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Jones, Chris
Rugby Union correspondent
In its most recent financial statements, The Rugby Football Union reported a £228 million increase over the previous 10-year high in revenue, but the company only suffered a small overall loss of almost £2 million.
This is a significant improvement over the £42 million loss from 2023-2024, which sparked a racial outcry that threatened the position of chief executive Bill Sweeney.
Sweeney’s salary is $ 700,000, which includes a bonus, but not the long-term incentive plan (LTIP) scheme, which was so content this time last year when he earned total of £1.1 million.
“This year has been a year of progress despite challenges,” Sweeney claimed.
“We’ve made genuine advances both on and off the field,” says the manager. “We know some areas of the game are still under real pressure.”
The most recent accounts, which cover June 2024 to June 2025, show the first year of a four-year cycle, with the addition of seven home men’s internationals during that time.
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The home men’s rugby world cup year in 2015-2016 saw the highest revenues in RFU history, behind only the second-highest total revenues ever.
A positive start is essential in the first year of our new four-year cycle, according to Francesca Pierce, chief financial officer of RFU.
Given the rising cost pressures and the wider consumer environment, “this is even more significant.”
The RFU claims that World Rugby and the RFU are in discussions to review the revenue model for men’s “rugby World Cup” years, calling it “a recognized challenge across the game.”
Meanwhile, the RFU report explains how the sport continues to face financial strains, including high costs associated with matchday events and increased reliance on ticket sales.
The “essential long-term project” that is estimated to cost more than £650 million is also high on the agenda.
It’s been 23 years since Love Actually hit the big screen, and the star-studded cast have gone on to enjoy varying degrees of success – and tragedy – in the years since
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Liam Neeson, left, suffered a life-shattering tragedy just six years after filming(Image: WENN.com)
Nearly a quarter of a century has passed since the film was released, and the stars have suffered varied fates. Love Actually delved into heartbreak, loss, infidelity and longing, most memorably when Karen (Emma Thompson) was left in tears after discovering her wayward husband Harry (Alan Rickman) had purchased jewellery for his flirtatious colleague Mia.
Meanwhile, writer Jamie (Colin Firth) escaped to France following the devastating discovery of his girlfriend in bed with his own brother, whilst Mark (Andrew Lincoln) harboured feelings for his best friend’s wife, Juliet (Keira Knightley), describing his affection as a “wasted heart”.
Naturally, there were lighter storylines too, including Colin Frissle (Kris Marshall) and his American adventures with a group of Wisconsin women, plus that heartwarming moment between youngsters Sam (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) and Joanna (Olivia Olson). But where did life take the cast after the festive blockbuster? From devastating losses and personal struggles to romantic upheavals and Hollywood success, here’s what became of the stars….
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Downing Street housekeeper –
It was revealed yesterday that Jill Freud, who had her final role in the Christmas smash hit as the Downing Street housekeeper, had passed away at the age of 98. The widow of broadcaster and chef Clement Freud, the grandson of famed Sigmund Freud, Jill lived an extraordinary life. It’s even said that, as a girl, she provided inspiration for the character of Lucy in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, having stayed with author CS Lewis and his family as an evacuee during the dark days of the Blitz.
Jill’s daughter Emma Freud, who is married to Love Actually writer-director Richard Curtis, paid tribute to her “feisty, outrageous, kind, loving and mischievous” mother this week in a heartfelt post, remarking: “Lucky old heaven getting such a dazzling newcomer.”
Shedding light on Jill’s final hours, Emma wrote: “After a loving evening – where we knew she was on her way – surrounded by children, grandchildren and pizza, she told us all to f*** off so she could go to sleep. And then she never woke up. Her final words were ‘I love you’.”
Harry – Alan Rickman
‘Bad Harry’ landed himself in hot water after succumbing to Mia’s advances and shattering his wife’s heart along the way. However, in reality, Alan was anything but unfaithful, remaining devoted to his childhood love, Rima Horton, right up until his death in 2016.
