President Trump has ridiculed Denmark’s dog sled teams in Greenland.

He has cited mysterious Chinese and Russian ships prowling off the coast.

He seems increasingly fixated on the idea that the United States should take over this gigantic icebound island, with one official saying the president wants to buy it and another suggesting that the United States could simply take it. Just a few days ago, Mr. Trump said: “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security.”

But the question is: Does the United States even need to buy Greenland — or do something more drastic — to accomplish all of Mr. Trump’s goals?

Under a little-known Cold War agreement, the United States already enjoys sweeping military access in Greenland. Right now, the United States has one base in a very remote corner of the island. But the agreement allows it to “construct, install, maintain, and operate” military bases across Greenland, “house personnel” and “control landings, takeoffs, anchorages, moorings, movements, and operation of ships, aircraft, and waterborne craft.”

It was signed in 1951 by the United States and Denmark, which colonized Greenland more than 300 years ago and still controls some of its affairs.

“The U.S. has such a free hand in Greenland that it can pretty much do what it wants,” said Mikkel Runge Olesen, a researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies in Copenhagen.

“I have a very hard time seeing that the U.S. couldn’t get pretty much everything it wanted,” he said, adding, “if it just asked nicely.”

But buying Greenland — something that Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers on Tuesday was Mr. Trump’s latest plan — is a different question.

Greenland does not want to be bought by anyone — especially not the United States. And Denmark does not have the authority to sell it, Dr. Olesen said.

“It is impossible,” he said.

In the past, Denmark would have been the decider. In 1946, it refused the Truman administration’s offer of $100 million in gold.

Today, things are different. Greenlanders now have the right to hold a referendum on independence and Danish officials have said it’s up to the island’s 57,000 inhabitants to decide their future. A poll last year found 85 percent of residents opposed the idea of an American takeover.

Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, has repeatedly scoffed at the idea of being bought, saying this past week, “Our country is not for sale.”

The relatively short, straightforward defense agreement between the United States and Denmark was updated in 2004 to include Greenland’s semiautonomous government, giving it a say in how American military operations might affect the local population. The roots of the agreement go back to a partnership forged during World War II.

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At that time, Denmark was occupied by the Nazis. Its ambassador in Washington, cut off from Copenhagen, took it upon himself to strike a defense agreement for Greenland with the United States. (The island is part of North America, along the Arctic Ocean and close to Canada’s coast.)

The fear was that Nazis could use Greenland as a steppingstone to America. The Germans had already established small meteorological bases on the island’s east coast and relayed information for battles in Europe. American troops eventually ousted them and established more than a dozen bases there with thousands of troops, landing strips and other military facilities.

After World War II, the United States continued to run some bases and a string of early warning radar sites. As the Cold War wound down, the United States closed all of them except one. It’s now called the Pittufik Space Base and helps track missiles crossing the North Pole.

The Danes have a light presence, too: a few hundred troops, including special forces that use dog sleds to conduct long-range patrols. In recent months, the Danish government has vowed to upgrade its bases and increase surveillance.

After American special forces captured Nicolás Maduro, the president of Venezuela, from a safehouse last week, Mr. Trump seemed emboldened. Stephen Miller, a top aide, then claimed that Greenland should belong to the United States and that “nobody’s going to fight the United States” over it. Danish and Greenlandic anxiety skyrocketed.

On Tuesday night, Danish and Greenlandic leaders asked to meet with Mr. Rubio, according to Greenland’s foreign minister. It’s not clear if or when that might happen.

Tensions between Mr. Trump and Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, have been steadily rising, as Mr. Trump pushes to “get” Greenland, as he puts it, while Ms. Frederiksen refuses to kowtow to him.

Just a few days ago, Ms. Frederiksen cited the 1951 agreement, saying, “We already have a defense agreement between the Kingdom and the United States today, which gives the United States wide access to Greenland.” She urged the United States “to stop the threats” and said an American attack on Greenland would mean the end of the international world order.

European leaders issued their own statement on Tuesday, also citing the 1951 agreement and saying, “Greenland belongs to its people.”

Analysts said that if the United States tried to use the defense pact as a fig leaf to send in a lot of troops and try to occupy Greenland, that wouldn’t be legal either.

According to the 2004 amendment, the United States is supposed to consult with Denmark and Greenland before it makes “any significant changes” in its military operations on the island. The 2004 amendment, which was signed by Gen. Colin L. Powell, who was then the secretary of state, explicitly recognizes Greenland as “an equal part of the Kingdom of Denmark.”

Peter Ernstved Rasmussen, a Danish defense analyst, said that in practice, if American forces made reasonable requests, “the U.S. would always get a yes.”

“It is a courtesy formula,” he said. “If the U.S. wanted to act without asking, it could simply inform Denmark that it is building a base, an airfield or a port.”

