Tag Archives: Communist

Feb 2 2026

Sunday Talks – Venezuela Opposition Leader Maria Corina Machado Discusses Her Goals and Objectives


Posted originally on CTH on February 1, 2026 | Sundance

President Trump and Secretary Rubio are walking carefully through a process to keep Venezuela stable and authentic to the true intents of the Venezuelan people.  Toward that end, both Trump and Rubio have been very careful with Maria Corina Machado, the exiled opposition leader who claims to be the legitimate voice of the people.

Machado is loved by the United Nations, the American leftists and DC control agents. However, to avoid Machado becoming Venezuela’s Zelenskyy, President Trump and Secretary Marco Rubio are working through a three-stage process that would culminate in secure national elections to coincide with Maria Machado’s return.  If she wins the hearts and minds, she will have legitimacy.

If you listen carefully to her phrases and omissions, you can clearly see where the trepidation from Trump and Rubio comes from.  There are a lot of platitudes and pretenses within Venezuelan politics.  Video and Transcript Below:

[TRANSCRIPT] – MARGARET BRENNAN: And we’re joined now by Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, and it is amazing to see you here in person after so long.

MARÍA CORINA MACHADO: Likewise. Thank you very much.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio this past week. He said the U.S. now does not intend to have any military action or presence inside Venezuela, except for maybe at a reopened embassy there. Is that a good idea to take that military pressure off when the Maduro regime is effectively still in place?

MACHADO: Well, first of all, I have to say that on behalf of the Venezuelan people, we’re very, very grateful to the American people, and the first hand- first and foremost, to President Trump, to the secretary of state, and also to your leaders in Congress. I mean, the- the degree of support and care that we’ve felt in this fight at this moment is enormous, and I think it is clear on the- on the behalf and well being of the American people, but also of the Venezuelan people, and I would say the whole hemisphere. I do not think that the pressure is being taken away. Actually, everything Delcy Rodríguez is currently doing is because she’s complying with instructions she’s getting from the United States, and important steps are being taken. So I think that the message has been delivered, and so far, we’re seeing the results in the actions taken by the regime, and also in the mood and energy that is growing within the Venezuelan population.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Are you, or is anyone in your movement, in touch with Delcy Rodríguez, who’s the acting president of Venezuela now?

MACHADO: No, not directly.

MARGARET BRENNAN: No. Why not?

MACHADO: Well, we had offered, since we won the election by a landslide, that we were willing to- to agree in the terms of a negotiated transition, they refused. On the contrary, they decided to unleash the- the- the most cruel, brutal repression wave. There are- as you know, there have been thousands of political prisoners, and they had not demonstrated any willingness to- to stop this cruelty, until January 3rd arrived and- and happened when it happened. So it sent a clear message to them, and they’re starting to realize that things have changed for good. So eventually they might understand or- and even very soon, that it is in their best interest to- to accept that transition is unstoppable.

MARGARET BRENNAN: A transition that you hope involves a democratic election at some point. Did Secretary Rubio give you any kind of timeline for the American plans?

MACHADO: What I do have very clear is that the end result is the same. What we want, what the Venezuelan people have voted and struggled and fight for with huge cause and sacrifice, and what the United States government and President Trump also desires. It is a very complex process. I mean, this is a criminal structure that has intertwined with the enemies of the West, Russia, Iran, China, Cuba, extremist terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah, Hamas, the cartels, the guerrilla, all in association with the Maduro regime and Delcy Rodríguez and others. So it’s a process of dismantling this structure in the- in a way that it’s most orderly under control possible in the short term. And yes, the end game has to be, or the end step has to be, a electoral process in which we can have legitimate power. So I’m talking about a legitimate national assembly, governors, mayors and certainly president.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But for the people in Venezuela still living under that regime, what has actually changed for them, and do they have the patience to wait for what you’re talking about, which is basically just hoping that the Rodríguez government does what Donald Trump tells them to do?

MACHADO: Well, it’s more than hoping. We’re seeing the results, the actions. Are we there yet? Not. And- and I think it’s a good point, what you mentioned, patience. How much patience can the Venezuelan people have? Because, I mean, there were over 1,000 political prisoners on January the 1st. Still, there are over 700. Not one military prisoner, political prisoner has been liberated. There are men and women that have been in prison for years. Even the three police of the Policía Metropolitana have 23 years in prison, and they have not been liberated- released yet.

MARGARET BRENNAN: And Secretary Rubio has said it’s not happening as fast as America wants it to.

MACHADO: Absolutely. And in- in our case, we want that to happen immediately. Imagine, you know, the mothers of- of- of many of these innocent prisoners have been in vigils for over 23 days and nights. This is something that was unthinkable, Margaret, before January 3rd, and it shows that Venezuelan people are getting more and more empowered, more and more confident that this process will eventually lead to a- to a legitimate government based on the will of the people, but certainly we need to move there and leave evidence that there’s no way back.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah, well, President Trump has talked a lot about Venezuela’s oil and its natural resources. Do you support the law that was just passed that allows the Venezuelan Government to privatize the oil industry?

