Page 10 - Venezuela

Venezuelan opposition leader Machado to miss Nobel Peace Prize ceremony

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado will miss the ceremony to award her the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo on Wednesday, the head of the Norwegian Nobel Institute said. Machado last appeared in public 11 months ago. Nobel Institute director Kristian Berg Harpviken told public broadcaster NRK the Venezuelan opposition leader was not in the Norwegian capital on the day of the ceremony, and her daughter will accept the prize on Machado's behalf. We confirm that she will not attend the Nobel ceremony, but we are optimistic about her presence on the rest of the day's agenda, said Machado's spokesperson, Claudia Macero. She did not give information on Machado's current location. Prominent Latin American figures planned to attend Wednesday's ceremony in a signal of solidarity with Machado, including Argentine President Javier Milei, Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa, Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino and Paraguayan President Santiago Pena. Machado has been living in hiding and h

Four killed as US military conducts another strike on suspected drug boat

US Southern Command announced that it conducted another strike against a small boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean, following a pause of almost three weeks. Thursday's strike is the 22nd the US military has carried out against boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean that the Trump administration claimed were trafficking drugs. There were four casualties in Thursday's strike, according to the social media post, bringing the death toll of the campaign to at least 87 people. In a video that accompanied the announcement, a small boat can be seen moving across the water before it is suddenly consumed by a large explosion. The video then zooms out to show the boat covered in flames and billowing smoke. The strike was conducted the same day Adm. Frank "Mitch" Bradley appeared for a series of closed-door classified briefings at the US Capitol as lawmakers began an investigation into the very first strike carried out by the military on September 2. The sessions came after a repor

US Navy admiral denies 'kill all' order amid probe on Venezuela boat strike

A Navy admiral told lawmakers Thursday that there was no kill them all order from Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth as Congress scrutinises an attack that killed two survivors of an initial strike on an alleged drug boat in international waters near Venezuela. Adm Frank Mitch Bradley "was very clear that he was given no such order, to give no quarter or to kill them all. He was given an order that, of course, was written down in great detail, said Sen Tom Cotton, who heads the Senate Intelligence Committee, as he exited a classified briefing. Cotton defended the attack, but a Democrat who also was briefed said that while there was no kill them all order from Hegseth, he was still deeply concerned by video of the second strike. What I saw in that room was one of the most troubling things I've seen in my time in public service, Connecticut Rep Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, told reporters. You have two individuals in clear distress without any means of .

Why Trump is hinting at strikes inside Venezuela: All you need to know

Donald Trump has hinted that the US may strike inside Venezuela after attacks on suspected drug boats, raising tensions with President Maduro as both sides trade accusations

Venezuela to accept deported migrants despite Trump's airspace claim

US-operated flights returning deported migrants to Venezuela will continue despite President Donald Trump's assertion that the airspace of the South American country should be considered closed. The government of Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro on Tuesday announced that the twice weekly flights will go on following a request from the Trump administration. That reverses a Venezuelan government Saturday announcement indicating that US immigration authorities had unilaterally suspended the flights. An overflight and landing application submitted Monday by US-based Eastern Airlines requests permission for an arrival Wednesday. The application was made public Tuesday by Venezuela's foreign affairs minister. Venezuelans have been steadily deported to their home country this year after Maduro, under pressure from the White House, did away with his long-standing policy of not accepting deportees from the US. Immigrants arrive regularly at the airport outside the capital, Caracas, on ...

Trump holds Oval Office meeting on Venezuela amid questions on US strikes

The deliberations came as the US has stepped up pressure on Venezuela through strikes on drug boats and a significant military build-up in the Caribbean under 'Operation Southern Spear'

Trump downplays Venezuelan airspace warning as US mulls new steps

The US is enacting a widening campaign in the Caribbean, one that began with fatal strikes on boats in international waters and continued when the US deployed additional Navy ships

Donald Trump says consider airspace above and surrounding Venezuela closed

"To all airlines, pilots, drug dealers, and human traffickers, please consider the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela to be closed in its entirety. Thank you for your attention to this matter"

Airlines cancel Venezuela flights after FAA warns of rising security risks

International airlines increasingly cancelled flights to Venezuela on Sunday after the US Federal Aviation Administration warned pilots to use caution when flying in the country's airspace because of worsening security and heightened military activity. Marisela de Loaiza, president of the Airlines Association in Venezuela, told The Associated Press that six carriers have indefinitely suspended flights: TAP, LATAM, Avianca, Iberia, Gol and Caribbean. Turkish Airlines suspended flights from November 24 to 28. Colombian President Gustavo Petro wrote Sunday on X that there must be regular flights to all Latin American countries and from Latin America and the world. Countries are not blocked, because blocking countries means blocking people, and that is a crime against humanity," Petro added. On Friday, the FAA warned pilots that unspecified threats could pose a potential risk to aircraft at all altitudes as well planes taking off and landing in the country and even aircraft on the ...