That’s what infuriates longtime Danish political experts. If Mr. Trump wanted to beef up Greenland’s security right now, he could. But there has been no such official American request, said Jens Adser Sorensen, a former senior official in Denmark’s Parliament.

“Why don’t you use the mechanism of the defense agreement if you’re so worried about the security situation?” he said, adding: “The framework is there. It’s in place.”

But Greenland’s strategic location is not the only thing that has attracted Mr. Trump’s inner circle. The enormous island has another draw: critical minerals, loads of them, buried under the ice. Here, too, analysts say, the United States doesn’t need to take over the island to get them.

Greenlanders have said they are open to doing business — with just about anyone.

Jeffrey Gettleman is an international correspondent based in London covering global events. He has worked for The Times for more than 20 years.

Amelia Nierenberg is a Times reporter covering international news from London.

See more on: U.S. Politics, Mette Frederiksen, Marco Rubio, Donald TrumpRead 1,170 comments

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• Greenland: Stephen Miller, a top aide to President Trump, asserted that Greenland rightfully belonged to the United States and that the Trump administration could seize the semiautonomous Danish territory if it wanted. Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in taking Greenland. But analysts say that, thanks to a little-known Cold War agreement, the United States already enjoys sweeping military access there.

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U.S. — The 2028 presidential race took a surprising turn this week following the events that took place in Venezuela, as the latest round of polling showed that deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro had taken the early primary lead as the most popular Democrat.

A poll of likely Democratic voters taken in the first week of January 2026 showed a dramatic shift in support from other popular candidates to Maduro, now that he has been relieved of his position as leader of the Venezuelan government and arrived in the United States.

“The voters obviously love him,” said one pollster. “Honestly, it shouldn’t surprise anyone. He has everything Democrats want in a politician: suppression of freedom, unbridled corruption, and straight-up socialism. Now that he’s residing in the U.S., he’s a shoo-in for the nomination. There’s already a campaign office set up for him, and ‘Maduro 2028′ signs are being printed as we speak.”

Democratic voters were quick to voice their support for Maduro. “He represents everything we stand for,” said one progressive American. “We’ve been waiting for a really good candidate like this ever since Obama left office. Maduro is like Obama on steroids. Oppression of dissent, killing opponents, torture chambers… this is the guy we need.”

CNN political analyst James Carville had already given Maduro his endorsement and all but named him the uncrowned Democratic frontrunner. “I wish he were a little bit more to the left, but I’ll take him,” Carville said on the air.

At publishing time, the Democratic Party had decided to continue its tradition of foregoing an actual primary and had named Maduro as its candidate.

Babylon Bee

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers this week that President Donald Trump wants to acquire Greenland through a purchase rather than military action, as the administration revisits a long-standing proposal that has triggered sharp pushback from European allies and renewed debate over U.S. strategy in the Arctic.

Rubio delivered the remarks during a closed-door briefing on Monday with members of the armed services and foreign policy committees in both chambers of Congress, according to U.S. officials.

The briefing was focused primarily on Venezuela, but lawmakers raised questions about Trump’s intentions toward Greenland after recent comments by the president and senior adviser Stephen Miller.

The same day as the congressional briefing, Trump asked aides to provide an updated plan for acquiring Greenland, officials said. Trump has expressed interest in Greenland since his first term and has framed the issue as a national security priority tied to growing competition in the Arctic.

Greenland is a sparsely populated, resource-rich territory governed by Denmark, a NATO member, but it operates with broad autonomy over domestic affairs. Rubio did not outline what a purchase would entail or whether formal talks with Denmark have occurred.

On Tuesday, Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, joined leaders from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Poland in a joint statement rejecting Trump’s assertions that the United States should take control of Greenland.

The statement emphasized collective security through NATO and respect for national sovereignty.

“Security in the Arctic must therefore be achieved collectively, in conjunction with NATO allies including the United States, by upholding the principles of the U.N. Charter, including sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders,” the leaders said. “These are universal principles, and we will not stop defending them.”

“Greenland belongs to its people,” the statement added. “It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland.”

Later Tuesday, the White House said Trump had not ruled out military options.

President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it’s vital to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region,” the statement said. “The president and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the U.S. military is always an option at the commander in chief’s disposal.”

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday that “Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place.” While Russia and China have expanded Arctic activity, the United States maintains a long-standing military presence on Greenland, including Pituffik Space Base (formerly Thule Air Base), visited last year by Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha.

Administration officials have also pointed to Greenland’s potential reserves of critical minerals as a strategic consideration.

The Trump administration’s National Security Strategy identifies Western Hemisphere dominance as a top priority, a focus underscored by recent U.S. military actions in Venezuela and earlier remarks by Trump about Canada becoming the 51st state.

Jim Thomas ✉

Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.

America’s enemies won’t be sleeping well for quite some time.

