They have attacked Venezuela': President Gustavo Petro claims Caracas under missile attack

[DefiantMassRINO]

What Epstein files?

What January Government shutdown?

What FY2026 Budget?

[txradioguy]

What Epstein files?

What January Government shutdown?

What FY2026 Budget?

New Congress about to be sworn in.  Just sayin...

[Bigun]

I hate to be the one to tell you but this

"...for us, politics isn't about "identity" or "discourse".

For us, politics have become a matter of SURVIVAL."

is as true for us as it is them whether or not you have realized it yet!

[Bigun]

That's so fuc%ing awesome!

I wish I'd written that!

I swear on everything that if Trump does this in Cuba, and someone starts talking that s#it to me, I will joyfully and happily punch them in the *&%$* face.

I'm thinking that there are a large number of us who feel exactly the same @Luis Gonzalez

[txradioguy]

I'm thinking that there are a large number of us who feel exactly the same @Luis Gonzalez

 

[Bigun]

Dad passed a few years back. He retired as CFO for the Sugar Barons of FL, and I recall him telling us that the family had negotiated the exclusive rights to sell and distribute Toyota in a post Castro Cuba.

I don't know how I feel about that.

The wealth and power that the (now) third and even fourth gen descendants of the early Cuban diaspora wield, could easily overwhelm that post Castro struggling economy. There are families here, with legitimate claims to sometims substantial properties stolen from them, when they were expropriated/nationalized in the early days of La Revolución.

But... is it morally right for those who migrated here (and elsewhere) to now walk back into the island, laying claim to properties?

We left damned near 60 years ago. We owned properties and they were taken.

We came here and did well, while those who stayed there lived through some seriously crappy times. Should that time ever come when Trump takes out the Cuban government, do those of us who've been blessed to live and thrive outside Cuba for decades have any claims, legal or moral, to those properties?

Personally, I want nothing, and I think it would be a complete abuse to try and do so.

 

[Lando Lincoln]

I'm thinking that there are a large number of us who feel exactly the same @Luis Gonzalez

Yes

[mystery-ak]

https://twitter.com/GuntherEagleman/status/2008161635857560024

[cato potatoe]

From what I saw, the Cuban exiles are not going to be interested in their properties.  Some of the grand old homes were preserved, but not many, and Havana smells like ass.

[Luis Gonzalez]

There will be statues of Donald Trump all over Venezuela.

[DefiantMassRINO]

There will be <huge golden>statues of Donald Trump all over Venezuela.

[Luis Gonzalez]

I had a very dear friend who felt his family deserved the land that was stolen from them when Castro took over the country.  When he was 15 Castro stole their ranch and everything then rounded up the entire family into a theatre.  He left his family in Cuba and was flown into Miami by the CIA.  To this day he still kept descriptions of the land that was stolen and was looking forward to the day he could return.  Sadly he died of cancer a couple of years ago.  If Cuba ever is free just the claims on the land are going to be a massive mess.

My grandparents are buried here.

My parents are buried here. Aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews, nieces.

I will be buried here.

Every inch of dirt that holds any meaning to me is here.

This is home for the G clan going forward.

[BobfromWB]

Just a thought, don't mean nuthin', but...

The bus driver is soon going to appear in court.
I'm under the impression that the federal judge assigned to the case is on the left side of things.

What are the chances that (pick one below):
- the judge orders maduro released on bond
- the judge orders maduro released on his own recognizance
- the judge simply dismisses the charges and orders maduro released, free.

???

- the judge orders Maduro released with due compensation and returned to Venezuela immediately, via 1st class air of his choice. Holds Trump in contempt and liable for all damages to Maduro's person and property, as well as compensation for all property damaged, and to those killed in Trump's illegal operation.

[Free Vulcan]

You forgot U.S. Grant in Korea, McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt in the Philippines, Teddy again in Morocco, Taft with Nicaragua, Wilson in Russia and the Dominican Republic, Franklin Roosevelt with China, and Truman with Korea.

But just because they violated the Constitution makes it OK to continue doing so now?

So your answer is a moral equivocating church sermon? Let's not forget that warrants for Maduro's arrest have been signed off on by the courts for his arrest, as has been done in the past. So let's quit pretending like this was some unilateral action by Trump. This is now a long established legal precedent.

