The video captures the sequence of events on January 3, 2026, when a Chinese delegation led by envoy Qiu Xiaoqi met Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to reaffirm bilateral ties on energy and trade, only for U.S. forces to launch airstrikes and capture Maduro hours later, as announced by President Trump.
The video footage depicts a cordial exchange between Maduro and the envoy, including zodiac sign banter (Maduro as a Tiger, referencing a 2006 meeting with Hu Jintao) and discussions of “unbreakable brotherhood” against U.S. influence, highlighting Venezuela’s strategic pivot toward China for economic support.
Trump’s operation, conducted with Maduro facing U.S. charges on drugs and weapons, serves as a geopolitical statement amid escalating U.S.-China rivalry in Latin America, potentially stalling hundreds of Sino-Venezuelan deals valued at billions in oil and infrastructure investments.
Donald Trump has hailed his ‘brilliant’ operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, as Maduro’s deputy demanded proof the leader is still alive.
Speaking to The New York Times at 4:30am on Saturday morning, nine minutes after announcing the raid on his TruthSocial website, Trump said: ‘A lot of good planning and lot of great, great troops and great people.
‘It was a brilliant operation, actually.’ Asked if he had consulted Congress prior to authorizing the strike, Trump said: ‘We’ll discuss that.’
He then told the paper he’d give more details during a press conference scheduled for 11:30 ET from his Mar-a-Lago country club in Palm Beach, Florida.
US military officials are growing increasingly concerned about China‘s expeditions in the Arctic after the country’s research submarines traversed thousands of feet beneath the ice for the first time over the summer.
Such expeditions could yield valuable data about the natural resources underneath the melting ice caps, significantly reduce travel time for commercial shipping and position nuclear-armed submarines closer to potential targets – including the US, national security officials told the Wall Street Journal.
Chinese vessels on research missions are also often used to give cover to the military, noted US Air Force Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the top military leader for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
The deep-sea submersible Jiaolong is seen diving in the Arctic Ocean on August 6
China’s Foreign Ministry, though, has insisted that its activities in the Arctic are reasonable and lawful, ‘contributing to the maintenance and promotion of peace, stability and sustainable development in the region.’
Recent reports have detailed severe human rights abuses within Cambodian scam parks, including allegations of organ harvesting and the exploitation of infants for biological materials, though official Cambodian authorities deny these claims. The most serious allegations, primarily stemming from online whistleblowers and media investigations, suggest that victims, including women and children, are subjected to forced labor, torture, and in some cases, organ extraction or the sale of biological materials from infants for biotechnology purposes.
Allegations of Organ and Biological Material Harvesting: A blogger alleged that women trafficked into scam compounds are forced to act as surrogates for IVF procedures, carrying two to three embryos at once, a practice described as part of a “piglet industry chain” where babies are produced for sale. Infants are reportedly kept in glass enclosures and sold to biotechnology facilities for the extraction of bone marrow and other biological materials, with one source claiming a single infant can sell for up to 3 million yuan. These facilities are allegedly linked to the Cambodia Life Sciences Institute, which is said to be located within a telecom fraud park controlled by Cambodia’s Prince Group, a conglomerate with ties to Chinese elites.
Claims of Live Organ Harvesting: Multiple sources, including South Korean victims and human rights groups, have reported that individuals who fail to meet scam quotas or are deemed unproductive are tortured and sold for organ harvesting. Testimonies describe the removal of eyes, kidneys, and other organs, with some victims being anesthetized and their organs harvested alive during transport. A price list circulating online reportedly listed organs such as the pancreas at $350,000 and the heart at $100,000.
Official Rejection of Allegations: The Cambodian government has consistently denied allegations of organ harvesting, stating there has been no verified case of human trafficking organizations harvesting organs for sale. Chou Bun Eng, a senior official in the National Committee for Counter Trafficking, dismissed the claims as “fabricated” and “figments of imagination,” asserting that the stories serve no purpose other than to harm Cambodia’s international reputation. Despite this, the government has acknowledged a surge in human trafficking and has repatriated thousands of foreign nationals, many of whom were lured with false job offers.
International Response and Ongoing Concerns: As of August 2025, South Korea banned travel to key border areas like Poipet and Bavet due to the high risk of kidnapping and abuse, including organ harvesting. Amnesty International has accused the Cambodian government of complicity in the operation of scam centers, citing widespread abuse, forced labor, and torture. The situation remains a significant concern, with reports indicating that hundreds of South Koreans and other nationals have been trapped in these compounds, and some have died from torture.
