Even More Earthquakes shake the Caribbean...

"Lots of shaking, of course, the massive earthquakes back toward Venezuela.
Elsewhere though, we've had additional quakes yesterday itself was rather active.....back toward the Dominican Republic, 5.0 in magnitude....shaking felt in Puerto Rico, back toward Haiti with this one. But there were multiple back near Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica. Some of the shaking fell 5.2 in magnitude about 120 km down or 75 miles down. And then on top of that, we had another one offshore of Antigua, Barbados, offshore of Guadolupe, 4.6 in magnitude. " Mr.Weatherman

U.S. military 'surging forces' to Venezuela for earthquake relief efforts

"The U.S. military is actively "surging forces" to Venezuela after two powerful earthquakes hit the South American country on Wednesday.

U.S. Southern Command moved on Thursday to deploy available resources, including transport ships and aircraft, to support the disaster relief efforts led by the State Department.
"These forces will provide specialized mobility services and support to U.S. government personnel, search and rescue teams, and U.S. interagency partners as they assess damage, locate the injured, and deliver critical, life-saving assistance," SOUTHCOM said in a statement.
Venezuela requested aid from the United States in the immediate aftermath of the 7.2-magnitude and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes." msn

Up to 100,000 feared dead as Venezuela earthquake leaves trail of destruction

"They're trying to find survivors after those two successive earthquakes devastated Venezuela's capital. There were 7.5 and 7.2 magnitude earthquakes and they happened within the space of a minute. They rocked the city in scenes that residents say was reminiscent of a horror movie.
Smoke was seen rising above the skyline, buildings swaying across the capital. At Simone

Bolivar International Airport, just north of Carapus, travelers ran for cover as the ceiling gave way.
U.S. President Donald Trump has responded to those earthquakes in Venezuela. In a post on Truth Social, he writes, "The two major earthquakes that just hit the great people of Venezuela are both massive in scale and have left a devastating number of deaths. The USA stands ready, willing, and able to help." He says, "I've instructed all our agencies of our government to get ready and to move quickly. We will be there for the our new and great friends. Early
reports are not good." New estimates suggest the true number of fatalities in the Venezuela earthquake could ultimately reach into the tens of thousands." SkyNews

7.2 Earthquake - 23 km SE of Yumare, Venezuela

"A powerful magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit 26 km (16 mi) away from San Felipe, Estado

Yaracuy, Venezuela, in the late afternoon at 6.04 pm local time (America/Caracas GMT -4). The quake had a very shallow depth of 20 km (13 mi) and was felt over a large region. The shallow depth of the quake caused it to be felt more strongly near the epicenter than a deeper quake of similar magnitude would." VD

7.5 Earthquake - 28 km SE of Yumare, Venezuela

"A powerful magnitude 7.5 earthquake hit 30 km (19 mi) away from Moron, Carabobo,

Venezuela, in the late afternoon at 6.05 pm local time (America/Caracas GMT -4). The depth of the quake could not be determined, but is assumed to be shallow. The earthquake was felt over a large region.. The shallow depth of the quake caused it to be felt more strongly near the epicenter than a deeper quake of similar magnitude would." VD

Tens of Thousands Protest in Madrid Demanding Resignation of Socialist Prime Minister Sánchez

"Spaniards took to the streets of Madrid in their thousands to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in the wake of the latest corruption scandal to rock his Socialist Workers’ Party.
Gathering under the banner “Sánchez, resign now!”, protesters flooded central Madrid, marching from the Plaza de Colón to the Victory Arch. According to government estimates, some 40,000 people attended; however, organisers claimed that upwards of 120,000 took part in the demonstration, public broadcaster RTVS reported.
The protest was held in the wake of former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero being indicted this week for alleged influence peddling and money laundering from Venezuela amid the €53 million ($57.2 million) public bailout of the Plus Ultra airline

