[tomder55]

This is pure speculation because I have no idea yet what he will say

US President Donald Trump to make an announcement from Oval Office today - CNBC TV18

But a couple things come to mind.

1 No he is not stepping down.

Trump claps back after weekend of speculation about his health: ‘Never felt better in my life’

He is in poor health . That has been apparent for a while He can't hide the bruises or the swollen ankles. He does not take care of himself and works ridiculously long hours that would tax the health of a young healthy person. He is 79 years old . He needs to take days off or a vacation.

2. He may announce some kind of military action against Venezuela .

Will Venezuela Be the First Target of Trump's New MAGA Monroe Doctrine? - Newsweek

August 7, the U.S. State Dept placed a $50 million bounty on Marxist Narco -terrorist Dictator of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro.

Nicolás Maduro Moros - United States Department of State

Since then the US Navy has sent enough assets to enforce a blockade of the nation's ports .

Adm. Daryl Caudle, the new chief of naval operations, told reporters that U.S. ships are heading into waters off South America to support “Venezuelan operations and missions” that involve drug cartels.
Speaking Thursday at a Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, Caudle cited the concern that some Venezuelans are taking part in large drug operations. But he declined to provide specifics about the military’s goals, saying much of the information is classified.
Caudle said his job is to provide naval forces for military commanders to deploy, which in turn gives “the president and secretary of defense options.”

Why is the U.S. deploying war ships to South America? 4 things to know | PBS News

Or maybe he plans a regime change like GHW Bush did to Narco President of Panama Manual Noriega

The U.S. invades Panama | December 20, 1989 | HISTORY

3 . He will tout the success of the National Guard deployment to DC ; cite the stats of the Holiday crime spree in Chi-town that resulted in 54 shootings ; and give an ultimatum to JD the Hut and Mayor Brandon to either deploy the Ill Guard or he will.

Chicago sees bloody Labor Day weekend as mayor blocks Trump plan | Fox News

4 He will announce criminal investigations and actions against financial institutions who are complicit in the Chinese laundering of fentanyl.

FinCEN Issues Advisory and Financial Trend Analysis on Chinese Money Laundering Networks | U.S. Department of the Treasury

Could be any of these or none of these.

Or maybe he will just blast the leadership of Congress for not getting things done. The Senate went on vacation but leader Thune made sure they were technically still in session so Trump could not use the power of recess appointments.
Now they face a government shut down with all the fake drama that comes with it. The deadline in Sept 30. They have a month where nothing else will get done.
One thing he could do would be to take away any ambiguity of his power to create tariffs. Congress was assigned that power by the framers . But Congress has by statute diluted their power. Trump says that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act(IEEPA,) of 1977 gives him the power . But that of course has been challenged by a number of cases. But if there is ambiguity it would be easy for Congress to resolve if they just got off of their thigh bones .

Taking odds on which Dem will stage a marathon 24 hr speech on the floor .

[tomder55]

Huntsville it is . We are not invading Vemezuela

[tomder55]

darn Trump did not announce a nuns with guns policy to protect Catholic Schools

[tomder55]

coming to an American city near you

Mexican mayor killed during Day of the Dead celebrations | Mexico | The Guardian

[tomder55]

Since then Trump has committed about a 3rd of the US fleet to the waters of Venezuela ;has taken out drug boats ;and has threatened outright invasion.

My conspiracy mind went to work and began to look at the war for oil angle. But new information leads me to conclude that Trump's actions against Venezuela is justified and a long time coming.

According to the State Dept ,Cartel de los Soles is a drug clearing house cartel headed up directly by Venezuelan President Maduro that was formed in the days when his predecessor Hugo Chavez ran the country .

Hugo Carvajal Barrios ; the former Director of Military Intelligence for Venezuela; fled the country and plead guilty in the US ; and has now become an informant. According to Sec State Marco Rubio, Venezuela has become the go to clearing house for the movement of drugs into the US. Carvajal penned a letter to Trump and the American people describing the extent of the Venezuelan government's involvement .His letter is here .