J.B. Shurk | January 7, 2026

I  can’t stop laughing at all the Democrats hyperventilating about President Trump’s Venezuela operation.  I wish I could be more nuanced about this (and perhaps describe the potential pitfalls that lie ahead now that we have taken some “ownership” over the future welfare of the Venezuelan people), but when Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries (the so-called Democrat “leaders” in Congress) are fuming mad that America’s Delta Force dropped into the most heavily fortified compound in Venezuela like invisible ninjas and plucked murderous thug Nicolás Maduro from his slumberous solitude in a matter of minutes, I can barely resist the urge to stand on top of a chair positioned atop my desk and applaud all the remarkable warriors who accomplished this mission.  

Consider how many tens of thousands of Venezuelans Maduro and his murderous predecessor, Hugo Chávez, “disappeared” over the years.  Now take a moment to appreciate that an elite posse of American warriors operating on land, in the air, and on the sea blew up a temple honoring Chávez (that included his remains) and “disappeared” Maduro for good.  If that’s not warrior poetry, I don’t know what else is.

A friend of American Thinker who goes by the online handle “Full Strength” made two excellent points in a previous comment thread: “ONE: Almost every man involved in this operation could have died had the operation failed…TWO: Every participant was critical.  In a well coordinated operation the failure of almost any single element of the attack jeopardizes the entire operation.”  The enlightened “Full Strength” is entirely correct.  

The more details that come out about the “snatch and grab” mission in Caracas, the more incredible the whole mission becomes.  On-the-ground spies and naval and aerial surveillance were flawless.  The combat pilots hiding behind mountains before springing the attack all had nerves of steel — taking out enemy infrastructure, correctly positioning Delta Force operators for timely extraction, and successfully moving to positions of safety all while under heavy fire.  

The Delta Force guys, well, there is no more elite warrior on the planet.  Those impossible missions that Tom Cruise pulls off in the movies are ripped from the somewhat secret history of Delta Force’s most spectacular feats.  I called them “ninjas” above because no word better describes their unique capabilities.  Whether they want you dead or alive, you won’t see them coming.  They are in and out before the bodies hit the floor.

I know I’m partisan, but what kind of red-blooded American could read the publicly available mission details and not shout, “Oh, hell yeah!” with a rolled-up fist in the air?  What kind of real American doesn’t cheer when a murderous commie gets tossed in an American helicopter like a sack of potatoes?  What kind of American could watch live footage of displaced Venezuelans (whose family members have likely been threatened, tortured, or murdered by the Chávez-Maduro regime) celebrating all over the world last weekend and not feel a pinprick of pride or hear a tiny voice gloating, “Yeah, my country did that”?

Apparently, the kind of American who doesn’t celebrate the capture of Maduro is the kind of American who votes for Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris, and Zohran Mamdani.  People who either identify as communists or proudly associate with communists (and, unfortunately, the Democrat Party is home to tens of millions of these idiots) are very unhappy that President Trump and Secretary of War Hegseth violated the sacred sovereignty of Venezuela. 

Strangely, those same people never defend American sovereignty when South America’s club of dictators flood our country with drug runners, slavers, cartel butchers, criminals, and terrorists.  For Democrat Party stalwarts, the territorial integrity of communist prisons posing as countries is sacrosanct, inviolable, and hermetically sealed.  When the United States tries to protect its own borders, however, well, that’s racist.

Whatever else happens with Venezuela, now is the time to celebrate.  Maduro is an evil dude who deserves much worse than he will receive.  I would have been happy with inviting the families of everyone Maduro has murdered to an enormous football stadium, dropping off the commie you-know-what in midfield, and letting the crowd tear him to shreds.  New York courts have been pretty poor examples of wise jurisprudence over the last fifteen or so years, but they are far better than anything the vile Maduro merits.

Besides, all the right nations are upset.  Cuba, Colombia, Mexico, Russia, China, Iran — every nation in the world that thumbs its nose at human rights has taken the time to write a sternly worded social media missive condemning the United States for…checks notes…dispatching an evil dictator who regularly tortured and murdered innocent civilians.  Don’t we want those countries to be upset?  If China, Cuba, and Iran were celebrating something President Trump had done, we would be in trouble.  As it stands, I’d say rage-filled vituperation from some of the most tyrannical nation states in the world is high praise for any people who take pride in calling themselves “free.”  

Some Estonian chick who calls herself the Vice-President of the European Commission made sure to announce on X — you know, the Elon Musk-owned platform that the Old World’s aristocrats are currently trying to censor and destroy — that the “EU is closely monitoring the situation in Venezuela.”  Uhh…whatever, Kaja.  We’ll let you know whether we need to call up a reserve of techno-fascist elites who hate free speech.  

