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Caracas, January 14, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Two Venezuela-bound China-flagged oil supertankers have made U-turns in the Atlantic amidst a US-imposed naval blockade against the Caribbean country.

According to Reuters, the very large crude carriers (VLCC) Xingye and Thousand Sunny were headed Venezuela to load crude cargoes. The ships, which had made several trips to Venezuela in recent years, were anchored for weeks before turning back. China was the main destination of Venezuelan crude in recent years, with part of the cargoes used to offset debt.

The aborted shipments came in the wake of the Trump administration’s claims to take control of Venezuelan oil sales. US forces bombed Caracas and surrounding areas on January 3 and kidnapped President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.

Since December, the US has also seized five oil tankers for allegedly carrying Venezuelan crude as its navy set up a blockade aimed at strangling Venezuela’s most important revenue source and strong-arming the government.

US officials have reportedly filed “dozens” of court warrants to seize tankers allegedly involved in transporting Venezuelan oil.

Senior Trump administration officials, including Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, have claimed that revenues from Venezuelan oil sales will be deposited in accounts run by the US government.

The agreement is set to begin with 30-50 million barrels that Venezuela had in storage as a result of the naval blockade, though White House officials have claimed it will extend for an indefinite period. Washington issued an executive order last week shielding Venezuelan oil proceeds in US accounts from creditors.

US President Donald Trump held a meeting with Western oil executives on Friday, urging investment in Venezuela’s oil sector and vowing that corporations will “deal” with the US directly, rather than Venezuelan authorities. Energy companies have been reluctant to pledge any major commitments to Venezuela.

Commodities traders Vitol and Trafigura have received licenses to transport Venezuelan crude and have reportedly begun moving it to Caribbean storage hubs ahead of exports to final destinations. According to reports, the two firms have transported a combined 4.8 million barrels of Venezuela’s Merey 16 blend and have offered them to customers in the US, India and China with an $8.50 discount per barrel compared to ICE Brent.

US officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have claimed that US-controlled Venezuelan oil revenues will only be used for imports from US manufacturers, including inputs for the energy sector and the electric grid. Vitol is set to deliver 460,000 barrels of US-sourced naphtha to Venezuela in the coming days, as reported by Argus Media. Caracas requires diluents such as naphtha to turn its extra-heavy crude into exportable blends, and the first Trump administration imposed sanctions on their purchase from US suppliers in 2019.

The Venezuelan government has not commented on the specifics of the new arrangement for oil sales. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said the country remains committed to “diversified economic and geopolitical relations.” Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA has confirmed “negotiations” to ship crude cargoes to the US.

For its part, Russia’s Roszarubezhneft stated that it will not relinquish its assets in Venezuela. The state-owned company is a minority partner in multiple joint ventures with PDVSA, including crude upgrader Petromonagas. Roszarubezhneft took over from Rosneft after the latter was hit with US secondary sanctions in 2020.

Venezuela’s oil industry has been under US unilateral coercive measures since 2017. The US Treasury Department has targeted the oil sector with financial sanctions, an export embargo, secondary sanctions, and a bevy of other measures that aimed to choke off Venezuela’s most important income source.

Washington’s recent naval blockade likewise had an immediate impact on production as PDVSA began to run out of storage space, including offshore. The latest OPEC monthly report recorded Venezuela’s December output at 896,000 barrels per day (bpd), as measured by secondary sources. The figure is 60,000 bpd lower than the previous month’s.

For its part, PDVSA reported a smaller decline, from 1.14 to 1.12 million bpd. Direct and secondary data have slightly differed over the years due to disagreements over the inclusion of natural gas liquids and condensates.

The Venezuelan state oil company has begun reactivating wells that were shut down as a consequence of the US blockade, according to Reuters.

The post Chinese Supertankers Turn Back as US Moves Ahead to Extort Venezuelan Crude appeared first on Venezuelanalysis.

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The first bombs have fallen. The US war on Latin America and the Caribbean has begun, and only the organized peoples of this hemisphere will save us from the US’s genocidal empire.

International law won’t protect us, marching won’t be enough. The invasion of Venezuela and the subsequent kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on January 3 is a watershed moment: either we get organized, or we’ll perish.

This isn’t about Donald Trump; he’s only a more vulgar expression of the imperialist logic underpinning our world system. Since the criminal kidnapping of Maduro, the White House has already threatened Cuba, Nicaragua, Colombia and Mexico.

Here in Mexico, we need to abandon this notion that peaceful coexistence with US imperialism is possible — a clash is coming.

This is imperialism manifest, and they’re coming for all of us Latin Americans. It isn’t a question of what they want to do; that much is clear — dominate the entire hemisphere. Rather, it’s a question of what we will do to stop them.

The US displayed its overwhelming power and technology that fateful morning when it attacked Venezuela, a crime of crimes. But the US isn’t invincible. When the sounds of bombs rang out, the organized peoples of Venezuela didn’t cower; they ran to get their guns. That the US didn’t attempt to occupy the country is a testament to the armed, organized working class in Venezuela the Pentagon fears.

When the world can watch a genocide unfold in real time, when the empire brazenly kidnaps a head of state, when multilateral institutions only muster mealy-mouthed statements in response, it becomes undeniable that only the people save the people. The Palestinian armed resistance understands this, President Maduro understands this, and it’s time the peoples of this hemisphere understand this too.

Here in Mexico, we need to abandon this notion that peaceful coexistence with US imperialism is possible — a clash is coming. The late Hugo Chávez learned this lesson early on.

“The Venezuelan oligarchy and the American empire will never accept us; they will always be plotting schemes to try to remove us from power, unless we change and surrender to them. But that is not going to happen here. Here we say: Homeland, Socialism, or Death!”

Hugo Chavez, 11-04-2007

José Luis Granados Ceja is a journalist and political analyst based in Mexico City. He is co-host of the Mexican public television show Sin Muros, and currently covers Latin America for Drop Site News, and writes a monthly opinion column for the Mexico Solidarity Project and also co-hosts the weekly podcast, Soberanía.

• 

  Analysis | Uncategorized

  The US War on Latin America & The Caribbean

  January 14, 2026January 14, 2026

  When the world can watch a genocide unfold in real time, when the empire brazenly kidnaps a head of state, when multilateral institutions only muster mealy-mouthed statements in response, it becomes undeniable that only the people save the people.

• 

  Mañanera

  People’s Mañanera January 14

  January 14, 2026January 14, 2026

  President Sheinbaum’s daily press conference, with comments on the fight for peace & sovereignty, social housing projects, 2026 USMCA Review, and yes, there is an antidote for scorpion stings.

• 

  News Briefs

  Record Corn Imports for Third Year in a Row

  January 14, 2026January 14, 2026

  Mexico’s food sovereignty is being rapidly eroded thanks to the dumping of heavily subsidized US corn and the USMCA, which is an erroneously named “trade” agreement to subjugate, not develop, the Mexican nation.

