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The artist, who has shared her art in the country on numerous occasions, will perform alongside Cuban guitarist Leodan Brito as a special guest of the “De cara al sol” (Facing the Sun) gathering, hosted by maestro Efrain Amador.

Following her participation in the 30th edition of the Longina Canta a Corona Troubadour Festival in Santa Clara, the singer will also share her art at the Tres Tazas – venue of trova singer Silvio Alejandro at Pabellon Cuba-; at Casa de la Bombilla Verde; and at other venues in the Cuban capital.

She will also interact with students from the Jazz Band of the Amadeo Roldan Conservatory.

Lara Voo offers contemporary compositions that fuse the folk-rooted music of both nations, so in her shows she sings in Portuguese and Spanish, and on stage she combines dance with percussion instruments.

According to the press release, “she has a multifaceted voice and a singular intensity in her performances, in which she accompanies herself with her guitar and pandeiro in minimalist settings, and on a larger scale, with a bigger band.”

She has worked on projects that fuse voice, body, and movement, in which she uses performance as a tool for expression and transformation, the text adds.

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In a clear allusion to the remarks made by US President Donald Trump, the Cuban leader emphasized on social media that “those who turn everything into a business, even human lives, have no moral authority to point the finger at Cuba in any way, absolutely in any way.” In the post, Diaz-Canel argued that those who are now hysterically venting their anger against our nation are doing so out of rage at the sovereign decision of this people to choose their political model.

The head of state of the Caribbean nation told those who blame the Revolution for the severe economic shortages that they should be ashamed and thus rather remain silent.

In this regard, those who make these statements against his country “know and and admit that they are the result of the draconian measures of extreme suffocation that the US has been applying to us for six decades and threatens to surpass now,” he noted.

The president reaffirmed that Cuba is a free, independent, and sovereign nation that does not accept impositions.

He then stated categorically: “Cuba does not attack; it has been attacked by the US for 66 years, and it does not threaten; it prepares, ready to defend the Homeland to the last drop of blood. #CubaIsCourage.”

This Sunday, the island’s media gave extensive coverage to the Cuban president’s words in a context marked by the aggression against Venezuela and the continued escalation of threats from the White House against several countries.

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At the Esplanade of Human Rights (Trocadero), a landmark of Paris, dozens of people participated in a multinational demonstration organized by civil society organizations to express outrage over the January 3 attack.

Associations representing, among others, Argentinians, Bolivians, Colombians, Cubans, Chileans, Ecuadorians, French, Hondurans, Malians, Mexicans, Nigerians, and Peruvians denounced Washington’s actions and the violation of international law they represent, with the Eiffel Tower as a backdrop.

With banners, flags, and slogans, they demanded the immediate release of Maduro, whom they reminded everyone is the constitutional president of the South American nation.

They also called for respect for the sovereignty and self-determination of the Venezuelan people and the defense of peace in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the world against the imperial ambitions of the Donald Trump administration.

The demonstration at Trocadero emphasized that the aggression against Venezuela is not aimed at combating drug trafficking or terrorism, but rather at seizing its natural resources, from oil and gas to gold and water.

In their call to action, the organizers asked that political positions be set aside to focus on denouncing a violation of International Law and the UN Charter that should concern everyone.

A solidarity event with Venezuela also took place in the Place de la Bastille, i’m Paris, with the participation of political parties, unions, and associations from France.

The event called for condemnation of the aggression and warned that other nations could become targets of Trump’s imperial ambitions.

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In the city of Holguín, a massive citizen gathering reaffirmed the demand for peace in the Latin American region and condemned imperialist interference in the Caribbean.

Similarly, on Avenida de los Libertadores, in front of the monument to Simon Bolivar, those present called for an international campaign against the US rulers for their wars of plunder, genocidal blockades, and the criminal attack that violates international law, reported the Granma newspaper.

The declaration demanded the return of constitutional President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores to their country, who were kidnapped by the United States government on January 3.

During the proclamation of freedom and justice, a tribute was paid to the 32 combatants who fell defending the sovereignty of the sister republic, including seven from Holguiíñn, according to the Cuban News Agency.

Meanwhile, in the city of Camaguey officers, civilian workers, and soldiers from the firing range of that Military Region expressed their unconditional support for the sister Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and called for peace in the Latin American region, free from imperialist interference, according to the local newspaper Adelante.

Similarly, employees of the Granma Provincial Electricity Company who had served on an internationalist mission in Venezuela expressed their support for the people and government of that country, while condemning the recent military aggression against the Bolivarian nation.

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According to a report from the government institution, some 50 U.S. Marines will participate in a training program from tomorrow until February 26 at the Jungle Warfare School in the Caribbean province of Colon and at the Captain Noel Rodriguez Naval Base in the capital.

For groups such as the National Front for the Defense of Economic and Social Rights (Frenadeso), these types of maneuvers are authorized by a memorandum of understanding signed last April between Panama and Washington, which they consider detrimental to national sovereignty, as it allows the presence of foreign troops and the establishment of military bases. In a statement issued by Frenadeso, signed by its coordinator Jorge Guzman, it is asserted that this type of training is not “cooperation,” but rather interference and aggression against national sovereignty.

The memorandum signed in 2025, the statement specifies, is an act of surrender intended to normalize the foreign military presence and transform Panama into a platform for geopolitical operations against sister nations like Venezuela, under the pretexts of security, migration, or drug trafficking.

In the statement, which Prensa Latina reached ay, the group demanded the immediate cessation of these training exercises and the genuine defense of independence.

“Panama is a sovereign and neutral country, not a ramp for imperial aggression,” the document states.

Since December 2025, this type of US military presence has intensified in Panama, under the pretext of fighting drug trafficking and following threats from President Donald Trump to retake control of the interoceanic waterway, including the use of force, due to an alleged “malign influence” from China on the route—something denied by authorities from both nations. jdt/oda/ga

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The statement issued by the U.S. State Department concerning Venezuela “is based on fabricated narratives aimed at creating a perception of risk that does not exist,” asserts a communiqué from the Ministry of Popular Power for Foreign Affairs.

“Venezuela,” the text emphasizes, “is fully calm, in peace and stable. All population centers, communication routes, checkpoints, and security devices are functioning normally.”

“All weapons in the country,” the statement adds, “are under the control of the Bolivarian Government, the sole guarantor of the legitimate monopoly on the use of force and the tranquility of the Venezuelan people.”

The statement insists that “the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela reaffirms its commitment to protecting peace, institutional stability, and the coexistence of the Venezuelan people.” jdt/oda/apb

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Hundreds of thousands of people participated in marches organized by political, labor, student, and social organizations, which joined together the previous day in 30 cities to simultaneously express their condemnation of the US aggression against the Bolivarian nation and its threats against Cuba, Colombia, and other countries.

The demonstrations spread throughout Rome, Milan, Brescia, Turin, Venice, Bologna, Piacenza, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Rimini, Ravenna, Imola, Faenza, Genoa, Pisa, Florence, Siena, Lucca, Perugia, Ancona, Bari, Lecce, Brindisi, Barletta, Gaeta, Naples, Catanzaro, Potenza, Cagliari, and Palermo.

The protesters rejected the hegemonic ambitions of US imperialism, state terrorism, and the ongoing application of the colonialist Monroe Doctrine.

In the massive demonstration in Rome, the demonstrators marched along several of the main avenues in the city center, from the Esquiline Square to the US Embassy.

