She really doesn’t have much choice.  President Trump has shown the Venezuelan government how the U.S. can put a complete stranglehold on the South American country if they do not adhere to the transition plans of Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the enforcer.

Following the U.S. capture of Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s new government under Delcy Rodríguez has begun releasing political prisoners in a bid to foster unity and peace. The change in Venezuelan politics comes directly as the result of President Trump using the military to block oil shipments, the major source of revenue for the nation.

The move seems to indicate a potential shift in Venezuela’s political landscape, though compliance with the Trump administration is likely happening through gritted teeth.

[SOURCE]

MIAMI – The interim government of Venezuela is releasing of “an important group” of Venezuelan and foreign political prisoners to guarantee unity and peace, according to Jorge Rodríguez, the president of the parliament and brother of the new president in charge of the South American country.

Rodríguez, who also represented now-deposed Venezuelan ruler Nicolás Maduro for years in political negotiations with the opposition and the United States, indicated Thursday that the government of his sister, Delcy Rodríguez, was working together with the rest of the state institutions to carry out what he defined as “a unilateral gesture” of the executive branch.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth deliver remarks to the media following a briefing of Senators on the ongoing Venezuela operations.

As noted by Secretary Rubio, the U.S. is now in control of all Venezuela oil production and distribution.  WATCH:

Further to Rubio’s remarks: Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Wednesday that the United States will sell Venezuelan oil “indefinitely” after completing sales of the crude currently accumulating in storage there.

Wright said the proceeds from those sales would be “deposited into accounts controlled by the U.S. government” and then “flow back into Venezuela to benefit the Venezuelan people.”

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I’ll post the video outcomes of the Paris summit comments below. However, in the interests of time and cutting to the chase, the picture below highlights the reality of things as they present.

The British-based “coalition of the willing” (+1 USA) assembled in Paris as the operation to manipulate the U.S. into forming the cornerstone of the Ukraine “security guarantees” continues. A great deal of this is public relations and psychological operations intended to create something against President Trump’s expressed intention.

However, everything you need to know about the eventual end of this long exposition is evident in the image that everyone pretends not to see.

German Chancellor Merz, Ukraine President Zelenskyy, French President Macron, British Prime Minister Starmer and then you have Mr Witkoff & Mr Kushner. What’s missing? Trump. There’s your answer!

There’s no President Trump because the intent of the principals is against our America-first interest. Hence, the USA did not sign up to the EU created security guarantees, because Trump is demanding they do their own work.

Key word “proposed” [read agreement] …”These elements will be European-led, with the involvement also of non-European members of the Coalition, and the proposed support of the US.”…

President Trump is presenting: The U.S. will provide intelligence *monitoring* assistance, but that’s it.

Not in our strategic interest. Not our war. Not our issue.

The U.S. delegation did not sign up to the statement the EU put forth after the meeting.

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This is way beyond winning, this is stunningly brilliant strategy.  Not only has President Trump successfully apprehended Venezuela dictator Nicolas Maduro, but the remaining interim government officials have acquiesced to fund a civil restitution plan to pay for their malfeasance.

The government that stole from its people is being forced to pay restitution for their own fraud, abuse and misconduct.

[SOURCE]

As we noted yesterday the immediate issue for Venezuela would be to fill the economic/financial void.

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. [link]

Some type of short-term funding is needed during any kind of reconstruction of govt.  Typically, the U.S. taxpayer would be on the hook during this phase; however, President Trump has found a way for the corrupt Venezuelan authorities to pay for their own civic shift back to democracy.  Brilliant.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio appears on CBS Face the Nation to counter the insufferable narrative of Margaret Brennan on the topic of Venezuela. WATCH:

[Transcript] – MARGARET BRENNAN: We begin today with Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, who joins us this morning from Miami. Good morning to you, Mr. Secretary.

SECRETARY OF STATE MARCO RUBIO: Good morning. Good morning.

MARGARET BRENNAN: President Trump said that the United States will run the country and that Venezuela will be largely run by, he pointed to you and some of the other cabinet members when he spoke to the public yesterday. He said, The U.S. retains all military options, including boots on the ground until U.S. demands have been fully met. How do you plan to run the country?

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Secretary of State, National Security Advisor, National Archivist and now interim El Jefe President (Pro Tempore) of Venezuela, Marco Rubio, appears on NBC to outline the U.S. goals and objectives for a stable Venezuela.

The insufferable Kirsten Welker, totally unprepared for the interview, seems to struggle with common sense and listening to answers.  Seriously, the questions are plain goofy.  However, that said, Secretary Rubio patiently tries to crack through the membrane of cognitive dissonance and explain exactly what the current status is along with the objective.  WATCH:

Working on the transcript.  In the interim….

