Oil tankers depart Venezuela in ‘dark mode’ amid US blockade: Report
The Cradle | January 5, 2026
About a dozen tankers loaded with Venezuelan oil and fuel departed the country in recent days, despite a blockade imposed by US President Donald Trump as part of the pressure campaign to depose Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, TankerTrackers.com reported on 5 January.
The US military launched an operation on Friday to abduct Maduro and his wife, bringing them to the US to face trumped-up drug trafficking charges in a New York court.
Four of the departed tankers recently left Venezuelan waters through a route north of Margarita Island, TankerTrackers.com revealed, after identifying the vessels in satellite images.
At least four of the tankers had been cleared by Caracas authorities in recent days to leave Venezuelan waters, a source with knowledge of the departures’ paperwork told Reuters. The tankers traveled in “dark mode” after switching off their transponders.
According to Reuters, Venezuela’s state-run oil company PDVSA had accumulated a very large inventory of floating storage amid the US blockade imposed by Trump last month, which had brought the country’s oil exports to a standstill.
The ability of the tankers, all of which are under US sanctions, to depart the country loaded with oil will provide relief for PDVSA, which was running out of storage capacity.
Oil provides Venezuela’s primary source of revenue, making the continued export of the country’s crude crucial for maintaining stability following the US regime-change operation.
Oil minister and vice president Delcy Rodriguez now leads the country in Maduro’s absence.
It was not immediately clear if the US allowed the tankers to depart Venezuela or if they managed to break the US blockade.
Trump claimed on Saturday that the “oil embargo” on Venezuela was still in force, but said Caracas’s largest customers, including China, would keep receiving oil as long as it was paid for using dollars, not yuan.
However, Maduro’s ouster will likely [???] lead Venezuelan oil to be rerouted toward the US and away from China moving forward.
“A smooth transition in Caracas will likely result in a rapid rerouting of Venezuelan oil exports, re-establishing the US as the major buyer of the country’s volumes,” Reuters wrote on Sunday.
Pro-Israel billionaire and Trump supporter Paul Singer is expected to be the largest beneficiary of the rerouting.
In November, a judge in the US District Court in Delaware awarded the assets of PDVSA’s US subsidiary, CITGO, to Amber Energy, which is funded by Singer’s Elliott Management.
Elliot Management paid just $5.9 billion for CITGO’s assets, which include oil refineries in Texas, Louisiana, and Illinois. Estimates of the actual value of CITGO’s assets are as high as $18 billion.
CITGO’s refineries in the US were custom-built to refine Venezuela’s heavy crude, meaning that due to Trump’s regime-change operation, Singer will now be able to purchase Venezuelan oil, refine it, and sell it as fuel in the US.
Jaime Brito, an oil analyst at OPIS, said access to Venezuelan oil imports “will be a game changer for US Gulf Coast … refiners in terms of profitability.”
Venezuela Invites Trump to Build Peace and Cooperation Instead of War
teleSUR | January 4, 2026
The Venezuelan interim president Delcy Rodriguez called the US government to move toward a “a balanced and respectful international relationship” and between Venezuela and the countries of the Region, based on sovereign equality and non-interference.
Rodriguez highlighted that sovereign equality and non-interference are the principles that guide the Venezuelan diplomacy with the rest of the world.
The interim president “Venezuela reaffirms its vocation for peace and peaceful coexistence. Our country aspires to live without external threats, in an environment of respect and international cooperation. We believe that global peace is built by first ensuring the peace of each nation.”
Rodriguez extends the invitation to the US government to work together on a cooperative agenda, “oriented towards shared development, within the framework of international legality and strengthen lasting community coexistence.”
“President Donald Trump: Our people and our region deserve peace and dialogue, not war. That has always been the predicament of President Nicolás Maduro and it is the one of all Venezuela at this moment,” says Rodriguez.
The Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice ordered that Vice President Delcy Rodríguez assume the presidency of Venezuela to ensure administrative continuity and the defense of the nation, after a foreign military aggression that resulted in the abduction of President Nicolás Maduro.
The Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela, based on articles 234 and 239 of the Constitution, made a systematic interpretation to determine the applicable legal regime that guarantees the administrative continuity of the State and the defence of the nation against the forced absence of the president, considered as a material and temporary impossibility to exercise his functions.