MACHADO: Well, first of all, I do not recognize the National Assembly as a legitimate power. It has not been recognized by the Venezuelan people, not even by the American- by the U.S. government.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Not legally, but effectively they–

MACHADO: Yeah, but whatever comes from that National Assembly has no legality. So- because this is an illegitimate power. So certainly, these so-called reforms introduce positive signs in terms of what we, the Venezuelan people, want in the future. We don’t want socialism. We don’t want the state owning every single, you know, facility or production center. We want private property, but that requires rule of law, long term guarantees for foreign investment, for local investment. But one thing that is the most important of all, in my opinion, you need to have people, talent, specialized, professional, willing to work and develop these enterprises. What happened with the Venezuelan specialized talent? It was forced to flee the country, almost a third of our population, and these are people that are working all around the world. So imagine if a Venezuelan engineer working in Ghawar, the- the largest oil field in Saudi Aramco, would he leave his job and go back to Venezuela, where Delcy Rodríguez, who is part of the cartel, is in- and who originally fired him is in power? Of course, not.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, you raised this point, but President Trump just said on camera that United States is going to start peeling back some of these sanctions so that Americans can travel back to Venezuela. He’s lifted the air restrictions–

MACHADO: –Well, I think–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –is it safe to go?–

MACHADO: I think it is important to take steps. I think these are signals directed to several actors. First and foremost, to the regime, saying this is going to move forward. There is no way back. And- and- and the regime knows that no American citizen or Venezuelan citizen is going to go back to a country that’s still under the power of Maduro regime and the cartel. That’s not going to happen. But- but these kinds of actions, I think, give the correct signals in terms that this is going to move ahead. And I do trust the president in what he has said regarding how much he cares about the Venezuelan people, that’s something that I think it was quite significant in our conversation.

MARGARET BRENNAN: If you return to Venezuela now, would you be imprisoned, and has the American government said that they will protect you, they will guarantee your safety?

MACHADO: Well, you know, things are changing very fast in Venezuela. If they had captured me before I left, I probably would have been disappeared or worse. Right now, I don’t think they would dare to kill me because of the United States presence and pressure and actions. I don’t know how much possibility of moving I would have inside Venezuela, certainly they would be very afraid, because the- the regime knows the connection, the intimate connection we have, you know, the Venezuelan people and- and the leadership that won the election, the legitimate government.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You won that election along with Edmundo González at the top of that ticket, even the Trump administration recognized it. Secretary Rubio testified that to Congress, but then the president of the United States stood up there and said to the public that even though you had won that election, you didn’t have the public support. And I wonder if you can understand why they made that calculation, that you and your party who won an election couldn’t be that transitional government that would do all the things you’re talking about?

MACHADO: Well, Margaret, I will concentrate in what he told me in a private conversation, looking each other in the eyes, and I, and I truly believe he understands the nature of this regime. They all know that Delcy Rodríguez is a communist that no one can trust. Not even, you know, the people surrounding her right now does. I mean these are individuals that have strong ties with Russia, Iran, China, Cuba. I mean, she is doing what she’s doing because United States is putting enough pressure for them to understand that she has no other option. If that, if that pressure were taken away, she would turn around and go back to where loyal- her loyalty is with these regimes are the enemies of America. So no one is naive here. I think she’s doing part of the dirty job of dismantling her own regime and entourage, but that’s a- there’s a limit to it. For what you said before, you know, people have to be taken account on- of. They have to be involved. And the Venezuelan people, 90% of our people want the same. Not only this regime to go immediately, but we want to live in a country with human dignity, with solidarity, with justice, with freedom. This is all about bringing our kids back home, having our families together. It’s about saving lives.

MARGARET BRENNAN: What role would you want in a future Venezuelan government? Because even President Trump says you may have a role in the future. Would you run for president?

MACHADO: I will be president when the time comes. But it doesn’t matter. That should be decided in elections by the Venezuelan people. I wasn’t allowed to run in the last election, as we mentioned before, because Maduro was afraid to running against me, and he thought Edmundo was not a threat, because nobody knew who he was. And in less than three months, we managed to put the whole country supporting him, because this is- this is matter of freedom. I mean, this is a spiritual fight, an existential fight for Venezuela. Unlike other diasporas, and I want to stress this, our people around the world, here in the United States, want to go back. Go back and live in a country where they’re safe, but most of all, where there is a future in freedom and democracy. So if we want those hundreds of thousands and millions of Venezuelan to go back, we need to have a secure and precise timeline through which this transition will advance.

MARGARET BRENNAN: And we don’t know when yet–

MACHADO: Not yet–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –from the Trump administration at all.

