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
https://apnews.com/live/trump-us-venezuela-updates-01-03-2026?utm_source=onesignal&utm_medium=push&utm_campaign=2026-01-03-Breaking+News

Venezuela live updates: Nicolás Maduro arrives in New York after capture by US forces

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has been captured by the United States. President Donald Trump insisted the U.S. government would run the country at least temporarily.

AP News

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

#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

“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

#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

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

#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

#Spain PM #PedroSánchez called for “de-escalation & responsibility. #InternationalLaw & the principles of the #UnitedNations Charter must be respected,” Sánchez wrote on X.

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

#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

#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

#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

@Nonilex More breathtaking hypocrisy.