The post The US War on Latin America & The Caribbean appeared first on Mexico Solidarity Media.

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Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning stated that the position was created to deepen exchanges and cooperation between Beijing and member countries.

Mao indicated that Yan has extensive diplomatic experience and knowledge of SCO affairs and will therefore maintain close coordination with his counterparts in the SCO member states.

The spokesperson affirmed that the new representative will work to implement the consensus reached by the leaders, strengthen institutional development, and promote regional cooperation.

Mao noted that these efforts aim to contribute to security, stability, and shared development, as well as to building a closer community with a shared future within the organization.

abo/iff/mem/idm

The post China appoints special representative on SCO affairs first appeared on Prensa Latina.

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By Matías Bosch Carcuro – Jan 11, 2026

It’s not that the “rules-based world order” has collapsed. No one who remembers Patrice Lumumba’s kidnapping and subsequent acid dissolution in the Congo in 1961 can believe that such an “order” ever existed beyond a myth. What can be said with certainty today is that there has been a full-throttle acceleration.

This wasn’t about democracy or drug trafficking. The support for electoral fraud by Noboa in Ecuador and Asfura in Honduras, the backing of Bukele’s dictatorship in El Salvador, the pardon of narco-dictator Juan Orlando Hernández—who placed more than 400 tons of cocaine “right under the noses of the gringos,” as he declared in court—the direct intervention in Argentina’s parliamentary elections to ensure Milei’s victory, all while 80% of the cocaine flows into the U.S. via the Pacific and land borders, make it clear this was never about the “liberation” of countries, popular sovereignty, ballot counting, credible elections, or controlling illicit drug trafficking.

This wasn’t about democracy or drug trafficking. The support for electoral fraud by Noboa in Ecuador and Asfura in Honduras, the backing of Bukele’s dictatorship in El Salvador, the pardon of narco-dictator Juan Orlando Hernández—who placed more than 400 tons of cocaine “right under the noses of the gringos,” as he declared in court—the direct intervention in Argentina’s parliamentary elections to ensure Milei’s victory, all while 80% of the cocaine flows into the U.S. via the Pacific and land borders, make it clear this was never about the “liberation” of countries, popular sovereignty, ballot counting, credible elections, or controlling illicit drug trafficking.

Trump announced that the U.S. would “run Venezuela” and put its infrastructure to work producing oil—even to sell it to China or Russia. The data speaks for itself: by 2023, the United States was already importing about 9 million barrels of crude oil per day, almost half from Canada, and its dependence on heavy crude reached 60% by 2024. Venezuela holds the world’s largest oil reserves—more than 300 billion barrels—with 80% primarily sold to China. Under the pretext of recovering “stolen” infrastructure and technology, they aim to secure a reliable oil source to offset dependence and become the supplier to the world’s main competitor.

‘Don’t play games’
If Trump escaped conviction for the Capitol storming in January 2021 thanks to the immunity granted by the presidency, on January 3 history repeated itself, with congressmen posting heatedly about how all legality had been violated to authorize an act of war that the Executive cannot carry out on its own.

“Don’t play games,” Marco Rubio said repeatedly, warning live on air that the threat remains in place for anyone who stands in their way of not handing over what they demand, be it Colombia, Mexico, or any of the Caribbean countries they currently use as bases of operation under subservient governments. Meanwhile, María Corina Machado, the “opposition leader” and self-important Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was publicly vilified, just as Trump and Vance did to Zelensky in the Oval Office in February 2025, warning her that her “peace” was in exchange for surrender, land, and resources, and that next time she should dress better.

It’s not that the “rules-based world order” has been broken. No one who recalls Lumumba’s fate—or the phantom “weapons of mass destruction” in Iraq—can believe such an “order” ever truly existed. What we see today is a full-throttle acceleration.

‘Home region’
If the Monroe Doctrine of 1823 barred decadent European powers from the Americas, and the Roosevelt Corollary of 1904 legitimized U.S. economic and military intervention to protect its interests, then 121 years later, the Trump Corollary enshrines what Luciano Anzelini calls “informal imperialism”: Latin America is not merely a zone of influence—it is territory where the U.S. admits no competitors.

Trump called it his “home region,” the closest thing to the Nazi concept of “Lebensraum”—the “living space” that fascism claimed as racially legitimate. Here, Southern Command can now deploy, extort, and threaten governments without UN or Congressional approval—and, officially, will “reward and encourage the region’s governments, political parties, and movements broadly aligned with our principles and strategy,” per the 2025 National Security Strategy.

The praise for Kast and Milei—one promising an “Emergency Government,” the other vowing to “drive the final nail into the coffin of Kirchnerism”—as their “good guys” in the Southern Cone reflects this logic: the Venezuela invasion seeks direct possession and administration of its riches, undisguised, alongside a broader offensive to install the far-right international across every corner of the region—with the most fanatical, functional, and servile factions in power.

Step by step, the goal has been territorial and economic dominance—and the reversal of nearly three decades of transformative governments and popular resistance to neoliberalism and plunder. The January 3 action struck precisely where, in 1998, the wave of regional transformation began—ultimately leading to progressive rule across much of Latin America.

Celebrate the punisher
The obscenity spilled onto screens with the “celebration” of Caracas bombed and Nicolás Maduro and his wife kidnapped. Never in Latin American history have so-called “opposition leaders against tyranny” openly clamored for foreign invasion as the path to “freedom”—let alone offered their nation’s riches in public. Nor have “democratic” allies—politicians, journalists, intellectuals, or public figures—so eagerly framed themselves as part of an epic moment, even under the flimsy guise of “there was no other way.” Something this brazen only occurs when fascism triumphs.

Never before have exiled communities celebrated a foreign power bombing their capital as if it were a World Cup victory. On the contrary, the Venezuelan diaspora—regardless of their views on the government—has every reason to condemn the interference of the Obama, Biden, and Trump administrations (I and II) in Venezuela’s economy and politics.

According to a CEPR report (2025), between 2012 and 2020 Venezuela suffered a 71% collapse in GDP per capita—the largest peacetime economic contraction in modern history, equivalent to three Great Depressions. More than half of this decline stems directly from U.S. sanctions, worsened by falling oil prices. In this context, 4.1 million of the 7 million Venezuelans who emigrated did so as a direct result of these measures under the “maximum pressure” strategy.

An earlier study by Mark Weisbrot and Jeffrey Sachs (2019) showed that sanctions imposed since August 2017 reduced caloric intake, increased illness and death, and deepened depression and hyperinflation—fueling mass exodus. The authors estimate these policies contributed to over 40,000 deaths between 2017 and 2018, amounting to systematic harm that fits the definition of “collective punishment”—prohibited by the Geneva and Hague Conventions and contrary to both international law and U.S. legislation.

