Venezuela: The Good, the Bad, and the... Code Pink?

As I've stated several times in recent weeks, the MSM isn't bothering to keep up with Donald Trump and Marco Rubio's wins in Venezuela, as we attempt to stabilize our important southern neighbor. When something goes wrong, they'll happily report on it all day long and claim nothing is working, everything is moving slowly, etc. That's a lie at worst, a semi-maybe-half-truth missing a lot of nuance at best.

The fact is that some things are going much faster and better than we ever expected. They may not always be big headline-makers, but they're important to the security and stability of the country. Yes, there are some not-so-great things, too, and I haven't shied away from those, even though that seems to make some of you angry when I report them. Even Rubio himself has said there will be bumps along the way, so he's not ignoring them either. Let's not bury our heads in the sand.

Ultimately, I still have full confidence in our president and secretary of State on this project, and the more I see, the more encouraged I am. Anyway, I still hear from y'all that it's hard to keep up with what's actually going on down there, and the MSM, doesn't help, so let's do another update, shall we?

On my last update, which was Wednesday, I noted that SOUTHCOM Commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan and Joseph M. Humire, the current assistant secretary of War for homeland defense and Americas security affairs, touched down in Caracas to meet with Trump's little pet Delcy Rodríguez and discuss security matters for the Trump administration's three-phase plan for making Venezuela great again.

Excellent and historic news. But on Thursday, things took a turn.

Amnesty and Political Prisoners

The Chavismo National Assembly finally voted in favor of the "amnesty law" everyone's been talking about, and Delcy signed it the same day, calling it the beginning of "national pacification." On the surface, it sounds great — it claims it covers political offenses that date back to 1999 when Hugo Chávez first took over. The problem is that despite all the big talk, it actually delivers very little for the political prisoners...most of whom are still imprisoned.

I think some were released on Saturday, but I don't have an official total and probably won't until Sunday night or Monday. The number hadn't changed much in the past week, and it was 448 on Wednesday. The human rights group Foro Penal says it's heard unconfirmed reports that 100 prisoners in the El Rodeo detention center are currently participating in a hunger strike because they're running out of patience.

Alfredo Romero, the president of Foro Penal, called the law "discriminatory and unconstitutional" because it excludes "imprisoned and politically persecuted military personnel from the amnesty."

"One cannot speak of national coexistence while excluding such an important sector of society as the military and their families," he said.

And there are other issues. Too many to name, really. Those who are freed can make applications to the court system — over 1,500 already have — and the courts have 15 days to make a decision on whether they're eligible for amnesty. But half the court system in Venezuela is in bed with the regime, and they can still determine that these people must live under house arrest, can't make public statements, can't protest, can't travel outside the country, etc. They could even call to lock them back up, based on the way various laws were abused by the regime in the past.

At a press conference on Friday, Romero said, "The essence of the repressive problem remains unchanged," adding, "If the justice system used as a political weapon is not dismantled, it's pointless to extinguish legal proceedings today. The system and the monster are still there, and the monster can still bite."

The general consensus among the opposition was this was done just to look good for Trump and Rubio, but it does so in name only.

The Poorly Timed María Corina Machado Factor

One thing the bill should do, but does not, is allow opposition leader María Corina Machado back into the country. Even so, and even though she's expressed in countless recent interviews that she's ready to go home and fight for her nation, it's not safe. There's still plenty of regime thuggery going around, and despite the fact that she's in the United States and Europe, she's still the target of much of it.

On Thursday, as the regime was bragging about its new bill, six vehicles pulled up outside the home of one of Machado's prominent advisors, Magalli Meda. She's one of the opposition members who was holed up at the Argentinian Embassy in Caracas, but, according to Rubio, she was rescued and arrived on U.S. soil back in May.

Sixteen armed men — most likely Colectivos (paramilitary) — jumped out of those vehicles and entered her home. They stayed for hours, destroying furniture and other belongings. They most likely stole items and potentially planted some too, based on previous behaviors. When they left, they put signs on the door that said "secured" and "confiscated."

Code Pink Arrives Because... Why Not?

As if the Venezuelan people don't have enough problems on their hands, some of the morons from Code Pink, including the head ones, Medea Benjamin and Jodie Evans, have arrived in Caracas. Of course, we already know these ladies were huge fans of Chavez and Nicolás Maduro, visited often, and were likely partially funded by them.

According to them, they're there for an "International Peace Delegation to Venezuela" and they've "got a lot of work to do." They claim that their job is to promote regional stability, learn more about the U.S. intervention and sanctions, and do some peaceful protesting... and maybe something about standing up for the Venezuelan people. You know, the ones who actually wanted Trump to do this. They also met with the regime's "Foreign Minister," Yván Gil Pinto.

My God, why can't the Colectivos grab these idiots? Throw them in El Helicoide and release the political prisoners. No one in the United States would mind. (I'm kidding, of course. Mostly.) You may have missed it, but the State Department recently sent a report to Congress, asserting that Code Pink has ties to the China Communist Party, and we all know China, which has billions of dollars of loans sunk into Venezuela and which was getting cheap oil from the country, is quite hurt that it now has to answer to Trump and Rubio on such matters. Not suspicious at all...

