Day 1 of Trump's Presidency... and all the days that follow

[Rizotto]

The drugs issue keeps coming up in this thread, so maybe it deserves more analysis. For one thing, I do not understand what is it about drugs that makes certain people here so angry. For those with relatives who died of overdose, I'm sincerely sorry that happened. But why did they chose to take those drugs in the first place?

No one is forced to take drugs. Here in northern Canada, we hear that there have been several deaths due to fentanyl overdoses, mainly among the aboriginal population, who are sadly more vulnerable to addiction. Why are they more vulnerable? Why are some individuals more vulnerable to addiction than the majority of the population? Would prevention by means of information, e.g. education in schools about opioid addiction, help solve the problem? It's something that Trump needs to look into. Has he???

Drug smuggling only exists because there is a market, i.e. people eager to buy the stuff for personal consumption. But aren't they a tiny minority? And aren't those individuals responsible for their choices? Personally I think they need to take responsibility. And there needs to be way more addiction treatment centres available, NOT bombs and war.

Fact is, in my social circle nobody is interested in opioid drugs. (Some smoke the occasional marijuana.) You couldn't pay us to take drugs. My perception is that the great majority has no interest in taking any opioid drugs.

The war on drugs is a hoax.

Another fact is that the opioid addiction was started by big pharma who deliberately encouraged doctors to prescribe these pain-killers knowing how addictive these drugs were. Remember Oxycontin. Trump should go after big pharma, not Venezuela, if he's truly that concerned about drugs and addiction.

The bottom line is that blowing up Venezuelans in boats on the pretext of drugs is absurd. Informed and rational people know that Trump's accusations against Venezuela & drugs just don't add up. American journalists at the Grayzone (Max Blumenthal and Aaron Mate) have provided detailed information on this topic.

We have a responsibility to be informed with facts before going on murder sprees abroad. Now it's Venezuelans, tomorrow it could be Canadians.

As for the other allegations, i.e. voting machines, banking, communism. Really, are you serious? I'm among the skeptics about the 2020 USA elections results. There were too many indications that the vote tally had been badly tampered with. But blame the Democrats or the USA deep state, not Venezuela.

I'm also quite sure that recent elections in Canada have been tampered with. As well as in several countries in Europe. There is a certain cabal that seeks to infiltrate western governments to implement a destructive agenda of mass immigration, wokeness, climate hoax, etc. Again, that's nothing to do with Venezuela. In fact, it looks much more like starting a war on Venezuela is one the cabal's tools for bringing chaos and destruction to the world.

Here are the true reasons why Trump seeks to regime change Venezuela:
- control over Venezuela's rich resources
- Venezuela seeks to join the BRICS
- Russia has been supplying Venezuela with critical military equipment & support.
- Venezuela has strong allies like China, Russia, and Iran that the USA deep state view as rivals and an impediment to its hegemonic goals.

I and many others do sense great danger in Trump's rhetoric about Venezuela. Enough already. Go on to focus on 'america first', and the world will be a better place.

[onawah]

In Show of Support for RFK Jr., Trump Orders ‘Comprehensive Evaluation’ of Childhood Vaccine Schedule
by Michael Nevradakis, Ph.D.
December 8, 2025

https://childrenshealthdefense.org/d...8s#btn-share-1

(Podcast at the link. Hyperlinks at the link not embedded here.)

"President Donald Trump last week directed HHS to “fast track” a comprehensive review of the childhood immunization schedule. Trump also praised the CDC vaccine advisers for voting to end the recommendation that all newborns receive the Hep B vaccine.
“The American Childhood Vaccine Schedule long required 72 ‘jabs,’ for perfectly healthy babies, far more than any other Country in the World, and far more than is necessary. In fact, it is ridiculous! Many parents and scientists have been questioning the efficacy of this ‘schedule,’ as have I!” Trump posted.

Trump issued a memorandum, which he announced on Truth Social after the conclusion of last week’s two-day meeting of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) panel of vaccine advisers.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which met Dec. 4-5, voted to end the recommendation that all infants receive the hepatitis B (Hep B) vaccine at birth.

The committee members also heard presentations questioning the safety of the current childhood vaccination schedule and comparing its health outcomes to those of Denmark and other high-income countries.