Caesar Crossed the Rubicon; So Did Trump

The wait
Far from condemning this illegal collective punishment, media portrayals highlight the most right-wing segment of Venezuelan migrants—those supportive of foreign intervention—and quickly showcase their celebrations. The utility of this crisis is clear: for a decade, no Latin American election—and even contests in Spain and the U.S.—has gone unmarked by “the Venezuela threat,” with mass migration enabling radical right-wing rhetoric that would otherwise lack foundation.

What will become of María Corina Machado’s call for Venezuelans to await her orders—”we need you mobilized”? Will they take to the streets to “celebrate” and enact regime change as urged, or remain anxious about the next bombing? Are violent protests being primed for a “final assault,” echoing Baghdad in 2003?
Meanwhile, this Sunday—with Maduro reportedly kidnapped by the DEA in Brooklyn and citizens protesting in Times Square—a veteran doctor wrote to me from Caracas: “Yesterday, the master of the North uttered words that take your breath away—words that seek to erase our existence and turn it into a chapter of his history. When Trump mentions Venezuela, he speaks of plunder; he doesn’t come to ask permission—he comes to decree ownership not only of our land, rivers, and seas, but of our very existence. For him, we are not a people, let alone dignified beings; we are simply a space to be exploited. The magnitude of what he said yesterday is horrifying. Difficult times lie ahead. We must prepare not only to survive—but to resist with dignity.”

(Diario Red)

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/JB/SH

From Orinoco Tribune – News and opinion pieces about Venezuela and beyond via This RSS Feed.

Every day, President Claudia Sheinbaum gives a morning presidential press conference and Mexico Solidarity Media posts English language summaries, translated by Mexico Solidarity’s Pedro Gellert Frank. Previous press conference summaries are available here.

Mexico’s Approach to World Politics: Sovereignty, Peace, and Global Responsibility

President Claudia Sheinbaum warned that the world is experiencing a growing dispute for control of resources, and maintained that Mexico must continue to fight for the peace and sovereignty of nations, as mandated by its Constitution and the UN Charter.

Sheinbaum emphasized that the only way out of conflicts is through the collective defense of sovereignty and peace, and affirmed that Mexico is an important actor on the global stage.

SEDATU 2025: Housing, Deeds, and Credit

The Ministry of Agrarian, Territorial, and Urban Development (SEDATU) reported that 393,686 homes have been assigned in 2025, distributed through 470 projects in 31 states, benefiting 1.4 million people. In addition, 270,000 property deeds were delivered (for 970,000 beneficiaries) and credit conditions were improved for 4.8 million loan holders. For 2026, the goal is 400,000 homes, with land reserves already available for 900,000 units.

Housing for Wellbeing: Priority for Low Income families

The President emphasized that the program is aimed at families earning between 1 and 2 times the minimum wage, with access for both those enrolled in the government housing agency (Infonavit) and those not enrolled (Conavi), focusing on sectors of the population historically excluded from the formal housing market.

CONAVI and FOVISSSTE: Construction and Social Justice

The National Housing Commission (CONAVI) projects 86,000 new homes and 100,000 home improvements, with a rental program for young people. It has 381 lots and over 82,000 homes in various stages of development. Meanwhile, the FOVISSSTE housing agency closed 2025 with 845,000 active loans, has benefited 247,000 families, and is advancing its social justice program, with a of 100,000 new homes before the close of the current presidential administration in 2030.

Public Education Competing in the World

Sheinbaum congratulated Valeria Palacios Cruz, a National College of Technical Professional Education (CONALEP) graduate, for winning the HP Foundation’s World Education Medal, thanks to social and environmental proposals developed with artificial intelligence. The President highlighted the role of public education in the country’s transformation.

USMCA: Integration and Mutual Benefit

The President explained that the USMCA benefits Mexico and the United States, based on decades of economic integration. Sheinbaum noted that U.S. companies are the most interested in maintaining the trade agreement, and indicated that for every job created in Mexico, three are generated in the U.S. Ahead of the 2026 USMCA review, she stressed that trade relations will continue, with possible adjustments, and that a united North America is key to competing with China.

Lie Detector: Disinformation Debunked

• It is not true that health services collapsed in Nayarit.
• It is not true that there is no antidote for scorpion stings.
• It is not true that Farmacias del Bienestar pharmacies in San Ignacio de Loyola, Metepec, lack pharmaceuticals.
• It is not true that in 2015 a higher budget was allocated to security than in 2026.
• It is not true that telephone line registration is unconstitutional or a tool for spying.
• It is not true that the Federal Electricity Commission “hinders or threatens” companies.
• It is not true that there is a new economic support program for people from 30 to 64 years of age.
• It is not true that a supposed “Women’s Wellbeing Bonus” will be delivered.

• 

  Mañanera

  People’s Mañanera January 14

  January 14, 2026January 14, 2026

  President Sheinbaum’s daily press conference, with comments on the fight for peace & sovereignty, social housing projects, 2026 USMCA Review, and yes, there is an antidote for scorpion stings.

• 

  News Briefs

  Record Corn Imports for Third Year in a Row

  January 14, 2026January 14, 2026

  Mexico’s food sovereignty is being rapidly eroded thanks to the dumping of heavily subsidized US corn and the USMCA, which is an erroneously named “trade” agreement to subjugate, not develop, the Mexican nation.

• 

  Analysis

  A Renewed Opportunity for Indigenous Justice in Mexico

  January 14, 2026

  It is crucial to move from rhetoric to action and initiate a genuine transformative process that begins at the federal level and extends across the board to state and local governments, which are directly responsible for ensuring compliance.

The post People’s Mañanera January 14 appeared first on Mexico Solidarity Media.

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The Russian state-owned company Roszarubezhneft, the primary manager of Moscow’s oil assets in Venezuela, issued an official statement reaffirming its commitment to remaining in the country and advancing its operations.

The corporation emphasized that it will maintain strict compliance with its contractual obligations in close coordination with its international partners. This stance aims to ensure operational continuity and the stability of previously established agreements within the framework of its activities in the country.

Regarding its operational strategy, the company will focus on the sustainable development of joint oil production projects with the Venezuelan side. The statement also underscores the importance of strengthening the infrastructure associated with these initiatives.

Additionally, Roszarubezhneft noted that its work plan includes an effective response to emerging challenges. The company seeks to expand industrial and technological cooperation based on principles of equality, mutual respect for property rights, and investment protection.

This statement follows recent events beginning on January 3, which included military actions against Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, as well as the reported kidnapping and transfer of Venezuela’s constitutional president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, to U.S. territory to face legal proceedings on alleged drug trafficking charges.

Trump Cannot Reach Consensus on Venezuela With US Oil Corporations While Helping PDVSA Recover an Oil Tanker

Despite this scenario, and in accordance with the interpretative authority granted by Article 335 of the Constitution, which guarantees institutional continuity and the integral defense of the nation, Executive Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as Acting President of Venezuela on January 5.

