President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have noted that following the ouster of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela, the remaining government is being pressured to realign their positions and accept a change in direction. It is always tenuous when the leader of a hostile foreign government is removed.
The current approach by the Trump administration is to permit former Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez to continue operating the mechanisms within the country to retain near-term stability. The CIA assessed Delcy Rodriquez was the interim ruler who could keep order.
Prior to the removal of Maduro, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, the Nobel Peace Prize winner, was asked by the Trump administration to provide a detailed summary of how she could form a functioning government, should she be assisted to power.
Machado’s response did not provide confidence that her strategy was comprehensive enough. Therefore, the Trump administration assessed the best interim approach would be to continue working with the remaining Maduro government officials, led by Delcy Rodriquez, while pressuring them to follow the instructions of the United States.
Various geopolitical powers, including many that attend Mar-a-Lago functions, want Maria Corina Machado installed quickly. President Trump and Secretary Rubio are being more measured in their approach. The powers that want Machado installed are now working on a media strategy. Sean Hannity is enlisted for the assist.
The issue is one of competency and chaos. President Trump and Secretary Rubio do not want to repeat the mistakes of the past (Bush/Powell, Iraq or Obama/Clinton, Libya). The Venezuela issue is entirely different from the Middle East, but the same type of chaos can reemerge if the transition from authoritarianism to representative democracy is not well managed.
The Sea Island attendees support a quick Machado installation. Trump/Rubio prefer to proceed with more caution, especially because someone is going to be on the hook for financial support to Venezuela, because the domestic rewards from any expanded oil revenue are at least 5 to 10 years away.
Changing the regime in Venezuela may break China’s ‘belt and road’ grip, but China’s money is going to need to be replaced with independent domestic economic wealth for the Venezuelan people. That process takes time.
Maria Corina Machado is supported by all the same networks who support Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Despite the twinkles in the eyes of senators within the Foreign Relations Committee, we don’t want Venezuela to become North America’s largest Somali daycare operation.
(WSJ) – […] Latin America analysts have previously cautioned, including during Trump’s first term, that Maduro’s ouster without a capable replacement would likely empower armed military factions, rival politicians and criminal groups within Venezuela as they fought for control, leading to a security crisis in the country.
[…] analysis by the Central Intelligence Agency was briefed to President Trump and shared with a small circle of senior administration officials, according to two of the people. It was a factor in Trump’s decision to back Maduro’s vice president instead of opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado, some of the people said.
The assessment provides insight into Trump’s decision not to support the opposition’s bid for control of Venezuela following the brazen U.S. military operation to capture Maduro last week and bring him to the U.S. for trial. As in his first term, Trump was convinced that near-term stability in Venezuela could be maintained only if Maduro’s replacement had the support of the country’s armed forces and other elites.
Senior Trump administration officials commissioned the CIA to undertake the analytical assessment and debated it during discussions about day-after plans for Venezuela, the people said. The people familiar with the assessment said they were unsure of the precise date it was produced.
The report was briefed to Trump in recent weeks, according to two of the people.
The assessment didn’t describe how Maduro could lose power, or advocate for removing him, but attempted to gauge the domestic situation in Venezuela in the event that he did, people familiar with it said.
The intelligence report, the people said, cited Rodríguez and two other top Venezuelan regime figures as possible interim rulers who could keep order. The people familiar with the assessment didn’t identify the other two officials, but besides Rodríguez, the two most influential power brokers are Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino.
The two hard-liners, who command Venezuela’s police and military, could undo any efforts at a transition, according to former U.S. and Venezuelan officials. Both face U.S. criminal charges similar to those filed against Maduro and are unlikely to cooperate with Washington.
The report concluded that Edmundo González, widely seen as the actual winner of the 2024 election against Maduro, and Machado would struggle to gain legitimacy as leaders while facing resistance from pro-regime security services, drug-trafficking networks and political opponents. (more)
She would need a militia to hold power and a lot of guns. Guns and tanks and bombers.
The pen
Is mightier than the sword.
She needs contracts that weaken the old guards cash flow
And
Enrich the people
@sdmin
Sundance
“Changing the regime in Venezuela may break China’s ‘belt and road’ grip, but China’s money is going to need to be replaced with independent domestic economic wealth for the Venezuelan people. That process takes time.
Maria Corina Machado is supported by all the same networks who support Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Despite the twinkles in the eyes of senators within the Foreign Relations Committee, we don’t want Venezuela to become North America’s largest Somali daycare operation.”
