US seizes oil tanker off Venezuela as Caracas condemns ‚act of piracy‘
| 11 December 2025ShareSave Kayla Epsteinand Ione Wells,São Paulo US forces have seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, marking a sharp escalation in Washington’s pressure campaign against Nicolás Maduro’s government. Speaking at the White House on Wednesday, President Donald Trump said the tanker was „the largest one ever seized“. Footage released by the US government showed armed soldiers boarding the vessel, which Attorney General Pam Bondi said was used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran. Caracas swiftly denounced the action, calling it an act of „international piracy“. Earlier, President Nicolás Maduro declared that Venezuela would never become an „oil colony“. |
Economic Strangulation of Venezuela: Final Step before Full-scale US Aggression?
| Michel Chossudovsky Dec 20, 2025 By Drago Bosnic On December 16, American President Donald Trump formally ordered the “total and complete blockade” of Venezuela, claiming that its government is now designated as a “foreign terrorist organization” (FTO). In his signature manner of communicating through the unchecked use of superlatives, Trump also bragged that the US Navy “completely surrounded” Venezuela with “the largest armada ever assembled in the history of South America.” The fiercely independent Latin American country has a coastline only in the north, so the claim that it’s “completely surrounded” is patently incorrect. However, Trump’s lack of knowledge when it comes to basic, primary school geography is hardly surprising, given the fact that, at one point, he boasted about “ending war between Aberbaijan and Albania” (yes, you read that right, it’s a “b” instead of “z” for Trump). “Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America. It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before — Until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us. The illegitimate Maduro Regime is using Oil from these stolen Oil Fields to finance themselves, Drug Terrorism, Human Trafficking, Murder, and Kidnapping. For the theft of our Assets, and many other reasons, including Terrorism, Drug Smuggling, and Human Trafficking, the Venezuelan Regime has been designated a FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION,” he posted on Truth Social, adding: “Therefore, today, I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela. The Illegal Aliens and Criminals that the Maduro Regime has sent into the United States during the weak and inept Biden Administration, are being returned to Venezuela at a rapid pace. America will not allow Criminals, Terrorists, or other Countries, to rob, threaten, or harm our Nation and, likewise, will not allow a Hostile Regime to take our Oil, Land, or any other Assets, all of which must be returned to the United States, IMMEDIATELY. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” |
Episode 329: War Economy vs. Peace Economy: Lessons from Venezuela and the Fight for Our Future
| CODEPINK Dec 13, 2025 Episode 329: War Economy vs. Peace Economy: Lessons from Venezuela and the Fight for Our Future: In this episode of CODEPINK Radio, CODEPINK co-founder Jodie Evans breaks down how the U.S. war economy shapes our politics, our culture, and our daily lives while offering a clear path toward building a peace economy rooted in care and community. Later on the show, Michelle Ellner connects these ideas to Venezuela, where communes and social programs have helped restore dignity to people long made invisible. As Washington pushes the region toward another conflict, despite 70% of Americans opposing a war with Venezuela, we explore what it means to resist the war economy and strengthen the movements creating a future based on sovereignty, connection, and collective well-being. |
Why China’s Ports in the Caribbean Have the U.S. on Edge
| China is building ports across the Caribbean—quietly, but quickly. From Jamaica to the Bahamas, Chinese-funded infrastructure is showing up just a few hundred miles off the U.S. coast. And Washington is starting to pay attention. |
China BLOCKIERT den Panamakanal! Das Ultimatum, das Washington lähmt | John Mearsheimer
| 09.12.2025 China übernimmt die operative Kontrolle über den Panamakanal und verändert damit das geopolitische Gleichgewicht – während die USA in eine historische Krise geraten. Diese Analyse zeigt, wie Peking durch Infrastruktur, Investitionen und strategische Einflussnahme die jahrzehntelange amerikanische Dominanz bricht – genau wie John Mearsheimer es vorausgesagt hat. Ein unverzichtbares Video, um die neue multipolare Weltordnung zu verstehen. |
Trump Pardons a Convicted Drug Dealer While Starting a War Against Venezuela to Fight “Drug Dealers