Isn’t that all Europe’s political class is capable of doing?  To be a successful politician in Europe, you have to excel at writing morally indignant letters, censoring any opinions that the nanny-crats in Brussels don’t like, and opening national borders to invading, barbarian hordes.  I’ll take Delta Force over bloated Brussels bureaucracy every day of the week.  Besides, Europe hasn’t successfully invaded anything since peasants were forced to use “green” energy while dying from the plague.  They are importers of invasion now; they export very little these days.

How to handle the Western Hemisphere shouldn’t be on Europe’s dance card.  Most of us over here come from families who escaped the aristocratic tyrannies of Europe centuries ago.  Our grandfathers and great-grandfathers may have risked their lives to save Europe from fascism just so ungrateful lords could choose a rebranded (and World Economic Forum-endorsed) “globalist” fascism a few short decades later, but we don’t share the same Western values anymore.  Eurocrat snobs have more in common with Chávez and Maduro than they do with Washington, Jefferson, or Madison.  

Rather than worrying about how we sort things out on this side of the moat, it would be far better for the Brussels gang to figure out how not to commit continental suicide by inviting third-world rapists into their lands, depriving their own peoples of inherent freedoms, killing domestic industry with inane “green” energies, and cavalierly engaging in war with Russia.

Oh, more good news from the Venezuela operation: Both Iran’s “Supreme Leader” Ali Khamenei and Colombia’s communist terrorist-turned-el-presidente Gustavo Petro are freaking out about the possibility of the Delta ninjas sending them to Hell soon.  The “ayatollah” is reportedly preparing to bug out to Moscow, and the diminutive “guerrilla” is hoping the Democrats in Congress will save his hide.  Democrats do love protecting Islamic fundamentalists and communist murderers, so reaching out to Comrades Schumer and Jeffries probably is in both tyrants’ best interests.  

Still, President Trump is in the White House, and he’s just so darn unpredictable.  And the Delta ninjas are just so darn lethal.  And the U.S. military’s “capture or kill” mission in Venezuela was just so darn successful.  My guess is that anyone who has stupidly aligned himself with America’s enemies won’t be sleeping well for quite some time.

By Christine D’Antonio, WPXI-TV

January 06, 2026 at 5:15 pm EST

2 people accused of fraudulently using more than 400 EBT cards to buy goods for their businesses Two Pittsburgh business owners are accused of stealing food benefits and turning

PITTSBURGH — Two Pittsburgh business owners are accused of stealing food benefits and turning them into profit.

Investigators with the Attorney General’s office call it a fencing operation, where someone buys and resells stolen goods for profit.

On Monday, the AG’s office issued a warrant for the arrest of a husband and wife who were reportedly stealing from the federal government.

“You’re robbing from the taxpayer that’s working so hard,” Mike Ichimura said.

Shoppers like Ichimura were shocked to hear Munir Chaudhri and Rachna Anwar are accused of coming to Sam’s Club on Mount Nebo Road to use stolen EBT card funds to buy goods for their North Side businesses.

According to the Attorney General, the couple used the fraudulent cards 834 times at Sam’s Club, Giant Eagle and Tom Friday’s Market across four years, starting in 2021.

Investigators say the couple used 453 different EBT cards with a total theft of over $178,000.

“We’re paying these exorbitant taxes and I don’t know anybody who doesn’t think their taxes are exorbitant and then the money is going so they can rob essentially rob our pockets only to sell to the poor on the North Side that just seems like an extra layer of despicable doesn’t it,” Ichimura said.

I POSTED THIS BECAUSE I AM FROM PITTSBURGH.

America is feared once again.

Jan 06, 2026

President Trump said this on Air Force One, “Colombia is very sick too, run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States. And he is not going to be doing it very long, let me tell you.”

He also said, “Mexico has to get their act together because they’re pouring through Mexico and we’re going to have to do something.”

He also said, “Cuba looks like it is ready to fall.”

But the best thing he said was “You know what Denmark did recently to boost up security on Greenland? They added one more dog sled. It’s true. They thought that was a great move.”

OK, he jested. The Danes have deigned to spend $4.2 billion boosting its security. That’s less than 1% of its GDP. Now for the punchline: to defend themselves from the USA, they’re buying 16 F-35s. That’ll bring their total to 43.

Lockheed Martin delivered its 500th F-35 to the American military in August.

Mette Frederiksen, the Danish prime minister, warned on Monday, “If the United States decides to militarily attack another NATO country, then everything would stop—that includes NATO and therefore post-second world war security.”

A piece of advice to any Marines sent to Greenland: Watch out where the huskies go, and don’t you eat that yellow snow. You’ll thank me later.

The arrest of Maduro clarified just who is in charge.

God.

He has the whole world in his hands. The Lord spared Trump on July 13, 2024, to do His bidding. The Lord gave The Donald his task and purpose when he was on the stage under his Secret service detail. When he rose and said, “Fight, fight, fight,” we knew the providence had intervened.

Drugs, torture and rape are bad things that Trump is fighting to eliminate. The devil may have met his match.

