Tag: regime change

“Cocaine Mills”: Trump Puts Three More Latin American Countries On Notice

President Trump soon after the overnight into early Saturday brief invasion of Venezuela and nabbing of President Nicolas Maduro – now in US custody on American soil – put more Latin American countries on notice, calling them essentially “cocaine mills” which ship ‘poison’ into the United States.

The not-so-veiled warnings and threats were issued to the governments of Mexico, Colombia, and Cuba – the latter which has been a Washington enemy stretching many decades back into the height of the Cold War.

In the comments, Trump again called Maduro as a “narco-terrorist” while fielding a question about the implications for neighboring countries, before linking the Venezuelan leader to his ally Colombian President Gustavo Petro.

“He has cocaine mills, he has factories where he makes cocaine and they’re sending it into the United States” Trump said of the Colombian leader, adding, “he does have to watch his ass.” 

And on Cuba, the warning was more veiled, as he described his administration is “going to be something we’ll end up talking about” as Washington suppose wants to “help the people” of this “failing nation” akin to Venezuela. 

“It’s very similar in the sense that we want to help the people in Cuba, but we also want to help the people who were forced out of Cuba and are living in this country,” he continued, in reference to Trump’s own significant support base among Cuban-Americans.

Among the more interesting and somewhat post-Venezuela regime change remarks by Trump were aimed just south of the border. Trump again put Left wing, or perhaps more accurately center-left Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo on notice.

Trump described that the drug cartels are basically running the country, and that “something’s going to have to be done with Mexico” and that the government is “frightened” of them.

“They’re running Mexico. I’ve asked her numerous times: ‘Would you like us to take out the cartels?’ ‘No, no, no, Mr. President, no, no, no, please.’ So we have to do something,” he said in a phone interview with Fox.

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80 people killed in US raid on Venezuela – NYT

The death toll from the US raid to kidnap President Nicolas Maduro has risen to at least 80, which includes both soldiers and civilians, the New York Times reported on Sunday, citing a senior Venezuelan official.

Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez confirmed that US forces had killed a “large part” of Maduro’s security detail in the operation, without giving a figure. Venezuelan officials also accused the US of hitting civilian areas but have not released an official death toll yet.

Meanwhile, Cuban officials say 32 of its citizens, including military personnel, were killed in the attack. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has announced that January 5th and 6th will be official days of mourning.

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‘Sounds Good to Me’: Trump Signals Possible Military Operation Against Colombia’s Marxist Leader — Months After Gustavo Petro Mocked U.S. and Dared Arrest: ‘Try and See If You Can!’

President Donald Trump delivered a blunt and unmistakable warning on Sunday to Colombia’s far-left president Gustavo Petro, openly signaling that a U.S. military operation is not off the table.

Back in November, Colombian President Gustavo Petro dared the U.S. to arrest him, claiming that his people would rise up in his defense.

Petro, a former left-wing terrorist who is presiding over Colombia’s enormous drug trade, was a close ally of Maduro and has been left devastated by his removal.

“And so I have to tell Mr. Marco Rubio, brother, if you’re going to put me in prison, try and see if you can. If you want to put me in the orange jumpsuit, try it. But this people will not kneel before anyone. No Colombian is guilty of what happened to your grandfather or your father in Cuba.

Do not threaten us, for there is a jaguar about to awaken. Two centuries of going from war to war have taught us indigenous shrewdness. If the people freely wish to return to paramilitary rule, we have no choice but to obey. If they want to talk, let them come and speak as equals.

Tell the president of the Inter-American Development Bank that his money will not enter into Colombia’s elections. The people of Colombia are not for sale.”

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Back to old ways: Maduro’s capture follows a long list of US interventions in Latin America

The US operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is just the latest chapter in a long list of interventions and regime changes staged by Washington throughout Latin America over the past century.

With the adoption of the Monroe Doctrine in the 19th century, the US essentially declared the Western Hemisphere to be its own backyard. Under this policy, the US played a role in staging dozens of coups and government overthrows in the 20th century alone, including several cases of direct military intervention and occupation, reaching a peak during the Cold War.

The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, told a press conference on Saturday that the operation to capture Maduro had been “meticulously planned, drawing lessons from decades of missions.” According to the general, “there is always a chance that we’ll be tasked to do this type of mission again.”

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Inside Job? Reports Suggest New Venezuela’s Interim President, Delcy Rodríguez, Negotiated With the US the Removal of Maduro, With the Mediation of UAE

Did Rodríguez betray Maduro?

