Venezuela: What is this?

[Physics Guy]

I am now seeing casualty reports, but specifically that thirty-two Cuban military and intelligence personnel were killed in action. It seems that they were Maduro's personal security detail.

Those thirty-two people all had lives and goals and friends and family—but they were also non-Venezuelans forming the bodyguard of the Venezuelan president.

What the hell kind of president has a bodyguard composed of foreign nationals? An obviously illegitimate dictator who cannot count on any of his own citizens to protect him, that's what kind. Bringing in foreigners as your security force is even worse than relying on a hard core of partisan citizens who might be prepared to kill their fellow citizens to defend you. A foreign bodyguard is a blatant admission by a supposed head of state that he is in fact at war with his own people.

And so what kind of soldiers and intelligence operatives protect a foreign head of state from his own people?

I'm afraid I'm not going to be outraged about these Cuban casualties. I am still waiting to hear about Venezuelan casualties, military or civilian.

[I Have Questions]

I am now seeing casualty reports, but specifically that thirty-two Cuban military and intelligence personnel were killed in action. It seems that they were Maduro's personal security detail.

Those thirty-two people all had lives and goals and friends and family—but they were also non-Venezuelans forming the bodyguard of the Venezuelan president.

What the hell kind of president has a bodyguard composed of foreign nationals? An obviously illegitimate dictator who cannot count on any of his own citizens to protect him, that's what kind. Bringing in foreigners as your security force is even worse than relying on a hard core of partisan citizens who might be prepared to kill their fellow citizens to defend you. A foreign bodyguard is a blatant admission by a supposed head of state that he is in fact at war with his own people.

And so what kind of soldiers and intelligence operatives protect a foreign head of state from his own people?

I'm afraid I'm not going to be outraged about these Cuban casualties. I am still waiting to hear about Venezuelan casualties, military or civilian.

Post action reports are still sketchy, but it seems likely that "some" Venezuelans were killed.

The total death toll - according to an unnamed Venezuelan official cited by the New York Times - stood at 80 and was expected to rise. BBC News has not independently verified that report.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj9r0eyw0jno

The official said the dead included civilians and military personnel. At least one of the civilians was killed in a U.S. airstrike outside of Caracas, according to her family.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/worl ... eaths.html

The far bigger concern for US Citizens, or so it seems to me, is that the Trump administration obviously feels it can do whatever it wants without reference to law, congress, or constitution. That's a dictatorship in action.

[¥akaSteelhead]

When you don't inform congress about the impending invasion of Venezuela, but you tell the oil companies.


https://www.thedailybeast.com/billionai ... -invasion/

[Equality]

When you don't inform congress about the impending invasion of Venezuela, but you tell the oil companies.


https://www.thedailybeast.com/billionai ... -invasion/

It's worse than just breaking the law by not informing the Gang of Eight. The regime affirmatively lied to the Democrats in the Gang of Eight, telling them that no invasion was planned.

The Hound of Heaven moron thinks that people who oppose the illegal, unconstitutional, reckless, and anti-American kidnapping and removal of a foreign leader means that they think the guy who was removed is not an epic piece of crap. HoH is too pea-brained to comprehend that there are piece of crap leaders currently in power in many countries in the world, as has always and ever will be the case. Including in the United States. So he parrots Kremlin propaganda.

But it has never been either legal or strategically prudent for a U.S. President to unilaterally (that is, without congressional knowledge or authorization, without international support, and without the support of the American people) deploy the U.S. military to invade a sovereign nation and remove their leader.

It's an outrageous act of aggression that harms the security interests of the United States. It's obscene. And saying "but Maduro is a bad guy" doesn't make it right. Not even close.

[Equality]

There’s very little international precedent for one country just snatching a sitting head of state

How was Maduro a sitting head of state?

Maybe some watery tart threw a sword at him.

[Equality]

...

If Cuba falls before the 2026 elections, the Democrats won't have a chance to win one seat!!

Quoting this so HoH can't delete and claim he never said it come next November.

I will bet any amount of money that if Cuba falls the Republicans will not, in fact, win 435 seats in the House next November.

[Equality]

OK, let's put some facts out there because all the little progressive men on this thread posted pretty pictures and lied over the past 24 hours all because they hate Trump and his administration.

Maduro was charged in the southern district of New York with narco terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine into the US, and weapons related offenses.

The original bounty on Maduros head was 15 million

The BIDEN ADMINISTRATION raised it to 25 million

The US does not recognize Maduro as a legitimate head of state so he does not get sovereign immunity protections.




And here's the most important part for all our marxist, progressive friends, even the Biden administration, didn't recognize maduro as a legitimate head of state. Since 2019, more than 50 countries included in the United States have refused to recognize maduro as Venezuela's head of state.


Both administrations said maduro was not the legitimate President. Both administrations took the position that maduro usurped power. Both administrations rejected the 2018 and 2024 elections as fraudulent, both administrations maintained sanctions, both administrations supported opposition democratic movements. And the biden administration did not reverse Trump's stance.

All true, yes.

So, riddle me this, galaxy brain: if Maduro's removal was effected because the U.S. did not recognize him as legitimate, why is the Trump regime not recognizing the opposition leader who actually won the election? Instead, the regime is recognizing Maduro's vice president, who is only in power because of the *same election the U.S. and "more than 50 countries" said was illegitimate. How does Maduro's VP have any more legitimacy than Maduro?

[Chap]

The far bigger concern for US Citizens, or so it seems to me, is that the Trump administration obviously feels it can do whatever it wants without reference to law, congress, or constitution. That's a dictatorship in action.

Yup. The next three years will be interesting.

The only real upcoming threat to Trump seems to be the possibility of losing control of Congress in the mid-term elections. As an outsider, I wonder what means might be open to an utterly lawless and unscrupulous President who was aware of that threat and was ready to stop at nothing to nullify it? And what are the chances that he might succeed in doing so?

[¥akaSteelhead]

How was Maduro a sitting head of state?

Maybe some watery tart threw a sword at him.

Equality wins the interwebz today.

[Res Ipsa]

OK, let's put some facts out there because all the little progressive men on this thread posted pretty pictures and lied over the past 24 hours all because they hate Trump and his administration.

Maduro was charged in the southern district of New York with narco terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine into the US, and weapons related offenses.

The original bounty on Maduros head was 15 million

The BIDEN ADMINISTRATION raised it to 25 million

The US does not recognize Maduro as a legitimate head of state so he does not get sovereign immunity protections.




And here's the most important part for all our marxist, progressive friends, even the Biden administration, didn't recognize maduro as a legitimate head of state. Since 2019, more than 50 countries included in the United States have refused to recognize maduro as Venezuela's head of state.


Both administrations said maduro was not the legitimate President. Both administrations took the position that maduro usurped power. Both administrations rejected the 2018 and 2024 elections as fraudulent, both administrations maintained sanctions, both administrations supported opposition democratic movements. And the biden administration did not reverse Trump's stance.

All true, yes.

So, riddle me this, galaxy brain: if Maduro's removal was effected because the U.S. did not recognize him as legitimate, why is the Trump regime not recognizing the opposition leader who actually won the election? Instead, the regime is recognizing Maduro's vice president, who is only in power because of the *same election the U.S. and "more than 50 countries" said was illegitimate. How does Maduro's VP have any more legitimacy than Maduro?

Wait a second? Did Cowardly Lyin Mike really say that the US put a bounty on Maduro's HEAD? Here's the program: the "bounty" was for information, not body parts. https://rewardsforjustice.net/about/program-overview/

What a maroon.