América Latina & Caribe

cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/21582

This article by Luis M. López originally appeared in Publimetro on January 18, 2026.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo led the presentation on Sunday of progress on the Justice Plan for the Chichimeca and Otomí peoples of Guanajuato and the semi-desert of Querétaro, an event in which she delivered the agrarian documentation that gives legal life to the ejido Nuevo Cruz del Palmar, thus ending a territorial conflict of more than eight decades between the communities of La Petaca and Cruz del Palmar.

“This is a peaceful resolution to a historical conflict, and a debt that the Mexican State owed to these communities,” President Claudia Sheinbaum said.

During her message, the President described the creation of the new agrarian community as a “peaceful resolution of a historical conflict,” and linked it to the constitutional recognition of Indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples approved in 2024, within the framework of the so-called fourth transformation.

“A new community is born here, with legal certainty over its land, after more than 80 years of waiting,” said President Claudia Sheinbaum.

At the event, held in the community of La Cruz del Palmar, in Guanajuato, the president stressed that the so-called justice plans cannot remain only on paper, but must be translated into concrete actions for Indigenous peoples.

President Sheinbaum declared, “That is why justice plans are made, because it is not enough for it to remain in the letter of the Constitution; the government has the obligation to do justice for the people.”

She explained that this justice is built by working directly with the communities, recognizing them, and jointly deciding what they need, the first step being the recognition of their ancestral land. “That is why we are so pleased to be delivering this document today,” he said, referring to the agrarian file that gives legal standing to the new ejido.

At the event, Sheinbaum presented the ejido commissioner with the basic file and the current register of ejido members, documents that formalize the legal existence of the Nuevo Cruz del Palmar ejido, which has an area of ​​569 hectares.

In an interview on site for Publimetro, Sabino Ramírez Infante, a resident and historian of Cruz del Palmar, recounted that the origin of the problem dates back to the agrarian reform era, when a portion of the land was left unregulated.

Sabino Ramírez Infante, a resident and historian of Cruz del Palmar

“When we tried to move forward, representatives linked to the ejido process were murdered more than eight decades ago. We waited 87 years for this great moment,” he said, referring to the creation of the new ejido.

The presidium included federal and state authorities, among them Edna Vega , head of the Ministry of Agrarian, Territorial and Urban Development (SEDATU), and Adelfo Regino, director of the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples (INPI), as well as traditional authorities from Indigenous communities in the region.

Investment & Pending Issues of the Plan

The INPI reported that the Justice Plan has accumulated more than 700 million pesos in investment, with actions in areas such as territory, sacred sites, well-being and infrastructure, in addition to agreements for the installation of community houses for Indigenous languages ​​and technical tours for artisan paths.

With the delivery of the agrarian file, federal authorities brought to a close one of the oldest territorial conflicts in the region and formalized the birth of a new community with full legal recognition.

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  News Briefs

  President Sheinbaum Formalizes New Guanajuato Ejido, Closing Agrarian Conflict of More Than 80 years

  January 21, 2026

  Mexico’s President delivered legal, collective land ownership to the new community of Cruz del Palmar and announced support in housing, youth, community health & artisanal roads.

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  Analysis

  Mexico in the Context of the New Imperialism

  January 20, 2026

  Mexico must overcome the inertia of decades of unilateral alignment with the interests of the US and understand that the nation’s future depends, more than ever, on its ability to circumvent the encirclement that the empire seeks to impose on us, along with the other countries of the region.

• 

  Labor | News Briefs

  Normalista Students Block Morelia Avenues While CNTE Teachers Occupy Education Secretariat

  January 20, 2026January 20, 2026

  Trained teachers were protesting the lack of placements, while the CNTE union demanded the state government meet its hiring and salary obligations.

The post President Sheinbaum Formalizes New Guanajuato Ejido, Closing Agrarian Conflict of More Than 80 years appeared first on Mexico Solidarity Media.

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cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/21697

This editorial by Arturo Huerta González originally appeared in the January 20, 2026 issue of La Jornada de Oriente, the Puebala edition of Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper. The views expressed in this article are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect those ofMexico Solidarity Mediaor theMexico Solidarity Project*.*

It’s important to remember that when Salinas de Gortari governed the country, he declared that his economic policy was the only acceptable one. Like Margaret Thatcher, he championed a policy of more market and less government intervention, fiscal austerity, free trade, exchange rate stability, and deregulation of the financial sector. This led to the December 1994 crisis. The irony is that this policy continues to this day despite recurring economic crises and the resulting stagnation, because it serves the interests of the hegemonic financial sector and international corporations. Despite this, the current administration maintains that economic policy will not change.

The government defends its policies, claiming they are not neoliberal, that they have reduced poverty and extreme poverty, and that minimum wages have increased. While the share of wages in national income has improved, it has not boosted economic activity. This is because, although increased purchasing power boosted demand, it was channeled into imports as a consequence of trade liberalization and the cheap dollar. Therefore, it did not generate internal multiplier effects in favor of industrial and agricultural production, nor did it create more formal employment. What the government has failed to mention is that the social policies implemented were financed at the expense of reduced public investment, which fell by 22.8% in the third quarter… This negatively impacts the growth of the productive sector and the creation of formal jobs, which in 2025 totaled only 278,697 registered with IMSS (Mexican Social Security Institute). This is insufficient, given that over one million young people enter the labor market annually, leaving them unemployed or underemployed in the informal economy, without guaranteed wages or any employment benefits. Without economic growth and the creation of formal jobs, the poverty reduction targets touted by the current administration will not be met. Poverty is not combated with social policies alone, but rather with the creation of well-paid formal employment, which is not currently happening.

The national economy is facing increasingly serious problems. From 2018 to 2024, it grew at an average annual rate of 0.8%, less than in previous administrations, and in 2025 it is projected to grow by around 0.3% . There are no prospects that the current administration will reverse the downward trend created by the prevailing economic policy, which is detrimental to national production, employment, and economic growth. The Mexican Stock Exchange is projected to grow by 34.6% from January 2, 2025, to January 16, 2026, but in a context of stagnant economic growth, speculation is unsustainable, which will cause the stock market to fall and the peso to devalue.

The prevailing neoliberal economic policy — characterized by budget cuts aimed at avoiding fiscal deficits and increased public debt , coupled with high interest rates , a weak dollar (strong peso) , and free trade, where most products from USMCA countries are tariff-free — is unsustainable. It is contracting public and private investment , hindering job creation, and leading to the displacement of domestic production by imports. Domestic producers are becoming undercapitalized, over-indebted, and insolvent, which will destabilize the banking sector.

This is increasing discontent among broad sectors of the population who question the policies that affect them. The unresolved economic, political, and social problems generated by economic policy will ultimately lead to crisis.

Every crisis requires a rethinking and modification of the economic policies that generated it. The problem is that, despite recurring economic crises, the same policies persist, given the economic and political power of the sectors that benefit from them. But this has its limits. The growing problems will change the balance of power. Those affected, such as basic grain producers, transporters, and many others, are mobilizing and demanding that policies respond to the needs of the majority and stop favoring the financial sector, imports, and transnational corporations. This discontent will be even greater when the crisis manifests itself, as international support will no longer be available, given the problems many economies are facing.

Some policymakers have argued that the proposals of critical economists to address the country’s problems—such as drastically reducing interest rates, increasing public spending to boost the domestic market and import substitution, and regulating the movement of goods and capital, including the banking and financial sector —would be disastrous, extremely bad, and would increase unemployment. They maintain that current free-market policies are preferable. It should be noted that neoliberal policies have led to stagnant economic growth and frequent crises. Therefore, the policies that should be implemented to restore growth are those that were in place in Mexico from the late 1930s until 1981, when we experienced an average annual growth rate of 6.4%.

The government cannot say that its first strategic objective is to maintain the trade agreement with the US and Canada, which, although it has increased trade , is controlled by transnational companies , has led us to have less industry, less production of basic grains, fewer formal jobs, as well as to depend on the ups and downs of the US economy and government.

The government’s main objective should be the implementation of monetary, fiscal, exchange rate and credit policies aimed at boosting industry, agriculture, employment, as well as reducing the foreign trade deficit and dependence on capital inflows, in order to generate better endogenous conditions for accumulation and growth.

• 

  Analysis

  Old Wine, New Bottles?

  January 21, 2026January 21, 2026

  While the share of wages in national income has increased in Mexico, trade liberalization, displacement of domestic production by imports, high interest rates & waning public spending hamper growth & maintain continuity with the much-maligned neoliberal period.

• 

  Analysis

  Canada Moves to China, What About Mexico?

  January 21, 2026January 21, 2026

  While it might have been argued until recently that countries like Brazil possess unparalleled geographical, historical, & economic advantages [compared to Mexico], Carney’s recent visit to China invalidates this interpretation.

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  Mañanera

  People’s Mañanera January 21

  January 21, 2026January 21, 2026

  President Sheinbaum’s daily press conference, with comments on filling potholes, US military Hercules aircraft in Toluca, expelling criminals to the US, and electoral reform.

The post Old Wine, New Bottles? appeared first on Mexico Solidarity Media.

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cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/20973

Nearly half a million Cubans marched through the streets of Havana to honor the 32 Cubans who were killed in combat during the US military incursion into Venezuela on January 3, 2025.

The Cuban military personnel who were in Venezuela were carrying out collaborative activities previously agreed upon with the Caracas government. The thirty Cubans killed were personally protecting Nicolás Maduro before he was kidnapped by the US military and brought to the United States, where he is currently on trial.

In Cuba, the revolutionary government has given the remains of the 32 Cubans killed every possible honor. Several days of national mourning were declared on the Caribbean island, in addition to official tours in which the fallen were carried through the streets of Cuba before being laid to rest with all the country’s military tributes.

