Page 16 - Donald Trump Administration

From Cold War era to Venezuela: A look at previous US military invasions

As the Venezuela operation and capture of Nicolas Maduro revives questions over US presidential war powers, a look back at US military invasions since 1950 and how they were authorised

32 Cuban officers killed in Trump's military operation in Venezuela

An American military operation in Venezuela killed 32 Cuban officers over the weekend, the Cuban government said Sunday in the first official acknowledgement of the deaths. The Cuban military and police officers were on a mission the Caribbean country's military was carrying out at the request of Venezuela's government, according to a statement read on Cuban state TV on Sunday night. What the Cubans were working on in the South American nation was unclear, but Cuba is a close ally of Venezuela's government has sent military and police forces to assist in operations for years. You know, a lot of Cubans were killed yesterday, US President Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he flew Sunday night from Florida back to Washington. There was a lot of death on the other side. No death on our side. Cuba's government announced two days of mourning. Faithful to their responsibilities for security and defence, our compatriots fulfilled their duty with dignity and heroism and f

Maduro's defiant dance may have triggered US operation in Venezuela

Maduro's public dance came shortly after the US carried out a strike on a dock it said was being used for drug trafficking

After Venezuela, Trump hints at US military intervention in these countries

US military operation in Venezuela followed months of rising tensions, during which Washington sank more than 30 suspected drug-smuggling vessels since September 2025

Why Donald Trump's Venezuela oil revival plan is a $100 billion gamble

Years of corruption, underinvestment, fires and thefts have left the nation's crude infrastructure in tatters

Denmark warns Trump to stop Greenland threats amid tensions with Venezuela

The remarks followed a late-Saturday post on X by Katie Miller, the wife of Trump deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, showing Greenland depicted in the colors of the US flag alongside the single-wor

Maduro's case revives debate on foreign leader immunity in Noriega trial

When deposed Venezuelan leader Nicols Maduro makes his first appearance in a New York courtroom Monday to face US drug charges, he will likely follow the path taken by another Latin American strongman toppled by US forces: Panama's Manuel Noriega. Maduro was captured Saturday, 36 years to the day after Noriega was removed by American forces. And as was the case with the Panamanian leader, lawyers for Maduro are expected to contest the legality of his arrest, arguing that he is immune from prosecution as a sovereign head of foreign state, which is a bedrock principle of international and US law. It's an argument that is unlikely to succeed and was largely settled as a matter of law in Noriega's trial, legal experts said. Although Trump's ordering of the operation in Venezuela raises constitutional concerns because it wasn't authorised by Congress, now that Maduro is in the US, courts will likely bless his prosecution because, like Noriega, the US doesn't recognise him as Venezuela's .

US intervention in Venezuela tests Trump's ability to keep GOP together

President Donald Trump's military intervention in Venezuela will pose a fresh test of his ability to hold together a restive Republican coalition during a challenging election year. While most Republicans lined up behind the president in the immediate aftermath of the stunning US mission to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and bring him to the United States to face criminal charges, there were signs of unease across the spectrum within the party. In particular, Trump's comments about the US positioning itself to run Venezuela have raised concerns that he is abandoning the America First philosophy that has long distinguished him from more traditional Republicans and helped fuel his political rise. This is the same Washington playbook that we are so sick and tired of that doesn't serve the American people, but actually serves the big corporations, the banks and the oil executives, outgoing GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a former Trump ally, told NBC's Meet the Pre

Venezuela's V-P could face fate worse than Maduro if she defies US: Trump

US President Donald Trump told The Atlantic on Sunday in a telephone interview that Delcy Rodrguez, Venezuela's vice president, could pay a very big price if she doesn't do what he thinks is right for the South American country. That contrasted with the Republican president's comments about Rodrguez on Saturday when he said Secretary of State Marco Rubio had spoken with her and that she was willing to do what the US thinks is needed to improve the standard of living in Venezuela. But Rodrguez has criticised Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro's removal from the country and has demanded that the US return him. Trump told the magazine that if she doesn't do what's right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro. The president told the New York Post in an interview Saturday that the US wouldn't need to station troops in Venezuela if she does what we want.

Venezuela Prez Maduro captured and flown out of country, announces Trump

Venezuela's government accused the United States of attacking civilian and military installations in multiple states after at least seven explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard around 2 a.m. local time Saturday in the capital, Caracas. The Pentagon and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Smoke could be seen rising from the hangar of a military base in Caracas. Another military installation in the capital was without power. People in various neighbourhoods rushed to the streets. Some could be seen in the distance from various areas of Caracas. The whole ground shook. This is horrible. We heard explosions and planes, said Carmen Hidalgo, a 21-year-old office worker, her voice trembling. She was walking briskly with two relatives, returning from a birthday party. We felt like the air was hitting us. Venezuela's government, in the statement, called on its supporters to take to the streets. People to the streets! the statement said. The Bolivarian .

