Happy New Year! Wag the Dog VII: United states Special Forces (private mercenaries) from the USS Iwo Jima, kidnap President Nicholas Maduro, of Venezuela, along with his wife, and fly them to the U.s. to be tried on charges of narcoterrorism. In announcing the abduction, Commander-in-Chief Trump announces that the U.s. will “temporarily” administer Venezuela. This begins the U.s.’ 19th attempt at nation-building.
NOTE: While “nation-building is a laudable goal, Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution for the united States says that “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government”; it does NOT state that “The United States shall guarantee to every nation on this planet a Republican Form of Government” [emphasis added].
[updated 2/4/2026] Thanks to Yahoo! News for this entry.
Subsequent Events:
References:
Live updates: Trump says Venezuela president Maduro captured and flown out of country after US strike | CNN
https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/venezuela-explosions-caracas-intl-hnk-01-03-26
Current U.s. National Debt:
