"The U.S. president this weekend attacked a sovereign nation, killed its citizens, and kidnapped its leader. …

It is hard not to conclude that the action is a 'wag the dog moment' aimed at distracting the public from the Epstein files, the rotten economy, and Trump’s declining health."

#Trump #Venezuela #war #military #oil #Maduro #Putin #Russia
/24

"Given his pardon of Juan Orlando Hernández, Trump's kidnapping of Nicolás Maduro cannot be regarded as a legitimate fight against drug trafficking. Rather, it's about getting a piece of the action."

~ Marcy Wheeler

#Trump #Venezuela #war #military #oil #Maduro
/26

https://www.emptywheel.net/2026/01/03/trumps-selective-drug-enforcement-in-latin-america/

"Given his pardon of Juan Orlando Hernández, Trump's kidnapping of Nicolás Maduro cannot be regarded as a legitimate fight against drug trafficking. Rather, it's about getting a piece of the action."

~ Marcy Wheeler

#Trump #Venezuela #war #military #oil #Maduro
/26

https://www.emptywheel.net/2026/01/03/trumps-selective-drug-enforcement-in-latin-america/

"It is likely concerns that this is about oil—Maduro and his predecessor Hugo Chavez nationalized oil fields in the country and Trump has repeatedly railed against 'stolen oil'—will continue to surface. On Fox News this morning, Trump said, 'When you do oil everything follow.'”

~ Joyce Vance

#Trump #Venezuela #war #military #oil #Maduro
/25

https://joycevance.substack.com/p/trump-strikes-venezuela-arrests-president

"The U.S. president this weekend attacked a sovereign nation, killed its citizens, and kidnapped its leader. …

It is hard not to conclude that the action is a 'wag the dog moment' aimed at distracting the public from the Epstein files, the rotten economy, and Trump’s declining health."

#Trump #Venezuela #war #military #oil #Maduro #Putin #Russia
/24

"The horrific attack on Venezuela overnight puts the U.S. in the same camp as Russia.

An undeclared, unprovoked, and illegal war designed to, well, we can only guess—though Donald Trump and JD Vance have seemed to concede this was a war for oil—puts the United States on the same moral and legal footing as Russia, which invaded its neighbor in a war of pure aggression."

~ Jennifer Rubin

#Trump #Venezuela #war #military #oil #Maduro #Putin #Russia
/23

https://contrarian.substack.com/p/headfirst-into-war

"This morning we learned that the felonious Trump has—without Congressional approval—illegally attacked Venezuela and captured and flown out of the country its president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores."

#Trump #Venezuela #war #military #oil #Maduro #media #crime #coup
/22

"Less than three days ago, Congress released Special Counsel Jack Smith’s powerful testimony insisting he had obtained the evidence to prove 'beyond a reasonable doubt' that Donald Trump 'engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power.'”

~ Steven Beschloss

#Trump #Venezuela #war #military #oil #Maduro #media #crime #coup
/21

https://www.americaamerica.news/p/can-we-further-weaken-trumps-criminal

@stux overwhelmingly agree but US did manage to do this without torturing civilians to death, looting their homes, and kidnapping their children (to the best of my knowledge). Also Ukraine's leadership was democratically elected, unlike Maduro. Doesn't make this in any way defensible but there are differences.

#venezuela #trump #russia #ukraine #news #war