In an extraordinary military operation, the United States launched a large-scale military operation in Caracas, Venezuela with special forces seizing President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. There is a pending 2020 indictment of Maduro in the Southern District of New York where he is expected to be taken to face prosecution.
The operation comes not long after the 37th anniversary of the capture of Manuel Antonio Noriega on December 20, 1989. Noriega was convicted of drug and money laundering offenses and sentenced to 40 years in prison. He was tried in Miami, Florida.
He was indicted in a four-count superseding indictment with Diosdado Cabello Rondón, 56, head of Venezuela’s National Constituent Assembly; Hugo Armando Carvajal Barrios aka “El Pollo,” 59, former director of military intelligence; Clíver Antonio Alcalá Cordones, 58, former General in the Venezuelan armed forces; Luciano Marín Arango aka “Ivan Marquez,” 64, a member of the FARC’s Secretariat, which is the FARC’s highest leadership body; and Seuxis Paucis Hernández Solarte aka “Jesús Santrich,” 53, a member of the FARC’s Central High Command, which is the FARC’s second-highest leadership body.
This operation will be justified as executing the criminal warrant and responding to an international drug cartel, a very similar legal framework to the one used against Noriega. There is precedent supporting that earlier operation, which will now be used to defend the actions in Venezuela.
Here is part of the earlier description from the Justice Department of the indicted conduct:
“Maduro helped manage and ultimately lead the Cartel of the Suns, a Venezuelan drug-trafficking organization comprised of high-ranking Venezuelan officials. As he gained power in Venezuela, Maduro participated in a corrupt and violent narco-terrorism conspiracy with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. Maduro negotiated multi-ton shipments of FARC-produced cocaine; directed the Cartel of the Suns to provide military-grade weapons to the FARC; coordinated with narcotics traffickers in Honduras and other countries to facilitate large-scale drug trafficking; and solicited assistance from FARC leadership in training an unsanctioned militia group that functioned, in essence, as an armed forces unit for the Cartel of the Suns. In March 2020, Maduro was charged in the Southern District of New York for narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.”
Democratic members quickly denounced the operation as unlawful. They may want to review past cases, particularly the decision related to the Noriega prosecution after his capture by President George H.W. Bush in 1989.
Representative Jim McGovern (D., Mass) declared:
“Without authorization from Congress, and with the vast majority of Americans opposed to military action, Trump just launched an unjustified, illegal strike on Venezuela. He says we don’t have enough money for healthcare for Americans—but somehow we have unlimited funds for war??”
Trump does not need congressional approval for this type of operation. Presidents, including Democratic presidents, have launched lethal attacks regularly against individuals. President Barack Obama killed an American citizen under this “kill list” policy. If Obama can vaporize an American citizen without even a criminal charge, Trump can capture a foreign citizen with a pending criminal indictment without prior congressional approval.
Ordinarily, the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and other international agreements require the United States to notify the embassy of a foreign national arrested and held in the United States. Notice seems a tad superfluous in this case.
In his appeal, Noriega argued that his arrest violated international law under the head-of-state immunity doctrine. The district court rejected Noriega’s head-of-state immunity claim because the United States government never recognized Noriega as Panama’s legitimate ruler — an argument that will be made in the Maduro prosecution.
The United States for the Eleventh Circuit also rejected the immunity claim.
Noriega also argued that his capture violated the Treaty Providing for the Extradition of Criminals, May 25, 1904, United States of America-Republic of Panama, 34 Stat. 2851 (“U.S.-Panama Extradition Treaty”). The Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Alvarez-Machain, 504 U.S. 655 (1992), however, was found to bar this argument. The issue was whether he was abducted to the United States with a superseding extradition treaty. The Eleventh Circuit held:
The article of the U.S.-Panama Extradition Treaty upon which Noriega relies for his extradition treaty claim contains almost the same language as the provision of the U.S.-Mexico Extradition Treaty at issue in Alvarez-Machain. See U.S.-Panama Extradition Treaty, art. 5 (“Neither of the contracting parties shall be bound to deliver up its own citizen or subject ․”)…
Under Alvarez-Machain, to prevail on an extradition treaty claim, a defendant must demonstrate, by reference to the express language of a treaty and/or the established practice thereunder, that the United States affirmatively agreed not to seize foreign nationals from the territory of its treaty partner. Noriega has not carried this burden, and therefore, his claim fails.
The Noriega case offers ample support for the Trump Administration, which has had an outstanding arrest warrant for over five years. He is not viewed as the duly elected leader of Venezuela and has been tied to a criminal drug cartel.
