Venezuela

US–Venezuela: Drug War or Military Showdown?

In just two weeks, two Venezuelan vessels have been hit by US strikes in the Caribbean, ordered by Donald Trump. The ships were allegedly used to transport cocaine and fentanyl to the US. Three people were killed. Washington accuses Nicolás Maduro of leading a drug cartel and offers $50 million for his capture. In response, Caracas mobilizes ...

Trump Announces 2nd Strike on Alleged Venezuela Drug Traffickers

US President Donald Trump announced a new military strike on a boat carrying alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean on Monday, saying three "narcoterrorists" from Venezuela were killed. "This morning, on my Orders, U.S. Military Forces conducted a SECOND Kinetic Strike against positively identified, extraordinarily violent drug trafficking ...

Maduro Deploys 25,000 Troops to Venezuela Borders

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said he had deployed 25,000 troops along the Caribbean coast and the border with Colombia amid soaring tensions with US President Donald Trump. In a message Sunday night on social media, Maduro said he had deployed "25,000 men and women from our glorious National Bolivarian Armed Forces" to the frontier with ...

US Strike Marks Shift to Military Action against Drug Cartels

US President Donald Trump's deadly strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat from Venezuela marks a significant escalation from law enforcement to military action against cartels that his administration has branded as terror groups. Video footage posted by Trump on social media Tuesday showed a multi-engine speedboat with several people aboard ...

Trump says 11 Dead in US Strike on Drug-Carrying Boat from Venezuela

President Donald Trump said US forces had attacked a boat carrying drugs to the United States Tuesday, killing 11 "narcoterrorists" from a gang he alleged was controlled by leftist Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Trump posted a video online of an open-topped speedboat carrying a number of people traveling on a body of water before it ...

Venezuela's Maduro Wins Landslide in Election Boycotted by Opposition

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's party on Sunday swept the board in parliamentary and regional elections that were boycotted by the opposition in protest over his disputed re-election last year. The United Socialist Party of Venezuela won 23 out of 24 state governor positions and scored 82.68 percent of the votes cast for lists of National ...

From El Salvador mega-jail, Trump's homeland security chief tells migrants 'do not come'

US President Donald Trump's homeland security chief on Wednesday visited the mega-prison in El Salvador where hundreds of Venezuelan migrants have been deported under contested legal grounds. Standing in front of a cell of inmates who were stripped to the waist, revealing their tattooed torsos, Kristi Noem recorded a message telling others ...

US Deports Over 200 Gang Members to El Salvador Despite Court Block

The United States flew over 200 alleged members of a Venezuelan gang to be imprisoned in El Salvador, President Nayib Bukele said Sunday, after US counterpart Donald Trump controversially invoked wartime legislation to expel them. The deportations took place despite a US federal judge granting a temporary suspension of the expulsions order, ...

Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia is Venezuela's "president-elect", says US

The United States said Tuesday it recognizes opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as president-elect of Venezuela -- the first time it called him that -- four months after a disputed election in which incumbent Nicolas Maduro claimed victory amid accusations of fraud. The statement from Secretary of State Anthony Blinken prompted a ...

Brazil Warns Caracas Over Essequibo

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva warned his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro against any attempt to invade the Essequibo, a province of neighboring Guyana, during a telephone conversation on Saturday, December 9. Caracas currently has its sights set on this oil-rich region. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva urged his ...

Tensions Rise Between Guyana and Venezuela Over Essequibo

Tensions increased between Venezuela and Guyana following a referendum held by the former on Sunday, December 3rd, concerning the annexation of Guyana's Essequibo province. Claimed by Caracas, this region is rich in natural resources, particularly oil. Tensions rose between Venezuela and Guyana on Tuesday as Caracas proposed a bill to create a ...