Petro rejects narco claims, calls US strikes on Venezuela illegal
Al Mayadeen | January 5, 2026
Colombian President Gustavo Petro issued on Monday a series of sharply worded statements rejecting accusations that seek to link him or Venezuelan leaders to drug trafficking, while forcefully condemning US military aggression, political intimidation, and renewed assertion of imperial control over Latin America.
In several posts published on X, Petro responded to remarks attributed to US President Donald Trump and to broader narratives circulating in Washington in the aftermath of the US aggression on Venezuela. He argued that Colombia’s judicial archives, after decades spent confronting the world’s largest cocaine cartels, contain no evidence linking Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro or First Lady Cilia Flores to drug trafficking. According to Petro, such allegations originate primarily from figures aligned with the Venezuelan opposition rather than from any verifiable judicial findings.
Defamation rejected
Petro noted that Colombia’s judiciary functions independently of the executive branch and is largely influenced by political forces opposed to his government. Anyone genuinely seeking to understand the cocaine trade, he said, should consult Colombia’s court records rather than rely on politically motivated accusations. He added that his own name has never appeared in narcotics-related cases over more than five decades, affirming that he “deeply rejects” uninformed and defamatory claims.
He also stressed that Colombia’s experience with drug violence has been shaped not by state policy but by transnational demand, financial laundering networks, and decades of militarized counter-narcotics strategies promoted from abroad, strategies that, he implied, have failed to curb trafficking while devastating civilian populations.
Addressing personal attacks, Petro said it is unacceptable to “slander” Latin American leaders who emerged from armed struggle and later pursued peace, framing such rhetoric as political coercion aimed at delegitimizing independent leadership in the region. He referenced his own past in the M-19 movement, noting that it laid down arms and became part of Colombia’s peace process, a transition he described as a historic milestone in contemporary Latin American politics and a rare example of negotiated conflict resolution rather than foreign-imposed regime change.
Caracas under bombardment
Petro described the US aggression on Venezuela as the first time in modern history that a South American capital had been bombed by the United States, warning that such an act would remain etched in the collective memory of the continent. “Friends do not bomb one another,” he said, drawing parallels to some of the darkest episodes of 20th-century warfare.
The operation has raised particular alarm due to Washington’s open acknowledgment that it intends to administer Venezuela during a so-called transition period and to assert control over strategic sectors, including energy. Regional observers note that Venezuela’s oil infrastructure remained largely intact during the assault, a fact Petro did not ignore as he warned against war conducted in the name of justice but structured around resource access.
While explicitly rejecting retaliation, Petro argued that the events underline the urgent need for Latin America to rethink its political and economic alignments. He called for deeper regional unity, warning that without cohesion the region risks being treated as a “servant and slave” rather than as a central actor in global affairs. Petro criticized existing regional mechanisms, including the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), arguing that its absolute consensus rules allow certain leaders to preserve subservient relationships with foreign powers at the expense of collective sovereignty.
Scapegoated Dead
Petro also condemned celebratory reactions in some political circles to the bombing of Caracas, accusing them of erasing Latin America’s shared liberation history led by Simon Bolivar.
He further noted the US’ aggression resulted in civilian deaths, including that of a Colombian woman working informally in Caracas to support her daughter, a reminder, he stressed, that military interventions marketed as “precision operations” routinely exact a human toll on the most vulnerable.
Directly addressing Trump, Petro accused the US president of issuing internationally unlawful orders that led to the deaths of Colombian nationals who were later branded “narco-terrorists.” He rejected those labels as false and dehumanizing, arguing that many of the victims came from impoverished communities with no links to organized crime and were instead casualties of a long-standing policy of militarization, criminal profiling, and collective punishment.
Free speech, sovereignty, resistance
Petro defended his right to speak freely on US soil, noting that his remarks in New York and around the United Nations were protected under US law. He explained he had publicly condemned the genocide in Gaza, suggesting that his positions on Palestine, Venezuela, and US foreign policy more broadly triggered retaliatory narratives portraying him as corrupt or complicit in drug trafficking.
Rejecting those portrayals, Petro said he owns no luxury assets abroad and continues to pay for his home through his official salary. He also framed the controversy as part of a wider struggle against injustice, misinformation, and efforts to silence dissenting voices from the Global South through legal intimidation and reputational warfare.
