President Donald Trump said late Sunday that Cuba’s fate is now “directly tied to Maduro’s ouster” and predicted the island nation will collapse without Venezuela’s security and oil support, telling reporters aboard Air Force One “I think it’s just going to fall. I don’t think we need any action. Looks like it’s going down. It’s going down for the count” when asked if he was considering U.S. action in Cuba.

• Cuban forces killed protecting Maduro, ran Venezuelan security: Cuba’s government acknowledged 32 Cuban military and police officers were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela, marking the first official death toll released by Havana and announcing two days of national mourning, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed Cuban operatives effectively ran Venezuela’s internal intelligence and security operations, with Maduro “not guarded by Venezuelan bodyguards. He had Cuban bodyguards.”

• Trump threatens Colombia over cocaine trafficking: Trump took aim at Colombia, accusing its leadership of fueling drug trafficking into the U.S., saying “Colombia is very sick, run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States” and warning the country “is not going to be doing it for a very long time,” while suggesting the U.S. was prepared to act against narco-trafficking networks.

• Operation part of broader Western Hemisphere strategy: Trump framed Saturday’s capture of Maduro and his wife on narco-terrorism charges as part of a broader effort to reassert U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere, invoking the Monroe Doctrine and warning that hostile regimes can no longer rely on one another for survival, while also reviving his focus on Greenland, arguing the Arctic territory is critical to U.S. security amid Russian and Chinese activity.

Gov. Tim Walz drops out of 2026 re-election bid amid Somali fraud scandal

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz abruptly dropped his bid for a third term Monday amid a growing fraud scandal where allegedly billions of taxpayer dollars were swindled on his watch, stating “Every minute I spend defending my own political interests would be a minute I can’t spend defending the people of Minnesota against the criminals who prey on our generosity.”

• Fraud estimates range from $1 billion to $9 billion: The theft is thought to be at least $1 billion, though First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson claimed late last year the fraud could be $9 billion or more, with prosecutors having charged over 90 people for setting up bogus nonprofits to get state funding to provide services to the homeless, hungry, and individuals needing daycare—fraud prevalent among Minnesota’s Somali population.

• Klobuchar viewed as top Democratic contender: U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar is viewed as the top contender to jump into the race and would join three Senate colleagues running for governor, though her potential candidacy complicates Democrats’ hopes to go on offense in the 2026 midterms, particularly with retirements in key states including Minnesota where Sen. Tina Smith is not seeking reelection.

• Walz blasts Trump while defending tenure: In his announcement, Walz swiped at President Trump—who has railed against the welfare scandal—claiming “Donald Trump and his allies want to make our state a colder, meaner place” and accusing them of “demonizing our Somali neighbors and wrongly confiscating childcare funding,” calling it “disgusting” and “dangerous,” while GOP Majority Whip Tom Emmer responded “Good riddance.”

Maduro transferred to federal court for arraignment

Nicolas Maduro, the dethroned Venezuelan dictator indicted on major drug trafficking and weapons charges, was transferred to federal court in New York Monday for his noon ET arraignment, with footage showing federal authorities moving a handcuffed Maduro from a helicopter to an armored truck, days after American forces captured him in his presidential palace.

• Maduro faces four charges, wife faces three: Maduro faces four charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices, with federal prosecutors stating “For over 25 years, leaders of Venezuela have abused their positions of public trust...to import tons of cocaine into the United States,” while his wife Cilia Flores, also arrested in the raid and a high-level official in Venezuela’s socialist regime, faces three similar charges.

• Short hearing expected, bail highly unlikely: The proceedings are expected to be short with no witness testimony, where the defendants will have a chance to enter their pleas and the judge will set the next court date and address pretrial release, though bail is highly unlikely according to legal experts.

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