From the Twit: Delcy Rodríguez and the core of the regime’s leadership are negotiating with the United States as we speak. This is not a sudden pivot. It is the result of a conclusion reached in Washington over months: the U.S. does not believe that María Corina Machado and the opposition have the operational capacity to seize power in Venezuela because they do not control, or meaningfully fracture, the military. If they did, power would have shifted immediately after the 2024 presidential election. It did not.

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Today at 11:00am ET President Donald Trump will deliver remarks and hold a press conference addressing the capture of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro.

President Trump is expected to discuss the operation, its international implications, and next steps as details continue to emerge. Livestream Links Below:

.

The indictment against Maduro has been unsealed and released – SEE HERE

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Prior to the 2012 Republican presidential primary, many conservative Americans -including myself- were confused by the consistent illusion of choice offered in Republican presidential candidates. The Republican Party’s successful installation of Mitt Romney was the final straw.

Going into the 2016 Republican presidential primary, we became more attune to how the illusion of choice is created. By closely following the Republican Party’s assemblies, tracking the participants, researching the networks and looking at how the Republican Party professionals modified their election rules at a state level, revealed the closed system used to create the illusion of choice.

The GOP winter meeting in Washington DC, December of 2014, outlined the playbook. The sequencing of state elections, the distribution of delegates (proportional or winner-take-all) and various internal mechanisms all play a part. This led to our first breakthrough – we began to understand the “splitter strategy”.

A small group of internal party officers, in combination with powerful established politicians and major donors, could coordinate a party objective to support the “acceptable candidate.”

The outcome of the GOP 2014 winter meeting was a pathway for Jeb Bush in 2016. The outcome of the DNC construct was a pathway for Hillary Clinton. Regardless of which wing of the UniParty system won the election, the actionable outcome in policy would be the same – the institutions of DC maintained, and network affluence apportioned according to the victor.

In this form of party democracy, voting is an outcome of the illusion of choice. The real decisions were/are not being made by voters. The party system determines the candidate. DNC or RNC the policy outcome is a few degrees different, but the direction is the same.

In 2016, the left-wing of the Uniparty would diminish any challenger to Hillary, Bernie Sanders would be controlled. The right-wing of the Uniparty would diminish any challenger to Jeb, divide the voting base and use party rules to clear his path.

The opaque nature of this party control system became clearer when the last GOP candidate entered the race. In the clearest exhibition of controlled politics in modern history, Donald Trump was the wildcard.

Mainstream “conservative” voices, what a later vernacular would describe as “influencers,” began exposing their ideological special interest in this political control system through opposition to Trump, the popular people’s choice candidate.

You know the history thereafter. However, the problem for the GOP wing in 2016 was not Donald Trump per se’, their biggest problem was that American ‘conservatives‘ had discovered their playbook. The illusion of choice was now becoming very well understood by a subset of voters later named MAGA voters, the original “silent majority” was silent no more.

This review is simply context; however, it is important context if we are to understand exactly where we are in late 2025 going into the midterm election in 2026. [Star Wars (2016), the Empire Strikes Back (2020), the Return of the Jedi (2024)]

The fourth chapter of this conflict is now upon us. It is a battlefield that has been unfolding all year.

When you understand the larger objectives behind what is happening, you can clearly see -even predict- each of the moves.

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The European Union, France and Germany are furious at the U.S. State Department and Marco Rubio for issuing visa bans against European political figures who are involved in censorship under the guise of combating online hate and disinformation. Brussels said Wednesday it will “respond swiftly and decisively” against the “unjustified measures.”

[SOURCE]

The first EU political group to be targeted with the visa bans includes French former EU commissioner Thierry Breton, who was one of the architects of the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA). Also: Imran Ahmed, the British CEO of the U.S.-based Center for Countering Digital Hate, Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon of the German non-profit HateAid, and Clare Melford, co-founder of the Global Disinformation Index.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the first five people targeted with visa bans “have led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to censor, demonetize and suppress American viewpoints they oppose.”

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[I present this with a qualifier that will become clear in a few days. Christmastime is not the time for such conversations, yet. However, thankfully we do not yet need to go too deep into motivations – we will soon.]

Secretary of State, National Security Advisor and National Archivist Marco Rubio, presents a short year in review recap of some of the topline geopolitical issues. WATCH:

Secretary Rubio has been doing a stellar job in his dual role as Secretary of State and National Security Advisor.  He has been one of the standout cabinet members in 2025 and deserves thankful recognition for his efforts.

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