Renee Parsons<\/p>\n
Just as President Trump and his cheerleaders continue their victory lap in celebration of the unprovoked invasion of Venezuela and the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, the US Senate offered a rare display of Congressional leadership by voting 52-47 in a bipartisan rebuke to Trump Administration policy on Venezuela.\u00a0 <\/span>Some time this week the Senate will conduct a full hearing on the War Powers Resolution which will be offered by Sen. Tim Kaine (Va.) and Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) to halt the President from any further military action in Venezuela.<\/p>\n In a Truth Social<\/span><\/a> post, the President wrote that \u201cRepublicans should be ashamed of the Senators that just voted with Democrats in attempting to take away our Powers to fight and defend the United States of America. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Rand Paul, Josh Hawley, and Todd Young should never be elected to office again<\/i>.\u201d \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In rejecting the President\u2019s claim that the western hemisphere is up for grabs, Sen. Susan Collins (Me.) said “I do not want to see a long-term military action in Venezuela, nor in some of the other<\/i> countries that the president has mentioned in our hemisphere.\u201d \u00a0 <\/span><\/i>Nor did she agree with Trump\u2019s idea that the U.S. would \u201crun<\/i>\u201d the country, saying. “Venezuelans need to run Venezuela. That is not the job of the United States.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n In further response to Collins\u2019 vote, who as a moderate GOP Senator is seeking re-election in Maine, Trump has called for Collins\u2019 defeat in November just as he is pursuing the defeat of Rep. Tom Massie (Ky). \u00a0 <\/span>As reported by two sources, Trump called Collins directly to voice his displeasure in what was described as a \u201c<\/i>profanity-laced rant<\/i><\/span><\/a>.\u201d<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n In addition, Trump who has not proven to be a friend of the US Constitution since taking office, when he wrote \u201cThis Vote greatly hampers American Self-Defense and National Security, impeding the President\u2019s Authority as Commander in Chief<\/i>,\u201d Trump wrote, adding that \u201dDespite their \u2018stupidity,\u2019 the War Powers Act is Unconstitutional<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n It is relevant to note that in November 7,1973, the Congress overrode President Nixon\u2019s veto of the War Powers Resolution. \u00a0 <\/span>IF Trump vetoes the Resolution as he is now promising, he may join war criminal Netanyahu in earning a contemptible place in American politics.<\/p>\n *<\/p>\n On January 5th, Maduro and Flores were arraigned in Moynihan Federal Courthouse in NYC before 92-year old Clinton appointee, Federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein<\/span><\/a> when both entered \u2018Not Guilty\u2019 pleas.\u00a0 <\/span>Maduro will be represented by high profile attorney Barry Pollack<\/span><\/a> who previously secured release for Wikileak\u2019s founder Julian Assange, and has indicated he will challenge the legality of Maduro\u2019s \u2018military abduction.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\n The next Maduro Court appearance will be March 16th at which time Pollack can be expected to press Judge Hellerstein to clarify the precise legal processes which apply to the Trump administration\u2019s justification for its invasion of Venezuela and its seizure of Maduro.\u00a0 <\/span>Judge Hellerstein may satisfy an inquiring American public to explain how US invasion of Venezuela did not violate the US Constitution or the 1947 UN Charter or the 1948 OAS Charter or other various international and domestic law as well as the 1973 War Powers Resolution.\u00a0 <\/span>If Hellerstein refutes government assertions as legal, the immediately release of President Madro and Ms. Flores who was injured in the US attack on January 3rd<\/sup><\/span> may be issued.\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n Despite\u00a0 <\/span>a lack of evidence implicating Maduro, the twenty eight page indictment<\/span><\/a> includes charges of \u201cnarco terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices<\/i>\u201d which may not meet the legal threshold<\/span><\/a> of \u2018terrorism under established definitions.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\n Questions have arisen regarding the DOJ\u2019s legal framework linking the foundation of terrorism with drug trafficking such as \u201c \u2018the contemporary use of the term\u00a0<\/i>\u201c<\/i><\/b>narco-terrorism<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/a>\u201d<\/i><\/b>\u00a0in relation to violence surrounding Venezuela represents a legally unsound expansion of the concept of terrorism.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n While at Tethys Naval<\/span><\/a> offers that: \u201cFrom a jurisprudential perspective, the narco-terrorism legal framework <\/i>lacks coherence<\/i><\/span><\/a>.\u201d \u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIn essence, narco-terrorism may be real as a phenomenon, but its legal framework <\/i>remains contested and fragile<\/i><\/span>. Upholding the rule of law means resisting the temptation to turn <\/i>political rhetoric into a substitute for lawful authority<\/i><\/span>.\u201d<\/p>\n The Indictment did not formally charge Ms. Flores with \u2018narco terrorism\u2019 yet remanded her as a co-defendant suspected to forestall her public participation in opposition to her husband\u2019s incarceration.\u00a0 <\/span>Maduro\u2019s son, Nicolas Ernesto Maduro and a member of the Venezuelan National Assembly was also named in the Indictment as a co-defendant. \u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n The Indictment identified Maduro as leader of the fabled \u201cCartel de los Soles\u201d which the DOJ has since deleted from the Indictment perhaps significantly altering the charges against Maduro. \u00a0 <\/span>Trump continues to threaten Cuba, Colombia, Mexico and Greenland as potential objects for the President\u2019s next unconstitutional invasion.