If you want to make a legal argument against that, have at it. Let's also quit the media style twisting and distorting this into a 'forever war'. There is no war here and it's already over. There is no 'forever'.

Let's also quit propping up this whitewash that Maduro is a legitimate leader. He lost the election but stayed in power anyway, and is now running drugs, fostering terrorists, and providing a base for both China and Russia to conduct their activities against us over here.

And this doctrinaire 'letters of marque' is simply finding something to oppose Trump for the sake of opposing Trump. There is no privateer army on the planet that could go in and do what our special forces did with the precision and force they executed it with. To say that must be done with 'provateers' is a pure set-up-to-fail 'solution' that you know can't work and isn't even possible. Is another Bay of Pigs what you want so as to find another way to blame and excoriate Trump?

If you want the US out of this, let's get the US completely out of Ukraine as well. Everything gets applied equally, not some selective moral huffing and puffing. Let the privateers solve that problem too.

[Bigun]

I'm OK with a President Rubio.

Were Marco's parents citizens when he was born?

[Luis Gonzalez]

So your answer is a moral equivocating church sermon? Let's not forget that warrants for Maduro's arrest have been signed off on by the courts for his arrest, as has been done in the past. So let's quit pretending like this was some unilateral action by Trump. This is now a long established legal precedent.

If you want to make a legal argument against that, have at it. Let's also quit the media style twisting and distorting this into a 'forever war'. There is no war here and it's already over. There is no 'forever'.

Let's also quit propping up this whitewash that Maduro is a legitimate leader. He lost the election but stayed in power anyway, and is now running drugs, fostering terrorists, and providing a base for both China and Russia to conduct their activities against us over here.

And this doctrinaire 'letters of marque' is simply finding something to oppose Trump for the sake of opposing Trump. There is no privateer army on the planet that could go in and do what our special forces did with the precision and force they executed it with. To say that must be done with 'provateers' is a pure set-up-to-fail 'solution' that you know can't work and isn't even possible. Is another Bay of Pigs what you want so as to find another way to blame and excoriate Trump?

If you want the US out of this, let's get the US completely out of Ukraine as well. Everything gets applied equally, not some selective moral huffing and puffing. Let the privateers solve that problem too.

Well said.

[BobfromWB]

A friend of mine posted his deep thought opinion on his social media page, which I agree with 100%:

Far better to follow some personal interpretation on the Constitution, even if it means thousands of people die from drug overdoses, drugs brought into the country, via the likes of a thug dictator, then to take him out/holding him personally accountable.

Fun thought: More people have died from drug overdoses in recent years then died in all wars America has ever fought, including the Civil War.

[Kamaji]

So your answer is a moral equivocating church sermon? Let's not forget that warrants for Maduro's arrest have been signed off on by the courts for his arrest, as has been done in the past. So let's quit pretending like this was some unilateral action by Trump. This is now a long established legal precedent.

If you want to make a legal argument against that, have at it. Let's also quit the media style twisting and distorting this into a 'forever war'. There is no war here and it's already over. There is no 'forever'.

Let's also quit propping up this whitewash that Maduro is a legitimate leader. He lost the election but stayed in power anyway, and is now running drugs, fostering terrorists, and providing a base for both China and Russia to conduct their activities against us over here.

And this doctrinaire 'letters of marque' is simply finding something to oppose Trump for the sake of opposing Trump. There is no privateer army on the planet that could go in and do what our special forces did with the precision and force they executed it with. To say that must be done with 'provateers' is a pure set-up-to-fail 'solution' that you know can't work and isn't even possible. Is another Bay of Pigs what you want so as to find another way to blame and excoriate Trump?

If you want the US out of this, let's get the US completely out of Ukraine as well. Everything gets applied equally, not some selective moral huffing and puffing. Let the privateers solve that problem too.

You make some good points.  First and foremost, the precedent based on Noriega should apply here without much variation, so the action should be treated as the enforcement of validly issued arrest warrants for a person who is not, in fact, a legitimate head of state. 

