Today: Nicolás Maduro to Appear in Manhattan Courtroom

The former Venezuelan strongman, now in U.S. custody. It’s just the latest in the history-making and history-shaping series of events to start the new year. Gothamist: Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is expected to appear in federal court in Manhattan at noon on Monday, officials said. He’s being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn and will be moved under tight security to the courthouse in Lower Manhattan, authorities said. A spokesperson for the NYPD said the department typically assists in moving individuals considered high-threat (Gothamist). New York Times: Nicolás Maduro, the president of Venezuela captured in a military raid on Caracas, faces charges in the Southern District of New York, where prosecutors have targeted him for years. The U.S. attorney general, Pam Bondi, posted the new indictment on social media on Saturday. It charges Mr. Maduro with narco-terrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine, among other charges. His wife, Cilia Flores, is also charged in the cocaine conspiracy…. Mr. Maduro’s 2020 indictment has been pending in the Manhattan federal court before Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, a veteran of nearly three decades on the Southern District bench. Appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1998, the judge is best known for overseeing the many lawsuits filed after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, by families of the dead and workers at ground zero (New York Times).

Trump Move in Venezuela Advances American Interests on Two Fronts

Why did Trump do greenlight the operation to apprehend the indicted Venezuelan dictator? Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies provides a succinct explanation: The Trump administration’s capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro on Saturday was a US victory on two fronts: the war on drugs and the great-power competition with China and Russia. For years, the war on drugs has been fought at home, primarily with slogans, aimed at changing the behavior of American citizens. President Trump upended that feckless approach in 2025 when he began bombing the narco-vessels bringing drugs to the United States….  Will Trump’s base give him the opportunity to improve upon the regime-change failures of his predecessors? He appears determined to try. In truth, the regime-change controversy is of secondary importance. Bringing down Maduro was about bringing the Western hemisphere back under the influence of the United States. Maduro was not just the head of a narco-state. He was an ally of America’s nastiest enemies. In fact, Maduro met with a senior Chinese delegation in Caracas shortly before he was captured by US special forces. But Maduro’s regime was not just an ally to China. The regime in Caracas was also a valuable partner to other rogue states like Russia, Cuba and Iran (FDD).

A ‘well-oiled machine:’ The Integrated Military Operation in Venezuela

That line comes from our Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan “Raizin” Caine. Breaking Defense: “The word integration does not explain the sheer complexity of such a mission, an extraction so precise it involved more than 150 aircraft launching across the western hemisphere in close coordination, all coming together in time and place to layer effects for a single purpose, to get an interdiction force into downtown Caracas while maintaining the element of tactical surprise,” he said. “Failure of one component of this well-oiled machine would have endangered the entire mission.” … For several months, the US has been building up its military capacity in the region. The biggest arrival came in mid-November, when the USS Gerald Ford carrier strike group arrived in the region. By “early December,” Caine said, the intel community had provided enough information — including details on Maduro’s daily habits down to the names of his pets — that the Pentagon felt it could execute the operation when called upon. However, the weather proved to be a factor, which delayed launching the effort. However, the weather cleared enough that at 10:46 pm ET last night, Trump gave the go order. At that point, aircraft began launching from 20 different bases around the Western Hemisphere, Caine said. “In total, more than 150 aircraft — bombers, fighters, intelligence, reconnaissance, surveillance [aircraft], rotary wing — were in the air last night,” the chairman said. “Thousands and thousands of hours of experience were airborne. Our youngest crew member was 20 and our oldest crew member was 49” (Breaking Defense).

Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodríguez Serving as Interim Leader

Rodríguez is a hardline communist herself. The thinking of the American administration appears to be that—in seeing what happened to her boss—she’ll be receptive to American leadership. Wall Street Journal:  At his news conference Saturday, Trump said that Rodríguez had a long conversation with Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Trump said that as Venezuela’s new de facto leader, she agreed to do whatever the U.S. needed done.  “She, I think, was quite gracious, but she really doesn’t have a choice,” Trump said. “She is essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again. Very simple.” Hours after Trump’s news conference, Rodríguez took a radically different tone, slamming the U.S. for its attack on Venezuelan military facilities as special forces soldiers snatched Maduro and swept him off to the U.S. She demanded the U.S. return Maduro, calling him Venezuela’s rightful president. “Never again will we be slaves, never again will we be a colony of any empire,” she said, flanked by senior officials from Maduro’s government. “We’re ready to defend Venezuela” (Wall Street Journal). The speculation has been that her bellicose language is an effort to appease Maduro loyalists—and not a sign of her unwillingness to work with the Trump administration. We’ll find out soon enough. Mary Anastasia O’Grady on the path forward: The argument in favor of democracy is built on evidence that Venezuelans want it. They voted for it in the July 2024 presidential election, choosing opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez with nearly 70% of the vote. Mr. Trump has the moral high ground on this one. He could do worse than plant a flag in it (Wall Street Journal).

Zohran Mamdani Takes Oath of Office

During his swearing in, he had his hand on a Quran as opposed to a Bible. His comments have already received widespread and well-deserved attention: We will draw this city closer together. We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism. If our campaign demonstrated that the people of New York yearn for solidarity, then let this government foster it (Fox News).

