Free Republic

The Miami Herald is reporting Hugo Chávez early demise was recognized long before the rest of the world was privvy to the details of a late diagnosed and lethal cancer. With the help of Cuban brothers Fidel and Raúl, and Chávez' hand-picked successor Nicolás Maduro, the Venezuelan presidential election was moved from December 2012 to October 2012, two months that the report says were crucial. In October Chávez could still stand before his supporters to applaud his re-election, but there was no certainty that he could do so in December. He returned to Cuba for a fourth round of cancer treatments in early...

It was Christmas 2011, a year after Roman Abramovich had taken delivery of his new superyacht, Eclipse. But it seemed the oligarch would not be using it over the festive period - records show it had been chartered by a company based in the British Virgin Islands. And yet photographs from Christmas Day that year show Mr Abramovich in the Caribbean sunshine, standing on the swim platform at the rear of the yacht, with Eclipse's large letter-E logo behind him. Charter records such as this were part of a decade-long scheme to mislead tax authorities, now uncovered in an investigation...

Polls aren’t the only thing burning the commander in chief. President Biden was spotted red-faced in the US Virgin Islands on Tuesday as he prepared to head back to the White House after a seven-day vacation in St. Croix. The 81-year-old president’s striking new sunburn was on full display as he shook hands on the tarmac of Henry E. Rohlsen Airport in Christiansted, St. Croix, before boarding Air Force One with first lady Jill Biden. The sun’s rays apparently battered Biden, who was beet red from his forehead down to his neck – exposed by the deep-V of his unbuttoned...

On January 30, 2025, Governor Albert Bryan Jr. stated a new policy of restoring Second Amendment rights should be attempted in the United States Virgin Islands. If it happens, it will be an extraordinary reversal in policy. The United States Virgin Islands have the most restrictive firearms laws in the United States. They are more restrictive than Hawaii or the District of Columbia. From the viconsortium.com: “I think the Virgin Islands gun policy has totally failed,” said Governor Albert Bryan Jr., speaking during Wednesday’s exclusive interview with the Consortium. He was responding to a question about how the territory could...

Former president Bill Clinton has revealed that he regrets ever having met with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. In his new book 'Citizen', which is scheduled to come out next week, Clinton, now 78, described his interactions with the convicted pedophile. The excerpts, first reported by The US Sun, show him admitting that he had flown on Esptein's private jet, the Lolita Express, in 2002 and 2003.

The United States Virgin Islands exists as a United States territory. As an entity that is not a state, it has higher rates of homicide than any state. The homicide rates for the US Virgin Islands are about 7.8 times as high as the average homicide rate for the United States. It has one of the highest illegal homicide rates in the world.Extreme restrictions on the ownership and use of firearms in the US Virgin Islands are more restrictive than in any state since the implementation of the Bruen decision by the Supreme Court. The Bruen decision was published on...

The selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) as the running mate for Vice President Kamala Harris has led to intense debates over crime policy, war claims, gender identity policies and other issues. Some attacks have, in my view, been inaccurate or overwrought. However, the greatest danger from this ticket is neither speculative nor sensational. A Harris-Walz administration would be a nightmare for free speech. For over three years, the Biden-Harris administration has sustained an unrelenting attack on the freedom of speech, from supporting a massive censorship system (described by a federal court as an “Orwellian Ministry of Truth“) to...

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has proposed a 10-knot speed limit for much of the Atlantic coast in a bid to protect the Whale population. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As the federal government nears final approval for a 10-knot maritime speed limit along the East Coast, the Southeastern legal Foundation is warning that such a move would adversely impact the economies of coastal communities. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has proposed a 10-knot speed limit for much of the Atlantic coast in a bid to protect the whale population. Violators could face up to $20,000 in fines and one...

Donald Trump has won the Nevada caucuses and all its 26 delegates in the winner-take-all contest. This race has been over for weeks. It’s why Trump declared victory after winning the New Hampshire Primary because he’s running virtually unopposed. The only other person on the ballot is Ryan Binkley. All we needed was the vote totals for the caucus, which was held between 5 and 7:30 pm local time and eight and 10:30 pm EST. Decision Desk HQ projects Donald Trump wins the Nevada Republican Caucus. #DecisionMade: 11:04pm ETFollow more results here: https://t.co/RZF2DFbiyl pic.twitter.com/pFwMfr0Ej9— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) February 9,...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign is going so poorly, his team has had to resort to telling donors he has a shot at winning the U.S. Virgin Islands caucus. After getting trounced by former President Donald Trump in Iowa, DeSantis has faced growing calls from erstwhile allies like The Wall Street Journal and Fox News host Laura Ingraham to drop out of the race. He’s been deluged by a brutal firehose of obituaries for “the worst campaign in history” that “could go down as one of the most colossal bonfires of cash in American political history” for torching hundreds...