The large demonstration was led by Cuba’s highest authorities, including members of the government, representatives of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), senior officers of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, and various social and political organizations that accompanied the victims’ families in their grief.

Patriotic slogans marked the voice of the crowd that rejected the murder of their compatriots: “Down with imperialism,” “Cuba yes, Yankees no,” and “Justice for the fallen” were some of the cries heard in the streets of the Cuban capital.

Yudelkis Ortiz, one of the top representatives of the PCC, said in her speech in the Plaza de la Revolución: “These heroes have raised the name of Cuba to the heights of the firmament. To die for the freedom of a brother people is the highest form of living … Our heroes knew, as every Cuban knows in the depths of their conscience, that on this island we are not born to live on our knees, but to die standing up if necessary, defending justice.”

Díaz-Canel warns that they will not surrender

For his part, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel told hundreds of thousands of students, workers, scientists, and artists: “On January 3, 2026, in the darkest hour of the early morning, while its noble people slept, Venezuela was attacked in its entirety on the orders of US President Donald Trump. Once again, now in his homeland, Bolívar’s visionary statement that ‘the United States seems destined by providence to plague America with misery in the name of freedom’ was confirmed. And Ernesto Che Guevara’s warning that ‘imperialism cannot be trusted even a little bit, not at all’.”

On the death of the 32 Cuban soldiers, the Cuban president declared: “The sacred remains of our 32 compatriots arrived yesterday in their homeland, as eternal soldiers of the integration we owe ourselves. They are the only possible measure of the courage and character of Cubans loyal to a brotherhood forged since the time of Bolívar, exalted by Martí, and now legendary thanks to the close relationship between Fidel and Chávez, leaders of regional integration who in just a few years brought literacy, restored sight, and provided medical and educational services to millions of Venezuelans and other inhabitants of our Latin America and the Caribbean.”

He also emphasized that there was indeed combat between US forces and those stationed in Venezuela, despite attempts by much of the international media to promote the idea that there was no confrontation: “No matter how much they insist on glorifying their soldiers camouflaged with helmets and bulletproof vests, night vision goggles, overprotected by planes, helicopters, and swarms of drones amid intentional blackouts, the Delta terrorists’ assault was not the walk in the park they have sold to the world.”

“One day, we will know the whole truth, but even Trump has been unable to deny that several attackers were wounded. Our brave fighters, with conventional weapons and no vests other than their morale and loyalty to the mission they were carrying out, fought to the death and beat their adversaries,” said the first secretary of the PCC.

Regarding Washington’s actions and a possible attack on Cuba, Díaz-Canel stated: “The current US administration has opened the door to an era of barbarism, dispossession, and neo-fascism, regardless of what that may mean in terms of more war, destruction, and death … They would have to kidnap millions or wipe us off the map, and even then, they would be haunted forever by the ghost of this small archipelago that they had to pulverize because they could not subdue it. No, imperialists, we are absolutely not afraid of you. And we do not like, as Fidel said, being threatened. You will not intimidate us.”

The post “To die for the freedom of a brother people is the highest form of living”: Cuba honors 32 killed in Venezuela appeared first on Peoples Dispatch.

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Hoping to get pointed in the right direction for researching Panamas history over the last 100ish years and also specific interests in Manuel Noriega, and how the people of Panama viewed him. Im just unsure where to even start for reliable data for South America while being in the west.

cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/21146

On the heels of another historically hot year for Earth, disasters tied to the fossil fuel-driven climate emergency have yet again turned deadly, with wildfires in Chile's Ñuble and Biobío regions killing at least 18 people—a figure that Chilean President Gabriel Boric said he expects to rise.

The South American leader on Sunday declared a "state of catastrophe" in the two regions, where ongoing wildfires have also forced more than 50,000 people to evacuate. The Associated Press reported that during a Sunday press conference in Concepción, Boric estimated that "certainly more than a thousand" homes had already been impacted in just Biobío.

"The first priority, as you know, in these emergencies is always to fight and extinguish the fire. But we cannot forget, at any time, that there are human tragedies here, families who are suffering," the president said. "These are difficult times."

According to the BBC, "The bulk of the evacuations were carried out in the cities of Penco and Lirquen, just north of Concepción, which have a combined population of 60,000."

— (@)

Some Penco residents told the AP that they were surprised by the fire overnight.

"Many people didn't evacuate. They stayed in their houses because they thought the fire would stop at the edge of the forest," 55-year-old John Guzmán told the outlet. "It was completely out of control. No one expected it."

Chile's National Forest Corporation (CONAF) said that as of late Monday morning, crews were fighting 26 fires across the regions.

As Reuters detailed:

Authorities say adverse conditions like strong winds and high temperatures helped wildfires spread and complicated firefighters' abilities to control the fires. Much of Chile was under extreme heat alerts, with temperatures expected to reach up to 38ºC (100ºF) from Santiago to Biobío on Sunday and Monday.

Both Chile and Argentina have experienced extreme temperatures and heatwaves since the beginning of the year, with devastating wildfires breaking out in Argentina's Patagonia earlier this month.

Scientists have warned and research continues to show that, as one Australian expert who led a relevant 2024 study put it to the Guardian, "the fingerprints of climate change are all over" the world's rise in extreme wildfires.

"We've long seen model projections of how fire weather is increasing with climate change," Calum Cunningham of Australia's University of Tasmania said when that study was released. "But now we're at the point where the wildfires themselves, the manifestation of climate change, are occurring in front of our eyes. This is the effect of what we're doing to the atmosphere, so action is urgent."

Sharing the Guardian's report on the current fires in Chile, British climate scientist Bill McGuire declared: "This is what climate breakdown looks like. But this is just the beginning..."

— (@)

The most recent United Nations Climate Change Conference, where world leaders aim to coordinate a global response to the planetary crisis, was held in another South American nation that has faced devastating wildfires—and those intentionally set by various industries—in recent years: Brazil. COP30 concluded in November with a deal that doesn't even include the words "fossil fuels."

"This is an empty deal," Nikki Reisch of the Center for International Environmental Law said at the time. "COP30 provides a stark reminder that the answers to the climate crisis do not lie inside the climate talks—they lie with the people and movements leading the way toward a just, equitable, fossil-free future. The science is settled and the law is clear: We must keep fossil fuels in the ground and make polluters pay."

From Common Dreams via This RSS Feed.

cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/20169

This article by Blanca Juárez originally appeared in the January 15, 2026 edition of Sin Embargo.

Mexico City. They deny being an evangelical party, or even a right-wing one. But the Republican Party has invited them to the United States, and they will soon accept another invitation from the Israeli government. They declare that there is only one model of family and consider the rights of the LGBT+ population irrelevant. They acknowledge the genocide in Palestine, but claim that the Palestinian people brought it upon themselves. Despite all this, they are the organization that reports the most new members and assert that the money used to achieve this is legitimate.

This is México Tiene Vida (Mexico Has Life), one of 60 groups seeking to become a National Political Party and participate in the 2027 elections. According to reports filed with the National Electoral Institute (INE), they have a strong chance of achieving this. In Nuevo León, where they are credited with the support of Governor Samuel García, they are already a local party. But time is running out to achieve national status; they have until February to meet the requirements, such as holding 200 assemblies.

Also in the running is Somos México, a movement driven by figures from the now-defunct PRD, PAN, and PRI parties, as well as former electoral officials who participated in the so-called “pink tide.” This movement, which has sought to present itself as a citizens’ movement, is promoted by businessman Claudio X. González. Among its members are, for example, Fernando Belaunzarán, a former member of the PRD, and former PRD leader Guadalupe Acosta Naranjo, as well as Emilio Álvarez Icaza.

Another group seeking national party status is Que siga la democracia (Let Democracy Continue), a group comprised of figures who took advantage of the Morena platform and consequently lost their party membership. It also includes politicians rejected by other parties or whose parties lost their registration due to insufficient votes.

Evangelical Hugo Eric Flores, head of the Senate’s Jurisdictional Commission, responsible for determining whether PRI leader Alejandro Moreno can maintain immunity. Predictably little progress has been made on this.

Another organization stands out, with 225,532 reported members as of January 7th , making it the second largest in terms of preliminary membership. It is Construyendo Solidaridad y Paz (Building Solidarity and Peace), led by Hugo Eric Flores, an evangelical Christian. Flores is the same person who founded the now-defunct Partido Encuentro Social (PES) and is currently a federal deputy for Morena.

Like Jaime Ochoa, president of México Tiene Vida, Hugo Eric Flores denied at the time that the PES was an evangelical organization, even though it was openly against the rights of the LGBT+ population, women, and people with reproductive capacity. Construyendo Solidaridad y Paz (Building Solidarity and Peace) has already exceeded the required number of assemblies, with 278 as of January 13.

Between masked conservatism, partisan ambition presented as a social cause, and political opportunism, we could see these new political parties in the next elections.

Jaime Ochoa, President of México Tiene Vida Nuevo León, says the Zionist party headed by evangelical doesn’t “believe in the right or the left,” a tired, old slight of hand that every crypto-fascist groupuscule has used for decades.

México Tiene Vida, Neither Right-wing Nor Evangelical?

México Tiene Vida, as a local political party, competed in the Nuevo León elections in 2024 without winning any seats in Congress or any mayoral positions.

Do you know who else was stigmatized?

“They label us as an evangelical party because the party leadership are indeed evangelicals. We have practiced this religion for many years, starting in our families, and that’s probably why they consider us an evangelical party. But no. That’s not the case,” said Jaime Ochoa Hernández, the President of this organization, in an interview with Sin Embargo.

They are not an evangelical party; how could they be, given that Mexico is a secular state, he argues. He also rejects the notion that they are right-wing, much less far-right. “For some reason, there are stigmas in politics, and organizations are stigmatized. We don’t believe in the right or the left.”

However, last year they accepted an invitation from the right-wing and far-right Republican Party of the United States.

