The U.S. Embassy is remaining open and staffed; however, the State Department has requested all non-emergency U.S. government employees to leave Venezuela.  Additionally, the U.S. embassy in Caracus is warning all American citizens to “strongly consider” departing the country while commercial flights are still available.

The security concerns surround a possibility an increasingly isolated dictator Nicolas Maduro may retaliate against Americans in Venezuela. National Security Adviser John Bolton discusses the current status.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. State Department on Thursday ordered some U.S. government workers to leave Venezuela and said U.S. citizens should consider leaving the country, a day after Washington recognized an opposition politician as Venezuela’s president.

“We are taking this action based on our current assessment of the security situation in Venezuela. We have no plans to close the embassy,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro broke off diplomatic relations with Washington and gave U.S. embassy personnel three days to leave the country after President Donald Trump on Wednesday recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as president.  (read more)

Additionally, Maduro has now stated he will close all Venezuela embassy locations within the United States….  That should be interesting.

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Venezuela to close U.S. embassy, consulates: Maduro https://reut.rs/2UfqNc9 

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President Donald Trump delivers remarks after the Senate failed to pass legislation to fund government and provide border security.  The president reiterates the need for the border wall/fence, and says Senate Leader Mitch McConnell is negotiating with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for an interim compromise.

The diplomatic activity that took place in the lead-up to the events yesterday must have been exceptionally coordinated.  Literally within minutes of Venezuela’s legislature decreeing opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president  dozens of countries aligned with support and affirmation.

Earlier today Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered remarks about the U.S. support for Guaido and the people of Venezuela during a speech at the OAS:

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[Transcript] SECRETARY POMPEO: Thank you very much. The United States is a friend of Venezuela and of the Venezuelan people. We have watched Venezuelans suffer for far too long. We know what they know, that the tyranny of the now defunct Maduro regime has far too long – for far too long choked the country and its citizens.

Yesterday, in solidarity with the Venezuelan people, and out of respect for Venezuelan democracy, the United States proudly recognized National Assembly President Juan Guaido as the interim president of Venezuela. You’ve seen the statements from President Trump and from myself.

Many other countries, including a number of OAS states, have also recognized the interim president. We thank them for their support.

It’s now time for the OAS as an institution as a whole to do the same. All OAS member states must align themselves with democracy and respect for the rule of law. All member states who have committed to uphold the Inter-American Democratic Charter must now recognize the interim president.

The time for debate is done. The regime of former president Nicolas Maduro is illegitimate. His regime is morally bankrupt, it’s economically incompetent, and it is profoundly corrupt. It is undemocratic to the core. I repeat: The regime of former president Nicolas Maduro is illegitimate. We, therefore, consider all of its declarations and actions illegitimate and invalid.

In light of these facts, we call on Venezuelan security forces to ensure the protection of interim President Guaido’s physical integrity and his safety. We’ve seen reports that a number of protesters were killed yesterday and that more than one hundred were arrested, so I reiterate our warning about any decision by remnant elements of the Maduro regime to use violence to repress the peaceful democratic transition.

The United States did not arrive at this conclusion overnight. We came to this conclusion after a long and bitter experience and following a considered assessment of the facts. And we’re not alone. The OAS General Assembly has itself agreed to these facts. In June of last year, the OAS General Assembly declared the re-election of former president Maduro an invalid sham. This past January 10th, the OAS Permanent Council declared former president Maduro’s second term illegitimate.

Venezuela’s National Assembly became the only legitimate, duly and democratically elected body in the country. On January 23rd, National Assembly President Juan Guaido declared himself the interim president of Venezuela, pursuant to Article 333 and 350 of Venezuela’s constitution. He made this declaration with the full support of the National Assembly and, most importantly, of the Venezuelan people.

In his public address, interim President Guaido also outlined the steps he plans to take to restore democracy to his country, including free, fair, transparent, and truly democratic elections.

The United States stands solidly behind him. We stand ready to support the efforts of the National Assembly, the Venezuelan people, and the interim president to restore democracy and respect for the rule of law in Venezuela.

We also stand ready to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Venezuela as soon as logistically possible. Today, I am announcing that the United States is ready to provide more than $20 million in humanitarian assistance to the people of Venezuela. These funds are to help them cope with the severe food and medicine shortages and other dire impacts of their country’s political and economic crisis. Our announcement of aid is in response to a request from the National Assembly, led by the interim president.

As a friend of the Venezuelan people, we stand ready to help them even more, to help them begin the process of rebuilding their country and their economy from the destruction wrought by the criminally incompetent and illegitimate Maduro regime.

Our support for Venezuela’s democratic hopes and dreams is in sharp contrast to the authoritarian regimes across the globe who have lined up to prop up former President Maduro. And there is no regime which has aided and abetted Maduro’s tyranny like the one in Havana. Maduro’s illegitimate rule was for years sustained by an influx of Cuban security and intelligence officials. They schooled Venezuela’s secret police in the dark arts of torture, repression, and citizen control. Maduro was a fine student at the Cuban academy of oppression.

We call on the OAS and all its member states to act on basic, decent, democratic principles and the incontrovertible facts on the ground.

Each of us – each of us – must live up to our calling to promote and defend democracy, as expressed in the tenets of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, to which everyone in this chamber is a signatory.

And we call on all our partners and responsible OAS member states to show leadership and pledge support for Venezuela’s democratic transition and for interim President Guaido’s pivotal role in that.

We look forward to welcoming Venezuela back into the fold of responsible democratic nations and remaining in our inter-American community. We look forward to welcoming representation of the interim Venezuelan Government to the OAS at the earliest possible opportunity. And we look forward to working with all responsible OAS member states, with the Venezuelan people, our inter-American system, and with the interim government of President Guaido to restore democracy in Venezuela.

