Canada.
There should be a means by which the populace can vote to approve or disapprove any war the executive engages, and if they disapprove no citizens go to the battlefield, and they just send the politicians over there.
Ukraine's front lines are covered in a canopy of drone nets. Roads anyway.
Optical fiber bunches at the front lines, for remote control of drones.
‘The problem was “when the power comes back on, people turn on all the electrical equipment that is available in the house” as they dash to wash, cook or recharge their phones.’
‘“There are two types of heroes in Ukraine,” he said. “They are the military and energy workers.”’
Firstpost
Ukrainian capital under russian attack air defences operation (reuters.com)
Who will rule Gaza, if not Hamas? CSM
Restoring municipal services. ‘Security, schools, water supply, and trash collection in towns and refugee camps across Gaza.’ Hamas police to secure UN food trucks.
‘Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is in the process of building 62 miles of new bike lanes.' The Year in Cheer (reasonstobecheerful.world)
'Thousands lose their homes as the 'Venice of Nigeria' is demolished, displacing families living there for generations.'
Decades memories swept away thousands lose homes venice nigeria is demolished (reuters.com)
(40% of Republicans support it. About a percent of Democrats do.)
MADURO CAPTURED, January 3, 2026
After midnight sometime, Friday night, US bombed military sites in Caracas (and other cities, it seems). These were small, controlled explosions.
Among Venezuelans on SM, about 95% maybe were in favor. There were some dissenters, but actually most of those seemed to be Americans in America saying they didn't support this ('UN is sleeping').
In the morning, people woke to photos of Maduro wearing blacked out glasses and handcuffed (in front of body), wearing a capturee suit and holding a plastic bottle of water, aboard a US vessel with US soldiers guarding him.
Venezuelans seem to be basically 100% in favor of this. ‘Adelante Venezuela’. This is not surprising, as he has been the direct cause of suffering for many years, well beyond the amount of time you might say he still needed some time to make plans work out. For years, regular Venezuelans I know have hoped for this (or worse).
The attack and arrest was done swiftly. We still don't know the details. (Was the Caribbean attack a few years ago kind of a practice? I'm not sure why that comes to mind.)
But the attack and arrest were done at night, so there was the least disturbance, and little chance for forces to be mustered (and probably more people killed thereby). Americans didn't have time to respond. We don't know if Congress approved this.
The arrest was not done humiliatingly or dirtily. It was done soldierly. It was done publicly. They published appropriate photos right away, and the people everywhere can know what's going on. This is in marked contrast to the US government during Bin Laden, when no one trusted the government and the idea that they just moved Bin Laden to some island or something seems totally possible. Everything was secret, done in secret courts, carried out by secret forces.
I think the main feeling people might feel is jealousy. Trump's doing all the good things. Likely enough, no one even thought it was possible for America to do such a thing, just like it seemed impossible to get a peace deal in Israel.
The only caveat is the precedent. An America that thinks it can simply send it's military into any country and capture it's leader would be bound for misadventure. Trump may have a mind of his own and have no bosses to answer to, but it seems many US presidents aren't that way.
This will cheer the spirits of the miltiary corps. Enlistment will probably go up.
It is arguably a violation of the UN, but what is the UN for if it supports, basically, regimes like Maduro's?
All our law is not the highest law. Almost none of our illegal actions are absolute, such that in some cases they're not the appropriate or favored course.
So there are points on both sides of the ledger, but overall it doesn't seem too bad and will at least make life better for millions of people in Venezuela.
People also commented on how Xi would be taking note of how effective the US was at going into a country and grabbing a leader. But Shanghai is pretty different, and the Chinese are extremely proud of their country and support their government, as much as a citizens are known to do in our era. Some said Xi would be less likely to grab Taiwan but I feel like it's actually more likely. US is already on the way to not needing Taiwan for chips, Russia took it's land and peace talks are in the process of consolidating the annexation.
Nigerian leaders, however, probably aren't going to be sleeping so well.
US said they'd stay in Venezuela for a while to control things. US just had the Nobel prize given to Machado so it seems likely they'll install her.
Looks like Venezuela will have a year of quickly reinstalled facilities for oil and gas production and distribution, and maybe other projects. Will Venezuela stocks go crazy on Monday?
Chevron.
Cuba Condemns US Military Strike on Venezuela as "State Terrorism" BRICS News
BRICS News also... 'Brazilian President Lula da Silva has condemned US bombings and the capture of Venezuelan President Maduro as crossing "an unacceptable line" in international relations. ... Calling it a "grave affront to sovereignty," Lula warned that attacking countries is the first step toward a world where "the law of the strongest" prevails over multilateralism. Brazil has activated emergency protocols and convened extraordinary meetings with military representatives as the 2,000+ km border becomes a strategic flashpoint. Mexico and BRICS allies are rallying in condemnation, with many calling this a violation of the UN Charter.'