The statements concluded with a call for respect between the Americas, invoking shared liberation traditions associated with figures such as Simón Bolívar and George Washington.
Petro warned against narratives that portray Latin America as inherently criminal, stressing that the region’s political movements are rooted in long-standing struggles for democracy, sovereignty, and social justice, not in the stereotypes imposed by external powers seeking control rather than partnership.
US Wants to Install ‘Functional Protectorate’ in Venezuela: Here Are Its Four Components
Sputnik – 05.01.2026
With Maduro out, Washington is looking to establish “four kinds of control” in Venezuela. Independent Peru-based geopolitical and economic analyst Nicolas Takayama Constantini outlines the mechanics of these measures for Sputnik.
“Operationally, it means that they will have a de facto tutelary administration,” Constantini explained. This would mean:
- “indirect political control” via a “provisional authority” or “transition council” approved by Washington, not the Venezuelan people
- technical and financial control over the oil sector, including contracts, ports and foreign currency flows
- direct control over oil revenues, either by the US Treasury, “or some entity controlled by the US”
- some form of US military or security presence, not necessarily a large one.
“So, in fact this wouldn’t be classical governance, but rather a form of functional protectorate, similar to Iraq in 2003,” the observer said.
Goal of US Operation: Seizure of Resources or Message to Rivals
“From a rational economic point of view, military intervention is not efficient. The military, political and reputational cost for the US far exceeds any potential energy gains. But it’s not only the resources,” even in Venezuela’s case (oil, gas, rare earths, tech metals, gold), Constantini said.
It’s about sending a message to Washington’s geopolitical rivals, including China, Russia and Iran, about preventing Venezuela’s resources from falling into their hands, and letting regional countries know: “if you don’t submit or make your resources available to me when I need, this will happen to you.”
“Just to have a note here, obviously the US doesn’t care about the Venezuelan interest or even the American citizens’ interest related to drug traffickers because the agencies in the US say that the main flow of drugs doesn’t come from Venezuela,” the expert added.
Venezuela Attack Signals Final Breakup of Post-WWII Order
“It’s an extremely serious precedent for the international order. It means that state sovereignty doesn’t work anymore. The head of state immunity doesn’t work anymore. It normalizes regime change by force without multilateral authorization. It reinforces the idea that power supersedes international law,” Constantini explained.
“It marks the end of what remained of international law and the international order after the Second World War… a greater militarization of foreign policy and acceleration of the global order’s fragmentation into competing blocs. This implies that other powers can do the same if they don’t consider a particular government legitimate,” the observer summed up.
Venezuela slashes oil production as US embargo halts exports
Al Mayadeen | January 5, 2026
Venezuela’s state-run oil company, PDVSA, began cutting crude output on Sunday as storage facilities reached critical capacity, a direct consequence of the comprehensive US oil embargo that has reduced exports to nearly zero.
The move adds further strain on an interim government grappling with mounting economic and political pressure.
PDVSA is shutting down oilfields and well clusters after storage facilities near capacity, with stocks of extra-heavy crude piling up. The company is also facing a shortage of diluents, essential for blending Venezuela’s heavy oil for export.
These constraints have forced the company to reduce PDVSA crude output.
Sources confirmed to Reuters that output cuts were requested at joint ventures such as CNPC’s Petrolera Sinovensa, Chevron’s Petropiar and Petroboscan, and Petromonagas. The latter, once operated jointly with Russian state-run Roszarubezhneft, is now under sole PDVSA control.
Chevron Shipments Halted Despite License
Chevron, which holds a US license to operate in Venezuela, had been an exception to the wider export freeze. However, since Thursday, its shipments have also come to a halt. Although Chevron has not yet reduced production, storage capacity is nearing its limit at key facilities such as Petropiar and Petroboscan.
No Chevron-operated tankers have left Venezuelan waters since Thursday, and if delays persist, Chevron Venezuela operations may be forced to scale back output.
Chevron stated it continues to operate “in full compliance with all relevant laws and regulations,” without providing further comment.
Political and Economic fallout from US blockade
The political landscape in Caracas remains tense following the kidnapping of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife by US forces on Saturday.