In his Truth Social post, Trump said ACIP “made a very good decision” to end the Hep B vaccine recommendation for newborns.

Trump’s memorandum directs U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the CDC to “review best practices from peer, developed countries for core childhood vaccination recommendations,” including “the scientific evidence that informs those best practices,” as part of the review.

If the review finds that the childhood vaccination policies of other countries “are superior to current domestic recommendations,” the memorandum directs HHS and the CDC to “align” the childhood vaccination schedule “with such scientific evidence.”
In a post on X on Friday, Kennedy thanked Trump and wrote, “We’re on it.”

https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status...03542822174880

@RapidResponse47Post
See new posts
Conversation
6:39 PM · Dec 5, 2025
1.9K replies
1.3M Views

Dr. Larry Palevsky, a pediatrician, called Trump’s memorandum “unprecedented.” “Trump became the first American president to appropriately challenge the safety and efficacy of vaccines.”

Dr. Michelle Perro, also a pediatrician, told The Defender:

“Any medical intervention given to virtually every child deserves ongoing, rigorous re-evaluation. My hope is that this process will be data-driven, transparent and free from industry or political capture, which is something parents have not felt confident about for a long time.”

James Lyons-Weiler, Ph.D., also responded. “People, the public, the taxpayers deserve to know: do we have the safest possible schedule?” the research scientist and author asked.

ACIP member Retsef Levi, Ph.D., told The Washington Post that more research into childhood vaccines is needed. He said vaccines have risks that “are currently not well understood.”

In June, ACIP formed a work group to study the cumulative effect of all childhood vaccines.

ACIP’s Hep B vaccine recommendation now awaits approval by acting CDC Director Jim O’Neil. The Post reported Friday that the rollback of the Hep B shot recommendation “could portend broader changes to come” on vaccine policy.

Trump’s memorandum a ‘vote of confidence’ in RFK Jr.’s leadership

Trump’s memorandum and accompanying fact sheet took aim at the latest version of the childhood immunization schedule.

“In January 2025, the United States recommended vaccinating all children for 18 diseases, including COVID-19, making our country a high outlier in the number of vaccinations recommended for all children,” the memorandum states.

According to the memorandum, “Peer, developed countries recommend fewer childhood vaccinations — Denmark recommends vaccinations for just 10 diseases with serious morbidity or mortality risks; Japan recommends vaccinations for 14 diseases; and Germany recommends vaccinations for 15 diseases.”

The fact sheet states that “timing and administration of the vaccines also varies by country” — some do not require certain vaccines at birth or on an annual basis.

“Practices like the hepatitis B vaccination at birth are standard in the United States, but uncommon in most developed countries, where it is typically only recommended for newborns of mothers who test positive for the infection,” the fact sheet states.

During Friday’s ACIP meeting, Tracy Beth Høeg, M.D., Ph.D., who last week was named the next leader of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said there are “eye-opening differences in the recommendations” between the U.S. and her native Denmark.

Biologist Christina Parks, Ph.D., said it was evident that Trump “was listening … to the fact that it appears that our regulatory agencies have been co-opted by money and not really looking at the cost-benefit analysis of vaccines.”

In September, Trump made similar statements questioning the safety of the childhood immunization schedule — and the administration of the Hep B shot at birth — during an event announcing that HHS would study all possible causes of autism.

Earlier that month, the White House’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission unveiled its “Make Our Children Healthy Again” strategy report, outlining 128 recommendations for tackling the chronic disease epidemic in the U.S., including a review of existing vaccine policies and recommendations.

Friday’s fact sheet said that the review of the childhood vaccination schedule is part of these MAHA-related initiatives.

Axios said Trump’s memorandum is a “vote of confidence” in Kennedy’s leadership of HHS and Kennedy’s “handpicked advisory panel on vaccines” — referring to ACIP.

In June, Kennedy dismissed ACIP’s 17 previous members. Later in June and in September, Kennedy appointed several new members to ACIP.

In a statement shared with The Defender, HHS Press Secretary Emily Hilliard said:

“Secretary Kennedy reconstituted ACIP to strengthen its independence and to end past practices that favored established corporate interests over open scientific review.

