Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., wants Congress to take a more active role as a check on the Trump administration’s use of military force following the surprise weekend operation in Venezuela, and he plans to force a vote on legislation that would halt further military action in the country without lawmakers’ approval.

Kaine joined a chorus of congressional Democrats who were frustrated at President Donald Trump’s decision to strike Venezuela’s capital of Caracas, and subsequent capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife without oversight or approval from Congress.

Congressional Democrats have long been frustrated at Congress’ diminished role in decision-making since Trump took office last year, particularly over continued strikes in the Caribbean ahead of Operation Absolute Resolve on Saturday.

Kaine argued on a call with reporters that Congress has the constitutional authority to weigh in on military action and was frustrated throughout Trump’s second term that the check and balance was being bowled over.

‘It’s time for Congress to get its a– off the couch and do what the Constitution mandates that we do — the Constitution we take an oath to,’ Kaine said over the weekend. ‘We have to put this before the American people, not just in private settings, but in public hearings by the key oversight committees, Intelligence, Armed Services, Foreign Relations in both houses, and explore whether the United States should enter into yet another war with unforeseen consequences.’

Kaine again plans to bring a war powers resolution for a vote in the Senate, which is expected to come to the floor this week.

It’s not the first time he has tried to reassert Congress’ authority when it comes to the administration’s use of military action. Kaine earlier this year forced a vote on a war powers resolution following Trump’s strike on Iranian nuclear facilities. That resolution failed on a largely party-line vote, save for Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who joined all Senate Democrats in support.

The Virginia Democrat’s latest effort would prevent further military action in Venezuela without congressional approval.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who is a co-sponsor on the latest war powers resolution along with Kaine and Paul, said he would ensure the measure would get ‘adequate floor time so we could debate and discuss this.’

Schumer is also pushing for hearings to investigate the strikes and capture of Maduro and noted that he spoke with top Democrats on several committees who contended their Republican colleagues ‘have expressed a lot of troublesome comments about what Trump is doing and the way he is doing it.’

‘We’re going to be pushing our Republican colleagues to stand up for the American people, to get this done,’ Schumer said. ‘Congress should not be sidelined as the Trump administration gets sucked into another nation-building quagmire, and we’re going to hold them accountable, protect American lives, to protect America’s interests.’

Another issue that many congressional Democrats have is that lawmakers weren’t notified of the strikes until after the fact. Secretary of State Marco Rubio argued over the weekend that it would have been risky to notify lawmakers in advance given the sensitive nature of the operation. Trump charged that Congress was kept in the dark because lawmakers leak. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., who didn’t receive notification of the operation until afterward, said that he was ‘comfortable’ with the timing. 

‘They didn’t tell me ahead of time,’ Thune said. ‘But I think there’s a reason why, like I said, before notification of Congress in advance of really critical and hypersensitive missions, to me, seems ill-advised anyway.’

Former President Joe Biden could be pulling in a hefty, taxpayer-funded pension — stemming from his expansive career as a federal employee, according to a new report. 

The National Taxpayer Union Foundation estimates that Biden could be collecting up to a $417,000 pension — more than he was making a year as president, and more than previous presidents — as a result of collecting pensions from several retirement programs he qualifies for after starting his career in Washington in the 1970s. 

‘It’s pretty unusual, historically unusual, to have such a large pension amount,’ National Taxpayer Union Foundation President Demian Brady told the New York Post. 

The estimate comes from Biden’s long-term career in politics, meaning he has the capability to receive benefits under the Former President’s Act of 1958, and retirement benefits from the Civil Service Retirement System for his time as a senator and vice president.

The Former President’s Act of 1958 stipulates that presidential pensions are equal to the salaries Cabinet secretaries receive, which is currently set at $250,600. Additionally, Biden could be eligible for up to $166,374 for his time as a senator and vice president under the Civil Service Retirement System, Brady told the Post. 

Still, it’s unclear if Biden will actually cash in on all of those benefits. A spokesperson for Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

Biden launched his career as a U.S. senator in 1972, and served as former President Barack Obama’s vice president for eight years starting in 2009. He earned $400,000 a year annually while president. 

