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Ousted Venezuelan Dictator Nicolás Maduro Loses Bid to Toss Drug Case as Protesters Clash Outside NYC Court

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Ousted Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro’s brazen bid to toss his drug-trafficking case was flatly denied Thursday — as lawyers warred over who would foot the tyrant’s legal bills.

The toppled strongman, 63, wearing a tan jail jumpsuit and black glasses and seated beside his co-defendant wife, Celia Flores, 69, who was also clad in prison-issue garb, calmly jotted down notes during his first court appearance since January, where he had defiantly claimed that the US military had “kidnapped’’ him.

The hearing unfolded inside a packed Manhattan federal courtroom, as crowds of dueling protesters clashed outside.

Maduro’s current attorney, Barry Pollack — known for helping WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange secure a favorable plea deal that allowed him to return to his home in Australia — made a longshot bid to toss the case on the grounds Maduro’s constitutional rights to put up a defense were being interfered with.

The request prompted Judge Alvin Hellerstein to flatly reply, “I’m not going to dismiss the case.” (Read more from “Ousted Venezuelan Dictator Nicolás Maduro Loses Bid to Toss Drug Case as Protesters Clash Outside NYC Court” HERE)

Illegal Venezuelan Migrant Shot in Minneapolis After Mercilessly Ambushing Fed Agent With Snow Shovel: DHS

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An illegal Venezuelan migrant was shot in the leg by a federal immigration agent in Minneapolis after he allegedly fled during a traffic stop and beat the “ambushed” officer with a snow shovel Wednesday evening, the Department of Homeland Security said.

The suspect was behind the wheel when he tried to get away from federal immigration officers at around 6:50 p.m. local time, but he crashed into a parked car, according to DHS.

The migrant then tried to escape on foot and “violently assault[ed] the officer” as the two wrestled on the ground, according to an X post from the agency.

While the man continued to struggle with the officer, two other people emerged from a nearby apartment and allegedly mercilessly attacked the agent with a snow shovel and broom handle, the department said.

In the chaos, the Venezuelan migrant was able to wriggle out of the officer’s hold and also allegedly started striking him “with a shovel or broom stick,” according to the post.

The officer, “fearing for his life,” shot the Venezuelan man in the leg, DHS said. (Read more from “Illegal Venezuelan Migrant Shot in Minneapolis After Mercilessly Ambushing Fed Agent With Snow Shovel: DHS” HERE)

‘It’s Not Just Venezuela’: Rand Paul Cites Greenland as War Powers Debate Heats Up

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Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Sunday that the War Powers Resolution he and several Republican senators supported is not limited to Venezuela, but is also meant to prevent potential military action involving Greenland and other countries without congressional approval.

Appearing on ABC’s This Week, Paul was asked about recent comments from the White House indicating that the use of U.S. military force to secure Greenland has not been ruled out. Paul said he hopes military force would not be used, but argued that public threats undermine diplomacy.

Paul said that even if the United States were interested in purchasing Greenland, threatening military action would only alienate the people living there and make any agreement less likely. He added that talk of sending U.S. Marines would have the opposite effect of encouraging cooperation.

He also said there is little support in either Greenland or Washington for a military invasion, regardless of political party. However, Paul expressed concern that repeated statements leaving military force “on the table” amount to saber-rattling.

Paul said that is why the War Powers Act debate is important. He explained that the resolution is not only about Venezuela, but also about Greenland, Colombia, Cuba, and other potential conflicts. According to Paul, the issue centers on whether Congress and the American people have a say before the United States engages in military action.

The War Powers Resolution backed by Paul and five other Republican senators seeks to limit the president’s authority to conduct military operations without explicit authorization from Congress.

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Americans Urged to Leave Venezuela as Paramilitaries Hunt US Citizens, Officials Warn

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US citizens are being called to leave Venezuela immediately over reports that armed paramilitaries are setting up roadblocks to hunt down American citizens following the capture of former President Nicolas Maduro.

The State Department sent out a security alert from the US Embassy in Caracas on Saturday, warning Americans to quickly take flights out of the country to escape an ongoing hunt for US citizens or their allies inside Venezuela.

“There are reports of groups of armed militias, known as colectivos, setting up roadblocks and searching vehicles for evidence of US citizenship or support for the United States,” the State Department warned.

“US citizens in Venezuela should remain vigilant and exercise caution when traveling by road.”

Local reporters and activists have documented incidents where rifle-carrying militias have set up checkpoints around Caracas to inspect vehicles entering and leaving the capital.

