To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.

×

If people don’t back independent journalism, it will die

Defeating Trump’s authoritarian takeover requires hard-hitting, people-powered journalism unafraid of making enemies or calling out villains. That’s the model that Common Dreams was built on from the beginning.

Right now, our team is doing the best, most consequential reporting we’ve ever done, keeping our millions of readers well-informed, inspired, and engaged—but we simply can’t do this work without your dedicated support.

If people don’t back independent journalism, it will die—it’s as simple as that. Will you make a gift to our Summer Campaign and keep the fearless, independent journalism of Common Dreams alive and strong?

If people don’t back independent journalism, it will die

Right now, our team is doing the best, most consequential reporting we’ve ever done, keeping our millions of readers well-informed, inspired, and engaged—but we simply can’t do this work without your dedicated support.

If people don’t back independent journalism, it will die—it’s as simple as that. Will you make a gift to our Summer Campaign and keep the fearless, independent journalism of Common Dreams alive and strong?

'Yiiiiikes': John Bolton Threatens to Send Venezuela's Maduro to Offshore US Prison at Guantanamo

National Security Adviser John Bolton on Friday suggested that Venezuela's elected President Nicolas Maduro could be sent to an infamous U.S. military prison in Cuba if he doesn't step down. (Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr/cc)

'Yiiiiikes': John Bolton Threatens to Send Venezuela's Maduro to Offshore US Prison at Guantanamo

"Also seems like the Trump administration is expecting tomorrow to be showdown day in Venezuela as protests expected nationwide."

NewsEconomyWar & Peace

National Security Adviser John Bolton--the neoconservative who's played a key role in the Trump administration's effort to overthrow the Venezuelan government--suggested on Friday that President Nicolas Maduro could find himself locked away in the U.S. military prison at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station in Cuba if he does not soon step aside.

Bolton--who has repeatedly threatened U.S. military action to force out Maduro--made the threat in a "crazy" radio interview (mp3) with right-wing commentator Hugh Hewitt about President Donald Trump's broader policy toward Venezuela, including the administration's endorsement of self-declared "Interim President" Juan Guaido, and sanctions imposed via executive order against the state-owned oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA).

According to the show's official transcript, Bolton's remarks came in response to a question about the various fates of other ousted heads of state:

HH: [Former Romanian President Nicolae] Ceausescu and [former Italian Prime Minister Benito] Mussolini met bad ends. [Former Ugandan President] Idi Amin and [former Haitian President Jean-Claude] "Baby Doc" Duvalier did not. Is that the choice facing Maduro right now?

JB: Well, I tweeted yesterday, you know, I wish him a long, quiet retirement on a pretty beach far from Venezuela. And the sooner he takes advantage of that, the sooner he's likely to have a nice, quiet retirement on a pretty beach rather than being in some other beach area like Guantanamo.

In a tweet on Thursday, Bolton had urged Maduro and his advisers to resign and accept Guaido's amnesty offer:

Bolton's comments were quickly highlighted on social media by critics, including journalist Jeremy Scahill, whose latest episode of the podcast Intercepted, published Wednesday, focused entirely on how the Trump administration "is openly engaging in a blatant effort to overthrow" Maduro.

"It is a campaign aimed at regime change and it's being promoted openly as an opportunity to steal Venezuelan oil for the benefit of U.S. corporations," Scahill noted on the podcast. "This is not some insane Twitter thought spewed by Trump after guzzling down gallons of Fox and Friends. It's an open imperialism that is being embraced not just by Republicans and Trump supporters, but powerful Democrats as well."

Some top Democratic lawmakers including Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.) have praised the Trump administration for treating Guaido as Venezuela's leader. Others, however, have spoken out against U.S. meddling while still criticizing Maduro's role in the economic and political crises gripping his country.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said last week that "we must learn the lessons of the past and not be in the business of regime change or supporting coups--as we have in Chile, Guatemala, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic." More than 70 academics and experts have issued an open letter demanding the administration "cease interfering in Venezuela's internal politics," and Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar (Minn.) and Sen. Kamala Harris (Calif.) have called for the U.S. to completely rule out any military action.

Bolton, meanwhile, has maintained his threats on behalf of the administration. Asked by Hewitt on Friday whether he'd requested that the Pentagon draw up plans for military intervention in Venezuela, Bolton responded: "You are a persistent questioner, Hugh. All I'll say is all options are on the table."

An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder


Dear Common Dreams reader,

The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets.

That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done.

Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good.

Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support.

That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you.

Our Summer Campaign is now underway, and there’s never been a more urgent time for Common Dreams to be as vigilant as possible. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams?

Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most.

- Craig Brown, Co-founder

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
bernie sandersbig oildominican republicguantanamoilhan omarjeremy scahilljohn boltonjuan guaidokamala harrisneoconnicolas maduronsapoliticstrumpismvenezuela

National Security Adviser John Bolton--the neoconservative who's played a key role in the Trump administration's effort to overthrow the Venezuelan government--suggested on Friday that President Nicolas Maduro could find himself locked away in the U.S. military prison at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station in Cuba if he does not soon step aside.

Bolton--who has repeatedly threatened U.S. military action to force out Maduro--made the threat in a "crazy" radio interview (mp3) with right-wing commentator Hugh Hewitt about President Donald Trump's broader policy toward Venezuela, including the administration's endorsement of self-declared "Interim President" Juan Guaido, and sanctions imposed via executive order against the state-owned oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA).