Following a minor stroke that August, medical professionals found that he was battling pancreatic cancer. He kept his diagnosis private, sharing the news only with his inner circle, before passing away just six months later in January 2016 at 69.
Rima later campaigned for better screening. “I got involved with Pancreatic Cancer UK because Alan died of pancreatic cancer, and Alan was only 69 and had so much more to offer the world,” she said. She added she ‘couldn’t bear’ the thought of others dying in the way her late husband had.
“He had a few minor things. I gather, quite a lot of people with pancreatic cancer do have symptoms two years beforehand, they do go to their doctor, but they’re so nebulous,” she said. “And in Alan’s case, backache, maybe some stomach problems, but nothing that you would associate with something like pancreatic cancer, so when he was diagnosed, it was a complete shock. I think it knocked us sideways, completely.”
Daniel – Liam Neeson
He portrayed bereaved widower Daniel, attempting to help his step-son Sam navigate his own romantic troubles. Tragically, just six years later, real-life heartbreakingly echoed fiction when his wife, Natasha Richardson, passed away in a devastating skiing accident.
She had been participating in a beginner’s ski lesson at the Mont Tremblant Resort near Montreal when she tumbled and struck her head. Initially, she felt alright and dismissed the incident, refusing an offer to consult a doctor. However, two hours later, Natasha complained of severe headaches and was rushed to the hospital in New York.
“I was told she was brain dead… She was on life support and stuff,” Liam told 60 Minutes in 2014. “And I went in… and told her I loved her. I said, ‘Sweetie, you’re not coming back from this. You’ve banged your head. It’s – I don’t know if you can hear me, but that’s – this is what’s gone down’.” Tragically, she passed away from an epidural haematoma just two days later.
Liam is now in a relationship with former Baywatch pinup Pamela Anderson. The pair featured in the new comedy film, The Naked Gun and went on a press tour to promote it and were romantically linked to one another. – sending fans wild.
The 73-year-old Taken star previously admitted he was ‘madly in love’ with Pamela, 58. He told People: “With Pamela, first off, I’m madly in love with her. She’s just terrific to work with. I can’t compliment her enough, I’ll be honest with you. No huge ego. She just comes in to do the work. She’s funny and so easy to work with. She’s going to be terrific in the film.”
However, some critics were left sceptical about the romance and accused the duo of faking it for publicity. However, an insider has since revealed: “Everything between them has been genuine. Neither would ever take part in a publicity stunt. They have a great time. Neither of them needs the publicity.”
Natalie – Martine McCutcheon
Martine McCutcheon, who played the PM’s girlfriend Natalie, has been hit by a number of hardships in the decades since. The former EastEnders actress recently split from her husband Jack McManus and The Love Actually was declared bankrupt, as per court documents, following a petition for insolvency over a debt owed to a finance company. It came on the heels of her having to reduce the asking price of her beautiful Surrey home.
It’s now claimed the star, who was once worth millions as an Olivier Award winner with a number one single to her name, lost her money due to “high spending habits” and struggling to land roles amid a battle with ill health. The mum-of-one was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (ME) in 2011 and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD).
“It has not helped that she loves the finer things in her life, and it is no secret that she has spent more than she should have done over the years,” a friend told the Daily Mail. “She has had bits and pieces of TV work recently – but nothing has come close to being a blockbuster role that might get her out of her financial mess.”
They add: “It’s a real shame as she’s immensely talented with a wealth of experience. Hopefully she can turn things around, but she’s had a real tough time.”
A court document indicates that the insolvency order was issued on 31 March this year, a few months after she announced her split from Jack, her husband of 18 years. The couple share a 10 year old son, Rafferty. This isn’t Martine’s first brush with financial woes. Despite a previous net worth of around £2million, she faced bankruptcy in 2013 with debts totalling approximately £187,000, including a hefty £150,000 owed to HMRC.
What became of the others…
Sam – Thomas Brodie-Sangster
He was the lovesick schoolboy who dashed through airport security to plant a festive kiss on his crush, Joanna. Now 35, actor Thomas Brodie-Sangster has enjoyed major film success in Nanny McPhee, Nowhere Boy and Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, and secured the highly sought role of Jojen Reed in Game of Thrones.
