The Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal drug smuggling has reportedly prompted an economic collapse of one Venezuelan city.

Güiria, a port city dependent on the smuggling of illicit narcotics and other contraband, is facing economic challenges following the Trump administration’s strikes on suspected drug trafficking boats.

‘Everything is practically dead.’

The administration has launched numerous strikes in the Caribbean Sea in waters close to Venezuela in an effort to end the trafficking of drugs into the U.S.

“As we’ve said from the beginning, and in every statement, these highly effective strikes are specifically intended to be ‘lethal, kinetic strikes,'” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth stated. “The declared intent is to stop lethal drugs, destroy narco-boats, and kill the narco-terrorists who are poisoning the American people. Every trafficker we kill is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization.”

“Our current operations in the Caribbean are lawful under both U.S. and international law, with all actions in compliance with the law of armed conflict — and approved by the best military and civilian lawyers, up and down the chain of command,” Hegseth added.

Several Güiria residents claim the strikes have brought their town’s economy to a standstill, according to a Friday report from Reuters.

RELATED: Trump confirms call with Maduro after report of alleged regime-change ultimatum

Pete Hegseth. Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

The news outlet noted that Güiria “survives mostly on maritime smuggling of contraband, including drugs,” and it is also “partly sustained by informal trade in food and other goods with Trinidad and Tobago.”

“There was only movement in stores recently because of government bonus payments; otherwise, there’s no money circulating,” a food store clerk told Reuters.

“No boats of any kind are leaving for Trinidad and Tobago any more — not migrants, not people buying goods there to sell here, and certainly not those taking Venezuelan products to sell there, which was another way to make money. Everything is practically dead,” she stated.

RELATED: Trump to ‘permanently pause’ migration from third-world backwaters in wake of National Guard member’s grisly murder

Nicolas Maduro. Photo by Alfredo Lasry R/Getty Images

The residents also reported an increase in the number of security personnel in the town since mid-September.

“They pass through the same areas many times, at all hours. Before, they weren’t so persistent; now they’re everywhere all the time,” a community leader told Reuters, referring to the security personnel.

“They’re all organized by the government — civilians and police go together supervising the streets,” another individual told the news outlet. “Everything seems calm except for the increased surveillance in the town.”

President Donald Trump has reportedly presented Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro with an ultimatum to relinquish control and flee the country.

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​News, Venezuela, Maduro, Nicolas maduro, Donald trump, Trump, Trump administration, Trump admin, Drug trafficking, Drug smuggling, Drugs, Pete hegseth, Department of war, Department of defense, Dod, Dow, Caribbean sea, Air strikes, Trafficking, Politics 

Sanctuary city policies continue to shield criminal illegal aliens amid the Trump administration’s ongoing effort to ramp up deportations.

The Department of Homeland Security revealed Monday that there are thousands of known criminal illegal aliens currently incarcerated in New York City that Immigration and Customs Enforcement is seeking to remove from the country.

‘Honor those detainers, and then we won’t have to flood the zone with our ICE law enforcement.’

“We’re seeing that these criminal illegal aliens are exiting the jails and going back on to New York, or Chicago, or these other sanctuary streets to re-perpetuate their crimes,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News.

“Today, in New York City’s jails are 7,169 criminal illegal aliens,” McLaughlin continued. “We’re talking about hundreds of murderers, hundreds of sexual predators, drug traffickers, the worst of the worst.”

McLaughlin encouraged sanctuary city politicians to cooperate with immigration officials to remove these known threats from the country.

“Honor those detainers, and then we won’t have to flood the zone with our ICE law enforcement. We won’t have to put those men and women on the ground because we will get these vicious criminals out of New York City’s jails,” McLaughlin added.

RELATED: ICE makes pitch to NYPD cops after Mamdani promises radical overhaul

Photo by Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images

New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist, has vowed to resist the immigration raids and criticized current Mayor Eric Adams (D) for cooperating with the Trump administration.

In October, Mamdani called Trump’s ICE “a reckless agency,” arguing that “collaboration hasn’t worked.”

“We need to change our laws — and stand up to Washington,” he stated.

RELATED: Socialist Mamdani promises to ‘Trump-proof’ New York City, expel ICE

New York City Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani. Photo by Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images

After securing a victory in the mayoral election, Mamdani issued a warning to ICE.

“My message to ICE agents, and to everyone across this city, is that everyone will be held to the same standard of the law. If you violate the law, you must be held accountable,” Mamdani said.