The National Taxpayer Union Foundation did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

Meanwhile, efforts are underway in Congress to curb how much former presidents can rake in once they leave office. For example, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, reintroduced the Presidential Allowance Modernization Act in 2025, whichwould cap presidential pensions at $200,000The legislation was referred to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. 

Past initiatives to rein in presidential pensions have failed. Obama ultimately vetoed a similar piece of legislation that Congress backed in 2016 just before he was set to leave the White House. 

Following the dramatic capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, the United States is now positioned to exert significant influence over the future of the world’s largest oil reserves.

What President Donald Trump does next could reshape Venezuela’s energy industry, alter global oil flows and redefine the balance of influence among major powers long invested in the country’s crude.

Here are three key takeaways:

1. Venezuela holds massive oil reserves, but production remains severely constrained

Venezuela, a country almost twice the size of California, sits atop extraordinary wealth. 

With more than 300 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, Venezuela holds more crude than established energy heavyweights like Saudi Arabia, Iran and Kuwait. The Latin American country’s reserves are nearly quadruple those of the United States.

Once a major oil producer, the country pumped about 3.5 million barrels a day in the late 1990s. Since then, its oil industry has sharply deteriorated, with production falling to roughly 800,000 barrels a day, according to energy analytics firm Kpler.

A key reason: much of Venezuela’s oil is difficult and expensive to extract.

The country’s reserves are dominated by heavy and extra-heavy crude, which is costly to extract and relies on specialized equipment and refining capacity that have deteriorated after years of underinvestment, U.S. sanctions and political instability.

Similar dynamics have unfolded in countries such as Iran and Libya, where turmoil, financial distress and crumbling infrastructure have kept vast reserves locked underground.

As a result, scaling operations back up would require significant time, capital and technical expertise, with any production increase likely to be gradual rather than immediate.

2. Political risk remains a major concern for American energy companies

Decades of political instability, shifting regulations and U.S. sanctions have made Venezuela a high-risk environment for long-term investment. 

That risk dates back to the mid-2000s, when then-President Hugo Chávez reshaped Venezuela’s relationship with international energy companies by tightening state control over the oil industry.

Between 2004 and 2007, Chávez forced foreign companies to renegotiate their contracts with the government. The new terms sharply reduced the role and profits of private firms while strengthening Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA).

The move drove some of the world’s largest oil companies out of the country.

ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips exited Venezuela in 2007 and later filed claims against the government in international arbitration courts. Those courts ultimately ruled in favor of the companies, ordering Venezuela to pay ConocoPhillips more than $10 billion and ExxonMobil more than $1 billion. The cash-strapped country has paid only a fraction of those awards.

That history looms over Trump’s latest proposal.

Trump said on Saturday he would seek to revive the once-prominent commodity by mobilizing investment from major U.S. energy companies.

‘We are going to have our very large United States oil companies go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken oil infrastructure and start making money for the country,’ Trump said during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago. 

It remains unclear whether U.S. energy companies are prepared to do so. American firms have yet to say whether they plan to return to Venezuela to resurrect an oil industry hollowed out by years of neglect.

Chevron, the only U.S. oil titan operating in Venezuela, said in a statement to Fox News Digital that it was following ‘relevant laws and regulations.’

‘Chevron remains focused on the safety and well-being of our employees, as well as the integrity of our assets,’ a Chevron spokesperson added.

ConocoPhillips wrote in a statement to Fox News Digital that it is monitoring the developments in Venezuela as well as the ‘potential implications for global energy supply and stability.’ 

‘It would be premature to speculate on any future business activities or investments,’ a spokesperson for ConocoPhillips added.

ExxonMobil, the largest U.S. oil company, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

3. The push reflects a broader effort to leverage energy for geopolitical influence

As U.S. and European companies withdrew from Venezuela, Russia, China and Iran expanded their footprint in the country’s energy sector, using financing, fuel shipments and technical support to maintain influence.

That shift has also reshaped how Venezuelan oil is traded. Sanctions have fueled the rise of so-called ‘ghost ships,’ nondescript oil tankers that disable tracking systems to quietly move Venezuelan crude to foreign buyers outside traditional markets. The opaque trade has reduced transparency in global oil flows while helping Caracas sustain exports despite financial isolation.