As for keeping the U.S. involved in Venezuela, I agree that we have to remain involved, at least on the you-broke-it-you-bought-it theory, but we can’t stay there forever.  Venezuela was a highly educated developed country before Chavez, and it hasn’t been so long that all of that history, knowledge, and expertise has been lost, so it seems to me that our involvement should be focused on helping Venezuelans to elect a new legitimate government, and to move on from there, with the U.S. perhaps providing security guarantees against incursions by the cartels, which may seek to take advantage of the situation to take over Venezuela and perpetuate Maduro’s narco-state. 

[Luis Gonzalez]

Were Marco's parents citizens when he was born?

No.

https://www.scribd.com/document/62055196/Rubio-Naturalization-Petition-CERTIFIED-from-National-Archives

[Luis Gonzalez]

You make some good points.  First and foremost, the precedent based on Noriega should apply here without much variation, so the action should be treated as the enforcement of validly issued arrest warrants for a person who is not, in fact, a legitimate head of state. 

As for keeping the U.S. involved in Venezuela, I agree that we have to remain involved, at least on the you-broke-it-you-bought-it theory, but we can’t stay there forever.  Venezuela was a highly educated developed country before Chavez, and it hasn’t been so long that all of that history, knowledge, and expertise has been lost, so it seems to me that our involvement should be focused on helping Venezuelans to elect a new legitimate government, and to move on from there, with the U.S. perhaps providing security guarantees against incursions by the cartels, which may seek to take advantage of the situation to take over Venezuela and perpetuate Maduro’s narco-state.

We need to remain involved and present in the entire hemisphere.

[Kamaji]

We need to remain involved and present in the entire hemisphere.

Yes, but we have to walk a careful line between being present, and de facto taking over.

[DefiantMassRINO]

Look at how well all those times we've taken over Haiti have worked out.  Haiti is a shining beacon of democracy and prosperity for the entire Caribbean.

Let Exxon and Chevron run Venezuela.

Yes, but we have to walk a careful line between being present, and de facto taking over.

[andy58-in-nh]

My grandparents are buried here.

My parents are buried here. Aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews, nieces.

I will be buried here.

Every inch of dirt that holds any meaning to me is here.

This is home for the G clan going forward.

That makes perfect sense to me. Nonetheless, for those still there and for those who may one day care to return:

[DB]

I'll just point out that the country is still controlled by Maduro's hand-picked armed thugs including Cubans. The Venezuelan people are largely unarmed.

Hopefully there is an active plan in place to address this.

This is far from over.

[DCPatriot]

That's so fuc%ing awesome!

I wish I'd written that!

I swear on everything that if Trump does this in Cuba, and someone starts talking that s#it to me, I will joyfully and happily punch them in the *&%$* face.

For a moment, thought that you HAD written it!      

[Luis Gonzalez]

Yes, but we have to walk a careful line between being present, and de facto taking over.

if that de facto takeover is done to avoid a for real take over by China, Russia, Iran et al, then let's do it.

[txradioguy]

We need to remain involved and present in the entire hemisphere.

Thankfully Trump is bringing back the Monroe Doctrine that John Kerry said was "dead" when he was SecState under Obama

[DCPatriot]

So your answer is a moral equivocating church sermon? Let's not forget that warrants for Maduro's arrest have been signed off on by the courts for his arrest, as has been done in the past. So let's quit pretending like this was some unilateral action by Trump. This is now a long established legal precedent.

If you want to make a legal argument against that, have at it. Let's also quit the media style twisting and distorting this into a 'forever war'. There is no war here and it's already over. There is no 'forever'.

Let's also quit propping up this whitewash that Maduro is a legitimate leader. He lost the election but stayed in power anyway, and is now running drugs, fostering terrorists, and providing a base for both China and Russia to conduct their activities against us over here.

And this doctrinaire 'letters of marque' is simply finding something to oppose Trump for the sake of opposing Trump. There is no privateer army on the planet that could go in and do what our special forces did with the precision and force they executed it with. To say that must be done with 'provateers' is a pure set-up-to-fail 'solution' that you know can't work and isn't even possible. Is another Bay of Pigs what you want so as to find another way to blame and excoriate Trump?

If you want the US out of this, let's get the US completely out of Ukraine as well. Everything gets applied equally, not some selective moral huffing and puffing. Let the privateers solve that problem too.