According to the show's official transcript, Bolton's remarks came in response to a question about the various fates of other ousted heads of state:

HH: [Former Romanian President Nicolae] Ceausescu and [former Italian Prime Minister Benito] Mussolini met bad ends. [Former Ugandan President] Idi Amin and [former Haitian President Jean-Claude] "Baby Doc" Duvalier did not. Is that the choice facing Maduro right now?

JB: Well, I tweeted yesterday, you know, I wish him a long, quiet retirement on a pretty beach far from Venezuela. And the sooner he takes advantage of that, the sooner he's likely to have a nice, quiet retirement on a pretty beach rather than being in some other beach area like Guantanamo.

In a tweet on Thursday, Bolton had urged Maduro and his advisers to resign and accept Guaido's amnesty offer:

Bolton's comments were quickly highlighted on social media by critics, including journalist Jeremy Scahill, whose latest episode of the podcast Intercepted, published Wednesday, focused entirely on how the Trump administration "is openly engaging in a blatant effort to overthrow" Maduro.

"It is a campaign aimed at regime change and it's being promoted openly as an opportunity to steal Venezuelan oil for the benefit of U.S. corporations," Scahill noted on the podcast. "This is not some insane Twitter thought spewed by Trump after guzzling down gallons of Fox and Friends. It's an open imperialism that is being embraced not just by Republicans and Trump supporters, but powerful Democrats as well."

Some top Democratic lawmakers including Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.) have praised the Trump administration for treating Guaido as Venezuela's leader. Others, however, have spoken out against U.S. meddling while still criticizing Maduro's role in the economic and political crises gripping his country.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said last week that "we must learn the lessons of the past and not be in the business of regime change or supporting coups--as we have in Chile, Guatemala, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic." More than 70 academics and experts have issued an open letter demanding the administration "cease interfering in Venezuela's internal politics," and Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar (Minn.) and Sen. Kamala Harris (Calif.) have called for the U.S. to completely rule out any military action.

Bolton, meanwhile, has maintained his threats on behalf of the administration. Asked by Hewitt on Friday whether he'd requested that the Pentagon draw up plans for military intervention in Venezuela, Bolton responded: "You are a persistent questioner, Hugh. All I'll say is all options are on the table."

National Security Adviser John Bolton--the neoconservative who's played a key role in the Trump administration's effort to overthrow the Venezuelan government--suggested on Friday that President Nicolas Maduro could find himself locked away in the U.S. military prison at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station in Cuba if he does not soon step aside.

Bolton--who has repeatedly threatened U.S. military action to force out Maduro--made the threat in a "crazy" radio interview (mp3) with right-wing commentator Hugh Hewitt about President Donald Trump's broader policy toward Venezuela, including the administration's endorsement of self-declared "Interim President" Juan Guaido, and sanctions imposed via executive order against the state-owned oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA).

According to the show's official transcript, Bolton's remarks came in response to a question about the various fates of other ousted heads of state:

HH: [Former Romanian President Nicolae] Ceausescu and [former Italian Prime Minister Benito] Mussolini met bad ends. [Former Ugandan President] Idi Amin and [former Haitian President Jean-Claude] "Baby Doc" Duvalier did not. Is that the choice facing Maduro right now?

JB: Well, I tweeted yesterday, you know, I wish him a long, quiet retirement on a pretty beach far from Venezuela. And the sooner he takes advantage of that, the sooner he's likely to have a nice, quiet retirement on a pretty beach rather than being in some other beach area like Guantanamo.

In a tweet on Thursday, Bolton had urged Maduro and his advisers to resign and accept Guaido's amnesty offer:

Bolton's comments were quickly highlighted on social media by critics, including journalist Jeremy Scahill, whose latest episode of the podcast Intercepted, published Wednesday, focused entirely on how the Trump administration "is openly engaging in a blatant effort to overthrow" Maduro.

"It is a campaign aimed at regime change and it's being promoted openly as an opportunity to steal Venezuelan oil for the benefit of U.S. corporations," Scahill noted on the podcast. "This is not some insane Twitter thought spewed by Trump after guzzling down gallons of Fox and Friends. It's an open imperialism that is being embraced not just by Republicans and Trump supporters, but powerful Democrats as well."

Some top Democratic lawmakers including Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.) have praised the Trump administration for treating Guaido as Venezuela's leader. Others, however, have spoken out against U.S. meddling while still criticizing Maduro's role in the economic and political crises gripping his country.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said last week that "we must learn the lessons of the past and not be in the business of regime change or supporting coups--as we have in Chile, Guatemala, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic." More than 70 academics and experts have issued an open letter demanding the administration "cease interfering in Venezuela's internal politics," and Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar (Minn.) and Sen. Kamala Harris (Calif.) have called for the U.S. to completely rule out any military action.

Bolton, meanwhile, has maintained his threats on behalf of the administration. Asked by Hewitt on Friday whether he'd requested that the Pentagon draw up plans for military intervention in Venezuela, Bolton responded: "You are a persistent questioner, Hugh. All I'll say is all options are on the table."

bernie sandersbig oildominican republicguantanamoilhan omarjeremy scahilljohn boltonjuan guaidokamala harrisneoconnicolas maduronsapoliticstrumpismvenezuela
Join the Conversation