Many commented that countries like Brazil and Colombia would take away from this that government's ‘must have nuclear to defend themselves.’
‘El fiscal general Tarek William Saab afirmó que el bombardeo de EE.UU. sobre Caracas dejó víctimas mortales y heridos, a quienes describió como “víctimas inocentes mortalmente heridas y otras asesinadas por este criminal ataque terrorista”. Sus declaraciones se produjeron en un contacto televisado tras la noche de explosiones y sobrevuelo de aeronaves militares en la capital venezolana. ’ Vision24
Lots of jokes about people buying the fit Maduro was pictured wearing with fashionable looking dark glasses. It's a grey tracksuit.
Presidente del Perú, José Jerí, sobre Venezuela: "Muchas familias podrán reencontrarse en su país, por eso daremos las facilidades para su regreso inmediato".
It might be that the fishing boat attacks, real or not, were to trigger Venezuelan military channels, part of planning and identification for this attack.
They captured Maduro's wife also, Cilia Flores. They were airlifted out and then put on the USS Iwo Jima, and they're bound for NY, and then either NY or Miami (for trial). Looks like some of the soldiers walking Maduro out of his building were wearing DEA badges (US law enforcement).
No American soldiers died in the attack. No US military equipment was destroyed. ‘There’s no equipment like we have,' said Trump. Sales might go up?
There will likely be a large remigration of all the Venezuelans in Colombia, Peru, Equador, Brazil, etc.
In his speech on Jan 3 morning, he talked about the Americans who are victims of drugs that come ‘mostly from Venezuela' and mentioned Tren de Aragua and other brutal gangs. ‘They were brutal, but they’re not so brutal now.' Trump said they were ‘sent by Maduro to terrorize America.’
‘The Monroe Doctrine is a big deal, but we’ve superceded it by a lot, by a real lot. They now call it the ‘Donroe Doctrine.’
‘American dominance in the Western hemisphere will never be questioned again.’ Trump
‘We did something about it. We’re late, but we did something about it.' Trump.
Trump said Petro ‘have cocaine mills’, they're making cocaine and sending it into the US, so ‘he does have to watch his ass.’
‘Mr President, did you notify any members of Congress in advance?’ Immeditely, Trump said, ‘Marco, do you want to talk about that, because you were involved,’ and shifted away from the podium. Rubio said, ‘Sure. We called members of Congress, and this is not the kind of mission that you can do congressional notification on, it was a trigger based mission on which conditions had to be met, night after night we watched and monitored. ... Remember, at the end of the day, at its core, this was an arrest of two indicted fugitives of American Justice, and the Department of War supported the Department of Justice in that job...' Trump stepped back to the podium and said, ‘Can I just add one thing to that? Congress has a tendency to leak. This would not be good. ... But Congress will leak. And we don't want leakers.’
He said to Venezuelans, ‘You're gonna have peace. You're gonna have justice. You're gonna have a country. You're gonna have potentially a great country.'
‘I think Cuba is something we’re gonna end up talking about, because Cuba is a failing nation right now. And we want to help the people in Cuba, and also help the people who were forced Cuba and are living in this country.'
US MISSION
Apparently, they cut off power ‘due to an expertise [the US] have’.
Over the course of the night, aircraft (150 total) launched from over 20 bases around the western hemisphere, including fighters, bombers, recon, rotary wing. The extraction fleet included US law enforcement, and they flew 100ft above the water. Spacecom, cybercom and other members of the interagency created a pathway, with cover by the marines, air force, National Guard, and drones. As the extraction team neared Caracas, the joint air component began dismanteling and disabling the air defense in Venezuela. As the extraction team passed the last mountains, they realized they'd 'maintained totally the element of surprise.'
(Later, we were told the pilot of the main helecopter had been shot 3 times in the leg but was alright, which was compared with Abbotabad (Pakistan, bin Laden, 2011, Navy Seals, downed helicopter had to be destroyed to prevent losing intelligence advantage).
The birds landed (receiving fire and returning fire ‘with overwhelming force in self defense’) on Maduro's compound at 1:01 Eastern Standard (2AM Caracas local time), and the extraction force moved with speed to apprehend Maduro. The force remained protected by overhead tactical aviation. Maduro and wife gave up and were taken into custody by the Department of Justice assisted by the US military. Suppressive fire from the US forces shot at multiple Venezuelan engagements during extraction.