During her swearing-in ceremony, presided over by National Assembly Speaker Jorge Rodríguez, the Acting President reaffirmed her commitment to preserving Venezuela as a free, sovereign, and independent nation.

She further asserted that the absolute unity of the Revolution constitutes the cornerstone of the current struggle, emphasizing that the country possesses a “moral and historical superiority” that inspires national resistance.

(Telesur)

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/JB/SH

From Orinoco Tribune – News and opinion pieces about Venezuela and beyond via This RSS Feed.

Caracas, January 13, 2026 (YVKE Mundial) – The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA-TCP) issued an official statement this Tuesday expressing its strongest support for the people and Government of the Republic of Cuba, led by President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez and Army General Raúl Castro Ruz. The regional bloc reaffirmed the legitimate right of the Caribbean nation to exercise its sovereignty, independence, and self-determination, rejecting any attempt at external interference that threatens its political and social project.

In the document, the Alliance underscores that the Charter of the United Nations is the fundamental pillar of peaceful coexistence, highlighting universal principles such as the sovereign equality of states and the absolute prohibition of the threat or use of force. ALBA-TCP praised the historical trajectory of Cuban foreign policy, emphasizing its commitment to multilateralism and its unwavering dedication to solidarity—particularly with countries of the Global South. The statement comes amid heightened regional tensions following the January 3 military aggression against Venezuela, during which the sacrifice of Cuban personnel carrying out official missions once again solidified the bonds of brotherhood between the two peoples.

Trump Now Threatens Cuba, Venezuela Responds

Finally, the multilateral organization urged the international community to maintain its firm support for Cuba, reiterating its demand for the lifting of the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the United States. ALBA-TCP reaffirmed that respect for political independence and the peaceful resolution of disputes are the only paths to guaranteeing stability and cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean, asserting that Cuba’s dignity stands as a symbol of resistance for the entire region.

(YVKE Mundial)

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/JB/SH

From Orinoco Tribune – News and opinion pieces about Venezuela and beyond via This RSS Feed.

This article by Braulio Carbajal originally appeared in the January 14, 2026 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper.

Mexico City. In 2025, Mexico broke its record for corn imports, both yellow and white, for the third consecutive year, with a volume of 24,590,000 tons, 4.1 percent more than the 23,630,000 tons of 2024, according to the Agricultural Markets Consulting Group (GCMA).

Mexican corn producers face a war on two-fronts: against the dumping of US corn, which receives over $5b USD annually in subsidies; and against the low-balling of domestic monopolies such as Grupo Minsa, owned by President Sheinbaum’s economic advisor Altagracia Gómez Sierra. Grupo Minsa is a monopoly enriched by FOBAPROA bank bailout money and the proceeds of dubious privatizations over the neoliberal period.

According to information that the agency shared with this media outlet, of the total purchased – mainly from the United States – 900,000 tons were white corn, used in the masa and tortilla chain, an increase of 350 percent compared to the 200,000 tons of the previous year.

Despite the notable increase, white corn purchases did not break records, as 1.5 million tons were imported in 2011; 1.4 million in 2012; 900,000 tons in 2015; and 1.1 million in 2016 and 2018.

Although Mexico is the ninth largest agri-food producer in the world and the fourteenth largest exporter, it is the largest importer of yellow and white corn.

Historically, the country had been almost self-sufficient in white corn production; however, imports have skyrocketed due to the increasing competitiveness of imported grain, especially from the United States, at a lower price.

“The global oversupply and depressed international prices, especially for corn from the United States, continue to drive higher import volumes at lower costs, which benefits the industry but puts pressure on domestic production,” explained Juan Carlos Anaya, general director of the GCMA.

In 2025, the United States had a record corn harvest, which lowered the international price of the grain. Furthermore, the peso appreciated sharply against the dollar, making imports cheaper, and, according to Anaya, the domestic market is stagnant due to a lack of profitability for national producers.

Regarding yellow corn, used as animal feed and to manufacture derivative products, Julio Berdegué, Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development, explained last November that the increase in imports is due to a greater demand for animal protein, which he attributed to the increase in the minimum wage since part of the population has risen out of poverty.

• 

  News Briefs

  Record Corn Imports for Third Year in a Row

  January 14, 2026January 14, 2026

  Mexico’s food sovereignty is being rapidly eroded thanks to the dumping of heavily subsidized US corn and the USMCA, which is an erroneously named “trade” agreement to subjugate, not develop, the Mexican nation.

• 

  Analysis

  A Renewed Opportunity for Indigenous Justice in Mexico

  January 14, 2026

  It is crucial to move from rhetoric to action and initiate a genuine transformative process that begins at the federal level and extends across the board to state and local governments, which are directly responsible for ensuring compliance.

• 

  Soberanía

  Mexico Tells Trump ‘Not in our Hemisphere’ Soberanía 91

  January 14, 2026

  A large anti-imperialist march in Mexico City, US diplomatic pressure on Mexico, US funding CIA-linked contractors involved in Mexican labor, and Losers & Haters.

The post Record Corn Imports for Third Year in a Row appeared first on Mexico Solidarity Media.

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The port of Eilat (Umm al-Rashrash) in the southernmost tip of the Occupied Territories has seen its revenues fall to “nearly zero” due to Yemeni pro-Palestine operations disrupting Red Sea shipping lines, Israeli media report.

On Monday, January 12, Israeli paper Yediot Ahronoth reported that the port was now “almost completely paralyzed,” with dockworkers arriving daily to empty berths as commercial vessels failed to reach the port.

“The port’s revenues, which previously reached about $74 million a year, have dropped to almost zero,” it wrote.

The operational crisis dates back to November 2023, when the Yemeni Armed Forces seized a vessel bound for the port.

The seizure came as part of operations that the servicemen and Yemen’s popular resistance Ansarallah movement had begun launching in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, who had come under a war of genocide by the Israeli regime.

Since then, shipping traffic has failed to recover, amid the attacks that would target Israeli ships as well as vessels travelling to or from ports in the occupied territories, the outlets wrote.

The disruption marked a sharp reversal for the port, which used to handle large volumes of cargo.

Before the disruptions, Eilat was experiencing significant growth. In October 2024 alone, the port reportedly handled around 150,000 vehicles. At the time, Israeli officials even considered expanding its role to support Mediterranean ports such as occupied Haifa and Ashdod, which were facing threats from retaliatory rockets fired by Gaza’s Hamas resistance movement.

However, the outlets said Yemen’s intervention in support of Palestinians “changed everything,” effectively halting activity in Eilat.

Batya Zafarani, the port’s vice president of finance, told Yediot Ahronoth that the situation deteriorated rapidly after the November 19, 2023 seizure of the ship, which was en route to the port.

“Two companies, NYK and ZIM, that work with us, stopped sending ships here,” Zafarani said. “For months, we thought it would be okay” and the regime “would help.”

