Delaware Senator Chris Coons questioned Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the Trump administration’s refusal to consult the Senate in advance about national security operations using the U.S. military.  Specifically, Senator Coons expressed his anger about not being informed in advance of the operation to capture Nicholas Maduro.

Secretary of State Rubio reminded Senator Coons that operational security, and the desire to protect U.S. military servicemen, precluded the administration from permitting the Senate to warn Maduro of the pending operation.  Senator Chris Coons then counters by saying, “The Gang of Eight has never leaked, it is critical you consult with Congress.”  This is a false statement by Chris Coons, who has never been a ‘Gang of Eight’ member.

Virginia Senator Mark Warner was Vice-Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) and a Gang of Eight member, when he directed SSCI Security Director James Wolfe to leak a top-secret classified document (Title-1 warrant) to the media on March 17, 2017.  The Gang of Eight does leak to the media, and Secretary Rubio should know.  Secretary Rubio was also a member of the Gang of Eight as SSCI Vice-Chair.

The entire testimony by Secretary Marco Rubio is exceptional.  You can even tell from the moderate responses from Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that they were/are completely outmatched by Rubio.

Despite the background of Rubio, working against many of MAGA’s interests (2010 – 2024), I have never seen a more articulate Secretary of State with complete command of every granular aspect to U.S. foreign operations.  The MAGA-Rubio is perhaps the most skilled and articulate voice we have ever seen on our side.

This is the same Marco Rubio who came out of the Florida Senate, supported Jeb Bush, worked for immigration amnesty, supported TPP, supported fast track TPA, supported TTIP, supported the Libya intervention model, worked against tariffs and traveled the world with Senator John McCain.  In full honest review, Marco Rubio was to John McCain what John Thune was to Mitch McConnell.

I really hope someone can eventually ask Rubio what happened during his ‘¹road to Damascus’ moment?  What, specifically, is behind this transformation?  Someone needs to ask.

Check out the look of defeat on the face of Senator Chris Coons (below) when Secretary of State Marco Rubio was finished with him.  Incredible.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced the first official set of Muslim Brotherhood chapters that are designated as “global terrorist” organizations. The first set will not come as a big surprise: Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon.

The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood were chased out of the country by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi over a decade ago. The Jordanian chapter is similarly aligned and was previously targeted by King Abdullah. The Lebanese faction is not as well known, but their support for Hamas is well understood.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio – Today, as a first step in support of President Trump’s commitment to eliminate the capabilities and operations of Muslim Brotherhood chapters that pose a threat to the United States as described in Executive Order 14362, the United States is imposing terrorist designations against the Lebanese, Jordanian, and Egyptian chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Department of State is designating the Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), and the group’s leader Muhammad Fawzi Taqqosh as an SDGT. Concurrently, the Department of the Treasury is designating the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood as SDGTs for providing material support to Hamas.

These designations reflect the opening actions of an ongoing, sustained effort to thwart Muslim Brotherhood chapters’ violence and destabilization wherever it occurs. The United States will use all available tools to deprive these Muslim Brotherhood chapters of the resources to engage in or support terrorism. (READ MORE)

Keep in mind, the Muslim Brotherhood is the fabric on the umbrella of political Islam. Each faction represents an individual spline on the umbrella construct, but the Muslim Brotherhood overall is a political extremist system for various levels of authentic Islam.

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During the energy roundtable, Secretary Rubio made remarks outlining the three phases within the U.S. policy toward Venezuela.  Essentially the core of the policy is: (1) Stabilization; (2) Transition, and (3) a Return to sovereign representative democracy.

The initial phase is ‘stabilization,’ where the U.S. government is working with existing leadership in Venezuela under tight controls and clear expectations.  Reconciliation of political factions is supported. The U.S. leverage is maintained by financial and economic control, provided by the threat of U.S. military.  Venezuela’s oil production pays for U.S. oversight.

