WTF?

The #Trump admin “captured” #Venezuela President Nicolás #Maduro & his wife & flew him out of the country in an insane nighttime operation that was accompanied by a flurry of strikes following months of escalating pressure on the #oil-rich #SouthAmerica nation.

The US is now deciding next steps for Venezuela, Trump said Saturday on Fox News, adding, “We’ll be involved in it very much.”

The legal authority for the attack was not clear. [there is none]

#law
apnews.com/live/trump-us-venez…

This entry was edited (3 days ago)
in reply to Nonilex

US AG #PamBondi said #Maduro & his wife would face charges after an indictment in New York. Bondi vowed in a social media post that the couple would “soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.”

#Trump announced the developments on Truth Social shortly after 4:30AM ET & said he would host a news conference at 11AM ET.

#law #Congress #WarPowers #criminal #abduction #Venezuela #oil #LandGrab #WarCrimes #ExtrajudicialKillings #theft #piracy #InternationalLaw

in reply to Nonilex

#Trump brushed off criticism from US Democratic lawmakers that he did not seek permission from #Congress ahead of time & that the strike was #illegal. He called his Democratic critics “weak, stupid people” & blamed his political opponents for inflation in the US.

He said the operation in #Venezuela was “really genius.”

“All they do is complain,” he said of the #Democrats.

#law #WarPowers #criminal #abduction #oil #LandGrab #WarCrimes #ExtrajudicialKillings #theft #piracy #InternationalLaw

in reply to Nonilex

“They should say, ‘Great job.’ They shouldn’t say, ‘Oh Gee, maybe it’s not constitutional.’ You know, the same old stuff that we’ve been hearing for years & years & years,” #Trump said who very likely has never read the #US #Constitution.

#law #Congress #WarPowers #criminal #abduction #Venezuela #oil #LandGrab #WarCrimes #ExtrajudicialKillings #theft #piracy #InternationalLaw

in reply to Nonilex

#Trump told FauxNews that #Maduro & his wife were aboard the US warship Iwo Jima & headed to NY, where they will face prosecution.

🚨Trump said in an interview Saturday morning that the #US will be making decisions on what is next for #Venezuela.🚨

“We can’t take a chance in letting somebody else run and just take over what he left, or left off.”

#law #Congress #WarPowers #criminal #abduction #oil #LandGrab #WarCrimes #ExtrajudicialKillings #theft #piracy #InternationalLaw

in reply to Nonilex

Venezuelan ruling party leader Nahum Fernández told The Associated Press that Nicolás #Maduro & his wife were at their home within the Ft. Tiuna military installation when they were captured.

“That’s where they bombed,” he said. “And, there, they carried out what we could call a kidnapping of the president & the first lady of the country.”

#law #Congress #WarPowers #criminal #Trump #abduction #Venezuela #oil #LandGrab #WarCrimes #ExtrajudicialKillings #theft #piracy #InternationalLaw

in reply to Nonilex

#EU foreign policy chief #KajaKallas wrote on X that she had spoken with #US Secy of State #MarcoRubio & the EU ambassador in Caracas. “The EU has repeatedly stated that Mr #Maduro lacks legitimacy & has defended a peaceful transition. Under all circumstances, the principles of #InternationalLaw & the #UN Charter must be respected. We call for restraint.”

Meaningless ⤴︎

#law #Congress #WarPowers #criminal #Trump #abduction #Venezuela #oil #LandGrab #WarCrimes #ExtrajudicialKillings

in reply to Nonilex

#Russia Foreign Ministry said it is “extremely alarmed” & called for “immediate clarification,” acc/to a statement posted Saturday on the ministry’s Telegram channel. The ministry said such actions, if confirmed, would constitute “an unacceptable infringement on the #sovereignty of an #independent #state.”

