{"id":220633,"date":"2026-01-11T05:28:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T05:28:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yogaesoteric.net\/?p=220633"},"modified":"2026-01-11T16:01:45","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T16:01:45","slug":"trumps-friends-are-plundering-venezuela","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yogaesoteric.net\/en\/trumps-friends-are-plundering-venezuela\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump&#8217;s friends are plundering Venezuela"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Max Blumenthal&#8217;s analysis of the Maduro kidnapping and the questionable charges<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In early January 2026, the US military operation to kidnap Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro shocked the world. US special forces abducted Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores from Caracas and brought them to New York, where Maduro was put on trial. President Donald Trump announced that the US would now \u201crule\u201d Venezuela and exploit its oil reserves.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-220634\" src=\"https:\/\/yogaesoteric.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1-7-e1768059263607-300x192.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"359\" srcset=\"https:\/\/yogaesoteric.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1-7-e1768059263607-300x192.jpg 300w, https:\/\/yogaesoteric.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1-7-e1768059263607-210x136.jpg 210w, https:\/\/yogaesoteric.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1-7-e1768059263607.jpg 642w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>In an interview with Judge Andrew Napolitano, investigative journalist Max Blumenthal analyses the US Department of Justice&#8217;s indictment as a politically motivated construct full of exaggerations and loopholes. He sees it not only as an attack on Venezuela, but as a deliberate plundering by Trump&#8217;s and Marco Rubio&#8217;s allies \u2013 above all, the billionaire Paul Singer.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The dubious charge: A political pamphlet instead of evidence<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Blumenthal dismantles the US Department of Justice&#8217;s (DOJ) indictment as a \u201c<em>political rant<\/em>.\u201d It accuses Maduro and his co-defendants \u2013 including Cilia Flores, his son, and close allies like Diosdado Cabello \u2013 of running a \u201c<em>narco-terrorism<\/em>\u201d network that smuggled thousands of tons of cocaine into the United States. The allegations date back to 1999, when Hugo Ch\u00e1vez was elected.<\/p>\n<p>However, the evidence is weak:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Many of the cocaine flights mentioned went to Mexico, not to the USA \u2013 i.e., outside of US jurisdiction.<\/li>\n<li>A flight in 2013 was uncovered by Venezuelan authorities themselves; 25 officials were arrested, international criminals (British) were convicted \u2013 no Venezuelans under Maduro.<\/li>\n<li>A flight from 2006 suggests CIA involvement: The aircraft belonged to US companies with links to Jeb Bush and possible CIA shell companies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The so-called \u201c<em>Cartel de los Soles<\/em>\u201d (Cartel of the Suns), allegedly a military-backed drug network, is mentioned only twice in the new indictment and downplayed as a \u201c<em>loose network<\/em>\u201d \u2013 in contrast to the 2020 version, which portrayed it as a \u201c<em>cohesive syndicate<\/em>.\u201d Blumenthal emphasizes that this cartel does not exist as such; the term originates from the Reagan era and was even used by the CIA for its own drug operations.<\/p>\n<p>Maduro appeared confidently in court \u2013 despite his wife&#8217;s injuries \u2013 and declared: \u201c<em>I am the president of Venezuela, innocent and a decent person<\/em>.\u201d The trial is taking place in the Southern District of New York before 92-year-old Judge Alvin Hellerstein, a civil rights liberal who is, however, considered tough in drug cases.<\/p>\n<p>Blumenthal warns that the prosecution is ignoring international jurisprudence, such as the International Court of Justice ruling in<em> Congo v. Belgium<\/em>, which grants immunity to heads of state. The kidnapping violates the <em>UN Charter<\/em> and the <em>Geneva Conventions<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The coerced state witness: Hugo \u201cEl Pollo\u201d Carvajal<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The prosecution&#8217;s key witness is Hugo Carvajal, former head of military intelligence under Ch\u00e1vez and Maduro. He is quoted seven times, but made a secret deal with the DOJ: In June 2025, he pleaded guilty to drug offenses in order to receive a lighter sentence \u2013 he faced up to 50 years in prison.<\/p>\n<p>Carvajal was once a loyal Chavista and involved in the 1992 coup attempt. In 2017, he broke with Maduro, fled, and was extradited in 2019. Even then, Marco Rubio announced that Carvajal would \u201c<em>reveal everything about Maduro<\/em>.