10 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

11 h. ago How US actions in Venezuela and beyond could spell opportunity for China

America’s military action in Venezuela and President Donald Trump’s talk of owning Greenland are stoking concerns that the United States is dismantling the rules-based global order. But this could also be a diplomatic opening for China as it tries to portray itself, in contrast, as a more responsible and stabilising power. Analysts said while this aligned with Beijing’s push to strengthen ties with its neighbours – a strategic move as its rivalry with Washington has intensified – concrete...

Politics

59 h. ago The US has sent a ‘dangerous’ message in Venezuela and China must act, legal expert warns

China needs to legislate to protect itself against the risk of “external suppression” and safeguard its technology and supply chains, a legal expert with a top Beijing think tank has warned. Li Honglei, head of a Communist Party committee that oversees two law institutes under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said tighter national security legislation was needed to make the country more “resilient”. He said the risks had been laid bare by America’s abduction of the former Venezuelan...

Events

59 h. ago US seizes sixth sanctioned tanker as it tightens grip on Venezuela’s oil

US forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, part of a broader US effort to take control of the South American country’s oil. The US Coast Guard boarded the tanker, named Veronica, early Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on social media. The ship had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of US President Donald Trump’s “established quarantine of...

Events

3 d. ago Trump prevails in US Senate showdown over Venezuela war powers

US President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign to unify his party behind his takeover of Venezuela succeeded Wednesday when all but three Senate Republicans voted to block a resolution opposing further military action in the country. US Vice-President J.D. Vance broke a tie vote in order to stop the resolution. The 51-50 vote followed fiery phone calls from Trump to Republican defectors who last week voted to advance the resolution. Trump’s success in flipping votes effectively ends one of the...

Politics

3 d. ago Trump praises Venezuela’s ‘terrific’ interim president after call

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he had held a “long call” with Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodriguez, the first known contact between the two leaders since the ousting of Nicolas Maduro. “We just had a great conversation today, and she’s a terrific person,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. He later said on social media that he and Rodriguez had discussed “many topics”, including oil, minerals, trade and national security. “We are making tremendous progress,” Trump...

Politics

5 d. ago Trump sets meeting with Machado as Venezuela frees more prisoners

Washington announced Monday that Venezuelan opposition figure Maria Corina Machado will meet US President Donald Trump this week as pressure grew on the interim leadership in Caracas to speed up the release of political prisoners. Machado has been sidelined by Washington since US forces seized long-term authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro on January 3 and the Trump administration announced it would be “running” Venezuela. Disregarding Machado and her understudy Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, Trump...

Events

5 d. ago Trump says might keep Exxon out of Venezuela after CEO called it ‘uninvestable’

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he might block ExxonMobil from investing in Venezuela after the oil major’s CEO called the country “uninvestable” during a White House meeting last week. Exxon CEO Darren Woods told Trump that Venezuela would need to change its laws before it could be an attractive investment opportunity, during the high-profile meeting on Friday with at least 17 other oil executives. Trump had urged the group to spend US$100 billion to revitalise Venezuela’s oil...

Politics

5 d. ago Trump says might keep Exxon out of Venezuela after CEO called country ‘uninvestable’

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he might block ExxonMobil from investing in Venezuela after the oil major’s CEO called the country “uninvestable” during a White House meeting last week. Exxon CEO Darren Woods told Trump that Venezuela would need to change its laws before it could be an attractive investment opportunity, during the high-profile meeting on Friday with at least 17 other oil executives. Trump had urged the group to spend US$100 billion to revitalise Venezuela’s oil...

Politics

6 d. ago Zheng Yongnian on Trump, Venezuela and why China doesn’t want ‘a separate kitchen’

Zheng Yongnian is a leading Chinese political scientist and government adviser, with a focus on the country’s transformation and foreign relations. In his third interview for the Open Questions series, Zheng discusses the “Donroe Doctrine” and its implications for the existing world order – and an emerging one. For other interviews in the series, click here. On Venezuela, you have noted that the US pivot to Latin America could reshape the regional order and that Donald Trump’s warnings to other...

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

7 d. ago China and Russia ‘whining from the sidelines’ as US pushes back on Venezuela: China expert

China and Russia ‘whining from the sidelines’ as US pushes back on Venezuela: China expert  Fox News

Politics

7 d. ago China and Russia ‘on the sidelines whining' as US pushes back on Venezuela: China expert

China and Russia ‘on the sidelines whining' as US pushes back on Venezuela: China expert  Fox News

Politics

8 d. ago Trump ‘cancelled’ second attacks on Venezuela after prisoner release, eyes oil investments

US President Donald Trump said on Friday he called off a second wave of attacks on Venezuela after the government, whose leftist president was removed by Washington, began releasing prisoners. Trump made the comments as he prepared to meet major oil corporations that he said will invest at least US$100 billion in Venezuela, which has the world’s largest oil reserves. Trump was implicitly making clear he is ready again to use force to get his way in Venezuela, which he has vowed to force to...

Events

8 d. ago China says it is still ‘deeply committed’ to Venezuela as ambassador meets new leader

China said on Friday it would continue to offer its firm support to Venezuela after its ambassador met the country’s interim president Delcy Rodriguez. She described her meeting with Chinese ambassador Lan Hu as “cordial” and thanked Beijing for its condemnation of the abduction of former leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. “We value China’s firm and consistent stance in strongly condemning the serious violation of international law and Venezuelan sovereignty,” Rodriguez...

Politics

8 d. ago China ready to deepen cooperation with Venezuela amid evolving political situation, spokesperson said

China ready to deepen cooperation with Venezuela amid evolving political situation, spokesperson said  news.cgtn.com

Politics

8 d. ago Trump’s comment that Taiwan issue is ‘up to Xi’ stirs defence concern in Taipei

US President Donald Trump’s suggestion that the Taiwan issue is “up to” Chinese leader Xi Jinping has stirred fresh concerns about the United States’ defence commitment among some on the island. Responding to Trump’s remarks, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Friday that Taiwan was an inalienable part of China’s territory and that the Taiwan question was purely China’s internal affair. Mao said that resolving the Taiwan issue was a matter for the Chinese people alone and...

Politics

9 d. ago Venezuela releasing ‘significant number’ of prisoners in bid to ‘seek peace’

Venezuela released citizens and foreigners from its prisons on Thursday in what a top government official described as a gesture to “seek peace” less than a week after former President Nicolas Maduro was captured by US forces to face federal drug-trafficking charges in New York. Jorge Rodriguez, brother of Acting President Delcy Rodriguez and head of the National Assembly, did not specify who they would be releasing or how many people would be released. But he said the release of prisoners “is...

Events

9 d. ago Venezuela frees opposition figures and activists, which Trump says US requested

Venezuela released a number of imprisoned high-profile opposition figures, activists and journalists - both citizens and foreigners - on Thursday in what the government described as a gesture to “seek peace” less than a week after former president Nicolas Maduro was captured by US forces to face drug-trafficking charges. US President Donald Trump, who has been pressuring Maduro allies now leading the country to fold to his vision for the future of the oil-rich nation, said the releases came at...

Politics

9 d. ago US senate rejects Trump’s Venezuela threats with war powers vote

The Senate advanced a resolution Thursday that would limit US President Donald Trump’s ability to conduct further attacks against Venezuela, sounding a note of disapproval for his expanding ambitions in the western hemisphere. Democrats and five Republicans voted to advance the war powers resolution on a 52-47 vote and ensure a vote next week on final passage. It has virtually no chance of becoming law because Trump would have to sign it if it were to pass the Republican-controlled House. Still,...

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