2 h. ago DoJ deemed it ‘unnecessary’ to conclude whether seizing Maduro violated law, memo reveals

Memo on US military raid to capture Venezuela’s president effectively argued that presidents can blow through UN charterUS politics live – latest updatesThe Trump administration received approval from the justice department to use the military to seize Nicolás Maduro even as it declined to address whether the operation would violate international law, according to its legal memo released on Tuesday.The dark-of-night raid to capture Venezuela’s president has raised a host of legal issues concerning the president’s power to start an armed conflict without congressional approval and possible breaches of international law. Continue reading...

Politics

4 h. ago What would happen if every state acted like Donald Trump’s America? | Kenneth Roth

In a might-makes-right world, US allies, not to mention the emerging powers of the global south, would begin to hedge their bets in dangerous waysWhat is wrong with resurrecting the prerogative of major powers to claim a sphere of influence in which they dictate and others must follow? That idea informs the “Donroe Doctrine” behind the US invasion of Venezuela to seize Nicolás Maduro. Donald Trump seems to believe that, as the world’s strongest military power, the United States should be allowed to invade other countries at will. Trump’s homeland security adviser, Stephen Miller, says “the real world” is “governed by strength”, by “power”, so we should get used to it.There is a beguiling simplicity to this abandonment of the norms long designed to govern the behavior of states big and small. China has touted it as the reality that its Asian neighbors must live with. Russia, a third-tier power by comparison but still a nuclear-armed regional heavyweight, has periodically treated the ...

Politics

34 h. ago Greenland is Europe’s credibility litmus test – it must show Trump that aggression carries a price | Fabian Zuleeg

In the new dog-eat-dog world order, appeasement doesn’t work. Time for the EU to grow upFabian Zuleeg is chief executive of the European Policy CentreDonald Trump’s intervention in Venezuela is not a one-off shock. It epitomises his approach of interventionist isolationism based on a revisionist, neo-nationalist agenda in which power is exercised bluntly, international rules are optional and alliances are transactional. In such a dog-eat-dog world, hesitation and ambiguity do not stabilise the system; they become vulnerabilities to be exploited by a volatile and predatory Washington.The seizure of Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, combined with Trump’s renewed musings about acquiring Greenland, potentially by using the US military, should dispel any lingering illusion that this is merely erratic behaviour. It reflects a worldview in which sovereignty is conditional, spheres of influence are legitimate, and coercion is normalised when it delivers results in the interest of Trump...

Politics

5 d. ago Trump’s Venezuela strike won’t distract voters from the crises at home | Steven Greenhouse

As Americans worry about healthcare and affordability, the ‘no more wars’ president is helping oil companies insteadImmediately after Donald Trump ordered a military strike in Venezuela, many critics focused on how that attack violated international law as well as the US War Powers Resolution. But there hasn’t been nearly enough focus on the domestic implications of Trump’s move.Trump seems to have ordered his Venezuela venture in part to flip the script away from domestic matters, where things aren’t going well for him. His approval ratings are under water, and he’s getting low marks on the economy, health policy (just 30% approval), inflation (31% approval on the cost of living), his immigration crackdown (41% approval) and his sending the national guard into US cities. Then there’s the big thumbs down that Americans are giving to his tariffs, which have helped push up prices even though candidate Trump promised to lower prices on day one.Steven Greenhouse is a journalist and auth...

