Maduro is an awful person and even worse politician, whose efforts to bankroll himself and his family at the expense of the country is something we should be disgusted with. Oh wait, this is Maduro we’re
And there’s actually a unifying strategic framework underneath the incoherence we are seeing.
I just published analysis showing Venezuela wasn’t improvisation, it’s the November 2025 National Security Strategy being executed exactly as written.
Every contradictory rational: drugs, oil, deportations, anticommunism; gets unified under this doctrine.
Strategically, the NSS provides the legal architecture that makes all those pretexts work simultaneously. The framework elevates narcoterrorism and migration to existential threats specifically to bypass congressional war powers. It reframes regime change as “law enforcement.” It claims Article II authority for resource seizure.
The incoherence isn’t a bug, it’s how moral licensing works. Pile up enough justifications and no single one has to be credible.
Violence for the sake of power and they’re operationalizing the NSS playbook that authorizes exactly this authoritarian playbook.
Venezuela proves the doctrine works: bomb a capital without congressional authorization, extract a head of state, announce “we’re going to run the country,” face zero institutional pushback. That’s the template for Cuba, Greenland, everywhere the NSS authorizes force.
Wannabe Fascists who document their imperial ambitions as official strategy are even more dangerous than those operating on impulse alone. The NSS ensures he can scale it systematically across the hemisphere without oversight.
The “personalist dictatorship” foreign policy we are noticing has a published operations manual. That’s what makes it sustainable beyond Trump’s attention span.
NSS 2025 is a frightening redirection of US interests. European allies are left to their own devices. North American nations are the focus of a kleptocrat who has the power to enrich his family, friends, and ultimately himself. The invasion and capture tactic may not work for Greenland, Canada, or Cuba. Other means are available. The lead-in won't be destroying "drug boats", but preparatory operations will be conducted. The CIA, NSA, DOD, and DOJ have acted in the national interest as directed by the commander-in-chief many times in the past. When detected (not as obvious as bombings were), Congressional reaction must be united, swift, and effective unlike the weak response to the "drug boat" escapade. The megalomaniac at the helm and his adherents will not restrain themselves.
Inconceivable! An American oligarch running a vulture fund becomes even richer from a Venezuelan take over? I can’t imagine that this had anything, anything at all to do with oil. Are you sure, Judd?
This is another Popular Information story that will likely get picked up by other major MSM outlets. Trump loves to help his big "donors" with in-kind financial gain reciprocity.
But it's worth mentioning, that if you want the true AAA VIP experience from the President, do *not* donate to his PAC's. Instead, buy $TRUMP crypto--ideally in amounts over ten million dollars. An untraceable memecoin purchase will put that money *directly* into the President's pocket ever so discretely! No one needs to know. Except for you and our President, of course.
Thanks for the tip! When I get ten million dollars, can you find a country for me to take over? Just a tiny English-speaking island would be fine. How about Little Jeff's? I bet we could bomb that place, extract nobody and claim it for ME!!
In 2024, 85% of Trump voters used FOX News for some/most/all of their news. And 80% of these fully believed the nonsense being pushed. Because of course Haitians are eating people's pets, and why should anybody give a damn about the up to $3 BILLION in crypto profits made by Trump in 2025. FOX is the gateway to the conservative mind, who implicitly believe any and all lies or exaggerations, no matter how untrue.
Unless FOX News and its lesser competitors are required by law to NOT LIE about stories, and use actual journalistic standards, like multiple sources, timely retractions, fact-checking, etc. WE WILL LOSE OUR DEMOCRACY.
Which needs to be a TOP PRIORITY if or when the Dems ever regain the Presidency with a Congressional majority. A *Truth in Media* law is urgently needed to regulate any org purporting to be "news".
So, based on all of this, I guess if Canada wants to get its access to American bourbon they can set up a similar operation and kidnap Trump and Congress ( theGOP) would have to go along with it because that is how business is done. Another Country doesn’t like how a product is being managed so the head of that country is removed forcibly because it’s ok to step in and “fix” the obstructor.