Maduro had been trying to make it into a safe place, all steel, but he wasn't able to make it, because the US guys were so fast, Trump said. But they would have had the steel opened nomatter how thick it was in about 47 seconds. ‘He made it to the door. He was unable to close it.’
So a successful mission, but an easy one. Looks good, but unlikely it really demonstrates anything about the US military (except perhaps their information gathering).
A later explainer video. The US warships parked off the coast of Venezuela for a month were a sort of diversion. The 150 aircraft created a sonic shield for the helicopters, flying low over buildings to avoid radar coverage, to drop Delta forces. 2AM Venezuela time the attack of missiles, destabilizing Venezuela air support, happened along with a blackout of Caracas. Communications blackout. Some helicopters layed cover fire (they were being shot at) while one/some landed on the compound building. Delta breached the building (how?) from the roof and went though the building. Assumed that CIA had spies in the compound for some time, and Delta had built a version of the compound they ran through until they knew it well. They used a blowtorch to open the doors. The helicopters went to the US warship parked offshore. The several large US warships plus 150 planes formed a command center that countered Venezuela's modern air defense. Venezuela only has like 20 or 30 Russian jets from 2008 plus 5 F16s, upgraded with Israeli parts since the repair parts are part of US sanctions.
Venezuela protects its land with Russian S300 missile systems, Chinese radar networks, integrated Russian air defenses and Shahid drones. Older F16s find this challenging (BUKs). F35s were used. From Puerto Rico, F35s flying at supersonic speeds can reach Venezuela in 1.5 hours. Puerto Rico is close enough to reach anywhere in Venezuela, but there are air fuel supply planes to support them in the Caribbean. From the US warships, F35s are 10 or 15 minutes away from Venezuelan targets.
'AOC Slams Operation To Capture Maduro: 'It's About Oil And Regime Change' | "It's not about drugs. If it was, Trump wouldn't have pardoned one of the largest narco traffickers in the world last month," AOC claimed'
AOC Slams Operation To Capture Maduro:
Where will ‘run Venezuela’ money come from? 'Well back in 2004, anyone who didn't agree with the blank check for Iraq reconstruction was an America-hating terrorist and possibly even French.'
'CIA: Wait, we don't need the whole charade stuff?!'
Trump said it'd be easy to keep helping Venezuela (occupying and running it) because a lot of money will come out of the ground.
Starmer seems like an office secretary.
Monday morning.
Slovak PM Robert Fico says today's superpowers do whatever they want and have erased international law. BRICS News
“I was captured,” Maduro said (in Spanish) before being cut off by the judge. Asked later for his plea to the charges, he stated: “I’m innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the president of my country.”
‘The stakes were made clear from the outset as Maduro, who took copious notes throughout the proceedings and wished a Happy New Year to reporters in court, repeatedly pressed his case that he had been unlawfully abducted.’ AP news
“I am here kidnapped,” Maduro said. “I was captured at my home in Caracas.”
As a head of state, is Maduro immune from prosecution? Was his capture a ‘military abduction’?
US government doesn't recognize Maduro as the legitimate head of state of Venezuela.
Maduro was indicted on working with cartels to facilitate shipping thousands of tons of cocaine to the US. Also of ordering kidnapping, beatings and murders in relation to the alleged drug trade.
‘Secretary of State Marco Rubio had tried to strike a more cautious tone on Sunday morning talk shows, saying the U.S. would not govern the country day-to-day other than enforcing an existing ” oil quarantine.”’ AP
Oil rose slightly Monday. Venezuelan oil ‘doesn’t matter,' many concluded.
“If we normalize the kidnapping of a head of state, no country is safe. Today it’s Venezuela. Tomorrow it could be any nation that refuses to submit. This is not a regional problem. It is a direct threat to global political stability,” Maduro Guerra, Maduro's son, stated.
‘I don’t care if you have a Masters Degree, or whatever, unless you've lived it in your own skin, and I think it's terribly disrespectful to the people...' The Americans who are against this, because it was because of oil, are not speaking from experience of Venezuela for 26 years of famine and oppression.
‘We are not free yet. We need America to stay in Venezuela until all of the other bad guys are out, but without America this wouldn’t be fathomable.'
In Venezuela, there's a ‘good amount of happiness and fear,’ panilazo, but the people who are moving into leadership are as bad as Maduro, and they are threatening people, so no one can show support for the Americans.