Delcy Rodriguez, Venezuela’s oil minister, has since assumed the role of interim president.
President Donald Trump declared that an “oil embargo” was fully in effect as part of a broader transition overseen by the US. The US oil embargo on Venezuela has halted tanker movements, impacted international shipments, and left the country’s oil-dependent economy under extreme duress.
Although Rodriguez stated last month that Venezuela would continue producing and exporting oil despite US sanctions, the embargo’s tightening grip has forced PDVSA to slow operations and store crude on vessels.
Export collapse and floating storage build-up
In recent weeks, PDVSA has resorted to using floating storage, loading tankers with crude and fuel as onshore capacity maxes out.
Over 17 million barrels of oil are currently stored aboard ships awaiting departure, according to TankerTrackers.com. No tankers were docked at the Jose terminal on Sunday, halting both export and domestic supply activities.
The Venezuela oil storage crisis worsened as more than 45% of the country’s 48-million-barrel onshore storage capacity was filled, forcing excess fuel oil into open-air waste pools.
Meanwhile, Venezuela’s access to diluents has been constrained. In the second half of last year, the country increased imports of naphtha and light oil from Russia to blend its heavy crude. However, these shipments began facing obstacles in December due to the US-led blockade.
Venezuela’s crude output, which stood at approximately 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd) in November with exports reaching 950,000 bpd, dropped to around 500,000 bpd last month, according to preliminary data based on shipping movements.
Venezuela’s oil production slowdown could have a domino effect, disrupting refining and the domestic fuel supply chain. This poses a serious challenge to the interim government, which relies on oil revenues to maintain basic governance and internal stability.
Israel is Having a Party After the Capture of Nicolás Maduro
José Niño Unfiltered | January 4, 2026
The recent capture of Nicolás Maduro served as a stark reminder that the true center of gravity in Western power politics is not the White House or the Pentagon, but the interests of a globally dispersed Zionist network that views nation-states as mere instruments in their quest to make the world safe for Jewish supremacy.
Israeli officials across the political spectrum rallied behind President Donald Trump’s successful operation to extract Maduro, with government ministers and opposition figures in the Israeli political establishment celebrating the move as a devastating blow to Iran’s global influence operations.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu led the praise, posting congratulations on social media that saluted Trump’s “decisive resolve and the brilliant action of your brave soldiers.” Netanyahu’s statement referenced “bold and historic leadership on behalf of freedom and justice” without explicitly naming the Venezuela operation, though the timing left little doubt about his message.
In another press conference, Netanyahu continued to praise the United States’ operation in Venezuela. He proclaimed:
“I express the full support of the Israeli government for the determined decision and decisive action of the United States regarding Venezuela.
This is about restoring freedom and justice to another region of the world.
Across Latin America, we are witnessing a historic shift — countries returning to the American axis and renewing ties with Israel.”
As previously recorded by this author, the strategic reorientation Netanyahu has mentioned is nowhere more evident than in the Isaac Accords, an initiative whose underlying objective is the normalization of a regional order that guarantees Jewish primacy in the Western Hemisphere.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar issued the most comprehensive endorsement from Tel Aviv, commending what he called America’s role as “leader of the free world” in executing the operation. Sa’ar specifically expressed hope for renewed diplomatic relations between Israel and Venezuela, which Caracas severed in 2009 over Israel’s Operation Cast Lead in Gaza.
“Israel commends the United States’ operation, led by President Trump, which acted as the leader of the free world,” Sa’ar wrote. “At this historic moment, Israel stands alongside the freedom-loving Venezuelan people, who have suffered under Maduro’s illegal tyranny.”
The foreign minister continued with pointed language about regional security threats. “Israel welcomes the removal of the dictator who led a network of drugs and terror and hopes for the return of democracy to the country and for friendly relations between the states,” he stated. “The people of Venezuela deserve to exercise their democratic rights. South America deserves a future free from the axis of terror and drugs.”
Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli from the ruling Likud Party drew the most explicit connections between Maduro’s capture and threats facing Israel, framing the operation as a direct message to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
“The capture of Nicolás Maduro is not only good news for the people dwelling in Caracas; it is also a devastating blow to the global axis of evil and a clear message to Khamenei,” Chikli declared. He elaborated on Venezuela’s alleged role in funding Iranian proxy networks. “Maduro did not run a country; he ran a criminal and drug empire that directly fueled Hezbollah and Iran.”
