Seriously?

The Trump administration is ramping up its pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by releasing a criminal indictment charging him with drug trafficking and by posting a $15 million reward for his capture.

The indictment, returned by a grand jury in New York, accuses Maduro of conspiring with a hard-line faction of the Colombian rebel group known as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia to ship vast quantities of cocaine to the United States.

[...]

Several other regime officials, including the defense minister and head of the Supreme Court, were charged in separate cases in Washington and South Florida.

Barr said there was no immediate expectation of taking the current and former Venezuelan officials into custody, but he noted that they do sometimes travel outside the country. He also suggested that the defendants might face justice if efforts to drive them from power are successful.

[...]

Asked about the role of the U.S. in prosecuting corruption in foreign governments, Barr said the officials had “deliberately targeted the United States” as a market for illegal narcotics.

  Politico

I think he has that backwards. The demand for drugs from the US drives the drug market, just like any market. And that's not even counting the CIA's involvement in the drug traffic.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

This is the first he's heard of it

Fox News will now air something about it for him.

And on China?  Whatever the voices in his head say at any given moment.



And...he's back on the golf course.  It's been a golfing weekend for him.



Yesterday:

Donald Trump – who cancelled on his Polish hosts at the last-minute last week, citing concerns over a hurricane barrelling towards Florida – was due to spend the day at his golf club in Virginia.

[...]

Yesterday it emerged that Trump, who had given the impression he would spend the day at Camp David with experts to monitor Dorian’s progress, had in fact flown by helicopter from Camp David to his Virginia golf club.

  The Guardian

Also yesterday:



Jesus wept.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Close Call in Colombia

Colombians have rejected a peace deal to end 52 years of war with Farc guerrillas, throwing the country into confusion about its future.

With counting completed from 98% of polling stations, the no vote led with 50.23% to 49.76%, a difference of 61,000 votes.

[...]

Under the agreement rejected by voters, the Farc’s 5,800 fighters and a similar number of urban militia members would have disarmed and become a legal political party. A bilateral ceasefire has been in effect since 29 August.

[...]

The deal would have allowed rebel leaders to avoid jail if they confessed to their crimes such as killing, kidnapping, indiscriminate attacks, and child recruitment, something that many Colombians found hard to swallow.

[...]

The verdict on the deal between the government of Juan Manuel Santos and the Farc reached after four years of intense negotiations means it cannot now be implemented.

[...]

Santos, who watched the results come in at the presidential palace in Bogota, said he accepted the “no” result but said a ceasefire would continue.

[...]

“The Farc reiterates its disposition to use only words as a weapon to build toward the future,” said [Farc leader, Rodrigo] Londono, who is known by his nom de guerre, Timochenko. “To the Colombian people who dream of peace, count on us, peace will triumph.”

  Guardian

And, just a reminder about polls...

Polls before the vote predicted yes would win with a comfortable 66% share.