Former Maduro Spy Chief’s Letter To Trump Seeks To Expose Narco-Terrorist War Against U.S.


I had dismissed the Smartmatic voting machine election fraud stuff in the past and will need much more proof than he provides .He claims to have overseen the creation of the Smartmatic system to ensure election fraud in Venezuela resulted in the regime winning elections . This was then utilized in the 2020 US election by Dominion Voting Systems according to various claims made by Trump ;OAN Newsmax among others . . Some day there will be solid evidence one way or the other about this claim . He writes " I do not claim that every election is stolen, but I state with certainty that elections can be rigged with the software – and has been used to do so." Lawsuits by Dominion about the claim have gone against the claim. But the rest of his claims appear to be credible and ominous on it's own.
If true this information tells us that the cartels have formed an alliance with such actors as Hezbollah and the Chinese

Dear Mr. President Trump and The People of the United States,
My name is Hugo Carvajal Barrios. For many years, I was a high-ranking member of the Venezuelan regime. I was a three-star general trusted by both Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro and served as Director of Military Intelligence and a Deputy in the National Assembly. Today, I sit in an American prison because I voluntarily plead guilty to the crimes charged against me: a narco-terrorism conspiracy. I write to atone by telling the full truth so that the United States can protect itself from the dangers I witnessed for so many years.
I publicly broke with the Maduro regime in 2017 and fled my country, knowing that I face criminal charges in the United States. In doing so, I became their enemy. Knowing the risks, I acted with the strongest conviction to dismantle Maduro’s criminal regime and bring freedom to my country. Today, I see the need to address the American people about the reality of what the Venezuelan regime truly is—and why President Trump’s policies are not only correct, but absolutely necessary to the United States’ national security.

1. Narco-Terrorism

I personally witnessed how Hugo Chavez’s government became a criminal organization that is now run by Nicolás Maduro, Diosdado Cabello, and other senior regime officials.
The purpose of this organization, now known as the Cartel of the Suns is to weaponize drugs against the United States. The drugs that reached your cities through new routes were not accidents of corruption nor just the work of independent traffickers; they were deliberate policies coordinated by the Venezuelan regime against the United States.
This plan was suggested by the Cuban regime to Chávez in the mid-2000s and has been successfully executed with help from FARC, ELN, Cuban operatives, and Hezbollah. The regime has provided weapons, passports, and impunity for these terrorist organizations to operate freely from Venezuela against the United States.

1. Tren de Aragua

I was present when decisions were made to organize and weaponize criminal gangs across Venezuela to protect the regime—among them the group known as Tren de Aragua. Chávez ordered the recruitment of criminal leaders inside and outside prisons to defend “the revolution” in exchange for impunity. After Chávez died, Maduro expanded this strategy by exporting criminality and chaos abroad to target Venezuelan political exiles and artificially reduce crime statistics within Venezuela. Gang leaders were instructed to send thousands of members out of the country. This was coordinated through the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Prisons, the National Guard, and national police forces. Tren de Aragua became the most effective and fastest growing.
When the Biden–Harris open-border policy became widely known, they seized the opportunity to send these operatives into the United States. They now have obedient, armed personnel on American soil. To finance their operations, they were explicitly instructed to continue kidnapping, extorting, and killing. Every crime they commit on your soil is an act ordered by the regime.

For twenty years, the Venezuelan regime sent spies into your country—many are still there, some disguised as members of the Venezuelan opposition. Cuban intelligence showed me their networks inside your naval bases on the East Coast. They bragged about having sent thousands of spies over decades, some now career politicians.
U.S. diplomats and CIA officers were paid to assist Chávez and Maduro in remaining in power. These Americans acted as spies for Cuba and Venezuela, and some remain active to this day.

He says he is working with US to provide more details .

[tomder55]

Sidenote maybe

The day after we started wacking boats . Jeanine Pirro announced the largest seizure of precursor chemicals for meth from China .

