Maduro ≈ Noriega.

🚨Nicolas Maduro should’ve studied history before waving a sword at President Trump.

January 3, 1990 we captured Panama’s narcotrafficking dictator Manuel Noriega.

January 3, 2026 we captured #Venezuela’s narcoterrorist dictator Nicolas Maduro. pic.twitter.com/rjUTTRs8xw

— Rep. Carlos A. Gimenez (@RepCarlos) January 3, 2026

"Let's celebrate without leaving our homes! Listen to the joy of a country that can already caress freedom. #venezuelalibre"

¡A celebrar sin salir de las casas! Escuchen la alegría de un país que ya puede acariciar la libertad. #venezuelalibre pic.twitter.com/SY6v3de70a

— Cristian Crespo F. 🇨🇺 (@cristiancrespoj) January 3, 2026

Grok's fact check: "The video in @cristiancrespoj's post shows people in Caracas apartment buildings celebrating with fireworks, cheers, and shouts of joy at dusk/night — exactly the kind of spontaneous, from-the-balconies reaction that exploded across social media and news reports right after the U.S. operation.... No credible reporting suggests the video is old, staged, or from unrelated events (e.g., past protests or unrelated fireworks). It aligns with the timeline and widespread reports of street/apartment-level jubilation following the news of the capture.This is a genuinely historic (and highly controversial) moment — the first direct U.S. military capture of a sitting Latin American head of state since the 1989 Panama invasion — so the celebratory footage is consistent with what was happening."

And, according to Grok, Cristian Crespo is "a Latin American human rights activist."

"One possibility of what we get out of it is basically a spheres of influence kind of organization of the world..."

"... something we haven't really seen since the late 1800s. This is a world in which the United States dominates its own territory, that China dominates the Pacific, and that the Europeans dominate Europe — but if they don't get their act together, maybe Vladimir Putin dominates Europe.... I think this is where we see the America First doctrine becoming something closer to Americas First — Americas with an S — that he views the region as basically the subsidiary of the United States. And you know, I've traveled with President Trump. I've covered 5 American Presidents since I got back to Washington... and my takeaway is that Trump is really not an isolationist. He never has been. He's actually more of a unilateralist.... He wants the total freedom of action. He knows that he is not really interested in democracy promotion. He knows that he wants to prioritize economics and economic development over everything, even if those economics don't necessarily come with security benefits to the us.... [E]ach region of the world — and even our allies — are going to have to learn to depend on themselves.... I think the fundamental trust in the US as the defender of a certain set of concepts of the West has been shattered for some time...."

Says David Sanger in today's excellent episode of the NYT "Daily" podcast, "Trump’s Plan to Reorder the World."

AND: Here's the "National Security Strategy" document Sanger is discussing.

ADDED: There's some discussion of the Monroe Doctrine in that podcast, so

"During remarks to employees at the American Embassy in Panama City, Mr. Rubio, the son of Cuban migrants, joked..."

"... that he’d told aides that he wanted to pay his first visit 'to a place where they speak Spanish, because I’m bilingual,' proceeding to show off his fluency in the language. Mr. Rubio acknowledged America’s complicated history with Panama, a former Colombian territory that was founded after President Theodore Roosevelt’s administration, eyeing the potential for a shortcut between America’s Atlantic and Pacific coasts, backed breakaway separatists who declared independence in 1903. Mr. Rubio noted that the country 'was born in many ways here as a result of the interests of the United States,' and said the relationship had had its 'ups and downs.' The downs include a 1989 U.S. invasion of the country to arrest the country’s de facto ruler, Gen. Manuel Noriega, on charges of drug trafficking and racketeering.... [Panama's President José Raúl] Mulino also said on Sunday that Panama, which in 2017 became the first country in the region to sign on to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a far-reaching infrastructure program, would not renew the agreement...."

I'm reading the NYT coverage of Marco Rubio's trip to Panama, "In Panama, Rubio Says China Threatens Canal, Demanding ‘Immediate’ Action/The secretary of state said the United States could take steps to 'protect its rights.' Panama’s leader said he was sure that President Trump wouldn’t seize the canal."