“They asked us to spend a couple of days in Washington to talk about our organization’s project, what we’re doing, and how we started.” What’s happening, he says, is that they’ve “attracted the attention of the administrations of some countries.”

Ally of the israeli Government

In March they will accept another invitation, this one from the Israeli government in Jerusalem. These are invitations they accept “with great pleasure,” he adds. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu considers evangelical Christians to be the country’s best friends.

So-called Christian Zionism is a global religious and political movement. Some evangelical churches support the establishment of Israel in Palestinian territory, attempting to justify it as part of a divine plan. For example, in the United States, Christians United for Israel (CUFI), with approximately 11 million members, has significant influence within the Republican Party and supports Donald Trump.

Unlike most other parties, the vast majority of members (over 175,000) joined via an app, however México Tiene Vida’s social media is almost non-existent: 128 followers on Facebook, 19 followers on Instagram, and a suspended account on X.

In Mexico, there is a delegation of the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem (ICEJ). According to its official website, this organization “represents Christians worldwide who support Israel and stand in solidarity with the Jewish people’s deep attachment to Jerusalem.”

Jaime Ochoa denies that his party is part of that movement. “We profess the Christian religion; that is our religion. We believe in Christ as savior, in the sacrifice he made on the Cross of Calvary for the forgiveness of sins. It has nothing to do with Zionism or anything like that.”

What is your position on the genocide against the Palestinian people?

“Well, I think it depends on your perspective. It’s undoubtedly a genocide. The point here is to seek peace between both nations. We shouldn’t look for someone to blame because when there’s a war, it’s between two sides. So, both sides are responsible for this genocide. And I think it’s very important that both countries, both nations, can reach an agreement and achieve peace for the good of society, families, and children, who I believe are the most affected in armed conflict. And I think it’s unjust. I believe we must strive for peace.”

México tiene Vida’s Agenda

In its declaration of principles, “Mexico Has Life” considers respect for and the right to life “inalienable.” For right-wing parties, this translates into opposition to legal abortion, even in cases ofremoved or risk to the woman or pregnant person.

It also refers to a denial or limitation of sexual and reproductive rights and a rejection of the right to a dignified death. “In our movement, the right to human life, from conception to natural death, is the most fundamental right of every person,” the document states.

México tiene vida’s 7 pillars, according to its website.

It also makes clear that family and marriage are “the union between a man and a woman,” as this is what ensures “the continuity of society, since it establishes a stable relationship that generates life and new members.”

When asked about the women’s and LGBT+ rights agenda, Jaime Ochoa responds: “Everyone has the right to choose how they live their life. We have no issue with that.”

In the event that they reached Congress and a reform was proposed in favor of these populations, wouldn’t you oppose it or abstain from voting?

“No, no, no, no. That’s not our issue. Our issue is peace, seeking a long-term project that allows us to be key players in the global economy, in this globalized system, and to make Mexico a world economic power. I think those issues, I mean, frankly, aren’t even relevant.”

Another principle it declares is the right to private property. The México tiene Vida national project is that “state intervention in the economy will be minimal.”

México tiene Vida has the largest membership

Of the 60 groups seeking national registration, México tiene Vida has the most registered members. As of January 7, it had 249,804 preliminary members, according to the latest report from the INE (National Electoral Institute). According to Ochoa Hernández, by January 13 they had “close to 252,000.” The INE requires a minimum of 256,000, so they are nearing that number.

Based on the figure published by the INE (National Electoral Institute), 72 percent of the signatures were obtained through the digital application provided by the electoral authorities. The remaining 28 percent were collected in assemblies, that is, through fieldwork. The report also details 113 of the 200 assemblies required by the INE.

“We have representation in all 32 states of the Republic, so we organize about 30 assemblies weekly. Sometimes a little more.” They had 70 assemblies planned nationwide for the third week of January.

When asked about the funding for this entire mobilization, he replies that it comes from contributions from their members in Nuevo León, where they are already a political party. These are the people who generously provide them, he says, with the “financial resources to carry out this project. All within the legal framework established by the INE (National Electoral Institute).”

Regarding why seven out of ten new members sign up through the app, he says it’s because they began their outreach efforts in 2020. “When we started this project, we already had a presence in 25 states. We really only had a few states left to cover, and those were covered during the course of this year.”

Let Recycling Continue

Que Siga La democracia (“Let Democracy Continue”), another project seeking to become a National Political Party, emerged from Morena, though not from the leftist movements that formed that party. The group is headed by Edgar Garza Ancira, a businessman little known in politics, who has gained prominence after being active in Morena and, from there, beginning to organize another party.

In February 2025, Morena’s National Commission of Honesty and Justice (CNHJ) initiated disciplinary proceedings against him. Initially, Garza Ancira asserted that with this new party he was not seeking to oppose Morena, but rather to support the project; to be a political arm, he said. Finally, in April, the CNHJ announced that the leader of Que Siga la Democracia had resigned from the party and from his position as a national councilor.

The National Commission for Justice and Honesty (CNHJ) also reported that it accepted a complaint against Gabriela Jiménez Godoy, the deputy coordinator of the Morena party in the Chamber of Deputies and Garza Ancira’s wife at the time. The complaint identified Jiménez Godoy as another founder of the group.

The federal deputy distanced herself on several occasions, stating that she was no longer part of Que Siga la Democracia. In August 2025, Gabriela Jiménez announced the dissolution of her marriage to Garza Ancira.

In its action plan, Que Siga la Democracia (Let Democracy Continue) asserts that it is not subordinate to “any international organization” nor dependent “on political entities or institutes, ministers of any faith, religion, or sect.” However, it states that its actions “will be geared toward collaborating with any public or private organization or institution that uses politics as a means to resolve the economic, political, and social problems in our country.”

According to its report to the INE (National Electoral Institute), as of December 16th it had registered 75,189 members. It attempted to hold 195 assemblies, but had to cancel 76 due to lack of quorum, meaning it had actually held 119. It was 81 short of meeting one of the minimum requirements imposed by law to become a National Political Party.

Edgar Garza Ancira has been recruiting individuals who failed to gain traction in their previous parties and who have therefore switched parties. For example, Eduardo Neri Rodríguez from the State of Mexico, who tried to get the now-defunct PRD to nominate him as their candidate for governor of the State of Mexico.

For a time, Neri insisted he wouldn’t leave the PRD to join Morena. But he finally did, in 2024. Now he’s one of the former Morena members who left that party to try to create another: Que Siga la Democracia (Let Democracy Continue).

Another recruit is Conrado Cifuentes Astudillo, who has been appointed as the national secretary of organization. According to his Instagram profile, Cifuentes is a “life coach.” He was also a leader of the Chiapas Unidos party, which lost its registration in 2024 after 10 years of existence. That party was an ally of Morena in that state.

The official website of Que Siga la Democracia (Let Democracy Continue) is disabled. However, in the documents it has submitted to the INE (National Electoral Institute), it states that it will promote the political participation of women and female political leaders. But it avoids mentioning its position on the right to choose, nor does it adopt an agenda for the rights of the LGBT+ population.

Blanca Juárez is a journalist and graduate of UNAM who covers political, labor, social, and cultural issues from a feminist perspective.

• 

  Labor | News Briefs

  30 Mexican Unions Unite in Face of USMCA & Labour Demands

  January 15, 2026January 15, 2026

  The bloc announced it will intensify regional meetings & coordination efforts, towards consolidating a unified trade union front.

• 

  News Briefs

  Evangelical zionists Close to Forming Political Party

  January 15, 2026January 15, 2026

  Amongst other political malformities, two evangelical groups are set to become national political parties in Mexico, one with ties to the US ultra-right and the israeli government.

• 

  Analysis

  Venezuela: Then & Now

  January 15, 2026January 15, 2026

  The US Constitution denies universal and equal rights at home and protects the military behemoth that denies the same rights abroad. A democratic constitution would create a new political playing field and strengthen the movement to dismantle the imperial war machine.

The post Evangelical zionists Close to Forming Political Party appeared first on Mexico Solidarity Media.

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cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/20338

Venezuela’s oil industry has long been a site of struggle—between national sovereignty and foreign control, between social development and extraction for profit.

In a wide-ranging conversation with theAnalysis.News, Venezuelanalysis founder and contributing editor Gregory Wilpert situates today’s crisis in that longer history, from the Chávez government’s effort to reclaim PDVSA for Venezuelans to the current US strategy of tying sanctions relief to oil exports.

As Washington pushes Caracas to increase production and redirect crude away from China, Wilpert examines whether interim leadership in Venezuela is navigating an impossible economic bind—or whether the country’s oil and sovereignty are once again being bargained under coercion.

The post Trump–Rodríguez Oil Talks Test Venezuela’s Sovereignty appeared first on Venezuelanalysis.

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cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/20267

Demonstrations demanding the United States release Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife continued Wednesday as thousands more people took to the streets of Caracas in a show of support for the abducted leftist leader.

Public workers led a march through Caracas, during which demonstrators chanted slogans—including "Free Maduro!"—while vowing to keep protesting until the socialist president and his wife, First Combatant Cilia Flores, return home.

“Unity is not under discussion at this time," Capital District Head of Government Nahum Fernández said during Wednesday's rally. "The person who conspires against unity conspires against Venezuela."

“The Venezuelan people are going to be in the streets and they’re going to have to hand Maduro over to the Venezuelans,” Fernández added.

Labor leader Anais Herrera demanded the US release Maduro “because he is our president and we want him back, we are in the streets and we will not rest.”

"The president prepared us for this and that is why we are in combat, in the streets with the Venezuelan working class,” she said.

Maduro and Flores were kidnapped by US special forces soldiers during a January 3 invasion backed by airstrikes and an armada of naval warships deployed along with thousands of troops off the Venezuelan coast. The US operation killed more than 100 people, including Venezuelan troops and civilians and over 30 Cuban soldiers and police officers.

