He will be brought to New York to stand trial on Drug charges…..
Donald Trump HAS become Vladimir Putin…..
Using the American military to enforce ‘HIS ‘will o0ver another country….
Will this continue in other place as we watch it unfold?
(Trump has NEVER had much use for the ‘Law’)
Trump is already indicating he wants America to control that countries oil resources….
Is THIS making America Great?
Or are we watching our country turn into something we ahould FEAR…..
President Trump said on social media early Saturday that the U.S. struck Venezuela, “captured” President Nicolás Maduro and flew him out of his oil-rich South American country along with his wife.
- The world-shaking announcement follows Trump’s months-long pressure campaign against Maduro.
Why it matters: The U.S. military has been targeting Venezuelan ships accused of carrying drugs, as part of an effort by Trump to force strongman Maduro, 63, from power.
- The State and Justice departments set a bounty on Maduro this summer for allegedly violating U.S. narcotics laws.
In a brief phone interview with The New York Times after the announcement, Trump celebrated the success of the mission: “A lot of good planning and lot of great, great troops and great people … It was a brilliant operation, actually.”
- Trump told Fox and Friends later Saturday morning that there were “a few injuries but no death” on the U.S. side.
- The president said he spoke to Maduro a week ago and told him “to surrender and give up,” but he wasn’t willing to do it.
Trump said he plans a news conference at 11am ET at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla., where he’s spending New Year’s week.
- Attorney General Pam Bondi posted to X that Maduro and his wife face indictment in Manhattan; Maduro personally faces charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy, she said.
How it happened: Trump posted the news on Truth Social at 4:21am ET, and White House accounts reposted his Truth on X a minute later.
- The full post: “The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country. This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement. Details to follow. There will be a News Conference today at 11 A.M., at Mar-a-Lago. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
On the ground: At least seven explosions rang out and low-flying aircraft swept through Caracas early Saturday. Maduro’s government accused the U.S. of attacking civilian and military installations, AP reports.
- Ahead of the explosions in the capital, the FAA issued a ban on U.S. commercial flights in Venezuelan airspace because of “ongoing military activity.”
What they’re saying: Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who initially expressed skepticism about the legal basis for the strikes, said Secretary of State Marco Rubio informed him in a phone call that they were to “protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant.”
- Maduro will “stand trial on criminal charges in the United States” and Rubio “anticipates no further action in Venezuela now that Maduro is in U.S. custody,” said Lee, who said the action “likely” falls within Trump’s authority under Article II of the U.S. Constitution.
- Some Republicans were quick to praise the move, with Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), one of Congress’ most vocal critics of the Maduro regime, saying in a statement: “While others dithered, President Trump recognized this threat for what it is and acted with resolve.”…..
….
Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez said on state TV: “We do not know the whereabouts of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores … We demand proof of life.”
- Gustavo Petro, the left-wing president of neighboring Colombia, said in a statement before Trump’s announcement that his government had “deep concern” about the strikes in Caracas.
- “Colombia reaffirms its unrestricted commitment to … the respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of States,” Petro said.
- The U.S. sanctioned Petro in October, alleging that he too has ties to illicit drugs…..
Note….
Is there gonna be a ‘next’?
Colombia?
Iran?
Greenland?
Is this a signal to China to invade Taiwan?
Where do we go from here?
And Early report on the Op…..
(Detail’s will come later for sure…There where injuries))
‘We turned off all the lights’
Trump said the U.S. operation took place in darkness, although he did not detail how that had happened. He said the U.S. turned off “almost all of the lights in Caracas,” the capital of Venezuela. At the news conference, he said the city’s lights “were largely turned off due to a certain expertise that we have.”
“This thing was so organized,” he said. “And they go into a dark space with machine guns facing them all over the place.”
At least seven explosions were heard in Caracas. The attack, which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described as part of “massive joint military and law enforcement raid,” lasted less than 30 minutes.
Venezuela’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, who under law takes power, said some Venezuelan civilians and members of the military were killed.
Trump says ‘a couple of guys injured’
Trump said a few U.S. members of the operation were injured but he believed no one was killed.
“A couple of guys were hit, but they came back and they’re supposed to be in pretty good shape,” he said.
The Republican president said the U.S. had lost no aircraft, but that a helicopter was “hit pretty hard.”
“We had to do it because it’s a war,” he added.
In his news conference, Trump did not mention the injuries or helicopter damage, stressing that no American lives had been lost. Caine said the helicopter that was struck was able to safely fly on its return…..
I THINK this IS about OIL….
NOT about Drugs….
And of course REAL ESTATE…….
Russia harshly criticizes US attack on Venezuela, capture of Maduro…
“This morning, the United States carried out an act of armed aggression against Venezuela. This causes deep concern and condemnation,” Russia said in a statement from its Foreign Ministry.
“The pretexts cited to justify such actions are unfounded. Ideologized hostility has prevailed over practical pragmatism and over a willingness to build relations based on trust and predictability,” Russian officials wrote, nearly five years into the nation’s own war in Ukraine.
Russia, a key ally of the Maduro regime, said it was crucial to “prevent further escalation and to focus on finding a way out through dialogue.”….
The problem on the Top of the US Military for America….
Hegseth: Maduro ‘f’d around and he found out’
“He f’d around and he found out,” Hegseth continued, echoing comments Trump made in October. Trump was answering a reporter’s question during a Cabinet meeting at the time when he said that Maduro “doesn’t want to f— around with the United States.” Hegseth shared video of Trump’s answer on the social platform X on Saturday.
The president’s son Eric Trump also echoed his father in an X post. He shared the president’s Truth Social post about the attack and captioned it with: “The ‘FAFO’ era continues,” using an acronym for “f— around and find out.”…..
Pelosi…..
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Saturday called President Trump’s indictment of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro “hypocritical,” after Trump pardoned former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández last year following his conviction on drug charges.
“If the President grounds his actions on the basis of drug trafficking charges, it is entirely hypocritical in light of his recent pardon of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández who was responsible for bringing more than 400 tons of cocaine in the United States in order to ‘shove the drugs right up the noses of the gringos,’” Pelosi wrote on social platform X….
Russia has such wonderful record of avoiding régime change and non-intervention in East Berlin, Prague, Warsaw, Budapest, Kiev (and countless Northwest African capitals).
Indeed DSD….
And IS hoping Donald will help them REGAIN the places that escaped to the West….
US closes some Carribean Airspace to commerical travel….
…The FAA notices, all scheduled through Sunday, include bans in Curaçao and Trinidad and Tobago. In a news conference Saturday, Trump said the U.S. was prepared to mount a second-wave attack in Venezuela but that he doubted it would be needed.
According to the flight-tracking site FlightAware, more than 700 flights traveling through U.S. airports had been canceled by noon Saturday. There were more than 300 cancellations at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Puerto Rico, representing almost half of the scheduled arrivals and departures, and more than 125 cancellations at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York….
More…
Curaçao is part of the greater Kingdom of the Netherlands. So Trump is banning civil aviation to and from a NATO ally (little as that means to Vance and Hegseth).
What if Holland banned civilian aviation over the U.S. Virgin Islands?
Trump WOULD probably pick up the phone and threaten ‘retaliatory’ action…..
He’s a straight Up BUlly and Hewgseth so far has FREE RANGE to do WTF he wants…..