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A court order mandated that her incarceration be changed to house arrest, although she will be under electronic monitoring, the newspaper CR Hoy.com reported.

The change in her confinement status was in response to a request from the prisoner’s lawyers to the Sentence Enforcement Court.

Taitelbaum, who entered the Costa Rican women’s prison known as El Buen Pastor on October 25, 2024, is serving a 7.5-year sentence for 29 counts of using a false document.

The inmate surrendered to the courts in the metropolitan town of Goicoechea, after a court sentenced her and issued an arrest warrant against her in January of that same year.

jdt/jav/oda/apb

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According to a Parliament report, the meeting will provide a platform for Modi to share his views on New Delhi’s democratic experience, discuss ways to strengthen relations with Addis Ababa, and explore broader cooperation in the Global South.

The statement specified that this meeting marks one of the key commitments of the Indian Prime Minister’s visit and reflects the growing diplomatic and bilateral ties between the two countries.

VModi arrived in the capital from Jordan and was received at Bole International Airport by his Ethiopian counterpart, Abiy Ahmed.

The trip will continue in Oman as part of the South Asian nation’s efforts to enhance partnerships in Africa and the Middle East.

jdt/jav/oda/nmr

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Argentina is entering 2026 amid mounting concern over environmental governance, as the national government advances a reform of the Glacier Protection Law while proposing a federal budget that significantly reduces funding for environmental protection and related public sectors.

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The bill amending the Glacier Law is currently before the Senate and is expected to be debated this week in Congress through extraordinary committees. In parallel, the proposed 2026 national budget introduces deep cuts to environmental, education, health, science and cultural programs, measures whose impacts, according to specialists, would extend well beyond the coming year.

Once considered a landmark piece of legislation with international relevance, the Glacier Protection Law is now being revised under what the government describes as a need for “regulatory order.” Environmental organizations argue that this framing conceals a substantial weakening of water protections at a time of accelerating climate impacts.

¡Grave retroceso ambiental en Tierra del Fuego-Argentina !

Tras fuerte influencia del gobierno de Milei, ayer 16 de diciembre de 2025, la Legislatura provincial aprobó la modificación de la Ley 1355, que desde 2021 prohibía la salmonicultura industrial en mares y lagos para… pic.twitter.com/vGWm3QMYct

— ❗️Defendamos Patagonia❗️ (@DefendamsChiloe) December 16, 2025

The Argentine Association of Environmental Lawyers and the Ecosocial Justice Action Collective warned that the reform represents a serious setback for water protection in a context of climate crisis, rapid glacier retreat and increasing water stress across the country. According to these organizations, the proposal removes the law’s current automatic protection of glaciers and replaces it with a discretionary system. Under this framework, a simple declaration by a provincial authority could exclude a glacier from legal protection, enabling extractive activities.

The draft legislation also eliminates the explicit ban on mining in periglacial environments and removes national minimum environmental standards, which currently guarantee a baseline level of protection across Argentina. Environmental advocates stress that, instead of strengthening safeguards for water resources in response to climate change, the government is weakening the only regulation that clearly limits the expansion of large-scale mining at river headwaters.

Budget policy reinforces these concerns. The proposal submitted by the presidency allocates 9.5 percent of total spending to debt payments, while funding linked to the right to a healthy environment falls by as much as 92.8 percent. The government of President Javier Milei also plans to maintain tax exemptions for mining and subsidies for the hydrocarbons sector.

The Foundation for Environment and Natural Resources criticized the approach, stating that “this limited perspective does not incorporate preventive or adaptive principles in line with the current climate crisis.” Ariel Slipak, research coordinator at the foundation, said that “it is essential for Congress to promote a broad, participatory and informed debate capable of correcting the setbacks posed by the current bill. Argentina needs a budget that strengthens public institutions, reduces inequalities and affirms a clear commitment to the fulfillment of human and environmental rights.”

📌Las noticias sobre el cuidado ambiental no son las mejores para este 2026 en #Argentina🇦🇷: el proyecto de Ley de Glaciares está en el Senado, mientras que el Presupuesto 2026 trae fuertes recortes ambientales que podrán sufrirse en años.

🔴Una reforma a una ley de avanzada… pic.twitter.com/rofKK0TaSM

— teleSUR TV (@teleSURtv) December 17, 2025

According to the budget bill, environmental programs would receive 51.506 billion pesos in 2026, a real-term decrease of 33.8 percent compared to 2025 and 79.5 percent compared to 2023, the last year with an approved national budget. Funding for the National Fire Management Service would total 20.131 billion pesos, representing a real decrease of 69 percent compared to 2023 and 53.6 percent compared to 2025.

As Congress prepares to debate both the glacier reform and the budget, environmental organizations warn that the combined legislative and fiscal changes risk undermining water protection and climate resilience at a critical moment for Argentina.

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Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro hails Iran as a global example in defending international law.

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According to the preliminary assessment of the Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean 2025 by ECLAC, cited in the Pastran Report bulletin, these figures place the country above the regional average, estimated at 2.4 percent for this year and 2.3 percent for next year.

The report highlights the resilience of private consumption in Nicaragua, driven by increased remittances, which exceed 20 percent of GDP—at levels similar to Honduras—as well as by the expansion of bank credit.

The ECLAC highlighted the strong growth in agricultural exports, particularly coffee and other primary goods, which have significantly contributed to economic dynamism, as well as the progress of mining.

Price stabilization has been a significant process for Nicaragua, where year-on-year inflation fell sharply to 2.2 percent as of September 2025, well below the peak of 11.3 percent recorded in 2022.

The publication notes that controlling inflation protects the purchasing power of Nicaraguan families and confirms the effectiveness of the monetary policies implemented in the face of external pressures.

The ECLAC pointed out that Nicaragua has managed to overcome the obstacles facing the region and that growth projections for this year and next confirm that the country has broken with the slowdown trend affecting much of the continent.

jdt/jav/ode/ybv

The post ECLAC projects 3.5 percent GDP growth for Nicaragua first appeared on Prensa Latina.

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Australian police on Wednesday filed 59 criminal charges against a 24-year-old man accused of carrying out a mass shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, including 15 counts of murder and one charge related to terrorism, as authorities advanced their investigation into the attack.

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The suspect, identified as Naveed Akram, faces charges that include 15 counts of murder, attempted murder, committing a terrorist act, publicly displaying a prohibited terrorist symbol, and placing an explosive in or near a building, according to an official police statement. The shooting took place on Sunday and lasted approximately nine minutes.

Police said Akram, who had been in a coma since the incident, regained consciousness on Tuesday. No further details were provided regarding his medical condition.

Police charged alleged Bondi killer Naveed Akram with terrorism, 15 counts of murder and a litany of other crimes on Wednesday after Australia's worst mass shooting in decades.https://t.co/eqAP7xE9aW

— The Hindu (@the_hindu) December 17, 2025

Health authorities reported that 21 people remained hospitalized on Wednesday at medical facilities across Sydney. Five of those injured were listed as critical but in stable condition.

The attack resulted in 15 deaths, with victims ranging in age from 10 to 87 years old. Twelve of the victims have been officially identified so far, police said.

During the incident, Sajid Akram, 50, the father of the accused and identified by authorities as a second armed individual, was shot dead by police at the scene. He was described as being of Indian origin.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said there is currently no evidence indicating the involvement of additional suspects, while cautioning that the investigation remains ongoing and findings could change as inquiries continue.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the father and son acted independently but were influenced by ideology linked to the Islamic State group. Authorities said both traveled in November to southern Philippines, a region where Islamist cells operate.

In response to the attack, the Waverley municipal council in eastern Sydney announced the cancellation of all New Year’s Eve events scheduled to take place at the popular Bondi Beach.

From teleSUR English via This RSS Feed.

Venezuela on December 16 issued two official communiqués rejecting what it described as a serious threat by U.S. President Donald Trump, accusing him of violating international law by claiming ownership over the country’s oil, land, and mineral wealth and proposing coercive measures against its trade and navigation.

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According to the statements released by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Trump used social media to assert that Venezuela’s natural resources belonged to the United States and demanded their immediate transfer. The Venezuelan government said the U.S. president sought to impose an “irrational naval blockade” to seize resources that it considers part of its sovereign patrimony.