The action will also have a major impact on foreign policy. The Monroe Doctrine just became the Trump Doctrine. This action not only confronted Venezuela but also Cuba, which was supplying the security around Maduro. Presumably, Cuban security may have been involved in the firefight. While cutting off vital oil to Cuba, the Trump Administration just delivered a blow against the Cuban regime — arguably one of the most stinging defeats since crushing the Cuban forces in Grenada in 1983.
Legally, Trump has the upper hand in this case. Maduro will replay the arguments from the Noriega case. However, he presents an even weaker case on the merits under the controlling precedent than did Noriega.
N.B.: This column also appeared on Fox.com
On Monday morning, any member of Congress (only 1 member out of 535 members) could file a constitutional lawsuit overturning Executive Branch authority (Article 2 powers) that violates the Article 1 powers of Congress.
Such a lawsuit would constitutionalize the war powers abuses by presidents of either party. The 21st Century abuses of powers, by both parties, mandate these reforms.
Based on American history, regime change and nation building require American boots on the ground.
Thank you professor Turley for pointing out the legalities and past precedents that may apply.
I agree, Mr. Upstate Farmer. Perhaps tomorrow’s Sunday morning political shows will delve into this, -but by that time, the world would already have been inundated with MSM’s take on what transpired without the context that Turley gives it.
Given the obsessive determination of judges and juries in the SDNY to protect any criminal brought to justice before them by the Trump administration, perhaps Trump first should have brought identical or similar indictments in a different district – perhaps in Florida.
Not that the drug addled Democrat trolls that post here would have posted anything different than they are posting now if he had done that.
If a non-nuclear state like Ukraine is not afraid of fighting a nuclear state like Russia,
then a nuclear state like the United States, France, or U.K. should not be afraid of fighting Russia, either.
To claim that it would start a war to take measures to end a war is absurd.
That’s like claiming that the invasion of Normandy could lead to World War 2.
Oh, they are afraid of fighting. Just look at all those military aged males who fled to other counties before Zelensky’s press gangs could conscript those military aged males into service. IIRC, Poland offered to deport all those military aged males back to the Ukraine to fight rather than hide in Poland and sucking up Poland resources.
Kinda like the American boys who fled to Canada during Vietnam. Were you one?
Vietnam, before my time.
I served in the US military. I have a DD-214 under honorable conditions.
ATS – We have had proxy fights with Nuclear states since the creation of the Nuclear bomb.
We have gone to extreme lengths to avoid DIRECT confrontations with nuclear states.
Regardless, the US has no national security interest in the Russia Ukraine conflict.
Washington advised us to stay out of the regional conflicts in the rest of the world.
They are not our business.
We can hope that Ukraine defeats Putin – we can call Putin a tyrant and evil.
But we have no business going to war with Russia even if they weren’t a nuclear power.
Conversely Europe does. European nations should not only be providing Ukraine weapons, but sending Ulraine soldiers to fight Russia.
This is in their National Security interests – NOT ours.
The Japanese attacked the US to drag us into WWII, and Germany declared war on the US – putting us at war with Germany.
It is likely that FDR would have found a way to bring the US into the European war – and we did have national interests at stake in that conflict.
We like to claim we were fighting for freedom and against evil.
But at the end of WWII we left half of Europe occupied by the USSR with far less freedom than at the start of the war.
Can you prove that it’s not in our interest, instead of just saying that it’s not?
I do not decide this – REALITY does.
Ukraine is not a major US trade partner,
She is not even in the same hemisphere.
Russia is not sending Drugs and terrorists to the US.
Ukraine is in Europes interests.
NOT the US.
Idiot.
My take is that both Maduro and Petro in Columbia are actually cooperating with Trump (or being forced to) to get rid of the drug cartels that control their countries. This is a play acted out for the benefit of the rules-based international order crowd (listen to them whine). I think Trump is serious about his Trump(Monroe) Doctrine and that South American leaders like Maduro have seen the handwriting on the wall. We’ll see. Trump is the only person on the planet with balls enough to adopt this strategy and carry it out. If I’m right no physical harm will happen to Maduro. He’ll be placed somewhere in a luxury suite until operations have been completed. My guess is that South and Central American leaders are just as sick of these psycho drug, child, and arms – running criminals as we are. Trump is also using these operations to root out the U.S. criminals in agencies like the ATF and at Fort Huachuca, the Army Intel center. Maybe I’m crazy but I see Trump acting for the benefit of the good guys. Trump is the man!!!
Trump is serious about the Monroe Doctrine. Further it fits with the inevitable realignment of the world that has been occuring slowly since the collapse of the USSR.