Now that Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro has been captured by US forces and taken to the US to answer for the alleged crimes he is charged with, many are keeping an eye on the ‘day after’ in the South American country.

Many are surprised that Caracas will not be led by Venezuela’s opposition leader and Nobel Prize Winner María Corina Machado, but rather by Maduro’s Vice-President, Delcy Rodríguez.

But reports have arisen that may solve this apparent puzzle.

Secret meetings are said to have been held in Doha, UAE, involving Rodríguez, a senior member of the UAE royal family serving as a mediator, and members of the Donald J. Trump administration.

The Telegraph reported:

“Ms. Rodríguez had reached out to Washington to present herself as a ‘more acceptable’ alternative to the Maduro regime. She now rules Venezuela with the approval of Mr. Trump.

Details of the meeting have fueled suspicions that the removal of Mr. Maduro was an inside job, planned to leave a president in power who can manage a transition without dismantling the state completely and causing turmoil and riots.”

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Senate to vote on war powers measure following Maduro ouster

Sen. Tim Kaine said he will force a vote next week to block further military action against Venezuela without congressional approval in the wake of President Donald Trump’s operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Kaine, who has so far been unable to get Congress to stop Trump’s Latin American military operations, called the move to oust Maduro without congressional approval “a sickening return to a day when the United States asserted the right to dominate” the Western Hemisphere.

“My bipartisan resolution stipulating that we should not be at war with Venezuela absent a clear congressional authorization will come up for a vote next week,” Kaine said in a statement. “We’ve entered the 250th year of American democracy and cannot allow it to devolve into the tyranny that our founders fought to escape.”

Test vote

While the vote, which will occur when the Senate returns from its holiday break, comes after the fact, it would require Trump to seek congressional approval for further attacks if enacted.

The vote will also be a key test of support among Republicans for Trump’s aggressive move. While previous efforts to restrict Trump have failed for lack of GOP support, the administration’s actions could sway some Republicans who have expressed concerns about heightened tensions with Venezuela.

Kaine told reporters on a Saturday call that Republicans “cannot pretend anymore” that Trump’s rhetoric was just a “bluff” or a “negotiating tactic.”

“That makes me hope that we’ll get more votes on the resolution,” Kaine said, adding that it was time for Congress to “get its ass off the couch” on its own warmaking authority.

Administration officials may have to work to keep skeptical Republicans onside, and top Republicans say they expect to be briefed when they return to Washington.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he expects “further briefings from the administration on this operation as part of its comprehensive counternarcotics strategy.” House Speaker Mike Johnson added that the Trump administration is working to schedule briefings for lawmakers when they return.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer spoke with Kaine on Saturday about his war powers vote and that Democrats would be trying to build public pressure on Republicans to break ranks.

“We are saying to the Republicans, this is your responsibility,” Schumer told reporters. “President Trump is a member of your party. You’ve gone along with him over and over again. This is one time you got to resist him. It’s too serious.”

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Trump Says America Will TAKE CONTROL of ‘Stolen’ Oil After Socialist Dictator Maduro Captured — Radical Socialist Democrats Melt Down

President Donald Trump announced Saturday that the United States will take control of Venezuela’s long-mismanaged oil sector, following the stunning capture of socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro.

The narco-tyrant, who has turned the once-prosperous nation into a hellhole of drugs, corruption, and poverty, was nabbed in a pinpoint U.S. operation that’s already being hailed as a masterstroke against global criminal networks.

The Venezuelan regime issued a statement rejecting the “military aggression” and invoking the UN Charter. They claim it’s all about seizing oil and minerals after Maduro wrecked it all.

“The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela rejects, repudiates, and denounces before the international community the extremely grave military aggression perpetrated by the current Government of the United States of America against Venezuelan territory and population in the civilian and military districts of the city of Caracas, capital of the Republic, and the states of Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira.

This act constitutes a flagrant violation of the United Nations Charter, particularly its Articles 1 and 2, which enshrine respect for sovereignty, the legal equality of States, and the prohibition on the use of force.

Such aggression threatens international peace and stability, specifically in Latin America and the Caribbean, and places the lives of millions of people in grave danger.

The objective of this attack is none other than to seize Venezuela’s strategic resources, particularly its oil and minerals, attempting to break the Nation’s political independence by force. They will not succeed.

After more than two hundred years of independence, the people and their legitimate Government remain steadfast in defense of sovereignty and the inalienable right to decide their own destiny.