“Today we’re in the plaza and we will not stop, because we know that the risk of further attacks is extremely high,” some of the speakers declared, reaffirming that “with socialist Cuba in our hearts, with socialist Venezuela in our hearts, we will continue to mobilize for the idea of ​​a different world.”

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By Álvaro García Linera  –  Jan 10, 2026

Since 1945, interstate relations have been governed by three basic principles: a) mutual respect for the territorial sovereignty of states; b) the shared understanding that each country must resolve its political affairs internally without foreign interference; and c) the peaceful settlement of disputes between states (UN Charter, Art. 2). Certainly, on many occasions they were not observed, as with the U.S. invasions of Vietnam, Puerto Rico, Iraq, and Libya; the Soviet invasions of Czechoslovakia and Hungary; or the European invasions of Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, etc. The great powers, driven by commercial or geopolitical interests, could occasionally violate those rules, but it was a force of destiny around which the ties and legitimacy of state actions were regulated.

With the fall of the USSR in 1989, the “order” was “enriched” by the pillars of ongoing globalization: d) free trade in goods and capital; e) protection of foreign investment (coming from North America and Europe); f) globalized value chains; g) democracy and expansive liberal values. It was about doing business anywhere in the world, but with a dose of theatrical hypocrisy (the so-called “liberal values”) for the sake of legitimizing the system before the subordinate classes. Today that order has exploded into a thousand pieces.

First came the structural flaws of hyperglobalism, which manifested as a systemic contraction of economic growth and the dramatic financial crisis of 2008-2010. Markets do not self-regulate, and leaving them to their own devices is like letting monkeys with knives loose in a kindergarten. Silently, cross-border capital flows began to retreat, as did global trade growth rates (BIS, 2024). Finally, it was the state, considered an “archaic” political artifact, that had to bail out the “deserving” investors by printing public money. In 2020, that “quantitative easing” reached 18% of the GDP of advanced economies (IMF, 2022). In the meantime, Brexit came along, showing that ideals of sovereignty were not mere museum relics but also a different way of organizing the economy. Alarmed, liberal elites began talking about “slow globalization.”

And finally Trump arrived, with his basic but direct language and his cavalry of import tariffs, which ended up upending all the principles and “values” that had been shared until then. He began imposing tariffs on the entire world like someone dealing marked poker cards, then negotiating new, equally marked cards, until he knocked out every participant one by one.

In a short time, all the anti-globalization forces have risen up and are now dominant. Instead of free trade, there is rampant protectionism. In place of free competition, there are state-subsidized industrial policies. Instead of fiscal discipline, public debt has skyrocketed. Global value chains are giving way to a geopolitically regionalized division of labor. Goodbye globalization, at least in key areas of the economy. Welcome to “geoeconomic fragmentation.”

All of this entails a reorganization of the key players in the global economy. If before it was the anonymous markets that redefined investment, trade, and profitability flows, subordinating states to that enterprise, now it will be the states that plan and use their monopoly powers to enable capital to operate and enrich itself. It is still capitalism. Of course. But the latter is a new type of state-protected, capitalized, shored-up, and driven global capitalism.

The new rule of the interstate game that is now being imposed is that there are no rules. In this time of liminal transition, everything is permissible—first and foremost, force and coercion among states to impose on others what governments, and the companies sheltered by them, need. It does not matter whether these companies are national or transnational. What matters is that they are based in a state and will leverage that state’s political, economic, and coercive power to secure domestic credit, subsidies, tariff protections, blackmail other states into tax exemptions, and, of course, occupy their markets. It is a savage order in which states act as unrestrained Hobbesian Leviathans, pitted against one another. The only barrier that they impose on themselves is the one that arises from the limits of their resources and power. Based on that, they realistically gauge their spheres of control and influence.

There are no longer any “values” to adhere to or to invoke in their pursuit. No democracy, no human rights, no justice. Only power. The power to occupy. The power to win. The power to usurp. The power to monetize. The power to humiliate and subdue. And Trump’s preferred power—instilling fear in others. “America First,” regardless of agreements, loyalties, history, peoples, or the individuals who are crushed, trampled, and spat upon on the road to greatness: “drill, baby, drill.”

That is why President Trump does not care about maintaining the military umbrella in Europe. He gains nothing. The US loses money. It is more profitable to sell weapons and gas to the frightened European governments that take refuge in an illusory “international order” based on supplication.

That is why he does not care about Ukraine’s integrity or its accession to NATO. Russia is not an adversary for the US to fear, and Ukraine only matters if the US can seize its lands and minerals and, above all, recover the more than $100 billion that Biden handed over to it. If ceding part of the territory to Russia achieves that goal, it is a good deal.

Tha is why he unilaterally imposes tariffs on the world; forces the OECD to repeal the 15% tax on its US multinationals; and is on his way to annexing Greenland.

That is why Germany is dusting off its old Prussian military helmet, instantly amending its constitution, and unleashing “unlimited public spending” to “make its army great.” And it tells everyone that this is the “new” Europeanism.

That is why, when the US militarily intervenes in Venezuela and abducts President Maduro, it does not even pretend to invoke any international convention. Much less to the UN, which has become an NGO for pious international debates. There is no hypocrisy. There is no justification. There is a simple, pure, and shameless display of state power to confiscate the world’s largest oil reserve. And, by the way, to protect the new petroleum reserves in Essequibo.

January 3 and the Imperialist Rationale Against Venezuela

We have entered a wild international interregnum, governed by the law of force of states (economic and military). This is not a temporary lapse by Trump. It will not end when the US elects a new president in 2028. It is the stormy transition toward a new, stable global order; but it is a transition that will last more than a decade, sowing violence, hatred, and intra-state cannibalism that will leave wounds for centuries.

When the inflection of order takes cruel and violent forms devoid of legitimizing narratives, it can be seen as a symptom of the twilight of a regime of domination. In this case, it is the globalist cycle (40 years) and the US hegemonic cycle (100 years). Every decline in authority exacerbates the desperation of those who benefited from it, leading them to try to halt the inevitable by violent means. It is what the historian Tuchman has called the “bellicose frivolity of senile empires.” However, brutality is also a symptom of the agonizing birth of the new order. It is the recurring “midwife” of history to which Marx referred in the famous Chapter XXIV of Capital, where he describes not only how the modern state is formed but also how the state is an “economic power” that helps bring about every new social form. Violent state intervention is a birthmark of capitalism and, therefore, of all the new long cycles through which the accumulation of wealth and investment is renewed. Rampant state coercion is a hallmark of liminal times. Like the present one.

Amid these naked monstrosities with which the great powers are acting, it is possible to discern the birth of principles of regularity that, in due course, may cement the new international order that will emerge and stabilize over the coming decades. These regularities are:

1. States are no longer merely the support for capital accumulation, as they were under neoliberalism; now they are also part of the command and territorialized reorganization of that accumulation. China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam are successful examples of this. The US and the EU will follow suit, but not in the form of a state-entrepreneur, as the former did, but rather as a state that incubates, protects, and nurtures “its” private companies in its areas of influence.

2. The states will be divided into patron states and vassal states, based on their infrastructural capacity, economic power, political cohesion, and military logistics. The former will delineate areas of control and autonomy for companies based in their territories. The latter serve as suppliers of inputs and exclusivity to the former.

3. Sovereignty is no longer based upon agreements and international treaties. It derives purely from economic strength, solid internal legitimacy, the ability of a state to defend itself, and the capacity to inflict harm on other states. Those who lack these attributes will become vassal states.