The communiqués state that such actions violate international law, free trade, and the right to free navigation. Venezuela reaffirmed its sovereignty over all natural resources and its rights to free navigation and trade in the Caribbean Sea and global maritime routes. It said the country would continue to act “in strict adherence to international law, the UN Charter” to exercise its freedom, jurisdiction, and sovereignty despite what it described as “warmongering threats.”

🇻🇪❌🇺🇸 Venezuela rejects Trump’s ‘grotesque threat,’ vows to go to the UN

In an official communiqué, Venezuela accused Trump of treating its “oil, land, and mineral wealth” as US property.

The statement added Venezuela will “never again be a colony of any empire or foreign… https://t.co/LPzc10D6eE pic.twitter.com/p5nxhB4kmh

— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) December 17, 2025

Venezuela also announced that its ambassador to the United Nations would immediately denounce what it called a grave violation of international law. The government called on the people of the United States and the international community to reject the threat, arguing that it reflected an intention to appropriate Venezuelan resources through external pressure.

The communiqués quoted Trump directly as stating: “Until all the oil, land, and other assets that were stolen from us are returned to the United States.” Venezuelan authorities said this statement revealed an effort to appropriate the country’s oil, land, and minerals through what they described as “gigantic campaigns of lies and manipulation.”

#Venezuela slams #Trump's oil blockade as “irrational” and a blatant attempt to seize the nation’s wealth. #Caracas warns the move threatens to devastate the economy. https://t.co/ntbjCfh6yR

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) December 17, 2025

The government reiterated that Venezuela “will never again be a colony of any empire or foreign power” and said it would continue, together with its people, on a path of building prosperity while defending independence and sovereignty. It added that the Venezuelan people, united in popular, military, and police forces, would defend what it described as their historic rights while remaining committed to peace.

The statements concluded by affirming that the Venezuelan people remain firm in protecting their territory, wealth, and freedom, invoking Simón Bolívar’s words: “Fortunately, a handful of free men has been seen defeating powerful empires.”

From teleSUR English via This RSS Feed.

Cuba has condemned the U.S. naval blockade on Venezuela, reaffirming support for President Nicolás Maduro and the Bolivarian government amid growing regional tensions.

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Intellectuals and Artists Reject New US Aggression Against Venezuela

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel denounced the “naval blockade” imposed by the United States on Venezuela, asserting his country’s firm backing of the Bolivarian government. “Our energetic rejection of the U.S. Government’s naval blockade of Venezuela. We firmly support President Nicolás Maduro, the Bolivarian and Chavista Revolution, and its Popular-Military Union,” Díaz-Canel stated on Wednesday.

He also expressed Havana’s “full backing” of a Venezuelan government statement that accused Washington of seeking to “appropriate Venezuelan resources, such as hydrocarbons, minerals, and territorial assets” through “massive campaigns of lies and manipulation.”

🔴🇨🇺Cuba respalda al Gobierno de Maduro frente al bloqueo naval de EEUU🇺🇸

🔹El presidente de Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, ha repudiado el “bloqueo naval” impuesto por EE.UU. contra Venezuela🇻🇪 y expresado apoyo al Gobierno del país bolivariano.

🔗https://t.co/l5YOaEksH2 pic.twitter.com/H4zh4QdMbR

— HispanTV (@Nexo_Latino) December 17, 2025

Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez echoed the condemnation, describing the blockade as “a serious violation of International Law” and reaffirming the country’s “total and firm support” for President Maduro and Venezuela.

The U.S. measures follow President Donald Trump’s designation of the Venezuelan government as “a terrorist organization” and his announcement of a total blockade on all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving the country. Trump stated that the blockade will continue until “they return to the U.S. all the oil, land, and other assets that were stolen from us.”

🇨🇺❗️⚓️🇻🇪Cuba repudia "el bloqueo naval" de EE.UU. contra Venezuela

➡️https://t.co/kGBsswZUWe pic.twitter.com/SvUSA2pUXo

— RT Última Hora (@RTultimahora) December 17, 2025

This move comes shortly after U.S. forces seized a Venezuelan oil tanker off the country’s coast, an unusual operation amid an expanding U.S. military presence in the Caribbean. Since September, U.S. forces have carried out multiple operations in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, resulting in at least 95 deaths in the name of anti-drug campaigns.

Venezuelan authorities have warned that Washington’s ultimate goal is regime change and control over the country’s strategic resources, including oil, gas, and gold.

We reject the naval blockade against #Venezuela announced by the #US government, which is a very serious violation of International Law and a new escalation of the aggression against the Bolivarian government.

Our all-out and firmest support goes to the constitutional President… pic.twitter.com/hemaOjAojt

— Bruno Rodríguez P (@BrunoRguezP) December 17, 2025

Cuba’s statement reinforces its longstanding alliance with Venezuela and highlights regional opposition to U.S. interventionist policies.

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Ever since Hugo Chávez came to power in 1998, the United States has attempted to overthrow the Bolivarian Revolution. They havetried everything short of a full-scale military invasion: a military coup, selecting a substitute president, cutting off access to the global financial system, imposing layers of sanctions, sabotaging the electricity grid, sending in mercenaries, and attempting to assassinate its leaders. If you can think of a method to overthrow a government, the United States has likely tried it against Venezuela.

However, in 2025, the escalation became unmistakable. The US sent its warships to patrol Venezuela’s coast, began sinking small boats and killing those on board as they left the South American mainland, and seized an oil tanker bound for Cuba. The quantity of attacks on Venezuela has increased, suggesting the quality of the threats has now reached a different magnitude. It feels as if the United States is preparing for a full-blown invasion of the country.

Donald Trump came to office saying that he was opposed to military interventions that did not further US interests, which is why hecalled the illegal US war on Iraq a waste of “blood and treasure”. This does not mean Trump is against the use of the US military – he deployed it in Afghanistan (remember the “Mother of all Bombs”) and Yemen, and has fully backed the US/Israeli genocide against the Palestinians. His formula is not for or against war categorically, but about what the US would gain from it. With Iraq, he stated that the problem was not the war itself, but the failure to seize Iraqi oil. Had the US taken Iraq’s oil, Trump would likely have been in Baghdad, ready to build – with Iraqi treasure – a Trump hotel on one of the former presidential properties.

Naturally, the US military buildup in the Caribbean is about Venezuelan oil – the largest known reserves in the world. The US-backed politician, Maria Corina Machado, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize just this week after supporting the Israeli genocide and calling for a US invasion of her own country, is on recordpromising to open up her country’s resources to foreign capital. She would welcome the extraction of Venezuela’s wealth rather than allow its social wealth to better the lives of its own people, as is the goal of the Bolivarian Revolution started by Hugo Chávez. A hypothetical “President Machado” would immediately surrender any claim to the Essequibo region and grant ExxonMobil full command of Venezuela’s oil reserves. This is certainly the prize.

But it is not the immediate spur. A closereading of the2025 National Security Strategy of the United Statesshows that there is a renewed emphasis on the Western Hemisphere. The Trump Corollary to the 1823 Monroe Doctrine is clear: the Western Hemisphere must be under US control, and the United States will do what it takes to ensure that only pro-US politicians hold power. It is worth reading that section of the National Security Strategy:

“After years of neglect, the United States will reassert and enforce the Monroe Doctrine to restore American pre-eminence in the Western Hemisphere, and to protect our homeland and our access to key geographies throughout the region. We will deny non-Hemispheric competitors the ability to position forces or other threatening capabilities, or to own or control strategically vital assets, in our Hemisphere. This ‘Trump Corollary’ to the Monroe Doctrine is a common-sense and potent restoration of American power and priorities, consistent with American security interests.”