In the summer of 2024, Thomas tied the knot with Elon Musk’s former wife, Talulah Riley, with whom he starred alongside in Danny Boyle’s 2022 Sex Pistols series Pistol.
He played Malcolm McLaren whilst she portrayed legendary fashion designer Vivienne Westwood. However, one aspect that continues to captivate fans is the minimal age difference between Thomas and his Love Actually co-star Keira Knightley. He was merely 13 when he portrayed Sam, whilst Keira was 18 when she assumed the role of newly married Juliet, making her only five years his senior.
Mark – Andrew Lincoln
Unlucky Mark was desperately smitten with Juliet (Keira Knightley), who unfortunately happened to be wed to his best mate. Following months of attempting to steer clear of the woman he adored, he eventually confessed his feelings using a series of handwritten signs. However, despite the romantic gesture, Andrew, now 52, believed his character came across as a bit of a “creepy stalker”.
“In one of the most romantic movies of all time, I got to play the only guy who doesn’t get the girl,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “The story is set up like a prism, looking at all the different qualities of love. Mine was unrequited. So I got to be this weird stalker guy.” Andrew subsequently became a massive Hollywood name thanks to his portrayal of Rick Grimes in the hit zombie apocalypse drama, The Walking Dead.
Earlier this year he returned to British television for the first time in 15 years with the new ITV thriller Coldwater – much to the horror of his children. Lincoln revealed that at one point in the show his character is shown masturbating on screen, and he felt obliged to warn his children about this scene in advance. Unfortunately, that conversation didn’t go according to plan.
“I said to Arthur, ‘How would you feel about me pleasuring myself on national television?’ And he said, ‘What do you think?'” Lincoln shared. The actor, who shares children Matilda, 17, and Arthur, 15, with wife Gael Anderson, added: “My children haven’t talked to me since I did the job. My son just said, ‘Can you just not have waited for three years until I was through school?'”
Mia – Heike Makatsch
Heike Makatsch portrayed workplace seductress Mia, who tempted her married superior Harry, and persuaded him to purchase her a necklace, leaving his devoted wife Karen heartbroken when she discovered the affair.
At the time, the German star was in a seven-year romance with James Bond actor Daniel Craig, and later gained recognition as Lisa Addison in 2002’s Resident Evil. She parted ways with Daniel in 2004 and subsequently tied the knot with German indie musician Max Martin Schröder, with whom she had three children.
The marriage ended after a decade together, and Heike, now 54 and based in Berlin, is in a relationship with fellow actor Trystan Putter.
Joanna – Olivia Olson
American character Joanna captured Sam’s affections following that show-stopping school rendition of Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas. Following Love Actually, the California-born actress lent her voice to Disney’s hit animated series Phineas and Ferb between 2007 and 2015.
She went on to voice Bliss in The Powerpuff Girls reboot, and has provided character voices for numerous video games, including titles from the Adventure Time franchise and Lego Dimensions.
In 2017, Olivia revisited her Love Actually character by appearing in the film’s sequel for Red Nose Day on BBC One, revealing she’d harboured genuine romantic feelings for Thomas, who had been her first kiss.
Speaking about their reunion, she confessed to E! News: “I was really nervous because I kind of had a crush on Thomas back in the day, and I was also worried because I was taller than him.”
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Now aged 33, she previously competed on X Factor Celebrity but was reduced to tears when Simon Cowell eliminated her during the opening live show.
Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplc.com. Follow Mirror Celebs onSnapchat,Instagram,Twitter,Facebook,YouTubeandThreads.
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Ukraine, Kyiv, and a menacing ultimatum for Ukraine could not be worse.
As civilians in the city of Zaporizhzhia hear new, harrowing notes in their almost nightly cannonade, the sound of heavy gliding bombs, Russian troops, drones, and fog-generating robots have slammed the southeast of the front line.