The administration of US President Donald Trump has indicted Maduro for alleged conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States, conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices, and possession of such weapons. Maduro has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and has called himself a "prisoner of war."

The kidnapping and charges came amid US bombing of alleged drug-running boats in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, covert CIA operations, oil tanker seizures, and years of crippling economic sanctions.

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez—who is serving as the US-backed acting president—said Wednesday that she had a long, courteous phone call with Trump, who expressed satisfaction with her move to release hundreds of prisoners held for political or national security offenses.

“This opportunity is for Venezuela and for the people of Venezuela to be able to see reflected a new moment where coexistence, where living together, where recognition of the other allows building and erecting a new spirituality,” Rodríguez said.

Trump took to his Truth Social network Wednesday to praise the "very good call" with Rodríguez.

"We are making tremendous progress, as we help Venezuela stabilize and recover," the president wrote. "Many topics were discussed, including Oil, Minerals, Trade and, of course, National Security. This partnership between the United States of America and Venezuela will be a spectacular one FOR ALL."

Amid widespread international condemnation of his aggression, Trump has openly declared his intention to control and exploit Venezuela's vast oil resources, dubiously claiming that the country owes the US for losses incurred by oil companies due to past petroleum nationalization.

Trump is scheduled to meet Thursday afternoon with Venezuelan opposition leader and recent Nobel Peace Prize recipient María Corina Machado at the White House. To the chagrin of right-wing Venezuelans and much of his base, Trump has said that Machado "doesn't have the support" to be the country's next president.

On the streets of Caracas, one protester said Wednesday, "We say to Donald Trump, that miserable invader... [that] Maduro has already proven that he is innocent."

"Nicolás is not a drug trafficker," she added. "I don't know why they haven't returned him yet."

Another demonstrator at the march said, "The empire can do whatever it wants, but we are here to tell you that we are free, independent, and sovereign."

"You can meet with whomever you want," the man said in a message meant for Trump, "but you must meet with who represents our government, and you must release Nicolás Maduro—our president—and Cilia Flores."

From Common Dreams via This RSS Feed.

cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/19982

Background: between official tension and rebellious inspiration

After the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, the initially cordial bilateral relationship between Cuba and Venezuela rapidly deteriorated. With the fall of the Marcos Pérez Jiménez dictatorship and the rise of Rómulo Betancourt to power, Venezuela became Fidel Castro’s main regional antagonist. The “Betancourt Doctrine”, aligned with Washington’s interests, led to the breakdown of relations and spearheaded Cuba’s expulsion from the OAS in 1962.

Tensions reached their peak with the landing at Machurucuto (1967), where a dozen Cuban military personnel and Venezuelan guerrillas attempted to start an insurgency on the coast of Miranda. This event was used by the Raúl Leoni administration and the US to consolidate the narrative of the Cuban Revolution as Venezuela’s “external enemy” and to advance the politics and military strategy of anti-communism in this country.

However, for the Venezuelan left, Cuba was always a beacon. Despite the repression of Punto Fijo democracy, the Sierra Maestra inspired a generation of young people who saw in that feat a model to follow. Movements such as the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR) and the Armed Forces of National Liberation (FALN), under figures such as Fabricio Ojeda, sought to replicate “foquismo” in the Venezuelan mountains, keeping alive an ideological link that resisted the subordination to the US mandate by successive governments.

1994: the meeting that changed history

December 14, 1994 marked a turning point. Hugo Chávez, recently released from prison after the 1992 military rebellion, landed in Havana and was received with head of state honors by Fidel Castro, himself at the foot of the airplane stairs.

That calculated and visionary gesture not only legitimized Chávez as the future leader of the continental left, but also sowed the seeds of a political and personal relationship that would become the basis of an unprecedented strategic alliance.

The Bolivarian Revolution and the Cuban Revolution: a new integration model

With Chávez’s arrival in power in 1999, rhetoric was transformed into concrete action. The Comprehensive Cooperation Agreement between Venezuela and Cuba, signed on October 30, 2000, became the cornerstone of this new stage. An unprecedented solidarity compensation mechanism was established: Venezuela guaranteed energy supplies to the island under fair financial conditions, while Cuba reciprocated with its most valuable capital: human talent and scientific advances.

This exchange gave rise to the Social Missions in Venezuela, the executive arm of Chavismo’s social policy:

Barrio Adentro Mission: Brings free primary health care to the poorest corners of the country with thousands of Cuban doctors.

Robinson Mission: Eradicated illiteracy in Venezuela (recognized by UNESCO in 2005) through the “Yo, sí puedo” (Yes, I can) method.

Misión Milagro: Restored sight to hundreds of thousands of Latin Americans through free eye surgery.

Beyond social issues, cooperation covered strategic areas such as the modernization of the identification system (SAIME), agricultural development, and the popularization of sports.

The defense alliance and the Cuban martyr heroes

The most sensitive and profound dimension of this alliance has been cooperation in security and defense. Cuba played a key role in restructuring the Bolivarian National Armed Force (FANB) and updating intelligence and counterintelligence doctrine, preparing the nation for asymmetric warfare scenarios.

It is in this context of combative brotherhood that the recent event of the 32 Cuban military cooperants killed in combat takes place. These men lost their lives on Venezuelan territory during the direct aggression perpetrated by the United States on January 3, an operation that led to the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and the First Lady and First Combatant, Cilia Flores.

Read more: Cubans and Venezuelans killed by the US honored in Caracas

This bloody event is not isolated; it responds to the historical internationalist mystique of the Cuban Revolution. It is the same vocation that led its fighters to Africa to fight for the liberation of Angola and Namibia and help defeat apartheid. Today, the death in combat of these 32 Cubans, along with more than 50 Venezuelan soldiers, definitively seals with blood a relationship of brotherhood between two peoples who, together, face the most violent and desperate phase of US imperialism.

Carmen Navas Reyes is a Venezuelan political scientist with a master’s degree in Ecology for Human Development (UNESR). She is currently pursuing a doctorate in Our America Studies at the Rómulo Gallegos Latin American Studies Center Foundation (CELARG) in Venezuela. She is a member of the International Advisory Council of the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research.

This article was written by Globetrotter.

The post Cooperation between Cuba and Venezuela: a war target for the US appeared first on Peoples Dispatch.

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cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/19043

President Donald Trump was ripped by humanitarians and anti-war voices on Sunday after he again threatened Cuba by saying the US military would be used to prevent oil and other resources from reaching the country, threats that come just over a week after the American president ordered the unlawful attack on Venezuela and the kidnapping of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

In a social media post Sunday morning, Trump declared:

Cuba lived, for many years, on large amounts of OIL and MONEY from Venezuela. In return, Cuba provided “Security Services” for the last two Venezuelan dictators, BUT NOT ANYMORE! Most of those Cubans are DEAD from last weeks U.S.A. attack, and Venezuela doesn’t need protection anymore from the thugs and extortionists who held them hostage for so many years. Venezuela now has the United States of America, the most powerful military in the World (by far!), to protect them, and protect them we will. THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA - ZERO! I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DJT

Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel rejected Trump's latest comments and threat of military force, saying the island nation was ready to defend itself.

"Cuba is a free, independent, and sovereign nation. Nobody dictates what we do," Diaz-Canel said in a social media post. "Cuba does not attack; it has been attacked by the US for 66 years, and it does not threaten; it prepares, ready to defend the homeland to the last drop of blood."

Progressive critics of the US president were also quick to hit back. Medea Benjamin, co-founder of the anti-war group CodePink, said the "true extortionist" in this situation is Trump himself as she detailed the mutual benefit of the relationship between the Venezeulan and Cuban governments over recent decades:

Trump says Cuba is “extorting” Venezuela.

Yet, it was Cuba that sent 250,000 health workers to Venezuela, lowered infant mortality, restored eyesight, and trained local doctors.

The true extortionist is Trump. pic.twitter.com/79b9IafeSH
— Medea Benjamin (@medeabenjamin) January 11, 2026

"What is extortion?" Benjamin asks. "It's what Donald Trump is doing: taking over those oil tankers, confiscating 30-50 million tons of oil—that is extortion. And saying to Venezuela, 'We're going to run your country." Donald Trump is the greatest extortionist our country has seen."

Reuters reports Sunday, citing shipping data, that Venezuela has been Cuba's "biggest oil supplier, but no cargoes have departed from Venezuelan ports to the Caribbean country since the capture" of Maduro.

Speaking with CBS News on Sunday, Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) said that Trump's threats to strangle the people of Cuba by enforcing a resource blockade was "like magical" in her ears and those of her right-wing constituents who live in Miami's large community of Cuban exiles.

Welcoming Trump's efforts to bully Cuba into submission, Salazar claimed that Cuba's government is "hanging by a threat," she said, before correcting herself, "a thread, I should say."

Oddly—but notably—Salazar continued her remarks by saying it was Cuba that has been an "immense" threat to the United States as she described it as a nation "with no water; they have no electricity; they have no food—nothing. So if you think Maduro is weak, Cuba is even weaker. And now they do not have one drop of oil coming from Venezuela."

President Trump announced on TruthSocial that “there will be no more oil or money going to Cuba,” Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) responded saying “those words are like magical.”

“Cuba is really a center of power for our enemies,” Salazar told @margbrennan. “Now, I think… pic.twitter.com/CSZNRI30lZ
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) January 11, 2026

But progressive voices opposed to Trump's authoritarian violations of international law, his bullying of allies and enemies alike with claims that the US can do whatever it likes in the name of national security and claims of national interest are warning that the threats against Cuba and other nations represent a chilling development that must be met with international opposition and condemnation.

"The US blockade of Cuba is the longest-standing act of collective punishment in the world," said David Adler, co-general coordinator of Progressive International, pointing to Trump's remarks. "It is condemned by the entire international community every year at the UN. And now, the US president is doubling down on this cruel and illegal punishment. Enough."