following the Chinese coronavirus crisis.
Zapatero, who has long faced criticism over his close ties to Venezuelan socialist dictators Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro, is alleged to have received €1.95 million ($2.11 million) for himself and his inner circle in the claimed influence peddling scheme.
It is just the latest corruption scandal to hit a major figure within the governing Socialist Party of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, whose own wife, Begoña Gómez, is currently facing charges of influence peddling and embezzlement over claims that she used her position as first lady to benefit her business associates.
Amid the scandals, Sánchez has apparently sought to distract from his domestic woes by casting himself as an opponent to U.S. President Donald Trump on the world stage, by barring American troops from using bases in Spain during the Iran conflict.
At the protest the leader of the right-wing populist VOX party, Santiago Abascal, called on Zapatero to be held in prison during his trial and for Prime Minsiter Sánchez to be compelled to testify.
“There is no one left in Pedro Sánchez’s entourage who is not accused of very serious crimes,” Abascal said, lamenting that his country has been “kidnapped by a corrupt mafia that is impoverishing the Spanish people.”
Members of the centre-right People’s Party (PP) also joined the demonstration, including the party’s spokeswoman in the Senate, Alicia García, who said that they joined with the thousands of Spaniards in Madrid to demand fresh elections, saying: “Enough already with the corruption of Sanchismo.”
“While the Spanish people were suffering the terrible consequences of the pandemic, Sánchez’s PSOE was raking in money hand over fist. This Government is unsustainable,” García added.
Separately, at a gathering of PP members in Mallorca, party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo noted that the only way the former prime minister could have profited from the scheme would have been with the Sánchez government’s implicit backing." Breitbart

Venezuela’s Interim President Delcy Rodríguez Calls Trump a ‘Friend and Partner’

"“Interim president” of Venezuela Delcy Rodríguez, who has run the country since the American arrest of deposed dictator Nicolás

Maduro in January, referred to President Donald Trump as a “friend” and “partner” during an event next to Maduro’s son, lawmaker Nicolás Maduro Guerra.
Rodríguez used the words in the context of President Trump similarly referring to socialist Venezuela as a “new friend” of America’s following Maduro’s capture. Trump has repeatedly referred positively to Rodríguez, a hardline socialist who was among Maduro’s closest confidantes, as someone Washington could work with. He has also implied that Rodríguez is not actually in charge of the country, but carrying out orders from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whom polling shows is the most popular politician in Venezuela." 

Breitbart

Cuba Ready To Negotiate With Trump, But Urges Dialing Down Of Pressure

"Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has offered to enter negotiations with Washington, but has made clear that this must happen "without pressure" - at a moment the Trump

administration is seeking to economically strangle Cuba - even going so far as to openly tout the desire to see regime change.
"Cuba is willing to engage in dialogue with the United States," the Cuban leader announced He made clear this can be a "dialogue on any topic... but without pressure or precondition."
President Trump has been seeking to end oil imports to Cuba, and after the Maduro overthrow, this has become a real possibility, given that the United States can now demand that the interim government in Caracas end its oil exports to Havana. Venezuela has always been Cuba's number one supplier." ZH

Trump and Modi announce US-India trade deal

"India and the US have agreed to a trade deal, President Donald Trump said in a social media post on Monday.
The countries failed to reach an agreement after several rounds of talks in 2025 and

Washington imposed a 50% tariff on New Delhi, half of which was a penalty for India’s purchases of Russian oil.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he had spoken with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who he claimed had agreed to “stop buying Russian oil and to buy much more from the United States and potentially Venezuela.” He added that this would end the Ukraine conflict.
“Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi, and as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a trade deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reciprocal tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%,” Trump said. “They will likewise move forward to reduce their tariff and non-tariff barriers against the United States to zero.”
Modi confirmed that the countries had reached a deal." RT

Fyodor Lukyanov: Trump’s Venezuela move may have just earned him a Nobel Peace Prize

"In a world where wars solve nothing, Trump’s brand of pressure politics may be the closest thing to modern peace.
The mass casualties and destruction inherent in traditional warfare strike a New York real

estate developer as simply pointless. There are other ways to compete and to coerce counterparts into agreements. Yes, they are often blunt, inelegant, and abrasive. But they are far less traumatic for states and societies. And that alone makes them preferable – everything is relative, after all. Even the outrageously brazen operation to seize Venezuela’s president, complete with strikes on military targets, turned out to be relatively precise and only moderately bloody." RT

With Maduro gone, the US sets its sights on driving Hezbollah from Venezuela

"Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro’s capture also marks an advance towards the US goal of uprooting Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah from Latin America, where the movement stands accused of criminal activities linked to drug trafficking, arms sales and money laundering. Washington has warned that it will no longer tolerate the presence of Hezbollah or its Iranian backers in Venezuela.

