The dominant culture of the world teaches us that The Other is a threat, that our fellow human beings are a danger. We will all continue to be exiles in one form or another as long as we continue to accept the paradigm that the world is a racetrack or a battlefield.
– Eduardo Galeano
+ You’ve come a long way, MAGA babies…
+ There’s no plausible interpretation of the US Constitution or federal and international law that would legitimize Trump’s lethal attacks on Venezuela and the kidnapping of its president. Trump acted without a UN Resolution. He acted without Congressional authorization. Venezuela didn’t pose a military threat to the US or the US forces that had mobilized against Venezuela in the Caribbean. An indictment in a US court is not a legal basis for a military invasion. This was an unprovoked aggression that resulted in civilian deaths. Multiple murders, in other words.
+ Trump on Venezuela: “We’re there now, but we’re going to stay until such time as the pop — proper transition can take place. So we’re gonna stay until such time as — we’re gonna run it essentially.” Apparently, Marco Rubio will be the new Juan Guaidó of Venezuela, which must come as a shock to Nobel Prize winner, María Corina Machado, who thought she was in line to become the new Juan Gauidó of Venezuela. After all, she gave her rather dubious Nobel Prize to Trump, only to have him say she “didn’t have the respect” to govern. Ah, how sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless despot…
+ Fox News: “What do you think is next for the Venezuelan people now that you have removed Maduro?”
+ The cocksure boast that the US will “run” Venezuela appears to be another Trumpian fantasy. It’s impossible to “run a country,” if you don’t have control of it, which the US doesn’t by any measure. The Maduro government remains in place and defiant, even with Maduro renditioned to New York City. Indeed, the attack appears to have only strengthened the resolve of the Venezuelan people, instead of inspiring the chimerical uprising Rubio led Trump to expect, much as Rumsfeld and Cheney deceived Bush into believing about Iraq.
+ Despite Trump’s claim that Delcy Rodríguez was “cooperative,” Venezuela’s vice-president, who was sworn in as the nation’s leader after Maduro was renditioned to the US, vigorously denied that she planned to help the U.S. government run the country. Instead, she asserted her own power as acting president and defiantly demonstrated the continuity of the Bolivaran Revolutionary government in the wake of the US attacks.
+ Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello: “Here, the unity of the revolutionary force is more than guaranteed, and here there is only one president, whose name is Nicolas Maduro Moros. Let no one fall for the enemy’s provocations. We are outraged because in the end everything was revealed — it was revealed that they only want our oil.”
+ Venezuela’s Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López forcefully rejected Trump and Rubio’s claim that Venezuela will be run by the US and demanded the return of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. “Our sovereignty has been violated and breached. The [Venezuelan military] will guarantee the governability of the country … [and will] continue to employ all its available capabilities for military defense, the maintenance of internal order, and the preservation of peace.”
+ Trump responded to Rodríguez’s defiant stance with his usual boorish bombast when being confronted by a woman by threatening her with a fate worse than Maduro’s: “If she doesn’t do what’s right, she’s going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro.”
+ According to Semafor, plans for the secret U.S. raid to bomb Caracas and kidnap Maduro and his wife were leaked to the Washington Post and New York Times before it happened, but both papers decided not to publish to protect U.S. troops. Thus, in true Hegsethian style, the elite press knew about the operation before Congress was briefed.
+ Leaked the plans for an illegal attack and kidnapping, both the Washington Post and New York Times chose not to publish in order to protect the lives of the attackers, thus consigning several dozen Venezuelans to their deaths.
+ It’s obvious that Congress really doesn’t want the power to “declare” war, since it’s refused to do so since 1942 and hasn’t defended its exclusive right when presidents of both parties have seized it as their own–not surprising given how the military actions since the defeat of Germany (largely by the Red Army) and Japan have turned out for the US. (By the way, the first draft of the Constitution said “make” war, but Madison changed it to “declare” in order to give the Executive the ability to defend the US from “sudden attacks.”)
+ Sam Husseini:
The United Nations Charter makes it a crime to threaten war and a crime to wage war except in defense or by U.N. authorization, neither of which is the case here, and neither of which has even been alleged here. The alleged shortcomings of a government provide no legal basis for a foreign government to attempt to overthrow it. The illegal drug trade, even where real, provides no legal basis for waging war or committing murder. U.S. President Donald Trump’s claims about the illegal drug trade regarding both Venezuela and over 100 people thus far killed in boats with U.S. missiles from drones are without evidence and widely considered not even plausible.