When Argentina faced local elections, Trump warned that the US would cut off external financing if candidates opposing pro-US President Javier Milei lost. In Honduras, Trump intervened directly to oppose the Libre Party, even offering to release a convicted drug trafficker (and former President). The United States is moving aggressively because it has accurately assessed the weakness of the Pink Tide and the strength of a new, far-right “Angry Tide”. The emergence of right-wing governments across South America, Central America, and the Caribbean has emboldened the US to squeeze Venezuela and thereby weaken Cuba – the two major poles of the Latin American left. Overturning these revolutionary processes would allow a full-scale Monroe Doctrine domination of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Since the 1990s, the United States began to speak of Latin America as a partner for shared prosperity, emphasizing globalization over direct control. Now, the language has changed. As the Trump Corollary asserts: “We want a Hemisphere that remains free of hostile foreign incursion or ownership of key assets and that supports critical supply chains…We want to ensure our continued access to key strategic locations.” Latin America is seen as a battlefield for geopolitical competition against China and a source of threats like immigration and drug trafficking. The attack on Venezuela and Cuba is not merely an assault on these two countries; it is the opening salvo of direct US intervention on behalf of the Angry Tide. This will not deliver better lives for the population, but greater wealth for US corporations and the oligarchies of Latin America.

Trump is ready to revive the belief that any problem can be solved by military force, even when other tools exist. The Trump Corollary promises to use its “military system superior to any country in the world” to steal the hemisphere’s resources.

The aggression against Venezuela is not a war against Venezuela alone. It is a war against all of Latin America.

Vijay Prashadis an Indian historian, editor, and journalist. He is a writing fellow and chief correspondent at Globetrotter. He is an editor ofLeftWord Booksand the director ofTricontinental: Institute for Social Research. He has written more than 20 books, includingThe Darker NationsandThe Poorer Nations. His latest books areOn Cuba: Reflections on 70 Years of Revolution and Struggle(with Noam Chomsky),Struggle Makes Us Human: Learning from Movements for Socialism, and (also with Noam Chomsky)The Withdrawal: Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, and the Fragility of US Power. Chelwa and Prashad will publish How the International Monetary Fund is Suffocating Africa later this year withInkani Books.

Source: Globetrotter

The post Why Did Trump Send His Warships to Venezuela? appeared first on Venezuelanalysis.

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Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil reported Tuesday that his nation delivered a letter to the United Nations Security Council repudiating the “serious use of force, abduction, and piracy” by the United States.

The letter, presented by Venezuela’s ambassador to the UN, Samuel Moncada, to Security Council President Samuel Z’bogar of Slovenia, concerns the Dec. 10, 2025, incident in international waters of the Caribbean wherein US forces targeted a private oil tanker engaged in legitimate trade while it transported Venezuelan oil. The Venezuelan crew members were abducted and remain missing.

“Venezuela will continue to exercise its sovereign and inalienable right to legitimately trade its resources and demand that no legal operation be subjected to theft, seizure, or acts of piracy, regardless of its origin,” Minister Gil stated.

Venezuela claims the US action deserves the Security Council’s attention, as it involves the use of force in international waters and the disappearance of civilians and sets a dangerous precedent for regional security.

More US executions
A few hours earlier, on Monday night, the US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) reported new extrajudicial killings and strikes against three small boats allegedly operated by “designated terrorist organizations in international waters.” As usual, the US did not deign to provide any evidence of its accusations or any detailed information. The announcement was made via a social media post by the US military.

The post stated that the strikes killed eight people—three on the first boat, two on the second and three on the third—in the Eastern Pacific. Media reports claim that the extrajudicial executions occurred off the coast of Ecuador.

According to a detailed count by Orinoco Tribune, the US has now assassinated 95 civilians in this murderous campaign. Public records show that 48 (51%) were killed in Caribbean waters and 47 (49%) in Eastern Pacific waters. The US has murdered—at the very least—civilians of Venezuela, Trinidad, and Colombia, and one Ecuadorian survivor has been reported. Analysts claim that nationals of other countries are certainly among the victims.

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth appeared before the US Senate to answer questions about SOUTHCOM’s controversial operation, reflecting a heated internal debate over its nature and legality and about the opacity of information provided to legislators.

In statements after the briefing, Rubio remained defiant, claiming that the operation would “remain ongoing.” Mainstream media reported that top US officials did not provide an unedited video of the September 2 strike as demanded by many legislators and the public.

US Democratic Senator Chris Murphy told press after the briefing that “there is no legal or national security justification for what they are doing. Not even close.” He added that Rubio and Hegseth acknowledged that no fentanyl comes to the US from Venezuela and that the relatively small amounts of cocaine that may be trafficked through Venezuela are destined for Europe and not the US.

US Senator Joaquin Castro, commenting on the briefing, reiterated  that despite White House attempts to avoid seeking approval for a land operation against Venezuela, US Congress will demand it. He noted that a War Powers Resolution will be discussed next week to block President Donald Trump’s hostilities against Venezuela.

Despite the US claims of a “war on drugs,” most analysts agree that Washington’s true intention is to overthrow the democratically elected president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, and install a government that is compliant with US demands.

Trinidad reaffirms subservient role
Also on Monday, the government of Trinidad and Tobago announced that it will allow US military aircraft to transit through its Piarco and Arthur NR Robinson airports in the coming weeks, referring to the actions as bilateral security cooperation of a “logistical nature.”

According to Trinidad and Tobago’s Foreign Ministry, the transits will facilitate resupply and routine personnel rotations and do not change the country’s defense policy.

However, last week, revelations about Trinidad and Tobago’s role in aiding the US to seize a Venezuelan oil tanker led to a public outcry. Domestic analysts and politicians noted that newly installed US radars were used in Washington’s seizure of the oil tanker Skipper, which was carrying 1.9 million barrels of Venezuelan oil.

The government of Trinidad and Tobago reiterated that the cooperation with the US fulfills the commitment by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to strengthen national security. However, since taking office, she has launched anti-Venezuelan tirades against Venezuelan authorities and migrants.

Venezuela Terminates Gas Supply to Trinidad and Tobago Over Complicity in US Crimes

Trinidad and Tobago’s authorities have lent diplomatic and operational support to the US killing spree in the region despite the fact that innocent Trinidadian fishers were among the victims of the US strikes. In a controversial “double-tap” strike of September 2, apparent survivors of a first strike were then subsequently killed by a second round of US strikes. The victims were nationals of Trinidad and Tobago.

The Trinidadian government issued a rather hollow statement in an attempt to garner support for what have been referred to as actions that are submissive to the US crimes and warmongering in the region. In an attempt to justify its actions, the government claimed that “the United States Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago has also supported national development through educational initiatives, including school equipment donations and infrastructure enhancement projects.”

Internal political tension in the small Caribbean country has reached unprecedented levels as a result of these actions. Meanwhile, Venezuela has retaliated by suspending the multi-million-dollar Dragon Field project a few weeks ago and, on Monday, halting all natural gas supply to the Trinidad and Tobago.

Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff

OT/JRE/SL

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The Network of Intellectuals and Artists in Defense of Humanity issued a statement on Tuesday, December 16, rejecting what it calls a “blatant threat of a total oil blockade against Venezuela.”

A new declaration by Donald Trump, ordering “a total and complete blockade against all oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela,” demonstrates that the world is facing a criminal and unscrupulous state logic on the part of the Donald Trump administration, the statement reads.

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Far from being dismissed as mere delusion, it is clear that imperialism, in its thirst for resources, seeks to wield power without limits or regard for international law, diplomacy, or the sovereignty of other nations. This is an arbitrary imposition that no longer even attempts to disguise its actions as piracy, the document adds.

With blatant disregard for humanity and the norms of international coexistence, these actions unambiguously reveal the intention to plunder Venezuelan oil, even going so far as to refer to it in the declaration as “THEIR” oil and offering the absurd and false excuse of “recovering” it. This discourse, the text states, not only exposes imperial voracity but also reveals the danger of a leadership that attempts to justify dispossession with implausible arguments.

The Network of Intellectuals, Artists, and Social Movements in Defense of Humanity maintains its firm stance in denouncing these actions before the international community. These actions will ultimately unleash an armed conflict in the region, and, as with every warmongering incursion by imperialism, will leave behind a scenario that will prove uncontrollable, with disastrous consequences for the entire planet.

An urgent call from the free peoples of the world is needed to demand, without delay, the neutralization of this common enemy of peace and justice. Our efforts today must result in an end to the impunity with which the United States has operated for the past 150 years, the intellectuals declared.

Likewise, the statement added, we send a message of solidarity to President Nicolás Maduro and the Venezuelan people. Rest assured of our unwavering support and our recognition of the courage and determination with which you defend all of humanity from the most savage empire in history.

From teleSUR English via This RSS Feed.

The US president orders a “total and complete blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela.

