US reportedly to launch new phase of operations against Venezuela – US politics live | US politics
US reportedly ready for next phase of Venezuelan military operations
Trump has stepped up pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, now labeling him and his government allies as members of a foreign terrorist organization.
This appointment is another step towards criminalizing Maduro; Analysts say this could force Maduro to resign with the threat of military force.
This also offers the potential to give the United States expanded military options to attack domestically, US media reported.
Reports of impending action have proliferated in recent weeks, with the US military deploying warships to the Caribbean at a time when relations have deteriorated.
Reuters had a worrying exclusive statement yesterday: The USA is preparing to enter a new phase of operations in the coming daysAccording to four unnamed US officials.
The exact timing or scope of the new operations is unknown, and it is unclear whether Trump has made a final decision to take action, Reuters reported.
important events
“Something good might be happening,” Trump says about Ukraine talks
Trump also shared positive comments about the negotiations in his morning letters, as usual. Real Social bill:
“Is it really possible to make major progress in the Peace Talks between Russia and Ukraine? Don’t believe it until you see it, but something good might be happening. GOD BLESS AMERICA!”
US and Ukraine negotiators continue working on peace plan in Geneva
Let’s come to the latest developments regarding Ukraine; Talks continue today in Geneva between US and Ukrainian representatives, after a weekend in which “significant progress was made” according to Marco Rubio, but details remain unclear.
The USA caught Kiev and European countries by surprise last week with its 28-article peace plan and gave Ukraine until Thursday to agree on a framework.
Washington and Kiev said in a joint statement on Sunday that they had drafted a “refined peace framework” after the first day of talks, but did not disclose any details about what the improvements were or whether any concessions had been made on key sticking points.
These include territorial concessions and security guarantees to Ukraine against future Russian threats.
Doge quietly disbanded ahead of schedule
Going back to some local news, the “government department of productivity” (Doge) has apparently been terminated with eight months left on its contract, ending its campaign to occupy federal agencies and lay off thousands of federal workers.
“There is no such thing,” office of personnel management (OPM) director Scott Kupor told Reuters earlier this month when asked about the Doge’s status, adding that he was no longer a “central entity”.
The statement confirmed long-standing suspicions that the Doge was on the way, created by an executive order Donald Trump signed on his first day. Tech billionaire Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy were chosen to lead the effort and were expected to carry out “large-scale structural reform” by July 24, 2026.
“We’re actually trying to be as transparent as possible,” Musk said of the department in February; He ignored the fact that Doge representatives refused to identify themselves on many occasions, cut agency spending often without consulting the agencies, and did not transparently provide a public accounting of their work. “I don’t know of a situation where an organization has been more transparent than the Doge organization.”
Suspicions that Doge may have broken up began to surface earlier this summer following Politico. reported He said in June that employees were “packing up their clothes and bedding” at the ministry headquarters where they had been sleeping since February and were looking for new homes.
Maduro warns Trump against ‘endless war’
Amid rising tensions with the United States. Photo: Miguel Gutierrez/EPA
Venezuela’s authoritarian president Nicolás Maduro accused the United States of wanting to “bomb and occupy” the South American country.
Just 10 days ago he warned Trump against dragging the US into an Afghanistan-style “endless war”. The comments came after the USS Gerald R Ford, the world’s largest, the US Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier, arrived in the region.
I’m talking to CNN On November 14, in front of the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, Maduro called Trump for peace, not war.
“No more wars forever. No more unjust wars. No more Libya. No more Afghanistan. Long live peace,” Maduro, 62, said as he walked through a crowd of supporters.
Earlier that week he had announced a “massive deployment” of land, sea, air, river and missile forces, as well as civilian militias, to counter the US naval presence along his country’s coasts.
An up-to-date article this morning about the current situation in Venezuela by Daniel Mendiola, professor of Latin American history and migration studies at Vassar College.
For the past two months, US forces have massed outside Venezuela and carried out a series of deadly attacks on civilian boats. “The Trump White House ordered these actions in the name of struggle.”narco-terrorists”—a label that appears to apply to anyone suspected of involvement in drug trafficking near the Latin American coastline.
more than 80 people They have already been killed in these pre-emptive strikes, and war hawks are calling for expanded military action to oust Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
While on the surface Trump’s second term is characterized by confusing executive orders and culture war polemics, the administration is actually running a consistent authoritarian playbook aimed at giving the presidency nearly unlimited powers. These concerted efforts have had an impact on numerous policy areas, from immigration to higher education to the economy to even determining who is a citizen.
Consistent with this pattern, Trump asserts the same unfettered authority over the U.S. military’s capabilities to use violence.
Trump’s White House similarly asserts that the right to define “terrorist” is unlimited and, in turn, the right to engage in deadly acts of terrorism. there is almost no external oversight.
In his public statements, Trump has advocated treating drug traffickers as terrorists, citing the harms caused by drug overdoses; He actually suggested that drug traffickers were directly killing US citizens. Ignoring this fact Venezuela does not produce fentanylmain driving force overdose in the USATrump even went so far as to make the mathematically impossible claim that every boat crashed. saved 25,000 lives. Of course, authorities have provided no public evidence that the attacked boats were carrying drugs; They did not attempt to explain what impact blowing up the boats would have on drug use in the United States.
But again, why would they? The point of the argument is that such facts do not matter because Trump has unchecked authority to use deadly force.
US reportedly ready for next phase of Venezuelan military operations
Trump has stepped up pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, now labeling him and his government allies as members of a foreign terrorist organization.
This appointment is another step towards criminalizing Maduro; Analysts say this could force Maduro to resign with the threat of military force.
This also offers the potential to give the United States expanded military options to attack domestically, US media reported.
Reports of impending action have proliferated in recent weeks, with the US military deploying warships to the Caribbean at a time when relations have deteriorated.
Reuters had a worrying exclusive statement yesterday: The USA is preparing to enter a new phase of operations in the coming daysAccording to four unnamed US officials.
The exact timing or scope of the new operations is unknown, and it is unclear whether Trump has made a final decision to take action, Reuters reported.
Good morning
Welcome to our US politics live blog. I’m Frances Mao and I’ll be bringing you important developments over the next few hours.
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While the United States and Ukraine said they were making progress in negotiations to end the war with Russia, Marco Rubio announced changes to a “refined” draft agreement.
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However, Donald Trump lashed out at the Ukrainian administration, saying Kiev showed “zero gratitude.”
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His administration also designated Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro as a member of a foreign terrorist organization, which could allow new sanctions to be imposed. Reports also emerged over the weekend that the US military could begin a new phase of operations in the Caribbean this week. We will provide more information about this soon.
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Analysts say the resignation of Maga loyalist-turned-rebel Marjorie Taylor Greene is a warning sign for Trump. The Georgian congresswoman was once one of Trump’s most vocal allies, but on Friday she announced her exit following the public controversy over the Epstein files, saying she refused to be a “battered wife.”
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And Trump’s so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) — famously headed for a few months by Elon Musk — disbanded eight months into his term, ending a highly publicized initiative that was symbolic of Trump’s commitment to shrinking the size of government but that critics say has yielded little measurable savings.