Mayor Mamdani Chooses Hamas Sympathizer as New York City’s Chief Counsel

Further indication that the new mayor may well, indeed, be as bad as we’ve feared. Wall Street Journal: Everybody deserves a lawyer. But does a city attacked by al Qaeda deserve a chief counsel who has defended al Qaeda terrorists and represents Hamas sympathizers? That’s what it’s getting in Ramzi Kassem. Zohran Mamdani has chosen Mr. Kassem to be his top legal adviser.“I will turn to Ramzi for his remarkable experience and for his commitment to defending those too often abandoned by our legal system,” said Mr. Mamdani on Tuesday. Does Mr. Mamdani count Ahmed al-Darbi among the “abandoned”? According to the U.S. government, Mr. al-Darbi joined Osama bin Laden’s terror network in the late 1990s. He worked as a weapons instructor at an al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan and plotted to launch boat-based attacks on Western ships in Middle Eastern waters. He was arrested by U.S. forces in 2002 and sent to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Mr. Kassem was Mr. al-Darbi’s lawyer when Mr. al-Darbi pleaded guilty in 2014 to participating in al Qaeda’s bombing of a French oil tanker off the coast of Yemen. One person was killed and a dozen injured in the attack, which spilled 90,000 barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Aden. Fun fact: Mr. al-Darbi’s brother-in-law, Khalid al-Mihdhar, was one of the hijackers who flew American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001…. It all adds up to a coziness with Islamic radicalism that should enrage anyone with a shred of human decency. If you represent corporations, you are a corporate lawyer. If you represent mobsters, you’re a mob lawyer. What are you if you represent terrorists? (Wall Street Journal).

New York Governor Hochul Proclaims January ‘Muslim American Heritage Month’

For the first time in the state’s history. One day after New York City give the oath of office for mayor to an Islamist-sympathizing mayor, Hochul orders 16 state landmarks to illumined green for Islam. Included in the illumination was the Freedom Tower in New York City. It’s worth highlighting for our collective memory: In September of 2026, we will mark the 25^th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, attacks that left two other landmark buildings—the Twin Towers—leveled and some 3,000 American lives cut short as the direct result of Islamist violence (Hochul). The governor’s obsequious effort to endear herself to the new mayor may have blinded her to the dark ironies of the “contribution” of Islam to lower Manhattan. Hochul: The resilience, compassion, and contributions of Muslim communities help make our state stronger. Tonight landmarks across the state are lit green as New York celebrates Muslim American Heritage Month (Hochul).

San Francisco Mayor Signs Reparations Ordinance for Up $5 Million for Each Black Resident

The city is broke. San Francisco and California never had slavery. But here we go. Fox News: The mayor of San Francisco signed an ordinance that creates a “Reparations Fund” that could one day grant each of the city’s eligible Black residents up to $5 million in reparations for alleged historic discrimination and displacement. The ordinance, which was passed by the Board of Supervisors earlier this month, was signed by Democrat Mayor Daniel Lurie two days before Christmas. It establishes the legal framework for the fund but does not allocate funds or guarantee payments. The fund can be financed with private donations, foundations and other non-city sources (Fox News). Amy Curtis at Townhall: Andrew Quinio, an attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation, said the program is unconstitutional because of its racial preferences. “The ordinance has a very explicit racially discriminatory purpose,” Quinio said. On top of the $5 million payment, the ordinance includes debt forgiveness, 250 years of tax abatement, and income subsidies. But even that’s not enough. The San Francisco African-American Reparations Committee is demanding even more, on top of the cash payments….  The total plan includes more than 100 points. “This is the woke mind virus in its most aggressive form,” wrote Governor Ron DeSantis (Townhall).

If Unrest Intensifies in Iran, Khomeini Plans to Flee to Moscow

That report comes from the Times, U.K.: Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has a back-up plan to flee the country should his security forces fail to suppress protests or desert, according to an intelligence report shared with The Times. Khamenei, 86, plans to escape Tehran with a close circle of up to 20 aides and family, should he see that the army and security called on to quell the unrest are deserting, defecting or failing to follow orders. “The ‘plan B’ is for Khamenei and his very close circle of associates and family, including his son and nominated heir apparent, Mojtaba,” an intelligence source told The Times. Beni Sabti, who served for decades in Israeli intelligence after fleeing the regime eight years after the Islamic revolution, told The Times that Khamenei would flee to Moscow as “there is no other place for him”. Khamenei also “admires Putin, while the Iranian culture is more similar to the Russian culture” (Times).

One Year After Deadly Palisades and Altadena Fire, New Scrutiny of State Firefighting Plan

The region is by no means recovered. Economist: One year ago, just after midnight on New Year’s Eve, a small brush fire broke out in Topanga State Park above the Pacific Palisades outside Los Angeles. Within hours, the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) arrived on scene and began digging handlines to stop its spread. The eight-acre fire—ignited by a 29-year-old former Palisades resident, who has since been charged with arson—was quickly brought under control. By 4:46 a.m., the department declared it “fully contained,” with “no further updates anticipated.” But the fire was never fully extinguished. A week later, on January 7, it reignited and burned more than 23,000 acres, destroyed 6,800 structures, and killed 12 people in what became L.A.’s worst urban wildfire catastrophe (Economist). Shawn Regan at City Journal: And why did no one monitor the burn scar as dangerous fire conditions approached? New evidence from the lawsuit and public-records requests appears to provide an answer—one that comes directly from California State Parks’ policy. In December 2024, just weeks before the Palisades Fire ignited, California State Parks completed a draft Wildfire Management Plan for Topanga State Park. The document, obtained through public records requests by the fire victims’ attorneys, reveals a system of policies and maps designed to restrict firefighting operations on state parkland to protect “sensitive cultural and natural resources.” Those restrictions, attorneys for the Palisades fire victims allege, shaped the response to the New Year’s Eve fire. The plan designates large swaths of the park as “avoidance areas,” where normal firefighting tactics are typically restricted” (City Journal).