The attempt to impose a colonial war to destroy the republican form of government and force a “regime change,” in alliance with the fascist oligarchy, will fail just like all previous attempts. Since 1811, Venezuela has faced and defeated empires.

When in 1902 foreign powers bombarded our coasts, President Cipriano Castro proclaimed: “The insolent boot of the foreigner has profaned the sacred soil of the Fatherland.” Today, with the moral fortitude of Bolívar, Miranda, and our liberators, the Venezuelan people rise once again to defend their independence against imperialist aggression.”

The attack came after Maduro held a meeting with a senior Chinese envoy. Maduro welcomed Qiu Xiaoqi, China’s special representative for Latin American affairs, to the Miraflores Presidential Palace on Friday, where the two reaffirmed Caracas’ strategic alignment with Beijing.

Speaking from Mar-a-Lago on Saturday, President Trump said the chaos and corruption that have defined Venezuela for decades will not be allowed to repeat itself.

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Trump Doubles Down, Says Gustavo Petro “Does Have to Watch His Ass” After Threatening to Take Action Against Cocaine Factories

President Trump on Saturday doubled down on past threats to Colombian President Gustavo Petro, saying that he should “watch his ass” after Trump ordered strikes inside Venezuela and captured President Nicolas Maduro, signaling possible actions against Colombia next.

The US military executed strikes and a ground invasion to capture Maduro and his wife on Saturday at approximately 2 am local time, and they were taken prisoner on board the USS Iwo Jima. Maduro was indicted in the Southern District of New York on charges of Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States, the Gateway Pundit reported.

As The Gateway Pundit reported last month, Trump told reporters that Petro needs to “watch his ass” and close the cocaine factories, which “we know where they are,” he said, while making an announcement on shipbuilding at Mar-a-Lago.

WATCH:

Trump: He has to watch, because, you know, he’s got drug factories. They make cocaine in Colombia, and he’s no friend of the United States. He’s very bad, very bad guy, and he’s got to watch his ass, because he makes cocaine and they send it into the United States of America from Colombia. We love the Colombian people. I love the Colombian people. They’re great people, energetic, smart, great, but their new leader is a troublemaker, and he better watch it. They better close up those cocaine factories. They have at least three major cocaine factories. We know where they are. He better close them up fast.

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Communist NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani Gets LIT UP After He Weighs in on the Capture of Venezuelan Tyrant Nicolas Maduro

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is having an awful day after seeing his fellow communist, Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, captured by U.S. forces this morning.

As The Gateway Pundit reported earlier, a series of explosions rocked Caracas and other cities in Venezuela signal the start of the US campaign against the Maduro’s evil Marxist regime.

Low-flying aircraft could be heard, as well as air raid sirens. Bright flashes could be seen in at least six locations, including Fort Tiuna army base and La Carlota Air Base, where power outages hit some neighborhoods.

U.S. forces captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, during the raid. As TGP’s Jordan Conradson reported, both have been indicted in the Southern District of New York.

Mamdani took to X this afternoon to whine about the incredibly successful mission and express ‘worry’ about the Venezuelans residing in New York City.

“I was briefed this morning on the U.S. military capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, as well as their planned imprisonment in federal custody here in New York City,” he wrote. “Unilaterally attacking a sovereign nation is an act of war and a violation of federal and international law.”

“This blatant pursuit of regime change doesn’t just affect those abroad, it directly impacts New Yorkers, including tens of thousands of Venezuelans who call this city home,” he added. “My focus is their safety and the safety of every New Yorker, and my administration will continue to monitor the situation and issue relevant guidance.”

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Trump issues thinly veiled warning to Mexico, slams Cuba, Colombia after US strikes Venezuela, arrests Maduro

President Trump issued a thinly-veiled warning to Mexico’s president Saturday while announcing the capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro Saturday.

Trump, who also had strong words for the leaders of Colombia and Cuba,  said the attack on Venezuela wasn’t meant to be a warning for Mexico, but said “something’s going to have to be done” about the cartel-run country.

Trump has clashed with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo over trade tariffs, and blamed the US neighbor for allowing illegal immigration and narcotics to flow across the southern border.

“We’re very friendly with her, she’s a good woman,” Trump told Fox & Friends Saturday. “But the cartels are running Mexico — she’s not running Mexico.”

Sheinbaum said Mexico “strongly condemns and rejects” US military action in Venezuela and urged the US to end “all acts of aggression against the Venezuelan government and people,” in a statement released Saturday.

Trump also doubled down on his warning to Colombian President Gustavo Petro.

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