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We’ve been in a dangerous time from Day One of this administration, run by the cruel Stephen Miller, the shady Project 2025 author Russell Vought and occasionally by the reckless urges of the president. Personal, public and mean-spirited insults to our European, South American and Canadian allies have led to hard feelings, decreased revenue from tourism and even cessation of shared intelligence. Russia invades and tortures Ukraine, Gaza has been pounded to rubble with tens of thousands of civilians dead, and Sudan’s crisis has escalated.

And so the U.S. appears to be on the brink of war with ... Venezuela? Seven warships and 15,000 U.S. troops, a “stunning presence,” are now a threatening bully in the Caribbean after the U.S. killed 80 people in small speed boats over the last few months. Venezuela clearly plays a role in cocaine but pales in comparison to the various opioid producers that kill tens of thousands of Americans each year.

Wake up, Minnesota. Face what this man is doing in our name, spending billions of our taxes to bail out Argentina and millions to deploy our sons and daughters to terrorize Venezuela while fighting in court to keep SNAP benefits from feeding American citizens during the recent federal shutdown.

If our military is unwilling to stand up to this administration, then we citizens must speak out and stop the madness in the White House. He’s already demolished the East Wing. Don’t let the president use our military to invade a country simply because he doesn’t like its leader.

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Nothing would do more to prop up popular support for the otherwise disliked, distrusted and corrupt regime of Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro than an attack by a foreign power. History does have lessons. The London Blitz during World War II was cruel but only boosted the solidarity of the British. The retaliatory bombing of German civilians did not lead to regime change. In our own time, we see little wavering of the resolve of the Ukrainian people to resist Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war. This is all elementary sociology: Groups pressured from the “outside” draw closer together. I despair of what may be done to the suffering people of Venezuela in my name.

Paul Riedesel, Minneapolis

President Donald Trump’s idea of a 50-year mortgage is great for lenders but not so much for homebuyers (“Trump turns to a message of affordability amid economic frustration,” Nov. 15). The reason is that although the monthly payment is reduced a little, the total interest paid is doubled.

As an example, suppose you took out a loan for $300,000 at 6% interest. The monthly payment on a 30-year loan would be $1,799, and total interest would be $347,515. On a 50-year mortgage the payment would be $1,579, and total interest would be $647,529. That’s almost double. The monthly payment is reduced by $220.

David Perlman, New Hope

When Mayor Jacob Frey took office, he made one of the largest affordable-housing commitments in Minneapolis history — raising the city’s annual investment from roughly $15 million to $40 million. That tripling of the budget in 2018 marked a clear turning point, which is why we use that year as the baseline for measuring progress (Readers Write, Nov. 14).

Each year, the city publishes “The Way Home Progress Report,” tracking key housing and homelessness outcomes. Those reports show a significant and sustained increase in investment and results since 2018 — reflecting the policy shift that began with Frey’s administration.

The difference is measurable:

And most notably, Minneapolis is now producing more than eight times more deeply affordable units than it did prior to 2018 — making the city a national leader in this category.

Minneapolis still has work ahead, but the results are clear: Sustained investment is delivering real, quantifiable gains in affordable housing for residents who need it most.

Elfric Porte, Minneapolis