Washington has used Maduro’s abduction to send an unmistakable signal to the militant group’s leadership as well as its Iranian backers, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio directly threatening them the morning after the attack.

“It's very simple,” he told US broadcaster CBS. “In the 21st Century, under the Trump administration, we are not going to have a country like Venezuela in our own hemisphere in the sphere of control and the crossroads for Hezbollah, for Iran and for every other malign influence in the country, in the world. That's just not going to exist.”
Rubio later told NBC News that the new dispensation would mean the outright elimination of any Hezbollah or Iranian presence on Venezuelan soil, where they have been welcomed for the past three decades in the name of a shared antipathy to the United States. The US designated Hezbollah as a foreign terrorist organization in 1997.
Rubio called on the Venezuelan regime – now under the interim leadership of Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez – to break with both Iran and Hezbollah. The Islamic Republic, facing mounting protests first triggered by a cost-of-living crisis, has also found itself under pressure, with US President Donald Trump even threatening to intervene if Iranian security forces kill peaceful protesters.
The US has long been monitoring Hezbollah’s activities in the region. The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has said since 2008 that the movement, then led by Hassan Nasrallah, had been financing itself through drug-trafficking, arms sales and money laundering across Latin America and beyond. According to DEA figures, these activities earned Hezbollah about $1 billion a year.
As for Venezuela in particular, US investigators say that Maduro was even more permissive than his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, and that Venezuela had become a safe haven for the Shiite movement, which reportedly set up command structures in the capital Caracas." France24

US And Venezuela Explore Restoring Diplomatic Ties After Maduro's Capture

"The United States and Venezuela announced Friday they are pursuing the possibility of reestablishing diplomatic relations, coming a week after a U.S. military operation that captured former leader Nicolás Maduro in Caracas and extradited him to face drug-trafficking charges in New York.

A U.S. delegation, including diplomats and security personnel, visited Venezuela to evaluate the potential reopening of the American Embassy in Caracas, the State Department said in a statement sent to media outlets.
The embassy has been shuttered since 2019, when ties were severed during U.S. President Donald Trump’s first term after the United States, along with multiple other countries, recognized opposition leader Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s legitimate president amid allegations of election fraud. U.S. officials have also been accusing Maduro and his regime of backing cartels trafficking illicit drugs into the United States.
Venezuela’s interim government, led by acting President Delcy Rodríguez, responded by stating it intends to send a delegation to the United States. No timeline was provided yet.
“The government of Venezuela has decided to initiate an exploratory diplomatic process with the U.S. government, with a view to reestablishing the diplomatic missions in both countries,” the Venezuelan government said in a statement.
Such a visit would likely necessitate waivers from U.S. Treasury sanctions imposed on Venezuelan officials." ZeroHedge

Russia Thanks Trump For Releasing Two Russian Crew From Seized Tanker

"Russia confirmed Friday that the United States had agreed to free two Russian crew members from a Russian-flagged oil tanker seized earlier this week. The vessel Marinera is alleged to be part of the shadow fleet transporting oil for countries including Venezuela,
Russia and Iran - and it was intercepted a day ago by the US in the North Atlantic after escaping the southern Caribbean off Venezuela.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova saying in a statement, "At our request, U.S. President Donald Trump has decided to release two Russian citizens aboard the Marinera tanker, who were previously detained by the United States during an operation in the North Atlantic."
"We welcome this decision and express our gratitude to the US leadership," she added. Simultaneously Putin's special envoy and top negotiator Kirill Dmitriev wrote on Telegram that Trump had ordered the release of "all Russians" aboard the Marinera."
ZeroHedge

Swiss Authorities Freeze Assets Linked To Venezuela's Maduro After US Capture

"Switzerland said on Jan. 5 that it has frozen all assets held in the country by deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his associates." ZH

Confusion As Sporadic Gunfire Erupts Near Venezuela's Presidential Palace Soon After Rodriguez Sworn In

"A mere hours after widespread American mainstream media reports named Maduro's staunchly 'loyal' Vice Presedent Delcy Rodríguez a CIA/US military informer who cooperated with the Trump-ordered invasion which ousted and kidnapped the country's sitting head of state to US soil, there are reports of heavy gunfire engulfing the Venezuelan capital, near the presidential palace. Though there are conflicting reports.