Chikli praised Trump’s approach as validation of hardline foreign policy. “President Trump’s decisive steps have once again proven that strong leadership is the only way to subdue dictators,” he wrote. “This is a direct battle between the values of freedom and the West and the dangerous alliance of radical Islam and communism.” He concluded simply that “the world is a safer place today.”
Opposition leader and former Prime Minister Yair Lapid of the Yesh Atid Party joined the chorus with his own warning to Tehran. “The regime in Iran should pay close attention to what is happening in Venezuela,” Lapid posted, issuing what analysts interpreted as a veiled threat amid ongoing protests in Iran over economic collapse.
Israeli security analysts view Maduro’s removal as potentially restricting Iranian Revolutionary Guard operations against Israeli targets throughout Latin America, cutting off weapons flows to the continent, and disrupting extensive oil smuggling operations between Venezuela and Iran that have helped Tehran evade sanctions.
The American political establishment, whose policies are demonstrably subservient to world Jewry, responded with equally fervent praise, viewing the capture of Nicolas Maduro as a significant strategic victory for the state of Israel.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee delivered some of the most forceful American praise for the operation, explicitly linking the Venezuela action to security concerns in his diplomatic posting. Speaking on Newsmax, Huckabee opened his reaction with religious fervor. “Well, my first reaction was to say, praise the Lord and thank you, President Trump,” the ambassador stated.
He then explained why Americans should view Venezuela through a Middle Eastern security lens. “A lot of people may not make the connection as to why this matters to us in the Middle East,” Huckabee said. “What they don’t know is that Hezbollah is very active in Venezuela.” The ambassador detailed the Iran connection that Israeli officials had emphasized. “There has been a 20-year partnership between Iran and Venezuela,” he explained. “The ties are deep, and Hezbollah operates in 12 different countries throughout South America.” In his conclusion remarks, Huckabee contended that the operation represented a global victory. “Good news for America, good news for the world,” he declared.
Welcome to Empire Judaica.
The chorus of approval from Israel and its advocates lays bare the grim reality for the American people: they are not citizens of a sovereign nation but unwitting actors in a geopolitical drama where they play supporting roles in a global imperium built for and by organized Jewry.
The US Has Invaded Venezuela to ‘Fight Drugs.’ Are Colombia and Mexico Next?
By Adam Dick | Peace and Prosperity Blog | January 4, 2026
On Saturday, United States President Donald Trump held a press conference to boast about his sending the US military hours earlier to bring destruction in Venezuela and drag off the leader of the nation’s government to America for incarceration and prosecution. It was all done in the name of fighting the war on drugs, though few people give much credit to the Trump administration’s repeated assertion that Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro was a drug kingpin responsible for a major share of fentanyl or cocaine shipments into America.
The US government, Trump declared, will “run” Venezuela for an undefined “period of time” that Trump declined to rule out, in answer to a question, could be measured in years. While the US is doing that, be prepared for Trump also to potentially direct the US military to invade at least two additional countries in the Western Hemisphere.
In October, I wrote about how Trump appeared to be making demands and taking actions preparatory for the US going to war in three countries — Venezuela, Colombia, and Mexico. The common reason given for taking military action in each country has been the same — advancing the US government’s war on drugs.
The current status is one down, at least two to go. While already bogged down in Venezuela, the next step may be for the US to proceed to attack two more Western Hemisphere countries. Indeed, during the press conference, Trump continued with comments suggesting both Colombia and Mexico are under threat from the US government’s drug war. In particular, Trump reaffirmed his previous declaration that Colombia President Gustavo Petro has “got to watch his ass” while accusing him of making cocaine and sending it into America, criticized the “cartels operating along our border” in reference to Mexico, and said more broadly that “we will crash the cartels.” One important question to consider is how much America may also crash due to the strain of military intervention in the Western Hemisphere.
Israeli police shoot dead Palestinian from Bedouin village in Negev
MEMO | January 4, 2026
Israeli police shot dead a Palestinian from the Bedouin village of Al-Tarabin in the Negev early Sunday, local media reported.
