UNCLASSIFIED Photo: BBC https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd9kgqwnk8wo
The United States Department of War has been releasing videos of violent strikes.
CONTEXT, MARCH 2026
The following missive was compiled in late fall, 2025, when the President of the United States of America around the time The Department of Defense was declared by executive order to be renamed Department of War. At that time, horrific “snuff videos” were being circulated as unclassified news features. These videos depicted the “blowing up” of boats in the Caribbean near Venezuela, and were justifies as protecting the “Homeland” from narcotics trafficking. An international outrage ensued as these videos were evidence of extrajudicial killings in violation of international laws and time honored conventions of common decency.
It was readily apparent to anyone familiar with the ways of authoritarian power and human nature, especially regarding the character of This President, that the objectives of this military operation during peacetime would be threefold: 1. Regime change in Venezuela and the ouster of Nicolas Madura. 2. Gain control of the vast oil and mineral resources of Venezuela. 3. Create wartime circumstances such that the electoral process in the United states could be postponed or canceled under a War Powers Act.
By December 2025 it was only a matter of time before American forces would have “boots on the ground” in Venezuela. Then This President and his Secretary of War ordered piracy on the high seas: strikes against oil tankers, and authorized seizing their cargo: crude oil. At first, there was justification since these tankers were on a “sanctions” list, but other tankers were also targeted. It was surely a safe bet that American forces would invade Venezuela during the celebration of Christmas and New Years, when the American general public would be distracted with family, friends, holiday feasts and most of all, football games. Then, Nicolas Maduro danced on TV, like a taunt to This President.
So, on January 3rd, the compound of the then-president of Venezuela was raided. Nicolas Maduro and his wife were taken into custody and sent New York jails. For the average American citizen, at least their own private self interests had not been bothered. Clearly, just kidnapping its president and stealing oil from Venezuela did not establish exigent circumstances enough to claim War Powers over the electoral process. Then new “domestic terrorism” snuff videos began circulating, this time from Minnesota. United States Department of Homeland Security ICE agents from began firing into the windshields of Untied States citizens, and mobbing and assassinating them on the streets. Now, the citizens began to notice. This did not look good on TV. This President needed a new diversion, and one with finality.
At the present time there is an undeclared war between the united States and Iran, with Israel as a co-conspirator and beneficiary. On Friday night, there were strained relations and prospects of diplomacy with Iran’s leaders. By Saturday night, the President of the United States and his Secretary of War, without any congressional oversight, dropped five point six billion dollars worth of armaments on targeted facilities there, killing Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khomeini and most of his cohorts. This is the kind of scenario that will inevitably invoke a protracted war on several fronts besides the simplest one: fighting and killing. For instance, one week later the price of gasoline has dramatically increased.
Has World War Three been instigated by these events? Will there be free and fair mid term and presidential elections in 2026 and 2028? Will there be sanctions about the right to vote or the process of registering to vote? Has partisan gerrymandering and the weaponization/politicisation of the US Judicial Department inhibited the voting rights of the average citizen enough to sway the electoral process? Will some sort of War Powers Act be invoked to forestall or cancel these elections? Will This President declare himself President for Life in the name of prevention of domestic terrorism? Will Congressional oversight over This President ever be restored? What about conflicts perceived or real about these “executive order undertakings” with the Constitution of the United States of America?
OVERVIEW, BALLROOM, JANUARY 6 INSURRECTION
It should be readily apparent to anyone with common sense that President 47 of of the United States has no intention of leaving the White House at the end of his term in 2028. At this juncture, the East Wing has been demolished and construction is ongoing for a so called “Ballroom” that is actually a fortified bunker in disguise. The precedent has been set that this President will obstinately maintain dominion over White House grounds by his actions at the end of the term as President 45. For those who do not remember, he refused to accept the election results, tried to overturn them and garrisoned himself in the White House. High security fencing was installed around the White House and an insurrection ensued, capitulating in the infamous January Sixth occupation of the Capitol Building.
