Chuck Holton
Politics • Culture • News
Chuck Holton is an American war correspondent, published author, and motivational speaker.
Interested? Want to learn more about the community?
Heading Home

I am on a flight from Newark to Panamá, finally on my way home after three months away. It will be so nice to finally sleep in my own bed.

I walked around Central Park today, it was a beautiful spring day. They are building a new skyscraper nearby that is the skinniest skyscraper I have. Ever seen.

I won’t be home near as long as I like, but there is always more to do.

Interested? Want to learn more about the community?
What else you may like…
Videos
Podcasts
Posts
Articles
On the Shores of Issyk- Kul

Today I got a chance to check out the second largest saltwater lake in the world

00:00:49
Is the U.S. Training Syria’s New Jihadist Army?

Very few media outlets are talking about this, but they should be — urgently.

While most of the world is distracted, U.S. troops are conducting live training exercises in Syria with the forces of the country’s new interim government, now led by Ahmed al-Sharaa — a man widely known as a former Al Qaeda affiliate.

Let that sink in.

Recent reports confirm that U.S. personnel at the Al-Tanf garrison have been training members of the so-called 70th Division, a unit formed from remnants of the Syrian Free Army, which now pledges loyalty to this new government. This comes right on the heels of a massacre of Druze civilians, allegedly carried out by those very same government-aligned forces.

Aiding the Next Generation of Jihadists?
This isn’t just a questionable policy — it could be morally catastrophic.

Druze communities, who have long sought neutrality in Syria’s civil war, were brutally attacked.

Christian populations in the region are living in fear, as radical factions become emboldened ...

00:06:03
Debunked

Debunked: Following several accusations that Israel is causing famine in Gaza, COGAT has released drone footage of the hundreds of truckloads of supplies waiting to be delivered to Gaza by the UN. A statement accompanying the footage claims that 'There is enough food here to feed all of Gaza, if the UN ever came to pick it up.

00:00:39
Episode 622 - Field Producer Dennis Azato and Chuck Reminisce

My erstwhile field producer and cameraman Dennis Azato has accompanied me on ten years of adventures across the globe. Today he joins me in Ukraine and we spend some time remembering our many trips together.

Episode 622 - Field Producer Dennis Azato and Chuck Reminisce

Mr Putin's answer to "peace" are more civilian targets. Today there are at least 20 drones heading for Ismail, a little port town on the west side of the Black Sea. No military targets there. Please pray.

August 19, 2025

A ministry associate of mine just got back from the UK. She attended a meeting of Brits in the press who’ve been fired from their jobs.
One of them told her that they went to check out the immigrants arriving by sea. The it account was that those arriving were all military aged males. Simeone was waiting on shore to meet them. The one waiting on shore Spoke to them in a military manner, as they lined up in military form. Then were loaded on busses and driven off.
They get a hotel room, three meals a day, and 70 pounds (don’t remember how often)
The blatant orchestration of things makes me think people have to be willfully blind to what’s happening.

You are so correct but you do not need to be told. I owned a business in Venezuela in the 90’s. Yes the oil is so thick it is like the La Brea tar pit in Los Angeles. When I was there they stopped the God Miners and they had to pay to get home. I had a very nice office in Caracas. I could go one forever I am 82 and it is sad what they have done to the country. It went to a prosperous country to what it is now. I had many Venezuelan friends that did everything they could to escape the country. You are a very busy guy but someday we need to talk if you ever get time. And I am glad you are telling people about what is going on in Venezuela.
Chow my friend! And keep telling the truth !

post photo preview
Weaponizing Narco Gold: Why Venezuela Is Facing U.S. Pressure

Today I want to bring your attention to a brewing crisis that could soon erupt in the Western Hemisphere: Venezuela. And it goes way beyond socialism or oil. We're talking about narco-terrorism, gold cartels, foreign militias, and even the possibility of U.S. boots on the ground.

From Prosperity to Predation

Venezuela, once one of the richest countries in Latin America, has become a failed state under Hugo Chavez and now the illegitimate strongman, Nicolas Maduro. The economy collapsed. Kidnapping became a growth industry. And over 8 million Venezuelans have fled, many of them ending up in the United States under lax border enforcement during the Biden administration.

I have a lot of friends who are Venezuelan, and I admire them. But here's the truth: the culture of dependency and normalized criminality that permeates Venezuela doesn't just disappear when people cross the border. That reality has consequences.