The allegations, while officially denied by Cambodian authorities, are supported by testimonies from victims and human rights organizations, indicating a pattern of extreme exploitation. However, the lack of independent verification and conflicting statements from official sources mean the full extent of these practices remains unclear.
When China intensified its crackdown on cybercrime, many involved in the industry relocated to Cambodia, transforming the country into a major hub for online fraud, forced labor, and human trafficking. These operations are largely run by Chinese criminal organizations that have established bases in casinos and business centers across Cambodia, often with the collusion of powerful local figures.
A key factor enabling this expansion is China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which has facilitated increased Chinese investment and presence in Cambodia since 2013. While the BRI promotes infrastructure development and trade, it has also allowed criminal groups to infiltrate alongside legitimate enterprises, forming collusive relationships with local elites. Chinese crime syndicates operate fraud hubs such as the Bavet Business Center, a 100,000-square-meter complex described as a “fraud hub” by Cambodian NGOs, where thousands live and work under suspicious conditions.
There are also indications of ideological alignment between some criminal groups and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). For example, a former Chinese mafia boss established the “World Hongmen History and Culture Association” in Cambodia, which engages in fraud while also promoting CCP narratives such as the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation”. This reflects a broader strategy of “united front work,” where overseas Chinese networks, including criminal organizations, are leveraged to shape international opinion in China’s favor.
Financial systems supporting these scams are also linked to China. The Cambodia-based payment platform HuiOne, banned in China, serves as a major money “gateway” for laundering illicit proceeds from online scams across the Mekong region, converting them into U.S. dollars and Chinese yuan. One of HuiOne’s directors, Hun To, is a cousin of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and has longstanding ties to Chinese organized crime.
Moreover, high-level complicity is alleged, with properties housing scam centers often owned by senior Cambodian officials or business elites connected to the government. In Poipet, near the Thai border, a casino allegedly run by a government-connected senator hosts Chinese-run scams. Similarly, the Life Sciences Institute, located within a telecom fraud park controlled by Cambodia’s Prince Group, has been linked to Chinese capital and political protection, with the group’s founder accused of acting as a “white glove” for elite CCP families.
While Cambodia has conducted raids and arrests—such as detaining around 1,000 foreigners, mostly Chinese and Koreans, in Kampong Speu province—the cyber scam industry continues to thrive, generating an estimated $12.5 billion annually and relying on the forced labor of approximately 100,000 to 150,000 people from over 50 countries. Despite joint efforts between Cambodia and China to combat online fraud, the deep entrenchment of these networks, supported by BRI-related flows of money and influence, makes eradication extremely difficult.
There are several obvious reasons this is happening. But the one rarely mentioned mainstream is everyone knows 10/7 was a MIHOP attack, which 1000000% undermines any moral authority Israel has to do mass murder in Gaza. Kelly is no dummy and surely knows this. ABN
June 2001. A “restricted meeting” between President George W. Bush and President Vladimir Putin. Not a podium performance, not a television soundbite, not a speech crafted for domestic applause. A private conversation, the place where empires are supposed to speak plainly, where leaders test ideas that could reroute decades.
And what does the memo show?
Putin raises the idea that Russia could eventually join NATO. He says Russia feels “left out” by NATO enlargement. He points to an older fact most Western publics were never meant to internalize: the Soviet Union applied to join NATO in 1954. He argues the reasons for rejection no longer apply. He suggests, almost clinically, that perhaps Russia could be an ally — “European and multi-ethnic,” comparable in character to the United States.
Probably the worst blunder in world geopolitical history, particularly Western geopolitical history. Not allying with Russia and then pushing NATO encroachments on Russia, followed by the Maidan color-revolution (done by USA), followed by insisting Ukraine join NATO puts the entire blame for this major failure on USA, no matter what bs the Europeans were also slinging.
I believe and hope Trump is trying to undo this enormous error and I hope he succeeds. ABN
WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department announced Tuesday it was barring five Europeans it accused of leading efforts to pressure U.S. tech firms to censor or suppress American viewpoints.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio did not name those he said fell foul of a new visa policy announced in May to restrict the entry of foreigners deemed responsible for censorship of protected speech in the United States. He identified them only as “radical” activists and “weaponized” nongovernmental organizations.
“For far too long, ideologues in Europe have led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose,” Rubio posted on X. “The Trump Administration will no longer tolerate these egregious acts of extraterritorial censorship.”
The United States Armed Forces conducted an armed takeover of a large tanker in international waters, the Centuries, which was carrying up to two million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil to China. Coast Guard and Navy forces operating with MH-60T helicopters, and reportedly including a Maritime Security Response Team, spearheaded the takeover.
