Trump orders U.S. attack on Venezuela, President Maduro and his wife captured

The U.S. military launched a reported strike against Venezuela early Saturday, according to CNN. President Donald Trump said U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. Venezuela responded by declaring a national emergency.


VENEZUELA - CNN reported at 1:50 a.m. local time Saturday that the United States military had launched an attack on Venezuela at the behest of the President, apparently without Congressional approval.

In a statement posted on his Truth Social account, President Donald Trump wrote that the U.S. initiated a “large scale strike against Venezuela” and “captured its leader, President Nicolas Maduro,” along with his wife.

Here is the statement from Truth Social in full:

“The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country.

“This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement. Details to follow. There will be a News Conference today at 11 A.M., at Mar-a-Lago. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”

Venezuela went into a state of national emergency and asked for help from allies and neighboring countries to repel what it described as an American invasion.

Long-serving President Nicolas Maduro was captured by U.S. special forces and flown out of the country. The invasion follows months of accusations from the Trump administration, which has pressured Maduro over allegations of drug running and questions surrounding the legitimacy of his administration.

The United States has not undertaken such a direct intervention in Latin America since the 1989 invasion of Panama to depose military leader Manuel Noriega over similar allegations.

The White House announced that the president would issue a statement to the press later this morning at 11 a.m. Eastern time.

Below are some of the initial reactions from X.





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Viewpoint |
The human cost behind a “ceasefire” that isn’t

oursentinel.com viewpoint
A November 22 airstrike in Gaza raises a hard question: What kind of ceasefire includes civilian deaths? A commentary on the gap between rhetoric and reality.


by Yumna Zahid Ali, Guest Commentator

oursentinel.com viewpoint
On November 22, 2025, Israel carried out another airstrike on Gaza, killing more than twenty people and injuring dozens.

Tell me… what kind of “ceasefire” conducts extrajudicial killings?

Can you define a “ceasefire” for me? Because from here, it looks like a sky full of Israeli jets and the ground littered with Palestinian bodies. Should the orphans be grateful their parents were killed during a “ceasefire” and not a “war”?

The ceasefire appears to be a diplomatic fiction, maintained for political cover while military operations continue. They offer the language of peace with one hand, while the other guides a missile to its target.

In Gaza, what disgusts me is that the imbalance of power is the entire point. It is not a fight for victory, but a demonstration of total domination over a trapped and helpless population. On one side: a state military with sovereign borders, an air force, and international backing. On the other: a non-state actor embedded within, and reliant upon, a civilian population of over two million with no functional sovereignty and no exit.

Headlines highlight geopolitical schemes, while the phrase “civilian casualties” becomes a repetitive, desensitizing afterthought. For many, seeing a headline about civilian deaths now triggers a reflex to scroll further, not to learn more. The “comments section” on reports of civilian casualties is often filled with justification and whataboutism, not grief or solidarity.

Did they sign a peace treaty or a bombing permit? Because you can’t have “partial” peace when it comes to bombs. The November 22 strike is just the latest example of the world watching politics while Gaza bleeds. The international response mechanism to violence in Gaza appears path-dependent, following established political scripts that prioritize process over protection, and dialogue over decisive action to safeguard civilian lives.

Is the peace process just a feel-good term for “waiting for the next ceasefire violation”? Are we waiting for a “perfect solution” while perfectly fine with the current imperfection of dead children? Because my conscience screams that the cost of a false peace is always paid by those who never signed the treaty.


About the author ~

Yumna Zahid Ali is a writer and educator who spends her free time reading, analyzing literature, and exploring cultural and intellectual debates. When she’s not writing for global audiences, she enjoys reflecting on societal issues and using her voice to challenge inequities, especially those affecting women. She also loves diving into history, believing that remembering the past is an act of defiance and a way to hold power accountable.


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TAGS: impact of ceasefire violations on civilian populations in Gaza, analysis of Israeli airstrikes during declared ceasefires, humanitarian consequences of disproportionate military power in Gaza, international response to Palestinian civilian casualties 2025, ethical debate over false peace narratives in Middle East conflicts
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Mamdani challenges U.S. on its promise of "never gain"

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Many prominent opponents of Zohran Mamdani's candidacy for mayor of New York City, including Rabbi Alan Cook of Champaign, have claimed that Mamdani is falsely accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza.


by Terry Hansen
      Guest Commentary

Recently, many prominent opponents of Zohran Mamdani's candidacy for mayor of New York City, including Rabbi Alan Cook of Champaign, have claimed that Mamdani is falsely accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza.

