3 d. ago Why the US may find Iran’s air defence system harder to break than Venezuela’s

A bit more than a week after the United States abducted former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a raid on Caracas, US President Donald Trump is threatening military action against Iran, which is seeing a massive wave of anti-government protests. Yet a strike aimed at taking out the Iranian leadership could prove harder, given that Iran’s more sophisticated air defence system is also reported to be integrating China’s most advanced exported technology. On Tuesday, Trump wrote on his social...

Politics

8 d. ago How far is China willing to go to help Cuba in face of increasing US pressure?

China is expected to be cautious about confronting the United States over Cuba as Washington ramps up its threats following the abduction of former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. Since the raid on Caracas, the White House has increasingly turned its attention towards the western hemisphere’s only Communist state, along with Colombia and Greenland, with President Donald Trump saying “Cuba looks like it’s ready to fall”. Havana is also heavily reliant on subsidised Venezuelan oil and is...

Events

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

1 week ago AI deepfakes flood social media after dramatic US raid on Maduro

From AI deepfakes to recycled, outdated images, a surge of visual misinformation has inundated social media platforms after US forces seized Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a stunning raid on his Caracas home. Collectively racking up millions of views, the fake or misleading posts underscore a new digital reality in which hyperrealistic misinformation competes for attention with – and often drowns out – authentic images and videos following major news events. Soon after Maduro’s capture,...

Events

1 week ago Trump says Greenland is ‘surrounded’ by Chinese ships. What’s the real story?

Just 24 hours after abducting the former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife from Caracas, US President Donald Trump had already named his next potential target for military action: Greenland. Trump has been discussing “a range of options” – including the use of armed force – to acquire the self-governed Danish territory, the White House said on Tuesday. What would a US takeover of Greenland mean for China, if it were to really happen? The Post breaks down trade relations between the...

Politics

1 week ago The Maduro effect: regime change fears grip Asia’s autocrats after US raid on Venezuela

The United States’ dramatic capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro at the weekend has sent shock waves across Asia, where analysts say authoritarian rulers, now deeply wary of Washington’s motives, are likely to draw closer to Moscow and Beijing. US special forces stormed Maduro’s residence in Caracas early on Saturday morning, seizing the Venezuelan leader and his wife before flying them to the US, where both face federal charges of narcoterrorism and drug trafficking. Washington has long...

Politics

1 week ago Chinese firm owner in Venezuela warns of spillover after Maduro’s abduction

Eight years after leaving Venezuela, David Hou, a native of southern China’s Guangdong province, returned last year, pleased to find what he described as an improved economic environment. That optimism is now shrouded in uncertainty after the United States abducted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on allegations of narcoterrorism and possessing “destructive devices” – charges he has firmly rejected. While the full impact has yet to be felt, the situation is “making people anxious and very...

Events

1 week ago US’ Asian allies reluctant to slam Trump over Venezuela despite his ‘cowboy tactics’

The mild responses by America’s Asian allies in response to the US military strike on Venezuela stem from a desire not to “bite the hand that feeds” them, analysts have said, noting that some countries were buying time by claiming to monitor the situation. Following the raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday to face narcoterrorism charges on US soil, President Donald Trump declared on Sunday that Washington was “in charge” of the South American nation, including its...

Politics

1 week ago If the US seizes control of Venezuela’s oil, who wins – and who loses?

After US air strikes hit Caracas on Saturday, Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife were detained and transferred to the United States. US President Donald Trump later said his country planned to “run” Venezuela for the time being and take control of its oil reserves. In the wake of the military operation, the Post examines the potential winners and losers in the global oil market. Who are the winners? The US stands to be the biggest beneficiary. One immediate implication could be...

Politics

1 week ago Venezuela’s Maduro arrives at New York federal courthouse on drug trafficking charges

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was due to be arraigned in a New York court on Monday on charges of narcoterrorism and possession of illegal weapons, after being forcibly taken into US custody following a strike on his Caracas compound 60 hours earlier. The indictment, which was filed in secret on December 25, and unveiled on Saturday, accuses Maduro of heading a “corrupt, illegitimate government” powered by an extensive drug-trafficking network that flooded the US with thousands of tons of...

Events

1 week ago Venezuela’s Maduro says he is ‘innocent’, declares he is ‘president of my country’

Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro told a New York court on Monday he was innocent and an upright person as he and his wife entered pleas of not guilty on charges of narcoterrorism and possession of illegal weapons after being forcibly taken into US custody following a US strike on his Caracas compound 60 hours earlier. During the brief hearing where the charges were read out and pleas entered, Maduro, 63, took notes, asked the judge to allow him to hold on to them and opted not to ask for...

Politics

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 Power vacuum in Caracas? Venezuelans wonder who’s in charge after Maduro capture

Venezuelans on Saturday scrambled to understand who was in charge of their country after the US military captured President Nicolas Maduro, ousting the strongman who had outlasted a botched coup attempt, several army mutinies, mass protests and economic sanctions in the vast nation of 29 million. “What will happen tomorrow?” asked Juan Pablo Petrone, a resident of Venezuela’s capital of Caracas. As fear gripped the city, streets quickly emptied save for long lines snaking from supermarkets and...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump confirms US captured Maduro, bombed Caracas, hours after China meeting

US military strikes hit Venezuela’s capital before dawn on Saturday, with explosions shaking Caracas as President Donald Trump claimed that Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife had been captured and flown out of the country in a US operation. The escalation followed months of warnings from China over Washington’s growing military and economic pressure on the oil-producing nation. In a post on his Truth Social platform hours after the attacks, Trump said the United States had carried out...

Politics

2 w. ago China ‘deeply shocked’ as US attacks Venezuela, captures Nicolas Maduro

US military strikes hit Venezuela’s capital before dawn on Saturday, shaking Caracas as US President Donald Trump reported that Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife were captured and flown out of the country by US forces. The attack followed months of US sabre rattling and Chinese warnings over growing US military and economic pressure on its oil-producing ally. It also came hours after Maduro met China’s special representative on Latin American affairs, Qiu Xiaoqi, in Caracas. “I...

Events