And the amount of drugs coming into the U.S. from China via Mexico gives Canada license to call us a narco-zombie-terrorist state as our millions of addicts will succumb for a taste.
Once again to get the root of most corruption’Follow The Money’ and maybe even the Epstein files? Do a search of Paul Singer & Epstein - seems Singer was the biggest donor suppressing Masse
Thanks for helping us see behind the curtain of exploitation and power. Now I'd like to know which oil companies to boycott. Citgo is one, but who does Citgo supply?
U.S. citizens living, serving, or studying abroad—you can vote from wherever you are! 🌍 Visit https://votefromabroad.org to register and request your overseas ballot.
It’s quick, free, and valid for all elections in 2026. Need help? Write to help@votefromabroad.org.
Vote from Abroad volunteers are ready to assist you with any questions about requesting or returning your ballot. Don’t wait! Request your ballot today and make your voice heard! 🗳️
I guess the big question for me on Venezuela is now what. I'm glad that I understand more now about the connection to Paul Singer and Citgo. Is there any way Singer or Trump faces any real accountability herein, though? That's not really within the scope of this piece, but it's deflating to think there won't be any consequences for them.
Please don't take this as flippant - it'a not - They are 79 and 81 and just acquired a fixer-upper when neither has any experience in the industry (the guys fronting "Amber Energy do, though.) This is the outer layer of the onion for both Paul Singer & the global forces in play (and I sooo appreciate the report!)
The U.S. under Biden was producing so much oil lefties like me are/were ashamed. "Crude prices fell in 2025 amidst oversupply."
Because it's a boondoggle & more & more ppl are likely to be hurt, we need to be informed & prepared, mitigate where we can, but work to ensure the 'natural consequences" impact them.
Think Tanks that don’t think should be called what they are and that is Propaganda Mills. They are not in the business of thinking, they are in the business of advocacy for their donors
I would think most people are happy to see Maduro removed from power because of his corruption and that he has repeatedly thwarted democracy in his country. But this operation also resulted in about 80 people (current estimates), including Venezuelan civilians, losing their lives. Venezuela is also not anywhere near the top of U.S. problems. The linkage of this operation to benefit a political supporter adds to the many concerns: risking American service member lives for an operation not approved by Congress, distraction from domestic policy, corruption in the administration, Epstein files, etc. What happens next in Venezuela? Do we get sucked into this potential quagmire?
Our soldiers will kill and die so Singer, worth billions, gets richer? Oh, good. At least we have a face for this debacle. But Singer can't be the only man with his hand out.
Follow the money with this interactive map to see how Trump's attack on Venezuela benefits Paul Singer at Elliott Management as well as Halburton, Williams Company - all three major donors to Trump.
Petro-Politics: How Campaign Cash Fueled Trump’s Invasion of Venezuela
Singer needs the oil to Make Citgo Great Again! because Thiel and Musk need the oil to run AI, and Trump needs even more to run crypto, which is an energy suck like nothing we have ever invented before.
Ending the war in Gaza so Trump can build a middle-east in his image, and ending the war in Ukraine so he can divide up the mineral assests with Putin, and now kidnapping Maduro to steal oil revenue, it's all part of the same grift.
Trump and Putin have proven that regardless of the fairy tale we like to tell children, bullying is a viable model for success.
Maduro is an awful person and even worse politician, whose efforts to bankroll himself and his family at the expense of the country is something we should be disgusted with. Oh wait, this is Maduro we’re
talking about, right?
Nice one, yes!
And there’s actually a unifying strategic framework underneath the incoherence we are seeing.
I just published analysis showing Venezuela wasn’t improvisation, it’s the November 2025 National Security Strategy being executed exactly as written.
Every contradictory rational: drugs, oil, deportations, anticommunism; gets unified under this doctrine.
Strategically, the NSS provides the legal architecture that makes all those pretexts work simultaneously. The framework elevates narcoterrorism and migration to existential threats specifically to bypass congressional war powers. It reframes regime change as “law enforcement.” It claims Article II authority for resource seizure.
The incoherence isn’t a bug, it’s how moral licensing works. Pile up enough justifications and no single one has to be credible.