Al-Tarabin is an unrecognized Palestinian Bedouin village located in the Negev Desert in southern Israel.
According to the daily Yedioth Ahronoth, a special police unit and soldiers from the “National Guard” raided the village to arrest Mohammed Hussein Tarabin for his alleged involvement in acts of vandalism against property in nearby Israeli settlements.
The National Guard is a security force formed by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and is viewed by the Israeli opposition as a militia under his direct authority.
The newspaper quoted Tarabin’s family as saying that police shot their son “without cause.”
“He is an ordinary man with seven children. There was no need to kill him,” the family said.
“For them (the police), this is a great achievement to please Ben-Gvir, who dances on Arab blood. The situation is dangerous, the behavior of the police is unacceptable, and they must leave the area or they will bear responsibility for anything that happens.”
Ben-Gvir, for his part, said on the US social media company X that he supported the police’s conduct in Al-Tarabin village, claiming that “Mohammed Tarabin” was a “dangerous criminal.”
The Negev Bedouin Leadership condemned the killing and called for Ben-Gvir’s dismissal.
It called for an investigation into the circumstances of the killing and bringing those responsible to justice.
Tens of thousands of Bedouins live in dozens of unrecognized villages in the Negev, with Israeli authorities denying them access to water, electricity, infrastructure, schools and medical clinics.
Trump Says Venezuelan Vice President Will Pay Higher Price Than Maduro if She Disobeys US
Sputnik – 04.01.2026
US President Donald Trump warned on Sunday that Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez might have to pay an even higher price than Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro if she did not make the “right” decisions.
Trump said on Saturday that the US would not send troops to Venezuela if Rodriguez did what Washington wanted from her. The US leader claimed that Rodriguez was willing to cooperate with the US.
“If she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro,” Trump said in a telephone interview with the Atlantic magazine.
Trump also said that the US “absolutely” needed Greenland as the Danish island is allegedly surrounded by Chinese and Russian ships.
“We do need Greenland, absolutely,” Trump said.
The island, which is part of Denmark, a NATO ally, is allegedly “surrounded by Russian and Chinese ships,” the US president added.
Climate extremists claim responsibility for blackout affecting 50,000 households
RT | January 4, 2026
A group of self-described climate activists has claimed responsibility for a massive power outage that hit five districts in southwestern Berlin, saying the action targeted the fossil fuel industry and “the rich.”
Up to 50,000 households and 2,200 commercial entities were affected by the blackout in the early hours of Saturday, a spokesman for the local electricity provider, Stromnetz Berlin, told the Berliner Zeitung. “Full restoration of power supply” is expected no sooner than January 8, according to the company. The residents of the affected areas would have to remain without power in “freezing temperatures” ranging from -7C to -1C, the paper reported.
Police are treating the incident as a targeted arson attack, according to local media. The blackout was caused by a blaze that hit a power bridge over the Teltow Canal, which goes through the southern part of the city. Several nursing homes and elderly care centers had to be evacuated because of the incident, according to a local fire department. No casualties have been reported in connection to the incident.
Police also said they had received a letter signed by the “Volcano Group” on Saturday evening, in which the climate activists and anti-Fascists claimed responsibility for the incident. The group blamed the industrial extraction of natural resources for the “destruction” of Earth and that humanity “can no longer afford the rich.” The group then said they had “successfully sabotaged” a gas power plant, adding that their action was “socially beneficial” and targeted the fossil fuel industry.
The regional office of the German domestic security service was verifying the letter’s authenticity, according to the police.
According to the Berliner Zeitung, the group had carried out similar attacks in the past. They claimed responsibility for the sabotage of two power cables in southeastern Berlin in September. That attack also left around 50,000 households without power at the time.
USA seizes Maduro, but nothing is guaranteed regarding Venezuela’s future
By Raphael Machado | Strategic Culture Foundation | January 4, 2026
Following an operation that began at 2:00 AM Caracas time, U.S. special forces undertook the seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores and extracted them from the country. The operation lasted only 30 minutes and involved little more than a handful of helicopters, operating very close to the ground.
The U.S. government and its supporters reacted with euphoria to the operation’s “great feat.” Donald Trump stated that only the USA could do something like this.