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As the sun sets at 4 p.m. and the night temperatures drop below freezing, Russian shelling continues to destroy Ukraine’s transmission and power infrastructure, causing hours-long blackouts.
Following overnight Russian attacks in Kyiv, at least six people were killed, and Ukraine was in a state of mourning again on Tuesday. At least three people were killed in a Ukrainian drone attack in the southern Rostov region in Russia.
Trump’s strategy, which favors Russia’s involvement in the war, is a bitter reality check and a squandered opportunity, in the eyes of some Ukrainian service members.
Bohdan, a Ukrainian drone operator on leave from the eastern front, told Al Jazeera that the collective West’s “helplessness and cynicism are endless.”
He said, “They kept withholding military aid, couldn’t agree on how to respond, and we kept paying for their indecisiveness with our blood, the blood of our children,” while keeping his last name under wraps, as per rules of the wartime.
Russian missile attack that morning in Ternopil, Ukraine, November 19, 2025 [Andriy Bodak/Reuters] causes smoke to rise from an apartment building.
He maintains some optimism, stating that Moscow’s potential is limitless.
They seized 1% of our territory three years ago, and it resulted in a million soldiers being killed or wounded, according to Bohdan.
Russian forces withdrew from areas in the east and south of Kyiv, northern Ukraine, and all of its regions in the wake of overwhelming successes in early 2022.
Every town they seized since then is said to have cost them tens of thousands of service members.
He sarcastically joked, “At that rate, they will have wasted every Russian man, and it still won’t conquer us.”
The US “wants us to capitulate.”
Ukraine has been roiled by a corruption scandal involving Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s closest allies, who came to power in 2019 on an anticorruption ticket.
Ukrainians were gutted and betrayed when Trump threatened to freeze military aid if Kyiv refused to sign it by Thursday, November 27 when he offered a 28-point peace plan.
“Everything is against us, everyone is against us.” And now, the White House’s halfwit wants us to capitulate. Yevheniya Demyanenko, 42, a seller of seeds, pots, and fertilizer in southeast Kyiv, said, “Again.”
She questioned Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had been huddled in a warm overcoat, about having “something so disgustingly compromising on]Trump] that he betrays everything that America is built on as a gasoline-fueled power generator rattled outside her shop while a pale lamp, a small heater, and electronic devices.
Later, Washington claimed that the deadline was “fluid.”
According to a Kyiv-based analyst, Trump’s plan resembles the Kremlin’s wish list, with few security guarantees for Ukraine and short, vague clauses.
In the event that Ukraine “attacks” Russia, Kyiv forfeits its undefined security guarantees. Another requirement that Ukraine make clear in its constitution is that it disband NATO.
The plan, according to a former Russian diplomat, is a triple success in terms of Ukraine, Washington’s diplomacy, and Europe’s entire security structure.
Boris Bondarev, who resigned from his position at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in protest of Moscow’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, claimed that the plan “restricts Ukraine’s sovereignty, offers no credible security guarantees, and signals Washington’s willingness to give ground to the Kremlin.”
Putin sees it as a case in point for the US’s weakness and as a chance for NATO to reform its entire security structure, he said.
The proposal’s “victim and the aggressor were equal,” said Mariia Kucherenko, an expert with the Come Back Alive think tank.
Has Ukraine ever attacked Russia? Or do they refer to “efforts to reclaim occupied Ukrainian territories”?
She also criticized a provision that stated that Washington would “de facto recognize” the Donbass and the southeast of Luhansk and Donetsk as being Russian.
About three-quarters of Donetsk and the majority of Luhansk are controlled by Russia, and Kyiv wants to cede the rest, including fortified fortifications and commanding heights that might lessen Moscow’s influence in Ukraine.
Moscow agrees to halt northbound isolation and freeze the southern front-line.
Kucherenko claimed that the plan does not go into great detail about the safeguards that underlie Russia’s “de jure” control.
She also criticizes a laconic provision that doesn’t specify “after what” for the phrase “holding elections in 100 days” in Ukraine?