Violence for the sake of power and they’re operationalizing the NSS playbook that authorizes exactly this authoritarian playbook.
Venezuela proves the doctrine works: bomb a capital without congressional authorization, extract a head of state, announce “we’re going to run the country,” face zero institutional pushback. That’s the template for Cuba, Greenland, everywhere the NSS authorizes force.
Wannabe Fascists who document their imperial ambitions as official strategy are even more dangerous than those operating on impulse alone. The NSS ensures he can scale it systematically across the hemisphere without oversight.
The “personalist dictatorship” foreign policy we are noticing has a published operations manual. That’s what makes it sustainable beyond Trump’s attention span.
—Johan
Former Foreign Service Officer
The thought that this is only the beginning of “nation building” is disgusting. Every day the US devolves more and more.
Excellent comment!
NSS 2025 is a frightening redirection of US interests. European allies are left to their own devices. North American nations are the focus of a kleptocrat who has the power to enrich his family, friends, and ultimately himself. The invasion and capture tactic may not work for Greenland, Canada, or Cuba. Other means are available. The lead-in won't be destroying "drug boats", but preparatory operations will be conducted. The CIA, NSA, DOD, and DOJ have acted in the national interest as directed by the commander-in-chief many times in the past. When detected (not as obvious as bombings were), Congressional reaction must be united, swift, and effective unlike the weak response to the "drug boat" escapade. The megalomaniac at the helm and his adherents will not restrain themselves.
Excellent reporting on an important player. Paul Singer is a bad guy. Judd Legum brings the receipts. Big-time.
Singer is also responsible for the capture of the Supreme Court.
Great reporting by Judd !
Inconceivable! An American oligarch running a vulture fund becomes even richer from a Venezuelan take over? I can’t imagine that this had anything, anything at all to do with oil. Are you sure, Judd?
Grateful for the humor in a very dark moment for democracy and justice. Click here for a powerful ballad from #VeteransforPeace.org https://youtube.com/shorts/dvJ5IiI3V1w?si=MhjQW3Z7Af64rklR #CostsofWar.watson.brown.edu; #PaxChristi.org;
#NetworkLobby.org
I wish the average American would see important details like this. They just don't understand the real madness. Thank you Judd.
This is another Popular Information story that will likely get picked up by other major MSM outlets. Trump loves to help his big "donors" with in-kind financial gain reciprocity.
But it's worth mentioning, that if you want the true AAA VIP experience from the President, do *not* donate to his PAC's. Instead, buy $TRUMP crypto--ideally in amounts over ten million dollars. An untraceable memecoin purchase will put that money *directly* into the President's pocket ever so discretely! No one needs to know. Except for you and our President, of course.
Thanks for the tip! When I get ten million dollars, can you find a country for me to take over? Just a tiny English-speaking island would be fine. How about Little Jeff's? I bet we could bomb that place, extract nobody and claim it for ME!!
They could understand more if we had free press and factual media reporting. The average American is in the dark or maybe MAGA.
This.
In 2024, 85% of Trump voters used FOX News for some/most/all of their news. And 80% of these fully believed the nonsense being pushed. Because of course Haitians are eating people's pets, and why should anybody give a damn about the up to $3 BILLION in crypto profits made by Trump in 2025. FOX is the gateway to the conservative mind, who implicitly believe any and all lies or exaggerations, no matter how untrue.
Unless FOX News and its lesser competitors are required by law to NOT LIE about stories, and use actual journalistic standards, like multiple sources, timely retractions, fact-checking, etc. WE WILL LOSE OUR DEMOCRACY.
Which needs to be a TOP PRIORITY if or when the Dems ever regain the Presidency with a Congressional majority. A *Truth in Media* law is urgently needed to regulate any org purporting to be "news".
So, based on all of this, I guess if Canada wants to get its access to American bourbon they can set up a similar operation and kidnap Trump and Congress ( theGOP) would have to go along with it because that is how business is done. Another Country doesn’t like how a product is being managed so the head of that country is removed forcibly because it’s ok to step in and “fix” the obstructor.