<\/p>\n There remains the awkward question for Hellerstein is the status of international law which identifies immunity for a head-of-state as it applies to Maduro or is completely extinct thanks to Peace President Donald Trump\u2019s usurpation of the Rule of Law.\u00a0 <\/span>For instance, is the head of state of a sovereign country immune from prosecution according to US regulations which is considered a fundamental principle of international and U.S. law?<\/p>\n In addition, other pesky questions inquire what statutory authority exists that requires non citizens to be responsible for adhering to US law while living in a foreign country? \u00a0 <\/span>More specifically, how is US law applicable to its unconstitutional aggression into Venezuela and its ensuing abductions?\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>Or how can country A force country B to end its trade relationship with countries C and D? \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n *<\/p>\n Almost immediately Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriquez was directed by the Constitutional Chamber of the Venezuelan Supreme Court to assume the interim office and duties of Venezuelan President during Maduro\u2019s \u2018forced absence<\/i>\u201d to assure the \u201ccontinuity of government,<\/i> the administration of government and the defense of sovereignty<\/i>\u201d.<\/p>\n Initially referring to the abduction of Maduro as \u2018barbaric,<\/i>\u2019 Rodriquez called for proof that Maduro and his wife were alive while demanding Maduro\u2019s immediate release. \u00a0 <\/span>In addition, Rodriquez who had been Vice President since 2018, suggested that Venezuela\u00a0\u201cwill never return to being the colony of another empire\u201d<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0\u201cnever return to being slaves.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n In an official statement<\/span><\/a> released the next day, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said Trump\u2019s remarks revealed the\u00a0\u201ctrue intention\u201d<\/i>\u00a0of the United States\u00a0\u201cto take over the oil, land, and minerals of Venezuela.\u201d<\/i> Rodriquez continued that \u201cThrough his social media statements, the president of the United States assumes that Venezuela\u2019s oil, land, and mineral wealth <\/i>belong to him<\/i><\/span><\/a>.<\/i>\u00a0On that basis, he seeks to impose a naval military blockade with the objective of robbing the riches that belong to our homeland.\u201d <\/i><\/p>\n In addition, the government added that \u201cVenezuela would exercise its rights under international law, its constitution, and the UN Charter, reaffirming its sovereignty over its natural resources and its right to free navigation and commerce in the Caribbean and beyond.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n While Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke with Rodriquez to express Russia\u2019s \u201cfirm solidarity with the Venezuelan people in the face of armed aggression,\u201d\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>Lavrov also requested the immediate release of Maduro and his wife.<\/p>\n Meanwhile,\u00a0 <\/span>Secretary of State and newly appointed Viceroy of Caracas Marco Rubio who had spoken<\/span><\/a> with Rodriquez related that \u201cshe is essentially ready to do what we believe is necessary to make Venezuela great again\u201d <\/i>assuming she would be willing to serve as a lapdog for US interests.\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>During a Meet the Press Interview, Rubio attempted to clarify the President\u2019s commitment to \u2018run\u2019\u00a0 <\/span>the Venezuelan government as \u2018influencing policy\u2019<\/i> rather than as a \u2018direct rule\u2019.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/i> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n More recently, however, Trump threatened Rodriquez<\/span><\/a> that \u201cIf she doesn\u2019t do what\u2019s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0 <\/span>Trump, who frequently threatens and insults female reporters, implied that if she resisted US authority, the interpretation meant to imply a more dire response to her well-being.\u00a0 <\/span>Rodriquez responded to Trump\u2019s threat<\/span><\/a> as an \u2018atrocity that violates international law<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n Jorge Rodriquez, Delcy\u2019s brother as head of Venezuela\u2019s National Assembly, remained in Caracas \u00a0 <\/span>During the American assault on Caracas, the National Assembly building as well as the Bolivar Museum containing the grave of Hugo Chavez were all attacked.<\/p>\n In taking her oath of office and at conclusion of her swearing in as interim President, the\u00a0 <\/span>Ambassadors from China, Russia, and Iran were all in attendance as she hugged each, Rodriquez said \u201cI come with sorrow for the kidnapping of two heroes held hostage in the United States of America \u2014 President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro and the first combatant, the first lady of this country, Cilia Flores.\u201d<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n \u201cI speak to the people of the United States. Venezuela did not deserve this aggressive act by a nuclear power. This is a stain on our shared history. Our response will not be revenge, but vindication\u2014through example. We will show Bolivarian diplomacy in action, guided by the legacy of our Liberator.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0 <\/span>Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriquez<\/p>\n Renee Parsons<\/i><\/b>\u00a0has been an elected public official in Colorado, an environmental lobbyist with Friends of the Earth and a staff member in the US House of Representative in Washington, DC. Before its demise, she was also a member of the ACLU\u2019s Florida State Board of Directors and President of the ACLU Treasure Coast Chapter.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47247\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}