Increasingly Europe, The Mideast and Africa are irrelevant to the US.
Increasingly our interests are in the Western Hemisphere and the Pacific rim.
Issues in Europe the mideast and Africa are European interests – not US interests.
We do not need Mideastern oil any more – Europe does.
The resoruces we need are all easily found in the western hemisphere.
Further Mexico and South America are joining the first world.
The best way to stop illegal immigration is for these countries to continue to have rising standards of living.
This is a huge factor regarding Venezuella.
While alot is mentioned right now regarding Drugs and oil – those are artifacts of the failure of socialism in Venezuela.
Prior to Chavez Venezuela had the highest standard of living in South America. It was a manufacturing center shipping goods to the US and Europe.
Trump wants Venezuelans to return to Venezuela – that becomes far more attractive with the Maduro socialist regime gone.
The Monroe Doctrine concerns Europe establishing colonies in the Americas and, in exchange, the US would not establish colonies elsewhere. Since Venezuela isn’t a colony, the Monroe Doctrine has no place in the discussion. It gets trotted out as a default and unreasoned excuse for those who did not pay attention in history class who think it means that it was intended to mean the US can take over any country at any time.
“The Monroe Doctrine concerns Europe establishing colonies in the Americas and, in exchange, the US would not establish colonies elsewhere. ”
While litterally close to correct,
You are still incorrect.
The Monroe doctrine was the nascent US staking out is domain of influence.
Currently Venezuela was in arrangements with China, Cuba, Russia and Iran at odds with US interests.
Post Monroe the US did NOT establish colonies in the Western Hemisphere – the US has never been a colonial power.
The Monroe doctrine cited european powers – because there were no other consequential world powers Outside of Europe.
The Monroe doctrine did not address Russia, Iran, or China – because they were not world powers
“the Monroe Doctrine has no place in the discussion.”
Of course it does.
“It gets trotted out as a default and unreasoned excuse for those who did not pay attention in history class who think it means that it was intended to mean the US can take over any country at any time.”
Beat the crap out of that straw man.
The Monroe doctrine was as muscular as the Nascent US was capable of at the time.
It was limited to Europe – because there were no consequential world powers acting in the western hemisphere at that time.
It was NOT about Colonies, but about the projection of power. Monroe told the world that the US would stay out of conflicts between world powers outside the Western Hemisphere. Obviously decades later we were strong enough to ignore that commitment.
WE also promised to leave existing European colonies in the western hemisphere alone.
How well did that work out for Spain ?
The principle behind the Monroe doctring is not about the US invading anyone.
But it is a giant F#$K OFF to other world powers seeking to play in the western hemisphere.
And as the US became more powerful that went from “pretty please” to evicting Spain from the western Hemisphere.
You can disagree with the message of the Monroe doctrine.
But your distaste for the message does not change the message.
What if the Chicoms are slowly and actively colonizing South, Central and North America? Take a trip sometime and look around…
While you were sleeping.
Probably a good time to reread “War Is A Racket” by Smedley Butler.
“Probably a good time to reread “War Is A Racket” by Smedley Butler.” Great book for explaining why we ever got involved in WWII, Afghanistan, etc! Butler’s the GOAT!
Probably a good time to remember that there is no whore more sanctimonious and religious than a retired whore while reading Butler’s writings… and I’ve not heard of one of them attempting to make amends by donating their bank accounts/pensions/etc they earned by years of working as whores.
Was Smedly Butler the first to do that as a means of making amends for his professional career?
” . . . Trump just launched an unjustified, illegal strike on Venezuela.”
Why is the Left against dictators — unless the person is an actual dictator?
Tucker and Trump have cozied up to Putin.
sigh. Svelaz struck out yet again last night at the gay bath houses of West Hollywood in Los Angeles. No one wanted to cozy up with him. Svelaz, perhaps you’ll get luckier tonight where the gay prostitutes and Democrat crystal meth dealers hang out ? We keep pulling for you bruh!
“Tucker and Trump have cozied up to Putin.”?????? Is that you Bolshevik Barack, famous for your Big Red Putin Reset Button? Same Obama caught on a hot mic promising Putin that, if he would stay quiet until he was successfully reelected, he’d look the other way while Putin replayed his previous invasions of Georgia and Chechnia?
Same Bolshevik Barack who watched Putin put $30+ MILLION dollars into the pockets of his Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, while she was negotiating with Putin on behalf of Americans!
Nothing To See Here, Please Believe Us, Don’t Believe Your Lying Eyes™
Anonymous, we’ve heard this cozied up to Putin story before. I would suggest that you don’t trot it out again. It made you look crazy then and it makes you look crazy now. One would think that because of your love for socialism you would be rejoicing if Trump cozied up to Putin.