Nevertheless, so far, the event resembles more of a propaganda fireworks display than a great military feat. And this is because the extraction appears to have taken place, by all indications, without any opposition from the Venezuelan state.
For months – since tensions between the USA and Venezuela intensified – there has been speculation about the existence of secret negotiations between Maduro and Trump. Newspapers like the New York Times, in fact, reported that Maduro had offered “everything” to Trump, but that he had refused the various offers.
Several other negotiations are said to have occurred, including an offer for Maduro’s exit, but with the maintenance of the Bolivarian system in power and with U.S. co-participation in the exploitation of Venezuelan oil alongside PDVSA. Supposedly, the USA would have refused these offers.
It is also important to point out that at least since November 2025, the Brazilian and Colombian governments have been trying to convince Nicolás Maduro to resign. The important Brazilian businessman and lobbyist Joesley Batista, who is an ally of both Lula and, today, of Trump, is said to have traveled to Caracas to negotiate an exit for Maduro. Supposedly, without success.
And yet, the fact remains: any portable anti-aircraft system, like a MANPAD, could have shot down any of the Apaches used in the operation. But none were used. In fact, there is no evidence of the use of Venezuelan defensive systems during the operation. The official narrative says they were all simply “deactivated.” This might perhaps explain the inaction of the BUKs, but not the absence of use of other systems.
Furthermore, we have not seen signs similar to those in Syria, with the mass desertion of military personnel. Padrino López and Diosdado Cabello, respectively Ministers of Defense and Interior, have full control over the Armed Forces and the Bolivarian National Guard. The streets are, by all indications, calm. There are no celebrations by oppositionists, nor any movement by the opposition in general.
Perhaps Maduro’s removal was, in fact, negotiated. But not necessarily with Maduro himself. It is impossible, however, to point decisively to someone responsible for this. In a purely technical sense, naturally, the primary responsibilities would fall on Venezuelan counterintelligence and Maduro’s personal security apparatus – but, in this case, it may have simply been a matter of failure, more than betrayal.
Now, it is premature to properly speak of a “regime change” in Venezuela.
In his statements to the press immediately after the operation, Donald Trump stated that the USA would conduct a “political transition” in Venezuela; but there is, truly, no U.S. presence in Venezuela at this moment. Whoever expects a takeover by María Corina Machado is mistaken: Trump has already ruled her out, considering her inept due to her lack of popularity with the Venezuelan people. On the contrary, he seems satisfied with dealing with Delcy Rodríguez, who has already assumed Venezuelan leadership, supported by consensus by Chavista governors, ministers, and generals.
Trump claims that Rodríguez would be willing to collaborate completely with the USA and, in practice, “hand over” Venezuelan oil. But all public statements from Venezuela so far go in the direction of condemning the seizure, demanding Maduro’s return, and emphasizing that Venezuela will resist Trump’s ambitions. In other words, there exists a problematic gap between Trump’s declarations and what is really happening in Venezuela.
Naturally, the possibility is not excluded, for example, of a potential “backroom deal,” allowing the USA to operate in the Venezuelan oil sector, with Chavismo maintained in power in Caracas. Maduro’s fate in a negotiation of this type remains open. Everything is possible, from the death penalty to exile, including a prison sentence with eventual release.
The main political actor in Venezuela, however, is the armed forces, not the PSUV, nor even Maduro. And regardless of the arrangement reached and Venezuela’s near political future, this is unlikely to change.
What is evident, however, is that we have here a significant change in the international panorama. The USA treated the operation as a “police action” – Maduro is being indicted for crimes ranging from drug trafficking to possession of machine guns (!) in violation of U.S. firearms legislation (!!), treating Venezuelan territory, in practice, as if it were U.S. territory.
The mutual recognition between countries as sovereign states and, therefore, legitimate belligerents in case of conflict, implying obedience to certain rules of engagement, constitutes a significant achievement of civilizations. The criminalization of foreign sovereigns opens the door to savagery and to unlimited conflicts devoid of rules of civility.
But beyond this dimension of a return to the same mentality of the piracy era, it becomes quite clear that appeals to International Law and the UN are, today, of little effectiveness.
The world is being redrawn into spheres of influence, and only military might and the willingness to use it seem to be effective barriers against foreign interventions.