Trump shut our border down. He defunded NGOs by crushing USAID. He imposed tariffs to level the playing field. He destroyed Iran’s nuke program. Now he has extracted a brutal dictator from his home in the wee hours without any notice. It was a sphincter closing moment for tyranny.

Peace through strength, stealth and speed.

That raid also showed how useless Russian and Red Chinese air defense and radar are. The doubt he sowed keeps Xi at bay.

Gordon G. Chang tweeted, “China, not able to save either Venezuela or Iran, does not look like a superpower this week.”

He also said, “China has a hard time replicating the sophisticated equipment that it steals.” And, “Who is now going to buy Chinese military equipment that does not work?” And, “China has gotten used to buying discounted Venezuelan and Iranian oil.”

I understand that the American military also took out Venezuela’s drone factory, which means Iran is further screwed.

The Bush-Gorbachev New World Order is long gone. The World Economic Forum is in the hospital with a Do Not Resuscitate tag on its big toe. The nations of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) are on notice.

The UN is committing suicide. Its Security Council held a meeting knowing America will veto whatever action Russia and Red China want to take.

UN Ambassador Michael Waltz called Nicolás Maduro an “illegitimate, so-called president”—arguing the U.N. should not treat Maduro like a duly elected world leader: “If the UN confers legitimacy on an illegitimate narco terrorist and the same treatment in this charter of a democratically elected president or head of state, what kind of organization is this?”

• Somalia leads the UN Security Council
• Panama leads the UN maritime body that regulates 90% of world trade.
• Colombia leads the UN Aviation body that’s meant to keep air travel safe
• Jordan runs the UN Woman Agency
• Guyana runs the UN Population Fund
• Ethiopia runs the World Health Organization
• China runs UN Agriculture
• Togo runs the other UN Agriculture Agency
• Georgia is in charge of UN Tourism

The UN is as illegitimate as the offspring of a Baby Daddy with 12 Baby Mamas. Ditto Maduro.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, “I don’t care what the UN says.”

The world, however, hangs on to every word Trump says. He’s the captain now.

Public support for Trump extracting Maduro from Venezuela is so large that the Babylon Bee found itself reporting actual news, “British Ask If Trump Can Please Do That Same Thing With Keir Starmer.”

That is true.

But more fun are the don’t-do-it posts that give the addresses of leaders in Canada, France, Australia, Pakistan and Uganda. We can outsource that last extraction to Israel which has experience.

AP on Monday asked what I asked readers on Saturday night: “Who’s next?”

The story said, “With thinly veiled threats, Trump is rattling hemispheric friends and foes alike, spurring a pointed question around the globe: Who’s next?”

Good. If friends fear you, they’re not your friends—and that includes most of NATO.

My readers selected Minnesota as next up, but Nick Shirley took care of that by exposing massive fraud by Somalians in Minnesota.

NBC reported:

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said in a statement Monday that he is ending his re-election bid and will not seek a third term.

Walz, the 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee, cited heightened attention on fraud allegations in Minnesota, adding that “the political gamesmanship we’re seeing from Republicans is only making that fight harder to win.”

“But as I reflected on this moment with my family and my team over the holidays, I came to the conclusion that I can’t give a political campaign my all,” he said. “Every minute I spend defending my own political interests would be a minute I can’t spend defending the people of Minnesota against the criminals who prey on our generosity and the cynics who prey on our differences.”

“So I’ve decided to step out of the race and let others worry about the election while I focus on the work,” Walz said.

Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, president of Somalia, must have told him to take a powder because Minnesota is no longer a state. It’s a suburb of Mogadishu.

John Konrad also tweeted:

I’ve spoken with multiple senior Pentagon officials and others indirectly involved in the Maduro raid. Two things stand out.

First: the operation was far more impressive than the public realizes.

Second: in my assessment as an observer, the decisive factor behind its speed and success was set months earlier at Quantico when Trump and Hegseth delivered a blunt message directly to ALL the generals and admirals: “You can take more risk because we have your back.”

Twitter not only delivers news quicker but opens the world to voices the liberal media refuses to platform.

Trump is the bane of the elitists but the champion of the people. Hungary’s Viktor Orban spoke for all of us when he said, “I will not shed a single tear over the fall of any narco state ever. The fewer there are, the better.”

If you side with Maduro and protest his arrest, you do not suffer TDS.

You just are evil.

For over two decades, Venezuela has served as a critical outpost for Hezbollah in the Western Hemisphere, with reports detailing the group’s entrenchment on Margarita Island and ties to the former regimes of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro.

U.S. intelligence assessments and media investigations describe this presence as evolving from fundraising networks among the Lebanese diaspora in the 1980s to sophisticated operations involving training, smuggling, and financial schemes by the 2000s. Margarita Island, once a bustling tourist spot, has been highlighted as a primary hub, surpassing even the Tri-Border Area in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay for Hezbollah’s regional activities.

