PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEF (PDB) – The U.S. military is moving more weapons and units into the Caribbean that give Trump powerful new options to escalate his pressure campaign on Venezuela’s illegitimate socialist drug-dealing leader Nicolás Maduro.
“I think what’s important about the forces and capabilities that are moving into the theater is that they are optimized to conduct precision, stealthy strikes that can minimize collateral damage,” said Heather Penney, a former fighter pilot and director at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
“All of them together work in concert to open up the battlespace and conduct precision strikes with minimum risk to U.S. forces. And of course, you have a search-and-rescue team there just in case.”
Trump said again, without details, that the U.S. would be “starting” land strikes on drug operations in Latin America.
Russian and Chinese support for Venezuela has largely dried up, with no prospect of real military or financial aid. For years, both countries supported Venezuela’s socialist-led government politically, financially, and militarily – a relationship that began under former President Hugo Chávez, Maduro’s mentor and predecessor.
But experts say that backing now seems to be largely symbolic, with statements of support rather than concrete military or financial aid.
Meanwhile, Maduro’s legitimate democratic opponent rides a wave of support. ‘She’s awesome’: U.S. veterans helped Venezuela’s opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, escape to attend her Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, a feat of its own.
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here’s a roundup of today’s other top defense news from conservative national security expert PAUL CRESPO.
THE PDB – Not the President’s Daily Briefing, but almost as good – PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEF:
AIR FORCE ONE
Boeing’s Air Force One program is projecting a mid-2028 delivery date for the first presidential transport aircraft, sooner than previously projected, as the service faces continued pressure from Trump.
NATIONAL SECURITY
In Europe, the Trump administration is out of step with Congress and Americans. The Trump administration sent shockwaves across the Atlantic last week with a new national security strategy that dismissed the threat from Russia and issued harsh criticisms of Europe and NATO.
HOMELAND SECURITY
National Guard celebrates 389th birthday amid high-profile deployments, D.C. shooting murder of a Guard trooper, and recruiting success.
‘Safety whitewash’: Almost a year after the nation’s worst aviation disaster in decades, Congress is poised to give the military free rein to resume flying helicopters on training missions in and above Washington without using key location-transmitting technology.
DEFENSE POLITICS
Congress wants the Pentagon to screen drone operators for PTSD, depression, and study the psychological effects of working with uncrewed weapons.
US POWER OVERSEAS
San Diego-based aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln arrived in Guam last week to begin an Indo-Pacific patrol likely to last into next spring.
VENEZUELA-NARCO THREAT
JetBlue flight from the small Caribbean nation of Curaçao halted ascent to avoid colliding with an Air Force refueling tanker part of the Caribbean task force facing Venezuela. The pilot blamed the military plane for crossing his path and not using a transponder.
Top House Republican to summon senior military lawyer present during controversial U.S. strike that killed survivors of an initial attack on a drug smuggling boat in waters off Venezuela.
CHINA THREAT
China’s Liaoning Carrier Strike Group returned to the East China Sea following a six-day Philippine Sea patrol near Japan’s southwest region that saw Beijing fighters twice lock radar onto Japanese aircraft tracking the strike group.
U.S. Army changes tools and tactics to prepare for a Pacific war with China.
Decline of operational art: The story of a strategic China wargame. Planners today struggle to properly apply operational art in large-scale war — and they don’t fully realize why. It takes something like firsthand experience in strategic-level wargames against a human red team to fully realize how much understanding of classical military art has been lost.
UKRAINE WAR
With an army of yes-men, how Putin’s world turned into an echo chamber. His generals say all war goals will be achieved. His economists say that despite the pressure, the economy will outlast Ukraine’s. Even Trump says Russia is much stronger and Kyiv has no cards left to play.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy voiced readiness to drop Ukrainian bid to join NATO in exchange for Western security guarantees but rejected U.S. push for ceding territory to Russia as he held talks with U.S. envoys.
EU has a plan to use frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine – how will it work?
NATO-EUROPEAN DEFENSE
Estonia erects the first of 600-strong Baltic concrete bunker walls along its southeastern border with Russia as part of the Baltic Defense Line, marking a key milestone for the trilateral fortification project.
The Netherlands ordered Skyranger anti-drone cannons from Germany’s Rheinmetall for less than $1.2 billion, below the budget flagged to parliament in January.
Belgium doubles down on drone defenses, including surveillance radars and drone guns, following mystery drone flights, likely Russian.
MIDDLE EAST THREATS
President Trump said, “There will be very serious retaliation” after two U.S. service members and one American civilian were killed in a terrorist attack in Syria by ISIS.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
What we know about the Muslim shooting massacre of Jews celebrating Hanukkah at Bondi Beach, Australia.
Visual explainer: how a night of terror unfolded in Bondi Beach.
Thailand denies Trump’s ceasefire claim as clashes with Cambodia continue at the border. Thai PM says military will keep fighting, and Cambodia suspends border crossings as casualties rise.
US MILITARY
Space Force unveils new themes for weapon systems to boost identity. It released names of space weapons to better link guardians with the force’s specific culture.
Navy aiming to have the first of a new class of frigates based on an existing U.S. design “in the water” by 2028.
Marine Corps revives historic “Black Knights” Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 264 (VMM-264) at New River for modern missions supporting II Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) after being deactivated in 2020 as part of Force Design 2030 changes.
V-22 Osprey at risk of more ‘catastrophic’ mishaps. On the heels of 12 major mishaps in the last four years, the military’s first tiltrotor aircraft program must take “immediate and decisive action” to avoid more loss and tragedy.
Army testing portable 3D-printing labs in Hawaii that let soldiers design, print, and assemble drones in hours — a bid to turn fragile supply lines into on-demand battlefield factories.
END of PDB
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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