Page 2 - Venezuela

US strike on alleged drug-trafficking boat kills two in Eastern Pacific

The US military said on Thursday that it has carried out another deadly strike on a vessel accused of trafficking drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean. US Southern Command said on social media that the boat "was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations." It said the strike killed two people. A video linked to the post shows a boat moving through the water before exploding in flames. The strike was announced just hours after US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth declared that "some top cartel drug-traffickers" in the region "have decided to cease all narcotics operations INDEFINITELY due to recent (highly effective) kinetic strikes in the Caribbean." However, Hegseth did not provide any details or information to back up this claim, made in a post on his personal account on social media. Neither US Southern Command nor the Pentagon would answer follow-up questions about Hegseth's claim. Thursday's strike raises t

US announces $6 million aid for Cuba amid accusations of 'energy blockade'

The US government on Thursday announced an additional USD 6 million in aid for Cuba as the island's crisis deepens and tensions escalate between the two countries, with Cuba's president accusing the US of an "energy blockade." The aid is largely meant for those living in Cuba's eastern region, which Hurricane Melissa slammed into late last year. The supplies include rice, beans, pasta, cans of tuna and solar lamps that will be delivered by the Catholic Church and Caritas, said US Department of State Senior Official Jeremy Lewin. He warned that officials with the US embassy in Cuba will be out in the field "making sure that the regime does not take the assistance, divert it, try to politicise it." The US previously sent USD 3 million in disaster relief to Cuban people affected by Melissa. Lewin rejected that a halt in oil shipments from Venezuela -- after the US attacked the South American country and arrested its then leader -- is responsible for the humanitarian situation in Cuba.

Reliance buys 2 mn barrels of Venezuelan crude after nearly a year: Report

Trading houses Vitol and Trafigura were granted US licenses to market and sell millions of barrels of Venezuelan oil following the US military operation last month to capture President Nicolas Maduro

Venezuela long-standing energy partner, India open to crude sourcing: MEA

India said Venezuela has been a long-standing energy partner and New Delhi remains open to exploring crude supply options based on commercial merit, even as energy security stays the top priority

'Commercial viability key': MEA says open to Venezuela, other crude sources

The MEA said India is open to sourcing crude from Venezuela and other countries based on commercial viability, adding that energy security for 1.4 billion people remains its top priority

From sonar to AI, acoustics is emerging as a decisive weapon of war

If US action in Venezuela and the Ukraine war are anything to go by, acoustics will not merely support military power in future wars - it will shape it

Xi Jinping meets Uruguay leader, calls for 'equal, multipolar world'

This is first visit by a South American leader to the Chinese capital since the United States invaded Venezuela in January and captured then President Nicolas Maduro in a raid

US pitches Venezuelan crude to India as its Russian oil imports slow

India became a major buyer of Russian oil after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 triggered Western sanctions that drove down its price

Trump claims India will buy Venezuelan oil: 'We've already made that deal'

Donald Trump claimed India will buy Venezuelan oil instead of Iranian crude as Washington moves to cut Russia-linked oil trade and ease some sanctions on Venezuela

US envoy arrives in Venezuela to reopen diplomatic mission after 7 years

US Ambassador Laura Dogu arrived in Caracas on Saturday to reopen the American diplomatic mission in Venezuela after seven years of severed ties. The move comes almost one month after a military action ordered by US President Donald Trump removed the South American country's then-leader Nicolas Maduro from office. "My team and I are ready to work," Dogu said in a message posted by the US Embassy in Venezuela 's account on X. It also posted pictures of her upon her landing at Maiquetia airport. Venezuela and the United States broke off diplomatic relations in February 2019 in a decision by Maduro and closed their embassies mutually after Trump gave public support to lawmaker Juan Guaido in his claim to be the nation's interim president in January of that year. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, one of Venezuela's most powerful politicians and a Maduro loyalist, said earlier in January that reopening the US embassy would give the Venezuelan government a way to oversee the treatment

US pitches Venezuelan crude to India as its Russian oil imports fall

The US effort to supply Venezuelan crude to India comes as Washington also seeks to reduce Russian oil revenues that are funding the war in Ukraine

US eases sanctions, issues license for oil firms to operate in Venezuela

The license covers variety of activities that could expedite the movement of Venezuelan oil, including exporting, selling, storing, refining that oil, as long as the work is performed by a US entity

Venezuela passes major oil law reform, opening doors for foreign firms

The overhaul also enables authorities to lower taxes and royalties paid to the government, although Petroleos de Venezuela will remain under state ownership

Trump says Venezuelan airspace to reopen, Americans can visit soon

President Donald Trump said Thursday he has informed Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, that he will open up all commercial airspace over the Venezuela and Americans will soon be able to visit Trump said he instructed his transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, and US military leaders to take steps to open the airspace for travel by the end of the day. "American citizens will be very shortly able to go to Venezuela, and they'll be safe there," the Republican president said. Venezuela's government did not immediately comment. While the State Department continued to warn Americans against travelling to Venezuela, at least one US airline announced its intention to soon resume direct flights between the countries. American Airlines was the last US airline flying to Venezuela when it suspended flights in 2019 that it operated between Miami and the capital, Caracas, as well as the oil hub city of Maracaibo. The airline said Thursday it would share additional details about the

Rubio defends Trump on Venezuela while trying to allay fears over Greenland

Secretary of State Marco Rubio gave a full-throated defence Wednesday of President Donald Trump's military operation to capture then-Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, while explaining to US lawmakers the administration's approach to Greenland, NATO, Iran and China. As Republican and Democratic members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee offered starkly different readings of the administration's foreign policy, Rubio addressed Trump's intentions and his often bellicose rhetoric that has alarmed US allies in Europe and elsewhere, including demands to take over Greenland. In the first public hearing since the Jan 3 raid to depose Maduro, Rubio said Trump had acted to take out a major US national security threat in the Western Hemisphere. Trump's top diplomat said America was safer and more secure as a result and that the administration would work with interim authorities to stabilise the South American country. "We're not going to have this thing turn around overnight, but I

US ready to use force to ensure Venezuela's cooperation, says Marco Rubio

The hearing marks Rubio's first appearance before Congress since the US raid on Caracas that led to Nicolás Maduro's capture on January 3

Offers of Venezuelan oil limited, most going to US, say Indian refiners

Indian refiners say only small volumes of Venezuelan crude are being offered as most supplies are directed to the United States

HPCL seeks Venezuelan crude to boost heavy oil processing at refineries

HPCL hopes to start crude processing at its 180,000 bpd Barmer refinery in Rajasthan by the end of January, making it India's 2nd -largest state-run refiner, behind Indian ‌Oil Corp

Venezuela releases dozens of prisoners in 2 days, hundreds still detained

Venezuela's leading prisoner rights organisation said Monday that dozens of prisoners were released over the weekend, as the United States continues to pressure the acting government to free hundreds of dissidents jailed during the administration of ousted leader Nicolas Maduro. Alfredo Romero, president of Foro Penal, said in a post on X that 266 "political prisoners" had been freed since January 8, when Venezuela's acting government promised to release a "significant number" of prisoners in what it described as an effort to promote national reconciliation. Maduro was captured by the United States in a raid on January 3, and was replaced by Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, a longtime ruling party insider, who is now the nation's acting president. According to human rights groups, prisoners released this weekend included an opposition activist, a human rights lawyer and a journalism student who was imprisoned in March after he published complaints about his hometown's sewage system,