The oil was owned by the China-based firm VSatau Tijana Oil Trading. The Centuries is the third civilian ship that American forces have launched operations against in international waters this month, in what legal experts have widely regarded as gross violations of international law.
U.S. Coast Guard Prepare For Armed Takeover of the Centuries Tanker
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the operation as a serious violation of international maritime law and an illegal interference in legitimate global trade. The Venezuelan government also denounced the seizure, again accusing the United States of conducting piracy at sea.
China has perceived a considerable threat from the United States and other Western Bloc countries using their large presences in maritime commons to halt civilian trade, potentially cutting China off not only from vital energy imports, and from maritime trade more broadly.
The Trump administration’s directive now leaves the United States without leadership in critical countries including in Rwanda, Egypt and Armenia – all countries where Washington is trying to sustain peace efforts that the president has championed.
The majority of the ambassadors removed from their position worked in 13 countries in Africa: Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Mauritius, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia and Uganda.
Ambassadorial changes are also coming to six countries in Asia: Fiji, Laos, the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Four countries in Europe (Armenia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Slovakia) are affected; as are two each in the Middle East (Algeria and Egypt); South and Central Asia (Nepal and Sri Lanka); and the Western Hemisphere (Guatemala and Suriname).
As the ambassadors for these posts now return home, the Trump administration is also working to nominate permanent ambassadors to key allies like Australia, Germany, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Ukraine.
Eric Rubin, a retired career diplomat and the former president of the American Foreign Service Association, which represents US diplomats, told CNN called it a ‘serious insult to the countries affected and a huge gift to China.’
To say that I am happy with President Trump’s approach toward the use of White House emissaries to conduct official business around the capture mechanisms of the administrative state would be an understatement. I’m positively thrilled to watch this untraditional approach in action.
Are there approaches, strategies and general things I would prefer to see differently; sure, there are. However, I’m just an audience member without any need to keep gravity maintained while figuring out ways to satisfy billionaire donors, key interests and strategic partners. On this balancing act, President Trump is doing awesome work.
President Trump is ducking and weaving through some of the deepest Machiavellian constructs, while maintaining forward progress.
To put context to it, these creeps have had four years to strategize how to control Trump and manipulate policy with their retention of all sorts of government agencies in alignment with the status quo. Yet, remarkably President Trump is dancing through their deep state minefield while keeping dozens of plates spinning on sticks. The use of non-traditional emissaries is really making them angry.
Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin has long said publicly he does not consider America or the American people to be adversaries of Russia. Instead, Vladimir Putin views the CIA as his adversary; he is always clear to draw the distinction.
The Deep State does not like President Trump’s use of emissaries to conduct foreign policy. In fact, they oppose it strongly; they hate it.
That is exactly why this approach is needed, and it is very good to see it being done.
The “emissary” is the person who carries the word of President Trump to any person identified by President Trump. The emissary is very much like a tape recording of President Trump in human form. The emissary travels to a location, meets a particular person or group, and then recites the opinion of the President. The words spoken by the emissary, are the words of President Trump.
The IC cannot inject themselves into this dynamic; that is why it is so valuable.
The emissary then hears the response from the intended person or group, repeats it back to them to ensure he/she will return with clarity of intent as expressed, and then returns to the office of the presidency and repeats the reply for the President. The emissary recites back exactly what he was /is told.
This process is critical when you understand how thoroughly compromised the full Executive Branch is. More importantly, this process becomes even more critical when you accept the Intelligence Community will lie to the office of the President to retain their power and position.
It is important to keep this in mind. You never get everything you want in politics, but Trump is doing more than any other president in recent history, while the odds and forces against him are powerful and many. ABN
Note: This is a satirical xiangsheng (相聲/crosstalk) routine by Taiwanese comedian Huang Yihao (黃逸豪), performed recently and widely shared online. The humor relies on exaggeration, wordplay, and direct political mockery, highlighting contrasts in freedom of expression between Taiwan and mainland China. The poem at the end is a classic crosstalk punchline structure.