“Instead of promoting the failed politics of the pandemic, HHS is promoting transparency in vaccine safety data and communicating clearly about both risks and benefits.”

“Kennedy and his allies have gained the power to pursue sweeping changes in U.S. vaccine policies,” Axios reported.

Mainstream medical organizations in a ‘panic’ over new vaccine guidelines

Friday’s ACIP developments and Trump’s memorandum prompted criticism by some political figures, pro-vaccine advocates and mainstream medical organizations.

In a post on X on Friday, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), chairman of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee, said ACIP’s new Hep B recommendation “makes America sicker.”

Before last week’s ACIP meeting, Cassidy said the committee was “totally discredited” after it invited attorney and vaccine critic Aaron Siri to deliver a presentation questioning the childhood vaccination schedule.

Two prominent and outspoken promoters of vaccines — Dr. Paul Offit and Peter Hotez, M.D., Ph.D., who declined invitations to deliver presentations at last week’s ACIP meeting — also criticized the committee and Kennedy.

Offit told The New York Times that ACIP is “a political group, not a scientific group.” Hotez said ACIP “seems to have shifted its mission away from science and evidence-based medicine.”

Lyons-Weiler questioned Offit’s and Hotez’s criticism of ACIP and their decisions not to accept the committee’s invitation to deliver presentations at the meeting, which he said, “signals they do not have the science to back up their claims.”

“If they believe the new ACIP lacks scientific rigor, then the responsible move is to walk into the room, put the data on the table and challenge the panel openly,” Lyons-Weiler said.

In a New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) op-ed published last week, 12 former FDA commissioners said they were “deeply concerned” by the Trump administration’s vaccine policies, which “undermine a regulatory model designed to ensure that vaccines are safe, effective, and available when the public needs them most.”

That same day, three former CDC officials published an op-ed in STAT accusing ACIP of “losing its footing” and warning that the committee was “poised to raise vaccine risks while burying their benefits.”

The American Medical Association (AMA), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) also criticized ACIP’s new Hep B vaccine guidance and last week’s meeting.

In July, the AAP and other medical organizations sued Kennedy and HHS, alleging the new ACIP members unilaterally changed COVID-19 vaccine recommendations without evidence. Last week, the plaintiffs in that lawsuit updated their complaint.

In August, the CDC removed AMA and AAP representatives from ACIP vaccine work groups. That month, the AAP released its own “evidence-based” immunization schedule, calling universal immunization essential to protect children.

According to the Post, after the ACIP meeting, a “slew of Democratic governors” and state health officials reaffirmed guidance that all newborns get a Hep B shot.

In recent months, several state and city public health departments have formed coalitions, issuing vaccine guidance that counters CDC recommendations. In April, CIDRAP launched the Vaccine Integrity Project, which issues similar guidance.

Lyons-Weiler said these reactions suggest that mainstream medical organizations are in a “panic.”

“If the scientific foundation is as strong as they claim, a comparative review should be the easiest win imaginable,” Lyons-Weiler said. “Instead, we get apocalyptic rhetoric. That tells you these institutions are defending authority and revenue streams, not science.”

‘The priority should be children’s health, not corporate comfort’

In the aftermath of the ACIP meeting, some critics also questioned comparisons between the childhood vaccination schedules of the U.S. and other countries.

Speaking on behalf of the AAP, pediatrician Dr. José R. Romero told the Post, “Children in the United States are at risk of different diseases than children in other countries.” We also have a completely different health system.”

Jessica Malaty Rivera of Defend Public Health told the Post that comparisons between the vaccination schedules of the U.S. and countries like Denmark are “like comparing apples to steaks,” due to significant differences between the countries — an argument Lyons-Weiler characterized as “hand-waving.”

“If Denmark, Japan or Germany achieve excellent outcomes with fewer early-life injections, ignoring that comparison is malpractice,” he said.

Perro said cross-country comparisons are commonplace “in every other field of medicine,” adding that it is possible to “adjust for differences in size and health systems and still learn a great deal.”

Defend Public Health operates under the Peace Development Fund, whose funders include pharma giant GSK, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisers and the Tides Foundation. Tides also funds the Center for Countering Digital Hate, publisher of the 2021 “Disinformation Dozen” list of “leading online anti-vaxxers” that included Kennedy.