I understand. Knowing your own mind is a hard thing to do.
While I do have some serious reservations about how this action does, or does not, comport with original intent, Turley cites ample precedent on the recent historical record (especially Obama whacking a US citizen without receiving so much as a slap on the wrist for that) to uphold it, at least for now. I also have no issue whatsoever with the practical results: Maduro deposed; pressure increased on Marxist Cuba. I read yesterday that Xi and his CCP was sending two oil tankers at full speed towards Venezuela to challenge the US blockade; it will be very interesting to see how this action affected their calculus for that move. My bet is that they back off, at least for the present.
There can be arguments made against Trump’s actions – but not be those who supported the invasion of Irag or the efforts at nation building in Afghanistan or the use of drones to kill americans or Bush’s operation just cause.
If you opposed all of those – you have grounds to condemn Trump’s actions in Venezuela.
“If you opposed all of those – you have grounds to condemn Trump’s actions in Venezuela.”
I did oppose all of those, as they happened. However, while I have some questions and reservations, I am not condemning Trump’s actions at this point in time. At least this is occurring in our hemisphere, where a case can be made that it directly affects our national interests.
The irony here is that Maduro and his wife will be tried in the US District Court for the Southern District of NY, which is just a short stroll from where Mandani, the “Democrat-Socialist” mayor, was sworn in the other day. This may give us a glimpse of the “warmth of collectivism” that New Yorkers cheered as witnesses and victims tell their stories in court about Maduro.
“The irony here is that Maduro and his wife will be tried in the US District Court for the Southern District of NY”
Is there a roster of activist left judges in that court, as there is in so many NY Federal courtrooms? If so, this may come to naught.
I wondered that, too.
I am rather certain he and his wife will be tried in Miami. There are ways. . . .
The Democrat’s response to this action indicates the very low quality of the legal education of the seeming majority of their elected “lawgivers.” This is proof of their unfitness for elected or judicial office.
Using Trump math, we just saved the lives of 6 billion Americans.
Using totalitarian communist principles, Biden’s fellow racist and Uncle Tom, enigmainblackracism, is grieving a fellow communist totalitarian losing the leadership of a nation he obtained by stealing an election.
Even worse, he calculates this ending of Maduro enabling drug cartels will save the lives of thousands of American honkies.
enemainblackcom flatulates, again.
I think you meant squirts Diogenese…🎱
😀
Do those of you on the left truly wish to tied your self to boat anchors like Maduro or Abrego Garcia or TdA or criminals or human trafickers or drug dealers.
The Regime in Venzeulla has likely fallen, hopefully to be replaced by something other than the disaster of socialism.
It is unlikely the US will actively do anything to topple Cuba – but the socialist govenrment of Cuba’s days are numbered.
While the Venzeuellan Drug trafficking was a major problem for the US, more importantly was its use as a fascility to launder Russian and Irainian oil to get it into the international markets.
And Cuba was proping up Maduro with forces, in return for Maduro providing money and oil to Cuba – which it desparately needed with the collapse of the USSR.
We do not know how much longer Cuba can continue to function – but it is a small number of years at most – not decades.
It appears that The Ayatolahs will be out of Iran in days, but if not – this will happen again and again until they are finally gone.
Regardless these vile regimes throughout the world have their days numbered.
I would have prefered if Maduro had taken up the offer of Asylum in the mideast. Rather than having the US wste time an effort trying him.
But hopefully Venezuella will have sane government shortly.
And after that Iran and then Cuba.
Just so we’re on the same page, what percent of drugs entering America come from Venezuela and while we’re at it, can you justify the claim 25,000 American lives are saved with the bombing of each boat?
You must not be among those not wanting America involved in countless foreign wars.
The cocaine is being made and is coming out of Columbia, Bolivia, Peru and Venezuela. One method of several is for transport up the chain from Venezuela and Columbia into the Carribean islands, DR BVI and AVI. Offloading there often to smaller more inconspicuous boats or planes and then over to PR and Cuban waters to be moved into the USA via Louisiana, Texas and Florida. This isn’t a countless foreign war, it’s shutting down the pipeline.
We are not on the same page – your off in lala land.
The issue is NOT Drugs – and it is not oil. Though those are both Bonus’s.
It is that the Maduro Regime was Actively engaged in unconventional warfare against the US.
Drugs were a part of that. So were many other things – including flooding the US with Venezuelan criminal gangs.
The issue was also not socialism – though ridding the world of another failed socialist regime is also a bonus.
