The House of Representatives is barreling toward a vote on impeaching Secretary of War Pete Hegseth this week, and several GOP lawmakers think it could very well pass.
Archiv: 08-2025: US miltary build-up near Venezuela / airstrikes on civil vessels / fishermen killed / 03-01-2026 president of Venezuela kidnapped / US threats against Colombia Cuba Nicaragua / Caribbean War
Thomas Massie files articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
The Kentucky Republican‘s resolution accuses Hegseth of high crimes and misdemeanors and lists eight specific charges against him.
The allegations include:
3 charges for illegally waging war against Iran in violation of the War Powers Resolution
1 charge for ignoring laws designed to minimize civilian casualties
1 charge for overseeing „extrajudicial killings“ in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean with strikes on alleged drug boats
1 charge for suppressing free speech, brought in connection to the effort to punish Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., for a video telling service members they can refuse illegal orders
1 charge for the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro without congressional authorization
1 charge for illegally waging war against Yemen in violation of the War Powers Resolution
Lula’s Victory Is Breath of Fresh Air for Latin America: Sheinbaum
“Very happy about Lula’s victory in Brazil. Many, many congratulations to President Lula and the people of Brazil. It is a breath of fresh air for Latin America and the Caribbean. We are very, very happy,” Sheinbaum said during her morning news conference.
Her remarks came a day after the Mexican president congratulated Lula through her social media accounts, celebrating the election result with the message: “Long live democracy, the people of Brazil won. Congratulations, President Lula!”
U.S. military lays groundwork for potential action around Cuba
(Septemnber 26, 2026)
Washington — The U.S. Army Reserve is examining whether it can provide the military‘s Southern Command with police forces, medical personnel and other support units within the next four months, according to an internal Army message reviewed by CBS News.
Though the message makes no reference to Cuba, the request is for continued military planning aimed at Cuba, according to multiple U.S. officials who spoke to CBS News under condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Pentagon sends hundreds of Army troops to Latin America for training as drug-trafficking campaign expands
According to The Times, the troops will first deploy to a new jungle training facility in Panama before eventually training with local forces in Colombia and Honduras.
The troops could also support U.S. special operations personnel who are advising local militaries conducting raids against suspected drug traffickers, the outlet reported.
Separately, several hundred soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division are expected to help staff a new Western Hemisphere military command based in Miami.
Gas Prices and the 2026 Midterms
(March 26, 2026)
Few economic indicators hit voters as fast or as visibly as the price of gasoline. Academic research stretching back decades confirms what political operatives have long understood intuitively: when gas prices rise sharply, presidential approval falls, and when approval falls heading into a midterm, the president’s party loses seats. That chain is being tested dramatically right now.
Gas Prices Could Cost Republicans the Midterms
(September 14, 2026)
If Democrats manage to take back the House and Senate in November despite an inhospitable electoral map, the Trump effect on gas prices may well be the reason.
Trumps Drohung: Hände hoch, Diesel her!
(October 1, 2026)
Alles nur, weil Trump seine Umfragewerte mit einem kurzen Militär-Quickie im Iran pushen wollte. Das jedoch löste eine destruktive Kettenreaktion sondergleichen aus, wie ein Elefant, nein, eine Atombombe im Porzellanladen. Diese Ära wird in ein paar Jahren zumindest gute Serien auf Netflix oder HBO erzeugen, und man wird sich fragen, wie zum Teufel ein Mensch wie Trump je an die Macht kommen konnte.
US seizes $3 million in fuel shipments to Cuba as crackdown continues
(October 7, 2026)
The US said on Wednesday it had seized 90 separate shipments of biodiesel bound for Cuba worth nearly $3 million, the second time in a week US authorities have announced the seizure of „illegal“ fuel en route to the island nation.
About the West Asia War
(June 12, 2026)
On November 30, 2023, the „New York Times“ reported, that the Netanyahu government knew of Hamas‘ attack plan a year before. The relevant document was „circulated widely among Israeli military and intelligence leaders“. Did you ask around in your country what your state or commercial spy agencies knew of this?
The state of Israel is in bed with every „western“ spy agency (look it up). So, either all of your state spies, at least in the „Western World“, but also in the vast majority of Arab monarchies, knew of this, are collaborators in this very normal massacre of October 7th and need to be abolished, or they did not know, therefore are worthless and need to be abolished. All it takes is a simple question. A win-win question to get a grip on the spies, one of the most important part of the global war machine. Did you ask that question? Did anybody?
‘The truth is Cuba has already fallen’: the United States’ strategy to subdue the island
(October 2, 2026)
“The president says anything and Marco Rubio finds himself in a very difficult position to react to what he says,” says Andy Gómez, the former director of the Cuban and Cuban American Studies Institute at the University of Miami, who helped shape a policy proposal for U.S.-Cuba relations in the Obama era. “The scene is like a soap opera, a soap opera lived every day in Miami and in Cuba. There is a major global problem with the war with Iran, for which no solution is in sight; so Cuba has had to wait.”
We Are All Living at the Mercy of Donald Trump’s Brain
(August 18, 2026)
And in truth, whatever happens as far as Iran is concerned (or for that matter Greenland) by the time this piece appears, who among us won’t have long known that, with such a president, we simply couldn’t be in a stranger, more happenstantial, less predictable universe? For all I (we) know, by the time it comes out or anytime thereafter, “our” president could be doing more or less anything, including, say, kidnapping the first secretary of the communist party and leader of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez. After all, if he could do so for Venezuela’s leader, why not Cuba’s?
The truth is that Donald Trump’s brain, returned to the White House by 49.8% of American voters in 2024, should make us all anxious (even them). At any moment, any thought might enter it and the next thing you know… well, unfortunately, you already do know that, whatever it might be, we’re not likely to know until it smacks us all in the face!