STAT reported that vaccine makers are “terrified” of the Trump administration’s potential changes to vaccine policy, which are “alarming manufacturers.” Perro said, “That line unintentionally reveals a lot.”

“If manufacturers are ‘alarmed’ by a scientific review and possible schedule adjustments based on international best practices, we should be asking why. The priority should be children’s health, not corporate comfort.”

Related articles in The Defender

CDC Vaccine Panel Votes to End Universal Hep B Vaccine for Newborns
Vaccine Injury Lawyer Delivers Scathing Rebuke of Childhood Vaccine Schedule — Offit, Hotez Decline Invitation to Debate
CDC’s New Vaccine Advisers Vow to Study Cumulative Effect of Childhood Vaccine Schedule
AAP Ratchets Up Complaints Against RFK Jr.’s CDC Vaccine Panel in Updated Lawsuit
Higher Infant Mortality Rates Linked to Higher Number of Vaccine Doses, New Study Confirms

Michael Nevradakis, Ph.D., based in Athens, Greece, is a senior reporter for The Defender and host of "The Defender In-Depth" on CHD.TV. "

[norman]

Venezuelan STRIKES TO BEGIN! Barack Obama Becomes Flight Risk..Pam Bondi To Be Ousted!? Juan O Savin
David Nino Rodriguez - 3 hours ago

F-18's have just broken Venezuelan airspace.. Barack Obama has been seen multiple times in UK and is now becoming a serious flight risk, Pam Bondi may not be sticking around much longer. Juan O Savin explains further

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=hFS-GQMQqCo

[ThePythonicCow]

Posted by ThePythonicCow (here)
Hugo Armando Carvajal Barrios, a former Venezuelan military intelligence chief known as "El Pollo" Carvajal

An update from Patrick Byrne on Carvajal ... we got a huge load of intel from Carvajal on the operations against the U.S.
Patrick Byrne & Emerald Robinson > Venezuelan Intel Chief Just Confessed Everything (Rumble)

• Traitors and Spies inside very sensitive positions in the U.S.
• Undersea cables off Venezuela tapped by Russia for last decade.
• Election fraud
• Drug trafficking

For years, the CIA had been blocking Carvajal's persistent efforts to disclose this.

We might have been one or two whistleblowers away from losing the 2024 election, which would likely have been the final nail in the U.S. Constitutional Republic.

===

P.S. - There is another Venezuelan official in U.S. custody, who is offering more intel: Major General Cliver Cardonas (Rumble; The Absolute Truth; Emerald Robinson)

[Rizotto]

The Trump administration's efforts to stage a war against Venezuela are redolent of the fake WMDs that were all over newscasts in 2003 to start a war against Iraq.

One of TheGrayZone video recently posted above discussed the true origin of the alleged 'Venezuelan' "Cartel of the Sun", which is the CIA.

Here's an AI summary for more details:

In a 2025 interview for The Grayzone, U.S. mercenary Jordan Goudreau claimed that the "Cartel of the Suns" was created by the CIA long before Hugo Chávez became president of Venezuela. Goudreau alleged that the structure was established in the 1990s and that the U.S. government used it to facilitate drug trafficking.
Key Points from The Grayzone Commentary
CIA Creation: Goudreau told journalist Max Blumenthal that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was behind the creation of the Cartel de los Soles, and that this was "no secret".
"Langley Creation": In a separate discussion, journalist Ryan Grim suggested the name "Cartel de los Soles" (Cartel of the Suns) sounds like "the most obvious CIA made up name" and a "Langley creation" (referring to the CIA headquarters location).
Fabricated Entity: According to Goudreau and implicitly supported by Grim's comments, the "cartel" was effectively a fabrication used by U.S. intelligence/defense to label opponents as "narco-terrorists" as part of a strategy to overthrow the Venezuelan government. Goudreau even suggested the group "may not actually exist anymore" as an independent entity.
Political Tool: The Grayzone commentary suggests the U.S. has used the alleged existence of the cartel and its links to Venezuelan officials (like Nicolás Maduro) as a pretext for "law enforcement at scale" operations and political pressure, rather than it being an actual independent drug trafficking organization.