The issue is also not Venezeulla propping up the failed socialist regime in Cuba – which is likely to topple sooner as a result of this.
The isue is also not Russia and Iran using Venezeulla to “Launder” globally sanctioned oil. Though again that is a bonus and is likely a major factor in the likely fall of the ayatolha’s in Iran and will put more pressure on Russia to negotiate for peace with Ukraine.
Russia has been teetering on the edge of having the Siberian pipelines Freeze due to lack of oil exports.
They have shutdown production in warmer fields as a result in frastic cuts in global demand for Russian oil.
When the Siberian pipelines slow sufficient – the oil will freeze rightt down into the well heads.
It took Russia a decade to recover the last time that occured.
Further no nation but the US has the technology and experience needed to deal with oil infrastructure in the Arctic.
It is also True that the US is in the middle of an inevitable restructuring of global priorities and interests.
Trump embraces this shift and is accelerating it, but he did not cause it.
His embrace is part of the animousity of the deep state for him.
Increasingly Russia is not important to the US
Europe is not important to the US
The mideast is not important to the US
Africa is not important to the US.
But the western hemisphere and the pacific rim are of increasing importance to the US.
None of these are the driving factor. That is purely Maduro’s unconventional war with the US.
But all of them are side benefits.
Taking Trump Seriously, Not Literally
By Salena Zito
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/09/trump-makes-his-case-in-pittsburgh/501335/
Salena Zito, writing for The Atlantic in September 2016, may have been the first to describe, in a triumph of pithy efficiency, why Donald Trump is able to survive and thrive despite provocative statements that would endanger the career of nearly any other politician: “When he makes claims like this, the press takes him literally, but not seriously; his supporters take him seriously, but not literally.”
Cuba is in economic trouble because the US has an economic blockade in place. The downfall has been predicted for almost 70 years.
Abrego Garcia is a red herring. There’s no evidence he committed any crime besides being brought to the US as a 12 year old child.
Agrego, you’re so clever! Did you type this or did your wife between beatings?
Garcia’s trial for human trafficking will start in TN very shortly.
In prior Deportation hearings the immigration courts found that Garcia was engaged in criminal conduct in the US.
Garcia did not appeal those findings and they are now Facts as a matter of law.
Garcia was not “brought to the US as a 12 year old child” he came to the US at 16 on his own.
He claims to escape El Salvadoran gangs. but there is plenty of evidence that he participated in Criminal Gang activity in the US.
Regardless, this is another of those wonderful lose-lose issues for democrats.
Every win you get in courts – make you and the courts you win in look politically corrupt.
Meanwhile 900K+ illegal immigrants were deported in 2025 and another 1.2M self deported.
While the left spins its wheels fighting for a gang banger.
Please. Please keep “winning” over Garcia. The more he is in the news the WORSE the left looks.
Saved American lives like no one has ever seen before, even more than it was possible to imagine.
It appears that a blind squirrel eventually finds a nut. Not to worry, Trump will get back to doing his usual damage of America in a moment. He’s got to do something to distract from the fact that he’s in contempt of the order to turn over the Epstein files.
Epstein, Schlepstein.
Was Germany covered by the Monroe Doctrine?
Pearl Harbor superseded the Monroe Doctrine. Perhaps expanded would be a better word.
Dear liberal dingbats, compare Biden in Afghanistan and Trump in Venezuela and eat your hearts out. Joe was incompetent the day he was born, and Obama never did anything but encourage our enemies. Think about it.
The easy part in Venezuela has been done (which BTW is hard for anybody else, including Putin, Xi, and Democrats), but are we talking about a limited operation or an occupation? The Venezuelan ghettos can’t be trusted any more than juries in NYC.
There are some people you just can’t help, and that should set a limit in what we can do. Let’s be careful about mission creep. I’m still disappointed by how the Skull & Bones gang handled “Mission Accomplished.”
Maduro is the one guy Democrats are willing to deport 😀
Whatever happened to the guy that ran against Maduro? I am sure the CIA has been keeping him on ice somewhere. I have to believe they will recycle him in for the new #1. The oil oligarchs will soon be slicing up the pie and begin pumping money into Venezuela and that will make life better for the people. Time will tell.
I hope so. Would be nice if this problem took care of itself.
“. . . to the *guy* that ran against Maduro?” (emphasis added)
*Her* name is Machado. She actually won the presidential election in Venezuela. And the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize.
Sam, she’s a dissident, not the one who ran against Maduro and who the international community overwhelmingly believes won that election. She does have a bigger set of balls than any Democrat troll here, and in particular the Democrat gelding known as X.
