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Tuesday, January 6, 2026

Maduro Pleads ‘Not Guilty’ in New York Federal Court

Claiming he’s a “decent man.” Fox New reports: Nicolas Maduro, the dethroned Venezuelan dictator indicted on major drug trafficking and weapons charges in the United States, arrived in a federal court in New York at noon Monday for his arraignment, days after American forces captured him in his own presidential palace. As U.S. Marshals escorted him into the courtroom, he greeted members of the press and the public in the gallery by saying “Happy New Year” in Spanish. Minutes into the proceeding, the judge cut him off when he claimed he had been “kidnapped.” Judge Alvin Hellerstein had asked him to confirm his full name. “I am Nicolas Maduro Moros,” the defendant replied, through a translator. “My name is President Nicolas Maduro Moros, President of Venezuela. I am here, kidnapped, and I am here since January 3rd, Saturday. I was captured at my home in Caracas, Venezuela.” The judge cut him off and said the hearing was not the proper time for Maduro to protest his arrest. Moments later, the judge asked him to enter a plea. “I am innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man. I am still president of my country,” Maduro told the court (Fox News).

Leading Democrats Rally in Defense of Maduro

Or at least arguing that Trump should not have sought to bring him to justice. Ed Morrissey: Only Democrat leadership seems fuzzy on the optics of thundering to the defense of [checks notes] a narco-trafficking dictator who stole an election and has built a partnership with Hezbollah in the Western Hemisphere. Case in point – Senator Chris Murphy, who tried to attack Donald Trump for seizing Nicolas Maduro, only to run into a surprising buzzsaw of receipts on CNN yesterday: “Democrat Chris Murphy – who opposed the successful raid to capture Maduro – gets confronted by CNN for previously calling for him to be outed. CNN: ‘In 2019, you wrote an oped and you called for Maduro to be gone…’” Democrats have gone all-in on La Résistance, attempting to negate the election results in the US in 2024 for the past year. Should it surprise us that they’re no longer invested in the legitimate election results in Venezuela? Maduro has become their model of power – to seize it despite the results of elections, to force opposition leaders into prison, and to ally themselves with the avowed enemies of our country for the sake of cheap political posturing (Hot Air).

Protests of Maduro Capture Funded by Communist Group

Not spontaneous at all. New York Post: Pro-Nicolas Maduro protesters who turned up in Times Square and outside the Brooklyn federal lock-up where the former Venezuelan leader is being held were organized by hardcore left-wing group The People’s Forum, which has close ties to China. The group — also behind anti-Israel demonstrations around the nation — called for “emergency protests nationwide” shortly after President Trump announced Saturday US forces had captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. “This war is not about drug trafficking, it is not about democracy — it is about stealing Venezuela’s oil and dominating Latin America,” said a People’s Forum press release, announcing protests at Times Square and the White House Saturday…. One anti-Maduro protester, who left Venezuela during Maduro’s repressive regime, called the pro-Maduro protesters “fools.” “They know nothing about Maduro,” Manuel, 38, who attended the protest outside the MDC. “I don’t know why they are here. They are just strange and stupid” (New York Post). Eric Daugherty: The People’s Forum has ADMITTED to receiving over $20 MILLION from Neville Singham – an individual with well-documented ties to the CCP and living in Shanghai. IMAGINE THAT. The Communists are mad Trump arrested their Communist tyrant (Daugherty).

Leaders of Columbia, Mexico, Cuba on Edge

After watching their comrade Maduro in New York courtroom. New York Post: President Trump issued a thinly-veiled warning to Mexico’s president Saturday while announcing the capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro Saturday. Trump, who also had strong words for the leaders of Colombia and Cuba, said the attack on Venezuela wasn’t meant to be a warning for Mexico, but said “something’s going to have to be done” about the cartel-run country. Trump has clashed with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo over trade tariffs, and blamed the US neighbor for allowing illegal immigration and narcotics to flow across the southern border. “We’re very friendly with her, she’s a good woman,” Trump told Fox & Friends Saturday. “But the cartels are running Mexico — she’s not running Mexico.” Sheinbaum said Mexico “strongly condemns and rejects” US military action in Venezuela and urged the US to end “all acts of aggression against the Venezuelan government and people,” in a statement released Saturday. Trump also doubled down on his warning to Colombian President Gustavo Petro. “He has cocaine mills, he has factories where he makes cocaine. And yeah, I think I stick by my first statement: He’s making cocaine,” Trump said of Petro. “They’re sending it to the United States. So he does have to watch his ass,” Trump said at Mar-a-Lago shortly after slamming Maduro as a “narco-terrorist.” (New York Post).

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz: On Second Thought, Maybe I Won’t Run for Reelection

The exposure of the fraud in the Somali immigrant community in the Twin Cities has made it clear: The embattled Democrat could not win again. And the scandal is not going away anytime soon. Financial Times: Tim Walz has dropped his bid for re-election as Minnesota governor amid mounting pressure over allegations of sprawling state welfare fraud, after rising to national prominence as Kamala Harris’s running mate in 2024. The former Democratic Congress member said in a surprise announcement on Monday that he would abandon his effort to seek a third term as governor following national scrutiny of the alleged scandal in Minnesota’s safety-net programmes (Financial Times). President Trump: Minnesota’s Corrupt Governor will possibly leave office before his Term is up but, in any event, will not be running again because he was caught, REDHANDED, along with Ilhan Omar, and others of his Somali friends, stealing Tens of Billions of Taxpayer Dollars…. (Truth). Alex Berenson: Walz’s reckoning feels like the beginning, not the end, of a trend (Berenson).