For the Trump administration, the outcome has underscored an uncomfortable trade-off: restricting access to U.S. markets can limit revenue for sanctioned governments, but it can also push them deeper into the orbit of strategic rivals, turning energy policy into a front line of geopolitical competition.

President Donald Trump was photographed with a signed ‘Make Iran Great Again’ hat alongside Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., as nationwide demonstrations in Iran continued against the regime’s political and economic corruption.

In a photo posted Monday morning on Graham’s X account, the senator could be seen flashing a thumbs up next to Trump as the president holds the black hat emblazoned with his signature.

‘Another great day with @POTUS who has brought America back, stronger than ever, at home and abroad,’ Graham wrote. ‘God bless our Commander in Chief and all of the brave men and women who serve under him.’

‘I’m proud to be an American,’ the post continued. ‘God bless and protect the brave people of Iran who are standing up to tyranny.’

Demonstrations have spread to more than 220 locations across 26 of Iran’s 31 provinces, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported early Monday. At least 20 people have been killed, the group said, and more than 990 have been arrested.

What began as protests over economic hardship quickly escalated, with demonstrators chanting anti-government slogans.

Iran’s collapsing currency has fueled a deepening economic crisis. Prices for staples such as meat and rice have surged, while the country grapples with inflation of around 40%.

In December, the government introduced a new pricing tier for its heavily subsidized gasoline, raising the cost of some of the world’s cheapest fuel and adding to public anger. Tehran has signaled that further increases may follow, with officials now set to review fuel prices every three months.

The protests have continued even after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday said that ‘rioters must be put in their place.’

Khamenei’s branding of the pro-democracy activists as ‘rioters’ came a day after Trump’s unprecedented message of solidarity with the demonstrators.

Fox News Digital’s Benjamin Weinthal and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have unveiled a new spending bill totaling at least $174 billion that could get a vote in the House of Representatives as early as this week.

It’s a significant step toward avoiding another government shutdown come Jan. 30, the deadline congressional leaders set after ending the recent 43-day shutdown — the longest in U.S. history — in November.

The legislation released on Monday is a package of three of the 12 annual spending bills that Congress is charged with passing: commerce, justice, science and related agencies; energy and water development and related agencies; and interior, environment and related agencies.

Senior Republicans and Democrats both signaled support for the bill, which was expected after it was created as the result of bipartisan discussions between the Senate and House Appropriations Committees.

‘This bipartisan, bicameral package reflects steady progress toward completing FY26 funding responsibly. It invests in priorities crucial to the American people: making our communities safer, supporting affordable and reliable energy, and responsibly managing vital resources,’ House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., said in a statement. ‘It also delivers critical community projects nationwide, along with investments in water infrastructure, ports, and flood control that protect localities and keep commerce moving.’

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., the top Democrat on the panel, said the bill ‘is a forceful rejection of draconian cuts to public services proposed by the Trump Administration and Republicans in Congress’ that is free of what she called ‘Republican poison pill’ provisions.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said its release is a step toward avoiding a ‘bloated omnibus bill’ and would ‘spend less than another continuing resolution’ in an apparent bid to ease conservative fiscal hawks’ concerns.

Two of those fiscal hawks, Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Ralph Norman, R-S.C., sit on the House Rules Committee, the panel that acts as the final gatekeeper before most legislation gets a House-wide vote. It’s not immediately clear whether they will support the bill.

In a sign of potential support from conservatives, however, House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., told Fox News Digital of the legislation, ‘We are still going through this minibus — but it appears to be in line with keeping this year’s discretionary spending below last year’s level — which is a good first step to actually lowering spending next year to control our runaway federal debt.’

The House Rules Committee is meeting to advance the legislation on Tuesday evening, with a final vote likely on Thursday. A subsequent procedural vote in the House, called a ‘rule vote,’ will need support from nearly all GOP lawmakers in order to advance.

The largest chunk of funding is aimed at the Commerce and Justice Departments, as well as related agencies. It provides roughly $78 billion in funding for NASA, the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Prisons, among other areas.