Training Camps and Iranian Support.

Allegations of Hezbollah-operated training camps on Margarita Island surfaced as early as 2011, involving paramilitary instruction for recruits from Venezuela and other Latin American countries. These facilities reportedly include political indoctrination, weapons handling, and drug-related operations, all under the protection of the Venezuelan government. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been implicated in providing logistics, weapons, and instructors on Venezuelan territory, including collaborations with local militias known as colectivos. Some recruits have been sent to Iran, including to Qom for ideological training, or to Lebanon. Reports also note that Hezbollah operatives and fighters have relocated to Venezuela following Israeli strikes in Lebanon.

Illicit Networks: Drugs, Money, and Gold.

Hezbollah’s operations in Venezuela are deeply intertwined with narcoterrorism, including partnerships with the Cartel of the Suns, a network allegedly involving Venezuelan military officials, and dissident factions of Colombia’s FARC. Activities include cocaine trafficking and money laundering through trade-based schemes, often utilizing duty-free zones on Margarita Island. Additionally, gold-for-arms deals have been reported, with Hezbollah and Iran exploiting Venezuela’s illegal gold trade to circumvent international sanctions and finance their activities.

A key enabler of these operations has been the issuance of Venezuelan passports and identification documents. Between 2010 and 2019, more than 10,000 such documents were provided to individuals from Lebanon, Iran, and Syria, often through networks linked to the regime. Figures like former Vice President Tareck El Aissami, accused of Hezbollah connections, have been tied to this system, which provides cover for operatives using fake identities. Earlier intelligence from 2013 documented similar patterns dating back to 2008–2012.

The Nassereddine Network and Regime Ties At the center of these activities is the Nassereddine family, a Lebanese-Venezuelan clan with deep connections. Ghazi Nassereddine, a former diplomat, and Abdallah Nassereddine, a businessman based on Margarita Island, have been accused of overseeing indoctrination, training, and smuggling operations. This network, which began under Chávez and grew under Maduro, has benefited from state protection, allowing Hezbollah to operate with relative impunity.

Strategic Implications and Proximity Concerns.

Margarita Island’s location, approximately 1,200 miles from Florida, has amplified U.S. concerns, with officials labeling Venezuela not merely as a failed state but as a “staging ground” for Iranian and Hezbollah activities in the Americas. This positioning is seen as enabling potential threats through forward operations, including the use of duty-free zones and state-backed infrastructure.

After Maduro: Silence and Potential Disruption.

Following Nicolás Maduro’s ouster in January 2026, Iran voiced protests, but Hezbollah has issued no public statements on the matter. Analyses suggest that the loss of regime protection could lead to the abandonment or disruption of some outposts, though entrenched networks may endure. Pro-Venezuelan sources, including state media under the former regime, have dismissed these claims as U.S.-driven propaganda.

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In the final weeks of the 2020 presidential election, bumbling Joe Biden was struggling. He was unpopular, uninspiring, and clearly not firing on all cylinders. Then the Hunter Biden laptop from hell made an appearance, and suddenly the election was at real risk of slipping out of his shaky hands. The laptop wasn’t rumor or speculation. It was real and verifiable, and it contained information that any sane voter would want to know before casting a ballot for president.

But the Deep State wagons started circling right away. Americans were immediately told not to trust their lying eyes. The story was dismissed as “Russian disinformation,” social media platforms shut it down almost instantly, newsrooms buried it, and anyone who questioned the narrative was branded a secret Russian agent. Fast forward to today, and the situation is completely unique. These days fewer Americans are playing the game where we all pretend the 2020 election was “the fairest in history,” and even fewer Americans believe the laptop was fake. All the 2020-stuff that once had to be whispered can now be said out loud… and people are screaming from the rooftops.

What we now know is not just that the American people were lied to, but how flagrantly it all went down.

The now infamous letter signed by “51 former intelligence officials” (known these days as the spies who lied) didn’t start organically. In other words, this wasn’t some good-faith warning to the public by high-ranking bigwigs who cared deeply about the truth. It was actually a coordinated political intervention. These high-ranking current and former intelligence officials, many with deep ties to the CIA, used their credibility to create a completely false narrative at the exact moment it could do the most damage to Donald Trump and save Joe Biden’s campaign.

It was an all hands on deck moment… and it was all a lie.

Looking back now on what happened, you can’t help but think about what would’ve happened if everyday Americans organized like that to interfere in a US presidential election. We know it would’ve been called an insurrection without one moment’s hesitation. But these bigwigs were protected. Meanwhile, nonviolent J6 protesters who peacefully wandered through the Capitol were treated like domestic enemies; the architects of this deception went on television, signed book deals, collected speaking fees, and were welcomed back into polite society as trusted experts.

That contrast is impossible to ignore.