+ David J. Bier, Cato: “We desperately need to differentiate what is legal with what an administration can get away with because we’ve lost the mechanisms and will to restrain a lawless presidency.”
+ Trump just failed another cognitive test for American history: “All the way back, it dated to the Monroe Doctrine. And the Monroe Doctrine is a big deal. But we’ve superseded it by a lot. By a real lot. They now call it the Donroe Document. I don’t know. It’s the Monroe Doctrine. We sort of forgot about it.”
+ In few wars has the oil motive been made this explicit…Trump: “As everyone knows, the oil business in Venezuela has been a bust, a total bust for a long period of time. They were pumping almost nothing by comparison to what they could. We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies – the biggest anywhere in the world – go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country.”
+ The first crime (regime change) leads directly to the second (looting Venezuela’s oil)…”The money coming out of the ground is very substantial.”
+ Trump claims he’ll tap Venezuela’s oil reserves to fund the US occupation of the country. But the CIA and Delta Force have much more experience in funding operations out of cocaine trafficking. Maybe they should try that…
+ Eva Golinger: “A U.S. indictment does not give legal authority to invade another country and capture the individual indicted. No matter the spin and disdain for Maduro, it was still an illegal operation. There was no imminent threat from Maduro against the US that would justify this action.”
+ Trump’s kidnapping of Maduro built on a precedent set by Obama’s indictment in 2011: “The Trump Justice Department unsealed a new superseding indictment in a case first filed in 2011 against Venezuelan Maduro and senior members of his government, accusing them of running a decades-long narco-terrorism operation that allegedly turned the Venezuelan state into a hub for cocaine trafficking to the United States. Prosecutors say Maduro, top officials, and family members coordinated with the FARC, ELN, the Sinaloa Cartel, the Zetas, and Tren de Aragua to move hundreds of tons of cocaine using Venezuelan ports, airports, diplomatic cover, and military protection—reaping massive bribes and drug profits in return.”
+ The superseding indictment against Maduro makes no reference to fentanyl or stolen oil, the justifications Trump has repeatedly used for drone strikes on alleged “drug boats” and the seizure of Venezuelan tankers.
+ Rep. Thomas Massie: “If this action were constitutionally sound, the Attorney General wouldn’t be tweeting that they’ve arrested the President of a sovereign country and his wife for possessing guns in violation of a 1934 U.S. firearm law.”
+ How many “law enforcement” operations involve 150 aircraft, including F-22s, F-35s, F-18s, E-18s, E-2s, and B-1 bombers, to capture two alleged drug traffickers?
+ Kenneth Roth: “As Trump invades Venezuela, ostensibly because Maduro has been charged with drug trafficking, it’s worth remembering that he recently pardoned Juan Orlando Hernández, who ran a sprawling drug operation when he was president of Honduras from 2014 to 2022.”
+ If Trump can kidnap Maduro for an alleged violation of US law, China should be able to kidnap Trump for alleged violations of Chinese law, such as the arming of Taiwan.
+ Trump’s kidnapping of Maduro and his wife fatally undermines his argument that the ICC’s arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant are unenforceable.
+ Tulsi Gabbard is one of the biggest political frauds in American history.
Mayor Petebot is Tulsi Gabbard in reverse. You’ll get burned if you trust either of them.
+ NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Venezuela: “I called the president and spoke with him directly to register my opposition to this act.”
+ We were treated to the usual impotent slop from the office of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres:
The Secretary-General is deeply alarmed by the recent escalation in Venezuela, culminating with today’s United States military action in the country, which has potential worrying implications for the region.
Independently of the situation in Venezuela, these developments constitute a dangerous precedent. The Secretary-General continues to emphasize the importance of full respect – by all – of international law, including the UN Charter.
He’s deeply concerned that the rules of international law have not been respected.
+ International law has almost always only been enforced against the losers in conflicts with Imperial powers…Indeed, international law has often been used as a justification for the imperial powers (usually the US) to violate it.
