In response to America abducting the leader of sovereign state Venezuela, vice president JD Vance has wriggled out of Trump’s behind to offer the most feeble of feeble excuses:
This argument means that any time a president wants to invade a country “legally,” he just has to get his DOJ to indict the country’s leader. It makes Congress’ power to declare war totally meaningless. pic.twitter.com/4NE4vbjHtD
— James Surowiecki (@JamesSurowiecki) January 3, 2026
Oh, so you think it’s ‘illegal’ for America to bomb civilians as a distraction while they abduct a guy who commited a crime that Trump made up as a pretext to steal Venezuela’s oil?
Shows what you know!
Liar, liar, Vance on fire
The main thing people are pointing out is that Trump very recently pardoned the ex- Honduran leader who was convicted of drug offences:
“You don’t get to avoid justice for drug trafficking in the United States” — unless, of course, you’re a U.S. ally. https://t.co/9y5hT0I7bg pic.twitter.com/FOnS86MGy5
— Max Granger (@_maxgranger) January 3, 2026
We arrested, prosecuted, and convicted the former president of Honduras, who was a “bad dude who messed with the United States.” Donald Trump just pardoned him and let him out of prison. pic.twitter.com/XGhnB4b3AX
— James Surowiecki (@JamesSurowiecki) January 3, 2026
Clearly, Trump and suck ups like Vance don’t care about the law:
This is a great point by the VP. Let’s arrest every president who has been indicted multiple times in the US. The next possible target is speaking at 11 so we know his location. https://t.co/aAmFjRNGCt
— Tim Miller (@Timodc) January 3, 2026
As far as loopholes go, this one is more of a loop-chasm:
Laughable. There are people with warrants all over the world. Can you invade all those countries without coming to Congress? If carrying out an arrest requires the full scale invasion of a foreign nation OF COURSE you need to get congressional authorization. https://t.co/piw1QHVTX9
— Chris Murphy
(@ChrisMurphyCT) January 3, 2026
The move would also authorise all sorts of actions that the Yanks would oppose:
multiple israeli government officials have ICC indictments and arrest warrants which are more internationally legitimate than a national indictment therefore lets go bomb tel aviv https://t.co/5Pic72ItLO
— Dana
(@CURSEUPONIRON) January 3, 2026
Narcoterrorism
On 18 November, Joe Glenton reported for the Canary that the supposed ‘narcoterrorism’ going on out of Venezuela was just a cover for regime change. Basically, the accusation of narcoterrorism is to Venezuela what WMDs were to the Invasion of Iraq. A bullshit excuse, in other words, and one which everyone but the media could see through.
As we reported, the Wall Street Journalwas carrying water for Trump’s aggression towards Venezuela in December:
https://t.co/IZxCyBaFGp pic.twitter.com/winZTE2ox0
— Seth Harp (@sethharpesq) December 1, 2025
Here’s one section from the WSJarticle:
The confluence of drug smugglers, jihadists and corrupt officials is part of a growing global alignment among criminal gangs, militant groups and rogue governments that threatens democratic norms and social stability, with profound potential ramifications.
Now, the Trump administration’s pressure campaign against Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro—who it asserts is heavily involved in drug smuggling—has brought global attention to the country’s role in the drug trade. Maduro has denied the allegation.
That’s right; the Trump administration is here to save the “democratic norms” – something he’s famously defended throughout his political career.
I told you, they pretended maduro was a “narco-terrorist” to sidestep congress and argue the “war on terror” authorization for use of military force is good enough to go after him. Pure sophistry and semantics, they want a warlord emperor not a president. https://t.co/kFq8gm0mwU
— Secular Talk (KyleKulinskiShow@bsky.social) (@KyleKulinski) January 3, 2026
Oil and Venezuela
The reason this stuff doesn’t land is because Trump has not been shy about admitting why he’s interested in Venezuela.
Trump has, in recent years, been very open about why he wants to pursue regime change in Venezuela. It’s about the oil, pure and simple.
And any media organisation which doesn’t foreground this context is simply low-information parrot squawk. https://t.co/HzDQDkTHLq
— Ash Sarkar (@AyoCaesar) January 3, 2026
Even today, Trump is just coming out and admitting it:
Rubio: This is about a dictator who oppresses his people.
Hegseth: It’s about drugs that pose an imminent threat.
Trump: Nah, it’s about oil. https://t.co/suUo5RM6ku
— Miles Taylor (@MilesTaylorUSA) January 3, 2026
This is what Ed Sykes reported for the Canary in December:
The Trump regime is barely even trying to make reasonable arguments in favour of its unprovoked hostility against Venezuela. And that’s partly because Trump has never hidden his interest in stealing oil. He has long insisted that the US should have paid for its destruction of places like Iraq and Libya with the oil it took from them.
For many years, elites have been trying to re-establish US control in Venezuela. And corrupt international institutions like the Nobel Peace Prize have done their best to help.
The problem is Venezuela is not the world’s fentanyl capital. And installing in power a neoliberal elitist (who has called for a “massive privatisation programme” and hyped up “a $1.7tn opportunity” for companies to plunder her country’s resources) is not a good deal for Venezuelan people.
It’s unsurprising, then, that Americans oppose what Trump is doing:
POLL:
17% of Americans support regime change war in Venezuela
Only 33% of Trump '24 voters support a Venezuela war
71% of Americans think Trump should get authorization from Congress for a war in Venezuela — including 57% of Trump '24 voters pic.twitter.com/gBfc1G7Orj
— Just Foreign Policy (@justfp) November 21, 2025
Given all this, it’s sickening to see a wretched, little shitbag like Vance trying to act like there’s any rational justification for what they’re doing in Venezuela.
Trump confirms that the United States is taking direct control of Venezuela. Naked, brutal imperial conquest conducted for the purposes of stealing natural resources that belong to the Venezuelan people by natural right. https://t.co/r2BElpKQdd
— Stats for Lefties
(@LeftieStats) January 3, 2026
Featured image via GCRP
By Willem Moore
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