The NYT says Rubio "showed off" his fluency in Spanish and "joked" about it, as if it were an amusing side line. But it is important and tremendously useful to his role as Secretary of State. Perhaps to recognize its high value would be to impugn all the many Secretaries of State who were not fluent in Spanish.

If my research — hastily done on Grok — is correct, there was only one other Secretary of State who was fluent in Spanish. That was Henry Clay, back in the time of John Quincy Adams, 1825-1829. What about Thomas Jefferson? — you may be wondering. Jefferson, the first Secretary of State, was fluent in French, Latin, and Italian, but had only a minimal knowledge of Spanish.

Respect for the recently deceased Jimmy Carter outweighed by unquenchable need to disparage Trump.

At The Daily Beast:

When a President dies, do we not review all of his work, the good and the bad? And at what point is the mentioning of the bad considered "hammering"?

“Nobody wants to talk about the Panama Canal now,” he said. “It’s inappropriate, I guess, because it’s a bad part of the Carter legacy.”

The president-elect offered some measured praise for the 39th president, calling him “a good man” and “a very fine person.” Not to let his point be forgotten, however, Trump reminded again that “giving the Panama Canal to Panama was a very big mistake.”...

Is that hammering? To speak of hammering before the body is in the ground creates a violent mental image. I find that disrespectful.

A Trump news conference is going on now... a lot going on.

I'm reading the NYT live updating. Excerpt:

"[W]hile naming a new ambassador to Denmark — which controls Greenland’s foreign and defense affairs — Mr. Trump made clear on Sunday that his first-term offer to buy the landmass could, in the coming term, become a deal the Danes cannot refuse."

"He appears to covet Greenland both for its strategic location at a time when the melting of Arctic ice is opening new commercial and naval competition and for its reserves of rare earth minerals needed for advanced technology. 'For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World,' Mr. Trump wrote on social media, 'the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.' On Saturday evening, he had accused Panama of price-gouging American ships traversing the canal, and suggested that unless that changed, he would abandon the Jimmy Carter-era treaty that returned all control of the canal zone to Panama. 'The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous,' he wrote, just ahead of an increase in the charges scheduled for Jan. 1. 'This complete ‘rip-off’ of our country will immediately stop.' He went on to express worry that the canal could fall into the 'wrong hands,' an apparent reference to China, the second-largest user of the canal. A Hong Kong-based firm controls two ports near the canal, but China has no control over the canal itself."

From "Trump’s Wish to Control Greenland and Panama Canal: Not a Joke This Time/In recent days the president-elect has called for asserting U.S. control over the Panama Canal and Greenland, showing that his 'America First' philosophy has an expansionist dimension" (NYT).

I didn't think it was a joke the first time he talked about Greenland. I don't think it's so much that he's an "expansionist." I think he's looking for American's bad deals and intent on renegotiating them. He's continually complained that other countries are taking advantage of us. Wanting to change that dynamic is not an "expansionist" frame of mind. The United States takes responsibility for the world's security — or purports to — and that exposes us to exploitation. Trump seems to think he's the one to straighten that out. You can say that's a bad idea, but please address that and explain why.

"Then on Dec. 16, 1989, Panamanian troops shot and killed an unarmed American soldier in Panama City, wounded another and arrested and beat a third soldier whose wife they threatened with sexual assault."

"'That was enough,' President George Bush said in announcing the invasion, which included more than 27,000 troops. A White House statement as the invasion got underway said the United States had acted 'to protect American lives, restore the democratic process, preserve the integrity of the Panama Canal treaties and apprehend Manuel Noriega.' Political commentators at the time assigned other motives, including a way for Mr. Bush to shake off perceptions of weakness; his poll numbers rose significantly after the invasion.... Panamanian forces were quickly overwhelmed as Mr. Noriega escaped into hiding, surfacing days later on Dec. 24 at the Vatican Embassy in Panama City.... American troops descended on the embassy, and a standoff followed. For a time, American forces blasted heavy metal music (including Van Halen’s 'Panama') to torment Mr. Noriega and prevent reporters with directional microphones from hearing conversations between military and Vatican officials. He surrendered on Jan. 3, 1990...."

From the NYT obituary for Manuel Noriega, who has died at the age of 83, after all these years in prison.