Coming in second is the energy funding bill, which would devote just over $58 billion in funding largely to the Department of Energy. Notably, the bill beefs up nuclear defense and energy production funding, allocating roughly $25 billion to the National Nuclear Security Administration. A large chunk of that funding would be directed toward nuclear weapons activities and stockpile modernization. 

Rounding out the trio is the interior funding bill, which would provide over $38 billion in funding spread across the Interior Department, Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Forest Service and other related agencies.

Notably, the package includes just over $3 billion in ‘Community Project Funding,’ also known as earmarks, which lawmakers request for specific initiatives on their home turf. 

While the last shutdown originated in the Senate, it appears that Senate Democrats are willing to play nice with Republicans ahead of the deadline.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said ahead of Congress’ holiday break that Democrats’ goal was to complete the remaining slate of funding bills by the Jan. 30 deadline and noted that ‘we want to get through the process.’

Given that the latest package is a bicameral, bipartisan product, Senate Democrats are likely to support it. 

Advancing the package in the Senate would go a long way toward funding the government but still falls short of the entire list of a dozen bills needed to fund the government. And there are still some more difficult spending bills lurking in the background, like defense, which Democrats rejected during the shutdown. 

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, touted in a statement that the funding package put Congress back into the driver’s seat of funding the government, taking the keys from President Donald Trump and Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought.

‘Importantly, passing these bills will help ensure that Congress, not President Trump and Russ Vought, decides how taxpayer dollars are spent — by once again providing hundreds of detailed spending directives and reasserting congressional control over these incredibly important spending decisions,’ Murray said.

If the legislation passes both the House and Senate, Congress will have advanced six of its 12 spending bills. It’s worth noting that another shutdown would only affect the agencies and offices left unfunded at the time of its beginning.

While many Democrats erupted at President Donald Trump’s decision to arrest Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro on drug trafficking and terrorism charges, one particular prior taunt from former President Joe Biden resurfaced Sunday and promptly got ratioed.

Responding to an Axios report on June 21, 2020, that Trump would consider meeting with Maduro after the despot ignored the disputed election versus opposition leader Juan Guaidó, Biden said, ‘Trump talks tough on Venezuela, but admires thugs and dictators like Nicolás Maduro.’

‘As President, I will stand with the Venezuelan people and for democracy,’ Biden added.

Soon after the weekend operation at Miraflores – the Venezuelan dictator’s official residence – conservatives and at least one left-leaning political activist highlighted how, in the words of several civilian respondents, the comment ‘aged like milk.’

‘Whoops,’ remarked Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., who is also running for the Yellowhammer State’s governorship this year.

‘And now, every Democrat is denouncing an operation to execute a federal warrant while we slept,’ Tuberville said.

The Auburn football legend went on to claim Biden’s comment showed ‘Democrats have no principles [and] it’s about whatever way the left wind is blowing to gain power.’

‘Yesterday’s margaritas with Kilmar Abrego Garcia is today’s Maduro,’ he said. ‘They’ll support a drug-trafficking dictator because this was another Trump win. Guaranteed.’

The Trump campaign arm’s ‘Rapid Response 47’ X account also re-upped Biden’s message, responding with a photograph of Maduro blindfolded on a U.S. government aircraft following his capture.

‘A tweet that did not age well,’ added Fox News host and former Trump press secretary Kayleigh McEnany.

‘Has anyone called to see if Joe is still sleeping?’ remarked Pennsylvania state Rep. Aaron Bernstine, who represents Butler County, where Trump was nearly assassinated in 2024.

One respondent on X replied with a clip of Earl Sinclair from the 1990s ABC sitcom, ‘Dinosaurs,’ expressing surprise and dropping a glass.

‘This aged well,’ Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, said of Biden’s comment.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., added in a statement on social media that Trump ‘doesn’t just talk tough, he is tough.’

‘Does Joe Biden have anything to say now?’ she asked, as other critics cited a second Biden comment from that timeframe wherein the Delaware Democrat called Maduro a dictator and criticized his ‘human rights violations and extrajudicial killings.’