From Presstv via This RSS Feed.

The Venezuelan government announced on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, that it will denounce before the UN the “grotesque threats” made by US President Donald Trump to impose a naval blockade to seize its natural resources. The US president made these statements via his social media accounts, demanding the return of Venezuelan assets.

In a statement, the Bolivarian Government of Venezuela specified that President Trump, in an act it describes as a violation of international law, free trade, and freedom of navigation, “assumes that Venezuela’s oil, land, and mineral wealth are his property,” demanding their immediate handover. The official statement labels this action an “absolutely irrational” attempt to impose a military and naval blockade to “steal the country’s wealth.”

RELATED:

Venezuela denounces US act of piracy against its maritime sovereignty at the United Nations

“Venezuela, in the full exercise of the International Law that protects us, our Constitution, and the laws of the Republic, reaffirms its sovereignty over all its natural resources, as well as the right to free navigation and free trade in the Caribbean Sea and the world’s oceans. Consequently, it will proceed, in strict adherence to the UN Charter, to fully exercise its freedom, jurisdiction, and sovereignty in the face of these warmongering threats,” states the text published by the Bolivarian Government.

The statement assures that the Venezuelan ambassador to the UN, Samuel Moncada, will immediately proceed to formalize the complaint for this “serious violation of International Law,” in strict adherence to the Charter of the United Nations.

The Venezuelan government called on the American people and the international community to reject this “extravagant threat that once again reveals Donald Trump’s true intentions to steal the riches of the country that gave birth to the United Liberation Army of South America and to our Liberator, Simón Bolívar.”

The statement quoted Trump verbatim, who expressed on social media: “until all the oil, land, and other assets that were previously stolen from us are returned to the United States.” In this regard, the Bolivarian government affirms that “his true intention, which has been denounced by Venezuela and the people of the United States in large demonstrations, has always been to appropriate the country’s oil, land, and minerals through massive campaigns of lies and manipulation.”

“Venezuela will never again be a colony of any empire or foreign power and will continue, together with its people, on the path of building prosperity and the unrestricted defense of our independence and sovereignty,” the statement concludes.

The text concludes by reaffirming the Venezuelan people’s stance in defending their historical rights and independence, quoting Simón Bolívar: “fortunately, a handful of free men have been seen to defeat powerful empires.”

From teleSUR English via This RSS Feed.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) confirmed on Tuesday the investigation of new audio recordings that suggest a conspiracy to sabotage the recent electoral process and possibly facilitate a coup against President Xiomara Castro.

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Honduras Post-Election Crisis Escalates Amid Recount Demands, Police Repression and Presidential Coup Warning

The revelation, contained in an official statement released by the Attorney General’s Office, comes just hours after the president alerted the country about a “coup plot” orchestrated by her predecessor, Juan Orlando Hernández (JOH), who was pardoned by US President Donald Trump from his 45-year prison sentence for drug trafficking. According to Castro, JOH plans to return to Honduras to illegally proclaim a new president, without waiting for the official vote-by-vote recount of the electoral records.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office, through its Specialized Unit Against Electoral Crimes (UECDE), reported that it received several audio recordings linked to a criminal complaint related to the electoral process. Although it did not explicitly identify the former president in its transcripts, the contents suggest instructions to prevent a transparent vote count, which could invalidate the official results and open the door to a constitutional dispute.

One of the recordings, according to the published transcript, contains phrases such as: “In Honduras, this is already understood, no matter what anyone says, this is a done deal. […] Accept the count minus the vote-by-vote recount, because mathematically that has never been allowed.” Another recording mentions the need to “completely restructure the National Party” and refers to an alleged alliance between key political figures, including David Matamoros Batson, former secretary general of the Liberal Party.

Comunicado: pic.twitter.com/SK5BSn8uHV

— Ministerio Público (@MP_Honduras) December 16, 2025

Previously, the Attorney General’s Office also referenced a conversation in which Nasry Asfura, the National Party candidate and presumed winner of the November 30 elections, is mentioned as a central figure in a possible scenario of political “unification” that would require a “qualified majority” in Congress. This comes in a context where the National Electoral Council (CNE) has not yet completed the scrutiny of the ballots challenged by various parties.

Attorney General Johel Zelaya reiterated his commitment to transparency: “The truth doesn’t need embellishment; it stands on its own, and lies have short legs. The Public Prosecutor’s Office will never lend itself to planting fabricated audio recordings.” His statement seeks to legitimize the investigation in the face of growing polarization and public distrust.

In #Honduras, the #LIBRE party takes to the streets in protest, rejecting the electoral #coup perpetrated in the presidential elections on November 30. pic.twitter.com/DRudWS8hoz

— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) December 15, 2025

Meanwhile, President Castro has called for peaceful demonstrations in Tegucigalpa, requesting the people’s support to defend the constitutional order. In a direct message to the public, he asserted that “an attack aimed at breaking the constitutional and democratic order through a coup is underway,” and openly accused the United States of interference, citing the pardon of JOH as part of an international political plan.

The situation has intensified with the declaration by the Chief of the Joint Staff, Roosvelt Hernández, who affirmed that the Armed Forces remain loyal to the Constitution and to President Castro. “There will be no coup here… Come rain, shine, or storm, the Armed Forces will guarantee the stability of the country,” he stated, promising to punish any member of the military involved in destabilizing activities.

From teleSUR English via This RSS Feed.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro led this Tuesday the first plenary session of the Constituent Congress of the Working Class, a process he described as “victorious, successful, exemplary, unique and extraordinary,” which, he said, marks a historic rebirth of the Venezuelan labor movement amid a scenario of external aggression and international pressure.

During his address, the head of state underscored that more than 5,000 proposals were systematized following 22,110 grassroots assemblies held in workplaces across the country, a mechanism that enabled the direct and secret election of 66,330 principal delegates and 66,330 alternates, a figure he stated has no precedent in the country’s democratic history.

RELATED:

President Maduro: A Democratization Process of the Labor Movement Like This Has Never Been Seen

“The greatest gift of all is the giant strength this constituent process of the working class has taken on, rising as the backbone of prosperity and guaranteed peace for our country,” Maduro said, stressing that no previous process had reached such a level of direct participation by organized workers.

In this context, the president reaffirmed his political and social identity by stating that he does not come from the economic elites, but from the popular sectors. “I have not been, nor am I, a tycoon or a multimillionaire; I am simply a man of the working class, an ordinary man,” he said, while reiterating his status as “Worker President and Commander-in-Chief of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces,” a statement directed, he noted, “at the oligarchies.”

#Venezuela | More than 1,300 workers gathered in Caracas to take part in the “Great Constituent Congress of the Venezuelan Working Class,” an event whose main objective is the transformation and organization of the country’s labor movement.https://t.co/nWfJRFs8ma

— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) December 16, 2025

The President insisted that true power does not reside in the presidential office, but in popular organization. “My main mission in life is to build the greatest power, which is not the power of a president, but the power of the people in the streets, governing and leading,” he emphasized, noting that the constituent process has enabled an awakening and a resurrection of the Venezuelan labor movement.

Assessing the first eight weeks of the process, the president stated that the working class has consolidated itself as a central political actor, at a time when Venezuela, he denounced, has been facing for 25 weeks a campaign of multidimensional aggression, including psychological terrorism, economic sabotage, and acts of piracy against Venezuelan oil tankers.

“Venezuela has proven to be a strong country, and we are prepared to accelerate the pace of a profound revolution that gives power to the people fully and without intermediaries,” he said, thanking the solidarity support of social movements and governments that reject interventionist aggressions against the South American nation.

On the organizational front, the head of state called for a second plenary session of the Constituent Congress of the Working Class during the first week of January 2026, with the full participation of elected delegates, in order to approve the 2026 Action Plan. He also proposed extending the work of commissions and grassroots assemblies to deepen participation and consolidate proposals emerging from workplaces.

The Head of State also announced the relaunch of the Venezuelan university system, aimed at turning it into the great training school for leaders of the working class, and instructed the Council of Vice Presidents to immediately receive a workers’ delegation to implement proposals in the economic sphere.

In the area of defense, he reported on the expansion of working-class combat units, made up of nearly one million militiamen in workplaces, and called for an immediate review of the defensive plan, factory by factory and region by region, in coordination with the Bolivarian National Armed Forces.