By what means will this President, with his sense of entitlement, maintain dominion? Why with the War Powers Act, of course. During an Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, This President made an outrageous statement: “During the war, you can’t have elections? So let me just see, three and a half years from now, if we happen to be in a war with somebody, no more elections?” In context, the Republican spin would be that this remark is merely a snarky quip or a cruel joke. Nevertheless, the implication that the 2028 elections might be canceled if the United States is at war stands out as flagrant bombast.
And what country might be the adversary in this trumped up war? It would not be Russia, that’s for sure. What third world dictatorship could easily be subdued by the greatest military force ever known?
Which country is close to home and harbors the greatest oil reserves in the world? Venezuela. Under the ruse of preventing narcotics trafficking and terrorism from entering the United States, this country and it’s tyrannical dictatorship are being goaded into aggression, deliberately provoked to get a reaction that justifies a declaration of war. By the same token, the citizens of the United States of America are being manipulated into supporting yet another war for Big Oil.
History repeats itself. Does anyone remember the Gulf of Tonkin Incident? That was purported “aggression that will not stand” in which sniper boats supposedly attacked a US destroyer. This dubious attack was used to justify military intervention by United States in Viet Nam. How about “Remember the Maine”; a merchant marine vessel was blown up in Havana harbor. That brought about declaration of the Spanish-American War. After the tragic sinking of the Lusitania, the isolationist United States entered the War to End all Wars, World War One. The Marine Hymn lyric “to the shores of Tripoli” refers to a victory over Barbary pirates on the high seas and their fortresses in what is now Libya. More recently, a suicide attack by radical Muslims on the USS Cole was justification for the First Iraq War. Most importantly, Remember Pearl Harbor. Pretty much every declaration of war by the United States of America has been presaged by “blowing up boats”. What are we doing now? Blowing up boats.
STATUS, DECEMBER 2025 MILITARY BUILDUP
At present, the military build up surrounding Venezuela has escalated to the point of an invasion force. According to the CSIS, 50,000 troops have been activated. The mighty aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford is stationed 500 kilometers from the Venezuelan shores. An aircraft from the Wagner Group, the dirty deeds organization from Russia, noted for war crimes when Putin invaded Crimea, stands at the ready for action. This action is most likely to provide the autocratic dictator-president of Venezuela safe passage to Cuba or Russia in the event of ground invasion by US troops. The Venezuelan military is on high alert with specific strategies for a protracted and expensive war if that country is invaded.
In March 2020, the US Department of Justice formally indicted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and several government officials on charges of “narcoterrorism”. They are accused of complicity in drug trafficking operations through the “Cartel de los Soles”. In July, 2025, the US Department of the Treasury identified this cartel as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist organization and cited Maduro’s leadership within the cartel. According to Washington, the attacks targeted Venezuelan boats allegedly involved in drug trafficking, The Venezuelan attorney general claims that these maneuvers are a cover for a plot to overthrow the Venezuelan government. [cite] UN officials and international law experts have said the attacks are a clear violation of US and international law and amount to extrajudicial executions. [cite]
This President formally declared to Congress on October 1, 2025 that the US was in a “non-international armed conflict” with “unlawful combatants” with reference to drug cartels in the Caribbean. [cite] In August, 2025, a fifty million dollar reward for information leading to the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was announced by the Attorney General of the United States. [cite] The United States Secretary of Defense announced in November 2025 that a “mission” named “Operation Southern Spear.” was under way “to protect and defend the Homeland”. [cite]
Most military analysts contend that these actions are primarily intended to pressure Maduro to step down, or to instigate an internal military coup against him. [cite] However, there should be grim concern that the buildup of forces by the United States would escalate into justifiable war in the event that Maduro decides to action against US assets due to this the “goading into aggression” provocation. The sad fact is that Maduro might turn out to be a moderate in the event that a military coup fills any power vacuum in Venezuela. The country is already in crisis, what humanitarian toll would a war bring?