[jaybee]

Posted by norman (here)
F-18's have just broken Venezuelan airspace.. Barack Obama has been seen multiple times in UK and is now becoming a serious flight risk, Pam Bondi may not be sticking around much longer. Juan O Savin explains further

{snipped - see #1563}

great!

He's probably bought Ellen Degeneres' house in the Cotswolds and is hiding there - sneaking to London to dine with King Charles and Tony Blair on a regular basis.... :/

When Obama came over the pond to lecture us about Brexit and remaining in Europe he said we'd go to the back of the queue if we left - - well I'm sure as an elite 'asylum seeker' he will be at the front of the queue -

******************************

general comment about Trump's latest big moves against the Globalists via Venezuela - - he's getting so much flak he must be over the target - (?) they (Ex CIA Chief John Brennan?) even sent out the 'Seditious Six' to start the counter attack well in advance ...

[norman]

Posted by Rizotto (here)
The Trump administration's efforts to stage a war against Venezuela are redolent of the fake WMDs that were all over newscasts in 2003 to start a war against Iraq.

One of TheGrayZone video recently posted above discussed the true origin of the alleged 'Venezuelan' "Cartel of the Sun", which is the CIA.

Here's an AI summary for more details:

In a 2025 interview for The Grayzone, U.S. mercenary Jordan Goudreau claimed that the "Cartel of the Suns" was created by the CIA long before Hugo Chávez became president of Venezuela. Goudreau alleged that the structure was established in the 1990s and that the U.S. government used it to facilitate drug trafficking.
Key Points from The Grayzone Commentary
CIA Creation: Goudreau told journalist Max Blumenthal that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was behind the creation of the Cartel de los Soles, and that this was "no secret".
"Langley Creation": In a separate discussion, journalist Ryan Grim suggested the name "Cartel de los Soles" (Cartel of the Suns) sounds like "the most obvious CIA made up name" and a "Langley creation" (referring to the CIA headquarters location).
Fabricated Entity: According to Goudreau and implicitly supported by Grim's comments, the "cartel" was effectively a fabrication used by U.S. intelligence/defense to label opponents as "narco-terrorists" as part of a strategy to overthrow the Venezuelan government. Goudreau even suggested the group "may not actually exist anymore" as an independent entity.
Political Tool: The Grayzone commentary suggests the U.S. has used the alleged existence of the cartel and its links to Venezuelan officials (like Nicolás Maduro) as a pretext for "law enforcement at scale" operations and political pressure, rather than it being an actual independent drug trafficking organization.

Even from my perspective the factoids in your post are roughly correct. AI is as subject to the rule of "rubbish in, rubbish out" as anything else.

But here's the thing, What IS the CIA ?

Who does the CIA really work for ?

If we switch to seeing the CIA and the 'Cartels' and many of the central and south American 'governments' as the creations and agents of a European/black nobility/banking super cartel, that flips the whole scenario around and redefines what the war is really all about.

America has been a captured operation for a very long time. The 'America' that most of the rest of the world detests and some even call the great Satan has been a pumped up bullying global goon squad for a crooked crowd of European bankers and satanists for so long that even most Americans have a false identity in their heads about who they are. If industrial crash test dummies had a group identity ego I'm sure it would resemble the average American group identity ego.

Brits have a similar issue, it just goes back further.

The irony and, on a good day, comedy, about Trump is that he's daring (in a goonish way) to turn that American goon brawn back against the European satanists who created it, just at the point where they intended to scrap it and hightail away into their false light sunrise.

[BMJ]

Posted by gini (here)
This is a debate about the theme wich is also a big part of the discussion on this thread ,is Trump really fighting the globalist or is he in bed with them?--part 1 -

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=wfcLH85dQcQ

´IS TRUMP REALLY AGAINST WAR? ´| With Alex Christoforou & Susan Kokinda.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=3e86dDb8Hgw

-5/12/25-part 2

I just wanted to bump this post by Gini, thank you Gini I really enjoyed the debate/interview.

With Alex and Susan coming from very different understandings of things it was a very interesting debate/interview for me.