‘Wait. You mean ‘Don’t’ diplomacy didn’t get it done?’ remarked former NYPD inspector Paul Mauro, who is also a Fox News contributor.

Mauro had referenced Biden’s widely circulated response to an inquiry about what his message to Iran would be to prevent them from intervening in Israel. ‘Don’t,’ Biden replied before leaving the stage where he was speaking at MS-NOW host Al Sharpton’s National Action Network.

In 2022, Biden climate envoy John Kerry – a former Massachusetts senator – was videotaped shaking hands and smiling in brief conversation with Maduro at the United Nations’ climate change summit that year in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

When pressed on the surprisingly jovial greeting, Kerry spokesman Ned Price said the Venezuelan leader had ‘interrupted what was an ongoing meeting at COP27’ and called the exchange ‘very much an unplanned interaction.’

Other critics pointed out that former President Barack Obama established the first bounty on Maduro’s head in 2015 via executive order, which was increased by the Biden administration, then doubled to $50 million by Trump more recently.

‘Joe Biden hated Maduro just as much. He just wasn’t bold enough to get him,’ said Ja’Mal Green, a former Chicago mayoral candidate and community activist who previously aligned with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., but appeared to sour on some of the far-left’s policies under current Mayor Brandon Johnson and now identifies as ‘politically independent.’

‘All [Biden] did was impose sanctions and never get the money owed. Democrats have to stop.’

‘Under Biden, he watched as Maduro slaughtered and oppressed the people of Venezuela. He watched as Maduro lost the election but still declared himself the winner. He then just allowed millions of Venezuelans to come to America to claim refuge, costing us hundreds of billions of dollars,’ said Green, who has also criticized Johnson over Chicago’s response to the illegal immigration crisis.

‘Under Trump, Maduro FAFO. He swooped in and took him out of the country altogether,’ Green said.

‘Regardless of our disagreements, sometimes diplomacy doesn’t work, and we must use aggression to free a nation. Trump freed Venezuelans today and I hope one day they can go home to a stable country.’

Green referenced recent nationwide protests against Trump and said the craziest part of ‘socialist[s] crying about Trump taking Maduro [was] saying it’s because he wanted a regime change. Maduro didn’t win the election. He’s only there because he took over the country. I thought y’all didn’t want kings.’

Fox News Digital reached out to representatives for Biden for comment.

Democrats’ anger over President Donald Trump’s weekend operation in Venezuela is now turning into demands for his impeachment by some members of the party’s leftmost flank.

Several progressives have now called for proceedings against Trump after the administration carried out strikes in Caracas and captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. 

‘Many Americans woke up to a sick sense of déjà vu. Under the guise of liberty, an administration of warmongers has lied to justify an invasion and is dragging us into an illegal, endless war so they can extract resources and expand their wealth,’ Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., a member of the House’s ‘Squad,’ posted on X over the weekend.

‘We must pass Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s War Powers Resolution that asserts Congress’ authorities, and Trump must be impeached.’

Ramirez was referring to a resolution led by Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., aimed at blocking Trump from carrying out military action against Venezuela.

Meanwhile, Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., who is facing a primary challenge from his left, criticized Trump for bypassing Congress to launch what he called a ‘war’ with Venezuela, and he argued the administration failed to give lawmakers ‘any satisfactory explanation.’

‘This violation of the United States Constitution is an impeachable offense,’ Goldman said in a statement. ‘I urge my Republican colleagues in the House of Representatives to finally join Democrats in reasserting congressional authority by holding this president accountable for this gross violation of the Constitution.’

Rep. April McClain Delaney, D-Md., did not mention Trump by name, but she posted on X, ‘Let’s be clear, invading and running another country without a congressional declaration of war is an impeachable offense. Whether it makes sense to pursue impeachment as the best strategy to end this lawlessness is a tactical judgment that our Caucus needs to seriously deliberate.’

And Golden State gubernatorial hopeful Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., did not rule out supporting Trump’s impeachment when asked at a press conference in California, according to local outlet Pleasanton Weekly.

Progressive House candidates also spoke up, including Kat Abughazaleh, who is running for an open seat in Illinois.