STRATEGIC INITIATIVES and ENCUMBRANCES
So let us look into the bigger picture about Venezuela. Here is a country that sits on 300 billion barrels of untapped oil reserves, the most oil of any OPEC country, more than Iraq, more than Saudi Arabia. Here is a country that was once the closest thing to a “socialist democracy” in history, that has been destabilized by political turmoil and corruption in its government. This country has a longstanding hostility with the United States government as its foreign policy. US Ambassadors were expelled with allegations of conspiracy while internally, sanctions on individuals, human rights violations, and prosecution for exercising of freedom of expression or assembly are flagrant. In 2015, the Obama administration imposed travel and asset bans on “those involved in erosion of human rights, persecution of political opponents, curtailment of press freedoms, arbitrary arrest and detention of protesters, significant corruption by senior government officials in the country of Venezuela”. [cite]
Foreign policy during first term of This President was to support the political adversary of Nicholas Maduro to the point of a covert invasion by US Special Forces, and to impose visa revocations for Maduro and his family. During his first term, in January 2019, the possibility of US military intervention in Venezuela was proposed by This President and his administration. [cite] His proposal was shouted down by members of Congress. Another snarky quip or sadistic joke emanated from the mouth of This President about that exchange: “I should have gone ahead and got all that oil”. [cite] In March, 2020 the US first accused President Nicolas Maduro of “narcoterrorism” and offered a $15 million dollar reward for information leading to his arrest. [cite]
While Venezuela may top the list on oil reserves, hyper inflation, unemployment, the repressive regime and sanctions from the US government have sent the country’s economy into a tailspin. At least under Hugo Chavez, the peasant farmers of Venezuela could get what was left of humanitarian aid after all the bribes and corruption. One third of all Venezuelans undergo moderate to severe food hardship. Madura has used the distribution of food a means of controlling the population.
WARS FOR OIL: HISTORICAL JUSTIFICATIONS
So, how many wars have been fought over Big Oil? The United States has a long history for that. During World War I, 1914-1918, certain operations were planned specifically to secure oil resources. Control of oil resources was a strategic goal for both the Axis and Allied forces in World War II. But the real wars for oil started in 1973. The “Oil War” of 1973 was actually an oil price crisis, caused by an OPEC embargo and production cuts against nations supporting Israel. [cite] The 1973 crisis fundamentally shifted global geopolitics and the balance of power between oil producing countries and consumer country economies. As such, this was an economic war which continues to this day. The strategy of creating false shortages to raise prices has been extended into every facet of modern marketing. The following is a short list of oil wars following the 1973 OPEC crisis:
Active hostilities of the Iran-Iraq War lasted eight years, from September 1980 to August 1988. [cite]
The Gulf War, 1990-1991, AKA the “First Iraq War”, perpetrated by war criminal George H.W. Bush: Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait was a response to petroleum corporations like BP, Shell, and Exxon drilling laterally into Iraqi oil reserves from the Kuwait side of the border. [cite] This was a deliberate provocation, manipulating a facile dictator into aggression, leading to justifiable cause for war. Iraq also had significant national debt to Kuwait. Remember that Saddam Hussein was installed by none other than Donald Rumsfeld during the Reagan era. He became a loose canon that got out of control.
Second Iraq War, 2003-2011, “George W. Bush’s War for Oil” was based on “known unknowns” about weapons of mass destruction [cite], whereas in all actuality it was revenge action against Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein for maintaining dominion and an attempt to usurp oil resources in that country.[cite]
US ground troops were supposed to be greeted by peasants throwing flowers, instead it turned out to be an expensive and protracted war with upwards from 300,000 civilian casualties. [cite: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_the_Iraq_War]
According to the US Department of War, terrorist and insurgent groups such as Hezbollah and Al-Qaida continue to be financed by access to petroleum industry profiteering. In the case of Venezuela the group that threatens US and allies has been identified as “Cartel de los Soles (Cartel of the Suns). This group has been implicated with narcotics trafficking and corruption of the Venezuelan government at the highest levels. There are other “cartels” allegedly involved in with shipping Venezuelan oil to foreign countries in the communist bloc and China according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Finally, 2005 to present: The result of United States and other foreign involvement in the Venezuelan presidential election caused a crisis in which Nicolas Maduro seized power in a rigged election. American oil assets were nationalized and US corporations were evicted from or fled the country.