“. . . not the one who ran against Maduro . . .”
Yes and no.
Machado overwhelmingly won the 2024 opposition primary. Then Maduro banned her from running for the presidency. Then she backed the substitute candidate — a man, Edmundo González. He won. Maduro’s putsch wiped that out, too.
So in reality, she did run against Maduro. And she did win.
Sam
I believe there was a man candidate that won prior to their last version of our 2020 election. He won handily as I recall, however Maduro thwarted his win claiming corruption. Good to know he was beaten again in their most recent election and by a woman no less in Latino Machoworld.
“Maduro thwarted his win claiming corruption”
Which sounds like a claim by some other candidate. Who was that? Donald something something?
Bada Bing. Feel better now?
Edmundo González was the winner. María Corina Machado was a candidate in the past and is a recent recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.
“María Corina Machado was a candidate in” *the same 2024 election*.
Please, some of you. Try to be a bit more conscientious.
Boom!
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!
Thank you, I can’t believe how short these folks memories are. You have exonerated my post!
Whatever happened to the guy that ran against Maduro? I am sure the CIA has been keeping him on ice somewhere.
“That guy” would be Edmundo González, who almost the entire international community agrees won the 2024 election against Maduro. And it is no secret that he is living in Spain under the protection of the Spanish government after Maduro moved to take him out.
Do you have a CIA conspiracy theory that you’d like to share with us about how Biden’s CIA rigged that 2024 election in Venezuela?
The only CIA conspiracy theory that I could enlighten you on is that the CIA is NOT under the control of any POTUS. If you believe Biden han any control over anything in his term you would be sadly mistaken.
It is a woman and she won the Nobel Peace Prize.
She is already moving into the spotlight. She issued a statement about an hour ago to that effect. Hopefully she survives. The drug cartels are very upset I’m sure.
Without a U.S. occupation force, the Venezuelan military would have to back her; otherwise, the cartels would force her out. The Venezuelan military is little more than a communist flash mob (that’s what Milley tried to turn our military into). I’m keeping my expectations low for now, but I’ve been surprised a lot lately.
The Venezuellan military gets to remain in power if they avoid getting between the US and political reform in Venezuela.
Do not underestimate their ability to switch sides on issues to preserve their own power.
The elected President of Venezuela may be a woman, but Edmundo González has not made that gender selection well known.
María Corina Machado did not run for President in the last Venezuelan election.
“María Corina Machado did not run for President in the last Venezuelan election.”
But she did resoundingly win the opposition primary. Then she didn’t run for the presidency. And do you know why? Why was she relegated to backing González?
Please, people. Try to get the sequence of events straight. That “he” some of you keep referring to is in reality a *she*.
Keep up Johnny
I imagine that Edmundo Gonzalez will be surfacing here shortly, the smell of power and money bring out the best in people. Especially when there are oil oligarchs standing at the door. Machado or Gonzalez will be a giant improvement for Venezuela. Just look at the progress made in El Salvador.
Thankfully, we have a leader who will fight the drug menace at its source. I see the fentanyl zombies every day in hordes on our city streets. 1 in five pills on the street are of lethal dose. I know those who have had their teens die.
I predict there is a much deeper network of graft and money laundering that reaches far beyond Venezuela.
I watched all of the Rubio confirmation hearings where he discussed in detail how we have for years and years neglected our own hemisphere. The neglect came to our doorstep with a vengeance.
As usual, the democrats and the media have one goal. Whatever the President says, do the opposite.
Fentanyl is not imported via Venezuela. They are in the cocaine business in Europe.
Fentanyl and Meth are being produced in Mexican labs primarily. Cocaine is coming out of Columbia, Bolivia and Peru and goes over to Venezuela/Columbia and even Panama for transporting.
I would not rule out fentanyl or meth coming in through that pipeline. I do agree though that it is primarily cocaine.
Is Putin guilty of everything that Maduro is guilty of…and then some?
Is Putin guilty of everything that Maduro is guilty of…and then some?
That’s quite the non sequitur you’re hoping to launch, little Bolshevik Biden Birthing Boy! You’re talking about the same Putin that Obama and Biden made a huge show of publicly presenting their Big Red Putin Reset Button!
Putin is not poisoning the US with Drugs.
Neither Russia not Ukraine are in the US interest
While the western hemisphere has been a US interest since our founders.
Further this harms Cuba, Russia, Iran and China.
Venezuela functioned as an oil laundering hub for sanctioned oil from Iran and Russia and supplying oil to China and Cuba.
Reducing the ability of Iran and Russia to launder sanctioned oil has a large negative impact on those countries.