MACHADO: Not yet. But I’m sure there is, and the secretary of state and many other members of the government, by instructions of the president, a clear willingness to move as fast as possible within, you know, control and order and understanding the complexity of such a criminal structure, but understanding that the voice of the people is what brings legitimacy to this process.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Before I let you go. You know, the last time we spoke, you had made this daring, covert escape by land, sea and air from Venezuela to go and receive that Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo. You’ve kept those details private, you said, for safety reasons, but you did say you broke your back, you talked about being lost at sea, that you feared that you might lose your life at one point. After all of that, why did you give your Nobel Peace Prize to President Trump after you’d already dedicated it to him?

MACHADO: Look, I think this is a matter of justice, and it’s a matter of what’s in the superior interest of our country. We the Venezuelan people, are truly grateful for what he has done, and we’re confident in what he will do in the- in the days, weeks and months to come.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You believe he supports you.

MACHADO: I do. Because it is- it has to do first and foremost with you, the American people, and how dismantling this criminal structure not only saves millions of Venezuelan lives, it also saves lives in the Americas. And once Venezuela is free, then the Cuban regime will follow. The Nicaraguan regime will follow, even the Iranian regime that has turned Venezuela into its safe haven and satellite only three hours away from Florida. I mean, this has huge consequence for the Western Hemisphere, for United States. So I think this is a win-win situation for investment, for business opportunity, for security reasons, and certainly for migration tensions and crisis. So Venezuela will be free, and I know I will host you soon in a wonderful country that is very grateful to yours.

MARGARET BRENNAN: María Corina Machado, thank you very much for your time today. We’ll be right back.

[END TRANSCRIPT]

Jan 27 2026

A Domestic Insurgency Has Erupted – President Trump Sending Tom Homan to Minneapolis


Posted originally on CTH on January 26, 2026 | Sundance

The violence in Minneapolis erupted when the scale of financial fraud was discovered.  The administration of President Trump has begun to highlight this non-pretending reality.

On the surface it seems like ICE enforcement is the issue; however, in reality Governor Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey have been leading a criminal syndicate, with the entire region engaged in money laundering and financial fraud.

State political leadership are involved. The local Minneapolis police are involved; the Minneapolis municipal leaders are involved; a large and dedicated segment of the migrant population is involved; corrupt judges and officers of the courts are involved; public and private sector agencies involved in fraudulent exploitation of benefits are involved, and the community activists -footsoldier communists- are engaged in the process of using civil unrest as cover.

As the violent insurgency escalates, President Trump has announced Border Czar Tom Homan is being sent to the region:

“I am sending Tom Homan to Minnesota tonight. He has not been involved in that area, but knows and likes many of the people there. Tom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me. Separately, a major investigation is going on with respect to the massive 20 Billion Dollar, Plus, Welfare Fraud that has taken place in Minnesota, and is at least partially responsible for the violent organized protests going on in the streets. Additionally, the DOJ and Congress are looking at “Congresswoman” Illhan Omar, who left Somalia with NOTHING, and is now reportedly worth more than 44 Million Dollars. Time will tell all. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” ~ President DJT

When we went to Iraq/Afghanistan, American political leadership said we were going to fight them “there” so that we didn’t need to fight them “here.” However, that same American political leadership then imported hundreds-of-thousands of them to here.

The communist-minded community activists have joined with the Antifa domestic terrorists and adopted the strategy of insurgencies.  Former retired Green Beret Officer Eric Schwalm writing on X accurately draws attention to the similarity of action:

Eric Schwalm: “As a former Special Forces Warrant Officer with multiple rotations running counterinsurgency ops—both hunting insurgents and trying to separate them from sympathetic populations—I’ve seen organized resistance up close. From Anbar to Helmand, the pattern is familiar: spotters, cutouts, dead drops (or modern equivalents), disciplined comms, role specialization, and a willingness to absorb casualties while bleeding the stronger force slowly.

What’s unfolding in Minneapolis right now isn’t “protest.” It’s low-level insurgency infrastructure, built by people who’ve clearly studied the playbook.

Signal groups at 1,000-member cap per zone. Dedicated roles: mobile chasers, plate checkers logging vehicle data into shared databases, 24/7 dispatch nodes vectoring assets, SALUTE-style reporting (Size, Activity, Location, Unit, Time, Equipment) on suspected federal vehicles. Daily chat rotations and timed deletions to frustrate forensic recovery. Vetting processes for new joiners. Mutual aid from sympathetic locals (teachers providing cover, possible PD tip-offs on license plate lookups). Home-base coordination points. Rapid escalation from observation to physical obstruction—or worse.

This isn’t spontaneous outrage. This is C2 (command and control) with redundancy, OPSEC hygiene, and task organization that would make a SF team sergeant nod in recognition. Replace “ICE agents” with “occupying coalition forces” and the structure maps almost 1:1 to early-stage urban cells we hunted in the mid-2000s.