4. Areas of influence, whether regional or continental, will be flexible, subject to the pressures of capital radiating outward in search of markets. But the elasticity of borders will not depend on trade agreements, but on waves of tariff wars, geopolitical blackmail, and interference in the internal affairs of states. From an “international order” for markets in which states served as the platform for the free flow of capital, we will move to a “global order” of states that forcibly conquer regional spaces and specific global markets for “their” capital.

5. The internal regime of governmental legitimacy will gradually set aside the globalist liberal ideology to focus on regional security issues, national “greatness,” and sovereignty.

It is a scenario of dominant and submissive states based on geoeconomic priorities. It is terrifying, but real.

(Diario Red)

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/SC/DZ

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

Through his Twitter account, Foreign Minister Alberto van Klaveren officially announced Chile’s willingness to collaborate with its neighbor in controlling and extinguishing the fires.

“In times of adversity, solidarity between sister nations and joint efforts are fundamental to addressing shared challenges,” Van Klaveren wrote.

Several wildfires are affecting southern Argentina, particularly the provinces of Neuquen, Rio Negro, Chubut, and Santa Cruz.

For the time being, the National Forestry Corporation (CONAF) has ruled out the possibility of the fires spreading to the Chilean side, as the winds are blowing toward the Atlantic.

According to CONAF, one of the fires is 17 kilometers from the border and another more than 20 kilometers away.

Hundreds of people, including firefighters, technicians, and other personnel, supported by heavy machinery, drones, water tankers, and airplanes, are working to control the flames.

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Founded in 2002, this 5,030-square-meter space offers a key sensory and technological experience for learning about the ancestral culture and pre-Hispanic history of the country’s central valley.

“Our intention is to reach the public, share knowledge, provide an engaging tour, and spark the interest of anyone, at any age,” Hari Castillo, a young archaeologist at the institution, explained to Prensa Latina.

“Kaminaljuyu flourished from approximately 1500 BC until the Classic period, and we exhibit a collection based on what was found here when the Miraflores Shopping Center was built, as well as donations,” he explained.

We are a center that strives to be cutting-edge and engaging, because that’s how you learn the most, he emphasized, while mentioning the topics they cover: the gods, agriculture, cacao, architecture, and crafts.

We include reconstructions, reenactments of funerary ceremonies, virtual reality experiences, screens to discover each person’s Mayan nahual, or to learn through a game based on the numbers of that civilization, Castillo added.

We try to be at the forefront; we have 3D model projects, immersive rooms, but above all, we want people to understand the connection between the past and the present, the specialist remarked.

The Museum explains how this city was an important political, economic, and ceremonial center, while also influencing trade routes and interacting with other areas of Mesoamerica.

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The flames are currently advancing uncontrollably and keeping several towns in the area on edge.

The extreme weather conditions of historic drought, high temperatures, and strong winds are severely complicating the work of the firefighters and favoring the fire’s advance toward populated areas, the Chubut newspaper Jornada reports.

The newspaper quotes the lament of Chubut’s Secretary of Forests, Abel Nievas, as he describes the impact of the blaze, which broke out on January 5, as “the worst environmental tragedy in 20 years” in that province, where the flames have consumed some 7,000 hectares of native forest.

The main fire front is concentrated in the Epuyen and El Hoyo area. In Puerto Patriada, at least ten homes were destroyed by the fire.

The municipality of El Maiten asked its residents to be prepared for a possible evacuation. Other nearby towns, such as El Coihue and Buenos Aires Chico, remain on alert, with municipal facilities already prepared as a precaution to receive evacuees.

The Municipality of El Hoyo implemented a preventative self-evacuation for residents, tourists, and visitors of the El Pedregoso area, as well as for the Aldea San Francisco area, while traffic on Route 40 remains restricted.

Authorities in Chubut believe the fire was intentionally set, and judicial investigators are working to corroborate the charge.

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Donald Trump wants to seize Venezuelan oil, and the world cannot allow the law of the strongest to prevail, because we know that it only benefits the rich, the councilwoman, who heads the Group of Communists and Citizens in the Paris City Hall, told Prensa Latina.

According to Primet, remaining passive in the face of what happened on January 3 in the South American nation is to accept that Washington is extending its crusade through the Latin American and Caribbean region, where it has already threatened Colombia, Cuba, and Mexico.

The United States bombed targets in several Venezuelan cities and kidnapped President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

That action represented an intolerable attack on international law, with a very clear aim: to seize the oil, the councilwoman, who the day before had been one of those who took to the streets of the capital to denounce the aggression against Venezuela, warned.

Hundreds of people gathered at emblematic Parisian sites such as the Trocadero Esplanade and the Place de la Bastille to express their solidarity with the Venezuelan people.

Many of the demonstrators demanded the release of Maduro and Flores.

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“Unfortunately, a young woman who was injured by falling debris from an attack drone on a private home died overnight in an intensive care unit,” Gusev posted on the Telegram social network this Sunday.

According to the governor, the attack was “one of the most severe” since February 2022.

“Furthermore, the enemy targeted the maximum number of civilian facilities,” Gusev emphasized.

Two Voronezh residents, a man and a woman, who were injured in the attack, were discharged after receiving medical treatment.

A third patient remains hospitalized after undergoing surgery for an abdominal wound, the official stated.

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According to a report by the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP), in coordination with the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), this policy follows the enactment of Law 202 of July 17, through which the country adopts the Convention Relating to this global body.

The law ratifies a convention signed in Monaco in 1967 and amended in 2005, through which Panama formally integrates itself into international efforts to standardize hydrography for the benefit of maritime navigation safety and efficiency.

For the authorities, this step represents a milestone for Panama, formalizing its incorporation as a Member State of the IHO and strengthening the development of national hydrography, in alignment with international standards for navigational safety and maritime management, the statement specifies.

It also emphasizes that joining the convention strengthens Panama’s compliance with its international hydrographic obligations, which are essential to guaranteeing navigational safety, the protection of human life at sea, and the preservation of the marine environment.

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According to a statement on its official Telegram channel, the active and energetic operations of units from the Dnieper Force Group resulted in the capture of the village of Belogorie in the Zaporizhzhia region.

The Russian military also reported approximately 1,330 Ukrainian army casualties in the last 24 hours, a third of which (400) resulted from operations by the Central Force Group.

The ministry added that the Eastern Force Group inflicted 290 casualties on the enemy during the last 24 hours; the Northern Force Group, 205; the Western Force Group, 200; and the Southern Force Group, 160 and the Dnieper Group, 75.

Ukrainian military losses in the last 24 hours include 12 armored vehicles, three artillery pieces, 82 military vehicles, one electronic warfare station, 11 ammunition, equipment, and fuel depots, and 130 unmanned aerial vehicles.

According to the report, “Ukrainian forces, unable to advance toward the city of Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region, made a failed attempt to establish their presence there by sending a drone to raise the Ukrainian flag over the municipal administration building, but both the flag and the drone were destroyed.”

Russian troops repelled two attacks in this area and killed 15 enemy soldiers, the military stated.

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It is a monumental act of war. After being kidnapped and flown to the United States, President Nicolás Maduro has pled not guilty to spurious drugs charges in New York – even as U.S. government documents admit that Venezuela is not a major drugs producer, and prosecutors concede that Maduro’s supposed Cartel of the Suns never existed.

Moreover, Trump’s star key witness, former Venezuelan Gen. Hugo “El Pollo” Carvajal, is a deeply compromised figure. Once a senior official in military intelligence, Carvajal has long been frozen out of power in Venezuela, and became a vocal supporter of U.S.-backed, self-proclaimed president, Juan Guaidó. Moreover, Carvajal himself pled guilty to narcotics charges, with The Miami Herald reporting that he had truck a plea deal which would grant him “a considerable sentence reduction if he provides ‘substantial assistance’ to US investigations” – i.e., to lie in the service of the American government.