However, Israeli Holocaust and genocide researchers — Amos Goldberg, Omer Bartov, Daniel Blatman, Raz Segal and Shmuel Lederman — have all identified Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide. Goldberg asserts:

oursentinel.com viewpoint "What is happening in Gaza is genocide because the level and pace of indiscriminate killing, destruction, mass expulsions, displacement, famine, executions, the wiping out of cultural and religious institutions...and the sweeping dehumanization of the Palestinians — create an overall picture of genocide, of a deliberate conscious crushing of Palestinian existence in Gaza."

Other genocide scholars who have reached this conclusion include Martin Shaw, author of the book What is Genocide?; Melanie O'Brien, president of the International Association of Genocide Scholars; and Dirk Moses, senior editor of the Journal of Genocide Research.

The United Nations Genocide Convention placed prevention at the center of international law. By rejecting credible evidence of genocide, the U.S. is betraying its promise of "never again."


Terry Hansen is a retired educator who writes frequently about climate change. He lives in Milwaukee, WI.

TAGS:International law preventing genocide, United State betrays its promise, Palestinians are being execute and killed indiscriminately, Genocide researchers say Israel's action is genocide.
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Viewpoint |
The human cost of endless conflict hurts now and future generations

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Martin Luther King Jr., in his courageous opposition to the Vietnam War, warned that "a nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death."

by Terry Hansen
      Guest Commentary

I recently listened to an incredibly sad interview on Israel's Channel 5 News with the mother of an Israeli soldier who was deployed in Gaza. Representing a group of mothers of members of the Israeli Defense Forces, she explained that after two years of continual trauma, “Today, they are broken, they are finished." She implored that they desperately need time to heal.

The mother went on to describe a paratrooper who had a panic attack "because the smell of food reminded him of corpses being eaten by dogs in Khan Younis." She further testified that “They don’t encounter terrorists; they encounter IEDs and blow up!”

The world's top five arms manufacturers are American companies.

What this distressed mother recounted reminds me of clinical psychiatrist Jonathan Shay's powerful book "Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character." The book is about Vietnam veterans and the psychological and moral wounds of war. Shay wrote that "Time and safety to mourn were built into ancient warfare and were absent in Vietnam."

Added to this is the immense, constant suffering of Palestinians. Psychiatrist Dr. Samah Jabr explains that, for the children of Gaza, the concept of post-traumatic stress disorder is a misnomer. According to Jabr, "there is no 'post' because the trauma is repetitive and ongoing."

Our leaders should be deeply ashamed of the paths they have so often taken to address our world's problems. The U.S. annual defense budget edges toward $1 trillion, while the Trump Administration slashes funding for the U.S. Agency for International Development and other foreign aid programs. Moreover, the world's top five arms manufacturers are American companies.

Martin Luther King Jr., in his courageous opposition to the Vietnam War, warned that "a nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death."

His words ring true today — for Gaza and other conflict zones. Let us choose justice and compassion to break the cycles of violence before future generations are also lost to war.


Terry Hansen is an opinion writer who frequently comments on Gaza, focusing on humanitarian issues, U.S. policy and Israel’s actions in the region. He is a retired educator from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

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    Op-Ed |
    A time of healing for Israel, we envision better days ahead

    by Rabbi Leor Sinai


    Following the morning of Simchat Torah 5784 / October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas launched a military invasion that included massive assaults on Israeli civilians and military outposts abutting the border of Israel and the Gaza Strip, a massive launch of over 5,000 rockets from Gaza into Israel, kidnapped over 250 Israeli citizens of all ages, and committed sexual violence and a massacre of over 1,200 innocent Israelis and visitors, within one day Jewish communities around the world began experiencing all forms of Jew-hatred including violent anti-Israel rallies across university campuses and communities.

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    Local government law enforcement and Jewish agencies have tracked an alarming increase in anti-Semitic incidents in the United States, as reported by the Anti-Defamation League’s Center for Antisemitism Research in its February 29, 2024. As a result of this war and dramatic rise of Jew-hatred, the Jewish community now faces existential challenges not seen since prior to the establishment of the modern nation State of Israel.

    Preceding the horrific invasion of Israel and ensuing war, is the fraught political context in Israel that began in January 2023 following the establishment of Israel’s 25th Knesset (Governing Parliament). The large-scale protests across Israel in response to the government’s push for a wide-ranging judicial reform, took on an added concern and expansion following the October 7, 2023, invasion and massacre. For example, hostage families calling for a cease fire, the haredi draft exemptions—followed by the decision to draft—reservist families call for new elections, the evacuation of Israel’s north following Hezbollah’s bombardment of northern Israel, and more, all of which has raised many questions for Israelis and Global Jewry, such as the unconditional support of Israel versus supporting political agendas, as well as the existential challenges faced by both Israel and Global Jewry.