— (@)

"This is an emergency," Progressive International explained in a dispatch last week, warning about Trump's overt hostility toward Cuba, Colombia, Mexico, and other nations in the wake the US attack on Venezuela and the kidnapping of Maduro and Flores.

"The United States is rapidly escalating its assault on the Americas—and the principle of self-determination at large," warned the international advocacy group. "Under the banner of the Monroe Doctrine, Donald Trump and his cronies are leading a campaign of imperial aggression that stretches from Caracas to Havana, Mexico City to Bogotá."

According to the dispatch:

What we are witnessing today is class struggle played out through imperial violence. The United States stands as the political and military instrument of capital: Big Oil bankrolling politics; arms manufacturers profiting from destruction; and financial power thriving on plunder and permanent war. These sections of capital pay for the policies they desire and are richly rewarded. The share prices of US oil majors soared around 10% following Maduro’s kidnapping, representing a return of around $100 billion on an investment of $450 million in the last US elections.

The government serves its donors, so aggression can proceed without consent. Public opinion has repeatedly shown opposition to U.S. military action in Venezuela — a gap between elite appetite and popular will bridged by force, not democracy.

Venezuela — like many nations before it — represents a different possibility: that the popular classes might govern themselves, control their resources, and chart a future beyond imperial command. And that possibility represents an existential threat to empire.

The group said Sunday's latest threat by Trump against Cuba—openly saying that the US military might will be used to prevent life-sustaining resources from reaching the island nation—should be seen for what it is: a coercive "threat to strangle Cuba of critical energy and resources" at the end of a barrel of a gun.

"Through manipulation, coercion, and now direct military action," the group warns, the US government under Trump "has made absolutely clear its intention to dominate Latin America."

From Common Dreams via This RSS Feed.

cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/18769

This article by Arturo Rojas was originally published in the January 8, 2026 edition of El Economista.

The number of U.S. citizens detained by Mexican Army and National Guard personnel has steadily increased in recent years. Official records, spanning more than 13 years (from 2012 to February 2025), show that 3,526 Americans have been apprehended; more than 80% of these cases have occurred since 2018.

Figures released by the Ministry of National Defense (SEDENA) through the transparency platform indicate that cases have occurred in 24 states; border states lead the numbers.

In Baja California, 946 US citizens have been detained since 2012; followed by Tamaulipas (645) and Sonora (621); these three entities account for 63% of the total.

The other entities where cases were reported were Quintana Roo (461); Baja California Sur (424); Chihuahua (220); Coahuila (110); Nuevo León (25); Jalisco (13); Michoacán (11); Sinaloa (12); Guanajuato (5); Morelos (5); Chiapas (5); Mexico City (4); Colima (4); Guerrero (4); Zacatecas (4); Aguascalientes (2); Durango (1); Oaxaca (1); San Luis Potosí (1); Veracruz (1) and Yucatán (1).

The year 2024—the year of Donald Trump’s election victory and Claudia Sheinbaum’s inauguration—had the highest number of cases with 969 arrests, an average of at least two arrests per day. Compared to the previous year (402), this represents a 141 percent increase.

The arrests carried out by the Mexican Army and the National Guard, as reported, are conducted under the principle that military personnel act in cases of flagrant crime, mainly in application of the Federal Law on Firearms and Explosives, as well as in operations aimed at reducing the rates of violence in the country.

As explained, the detainees and the seized items are immediately turned over to the appropriate ministerial authority, in accordance with Article 16 of the Constitution and Article 230 of the National Code of Criminal Procedure. It is this ministerial authority that, based on its investigations and powers, determines the type of crime or crimes committed by the individuals placed at its disposal.

While there is no official data detailing what happened to each detainee, it can be observed that, as of June 2025, the number of Americans being processed in the Mexican prison system was lower than the number of those apprehended.

Data from the Decentralized Administrative Body for Prevention and Social Reintegration, as of June 30 of last year —the most up-to-date publicly available—, indicate that there are a total of 1,132 US citizens in prisons in Mexico.

The records also show the cases by Federal Social Rehabilitation Centers (Ceferesos); here, Cefereso No. 18 CPS Coahuila stands out, with 35 people, and Cefereso No. 11 CPS Sonora, with 26, as well as Cefereso No. 17 CPS Michoacán, with 17 inmates.

Black Market Weapons

The increase in the detention of U.S. citizens in Mexico, particularly for federal firearms-related crimes, reflects broader dynamics of transnational organized crime and illegal arms trafficking, experts said.

Victor Hernandez, director of the Latin American Institute for Strategic Studies, pointed out that U.S. citizens are a priority target for cartels because of the ease with which they can acquire weapons in their country without raising suspicion.

“With a driver’s license, they can buy weapons at any store and cross the border without raising any red flags,” he explained, while dismissing the narrative that people with dual nationality represent a greater risk, as there is no statistical support for it.

Regarding the role they may play within Mexican drug trafficking, the expert indicated that, while it is not impossible for them to occupy leadership positions, they generally perform specialized roles, such as financial operators, logistics links or hitmen with specific skills.

Jorelvy Calixto, a security specialist and external consultant for Global Thought, pointed out that one of the worrying elements is not only the incorporation of foreigners into illicit activities, but also the transfer of technical and tactical knowledge to Mexican criminal organizations.

“They not only work on illegal matters, they also contribute know-how on new forms of attack, explosives manufacturing and the use of technology,” he explained.

This exchange of knowledge, he said, has contributed to the cartels increasing the lethality and sophistication of their attacks, with direct effects on the civilian population.

The consulting firm identified dual nationality, which facilitates border crossings, as well as the ease of acquiring weapons in the United States and the constant flow of information about their use and clandestine manufacture, as key factors for the recruitment of US citizens.

“What we used to see in terrorist groups we are now seeing more and more in cartels,” he warned.

Both specialists agreed that, in terms of intelligence, it would be essential to have lists of criminal records and risk profiles of US citizens entering Mexico, in order to prevent crimes and guarantee due process in accordance with national and international jurisdiction.

Legislation

According to current legislation in Mexico, carrying and possessing firearms without a license is a severely punished crime for any person within Mexican territory, including foreigners.

The Federal Law on Firearms and Explosives punishes the illegal importation of firearms into the country with prison sentences of three to ten years. The law allows foreigners to carry firearms only under very limited circumstances, such as in the case of permanent residents or those who obtain temporary licenses for sporting purposes.

• 

  News Briefs

  Detentions of Americans by Mexican Army & National Guard are on the Rise

  January 9, 2026January 9, 2026

  Most arrests are related to firearms and explosives, and so carried out by the Army and National Guard.

• 

  Mañanera

  People’s Mañanera January 9

  January 9, 2026January 9, 2026

  President Sheinbaum’s daily press conference, with comments on reduction of violence in Guerrero, phone-call with Brazilian President Lula, Trump’s comments about attacking Mexico, minimum wage increases, maritime monitoring, and García Luna arrests.

• 

  Analysis

  These are not times for complacency

  January 9, 2026January 9, 2026

  US governments have spent two centuries acting according to their own interests, not those of the global community. Someone has to stop the empire and its representatives.

The post Detentions of Americans by Mexican Army & National Guard are on the Rise appeared first on Mexico Solidarity Media.

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cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/18796

This statement was originally published by the Partido Popular Socialista de México on January 8, 2026.

After the United States used its enormous military power to brutally attack the peaceful Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, bombing it and kidnapping its constitutional president, Nicolás Maduro Moros, to move it to Yankee territory in open violation of international law, what followed? Three parallel processes: first, the aggressor country has deployed a campaign of disinformation to try to break the unity of the Bolivarian government, spreading lies about the loyalty of the President in charge, Delcy Rodriguez; second, has expanded its aggressive attitude by publicly pointing out Colombia and Mexico as possible next targets; and third, has shown an open contempt for the UN Charter, making it clear that this power, in its neo-fascist stage, no longer even retains the appearance of a “democratic” country, respectful or guardian of the international order, as it has claimed to be for decades.

In fact, the criminal Donald Trump has said that they have an “understanding with Delcy Rodriguez”, and that now Trump himself has the threads of power over Venezuela and its policies in his hands; a lie that clashes with reality. He also said that Colombia is “ruled by a sick man who likes to produce cocaine and sell it to the United States,” and that “he’s not going to continue doing so for very long”; and that drugs were “entering in torrents” into the United States via Mexico and that “we will have to do something, shortly, about it.”

In synchrony with the White House, its ambassador in Mexico, Ronald Johnson, celebrated the “detention” of the Venezuelan President, Nicolás Maduro; clashing with the Mexican government that, emphatically and repeatedly, by the voice of President Claudia Sheinbaum, and through its ambassadors in the Security Council of the UN, and in the OEA, strongly condemned this act of violation of international law.

In the face of these facts, the Popular Socialist Party of Mexico:

• Denounces to the people of Mexico and the peoples of the world the fact that Donald Trump has become a violator of international law and justice, and denounces the complicit attitude of his ambassador in Mexico.
• Reiterates its demand to the Yankee government for the immediate release of prisoner of war Nicolás Maduro Moros, who remains the legitimate president of Venezuela and remains illegally abducted by the Yankee government.
• Calls on the people of Mexico to close ranks, with the greatest firmness and without doubts or bargaining, in their solidarity with the people and government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela; with the people and Government of Colombia, and with the Government of Mexico, which supports unrestrictedly the defense of national and Latin American sovereignty.

***For national liberation & socialism!***Mexico City, January 8, 2026

• 

  News Briefs

  Brutal Yankee Aggression Against Patria Grande Expands, says Popular Socialist Party of Mexico

  January 9, 2026

  The United States of America in its neo-fascist stage, no longer even retains the appearance of a democratic country.