👆👆 🔥
These are two of the most powerful paragraphs you have penned lately
A Textbook could be distilled from them
President Trump, Rubio
And
Tulsi
Have their work cut out for sure
This is for all the marbles
And
The Hemisphere
Thanks for what you do
Be well
Live Free
Yup, and gunfire apparently erupted around the palace this morning… possible coup in progress
Fake news. Since has been verified individuals shooting at drones.
“It is always tenuous when the leader of a hostile foreign government is removed.”
Lol
🙂
Indeed
@ full spectrum domino:
As a wise old friend once confided in me;
“After you slide down a rope hanging out of a helicopter,
While your being shot at. . . Everything else is anti climactic. . .”
Thank you, Sundance!
Leave it to a Bush to demand our soldiers occupy Somalia, er Afghanistan, er Iraq, er Venezuela, …
What could possibly go wrong?
Jeb Bush, eh??
The same Jeb Bush who at 24 years old and with no banking experience was sent to Venezuela as an employee of Texas Commerce Bank which had a branch in Caracas (???) and was made branch manager of it? And vice president??
Jeb Bush whose father once headed the CIA?
Hmmmmmmm…
https://badlands.substack.com/p/a-family-affair?r=q8lgy&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true
That Jeb Bush?
(I stress that in the link I’ve left that while there is a lot of early mention of “Q”, I have never followed their posts. Nevertheless, the information which followed was very interesting, which is why I am sharing this substack. Make of it what you will.)
The link is a great review, add in the subsequent link regarding Fed Reserve & banking –
https://badlands.substack.com/p/master-and-commander
hard to retain all the details, but thanking those that can an do, and keep them published
Thank you so much for this link. Very interesting!
Yep,
The same Jeb that we had for gov in FL. Hard to believe he’s 72.
The one thing that did work out while he was gov is that with the DC family connections and the grooming of him for higher office we did get rapid response during 2004 hurricanes.
The the bro’s set up on corner here with the water and supply detail.
After that back to SOP for GOPe.
Wow! Thanks! When was the Federal Government last led by honorable people?
You weren’t alive then.
Reconstruction?
Bush Angle to Reagan Shooting Still Unresolved as Hinckley Walks – WhoWhatWhy:
“Why did George H.W. Bush and his cabinet determine that John W. Hinckley Jr. — the man who in 1981 tried to kill the newly inaugurated President Ronald Reagan — was a lone nut, and no conspiracy, foreign or domestic, was involved? How did they arrive at this conclusion just five hours after the shooting, without any thorough examination?
Imagine my fascination, then, to learn that John Hinckley Jr., the man who shot and nearly killed President Ronald Reagan in 1981 — an attempt which, if successful, would have resulted in then-Vice President George H.W. Bush moving up to the top spot — was none other than a friend of the Bush family.
How strange is that? So strange that it literally caused NBC News’s anchor John Chancellor’s eyebrows to arch as he reported the curious connection.
The story was broken by the now-defunct Houston Post, and then picked up briefly by the AP and UPI wire services, and some newspapers, plus Newsweek.
Then it vanished without a trace or further inquiry or comment in the mainstream media.” …….
Please clap.
What could be more normal? Remember this the next time a Bush calls you a terrorist for wanting Honest Elections.
Why would George W say in unseemly haste after 9/11, when the whole of America was too shocked and grieving to hear what he said, never mind take it in, that Islam was the religion of peace?
Same-same, Gipper.
The more I read, the more reptilian all the Bushes become.
When I see Hannity interview first thing is “Let me stop you right there”.
There is never a second thing.
Why would anybody give him an interview? Mind boggling.
Thanks for that discreet overview, Sundance. You are the master of big picture reality! In Machado’s summary, “The freedom of Venezuela is near, and soon we will celebrate on our land. We will shout, pray, and embrace as a family, because our children will return home.” There is a lot going on back channel that we don’t know about right now…. China’s Belt and Road initiative is in jeopardy (in SA) and if Venezuelian oil is rebuilt (won’t be overnight) it will bring down the price of oil which will be detrimental to Putin’s Russian military machine.
Does Bush understand that, while Machado may have a Nobel thingy to put on the shelf, she was not on the actual ballot and, thus, not the “legitimate winner” of that election?
Yes she should definitely listen to Jeb!
Keep adding that exclamation point.
Mind your business Jeb!
What if they run Jeb! again?
Compelling. . .
I hear she has John McCain’s endorsement too.