Israeli ‘Predator’ Smartphone Spyware Exposed

Port officials have repeatedly called on the Zionist regime to intervene, but say no effective support has materialized.

In July 2025, Eilat’s CEO Gideon Golber warned in comments to The Times of Israel that the port’s closure would represent an unprecedented blow.

“The closure of a strategic seaport…would be a huge international success for the Houthis (Ansarallah) that none of our enemies have ever achieved,” Golber said at the time.

Also on Monday, Avi Hormaru, chairman of the port and CEO of the Nakash Group, an investment body, said the regime had abandoned the port, adding that those launching the retaliatory strikes were now “deciding” whether Tel Aviv could operate the port or not.

“We don’t manage the Red Sea,” he added, citing the repercussions of the solidarity strikes that had prompted ships seeking to reach the territories to sail around southern Africa at great cost for the regime’s economy.

(PressTV)

From Orinoco Tribune – News and opinion pieces about Venezuela and beyond via This RSS Feed.

By John Perry  –  Jan 13, 2025

Donald Trump’s attack on Venezuela and the kidnapping of its head of state have overshadowed his less brazen but possibly more effective regime-change operation in Honduras. No one can be sure if the National Party’s Nasry ‘Tito” Asfura really won the presidential election on 30 November, but he was Trump’s endorsed candidate and will almost certainly assume office on 27 January.

Since 2021 Honduras has had a left-wing government, headed by the Libre party’s Xiomara Castro. She revitalised a neglected public health service, reduced poverty and curbed gang violence. But presidential power in Honduras is heavily constrained. There is a local story of child being asked who governs the country and replying: ‘The president, the head of the army and the US ambassador.’ Castro’s husband, Manuel Zelaya, elected president in 2005, was ousted in a coup in 2009, led by an army general and with the US embassy’s tacit support.

The left was fraudulently denied power in elections in 2013 and 2017, allowing Juan Orlando Hernández, endorsed by the US, to run Honduras as a narco-state. In 2021, however, Castro’s majority was overwhelming. Unlike Hernández, she has respected the constitutional limit of one term in office.

The Libre candidate, former minister Rixi Moncada, led several opinion polls earlier in the year. When Trump’s “armada” entered the Caribbean in late August, however, Moncada’s two right-wing opponents, Asfura and the Liberal Party’s Salvador Nasralla, claimed that “Honduras would be next” if Moncada, whom they falsely portrayed as a “communist,” became president.

Hondurans’ limited faith in their electoral system was further damaged in late October, with the disclosure of a possible plot to repeat what happened in 2017, when a premature announcement of the US-backed candidate’s victory was immediately endorsed by the US embassy. On 9 November, a trial run of the new electronic voting system partially failed.

For most of November, polls indicated that Moncada’s main challenger was Nasralla, with Asfura trailing a poor third. Four days before the vote, however, Trump denounced not only Moncada but also Nasralla (whom he called a “borderline communist”), warning that “narcoterrorists” would run Honduras if either was elected. He then suggested that the US would continue to supply aid to Honduras only if Asfura won. Unverified reports appeared on social media threatening the 1.3 million households which rely on remittances from relatives in the US that their December payments would be blocked if Asfura lost.

Two days before the polls, Trump pardoned Hernández, who had been extradited when his term ended and was serving a 45-year prison sentence for trafficking cocaine to the US while publicly presenting himself as an ally in the “war on drugs.” The pardon could have backfired but instead proved to be an astute boost to Asfura’s campaign, since many of his supporters still idolise Hernández.

Honduras: A Coup Under the Christmas Tree

By election night, Moncada was trailing in the polls behind both right-wingers. In early voting returns, Nasralla had the advantage over Asfura. There was a break in announcing the results. When the count resumed, Asfura had taken the lead. Trump stepped in again, accusing officials of trying to change the outcome and warning of “hell to pay” if the numbers changed in Nasralla’s favour.

Interruptions and delays in the count stretched over days and then weeks. When Libre claimed that an “electoral coup” was taking place, its representative on the electoral council was sidelined by the other two parties and then personally sanctioned by Washington. The election result was eventually declared more than three weeks later, on 24 December, as Hondurans were celebrating Christmas. Asfura was declared the winner by fewer than 27,000 votes. The army gave its backing to the electoral council’s decision.

Up to 130,000 votes, however, were still to be counted: enough to change the outcome of the election. The Honduran Congress met a few days ago and instructed the electoral council to carry out a complete recount, threatening to do the job itself if necessary. Before it met, a homemade bomb was thrown at a National Party lawmaker, injuring her as she entered the congressional building. The US embassy has threatened “grave consequences” if Asfura’s victory is overturned.

Electoral observers from the Organisation of American States and the European Union disapproved of the delays but found no evidence of fraud. On Trump’s interference they were silent. Xiomara Castro has written to the US president requesting a meeting to discuss what happened. It seems unlikely that she will get one.

(London Review of Books)

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This article by Erick Augusto Vargas Noria originally appeared in the December 2025 edition ofMemoria: Revista de Crítica Militante. We thank Memoria for permission to reprint the article and encourage you to supportMemoriaand theCenter for Studies of the Labor and Socialist Movement. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those ofMexico Solidarity Mediaor theMexico Solidarity Project*.*

The Mexican Revolution represented the clearest expression of popular protest against the deep social inequalities that prevailed under a system dominated by military, economic, religious, and local elites.

In this context, the Revolution placed at the center of national life a historically repressed, humiliated, and segregated group: the Indigenous population. It is no coincidence that the demand for “Tierra y Libertad” became a battle cry to end decades of injustice and abuses against the poorest communities in the country. In this sense, Emiliano Zapata, then as now, remains the symbol of the struggle against oppression and tyranny exercised from positions of power.

Throughout our history, the construction of the Mexican state has had luminous moments, such as the Cárdenas era, which successfully channeled the demands of the working class, peasantry, and the general population. That was a golden age in which significant progress was made in various areas, including land redistribution.

However, with regard to Indigenous justice, although significant steps have been taken, there is still a long and winding road ahead, not to mention the resistance that persists to this day.

Subcomandante Marcos of the EZLN with Hugo Aguilar Ortiz at 1996 peace talks in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas.

In this context, the arrival of Hugo Aguilar—a lawyer of Indigenous origin—to the presidency of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN), along with justices elected by popular vote, constitutes a historic event. It represents the deepening of a process that began before 2018, was consolidated in 2024, and, in 2025, reaches its peak with a renewed judicial system.

The challenge is significant: one need only look at the degree of decay and backwardness inherited from the previous Court. Even so, expectations for the new justices are extremely high, although time to demonstrate results is limited. The task is to transform a system accustomed to privilege, favoritism, and corruption.