Trump invites Japan PM Takaichi for first US visit amid tensions with China

President Donald Trump invited Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a phone call Friday to visit the United States this year, the Japanese foreign ministry said, in what would be the ultraconservative leader's first trip to the US since taking office in October. The White House is yet to confirm the call and the invitation. It comes as ties between Japan and China have been strained, ramping up tensions in the region. The US, a close ally of Japan, is seeking to strengthen its ties with Tokyo but also stabilize its relationship with Beijing ahead of a likely trip by Trump to China in April. Beijing staged two-day military exercises in the waters off Taiwan this week. Takaichi, Japan's first female prime minister, infuriated China late last year when she said Chinese military action against Taiwan could be grounds for a Japanese military response, breaking away from former Japanese leaders' strategic ambiguity on the highly sensitive matter. In a statement Friday, the Japane

US Coast Guard search for survivors after attacks on alleged drug boat

The US Coast Guard said Friday it's still searching for people in the eastern Pacific Ocean who had jumped off alleged drug-smuggling boats when the US military attacked the vessels days earlier, diminishing the likelihood that anyone survived. Search efforts began Tuesday afternoon after the military notified the Coast Guard that survivors were in the water about 400 miles (650 kilometres) southwest of the border between Mexico and Guatemala, the maritime service said in a statement. The Coast Guard dispatched a plane from Sacramento to search an area covering more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres), while issuing an urgent warning to ships nearby. The agency said it coordinated more than 65 hours of search efforts, working with other countries as well as civilian ships and boats in the area. The weather during that time has included 9-foot seas and 40-knot winds. The US has not said how many people jumped into the water, and, if they are not found, how far the death toll may ris

More oil tankers turn away from Venezuela amid US threat to seize vessels

As part of Trump's pressure campaign, US forces have launched strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats that have killed more than 100 people, and seized two oil tankers

Trump orders divestment in $2.9 mn chips deal citing US security concerns

President Donald Trump on Friday ordered the unravelling of a USD 2.9 million computer chips deal that he concluded threatened US security interests if the current owner, HieFo Corp., remained in control of the technology. The executive order cast a spotlight on a business deal that drew scant attention when it was announced in May 2024 during President Joe Biden's administration. The deal involved aerospace and defence specialist Emcore Corp. selling its computer chips and wafer fabrication operations to HieFo for USD 2.92 million a price that included the assumption of about USD 1 million in liabilities. But Trump is now demanding that HieFo divest that technology within 180 days, citing credible evidence that the current owner is a citizen of the People's Republic of China. HieFo was founded by Dr. Genzao Zhang and Harry Moore. According to a press release that came out after the deal closed, plans for the technology acquired from Emcore were to be overseen by largely the same

'If you break the law…': US embassy toughens tone amid H-1B backlog

Advisory issued as visa backlogs and immigration scrutiny intensify

US sanctions 4 Venezuelan oil firms, 4 more tankers in Maduro crackdown

The U.S. on Wednesday imposed sanctions on four firms operating in Venezuela's oil sector and designated four additional oil tankers, which the U.S. accuses of being part of a shadow fleet serving Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro's government, as blocked property. The action is part of the Trump administration's monthslong pressure campaign on Maduro. U.S. forces also have seized two oil tankers off Venezuela's coast, are pursuing another and have conducted a series of deadly strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. A set of strikes announced Wednesday increased the death toll from the attacks to at least 110 people since early September. And in a new escalation marking the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil, the CIA carried out a drone strike last week at a docking area believed to have been used by drug cartels. The latest sanctions from the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control target ships called Nord

Trump admin terminates lease for Washington's 3 public golf courses

The Trump administration has ended the lease agreement for three public golf courses in Washington, a move that offers President Donald Trump an additional opportunity to put his stamp on another piece of the nation's capital. The National Links Trust, the nonprofit that has operated Washington's three public courses on federal land for the last five years, said Wednesday that the Department of the Interior had terminated its 50-year lease agreement. The Interior Department said it was terminating the lease because the nonprofit had not implemented required capital improvements and failed to meet the terms of the lease. While it was unclear what the Trump administration's plans are for the golf courses, the move gives Trump, whose private company has developed numerous golf courses in the U.S. and abroad, the chance to remake links overlooking the Potomac River and in Rock Creek Park and a site that is part of Black golf history. Officials for the National Links Trust said in a ...

Department of Justice is reviewing over 5.2 mn documents related to Epstein

The Department of Justice has expanded its review of documents related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to 5.2 million as it also increases the number of attorneys trying to comply with a law mandating release of the files, according to a person briefed on a letter sent to U.S. Attorneys. The figure is the latest estimate in the expanding review of case files on Epstein and his longtime girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell that has run more than a week past a deadline set in law by Congress. The Justice Department has more than 400 attorneys assigned to the review, but does not expect to release more documents until Jan. 20 or 21, according to the person briefed on the letter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it. The expanding scope of the disclosure and the additional legal firepower committed to it showed how the Epstein file investigation will continue to occupy significant attention in Congress and the White House, almost ..

US military strikes 3 suspected drug-smuggling boats, killing three at sea

The U.S. military said Wednesday it struck three more boats that were allegedly smuggling drugs, killing three people while others jumped overboard and may have survived. The statement by U.S. Southern Command, which oversees South America, did not reveal where the attacks occurred. Previous attacks have been in the Caribbean Sea and in the eastern Pacific Ocean. A video posted by Southern Command on social media shows the boats traveling in a close formation, which is unusual, and the military said they were in a convoy along known narco-trafficking routes and had transferred narcotics between the three vessels prior to the strikes. The military did not provide evidence to back up the claim. The military said three people were killed when the first boat was struck, while people in the other two boats jumped overboard and distanced themselves from the vessels before they were attacked. Southern Command said it immediately notified the U.S. Coast Guard to activate search and rescue .

Fight over Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee heads to US appeals court

The H-1B visa program is a cornerstone of employment-based immigration, allowing companies in the US to hire college-educated foreign workers for specialized occupations