The best part for me was the last 20 minutes of the second part. Where I saw Alex listening to and considering that he might be missing underlying issues that President Trump needs to deal with, considerations that at times make it difficult to make a straight forward decision.

[Ravenlocke]

Reuters

Exclusive: US threatens new ICC sanctions unless court pledges not to prosecute Trump http://reut.rs/4a9Nzwq

https://x.com/Reuters/status/1998797402258460950

The Straits Times

US threatens new ICC sanctions unless court pledges not to prosecute Trump

https://x.com/straits_times/status/1998714374509257062

https://www.straitstimes.com/world/u...rosecute-trump

US threatens new ICC sanctions unless court pledges not to prosecute Trump
WASHINGTON

– US President Donald Trump’s administration wants the International Criminal Court (ICC) to amend its founding document to ensure it does not investigate the Republican President and his top officials, a Trump administration official said, threatening new US sanctions on the court if it did not.

If the court does not act on this US demand and two others – dropping investigations of Israeli leaders over the Gaza war and formally ending an earlier probe of US troops over their actions in Afghanistan – Washington may penalise more ICC officials and could sanction the court itself, the official said.

Sanctioning the court would significantly escalate the US campaign against the ICC, which has long been criticised by US officials, including both Republicans and Democrats, who say the court infringes on US sovereignty.

The Trump administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Washington has communicated its demands to ICC members, some of whom are US allies, and has also made them known to the court.

The US is not a party to the Rome Statute that established the ICC in 2002 as a court of last resort, with the power to prosecute heads of state.

The demand and the threat to resume the US sanctions campaign towards the court have not been previously reported.

ICC judges issued
arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

, former Israeli defence chief Yoav Gallant and Hamas leader Ibrahim al-Masri in November 2024 for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Gaza conflict.

The rest of the article can be found at the link above.

[TrumanCash]

Billionaire Patrick Byrne Reveals He is New Info About Himself - Full Interview 12/9/25, Alex Jones

So much amazing information coming out from Patrick Byrne!--CIA, Election fraud, Venezuela, Drug cartels, America infiltrated, Mafias, etc.

https://rumble.com/v72tq30-alex-jone...a-44aab78bb737

[Ravenlocke]

RT

❗️MOMENT US seizes oil tanker off coast of Venezuela

Coast Guard rappel down off Black Hawks, STORM bridge

AG Bondi claims vessel 'transported sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran'

Seizure 'conducted safely and securely'

https://x.com/RT_com/status/1998878101942710690

[Ravenlocke]

DD Geopolitics

🇺🇸🇻🇪🇮🇷 BREAKING: The United States just carried out a full military seizure of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, and Washington is now claiming the vessel was linked to Iran’s IRGC and Hezbollah.

Attorney General Pam Bondi says the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the Coast Guard, and the Department of War executed a federal seizure warrant on the Guyana-flagged M/T SKIPPER, a tanker long under U.S. Treasury sanctions.

At 6:00 a.m., two MH-60 Seahawks dropped U.S. Special Forces onto the ship, along with 10 Marines and 10 Coast Guard personnel.
The takeover was described as “safe,” but the legal justification is already under scrutiny.

When Iran seized a tanker in international waters last year, CENTCOM called it a “blatant violation of international law” that “undermines freedom of navigation and free commerce.”
(Their own press release literally says this.)

Yet today, U.S. forces boarded a sanctioned tanker in the Caribbean near Venezuelan territorial waters, using heliborne special operators to enforce unilateral U.S. sanctions that neither Venezuela nor the region recognizes.

If Iran does it: “Illegal seizure in international waters.”

If the United States does it: “A successful law-enforcement operation.”

https://x.com/DD_Geopolitics/status/1998897812277547502

[Ravenlocke]

DD Geopolitics

🇻🇪🇺🇸 Venezuela issues a blistering statement after the U.S. military seized an oil tanker near its waters, denouncing the operation as outright theft and “international piracy.”

Caracas says Washington’s motives are not migration, drugs, democracy, or human rights, but Venezuela’s natural resources, which the U.S. has openly admitted wanting to control.

Key points from the government’s communiqué:

➡️ The tanker’s seizure is described as a criminal act, part of a deliberate U.S. strategy to strip Venezuela of its energy resources, the same pattern seen in the CITGO takeover.