The most sobering part? It’s domestic. Funded, trained (somewhere), and directed by people who live in the same country they’re trying to paralyze law enforcement in.

When your own citizens build and operate this level of parallel intelligence and rapid-response network against federal officers—complete with doxxing, vehicle pursuits, and harassment that’s already turned lethal—you’re no longer dealing with civil disobedience. You’re facing a distributed resistance that’s learned the lessons of successful insurgencies: stay below the kinetic threshold most of the time, force over-reaction when possible, maintain popular support through narrative, and never present a single center of gravity.

I spent years training partner forces to dismantle exactly this kind of apparatus. Now pieces of it are standing up in American cities, enabled by elements of local government and civil society. That should keep every thinking American awake at night.

Not because I want escalation. But because history shows these things don’t de-escalate on their own once the infrastructure exists and the cadre believe they’re winning the information war.

We either recognize what we’re actually looking at—or we pretend it’s still just “activism” until the structures harden and spread.

Your call, America. But from where I sit, this isn’t January 2026 politics anymore. It’s phase one of something we’ve spent decades trying to keep off our own soil.” [source]

Jan 21 2026

Border Patrol and ICE Officials Hold a Press Conference Discussing Ongoing Targeted Operations in Minneapolis, Minnesota


Posted originally on CTH on January 20, 2026 | Sundance

Border Patrol Commander at Large Greg Bovino and ICE Executive Associate Director of Enforcement and Removal Operations Marcos Charles hold a press briefing to discuss and answer questions about ongoing operations in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The questions begin at 16:18 of the video below.

Greg Bovino notes the difference in Minneapolis, Minnesota is that the leftist groups are more organized and in direct communication with the state and local government.  If you read between the lines what Bovino is saying is that anarchists, professional leftists and radical groups are in control of the government within the region.  There is no distinction between the political officials in Minnesota and the leadership of the activists. WATCH:

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Jan 20 2026

Minneapolis Leftists Who Stormed Cities Church in St. Paul (Led by Don Lemon) Face Pending Federal Indictment


Posted originally on CTH on January 19, 2026 | Sundance 

On Sunday a group of anti-ICE leftists led by former CNN anchor Don Lemon stormed the Cities Church in Minneapolis/St Paul and terrorized the assembled congregation.  The federal dept of justice is now conducting an investigation that will lead to the indictments of all those who organized and participated in the event.

The leftists were not protestors or ICE agitators; the crew who entered the church coordinated and organized an aggressive assault on a religious assembly.  They are domestic political terrorists.

“Protesting” is petitioning a government or organization for a redress of grievances. The word for traumatizing parishioners and children attending a church service to effect political ends is “terrorism.”

Remember, back in August of 2025, just 5 months ago, a leftist transexual murderer shot and killed two children while wounding 30 others in a church in Minneapolis.  The nation may have forgotten the prior Church attack, but the Christian residents of Minneapolis have not.

The terror experienced on Sunday was very real.

The participants in the unlawful activity included former CNN Anchor Don Lemon, lawyer and former law professor Nekima Levy Armstrong, professional extremist and activist William Kelly, along with St. Paul school board member Chauntyll Allen, Black Lives Matter activists Monique Cullars Doty & Satara Strong-Allen and many more.

Asst Attorney General for the civil rights division of the DOJ, Harmeet Dhillon said earlier today, “Make no mistake: AG Pam Bondi & The Justice Dept will pursue federal charges in this case.”  The local police and/or state police could have arrested the terrorist group on the spot.  However, the federal dept of justice needs to get a federal judge to sign off on the pending arrest warrants.

The federal process is slower, but it will happen.

Notice I am not saying the arrests and indictments ‘may‘ happen.  I am saying the arrests and indictments ‘will‘ happen.

Jan 19 2026

Sunday Talks – DHS Secretary Kristi Noem -vs Margaret Brennan Discussing Minneapolis Violence


Posted originally on CTH on January 18, 2026 | Sundance 

To understand just how important it is for leftists to drive a narrative in support of violence and chaos, one only needs to review the behavior of CBS pundit Margaret Brennan in her conversation with DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

The combative interview, promoted and advanced by CBS, is ridiculous in the extreme as the news outlet attempts to protect the behavior of Democrat officials in the city of Minneapolis and state of Minnesota. The video and transcript are below.

[Transcript] – MARGARET BRENNAN: We go now to Castlewood, South Dakota and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Good morning to you, Madam Secretary.

SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY KRISTI NOEM: Good morning.

MARGARET BRENNAN: DHS calls this the largest operation in its history, nearly 3,000 federal agents out there. Is this an open-ended deployment, or is there a metric for success that ends it?