Politics

5 d. ago Venezuela begins releasing political detainees to ‘consolidate peace’

Opposition leader María Corina Machado hails move to tackle ‘injustice’ as Spain’s foreign ministry confirms release of five Spanish nationalsFive days after the US seized Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela has announced it is releasing an “important number” of detainees in what the congressional president characterised as a gesture to “consolidate peace”.Former opposition candidate Enrique Márquez was among those released from prison, according to an opposition statement. “It’s all over now,” Márquez said in a video taken by a local journalist who accompanied him and his wife, as well as another opposition member Biagio Pilieri, who was also released. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Some US media are cheerleading Trump’s Venezuela raid. That’s not their job | Margaret Sullivan

An almost admiring feeling pervaded the early coverage – and not just among right-leaning outletsIf you believe the early public opinion polls, Americans are uncertain about last weekend’s raid on Venezuela and the seizure of the country’s leader, Nicolás Maduro.But many in the media seem to be trying to move that wavering needle to approval.Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago US protester arrested after TV interview says she was targeted due to Venezuela trip

Jessica Plichta faces misdemeanor charges, which locals say is a tactic of Grand Rapids, Michigan, police to suppress protestsJessica Plichta was arrested on 3 January after a live interview with a local news station about a Grand Rapids, Michigan, protest against the Trump administration’s seizure of Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s president, in an attack with a reported death toll of 100. The clip went immediately viral, racking up millions of views across social media. While the headlines focused on Plichta’s age (22) and that she’s a preschool teacher, Plichta believes the reason for her arrest – seemingly the only one among roughly 200 protesters – went beyond the day’s events.Plichta, who recently co-founded local group Grand Rapids Opponents of War, which helped organize Saturday’s protest, had visited the Venezuelan capital of Caracas just last month, amid the Trump administration’s blockade. She was a part of a delegation to the International People’s Assembly for Sovereignty a...

Events

6 d. ago US reportedly warns Maduro ally Diosdado Cabello he could be next

Interior minister told he must back acting president, while Marco Rubio lays out three-point plan for VenezuelaThe Trump administration has reportedly put Venezuela’s hardline interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, on notice that he could be next to fall if he does not support the acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, who has been in power since Nicolás Maduro was seized on Saturday.Reuters reported that US officials were “especially concerned” that Cabello, long seen by many as the regime’s real No 2, could sabotage Washington’s plan to keep key figures from Maduro’s inner circle in place in the name of stability while pursuing a transition and unrestricted access to Venezuela’s oil. Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago Trump administration reportedly warns Maduro ally Diosdado Cabello could be next

Washington signals interior minister must back acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, or face Nicolás Maduro’s fateThe Trump administration has reportedly put Venezuela’s hardline interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, on notice that he could be next to fall if he does not support the acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, who has been in power since the dictator, Nicolás Maduro, was seized on Saturday.Reuters reported that US officials are “especially concerned” that Cabello – long seen by many as the regime’s real number two – could sabotage Washington’s plan to keep key figures from Maduro’s inner circle in place in the name of stability while pursuing a transition – and unrestricted access to Venezuela’s oil. Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago ‘Dirty’ and ‘infested with drugs’: behind the New York jail holding Maduro and Combs

A slew of high-profile names have resided in Metropolitan detention center, accused of unsafe, inhumane conditionsAfter US military forces seized Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in Caracas during a controversial pre-dawn raid, they were ultimately spirited to one of this country’s most infamous jails: Metropolitan detention center in Brooklyn, New York.The deposed Venezuelan president and Flores will almost certainly reside in Metropolitan detention center (MDC) until their federal trial on drugs and weapons charge – inducting them into a notorious group that counts Sean “Diddy” Combs, Ghislaine Maxwell, Sam Bankman-Fried, and Mexican drug kingpin “El Chapo” as either current or previous members. Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago ‘Dirty’ and ‘infested with drugs’: the New York jail holding Maduro and Mangione

High-profile names including Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs have resided in Metropolitan detention center, accused of unsafe, inhumane conditionsAfter US military forces seized Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in Caracas during a controversial pre-dawn raid, they were ultimately spirited to one of this country’s most infamous jails: Metropolitan detention center in Brooklyn, New York.The deposed Venezuelan president and Flores will almost certainly reside in Metropolitan detention center (MDC) until their federal trial on drugs and weapons charge – inducting them into a notorious group that counts Sean “Diddy” Combs, Ghislaine Maxwell, Sam Bankman-Fried, and Mexican drug kingpin “El Chapo” as either current or previous members. Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago White House refuses to rule out using US military to 'acquire Greenland'

