For this edition of the Rude, I can’t print all the emails I received about the Venezuela pieces I wrote last week. It would take 3 Rudes’ worth of words. But I will try to weave them through my response to this particular one.

Some emails stop me in my tracks. This one definitely did. I’ve removed certain vowels and cleaned up the grammar for public consumption, but the message is unchanged.

Sean,

You are so far off the mark about Venezuela, so stop with the stupid bullsh_t. I know we have f_cked over 80 or so countries with our sc_mbag deep state, unaccountable black ops, and I know this firsthand, but do more research about what just happened and how it disrupted the trillions of money flows going to your sc_mbag banksters in England, Switzerland, and Belgium. Venezuela was the devil's home for the Western Hemisphere, as Qatar is for ME/Asia. Think Smartmatic over the last 20 years. I could go on and on, but stay out of politics. Go get a pizza and enjoy Italy. I will never give up the fight to get America back to its ideals and not bail like you did.

Jim F.

Jim, while I won’t accuse you of being subtle, I admire your passion. With a father nicknamed “the Philosopher-Truck Driver,” I like a man who can turn the air blue when talking about city hall. You’ve certainly made your point. But funnily enough, you’ve also made mine.

Let me explain.

At What Cost?

It’s easy to see the operation to kidnap Maduro was flawless. America has some of the best special forces in the world (especially Delta Force). And it makes for great TV. But that’s just today.

You’ve brought up my living in Italy. Let me elaborate on your behalf. I’m positively allergic to the extraterritoriality of American law and paying taxes to a government in whose country I don’t live.

Now imagine how foreign governments feel when their leaders are dragged before - wait for it - the Southern District of New York. Yes, Maduro is being hauled before the same court my colleague Jim Rickards and I called out for lawfare against The Donald!

But I’m sure Maduro will get a fair trial in front of the world, which means there’s a non-zero probability he’ll get acquitted… Oops, there’s my alarm clock going off again!

As for your Smartmatic claim… You may be right. I don’t know for sure if Venezuela was Ground Zero for all the election nonsense. I’m more inclined to think it was the Democrats on home turf. But even if it was, was the juice worth the squeeze?

Another thing: this move didn’t hurt China. Only 3-4% of China’s imported crude comes from Venezuela. They’ll easily make that up, and cheaper, from Russia’s pipelines. In fact, Russia wins on this point, as they get to sell more to China.

Did you just hear the click of the sell button for USD and Treasuries as other sovereign governments dump their holdings through proxies, accelerating de-dollarization?

Where Is Congress?

Congress currently resides on the back of a milk carton. War powers, sanctions, and military operations unfold without explicit legislative authorization. And it’s a Republican Congress, for crying out loud!

Credit: Donald J. Trump. Really.

That’s a structural problem, not a partisan rant. The Constitution didn’t give the executive branch unilateral authority to run foreign countries — that’s why lawyers and diplomats around the world are yelling about sovereignty norms right now. But Venezuela will be fine, right? Like Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Syria?

Now, if we avoided a Venezuelan Missile Crisis, then that’s different, but…

Did We Avoid a Venezuelan Missile Crisis?

Nope. In fact, the Washington Post reported Russian President Vladimir Putin was happy to sacrifice Venezuela for concessions in Ukraine. Allegedly, Russia had reduced its support for Maduro years before to concentrate on the Ukraine conflict. 

Russia even offered Maduro asylum, so it’s clear they didn’t plan to put any Oreshniks in Venezuela, probably because it doesn’t need to.

WTF Is America Spending Its Military Budget On?

Depending on who you talk to, Russia is either the biggest threat to the Western world or “a gas station dressed up as a country.”

One thing is clear: Russia built a missile the U.S. has no answer for. The taxpayer spends a trillion dollars a year on the U.S. military. Correction: it’s now $1.5 trillion. All that, and U.S. aircraft carriers are still sitting ducks for Chinese and Russian hypersonics.

After the drone attack on Putin’s residence, Russia lit a few more of them off. They hit the Lviv State Aircraft Repair Plant in western Ukraine, claiming to have put the facility out of action. Lviv is only 45 miles from the Polish border (NATO). It was taken as a political warning to Europe and the United States.