| By Timothy Alexander Guzman Recently, US President Donald Trump has pardoned Juan Orlando Hernandez, a former president of Honduras and a convicted drug trafficker known as the ‘Narco-Dictator’ who was convicted by a grand jury in New York City for importing 400 tons of cocaine and weapons into the United States. |
| The Department of Justice published a Press Release on June 6, 2024, titled, ‘Juan Orlando Hernández, Former President of Honduras, sentenced to 45 Years in Prison for Conspiring to Distribute More Than 400 Tons of Cocaine and Related Firearms Offenses.’ The following statement explains in a nutshell what Hernandez was clearly involved in: As President of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández abused his power to support one of the largest and most violent drug trafficking conspiracies in the world, and the people of Honduras and the United States bore the consequences,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Thanks to the diligent work of the Justice Department’s agents and prosecutors, Hernández will now spend more than four decades in prison. The Justice Department will hold accountable all those who engage in violent drug trafficking, regardless of how powerful they are or what position they hold |
Honduras ruling party alleges Trump-backed ‘electoral coup’
| Vote count plagued by glitches and accusations of fraud as leftist Libre party calls for protests |
| Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found here. https://www.ft.com/content/412c060d-e70a-42dc-855f-5d96da531cc3?segmentId=02d294b2-ef89-4660-98f6-321226650bbd The ruling leftist Libre party in Honduras has slammed what it called an “electoral coup” backed by Donald Trump and called for the annulment of last month’s vote amid allegations of irregularities in the counting process. Nasry Asfura, the conservative National Party candidate championed by the US president, is fractionally ahead of his Liberal Party rival Salvador Nasralla, according to partial results issued in a stop-start count plagued by technical glitches. Libre’s candidate Rixi Moncada trails in third place, but the party has disputed the results and on Sunday called for marches, protests and strikes, fuelling fears that discontent could spill over into the streets in a repeat of fatal protests following a contested election in 2017. “Libre does not recognise the elections held under the interference and coercion of US President Donald Trump and the allied oligarchy that have foisted an ongoing electoral coup on the people of Honduras,” the party said in a statement. |
Video: War, Oil and Narcotics
| By Prof Michel Chossudovsky and Drago BosnicGlobal Research, November 29, 2025 |
| Reach out to People Worldwide Our objective is to reach out to people worldwide: In the Middle East, Africa, The Americas, Western Europe, Russia, China, India, East and South East Asia, The Pacific Our longstanding commitment is to world peace and “true democracy.” Original in English. Subtitles in 13 languages. Click to access Our longstanding commitment is to world peace and “true democracy.” |
Venezuela gegen Washington – Wird Trump mit Maduro sprechen?
Interview mit PressTV
| Von Peter Koenig und Press TVGlobal Research, 20. November 2025 Hintergrund Während US- Präsident Donald Trump seine Bereitschaft zu Gesprächen mit seinem venezolanischen Amtskollegen signalisiert hat, erklärt Nicolás Maduro , Caracas sei offen für einen direkten Dialog, weise aber „Drohungen oder Gewaltanwendung“ zurück. Maduro fügte hinzu, Venezuela sei zu Gesprächen mit jeder Nation bereit, warnte aber gleichzeitig vor ausländischer Aggression. Diese Äußerungen erfolgten, nachdem Trump gegenüber Reportern erklärt hatte, seine Regierung werde möglicherweise zu einem bestimmten Zeitpunkt mit Maduro sprechen, um die zunehmenden Spannungen zu erörtern. Trump schloss jedoch einen Einsatz amerikanischer Bodentruppen in Venezuela nicht aus. Seit Anfang September hat das US-Militär mindestens 20 Angriffe auf Schiffe im Pazifik und der südlichen Karibik durchgeführt. Washington behauptet, ohne Beweise vorzulegen, die Boote seien in Drogenhandel verwickelt gewesen. Caracas weist die Vorwürfe jedoch zurück und erklärt, die Angriffe zielten darauf ab, die venezolanische Regierung zu stürzen. Analysten argumentieren nun, Trumps Behauptung, er sei gesprächsbereit gegenüber Maduro, entspreche Washingtons Zuckerbrot-und-Peitsche-Politik und sei nicht aufrichtig. Read more |
What is really happening in Venezuela? US attacks and economic situation explaine
An analysis of Donald Trump’s attacks on Venezuela, the economic impact of US sanctions, and the similarities and differences with the successful Western regime-change war on Syria.
