@michaeldweiss 1).
„Delcy Rodríguez, a 56-year-old lawyer by training, has been described by former colleagues and U.S. officials as a ruthlessly ambitious and Machiavellian political operative. @michaeldweiss 2).
For the last decade, she has held a number of key positions as she climbed her way to the top of Maduro’s authoritarian regime.

She worked hand-in-glove with her brother, Jorge Rodríguez, a trained psychiatrist who now presides over Venezuela’s Congress.

@michaeldweiss 1).
„France’s President @EmmanuelMacron said he has spoken with Venezuelan opposition leader @MariaCorinaYA Machado and supported her calls [1] for the release of the Maduro regime’s political prisoners. @michaeldweiss @EmmanuelMacron @MariaCorinaYA 2).
– »She can count on France’s support to carry the voice of a peaceful, democratic transition that fully respects the sovereign will of the Venezuelan people« [2] – Emmanuel Macron wrote on X on Sat. night [3].”

Jan. 3, 2026

@michaeldweiss 1).
„The raid on Maduro’s compound was the endpoint of a strategy @realDonaldTrump began accelerating last fall, after authorizing the C.I.A. to take a more aggressive posture toward Venezuela. @michaeldweiss @realDonaldTrump 2).
The NYT reported [1] that @CIA officers working clandestinely inside the country since Aug. built a detailed picture of Maduro’s »pattern of life« – where he lived, how he moved, and when he was most vulnerable.”

Jan. 3, 2026

@michaeldweiss 1).
„It is the president’s most pointed exercise of presidential power overseas, @michaeldweiss 2).
marshaling elite Delta Force troops and other U.S. Special Operations personnel — supported by @CIA covert operators — not only to seize a foreign leader in a country with which the US is not at war but to take over the running of that state.”

Jan. 3, 2026

@michaeldweiss 1).
„Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores [...] were captured in the Miraflores Palace, taken aboard amphibious warship USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) before being flown to Naval Station Guantanamo, Cuba, and then flown to Stewart Air National Guard Base, N.Y. @michaeldweiss 2).
Members of Congress were notified after the operation, according to @SecRubio, who spoke alongside @realDonaldTrump at Mar-a-Lago midday Sat. @marcorubio said the operation was not the type of mission that allowed for pre-notification.

1).
„The US has captured Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and his wife and launched a »large-scale« strike against the country, @realDonaldTrump says”

Jan. 3, 2026

Sources:

@BBCNews bbc.com/news/live/c5yq…

@CBSNews cbsnews.com/live-updates/v…

@CNBC cnbc.com/2026/01/03/tru… 2).
@axios axios.com/2026/01/03/tru…

@Reuters reuters.com/world/americas…

@guardian theguardian.com/world/2026/jan…

@AJEnglish aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/…

𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕹𝖊𝖜 𝖄𝖔𝖗𝖐 𝕿𝖎𝖒𝖊𝖘 (@nytimes)
• nytimes.com/live/2026/01/0…

• nytimes.com/live/2026/01/0…

@ItsTheEnforcer @michaeldweiss 1).
„The veteran, Melvin Hurwitz (1925–2025) [1] [2], embraced the Ukrainian president and called him »the savior of the people«. Mr. @ZelenskyyUa told Mr. Hurwitz that he and his fellow WW II veterans had »saved Europe«.

n.html @ItsTheEnforcer @michaeldweiss @ZelenskyyUa 2).
Their embrace mirrored a connection that Presiden Biden made explicit in his remarks at the ceremony,

@michaeldweiss 1).
„On the morning of Feb. 28, [2025] Mr. Kellogg, Mr. Graham and several other Ukraine supporters met with Mr. Zelensky for a prep session at the Hay-Adams Hotel, a short walk from the White House. @michaeldweiss 2).
There would be much tortured back story to contend with. During his first term, Mr. Trump had come to blame Ukraine, not the Kremlin, for the 2016 election interference that spawned the Russia investigation.

@michaeldweiss 1).
„The risk of any direct military action between the West and Russia, especially in 2026, is extremely low [1]. @michaeldweiss 2).
Even if no longer fighting in Ukraine, Russia’s armies will need years to reconstitute. In any case Pootin – a risk-averse leader, for all his macho posturing – is unlikely to want to trigger an ever-wider war.

@Mariana_Betsa @alex_kokcharov 1).
On March 16, 2022, at approximately 10:00 AM UTC+2, the Russian military dropped two aerial bombs on the Drama Theater in Mariupol. @Mariana_Betsa @alex_kokcharov 2).
Although a list had previously been compiled, indicating that over 1,200 people were inside the building, the exact number of casualties remains unknown. According to a statement from the Mariupol City Council in March 2022, 300 people died [1] in the theater.

1).
„The EU’s recent decision to raise a €90 billion (£79 billion) loan to keep Kyiv funded into 2027 on the surface addresses the financial issue, but spending this money effectively is not always so easy, especially converting it into the weapons Ukraine needs.

https://twitter.com/MarkGaleotti/status/2005176437628657907

2).
Even if war continues throughout 2026, though, it will be increasingly hard to sustain at the current level.