“There’s sadly a sense that is growing across this country that certain people are allowed to violate the law whether that be the president or agents themselves,” he stated. “What New Yorkers are looking for is an era of consistency. An era of clarity and an era of conviction. And that’s what we will deliver to them.”

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“Heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs,” Kevin Root recalled to KDVR-TV about a heart-stopping 3:30 a.m. encounter at his family’s Denver home last month. “As a parent, you know your kids’ footsteps, and this was not any of our kids.”

The unsettling noises woke up Kevin and his wife, Sarah, the station said — and Kevin got up to find out where the sounds were coming from.

‘It feels unsettling that something so invasive and violating is permitted to happen and the person is back on the street.’

“We had our door slightly cracked, and I saw the shadow go by, and that just is a sinking feeling,” Sarah added to KDVR.

Turns out an intruder had broken the lock on the Roots’ front door — and now he was on the staircase, the station said.

“As I heard him coming up, I said, ‘Who is this?’ I just yelled, thinking, ‘Let me just let him know, like, we know you’re here. We’re awake,’” Kevin recalled to KDVR.

The Roots told the station the intruder kept silent and was heading to where their children were sleeping.

“As a mom, it’s just your worst nightmare,” Sarah shared with KDVR. “It’s terrifying.”

Neither parent had any idea if the intruder was armed, either, the station said — but Kevin knew there was only one thing to do.

“There comes a moment where you’re like, ‘This is me. I’m a husband and a father; it’s on me to do something,'” he told KDVR.

The station noted that while Sarah called 911 from their bedroom, Kevin got physical: “It was just one of those, like, ‘This is my moment.’ So I jumped out of the bedroom, and I pushed him down the stairs.”

More from KDVR:

He says the man fell all the way to the bottom, knocking some pictures off the wall and leaving a dent in the molding. He took a video as police arrived minutes later while the man laid on the floor.

The man eventually went peacefully into custody; all he took from the home was a fall decoration from the porch.

“We’re just thankful that everyone is OK,” Sarah added to the station.

Charley Cooley, 36, faced a felony second-degree robbery charge, KDVR reported, adding that his record shows he already had been arrested in September for another felony robbery charge in connection with an incident earlier in 2025.

RELATED: Army vet learns daughter got attacked, but she’s at college 1,000 miles away. So he’s on a plane that day and settles things.

Fox News reported that after his September arrest, Cooley was released just days later.

“We found out later about his criminal background, and that stirred up a whole new layer of emotion,” Sarah added to the cable network. “It feels unsettling that something so invasive and violating is permitted to happen and the person is back on the street.”

But it gets even worse.

The Denver District Attorney’s Office told Fox News that a judge set Cooley’s bond at $5,000 property/surety or $500 cash following the break-in at the Roots’ home.

Sure enough, Cooley posted $500 cash, the cable network said, citing KDVR.

“Multiple offenses, and he’s been released both times,” Kevin shared with Fox News. “The reality is he’s back out and has a history of doing this.”

Sarah added to the cable network that “we hope there’s justice and that he’s placed somewhere that prevents him from hurting anyone else.”

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​Crime thwarted, Denver, Break-in, Home invasion, Repeat offender, Fighting back, Self-defense, Defending family, Arrest, Crime 

Last week, many of you likely sat around the Thanksgiving table with people who don’t share your worldview, but it didn’t stop you from breaking bread. In the end, family trumped ideological disputes.

But not everyone was willing to set aside their differences in the name of community and celebration. Jimmy Kimmel and his wife, Molly McNearney, for example, have cut contact with their family members who voted for Donald Trump.

On November 6 during an episode of the “We Can Do Hard Things” podcast, McNearney said, “It hurts me so much because of the personal relationship I now have where my husband is out there fighting this man, and to me, them voting for Trump is them not voting for my husband and me and our family, and I unfortunately have lost relationships with people in my family because of it.”

“I feel like I’m kind of in constant conflict, and I’m angry all the time. … I personalize everything now. When I see these terrible stories every day, I’m immediately mad at certain aunts, uncles, cousins who put him in power. … I wish I could deprogram myself in some way, but I get really angry,” she added.

“It’s weird how things have changed now,” Glenn Beck says in response. “But I’ve been thinking about it, and I think politics was not the sacred altar that it is now. Washington was not the center of our personal universe. Family was, community was, how we treated each other was. We had room to be wrong, room to disagree, room to be human.”