Joining MintPress News’ Mnar Adley today to talk about the trial, the kidnapping, and the response inside Venezuela is Diego Sequera. Diego is a writer and journalist based in Caracas, whose work you can find in Spanish and English at MisionVerdad.com.

Despite videos circulating on social media (many of which have been produced by A.I.) Sequera noted that the United States’ blatant act of aggression is not playing well in Venezuela, with more liberal opposition sectors rejecting the move as an act of imperial violence. Millions of people have come out on the streets to demand the return of Maduro and his First Lady, Cilia Flores.

Venezuela has been in the United States’ crosshairs since the 1998 election of Hugo Chavez. Chavez proposed that Venezuela could choose an alternative path to that of “savage capitalism,” and began reorientating the country’s economy towards the needs of the people. Under Chavez, poverty and unemployment were halved, and extreme poverty fell by 75%. The undernourished population fell from 3.8 million to virtually zero by 2012. Chavez’s United Socialist Party built schools and free healthcare clinics across the country, and UNESCO declared Venezuela illiteracy free in 2005.

Venezuela: Communes Are on the Frontline in Defense of the Bolivarian Revolution

Over the past decade, however, the United States has carried out a campaign of economic warfare against the country, strangling Venezuela and bringing it to its knees. Now, it wishes to finish the job off.

Trump’s actions are rapidly eroding international law, a concept which he said today that he “doesn’t need” anymore. He has also stated that Colombian president Gustavo Petro is “next” in line for regime change. “Colombia is very sick, too, run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States. And he’s not going to be doing it very long, let me tell you,” he stated, adding that a military operation against Petro “sounds good” to him. In recent days, Trump has also noted that Cuba looks “ready to fall,” and that the United States intends to annex Greenland.

Corporate media has steadfastly supported Trump’s decision to kidnap a democratically-elected head of state. Yet the reality inside Venezuela is very different to the one we are being presented, argues Sequera.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to hear a first-hand account from the heart of the action.

(MintPress News)

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By Peter Lackowski  –  Jan 3, 2026

The United States is committed to removing Venezuela’s President, Nicolás Maduro, along with the government he leads. The pretext—that Maduro is involved in sending drugs to the US—is even refuted by the US government’s own intelligence agencies, so many wonder why a carrier fleet has been sent to threaten war. To answer that question, it is necessary to look at what has been going on inside the country.

What do most Americans know about Venezuela? Coverage in the corporate media has focused largely on actions of the upper-class opposition—coup attempts, violent demonstrations, economic sabotage, claims of electoral fraud, etc. We learn about how effective the United States’ blockade on Venezuela’s international commerce has been in impoverishing the country, but the media assure us that the real cause of poverty is “corruption and mismanagement” by the government. The fact that the Venezuelan people have not overthrown what they call the “regime” is explained as evidence of “authoritarianism” and “repression.” Most Americans have no further information, and many assume that it is all really just about control of the oil.

But there is more to the story: a revolutionary process over the last quarter-century that envisions a viable alternative to the capitalist world order, a peaceful transition to a form of socialism based on a truly bottom-up democracy in which decisions are made by the people in their communities. That is an outcome that the United States’ government is sworn to prevent. Our corporate media does its part by its virtual silence about Venezuela’s communes, even as the late President Hugo Chávez put them at the heart of the Bolivarian revolution. They are the key to understanding why the Bolivarian revolution has survived 25 years of relentless attack.

Chávez summed it up in the slogan Commune or nothing!–¡Comuna o nada!–in his last major speech. He argued that capitalism had led the country into poverty and subjugation; the commune is the path to survival, a peaceful and constructive transition to a form of socialism that is profoundly democratic and egalitarian. What Chávez called “socialism of the 21st century” has been taken up by millions of Venezuelans, members of thousands of communes, urban and rural; people whose hope for a decent future would be swept away if a US puppet were to be installed.

Conceptually, the transition to socialism is easy to outline: The government, with its Bolivarian constitution of 1999, is a necessary instrument for running the mostly capitalist economy that exists in Venezuela today; the Bolivarian movement recognizes that fact, and manages the county’s affairs through its ministries and other institutions. At the same time, that government encourages communities to organize themselves into communes. These are productive entities that are socially owned, managed by their workers, and which produce to satisfy social needs, not for someone’s profit. The government, for its part, channels development funds toward these self-governing, autonomous bodies, and enables them to coordinate their activities regionally and nationally. Eventually they are to become the dominant factor in the economy and the management of the country’s affairs, overtaking and ultimately replacing the capitalist system.

A plan of this kind would seem far-fetched if one were to propose it for other countries, but there are historical and social reasons why there are millions of people in Venezuela who are committed to making it happen. To understand why, a little history is essential.

Throughout the last decades of the 20th century, Venezuela was a neo-colony of the United States. American firms led the development of the oil industry, working closely with the bureaucracy of the State owned oil company. Meanwhile, Venezuelan oligarchs monopolized the food supply by importing food and other products to be sold at prices that undercut local producers. Peasants moved to cities where they joined the huge underclass of desperately poor people trying to survive. They settled wherever they could find a place to construct shelter.

The country was governed by an oligarchy made up of oil company executives, monopolists who controlled importing and the industries, and rural land owners. Their role was essentially to facilitate the extraction of the country’s oil and other resources by foreign corporations, while keeping the local population under control. Their share of the profits enabled them to live a lavish life style, importing big cars, building highways and tall buildings in the cities. A very small share went toward providing streets, water, education, health care, or other basic services to the millions of people in the self-constructed homes that surrounded those cities. The police were given a free hand to control the barrios as they saw fit, often working together with (or as) criminal gangs. A bare minimum of services was provided only when people organized with sufficient militancy, by demonstrating, blocking highways, etc.

The masses of people who needed shelter had to find land to live upon; Caracas and other cities were surrounded by vacant land owned by private interests, the church, or the government. Large groups of homeless people organized themselves to carry out “invasions” of vacant areas surrounding Caracas and other cities. The owners fought those seizures, often with police or other private “security” forces; the “invaders” developed strategies and tactics to overcome that resistance, and the hills were settled. Well before Chávez was elected, rural and urban cooperatives and communes were being formed; after his election they flourished in the new political climate. These experiences contributed to the political consciousness and organizational skills of the Venezuelan popular classes, a factor that has been crucial throughout the history of the Bolivarian revolution as well as the commune movement.

Desperation and anger reached the boiling point in 1989, when an uprising, the “Caracazo,” erupted across the country; masses of poor people looting stores and warehouses. The army was called in and ordered to shoot anyone on the streets—hundreds, maybe thousands, were killed and wounded, and “order” was restored. But unlike many other Latin armies, whose officers are from the upper classes, Venezuela’s officers were often from the popular classes; many were disturbed by the orders to kill civilians.

One such officer was Major Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías, who led a coup in 1992. The coup failed, but many people admired Chávez for having made the attempt and for his honorable behavior after it collapsed. He went to jail, but the winner of the next presidential election promised that if elected, he would release Chavez; he did so in 1994. Chávez went on to run for president in 1998, taking office in 1999.