Little wonder the President wants a 50% increase in the defense budget. And Greenland.

But Greenland is a Waste of Money

I wrote this last year in the Daily Reckoning:

Buying Greenland is a Stupid Idea.

I love Gerardus Mercator, but his flat map is not helpful for understanding Greenland’s strategic importance. For that to become self-evident, you need to look at the top of the globe:

The key reason for wanting any part of a Greenland real estate deal is the GIUK Gap, which stands for Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom Gap. These narrow passages of the North Atlantic Ocean (the red lines above) serve as a critical maritime chokepoint for naval operations.

The Gap is especially important for monitoring and controlling the movement of Russian submarines from their bases in the Arctic and the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. During the Cold War and even now, the GIUK Gap is vital for NATO’s defense strategy, allowing the US and its allies to track potential threats from Russian naval forces.

The Blue Line 1 is the part of Greenland directly facing Russia. (Yup, all the way to the Russian Far East.) It’s a nice-to-have, but as Thomas Sowell would ask, “At what cost?” The Blue Line 2 is the part of Greenland in the GIUK Gap. You can put a few bases there on the coast, away from the glacier, without buying the whole island.

Another reason is that if the U.S. doesn’t have Greenland, there’s no way its missile defense system could defend the Lower 48 from an Oreshnik attack. That begs the question, “Why poke the bear at all?”

And perhaps you can see why this is such a lousy deal for Greenlanders. Surely Russia and China would attack them first to take out the early warning systems there, before going for America.

But the biggest fantasy of all is…

The Irantasy

No, Iran isn’t falling.

No, its regime is still intact and likely to remain that way.

No, the U.S. will only conduct limited missile attacks on Iran, with no boots on the ground, because its geography makes a conventional war damn near impossible, and also because Russia and China won’t tolerate it.

In fact, they just helped the mullahs shut off, or at least severely limit, Elon’s Starlink.

From my friend and colleague Chris Campbell:

Though the "kill switch" phrasing in the Forbes headline is sensationalized...

One lesser-told story about Venezuela and now Iran: GPS is the soft underbelly—the easiest signal to disrupt—and jamming it degrades satellite reliability.

Thing is... GPS isn’t just maps. It’s the clock for networks, power grids, markets, and satellites. When time drifts, civilizational systems desync. And right now, most things assume free, perfect time from space.

Translation: timing risk has gone wildly underfunded.

This is a classic “insurance you only value after the fire” market. But 2026 is already shaping up to be the year the premium suddenly feels cheap.

Why are Russia and China so involved? Because they need Iran for the Belt and Road Initiative (see the map above) and the International North-South Transport Corridor.

I’m sure you’re familiar with China’s Belt and Road.

But in case you’ve never heard of it, the INSTC involves sea, rail, and road transport networks that reduce the distance and transit time between India and Russia by 30%.

The INSTC would foster closer economic ties between India, Russia, and Iran. By providing a faster and more cost-effective alternative to the Suez Canal route, the INSTC would reduce shipping times, benefiting Indian and Russian exporters.

For India, the INSTC bypasses Pakistan, giving it direct access to Central Asia.

So, yes, sanctions are coming. The Donald just announced a 25% tariff on anyone who trades with Iran. Good luck with detonating America’s supply chains again. And yes, Israel wants a war, and will get its way in Congress, thanks to AIPAC.

But Iran’s regime will likely stay in place.

Wrap Up

Add to all this the mess at the Fed. It’s all so needless and tedious. DJT has done a fantastic job with the border and remigration. Minnesota has been exposed as corruption central. California is on the brink of bankruptcy.

Imagine if MAGA really stayed in America and concentrated on fixing American things.

That, and my general objection to war, is why I write the way I do.

But don’t trust me. Silver is trading at $85.60, gold is at $4,585, and copper is at $6.06 as I write. Loosely translated, silver can fall $35 and still be above $50. That’s how messed up things are. And here comes oil, up $4 since Thursday, now trading over $60.

Jim, thanks for writing in. I think I’ll take your advice now and get some pizza and enjoy Italy. And stay long the metals.