Glenn’s question, not just for McNearney and other like-minded liberals but also people on the right who let politics destroy their relationships, is: “Why is it so important to us that everyone sees the world exactly the way we do?”

“My relatives, I don’t hate them because they don’t agree with me. We hash it out, we roll our eyes, and then, ‘Pass the potatoes, will you?’” he says, noting that there are a lot of people in his family who vehemently oppose his views.

In the interview, McNearney also stated, “To me, this isn’t politics. It’s truly values,” but Glenn calls out her hypocrisy.

“Here’s one value that we all used to share: the value of accepting that other people, even family, even people you love, are allowed to be wrong. They’re allowed to fail. They’re allowed to see a world through a different prism,” he says.

“This belief that everybody who doesn’t agree with you, they’re somehow or another misinformed, that they’re somehow lesser, that if they don’t vote the way you want, they’re not voting for your family — that’s not democracy; that’s the seed of authoritarian thinking.”

Eventually, that little whispering voice that convinces you to be angry and reject people who don’t agree with you gets louder and louder.

“Do you force them eventually to see it your way? Because if you’ve tried to convince them and they can’t be convinced, your choice really is love them or force them into silence,” Glenn says.

Or, as Glenn suggests, “You shrug your shoulders and say, ‘Pass the potatoes.’”

To hear more of Glenn’s commentary, watch the video above.

Want more from Glenn Beck?

To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​The glenn beck program, Glenn beck, Jimmy kimmel, Thanksgiving, Molly mcnearney, Politics, Family, Blazetv, Blaze media, Donald trump, Trump voters 

Wait … it’s not over yet?

This critic enjoyed “Wicked: For Good” better than some, but at the very least, it’s comforting to know the saga is over after two gargantuan films.

“I’m going to change the channel. … I am gonna do my own research like I’ve done with everything my entire life. I’m gonna listen to other voices.”

Or is it?

“There are things under way,” Universal Pictures’ chief marketing officer, Michael Moses, told Vulture regarding more “Wicked” stories. That’s what happens when a film makes $147 million stateside in just one weekend despite the rickety nature of the theatrical market.

“The Scarecrow’s Revenge”? “It Ain’t Easy Being Green (Like Elphaba)”?

“Toto: The Movie”?

The mind reels. The turnstiles will keep spinning until this franchise has been squeezed dry …

Number one with a bullet

Enrico Pallazzo, call your agent.

Variety magazine trumpeted the 100 greatest comedies of all time last week. Listicles remain subjective, but any list leaving out “Raising Arizona,” “There’s Something About Mary,” “Beverly Hills Cop,” and “Animal House” is suspect beyond belief.

Except its number-one selection.

The 1988 parody “The Naked Gun” scored top honors, a tribute to sanity and the enduring genius of director/co-writer David Zucker.

Leslie Nielsen’s pitch-perfect comedy remains as good as it was on opening day 37 years ago. Who could forget Nielsen belting out the national anthem, pretending to be a world-famous opera singer?

The legacy media has reached the broken-clock stage. Twice a day it gets something right …

RELATED: Liberals really want to believe Colbert’s show was canceled for political reasons

Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images

Fake blues

First country, now Christian music?

A few weeks ago, the number-one country song on the Billboard genre chart came from … a computer. The AI-generated Breaking Rust band did the honors, courtesy of “Walk My Walk.”

Now, it’s happening again.

Solomon Ray’s EP “A Soulful Christmas” hit the top spot on iTunes’ 100 Christian and Gospel Albums chart. And, you guessed it, Ray shares something in common with “It” actress Tilly Norwood.

Both exist only in AI.

What’s next? Why should Hollywood shell out millions making a new “Running Man” movie, which flopped in spectacular fashion just days ago, if movie makers could just feed the 1987 original into a computer and spit out a remake?

The film’s hero, Ben Richards, said he would be back in the first film, but he didn’t specify how …

Et tu, David?

We’re lucky David Letterman signed off “The Late Show” in 2015. Had he still ruled the CBS show, his TDS might be worse than Stephen Colbert’s or Jimmy Kimmel’s … combined.

Letterman is running defense for far-left host Seth Meyers after President Donald Trump shredded the “Late Night” star on social media.

Letterman dubbed President Trump a “dictator” and broke out the hyperbole machine in the process.

“It’s like 18 times the worst behavior one has witnessed ever anywhere. Think of the worst thing that you’ve ever seen humans accomplish. This is so much worse.”

Forget serial killers. Nazi strongmen. Communist leaders who starved millions without batting an eye. Trump is worse by nearly 20 times.