➡️ The government says these events expose the true reasons behind years of U.S. pressure: oil, minerals, and energy, not humanitarian concerns.

➡️ Caracas accuses the U.S. of using the tanker operation to distract from the “failed political show” in Oslo, referring to the Nobel Peace Prize controversy surrounding María Corina Machado, which Venezuela describes as another foreign-backed attempt at regime change.

➡️ Venezuela calls on its citizens to remain united in defense of the nation, and urges the international community to condemn what it describes as a vandalic, illegal, and unprecedented act of aggression.

➡️ Caracas says it will take the case to international legal bodies, asserting its right to defend national sovereignty and prevent foreign powers from seizing Venezuelan assets.

This marks one of the strongest official rebukes from Venezuela since the crisis began — and signals a new escalation between Washington and Caracas.

https://x.com/DD_Geopolitics/status/1998906344360030382

[Ravenlocke]

Al Mayadeen English

The seized tanker, allegedly bound for #Cuba, highlights tightening #US sanctions and their ripple effect on regional fuel trade and diplomatic tensions.

https://x.com/MayadeenEnglish/status...68140265246724

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/...calates-tensio

US seizes oil tanker off Venezuela as Trump escalates tensions
The United States has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, US President Donald Trump said Wednesday, a move that jolted global oil markets and is likely to heighten already fraught relations between Washington and Caracas.

“We’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, large tanker, very large, largest one ever, actually, and other things are happening,” Trump said.

A person familiar with the matter, who was granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive seizure, told Politico that the vessel had been bound for Cuba.

The Cuban Embassy in Washington did not respond immediately to requests for comment, as per the report.

Piracy, military buildup at sea

The operation comes as Trump has ordered a significant military build-up in the region, deploying an aircraft carrier, fighter jets, and tens of thousands of troops. Analysts say the tanker seizure could mark a shift toward more aggressive efforts to target Venezuela’s oil sector, the country’s main source of revenue.

Three US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that the operation was conducted by the US Coast Guard. They did not identify the vessel, its flag, or the exact location of the interdiction.

Vanguard, a British maritime risk consultancy, said it believed the tanker Skipper was the vessel seized early Wednesday. Washington previously sanctioned the ship, then known as the Adisa, for allegedly participating in Iranian oil trading.

Oil futures rose on news of the seizure. Brent crude finished up 27 cents, or 0.4%, at $62.21 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate rose 21 cents to $58.46.

The Venezuelan government has not commented.

Oil markets and supply tensions

Venezuela exported more than 900,000 barrels per day last month, its third-highest monthly average this year, after state-run PDVSA boosted imports of naphtha to dilute extra-heavy crude. Despite mounting pressure on President Nicolas Maduro, Washington had previously refrained from directly disrupting Venezuela’s oil flows.

Rory Johnston, an analyst at Commodity Context, said the seizure adds to market unease. “This is just yet another geopolitical/sanctions headwind hammering spot supply availability,” he said. “Seizing this tanker further inflames those prompt supply concerns but also doesn’t immediately change the situation fundamentally because these barrels were already going to be floating around for a while.”

Escalating pressure on Maduro

Maduro has long argued that the US military build-up aims to topple him and seize control of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves. Since early September, the Trump administration has carried out more than 20 strikes on suspected drug-smuggling vessels across the Caribbean and Pacific, killing more than 80 people.

Experts have raised legal concerns over the campaign, noting that US authorities have provided little evidence that the targeted boats were carrying narcotics or that lethal force was necessary instead of interdiction and questioning.

Those concerns intensified this month after reports that the commander overseeing the operation ordered a second strike that killed two survivors.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll published Wednesday found broad US public opposition to the deadly maritime strikes, including among roughly one-fifth of Republicans.

Trump has repeatedly floated the prospect of US military meddling in Venezuela. In a sweeping strategy document released last week, he said the administration’s foreign-policy priority is to “reassert its dominance in the Western Hemisphere.”

What this means for Cuba

Cuba’s long-running struggle under the US embargo has pushed its economy into one of its most challenging periods in decades, with ordinary families bearing the heaviest burden. The restrictions, tightened further in recent years, have sharply limited access to fuel, medical supplies, spare parts, and basic goods, creating a cycle of shortages that affects nearly every aspect of daily life.