The meth produced from the seized chemicals would have an estimated street value of at least $569 million, Pirro said.

Feds intercept 1,300 barrels of meth precursor chemicals shipped from China to Mexico | KTVU FOX 2

[tomder55]

Maria Corina Machado clearly won the Venezuelan election earlier this year. She is still the undisputed opposition leader to the regime and is the current Nobel Peace Prize winner. Installing her would not constitute regime change as she is the legit President of the nation . Let's make that happen.






















Sent

[tomder55]

It's called Highway 10 . It is the drug route from Venezuela to points in the US and Europe. It is more than speed boats carrying coke. That is just the 1st part of the Highway. (connecting from Venezuela to the gulf of Guinea on the African west coast .
The speed boats drop off their packages to bound to either Mexico or the west Africa. The drugs are then smuggled into America ;or handed off the narco terrorists in Africa. What is common is that the nations in Africa do not have the means to patrol their seas and in a couple of instances they are in the process of being taken over by narco terrorists

In Guinea-Bissau, only a coup stopped it.
Military seizes power in Africa’s first ‘narco-state’: Guinea-Bissau

Benin's president condemns a foiled coup attempt | AP News

The drugs are sent to Sahel desert where some of our friends like AQ ;the Islamic State and Russian mercenaries begin the process of smuggling them into Europe where organized crime distributes the drugs


How the Sahel became a smuggling hotspot – DW – 07/28/2025

Europe’s Biggest ’Ndrangheta Drug Ring Sentenced | OCCRP

Although the reporting is that this is Trump using Monroe Doctrine gun boat diplomacy ,it is in fact a coalition effort to stop the drug trafficking

How the Caribbean became a front line in France's fight against the cocaine trade

The press treats Trump's actions in Venezuela ;the French interdiction efforts ;the Italian move against organized crime ; the political turmoil in west Africa ;and even the persecution of Christians in Nigeria as unrelated events when in fact they are all tied in together .

[tomder55]

María Corina Machado slipped through 10 check points in disguise to escape Venezuela to accept her Nobel prize in person.

[tomder55]

Last night Trump made a prime time address. I tuned in because I thought he had something to say about Venezuela . Turned out it was same old same old blah blah--blah blah--blah blah--blah blah--blah blah--.

Clearly he has finally realized that affordability is a real issue . No talk of it being a Dem hoax . Then he lied and said prices are going down.

"I am bringing those high prices down and bringing them down very fast"

The Consumer Price Index rose by 3 percent in September.
Consumer prices up 3.0 percent from September 2024 to September 2025 : The Economics Daily: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

It is better than Clueless Joe's disastrous term ;but it is still above the target 2% ,
If you think that 1% is insignificant you are wrong. At 2% inflation an item doubles in price in 36 years . At 3% it takes 24 years .

He is trying to reverse the trend by rolling back some of his misguided tariffs ,even as he claimed last night that 'his favorite word is tariffs .'

Trump rolls back tariffs on over 200 foods in sharp reversal | National | thecentersquare.com

At least that is something . He did not say that we should buy fewer pencils .

Donald Trump Wants Americans to Use Fewer Pencils: 8 Takeaways From Rally %%page%% %%sep%% %%sitename%% Donald Trump wants Americans to use fewer pencils: 8 takeaways from rally - Newsweek

He knows he is running out of time .That is why he made this Hail Mary address last night .
I believe it is already too late .

[tomder55]

Some updates on this post
1 . Trump is in poor health . That is true and even worse ;he is doing things to make it worse. He self subscribed a daily mega-dose of aspirin. He thinks it thins his blood ;and that much is true . If his doctors recommend aspirin at all ,it should be a dose of 81 mg and no more. He says he is taking a 325 mg dose daily . That is a mistake. It is why he tends to bruise so easily. It causes fluid retention in some people with pre-existing conditions. In some cases it can increase the risk of stroke or other hemorrhaging in the body . There is speculation that too much aspirin builds fluid in the heart causing enlargement .It can also cause tinnitus which could explain some of his hearing difficulties .