Nearly 240 dead in this illegal campaign of extrajudicial killings, i.e., murder at sea. Where is Congress to stop the horror?
(…)
‘More Performative Killing at Sea’: Another Trump Boat Strike Leaves 4 Dead
Citing a federal memo that it aims to keep concealed from the public, the Trump administration claims to be at war with drug cartels and that the killings in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean are justified. Legal experts and human rights advocates argue the bombings are at least war crimes, if not outright murder.
Sunday’s strike was the administration’s first confirmed boat bombing since Ben Saul, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism, said last month that even if the targeted vessels were engaged in drug trafficking, there are no “international legal rights to unilaterally use military force” to counter cartels.
Europas Rechte leckt Trump die Stiefel
Es zeigt sich: Immer wieder haben sich gerade jene Parteien, die behaupten, die Nation an die erste Stelle setzen zu wollen, als die eifrigsten Verräter der Interessen ihres eigenen Volkes erwiesen. Sich mit Trump und Netanjahu gut zu stellen, scheint schlichtweg wichtiger.
In diesem Sinne kuschelt sich die radikale Rechte auch eng an das liberal-konservative Establishment in den europäischen Institutionen. Tatsächlich hat sich die einstige Kluft zwischen diesen beiden Fraktionen seit Jahren stetig verringert. Die jüngsten Kriegshandlungen in Nahost machen diese Annäherung noch deutlicher sichtbar. Beide Seiten sind nur allzu gerne bereit, ihre Rolle als Untergebene in der globalen Hierarchie zu spielen.
US Coast Guard says it seized ships with thousands of gallons of oil destined for Cuba
(October 2, 2026)
„The high seas are not a sanctuary for lawlessness,“ said Adm. Kevin Lunday, commandant of the Coast Guard. „Dark fleet actors who employ deceptive tactics to engage in illicit activities will not evade justice. The Coast Guard is bringing every capability to bear to interdict these vessels and uphold international law.“
Cuba hit with another nationwide blackout amid US fuel blockade
Cuba suffered a total blackout after the collapse of its electrical grid on Friday. The blackout is the latest of at least six partial or total grid collapses since the beginning of this year, as the island grapples with an ongoing US fuel blockade.
4 killed in U.S. strike on alleged drug-smuggling boat in Caribbean, Pentagon says
The U.S. military attacked a boat suspected of being used to smuggle drugs in the Caribbean Sea on Saturday, killing four people, as the Trump administration continues its monthslong campaign against alleged traffickers in Latin America.
The latest attack brings the number of people who have been killed in boat strikes by the U.S. military to at least 231 in 69 strikes since the Trump administration began targeting those it calls „narcoterrorists“ about one year ago.
Speaker Johnson Cancels Thursday House Session, Pushing Hegseth Impeachment Vote Until After Midterms
Massie argued in his eight articles of impeachment for Hegseth that passing the concurrent War Powers Resolution was one of the multiple ways Hegseth and the administration are breaking the law by continuing the Iran war.
The articles also address how Hegseth has ignored US laws designed to mitigate civilian casualties, his role in extrajudicial executions at sea (strikes on alleged drug-running boats), the attack on Venezuela to abduct President Maduro, the bombing campaign in Yemen last year, and his efforts to chill free speech.
Kuba wirft den USA einen „Krieg ohne Bomben“ vor
Das von der Trump-Regierung verschärfte Öl-Embargo bezeichnet Lianys Torres Rivera, Kubas ranghöchste Diplomatin in den Vereinigten Staaten als „Krieg ohne Bomben“. Indes hat die CIA ihre Operation im Land ausgeweitet – ähnlich wie vor dem Venezuela-Angriff.
Ranking Members Meeks, Smith, Himes, and Thompson Introduce War Powers Resolution to End Trump’s Illegal Boat Strikes
September 2, 2026
Washington, DC — Marking one year since the Trump administration’s first boat strike, U.S. Representatives Gregory W. Meeks (D-N.Y.), Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee; Jim Himes (D-Conn.), Ranking Member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; and Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), Ranking Member of the House Homeland Security Committee, introduced a War Powers Resolution today to block the administration from continuing to use U.S. Armed Forces to conduct strikes in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific.
“One year ago today, the Trump administration launched a campaign of extrajudicial killings, using the U.S. military and taxpayer dollars to execute at least 227 individuals without due process or a credible national-security justification. The administration calls this counternarcotics. However, it remains unclear whether these operations have made any real difference in stemming the flow of illegal drugs into the United States, and they were never authorized by Congress. A year later, the administration has little to show for this lawless campaign except a mounting body count, a massive price tag, and a stain on the American conscience.
ACLU Demands End to the Trump Administration’s Illegal Year-Long Boat Strikes Campaign
In Just One Year, the Trump Administration’s Bombing Campaign Has Killed at Least 227 People, Including Fishermen and Farmhands
Trump Condemned for 200+ Extrajudicial Killings After Yearlong Murder Spree at Sea
Wednesday marked one year since President Donald Trump began bombing boats allegedly smuggling drugs in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean—a grim anniversary that sparked a fresh wave of condemnation from rights advocates across the United States and beyond.
Twilight’s Last Gleaming
There is a point in the decline of republics when the problem is no longer that government breaks its own laws. Governments will always behave unlawfully. The deeper problem comes when the constitutional machinery designed to prevent those acts stops functioning — when spending becomes detached from arithmetic, presidential power becomes detached from law and Congress and the courts become detached from the Constitution.
That’s where America is today.
(…)
The twilight of our constitutional republic has not arrived because the sun suddenly disappeared. It has arrived because, little by little, nearly everyone became accustomed to the darkness.