ANALYSIS, COMMENTARY, OVERSIMPLIFICATION
While there may be an oversimplification whenever the chant “War For Oil” goes up, no other commodity has had such an impact on international security. At the bottom line, Oil has been a leading cause of interstate wars since World War II. This multifaceted crisis of government corruption, narcotics trafficking, and humanitarian urgency in Venezuela will attest to the fact that the resources of that country have brought on a culture of domination and avarice. A culture of bizarre “Moby Dick” obsession has evolved on a global scale among political leadership. For this MAGA President, Venezuelan oil is low hanging fruit. Oil is a vital resource for modern economies; countries with large reserves have significant geopolitical advantages that can ultimately turn into significant liabilities.
FURTHER JUSTIFICATIONS: PRESIDENTIAL CRISIS in VENEZUELA
So how dire is the political situation in Venezuela? If you are not completely appalled, then you haven’t been paying attention. Public political policy is a survival game. The contentious relationship between opposing political contingencies is a barbaric winner take all end game. For the common citizen, it is risk taking to participate in elections since the member of losing party will certainly face consequences from legal prosecution up to and including detention and torture. The (now defunct) United States Institute of Peace stated that “the most concrete formula for shoring up the post-electoral process in Venezuela would be a legally and constitutionally grounded “Pact of Peaceful Co-Existence Between the Candidates for the Presidency of the Republic”, accompanied with enforcement by international guarantor nations. [cite: https://www.usip.org/publications/2024/05/how-get-venezuela-out-its-cycle-conflict#]
It should be noted that USIP was one of the first advisory commissions for United States foreign policy that was de-funded and forcibly dismantled by the Department Of Government Efficiency, at the behest of This President. Given his record, and that of the Venezuelan President, agreeing to disagree might be the pathway to a meeting of the minds. They may have more in common than they are ready to admit. Rationally, it should appeal to both These Presidents that there is an economic advantage to peaceful trade relations, and that economic incentives far outweigh military solutions to conflict resolution. Both have show propensities for profiteering and exploiting financial largess at the expense of the poorest of the poor. Regarding This President, there is an eerie similarity regarding a crisis of Presidential succession built around a cult of personality and retribution for disloyalty playing out for the second time.
The United Nations has condemned the boat strikes as a violation of international human rights law and extrajudicial killings, calling for an immediate halt. The President of Colombia has called the actions of This President, blowing up of boats in the Caribbean, an “act of tyranny” and “murder”. The International Criminal Court has stated that the military campaign fell into the category of a planned, systematic attack against civilians during peacetime, and would be treated under international law as crimes against humanity. [cite]https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd9kgqwnk8wo Mexico said that international law must be respected. Mexico’s President and Minister of Foreign Affairs have repeatedly and firmly stated that international law, specifically the Law of the Sea must be respected. Mexico maintains that countering drug trafficking should be treated as a law enforcement issue, not a military conflict, and that the United States is in violation of international treaties.
DISCREPANCY of EVIDENCE
So far, This President’s administration has not presented any evidence to back its assertion that the bombed boats had narcotics or drug smugglers on them, or that the vessels were even headed to the US. It has also not offered any legal justification for its actions, which many experts believe violate international law. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) spokesman has indicated verification for to belief that the purported narco-terrorist strikes are a thinly veiled ruse for an overthrow of the Madura regime. The CSIS report has an up the minute account of the buildup of an arsenal of munitions, naval vessels, troops, aircraft, and strategies along with possible scenarios for takeover or standing down in this conflict. [cite] https://www.csis.org/regions/americas/venezuela
It is the general conclusion by most military analysts that “The US administration now has the potential to take decisive military action in Venezuela.” [cite] https://stories.theconversation.com/tracking-the-us-military-in-the-caribbean/Note that the ground force went from about 10,000 in August 2025 to over20,000 in November. Troop buildup will probably swell to 100,000 before a ground invasion. Recall the adulation This President has for his Russian counterpart who forcibly “annexed” Crimea and is now in a prolonged war with the Ukraine, trying to get a seaport in the Indian Ocean. Do you not think that This President gets inspiration from that other world leader and imitates his methods?