‘I demand that Congress exercise its power, halt this conflict, and impeach this war criminal president,’ Abughazaleh posted on the Bluesky app.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for a response.

Republicans and Democrats have, for the most part, been sharply divided in their responses to the operation in Venezuela.

Democrats have accused Trump of running afoul of U.S. laws to launch an illegal invasion of a sovereign country.

Republicans, meanwhile, have defended it as a successful move to take out a dictator and longtime hostile actor to the U.S. and in the region as a whole.

Top GOP lawmakers have also argued there was no need to notify Congress prior to what they called a law enforcement action rather than a military operation.

Cuba acknowledged that 32 of its citizens — described by the government as members of the island’s armed forces and intelligence services — were killed during the U.S. operation that seized Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in Caracas, declaring two days of national mourning in their honor.

Havana did not specify where the personnel were stationed during the raid. But their deaths have renewed scrutiny of years of reporting and international investigations documenting Cuba’s deep and covert involvement inside Venezuela’s military and intelligence structures.

Jorge Jraissati, a Venezuelan political analyst, said Cuba’s intelligence role was critical to the consolidation of power first under Hugo Chávez and later under Maduro. ‘Experts usually link Cuba as the most important intelligence provider of Venezuela. This includes issues like running elections, building diplomatic leverage with other countries and keeping the security forces in check, among others,’ he told Fox News Digital.

Jraissati said any transition in Venezuela ‘would require the American government, in partnership with the Venezuelan people, to work together on minimizing the Cubans’ influence over Venezuela’s state apparatus and society at large.’

A Reuters investigation published in August 2019 found that two confidential agreements signed in 2008 granted Cuba sweeping access to Venezuela’s armed forces and intelligence services. Under those agreements, Cuban officials were authorized to train Venezuelan troops, restructure intelligence agencies and help build an internal surveillance system focused on monitoring Venezuela’s own military, according to the report.

Those arrangements played a central role in transforming Venezuela’s military counterintelligence agency — the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM) — into a force designed to detect dissent, instill fear within the ranks and ensure loyalty to the government, the investigation found.

The findings were later echoed by the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela, which said it reviewed a 2008 memorandum of understanding between Cuba and Venezuela. The U.N. mission reported that the agreement provided for Cuban advisory oversight in the restructuring of Venezuelan military intelligence, including the creation of new agencies, training of counterintelligence officers and assistance with surveillance and infiltration techniques.

Former Venezuelan officials cited by Havana Times and El Toque have described Cuban advisers embedded across some of the country’s most sensitive institutions, including the civilian intelligence service SEBIN, DGCIM, the defense ministry, ports and airports and Venezuela’s national identification system.

Human rights organizations and international investigators say those structures were central to the government’s response to mass protests in 2014 and 2017, when Venezuelan security forces carried out widespread arrests and deadly crackdowns on demonstrators.

The U.N. fact-finding mission documented patterns of extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detention and torture, and reported that Cuban advisers helped train Venezuelan personnel in methods used to track, interrogate and repress political opponents.

Experts say Cuba’s admission that its military and intelligence personnel were killed during a U.S. operation inside Venezuela has sharpened focus on the alliance’s true depth, turning years of documentation into an immediate geopolitical issue.

President Donald Trump on Sunday issued warnings about Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s political future and renewed threats to annex Greenland.

Trump, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, was initially responding to questions about a U.S. military operation in Caracas that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, as well as the future of Venezuela, when he shifted his focus to another South American country.

‘Columbia’s very sick too, run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States. And he’s not going to be doing it very long. Let me tell you,’ Trump said.

When pressed by a reporter to clarify his remarks, Trump claimed that Petro has ‘cocaine mills and cocaine factories.’

‘So there will be an operation by the U.S. in Colombia?’ the reporter asked.

‘It sounds good to me,’ Trump responded.

His attention then turned to Greenland, where he once again expressed an interest in acquiring the Danish territory.

‘We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it,’ Trump said.

‘We need Greenland from a national security situation. It’s so strategic,’ he added.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen sharply rebuked Trump’s comments, urging him to cease what she described as baseless threats against a close ally.

