Mad with greed; war scamming

 

And here we go

 

At least somebody's getting filthy rich off this.  What do you want to bet a percentage of the grift is designated for Trump's personal pocket?

US attack on Venezuela - Day 2

 

Venezuela HAS a government.  The Trump administration is acting as if it doesn't.

Machado is the woman awarded last year's Nobel Peace Prize.  She was no doubt in support of Trump's illegal operation to kidnap Maduro.  She must be pretty offended that he publicly said she doesn't have the respect needed to govern.  (Not that she's interested in the job.)

If you're leaking to the New York Times or the Washington Post (or any other mainstream media outlet), you're leaking to the wrong people.

UPDATE 01/04/2026:  Give us your country.  Or else.

Well, she's in a pickle.  Venezuelans will not allow her to do that.

Putin is only asking for Ukraine.

He couldn't have done what he did without the support and assistance of Venezuela's opposition party, which probably thought THEY'D be in charge.  The Faustian bargain is alive in the person of Donald Trump as Satan.

That's the true Trump Derangement Syndrome.  It's a virus running rampant.

Greenland and Denmark are part of NATO.  Taking Greenland would be a little tricky, but I would not put it past the mad orange king to try.

Of all the places he's threatening, this one, which should be the easiest given Cuba's location, is the least likely to even be undertaken.  Cuba has Putin's backing.  Perhaps he'll make a deal with Putin, Cuba in exchange for Ukraine.*

How many soldiers do we have?   Are we just going to send Erik Prince's mercenaries to occupy foreign houses of government?

UPDATE 08:55 pm:

What excuse will Trump use to eliminate her?

Game on, I guess.

This cannot end well.

If  you think Venezuelans are going to lay down for a Trump takeover, watch "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised."

 

UPDATE 09:23 pm:

He's not going to break the Venezuelan people, either.  He has bitten off more than he can chew.  

*UPDATE 01/05/2026:  I see the deal was already made.  But not using Cuba.

"Peace president" starting a war in Venezuela

 

Trump said early on Saturday that American forces had carried out a “large-scale strike” against Venezuela, claiming President Nicolas Maduro and his wife had been captured and flown out of the country.

  TRT World

Truly outrageous.  We are now invading sovereign countries and kidnapping their leaders.  

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel denounced the strikes as a “criminal US attack,” calling for an urgent international response.

Indeed.

Senator Ruben Gallego said the operation marked “the second unjustified war in my lifetime,” accusing Washington of engaging in an unnecessary conflict “There is no reason for us to be at war with Venezuela,” he wrote.

Representative Jim McGovern also raised concerns over the lack of congressional approval and public support, questioning why funds were being spent on military action abroad instead of domestic priorities.

Lame ass Congress. Impeach Trump.

In the UK, several lawmakers urged the government to condemn what they described as an unlawful assault on a sovereign nation.

Perhaps they described it as such because that's what it is.

Independent lawmaker Zarah Sultana said Venezuela’s vast oil reserves were central to the conflict, calling the strikes “naked US imperialism” aimed at overthrowing a government and “plundering its resources.”

She called on Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government to denounce the action unequivocally.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry condemned the strikes as an act of “armed aggression,” saying the justifications offered by Washington were “unfounded.”

 

So what are you prepared to do about it?

What the fuck does Trump plan on doing with Maduro?  How is this going to end in anything but devastating consequences to the US, Venezuela, and the world?

And, so much for the idea that US military personnel might refuse to follow illegal orders.

What "imminent attack"??  That is extreme bullshit.

Okay, but who helped?  How did they kidnap Maduro?

Early Saturday, multiple explosions rang out and low-flying aircraft swept through the Venezuelan capital. Maduro’s government accused the United States of attacking civilian and military installations, calling it an “imperialist attack” and urging citizens to take to the streets.

We fucking bombed Caracas!

Maduro, Trump said, “has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country. This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement.”

They did not do it without the help and cooperation of people in Venezuela. Who?

The attack itself lasted less than 30 minutes and the explosions — at least seven blasts — sent people rushing into the streets, while others took to social media to report what they’d seen and heard. Some Venezuelan civilians and members of the military were killed, said Rodríguez, the vice president, without giving a number.

[...]

The legal authority for the attack, and whether Trump consulted Congress beforehand, was not immediately clear. The stunning American military action, which plucked a nation’s sitting leader from office, echoed the U.S. invasion of Panama that led to the surrender and seizure of its leader, Manuel Antonio Noriega, in 1990 — exactly 36 years ago Saturday.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, would face charges after an indictment in New York. Bondi vowed in a social media post that the couple would “soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.”

  AP

They are not America's to deal with. If they belong in a criminal court anywhere that is not Venezuela, it is the Hague.

The strike followed a months-long Trump administration pressure campaign on the Venezuelan leader, including a major buildup of American forces in the waters off South America and attacks on boats in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean accused of carrying drugs. Last week, the CIA was behind a drone strike at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels — the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the U.S. began strikes in September.

Unprovoked acts of war.

The website of the U.S. Embassy in Venezuela, a post that has been closed since 2019, urged American citizens to shelter in place.

Do we think Americans in Venezuela are safe after this?

The FAA warned all commercial and private U.S. pilots that the airspace over Venezuela and the small island nation of Curacao, just off the coast of the country, was off limits “due to safety-of-flight risks associated with ongoing military activity.”

Buckle up.

UPDATE 08:34 am:

This was definitely not done without inside assistance.

Nigeria got the honor.

UPDATE 08:46 am:  He is now on the phone with Fox & Friends bragging.  Apparently, he called in.

As though that's anyone's decision to make besides the Venezuelan people.

Oh, that's right.  I forgot.  Trump said Venezuela stole our oil.  (And land.)

Mexico next???

One giant war crime.  The international community needs to get its shit together fast and come get this madman.  Obviously, Congress isn't going to do anything.

UPDATE 03:44 pm:

So, what are you prepared to do about it?

Don Jr?

Chuck will always be Chuck.  Chuck has got to go.

I remember when the planned the same thing on the heels of George W's invasion of Iraq.  How'd that turn out?

He'll be using this as part of his rationale for declaring martial law to stop the 2026 elections.

UPDATE 01/04/2026: