11 h. ago Before Maduro’s capture in Venezuela, US spoke with minister who is his loyal ally

Trump administration officials had been in discussions with Venezuela’s hardline Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello months before the US operation to seize the country’s leader, Nicolas Maduro, and have been in communication with him since then, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. The officials warned Cabello, 62, against using the security services or militant ruling-party supporters overseen by him to target the country’s opposition, four sources said. That security...

Politics

39 h. ago Trump pick for South America command sidesteps China questions at Senate hearing

Days after the operation that abducted then Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, President Donald Trump’s nominee to command US forces in Latin America dodged pressure from senators to endorse a military-first plan to counter China’s growing influence in the region. Lieutenant General Francis Donovan, who is nominated to lead US Southern Command (Southcom), repeatedly declined to say whether Washington should rely mainly on force projection to push back against Beijing’s expanding footprint. The...

Politics

5 d. ago US action in Venezuela fuels Asia’s fears of collapsing rules

America’s capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro in a special operation sent shock waves across the world. With characteristically bombastic rhetoric, US President Donald Trump hailed Operation Absolute Resolve as “an assault like people have not seen since World War II” and “one of the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American military might” in history. His deputies were quick to add that the operation also showed the long arm of the US justice system by accusing...

Politics

6 d. ago Could China execute a special forces operation like the US precision Maduro abduction?

The extreme precision of the US in its Venezuelan operation shows why nations must be able to execute a complex special surgical strike, according to analysts who said China had long pursued the capability but had yet to master it. In a complex joint endeavour integrating its air force, navy, intelligence agencies and space and cyber units, the US military’s elite Delta Force special mission unit completed its precision raid in Caracas – from infiltration to exfiltration – in less than three...

Politics

7 d. ago How the US raid in Venezuela has triggered Brazilian fury and a Chinese opening

Last weekend, following the US military operation in Venezuela abducting its leader, Nicolas Maduro, Brazil’s president denounced the attack as a “flagrant violation of international law” and having “crossed an unacceptable line”. “These acts represent a grave affront to Venezuela’s sovereignty and yet another extremely dangerous precedent for the entire international community,” Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wrote on social media. Lula, who said attacking countries was “the first step towards a...

Politics

8 d. ago China's strategic partnership with Venezuela uncertain after U.S. operation to capture Maduro

China's strategic partnership with Venezuela uncertain after U.S. operation to capture Maduro  NBC News

Politics

9 d. ago Top South Korean official calls Trump’s Venezuela raid ‘violent atrocity’, stirring unease

Senior officials in South Korea’s Prime Minister’s Office are voicing concern over Park Seok-woon, a committee chairman under its authority, after he joined protests criticising US President Donald Trump and his administration over American military operations in Venezuela. Park, a long-time liberal activist, took part in a rally on Monday in front of the US embassy in Seoul, following an American military operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, who has been in power since 2013,...

Politics

9 d. ago Why US move against Maduro unlikely to drive China from Latin America

The US decision to raid Venezuela, detain its President Nicolas Maduro and bring him to the United States, ostensibly on drug trafficking charges, will have serious downstream effects, but of what variety? US President Donald Trump has already sent ominous warnings to other Latin American countries whose leaders oppose all or parts of his agenda – from Colombia to Cuba to Mexico – and threatened Maduro’s successor with similar, or worse, treatment if she does not cooperate. Does this suggest...

Politics

1 week ago Trump calls for US$1.5 trillion in military spending, citing ‘dangerous times’

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday proposed setting military spending at US$1.5 trillion in 2027, citing “troubled and dangerous times”. Trump called for the massive surge in spending days after he ordered a US military operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and spirit him out of the country to face drug trafficking charges in the United States. US forces continue to mass in the Caribbean Sea. The 2026 military budget is set at US$901 billion. Trump in recent days has also...

Events

1 week ago China’s $100 Billion Gamble On Venezuela In Jeopardy: Is Beijing The “Biggest Loser” Of U.S. Military Ops On Maduro?

