Iceland Cricket takes swipe at US after Venezuela strikes, says ‘Luckily Iceland has only volcanoes, glaciers and…’

Icelandic Cricket Association on Sunday took a jibe at United States after strikes on Caracas, stating Iceland has only volcanoes, glaciers, “very average" cricketers, whereas Venezuela has oil and Greenland has rare earth minerals.

The Icelandic Cricket Association, though not yet a member of the International Cricket Council, has earned a reputation as a social media champion for its quirky posts.

It updated the post on X with a follow-up message: “Our players have requested a change to the tone of this post. They did not like being referred to as 'very average' and instead prefer the term 'seriously underwhelming'.”

The edit history of the post showed that it initially used the word “underwhelming,” with “seriously” added at a later stage.

Following the US Operation Absolute Resolve in Venezuela’s capital on Saturday, Trump announced that the United States would “run” Venezuela until a transfer of power occurs, and spoke about major American companies extracting crude oil from the Latin American country.

Venezuela holds the world’s largest known oil reserves, but a lack of technology and heavy diplomatic sanctions have prevented it from turning that wealth into substantial national income. It is believed to hold the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves, about 303 billion barrels, according to the US Energy Information Administration, representing roughly 17% of global oil reserves.

The reference to Greenland in the Iceland Cricket Association post stems from Trump’s repeated remarks about the US wanting to take control of the territory, which belongs to Denmark. After Venezuela, Trump has also issued warnings to other countries, including Colombia, while emphasising and flexing “America's might".

US' attack on Venezuela

Explosions shook Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, as low-flying aircraft swept over the city. At least seven blasts were reported during the attack, which lasted less than 30 minutes, and appeared to target military infrastructure. Smoke was seen rising from a hangar at a Caracas military base, while another installation in the capital experienced a power outage, a report by AP noted.

The attack came after months of mounting pressure from the Trump administration, which has increased its naval presence off South America and, since early September, conducted deadly strikes on vessels suspected of drug smuggling in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean. Just last week, the US carried out a CIA drone strike on Venezuelan soil at a docking area allegedly used by drug cartels.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio had recently been in touch with Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, the US president said, adding that he anticipated her cooperation in the future. “She had a long conversation with Marco, and she said, ‘We’ll do whatever you need,’” Trump said. “I think she was quite gracious, but she really doesn’t have a choice.”