Regarding Indigenous issues, there are key points that must be discussed within a broad, pluralistic, inclusive, cross-cutting, historical, and profoundly human framework. Among these, the following stand out:

1. Recognition of Multicultural Richness

Indigenous communities are living organisms that, from their very roots, preserve festivals, traditions, rituals, customs, languages, and their own ways of understanding the world. To legislate or administer justice without considering this multicultural richness would mean ignoring the essence of our peoples.

2. Territory as a Legitimate Inheritance

For Indigenous communities, territory is a space to which they belong and which they claim as their legitimate inheritance, long before the arrival of the Spanish Crown. The dispossession and massacres suffered for centuries remain open wounds, now embodied in the voraciousness of corporations and businesses. In this regard, the State’s historical debt is enormous, and the judicial system must assume a central role in its redress.

As Carina García points out: “The cases litigated by indigenous communities in defense of collective rights are generally of two types: against companies and against the Mexican State, through its institutions; the latter, for non-compliance with services, for example, water, health and education” (2025).

3. Respect for the Environment & Sustainability

From the Indigenous worldview, Mother Earth is part of a whole, encompassing vegetation, fauna, and all living beings. There was a profound respect for the natural environment. Respecting the environment and territory today means halting the extractive economic model and, in some cities, curbing the ambitions of real estate developers. At stake here is not only the sustainability of Indigenous communities but also the very preservation of civilization. It is essential that the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) address the defiance of local governments.

4. Preservation of Cultural Heritage

The preservation of archaeological sites, an essential part of our heritage, requires public policies that include the communities themselves in their protection. The legacy of our past—ceremonial centers, pyramids, sculptures, codices, ecosystems—must be promoted, yes, but above all, protected.

These points open the discussion to two issues of great relevance in recent decades: autonomy and the full exercise of the rights of Indigenous peoples.

President Claudia Sheinbaum has taken the first steps. Today, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) and the Congress of the Union have the historical and material conditions to achieve what Zapata, the Flores Magón brothers, Revueltas, Cárdenas, and many others championed: that our Indigenous communities never again be forgotten or marginalized from major national decisions. It is crucial to move from rhetoric to action and initiate a genuine transformative process that begins at the federal level and extends across the board to state and local governments, which are directly responsible for ensuring compliance with the law.

As Tomás López, president of the Indigenous Professional Center for Consulting, Defense, and Translation (CEPIADET), points out: of all the cases processed in the country, 80% fall under the jurisdiction of state judicial authorities, while only 20% reach the Federal Judiciary (PJF). This demonstrates the enormous responsibility of local governments in handling this volume of cases.

For her part, academic Ortiz Quintero highlights the importance of the 2024 constitutional reform, which recognizes Indigenous peoples as collective subjects of rights, with legal personality, their own patrimony, and legal pluralism. This progress is crucial not only for the recognition itself, but also because it grants communities the possibility of filing injunctions and other legal remedies, such as constitutional disputes.

Example of Cases Pending Resolution by the SCJN in Indigenous Matters

| Record | Type | Subject | |

|

|

| | 344/2025 | Amparo in review 536/2022 | Establish clear criteria for interpreting the rights to autonomy, self-determination, and self-government of peoples and communities in accordance with ILO Convention 169. Legal recognition of community governments. Obligation of the authorities to guarantee social, economic, cultural, and political institutions. (Chiapas) | | 324/2025 | Amparo in review 277/2024 | The lack of consultation with an indigenous community regarding the issuance of construction permits for a housing development, and the failure to determine the scope of the legal rights of individuals belonging to Indigenous communities. (Oaxaca) | | 1856/2025VIAJ | Several | It discusses the recognition of the rights and culture of indigenous and Afro-Mexican communities, as well as the participation of traditional community and independent government in development. | | 1485/2025 | Several | In the State of Mexico, it concerns a motion from the local Congress to harmonize the local Constitution with the reform of Article 2 of the Magna Carta regarding Indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples and communities. | | 32/2025 | Direct appeal 460/2022 | Criminal proceedings for violent crimes. Application of the protocol for justice officials in cases involving the rights of persons with disabilities; assistance from an expert interpreter in the Nahuatl language and a lawyer specializing in their language and culture must be provided. |

This brief overview is just a glimpse of the enormous challenge facing the new Supreme Court justices. It is now up to society to take a more active role and demand compliance with what is already enshrined in the Constitution.

The arrival of Hugo Aguilar, who has Indigenous roots, does not mean that everything will change overnight. However, it is an unmistakable sign of the changing times we are living through. We trust that this new Court will bring the administration of justice closer to the people of Mexico.

• 

  Analysis

  A Renewed Opportunity for Indigenous Justice in Mexico

  January 14, 2026

  It is crucial to move from rhetoric to action and initiate a genuine transformative process that begins at the federal level and extends across the board to state and local governments, which are directly responsible for ensuring compliance.

• 

  Soberanía

  Mexico Tells Trump ‘Not in our Hemisphere’ Soberanía 91

  January 14, 2026

  A large anti-imperialist march in Mexico City, US diplomatic pressure on Mexico, US funding CIA-linked contractors involved in Mexican labor, and Losers & Haters.

• 

  News Briefs

  Mexican Government to Invest Billions in Safe Pathways Illumination Program

  January 14, 2026January 14, 2026

  The street lighting program matches illumination with sidewalk improvements and murals to bring security and a sense of community to previously dim and neglected urban areas.

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During a meeting with Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, where they addressed the deteriorating security situation in eastern DRC, its consequences, and the threats to the civilian population, Van de Perre reiterated that MONUSCO supports the defense of the Congolese full sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity.

Held in the African Union City on Tuesday, the meeting also analyzed the effective implementation of the immediate and unconditional ceasefire demanded by United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2773, according to a statement released by MONUSCO on its X profile on Wednesday.

The mission, which had begun its withdrawal from the DRC in 2024 at the country’s request, halted its withdrawal due to the deteriorating security situation in eastern Congo, and its mandate was renewed in December for another year.

The strategic priorities of this extension are contributing to the protection of the civilian population in its area of deployment, achieving the objectives set out in Resolution 2773 of 2025, consolidating peace, and stabilizing and strengthening state institutions in the DRC.

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In episode 91 of Soberanía, hosts José Luis Granados Ceja and Kurt Hackbarth unpack the political response in Mexico following the U.S. attack on Venezuela.

The show starts with an on-the-ground report from the large anti-imperialist march in Mexico City, analyzing the turnout, the diverse participants, and the powerful message of regional solidarity against U.S. aggression. The conversation then shifts to the shifting diplomatic pressures from Washington, breaking down the contradictory “good cop, bad cop” dynamic emerging between Marco Rubio and Donald Trump in their dealings with President Sheinbaum’s administration.

Finally, the hosts delve into an investigative report exposing how U.S. government funds, funneled through CIA-linked contractors, are being used to interfere in Mexican labor unions under the guise of enforcing trade agreements. Plus a Losers and Haters segment on stupid headlines from bad writers.