Somalian Representative to UN Tied to Ohio Healthcare Agency With History of Fraud

And, remember, Somalia has also assumed the role of president of the UN Security Council for January (AA). HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill: I can confirm public speculation that Ambassador Abukar Dahir Osman, Permanent Representative of Somalia to the UN and President of the Security Council, is in fact associated with Progressive Health Care Services, a home health agency in Cincinnati. HHS has previously taken action against Progressive in response to a conviction for Medicaid fraud. More to come (O’Neill). Post Millennial: It had been uncovered in late December that Osman was the President and CEO of Progressive Health Care Services. Libs of TikTok revealed that the National Provider Identifier (NPI) associated with the company is on an exclusion list under the code 1128(a)(1), which is associated with Medicare and Medicaid crimes…. This comes amid reports of massive fraud in the US, especially in Minnesota. The Feeding Our Future case in the state, in which nearly 100 people, the majority being of Somali descent, have been convicted, has become the largest pandemic relief fraud case. The organization claimed to feed children, but instead its organizers pocketed millions upon millions of dollars (Post Millennial).

US Ambassador to UN Excoriates Global Body

Mike Waltz—formerly a congressman from Florida, now our ambassador to the UN—is well-suited for the job. Dmitri Bolt of Townhall: The United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, blasted the global body for condemning the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro on Monday. He doubled down on Secretary Rubio’s statement that the U.S. is not at war with Venezuela, and further condemned the UN for daring to side with an illegitimate leader and narco-terrorist: “Colleagues, Nicolás Maduro is responsible for attacks on the people of the United States, for destabilizing the Western Hemisphere, and illegitimately repressing the people of Venezuela. As Secretary Rubio has said, there is no war against Venezuela or its people. We are not occupying a country. This was a law enforcement operation. In furtherance of lawful indictments that have existed for decades. The United States arrested a narco-trafficker who is now going to stand trial in the United States in accordance with the rule of law for the crimes he’s committed against our people for 15 years” (Townhall).

Report: Netanyahu, Trump Agree on Follow-Up Attack on Iran if No Agreement Is Reached

The information comes via the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar: According to the information, the US President and the Prime Minister agreed during their meeting to launch an attack on Iran should it fail to reach an arrangement on their terms. The understanding also covers the transition to the second stage of the war in Gaza and the preservation of “neutrality” in Lebanon. Consequently, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun estimates that the likelihood of war in Lebanon has diminished…. According to the source, the Americans are convinced that if Iran enters an arrangement on their terms – including a complete halt to its nuclear program and the termination of support for proxies (militia groups acting on Iran’s behalf) in the region – it will lead to an arrangement in Lebanon. However, an attack on Iran would also have repercussions for Lebanon, as Hezbollah would be weakened in the event of the regime’s collapse (Israel Hayom). Trump on ongoing protests: If Iran shots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” – President DONALD J. TRUMP (White House).

Headed for the Exit Sign: Record Numbers of House Members Retiring

44 members are saying goodbye, 25 Republicans and 19 Democrats. The number of undefended seats will make the 2026 election more difficult to predict. Decision Desk HQ: A whopping 44 U.S. House members have announced they are retiring or running for another office, a larger total than at this same point in any federal election cycle dating back to 1974. This record-setting figure likely connects at least in part to the dissatisfaction commonly heard from sitting members about their experiences serving in the House…. Just how remarkable is the ongoing exodus? A whopping 44 House members have announced they are retiring or running for another office, a larger total than at this same point in any federal election cycle dating back to 1974…. At this point, 25 GOP House members have announced their departures, compared with 19 Democrats. Still, this does fit a common pattern: In midterm cycles, members from the president’s party tend to be somewhat more likely to exit in the face of the electoral headwinds that party often faces. That might include an incumbent from a highly competitive district who faces a difficult reelection fight, or a long-tenured member in a safe seat who decides it’s no longer worth hanging around if there is a good chance the party will lose its House majority (Decision Desk HQ). Marjorie Taylor Greene’s last day was yesterday (AJC).

10.

Chief Justice Roberts Starts Year With Essay of Appreciation of Declaration of Independence

Words that serve well to foster or rekindle an appreciation of our nation and the founding documents that have shaped us. Roberts: A quarter of a millennium later, the Declaration of Independence stands as one of the most widely read and emulated political documents in history. Its preamble articulates the theory of American government in a single passage that has been hailed as “the greatest sentence ever crafted by human hand.” That sentence—likely the principal work of Jefferson, with light edits from Franklin and Adams—proclaims: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” It enunciated the American creed, a national mission statement…. Perhaps the finest explanation for the Declaration’s continuing influence comes from one of our greatest Presidents, Abraham Lincoln. Speaking shortly after the Supreme Court handed down its infamous decision in the Dred Scott case, Lincoln noted that “[t]he assertion that ‘all men are created equal’ was . . . placed in the Declaration . . . for future use” (Supreme Court).

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