Boy, Letterman would fit right into today’s late-night landscape …

Sheen the light

Talk about a change of heart.

Troubled star Charlie Sheen wanted the very worst for President Donald Trump during the real estate mogul’s first term. He Tweeted “Trump next, please” six times in the wake of singer George Michael’s shocking 2016 death.

Now, Sheen is on a comeback tour, both professionally and personally. He’s clean, sober, and willing to make amends. And he’s chatting with plenty of right-leaning interviewers as part of the process. He explained to SiriusXM’s Megyn Kelly how expanding his news feed made him see things in a different light.

“I’m going to conduct an experiment. Literally, I’m going to change the channel. I’m gonna do my own research like I’ve done with everything my entire life. I’m gonna listen to other voices. I’m gonna explore just hearing both sides of the g*****n story, you know?”

What happened next?

“Some of the stuff I’d bought into, and some other stuff I was worshipping, and some of the people I was hating because I was told I was supposed to hate them.”

He even suggested that he didn’t vote for Trump last year but wishes he could have a do-over. He went from “winning” to “red-pilling” before our eyes …

Leave ‘Home’ alone

How about we don’t but say we did?

“Home Alone” star Macaulay Culkin knows Hollywood loves nothing more than sequels. So he has come up with a plan for a novel “Home Alone” extension for his Kevin McCallister character. Sure, we’ve already seen him get “Lost in New York” before getting replaced by younger stars for four “Home Alone” films.

Now, it’s Kevin Jr.’s turn.

“I’m either a widower or a divorcee. I’m raising a kid and all that stuff. I’m working really hard and I’m not really paying enough attention, and the kid is kind of getting miffed at me — and then I get locked out.”

The lad decides against letting Daddy in. Next, instead of the Wet Bandits causing our hero mayhem, it is Kevin’s own son creating those devious traps for Daddy.

Maybe it’s best to leave this franchise alone, no?

​Leslie nielsen, The naked gun, Variety, Entertainment, Culture, Donald trump, David letterman, Toto recall, Macaulay culkin 

President Donald Trump is weighing in ahead of a high-stakes special election in Tennessee.

Constituents in Tennessee’s 7th congressional district will cast their last votes on Tuesday to replace retired Republican Rep. Mark Green, choosing between Trump-endorsed Matt Van Epps and scandal-ridden Democrat Aftyn Behn.

‘She hates Christianity. … She hates country music.’

“Matt Van Epps, he’s a winner,” Trump said over the phone during a rally with Speaker Mike Johnson. “He’s going to be great. Don’t let this stuff fool you. The Democrats are spending a fortune.”

Apart from party affiliation and policy platform, Trump pointed to two main reasons why Tennesseans should turn their backs on Behn.

RELATED: It gets worse for Nashville Democrat who ‘hates’ her own city: ‘Burning down a police station is justified’

Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

“She said two things above all else that bothered me,” Trump said.

“Number one, she hates Christianity. Number two, she hates country music,” Trump said. “How the hell can you elect a person like that?”

Trump is referring to just some of Behn’s many scandals that have plagued the Democrat’s campaign, including a number of notorious comments and erratic displays. Behn infamously expressed her hatred for Nashville, the very city she is running to represent, and in at least one instance refused to walk it back.

“I hate the city, I hate the bachelorettes, I hate the pedal taverns, I hate country music, I hate all of the things that make Nashville, apparently, an ‘it’ city to the rest of the country,” Behn said. “But I hate it.”

RELATED: ‘Do I have to stay until I’m assassinated?’ Marjorie Taylor Greene lashes out over calls to finish her term

On a separate occasion, Behn was confronted for past tweets condoning the burning down of police stations during the 2020 riots, which she also failed to apologize for.

One of these tweets read, “Good morning, especially to the 54% of Americans that believe burning down a police station is justified.”

If Behn’s past podcast episodes or deleted tweets didn’t come back to haunt her enough, another video resurfaced showing the Democrat state legislator storming into Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s office in 2019 before being forcibly removed by security. This video put Behn’s capacity to govern on full display, showing her kicking, screaming, and later sobbing on the floor as she was removed by Lee’s security.

Blaze News reached out to Behn’s campaign for comment.

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​Donald trump, Aftyn behn, Mark green, Matt van epps, Tennessee, Mike johnson, Bill lee, 2020 riots, Defund the police, Nashville, Christianity, Country music, Special election, Leftist, Politics