+ All it takes to turn one of those Cheney Democrats into a Trump loyalist is a good-old regime change war…
+ Elon Musk, Feb 2025: “America should mind its own business rather than push for regime change all over the place.”
Elon Musk, Jan 2026: “Congratulations, President Trump! This is a win for the world and a clear message to evil dictators everywhere.”
+ Still buzzing with post-bombing hubris, Trump threatened Mexico: “The cartels are running Mexico. She’s not running Mexico. We could be politically correct and be nice and say, ‘Oh, yes, she is.’ No no. She’s very frightened of the cartels. They’re running Mexico. And I’ve asked her number times, ‘Would you like us to take out the cartels?’ … something is gonna have to be done with Mexico.” A day later, Trump told The Atlantic that he was considering seizing Greenland by force: “We need to do Greenland, absolutely,” claiming absurdly that it is “surrounded by Russian and Chinese ships.”
+ During Trump’s first term, the Pentagon ran a war game to test his desire to overthrow Maduro. The result: Venezuela eventually descended into Libya-like chaos and violence.
+ Trump’s accusations are almost always confessions of what he would do or has done…
+ Graham Platner: “One month ago, the Senate voted on a resolution to block Trump from invading Venezuela. Susan Collins voted NO and it failed 49-51. From Iraq to Venezuela, you can count on Susan Collins to enable illegal foreign wars.”
+ Trump wanted his MAGA shock troops to hang Mike Pence, but overthrow Maduro and all is forgiven…
The people of Venezuela have mainly “suffered” under the suffocating grip of US sanctions, but even with these cruel constraints, the Venezuelan economy continues to outperform many in the region.
+ According to the NYT, the real problem isn’t Maduro or Venezuela but…wait for it…CUBA!
+ But even the New York Times concedes that Trump’s motive for the overthrow of Maduro was bogus: “In reality, Venezuela is not a major source of drugs in the United States. The country does not produce fentanyl and the cocaine that passes through Venezuela is grown and produced in Colombia, and then moves on to Europe.”
+ Chuck Schumer: “The administration has assured me three separate times that it was not pursuing regime change or taking military action in Venezuela.” How many times has the credulous Schumer had the wool pulled over his eyes?
+ The Supreme Court ruled that Trump couldn’t be prosecuted even out of office for his crimes. Typically, Trump doesn’t apply the standard that saved his ass to other sovereign leaders.
+ The vultures are already circling: ” About 20 business leaders, including those from some of the top hedge funds and asset managers, are preparing to go on a March trip to Venezuela to look at investment opportunities there, including in energy and infrastructure.”
+ Jean-Luc Mélenchon on Emmanuel Macron’s shameful endorsement of Trump’s regime change operations in Venezuela: “Macron’s stance is not the voice of France. He shames us. He abandons international law. Dark day for our country.”
+ Unlike the timid Europeans, who are fearful that Trump will abandon Ukraine and leave the war with Russia to them, the African Union condemned the US attack on Venezuela…
The African Union is following with grave concern the recent developments in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, including reports of the kidnapping of the President of the Republic, Mr. Nicolás Maduro, as well as military attacks against Venezuelan institutions.
The African Union reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the fundamental principles of international law, particularly the respect for the sovereignty of States, their territorial integrity, and the right of peoples to self-determination, as enshrined in the United Nations Charter.
The African Union underscores the importance of dialogue, the peaceful settlement of disputes, and respect for constitutional and institutional frameworks, in a spirit of good neighborliness, cooperation, and peaceful coexistence among nations.
The African Union insists that the complex internal challenges facing Venezuela can only be addressed sustainably through an inclusive political dialogue among Venezuelans themselves.
+ “I will fight like a soldier for a free Venezuela, against all forms of imperialism and against those who want to take away our flag, the most sacred thing we have. Long live Chávez. Long live Maduro. Long live the revolution.” So saideth, the hand of God, Diego Maradona…
+ The fact that the biggest drug pushers on the planet for several decades, whose product killed 10s of thousands every year, never ended up having their mansions bombed or carted off in chains, tells you all you really need to know about the bipartisan hypocrisies of the alleged war on drugs. I refer to the Sacklers, of course.
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This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Jeffrey St. Clair.