If there are sanctions for violating a ceasefire, and who would oversee and enforce them? She pondered.
There won’t be a ceasefire, according to Kucherenko, “until there are… answers to these questions.”
She added that any elections held after a ceasefire rather than a full peace settlement run a high security risk for the electorate.
Another query is looming. Who will secure the votes of Ukrainian refugees living abroad or in occupied regions?
Most of the people in occupied areas were forced to obtain Russian passports by Moscow-appointed “authorities,” who would then compel them to resign from their jobs and provide them with medical and legal services.
Kucherenko remarked, “There are many questions and there isn’t a single answer.”
The plan, according to her, resembles a “classic” intelligence operation because it publishes Moscow’s wish list without taking into account Kyiv’s or the European Union’s positions, she continued.
The publication was based on Ukraine’s political and energy crises and the anniversary of the Revolution of Dignity, which erupted on November 21, 2013, and established a pro-Western government.
With all of this in mind, Kucherenko said Ukrainian diplomats “need to keep our heads cool, communicate with European partners, and define the Ukrainian position firmly, calmly, and consequently.”
Ruslan Stefanchuk, the speaker of the Ukrainian parliament, stated on Monday that Kyiv would not consent to granting the country’s 600, 000-strong military vetoes and that it would not accept its recognition of its occupation.
Any peace, according to Kyiv, should be “dignified” and “lasting,” and the plan needs to be updated and refined.
Meanwhile, leaders in Europe predicted that the strategy should include a ceasefire right away, allow Kyiv to eventually join NATO, and use frozen Russian funds to bring Ukraine back.
The response to the US proposal from both the Ukrainian and European countries was described as “a pure ” leave-us-alone ” declaration, ” said researcher Nikolay Mitrokhin of Germany’s Bremen University.
The EU has a chance to accept five to seven million Ukrainian refugees from frozen cities, he said, and Russia has good chances of reaching the outskirts of Zaporizhia and Dnipro by spring.
Following Tottenham’s 4-1 defeat by Arsenal on Sunday, Mark Chapman and Chris Sutton discuss criticism directed at Thomas Frank on the Monday Night Club.
The Football Daily podcast’s best episodes of Monday Night Club are available to listen to.
According to reports, Jeff Brazier and his wife Kate Dwyer have split up and are now married, but it’s believed that their relationship has been intermittent for years.
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Inside Jeff Brazier and wife Kate’s rollercoaster relationship(Image: Mike Marsland/WireImage)
Jeff Brazier and his wife, Kate Dwyer, are reported to have split after seven years of an on-and-off-again marriage. The couple are said to have broken up after a “year of hell” but have had a turbulent relationship for much longer. In recent weeks, Jeff appears to have ditched his wedding ring and it’s been reported that Kate has returned to her own apartment in Hackney in London, having moved out of their martial home.
The pair first got together in 2013. Jeff had previously been in a relationship with Big Brother star Jade Goody, with whom he had two children, Bobby and Freddy. Jeff and Jane split in 2004, five years before she died of cervical cancer. But, on a trip to Mauritius with This Morning, Jeff met and found love again with PR guru Kate. Things seemed rosy at the start. In 2015, he told HELLO! that he was “really happy” and felt “wonderfully grateful to have her”.
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In August of that year, he told The Mirror that marriage was “going to happen” and hinted at children. He said: “It’s going to happen. I think we’re working our way to it. What’s going to be exciting to me is seeing the kids as older brothers, they’ll be incredible.”
Kate posted a picture of herself living with the Braziers on Instagram in 2016. She and her father were depicted in a superhero drawing that one of Jeff’s sons made. She wrote, “I would be lying if I said that sometimes it’s difficult and overwhelming to live full-time with someone else’s (teenage) children. However, one of them does something similar and it makes sense.
The couple engaged a year later. Their wedding took place in Portugal in 2018, but their honeymoon didn’t last long because they both seemed to be having a bad time in 2019.
They had a marriage problem, despite their smallest indications. On Instagram, he and Kate appeared to unfollow one another, and a TV presenter’s representative confirmed there were issues shortly after.