On the international stage, the president called to defend in all multilateral bodies Venezuela’s right to freedom of trade, particularly oil trade, and denounced U.S. piracy as a threat not only to Venezuela, but to global commerce. “Defending Venezuela’s freedom of trade is defending the freedom of trade of the entire world,” he stated.

🔴 The immediate and unconditional release of the kidnapped crew.

🔴 The immediate return of Venezuelan oil illegally confiscated on the high seas.

🔴 The immediate cessation of any forceful action or interference against the legal commercialization of Venezuelan oil.

🔴 To… pic.twitter.com/TqpTcR4t3H

— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) December 16, 2025

The Dignatary urged oil workers and international trade unions to activate a permanent global protest against piracy and attempts to impose new letters of marque, while rejecting drug trafficking accusations as “fake news and pretexts for war.”

“They cannot say we have weapons of mass destruction, but we do have the moral authority to say no more Vietnam, Libya, Afghanistan or Iraq. No to an eternal war,” he said, warning that “Nazifascist” right-wing sectors seek to colonize Venezuela in order to seize its strategic resources.

The president closed his address by reaffirming his oath to defend the homeland, peace, and shared happiness, and called to unite forces and consciousness in the face of what he defined as an imperial offensive against Venezuelan sovereignty.

From teleSUR English via This RSS Feed.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro stated this Tuesday during the closing of the Constituent Congress of the Working Class that “a process like this, of profound democratization of a country and of the labor movement, has never been seen before.”

In this regard, he pointed out that 22,110 grassroots assemblies were held in workplaces to elect, through qualitative debate incorporating the ideas of millions of workers, 66,330 workplace delegates.

RELATED:

Venezuelan President Closes Constituent Assembly of the Working Class

“There has never been a more democratic process and greater empowerment of the workers,” he emphasized, while insisting that “this force has risen as a vital pillar of stability, economic development, and guaranteed peace in our country.”

He also stressed that “a country rests and thrives thanks to its working class.” The Venezuelan head of state also announced the election of 1,059 super-delegates, chosen by 347 workers’ assemblies, with 60 percent being men and 40 percent women. In this context, he emphasized revolutionary quality and political effectiveness as central principles, while recounting part of the history of the Venezuelan labor movement.

Furthermore, Maduro asserted that “we have a popular constituent process. We have the method,” adding that they are “defending this homeland against oligarchies.”

The head of state stressed that “now, with the militia, we will defeat the oligarchy and imperialism under any circumstances,” and stated that they have spent “25 weeks denouncing, confronting, and defeating a campaign of aggression that ranges from terrorism to the piracy of privateers who attacked the oil.”

“Venezuela has demonstrated, across all sectors, that it is a strong country, that it has real power, and that we are prepared to continue our progress and accelerate the march of a profound revolution that gives power to the people without intermediaries,” he said.

From teleSUR English via This RSS Feed.

By Kit Klarenberg – Dec 11, 2025

New research published by Amnesty International exposes the disturbing internal workings of Intellexa, and its constellation of digital espionage products. This includes ‘Predator’, a highly invasive resource linked to grave human rights abuses in multiple countries. Intellexa’s menacing technology allows government customers to access target smartphones’ cameras, microphones, encrypted chat apps, emails, GPS locations, photos, files, browsing activity, and more. It’s just the latest example of an Israeli-linked spyware specialist acting with no consideration for the law – although one wouldn’t know that from Amnesty’s probe.

Intellexa is among the world’s most notorious “mercenary spyware”purveyors. In 2023, the company was fined by Greece’s Data Protection Authority for failing to comply with its investigations into the company. An ongoing court case in Athens implicates Intellexa apparatchiks and local intelligence services in hacking the phones of government ministers, senior military officers, judges and journalists. Oddly unmentioned by Amnesty International, Intellexa was founded by Tal Dilian, a senior former Israeli military intelligence operative, and is staffed by Zionist entity spying veterans.

Leaked Intellexa marketing slide

In March 2024, following years of damaging disclosures about Intellexa’s criminal activities, the US Treasury imposed sweeping sanctions on Dilian, his closest company confederates, and five separate commercial entities associated with Intellexa. Yet, these harsh measures were no deterrent to Intellexa’s operations. The company’s service offering has only evolved over time, becoming ever-more difficult to detect, and increasingly effective at infecting target devices. Typically, civil society and human rights activists, and journalists, are in the firing line.

On December 3rd, Google announced Intellexa’s targets numbered at least “several hundred”, with individuals based in Angola, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and elsewhere potentially affected. Predator frequently relies on “one-click” attacks to infect a device. Users open a malicious link, which installs spyware that breaks open their chats on Signal, Telegram, WhatsApp and other chat platforms, audio recordings, emails, device locations, screenshots and camera photos, stored passwords, contacts and call logs, and the device’s microphone.

The vast data trove then passes through a chain of anonymising servers to hide its end destination, before being received by a customer. Predator also boasts a number of unique features designed to obscure its installation on a device from targets. For example, the spy tool assesses a device’s battery level, and whether it’s connected to the internet via sim card data or WiFi. This allows for a bespoke extraction process, ensuring devices aren’t obviously drained of network or power, to avoid stoking user suspicion.

Aladdin’s Cave
If Predator senses it has been detected, the spyware will even “self-destruct” to leave no trace of its presence on an impacted device. The methods by which Intellexa installs its malign tech on target devices is just as ingenious, and insidious. On top of “one-click” attacks, Intellexa is a pioneer in the field of “zero-click” infiltration. Its resource ‘Aladdin’ exploits internet advertising ecosystems, so users need only view an ad – without interacting with it – for spyware to infect a device.

Such ads can appear on trusted websites or apps, resembling any other advert a user would normally see. This approach requires Intellexa to pin down a “unique identifier” – such as a user’s email address, geographical location, or IP – to accurately serve them a malicious advert. Intellexa’s government customers can often readily access this information, simplifying accurate targeting. Research published by Recorded Future indicates Intellexa has covertly established dedicated mobile ad companies to create “bait advertisements”, including job listings, to lure in targets.

Leaked Aladdin explainer

Aladdin has been under developmentsince 2022 at least, and only grown more sophisticated over time. Troublingly, Intellexa is not the only company active in this innovative spying field. Amnesty International suggests “advertisement-based infection methodologies are being actively developed and used by multiple mercenary spyware companies, and by specific governments who have built similar ADINT [advertising intelligence] infection systems.” That the digital advertising ecosystem has been subverted to hack the phones of unsuspecting citizens demands urgent industry action, which is as yet unforthcoming.

Just as disquietingly, a leaked Intellexa training video depicts how the Intellexa can “remotely access and monitor active customer Predator systems.” In effect, the firm is able to keep an eye on who its clients are spying on, and the precise private data they are extracting, in real-time. Recorded in mid-2023, the video begins with an instructor connecting directly to a deployed Predator system via TeamViewer, a commercial remote access software. Its contents suggest Intellexa can peruse at least 10 different customer systems simultaneously.

The 7 Richest Billionaires Are All Media Barons

This capability is amply highlighted in the leaked video, when a staff member asks their trainer if they’re connecting to a testing environment. In response, they state a live “customer environment” is being accessed instead. The instructor then initiates a remote connection, showing Intellexa staffers can access highly sensitive information collected by customers, including photos, messages, IP addresses, smartphone operating systems and software versions, and other surveillance data gathered from Predator victims.

The video also appears to show “live” Predator infection attempts against real-life targets of Intellexa’s clients. Detailed information is shown from at least one infection attempt against an individual based in Kazakhstan, including the malicious link they unwittingly clicked that enabled their device’s infiltration. Elsewhere, domain names imitating legitimate Kazakhstani news websites, designed to trick users, are displayed. The country’s government is a confirmed Intellexa client, and local youth activists have previously been targeted by the notorious, similarly Israeli-incubated Pegasus spyware.

Screenshot of Predator dashboard listing ongoing infections

‘Business Opportunity’
The leaked video raises a number of grave concerns about Intellexa’s operations. For one, the shadowy, high-tech digital spying entity employed TeamViewer, a commercial software about which major security concernshave long-abounded, to access highly sensitive, invasive information on customer targets. This raises obvious questions about who else might be able to pry on this trove. Moreover, there is no indication Intellexa’s clients approved this access for training process, or the tutorial was conducted with even basic safeguards in place.