‘The Kingdom of Denmark – and thus Greenland – is part of NATO and is thus covered by the alliance’s security guarantee. We already have a defense agreement between the Kingdom and the USA today, which gives the USA wide access to Greenland. And we have invested significantly on the part of the Kingdom in the security of the Arctic,’ said Frederiksen in a press release.

‘I would therefore strongly urge that the U.S. stop the threats against a historically close ally and against another country and people who have said very clearly that they are not for sale,’ Frederiksen added.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, and Denmark’s Ambassador to the United States Jesper Møller Sørensen all voiced strong support for Denmark’s sovereignty over Greenland after Trump’s comment, stressing that Greenland’s future should be determined by Greenland and Denmark alone.

Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen condemned Trump’s remarks as deeply ‘disrespectful’ in a statement posted on Facebook.

‘Our country is not an object of superpower rhetoric. We are a people. A land. And democracy. This has to be respected. Especially by close and loyal friends,’ Nielsen wrote in part.

‘Threats, pressure and talk of annexation do not belong anywhere between friends,’ he added. ‘That’s not how you talk to a people who have repeatedly shown responsibility, stability and loyalty. This is enough.’

President Donald Trump’s bold decision to capture, arrest, and bring Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro to trial for drug-related offenses is far bigger than Operation Absolute Resolve itself. It resets the global chessboard. Here are ten reasons why.

First, the Venezuelan operation proves that American military and intelligence capabilities aren’t just better than anybody else’s — they operate in a wholly different dimension. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has thrown his entire military at Ukraine in hopes of establishing Russian domination and killing President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The bloody war has dragged on for three years, costing hundreds of thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars, while draining both countries. And still, that war grinds on.

President Trump sent a small group of special forces into Caracas. Within three hours, they had captured President Maduro and his wife, transporting them to New York to face justice in a U.S. court. No Americans were killed.

Operation Absolute Resolve, like Operation Midnight Hammer, which destroyed Iran’s nuclear capabilities in a matter of hours, was carefully planned, flawlessly executed, and 100% successful. Nobody but America could do that — and leaders around the world know it.

Second, as President Trump says, if you kill Americans, you will be held accountable. Maduro and the drug cartels have killed tens of thousands of Americans with drugs. Not only have we now secured our borders and stopped the flow of fentanyl, but we are bringing drug cartel leaders — including the Maduro family — to face justice.

Third, President Trump has just reversed decades of failed American foreign policy. For years, American leaders of both parties ignored the importance of the Western Hemisphere. They dismissed the growing threats from the countries themselves and from anti-American powers seeking to establish footholds in our hemisphere. American leaders turned a blind eye to drug smuggling and human trafficking. The Biden administration, for its own political purposes, actively encouraged a mass invasion across our border by illegal aliens. 

Operation Absolute Resolve, like Operation Midnight Hammer, which destroyed Iran’s nuclear capabilities in a matter of hours, was carefully planned, flawlessly executed, and 100% successful. Nobody but America could do that — and leaders around the world know it.

While we were focused on the forever wars in the Middle East and the dogma of climate change, three groups were moving into South and Central America — the Chinese, the cartels, and the communists.

Trump’s new national security strategy puts the Western Hemisphere at the center of our foreign policy. Trump allies and reformers now govern Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and El Salvador — and potentially Venezuela. His long-term vision is a North and South America united by similar economic and governance systems, working in harmony for peace and prosperity.

Fourth, President Trump has reestablished the Monroe Doctrine, which forbids foreign powers from operating in the Western Hemisphere. Two hundred years ago, President Monroe warned European powers against interfering in the Americas. Sixty years ago, President Kennedy used the Monroe Doctrine to keep Soviet missiles out of Cuba. Forty years ago, President Reagan used it to stop the Soviet Union from establishing military bases in the Caribbean. The Monroe Doctrine was a foundational principle of American foreign policy, establishing the Western Hemisphere as an American zone of influence.

The Obama administration abandoned the Monroe Doctrine. Secretary of State John Kerry unilaterally declared it dead. The Biden administration also abandoned the Monroe Doctrine by looking the other way while Russia, China, and Iran established footholds in several countries.