In public comment, This President has vacillated on his intentions for declaring full-on war with Venezuela, meaning sending in ground troops rather than missile strikes os naval blockades. He went from “I just don’t know in August 2025 [cite] to “I’ve made up my mind, I can’t tell you what it is” in November. Given his record of self aggrandizing bravado, ruthless retribution, there will no doubt be such an invasion, even if it is only for This President to save face with his political base. He engaged in delusional extension of Monroe Doctrine mentality to the entire North American continent before; remember his inappropriate comments about Canada as the fifty-first state, along with Greenland. [cite]
BOOTS ON THE GROUND INEVITABLE
Would the American people want, advocate such a war; is the slim republican majority really nothing but a cult of personality? Have these supposedly “Christian” and law abiding citizens been totally brainwashed into supporting every hostility instigated by This President? What do you suppose it cost to re-deploy an aircraft carrier from the Mediterranean and send it to the Caribbean? The USS Gerald Ford was not built to subdue cartels with drug boats, it is the most lethal naval weapon in the history of the world. Military analysts agree that “The longer the USS Gerald Ford deployed to the Caribbean, the more strongly other regional commanders will request its presence for crisis response…The stance is unsustainable: either launch or stand down” [cite]
JUSTIFICATION or RATIONALIZATION?
Even if only half the propaganda against the Maduro regime is true there is evidence of extreme corruption and responsibility for acts of barbaric proportions against the people of Venezuela. The regime must be surpassed, however, as always: war is not the answer. What business would it be for United States to conduct a “humanitarian” war on behalf of the population of another country? The ultimate rationalization would be to usurp the natural resources of that country, such as oil in the case of Venezuela or “rare earths” (lithium) in the case of the Ukraine. Along with the truth, the dissolution of the USIP was one of the first casualties of This President’s War. In the final analysis “The administration has said that the deployment is to stop the flow of illegal drugs to the US…but over time the US goal has expanded to include anti-Maduro regime activities,” [cite]
The Conflict Resolution institute from Norway has taken the lead in addressing these problems. Some success was achieved until the favorite candidate for President, who was banned from the election and lives in exile, was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize. It should be noted that this Peace Prize Laureate has repeatedly called for military intervention from international coalitions as a solution to the presidential succession crisis in Venezuela. Under Swiss neutral stewardship, an unenforceable Memorandum of Understanding was signed designation the rights of voters and the personal safety of candidates in an election. The governments of neighboring countries Colombia and Mexico, although sharing some of these same crisis problems, have repeatedly been a voice of reason regarding the meddling intervention by the United States, and are in a position to make diplomatic advances because of their neutrality.
STRIKING SIMILARITIES OF CHARACTER: MADURO and TRUMP
Abuse of executive privilege, enacting without congressional approval; bypassing congress; redistricting maps for racial gerrymandering; delegating functions of the department of education to the department of labor which lacks skills, expertise and capacity in education” funding for schools; weaponizing the judicial system against political adversaries; mobilizing the military against so called “liberal” cities and states, against peaceful protectors; arbitrary arrest and detention without due process of suspected “illegal aliens”; censorship and restrictions on arts, literature and even science that does not correspond to a dominant narrative mandated by a “right wing extremist” political agenda; co-opting fundamentalist religiosity into that dominant narrative; redefining patriotism as pary loyalty; rewriting history to reflect a dominant narrative; fomenting supremacist nationalism, spreading xenophobia and racism; decrying legitimate fact as “fake news” (gaslighting) , repeating lies and malicious propaganda as public policy…there’s more:
Public assassinations, collusion with foreign governments, proliferation of cryptocurrency so that the algorithm can track every expenditure, shutdown of government, money is free speech, corporations are people; … voting and electoral irregularities, manipulation of legislative agenda and precluding duly elected officials from taking office. Mutual disrespect, direct insult and personal slander has become a norm in governmental discourse. Corruption in government from common bribery to complex money laundering schemes and Political Action Committees. All these things and worse are resultant of the policy dictated by This President. In these many respects there is more than an eerie similarity with the Maduro regime in Venezuela.