#law #Congress #WarPowers #criminal #Trump #abduction #Venezuela #oil #LandGrab #WarCrimes #ExtrajudicialKillings #theft #piracy #InternationalLaw

in reply to Nonilex

#Britain PM #KeirStarmer said the #UK was not involved in the #US operation in #Venezuela and that he would seek more information from #Trump. Without condemning the US action, #Starmer said he always believes that #InternationalLaw should be upheld. “But I think at this stage, fast moving situation, let’s establish the facts & take it from there,” he said.

#law #Congress #WarPowers #criminal #abduction #oil #LandGrab #WarCrimes #ExtrajudicialKillings #theft #piracy

in reply to Nonilex

#China strongly condemned the #US strike in #Venezuela & the action against its president, the Foreign Ministry said, adding the Beijing govt was “deeply shocked” & firmly opposed to the operation.

“Such hegemonic acts of the US seriously violate #InternationalLaw & Venezuela’s #sovereignty & threaten #peace & #security in #LatinAmerica & the #Caribbean region,” it said.

#law #Congress #WarPowers #criminal #Trump #abduction #oil #LandGrab #WarCrimes #ExtrajudicialKillings #theft #piracy

in reply to Nonilex

The #UnitedNations said it was “deeply alarmed” by the #US strikes in #Venezuela & the reported detention of President Nicolás #Maduro. It expressed concern the escalation was a violation of #InternationalLaw.

“These developments constitute a
dangerous precedent,” Stéphane Dujarric, spox for the #UN sec-gen, said. Dujarric said the UN worried about the implications for #LatinAmerica & the #Caribbean & called on “all actors in Venezuela” to respect #HumanRights & the rule of #law.

#Trump #oil

in reply to Nonilex

#US #DOJ released a new #indictment of #Maduro & wife

Maduro & other #Venezuela ofcls were indicted in 2020 on “narco-terrorism” conspiracy charges. The DOJ released a new indictment Saturday of Maduro & his wife for alleged role in #narcoterrorism #conspiracy.

#PamBondi said Maduro & his wife, Cilia Flores, would “soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.”

#law #Congress #WarPowers #Trump #abduction #oil #LandGrab #InternationalLaw

in reply to Nonilex

The #MaduroIndictment [for which the #US has no authority]

The #indictment accuses #Maduro of leading a “a corrupt, illegitimate government that, for decades, has leveraged government power to protect & promote illegal activity, including drug trafficking.” #DOJ alleges that the drug trafficking efforts “enriched & entrenched Venezuela’s political & military elite.”

#law #Congress #WarPowers #criminal #Trump #abduction #Venezuela #oil #LandGrab #WarCrimes #theft #piracy #InternationalLaw

in reply to Nonilex

#US #DOJ alleges that #Maduro partnered with “some of the most violent & prolific drug traffickers & narco-terrorists in the world” to bring “tons” of cocaine into the US, acc/to the #indictment.

The DOJ estimates that as much as 250 tons of cocaine were trafficked through #Venezuela by 2020 [start date?], acc/to the indictment.

#law #Congress #WarPowers #criminal #Trump #abduction #MaduroIndictment #oil #LandGrab #InternationalLaw

in reply to Nonilex

Trump about to speak

c-span.org/event/white-house-e…

#law #Congress #WarPowers #criminal #Trump #abduction #MaduroIndictment #Venezuela #oil #LandGrab #WarCrimes #ExtrajudicialKillings #theft #piracy #InternationalLaw

in reply to Nonilex

The #Venezuela mission to the #UN has requested an emergency #Security Council [#UNSC] meeting & has asked the Council to condemn the #US military strikes against the country.

Venezuela’s ambassador, Samuel Reinaldo Moncada Acosta, said in a letter to the UNSC president: “The United States of America always uses lies to fabricate wars. It is an international #tyranny imposed with the #propaganda of death: the recent past confirms this.”

#law #Trump #abduction #oil #LandGrab #InternationalLaw

in reply to Nonilex

#MaríaCorinaMachado, the Venezuelan opposition leader, posted a statement calling for national unity following the capture of Nicolás #Maduro.

“Given his refusal to accept a negotiated exit, the government of the United States has fulfilled its promise to enforce the law,” she wrote. “We have struggled for years, we have given it our all, & it has been worth it. What had to happen is happening.”