Empower Soberanía’s Anti-Imperialist Reporting

• 

  Soberanía

  Mexico Tells Trump ‘Not in our Hemisphere’ Soberanía 91

  January 14, 2026

  A large anti-imperialist march in Mexico City, US diplomatic pressure on Mexico, US funding CIA-linked contractors involved in Mexican labor, and Losers & Haters.

• 

  News Briefs

  Mexican Government to Invest Billions in Safe Pathways Illumination Program

  January 14, 2026January 14, 2026

  The street lighting program matches illumination with sidewalk improvements and murals to bring security and a sense of community to previously dim and neglected urban areas.

• 

  Analysis

  Hegemony Without Occupation: Mexican Elites Facing the United States

  January 13, 2026January 13, 2026

  The crucial question is not whether Mexico has competent elites, but whether those elites are willing to stop managing subordination as if it were a virtue.

The post Mexico Tells Trump ‘Not in our Hemisphere’ Soberanía 91 appeared first on Mexico Solidarity Media.

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The Pakistani Ministry of Economic Affairs stated the Japanese government made a financial contribution of 18.62 million dollars that will be channeled through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), The Nation underscored.

The initiative aims to strengthen children’s healthcare services in the region.

As part of the project, the Multan Children’s Hospital and the Institute of Child Health (ICH) will be modernized with state-of-the-art medical equipment and improved healthcare infrastructure.

Hameer Karim, Secretary of Economic Affairs, thanked Japan at the signing ceremony for its continued assistance and assured that all necessary steps would be taken to ensure the effective implementation of the project.

The newspaper noted that Ambassador Akamatsu Shuichi reaffirmed Japan’s commitment to working closely with Pakistan to improve healthcare services and strengthen bilateral relations.

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According to statements made Wednesday by the spokeswoman to Radio Sputnik, the EU openly supports anti-government actions in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Zakharova noted that while imposing sanctions against Tehran, the EU simultaneously calls for freedom of expression and respect for freedom of association and peaceful assembly.

“What kind of cynicism does one have to possess—and it is, in reality, a frontal and open attack—to reach such conclusions?” the Russian diplomat said.

She emphasized that this EU policy constitutes, in effect, open support for anti-government actions and, essentially, a rebellion.

Zakharova emphasized that the West is dismantling international legal frameworks by exerting this illegal pressure on Iran.

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According to the source, at least 10 military aircraft landed at the base in the last 72 hours, including cargo planes from Belgium, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and Poland, as well as two refueling tankers.

The Rzeszów base has served as NATO’s main center for transporting military equipment to Ukraine, and a similar facility is planned for Romania to decentralize and secure the flow of supplies.

Local military analysts believe the movement could indicate accelerated logistical preparations or the start of a new phase of supplies, amid growing pressure on Ukrainian communication lines following recent Russian attacks on infrastructure in the Odesa region.

The air mobilization in Rzeszow suggests the alliance is seeking to maintain a constant flow of supplies by air given the vulnerability of land routes, although this option is more expensive and has a lower volumetric capacity.

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This article originally appeared in the January 13, 2026 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper.

Mexico City. The investment for the “Safe Paths: Walk Free, Walk Safe” project will be 1.622 billion pesos between 2025 and 2026, reported the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT).

In a statement, it explained that these are illuminated and monitored paths that will be created along 562 kilometers in 23 municipalities in the State of Mexico, Michoacán and Sonora, to guarantee conditions of safety, accessibility and gender equality in strategic public spaces.

The Ministry indicated that these are priority projects of the current administration, which began to be developed in 2025 in Sonora and the State of Mexico; in 2026 they will continue in the State of Mexico and in Michoacán as part of the Michoacán Plan for Peace and Justice, with federal, state and municipal resources.

According to the Undersecretariat of Communications and Transportation, responsible for the work, safe trails were implemented in the municipality of San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora, during 2025, with an investment of 100 million pesos in 40 kilometers.

Also, as part of the Eastern State of Mexico Plan, during that period 200 kilometers of safe trails were also built in the municipalities of Chalco, Chicoloapan, Chimalhuacán, Ecatepec, Ixtapaluca, Nezahualcóyotl, La Paz, Texcoco, Tlalnepantla and Valle de Chalco, with an investment of 600 million pesos.

Finishing a mural in Chimalhuacán

The goal for this year is to add a length of 300 km in the State of Mexico with an investment of 900 million pesos (to reach 500 km and 1,500 million pesos of investment).

Meanwhile, in Michoacán, as part of the Michoacán Plan for Peace and Justice, the program will be implemented in the municipalities of Coeneo and Tzintzuntzan, with an investment of 22 million pesos for 22 km.

According to estimates, the 11 Safe Routes implemented in 2025, 10 in the State of Mexico and one in Sonora, benefit more than 6 million 400 thousand inhabitants between both regions: 6 million 216.3 thousand in the State of Mexico and around 200 thousand inhabitants of Sonora.

The project includes LED lighting, the adaptation and improvement of sidewalks, as well as the creation of artistic murals to generate a positive identity in the spaces.

With the installation of the “Safe Paths: Walk Free Walk Safe”, the Government of Mexico aims to provide greater security, mainly for women, and guarantee secure transit for all.

• 

  Soberanía

  Mexico Tells Trump ‘Not in our Hemisphere’ Soberanía 91

  January 14, 2026

  A large anti-imperialist march in Mexico City, US diplomatic pressure on Mexico, US funding CIA-linked contractors involved in Mexican labor, and Losers & Haters.

• 

  News Briefs

  Mexican Government to Invest Billions in Safe Pathways Illumination Program

  January 14, 2026January 14, 2026

  The street lighting program matches illumination with sidewalk improvements and murals to bring security and a sense of community to previously dim and neglected urban areas.

• 

  Analysis

  Hegemony Without Occupation: Mexican Elites Facing the United States

  January 13, 2026January 13, 2026

  The crucial question is not whether Mexico has competent elites, but whether those elites are willing to stop managing subordination as if it were a virtue.

The post Mexican Government to Invest Billions in Safe Pathways Illumination Program appeared first on Mexico Solidarity Media.

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According to a statement released Wednesday by the military on its official Telegram channel, as a result of active and decisive actions, units of the Northern Troops Group occupied the town of Komarovka in the Sumi region, which borders Russia’s Kursk region.

The Ministry added that in the last 24 hours, enemy losses along the group’s line of operations reached 190 soldiers.

These casualties are in addition to up to 440 casualties on the Central Group’s line of operations, more than 300 on the Eastern Group’s, up to 200 on the Western Group’s, up to 125 on the Southern Group’s, and more than 55 caused by the Dnieper Group.

During the day, Ukrainian troops also suffered significant material losses: two tanks, 26 armored fighting vehicles, one Czech Vampire rocket launcher, 95 cars, 11 artillery pieces, one AN/TPQ-50 radar, five electronic warfare stations, one counter-battery station, and 14 ammunition and military equipment depots.