\u201d Blumenthal sees him as a blackmailed witness who says what US wants to hear.<\/p>\n<p>Carvajal is himself a convicted drug trafficker and compromised by the suspicious flight of 2006. His statements were allegedly obtained under duress \u2013 a classic pattern of coerced testimony.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The real winners: Trump, Rubio, and Paul Singer<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Blumenthal emphasizes the economic core of the operation: It&#8217;s about plundering Venezuela. CITGO, the most profitable foreign subsidiary of the state-owned oil company PDVSA, with refineries, pipelines, and gas stations, was sold in November 2025 to Paul Singer&#8217;s Elliott Investment Management for $5.9 billion, far below its estimated value of $13 to $18 billion.<\/p>\n<p>Singer, a multi-billionaire \u201c<em>vulture fund<\/em>\u201d investor with assets of approximately $6.7 billion, is close to Netanyahu and a longtime major donor to Marco Rubio. Trump described him as a \u201c<em>strong ally<\/em>\u201d in 2024. Sanctions and embargoes have devalued CITGO; now Singer is profiting massively from Maduro&#8217;s removal. Appeals against the sale are likely to fail.<\/p>\n<p>Rubio, Trump&#8217;s Secretary of State, is a key driver of this agenda. As a representative of the so-called \u201cGusano Industrial Complex\u201d \u2013 Cuban-Venezuelan exile circles in Florida \u2013 he is fighting Chavismo ideologically and culturally. Interim President Delcy Rodr\u00edguez spoke of \u201c<em>Zionist undertones<\/em>\u201d to the attack \u2013 an allusion to Singer&#8217;s role.<\/p>\n<p>Blumenthal emphasizes: This is not about fighting drugs, but about blatant exploitation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dangers to freedom and international order<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Napolitano and Blumenthal warn against the normalization of state-sponsored kidnappings, as seen in the case of Israel. This threatens global stability. Even in the US itself, freedoms are being eroded; protesters are increasingly being arrested arbitrarily.<\/p>\n<p>Blumenthal points out that the trial could expose the CIA if the defence demands access to information about past US drug operations. However, the political context \u2013 as in previous Venezuelan trials \u2013 could still put Maduro at a disadvantage.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Conclusion: Plunder instead of justice<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Max Blumenthal exposes the indictment against Maduro as a weak, politically motivated construct based on coerced witness testimony and old CIA evidence. Behind the operation lies the systematic plundering of Venezuela by Trump&#8217;s and Rubio&#8217;s associates \u2013 above all Paul Singer, who profits by billions.<\/p>\n<p>This is not an act of justice, but the \u201c<em>law of the jungle<\/em>\u201d: raw capitalism, Zionism, and imperialism. The Global South and freedom defenders worldwide should be vigilant \u2013 Venezuela is just the beginning.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"fitvidsignore\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/z_ZGkTBKlrs?si=EjYSQL_5QbrzP6T5\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>yogaesoteric<br \/>\nJanuary 11, 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Max Blumenthal&#8217;s analysis of the Maduro kidnapping and the questionable charges In early January 2026, the US military operation to kidnap Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro shocked the world. US special forces abducted Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores from Caracas and brought them to New York, where Maduro was put on trial. President Donald Trump [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[382],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-220633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinions-1602-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yogaesoteric.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yogaesoteric.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yogaesoteric.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogaesoteric.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogaesoteric.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=220633"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/yogaesoteric.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220633\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":220638,"href":"https:\/\/yogaesoteric.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220633\/revisions\/220638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yogaesoteric.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=220633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogaesoteric.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=220633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogaesoteric.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=220633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}