    Herzl’s pitch sold us on Jewish emancipation when he stated that “…the world will be liberated by our freedom…" (Der Judenstaat, “The Jewish State”), in other words the establishment of a Jewish state would solve the world’s Jewish problem. Today we know his utopian vision of a Jewish homeland did not turn out as he had originally expected. The October 7th massacre and subsequent war proved Herzl wrong.

    On October 7th, the dream became a nightmare as darkness spread all over, yet within twenty-four hours of the invasion we saw glimmers of light. Israelis, global Jewry, and our allies, chose to act. Many headed to southern Israel in support of the evacuated families and soldiers, many took part in food and clothing drives, many donated precious resources, many volunteered to help save the agricultural sector, and many of you came to physically bear witness—to be here in Israel during her greatest hour of need.

    A friend and I heard about a gathering of hostage families at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art (later to be known as Hostage Square / Kikar HaHatufim) in Tel Aviv. We decided to go to the square on that first Friday evening, Erev Shabbat, to be with the families.

    We lit Shabbat candles, sang Shalom Aleichem, and recited Kiddush. What we witnessed at that time was incredible, tearful, joyous and inspiring. And we have been there ever since, not having missed a single Erev Shabbat since October 7th. We pray and sing with both secular and religious Jews, with kippot and without kippot, and with non-Jews, from across Israel and the world, who come because the heart yearns for healing, unity, and hope. For us, Erev Shabbat at Hostage Square has become hallowed land, a Beit HaMiqdash, symbolizing a new covenant among people who choose life.

    What was once “Never Again”, is happening again except this time around it is different. Unlike our ancestors who confronted humanity’s worse for 2,000 years, 1948 ushered in a new reality—Israel. The manifestation of the age-old dream to return and be free in our home, l’hiyot am chofshi b’artzeinu, is a game changer and we are holding on for dear life.

    Together we will heal what hurts, we will repair our rifts, and we will envision better days ahead for us and for our children everywhere.

    If there is anything I have learned throughout this past year of political and social turmoil, and the horrific attack of October 7th, it is not to take our existence in this world for granted, not to take the existence of Israel for granted. Israel’s existence, strength and inspiration informs our collective existence, strength, and inspiration.

    My hope is that this wave of Jewish awakening leap frogs us into a movement of preaching, teaching, and role modeling selfless love. If Israel’s weakness in past destructions came because of sinat chinnam, baseless ego driven hatred, then Israel’s strength and unity comes in the form of ahavat chinnam, selfless driven acts of love, kindness and arevut, accountability for one another.

    This is the great tikun of our time, the Jewish People’s modern-day revelation: Tikun Yisrael precedes Tikun Olam, healing Israel precedes healing the world. As we draw near to the 9th of Av, Am Yisrael may be an ocean apart though we stand together at the intersection of life. My hope for you, for us all, is that we choose “to be”, we choose life, and by doing so we embody the values of Kol Yisrael Arevim Zeh b’Zeh, all of Israel is responsible one for the other. Together we will heal what hurts, we will repair our rifts, and we will envision better days ahead for us and for our children everywhere.

    About the author
    Leor Sinai lives with his family in Tel Aviv, Israel. Originally from New York, Sinai and his family moved to Israel in 2011. Sinai is an Influencer whose interests include Education Diplomacy, Leadership Development, and Institutional Advancement. He has traveled around the world, building bridges and strategies for collaboration.

    The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily representative of any other group, organization or oursentinel.com. We welcome comments and views from our readers. Submit your letters to the editor or commentary on a current event 24/7 to editor@oursentinel.com.

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    Commentary |
    The Speaker’s Slippery Balancing Act

    Khalil Bendib / OtherWords.org
    The House Leader isn't so much "leading" as "trying not to plummet."

    Letters to the Editor

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    Jewish groups protest at U.S. Capitol, demand Gaza cease-fire

    by Mark Richardson
    Illinois News Connection
    Chicago - Thousands of American Jews from Illinois and across the country protested at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., this week, calling for a cease-fire in the war in Gaza.

    It has been more than a week since Hamas invaded Israel, leaving hundreds dead and injured. Since then, Israeli troops have bombarded Gaza in an effort to take out Hamas and free hundreds of Israelis and others who were kidnapped.

    Scout Bratt, a member of Illinois Jewish Voice for Peace, said they are opposed to waging war against the Palestinians who live in Gaza, most of whom are not affiliated with Hamas.

    "There is no military solution to this," Bratt argued. "We need to address root causes, which include the Israeli military occupation in apartheid, and again, our own government's role in funding this oppression."

    Thousands of members from the same group protested at the White House earlier in the week. The event was peaceful, but dozens of protesters were arrested for "civil disobedience." A Marist poll found 63% of Americans favor U.S. public support for Israel, but 79% fear the war will lead to a larger Middle East conflict.