Trump threatens Latin America with military action but US strategy unclear

The comments - which hit the Mexican peso - echo remarks he's made in the past about potentially using force to seize Greenland and take back the Panama Canal

Trump may hold talks with Maduro as US aircraft carrier reaches Caribbean

President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the US may be having some discussions with Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro, a potential diplomatic avenue as the US further builds up its military presence near the South American country with the arrival of its most advanced aircraft carrier. Trump didn't offer details about the possible discussions with Maduro, but he said Venezuela would like to talk." The development comes as the Trump administration has carried out a series of military strikes against vessels suspected of transporting drugs. The arrival of the USS Gerald R Ford and other warships, announced by the Navy in a statement, marks a major moment in what the administration insists is a counterdrug operation but has been seen as an escalating pressure tactic against Maduro. When asked Sunday what he meant when he said Maduro wants to talk, Trump simply said: What does it mean? You tell me, I don't know. I'll talk to anybody," he added a few moments later. "We'll see what ..

Made 'progress' on stopping flow of drugs from Venezuela, says Trump

US has called Venezuela's leader, President Nicolas Maduro, illegitimate and the head of a drug-trafficking network

Colombia to suspend intelligence ties with US over strikes on drug vessels

Colombian President Gustavo Petro ordered his nation's security forces Tuesday to stop sharing intelligence with the United States, until the Trump administration stops its strikes on suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean, as relations deteriorate between the nations that were once close partners in the fight against drug trafficking. In a message on X, Petro wrote that Colombia's military must immediately ends communications and other agreements with U.S. security agencies" until the U.S. ceases its attacks on speedboats suspected of carrying drugs, that critics have likened to extrajudicial executions. Petro wrote that the fight against drugs must be subordinated to the human rights of the Caribbean people. It wasn't immediately clear what kind of information Colombia will stop sharing with the United States. At least 75 people have been killed by the U.S. military in strikes in international waters since August, according to figures supplied by the Trump administration. The

US strikes another suspected drug boat in Pacific, killing all 4 onboard

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Wednesday that the US military carried out another strike on a boat he said was carrying drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing all four people aboard the vessel, as the Trump administration pursues its divisive campaign against drug cartels in the waters off South America. Hegseth said in a social media post that intelligence determined the craft was transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics. He said the strike was conducted in international waters and no US forces were harmed. A video posted by Hegseth shows a boat exploding into flames and smoke. The Trump administration has been conducting a nearly two-month campaign in the waters off of South America, while building up US military forces in the region. This has fueled speculation that the moves are aimed at ousting Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro, whom the US has accused of narcoterrorism. The Trump administration has shown no evidence to suppor

Venezuela moves to cancel energy deals with Trinidad over US warship

Venezuela's vice president said Monday that energy agreements with Trinidad and Tobago should be canceled over what she described as hostile actions by the island nation. Trinidad is now hosting one of the US warships involved in a controversial campaign to destroy Venezuelan speedboats allegedly carrying drugs to the United States. On Sunday, the USS Gravely, a destroyer fitted with guided missiles, arrived in Trinidad to conduct joint exercises with Trinidad's navy. Venezuelan authorities described Trinidad's decision to host the ship as a provocation, while Trinidad's government has said that joint exercises with the US happen regularly. The prime minister of Trinidad has decided to join the war mongering agenda of the United States, Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said on national television Monday. Rodriguez, who is also Venezuela's minister of hydrocarbons, said she would ask President Nicolas Maduro to withdraw from a 2015 agreement that enables neighboring count

US warship docks in Trinidad and Tobago to increase pressure on Venezuela

A US warship has docked in Trinidad and Tobago's capital as the Trump administration boosts military pressure on neighbouring Venezuela and its President Nicols Maduro. The arrival of the USS Gravely, a guided missile destroyer, in the capital of the Caribbean nation is in addition to the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, which is moving closer to Venezuela. Maduro criticised the movement of the carrier as an attempt by the US government to fabricate "a new eternal war against his country. US President Donald Trump has accused Maduro, without providing evidence, of being the leader of the organised crime gang Tren de Aragua. Government officials from the twin-island nation and the US said the massive warship will remain in Trinidad until Thursday so both countries can carry out training exercises. A senior military official in Trinidad and Tobago told The Associated Press that the move was only recently scheduled. The official spoke under condition of anonymity due to lack of ..

US flies supersonic B-1 bombers near Venezuela coast amid drugs crackdown

The U.S. military flew a pair of supersonic, heavy bombers up to the coast of Venezuela, a little over a week after another group of American bombers made a similar journey as part of a training exercise to simulate an attack. The U.S. military has built up an unusually large force in the Caribbean Sea and the waters off of Venezuela, raising speculation that President Donald Trump could try to topple Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro. Maduro faces charges of narcoterrorism in the U.S. Adding to the speculation, the U.S. military since early September has been carrying out lethal strikes on vessels in the waters off Venezuela that Trump says are trafficking drugs. According to flight tracking data, a pair of B-1 Lancer bombers took off from Dyess Air Force Base in Texas on Thursday and flew through the Caribbean and up to the coast of Venezuela. A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations, confirmed that a training flight of B-1s to

US eyes land strikes next after Venezuela drug boat attacks, says Trump

Striking targets on land would be a major escalation in tensions with Venezuela. In September, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro ordered indefinite deployments of troops and assets across five state

Trump warns China over fentanyl smuggling via Venezuela ahead of meeting Xi

Trump will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on October 30 on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Busan, South Korea

US bombings fuel speculation over disappearances of fishermen in Trinidad

Opposition leaders in Trinidad are questioning Washington's offensive, echoing concerns expressed by US scholars and non-governmental organizations