For years, the Hunter Biden laptop story has been surrounded by fog. Who knew what, and when. Why the media moved in lockstep. How intelligence figures closed ranks so quickly. Why dissenting voices were silenced. And why no one at the top seemed to face consequences. What you’re about to read doesn’t answer every question, but it does fill in some critical blanks.

The documents, emails, testimony, and timelines being discussed in the thread below are used to argue that the CIA itself crossed a legal and moral line. Agency employees were involved in soliciting signatures. That senior leadership approved the release of a statement they knew would be used politically. And that the goal was not national security but shaping a presidential debate and protecting a candidate.

Before getting into the receipts, it’s important to understand the claim being made, the sequence of events, and why this dispute isn’t just another partisan argument. It’s about whether the American people were intentionally denied the truth by those sworn to stay out of domestic politics.

Real Robert:

Here it is: The damning email obtained by King Solomon through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). CONFIRMS: The Central Intelligence Agency conspired and succeeded in the overthrow of the United States government on November 3, 2020. In a stunning exchange, CIA Director Mike Morell turns to fellow Director John Brennan and asks if he would join in toppling the United States government during the November 3, 2020 election. Brennan not only agrees—but also expresses his gratitude.

CIA Mike Morell: “Can I add your name to this list? Will be adding Leon Panetta, Sue Gordon, Jeh Johnson, George, Lisa Monaco, and Mike Rogers. And working on adding Dan Coats, Mike Rogers (HPSCI), and Tom Bossert. And lots of other IC career folk. “Trying to give the incapacitated vegetable, particularly during the debate on Thursday, a talking point to push back on Trump on this issue.”

CIA John Brennan; “Ok Michael, add my name to the list. Good initiative. Thanks for asking me to sign on.”

—————— It wasn’t just 51 former intelligence officials who were involved. The Central Intelligence Agency itself was actively involved as well, and its director, Gina Haspel, approved it.

* @DavidCariens was informed about the Hunter Biden “intel” statement by a CIA employee.

* David Cariens was read the text from the statement by a CIA Employee.

* David Cariens was asked to sign the statement by a CIA Employee.

• @JaniceCariensis retired CIA (1995), and she was also asked to sign the letter.

* Mike Morell testified that such action by a CIA employee would be unethical and inappropriate.

Here are the names who who overthrew the United States government:

1. James Clapper

2. Michael Hayden

3. Leon Panetta

4. John Brennan

5. Thomas Fingar

6. Rick Ledgett

7. John McLaughlin

8. Michael Morell

9. Mike Vickers

10. Doug Wise

11. Nick Rasmussen

12. Russ Travers

13. Andy Liepman

14. John Moseman

15. Larry Pfeiffer

16. Jeremy Bash

17. Rodney Snyder

18. Glenn Gerstell

19. David Buckley

20. Nada Bakos

21. Patty Brandmaier

22. James B. Bruce

23. David Cariens

24. Janice Cariens

25. Paul Kolbe

26. Peter Corsell

27. Brett Davis

28. Roger Zane George

29. Steven L. Hall

30. Kent Harrington

31. Don Hepburn

32. Timothy D. Kilbourn

33. Ron Marks

34. Jonna Hiestand Mendez

35. Emile Nakhleh

36. Gerald A. O’Shea

37. David Priess

38. Pam Purcilly

39. Marc Polymeropoulos

40. Chris Savos

41. Nick Shapiro

42. John Sipher

43. Stephen Slick

44. Cynthia Strand

45. Greg Tarbell

46. David Terry

47. Greg Treverton

48. John Tullius

49. David A. Vanell

50. Winston Wiley

51. Kristin Wood

The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Kash Patel: “Since its inception in 1947, the CIA has a legal mandate to never interfere domestically, especially with PARTISAN POLITICS. “And this letter shows that Gina Haspel’s CIA broke that mandate. That legal mandate did just that and her employees went out and had signatories added to a letter that they knew it contained false information. “And there better be a whole host of subpoenas going out to Gina Haspel. Her leadership team and everyone of those people that have now been on the email chain adding signatures to that letter.”

Former FBI Director Kash Patel has been clear about what the law actually says and why all of this matters. According to Patel, the CIA has been barred since its creation from engaging in domestic political activity, especially anything tied to partisan elections. He says what happened in 2020 wasn’t a gray area or some unfortunate misunderstanding. It was a direct violation of that mandate, carried out by CIA leadership and staff who knew exactly what they were doing.

Real Robert:

FBIDirectorKash

“Since its inception in 1947, the CIA has a legal mandate to never interfere domestically, especially with PARTISAN POLITICS.

“And this letter shows that Gina Haspel’s CIA broke that mandate. That legal mandate did just that and her employees went out and had signatories added to a letter that they knew it contained false information.

“And there better be a whole host of subpoenas going out to Gina Haspel. Her leadership team and everyone of those people that have now been on the email chain adding signatures to that letter.”

