Yes! Thanks for not following the orders of the New York Times and the Categorical Bull Shit Network of Larry Ellison telling its salaried puppets pretending to be journalists to call this a "capture."
Corbin Trent described this perfectly this morning:
"This morning I woke up to the New York Times telling me the United States had 'captured' the president of Venezuela.
Let me say that again. The United States military conducted airstrikes on a sovereign nation’s capital, killed an unknown number of its citizens, and dragged its head of state out of his bedroom in the middle of the night. And the word the paper of record chose was “capture.”
Capture is what happens when you execute an arrest warrant. Capture is what happens when there’s an ICC indictment. Capture is what happens when the UN Security Council authorizes military action. Capture is what happens when Congress declares war."
Capture is what you do when you live in a country with a government. We haven't had that since our parties started accepting mega-bribes not to govern.
Yes. This is more detailed reporting than anything I’ve seen so far in the mainstream press, especially your reportage about reactions in Venezuela. This is the first I’ve heard, for example, about the demonstration at the palace. Thank you. I did read elsewhere that approximately 2,000 people in NYC protested the Adminstration’s actions and that there were other protests in approximately 100 other U.S. cities around the country. Hopefully, we can respond to Mr. Ortiz’ call.
If you examine the history of American imperialism it's not the least surprising. A highly relevant example is that in 1953 the US, with the aid of the UK, overthrew the democratically elected leader of Iran, Mohammad Mosaddegh, because he planned to nationalize Iran's oil resources.
Yes it’s true but it wasn’t done in the open like this. In the days before social media most Americans didn’t even know that happened in Iran, most of that stuff was done secretly by the CIA.
Is it just me or does the US attack on Venezuela seem like we have seen this almost 4 years ago already?
It’s an invasion based on a ridiculous pretense: In Venezuela the government is accused of being drug traffickers, in Ukraine it was accused of being Nazis. The goal was then and is now to dispose of the democratically elected government and replace it with a puppet regime. The intention is to regain control of a geographical region alleged to belong to the aggressor’s sphere of influence, and domination is therefore vital to the invader’s national interest. A thinking that is based on grief of having lost control of a region which the aggressor pretends belongs to them because of “historic” reasons.
And then of course there are the resources: In Ukraine, Russia’s military interventions reflect a strategic intent to secure valuable coal, steel, and agricultural assets in eastern and southern Ukraine. Ukraine’s Black Sea reserves contain up to 2 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, and eastern Ukraine has recoverable rare earths and lithium supplies, both of which are vital for the global transition to green-energy systems. Russia’s intent is to consolidate its influence over these resource-rich regions. In Venezuela, it’s the minerals and most of all the world’s largest oil reserves which the US strives to control because it’s addicted to oil, does not want to share this strategic asset with China among others, and therefore wants to consolidate its influence over this resource-rich region (repetition of the phrase is intended).
What we can of course expect now (just like it happened in February 2022) is an international outcry, the freezing of US assets, sanction after sanction targeting the US, a ban on US athletes to participate in international sports events (unless they compete as AIN i.e. neutral athletes not showing their country’s flag), and the relocation of the FIFA World Cup 2026. And of course the cancellation of all cultural events with US participation unless the artist/artists clearly distance themselves from the regime.
Hello? Anybody out there? I am not hearing anything. Just the report that Trump intends to “run Venezuela” until further notice, and that Maduro and his wife will be prosecuted in the US based on invented charges. Haven’t we seen this same scenario in Iraq before with the lynching of Saddam Hussein?
Maybe I am ignorant, have a narrow view, do not understand that what happens here is “complicated”, or are just too stupid to understand why there is a difference when Russia violates international law by attacking a sovereign country with the intent of taking it over, and when the US does it.
Any nation that aggresses another automatically forfeits voting rights at the United Nations. Disband the Security Council immediately. Every nation on it now has a far-right / authoritarian / fascist government. I can't help but think it's been intentional. Perhaps we need to form a new international body made up of individuals, rather than nations. World citizens.
It definitely is time to expel the US from the Security Council -- and maybe from the UN itself. Can the General Assembly do this? (Of course this means all the rest of UN offices also will need to move from NYC.)
there is no difference, the US (for now) just has more leverage on other Western powers and the shambolic organizations that make up the so-called "international community"
Thank you! It's insane that Trump & Co. seem to think there is nothing to the Venezuelan government except Maduro and his wife. Or that the Venezuelan people (whether in favor of or against Maduro) would support a US invasion. Or that neighboring countries - both their leaders and their populations - would not be outraged. Or that this would somehow strengthen his (Trump's) tenuous hold on power in the US.
Calling this a “law enforcement action” doesn’t make it one. Kidnapping a sitting head of state after bombing a capital city is an act of war and a textbook violation of international law. The drug-trafficking pretext has been recycled for decades to justify regime change in Latin America, and it collapses the moment you ask why none of this applies to U.S. allies with far deeper ties to narco-economies. Trump’s open talk of “running the country” and seizing oil revenue strips away the last illusion: this is about power, resources, and reasserting imperial control. If this can be normalized against Venezuela, it can be done anywhere
Agreed - this destabilizes the world order and destabilizes the idea of Western Democracy and what the UN stands for. To suggest that Trump is a President for peace is a fucking joke as is his foreign policy.