The second phase involves ‘transition’, where the civic and governing responsibilities are shared between the existing Venezuelan leadership and aligned policy of the U.S. government.  In the transitional phase the economic wealth is apportioned to the people of Venezuela with oversight by the U.S. government.

The third phase ‘sovereign representative democracy’ happens when the reformed government holds legitimate elections to decide the representative form of government, the voice of the people, within Venezuela.  The U.S. influence then begins to withdraw, and new sovereign political leadership takes control.

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On Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump emissaries Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with the Ukraine negotiating team in Florida to further discuss acceptable terms for a broader ceasefire and end to the war.

Still trying to recover from corruption charges against his senior presidential team, Volodymyr Zelenskyy was not at the talks. Instead, the Ukraine delegation was led by State Security Council Secretary Rustem Umerov, while Zelenskyy went to Paris for an emotional support session with Emmanuel Macron.

Secretary Rubio and Secretary Umerov spoke before and after their 5-hour negotiation session.  Secretary Rubio emphasized the main topic as securing the long-term future of Ukraine both from a security position and from an economic prosperity position.

This state security aspect comes as the Ukraine delegation is facing pressure to accept, they will lose most -if not all- of the Donbas region to Russia. “The end goal is obviously not just the end of the war. Obviously, that’s central and fundamental,” Rubio said. “It’s also about securing an end to the war that leaves Ukraine sovereign and independent and with an opportunity at real prosperity.”

In better-than-expected news, the EU is now saying they will not comply with any removal of sanctions against Russia.  If the U.S-Russia and Ukraine work out a negotiated settlement that permits legal or economic relief for Vladimir Putin, the European Union will not agree and will instead make up their own decision on the issues.

Europe is holding this position as a threat, because President Trump is not fully consulting with them on all the granular details.  However, this is the type of threat that is exactly beneficial to what appears to be the long-term strategy of Trump.

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On the sidelines of a trade and economic discussion with the govt of Kyrgyzstan and the CSTO summit, Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin took questions from media about the Ukraine -vs- Russia conflict.

Now, due to the significance of his remarks, and keeping in mind these responses are in the Russian language, it becomes important for WESTERN READERS to evaluate the translation.  Vladimir Putin speaks in direct terms that are often not understood in western translation, the nuance within the translation is important.

That said, I am going through the remarks; I will share the video and ongoing translation while extrapolating against the known backdrop of communication as shared by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Emissary Steve Witkoff and ultimately, President Donald Trump.

It appears that Russian President Putin is expecting the arrival of a U.S. delegation to Moscow, likely Witkoff, Saturday, Sunday or Monday (early next week).  This aligns with the prior statements of President Trump during remarks aboard Air Force One.

In general, and in the specifically official nuance that Russian President Vladimir Putin is known for, Putin affirmed that Steve Witkoff and Yury Ushakov are key “informal” negotiators. Each emissary from each leader allowed space for plain language discussions.  Witkoff represents the voice of Donald Trump, and Ushakov representing the voice of Vladimir Putin.

Witkoff and Ushakov can meet and discuss the reality of things without concern for the noise of diplomatic stakeholders. Both men are closely trusted advisors of their principals, Trump and Putin.  When the elements of their discussions need to transfer to formal contexts, Witkoff/Trump bring aboard Secretary Rubio while Ushakov/Putin bring in Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.  The official teams transfer the common language objective into diplomatic details.

As to the status of the current conflict from the Russian perspective.  Vladimir Putin was brutally honest and pragmatic in his remarks.

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Delegations from Ukraine and the USA have been holding talks in Geneva on a draft peace plan. No statement has been officially released, but Ukraine and Russia had received the draft 28-point plan aimed at ending the war. President Trump put the general deadline date of Thursday for review.

Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin has said the plan could form the basis of an agreement, but Ukraine and its European money laundering stakeholders have expressed concern. Giving a brief update during discussions, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US and Ukrainian teams had held “probably the best meeting” since Trump returned to office.