Strikes me that the usual regime-change suspects want Machado, because regime change is what they do. But the Trump admin just wanted Maduro to prosecute, so continuing the Venezuelan government with Rodriguez makes sense.
One of the problems with the neocon Republicans is that they can never seem to resist mission creep. Make a plan, accomplish the mission, then get out, doesn’t compute with them. That is why, and how, they generate the Forever Wars. There is always some new shiny thing to go after with them.
Here, we got Maduro, so we’re done. Get in, get out, declare success. Abandon all notions of regime change, regardless of how tempting they are.
President Trump and his Admin want a Venezuela government that will be aligned with American interests. The current Venezuela government will never be that and are just a temporary place holder. They will be replaced once they are no longer needed.
Didn’t we try this same strategy with Diem?
great points, trapper!
They want “regime change” because they know that will lead to chaos. And chaos will allow them to then say “told you so”. These people are just doggone evil.
President trump is doing this the right way. They KNOW he is right but they want him to fail, they want Venezuela to fail and most importantly they want America to fail.
It’s not really”regime change” that they’re after. It’s the chaos that they profit of of that they want to facilitate.
Ruling directly a Latin America country would be anlmost impossible. We will need the military there to voluntarily throw in the towel. Before that happens a few top guys will have to be droned to encourage the others to have elections with the promise of amnesty.
When Hugo Chávez met Barack Hussein Obama, he gave him the book The Open Veins of Latin America by Uruguayan socialist Eduardo Galeano about el imperialismo yankee. This poisonous book is what a large part of the population has believed for many decades. Our interventions in Nicaragua, Guatemala, Cuba have not been success stories.
Dwight Eisenhower and John Kennedy had the right ideas with their campaigns on Átomos para la Paz and Alianza Para el Progreso for Latin America. We need to make them love US (they already admire US), and this is now feasible over time since the entire subcontinent is hooked onto the vehicle of WhatsApp and soon Starlink.
The rank and file military are going to feel the economic squeeze. It’s highly possible they already are so they might turn on their leaders. It’s going to take time but the current government / cartels can’t stay in place. The new government that is aligned with America is going to have to be very tough, similar to what Nayib Bukel did in El Salvador. It might be a good idea to seek Nayib Bukel’s assessment of the situation.
Or they might just go home to Cuba.
seems the ‘democratic’ respect would be to install the man who was elected, not a rebel who happen to win a useless prize. Give the people who they elected and she can run against him next election.
Or she could work with the duly elected president to bring unity and cohesion to the new government and returning refugees.
What’s he got to do with it? Buzz off Carney.
Mark Carney and Jeb Bush endorsing the immediate installation of Machado indicates that President Trump is wise to do the opposite. Shills for the globalists need to be ignored.
Then once he installs her per their demands they will immediately start calling her his puppet.
Also the Nobel Prize committee is globalist controlled. Just look at who wins the prize (Obama – 2009, The EU – 2012, Al Gore – 2007, etc.) and who does NOT.
She’s a puppet of the City of London.
I heard a number of political promises, but very little on how she was going to ensure these promises would be kept by the Venezuelan government.
A tangled mess. Here is an article by a Venezuelan May 2022:
https://insightcrime.org/investigations/beyond-the-cartel-of-the-suns/
Read it – a tangled mess. Decades of criminality insinuated into the government and military. How to kill it? Reminds me a trying to kill invasive ivy. Dig it all up or “salt the earth” with poison. The cure is as lethal as the sickness. The US War on Drugs? Another useless forever war, laid bare.
Where I come from, we strategically apply poison to the fresh cut stump or sapling, or in the case of a vine to the vibes leaves directly. Only kill what needs killing.
The root of the corruption is what needs to be addressed.
US foreign aid with too many politicians angling for their cut and promising locals money and power in exchange for kickbacks is the biggest problem out there.
But if Trump helps stand the Venezuelans on their own feet and repair the damage done by Communist fatso Maduro then maybe they have a chance
I am an old man and have seen a far higher percentage of women making a real mess as head of state than I have men. The country needs a strong, principled man who has the welfare of the country as his main concern.
WOW – Just WOW.
Question: Were these women elected or installed?
I’m not wowing over the woman comment so much as the claim of principled men in politics – as a percentage. I’m an old man too and I struggle to come up with more than a dozen that meet that criteria.
A Call for Honesty, words spoken such as yours may be too honest for the USA, now days. (or any days, anywhere!)