The Venezuelan government has it right - '"the objective of this attack" is to steal Venezuelan strategic resources. Trump wants to "run the country" - how outrageous. He's been pushing the envelope with Venezuela for too long and Congress has not stopped him.
Trump had promised no more unnecessary wars. He lied once again.
I think it would not matter one iota who is president or what party that president would advertise. The US mafia rules, not the US people. My guts twist watching my government destroy other countries, murder their people, fabricate lies, spew propaganda. The thought of a travesty kangaroo court trial and the groveling media coverage is more than I can cope with right now. Will we stand Maduro and his wife in front of a firing squad? Send them to the Salvador mafia prison? Load them into the back of a truck in the dead of night, haul them to the swamp, machine gun them, dismembered and burn their remains or dissolve their body parts in lime?
This commentary identifies this as " A Direct Military Action" and Congress needs to have immediate hearings to question the Commander(s) of this operation to identify who ordered it, what was ordered and if this was an illegal attack, carried out by whom, to what end and sanctioned or ordered by what person (s) in this Administration. The power to make war resides with Congress and should have approval or should lead to Impeachment for those who violated their Constitutional Oath ( taken by Administrative officials and all Military personnel) and should resign or be removed from office. Those who do not call for such an accounting of this action are complicit in the actions taken and are also in violation of their oath of office.
Nobel peace prize winners don't abduct leaders of foreign countries unless they are scumbag
Materialist ,heartless, greedy , devout of feelings for human life like our egotist,vane, arrogant pigs like you donald trump! Then does explain the 34 felonies , paying $150,000 to porn star asshole you are. By the way why does Honduras president convicted of over 400 lbs. Of drugs, all of your 1/6/21 insured tore that employed get pardoned, how much ass kissing does Mandurah have to do get free!
The Trump administration has not lately had an unbroken record of successes in the judicial branch. What if Maduro is actually tried and found innocent by a jury. That would raise some hell.
Thank you -for calling it what it is a kidnapping- I appreciate the on the ground reporting- this is why I subscribe and what we need from our media.
Yes! Thanks for not following the orders of the New York Times and the Categorical Bull Shit Network of Larry Ellison telling its salaried puppets pretending to be journalists to call this a "capture."
Corbin Trent described this perfectly this morning:
"This morning I woke up to the New York Times telling me the United States had 'captured' the president of Venezuela.
Let me say that again. The United States military conducted airstrikes on a sovereign nation’s capital, killed an unknown number of its citizens, and dragged its head of state out of his bedroom in the middle of the night. And the word the paper of record chose was “capture.”
Capture is what happens when you execute an arrest warrant. Capture is what happens when there’s an ICC indictment. Capture is what happens when the UN Security Council authorizes military action. Capture is what happens when Congress declares war."
Capture is what you do when you live in a country with a government. We haven't had that since our parties started accepting mega-bribes not to govern.
Yes. This is more detailed reporting than anything I’ve seen so far in the mainstream press, especially your reportage about reactions in Venezuela. This is the first I’ve heard, for example, about the demonstration at the palace. Thank you. I did read elsewhere that approximately 2,000 people in NYC protested the Adminstration’s actions and that there were other protests in approximately 100 other U.S. cities around the country. Hopefully, we can respond to Mr. Ortiz’ call.
So now the US government kidnaps heads of state—I’m speechless 😶
If you examine the history of American imperialism it's not the least surprising. A highly relevant example is that in 1953 the US, with the aid of the UK, overthrew the democratically elected leader of Iran, Mohammad Mosaddegh, because he planned to nationalize Iran's oil resources.
Yes it’s true but it wasn’t done in the open like this. In the days before social media most Americans didn’t even know that happened in Iran, most of that stuff was done secretly by the CIA.
We kidnapped Noriega from Panama.
Is it just me or does the US attack on Venezuela seem like we have seen this almost 4 years ago already?
It’s an invasion based on a ridiculous pretense: In Venezuela the government is accused of being drug traffickers, in Ukraine it was accused of being Nazis. The goal was then and is now to dispose of the democratically elected government and replace it with a puppet regime. The intention is to regain control of a geographical region alleged to belong to the aggressor’s sphere of influence, and domination is therefore vital to the invader’s national interest. A thinking that is based on grief of having lost control of a region which the aggressor pretends belongs to them because of “historic” reasons.
And then of course there are the resources: In Ukraine, Russia’s military interventions reflect a strategic intent to secure valuable coal, steel, and agricultural assets in eastern and southern Ukraine. Ukraine’s Black Sea reserves contain up to 2 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, and eastern Ukraine has recoverable rare earths and lithium supplies, both of which are vital for the global transition to green-energy systems. Russia’s intent is to consolidate its influence over these resource-rich regions. In Venezuela, it’s the minerals and most of all the world’s largest oil reserves which the US strives to control because it’s addicted to oil, does not want to share this strategic asset with China among others, and therefore wants to consolidate its influence over this resource-rich region (repetition of the phrase is intended).
