‘NATO IS FINISHED’ Trump Turns to Venezuela, Leaves EU to Pick Putin’s Pockets | Ray McGovern (Rachel Blevins)

President Trump is set to address the nation on Wednesday, amid reports that he could announce the next phase of the U.S. regime change campaign against Venezuela.

This, as European politicians claim to have another proposal for a ceasefire in Ukraine that would put troops on Russia’s doorstep… what could possibly go wrong?

Ray McGovern, a former CIA officer and analyst, noted that it’s no surprise that the Trump Admin is targeting Venezuela, because it sees attacking the country as a way to show off its military might.

He also said he believes “NATO is finished,” and Europe is being left to “pick Putin’s pockets” with its scheme to turn frozen Russian assets into funding for Ukraine.



Ray thinks that some sort of US-Russia deal is in the works, but what is it? Will the US walk away from Ukraine and accept a deal that cedes a lot of land to Russia? Ukraine and the Europeans will never agree to that. The only thing left at this point is for the US to walk away from the conflict. One interesting point made by Ray is that Russia may allow Ukraine to keep Odessa so long as the country is neutral (and likely demilitarised). 

Ray thinks that the Venezuelan move is a swing away to looking after local US interests as opposed to European ones, with the hope that nothing eventuates. 

[Posted at the SpookyWeather2 blog, December 19, 2025.]