Furthermore, seven guided bombs, six HIMARS missiles, and 260 drones were shot down, according to the Ministry of Defense report.

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This analysis, written by Italian economist Luciano Vasapollo, leader of the Network of Communists, points out that Cuba is in the crosshairs of US imperialism because of what it represents, and its defense is not only military or diplomatic: it is a permanent war of position, in the economic, cultural, symbolic, and social spheres.

“The intensification of US aggression against Cuba, in the context of the frontal attack on Bolivarian Venezuela, is not an accident of history nor a momentary deviation from Washington’s foreign policy,” Vasapollo, who is also a co-founder of the Italian chapter of the Network of Intellectuals in Defense of Humanity, states.

The simultaneous attack on both nations, he says, “reveals the specificity of the current phase: the empire strikes where experiences of solidarity-based cooperation, social planning, and regional integration emerge as alternatives to the global market dominated by financial capital.”

“The empire strikes at experiences that, even amidst contradictions and difficulties, have challenged its hegemony on the continent, building practices of solidarity-based cooperation, social planning, and integration as alternatives to the global capitalist market,” the analyst emphasizes.

This aggressive escalation is “the coherent expression of an organic crisis of capitalist imperialism, which can no longer govern through hegemony and is increasingly resorting to coercion,” he stated, quoting the Italian Marxist philosopher Antonio Gramsci.

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The incident, which occurred yesterday, has so far left 19 dead and four seriously injured, while more than a dozen people remain missing under the rubble.

The administrative secretary of the Luberike group, which includes Burutsi, told Actualité.CD that during Wednesday’s rescue operation, another resident fell and fractured his left leg.

He added that those whose homes were destroyed by the landslide are currently taking refuge in local schools.

Authorities appealed for collective solidarity to provide assistance to the victims and support the search for the missing and the care of the injured.

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Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning responded to recent statements by US President Donald Trump, who downplayed the role of international law.

In contrast, the Chinese spokesperson emphasized that it is an essential instrument for resolving disputes.

She also stressed that upholding international law is key to safeguarding international fairness and justice and preventing the world from reverting to the law of the jungle.

Mao pointed out that major powers must assume the responsibility of respecting the authority of international law and fulfilling the obligations it imposes.

The Chinese position comes amid growing global debates about respect for multilateralism and the international system established after World War II.

Trump’s words come amid unilateral, belligerent, threatening, and aggressive actions by the United States against Venezuela and other nations that do not align with Washington’s interests.

Beijing rejects the notion that any single nation should act as the “world’s policeman” and refuses to accept that any country can assume the role of international judge.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi emphasized that the sovereignty and security of all nations must be fully protected under international law.

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One of the initiatives seeking to oust the head of Government was presented by the La France Insoumise (LFI) party, and the other by the far-right National Rally (RN) party. However, both parties are considered to have a low chance of success due to the anticipated opposition from other opposition forces.

The Socialist Party (PS) and the conservative party, The Republicans, have ruled out supporting the no-confidence motions, which are expected to gather at most 200 votes, insufficient in a lower house with 577 seats.

Both the LFI and the RN criticize President Emmanuel Macron for not having done enough for the years of EU-MERCOSUR trade deals to prevent the agreement, which is rejected in France by farmers who accuse him of promoting unfair competition.

While Macron opposed the pact, which will be signed on Saturday in Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay, and France voted against it last week, the opposition believes that this stance was the result of domestic pressure rather than a genuine understanding of the deal’s negative consequences for French agriculture.

In fact, during his attendance at a summit in Belem, Brazil, in November, the French head of State hinted at his willingness to support the free trade initiative between the 27-member EU bloc and the bloc comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, further fueling discontent at home.

Hundreds of French farmers entered Paris on Tuesday with their tractors to ratify their rejection of the deal, and confirmed that they will protest outside the European Parliament in Strasbourg on January 20.

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In a message on her Telegram account, the president stated that she received “a message of solidarity and cooperation” for her country.

She affirmed that the meeting aimed to strengthen “our bilateral relationship and investment opportunities, for the development and well-being of both peoples.”

The presidency reported that Al Shansi conveyed a message of unity, cooperation, and mutual support from the Emirati government and people.

The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the UAE discussed investment opportunities in various sectors of the South American nation, building upon the diplomatic relations established over more than half a century.

Likewise, the parties promoted joint projects for the progress and well-being of both nations, according to the source.

The meeting at Miraflores Palace, the seat of government, was also attended by the Vice President for Economic Affairs, Calixto Ortega; Foreign Minister Yván Gil; and the Minister for Ecological Mining Development, Héctor Silva.

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The more than 400-page court document, which names former presidents Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014), now in exile in Colombia, and Juan Carlos Varela (2014-2019), serves as a map of the system used to channel bribes, conceal their origin, and disperse the funds.

Before the court presided over by Judge Baloisa Marquinez, the main routes used to channel, conceal, and disperse the illicit funds delivered by Odebrecht as bribes were laid bare.

Among these schemes, it was revealed, was the use of shell companies for receiving and transferring funds from the Brazilian company.

These companies included Innovation Research Engineering and Development LTD., Erie Providers Corp., Deltora Enterprises, Kleinfeld Services LTD., and Meinl Bank (Antigua). It was revealed that this bank held a large number of bank accounts opened by Odebrecht’s Structured Operations Department.

The court order specifies that the Structured Operations Department operated as an autonomous unit within the company, responsible for managing, supervising, and executing the bribe payments that the construction company made in various countries, including Panama.

During the reading of the indictment, the involvement of the defendants was also outlined, including former presidential candidate Jose Domingo Arias, among others.

Regarding the hearing, the newspaper La Prensa noted that the process originated from a complaint filed on September 18, 2015, by lawyer Alvin Weeden, who died in 2023, and that the case file incorporated international legal cooperation with Brazil, as well as Odebrecht’s agreement with the US Department of Justice.

Globally, the company and its co-conspirators admitted to paying approximately $788 million in bribes in at least 12 countries, while in Panama the payments exceeded $59 million between 2010 and 2014.

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Novikov, who is the first deputy Chairman of the Committee on International Affairs of the State Duma (the lower house of the Russian Parliament), told Izvestia that if the meeting takes place, there will be questions on many topics, including those related to the Venezuelan situation.

The lawmaker emphasized that, therefore, issues related to oil will arise. Because those who initiated the complication of the situation surrounding Venezuela, that is, the current White House team, do not hide the fact that one of the objectives of their actions was oil, these questions arise naturally.

The leading issue of the upcoming consultations by lawmakers, as expected, will also be the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine, US Representative Anna Paulina Luna stated earlier.

Novikov noted that a number of organizational issues, including the meeting format, the composition of the delegations, the dates, as well as security matters and sanctions restrictions against Russian parliamentarians, remain in the planning stage.

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