SEC. NOEM: Well, I think every day we get a murderer off the streets of Minneapolis, the public is safer, and President Trump is keeping his promise to the American people. And we literally have arrested and detained thousands of illegal criminals in Minnesota since President Trump came back into the White House. And I’ve never met a family that ever said, “Oh, I wish you would have left that rapist free. I wish you would have left that murderer on the street.” So we’re just so thankful that we have a president that’s upholding the law and is determined to make sure that the laws are applied equally to everyone.

MARGARET BRENNAN: According to Pew, Minnesota’s population of immigrants here illegally stands at 2.2%. So, how do you judge when you’ve gotten everyone off the streets, that you say is, you know, requiring your federal agents be there? How do you say we’ve had mission accomplished?

SEC. NOEM: Well, we won’t stop until we are sure that all the dangerous people are picked up, brought to justice and then deported back to their home countries–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –You don’t have a number or a date?–

SEC. NOEM: –We wouldn’t be in this situation- We wouldn’t be in this situation if Joe Biden hadn’t allowed our open-border policies to be in place and allowed up to 20 million people unvetted into this country. We have no idea how many dangerous people are here. When you have millions of people coming in that are terrorists, suspected terrorists, criminals, come from countries in the mass migration that the Biden administration facilitated, I can’t tell the people of Minnesota exactly how many dangerous criminals they have. I do know that they’re extremely grateful every time we get a pedophile off the street. We end- arrested an individual this week that was raping children. I think those parents in Minnesota can sleep better at night knowing that that person isn’t free.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Sure, but you just said millions. What’s the breakdown of the percentage of those who you have in custody who have actually committed a criminal offense versus just the civil infraction?

SEC. NOEM: Every single individual has committed a crime, but 70% of them have committed or have charges against them on violent crimes, and crimes that they are charged with or have been convicted of, that have come from other countries–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –that’s–

SEC. NOEM: –that are here illegally, first of all. And then they have committed a criminal act while they’ve been here or in their home countries as well.

MARGARET BRENNAN: It’s not 70%.

SEC. NOEM: Yes, it is. It absolutely is, Margaret–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –70% of everyone that–

SEC. NOEM: –You guys keep changing your percentage, you pick and choose what numbers you think work, but that is the facts, is that 70% of the people that we have detained have charges against them or have been convicted of charges. And they need to be brought to justice, and we’re going to keep doing that, no matter how much you guys keep lying and don’t tell the public the truth. It absolutely is that these law enforcement officers are out there every day doing the work to protect the American people, and they will keep doing that because they believe in enforcing the law, which is exactly what President Trump has charged them with.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, well, our reporting is that 47% based on your agency’s own numbers, 47% have criminal convictions against them*. But let’s talk about the other numbers–

SEC. NOEM: –Which means you’re wrong again. Absolutely. We’ll get you the correct numbers–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –Okay–

SEC. NOEM: –so you can use them in the future.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, that’s from your agency. Let’s talk about our numbers here at CBS. 54% of Americans think the ICE agent shooting of Renee Good was not justified. 60% say the Trump administration responded to the ICE agent’s actions unfairly. These numbers show you do not have the American public on your side. Does that concern you?

SEC. NOEM: Well, the facts are that this individual weaponized her car and threatened the life of the law enforcement officer and those around him. And that is what the media needs to cover, people understand it’s the truth when they have the chance to hear the facts around the case. And this individual was impeding law enforcement operations for quite some time before this incident happened. It’s a tragedy that this situation has happened in this country, and we hope there’s never another situation like this before. But this officer relied on his training to, to defend his life and to defend those around him, and we’re, we’re grateful that we’re in a situation where we hope that more people don’t weaponize their vehicles like this. We’re seeing it happen over and over again. We’ve seen over 100 different vehicle weaponized and attacking law enforcement officers. I would hope that Mayor Frey, when he’s on here, that he’ll announce that he’s going to start working with us to bring safety to the streets. If he would set up a peaceful protest zone so that these individuals can exercise their First Amendment rights and do so peacefully, we would love that, because then we could work together to make sure we’re getting criminals to justice and letting people still express their First Amendment rights.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, you know that it is in dispute about weaponizing a car versus driving forward, but I’ll put that aside–

SEC. NOEM: –No it’s really not. Everybody can watch the videos and see that.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, let me talk to you about the officer, Jonathan Ross. He was struck. He was hospitalized–

SEC. NOEM: –Don’t say his name. I mean, for heaven’s sakes, we- we don’t- we shouldn’t have people continue to dox law enforcement when they have an 8,000%–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –his name is public–

SEC. NOEM: –increase in death threats against them–

MARGARET BRENNAN: — he was struck and hospitalized–

SEC. NOEM: –I know, but that doesn’t mean it should continue to be said. His life- he got attacked with a car that was trying to take his life, and then people have attacked him and his family, and they are in jeopardy. And we have law enforcement officers every day who are getting death threats and getting attacked at their hotels and they are–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –Well, can you tell me about his status right now–

SEC. NOEM: –getting ice thrown at them.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, of course, no one condones–

SEC. NOEM: –I can tell you that he’s healing–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –against anyone, but here, CBS reported that he did have internal bleeding in the torso, but he was released that same day. So is he back at work?