There is a reason the regime of the ayatollahs is likely to topple in the next few weeks.
And that is because of the US blockade of Venezuela.
This is also likely pushing hard to get Putin to negotiate. Russia has a massive oil problem – their foreign oil sales have nearly dried up.
They have reduced production everywhere they can – but the Siberian oil fields have a huge problem, once the oil from Siberia slows down it freezes – all the way back to the wells. The last time that occured it took Russia a decade to bring siberian oil production back online.
Mr. turkey – Thank you for the insight. Excellent article. We should be beyond the crazed thinking that Venezuela was minding their own business. The regime has been plotting and unfortunately subsidizing their “business” ventures illegally. They came into the United States backyard and the United States isn’t putting up with it.
The response will be fast and furious from the many (DC ultra liberals) who have watched this happened for several years. Their playbook will be empty – only filled with insane accusations.
Blame this on Trump and his “frigidity of rugged individualism.” (in spades, thank God!)
Sorry to be indelicate, but here’s a thought, concerning Democrats who seek the American Presidency:
Those with undescended testicles need not apply.
And it was just two days ago when we were all watching the ball drop…
I wonder who’s getting the $50 million bounty?
If it is true Maduro was captured alive, then it seems likely to me the US had help from people close to Maduro.
It is not an assumption that many/most Venezuelans have suffered under Maduro continuing the totalitarian communist dictatorship that began under Hugo Chávez. It would only take a few of them willing to risk their lives with information to help Obama/Trump/Biden/Trump decapitate the Maduro Venezuelan crime cartel.
Maduro did show our American communists that you can have a glorious career from beginning as a humble lower class union activist. Just like Stalin pointed out – you just have to break a few eggs on the way to building a glorious totalitarian communist omelette. Here in America, our Democrat communists just just have to break a few eggs in the Constitution and Bill of Rights to build another glorious communist omelette.
Could well be.
The writing was on the wall.
“then it seems likely to me the US had help from people close to Maduro.”
If that is true, no doubt whichever intimate from Maduro’s crowd betrayed him also intends to succeed him, and they are all likely cut from the same evil cloth. Was Maduro likely to have surrounded himself with anyone who was a staunch believer in individual human rights? Doubtful. Historically, when the US aids or foments the overthrow of a foreign leader, all too frequently another leader comes to power in short order who turns out to be as bad, or worse. Machado or Gonzales may become the next Venezuelan leader briefly, while the next aspiring strongman gets his ducks lined up. It will be interesting to see if this time there is an actual plan to prevent that from happening. I’d like to be optimistic about that, but it is difficult.
Personally, I don’t think we should be fighting drug traffickers outside our country until we confront the issue internally. Do we want drugs outlawed? If not, stop killing traffickers. If so, then start punishing casual and hard core users because we have decided they are breaking the law and are therefore criminals. As long as people here are paying for it, there will be dealers and cartels. Ultimately, our casual and hard core users are responsible for it.., they are the ones who finance it.
You reflect the American policy of 50 years, of drug deaths, hundreds of thousands dead by drugs and related crime.
So to appear as a benevolent American you’re willing to sacrifice human lives so Maduro can run an international drug supply chain that’s directly responsible for millions of deaths worldwide? Then blame Americans, because that’s what they want? That I cannot comprehend.
Trump did right by the world. We voted for that.
All I suggested was that we the people have to decide what we want. I never said anything about this strike. We all know that it’s bad to be addicted to a drug, but I’m guessing most people think it’s OK to party it up on the weekends when you’re young and single. I tried to make the point that it’s not OK. Casual users are helping to finance it. I don’t think they are thinking or even realize they are partially responsible for the murders and violence of the drug business. As long as people here will pay cash for it, there will be people in other countries that will take the risk to sell it. Perhaps I’m ignorant, misinformed and/or naive, but I have never heard of someone from a wealthy family, not associated with drugs, deciding to get involved and eventually become the head of a cartel. My impression is that those who get involved are from poor backgrounds and this business offers an opportunity to get a lot of money.
Nice rebuttal to the other Anon. Simply put, the availability of the product creates the demand. The argument that we should deal with demand first through treatment, counseling and education instead of the cutting off the supply has demonstrably failed over the past 50 years. Positing this approach served the interests of the cartels by forestalling action against the suppliers. Until a few months you might have been able to ask Rob Reiner and his wife how effective counseling and treatment was for their son.
Tubwater – many countries have decriminalized Drugs – that has not had a significant impact on drug use/abuse
But it has had a huge impact on crime.
You are correct that we do not know how to deal with the demand for drugs – we have not known how to deal with that for centuries.