As such, the targets of Intellexa’s suite of spying resources not only face having their most sensitive secrets exposed to a hostile government without their knowledge or consent, but a foreign surveillance company in the process. The extent to which Intellexa is cognisant of how its technology is used by its clients is a core point of contention in the ongoing Greek legal case. Historically, mercenary spyware companies have firmly insisted they aren’t privy to data nefariously seized by their customers. Amnesty International states:

“The finding that Intellexa had potential visibility into active surveillance operations of their customers, including seeing technical information about the targets, raises new legal questions about Intellexa’s role in relation to the spyware and the company’s potential legal or criminal responsibility for unlawful surveillance operations carried out using their products.”

The latest disclosures about Intellexa have all the makings of a historic, international scandal, in the precise manner the use of Pegasus by state and corporate entities the world over has elicited international outcry, criminal investigations, and litigation lasting many years. However, the proliferation of ominous private spying tools, and their industrial scale abuse by paying customers, is no aberrant bug, but an intended upshot of the Zionist entity’s relentless crusade for cyberwarfare supremacy. In 2018, Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu boasted:

“Cybersecurity grows through cooperation, and cybersecurity as a business is tremendous…We spent an enormous amount on our military intelligence and Mossad and Shin Bet. An enormous amount. An enormous part of that is being diverted to cybersecurity…We think there is a tremendous business opportunity in the neverending quest of security.”

This investment manifests in almost every area of Israeli society. Numerous universities in Tel Aviv, with state support, hone new technologies and train future generations of cyber spies and digital warriors, who then join the Zionist Occupation Force’s ranks. Once their military service is complete, alumni frequently found companies at home and abroad offering the same monstrous services road-tested against Palestinians to private sector bodies and governments, without any oversight or guarantee these resources won’t be used for malevolent purposes.

Intellexa founder and Israeli military intelligence veteran Tal Dilian

The intelligence failures that enabled the success of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood in October 2023 did enormous damage to Israel’s credibility as a cybersecurity leader, while devastating its “Startup Nation” brand, with foreign investment in the entity’s tech industry collapsing precipitously. However, the fresh Intellexa revelations show certain elements of the sector remain in high demand, and pose an unseen threat to untold numbers of people globally. Should the firm fall into disrepute as a result, another surely waits in the wings to take its place.

(Global Delinquents)

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

Venezuela’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Samuel Moncada, presented a formal letter to the Security Council denouncing the boarding, hijacking, and theft of a Venezuelan oil shipment in international waters by the United States, characterizing it as an act of “maritime piracy carried out directly by a State.”

In his communication addressed to the President of the Security Council, Slovenian Ambassador Samuel Žbogar, Moncada emphasized that this incident “is not an isolated event,” but rather part of a “sustained policy of coercion and aggression” against Venezuela, based on “unilateral, illegal, and illegitimate coercive measures.”

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U.S. Military Action Against Venezuela To Unleash a Second Vietnam: Lukashenko

The document states that such actions have escalated to practices that constitute, in legal terms, maritime piracy, expressly prohibited by International Law.

The letter refers to Article 101 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which defines piracy as “any unlawful act of violence, detention, or plunder committed on the high seas.”

Venezuela's permanent representative to the United Nations, Samuel Moncada, calls on the #UN Security Council to immediately release the kidnapped crew, as well as the Venezuelan #oil illegally confiscated on the high seas, and to cease any interventionist action against the… pic.twitter.com/JYA1DycQd6

— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) December 16, 2025

Moncada argued that when a state military force commits identical acts, the gravity of the act “aggravates the hostile action” and compromises the integrity of the multilateral system.

“The legal regime of the high seas protects freedom of navigation and lawful international trade; principles that have been flagrantly violated in this case,” the letter states.

Furthermore, it recalls that the Charter of the United Nations, in Article 2, paragraph 4, categorically prohibits the use of force in international relations, a matter under the exclusive competence of the Security Council, as defined in Articles 39 and 42. Venezuela reiterated that there is no authorization from the Security Council that justifies the violent boarding, the kidnapping of the crew, or the theft of the cargo.

The document also highlights that the Security Council itself has repeatedly condemned piracy through resolutions such as 1816 (2008), 1838 (2008), 2015 (2011), and 2634 (2022), recognizing it as a threat to international peace and security. Likewise, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has reiterated its rejection of such acts as a direct threat to maritime security.

Given this situation, Venezuela demands that the United States immediately release the kidnapped crew, return the confiscated oil, and cease all interference with its legitimate oil trade. It also urges the Security Council to publicly condemn this act, take action to preserve the safety of navigation, and prevent piracy from becoming entrenched as an instrument of political coercion.

Finally, the Bolivarian Government requested that it be reaffirmed, in writing, that there is no resolution authorizing actions against Venezuela or its oil trade, and that the communication be distributed as an official Council document to all member states.

From teleSUR English via This RSS Feed.

The President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro Moros, participated this Tuesday in the Constituent Assembly of the Working Class, a national deliberative forum that brought together delegates from 110 assemblies across the country, representing more than 66,000 delegates.

The event, led by the Minister of Popular Power for the Social Process of Labor, Eduardo Piñate, aimed to present a summary of the proposals gathered to strengthen the labor sector and the Bolivarian Economic Agenda.

RELATED:

Venezuela denounces US act of piracy against its maritime sovereignty at the United Nations

“More than 5,000 proposals were first systematized and then synthesized before arriving here. Proposals for each of the pillars of the Bolivarian Economic Agenda,” explained Piñate, noting that the initiatives have already been incorporated into documents that culminated in this session.

The spokesperson for the working class, María Alejandra Rondón, read the conclusions of the meeting, reporting that 22,110 assemblies were held throughout the country during the workers’ constituent process, with the participation of productive, urban, rural, and fishing sectors.

#Venezuela | More than 1,300 workers gathered in Caracas to take part in the “Great Constituent Congress of the Venezuelan Working Class,” an event whose main objective is the transformation and organization of the country’s labor movement.https://t.co/nWfJRFs8ma

— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) December 16, 2025

These assemblies resulted in the appointment of 66,330 delegates, a figure that, according to Grimán Rondón, represents a historic milestone in the inclusion of women in these spaces: 40% are women and 60% are men, highlighting progress in gender equality within the Venezuelan labor movement.

During her address to the head of state, Grimán Rondón presented a set of proposals that emerged from the collective debate, among which the appointment of a National Workers’ Transition Commission (CENOT) stands out. This commission would have full powers to lead the renewal of the Bolivarian Socialist Workers’ Central at all levels, sectors, and structures.

The National Confederation of Workers (CENOT) must present a transition timeline within 20 days, culminating in the National Workers’ Congress within 18 months, which will formalize the renewed central organization. Furthermore, within six months, it must define new bylaws, design the methodology for general elections in unions, federations, and the central organization itself, and ensure that grassroots leaders are active, employed workers with revocable mandates.

Other key proposals include the relaunch of the Bolivarian Workers’ University “Jesús Rivero,” the creation of the National School of Workers’ Cadres with a curriculum focused on production management, political economy, Venezuelan history, science, technology, and innovation, and the consolidation of the National Plan for the Training and Self-Training of the Working Class, promoted by the Ministry of Popular Power for the Social Process of Labor.

Grimán Rondón also announced that the workers’ sector has developed its own Production Plan, the result of collective work in assemblies, which will be presented in detail at the presidential meeting with representatives of the working class.

From teleSUR English via This RSS Feed.

This editorial by Alejandro Castellano López originally appeared in the December 15, 2025 edition of Los Reporteros. The views expressed in this article are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect those of Mexico Solidarity Media*, or the* Mexico Solidarity Project*.*

I have carefully read the proposed law to “reduce the workweek to 40 hours.” At the same time, I clearly notice that the opposition to the current government hasn’t uttered a peep about it. I wonder why?

I remember well that once, back in the 70s, when as students part of the Struggle Committee of a Vocational School of the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN), we fought alongside the settlers of San Agustín, Ciudad Azteca and La Impulsora, in the north of the metropolitan area of ​​Mexico City, a dear comrade from whom I have not heard for a long time, told me that somewhere Che had said, “when the enemy agrees with you, be careful, something is wrong with what you are doing.”