SEC. NOEM: I’m not going to share – I’m not going to–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –Did you give him the required three days of suspension?

SEC. NOEM: We followed the exact same protocols that we always have for years as to investigations into these situations–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –Three days of administrative leave?

SEC. NOEM: –But I’m not going to talk about his medical records. I know that you know that in itself is his prerogative to discuss his health. But we’re- we’re hopeful that all of our law enforcement officers know that they can go out and do their job–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –Yeah–

SEC. NOEM: –apply the law equally to everyone and that they can do so safely and that the media and people aren’t going to attack them for standing up for what’s right.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I’m asking you about your policies. I asked you if you had put him on administrative leave. This is in question because the governor of Minnesota said the only person not being investigated for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her. Is he correct that the federal agent is not being investigated in any way? Is there any review of protocol here?

SEC. NOEM: We are following the exact same investigative and review process that we always have under ICE and under the Department of Homeland Security and within the administration. The exact same policy that the Biden administration used–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –So his actions are being reviewed?

SEC. NOEM: –the exact same review, so we haven’t changed any of that. I would not- I would not listen to Governor Walz. He has a very bad track record. He- all this billions of dollars of fraud was stolen from people under his watch. He allowed it to happen, and he also ignored the law and allowed the city of Minneapolis to burn down in 2020. He certainly isn’t- have good judgment in these types of situations, and I’m not going to be taking any advice from him and how we implement the law and protect people.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So do I understand you saying that the Office of Professional Responsibility is doing its own probe to determine that the ICE agent violated protocol and that he was on three days of administrative leave because that is what is in the handbook.

SEC. NOEM: The protocol and the advice and the guidance within that handbook and within our policies is being followed exactly like it has been for years.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, so there is some review of his actions is what I understand you saying there.

SEC. NOEM: Margaret, there always is. Every law enforcement officer knows that when they take the oath to step up and to protect the public and put their lives on the line, they absolutely know that everything that they do will be analyzed and investigated, but also, what they don’t- I don’t think they realized until just recently is how the liberals and the Democrats and the media would attack them and try to ruin their lives for doing what’s right, and we’re seeing in Minneapolis an unprecedented fraud history going on by elected leaders and individuals in that state, but also criminal activity, and it’s being allowed to happen. When we did these operations in other cities across the country, we didn’t see this kind of violence. We didn’t see organized, funded protesters come in to conduct acts of violence against our law enforcement officers–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, let’s talk about that–

SEC. NOEM: –like we’re seeing in Minneapolis. The elected leaders and Mayor Frey is allowing that to happen and allowing this kind of violence to happen when we didn’t see it in Louisiana, we didn’t see it in Florida, we didn’t see it in other cities–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –We will talk to Frey about what is happening in his city–

SEC. NOEM –And we shouldn’t have to be watching it here in Minneapolis,

MARGARET BRENNAN: But we have heard and I’m asking you here about the security of your agents that you say you are concerned about. The local police chief said your agents are being forced into situations out in Minneapolis that they’re not prepared to deal with. And we looked and the Government Accountability Office said, back in 2021, most ICE agents are not trained to handle crowd control. So are you looking at expanding the training for the agents that you are putting in this situation that you describe as dangerous out in Minneapolis?

SEC. NOEM: They are absolutely trained for the situations that they’re put in. We would never put an officer in a situation that they would be beyond their training and skill set. And so these are highly trained individuals that are here and in Minneapolis doing operations, they are and frankly–

MARAGRET BRENNAN: On crowd control and de-escalation?

SEC. NOEM: The Minneapolis chief of police is not an expert– absolutely. They are trained at that. Their specialized skill set is being utilized for where they are located and the jobs that they are doing in Minneapolis and across other cities across the country. We, we do- they have an incredible amount of training that is ongoing throughout their careers–

(CROSSTALK STARTS)

MARAGRET BRENNAN: –Do you want to expand that?

SEC. NOEM: — in crowd control, in handling enforcement operations that they have- Do I want to expand it based on the Minneapolis police chief’s advice? Not on his advice.

MARGARET BRENNAN: –Well, some Republican–

SEC. NOEM: –I will continue to use–

MARGARET BRENNAN: No, but some Republican lawmakers have called for it.