The Cartel de los Soles

The real threat isn’t just failed socialism. It’s that Venezuela has become a full-fledged narco-state. Maduro and his cronies are at the center of a shadowy network known as the Cartel de los Soles — made up of military and government elites trafficking cocaine and laundering gold.

Yes, gold. These guys make more money from illegal gold mining than drugs. I’ve been on the ground in Colombia and seen the devastation firsthand: mercury poisoning rivers, miners risking their lives, and terrorist groups taxing every shovel-full.

Why the U.S. Cares

The Trump administration recently escalated things by placing a $50 million bounty on Maduro’s head. That’s not just about ideology. It’s because Maduro is engaged in asymmetric warfare against the U.S. — using drugs, gold, and foreign allies like Russia, China, and Hezbollah to undermine American society.

4,000 U.S. Marines are now headed to the Caribbean coast of Venezuela. Navy ships and Coast Guard cutters are in motion. And the Pentagon has been green-lit to take kinetic action against the cartels.

Sound familiar? It should. I was there when we parachuted into Panama in 1989 to remove Manuel Noriega. Maduro could be next.

The Guyana Flashpoint

As if that's not enough, Venezuela is now saber-rattling over oil-rich territory in neighboring Guyana. Maduro claims half of Guyana belongs to Venezuela. Why? Because Guyana struck it rich with light, sweet crude — far more valuable than Venezuela’s dirty, hard-to-extract reserves.

There are rumors flying of a U.S. military buildup in Guyana. And while some of that is exaggerated, it’s true that we’re training with Guyanese forces and flying combat patrols. The U.S. isn't just defending Guyana’s sovereignty; we’re protecting our own strategic interests.

Mercenaries, Militia, and Madness

Maduro says he’ll mobilize 4.5 million factory workers and farmers into militias. That’s a joke. He doesn’t even trust his own military. That’s why he surrounds himself with Cuban and Russian mercenaries. But money talks — and with $50 million on the line, don't be surprised if some of his protectors turn into bounty hunters.

I've seen this up close. I once got roped into a secret meeting with Venezuelan defectors planning to overthrow Maduro. I backed away, reported it to the embassy, and sure enough, some of those same guys later launched a failed coup. Two American Green Berets were caught and are still rotting in Venezuelan prison.

A Real Risk to the U.S.

This isn’t just a Latin American problem. With Hezbollah operatives smuggled into the U.S. via Venezuela, suicide drones manufactured there with Iranian help, and widespread corruption, this is a clear and present danger to America.

Could this escalate into war? Possibly. But what’s more likely is covert operations, private military action, and targeted strikes. Still, if Venezuela hits back — say, with suicide drones on U.S. soil — all bets are off.

Final Thought

Venezuela is a failed state led by a criminal cartel that masquerades as a government. And while Americans are busy arguing over pronouns and plastic straws, our enemies are plotting how to destroy us from within.

We better wake up.

 

Comment below your thoughts about this. If you missed the live, you can watch it HERE

Read full Article
post photo preview
The Alaska Summit: Theater, Sanctions, and What It Means for Ukraine

I’m writing to you today from the mountains of Kazakhstan. It’s been a whirlwind few days out here in Central Asia, and I’ve been watching closely as history played out thousands of miles away in Alaska. I want to break down for you what happened at the first U.S.-Russia presidential summit since the war in Ukraine began — and why the optics may be very different from the reality.

 

Pomp Without Circumstance

Two days ago, President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met at Joint Base Elmendorf in Alaska. This was the first time the two men had been face-to-face in a decade, and the event was choreographed to the hilt. Red carpet, honor guards, F-22 Raptors on the tarmac, and even a flyover by B-2 stealth bombers — all staged to project American strength.

But what did we actually get from it? Not much. It was political theater — smiles, handshakes, and photo ops. The summit ended abruptly with no lunch, no press questions, and only carefully scripted remarks. That alone should tell you the talks didn’t go as well as advertised.

 

Putin’s Win on Sanctions

So why did Putin make the trip? One word: sanctions. The Trump administration had been preparing to roll out secondary sanctions — penalties not only on Russia, but also on countries like India and China that have been helping Moscow skirt existing restrictions. These measures had the potential to choke off Russia’s war machine, because while Putin doesn’t mind sacrificing soldiers, he does mind losing the economic lifeline that fuels his military.