But we do know how to radically reduce the violence and crime.
We have had 50 years of drug wars attacking the supply side – and that has not worked either.
If you want to fix narcotic trafficking for real, legislation for the death penalty for trafficking over a specific volume. As long as there is such financial benefit for drug traffickers the only true deterrent is death.
If you want to fix narcotic trafficking for real, legislation for the death penalty for trafficking over a specific volume.
If your ten year old wrote on the walls of your house with felt markers, would you discipline them for doing that six months later? I ask that question because, currently, capitol punishment does not have a deterrent effect. Simply because there currently is no connection at the time of an execution with the time of commission of the offense. We hear the announcement that somebody was executed in a state yesterday, and the public response is “Who????”.
Remember that the mass murderer, Nidal Malik Hasan (who? Many would say), has been comfortably living while under death sentence in a US federal prison through FOUR successive US presidential terms. And is still living comfortably a year into this one. 17 years…
But capitol punishment, effectively applied does work as a deterrent.
The reason it is so difficult to recruit informants within violent drug cartels and organized crime is that when those violent drug gangs impose a death sentence on a member who broke their gang’s rules, that person doesn’t get decades of appeals, court actions, etc until they’ve finally run out of options while hoping somebody in power will grant them amnesty from that death sentence. There’s a direct, immediate link between the crime being discovered and the carrying out of sentence. The rest in that gang see the immediate consequences of breaking those rules.
The Roman’s use of mass capitol punishment with their legions, decimation, is an example of extremely brutal capitol punishment as a deterrent.
For capitol punishment to be an effective deterrent, you have to find a way to make carrying out a death sentence immediate to the commission of the offence. Right now, our legal system and defense lawyers are being extremely effective in ensuring that doesn’t happen.
I have the same concerns with our legal system, it’s a chit show now. Convicted murders on death row twenty years before execution. Although, waiting in a cell to die is pretty miserable but there definitely needs to be more of the hide on the barn door every so often.
I think Trump/Hegseth are doing a pretty damn good job at cutting down the numbers as it’s big money to some. They’re thinking not quite so much when it costs you your life. Keep it up Pete!
One solution: Decriminalize all drugs. Go back to 1903 when you could purchase cocaine, opium etc.. at any local pharmacy. But, if you are unable to work because of your drug use , alcohol included, then you cannot receive any tax payer funded benefits. No Medicare, no Medicaid, no ADC, No SNAP, Nothing. Unrestricted drug use, just like unrestricted immigration,in a modern welfare state is destruction to that state.
Personally, I don’t think we should be fighting drug traffickers outside our country until we confront the issue internally.
And I for my part completely disagree with that viewpoint. For many reasons including this isn’t just some drug trafficker like the ones supplying Biden’s son and daughter with drugs. Maduro’s enabling of Venezuelan drug cartels as well as communist terrorists and other activities was a clear and present danger to the security of the USA.
Drugs and drug use is subject to the same economic pressures that influence everything else. To use extremes, if a single hit of crack sold for $50,000 instead of $5, you wouldn’t have a problem nor anyone addicted to crack.
Back in the 70’s, there were very very few cocaine users, versus those who smoked dope and dropped acid. For most middle/lower class people choosing to use illegal drugs, the price of cocaine was simply too high compared to the price of the other available drugs of those days. They got a better bang for their buck by choosing other drugs.
Somewhat related: while we know how many people die from fenatnyl and other similar drugs each year, the leading drug that kills the most Americans, year in and year out, still remains booze. Booze directly kills almost 200,000 Americans each year, and that’s not counting those killed in some criminal manner by people who are drunk.
Very few have suggested the solution to those annual deaths due to alcohol is bringing back prohibition and/or making being drunk a criminal offense and jailing those found to be drunk.
Absolutely I would get the US government out of Drugs – that includes getting rid of the FDA.
But the fact that violent criminals are engaged in activities that I beleive should be legal – does not change the fact that they are violent criminals.
This is not the same as Noriega. The facts may extremely similar, but a very significant difference is the position people here and internationally will take. I have witnessed changes since Noriega that I never thought I would see in the United States (people in favor of limiting free speech, growing support for communism/socialism, …) When Noriega was taken, most Americans had a feeling of patriotic pride. I don’t think this will invoke the same response.
Some things have changed.
But outside the left this will likely go over better than Noreiga.
To most americans Noriega was about drugs – and even there – as a pretext.
Noreiga was viewed as little more than a drug profiteering criminal.
Maduro is an enemy of the US – engaged in an undeclared war, doing everything he can to harm this country and its people.
It is not just about Drugs.