Oh my!!     @Free Vulcan

[Wingnut]

Look at how well all those times we've taken over Haiti have worked out.  Haiti is a shining beacon of democracy and prosperity for the entire Caribbean.

Yeah but remember Haiti has always been a shithole country.  Venezuela on the other hand was the crown jewel of Latin America and very prosperous.  Venezuelans remember that.  Or should remember and want to return to the way it was.  Also it is not a medieval muzzie inbred culture of death country.  I believe it is a Christian nation. One that builds things and not blows them up.

[Free Vulcan]

You make some good points.  First and foremost, the precedent based on Noriega should apply here without much variation, so the action should be treated as the enforcement of validly issued arrest warrants for a person who is not, in fact, a legitimate head of state. 

As for keeping the U.S. involved in Venezuela, I agree that we have to remain involved, at least on the you-broke-it-you-bought-it theory, but we can’t stay there forever.  Venezuela was a highly educated developed country before Chavez, and it hasn’t been so long that all of that history, knowledge, and expertise has been lost, so it seems to me that our involvement should be focused on helping Venezuelans to elect a new legitimate government, and to move on from there, with the U.S. perhaps providing security guarantees against incursions by the cartels, which may seek to take advantage of the situation to take over Venezuela and perpetuate Maduro’s narco-state.

Agree. Being Maduro is not the legit leader and has filled the country with his criminal goons, I believe we have to be there to clean things out, give them a reset, and let them rebuild from scratch.

I see two objectives, 1) the taking out of Maduro's trash allies that are in-country, and 2) giving the Venezuelans the legit opportunity to elect leadership that will get them back on their feet.

[Right_in_Virginia]

Were Marco's parents citizens when he was born?

Nationality of Parents: Cuban.
Arrival in U.S.: 1956, during the Batista regime.
Naturalization: They became U.S. citizens in 1975.
Marco Rubio's Birth: Born in Miami, Florida, in 1971.

@Bigun

[Right_in_Virginia]

We need to remain involved and present in the entire hemisphere.

Yes, but we have to walk a careful line between being present, and de facto taking over.

Define "taking over" @Kamaji

[Kamaji]

Define "taking over" @Kamaji

It’s pretty self-explanatory. 

[Right_in_Virginia]

It’s pretty self-explanatory.

How do *you* define taking over? ---  This should be quick and simply for you to answer.  Give it a shot.

[DCPatriot]

How do *you* define taking over? ---  This should be quick and simply for you to answer.  Give it a shot.

 

[rangerrebew]

Maduro bragged just days before capture that Iranian air-defense systems would protect Venezuela
Story by Mark Tanos • 17h

Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro boasted about his country’s defensive capabilities just days before U.S. forces captured him in a dramatic overnight raid.

Maduro reportedly claimed that air-defense systems his government received from Iran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps would protect Venezuela from any attack, according to a post on X by Ahmed Quraishi, a journalist covering national security in the Middle East and North Africa who previously served as a war correspondent in Lebanon, Iraq, and the Gulf region.
 
Maduro touted Venezuela’s military readiness. “The national defensive system that combines the Popular Force, military, and police has guaranteed and continues to guarantee territorial integrity, the peace of the country, and the use and enjoyment of all our territories,” Maduro said. “And our people are safe and at peace.”

In the interview that aired on Venezuelan state television, Maduro sat behind the wheel of a car with Spanish journalist Ignacio Ramonet in the passenger seat. The Venezuelan leader said his government stood ready to negotiate a drug trafficking agreement with the United States.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/maduro-bragged-just-days-before-capture-that-iranian-air-defense-systems-would-protect-venezuela/ar-AA1TziBk?ocid=widgetonlockscreen&cvid=695bf8a9480e464ca261f35b532333ee&ei=30

[Wingnut]

Viewing MS-13 Now's coverage of the "kidnapping" it is showing a slight bias for Maduro. Shocking, I know.

[Kamaji]

How do *you* define taking over? ---  This should be quick and simply for you to answer.  Give it a shot.

It’s pretty self-explanatory. 

But, since it apparently escapes you, why don’t you regale us with what you think it means, and why that belief of yours has got your parties in such a twist.