Reports are that the Ron DeSantis campaign is telling donors he has a shot at winning delegates in next month’s caucuses in the U.S. Virgin Islands. However, what the campaign’s plan is to do that remains unclear at this writing. Spokesman Andrew Romeo didn’t respond to a couple of our inquiries regarding how Team DeSantis intends to tackle the Feb. 8 plebiscite. Meanwhile, VI Republicans say there has been no communication between the DeSantis operation and local officials, in contrast to the Trump and Haley operations, which have plans for VI events the day after the New Hampshire Primary (an...

President Joe Biden reportedly took his 418th vacation day on Wednesday to travel to the U.S. Virgin Islands for New Year’s. Biden had already spent 417 days (39 percent of his presidency) on vacation, according to the Republican National Committee’s Vacation Tracker. Biden’s “vacation” days include 100 of the 135 weekends in one of his two Delaware homes, at Camp David, or in Democrat billionaires’ mansions. Biden flew to St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands with several family members, though the White House refused to say how many members would join Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden.

President Biden and first lady Jill Biden are jetting off to the Virgin Islands to ring in the new year, leaving the country behind to grapple with a seemingly never-ending migrant crisis. It will be the first family’s second holiday trip in two years to St. Croix as the US deals with a deadly disaster — last year Biden enjoyed his tropical vacation while a winter blast killed dozens of people.

A federal judge ordered the names of 177 associates of the late convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein to be made public in 2024 with the unsealing of court documents. The judge on Monday ordered the names to be unsealed in connection to a defamation case brought by Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre against Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's former girlfriend who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for sex crimes. Hundreds of files related to the associates are set to be released on Jan. 1, but will likely be made public the following day as Jan. 1 is a holiday. The...

Ron DeSantis boldly proclaimed that he would win Iowa in a virtual speech for members of the Virgin Islands GOP Committee on Monday. DeSantis dismissed his fellow GOP rivals Nikki Haley and Mike Pence, saying that Republican voters would not choose them. He said that his campaign estimated that 20% of Republicans would vote for Donald Trump and 35% would definitely not vote for Trump. That left 45% still figuring out who to vote for. DeSantis said early voters in Iowa and New Hampshire would vote for him because “I have a record of being a very strong leader.” “We’re...

For two decades, the U.S. Virgin Islands’ most prominent government and elected officials - as well as their pet charities, educational institutions and causes - were paid millions of dollars by Jeffrey Epstein in the form of salaries, campaign contributions and consultant fees. His most trusted employee was the U.S. territory’s first lady. At the same time, USVI authorities paid little mind to the young women and girls he shuttled through the St. Thomas airport following his 2008 Palm Beach conviction for soliciting a minor for sex. Epstein’s abuse of underage girls became so well publicized that his hideaway, an...

...LEE EXPECTED TO REMAIN A POWERFUL HURRICANE THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK... ...DANGEROUS BEACH CONDITIONS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP AROUND THE WESTERN ATLANTIC THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK...

Newly filed court documents show that the Virgin Islands Attorney General investigating Epstein faced political pressure to give the pedophile a special waiver. Virgin Islands Attorney General Denise George vigorously prosecuted Jeffrey Epstein-related cases until she was unexpectedly fired by V.I. Governor Albert Bryan Jr. last December. The sudden dismissal sent shockwaves throughout the islands and made international headlines, with many speculating that Bryan’s decision was shaped by her legal pursuit of Epstein’s allies. Just a month before her surprise ouster, George had won a $105 million settlement against Epstein’s estate and filed an additional case against Epstein’s alleged allies...

Delegate Stacey Plaskett (D-VI) defended censorship on Thursday, arguing that certain views should not enjoy the free speech protections of the First Amendment, which she said was limited by the Supreme Court. Plaskett, the ranking member of the minority on the House Weaponization Subcommittee, attacked the alleged views of one of the witnesses, Democratic Party presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, calling them hateful. “This is not the free speech that I know of,” she said. She recalled a recent controversy over remarks Kennedy made about the coronavirus affecting some population groups more than others, among other past comments.

“Having Trump not only having the codes but now having the classified information for Americans and being able to put that out and share it in his resort with anyone and everything who comes through should be terrifying to all Americans,” Plaskett said. “He needs to be (shot) — stopped.”Freudian slip or not, had a Republican suggested that President Biden be shot, they would’ve already been in FBI custody.