According to Heat, “There is categorically no split between Jeff and Kate,” according to the rep. They have encountered some difficulties, but they are working through them together and will do so in private.
After separating after nine years of marriage and a few years of dating, they were able to overcome any difficulties for a short while. Jeff and Kate broke up at the time, and he left their shared home, according to Jeff’s Instagram post.
He continued, “I’ve been working through my nine-year relationship since it ended earlier this year while also supporting someone close to me who is going through a difficult time.” I recently relocated with the boys to a new city, and as a result, I spend the majority of my time by myself because it is obvious that they are busy.
“It’s been constant change this year and I’m good with adapting but the combination of things have left me low at times. I’ve honestly never felt loneliness like it. Can we put Christmas back a few months?!”
According to reports, their lifestyle differences, with Jeff being more of a homebody and Kate being a social butterfly, were at odds with.
They were back together by the following year, though. In a photo of the two of them showing off their wedding rings that was posted to Instagram, they confirmed their reunion in 2023.
However, their relationship appeared to be in trouble once more earlier this year. Freddy, Jeff’s son, will soon be a father himself, shared a video to TikTok in which he made hints about a rift with his stepmother in June, which was first noted by fans. He listed a number of things he detested, and he also put “stepparents” on the list along with “my family issues.”
Jeff seemed to confirm the split by not wearing his wedding ring when appearing on Good Morning Britain 25 November. Though he did not address the split, the jewellery was no where to be seen.
After rumors of potential US military action in Venezuela, tensions between the two countries have grown.
Venezuela’s “Cartel de los Soles,” which the US claimed is led by President Nicolas Maduro, was declared a foreign “terrorist” by the US on Monday. Washington has not provided any supporting evidence. Although it is not a coordinated cartel, Venezuelans refer to officials who are involved in corruption.
Following a “potentially hazardous situation” in Venezuelan airspace, the US Federal Aviation Administration issued a warning to several airlines.
Following months of military expansion in the Caribbean Sea as part of US claims to combat narcotics, the advisory was issued. Dan Caine, a top US military officer, has also been traveling to the Caribbean.
Donald Trump, the president of the United States, claimed last month that he had authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela. This highlights how US intervention has historically been conducted in Latin America.
A strike on Venezuelan territory would significantly worsen the months-long US operation there, which has resulted in the deaths of more than 80 people in clashes on boats accused of drug trafficking.
The US actions have been denounced by President Maduro. The alleged drug cartel’s designation as “terror” was described by the Venezuelan government as a “ridiculous lie” on Monday to support “an illegitimate and illegal intervention against Venezuela.”
Trump has stepped up attacks on Venezuela since his White House re-election in January 2025, going against Joe Biden’s lead stance on engaging with Maduro.
However, after leftist former president Hugo Chavez’s ascension to power in 1999, the tensions and distrust between Washington and Caracas date back almost a quarter of a century. Following Chavez’s passing in 2013, Maduro assumed office as president.
Venezuela and the US have been at odds with one another since Trump’s first term as president in January 2025, and this is where Washington has come from since the late 1990s.
After disputed elections, Maduro is sworn in for a third term on January 10, 2025. The US refutes the outcome, citing recent allegations of election fraud.
Trump retakes the temporary protected status (TPS) that had protected about 600,000 Venezuelans from deportation in January 2025.
Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang is designated as a “foreign terrorist organization” by the Trump administration on February 20, 2025. Trump would go on to claim Tren de Aragua is Maduro’s front, despite US intelligence officials’ claims that there is no connection between the organization and the Venezuelan leadership.
Venezuela and Washington come to terms on coordinating their first batch of migrants’ arrivals in Venezuela on February 21, 2025.
Trump rejects concessions made by his predecessor Joe Biden regarding Venezuelan oil on February 26, 2025.
Trump imposes 25% tariffs on nations that purchase Venezuelan oil on March 24, 2025.