(CROSSTALK ENDS)

SEC. NOEM: If you remember- well, Republican lawmakers and Democrat lawmakers, they absolutely can continue to debate. That’s what they’re supposed to do, is work on policy and pass laws. What I know is that under the Department of Homeland Security has always been entrusted with training our federal law enforcement officers. We do it for many different agencies. We train those within the ATF, the DEA. We train those that are established across the country. We are the largest law enforcement operation and department in the government beyond the Department of War, and we’re proud of that, and we’ve done it with excellence for years and are continuing to put the resources–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –But these–

SEC. NOEM: –and people into our law enforcement officers. They need to change and to challenge these, these situations they’re facing on the ground.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah, but you’ve described this situation as unique. You’ve acknowledged that. I want to talk to you about some of the instance- incidents that the public has seen. There was a U.S. citizen, Aliya Rahman, on her way to a medical appointment out in Minneapolis. She was dragged out of her car and detained. Video of her arrest was spreading on social media. There were allegations there of aggressive tactics. You’ve seen other incidents. For example, out in Minneapolis, this family with six children, with one as young as six months old, got kind of caught in the incident as they were driving to basketball practice. The mother Destiny Jackson told CBS, ICE agents stopped the car, told them to leave, but the agents were in the way, and they feared that they would have happened to them what happened to Renee Good. They didn’t drive off. ICE released a canister of tear gas, and the mother described giving her infant CPR. We’re showing that video there. Do any of these tactics seem to you heavy handed?

SEC. NOEM: That family was caught up in that situation because of violent protesters that were impeding law enforcement operations, and that family would have never been in that situation if those protesters had been acting peacefully and law enforcement was able to do their job without being threatened. And, so, it’s a terrible situation that that family had to go through, and I hope it never happens again. But we need to remember that because the mayor and the governor have allowed this kind of violence to be perpetuated across Minneapolis is why there’s other innocent people that are impacted throughout the city but throughout their state as well. And it doesn’t have to be this way–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –But this doesn’t seem targeted.

SEC. NOEM: –They could establish a peaceful protest zone, they could enforce their or their laws. And if Governor Walz didn’t recognize that, that what he is doing there is poor leadership, he wouldn’t have put his National Guard on standby in order to respond. And I’m hopeful that he does recognize that he needs to start working with us–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Are your agents going to comply–

SEC. NOEM: –I have asked him to. I know the White House has asked him to.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Sorry with the federal order on Friday to not use chemical agents.

SEC. NOEM: That federal order was a little ridiculous because that federal judge came down and told us we couldn’t do what we already aren’t doing. We, we are- have not engaged–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –Well we just video of chemical agents being used–

SEC. NOEM: in any- We only use those chemical agents when there’s violence happening and perpetuating and you need to be able to establish law in order to keep people safe. That’s the only situation, so that judge’s order didn’t change anything for how we’re operating on the ground because it’s basically telling us to do what we’ve already been doing.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Madam Secretary, thank you for your time this morning. Face the Nation will be back in a minute. Stay with us.

[END TRANSCRIPT]

Jan 17 2026

Homan on Minnesota Unrest: “Justice is Coming” … “You Should Hear Something, Real Soon”


Posted originally on CTH on January 16, 2026 | Sundance

During an interview with Fox News, Border Czar Tom Homan notes the Trump administration is looking carefully at who is funding the organized anti-ICE protests throughout the Minneapolis, Minnesota region. Homan’s remarks are seemingly in alignment with what Treasury Secretary and IRS Commissioner Scott Bessent has noted about his investigative group, further stating that investigations will likely reveal who is funding the street protests against ICE and Border Patrol officials.

Specific to the ongoing investigations, Homan notes, “justice is coming” against those who are coordinating the violence, and information about that activity is likely to be revealed “real soon.” WATCH:

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The overwhelming majority of Americans are understandably frustrated with the lack of forceful arrests and prosecution of those who are antagonizing officials and creating civil unrest.

Homan says during the interview, DHS is currently processing the identities of those who have stepped beyond protesting and are now involved in violence against law enforcement officials.  According to Homan the names, faces and identities of those who are participating will be uploaded to a website for sharing with the larger American public.

Jan 15 2026

More Chaotic Actions to Coverup Criminal Fraud by Public Officials


Posted originally on CTH on January 15, 2026 | Sundance 

The communist leftists are trying to support the corrupt officials in/around Minneapolis, Minnesota, however, the optics around attacking federal and state law enforcement just do not look good.

In the aggregate the majority of Minnesota residents support Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) efforts to capture and detain criminal illegal aliens.  A narrow segment of hardcore leftists and professional activists are trying to keep the violence and chaos maintained, but as sunlight upon their operation continues they end up losing support.

Last night, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz appears on video begging the criminal activists to continue operations on the streets {VIDEO}, while criminal aliens keep trying to avoid capture.

BREAKING: DHS statement to Fox News: At 6:50 PM CT, federal law enforcement officers were conducting a targeted traffic stop in Minneapolis of an illegal alien from Venezuela who was released into the country by Joe Biden in 2022.

In an attempt to evade arrest, the subject fled the scene in his vehicle and crashed into a parked car. The subject then fled on foot.

