Daniel Larison

Trump Calls Off Diplomatic Outreach to Venezuela

The “peace president” is at it again: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/u...

Trump Calls Off Diplomatic Outreach to Venezuela

Going for Operation Venezuela Freedom/Just Cause Dos would be illegal and incredibly daft.

If the administration considers stopping undocumented immigration & deporting Venezuelans to be priorities, trying to do regime change in Caracas would be epic folly.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/u...

It's a pretty big deal that the NYC Bar Association--one of the most prominent and respected bar associations in the country--is accusing the President of ordering the "unlawful summary execution," i.e. murder--of civilians in violation of US and international law. www.nycbar.org/press-releas...

Exclusive: Classified Justice Department opinion authorizes strikes on secret list of cartels, sources say | CNN Politics The Trump administration has produced a classified legal opinion that justifies lethal strikes against a secret and expansive list of cartels and suspected drug traffickers, according to multiple peop...

I know the OLC will usually rubber stamp anything the president wants to do, but this is a new low. www.cnn.com/2025/10/06/p...

Comical professional malpractice is the Bari Weiss guarantee.

Murderer says that his murders are good, actually.

The experts haven't "cast doubt" on this. They have strongly condemned the president's use of the military to murder civilians.

Fishermen in Trinidad and Tobago fear for their lives and jobs after US strikes in the Caribbean Fishermen in Trinidad and Tobago are fearing that a U.S. military strike in the Caribbean could kill them and their livelihoods

Here are some of the men that administration officials like to joke about killing: www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...

Stupid trade wars have consequences.

End the President's Caribbean Murder Spree The president is openly trampling on U.S. and international law and killing people because he feels like it.

"When we are faced with a lawless tyrant like this, we don’t need the tyrant to provide more answers about what he hopes to achieve with his murders. We need to remove the tyrant from office." daniellarison.substack.com/p/end-the-pr...

Trump Fabricates a War to Cover Up Murder The president made up some more lies about his murder spree in the Caribbean.

"The administration has dubbed this a “non-international armed conflict” for the purposes of creating a fig leaf for the president’s murders. That is another lie." daniellarison.substack.com/p/trump-fabr...

It will not surprise anyone that Gorka is an ignorant buffoon.

Average FDD analyst post be like: I am Hitler and here is my Hitler collection, please stop comparing me to Hitler

Hegseth says he has every authorization needed for Caribbean strikes U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he has every authorization needed for U.S. military strikes on vessels just off the coast of Venezuela allegedly carrying illegal drugs.

Murderer says his murders are perfectly legal: www.reuters.com/world/us/heg...

NYT plays down the fascism. Why isn't this a flashpoint for the USA? "Takaichi argues that Japanese atrocities during WWII have been overstated. She regularly visits Yasukuni Shrine, a memorial honoring Japan’s war dead & war criminals & a flashpoint for historical sensitivities in China & Korea."

To the extent the administration tries to justify its killings in the Caribbean by claiming there's an armed conflict with Tren de Aragua (lol), here is the IC's April assessment.

TdA is not an "organized armed group" capable of being in an armed conflict.
static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics...

Doing a live TV hit and leading with this:

"There is a term for premeditated killing outside of armed conflict—that term is murder."

Japan set for first female PM after Sanae Takaichi wins leadership race Arch-conservative who models herself on Margaret Thatcher beats Shinjiro Koizumi in second-round party vote

Japan set for first female PM after Sanae Takaichi wins leadership race on.ft.com/3VLPNtx

“The administration is saying it can kill people simply by designating them as terrorists and then declaring there is an armed conflict,” Finucane said. “That is extremely concerning. It is a license to kill based solely on the president’s authority.”

Saudi and Israeli forces also do it.

Trump’s Wag The Dog Moment  - CIP If you want to break up a drug cartel, blowing up a boat does little to accomplish that, unless you believe cartels only own one boat.

Published this on September 10th after the first time the Pentagon killed a boatload of civilians on the President's whim and it's now happened four more times. This is just murder, masquerading as drug control internationalpolicy.org/publications...

Don’t believe anyone who tells you that intelligence shows anything “without a doubt,” but even if the intelligence was water-tight, this strike was still murder. No law permits the deliberate, premeditated killing of civilians.

Hegseth admits to committing four murders.

Good to see that David Frum continues his run of being wrong about everything.

This piece is simply wild. Yes, the bailout faces bipartisan opposition in the US, is a blatantly corrupt favor to Bessent’s hedge fun pals, throws good money after bad, and won’t work. But bailing out Argentina in 2025 is good for… wait for it… democracy and an open economy

U.S. in ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels, Trump tells Congress President Donald Trump has determined the U.S. is in “armed conflict” with drug cartels who are distributing narcotics, according to a notification to Congress.

Good quotes in here from Geoff Corn and John Bellinger.

Heartened to see the range of former USG national security lawyers calling out the administration’s bogus legal justification for lethal strikes in the Caribbean.

www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Yes, Trump's real foreign policy is not like the fantasy version that his fans have created in their heads. It only took you four and a half years and multiple wars to notice.

Trump Fabricates a War to Cover Up Murder The president made up some more lies about his murder spree in the Caribbean.

"Americans are all too familiar with presidents lying to get the U.S. into wars, but in this case Trump is lying about the existence of a war to provide cover for his murders of civilians." daniellarison.substack.com/p/trump-fabr...

Trump administration tells Congress the U.S. is in "armed conflict" with drug cartels after Venezuela boat strikes A notification sent to Congress and viewed by CBS News says President Trump has determined drug cartels are engaged in an "armed attack" against the U.S.

Pleased to speak with @cbsnews.com about the administration's absurd legal rationale for killing people in the Caribbean.

"This justification put out here that the U.S. is somehow in an armed conflict does not do the trick because it's not supported by the facts."

www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-t...

Trump admin's made-up conflict in the Caribbean:

Step 1: Call criminals terrorists

Step 2: Pretend there is an armed conflict with the "terrorists"

Step 3: Murder civilians (who may or may not be criminals) and call it counterterrorism