CNN is confirming that something - though we don't know exactly what - is going down (somewhat to be expected after an apparent coup supported by US military invasion):
Gunfire heard near Venezuelan presidential palace: Gunfire was heard in the Venezuelan capital Caracas on Monday night, near the Miraflores presidential palace.
Videos geolocated by CNN show what appear to be lights from drones and anti-aircraft fire across the night sky.
It’s unclear what the situation is related to. CNN has reached out to Venezuela’s ministries of communication and foreign affairs for more information.
Celebratory gunfire? The counter-revolution begins? False trigger of anti-air defenses? Or the storming of the presidential palace... BREAKING: Venezuelan Security Forces Open Fire on Unidentified Drones Over Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas.
There are competing reports that the mayhem was triggered by an inbound civilian or hobby drone mistaken for a threat." ZeroHedge

Venezuela’s vice president in Russia after U.S. operation

"Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodríguez is currently in Russia following a U.S. attack on

Venezuela, Reuters reported, citing four sources familiar with her movements.
Three additional sources said her brother, Jorge Rodríguez, the head of Venezuela’s National Assembly, remains in the capital, Caracas.
Reuters noted that earlier on Jan. 3 — the same day reports emerged about Delcy Rodríguez’s presence in Russia — she appeared on state television calling for proof that President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were alive. Jorge Rodríguez has not appeared publicly since the attack." NV

America’s Rivals Quietly Impressed By US Military After Maduro Capture

"In a striking on-air assessment that cut against the network’s usual tone, CNN reported that America’s top global rivals are quietly taking note of the U.S. military’s capabilities following the dramatic capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro.

During a segment on CNN, senior military analyst James Stavridis argued that while adversaries will loudly condemn the operation in public, the reality behind closed doors is far different.
“All three predictably will deplore this kind of activity publicly,” Stavridis said, referring to Russia, China, and Iran. “Privately, they will be impressed with the military capability here. I would argue none of those three militaries could have executed an operation like this.”
Stavridis added that this realization is not insignificant on the world stage. “That’s not a bad thought to pop up in Beijing, Moscow, and Tehran these days,” he said." TP

Russia condemns US ‘aggression’ against Venezuela

"Russia’s Foreign Ministry has condemned what it called a US act of “armed aggression” against Venezuela on Saturday, calling for restraint and warning against further escalation. US President Donald Trump has confirmed strikes took place, claiming that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has been captured and flown out of the country." RT

Maduro "Effed Around & Found Out"; Trump Says 'We Will Run Venezuela' Until Safe Transition After Operation 'Absolute Resolve'

"Operation 'Absolute Resolve': US forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an early morning raid and sent him to the US to face criminal charges.

No servicemembers or military equipment was lost
US Attorney General Pam Bondi said on X that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted.
Trump: "We're going to stay [in Venezuela] until such time as the proper transition can take place.”
Caine: "Operation Absolute Resolve, was discreet, precise, and conducted during the darkest hours of January 2nd"
Hegseth: Maduro "effed around and found out"
Trump: "[Colombia's Pedro] is making cocaine and they're sending it into the United States, so he does have to watch his ass,"
Rubio: "if I were in power in Cuba, I'd be very worried right now"
Maduro has arrived on US soil." ZeroHedge

U.S. Snatches Venezuela Oil Tanker in Dark‑Hour Strike on Narco‑Terror Funding

"In a stealth operation carried out before dawn on Dec. 20, the U.S. Coast Guard—working alongside the Department of War—seized an oil tanker last seen in the terrorist state of Venezuela. The United States accused the ship’s operators of moving sanctioned crude to fuel narco‑terror activity. Officials issued a stark warning to traffickers: “We will find you, and we will stop you.”

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem released a video on social media showing a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter landing on the deck of an oil tanker in international waters off the coast of Venezuela.
In a post on social media, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth added to the U.S. actions, writing, “President Trump has been clear: the blockade of sanctioned oil tankers departing from, or bound for, Venezuela will remain in full force until Maduro’s criminal enterprise returns every stolen American asset.”
President Nicolas Maduro said, in a speech, that the Venezuelan military is “prepared to break the teeth of the North American empire, if necessary.” 

Breitbart