I hope all workers will soon realize this and there will be large and powerful mobilizations towards the Congress of the Union, so that the deputies and senators who are truly left-wing react positively and modify the initiative to avoid the terrible setbacks it represents. They should also compel the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare to hire more conscientious people to serve as Labor Inspectors, thus preventing the abuses of employers and the corrupt unions that abound. While they’re at it, they should also remove the traitors Pedro Haces, Ricardo Monreal, Adán Augusto López, and the rest of this toxic element from Congress.

The reform does not seek our well-being but rather to institutionalize dependence on overtime for survival, turning rest time into just another commodity.

One of the most interesting documents I’ve read on this subject is the Statement from the National Front for the 40-Hour Workweek, issued by the San Luis Potosí Coordination, regarding the presidential initiative to reduce the workweek, which was released on December 12th. The Statement I’m referring to says, in reference to the reform, that “the government of Claudia Sheinbaum is presenting us not with the historic reform it promised, but with a trap that legalizes 12-hour and 16-hour overtime shifts, even with precarious wages. The initiative, which amends, adds to, and repeals various provisions of Section A of Article 123 of the Constitution and the Federal Labor Law, is a fraud against the working class and a brutal setback for our rights.”

Recall that current legislation allows up to 3 hours of overtime per day, paid at double time, totaling a maximum of 9 hours per week, which workers are obligated to accept. Any hours worked beyond these 9 must be agreed upon with the employer, who is then obligated to pay them at triple time. However, companies rarely comply with this; they almost always avoid paying overtime through trickery, lies, and threats, which are generally supported by the corrupt unions that are prevalent within the official labor federations.

The government doesn’t even have enough labor inspectors; there are only 600 nationwide, and the state of Yucatán has none.

I quote again the statement from the Front, which is considered the official document of the entire Front, and it says: “This proposal violates the principle of progressivity and non-regression of labor law. Instead of moving forward, it takes a step backward. It doesn’t even guarantee the two mandatory days of rest, maintaining the exploitative six-day workweek and wiping out with a stroke the hard-won weekend and the possibility of a Saturday bonus. It completely ignores all the gender, care, and health perspectives we have demanded.” I would add that in some collective bargaining agreements, this is already a workers’ victory, and now they will pay more for double hours than before, which were triple hours. Where is the progress? It’s a brutal setback! Altagracia’s hand is clearly visible.

Altagracia’s head is also visible.

The statement also denounces the contradiction in the explanatory memorandum and explains and acknowledges, to quote again, “…that reducing the length of the workweek is an imperative not only of social justice but also of public health; on the other hand, it decrees that workers will have more free time, creating an opportunity for them to use it… to work overtime. In other words, it recognizes the harm to health only to then propose that we use our scarce “free” time to continue working. The reform does not seek our well-being but rather to institutionalize dependence on overtime for survival, turning rest time into just another commodity.”

It is clear that the much-touted reform does not bring about a real reduction in the working day; on the contrary, in practice it will become a more effective tool of exploitation than what is currently established, and it is an initiative designed for the benefit of employers and against the dignity of workers.

The statement also condemns the gradual reduction to 40 hours, calling it a “sham,” and questions the current and future actions of labor authorities, who clearly respond to the interests of employers. They don’t even have enough labor inspectors; there are only 600 nationwide, and the state of Yucatán, for example, has none, while most of the inspectors in the other states aren’t even rank-and-file employees. This is an aberration of the self-proclaimed leftist 4T (Fourth Transformation), which today seems to have died at the hands of deputies, cabinet secretaries, senators, and “prominent” members of MORENA (National Regeneration Movement).

The reform is unacceptable and only the Honorable Congress of the Union can prevent this aberration and betrayal against the working class of this country.

• 

  Labor | News Briefs

  Christmas Without a Bonus for 13.7 Million Workers

  December 16, 2025December 16, 2025

  Mexico’s Scrooge-like employers evade their legal obligation because most employees are informal workers.

• 

  Analysis | Labor

  A Bosses’ Trap?

  December 16, 2025December 16, 2025

  Mexico’s much-touted 40 hour workweek reform does not bring about a real reduction in the working day; on the contrary, it will become a more effective tool of exploitation and is an initiative designed for the benefit of employers and against the dignity of workers.

• 

  Mañanera

  People’s Mañanera December 16

  December 16, 2025

  President Sheinbaum’s daily press conference, with comments on pharmaceuticals supply, social housing lottery, CDMX Congress fiasco, Ultra-right victory in Chile and H3N2 alert.

The post A Bosses’ Trap? appeared first on Mexico Solidarity Media.

From Mexico Solidarity Media via This RSS Feed.

This article originally appeared in the December 16, 2025 edition of El Universal.

Editor’s note: I’m not normally in the habit of re-publishing something from El Universal*, a corporate, right wing newspaper which approaches this issue by suggesting tax credits for corporations, already operating in extremely favourable conditions with very low wages, as a solution to this issue; but the figures are important.*

This Christmas, almost 14 million Mexicans will be without their Christmas bonus, even though it is a right established since 1970 in the Federal Labor Law (LFT).

By surveying more than 150,000 homes distributed throughout the country, the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) counted 40.8 million subordinate and paid workers between July and September of last year.

Of this amount, 33.6% or 13.7 million lacked a Christmas bonus, paid vacation, or profit sharing.

It is the highest figure in a year and, to put it in perspective, it is equivalent to the combined population of Mexico City, Querétaro and Morelos. The 13.7 million without a Christmas bonus represent 22.3% of the Economically Active Population (EAP).

Humberto Calzada , chief economist for Rankia Latin America, explained that most workers without benefits operate in the informal sector, and that is why employers evade this obligation.

From their point of view, working conditions and the scarcity of formal job creation force Mexicans to seek informal options in order to have a source of income .

“Faced with precarious employment, workers are willing to sacrifice social benefits in order to have a better salary,” he said in an interview with El Universal.

Households with lower labor income lack the capacity to save resources and are the first to spend their Christmas bonus; they are even forced to acquire loans, explained the professor of Economics at UNAM .

“It is very difficult for informal employment to end in Mexico, because many times an informal worker has a higher income than a professional who operates in the formal sector,” he noted.

In his opinion, reducing informality requires more productive public and private investment. “Tax incentives are urgently needed to encourage companies to invest and foster economic growth,” he commented.

State of Mexico Leads

The largest number of employees who will not receive a Christmas bonus work in the State of Mexico , with 2.2 million. Puebla and Veracruz follow, with one million each, according to the results of the National Survey of Occupation and Employment (ENOE) by the institute headed by Graciela Márquez.

Mexico City and Michoacán continue to be affected, both with 0.8 million employees without access to this benefit, whose payment deadline is December 20 and which is prohibited from being paid in kind.

Of the 13.7 million workers without access to a Christmas bonus, 5.3 million are between 15 and 29 years old, that is, they belong to the so-called Generation Z or Centennial, while 5.2 million are in the 30 to 49 age range, and the rest are over 50 years old.

Clemente Ruiz Durán, a researcher at the Postgraduate Program in Economics at UNAM, pointed out that most young people are employed on a temporary basis, so employers do not carry out the formalization process.

The Federal Labor Defense Attorney’s Office explains that workers have the right to receive a Christmas bonus equivalent to at least 15 days of salary.

Workers who have not completed one year of service, regardless of whether they are working or not on the date of settlement of the Christmas bonus, must receive the proportional part of it, according to the time worked, whatever it may be.

The Christmas bonus payment is due to workers, whether they are base-level, trust-based, permanent, unionized, for a specific project or time, seasonal, for an indefinite period subject to probation or subject to initial training, among others who are governed by the LFT.

• 

  Labor | News Briefs

  Christmas Without a Bonus for 13.7 Million Workers

  December 16, 2025December 16, 2025

  Mexico’s Scrooge-like employers evade their legal obligation because most employees are informal workers.

• 

  Analysis | Labor

  A Bosses’ Trap?

  December 16, 2025December 16, 2025

  Mexico’s much-touted 40 hour workweek reform does not bring about a real reduction in the working day; on the contrary, it will become a more effective tool of exploitation and is an initiative designed for the benefit of employers and against the dignity of workers.