Negotiations continued all day with Secretary Rubio noting significant progress has been made and talks will continue into tomorrow. Rubio noted, “we just need more time.” WATCH:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been using his X Account all day to message with allies and “stakeholders” about the negotiations.  Zelenskyy is the performative face of opposition to the peace agreement and leveraging external pressure to maintain a fight that domestically has lost significant support.

President Trump has expressed frustration with Zelenskyy’s intransigence; however, if the reporting is accurate Zelenskyy has been informed this 26 or 28 point proposal is his last opportunity to negotiate in good faith before President Trump cuts off all assistance to Ukraine.   Secretary Rubio seems very optimistic.

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We have discussed at length how the EU/NATO intelligence apparatus will do anything to keep U.S. President Trump and Russian President Putin in conflict against each other. As a consequence of tracking the datapoints around this issue, these events in Romania and Hungary cannot be perceived as coincidental.

Remember, what the EU intelligence apparatus did in Romania to control the election result. Remember also, the largest NATO base is being built in Romania. We understand the EU/NATO (CIA) agenda for Romania with clear eyes.

Now, two simultaneous oil refineries explode. One of them a Russian-owned refinery in Romania, the other a refinery in Hungary that processes Russian oil.

According to Daily News Hungary, the Romanian explosion happened in Ploiești, in the Wallachian region, the refinery is one of Romania’s largest, with a capacity of over 2.5 million tonnes. the refinery is owned by the Russian company Lukoil.

The refinery in Hungary at Százhalombatta refines Russian oil. It erupted in flames on Monday night. “The fire broke out on Monday night at the Dunai Refinery’s AV3 unit. It was swiftly contained, and firefighters have remained on site since, MOL stated in a press release issued last night.” […] “According to information obtained by index.hu from industry insiders, the entire oil refinery faces the possibility of a complete shutdown. Prime Minister Orbán Viktor, in his morning post, has promised the strictest investigation into the fire.”

In related news, the Budapest summit in Hungary between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump has been delayed.

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President Trump releases the outline of the negotiated agreement to end the conflict in Gaza.

President Donald J. Trump’s Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict:

1. Gaza will be a deradicalized terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbors.

2. Gaza will be redeveloped for the benefit of the people of Gaza, who have suffered more than enough.

3. If both sides agree to this proposal, the war will immediately end. Israeli forces will withdraw to the agreed upon line to prepare for a hostage release. During this time, all military operations, including aerial and artillery bombardment, will be suspended, and battle lines will remain frozen until conditions are met for the complete staged withdrawal.

4. Within 72 hours of Israel publicly accepting this agreement, all hostages, alive and deceased, will be returned.

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Speaking to reporters in Miami, Secretary of State Marco Rubio affirmed the shift in drug enforcement that will now use the full weight of the United States military to “wage combat” level measures against Venezuelan drug networks.  WATCH:

Moments before the presser, the Pentagon had released video of a speedboat carrying drugs that was engaged and destroyed by the U.S military.  11 persons on the boat were killed and the cargo destroyed.  [Video Below]

President Trump has unleased the power of the U.S. military against criminal drug cartels and narcotrafficking gangs.  The current focus is in/around the waterways surrounding Venezuela, but the threat is now massive throughout the region.

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Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio discusses foreign policy engagements with President Trump’s doctrine at the forefront.  As noted by Secretary Rubio, President Trump is the ultimate closer who genuinely enjoys the art of negotiating deals on behalf of the United States.

Secretary Rubio walks through some of the global confliction points where President Trump has tasked his team to engage with foreign governments. Rubio also talks about the restructuring within the U.S. Dept of State.

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The Secretary of State and National Security Advisor roles are perfect for the skillset of Marco Rubio.  If there are some big positive surprises within the second term, the executive excellence of Marco Rubio is certainly at the top of the list.

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