Her support is unsurprising.

#law #Trump #abduction #Venezuela #oil #InternationalLaw

in reply to Nonilex

#Machado added that #EdmundoGonzález, who the #US has recognized as Venezuela’s President-elect, must “immediately” take office & be recognized as the country’s commander of the armed forces.

“Today we are prepared to enforce our mandate & take power,” Machado said. “We are going to restore order, release the political prisoners, build an exceptional country, & bring our children back home.”

#law #Congress #WarPowers #Trump #abduction #Venezuela #oil #LandGrab #WarCrimes #InternationalLaw

in reply to Nonilex

Sick

#Trump posted a photo on social media showing #Maduro wearing a sweatsuit & a blindfold with the caption: “Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima.”

Maduro appeared to be wearing a flotation device around his neck. Next to him was someone wearing a jacket that had a DEA logo.

Maduro also had protective headphones on his ears & appeared to be lifting a water bottle with both arms to drink

#law #Congress #WarPowers #abduction #Venezuela #oil #LandGrab #WarCrimes #InternationalLaw

in reply to Nonilex

#Trump put no time limit on the #US #occupation. It would be up to the #UnitedStates to decide when to return the country to Venezulan control. And then he turned to #oil, saying that US companies would fix the infrastructure, “& start making money for the country.” [doubt any will go to Venezuelans]

#law #Congress #WarPowers #criminal #Maduro #abduction #Venezuela #oil #LandGrab #sovereignty #WarCrimes #ExtrajudicialKillings #theft #piracy #InternationalLaw

in reply to Nonilex

#Trump referred to a “partnership” between #Venezuela & the #UnitedStates, which he said would make Venezuelans “rich, independent & safe.” Of course, this was a partnership accomplished by a #GovernmentOverthrow.

BTWs Trump’s asides about #DC, #NOLA, & #LA are total bullshit. No murder in NOLA & DC since his illegal intervention? Flat out lies.

#law #Congress #WarPowers #criminal #Maduro #abduction #oil #LandGrab #sovereignty #WarCrimes #ExtrajudicialKillings #theft #piracy #InternationalLaw

in reply to Nonilex

#Trump has offered NO details about what the #US running #Venezuela looks like. Will there be an US official there in a leadership position?

As he justifies the #military operation, Trump argued that #Maduro sent members of Tren de Aragua to the US to terrorize the US. Trump’s own #intelligence community earlier this year debunked that claim, finding that the gang was not controlled by the Venezuelan govt.

#law #Congress #WarPowers #abduction #oil #LandGrab #sovereignty #InternationalLaw

in reply to Nonilex

In declaring that the #US will be “running” #Venezuela, #Trump has raised a host of questions: Will the US have an occupying #military force? Will it install a pliant government for some number of years? Will it run the #courts, & determine who pumps the #oil? All of this, of course, could enmesh the US in the kind of “forever wars” Trump’s #MAGA base has rejected.

Trump spoke about bringing in US oil companies to remake the #energy infrastucture &, presumably, to exploit oil reserves.

#law

in reply to Nonilex

When asked how much running #Venezuela, potentially for years, will cost, #Trump said: “It won’t cost us anything.”

His claim that the #US won’t have to spend any money because it will be “reimbursed” by the #oil the US will take “out of the ground” is a total fantasy.

This will cost the US billions.

#law #Congress #WarPowers #criminal #Maduro #abduction #LandGrab #sovereignty #WarCrimes #theft #piracy #InternationalLaw

in reply to Nonilex

The news conference is over. Despite multiple questions about how #Venezuela will be run, no details were provided.

#Trump repeatedly said “we’re gonna do” this & “we’re gonna do” that, but never gave info about HOW.

There were vague allusions to #MarcoRubio & Pete #Hegseth & a “group” but no specifics.

This is nuts.

#law #Congress #WarPowers #criminal #Maduro #abduction #LandGrab #sovereignty #WarCrimes #oil #theft #piracy #InternationalLaw