| Ben Norton Nov 15, 2025 A Chinese journalist interviewed Geopolitical Economy Report editor-in-chief Ben Norton about the situation in Venezuela, and his analysis was translated into Chinese. The following were his original remarks in English: QUESTION: Ben, you have traveled around Latin America extensively, including in Venezuela. I would like to hear your comments on Maduro. Is his government well supported by the Venezuelan people, or may he face a similar fate like Syria’s Bashar al-Assad? As you know, Trump is planning attacks inside Venezuela. So do you think Maduro’s government will fall like Assad’s? MY ANSWER: There are indeed some parallels between Venezuela and Syria, but there are more differences than similarities. Venezuela is very divided politically, but in general, the Bolivarian Revolution initiated by previous President Hugo Chávez and continued by current President Nicolás Maduro still has a lot of support from poor and working-class Venezuelans. Most rich people and elites are pro-US and anti-government. Many of them have left the country, but there are still some in Venezuela (especially in wealthy areas like Chacao). In Venezuela, most people are tired of political conflict and violence, and they simply want stability. The right-wing opposition does not have many active supporters inside the country. Whenever they try to hold a protest, only a few hundred people show up. However, while they are small in number, they still have a lot of power concentrated in private companies, media outlets, and Western government-funded “NGOs”. Maduro will not be overthrown by people inside Venezuela. The only possible way I think the Venezuelan government will fall is if the US military invades Venezuela and/or wages a direct war inside Venezuelan territory, bombing Caracas — like what the US did to Iraq, Libya, Yugoslavia, Panama, Grenada, etc. (although the tactics used were different in each of those wars). Trump has already ordered the US military to kill dozens of Venezuelans in illegal, extrajudicial executions in international waters. Thus far, he has not launched direct attacks inside Venezuela, although he confirmed that he authorized the CIA to carry out destabilization operations inside the country. Read more |
Migration from Venezuela
Did 7+ million really leave the country to flee socialism?
| The Anti Empire Project and Joe Emersberger Nov 11, 2025 Daniel Coronel, a journalist with the US-based television network Univision, recently interviewed Colombian president Gustavo Petro. At about the 55 minute point of the interview, Coronel said to Petro that “the misery and repression that Venezuela has suffered at the hands of Maduro’s dictatorship has caused millions to flee.” This little quip, this off-hand remark, is actually one of the major remaining regime change talking points about Venezuela. We’ve addressed most of the others – the elections, the constitution, the notion that Venezuela is an “extraordinary threat” to the US – in our book. In a recent substack, we addressed the newest lie: that Venezuela is a meaningful source of drugs to the US. In this one we address the idea that Venezuela should be destroyed because supposedly seven million Venezuelans have fled socialism. We believe that anti-Maduro sources have 1. grossly exaggerated the scale of migration from Venezuela since 2015, 2. ignored that US sanctions have caused such migration as did occur, and 3. also ignored mass migration from U.S. client states like Ecuador. |
| 2015 – 2017 migration from Venezuela begins to take off for real As a result of US sanctions and an oil price collapse, migration from Venezuela did, indeed, begin to explode in 2015. A few months before Hugo Chavez died of cancer in 2013, he urged his supporters to vote for Nicolas Maduro as his successor. They did. Maduro won the snap election that was held in April 2013. But Maduro was immediately hit with violent US-backed protests that year – and then again in 2014 and 2017. Adding to Maduro’s difficulties, in the last quarter of 2014, the high oil prices on which Venezuela’s economy depended collapsed by half, and remained very low for years. Early in 2015, Obama added to the pressure by imposing broad economic sanctions on Venezuela. Obama’s apologists deny the significance of the sanctions by saying they merely outlawed dealing with seven Venezuelan government officials that the US accused of human rights abuses. But this ignores the problem of “over compliance” with US sanctions, built into their design: scaring investors away from dealing with Venezuela at all. In addition to the sanctions, Obama officials successfully pressured banks not to make low risk loans to Venezuela’s government. Read more |
Washington Targets Colombia’s Progressive President in Unprecedented Sanctions Move
Human rights attorney and legal counsel for Gustavo Petro in the United States, Dan Kovalik, calls U.S. sanctions against the Colombian President “a threat to democracy.”
| In a dramatic escalation of U.S.-Colombian tensions, President Gustavo Petro of Colombia has been sanctioned by the United States over allegations of drug trafficking, a move his legal counsel calls politically motivated and potentially destabilizing for the region. The sanctions, announced on Friday, October 24, mark a rare confrontation between Washington and a sitting Colombian leader, a country historically regarded as a steadfast U.S. ally in Latin America. Dan Kovalik, a human rights and labor attorney, political activist, and author, recently accepted the role of representing President Petro in the United States. Kovalik, who previously taught international human rights at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and served as in-house counsel for the United Steel Workers, has a long history of litigating cases involving human rights violations in Colombia. His work has included lawsuits under the Alien Tort Claims Act against major corporations implicated in egregious abuses, including Coca-Cola, Drummond and Occidental Petroleum, highlighting systemic violence and exploitation against labor organizers and social movements in the region. Speaking from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in a special edition of WTF is Going On in Latin America and the Caribbean, Kovalik described the sanctions as “not just a personal threat to President Petro and his family, but a significant risk to Colombia’s economic stability and political sovereignty.” Read more |