At the end of the day, Putin walked away without making a single concession — but he did secure at least a delay on those secondary sanctions. That’s a huge win for Moscow. No wonder Russians are celebrating this summit as a victory.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is in the best battlefield position it has been since the war started. They’ve got more than 750,000 men under arms, and they’ve learned to innovate at lightning speed — fielding drones, unmanned vehicles, and even remote casualty evacuation systems that save soldiers’ lives.

Russian tactics, on the other hand, remain rooted in old Soviet-style warfare: meat waves of troops, staggering casualties, and little innovation beyond drones. Every square kilometer they seize costs them hundreds of dead soldiers.

And here’s a fact you won’t hear on mainstream news: Ukraine is now producing more ammunition than it consumes. They’re no longer entirely dependent on Western supplies. That’s a game changer.

 

Optics vs. Reality

Here’s what worries me: the optics of this summit play directly into Russia’s cognitive warfare doctrine. Moscow believes wars are won by shaping minds, not just by winning on the battlefield. Optics are the battlefield.

Putin, riding in “the Beast” limousine, smiling alongside Trump, Lavrov wearing a USSR sweatshirt — those images tell the world Russia is on equal footing with the United States. That perception is a victory in itself, even if the reality is that Russia’s economy is crumbling and their military is bleeding men at an unsustainable rate.

 

The Human Cost

I also want to remind you what’s at stake here. Russia has abducted tens of thousands of Ukrainian children, rebranded them as Russian, and in some cases sent them to fight against their own countrymen. They’ve run “filtration” camps in occupied Ukraine, separating families, torturing civilians, and disappearing countless people.

I’ve seen the aftermath of these atrocities firsthand. In places like Bucha and Mariupol, Russia’s brutality is real and ongoing. This is why Ukraine refuses to accept any “peace deal” that leaves its people in Russian hands.

For Russia, the summit was a public relations victory and a temporary reprieve from crippling sanctions. For the U.S., it was a show without substance. And for Ukraine, it was yet another reminder that their fate is often being negotiated without them at the table.

If the United States truly wants to end this war, the most effective way is still maximum economic pressure — cutting off Russia’s oil revenues and enforcing secondary sanctions without hesitation. That’s the lever that will eventually break the Kremlin’s grip.

 

You can watch the full video on this topic HERE

 

Read full Article
post photo preview
Tripwire Troops: An Underused Strategy to Stop Wars Before They Start

From my vantage point in northern Kyrgyzstan, reflecting on global conflicts, one question looms large: is there a middle path between full-scale war and appeasement? Former President Donald Trump’s stated goal to “stop the killing” in Ukraine and Israel is laudable, but the method matters. Stopping the violence at the cost of surrender whether by forcing Ukraine to cede territory to Russia or by demanding Israel stand down to Hamas would be neither just nor lasting.

History offers a third way: deterrence through presence. This is the concept behind tripwire troops small, forward-deployed U.S. military units positioned in strategic locations not to fight, but to make any act of aggression against them an act of war against the United States. The result? Adversaries think twice.

Why Forward Presence Works

The U.S. currently has forces deployed in more than 170 countries, totaling around 170,000 service members. While many of these deployments are embassy security or routine training, a fraction are “tripwire” positions. These troops’ primary mission is deterrence, not combat.

The logic is simple: an attack that kills Americans compels a U.S. military response, something most adversaries cannot afford to provoke. In the Baltics, Poland, and other NATO states, these forces serve as a visible barrier to Russian expansion. The concept works in other regions as well:

  • South Korea: 28,500 U.S. troops have deterred North Korean aggression for over 70 years.

  • Kosovo: U.S. and allied forces have prevented a resumption of war between Serbia and Kosovo for decades.

  • Middle East: U.S. presence in Syria, Iraq, and Jordan has restrained—not eliminated hostile actions by regional actors.

In many cases, host nations share the costs. Germany, Japan, and South Korea contribute billions annually to offset expenses, making forward deployment more cost-effective than often assumed.

Only for Supporters
To read the rest of this article and access other paid content, you must be a supporter
Read full Article
See More
Available on mobile and TV devices
google store google store app store app store
google store google store app tv store app tv store amazon store amazon store roku store roku store
Powered by Locals