Public transportation routinely grinds to a halt, hospitals face chronic scarcities, and households are forced to navigate rising prices and dwindling resources.

For many Cubans, the embargo is not an abstract geopolitical tool but a visible, persistent source of hardship embedded in the rhythm of everyday survival.

Those pressures intensified after the recent seizure of a Venezuelan oil vessel reportedly bound for Cuba, a development that deepened an already severe energy crisis.

The country relies heavily on Venezuelan shipments to stabilize its fuel supply, and the interception of the cargo immediately triggered longer blackouts, constrained industrial activity, and disrupted food distribution networks.

Communities already struggling to secure basic necessities now face worsening electricity shortages and soaring transportation costs. This latest act highlights how US meddling, including decades of sanctions and aggressive maritime actions, directly harms Cuban civilians, deepening suffering and undermining the resilience of the island’s economy.

[BMJ]

🚨 HUGE WIN INCOMING FOR TRUMP AT THE SUPREME COURT! 🦅🔥

Today the conservative justices just signaled they’re ready to OVER TURN Humphrey’s Executor – the 1935 ruling that created these “independent” agencies that presidents can’t touch.

If SCOTUS rules in Trump’s favor in Trump v. Slaughter:

✅ He can fire FTC commissioners at will
✅ Sets precedent to fire CFPB, FCC, SEC heads… ANY “independent” agency boss
✅ And YES… this directly cracks open the door to END THE FED 👀💥

The Federal Reserve is the biggest “independent” monster of them all. Once the Court says the President has full removal power over these agencies, the legal shield protecting the Fed collapses.

Trump could appoint a Fed Chair who actually follows the President’s direction… or even push Congress (with the precedent in his pocket) to bring the Fed fully under executive control.

This isn’t just a random case. This is the constitutional battering ram we’ve been waiting for.

The deep state just felt the ground shake.

What is Humphrey’s Executor? A look at the 90-year-old Supreme Court decision Trump is targeting
Link: https://www.theusconstitution.org/ne...-is-targeting/

[Rizotto]

Interview with Judge Napolitano regarding the USA military bombing small boats, under Trump's orders.
Napolitano underlines the fact that nothing justifies a military force killing non-combatants in boats international waters. It would be judged as murder under international law, and for a military it's a war crime.

INTERVIEW: Obeying orders is no defence

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=fyBh-zu0zAI

[Rizotto]

"Honduran Deputy Foreign Minister Gerardo Torres Zelaya spoke with The Grayzone’s Wyatt Reed to explain what really happened in November’s widely-disputed election. They discuss how the cartel-linked opposition appears to have used their control of the electoral system to rig the vote, the hundreds of death threats reportedly made by MS-13 members supporting the Trump-backed candidate, and why his LIBRE Party is now calling for the questionable results to be annulled."

"It's a fraud": Trump and MS-13 helped rig Honduran vote, top official says

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=ifID_1aP1JM

[Rizotto]

"In a riveting interview with OANN host and former US congressman Matt Gaetz, The Grayzone's Max Blumenthal discusses the recent indictment of a former top DEA official and veteran CIA asset in a $12 million scheme to launder money and procure drones for Mexico's Jalisco cartel. Blumenthal uses the scandal as a window into the US government's history of covert collaboration with drug traffickers, explaining how the CIA created Venezuela's so-called "Cartel of the Suns," and calling out Trump's pardon of Juan Orlando Hernandez, the former Honduran president convicted of shipping over 400 tons of cocaine into the US."

Max Blumenthal exposes CIA-cartel connections

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=x4R6PZiXr4c

[Rizotto]

Trump's orders to the USA military to attack small boats off the coast of Venezuela is an attempt to get a counter attack from Venezuela that will be used by Trump to start a full-fledged war against Venezuela.

Venezuela: Maduro Not Taking the Bait /Lt Col Daniel Davis & Larry Johnson

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=2FH5QyWcDHM

[AuCo]

"... But why did they chose to take those drugs in the first place?

No one is forced to take drugs... "

Same goes with no kids are forced to have sex chat with an adult.