标签： South America

President Donald Trump has declared the United States will retain or sell crude oil confiscated from tankers intercepted off Venezuela’s coast, escalating tensions with the Nicolás Maduro regime. The announcement came during a press briefing in Florida where Trump outlined multiple potential dispositions for the seized commodities, including potential allocation to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

The Trump administration has intensified pressure on Caracas through maritime operations, seizing two oil tankers this month and actively pursuing a third vessel described as part of Venezuela’s ‘dark fleet’ designed to circumvent international sanctions. Washington alleges Venezuela utilizes oil revenue to fund narcotics trafficking operations, while Venezuelan authorities condemn the seizures as acts of ‘piracy’.

In a significant escalation, U.S. Southern Command confirmed a lethal strike against a suspected trafficking vessel in international eastern Pacific waters, resulting in one fatality. Trump further indicated potential expansion of operations to land-based targets, warning traffickers they would ‘get blown to pieces’ if attempting overland routes.

The economic pressure campaign has intensified with the designation of Maduro’s government as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and implementation of a naval blockade preventing sanctioned tankers from entering or leaving Venezuelan ports. These measures strike at the core of Venezuela’s oil-dependent economy, prompting Caracas to request an emergency UN Security Council session to address what it terms ‘ongoing U.S. aggression.’

Maduro responded through state media, suggesting Trump should focus on domestic challenges rather than intervening in Venezuelan affairs. The confrontation represents the latest chapter in the prolonged political struggle between Washington and Caracas, with Trump having previously doubled rewards for information leading to Maduro’s capture.

In a significant judicial rebuke to the Trump administration’s immigration policies, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg has mandated that Venezuelan migrants abruptly flown to El Salvador’s notorious Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) must receive proper legal due process. The Monday ruling requires the administration to either provide court hearings or facilitate the return of these individuals to the United States within a two-week framework.

The case originated in March when the administration invoked the 18th-century Alien Enemies Act to transport migrants accused of gang affiliations to CECOT, one of Latin America’s most severe maximum-security facilities. Despite Judge Boasberg’s initial verbal order to halt the transfers, two aircraft proceeded with the operation, prompting a contempt investigation that has since been suspended pending appellate review.

More than 200 migrants were subsequently included in a prisoner exchange with Venezuela in July, though the ruling now establishes legal pathways for them to contest their classification as Tren de Aragua gang members. The American Civil Liberties Union, representing the migrants, hailed the decision as a critical check on executive overreach, emphasizing that the administration cannot bypass constitutional protections through extraordinary removal practices.

The White House has maintained that it did not violate judicial orders, though officials declined immediate comment on the latest development. This case represents a continuing tension between federal judiciary authority and the administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement strategies.

LA PAZ, Bolivia — Bolivia’s political landscape erupted in protest on Monday as thousands of miners and union members launched a nationwide strike against President Rodrigo Paz’s controversial decision to eliminate long-standing fuel subsidies. The demonstrations, organized by Bolivia’s Central Union of Workers, marked the first major challenge to Paz’s centrist government since he took office on November 8.

The core of the conflict centers on Paz’s emergency decree that abruptly ended two decades of fuel subsidies, catapulting gasoline prices from $0.53 to approximately $1 per liter. The president defended his decision during a televised town hall, stating, ‘The country is sick and must be healed. Every day, $10 million is spent on a subsidy that benefits smugglers’ who allegedly resell subsidized fuel both domestically and internationally.

While transportation workers and several trade groups notably abstained from joining the protests, miners and coca growers—traditional allies of former left-wing governments—mobilized forcefully. In La Paz, police sealed off access to government buildings as protesters flooded the capital’s downtown. Simultaneously, roadblocks emerged in six of Bolivia’s nine regions, with significant demonstrations reported in Cochabamba, the country’s third-largest city, where supporters of former President Evo Morales blocked major highways.

The economic context reveals deeper troubles: Bolivia’s foreign currency reserves have been depleted by $3 billion annually in fuel imports, exacerbating what analysts describe as the nation’s most severe economic crisis in forty years. This downturn follows the decline of Bolivia’s natural gas exports and has created critical dollar shortages that hampered business operations.

Business groups have overwhelmingly supported Paz’s measures, anticipating they will stabilize currency availability and facilitate imports. Luis Paco, a merchant union leader from El Alto, acknowledged the inevitability of the reforms: ‘We knew that at some point the subsidies would end. There were no negotiations over the new adjustments, but we knew this was inevitable.’

Political scientist Carlos Cordero suggested the protests reflect pre-electoral positioning ahead of next year’s local elections rather than widespread popular opposition. The relatively limited turnout, he noted, indicates weakening union influence and growing public acceptance that economic adjustment was necessary.

Meanwhile, the government has implemented compensatory measures, including duty-free auto part imports for transportation sectors and a 20% minimum wage increase, which likely contributed to bus drivers’ decision to remain operational during the protests.

In a significant policy reversal, Colombia’s government has authorized the use of drone technology to resume aerial eradication of coca crops, responding to unprecedented cocaine production levels that have strained relations with the United States. The controversial program, announced Monday by Justice Minister Andrés Idárraga, will commence Thursday using precision drones targeting remote coca plantations controlled by armed groups.

The decision marks a dramatic shift from Colombia’s 2015 ban on aerial fumigation, implemented after the World Health Organization classified glyphosate herbicide as a potential carcinogen. Traditional crop-dusting aircraft, often operated by U.S. contractors, faced widespread criticism for contaminating water sources and legal crops, prompting environmental activism that led to the prohibition.

Minister Idárraga emphasized the technological advantages of drone deployment, noting aircraft will operate within 1.5 meters of targets to minimize ecological impact. Each drone reportedly can clear one hectare of coca every thirty minutes while providing enhanced safety for security forces operating in hazardous regions defended by drug traffickers and rebel factions.

The policy evolution reflects the Petro administration’s increasingly pragmatic approach to narcotics enforcement. Initially critical of forced eradication methods, the left-wing government has adopted more aggressive measures against cocaine production as rebel groups funding their operations through drug trafficking intensify attacks on urban centers.

This strategic pivot occurs amid escalating diplomatic pressure from Washington. The Trump administration recently designated Colombia as non-cooperative in narcotics control for the first time in three decades, imposing personal sanctions on President Gustavo Petro and threatening military action against drug operations within Colombian territory.

Despite reporting record cocaine interdiction rates, Colombian authorities acknowledge cultivation has nearly doubled since 2016, with UN estimates indicating 261,000 hectares currently dedicated to coca production—primarily in remote, mine-protected areas where manual eradication proves exceptionally dangerous.