Fredonia Project Sitrep 22 Us Domestic
DATE-TIME GROUP 061800JANUARY 26
FROM: EMBASSY OF FREDONIA, WASHINGTON, D.C.
TO: MFA NAGADOCHES
CLASSIFICATION: CONEOFSILENCE // FREDONIAN EYES ONLY
SUBJECT: SITREP 022 “THE FREDONIA PROJECT” – OBSERVATIONAL DISPATCHES FROM AMERICA IN CRISIS 3-7 JANUARY 2026
SUMMARY:
IN ACCORDANCE WITH MFA DIRECTIVE 1826-APRIL-1, THIS EMBASSY HAS INITIATED A REGULAR SERIES OF ANALYTICAL DISPATCHES REGARDING THE INTERNAL DYNAMICS OF THE UNITED STATES. THE SERIES, DESIGNATED “THE FREDONIA PROJECT,” WILL BE CIRCULATED UNDER STANDARD SITREP PROTOCOL. PRESUMED LEAK. NO ACTION REQUIRED.
On January 3, 2026, U.S. forces launched “Operation Absolute Resolve,” a large-scale military operation against Caracas, Venezuela, and captured and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The President and his wife were taken from their Caracas residence and flown to Brooklyn, New York, in the United States to await trial on charges of drug trafficking and terrorism. The operation involved extensive aerial strikes and special forces, killing some 80 Venezuelan citizens. President Trump announced that the U.S. would manage a transition period in Venezuela and would “run” Venezuela. (Ambassador Comment: There is no doubt that Maduro is a vile human being and a terrible leader who tortures and extorts his own citizens. There is, however, also no doubt that his kidnapping does not comport with international law, that Trump acted unilaterally within his own government, and that it appears that Trump and his merry men had and have no actual plans for “running” or rebuilding Venezuela. Also, there is little doubt that Maduro’s removal leaves the embattled citizens of Venezuela no better off than they were under Maduro.)
International reaction was pretty uniformly negative: Members of the UN Security Council denounced the US abduction of President Maduro. US allies, including France, Germany, and Britain, have condemned the action, and the UN Human Rights office has voiced concern over the US action in Venezuela, noting that the operation “undermined a fundamental principle of international law.”
President Trump praised the US operation, and is quoted as having said that “Maduro’s abduction was ‘brilliant.’” Trump has threatened further military action against Venezuela, as well as against Colombian President Gustavo Petro. Petro dismissed Trump’s threat as “illegitimate.”
Venezuela’s army has said that at least 24 soldiers were killed in the US attack on Caracas. Additionally, the Cuban government has announced two days of mourning for 32 members of the country’s army, who were also killed during the US strikes.
U.S. officials, including UN Ambassador Michael Waltz and Secretary Rubio, have repeatedly assured Venezuela and the world that the US will not occupy Venezuela, that this was a “law enforcement” action against two indicted officials, and that the United States Government is not at war with the Venezuelan people. (Ambassador Comment: That set of “statements” does not really fit with the reality in Venezuela right now. Citizens have been left at the mercy of the remainder of Maduro’s corrupt and violent government officials, with no protectors from the United States to assure their well-being.)
President Trump has been focused on the oil reserves and told the US population that US oil executives knew about the invasion. There have been reports that Venezuelan and US officials have discussed exporting Venezuelan oil to the US. (Ambassador Comment: It is becoming patently clear that getting Venezuelan oil to the US seems likely to have been either a or the significant concern for Trump.) President Trump has said that he wants the US companies to go into Venezuela to rebuild their oil extraction and refinement capabilities; Trump has said that Venezuela could be producing a lot of oil in about 18 months and that that oil would be used to benefit the Venezuelan people. (Ambassador Comment: We are unversed in the oil industry, given that Fredonia does not sit on top of oil reserves. However, we have heard multiple sources question that 18 month time line. We are also surprised that Donald Trump would consider returning the entire Venezuelan oil product to the Venezuelans after the US rebuilds its oil technologies. And, we find it less than likely that any executive, oil or otherwise, will rush down to what has been and will likely continue to be an unstable region of the world.)
The European Reaction: There was some outrage in the hours immediately after the invasion, but that has trickled down to an almost apologetic comment, which can be summed up by French President Emmanuel Macron’s response on Monday that he “neither supported nor approved” of the manner in which Maduro was removed from office. (Ambassador Comment: With all due respect to the democratic leaders of European nations, Trump’s National Security “Policy”–being put into action in Venezuela–calls for the division of the world into three power structures–USSR, China, and the US. Where is your outrage? Where is your fury? Where is your knowledge of what happened to you in the mid-twentieth century?)
The American response to Trump’s invasion/kidnapping/theft of resources appeared to have been split right down party lines, with Trump’s Republican allies mostly backing him and Democrats issuing scathing commentary on Trump’s unilateral actions. Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Green, who has recently announced that she’s leaving the House, used an appearance on Meet the Press, on January 4, 2026, to criticize the Trump administration’s actions as a “sharp departure” from his “America First” campaign promises, arguing that the focus should be on domestic issues and that the operation was part of the “same Washington playbook” that Americans are tired of. Republican Representative Tom Massie, one of the earliest and most vocal Republican critics of Trump’s response to the Epstein revelations, blasted Trump on Venezuela, posting, “Wake up MAGA. VENEZUELA is not about drugs; it’s about OIL and REGIME CHANGE. This is not what we voted for,” on X on Sunday, 4 January.
One of the most, very most, disturbingly bizarre aspects of this whole affair has been the petulance of Stephen Miller, Trump’s White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Advisor. When answering questions about the use of force, trampling on alliances, and unilateral actions in terms of international policies, Miller became unnecessarily truculent and toddler-esque. He shouted at the interviewer, insisting on the righteousness of his vision of the world as a dangerous place, where force is worthwhile and should be used. (Ambassador Comment: Miller’s reaction seemed overwrought and defensive. He presented no intelligent or even barely rational argument for moving forward unilaterally, merely a sort of “I’m right! I am!!!” temper tantrum meant to dissuade any dissent, but eliciting laughter from the television audience.)
We at Fredonian Embassy, Washington DC, have not had quite enough time to get quotable responses from our local colleagues. It seems that this action by Trump should signal to his countrymen and women that he is fairly far down the road to dictatorship, and reining him in is going to be difficult with so many Republicans seemingly too terrified to oppose him. So many of Trump’s actions over his first year in office have mirrored standard fascist behavior that the US population would do well to look closely at his next moves and understand what their next steps should be, assuming they want to keep their democracy. The traditional US contacts of Fredonian Embassy personnel tend to be well informed about US political reality, but the supine Republican Party has them quite stymied. (Ambassador Comment: The US reaction is, so far, disappointing but not surprising. Republicans, especially those in the Senate and House, who could conceivably take action to restrain Trump’s most dangerous behaviors, have been absolutely spineless, despite their frequent proclamations over recent decades that they are the party of family values. With few exceptions – strikingly Marjorie Taylor Green and Thomas Massie – the family values to which Republicans cling seem to be those of television and cinematic Mafia families.)
Happy 2026 to all. And good luck.
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