• 

  Mañanera

  People’s Mañanera December 16

  December 16, 2025

  President Sheinbaum’s daily press conference, with comments on pharmaceuticals supply, social housing lottery, CDMX Congress fiasco, Ultra-right victory in Chile and H3N2 alert.

The post Christmas Without a Bonus for 13.7 Million Workers appeared first on Mexico Solidarity Media.

From Mexico Solidarity Media via This RSS Feed.

In a series of interviews published Tuesday by Vanity Fair magazine, Susie Wiles, Donald Trump’s current chief of staff, offers a critical, though not confrontational, portrait of the former president and key figures in his political circle.

RELATED: Donald Trump Taps Susie Wiles as White House Chief of Staff

The statements are part of a piece compiled from ten interviews with journalist Chris Whipple, in which Wiles breaks her usual low profile to address sensitive issues concerning the Trump administration and his inner circle.

The chief of staff describes Trump as having “the personality of an alcoholic,” despite not drinking alcohol herself. “Some clinical psychologist who knows a million times more than I do will probably disagree with what I’m about to say. But functional alcoholics, or alcoholics in general, have personalities that are exacerbated when they drink.

And in that sense, I’m somewhat of an expert on strong personalities (…) Trump has the personality of an alcoholic (…) and acts with the conviction that there is nothing he can’t do. Nothing, absolutely nothing,” she stated.

Although she doesn’t position herself as a counterweight to the former president, Wiles acknowledges errors in his administration’s management, such as the deportations of immigrants without adequate due process.

Wiles, now Trump’s chief of staff, breaks her silence with candid views on the former president, his allies, and the controversies shaping their legacy. (Photo: Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images).

She also reveals that she advocated against pardoning the most violent assailants of the Capitol on January 6, but her position was ignored.

Her role, she explains, has been to facilitate Trump’s will, even when she unsuccessfully tried to get him to stop using his office to “settle scores” with his enemies.

“We reached an informal agreement for him to move on from his obsessions after three months in the White House, but it didn’t work,” she recounts. “It’s not that Trump is constantly thinking about revenge, but when the opportunity arises, he takes it.”

Susie Wiles, “The Ice Maiden”

That’s how Donald Trump introduced her during his election night speech in Palm Beach, Florida, referring to her as “The Ice Maiden” and noting that “she likes to stay a little bit in the background.”

In a statement, he highlighted Wiles’s crucial role in his 2024 election victory, calling her “tough, smart, innovative, and universally admired and respected.” He also expressed that it will be “a well-deserved honor to have Susie as the first female Chief of Staff in American history.”

Descriptive Adjectives Broaden Her Scope

The advisor, highly respected in Republican circles, especially in Florida, also speaks harshly of Vice President J.D. Vance, whom he calls a political opportunist.

Wiles recalls that Vance was a fierce critic of Trump before becoming his defender by running for Senate. He also describes him as “a conspiracy theorist for a decade,” in a negative context linked to the Epstein case.

In that context, he criticizes Trump for having insisted on linking Bill Clinton to visits to Jeffrey Epstein’s private island without evidence, calling the claim erroneous or false.

🚨🚨 BREAKING: Susie Wiles TRASHES President Trump, top individuals within his administration and MAGA in a new interview with radical left Vanity Fair. She compared Trump to an alcoholic, said that she urged him NOT to pardon the January 6th political prisoners, called JD Vance… pic.twitter.com/JKLifNAkWa

— Joshua Hall (@JoshHall2024) December 16, 2025

The target of his harshest criticism is Elon Musk, whom he calls “a completely lone actor” and compares to “a kind of hyperactive Nosferatu.” Wiles points out that Musk, at the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), dismantled agencies and fired thousands of employees without any criteria or coordination with the White House.

“The challenge with Elon is keeping up with him. He is an avowed ketamine user. And he sleeps in a sleeping bag in the Executive Office Building during the day,” he says.

Furthermore, she suggests that at certain times Musk may have been consuming microdoses of psychoactive substances, which would explain some of his most controversial tweets.

Regarding the handling of the Epstein case, Wiles directly blames Attorney General Pam Bondi, Trump’s former personal lawyer.

“I think she completely failed to appreciate that this was precisely the group that cared about this issue,” she comments, referring to the MAGA movement’s base.

“First, she handed them folders full of irrelevant information. And then she said that the witness list, or the client list, was on her desk. There is no such client list, and it certainly wasn’t on her desk,” she criticizes.

This content was created with AI support.

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A recent NBC News Decision Desk survey, powered by SurveyMonkey (a global leader in online surveys and questionnaires), reveals that most Americans plan to cut back on holiday spending this year due to persistent concerns about the economic situation. The results, published on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, indicate a climate of financial caution among consumers in the lead-up to the holidays.

According to the poll, 55 percent of respondents said they intend to spend less on gifts compared to last year. In contrast, only 9 percent plan to increase their spending, while the remaining 36 percent intend to maintain the same level of expenditure. This trend underscores the magnitude of the economic impact on households in the United States.

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The research also revealed significant demographic divisions in spending plans. The intention to cut budgets is significantly higher among lower-income households, where two-thirds of those earning less than $50,000 annually reported plans to reduce their spending.

Furthermore, 62 percent of women plan to cut their expenses, a figure higher than the 48 percent of men. Politically, more than 60 percent of Democrats and independents plan to spend less, compared to 41 percent of Republicans.

Beyond gifts, the economic impact extends to general holiday spending. Forty-three percent of Americans report having had to reduce their outlays in various areas due to financial concerns.

When asked about the most pressing economic problem they face, 44 percent of respondents cited inflation and the rising cost of living, a figure that significantly surpassed any other concern mentioned.

This complex economic context is reflected in a widespread perception that the country is headed down the wrong path, an opinion shared by 64 percent of those surveyed. While opinions on personal finance vary, the economy has consistently emerged as a top topic in this series of surveys throughout 2025, highlighting its centrality to the agenda and daily lives of Americans.

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Venezuela protests to the United Nations Security Council over the United States recent seizure of one of its oil tankers.

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The First Chamber of Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF) resumed the trial on Tuesday, December 16, against the six defendants who comprise Group Two of the coup conspiracy that occurred after the 2022 elections. The session began with a vote by the presiding judge, Alexandre de Moraes.

According to the indictment from the Attorney General’s Office, the defendants, mostly military personnel with Special Forces training, face charges for their alleged participation in drafting coup plans, including one called “Green and Yellow Dagger.”

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This plan contemplated serious acts, including the assassination and neutralization of high-ranking state officials, such as President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, and Judge De Moraes himself.

➡️ STF retoma nesta terça-feira (16/12) o julgamento do Núcleo 2 da tentativa de golpe de Estado. A sessão terá início às 9h com o voto do relator, ministro Alexandre de Moraes: https://t.co/TY6GQykiHx#PraTodosVerem: contém descrição da imagem pic.twitter.com/qvVUaF86jB

— STF (@STF_oficial) December 15, 2025

In addition to the assassination plots, the defendants are accused of coordinating the use of the Federal Highway Police (PRF) to sabotage the 2022 presidential runoff election.

The lightning operation, concentrated in the Northeast region and carried out in defiance of the Superior Electoral Court, aimed to block highways and prevent access to polling stations in order to reduce the votes of then-candidate Lula, who had won the majority in the first round.

The Federal Police stated at the time that the investigations suggest that “the criminal organization used a high level of technical and military expertise to plan, coordinate, and execute illicit actions in November and December 2022.”

The Charges and the Legal Progress

Those accused in this coup plot, which includes former advisors to former President Jair Bolsonaro, delegates, and high-ranking police officials, face charges including attempted violent overthrow of the democratic rule of law, coup d’état, participation in an armed criminal organization, aggravated damage, and destruction of protected property.

To date, the Supreme Federal Court (STF) has convicted 24 people involved in the conspiracy in its various phases. Of that total, eight belong to the first phase (comprised of Bolsonaro and seven former members of his government), seven are from phase four, and nine are from phase three.

Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced in September to 27 years in prison for leading the coup plot, whose aim was to prevent Lula da Silva from taking office. The STF justices determined that the far-right former president sought a rupture of the democratic order with the support of members of his government, intelligence agencies, and members of the Armed Forces.

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