Chinese crosstalk comedy can be difficult to understand if you are not a native speaker, but some of the skits are understandable, and their humor readily accessible. I am posting this skit because it has become very popular, mainly for its political content, and also to introduce this Chinese comedic artform to readers who may be interested. ABN
Original Chinese Text (Transcription from the Performance)（逗哏：黃逸豪）現在的事，看今朝，在西方，有一東方大國。（捧哏：地理位置太亂了！）這國家亂的不只是地理位置！此人身高約莫一米七八，大背頭、小眼睛、短脖子、肉鼻頭、身形肥膩、貌似維尼。（觀眾大笑）上台之後，廢除任期，修憲連任，港版國安，香港不安，一國兩制，變成一國一制，動態清零，封城三年，經濟崩壞，民不聊生，房地產爆雷，地方債務高築，青年失業率高達20%，白紙革命，民怨沸騰，戰狼外交，四處樹敵，舉國之力堵悠悠之口，愚民排外成就千古一帝。這正是：治國猶如翻大餅， 麾下戰狼粉紅兵。 倒車油門總加速， 第一傻X習近平！（全場熱烈鼓掌，觀眾齊喊：第一傻X習近平！）
English Translation:
Things nowadays, look at the present: In the West, there is an Eastern power.(Straight man: The geography is too messed up!) This country’s chaos isn’t just in its geography! This person is about 1.78 meters tall, with a big slicked-back hairstyle, small eyes, short neck, fleshy nose, plump figure, resembling Winnie the Pooh. (Audience laughs) After coming to power, he abolished term limits, amended the constitution for lifelong rule; the Hong Kong National Security Law made Hong Kong insecure; “one country, two systems” became “one country, one system”; dynamic zero-COVID led to three years of lockdowns; the economy collapsed, people struggled to survive; real estate bubble burst, local debts skyrocketed; youth unemployment reached 20%; the White Paper Revolution with boiling public resentment; wolf warrior diplomacy creating enemies everywhere; using the power of the whole nation to silence public opinion, fooling the people and fostering xenophobia to achieve the status of an emperor for eternity. This is exactly: Governing the country is like flipping a big pancake, With wolf warriors and little pinks as soldiers under command. Always accelerating in reverse, The number one idiot Xi Jinping! (Audience applauds enthusiastically and shouts in unison: The number one idiot Xi Jinping!)
Taiwanese comedian Huang Yihao’s xiangsheng routine mocks Xi Jinping’s policies like COVID lockdowns, Hong Kong’s security law, and term-limit abolition, delivered in traditional crosstalk style with exaggerated gestures and props for comedic effect.
The skit, shared widely on X since December 21, 2025, highlights Taiwan’s press freedoms, contrasting mainland China’s 2023 crackdown on similar satire that fined a comedian’s firm $3.1 million for a military slogan joke.
Online reactions split along political lines: pro-independence users hail its boldness and superior humor to censored Chinese acts, while some critics decry the Taiwanese accent as disqualifying it from true xiangsheng tradition.
Chinese Crosstalk Tradition
Xiangsheng, commonly known as crosstalk, is a traditional Chinese comedic performing art that originated in the late Qing Dynasty, with roots potentially extending back to the Ming Dynasty. It is typically performed as a dialogue between two performers, though it can also be a monologue or a group act. The art form is characterized by rapid, bantering exchanges rich in puns, wordplay, and allusions, often delivered in the Tianjin dialect or with a strong northern Chinese accent. The term “xiangsheng” literally means “face and voice,” reflecting the interplay between the performers’ expressions and vocal delivery.
The performance relies on four core skills: speaking (shuō), which involves storytelling and joke-telling; imitating (xué), including accents, dialects, and sounds from traditional Chinese opera; teasing (dòu), considered the soul of the act; and singing (chàng), limited to specific lyrical forms like Taiping lyrics The lead performer is called the dougen (逗哏), while the supporting performer is the penggen (捧哏) Historically, xiangsheng began as street performance in teahouses and public spaces, particularly in regions like Beijing’s Tianqiao, Tianjin’s Quanyechang, and Nanjing’s Confucius Temple
Purgatory on earth —— prince group and the dark experiment of “immortality”
The most chilling accusations in this incident focus on Cambodia’s famous Prince Group and its behind-the-scenes boss Chen Zhi Within the area under control. According to the leaked intelligence and related accusations, an agency called the “Life Science Park” operates here, and its business content challenges the bottom line of human civilization.
The accusations show that the core business of the science park is not ordinary medical research and development, but is dedicated to developing so-called “elixir” or “rejuvenation” drugs for the wealthy class. Its core raw material, it is claimed to be Bone marrow and stem cells of infants and young children .
In order to obtain these “raw materials”, the park was accused of establishing an industrial “production line”:
Kidnapping and captivity: A large number of women (mostly Chinese, it is reported) were lured or kidnapped to this point.
Forced breeding: Using in vitro fertilization (IVF) technology, the victim is forced to become pregnant.
Cruel Extraction: When the fetus or baby reaches a specific stage of development, the required biological substances are extracted by extremely cruel means.
[You need to scroll down a bit on the linked page to arrive at the section above. Right click and select translation to switch between Chinese and English. This is the darkest side of the Thai-Cambodia conflict. ABN]
American Buddhist Net 