Both these Presidents are kick-down bullies who are propped up by a cadre of complicit kick-down bullies. If “That President” exercises criminal socialism; then “This President” exercises predatory capitalism. It should come as no coincidence that both have the same goal of total prevailing dominion using the pattern of usurper mentality strategy. Theirs is the path to an authoritarian regime. They both know of no other way than aggression and oppression to achieve complete control over the resources and the people of their respective countries.
Granted, the inhumanity of policies imposed by This President is pales in comparison with that of the Maduro regime in Venezuela, but we are not yet halfway through his second term. Remember his statement about “three and a half years from now”. It may well be that the only way to forestall this ongoing war with Venz is for the tide to turn dramatically against This President with the upcoming mid-term elections, resulting in impeachment proceedings for the last two years of This Presidency.
BEST OF ALL POSSIBLES?
So, what would be in the best interests of the people of Venezuela, what would be the best of all possible worlds that is within reasonable means of has a reasonable chance of being accomplished?Empowerment of the individual at the grassroots level, having their basic needs for food and nourishment met, safe and secure housing and health care, along with the opportunity for working to maintain a means of supporting themselves; education such that they might be able to have meaningful existence above the mere survival or subsistence level would be a good beginning. Strengthening the family and the community through the practice of mutual respect for each other and bringing self reliance to the next level of interpersonal interactions, where villages and cities thrive through the contributions of everyone within them might be the next step. The re-establishment of commerce and cross-country prosperity through peaceful co-existence and meaningful, productive work completes this initial cycle of empowerment. Without the fear of retribution from an oppressive regime a free and fair electoral process would be realized eventually, but it will probably take years for that. It does appear that some sort of oversight short of intervention from the international community is going to be needed to get Venezuela out of its crisis.
What, if anything is there that the average reasonable person can do in an effort to forestall the next stage of This President’s War on Venezuela? Let us get back to the 300 million dollar Presidential Ballroom and Fortified Bunker, [ie Fortress]. This type of renovation has a precedent set back during the Third Reich [cite]. In the case of the Washington DC “Ballroom”, the foundation slab sits over the nation’s most secretive spy laboratory. [cite]. Not only has the East Wing been demolished and the Rose Garden paved over, a “border wall” style fence has been erected around the entire White House Grounds. City streets have been barricaded for many blocks surrounding the White House with armed guards standing sentry at every intersection. This President is going nowhere; he intends to stay, like he is “entitled” to.
RECAPITULATION: UNITED STATES as BANANA REPUBLIC
Rigged elections, eliminations of due process, persecution of political opponents, restrictions of press freedoms, abuses in response to anti-government protests, arbitrary arrests and detentions, using distribution of food a means of control, corruption by senior government officials: these injustices are not just happening in banana republics such as Venezuela. It has become painfully apparent that This President has already turned the United States of America into an authoritarian state. As for the prospect of armed conflict with Venezuela, that has already started, in September 2025, without any declaration of war or consultation with Congress. Why would the world’s largest aircraft carrier be stationed in the Caribbean if there is no intention of using it? Are the American people just waiting for another Gulf of Tonkin Incident or some more Known Unknowns to justify yet another War for Oil? We all know that This President does not have the authority to cancel the elections of 2028 in the event of war, but this is a president who wants the American people to believe that it is intended by God that he is going nowhere.
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Analysis, Conjecture
Author: Fred Jay Ross
fredjayross@fredjayross.com