All can say is “Go Canada!”
And the amount of drugs coming into the U.S. from China via Mexico gives Canada license to call us a narco-zombie-terrorist state as our millions of addicts will succumb for a taste.
Once again to get the root of most corruption’Follow The Money’ and maybe even the Epstein files? Do a search of Paul Singer & Epstein - seems Singer was the biggest donor suppressing Masse
https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/07/31/congress/maga-ky-super-pac-donors-00487931
Rooting out evil is a full time job.
Thank you Judd For in-depth reporting.
Thanks for helping us see behind the curtain of exploitation and power. Now I'd like to know which oil companies to boycott. Citgo is one, but who does Citgo supply?
U.S. citizens living, serving, or studying abroad—you can vote from wherever you are! 🌍 Visit https://votefromabroad.org to register and request your overseas ballot.
It’s quick, free, and valid for all elections in 2026. Need help? Write to help@votefromabroad.org.
Vote from Abroad volunteers are ready to assist you with any questions about requesting or returning your ballot. Don’t wait! Request your ballot today and make your voice heard! 🗳️
I guess the big question for me on Venezuela is now what. I'm glad that I understand more now about the connection to Paul Singer and Citgo. Is there any way Singer or Trump faces any real accountability herein, though? That's not really within the scope of this piece, but it's deflating to think there won't be any consequences for them.
Please don't take this as flippant - it'a not - They are 79 and 81 and just acquired a fixer-upper when neither has any experience in the industry (the guys fronting "Amber Energy do, though.) This is the outer layer of the onion for both Paul Singer & the global forces in play (and I sooo appreciate the report!)
The U.S. under Biden was producing so much oil lefties like me are/were ashamed. "Crude prices fell in 2025 amidst oversupply."
Because it's a boondoggle & more & more ppl are likely to be hurt, we need to be informed & prepared, mitigate where we can, but work to ensure the 'natural consequences" impact them.
Think Tanks that don’t think should be called what they are and that is Propaganda Mills. They are not in the business of thinking, they are in the business of advocacy for their donors
I would think most people are happy to see Maduro removed from power because of his corruption and that he has repeatedly thwarted democracy in his country. But this operation also resulted in about 80 people (current estimates), including Venezuelan civilians, losing their lives. Venezuela is also not anywhere near the top of U.S. problems. The linkage of this operation to benefit a political supporter adds to the many concerns: risking American service member lives for an operation not approved by Congress, distraction from domestic policy, corruption in the administration, Epstein files, etc. What happens next in Venezuela? Do we get sucked into this potential quagmire?
Our soldiers will kill and die so Singer, worth billions, gets richer? Oh, good. At least we have a face for this debacle. But Singer can't be the only man with his hand out.
Amy is so right! & William said it best..great reporting Judd!
So many crooks - so little time!
Billionaires are the single greatest threat to peace, prosperity and saving the planet.
You said it, Sister! ☮️🕊️
Follow the money with this interactive map to see how Trump's attack on Venezuela benefits Paul Singer at Elliott Management as well as Halburton, Williams Company - all three major donors to Trump.
Petro-Politics: How Campaign Cash Fueled Trump’s Invasion of Venezuela
https://thedemlabs.org/2026/01/04/petro-politics-trump-venezuela-invasion-oil/
Follow the money behind Trump’s grift in attacking Venezuela for its oil with this interactive map
https://thedemlabs.org/2026/01/03/venezuela-maduro-trump-grift-oil-reserves/
Singer needs the oil to Make Citgo Great Again! because Thiel and Musk need the oil to run AI, and Trump needs even more to run crypto, which is an energy suck like nothing we have ever invented before.
Ending the war in Gaza so Trump can build a middle-east in his image, and ending the war in Ukraine so he can divide up the mineral assests with Putin, and now kidnapping Maduro to steal oil revenue, it's all part of the same grift.
Trump and Putin have proven that regardless of the fairy tale we like to tell children, bullying is a viable model for success.
Power, yes. But a far cry from anything resembling success.
Power and money.
Same, according to Marco Rubio. That's just the now we are in.