According to the latest news from the government of Cuba, two days of official mourning have been declared as they announce 32 members of the Cuban military and Intelligence services were killed in Venezuela while protecting Nicolas Maduro.  There were no American fatalities.

REUTERS – HAVANA, Jan 4 (Reuters) – The Cuban government said on Sunday that 32 of its citizens were killed during the U.S. raid on Venezuela to extract President Nicolas Maduro for prosecution in the United States.

Havana said there would be two days of mourning on January 5 and 6 in honor of those killed and said funeral arrangements would be announced.

The Cuban government statement gave few details but said all the dead were members of the Cuban armed forces and intelligence agencies.

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Once again giving context to the immediate reaction from Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum following the operation to exfiltrate Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, during the return flight to Washington DC President Trump spoke about how President Sheinbaum is “a little afraid” of the cartels in Mexico.

When asked about his previous offer to have the U.S. military intervene in the drug and human trafficking operations within Mexico, President Trump said, “I would say every single time I’ve talked to her I’ve offered to send troops.” Following up with, “she’s concerned, she’s a little afraid, the cartels are running Mexico. Whether you like it or not, the cartels are running Mexico.”  WATCH:

This is not just an ordinary off-the-cuff statement when you consider the ramifications. There is no closer geographic nation to the mainland United States other than Mexico, and President Trump is being brutally honest in his statement that Mexican President Sheinbaum is afraid of the cartels.  The cartels run the Mexican government.

Mexican residents living in the United States and sending money back to Mexico are a major economic driver of Mexico’s GDP.  Currently the best estimate of GDP is that personal remittances make up around 4% of their domestic economy.  The United States sent $62.5 billion dollars in remittances to Mexico in 2024, 96.6% of the total received by the country. 47% of remittances from the United States to Mexico are sent from California and Texas [source].

The remittances essentially subsidize the average Mexican family, while the illegal cartel income is estimated around $12 billion annually [source].   The total Mexican GDP is around $1.7 trillion [source], Canada is roughly $2.4 trillion, the United States is around $30 trillion.

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Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman, Tom Cotton, appears on CBS with Margaret Brennan to discuss reaction to the capture of Nicolas Maduro, the current status of Venezuela and the longer-term ramifications.  Video and Transcript Below:

[Transcript] – MARGARET BRENNAN: We’re joined now by the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee Arkansas Republican Tom Cotton. Good to have you here. Senator.

SEN. TOM COTTON: Thanks, Margaret.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You have oversight of the intelligence community which was deeply involved in this operation to go into Venezuela militarily and extract Nicholas Maduro and his wife. Does the US still assess that the regime in Venezuela is made up of Narco terrorists with ties to Iran, Russia, China and Cuba?

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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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President Trump held a press availability on route to Washington, DC.  Obviously, the primary topic is the current status of Venezuela and the administration plans for stability following the successful capture of Nicolas Maduro.

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This is very interesting timing considering the recent denial by Zelenskyy that Ukraine had anything to do with the attack on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence.

According to Politico, Zelenskyy is removing Vasyl Malyuk as head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the state’s top counterintelligence agency. Malyuk previously worked with British intelligence on operation “Spiderweb” where Ukrainian drones hit Russia’s strategic bombers on several protected airfields (USA not informed).

Vasyl Malyuk (pictured above right) was reportedly also behind the St Petersburg terrorist attack that killed Russian blogger Maksim Fomin, 40, who was more popularly known by his pen name, Vladlen Tatarsky. The important element of this shift is the intelligence nature of Malyuk and his covert operations, which arguably did not always flow through information channels.

VIA POLITICO – Vasyl Malyuk as head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the state’s top counterintelligence agency, as part of an ongoing government reshuffle.

The reshuffle has already seen two other top spies — Kyrylo Budanov and Oleh Ivashchenko — shifted to other responsibilities. Budanov has agreed to head the president’s office, while Ivashchenko will be chief of the HUR military intelligence service. Malyuk is said to be fighting to retain his post.

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Many on the political left, and even a few on the political right, are having fits about President Trump authorizing the operation to capture Venezuela president and narcotrafficker Nicolas Maduro without any congressional notification.

Several House members attempted to frame the issue as Trump acting as a dictator. A few called attention to the lack of the Gang of Eight being notified, and even some Republican senators on the Senate Armed Services Committee were concerned with the military deployment without advance notice.

If a covert intelligence operation was deployed, the President would sign a “finding memo” generally notifying the Gang of Eight, but that doesn’t apply in this instance.

President Trump remarked a concern with leaks was an element, saying that Congress has “a tendency to leak,” which he said could have produced “a very different result.”  However, Secretary Marco Rubio was purposefully clear in his statement about the operation.

“This is not the kind of mission that you can do congressional notification on. It was a trigger-based mission in which conditions had to be met night after night,” Rubio said later at a Mar-a-Lago news conference.  “Remember, at the end of day, at its core, this was an arrest of two indicted fugitives of American justice, and the Department of War supported the Department of Justice in that job. Now there are broader policy implications here, but it’s just not the kind of mission that you can pre-notify because it endangers the mission,” he said.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton affirmed after discussion with Rubio, “Congress doesn’t need to be notified ever time the executive branch is making an arrest. And that’s exactly what happened this morning in Venezuela, and now Maduro is going to come to the United States, and he’s going to face justice.”

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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:

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

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Speaking to Fox News this morning, President Trump answers questions about the Delta Force operation that captured Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro.

Maduro is currently aboard the USS Iwo Jima.  WATCH:

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As video of U.S. military operations inside Venezuela began to surface on social media, President Donald Trump has announced that overnight the U.S. military carried out a “large scale strike” against Venezuela and captured President Nicolas Maduro.

[Via Truth Social]

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