We – we each – have a critical opportunity to help the Venezuelan people live free once again. I ask my colleagues to reconvene a meeting of foreign ministers to continue our conversation on the peaceful democratic transition for Venezuela. History will remember whether we help them or not. The United States calls on all nations of the OAS to make the right choice and make that right choice right now.

Thank you.

[Transcript Link]

A magnanimous and deferential President Trump announced via Twitter his intent to delay the State of the Union address until after the partial government shutdown impasse is resolved…

(Source)

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo goes one-on-one with Martha MacCallum to discuss his message to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland and Trump’s approach to NATO.  This is a really strong interview.

Secretary Pompeo brilliantly outlines the value of the nation state, and the principle that when a coalition is formed all members within that coalition (ie. NATO) have a responsibility to participate.  Watch:

Earlier today President Trump held a roundtable discussion on issues surrounding immigration and border security.  At the beginning of the meeting the media remained present as President Trump made some remarks and took some questions:

(picture not from today)

The Precursor – Yesterday there was a meeting at the White House between FL Senator Rick Scott, FL Governor Ron DeSantis, FL Senator Marco Rubio, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and President Donald Trump.  Florida is home to most of the Venezuela political exiles and opposition groups who oppose Venezuela’s dictator Nicolas Maduro.

Today, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president while surrounded by thousands of supporters. At a rally that brought hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans into the east of Caracas, Guaido said Maduro had usurped power and promised to create a transitional government that would help the country escape its hyperinflationary economic collapse.

“I swear to assume all the powers of the presidency to secure an end to the usurpation,” 35-year old Guaido, the head of the opposition-run congress, told an exuberant crowd.

Minutes later, U.S. President Donald Trump recognized Guaido as the legitimate interim president.

Within hours of the support for Juan Guaido being announced by President Trump and Secretary Pompeo,…. Canada, Brazil, Paraguay, Columbia, Argentina, Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Chile and Guatemala followed suit and also voiced their support.

(Via Reuters) […] Guaido’s declaration takes Venezuela into uncharted territory, with the possibility of the opposition now running a parallel government recognized abroad as legitimate but without control over state functions.

In a televised broadcast from the presidential palace, Maduro accused the opposition of seeking to stage a coup with the support of the United States, which he said was seeking to govern Venezuela from Washington.

“We’ve had enough interventionism, here we have dignity, damn it! Here is a people willing to defend this land,” said Maduro, flanked by top Socialist Party leaders, although the defense minister and members of the military high command were absent. (read more)

It’s never a good sign for a dictator when the military isn’t standing next to him/her during the coup.

(Follow AP Updates Here)

Keep in mind that China has invested hundreds of billions into Venezuela in an attempt to prop up the Maduro regime.  Russia has also given Venezuela a lot of financial support.

China currently owns 49% of PDVSA (Venezuela oil production) and receives reimbursement for the continued inbound cash flow via oil exports.  However, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin placed restrictions on that process last year; and said any nation that engages in oil sales may run the risk of economic sanctions from the U.S.  Venezuela and China were both impacted financially.  [Cuba and Russia became the fall back position]

If regime change is successful in Venezuela there’s a likelihood all of the prior investments by China, Russia and Cuba could be worthless instantly.  Geopolitically this couldn’t come at a worse time for China given their economic softening…. then again, the timing here is almost guaranteed to be by design.

Keep watching….

5:10 p.m. – Lawmakers in Russia, which has close relations with Venezuela, are sharply critical of U.S. President Donald Trump’s recognition of an opposition politician who has declared himself the country’s legitimate interim president.

“I think that in this developing situation the United States is trying to carry out an operation to organize the next color revolution in Venezuela,” the deputy chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the upper house of parliament, Andrei Klimov, told state news agency RIA-Novosti. “Color revolution” is a Russian term for the popular uprisings that unseated leaders in Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan.

“I do not think that we can recognize this — it is, in essence, a coup,” another committee member, Vladimir Dzhabrailov, was quoted as saying by the Interfax agency.

Russia is a major political ally of Venezuela, and Russia’s largest oil company, Rosneft, is heavily invested in the South American nation’s oil fields, which produce less crude each month.  (link)

Attorney Robert Barnes explains to ‘Fox & Friends’ that any ‘false statements’ made about the students needs to be retracted and corrected within 48 hours or the subjects who targeted the Covington High School students will face lawsuits.

Mr. Barnes explains the specific laws that apply to minors; the process for libel damages under the current circumstances; and further outlines he is providing his legal services free of charge in order to stop malicious smears.

President Donald Trump sends a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi regarding concerns over the State of the Union and the temporary government shutdown.   UPDATE: Speaker Pelosi responds; revokes initial invitation; refuses to call for joint session.

Dear Madam Speaker:

Thank you for your letter of January 3, 2019, sent to me long after the Shutdown began, inviting me to address the Nation on January 29th as to the State of the Union. As you know, I had already accepted your kind invitation, however, I then received another letter from you dated January 16, 2019, wherein you expressed concerns regarding security during the State of the Union Address due to the Shutdown. Even prior to asking, I was contacted by the Department of Homeland Security and the United States Secret Service to explain that there would be absolutely no problem regarding security with respect to the event. They have since confirmed this publicly.

Accordingly, there are no security concerns regarding the State of the Union Address. Therefore, I will be honoring your invitation, and fulfilling my Constitutional duty, to deliver important information to the people and Congress of the United States of America regarding the State of our Union.

I look forward to seeing you on the evening on January 29th in the Chamber of the House of Representatives. It would be so very sad for our Country if the State of the Union were not delivered on time, on schedule, and very importantly, on location!

Sincerely,

Donald J. Trump

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders delivers remarks to the awaiting press pool on current events.