That first year was a whirlwind: A constituent assembly wrote the most progressive constitution in the world—it passed in a referendum by a landslide. Chávez was re-elected again under the new constitution—another landslide—and he went to work redirecting the profits of the oil industry toward economic recovery and human development. The effects were dramatic: Illiteracy wiped out, food subsidized, doctors’ offices set up in barrios. Most of all, people were encouraged to get organized, participate in neighborhood meetings, form co-ops, to get involved in creating an economy based on improving the lives of the masses of people who had been left out. “Participation” and “protagonism”–the people creating their own future—was working.

Like many countries, Venezuela had its own “deep state:” bureaucrats who resisted the rapid changes that Chávez intended to bring. His response was to create new government organizations called “missions” with their own independent funding. These were set up as needed to provide things like job training, child care, literacy, land reform, infrastructure investment, adult education including free college, housing and many other needs. There was even one called Misión Milagro (“miracle mission”) that flew planeloads of people to Cuba to have their cataracts removed and their sight restored. It was an impressive demonstration of what can be accomplished by a government that seriously intends to direct the country’s resources toward making life better for the majority rather than toward the Venezuelan oligarchy and American corporations.

The oligarchs responded with a coup on April 11, 2002. Two massive demonstrations, one pro- and the other anti-Chavez, were happening a short distance apart. Assassins working for the opposition fired down from nearby high-rises, killing people on both sides and provoking chaos. The local corporate media broadcast a false account blaming Chávez for what was happening, and a faction of the military took Chavez prisoner. The United States instantly recognized a leader of the oligarchs as president, but millions of Venezuelans filled the streets of Caracas and other cities, and the US backed self-proclaimed president (later called “Pedro the Brief”) fled; after 47 hours Chavez was back in power.

Soon after that failed plot, the oligarchs regrouped and launched a “lock-out.” All major businesses—stores, employers, importers– closed their doors for many months; even the oil company stopped shipping oil. The economy was devastated, but Chavez got control of the oil tankers, the lock-out fizzled away, and people voted decisively to support Chavez in a recall referendum. The economy eventually recovered, and people’s well-being was noticeably improving throughout the last half of the first decade of the century. Venezuela began using its oil wealth to help other countries in the region, opening up mutually beneficial trade and barter and strengthening relations with other progressive governments.

By the middle of the first decade of the century it was clear that the oligarchy, working with the United States, would continue to use economic power to try to overthrow the Bolivarian government. The strategy was to undermine the country’s economy by cutting it off from international trade.

It started with an embargo on spare parts to maintain oil extraction and refining equipment, most of which was US-made. Next, key members of the government were blacklisted by the US government—falsely accused of terrorism, drug dealing or human rights violations. This blacklisting is called “imposing sanctions” by the United States in order to give them an aura of authority and righteousness—the US punishing “wrongdoers.” In fact, no international body has recognized the right of the US to attack individuals or countries in this way. “Sanctions” are imposed arbitrarily, to further US interests, whatever those may be. Anyone doing business with a sanctioned person or company is at risk of penalties or prosecution by the US. “Sanctioning” officials makes it dangerous for any company to do business with them. The shortages and bottlenecks this causes in supply chains have led to inflation, unemployment, and hunger and death resulting from the blockade of food and medicine.

The US expected the Venezuelan people to blame the resulting poverty and hardship on the government and vote the oligarchs back into power. But they had had a taste of what could be done by a government committed to serving people’s needs—the fact that the oligarchs were actually encouraging the United States to impoverish the country did not make people trust them to run the country. The international corporate media blamed the country’s problems on “corruption and mismanagement,” but Venezuelans knew they were under attack, and why.

Bolivarian revolutionaries generally agreed that capitalism was at the root of the country’s problems, and they were inclined toward socialism. But they were also aware of how the top-down planning of Soviet socialism and the “co-operatives-relating-through-the-market” Yugoslav socialism had both failed, each in its own way. They knew they would have to figure out how to build a new model of socialism.

Chávez assembled a team: activists and intellectuals, some with detailed understanding of 20th century socialisms, all with experience in social movements. Together, they articulated a model of sustainable socialism along with a plan for a peaceful transition that would take advantage of the political awareness and class consciousness of the people. It was a bold and sophisticated plan, but Chávez used his immensely popular Sunday call-in TV program to explain it in plain terms.

He proposed that the Venezuelan people create a communal society based on communal councils (consejos comunales) as the fundamental building blocks of democratic power, and that those councils function according to three principles: social ownership of the means of production, workers managing their own work, and production for need, not profit.

While communal councils had precursors in spontaneous neighborhood organizations, their formal recognition by the government was an outgrowth of one of the many initiatives of the early 2000’s. The Urban Land Councils (Consejos de Tierras Urbanas) were set up to serve the many people who had migrated to cities and built a house on vacant land. They didn’t have titles for their homes; they wanted their ownership legally recognized. The Bolivarian government convened assemblies, neighborhood by neighborhood, for people to get together and agree on property lines, etc., so they could get deeds. This prompted people to talk to each other. They prioritized the infrastructure improvements they needed most—water, streets, schools, whatever—rather than have those decisions made for them by someone downtown. They had control of how the money was spent, and the books were open, so there was public accountability. The fact that the government would pay attention to their decisions and actually delivered what they asked for made the program very popular, and it spread.

Communal councils (consejos comunales) were given legal status in 2006. They are geographically defined areas with about 200 to 400 households (fewer in rural or indigenous areas). These are open assemblies where every resident may fully participate, and which carry out productive and social activities in their community. The councils’ affairs are managed by local people. The books are open, so anyone can see how money from the government is spent and how the community’s enterprises are managed, with community members often volunteering their labor to carry out projects. These assemblies turned out to be very popular, and with Chavez’s encouragement communal councils formed across the country.

Many contiguous communal councils went on to form communes (comunas): a higher level of organization involving thousands of people and larger scale production and infrastructure facilities. The Organic Law of the Communes was passed in 2010. This gave communes legal status, recognizing their intent to combine communal councils into communes, and communes into communal cities and larger combinations. It specified bottom-up decision-making processes and social auditing of results. It also gave the communes the right to establish communal banks and other institutions needed to share and grow the communes’ resources.

While all members may participate in meetings of communal councils, the actual day-to-day business of the communal councils is handled by committees. Committees of the commune are made up of people from the communal councils. The way these individuals are selected and their role in committees is an important part of the system; it is very different from the way our system works.

Our form of government is based on representation. We elect someone and they represent us in Congress, the legislature, etc. for a certain length of time. Once elected, they vote based on their own views, influenced by lobbyists, campaign contributors and other powerful forces. Constituents get a chance to review their performance at the end of their term of office, but only by voting for a different candidate—possibly someone worse.

In contrast, members of Venezuelan communal councils select spokespersons (voceros). These individuals are expected to represent their community’s views in the deliberations of the higher body—the commune — and are replaced if they do not. They also may be replaced as issues change, the community’s situation evolves, and the consensus shifts. The main idea is to select the people who manage things based on how effectively they speak and act in accordance with the consensus of those who sent them. Communes have begun to organize along these principles into larger groupings—communal cities—with the long range goal of replacing the current form of ‘representative’ government by one that is more accountable and responsive.

The last two decades have been difficult for Venezuela. The United States views any Latin American government that promotes redistribution of wealth and asserts national sovereignty as a challenge to its hegemony. Over the years, the oligarchs, fully backed by the United States, have staged several more coups, all of which failed for lack of popular support. They often lose elections, so they routinely cry fraud—except when they do win. There has been sabotage of the energy grid and oil production, assassination attempts, and financial manipulation to induce hyperinflation.

