Category World News

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.

The UK’s contentious designation of Palestine Action as a “terrorist” organization is set to be challenged by the co-founder of the group.

After the Court of Appeal last month determined that the proscription order impedes the rights to freedom of speech and protest, Huda Ammori will file the case with London’s High Court on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, the judicial review is scheduled to begin. Thursday and December 2 are the scheduled dates for the next hearings.

If Ammori is successful, the ban might be lifted, putting an end to a months-long civil disobedience campaign that has resulted in hundreds of arrests.

Since the terrorist organization’s outlawing in July, more than 2, 000 people have been detained under the Terrorism Act, primarily for holding signs that read “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.”

The direct action group’s membership or showing support for them is currently a criminal offense that can lead to prison time of up to 14 years.

After two of its members entered the RAF Brize Norton military base in Oxfordshire in June and sprayed red paint on Voyager planes, which activists claimed were used in Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza, the group’s government suspended it.

In a separate incident in August 2024, members of the group reportedly destroyed quadcopter drones, which the group claims are used by the Israeli military to target Palestinians in Gaza. They broke into the company’s Filton, Bristol, headquarters. 24 of the group’s members are still being detained overall.

Ammori claimed that the Palestine Action ban is “absurd and authoritarian.”

She claimed that “proscribing Palestine Action” was done to combat dissent and defend Israel’s weapons industry.

The courts have a chance to correct the injustices the government has committed and restore some sanity. We will fight the ban even if it doesn’t work, and I’m certain that we will ultimately prevail.

Political conflict

The ban is “political,” according to Defend Our Juries, a campaign group that coordinates demonstrations across the UK with sign-wielding demonstrators regularly being detained.

According to Lex Korte, the group’s legal coordinator and cofounder, “the reason there are protest groups is because our government isn’t listening to what the ongoing protests are about.”

In recent months, thousands of protesters have urged the UK to put an end to its alleged complicity in Israel’s assault on Gaza. They have also received calls from experts of international law and human rights organizations. Shadow R1 surveillance flights over the Gaza Strip are carried out by the UK, which are essential components of F-35 jets.

A direct action group’s designation as a terrorist organization was the first time in British history when Palestine Action was banned. Additionally, it is the first time a prohibited group has been granted judicial review.

According to Korte, the term “terrorism” has always been associated with a strong political connotation.

He said that the inclusion of criminal damage that doesn’t necessitate any acts of violence against people has been criticized as being “too vague” and [of including] acts that aren’t considered terrorist acts, particularly the Terrorism Act 2000.

We’re highlighting the unfairness of the proscription of Palestine Action, Korte said, “by inviting arrest with your behavior and that kind of method.”

UK complicity in Gaza is challenged by direct action.

In a report released on Tuesday, the London-based human rights advocacy group Cage International highlighted the “draconian use of terrorism legislation to shut down direct action.”

“Direct action has never been arbitrary or gratuitous.” It stated that it has been focused on the specific nodes that make war possible, including government infrastructure, manufacturers, insurers, logistics companies, financiers, universities, and lobbyists.

Principled disruption becomes not only necessary but legitimate when conventional channels fail to restrain state-sanctioned harm.

Despite the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling in July 2024 that Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, constitutes a violation of international law, the report asserts that the UK continues to support the conflict in Gaza through military, trade, and diplomatic ties.

Additionally, the ICJ recommended six provisional measures to reduce the risk of such acts and concluded that Israel’s actions could constitute genocide.

According to Cage, there has been a “significant shift in the landscape of activism in the UK” between 2020 and 2025 as a result of Palestine Action. As a result, operations at locations that were linked to the production or facilitation of weapons by Israeli forces were stopped, including Elbit’s site in Bristol, which hosted numerous protests led to Palestine Action’s suspension of operations, some of which came days before the organization was banned.

The UK has steadily expanded its authoritarian counter-terrorism powers to thwart dissent and defuse itself from public scrutiny, according to Anas Mustapha, Cage’s Head of Public Advocacy, Al Jazeera reported.

However, Palestine Action’s prohibition extended beyond what the general public would accept. Because of a shift in the general public consciousness, it backfired. People recognized those who were acting to stop British involvement in such acts so that they could see what was happening in Gaza.

Judges at London’s High Court, according to Korte of Defend Our Juries, would need to comprehend “the gravitas that]their] decision has, both to regular people and their lives as well as to the Palestinian people and the international community.”

Since October 2023, Israel has systematically harmed Gaza, injuring 170 Palestinians and injuring 863 others. During the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, 139 people were killed in Israel, and about 200 were taken prisoner.

As the group prepares to file a major legal challenge to the UK’s decision to ban it, protesters in the country have been detained for demonstrating with signs that read “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.”

As rescuers search for her missing family, a Yazidi girl who survived ISIL captivity films herself as she processes her trauma.