China’s $100 Billion Gamble On Venezuela In Jeopardy: Is Beijing The “Biggest Loser” Of U.S. Military Ops On Maduro?  EurAsian Times

Events

1 week ago Venezuela attack seen as reminder for China to boost air defence, counter

The US operation to abduct Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro serves as a reminder for China to bolster its air defences and counter-intelligence protections, observers say. Analysts in China described Venezuela’s air defences – which rely largely on Russian technology – as “full of flaws and slow to react” amid the modern surveillance, cyber, and electronic warfare displayed by US forces in Saturday’s operation in Caracas. The operation could serve as a further case study for China, which has...

Events

1 week ago Trump’s US isn’t giving up on extraterritorial power, just the rules

The explosions that rocked Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, in the early hours of January 3, signalled the definitive collapse of the post-war international order. With the announcement that US forces had captured president Nicolas Maduro and his wife under “Operation Absolute Resolve,” the world has been thrust into a chilling new era. This is the era of the “Trump Corollary”, a doctrine that replaces diplomatic norms with raw power and turns the western hemisphere into a private arena for US...

Politics

1 week ago US ouster of Maduro prompts region to reassess China – and Trump’s next move: analysts

The US military operation that captured Venezuela’s president on Saturday is likely to force governments across Latin America to reassess how far China and Russia can protect their partners when Washington decides to act, according to analysts, as the United States signals a more assertive approach to the region. The operation, which removed President Nicolas Maduro and placed Venezuela under a US-managed “transition”, marked the most direct American military action in Latin America in...

Politics

1 week ago US ousting of Maduro prompts region to reassess China – and Trump’s next move: analysts

The US military operation that captured Venezuela’s president on Saturday is likely to force governments across Latin America to reassess how far China and Russia can protect their partners when Washington decides to act, according to analysts, as the United States signals a more assertive approach to the region. The operation, which removed President Nicolas Maduro and placed Venezuela under a US-managed “transition”, marked the most direct American military action in Latin America in...

Politics

1 week ago US attack on Venezuela ‘death certificate’ for UN, will trigger global arms race: analyst

The American attack on Venezuela on Saturday could further undermine international institutions and accelerate a global arms race, analysts warned, with one likening Washington’s actions to issuing a “death certificate” for the United Nations. On Saturday, in a surprise precision operation, the US military struck Venezuela and captured its leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife, who were later placed in detention in New York. President Donald Trump later said the US would run the South American...

Events

1 week ago Philippine lawmakers say US move on Venezuela complicates Manila’s rules

The Philippines’ long-standing alliance with the United States has come under fresh scrutiny after Washington’s move against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, with critics in Manila warning the action had complicated the country’s claim to champion a rules-based international order. Opposition lawmakers and analysts said the US operation, which resulted in Maduro being captured and brought to the United States to face charges, had left the Philippines “compromised” and exposed to charges of...

Politics

1 week ago ‘Straddle the middle ground’: Europe’s hard choice over US attacks against Venezuela

Caught in a diplomatic dilemma, European countries have distanced themselves from the United States’ military strikes and forced regime change in Venezuela, while also remaining hesitant to directly criticise Washington’s actions. There was shock around the world over the weekend after US President Donald Trump’s administration launched “Operation Absolute Resolve” to capture Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores and transport them to US territory before holding the...

Events

1 week ago China Demands Maduro's Release After U.S. Military Operation

China Demands Maduro's Release After U.S. Military Operation  조선일보

Events

1 week ago Caribbean holidaymakers stranded after US operation to seize Maduro halts flights

The US military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and flew him out of the country early on Saturday also disrupted Caribbean travel at a busy travel time for the region. No airline flights were crossing over Venezuela that day, according to FlightRadar24.com. Major airlines cancelled hundreds of flights across the eastern Caribbean region and warned passengers that disruptions could continue for days after the Federal Aviation Administration imposed...

Transport

2 w. ago Inside the US operation in Venezuela to capture President Nicolas Maduro

At 4.21am on Saturday, US President Donald Trump sent a message on his Truth Social platform: the United States had carried out a daring mission to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. The action came as a surprise, but according to sources familiar with the matter, planning for one of the most complex US operations in recent memory had been in the works for months and included detailed rehearsals. Elite US troops, including the US Army’s Delta Force, created an exact...

Politics