• 

  News Briefs

  Nahua People of Alpuyeca Seek Indigenous Recognition via Mexico’s Supreme Court

  January 9, 2026

  The Nahua demanded the consultation by carried out by the Alpuyeca, Morelos municipal government to secure Indigenous rights five years ago to no avail.

• 

  News Briefs

  Detentions of Americans by Mexican Army & National Guard are on the Rise

  January 9, 2026January 9, 2026

  Most arrests are related to firearms and explosives, and so carried out by the Army and National Guard.

The post Brutal Yankee Aggression Against Patria Grande Expands, says Popular Socialist Party of Mexico appeared first on Mexico Solidarity Media.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/10317317

San Juan, Jan. 8 (Prensa Latina) The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) today categorically rejected the conduct of military exercises in public spaces in Puerto Rico, following an announcement by the U.S. Army Reserve.

The executive director of the ACLU of Puerto Rico, Annette Martínez Orabona, warned that the military presence in civilian areas is unjustified and poses a direct threat to the constitutional rights of citizens.

Since August 2025, there has been a steady increase in the U.S. military presence on the coasts and in the airspace of the Puerto Rican archipelago, a situation that now extends to public roads.

"The pattern of increased military presence shows an unprecedented remilitarization, which has turned the entire territory into a floating military base," said the lawyer, arguing that there is no reason to justify the military presence in civilian areas, from main roads to squares and any other public space.

The organization she represents is making an urgent appeal to citizens not to "normalize" the presence of soldiers, military vehicles, and war material in areas of civilian use, while warning of the dangers of militarization in this country, which has been under Washington's colonial rule for 127 years.

"Puerto Rico already experienced a similar military presence for decades in Vieques and Culebra, experiences that were marked by multiple human rights violations and whose effects still persist," Martínez Orabona pointed out, noting that this motivated a strong mobilization of the people to end the practices of the U.S. Navy in the island municipalities and the closure of the Roosevelt Roads naval base, which has once again been used to attack the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

According to the ACLU, the Trump administration favors the normalization of military policing as a control strategy, a practice that aims to weaken fundamental constitutional protections, particularly freedom of expression.

cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/18305

Colombian President Gustavo Petro struck a relatively diplomatic tone Wednesday at a rally in Bogotá, where he spoke about the Trump administration's threats to launch military strikes against his country—but thousands of people who gathered in the Colombian capital and across the country were happy to say exactly what they thought of US President Donald Trump's recent attack on neighboring Venezuela and his saber-rattling across Latin America.

"He’s a maniac,” 67-year-old José Silva told the Guardian at a march in the border city of Cúcuta. “The US Congress needs to do something to get him out of the presidency... He’s a thug.”

“Trump is the devil," another marcher, Janet Chacón, told the outlet.

And demonstrators held English-language signs proclaiming, "Yankees Go Home!" as well as banners reading, “Fuera los yanquis!" or "Out with the Yanks!"

Colombians were rallying after Petro called for a mass mobilization days after Trump ordered a military attack in Venezuela, including a bombing and the abduction of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Maduro and Flores have pleaded not guilty to narco-terrorism charges in a court in New York City, while Trump and other White House officials have made clear in recent days that their objective in Venezuela is not to stop drug trafficking—a crime in which the country is not significantly involved—but to take control of its oil reserves.

Colombians marched together with Venezuelans in Cúcuta, with one man telling Reuters, "If they kidnap your president, they kidnap the entire homeland."

Protesters gathered at the Simon Bolivar Bridge in Cucuta, Colombia, to demonstrate against US President Donald Trump, responding to a call by Colombian President Gustavo Petro under the slogan 'Colombia is free and sovereign' pic.twitter.com/y5FIMweCbN
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 8, 2026

Soon after invading Venezuela, Trump and other officials including Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested they could soon attack other Latin Amercian countries and try to overthrow their leaders.

Officials in Cuba's socialist government, said Rubio, are "in a lot of trouble," while Trump said the US is "going to have to do something" about drug cartels operating in Mexico.

Regarding Colombia, Trump cited no evidence as he accused the left-wing Petro of "making cocaine and selling it to the United States" and said an invasion of the country "sounds good to me." Petro has not been linked to the drug trade in Colombia.

Petro has vehemently condemned Trump's escalation in Latin America in recent months and has accused the president of murder in the Caribbean, where the US has bombed dozens of boats and killed more than 100 people since September, accusing them of drug trafficking without releasing any evidence.

After the Venezuela attack and the threats toward other countries in the region, Petro warned that Trump had awakened a "jaguar," referring to the opposition of the public in Colombia and across Latin American regarding US imperialism.

After calling on Colombians to take to the streets, Petro spoke to Trump on the phone at the US president's request and accepted an invitation to the White House. Trump said it was "a great honor" to speak with the Colombian leader.

Petro told protesters in Bogotá that the speech he had planned to give had been "quite harsh."

“For 34 years, peace has been my priority,” he said. “And I know that peace is found through dialogue. That is why I accept President Trump’s proposal to talk.”

"If there is no dialogue, there is war. The history of Colombia has taught us that," the president added.

But he also made clear to thousands of supporters, many of whom carried placards with pictures of Petro, that “what happened in Venezuela was, in my opinion, illegal."

"We cannot lower our guard," he said. “Words need to be followed by deeds."

In Cúcuta, a teacher named Marta Jiménez denounced a number of European leaders who have refused to clearly condemn Trump's invasion of Venezuela's neighbor, even as legal scholars have said it was a clear violation of the United Nations Charter.

“They are leaving him to fly, free as a bird over every single country, to do whatever he likes," she said, expressing concern that Trump's next target "might be Nicaragua, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru—any of them."

En Colombia, la sociedad salió masivamente en 12 ciudades, para rechazar la injerencia y las amenazas del presidente de EEUU. Se trató de una jornada con mensajes en favor de la unidad de los pueblos de Nuestra América y El Caribe. @teleSURtv @TobarteleSUR @petrogustavo pic.twitter.com/0RD4QvjHsu
— teleSUR Colombia (@teleSURColombia) January 8, 2026

Protests were also held this week in countries including Argentina and Brazil, with demonstrators expressing solidarity with the rest of Latin America in light of Trump's threats and attacks.

“The message from the people of Latin America is: ‘Donald Trump, get your hands off Latin America,'" Brazilian Congressman Reimont Otoni said at a rally outside the US consulate in Rio de Janeiro. "Latin America isn’t the [United States'] backyard."

From Common Dreams via This RSS Feed.

cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/18308

On January 5, Delcy Rodríguez assumed the presidency of Venezuela. The former vice president swore before parliament that she would uphold the constitution and the sovereignty of the nation after the US attack on January 3, in which the US military took President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores prisoner.

The president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, urged the president to protect Venezuela “for her honor, for the people of Venezuela, for the example of the Liberators of America to zealously guard our sacred territory.”

Delcy Rodríguez stated that she accepted the task under very difficult circumstances, but that she would not rest until Venezuela was a free, sovereign, and independent nation. “I come with pain for the suffering that has been caused to the Venezuelan people after an illegitimate military aggression against our homeland. [There are] two heroes whom we have as hostages in the United States of America: President Nicolás Maduro and the first combatant of this country, Cilia Flores,” she told Venezuelan parliamentarians.

Rodríguez also promised to ensure an administration that guarantees peace for Venezuelans: “[We will build] a government that provides social happiness, political stability, and political security. [I ask all sectors of Venezuelan society to] move Venezuela forward in these terrible times of threat to the stability and peace of the nation.”

Although Rodríguez initially stated in a Council of Ministers meeting that Venezuela has only one president, Nicolás Maduro, a Supreme Court ruling ordered the vice president to assume the office of president to avoid a power vacuum.

The weight of the most dangerous presidency on the planet

Rodríguez has insisted in her recent speeches that her administration does not imply a break with the Chavista process. In this regard, she has taken every opportunity to demand Maduro’s release and condemn the US military attack. On January 6, Rodríguez declared seven days of national mourning for the death of the “young martyrs” who “gave their lives defending Venezuela and President Nicolás Maduro.”

However, Rodríguez has now inherited an extremely difficult task while in the crosshairs of the most powerful army in the world. Trump himself demanded “full access” to natural resources, while warning of new attacks: “If [the new government] doesn’t behave, we will launch a second attack.”

Trump also stated that major US oil companies will begin operating in Venezuela and that, in addition to making significant profits, they will have to rebuild the South American country’s oil industry.

It is not yet clear what agreements Rodríguez has reached with a US administration that has demonstrated its military power and whose pressure on Caracas has reached levels of violence never before seen against Venezuela.

In this regard, with the threat of more deadly attacks on one hand, a virtually devastated air defense system on the other, and the top leader of Chavismo under arrest, Rodríguez does not have much room for maneuver or negotiation.

Hence, Trump has assured that Venezuela will deliver between 30 and 50 million barrels of oil (worth USD 2.8 billion) in the coming months, and news about the negotiations was confirmed by Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA on Wednesday, January 8.

However, it appears that the Trump administration also recognizes, for the time being, Chavismo as the primary national actor with whom it can negotiate and achieve its geopolitical and economic objectives. Trump has publicly rejected María Corina Machado as the new leader of Venezuela and the idea that elections should be called immediately.

Read more: The current situation in Venezuela: a government in charge, a people resilient

But it is still too early to draw conclusions in a situation that remains unclear amid the dust of missiles, gunfire, and collapsed buildings following the January 3 attack. What is certain is that communication channels have not been closed, nor have the agreements that, it seems, will continue to be made to avoid a new military scenario.

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Caracas, January 6, 2025 (venezuelanalysis.com) – The Brazilian government will send medical equipment and medicine to Venezuela in the wake of the January 3 US bombings against military sites and other infrastructure.

Brazilian Health Minister Alexandre Padilha made the announcement Tuesday, invoking humanitarian reasons as well as regional health concerns, after medicine warehouses in Venezuela’s La Guaira state were destroyed by the US attacks.