Sources inside Venezuela confirmed the situation with The Post last week, alleging that the colectivos stopped drivers to check their phones and cars. (Read more from “Americans Urged to Leave Venezuela as Paramilitaries Hunt US Citizens, Officials Warn” HERE)

Trump Kept Venezuela Under Maduro Loyalists After CIA Flagged Opposition Risks: REPORT

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A classified U.S. intelligence assessment concluded that top figures within Nicolás Maduro’s regime would be best positioned to maintain short-term stability in Venezuela in the immediate aftermath of the dictator’s removal, according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) analysis, which was briefed to President Donald Trump and shared with a small circle of senior administration officials, reportedly shaped Trump’s decision to back Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, rather than opposition leader María Corina Machado as an interim leader, WSJ reported.

“I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader if she doesn’t have the support within, or the respect within the country,” Trump said during a Saturday press conference after U.S. forces captured Maduro to face federal narco-terrorism charges in New York. “She’s a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have the respect.”

Trump concluded that Venezuela’s short-term stability would depend on whether the next leader retained the loyalty of the country’s military and ruling elites, according to people familiar with the intelligence review cited by the outlet.

Senior administration officials commissioned the CIA to analyze day-after scenarios amid internal debates over how Venezuela might be governed if Maduro were removed. While the report did not recommend regime change or speculate on how Maduro might lose power, it evaluated who could maintain order if that outcome occurred, WSJ reported. (Read more from “Trump Kept Venezuela Under Maduro Loyalists After CIA Flagged Opposition Risks: REPORT” HERE)

Notorious Socialist Dictator Nicolás Maduro Perp Walked Ahead Of Facing ‘Full Wrath Of American Justice’; Someone Made a Huge Profit Predicting Maduro’s Capture

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By New York Post. Deposed socialist Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro arrived at a New York City jail Saturday night, hours after U.S. military forces captured him in Caracas, and awaits arraignment on four criminal charges, including narco-terrorism conspiracy.

A 12-second video posted to X late Saturday by the White House’s Rapid Response account shows Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents escorting an apparently handcuffed Maduro, wearing a hat and grasping a water bottle, through the notorious Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn (MDC Brooklyn). In the video, which the social media account captioned “Perp walked,” the ex-leader can be heard saying “good night” in both English and Spanish, as well as “happy new year” in English — apparently his first public remarks since being taken into U.S. custody.

Another one of MDC Brooklyn’s current inmates is Luigi Mangione, the 27-year-old man accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024. The pretrial detention facility’s previous inmates notably include sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs, and cryptocurrency fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried.

Combs’s lawyers wrote that several courts “have recognized that the conditions at [MDC Brooklyn] are not fit for pre-trial detention” in a 2024 motion for bail. Maxwell also reportedly took issue with the jail’s accommodations during her stay, with the Jeffrey Epstein accomplice having complained of its allegedly abusive guards and plentiful rats.

Attorney General Pam Bondi, in a Saturday morning post to X, vowed Maduro “will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.” (Read more from “Notorious Socialist Dictator Nicolás Maduro Perp Walked Ahead Of Facing ‘Full Wrath Of American Justice’” HERE)

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Someone Made a Huge Profit Predicting Maduro’s Capture. Here’s What Happened

By Axios. Traders and speculative bettors earned huge profits on prediction markets because of the capture of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro.

Why it matters: Though the capture of Maduro seemed to come out of the blue for many Americans, some were ahead of the curve, netting them thousands of dollars.

These bets — many of which were on Maduro’s capture, and are now on what happens next to the ousted leader — will renew longstanding questions about inside information and access to prediction markets.

Driving the news: Traders on Polymarket appeared to anticipate Maduro’s capture late Friday night, before President Trump announced it early Saturday morning.

The market for whether or not Maduro would be out of power climbed shortly before 10pm ET on Friday, after hovering in the low single digits for weeks, per the Wall Street Journal.

What appears to be a newly created account appeared to invest $30,000 Friday in Maduro’s exit. After Maduro went into custody Saturday morning, that same investor netted $436,759.61.

(Read more from “Someone Made a Huge Profit Predicting Maduro’s Capture. Here’s What Happened” HERE)

Trump Admin’s Top Secret Military Operation Plans Reportedly Leaked To Legacy Media Outlets

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Despite an unidentified party leaking plans of the Trump administration’s top secret military operation targeting Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela to both The New York Times and the Washington Post, neither publication decided to expose it, Semafor reported Saturday night.