In such a context, it has been hard for communes to get the resources they need to have a significant role in the economy. Land reform has enabled rural communes to take root, but they need seeds, machines, transportation to markets, etc.; urban communes need production facilities. The government has limited resources and many responsibilities. The years 2016 through 2021 were a time of intense hunger and death after President Obama acted to cut off food and medicine imports. The communes responded with a surge in production that has contributed to Venezuela’s near-complete self-sufficiency in food today.

In recent years, President Maduro has accelerated reforms designed to turn over decision-making power to the people. In the spring of 2024, he established a four-times-a-year participatory budgeting process, whereby communal councils reach a consensus on a slate of proposed projects and a commune-wide election decides between them. In the most recent election, 6.5 million people voted in 5,336 communes and communal circles (communes in formation). Communities have begun to elect judges to handle disputes between individuals and certain low-level offenses with an emphasis on restorative justice. Local formations of the people’s militia elect their leaders. These are part of the process of empowering the people.

Venezuela: Communes Are on the Frontline in Defense of the Bolivarian Revolution

Venezuela has steel mills, limestone, and the energy to power cement factories, so even with the economic blockade in force, the government has continued building free or very affordable homes—more than five million units so far, in a country with fewer than 28 million people. In contrast to the projects built in the US to warehouse the poor, Venezuelan housing complexes are designed with facilities that promote community connections. Day care, cooking and dining space, sports fields, laundry rooms, practice space for the youth music programs that Venezuela is known for, architecture that brings people together for convenience and neighborly cooperation. Most importantly, there is a place for the communal council to assemble.

Communes are nothing new. For most of human history people lived in groups that hunted, farmed and tended animals on common land, deciding among themselves on communal projects like building a long house or a fish trap, clearing land for crops, producing things that they and their community needed. They got along well without a system where some people ”own” the land and the tools while others have to work for them in order to survive. There are many indigenous communities in Venezuela that have always functioned that way; they fit comfortably into the communal structure.

The challenges involved in creating a modern society based on cooperation rather than competition are enormous, not just because the world’s most powerful military power is committed to preventing them from doing so, but also because so many of the values and assumptions of capitalistic society seem to be “common sense,” based on “human nature.” Venezuela’s economy is still essentially capitalistic, with all that implies: competition, greed, exploitation, alienation, etc. The Venezuelan popular classes are unusually politically sophisticated due to their lived experience, but every organization and every individual needs to come to terms with those influences.

There is no guidebook, no blueprint, for building a communal society. It would be a long, complicated struggle even if there were no external influence. But there are literally millions of Venezuelans who are committed to that goal. If their revolution survives it may point the way to a genuinely equitable, sustainable, and democratic future.

(CounterPunch)

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In his remarks following the Angelus prayer, given from the Apostolic Palace, before thousands of people gathered in St. Peter’s Square, the pontiff expressed that his thoughts turn to what is happening these days in the Middle East.

He referred in particular to the situation in Iran and Syria where, he said, “the persistent tensions are causing the death of many people,” and expressed his hope that “dialogue and peace will be cultivated patiently, seeking the common good of all society.”

He also spoke about the conflict in Ukraine, and made a new appeal for an end to the violence and for intensified efforts for peace.

On January 10, in his remarks during an audience with members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See, Leo XIV also addressed the complex situation facing Venezuela following the US attack, as well as tensions in the Caribbean and the Latin American Pacific.

“I renew my appeal for respect for the will of the Venezuelan people and for efforts to protect the human and civil rights of all, and to build a future of stability and harmony,” he emphasized.

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By Lev Koufax  –  Jan 8, 2026

The world has looked on with horror as the United States launched its largest and most aggressive military operation in the Western Hemisphere in decades. After months of attacks on migrant boats and seafood industry workers, the U.S. imperialist class escalated its assault on Venezuela.

More than 80 people are dead. Dozens of military and industrial facilities have been reduced to rubble. Venezuela’s democratically elected president, Nicolás Maduro, was kidnapped and paraded before the world — a deliberate display of imperialist arrogance and political theater.

Maduro is a real human being and the elected leader of a sovereign country. Yet the United States seized him in the middle of the night, chained him, and displayed him in full view of the global media. This was not a covert operation or a misunderstanding. It was a public act meant to intimidate, humiliate, and assert domination.

The ‘Donroe Doctrine’ and the return to open colonialismWhile the United States is no stranger to military conquest, the overthrow of governments, or the public degradation of anti-colonial leaders, this brazen attack marks a dangerous escalation. The methods may echo 19th-century colonialism — direct military seizure, public humiliation, and rule by force — but this is not a return to that era. This is something far more desperate: imperialism in terminal decline, with military violence as its last remaining tool.

This turn to open aggression is driven by economics, not principle or geopolitics. The decision to raise the stakes against Venezuela reflects a U.S. imperialist class strategy to curb its loss of global economic power. Trump, acting as its political executor, has even branded this revival of 19th-century expansionism as the “Donroe Doctrine.”

By explicitly referencing the Monroe Doctrine of 1823, the administration signals that it no longer feels the need to hide behind the “humanitarian” masks of the past. The “Donroe Doctrine” is a blunt admission: The Western Hemisphere is once again viewed as a colonial backyard to be policed by the “Big Stick” of U.S. military might.

Economic contraction and the turn to forceAfter World War II, U.S. capitalism stood at the center of global production. Its factories, markets, and financial power shaped the postwar order. That position did not last. Capital was exported to lower-wage labor markets across the oppressed world, and U.S. control over production weakened.

With less control over global labor, the monopoly capitalists lose leverage. When sanctions, trade pressure, and financial coercion no longer secure obedience, U.S. imperialism turns to military force. The war carried out under Trump against Venezuela follows this pattern. It echoes earlier moments when an economically strained imperialist class escalated its assault on national self-determination and the working class worldwide.

This pattern has appeared before under similar conditions. In the late 1890s, the United States faced a deep domestic economic crisis, surplus capital searching for new outlets, and growing pressure to expand beyond informal influence. Political leaders and the press supplied humanitarian and defensive justifications, but the underlying drive was economic expansion. When commercial penetration and indirect control proved insufficient, the ruling class escalated toward open war and formal domination. These conditions converged in what became known as the U.S. war against Spain in 1898.

1898: The ‘splendid little war’ of the robber baronsIn April of 1898, William McKinley requested that Congress declare war on Spain. McKinley proclaimed that the United States had an obligation to intervene to defend the independence of Cuba from Spanish imperialism. Funny, that the country that exterminated its indigenous population, enslaved millions of Black Africans, and spent the entire 19th century expanding its territory, suddenly was concerned with the well-being and self-determination of oppressed people. McKinley also proclaimed that a U.S. intervention would be an act of self-defense, citing the explosion of the battleship USS Maine. Politicians and newspapers owned by right-wing capitalists such as William Randolph Hearst claimed Spain was responsible for the warship’s destruction.

All of this — absolutely all of it — was a bald-faced lie. Presidential documents signed by McKinley in August 1898 instructed the U.S. military, “Where it can be done prudently, confer with the leading citizens of Cuba … in an unofficial manner and endeavor to ascertain their sentiments toward the United States, and their views as to such measures as they may deem necessary or important for the future welfare and good government of the island.”

On the eve of the Spanish-American War in 1898, the Washington Post already had its eyes set beyond Cuba: “We are face to face with a strange destiny. The taste of Empire is in the mouth of the people even as the taste of blood in the jungle.”