“We are trying to mobilize, via the public healthcare sector and private companies, dialysis supplies and medicines to support the Venezuelan people after this distribution center was targeted,” Padilha said in a press conference.

The minister recalled Venezuelan solidarity in shipping oxygen to the Brazilian city of Manaus in 2021 during a coronavirus crisis. Venezuela’s eastern neighbor will also deploy healthcare professionals as part of its solidarity efforts.

The offer of assistance follows the Lula da Silva government’s firm condemnation of the US strikes and kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores as “unacceptable” and a “dangerous precedent for the international community.”

According to local reports, the warehouses belonging to the Venezuelan Social Security Institute (IVSS) were destroyed during the US bombing of La Guaira port in the early hours of Saturday.

In a statement, the IVSS reported that the lost supplies were destined for renal patients and denounced the “terrorist character of the US government” in targeting healthcare facilities.

Nelare Bermúdez, from La Guaira state’s healthcare authority, said that three-months worth of medicines for renal patients had been lost. Nevertheless, she vowed that authorities will work to ensure that healthcare services are not affected.

Venezuela has an estimated 16,000 patients suffering from chronic kidney conditions. The direct destruction of supplies adds to difficulties chronic patients already face under US sanctions. A 2018 CEPR report found that 300,000 Venezuelans with heart and other conditions were at risk as a consequence of US economic coercive measures.

In recent years, sanctions have also seen Venezuelan authorities face prohibitions, delays and overpricing in acquiring medical equipment and medicines. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Venezuela suffered delays in securing necessary vaccines.

Washington’s January 3 attacks have killed a reported 80 people, with 32 Cuban nationals confirmed dead. Venezuelan authorities have yet to disclose information on damages and casualties from the strikes.

On Tuesday, Acting President Delcy Rodríguez decreed seven days of mourning in honor of the Venezuelans killed in the US military operation.

“Our young martyrs gave their lives to defend our country,” Rodríguez told reporters. “My heart was broken by the images of the fallen bodies but I know they sacrificed themselves for the values of this nation.”

Rodríguez was sworn in on Monday after the Supreme Court declared a “temporary absence” in the Venezuelan presidency. Maduro, as well as First Lady and legislator Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty to charges including cocaine importation conspiracy during their arraignment hearing on January 5.

The USmilitary operations followed months of buildup and regime-change threats from the Trump administration. The US president has threatened Rodríguez and the Venezuelan government to accept US demands, including favorable oil deals.

[UPDATE: Venezuelan authorities reported the arrival of a shipment with supplies for dialysis patients on Tuesday night at Maiquetía airport but did not specify its origin and contents.]

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Below we publish the transcript of a speech by Myriam Bregman, a socialist congressional deputy and former presidential candidate in Argentina. Bregman is a member of the Partido de Los Trabajadores Socialistas (PTS), which is Left Voice’s sister organization. As a socialist elected, Bregman called for a general strike across Latin America, and internationally organized mobilized led by workers as the way to defeat Trump’s attacks on Venezuela and broader imperialist threats against Latin America. We’ve also published a video of the speech below:

Good afternoon, comrades. Today we have to be here in front of the U.S. Embassy again to denounce a very serious event: The direct military interference of the United States in Venezuela with the kidnapping of President Maduro.

You know that we have always been left-wing opponents of the Venezuelan regime, of Maduro’s regime, but in no way does that prevent us from seeing what is happening today. Trump, as rarely in history, has been explicit. He said he was coming for oil, he said he wanted to lead the country directly. He didn’t use arguments like in other times, like they used in Iraq, masquerading as the defense of democracy or human rights. He thinks he is unpunishable. He thinks he’s all-powerful. That is why the task ahead of us is very important.

Throughout all of Latin America it is important, but for our country even more so, because our country has a colonial occupation in Malvinas. We have to unite this fight with the cry, “English of the Malvinas.” For us this is a vital thing. It’s part of our people’s history.

We are not alone in this fight. We have to unite for an international day. All the peoples of Latin America, with the working class at the head, can build a general strike in each of our countries. Unite continentally and start standing up to Trump. We will not stop him with speeches. Some believe that by tweeting they are going to stop Trump. We have to take to the street. Everyone must be there.

We have to join together the United States’s own working class, with those young people from the United States themselves who say “No Kings, we don’t want authoritarian figures like Trump,” with the youth that has come out both under the Democratic government and under Trump to say, “NO” to genocide in Palestine. Those are our allies.

And with that, we have to seek the strength to combat this U.S. policy. We don’t want to be told that we can’t. We don’t want to be told that we don’t have the power. We must revive our anti-imperialist values. We must rebuild the anti-colonial consciousness because they have done a lot of damage to our country. A lot of damage, coming to the U.S. embassy to toast with the ambassador, having a few drinks with the ambassador. What drinks?! What embassy?! We have to reject this!

It is my pride to have been the only presidential candidate who in 2023 told the ambassador that we would not meet with him, that the Left Front would not kneel before him! We must not surrender with neither drinks nor champagne. We are not here for meetings with ambassadors. We are here to confront them in the street and to tell them, “Yankees out of Latin America! English out of Malvinas!

We will fight them with all our strength! Thank you very much comrades. Let’s build that international solidarity, that unity of the working class, to fight for the anti-imperialist consciousness, because it is not given that the U.S. has already won everything. If we join together we can stop it, and we can tell them “Yankees go home!”

The post “It Is Not Given That the U.S. Has Already Won”: Argentine Socialist Congresswoman Calls for Resistance to Trump’s Attack On Venezuela appeared first on Left Voice.

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Several days after the US attack on Venezuela, the official number of dead and wounded is still unknown. Although attempts have been made to portray the attack as “swift and clean”, the truth is that the death toll reflects an incursion in which dozens of people were killed in just 140 minutes, resulting in an extremely high mortality rate. Nearly 150 aircraft participated in the attack, destroying Venezuela’s air defense system and killing dozens of military personnel and civilians.

According to a senior official quoted by the New York Times, the death toll stands at nearly 80 people during the operation called “Absolute Determination”, whose main objective was to take Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, as prisoners.

During the operation, Vladimir Padrino, Venezuela’s Minister of Defense, reported that most of the security ring protecting the Venezuelan president had been “neutralized”. The newspaper La Nación has reported that unofficial sources have said that most of the dead belonged to the 6th Presidential Security Battalion, which included young soldiers of various ranks: lieutenants, corporals, honor guards, and sergeants were killed in a matter of minutes before US elite troops forcibly took Maduro and Flores away.

For its part, the Venezuelan Doctors’ Network reported on January 3, the day of the attack, that nearly a hundred wounded were being treated after US gunfire and missile strikes on South American territory. This figure, it was reported, could increase significantly once the final toll of wounded and dead civilians is known.

One of the civilians who died in Miranda State during the attack was 45-year-old Colombian Yohana Rodríguez Sierra, who was a self-employed trader and had nothing to do with politics or the military. Rodríguez, who was a single mother, leaves behind three orphaned children. She was killed by a missile during the bombing of television and telecommunications antennas that the US military destroyed.

A relative of Rodríguez said: “They lived alone in that country and we always kept in touch. When the missile hit, Ana, [Yohana’s daughter], who was injured, picked up a cell phone and called us. She said, ‘They’re killing us, they killed my mom, I don’t know what’s happening, but I don’t think we’ll see each other again’.”

Dozens of Cubans killed

For its part, the government in Havana informed that 32 Cubans died during the January 3 attack. According to the government of Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, the Cuban soldiers died during clashes with US troops while carrying out security operations previously agreed upon with the government in Caracas.

“As a result of the criminal attack perpetrated by the United States government against the sister Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in the early hours of January 3, 2026, 32 Cubans lost their lives in combat while carrying out missions on behalf of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior, at the request of counterpart agencies in the South American country,” reported the newspaper Cuba Debate.

In addition, the newspaper reported that the soldiers died fighting against US forces or as a result of the bombing of Venezuelan military installations. “Once their identities had been verified, the families of our fallen comrades were informed and received heartfelt condolences and support from Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, leader of the Cuban Revolution, and from the first secretary of the Party Central Committee and president of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, as well as from the heads of both ministries.”

In light of this situation, the Cuban government has declared two days of national mourning. For its part, the Venezuelan government has recognized the actions of the Cuban soldiers during the US attack. In an official statement, Caracas reported: “The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela pays tribute to the 32 Cuban combatants who gave their lives in the line of duty … They were acting within the framework of cooperation between sovereign states and were carrying out tasks of protection and institutional defense. Their actions were distinguished by their courage, discipline, and unwavering commitment to peace and regional stability.”

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Every day, President Claudia Sheinbaum gives a morning presidential press conference and Mexico Solidarity Media posts English language summaries, translated by Mexico Solidarity’s Pedro Gellert Frank. Previous press conference summaries are available here.

Mexico Defends Sovereignty, Non-Intervention, and International Cooperation

President Claudia Sheinbaum set out Mexico’s position in response to the unilateral military operation carried out by the United States in Venezuela. She reiterated Mexico’s rejection of any form of foreign intervention and emphasized that national self-determination and sovereignty are non-negotiable, and that peace can only be built through dialogue, cooperation among equals, and social well-being.

Mexico called on the United Nations and the Organization of American States to guarantee non-intervention and to promote a peaceful solution to the conflict. Sheinbaum reiterated that natural resources belong to the people, and that strengthening the hemisphere cannot be achieved through force, but rather through shared development and regional cooperation.

Relationship with the United States and National Unity

In relation to the bilateral relationship, Sheinbaum noted that Trump himself has acknowledged that it is at a good point, based on dialogue and coordination. She stated that cooperation—including the fight against fentanyl trafficking—is governed by four principles shared by both countries: respect for sovereignty, shared and differentiated responsibility, mutual trust, and cooperation without subordination.