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Elite Western universities are a corrupt, parasitic empire
Instead of high-quality education, these institutions are fostering a global neo-feudal system reminiscent of the British Raj
By Dr. Mathew Maavak | RT | May 30, 2025
In a move that has ignited a global uproar, US President Donald Trump banned international students from Harvard University, citing “national security” and ideological infiltration. The decision, which has been widely condemned by academics and foreign governments alike, apparently threatens to undermine America’s “intellectual leadership and soft power.” At stake is not just Harvard’s global appeal, but the very premise of open academic exchange that has long defined elite higher education in the US.
But exactly how ‘open’ is Harvard’s admissions process? Every year, highly qualified students – many with top-tier SAT or GMAT test scores – are rejected, often with little explanation. Critics argue that behind the prestigious Ivy League brand lies an opaque system shaped by legacy preferences, DEI imperatives, geopolitical interests, and outright bribes. George Soros, for instance, once pledged $1 billion to open up elite university admissions to drones who would read from his Open Society script.
China’s swift condemnation of Trump’s policy added a layer of geopolitical irony to the debate. Why would Beijing feign concern for “America’s international standing” amid a bitter trade war? The international standing of US universities has long been tarnished by a woke psychosis which spread like cancer to all branches of the government.
So, what was behind China’s latest gripe? ... continue
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Aletho News- American Academy of Pediatrics Hit With Federal RICO Lawsuit for Vaccine Safety Fraud
- Mom Tells Trump: Dumping Sewage Sludge on Farmland Won’t Make America Healthy Again
- NIAID Funds Gain-of-Function Study Engineering Novel Influenza Viruses
- Villains of Judea: Philip Esformes and the Largest Healthcare Fraud in American History
- US sanctions Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad over alleged Hamas links
- You reap what you sow: Ukraine’s blackout is Zelensky’s failure
- Ukraine Blackouts Caused by Zelensky’s Terrorist Attacks on Russia
- Orban Hits Out at EU Green Light for $1.5 Trillion Ukraine Aid
- World has had enough of confused clowns: Araghchi to Zelensky
- Jordan using Israeli software to monitor journalists, rights defenders: Report
- If Americans Knew
- Oppose Israel’s Abuses While You Still Can
- UNRWA Heads Tell Ha’aretz: ‘We Don’t Radicalize Palestinians – Their Lived Existence Does’
- Plans Call for “New Rafah” Built in Israel’s Image — Without Palestinians
- Posing as priest, reporter is spat at many times, highlighting anti-Christian sentiment in Israel
- Leaked Documents: “Planned Community” in Rafah Would Force Palestinians Into Israeli Panopticon
- ‘Permits of Humiliation’: How Israel Strangles Christian Education in Jerusalem
- “The world sees death, destruction and injustice – and they see dollar signs” – Not a ceasefire Day 105
- War criminal Netanyahu kills 11 in Gaza, joins Board of Peace – Not a ceasefire Day 104
- Another baby dies of cold in Gaza, as Rafah crossing remains locked down – Not a ceasefire Day 103
- Brutal Beatings, Arson, and Impunity: A Palestinian Plant Nursery Becomes a Target for Settler Pogroms
- No Tricks Zone
- New Study: Sea Levels Rose 20 Times The Modern Rate During The Roman Warm Period
- As German Gas Storage Dips Dangerously Low…Shortage Hardly Avoidable
- New Study: Brazil’s Relative Sea Level Was 2+ Meters Higher And SSTs 3-4°C Warmer 6000 Years Ago
- Philosopher Schopenhauer: Climate Science Certainty Stems From Stupidity, Ignorance
- New Study: Species Extinction Rates Declining Since 1980 – ‘Climate Change Is Not An Important Threat’
- Denmark Places Climate Protection Above Animal Welfare, Poisoning And Culling Cows
- New Study: Greenland Was 3-7°C Warmer And Far Less Glaciated Than Today 6000-8000 Years Ago
- German Media Report That Current Frigid Weather Can Be Explained By Arctic Warming!
- Berlin Blackout Shows Germany’s $5 Trillion Green Scheme Is “Left-Green Ideological Pipe Dream”
- Modeling Error In Estimating How Clouds Affect Climate Is 8700% Larger Than Alleged CO2 Forcing
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