January 3 and the Imperialist Rationale Against Venezuela

In his “People’s History of the United States,” historian Howard Zinn accurately analyzed the war as a ruling class project. These robber barons, as they were called, knew the war would create a boon for the massive U.S. iron industry and create new markets for manufacturers to sell their goods.

The parallels to 1898 are instructive, but the crucial difference must be understood. In 1898, U.S. imperialism was ascending — expanding its productive base, opening new markets, establishing economic dominance. The war with Spain was an expression of capitalist strength and confidence.

In 2025, U.S. imperialism faces the opposite condition: declining productive capacity, eroding dollar hegemony, and the loss of economic leverage that once made direct military conquest unnecessary. When sanctions fail, when financial coercion loses its grip, when trade pressure no longer secures compliance — military force becomes the only card left to play. This is not expansion from strength. This is violence from weakness.

Lenin’s analysis: the scramble for the worldThe late 1890s, which saw the imperialist war with Spain, was the exact period that led scholars and Marxists at the time to begin using the term “imperialism.” Eventually, Vladimir Lenin crystallized the Marxist analysis of imperialism in “Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism,” defining the relationships between the principal economic features of imperialism.

In “Imperialism,” Lenin described the mad rush of Western imperialist powers to divide the world to export capital and exploit cheap labor markets and natural resources. Between 1884 and 1900, Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, and Portugal carved up over 10 million square miles of territory, home to nearly 150 million people. As Lenin wrote: “The scramble for colonies by all the capitalist states at the end of the nineteenth century and particularly since the 1880s is a commonly known fact in the history of diplomacy and of foreign policy.”

The U.S. imperialist war with Spain was a crucial part of this “scramble” that Lenin analyzes. As seen in the events at the end of the war, the U.S.’s motive was to catch up with Britain, France, Germany, and others in the scramble to divide the world. It is this period that the ruling class seeks to recreate through escalating provocations against China, Russia, Iran, Venezuela, and other targets, with Trump acting as its political standard-bearer.

When the Spanish departed Cuba in 1898, it was U.S. troops, not the Cuban people, who took control of the island. The U.S. military occupation lasted until 1902. Even when the U.S. troops left, their withdrawal was contingent on Cuba accepting treaties from the U.S. government that restricted Cuba’s right to act independently and kept the door open for future U.S. intervention. The United States maintained its informal but iron grip over Cuba until the 1959 socialist revolution.

The 20th century further demonstrated without a doubt that the United States wanted Cuba to be completely subservient to the U.S. capitalist agenda. In 1961, the CIA backed an attempted fascist takeover of the island known as the Bay of Pigs. In 1962, the U.S. military brought the world to the brink of nuclear war through an illegal blockade of Cuba that has lasted until this day. Between 1960 and 1965, the CIA attempted to assassinate Fidel Castro hundreds of times.

2025: Manufactured outrage and systemic aggressionThe United States has held, informally or formally, all of the territory it captured from Spain in the 1898 imperialist war – including Puerto Rico and the Philippines. The war against Spain wasn’t about democracy or independence for colonized nations – the same way war against Venezuela isn’t about drugs or human rights. Both of these wars were about reshaping and dividing the world economically to benefit the U.S. ruling class better.

In 1898, the United States faced a massive economic crisis dating back to the Panic of 1893. During the panic, over 15,000 businesses went bankrupt. The country experienced widespread bank failure and a 19% national unemployment rate. The U.S. financial oligarchy was in a panic and in need of new markets to exploit for profit. Waging war against Spain provided the perfect opportunity to create colonial relationships with Cuba, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam.

Fast forward to 2025. The U.S. imperialist class confronts not the opportunity for expansion, but the reality of irreversible decline. Capital has fled to cheaper labor markets. Productive dominance has evaporated. Dollar hegemony weakens as rival powers build alternative systems. The economic tools that once made overt military conquest unnecessary — sanctions, IMF structural adjustment, trade pressure — are losing their effectiveness. What remains is naked military force: the last, desperate instrument of an empire that can no longer dominate through economic means alone.

Allegations of “narco terrorism” ring as hollow as William McKinley’s proclamation of Cuban independence on behalf of ultra-wealthy industrialists. Both the current war on Venezuela and the imperialist war with Spain in 1898 were escalations to overt colonial aggression in response to economic contraction.

Organizing to smash the state machineCountries of the world and the U.S. working class must be prepared to struggle against this escalation and against imperialism as a system at its very core. There will be no inherent withering away of U.S. imperialism, as can be seen in its violent and desperate attempt to reassert control across the globe. Right now, Venezuela is the main target of that ire. However, there is always a new market to conquer or competition to eliminate. U.S. imperialism will not stop unless the working class of the world stops it.

This escalation shows that imperialist war is not a deviation but the regular operation of the capitalist state when its dominance is threatened. As Lenin told us in “State and Revolution,” the working class has no choice but to “crush, smash to atoms, wipe off the face of the earth the bourgeois, even the republican-bourgeois, state machine, the standing army, the police and the bureaucracy and to substitute for them a more democratic state machine.” This prescription for the bourgeois state and social order is more relevant than ever as the U.S. ruling class, using its state apparatus, seeks to reassert itself across the planet.

(Struggle-La Lucha)

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A ranking compiled by the firm SEG Ingeniería places the country at the top in early 2026 in comparison with other markets in the region.

A liter of gasoline costs $1.998, well above the second-place Mexican market ($1.427 per liter), according to the source.

The disparity is even greater when compared to other Mercosur countries.

Argentina has a price of $1.159; Brazil, $1.148; and Paraguay, $0.88.

The high Uruguayan price also places the country among the most expensive in the global comparison, in 14th place, with prices similar to those of Norway, Germany, Finland, and Singapore.

Globally, the average cost of gasoline is $1.28 per liter, but the differences between rich and poor countries are evident, as is the influence of subsidies and local policies, which directly affect the final cost to consumers, according to the website Ambito.

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The organization aims at mobilizing about US$230.8 million, a figure higher than last year’s allocation of around US$200 million to humanitarian activities, said the organization’s vice president and secretary general, Nguyen Hai Anh.

In 2025, the “Tet of Compassion” program supported more than 2.6 million people with over US$51.8 million, while the “Humanitarian Month” raised approximately US$30.2 million, nearly 200% of its target. This enabled the construction or repair of 1,578 Red Cross homes and supported the livelihoods of numerous families.

Hai Anh also highlighted that, in the areas of disaster prevention, response, and emergency relief, the Red Cross assisted more than 513,000 people, reaffirming its vital role in times of greatest need.

Specialized humanitarian programs, such as those focused on child nutrition, community health care, and voluntary blood donation, also achieved positive results, with more than 1.75 million units of blood collected, he noted.

Furthermore, he highlighted the results of the “65 Years of Vietnam-Cuba Solidarity” campaign in support of the Cuban people, which attracted more than 2.1 million contributions totaling over $25 million, ten times the initial target, demonstrating the Vietnamese people’s long-standing tradition of international solidarity.

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“We have already observed that energy cooperation goes beyond crude oil trade, as in the field of peaceful nuclear energy, Russia and India are discussing new projects for the construction of nuclear reactors, including collaboration on small modular reactors, as well as siting approaches,” Kotwani told the Sputnik news agency.

The businessman also highlighted India’s strategic interest in developing energy projects in the Arctic, including those focused on regional logistics, which are key to its energy security.

In early December, during his visit to India, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia and India could cooperate on small modular reactors and floating nuclear power plants, as well as on the application of nuclear technologies in medicine and other sectors.