Venezuela is described on the Internet, as a country where a >masculine dominated culture is present. We shall see what happens, and benefit or suffer from the consequences. In regards to this article, Maria Corina Machado said that Edmundo González actually won the last election in Venezuela.
Yes. Machado had come close to winning an earlier election and was banned from running again by the Maduro-controlled Supreme Court. Gonzalez was the last opposition candidate and the apparent winner…by a landslide, some say. Maduro ignored the results and remained in place.
We tried it their way. We know what that gets us.
I can’t say that I am optimistic about any of this, but I guess we’ll give Trump’s way a shot.
Pray for the best.
Is this about regime change, or is it the targeting of the narco-financial system of London in the Caribbean?
Irregular warfare. American Revolution 2.0.
“The Monday Brief – While You Watched Venezuela, Trump Quietly Put Canada On Notice – January 5, 2026” — Susan Kokinda @ https://www.prometheanaction.com/the-monday-brief-while-you-watched-venezuela-trump-quietly-put-canada-on-notice-january-5-2026/
A must watch and a valuable resource to be followed.
IMHO
Lyndon Larouche. Do not forget that part. Promethean Action is a continuation of that political movement.
Proceed with caution.
They seem to notice some of the downstream effects of President Trump’s actions, but they are misattributing them at the primary purpose of President Trump’s actions.
For example with Venezuala they’re seeing it as President Trump’s primary purpose was to strike at The City of London’s funding mechanisms… instead of the much more likely direct benefits to America First that removing Maduro brings.
They are correct about the downstream effects; they’re wrong that the downstream is President Trump’s reason for acting.
Thanks for that glimmer. I just started following them.
I trust President Trump, follow his lead.
Everything else is NWO/CFR/WEF inspired glo-bull-ist horse squeeze that leads to “our” oblivion, not theirs. When you see the Bush’s, Carney’s back Machado, do something else.
MAGA!
Keeping in place a woman who was chosen by a dictator seems the wrong way to go but also putting in a rebel doesn’t fare any better. My vote goes to the man who actually won to be president. President Trump has recognized him as the real leader and so he should be.
If we have a spot election (saving democracy of course), the EU will throw a lot of money in there to buy the votes and they will get Machado.
I suggest that the US bring Gonzales back publicly as an advisor to the “VP” acting president Rodriguez, or even install Gonzales as VP to Rodriguez. Then, Rodriguez can bow out and transition power to Gonzales.
This is assuming that Gonzales even wants to be there right now in the chaos. While Maduro may be neutralized, it is far too soon for controlling the cartels themselves. My guess is they were too shocked by this weekend’s actions, and will begin flexing their muscles shortly.
Sorry but I disagree. She was ‘appointed’ by the same dictator we just arrested and has no right to the rule. Gonzates won and therefore has. If he chooses not to come back, then his vp should be given a chance. We’re talking about giving the people democracy and its the wrong foot to place a ‘non democratic’ approach first.
Looking like we may need to go in again since the Rodriguez option isn’t sitting well with the Cabello faction.
Hannitus Interuptus and Furrowed Brow Tapper are tools of the Globalist Elites, the Deep State, the UniParty and the Deep State. All of the above have the following goals:
1. Force an election to happen quickly in Venezuela, rig that election, and ensure that the winner will “play ball” with the grift and corruption that serves as the elite’s business model.
2. Create a false narrative about military intervention, boots on the ground and forever wars in an attempt to splinter the MAGA base.
3. Gin up international pressure against President Trump to dissuade him from going against the globalist playbook.
It will actually be fun to watch the flailing attempts of the usual suspects to derail President Trump’s agenda. They will fail.
May God continue to bless and protect President Trump and his loyal allies. Greatest President since Washington!
“Maria Corina Machado is supported by all the same networks who support Volodymyr Zelenskyy.”
Thank you Sundance.
And therein lies the suspicious cat alert. Once the usual suspects are on the bus I am not getting on. That SOP has yet to fail me.
Sundance often notes the IC as continuing to be anti-Trump and throwing sand in the gears of his agenda. Are we now to trust the advice that this same IC is giving our President in his remaking of Venezuela? Why the about face Sundance?
The stolen 2020 election gave Trump four years to plan. Their mistake. Trump is a businessman, he views horrible countries as horribly run big businesses that are bad for our hemisphere. He’s a big picture person. He’ll take out the corruption that threatens the U.S.A. Rightfully. Correctly. This is what he has done his whole life. He’s really good at it. This is his wheelhouse. He gets things comprehensively done. He astounds congress critters and grifters. He lives for this. He’s thriving. He loves his country. He has grit and determination and faith. He’s on a mission. I’m happy to see him gettr done. Watching how the sausage is made might be unpleasant but the end result is delicious. And he’s only getting started.
