4 d. ago Pope fires warning at Trump amid fears US is preparing for war against Venezuela

The Pope has warned Donald Trump not to oust Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro amid ratcheting fears of a US invasion.

Events

4 d. ago Pope Leo urges Trump not to use military force to oust Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro

The first American pope suggested that dialogue or economic sanctions would be a more appropriate course of action

Politics

6 d. ago Trump confirms he recently spoke with Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro

Trump remained tight-lipped on details of call with Venezuelan president as tensions rise between countriesDonald Trump confirmed on Sunday that he had spoken with Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, but he did not provide details on what the two leaders discussed.“I don’t want to comment on it. The answer is yes,” the US president said when asked if he had spoken with Maduro. He was speaking to reporters onboard Air Force One. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Venezuelan leader Maduro may seem desperate. But his loyalty vs punishment strategy is hard to crack

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was once critical of English

Politics

7 d. ago Venezuela denounces ‘colonialist threat’ as Trump orders airspace closed

President made declaration in a social media post, after FAA last week warned airlines of ‘worsening security situation’The Venezuelan government has responded defiantly to the heightened pressure by the US government, including Donald Trump’s recent statements on Saturday that the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela is to be closed in its entirety.In a statement, the Venezuelan government said Trump’s comments are a “colonialist threat” against their sovereignty and violate international law. The government also said it demanded respect for its airspace and would not accept foreign orders or threats. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Details of Trump's secret phone call with Venezuelan leader emerge as Pentagon hits back at chilling 'kill everybody' message

New reporting has revealed that Donald Trump and Nicolás Maduro spoke on the phone last week, as Pete Hegseth doubles down on lethal force against potential drug traffickers.

Events

8 d. ago Trump vows to launch land operations against Venezuelan drug traffickers ‘very soon’

Trump’s announcement that increased action will be taken comes as the United States’ military presence continues to build in the Caribbean

Politics

1 week ago The Latest: US to label Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles as a terror organization

President Donald Trump’s administration is set to ramp up pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Monday by designating the Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization

Events

2 w. ago EU imposes sanctions on Russian prison officials responsible for death of Ukrainian journalist

Viktoriia Roshchyna died aged 27 after a year in extrajudicial detention at a jail notorious for tortureEurope live – latest updatesThe European Union has imposed sanctions against Russian prison officials responsible for the death of the Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna.Roshchyna was reporting on Russia’s systematic policy of extrajudicial detention and torture in occupied parts of Ukraine, before falling victim to it herself. She died at the age of 27 last year after more than a year in Russian captivity. Her body was returned earlier this year with some of the internal organs missing. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Documents reveal Gerald Ford’s effort to block report on CIA assassination plots

Release of report comes amid conjecture Trump may have authorized the agency to assassinate Venezuelan presidentThe White House under Gerald Ford tried to block a landmark Senate report that disclosed the CIA’s role in assassination attempts against foreign leaders and ultimately led to a radical overhaul in how the agency was held to account, documents released to mark the 50th anniversary of the report’s publication reveal.The documents, dating from 1975, were posted on Thursday by the National Security Archive, an independent research group, as it sought to highlight the report’s significance amid conjecture that Donald Trump may have authorized the agency to assassinate Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, amid a massive US military build-up against the country. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Judge to proceed with contempt probe after US flew migrants to El Salvador prison in March

A federal judge has asked attorneys to identify witnesses and offer plans for how to conduct a contempt probe of the Trump administration for failing to turn around planes carrying Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador in March

Events

2 w. ago 'War on drugs' or political agitation? Assessing Trump's actions in Venezuela – video explainer

In August, Donald Trump started a campaign of aggression against Venezuela. The US president first launched airstrikes on alleged drug boats off the coast of the South American country – a move largely condemned as extrajudicial killings – then deployed US naval assets in the Caribbean. The Guardian's Latin America correspondent, Tom Phillips, explains why the claims the targeted boats were carrying drugs destined for the US are dubious and what Trump's actions could mean for the Venezuelan president, Nicolás MaduroVenezuela’s Maduro urges Trump to avoid Afghanistan-style ‘forever war’ Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago US will label supposed Venezuelan drug cartel ‘headed by Maduro’ as terrorist organization

Experts believe decision is designed to pressure Venezuela’s leader into stepping down with threat of military forceIs US preparing to attack Venezuela and how has Maduro regime responded?The US has said it will designate a putative Venezuelan drug cartel allegedly led by Nicolás Maduro as a foreign terrorist organization, as the Trump administration sent more mixed messages over its crusade against Venezuela’s authoritarian leader.The move to target the already proscribed group, the Cartel de los Soles (Cartel of the Suns), was announced by Marco Rubio on Sunday. “Headed by the illegitimate Nicolás Maduro, the group has corrupted the institutions of government in Venezuela and is responsible for terrorist violence conducted by and with other designated FTOs as well as for trafficking drugs into the United States and Europe,” the US secretary of state tweeted, generating excitement among hardline adversaries of Maduro who interpreted the announcement as proof Washington was preparin...

Events

2 w. ago Bizarre moment Venezuelan tyrant belts out John Lennon hit ‘Imagine’ in peace message to Trump amid fears of war with US

THIS is the baffling moment Venezuelan despot Nicolas Maduro belts out "Imagine" by John Lenon in a desperate peace bid to Donald Trump. The autocrat's cringey rendition came amid spiralling fears of all-out war between the US and Venezuela. In the bizarre footage, tyrannical Maduro is seen addressing a crowd as he speaks on the...

Events

3 w. ago Inside El Salvador’s hellish supermax prison: Migrant detainees deported by Trump tell of harrowing abuse and torture

The Trump administration deported dozens of alleged members of a Venezuelan gang to El Salvador earlier this year as part of the US’s migration crackdown

Events

3 w. ago Venezuelans sent by Trump to El Salvador endured systematic torture, report finds

Human rights groups accuse Trump officials of complicity and draw comparison with scandal at Abu Ghraib prisonMore than 252 Venezuelans expelled to El Salvador under Donald Trump’s mass deportation policy suffered systematic and prolonged torture and abuse, including sexual assault, during their detention, according to a report published on Wednesday.The report, compiled jointly by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Cristosal – a group investigating violations in Central America – says conditions at El Salvador’s sprawling “terrorist continent center” (Cecot) breached the UN’s standard minimal rules for the treatment of prisoners. It cites “inhumane prison conditions, including prolonged incommunicado detention, inadequate food” and other shortcomings. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago What a reporter found when she investigated US military strikes on Venezuelan drug boats

Regina Garcia Cano was the reporter behind The Associated Press’ story that provided the first comprehensive account and identifies of some of the men killed in recent U.S. military strikes on alleged drug smuggling boats

Events