The law enforcement officer caught up to the subject on foot and attempted to apprehend him when the subject began to resist and violently assault the officer. While the subject and law enforcement were in a struggle on the ground, two subjects came out of a nearby apartment and also attacked the law enforcement officer with a snow shovel and broom handle.

As the officer was being ambushed and attacked by the two individuals, the original subject got loose and began striking the officer with a shovel or broom stick.

Fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals, the officer fired defensive shots to defend his life. The initial subject was hit in the leg.

All three subjects ran back into the apartment and barricaded themselves inside.

The attacked officer and subject are both in the hospital. Both attackers are in custody.

This attack on another brave member of law enforcement took place while Minnesota’s top leaders, Governor Walz and Mayor Frey, are actively encouraging an organized resistance to ICE and federal law enforcement officers.

Their hateful rhetoric and resistance against men and women who are simply trying to do their jobs must end. Federal law enforcement officers are facing a 1,300% increase in assaults against them as they put their lives on the line to arrest criminals and lawbreakers.” (link)

Jan 11 2026

The Minnesota Outrage – We’ve Watched This Unfold Several Times


Posted originally on CTH on January 10, 2026 | Sundance

The eruption of astroturfed outrage involving the organized leftist agitators and the self-defense shooting by an ICE official is a redo of a familiar pattern.  The players are all the same.

From the fabrications around the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, forward to the shooting of Michael Brown, to the ridiculous claims of brutality against Freddie Grey or George Floyd, the same people now aligned to beatify or canonize Renee Good all have the same agenda.

RevCom, Weather Underground, Anarchists, Occupy Wall Street, BLM or Antifa, they all follow the domestic communist playbook of social disruption.

This time in Minneapolis the same people who demanded the defunding of police while they organized fraud rings, are now demanding the removal of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.

Consider this an open discussion thread for anything related to the ongoing coordinated civil unrest.

Jan 7 2026

Brilliant Restitution Plan – President Trump Announces Interim Venezuela Oil Payment of $2 Billion


Posted originally on CTH on January 6, 2026 | Sundance 

This is way beyond winning, this is stunningly brilliant strategy.  Not only has President Trump successfully apprehended Venezuela dictator Nicolas Maduro, but the remaining interim government officials have acquiesced to fund a civil restitution plan to pay for their malfeasance.

The government that stole from its people is being forced to pay restitution for their own fraud, abuse and misconduct.

[SOURCE]

As we noted yesterday the immediate issue for Venezuela would be to fill the economic/financial void.

The Sea Island attendees support a quick Machado installation.  Trump/Rubio prefer to proceed with more caution, especially because someone is going to be on the hook for financial support to Venezuela, because the domestic rewards from any expanded oil revenue are at least 5 to 10 years away.

Changing the regime in Venezuela may break China’s ‘belt and road’ grip, but China’s money is going to need to be replaced with independent domestic economic wealth for the Venezuelan people.  That process takes time. [link]

Some type of short-term funding is needed during any kind of reconstruction of govt.  Typically, the U.S. taxpayer would be on the hook during this phase; however, President Trump has found a way for the corrupt Venezuelan authorities to pay for their own civic shift back to democracy.  Brilliant.

The 30 to 50 million barrels of oil is approximately a $2 billion self-created reconstruction effort.

Compare and contrast this approach with the trillions of U.S. taxpayer funds that were used in the failed efforts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, etcetera….  or even Kuwait, albeit the Kuwaiti’s offered, but prior U.S. leadership chose influence over restitution.

In this example, almost immediately the funds now in the control of President Trump can be deployed to the greater benefit of the Venezuelan people.

Another way to look at this is like a type of ‘sovereign wealth fund’ created by the corrupt Venezuelan officials, using the resources that belong to the Venezuelan people, to support the interim needs of the same citizens they victimized.

Well done President Trump and Secretary Rubio!

Jan 6 2026

Cuba Govt Says “32 Cuban Military and Intelligence Officers” Killed During Maduro Capture


Posted originally on CTH on January 5, 2026 | Sundance

According to the latest news from the government of Cuba, two days of official mourning have been declared as they announce 32 members of the Cuban military and Intelligence services were killed in Venezuela while protecting Nicolas Maduro.  There were no American fatalities.

REUTERS – HAVANA, Jan 4 (Reuters) – The Cuban government said on Sunday that 32 of its citizens were killed during the U.S. raid on Venezuela to extract President Nicolas Maduro for prosecution in the United States.

Havana said there would be two days of mourning on January 5 and 6 in honor of those killed and said funeral arrangements would be announced.

The Cuban government statement gave few details but said all the dead were members of the Cuban armed forces and intelligence agencies.

“True to their responsibilities concerning security and defense, our compatriots fulfilled their duty with dignity and heroism and fell, after fierce resistance, in direct combat against the attackers or as a result of bombings on the facilities,” the statement said. (read more)