[mystery-ak]

Nicolas Maduro, wife plead not guilty to terrorism charges in court appearance

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro pleaded not guilty to all four charges against him on Monday. His wife, Cilia Flores, also pleaded not guilty to her three charges. Judge Alvin Hellerstein set their next court date for March 17.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro repeatedly tried to speak during his first court appearance in New York City on Monday, insisting "I am innocent."

Maduro made the remarks during his arraignment in federal court on Monday, but Jude Alvin Hellerstein repeatedly shut down his attempts to speak. Maduro pleaded not guilty to all four counts against him.

"I am innocent. I am a decent man. I am still president of my country," he argued.

Maduro also attempted to give a detailed description of his capture from Venezuela, but Hellerstein cut him off and said there would be time for him to make his case later.

Maduro's wife, Cilia Flores, also pleaded not guilty to the three charges against her.
Posted by Anders Hagstrom

[rangerrebew]

How US commandos stormed Maduro's fortress in daring midnight raid
Story by Sami Quadri • 19m

Elite American commandos obliterated Venezuelan air defences before storming Nicolas Maduro's fortified compound in a lightning military operation that ended his 12-year grip on power.

Operation Absolute Resolve unfolded in the dead of night as some 150 military aircraft - including fighter jets, bombers and reconnaissance planes - launched from 20 bases and Navy ships across the region.
 
Within hours, the Venezuelan dictator and his wife were bundled onto a military helicopter and flown to a US warship waiting in the Caribbean.

The extraordinary mission began between midnight and 1am Caracas time as the American strike force moved into position under cover of darkness.

By 2am, multiple explosions rocked the capital as plumes of smoke billowed over the city skyline.

General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, revealed that F-22 Raptors, F-35 stealth fighters and Navy F-18 Hornets were deployed to systematically destroy Venezuela's air defence network.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/how-us-commandos-stormed-maduros-fortress-in-daring-midnight-raid/ar-AA1TxusW?ocid=BingNewsSerp

[Mod2]

Merged with Venezuela topic

[IsailedawayfromFR]

It’s pretty self-explanatory.

No it is not.  Quite a lot of ways to interpret that.

What is it in your mind?

If you still don't have an answer the question then we know you are simply full of it.

[Kamaji]

No it is not.  Quite a lot of ways to interpret that.

What is it in your mind?

If you still don't have an answer the question then we know you are simply full of it.

It’s pretty self-explanatory.  But, since you don’t get it, perhaps you should regale us with your subjective belief and why that’s got your panties in such a twist. 

[IsailedawayfromFR]

  Cuba next.  It is closer.  Oh an trump aint JFK who F'd it up in 61.

Cuba does not have the oil.  Nor does it have the leadership which supported the drug trade to the extent Maduro sanctioned.

The bullseye was on a druglord Maduro but also about that access to oil.

I doubt sincerely we will go after Cuba anytime in the near term.  So far we have waited for over 60 years and we will wait some more.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

It’s pretty self-explanatory.  But, since you don’t get it, perhaps you should regale us with your subjective belief and why that’s got your panties in such a twist.

BS - you refuse to answer a simple question so we all know you are FOS

[Kamaji]

BS - you refuse to answer a simple question so we all know you are FOS

It’s pretty self-explanatory.  Why don’t you regale us with your subjective belief that’s getting your frilly little panties into such a twist.

[Right_in_Virginia]

It’s pretty self-explanatory. 

But, since it apparently escapes you, why don’t you regale us with what you think it means, and why that belief of yours has got your parties in such a twist.

It's not self-explanatory --- hence the escalating political debate.  Stop the tap dancing and answer the question, or move on to a less challenging thread. 

One more time:  How do you define "taking over"?

[Kamaji]

It's not self-explanatory --- hence the escalating political debate.  Stop the tap dancing and answer the question, or move on to a less challenging thread. 

One more time:  How do you define "taking over"?

It’s pretty self-explanatory.  Why don’t you regale us with whatever subjective beliefs are getting your frilly little panties in such a twist.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

So what happens if Venezuela devolves into a civil war? Seems all the ingredients are now there.

[Luis Gonzalez]

Coming to a Catholic Church near Caracas.

Santo Donald.