1).
„It is politically useful for Pootin to have an enemy, as this helps justify his continued militarisation of the Russian state and economy and the repression of dissidents as »traitors«. Europe is being lined up for that role.

https://twitter.com/MarkGaleotti/status/2005561318032507121

2).
How far Pootin is motivated by political pragmatism and how far he really believes in a threat from the West is irrelevant. He will continue to see Europe as a threat, and one whose greatest strength lies in the solidarity within the EU, and between the EU and the UK.

@P_Kallioniemi @Elle_Ham06 1).
„Larry Bushart, „a retired Tenn. law enforcement officer was held in jail for more than a month this fall after police arrested him over a Facebook post of a meme related to the September assassination of [...] Charlie Kirk [1].” @P_Kallioniemi @Elle_Ham06 2).
„Bushart filed the lawsuit this week with the help of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (Fire), a non-profit organization, against Weems, Perry county and investigator Jason Morrow, who it alleges obtained the arrest warrant at Weems’s direction.

@shannonrwatts @Elle_Ham06 1).
„Peter’s daughter was not vaccinated. Mennonite doctrine does not prohibit inoculations or modern medicine in general, though I encountered plenty of suspicion among Mennonites [1] [2] I spoke with in Seminole [county seat of Gaines County, Texas]. @shannonrwatts @Elle_Ham06 2).
Peter said that he has doubts about vaccines too. He told me that he considers getting measles a normal part of life, noting that his parents and grandparents had it.

@kyledcheney @Elle_Ham06 1).
Brian J. Cole Jr. „accused of placing two pipe bombs in Washington on the eve of the Jan. 6, 2021, @kyledcheney @Elle_Ham06 2)
riot at the U.S. Capitol told investigators after his arrest that he believed someone needed to »speak up« for people who believed the 2020 election was stolen and that he wanted to target the countryʼs political parties because they were »in charge«, prosecutors said Sunday”

@P_Kallioniemi @atrupar 1).
„Within a few years, the whole earth will be trembling under the marching feet of the useful idiots, for their resources are inexhaustible”

„The Peace Movement And The Soviet Union” (1982) [1] by Vladimir Konstantinovich Bukovsky (1942–2019) [2] [3] @P_Kallioniemi @atrupar 2).
„Через несколько лет земля будет дрожать под ногами »полезных дураков« ибо »запасы« их неистощимы.”

„Пацифисты против мира” (1982) [4], Владимир Константинович Буковский (1942–2919) [2] [3]

@Daractenus 1).
Toretsk in Bakhmut Raion, Donetsk Oblast [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] and other Ukrainian cities, towns and villages [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] destroyed by the army of the RF @Daractenus 2).
Endnotes:

[1] @podrobnosti Dec. 8, 2024 youtube.com/shorts/0x-8T5I…

[2] @tweetsNV Jan. 7, 2025 nv.ua/ukr/ukraine/ev…

[3] @novayagazeta_eu March 17, 2025 novayagazeta.eu/articles/2025/…

[4] @NewsUkraineRBC May 14, 2025 rbc.ua/rus/news/i-pis…

@clairemoglove @michaeldweiss 1)
– „»The two leaders want it to end« @realDonaldTrump said at the outset of the meeting at Mar-a-Lago

– »I believe Ukraine has made some very strong attacks also« – {Orange Orangutan [1] [2]} told reporters as @ZelenskyyUa stood by his side. – »And I don’t say that negatively @clairemoglove @michaeldweiss @realDonaldTrump @ZelenskyyUa 2).
I think, you probably have to. I don’t say that negatively. But I think, he hasn’t told me that, but there have been some explosions in various parts of Russia. It looks to me, like, I don’t know. I don’t think it came from the Congo«.

@Troll_Poland @PPolityce @janusz85716 1).
Od 24 lutego 2022 r. do 17 lutego 2025 r. za aktywność antywojenną [1], w Federacji Rosyjskiej aresztowano 20 081 osób [2].

W latach 2010–2024 wszczęto ponad 30 000 postępowań dotyczących aktywności internetowej uznane przez władze za przestępczą [3] [4]. @Troll_Poland @PPolityce @janusz85716 2).
Lista najbardziej absurdalnych spraw karnych i okrutnych wyroków [5].

@peterbakernyt @anneapplebaum @rebeccaballhaus @jdawsey1 @cryanbarber 1).
„Administration officials and lobbyists describe two playbooks that have emerged. There is the official track, which involves pardon czar Alice Johnson, @TheJusticeDept pardon attorney Ed Martin and the @WhiteHouse Counsel’s Office. @peterbakernyt @anneapplebaum @rebeccaballhaus @jdawsey1 @cryanbarber @TheJusticeDept @WhiteHouse 2).
Applicants usually go through one of the three, and ultimately White House counsel Dave Warrington reviews the application and makes a recommendation to @realDonaldTrump. The two men meet every few weeks to discuss pardons, administration officials said.

1).
„W latach 30. część radykalnych banderowców stwierdziła, że najlepszą metodą na »oczyszczenie« Ukrainy z Polaków będzie wywołanie krwawego, ludowego powstania na terenie Wołynia i Galicji Wschodniej [1]. 2).
Z założenia powstanie miało zostać wymierzone w ludność polską w całości: nie tylko w Polaka – urzędnika, Polaka – księdza, Polaka – policjanta, czy Polaka – ziemianina, ale w Polaków ogółem, ponieważ w każdym Polaku widziano potencjalnego wroga ukraińskiej państwowości.