I'll let you watch their little video for yourself because I just can't even.... It's old white women chanting and some guy who obviously lost his cajones years ago. If this is what standing up for the Venezuelan people looks like, I have a feeling they'll pass.

Code Pink is on the ground in Caracas, participating in a pro-regime demonstration, amplifying Maduro-aligned talking points, and then meeting directly with Venezuelan officials, including Foreign Minister Yván Gil Pinto.

In the clip, Medea Benjamin calls for international… pic.twitter.com/tzPysvidV2
— Stu Smith (@thestustustudio) February 21, 2026

A Great Cuban Exit

But it hasn't been all bad since Wednesday. One of the biggest stories of the weekend is something Reuters broke on Saturday. Part of the deal between the Cuban and Venezuelan dictatorships over the past couple of decades was that Cuba sent Chavez and Maduro military and intelligence training and personnel and kind of reworked their whole national security so that it protected them from their own people, not from outsiders. Most of you probably learned about all of that when all the Cubans were killed protecting Maduro on January 3. Cuba also sent medical personnel through its slave-like forced labor programs.

Well, Miss Delcy is apparently sending all the Cubans home (they don't have much to go home to, but I digress). Her own personal security team is apparently made up of Venezuelans. I have no doubt that this was a Rubio demand. It's progress.

Trump Demands More Heads?

According to Spanish journalist David Alandete, "The Trump administration has demanded that the Venezuelan regime..cooperate with the U.S. Justice Department's investigation into nine members of the Chavista structure."

This is one of those "sources close to the administration" stories, so always take it with a grain of salt. That said, if it's true, it'd make a lot of people very happy.

"The request is not limited to allowing interrogations. It includes access to documentation, financial traceability, and, where possible, arrangements for surrender or transfer," Alandete reports. However, the Venezuelan constitution doesn't allow the country to extradite its own citizens. (Thankfully, Delta Force does.)

To get around it, Alandete says, the White House proposed a three-phase "scheme," which starts with "access, facilitating interviews, interrogations, administrative records, and sensitive documentation." The second part "seeks to allow U.S. teams to participate in or oversee part of the verification work without Caracas publicly acknowledging it." The third part would involve contemplating "transfer or surrender mechanisms, taking extreme care to avoid the word 'extradition.'"

The names on the list include:

Alex Saab, Maduro's bagman, who is allegedly in Venezuelan custody.
Raúl Gorrín, a businessman who is sanctioned by OFAC for something to do with bribes, and who is also reportedly in Venezuelan custody.
Nicolás Maduro Guerra, aka Nicolasito, Maduro's goofy mouth-breather of a son.
Walter Jacob Gavidia Flores, Maduro's stepson who also has Treasury sanctions.
Tareck El Aissami, Maduro's former VP who was prosecuted by the regime in 2024 in connection with an oil corruption case.
Samark López Bello, El Aissami's frontman, who was also prosecuted by the regime in 2024.
Pedro Luis Martín-Olivares, the former head of economic intelligence, who's indicted in the U.S. for drug trafficking charges.

There's been a lot of chatter on social media today because El Aissami and López Bello were both suddenly marked as "captured" on the official U.S. Immigration, Customs, and Enforcement (ICE) webpage, but their "wanted" pages say they're currently "held in Venezuela." I have a feeling all of this will get interesting soon.

Humanitarian Efforts

Something else positive to note is that we're seeing humanitarian support for the people in need. Last week, I mentioned that the U.S. sent much-needed medical supplies, and on Saturday, another shipment landed — a whopping 65 tons of antibiotics, painkillers, insulin, IV fluids, surgical supplies, pediatric meds, and chronic disease treatments for ailments like cancer and diabetes. It will be spread nationwide to hospitals, clinics, and urgent care facilities.

U.S. chargé d'affaires Laura Dogu oversaw the delivery personally — I've been keeping up with her on social media and she is such a bada** and I would love to just sit and talk with her one day — and best of all, your tax dollars aren't even paying for it. The money is coming out of those oil revenue accounts Rubio and Scott Bessent control.

I know this was a lengthy article but it's just proof that things are moving along, though there are still some kinks to work out. If anyone can do it, it's Trump and Rubio. As someone who had become incredibly familiar with the country's predicament and has watched all of his unfold every single day, I am being 100% honest when I say that I'm impressed with how well-organized it has been from my angle. Before 2025, I'd never seen government operate like this.

We just gotta get those political prisoners out ASAP.

I actually have a cool video of that shipment arriving, along with some footage of the embassy being rebuilt by what looks like Venezuelan workers, and the SOUTHCOM visit. So, I'll end with that.

You will not find coverage like this in the MSM, and I plan to see this thing through long after they've forgotten about it. I will report on it weekly until we see free and fair elections and democracy restored in Venezuela. We must make the Western Hemisphere Great Again, and support our president and secretary of State who are working hard to make it happen.

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