How God uses evil against us for good.
Stolen election Trump used every second to build MAGA stronger.
And he learned their evil ways… Thank God for saving him and his devotion to saving our country.
🦅✝️🇺🇸💥
From May 2025:
Leave China in control to dictate American oil interests? Not to mention that China would be better than Maduro at cutting off the drug flow? She has more ‘splainin to do, or perhaps a little more understanding.
“Independent domestic economic wealth” is not what’s been supporting Ukraine these past few years, so why would it, Venezuela?
And how many barrels of heavy Venezuelan crude does it take to fill an empty truckload of Ukrainian rare-earths?
Nobody should be “installed” as president by anyone. We should assist with Venezuelan stability and watch what direction Rodriguez takes the country while guiding them to holding a real election.
All reporting from Caracas this morning indicates tbat the Chavisita military is busy going for the brass ring of power and money. Shocking I say. Of course, the CIA didn’t predict that.
Well, according to a Gateway Pundit article, a counter coup is already underway?
Check the GWP feed again. Original story was false reporting.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/01/no-coup-venezuelan-government-denies-clashes-took-place/
Wow. This isn’t what I thought about Machado at all, but I’d been spoon fed everything I know from the controlled opposition. If Sean Hannity and the “Russia bad, Ukraine good” crowd is all in, then I’m ALL OUT. Thanks for cutting through the BS.
In any situation like this, “Maduro and his wife were kingpins, and yes, you removed them,” but anywhere you find one rat 🐀 in the house, you know that the walls are full of them. Being an effective housecat 🐈 takes time and caution. There is a great big criminal power structure that must be flushed out – and the Venezuelans are going to have to be the ones [made ….] capable of doing that.
I don’t think she really knows the danger of her being appointed as leader. Knowing the corruption in the leadership of the country, her chances of surviving for a week would be a miracle. Trump and especially Rubio know she’s not prepared to even run a good country. She would be another Sheinbaum taking over MX. Her belief must be, the US will always be her protector. She won the Nobel Peace award, she knows little about internal war and corruption. Trump and Rubio is saving her life, and making sure VZ doesn’t revert. The country is a war zone, it must be managed by trained warriors to survive. IMO
How can anyone……
expect a clean/honest election……
in Venezuela with their prior……
reportedly involvement with……
Dominion and worldwide stolen……
election shenanigans……????
Hot Mess!
Every dollar of American tax money that goes anywhere in the world for ” aid” including welfare assistance at home is immediately attacked by every entity with power to do so in the effort to steal as much as possible. The greed of humans knows no moral bounds.
It’s obvious as hell she’s the Deep State hand picked plant to be the heir apparent successor to Maduro in Venezuela.
Trump and Rubio are correct in their assessment no doubt. That ridiculous Nobel Prize was totally artificial, better for the Venezuelan people to have stability without destroying current power structures in Venezuela, instead moving them gradually to better management and forcing them to keep the Chinese out.
PDJT has indicated the current VP, working with the US, will hold elections sometime in the future.
Now that could get interesting. Are Venezuelan election systems(machines) capable of producing legitimate results? Is team Trump going to demand complete access to software and equipment? Would the US proactively declare Venezuela’s system too corrupt or wait and go through an election only to find Maduro supporters stole it? Would there then be massive exposure, arrests, and a findings that America is using the same corrupt system?
If election stealing exposure is part of the whole US operation, will our people there be willing to reveal it all? Will America believe it when our media claims it isn’t true?
Before election or after, that is the question. Seems to me they know a lot about Hugo Chaves and the Venezuelan company started just to steal elections. Strategy here could be very tricky. Is it possible they will go back and audit the last election before installing anyone? That would seem to be the wise move and also gives us time to sort everything out.
Proving Maduro stole the election would go a long way with the V people and may also add to the charges for Maduro.
Maria Corino Machado is obviously the choice of the neocons and globalists. She is also the choice of the Nobel committee which will not consider President Trump for the peace prize regardless of his actions.
I back the President. The people backing MCM are not to be trusted.
An interview with Hannity… hasn’t Maria Machado suffered enough?
“Send lawyers, guns & money, the s#*t has hit the fan”…