2. Channeling his inner GHW Bush ,Trump approved a military action to capture Maduro.

U.S. launches military strikes on Venezuela, Trump says Maduro captured and flown out of the country

This takes out the head of the snake. But the snake is a hydra .
Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez got on the radio to blast the US .Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, one of Maduro’s most trusted advisers, is demanding the Americans prove that Maduro is still alive.
His regime/cartel and possibly the Chavismo predicate will continue business as usual until the people of Venezuela are free.


If this is not a one off application of the Trump corollary to the Monroe Doctrine then Miguel Diaz -Canel of Cuba cannot be sleeping well these days.

The irony is that Trump has consistently argued against regime change policies throughout his public life.

[tomder55]

Trump is going to screw up a good deed . In the last few hours he has announced that the US will "run " Venezuela in "transition"

Now when I heard that I assumed he meant helping Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado assume the Presidency that was stolen from her . Reports said as much earlier today

But Trump later spoke and implied that a separate deal was made with Maduro's VP .

But President Trump surprisingly said during his press conference Saturday that Machado “doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country” to become its next leader.
He indicated that spoke with Vice President Delcy Rodríguez — who is to assume power after Maduro’s arrest as per the Venezuelan constitution — and that she reassured her willingness “to do what’s necessary to make Venezuela great again.

What nonsense ! She reportedly got 70% of the vote !

It is clear that Trump made a separate deal with socialists and drug cartel members in the regime in exchange for the oil and rare earth wealth in the nation. (Those beach front hotels and golf courses he builds will be an additional bonus)

History again will show that we are on the wrong side.

[tomder55]

Fearless prediction ....by the time the press is finished mangling the narrative of Maduro's capture he will achieve the victim status reserved to Kilmar Abrego Garcia the Maryland Man

[tomder55]

correction . She was the leader of the opposition party . She was barred from running in the election after she won the primary.
Edmundo Gonzales was selected to replace her as the opposition candidate . They campaigned together and it was Gonzales who received the votes .

"Should the opposition win, Ms Machado is widely expected to be the de facto leader of a government formally led by Mr González."

South America's last dictator unleashes dirty tricks as landslide defeat looms

[tomder55]

Former State Dept official Juan Gonzalez offers a commentary on the US arrest of Maduro .It is both opportunistic and cautionary .

If Washington manages the next phase with discipline—combining coercion with incentives, and force with political legitimacy—it could reset Venezuela’s trajectory, pull the country back into the community of democracies in the hemisphere, and reassert U.S. influence in a region that has spent the past decade hedging against American power. If this happens, the payoff would be substantial.

But achieving such an outcome will take a degree of skillful policy and fortunate circumstance that are far from assured in any administration. The plausible paths of failure include a partial transition that leaves criminal networks intact, a prolonged period of political limbo that sustains migration and instability, or a creeping security commitment that the United States never intended but finds difficult to unwind. What happens next will determine whether this moment becomes a hinge in hemispheric history or another entry in the long catalogue of American overreach.

The End of the Beginning in Venezuela | Foreign Affairs

[tomder55]

Things are getting hot. Armed with a court order the US attempted to board a 'ghost ship' one of a thousand of a fleet of tankers that illegally transport sanctioned oil from Iran Russia and Venezuela to be sent to China and India .

When the attempt was thwarted by the crew they hastily took out their paint by number kit and painted a child like quality Russian flag on the ship . Russia gave approval for this bypassing international regulations for the flagging of ships .

Then Russia sent an escort submarine . The Coast Guard has pursued the ship into the open Atlantic .

Exclusive | Russia Sends Submarine to Escort Tanker the U.S. Tried to Seize Off Venezuela - WSJ


I am not sure about how far Russia will go . Busting sanctions has been their economic lifeline. Japan took the big risk of war with the US because they were being cut off from their oil supply.

[tomder55]

US boarded the ship without incident .The Russians did not want to start WWIII over an empty rust bucket.