‘I think America is being smart about the way they are doing things, but to us, although it’s great, we are like 'Just don't hold back. Just send it all!' You've just stepped on the snake, and if you remove your foot from the head it's going to come back mad biting.
TUESDAY
Venezuela Regroups With New Leader, Old Repression Tactics (youtube.com)
Venezuelan stock market has surged 40% in a week and like 200% or 300% in a year (inflation adjusted), risk on, expectation Venezuelan banks might re enter the global system. Most of this is from before the Maduro capture. The market is very small. The market is rated as overbought.
A bunker in the hills, not Maduro's palace as originally thought. One entrance is under a baseball diamond.
About 6 buildings completely detroyed by missiles (presumably), including a road checkpoint or entry gate.
Trump says Venezuela will be 'turning over' up to 50m barrels of oil to US
This, combined with the killing of innocent soldiers, could be seen as robbery/extortion.
The word ‘rogue’ started being used yesterday.
WEDNESDAY
US Seizes Russian-Flagged Oil Tanker Linked to Venezuela (youtube.com)
People afraid to go out.
‘War of choice.'
They, at least Hegseth, seem so proud of the military action and the seizure of tankers, not understanding that it is killing and theft?
‘Cannot be justified' under international or US law or the American Constitution.
‘This is a war, US has launched a war, to run Venezuela.'
‘Even kings of the past had more control and scrutiny than the US president.’
US is still part of the UN Charter. No country can use force or the threat of force. Gross violation.
‘A breakdown in our Constitutional order,' long in coming. ‘There are no checks on the president. The US has bombed 7 countries in the past year’, not one of these authorized by Congress. In the past few days, Trump has threatened with force at least 6 countries. Iran, Nigeria, Mexico, Denmark and Greenland, Colombia, Cuba.
‘A rogue state that will use brute force to achieve to achieve its hegemony and acquire riches’ probably near universal view in world. A few countries applaud this, like Israel. And there are some vassal states (most of Europe) who don't dare go against it. States that have US bases in them.
‘They view the United States as lawless.’
Contempt for Congress and the Constitution. ‘Almost sneering.’
‘How much can the US steal from Venezuela?’
‘Their criminality is pretty naked for everyone to see. I don’t think anyone is taking this seriously, that this is actually about drugs or concerned with any legality.'
‘A collectivity of cowardice.’ ‘It changes all of the rules of international behavior.’
All of the mainstream news agencies 'don't dare' say that Trump has crossed every red line of the American rules based order, has violated all international law. All of them sing the same notes, they all say the same thing, that it is a very bad thing because it signals to China and Russia that they can do what they want in their spheres, militarily. Global hegemony is the issue.
US can't longer create agreements or contracts of any kind, because other parties don't trust it.
‘Let’s see if Trump is still completely captive to the CIA.'
Showed Trump's many past statements against regime change and nation building.
‘The media is the fly in the ointment.’ Puchin is more credible than the CIA, and certainly more credible than those that have won Pulitzer prizes for the New York Times.'
Russia, Iran, China, Cuba, what extra weapons do they have to give to Venezuela?
‘How dare you lecture others on international law.’
‘All information points to many Venezuelans having participated in [the night capture of Maduro].
14 journalists and workers for news agencies were detained by Venezuelan police. 4 were later released. The others remain in a state of disappearedness.
THURSDAY
‘Democracy not major “consideration” of US’
US military operation in Venezuela 'a clear violation of international law' • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)
‘Una construccion mentirosa.’
In these periods, do leaders question their actions? and think they should have done more for their people, for all the groups of people, for all the people wanted, especially in terms of protections and rights, liberty, so that in such periods they would have the absolute support and protection of the people?
Comments. ‘Este pobre diablo le tiene miedo a Donal Trump, porque su nivel de brutalidad es abismal’
Seems like Americans might have to give up the idea they believe in or stand for anything like liberty, democracy, civil rights, law and order, checks and balances. They seem to have almost no qualms about executive actions here. I mean in general. The commenters show there is a lot of intelligent dissent and counter points, but the public seems unconcerned.
If that ever really was the project, maybe it isn't now.
A WEEK LATER
Full Breakdown of Maduro Raid - NEW Satellite Imagery Revealing Extent of Damage (youtube.com)
Guards dropped to their knees, bled from the nose, vomited blood, reportedly.
‘ 56% of U.S. adults think Trump has overstepped on military interventions abroad, while majorities disapprove of how the Republican president is handling foreign policy in general and Venezuela in particular.’ However, that's 86% Democrats and 18% Republicans. Independents 63% say he went too far.
LATER STILL IN JANUARY