Venezuela’s Machado absent from Nobel ceremony but her trip to Oslo draws mixed reactions at home

Venezuela’s Machado absent from Nobel ceremony but her trip to Oslo draws mixed reactions at home

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado was absent Wednesday from the ceremony in Norway in which she was to receive this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, but the confirmation that she was traveling to Europe sparked mixed feelings in her country, where many supported her precisely because she had not left her … Read more

White House says admiral ordered follow-up strike on alleged drug boat, insists strike was legal

White House says admiral ordered follow-up strike on alleged drug boat, insists strike was legal

The White House said Monday that a Navy admiral acted “within his authority and the law” when he ordered a second follow-up strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean Sea in a US military operation in September that came under bipartisan scrutiny. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt offered the justification for the … Read more

Venezuelan leader Maduro may seem desperate. But his strategy of loyalty vs. punishment is hard to share

Venezuelan leader Maduro may seem desperate. But his strategy of loyalty vs. punishment is hard to share

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — English phrases once annoyed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro so much that he urged his State of the Union address audience to phase out words like skatepark and fashion. But as the White House now ponders whether the US military should strike Venezuela, Maduro is embracing English, singing John Lennon’s Imagine, advocating … Read more

Trump threatens Venezuela’s Maduro with ‘the easy way… or the hard way’

Trump threatens Venezuela’s Maduro with ‘the easy way… or the hard way’

Donald Trump has warned Nicolás Maduro he can “do things the easy way … or the hard way” as Venezuela’s authoritarian leader responded to the growing US pressure campaign by urging followers to prepare to defend “every inch” of the South American country. Dressed in woodland camouflage, Maduro said at a rally in the capital, … Read more

Venezuela rejects ‘ridiculous’ US plan to designate Cartel de los Soles as a terrorist organization

Venezuela rejects ‘ridiculous’ US plan to designate Cartel de los Soles as a terrorist organization

(Reuters) – Venezuela’s government on Monday rejected what it called a “ridiculous” U.S. plan to designate the “nonexistent” de los Soles Cartel as a terrorist organization, ahead of Washington’s expected designation later in the day. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier this month that his country will designate the Cartel de los Soles … Read more