Michael de Adder
January 4, 2026 at 10:00 PM
Michael de Adder
"When the observable mechanics of the situation don’t fully match the rhetoric, pay attention to the mechanics. They’re usually telling you the truth—quietly—before the politics catch up."
Note: The NYT is now reporting 40 Venezuelan military and civilian deaths.
Note: The NYT is now reporting 40 Venezuelan military and civilian deaths.
Maduro’s Slow-Motion Two-Hour Bloodless Capture Raises Questions About What Really Happened
As soon as I heard that U.S.
open.substack.com
January 4, 2026 at 6:15 PM
"When the observable mechanics of the situation don’t fully match the rhetoric, pay attention to the mechanics. They’re usually telling you the truth—quietly—before the politics catch up."
Note: The NYT is now reporting 40 Venezuelan military and civilian deaths.
Note: The NYT is now reporting 40 Venezuelan military and civilian deaths.
"The pattern we observed in 2025 is ramping up: Trump destroying public institutions, preventing and rolling back regulations and public protections, privatizing public functions, and siphoning off big profits to wealthy individuals and industries from which he extorts huge sums of money."
Sunday thought: Even worse
Friends,
open.substack.com
January 4, 2026 at 6:08 PM
"The pattern we observed in 2025 is ramping up: Trump destroying public institutions, preventing and rolling back regulations and public protections, privatizing public functions, and siphoning off big profits to wealthy individuals and industries from which he extorts huge sums of money."
"The objective of "the Donroe Doctrine” is clear: to guarantee a hemisphere stable enough to discourage mass migration to the US, ensure regional cooperation against transnational criminal organizations, prevent hostile foreign incursions, and maintain access to strategic assets and locations."
What Happens Next in Venezuela—and the Rest of Latin America?
Donald Trump says that Venezuela’s governance will remain in the hands of senior US officials until a “proper and judicious transition” can take place. The rest of the region is on notice.
www.wired.com
January 4, 2026 at 6:03 PM
"The objective of "the Donroe Doctrine” is clear: to guarantee a hemisphere stable enough to discourage mass migration to the US, ensure regional cooperation against transnational criminal organizations, prevent hostile foreign incursions, and maintain access to strategic assets and locations."
"These examples provide a useful perspective: that US imperialism is a tradition; that removing something or someone does not lead to predictable results; that dispensing with international law is not only wrong but undesirable; that foreign military actions can be about domestic regime change."
Venezuela: The Precedents
And America: The Future
open.substack.com
January 4, 2026 at 5:54 PM
"These examples provide a useful perspective: that US imperialism is a tradition; that removing something or someone does not lead to predictable results; that dispensing with international law is not only wrong but undesirable; that foreign military actions can be about domestic regime change."
"Venezuela nationalized its own oil fifty years ago. What Trump calls theft is a country deciding what happens to what’s under its own soil. The crime is sovereignty itself.
The justification is drugs. The objective is oil. Both stated out loud. Same podium. Same breath."
The justification is drugs. The objective is oil. Both stated out loud. Same podium. Same breath."
Reimbursement
The U.S. bombed Caracas and called it liberation
open.substack.com
January 4, 2026 at 5:44 PM
"Venezuela nationalized its own oil fifty years ago. What Trump calls theft is a country deciding what happens to what’s under its own soil. The crime is sovereignty itself.
The justification is drugs. The objective is oil. Both stated out loud. Same podium. Same breath."
The justification is drugs. The objective is oil. Both stated out loud. Same podium. Same breath."
"Every federal path to accountability has been closed.
This is where people give up. This is where the article would normally end with a paragraph about the importance of voting, the need to stay engaged, the hope that institutions will somehow reassert themselves. That is not this article."
This is where people give up. This is where the article would normally end with a paragraph about the importance of voting, the need to stay engaged, the hope that institutions will somehow reassert themselves. That is not this article."
Soft Secession vs. Soft Fascism: We Have Options.
You don't have to settle for "wait until next election"
open.substack.com
January 4, 2026 at 5:37 PM
"Every federal path to accountability has been closed.
This is where people give up. This is where the article would normally end with a paragraph about the importance of voting, the need to stay engaged, the hope that institutions will somehow reassert themselves. That is not this article."
This is where people give up. This is where the article would normally end with a paragraph about the importance of voting, the need to stay engaged, the hope that institutions will somehow reassert themselves. That is not this article."
"The world Trump seems to be constructing is not a world governed by universal rules. Rules are out. Great powers are in. Three great powers, to be exact—the United States, Russia, China—each with a sphere, each with a strongman, each entitled to do what it wishes inside its zone."
Trump, The Venezuela Raid, and the End of American Pretense
A Deeper Look Analysis
open.substack.com
January 3, 2026 at 11:48 PM
"The world Trump seems to be constructing is not a world governed by universal rules. Rules are out. Great powers are in. Three great powers, to be exact—the United States, Russia, China—each with a sphere, each with a strongman, each entitled to do what it wishes inside its zone."