Two anonymous sources, described as familiar with the communication between the administration and media outlets, told Semafor that both outlets declined to break the news on the operation before it happened out of concern for U.S. troops involved. The military incursion, carried out early Saturday, resulted in the capture and ouster of socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro, whom a grand jury later indicted on four charges, including narco-terrorism conspiracy.

The identity of the leaker or leakers was not made public as of Sunday morning.

President Donald Trump gave his final approval to go ahead with the operation at 10:46 p.m. on Friday night, fewer than eight hours before he announced on Truth Social that Maduro had been captured and flown out of Venezuela. A string of photos posted to the president’s primary social media account Saturday afternoon show him alongside senior members of his administration in a situation room at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.

While a few U.S. soldiers were injured during the strikes, there were no American fatalities during the operation, according to Trump.

(Read more from “Trump Admin’s Top Secret Military Operation Plans Reportedly Leaked To Legacy Media Outlets” HERE)

U.S. Flexes Military Might as Trump Gives Chilling Warning to Venezuela’s Maduro if He Plays ‘Tough’

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President Trump on Monday warned Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro against taking military action against the United States, telling reporters from Florida that “if he plays tough, it’ll be the last time he’s ever able to play tough.”

The remark came after Trump was asked why Maduro should take “seriously” Washington’s pressure campaign to force him to leave office after stealing the past two presidential elections in that country and running a narcoterrorist state.

“He could do whatever he wants. We have a massive Armada formed; the biggest we’ve ever had, and by far the biggest we’ve ever had in South America,” Trump said. “He could do whatever he wants. It’s alright, whatever he wants to do.”

It came hours after US Southern Command showed off the efforts of roughly 2,200 Marines training in the Caribbean this month in a series of eye-popping photos on Monday as the Trump administration ramps up pressure on Maduro.

Part of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Force, the troops were pictured firing mortar systems in live-fire drills during “reconnaissance, selection and occupation of position” maneuvers recently and training on first-person view attack drones in Puerto Rico, as well as conducting flight operations aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima in the Caribbean Sea. (Read more from “U.S. Flexes Military Might as Trump Gives Chilling Warning to Venezuela’s Maduro if He Plays ‘Tough’” HERE)

US Preparing to Seize More Tankers Off Venezuela’s Coast After First Ship Taken, Sources Say

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The U.S. is preparing to intercept more ships transporting Venezuelan oil following the seizure of a tanker this week, as it increases pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, six sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

The seizure was the first interdiction of an oil cargo or tanker from Venezuela, which has been under U.S. sanctions since 2019. It came as the U.S. executes a large-scale military buildup in the southern Caribbean and as U.S. President Donald Trump pushes for Maduro’s ouster.

The latest U.S. action has put shipowners, operators and maritime agencies involved in transporting Venezuelan crude on alert, with many reconsidering whether to sail from Venezuelan waters in the coming days as planned, shipping sources said.

Further direct interventions by the U.S. are expected in the coming weeks targeting ships carrying Venezuelan oil that may also have transported oil from other countries targeted by U.S. sanctions, such as Iran, according to the sources familiar with the matter who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue. (Read more from “US Preparing to Seize More Tankers Off Venezuela’s Coast After First Ship Taken, Sources Say” HERE)

U.S. Seizes Venezuelan Oil Tanker in Major Escalation Against Maduro

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The United States has seized a Venezuelan oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela — a striking move that significantly expands Washington’s pressure campaign against President Nicolás Maduro and his government.

On December 10, 2025, U.S. forces — including the United States Coast Guard (USCG), along with support from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Department of Homeland Security, and other military elements — boarded and seized the tanker named Skipper. The vessel was reportedly carrying heavy crude oil that the U.S. says was sanctioned under laws targeting illicit oil trading.

President Donald Trump confirmed the seizure at a White House roundtable, calling it “a large tanker, very large — the largest one ever seized.” He said the decision was taken “for very good reasons.”

Venezuela’s economy depends heavily on oil exports. With this tanker seized — and pressure mounting on other shipments — Caracas faces disruption in its primary revenue stream. Many analysts view this move as a key escalation, shifting from sanctions and limited maritime actions to direct interdiction.

The government in Caracas immediately condemned the move, calling it “an act of international piracy” and “blatant theft.” They vowed to defend national sovereignty and to bring the case before international bodies.

It remains uncertain whether the U.S. will seize additional vessels. The Trump administration appears poised to maintain or intensify pressure. Some analysts warn that continued tanker seizures could signal a shift toward a de facto oil blockade.