What we can of course expect now (just like it happened in February 2022) is an international outcry, the freezing of US assets, sanction after sanction targeting the US, a ban on US athletes to participate in international sports events (unless they compete as AIN i.e. neutral athletes not showing their country’s flag), and the relocation of the FIFA World Cup 2026. And of course the cancellation of all cultural events with US participation unless the artist/artists clearly distance themselves from the regime.
Hello? Anybody out there? I am not hearing anything. Just the report that Trump intends to “run Venezuela” until further notice, and that Maduro and his wife will be prosecuted in the US based on invented charges. Haven’t we seen this same scenario in Iraq before with the lynching of Saddam Hussein?
Maybe I am ignorant, have a narrow view, do not understand that what happens here is “complicated”, or are just too stupid to understand why there is a difference when Russia violates international law by attacking a sovereign country with the intent of taking it over, and when the US does it.
Any nation that aggresses another automatically forfeits voting rights at the United Nations. Disband the Security Council immediately. Every nation on it now has a far-right / authoritarian / fascist government. I can't help but think it's been intentional. Perhaps we need to form a new international body made up of individuals, rather than nations. World citizens.
It definitely is time to expel the US from the Security Council -- and maybe from the UN itself. Can the General Assembly do this? (Of course this means all the rest of UN offices also will need to move from NYC.)
there is no difference, the US (for now) just has more leverage on other Western powers and the shambolic organizations that make up the so-called "international community"
Thank you! It's insane that Trump & Co. seem to think there is nothing to the Venezuelan government except Maduro and his wife. Or that the Venezuelan people (whether in favor of or against Maduro) would support a US invasion. Or that neighboring countries - both their leaders and their populations - would not be outraged. Or that this would somehow strengthen his (Trump's) tenuous hold on power in the US.
Calling this a “law enforcement action” doesn’t make it one. Kidnapping a sitting head of state after bombing a capital city is an act of war and a textbook violation of international law. The drug-trafficking pretext has been recycled for decades to justify regime change in Latin America, and it collapses the moment you ask why none of this applies to U.S. allies with far deeper ties to narco-economies. Trump’s open talk of “running the country” and seizing oil revenue strips away the last illusion: this is about power, resources, and reasserting imperial control. If this can be normalized against Venezuela, it can be done anywhere
Agreed - this destabilizes the world order and destabilizes the idea of Western Democracy and what the UN stands for. To suggest that Trump is a President for peace is a fucking joke as is his foreign policy.
The Venezuelan government has it right - '"the objective of this attack" is to steal Venezuelan strategic resources. Trump wants to "run the country" - how outrageous. He's been pushing the envelope with Venezuela for too long and Congress has not stopped him.
Trump had promised no more unnecessary wars. He lied once again.
Trump isn't a president he's a dictator on a roll.
impeadh trump
I think it would not matter one iota who is president or what party that president would advertise. The US mafia rules, not the US people. My guts twist watching my government destroy other countries, murder their people, fabricate lies, spew propaganda. The thought of a travesty kangaroo court trial and the groveling media coverage is more than I can cope with right now. Will we stand Maduro and his wife in front of a firing squad? Send them to the Salvador mafia prison? Load them into the back of a truck in the dead of night, haul them to the swamp, machine gun them, dismembered and burn their remains or dissolve their body parts in lime?
Truth has become stranger than fiction! This is outrageous!
Thank you for reporting the truth of what’s happening on the ground. This is why I decided to subscribe.
This commentary identifies this as " A Direct Military Action" and Congress needs to have immediate hearings to question the Commander(s) of this operation to identify who ordered it, what was ordered and if this was an illegal attack, carried out by whom, to what end and sanctioned or ordered by what person (s) in this Administration. The power to make war resides with Congress and should have approval or should lead to Impeachment for those who violated their Constitutional Oath ( taken by Administrative officials and all Military personnel) and should resign or be removed from office. Those who do not call for such an accounting of this action are complicit in the actions taken and are also in violation of their oath of office.
Nobel peace prize winners don't abduct leaders of foreign countries unless they are scumbag
Materialist ,heartless, greedy , devout of feelings for human life like our egotist,vane, arrogant pigs like you donald trump! Then does explain the 34 felonies , paying $150,000 to porn star asshole you are. By the way why does Honduras president convicted of over 400 lbs. Of drugs, all of your 1/6/21 insured tore that employed get pardoned, how much ass kissing does Mandurah have to do get free!
The Trump administration has not lately had an unbroken record of successes in the judicial branch. What if Maduro is actually tried and found innocent by a jury. That would raise some hell.
The Trump/ MAGA fascist regime is criminal and illegitimate. See: https://refusefascism.org/featured-news/peoples-indictment/
Follow the money behind Trump’s grift in attacking Venezuela for its oil with this interactive map
https://thedemlabs.org/2026/01/03/venezuela-maduro-trump-grift-oil-reserves/