Here it is:

The damning email obtained by King Solomon through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

CONFIRMS:
The Central Intelligence Agency conspired and succeeded in the overthrow of the United States government on November 3, 2020.

In a stunning exchange, CIA Director… pic.twitter.com/ZdVoPx5eqV— 🇺🇸RealRobert🇺🇸 (@Real_RobN) January 5, 2026

This is testimony and documented accounts showing that CIA employees themselves were actively involved in recruiting signatures for the Hunter Biden “intelligence” statement. Not passing it along casually, and not hearing about it secondhand. This was direct outreach and solicitation.

Real Robert:

*@DavidCariens was informed about the Hunter Biden “intel” statement by a CIA employee.

* David Cariens was read the text from the statement by a CIA Employee.

* David Cariens was asked to sign the statement by a CIA Employee.

• @JaniceCariens is retired CIA (1995), and she was also asked to sign the letter.

* Mike Morell testified that such action by a CIA employee would be inappropriate.

Here’s a closeup of the images:

When you put all of this together, you can clearly see this isn’t some random conspiracy theory or a partisan piss fest. This is a documented sequence of events showing powerful intelligence figures stepping directly into domestic politics to change a presidential election. They knew exactly what they were doing, and they used the power and authority of the intelligence community to keep real information from the American people at the exact moment when it mattered most.

And the most infuriating part is this: nothing happened to these traitors. No pre-dawn raids with CNN waiting in the bushes. No pretrial detention. No public shaming. Nothing. Meanwhile, ordinary Americans were hunted down, jailed, and smeared for so much less.

S

The spies who lied kept their platforms, their prestige, and their paychecks.

Original Story by The Post Millennial

January 5, 2026

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is expected to announce his withdrawal from the 2026 re-election campaign amid increasing scrutiny over fraud allegations, particularly concerning Medicaid programs and Covid-related relief efforts. This decision follows a meeting with Senator Amy Klobuchar and comes in the wake of intensified criticism from Republican lawmakers, who have called for his resignation due to claims of significant fraudulent activity. Federal action has also been triggered, with the SBA suspending thousands of loans linked to suspected fraud in Minnesota. As Walz prepares to address his political future, the implications of these controversies could reshape Minnesota’s political landscape moving forward.

• Walz took office in 2019 and has faced allegations of inadequate responses to fraud in Minnesota’s Medicaid-related programs, drawing national attention and criticism from political opponents.
• Republican state legislators issued a joint statement urging Walz to resign, citing that at least half of the $18 billion paid through Minnesota’s Medicaid waiver programs since 2018 could be fraudulent, according to First Assistant US Attorney Joe Thompson.
• The SBA identified widespread suspected fraud involving 6,900 Minnesota borrowers connected to Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, totaling approximately $400 million.
• Following an exposé by independent reporter Nick Shirley, which highlighted alleged fraud at daycare centers operated by Somali communities, the Trump administration moved to halt certain federal funding to Minnesota related to childcare.
• Prior fraud cases involving the Somali community have resulted in multiple convictions, where funds were allocated for feeding children during Covid without services being provided.

Key Points

The Cubans were performing missions on behalf of the Cuban Armed Forces and interior ministry, the country’s presidential office said.

Cuba called the U.S. strikes a “criminal act of aggression and state terrorism,” and said the government will pay tribute to the dead.

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Cuba announced on Monday that 32 of its citizens were killed in combat during the U.S. raid on Venezuela.

The raid on Saturday, which saw U.S. forces arrest and extract Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to New York, reportedly saw a large part of his security team killed.

The Cubans were performing missions on behalf of the Cuban Armed Forces and interior ministry, the country’s presidential office said on Facebook.

“Faithful to their responsibilities with security and defense, our compatriots fulfilled their duty with dignity and heroically and fell, after ferocious resistance, into direct combat against the attackers or as a result of the bombings of the facilities,” the statement said, according to a translation by Facebook.

Cuba also called the U.S. strikes a “criminal act of aggression and state terrorism,” and said the Cuban government will pay tribute to the dead.

The U.S. strikes came after weeks of military buildup in the region and threats by U.S. President Donald Trump against Maduro.

After the raid, Trump said that the U.S. was going to “run” Venezuela, “until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.”

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. will use leverage gained from its oil blockade on the country and regional military buildup to achieve its policy aims.

“We want Venezuela to move in a certain direction,” Rubio told NBC’s “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker.

Seperately, Rubio said on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” that as the U.S. has a “quaratine” on Venezuelan oil.

“That means their economy will not be able to move forward until the conditions that are in the national interest of the United States and the interests of the Venezuelan people are met, and that’s what we intend to do,” he added.

The U.S. in recent months has seized tankers associated with the country and moved military ships and warplanes into the Caribbean.

— CNBC’s Garrett Downs contributed to this report.