    As the protests played out, President Joe Biden flew to Israel and other Middle Eastern countries to show solidarity with the Jewish nation. Bratt noted her group has a message for Biden: to end U.S. military support to Israel. She added most of the military equipment being used is paid for and made on U.S. soil.

    "It's about holding accountable our government for contributing to these severe crimes," Bratt contended. "Essentially, what we're demanding is a cease-fire. Now."

    Bratt pointed out American support for Israel's attack in Gaza is spurring violence against Palestinians here and in other parts of the world. She cited an incident in suburban Chicago this week when a landlord allegedly killed the 6-year-old child of one of his tenants because, according to the man's relatives, the child was Palestinian.

    "There's a lot of rhetoric and vitriol that both Israeli and American leaders are perpetuating that is dehumanizing," Bratt stressed. "Clearly this vitriol is contributing to violence here in our own cities."

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    Guest Commentary | The world is facing the highest number of violent conflicts since WWII

    by Sangita Bora
    Guest Commentator


    In the chronicles of human history, one unsettling truth remains unchanged: the world continues to be trapped in a vicious cycle of conflicts, disease, and disasters. Each one driving the other in a grim dance of misery where humanity is relentlessly caught in the events of self-inflicted suffering. Despite the scars of battles that run deep, we still lead ourselves in a world ravaged by conflicts, big and small, in almost every corner of the globe.

    The world continues to witness heart-wrenching scenes from war-torn zones...

    Earlier this year, in the 9250TH Meeting of the United Nations, Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, briefed that “Six out of seven people worldwide are plagued by feelings of insecurity, the world is facing the highest number of violent conflicts since the Second World War and 2 billion people — a quarter of humanity — live in places affected by such conflict.” A harrowing truth derived out of years of conflicts, fueled by greed, arrogance, and division along lines of race, religion, and ethnicity.

    The world continues to witness heart-wrenching scenes from war-torn zones demonstrating how conflicts disrupt societies, displace populations, and leave behind the ruins of once-thriving communities. Meitei vs. Kuki-Zo conflict in Manipur, Russia vs. Ukraine, and Israel vs. Palestine, all show nothing but exemplify this destructive pattern. These conflicts across zones are creating fertile ground for the spread of disease, as healthcare systems crumble, sanitation deteriorates, and access to clean water becomes scarce.

    While we have now let our guard down against COVID-19 pandemic which cost millions of lives, let's not rule out the possibility of another deadly pandemic breaching into our lives again. Because, "This will not be the last pandemic, nor the last global health emergency" said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization in a press release from October 1, 2020.

    Amidst all eyes and talks currently on the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza, a stance observed in all other past crisis. The question we should be asking is, are we fated to react only after a situation has descended into complete chaos? Have we conveniently ignored the proverb - "Prevention is better than cure"? Sadly, yes and we have already laid the foundation for our extinction.

    A world at war cannot hope to control the deteriorating state of the environment.

    As humanity aspires for greatness while standing on a fragile foundation, another existential threat quietly looms: the environmental catastrophe. Many detrimental human acts add to it, and military operations during conflicts are one of them, leaving a profound ecological impact that extends beyond the mere emissions of greenhouse gases. The destruction wrought by warfare is multifaceted: from soil and water contamination, air pollution, toxic waste, nuclear hazards to ultimately contributing to climate change. In times of war, nature often becomes an unintended casualty, suffering grievous wounds that echo long after the guns fall silent.

    A world at war cannot hope to control the deteriorating state of the environment. As nations grapple with disputes, territorial ambitions, and ideological conflicts, the health of our planet at large continues to deteriorate. "The era of global warming has ended, the era of global boiling has arrived", declared UN Chief António Guterres on 27 July. On September 14, 2023, NASA announced that Summer 2023 was the hottest on record. Record breaking climatic events have become the 'New Normal' for us. Question is until when? Doom looms upon us, ever nearer, as the day approaches when our survival will be at stake.

    Breaking the world's persistent cycle of conflicts and crisis lies in a holistic approach where world leaders don't just talk the talk but walk the walk. This approach involves strengthening diplomacy and cooperation, conflict prevention and sustainable development to mitigate poverty and inequality. We are well behind schedule in realizing that our existence as a species hangs in the balance, dependent on the choices that we make today – choices that will either safeguard our world and humanity's legacy or jeopardize our very survival.

    Sangita Bora, the nomadic wordsmith, hailing from the scenic landscapes of Assam whose quest for knowledge and opportunity keeps her on a perpetual journey, city to city, experience to experience. Currently in Delhi, thriving as a Senior Associate Technology at Publicis Groupe, where she combines her innovative spirit with her technical expertise. A passionate thinker and an aspiring writer, Sangita weaves her experiences and insights into thought-provoking narratives that resonate with readers from all walks of life.
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