The statement, which said "utilising the US military is always an option," comes days after US commandos seized President Nicolás Maduro and his wife from their home while they slept

Events

8 d. ago Trump taking ‘drill, baby, drill’ plan to Venezuela ‘terrible’ for climate, experts warn

‘Everybody loses’ if production supercharged in country with largest known oil reserves, critics sayDonald Trump, by dramatically seizing Nicolás Maduro and claiming dominion over Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, has taken his “drill, baby, drill” mantra global. Achieving the president’s dream of supercharging the country’s oil production would be financially challenging – and if fulfilled, would be “terrible for the climate”, experts say.Trump has aggressively sought to boost oil and gas production within the US. Now, following the capture and arrest of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, he is seeking to orchestrate a ramp-up of drilling in Venezuela, which has the largest known reserves of oil in the world – equivalent to some 300bn barrels, according to research firm the Energy Institute. Continue reading...

Events

8 d. ago Trump was ‘morally right’ to attack Venezuela and seize Maduro, says Kemi Badenoch

‘The legal certainty is not yet clear, morally I do think it was the right thing to do,’ Tory leader says

Politics

8 d. ago Deep in the vaults: the Bank of England’s £1.4bn Venezuelan gold conundrum

Nicolás Maduro’s seizure by US reopens question of who controls country’s reserves held in the UKTrump suggests US taxpayers could reimburse oil firmsBusiness live – latest updatesVenezuela live – latest updatesDeep under London’s streets, thousands of miles from Caracas, Nicolás Maduro’s seizure by the US has reopened a multibillion-dollar question: who controls Venezuela’s gold reserves at the Bank of England?After the ousting of Maduro, global attention has largely focused on the South American country’s vast oil wealth – believed to be the largest reserves of any nation in the world. However, Venezuela also has significant gold holdings – including bullion worth at least $1.95bn (£1.4bn) frozen in Britain. Continue reading...

Economics

8 d. ago Mystery trader wins $400,000 after making crypto bet on the downfall of Venezuela's Maduro

The trader's account on Polymarket built up positions in contracts tied to Maduro's removal on terms that implied long odds before the weekend raid.

Politics

8 d. ago Colombia's president vows to 'take up arms' amid Trump threats after Maduro captured

Trump said over the weekend that Gustavo Petro should ‘watch his ass’ after Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro seized

Politics

8 d. ago Europe’s failure to condemn Trump’s illegal aggression in Venezuela isn’t just wrong – it’s stupid | Nathalie Tocci

The more European countries act as colonies, unable and unwilling to stand up to Trump, the more they’ll be treated as suchThere is no two without a three, as we say in Italian. After their complicit silence on Israel’s war crimes in Gaza and their tacit acceptance of the US/Israel attack on Iran, Europeans now hesitate to condemn the US’s audacious military operation to bring about regime change in Venezuela. With few notable exceptions – such as Spain, the Netherlands and Norway – most European leaders have fudged their response. Spain, in fact, has acted without its EU partners, condemning the US attack alongside a group of Latin American countries. European governments seem unable to utter in the same breath that, although Nicolás Maduro was an illegitimate dictator, the US attack to topple him is a gross violation of international law.The French president, Emmanuel Macron, the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, at least...

Events

8 d. ago Chaos as gunfire erupts near Miraflores Palace after US forces seize Maduro

Heavy gunfire was heard near Venezuela's presidential palace in Caracas on Monday night, amid ongoing chaos following the seizure of President Nicolas Maduro by US special forces to face drug trafficking charges in New York

Events

8 d. ago Gunfire erupts near Venezuela presidential palace after Maduro seized by US forces

Chaos erupted in Venezuela on Monday night as gunfire rang out near the presidential palace

Politics