标签： South America

BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombia’s National Liberation Army (ELN), the nation’s largest remaining rebel organization, has issued an unprecedented call for a “national accord” to address political divisions, even as it confronts escalating military threats from both Colombian and United States governments.

The Marxist guerrilla group utilized its official X account on Monday to declare its willingness to collaborate with Colombia’s incoming administration following this year’s elections. The proposed collaboration would focus on developing comprehensive strategies to eradicate poverty, safeguard environmental ecosystems, and dismantle narcotics operations in rural territories.

This conciliatory gesture emerges alongside reports that Bogotá and Washington are exploring coordinated military operations against the insurgency. Colombian President Gustavo Petro has previously characterized the ELN as “drug traffickers disguised as revolutionary combatants.

International pressure intensified dramatically following the early April capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by U.S. authorities. The pre-dawn operation resulted in Maduro’s extradition to face narcotics charges in New York, where federal indictments allege he provided territorial protection to ELN operations within Venezuela and facilitated cocaine trafficking partnerships.

In response to these developments, Colombian officials have initiated measures to undermine the rebel group’s strategic foothold in neighboring Venezuela. The geopolitical shift follows a tension-reducing telephone discussion between Presidents Petro and Donald Trump, during which they addressed ELN’s involvement in drug trafficking and potential joint military responses.

Colombian Interior Minister Armando Benedetti revealed that both leaders examined operational scenarios targeting ELN encampments within Venezuelan territory. He emphasized the tactical necessity to “engage the rebels during their retreat phases” into cross-border sanctuaries.

President Petro subsequently established clear preconditions for resuming peace negotiations, demanding the ELN cease narcotics operations, discontinue minor recruitment, and abandon Venezuelan base camps. Failure to comply would trigger “coordinated actions” involving Caracas’ participation.

The Colombian government suspended formal peace talks with the ELN in 2023 following the group’s military offensive in Catatumbo, which displaced over 50,000 civilians. Founded during the 1960s by Cuban revolution-inspired students and labor organizers, the ELN maintains approximately 5,000 combatants operating across both Colombian and Venezuelan border regions.

CARACAS, Venezuela — Despite government assurances of a significant prisoner release initiative, Venezuelan families continue enduring agonizing waits outside detention facilities. The promised liberation of opposition figures, civil society leaders, and journalists—announced as a goodwill gesture following recent political tensions—has materialized in mere trickles rather than the anticipated flow.

Yaxzodara Lozada represents countless relatives who have maintained vigil outside prisons since Thursday, when acting President Delcy Rodríguez’s administration pledged releases to ‘seek peace.’ Lozada described waking freezing on sidewalks after overnight waits, hoping for her police officer husband’s freedom after his unexplained November 17 detention.

While Venezuelan commerce and daily life show signs of normalization with reopened malls, schools, and gyms—a week after the stunning U.S.-linked operation against President Nicolás Maduro—the prisoner release program remains shrouded in opacity. Officials have neither identified candidates nor specified numbers for potential releases, forcing human rights organizations to scour for fragmentary information.

As of Monday afternoon, the Venezuelan advocacy group Foro Penal had verified only 49 releases, including several foreign nationals holding Italian, Spanish, Argentine, Israeli and Colombian citizenship. This limited number has drawn sharp criticism from international observers and desperate families alike.

The UN-backed fact-finding mission on Venezuela acknowledged the releases while emphasizing they ‘fall far short’ of demands for ‘immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners.’ Meanwhile, the White House confirmed Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday, following Trump’s Saturday claim that releases occurred at Washington’s request.

At prison gates, relatives like Jenny Quiroz voice desperate skepticism. Her husband was detained November 26 at his Caracas pharmacy for allegedly criticizing the government in a WhatsApp group. ‘These are two realities,’ Quiroz observed, noting normal school activities continuing adjacent to anguished family vigils. ‘They want the world to see that everything is normal… but it’s a mixture of anguish, despair.’

As security forces deployed to public schools for post-holiday reopening, teachers prepared for student questions about January’s attack—though preschool teacher Ángela Ramírez reported her students displayed more excitement about returning to classrooms than interest in political developments.

A significant diplomatic rift has emerged between Washington and Caracas regarding Venezuela’s political prisoner releases, with opposition families accusing the Maduro government of reneging on its commitments. Ramón Guanipa, son of imprisoned opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa, has directly appealed to former President Donald Trump to maintain pressure on Venezuelan authorities, claiming the current administration has misrepresented the scale of prisoner releases.

The controversy stems from last Thursday’s announcement by Jorge Rodríguez, leader of Venezuela’s National Assembly, that an “important number” of detainees would be immediately freed as a “goodwill gesture.” This development followed the dramatic January 3rd capture of former President Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces in Caracas and his subsequent extradition to New York on drug trafficking charges.