For his part, the general director of the Russian corporation Rosatom, Alexei Likhachev, reported that the possibility of locating the production of fuel for nuclear power plants on its territory had been discussed with India.

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In recent hours, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Foreign Minister Badr Abdellatty addressed the issue with international dignitaries.

According to an official statement, El-Sisi and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, analyzed a series of regional and international crises and stressed the need to seek political solutions to such conflicts.

Regarding Gaza, both sides agreed to move forward with the second phase of the ceasefire agreement and the reconstruction of the coastal enclave, devastated after two years of Israeli aggression.

They also reiterated their rejection of any attempt to displace Palestinians from their lands and advocated for resuming talks to find a just solution to the conflict.

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Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—“Who leads the Venezuelan people? The people’s power. Who governs Venezuela? The people’s power and its constitutional government,” declared Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodríguez.  “So there is no doubt here, no uncertainty here … The Venezuelan people rule here, and there is a government, the government of President Nicolás Maduro, and I have the responsibility to lead it while he is being held captive. That is the message for all of Venezuela.”

Rodríguez’s statements come as US President Donald Trump and mainstream media attempt daily to impose a narrative alleging that the US regime is ruling Venezuela.

During a meeting with communes in the Caracas parish of Petare on Saturday, January 10, Rodríguez called on the people to continue “marching together, united, guaranteeing happiness, life, future, and peace.” During the event, a community spokesperson named Yohana handed Rodríguez a note on behalf of her commune, which she read aloud: “Delcy, keep marching forward, you have my trust.”

Rodríguez thanked the crowd, emphasizing that they have her loyalty just as she has theirs. “We will not rest for a minute until we have the president and the first lady back. We will not rest. We swear it.” She emphasized that Maduro had been sworn in exactly one year ago, on January 10, 2025, for the constitutional term of 2025-2031.

“Today, January 10, one year later, we are swearing for their freedom. We will rescue them; of course we will. With the unity of our people, we will rescue them,” Rodríguez declared.

“Never traitors!” Rodríguez added, to which the people responded with the slogan: “Delcy, carry on, you have my trust.”

She stressed that Venezuelans are united in their condemnation of the vile and criminal US military attack of January 3, adding that the government is working to achieve the release of the US prisoners of war: President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady and National Assembly Deputy Cilia Flores.

Strengthening national production
Rodríguez also highlighted the strengthening of sovereign supply and the consolidation of productive unity. In this context, she urged every governor to maintain a focus on the productivity of their respective regions, with linkages across all economic levels.

She commented that the last instruction that President Nicolás Maduro personally gave her was: “Work for communal production, and let that communal production be linked with entrepreneurs and the agro-industry.”

During the event, Rodríguez oversaw the distribution of animal protein and highlighted a 10% growth in the sector, which includes chicken, eggs, pork, and beef. She also emphasized the potential of Venezuela’s buffalo herd, the largest in the hemisphere and the third largest in the world.

She highlighted the importance of national production and called for entrepreneurship using national products because “within the framework of the blockade against Venezuela,” imperialism is trying “to suffocate us with foreign currency.” Consequently, she called for a sustained increase in national production.

President Maduro’s legal team
Barry Pollack, President Nicolás Maduro’s lawyer in the US, denied that another lawyer, Bruce Fein, had joined the legal team.

Pollack said that he spoke by phone with President Maduro, who confirmed that “he does not know Fein,” that “he has not communicated with him,” and that “he has neither hired him nor authorized him to appear or to say that he represents him,” according to a report by the EFE news agency.

‘No One Surrendered Here:’ Venezuela’s Acting President Leads National Tribute to Martyrs of US Military Aggression

Pollack explained that Fein requested to join the case pro hac vice—a legal figure that allows a lawyer to represent a client on an occasional basis in a jurisdiction where they are not licensed—which requires judicial authorization.

“Mr. Maduro authorized me to submit a motion to withdraw Mr. Fein’s presentation” as his defense, Pollack said. In response to the request, Judge Alvin Hellerstein ordered Fein to be removed from the case.

The next hearing for the presidential couple in the illegal US judicial procedure against Venezuela’s president—who is protected by personal immunity—is scheduled for March 17.

Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff

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Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—Contrary to what US President Donald Trump expected, a meeting with representatives of major US-based oil corporations ended in failure for his plans regarding controling Venezuelan oil. Those who got his “offer” to invest in Venezuelan oil did not show the reaction anticipated by the US president who had ordered the bombing of Venezuela on January 3. This bloody act, condemned by most of the world, resulted in the murder of 100 people, including  military personnel and civilians.

“It’s uninvestible,” ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods told US officials in a straightforward assessment of the obstacles to doing business in Venezuela at the meeting held on Friday, January 9, CNN reported.

Woods’ statement hinted that a real regime change is needed for ExxonMobil to invest in Venezuela. Nevertheless, the truth is that several oil corporations are working to get access to the Venezuelan oil market, as Chevron did by begging for licenses from the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) that allowed it to resume operations in Venezuela in 2022.

Several other oil executives at Friday’s meeting expressed similar reluctance as the ExxonMobil CEO, CNN added. Earlier, the US president had shown his determination to win over investors, from whom he expected $100 billion in “investments” in Venezuela.

According to analysts, Trump’s meeting is part of a scam for the US populace, aimed at falsely portraying himself as the one in control of Venezuela and its oil. In reality, it is the Chavista leader Delcy Rodríguez who is functioning as the acting president of Venezuela following the abduction of President Nicolás Maduro by US special forces.

A scam
“It’s a Trump scam,” Venezuelan expert David Paravisini stated on Friday in comments to Venezuelan journalist Esther Quiaro, host of the podcast Los mediodías de La IguanaTV.

He pointed out that the offer from Trump “…is for the future,” and then explained that the proposal to the oil corporations originated because the US war regime has not been able to occupy the Venezuelan oil industry.

“Let there be no doubt: Venezuelan oil is in control of Venezuela,” he emphasized.

Minerva (Olina) oil tanker
The Venezuelan state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) reported Friday that the oil tanker Minerva has been returned to Venezuelan waters, result of a successful joint procedure carried out by US and Venezuelan forces.

According to the New York Times, the Olina—formerly known as the Minerva—was previously reported by US Southern Command as being illegally boarded for allegedly being part of the Russian “shadow fleet.”

This hints at an unprecedented coordination between the two countries that correlates with recent announcements by both governments regarding an “exploratory procedure” for the restoration of diplomatic relations. PDVSA reported that the aforementioned tanker departed from Venezuelan ports without making the corresponding payment for the cargo that it was transporting, nor did it have authorization from Venezuelan authorities for the departure.

In its statement, PDVSA noted that due to this first joint action between the two countries, the ship is in Venezuelan waters for its safekeeping so that appropriate legal actions can be taken.

‘No One Surrendered Here:’ Venezuela’s Acting President Leads National Tribute to Martyrs of US Military Aggression

The announcement from PDVSA came after Trump had claimed that US forces intercepted the oil tanker Olina in the Caribbean Sea on Friday “in coordination with the Venezuelan authorities,” after the tanker had departed the country “without proper authorization.”

“This tanker is now on its way back to Venezuela. The oil will be sold through the GREAT Energy Deal, which we created for such sales,” the US president wrote on social media.

The following is the unofficial translation of the PDVSA statement:

The United States and Venezuelan authorities announce the successful joint operation for the return to the country of the Minerva vessel, which sailed without payment or authorization from the Venezuelan authorities.

Thanks to this first successful joint operation, the ship is now sailing back to Venezuelan waters for safekeeping and appropriate action.

Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff

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