US doubles the reward for the arrest of Venezuela’s President Maduro to $50 million, designating him as the “global terrorist leader” of the Cartel de los Soles, on August 8, 2025.
Washington launches a maritime “anti-narcotics” campaign in the Caribbean and the Pacific on September 2. More than 83 people have been killed in at least 21 alleged “drug boats” attacks.
Trump confirmed on October 15, 2025, that he had authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela.
Venezuela suspends a gas deal with Trinidad and Tobago on October 28, 2025, as a result of a US warship visiting them.
Venezuela launches nationwide military exercises on November 12, 2025.
US announces “Southern Spear” mission as troops move closer to South America on November 14, 2025.
US deployment to the Caribbean on November 14 through to November 16 will include the largest aircraft carrier ever built, the USS Gerald R. Ford, warships, tens of thousands of soldiers, and F-35 stealth jets.
A Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) is issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on November 22, 2025, warning airlines of risks posed by “heightened military activity,” including GPS interference. Venezuelan flights are suspended by airlines.
Prior to the rise of socialist President Chavez, Caracas and Washington largely maintained economic ties. In the first half of the 20th century, US companies made an investment in the oil sector, and by the 1920s, Venezuela’s oil exports were in the US.
However, Chavez’s nationalization of the oil industry and outcry against US imperial interests in Latin America strained the bonds. In an effort to get the state oil company’s share of all new oil projects, Chavez pushed out US oil giants ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips in 2007. However, another US oil major, Chevron, is still in business.
A look at Venezuela’s and US ties over the past 25 years is provided:
Chavez assumes office in 1999.
Hugo Chavez, the president of the Bolivarian Revolution, campaigns against an anti-establishment, anti-US platform. Venezuela and the US collided in the wake of his early attempts to rewrite the constitution and later to nationalize the oil industry.
2000s – Escalation and hostility
As Chavez strengthens ties with Russia, China, and Iran, US-Venezuela ties become less and less.
Venezuela expels US-backed diplomats and NGOs and accuses Washington of trying to stoke the country’s instability. Venezuela is criticized by the US for its authoritarian policies and media restrictions.
Chavez’s government expands social initiatives domestically, which are funded by high oil prices, but economic mismanagement and corruption start to thwart growth.
2002 – The coup attempt
Chavez is sacked for 48 hours in a short-lived coup. Venezuela denies that Washington supports the plot, accusing Venezuela of doing so. The catalyst for 20 years of mistrust is this particular incident.
2013 – Maduro’s rise
Maduro, his long-term deputy, narrowly wins the presidency following Hugo Chavez’s passing. His presidency is immediately marred by economic stagnation, corruption scandals, and US-to-US relations that are already in decline.
2014 – 2015 – First major US sanctions
The US imposes sanctions and visa restrictions on Venezuelan officials in response to mounting protests and human rights violations.
Venezuela is at a turning point as a result of sanctions that only make the economy worse and cause severe food and drug shortages. The country’s migration is soaring, and inflation is rising.
2017-2019 – Economic crisis
Venezuela’s financial markets are hampered by US restrictions on debt purchase and by US restrictions on purchasing Venezuelan bonds. As Venezuela’s economy collapses under years of mismanagement and hyperinflation, sanctions on oil imports become more severe. In 2019, inflation peaks at 345 percent. In April 2025, it stands at 172 percent.
Maduro’s disputed re-election in 2018 was won.
A political crisis results from Maduro’s contentious 2018 re-election. The majority of the opposition’s primary candidates were prohibited from running, leading to the boycott of the elections.
Juan Guaido, a figure in the opposition, is elected president interim after receiving support from the US and numerous allies. Venezuela’s oil, gold, mining, and banking sectors are subject to more severe sanctions by Washington.
2024 — A rerun of 2018
In a tense election, Maduro defeated Edmundo Gonzalez, an independent opposition candidate, once more. The opposition disputed the election results announced by election officials in Maduro’s favor, displaying vote tallies from various booths that appeared to indicate a comfortable win for Gonzales. The election’s organization received criticism for how it was conducted.