While Trump enthusiastically praised Venezuelan authorities on social media, stating they had “started the process, in a BIG WAY,” reality appears markedly different. According to human rights organizations, fewer than 40 of Venezuela’s estimated 800 political prisoners have actually been released. Among those confirmed freed are several prominent opposition figures and five Spanish citizens, including human rights lawyer Rocío San Miguel.

The situation has created tense vigils outside El Helicoide prison, Venezuela’s most notorious detention facility. Originally conceived as a shopping center symbolizing oil prosperity, the structure became synonymous with political repression under Maduro. Families like Carmen Farfán’s maintain desperate watches, seeking information about missing relatives detained since November 2025.

Juan Pablo Guanipa’s case exemplifies the ongoing crisis. The opposition leader went into hiding after challenging the 2024 presidential election—denounced as rigged by UN observers and the U.S. government—before being arrested on terrorism and treason charges in May 2025. His son Ramón expressed profound disappointment after flying urgently to Caracas expecting his father’s release, stating: “When they tell you they’re going to release your family, everything else becomes small. But when his father was not among those freed, he felt defeated.”

The prisoner release program represents the first major test of Trump’s influence in post-Maduro Venezuela. While interim President Delcy Rodríguez has indicated willingness to cooperate with the Trump administration, her government continues condemning U.S. interventionism. This delicate balancing act has left opposition figures questioning whether genuine political reform will materialize or if current gestures merely constitute superficial concessions.

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE — President Donald Trump expressed strong reservations about allowing ExxonMobil to participate in Venezuela’s oil sector following critical comments from the company’s leadership. Speaking to journalists aboard Air Force One en route from West Palm Beach, Florida, Trump revealed his dissatisfaction with the oil giant’s stance, characterizing their position as “playing too cute” with investment opportunities.

The administration’s push for energy sector engagement follows the political transition from former President Nicolás Maduro. During a high-level meeting with petroleum executives on Friday, Trump attempted to alleviate corporate concerns by assuring direct negotiation channels with the United States government rather than Venezuelan authorities.

ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods presented a contrasting view, stating current commercial frameworks in Venezuela render the country “uninvestable” under existing conditions. The corporation’s representatives declined immediate commentary when contacted Sunday regarding Trump’s remarks.

In parallel developments, the President signed an executive order Friday designed to shield Venezuelan oil revenues from potential judicial seizure. The order, publicly disclosed Saturday, argues that asset protection is essential for maintaining U.S. stabilization efforts amid Venezuela’s history of resource nationalization, ongoing sanctions, and prolonged political volatility.

The White House has prioritized energy infrastructure rehabilitation as a cornerstone of its Venezuela policy, implementing measures including tanker interdictions and assuming control over global sales of 30-50 million barrels of previously sanctioned crude oil indefinitely.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump escalated tensions with Cuba through a series of social media declarations on Sunday, warning the communist nation of severe economic consequences following the deposition of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. The U.S. President asserted that Cuba’s longstanding reliance on Venezuelan oil subsidies has reached its definitive endpoint.

From his Florida residence, Trump proclaimed that Cuba would no longer receive petroleum resources or financial support from Venezuela, emphasizing his message with the declaration: “THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA – ZERO!” The President urged Cuban leadership to “make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE,” though he provided no specific details regarding potential negotiation terms.

The geopolitical confrontation intensified when Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel responded via social media platform X, challenging U.S. moral authority in international affairs. Díaz-Canel asserted that “those who turn everything into a business, even human lives, have no moral authority to point the finger at Cuba.”

This diplomatic exchange occurs against the backdrop of significant regional upheaval. Cuban authorities reported that 32 military personnel from their nation’s security agencies were killed during the American operation that captured Maduro. These personnel were stationed in Caracas under a bilateral security agreement between Cuba and Venezuela.

Trump reinforced his position by stating that Venezuela no longer requires protection from “thugs and extortionists,” instead promising that “the most powerful military in the World” would now provide protection to the Venezuelan people.

The U.S. administration has intensified its pressure campaign against Cuba, which faces its most severe economic crisis in decades. The island nation has suffered from extensive blackouts and critical shortages of essential goods. Cuban officials attribute these challenges primarily to U.S. sanctions, which they claim have cost the economy over $7.5 billion between March 2024 and February 2025.

Díaz-Canel defended Cuba’s political sovereignty and criticized U.S. economic measures, stating that those blaming the Cuban Revolution for economic hardships “should be ashamed” while condemning American-imposed “draconian measures.”

Trump previously predicted Cuba’s economic deterioration would accelerate following Maduro’s removal from power, bluntly stating: “It’s going down for the count.”