By sending the American armada into the Caribbean, President Trump reinstated the Monroe Doctrine and declared, ‘American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again.’

The new Monroe Doctrine is not an effort to keep our southern neighbors down; it is intended to keep malign powers out.

Fifth, President Trump uses not only military might but all aspects of American power — especially trade, finance, and technology — to influence world events. Before he dispatched special forces to capture Maduro, Trump put massive economic pressure on Venezuela. Maduro relied on a ghost fleet of unregistered tankers to illegally ship oil abroad, especially to China.

These transactions were sanctioned but never enforced. Oil sales brought Maduro about $200 million a week, which he used to bribe and blackmail Venezuelan kleptocrats and pay his military. President Trump enforced those sanctions and seized the oil tankers. By cutting off his main source of funding, it was only a matter of time before Maduro ran out of money.

Sixth, critics are quick to accuse Trump of the policies he once criticized — regime change, nation-building, and forever wars. They’re wrong. President Trump has learned from the failures of the past — he doesn’t want to repeat them. President George W. Bush overthrew the Iraqi and Afghan governments, fired government technocrats, and imposed U.S. occupations that were doomed from the beginning. He tried to impose Western-style democracies on countries that were neither suited for it nor wanted it. He got us tangled in decades of wars we couldn’t win, with massive losses in blood and treasure.

President Obama made the opposite mistake. He helped topple dictators during the Arab Spring but then walked away from the ensuing chaos, under the misguided assumption that these countries would immediately embrace democracy on their own.

President Bush tried to do too much. President Obama did too little. Both failed.

If critics had listened carefully to President Trump’s press conferences and statements, they would realize he aims to chart a different course. Trump said the U.S. would ‘run’ Venezuela until governance could be turned over to the Venezuelans. That’s a far cry from decades of occupation and nation-building.

Until Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chávez, seized power, Venezuela had a long tradition of democracy, with regular elections, a free press, and an independent judiciary. Trump isn’t trying to run Venezuela forever. He is already negotiating with remaining members of the Maduro government and political opposition groups for a smooth and quick transfer of power to the Venezuelan people, overseen by the U.S.

Seventh, the oil. The future, in both manufacturing and artificial intelligence, belongs to countries with technological superiority and inexpensive, abundant energy resources. Venezuela has the world’s largest known oil reserves but needs investment to modernize production. American companies have a long history of working with Venezuelan oil companies, and we can do so again. It will be a win-win for the U.S. and Venezuela.

But there is a secondary effect of increased Venezuelan oil production: over time, it will drive down global prices. Russia and Iran rely on oil sales to fund their governments. More oil worldwide means lower prices, which means less income for our enemies.

Eighth, corrupt, incompetent, America-hating dictators should take note. With American help, Maduro is now gone. If the United States and Venezuela, working together, succeed in establishing a new government that restores capitalism and democracy, it will succeed.

If so, could Venezuela be the spark that ignites other democratic reform movements? Cuba is kept alive by Maduro’s drug money. What happens when that money runs out? What happens to the pro-Maduro Colombian government once a new Venezuelan government is formed?

Ninth, the world will now see firsthand what the American legal system looks like. Maduro will be tried in the U.S., in a public courtroom, with the world watching. The Justice Department has worked for years to build a solid case against Maduro for narcoterrorism, drug trafficking, and money laundering. It will show Maduro’s personal connections to drug cartels and human trafficking. It may also shine a light on malign foreign involvement by Iran, Russia, and China.

Finally — and in some ways most importantly — President Trump has overcome the loser syndrome. For years, China has told the world that America is a nation in irreversible economic and moral decline. We fought and lost forever wars in the Middle East. Biden’s Afghanistan withdrawal was shambolic. We have been pushed around by our enemies and disrespected by our allies. Our own leaders have been corrupt, incompetent, and unresponsive.

That has now changed. Our economy is at the starting gate of significant growth. Trillions are being invested in American manufacturing. Our technology and energy sectors are unleashed. We have the most powerful and capable military in the world. Our leaders — especially President Trump — are decisive, confident, and unafraid. More and more people at home and abroad no longer see an America in decline but an America perhaps poised for a new Golden Age.