Sheinbaum rejected any idea of an invasion and reiterated that the Mexican people are united in the face of any attempt at intervention. She also acknowledged former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s message regarding non-intervention as reflecting a shared and widely supported principle.

Energy Sovereignty as the Foundation of National Sovereignty

The President explained that since the AMLO administration, Mexico has adopted a different approach on restoring Pemex, with the goal of ending gasoline imports and producing domestically the fuels consumed in the country.

She noted that today Mexico produces 80% of the petroleum products it consumes, that production at the Olmeca Refinery has already reached 300,000 barrels per day, and that the Tula coking plant is operating at 100% capacity, underscoring that energy sovereignty is a fundamental part of national sovereignty.

Well-Being: Historic Social Investment

On social policy, it was reported that 2025 closed with 18.5 million beneficiaries of the Well-Being Programs, with an investment of 579 billion pesos (US$32.27 billion). For 2026, the goal is to reach 20.3 million beneficiaries, with an investment of nearly 664 billion pesos (US$37.01 billion), in addition to 2.9 million women who will begin receiving their pension due to a lowering of the age for receiving the benefit.

The total budget for Well-Being programs and pensions for 2026 amounts to more than 1 trillion pesos (US$55.73 billion), consolidating the largest social expansion program in the country’s history.

Education and Support for Youth

In 2025, the School is Ours program benefited 75,608 schools, with nearly 24 billion pesos (US$1.34 billion) and 8.4 million students. For 2026, it will expand to 78,923 schools, with 26 billion pesos (US$1,45 billion) and 9.5 million beneficiaries.

As part of Scholarships/Stipends for Well-Being, 128.6 billion pesos (US$7.17 billion) were invested in 2025 to support 13.3 million scholarship/stipend recipients. The Rita Cetina Scholarship/Stipend will provide a one-time annual payment of 2,500 pesos (US$111.47) for school supplies and uniforms. Finally, the Youth Building the Future program will have a budget of over 25.17 billion pesos (US$1.40 billion) in 2026, benefiting 500,000 young people and providing a monthly stipend of 9,582 pesos (US$534).

• 

  Mañanera

  People’s Mañanera January 5

  January 5, 2026

  President Sheinbaum’s daily press conference, with comments on US aggression against Venezuela, relationship with the US, energy sovereignty, social investment and education stipends.

• 

  Analysis

  Bolívar Versus Monroe: Two Antagonistic Visions of America

  January 5, 2026

  The kidnapping of President Maduro and his wife confirms the nefarious expression of a doctrine that considers Latin American leaders as removable when they defy US dictates, writes Mexico’s Attorney General.

• 

  Analysis | Labor

  Workers Diplomacy & Bolivarian Brigades

  January 5, 2026January 5, 2026

  The call from the Caracas Congress for active solidarity and international unity of the working class against the global war of occupation unleashed by the terrorist US government is of paramount importance.

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cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/17503

The events of the past 72 hours represent a qualitative escalation in the 25 years of regime change operations by the US government against the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela. The United States’ execution of “Operation Absolute Resolve”, a targeted bombing raid and the illegal abduction of President Nicolás Maduro, has created a moment of profound crisis but also profound clarity. For revolutionary forces globally, a concrete analysis is required to cut through the disinformation, understand the objective balance of forces, and chart a path forward.

The objective conditions of the US military intervention

In the wake of the operation, there has been great talk of the unmatched military capabilities of the US Empire. But Marxists should begin with an understanding of the political relationship of forces. Under closer examination, that the Trump administration had to carry out an operation in this fashion is also proof of imperialism’s political weaknesses – in Venezuela, internationally, and at home.

The decision by the Trump regime to undertake this operation, rather than a full-scale invasion, is a testament to the power of organized popular resistance. Two primary factors constrained US options:

1. Mass mobilization in Venezuela: President Maduro’s call to massively expand the Bolivarian Militias saw over eight million citizens arm themselves. Combined with Venezuela’s professional military, which has not fractured, this created a scenario where any ground invasion would removed into a protracted people’s war, with unacceptable political and material costs for the United States. There remains a strong base of support for Chavismo and the Bolivarian Revolution, which the Trump administration tacitly admitted when it said there must be “realism.” They admitted that the Venezuelan right wing lacks the support to lead the country.
2. Domestic US Opposition: Widespread public rejection of military intervention, spanning the political spectrum, including significant sectors of Trump’s own base, made a large-scale deployment politically untenable.

Faced with these deterrents, the White House pivoted to a strategy of decapitation: using its overwhelming technological and military superiority to sever the head of the revolutionary state while avoiding a quagmire. In deciding to utilize a “surgical” strike, involving over 150 aircraft and elite Delta Force units, rather than a war to destroy the Venezuelan state, they are tacitly recognizing that it is here to stay. The US has, in the aftermath of two failed and costly military interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan, sought the path of least resistance, preferring bombing campaigns and abductions that can serve as political “trophies.” But underneath the hyper-emotional style of Trump and the hyper-aggressive military tactics – recalling prior eras of “gunboat diplomacy” in Latin America – there is also a reluctance to go all the way to a regime change war. It is a return to a 19th-century gangster imperialism, forcing concessions at gunpoint; this is what Trump really means by “running” Venezuela.

The asymmetry of power and the question of “betrayal”

Although the Venezuelan masses, party, and state were prepared to counter a full-scale US invasion in a decentralized people’s war of resistance, no country on the planet has the preparation or the capacity at present to prevent the overwhelming and brutal force of a US special operation such as the one conducted. No nation, no matter how morally justified, popularly mobilized, or militarily capable, can presently match the concentrated, high-tech lethal force of the US war machine in this respect. The coordinated mass bombing, disabling of communications, electricity, and anti-air defenses, followed by the raid on President Maduro’s secure residence, was an application of this asymmetrical power. The heroic resistance of the security detail, comprising Venezuelan forces and Cuban internationalists, resulting in 50 combat deaths, confirms this was an act of war, not a “surrender” – despite all earlier claims.

This clearly disproves the notion that multipolarity at the present stage can serve as a mechanism for protecting the sovereignty of Global South states. The US, with the world’s largest military budget, the most extensive network of military bases, and technological superiority, has reasserted its unipolar hegemony in the field of military power.

The subsequent psychological warfare operation has sought to sow disunity by alleging “betrayal” or “treason” within the revolutionary leadership, particularly targeting Vice President Delcy Rodríguez. This narrative lacks any evidence, appears totally false, and is also a classic tactic in US military strategy and psychological operations.

The Rodríguez family’s revolutionary credentials are etched in struggle. Their father, Jorge Antonio Rodríguez, a leader of the Socialist League, a Marxist-Leninist organization, was tortured and murdered by the Punto Fijo regime in 1976. Both Delcy and her brother Jorge (the President of the National Assembly) emerged from this tradition of clandestine and mass struggle for socialism. President Maduro himself was a cadre of the same organization. To suggest betrayal among them or capitulation born of cowardice or opportunism ignores four decades of shared political formation, persecution, and leadership under relentless imperialist aggression and the class character of their revolutionary leadership.

The resilience of the Bolivarian State and the tactic of retreat

In the immediate aftermath, the Venezuelan state demonstrated its rootedness and stability. Contrary to decades of US propaganda proclaiming its collapse, the political and constitutional chain of command remained intact. Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, alongside Diosdado Cabello (Minister of Interior), Vladimir Padrino (Minister of Defense), and the core leadership of the PSUV and the armed forces, sought to stabilize institutions, reclaim public space by calling the masses to mobilize in protest, and demand proof of life from President Maduro. While Trump initially asserted the US would “run the country,” Marco Rubio was forced to walk this back. The functional continuity of the PSUV leadership forced this rhetorical retreat. Delcy Rodríguez, acting as interim leader, countered the US narrative: “There is only one president in this country, and his name is Nicolás Maduro Moros… we will never again be a colony of any empire.” In his hasty retreat, Rubio went so far as to publicly discredit their handpicked opposition figure, María Corina Machado, thereby de facto recognizing the Bolivarian state as the sole governing entity.

The subsequent statements from Caracas calling for dialogue and negotiations with the US must then be understood not as capitulation, but as a retreat under duress. The objective conditions are severe. Right-wing shifts in Argentina, Paraguay, Ecuador, El Salvador, Peru, and Bolivia, and vacillation by progressive governments in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico, mean that Venezuela faces political isolation in Latin America. The material and political support it has received from allied governments in Russia and China clearly is not enough to deter US imperialism from another aggression. The continued naval blockade and the demonstrated existential threat posed by further US military action remain the most significant challenges.

Read more: The angry tide of the Latin American far right

In his first statement on January 3, Trump implied that Delcy Rodriguez had expressed a willingness to cooperate with the US and meet its demands. Some on the left believed him, interpreting this as a sign of Delcy’s capitulation. Her press conference that same day reaffirmed Venezuela’s sovereignty and its own demands to the US, including the release of President Maduro. The next day, Delcy, after leading a meeting of the party leadership and government ministers – during which the unity of the party, the masses, and the military was reaffirmed – published a message to the world, clearly directed at Trump and the United States government. She called on the US government to work together with Venezuela towards peace and development, but on terms of sovereignty and equality. This should not be interpreted as either betrayal or capitulation. In fact, this statement echoes every statement made by Maduro over the last three months and throughout the years of tensions with the US. Maduro himself consistently called for diplomacy and negotiation to avoid an all-out war, and had already offered to negotiate comprehensive economic agreements with the US for Venezuela’s oil and mineral resources. If the Venezuelan state were to sign such deals going forward – now with Maduro kidnapped – it would not constitute treason.

In 1918, Lenin and the Bolsheviks famously signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, ceding vast territories to imperialist Germany to save the infant Soviet Republic from annihilation. He was accused of selling out the revolution by the “left communists” in his party, but he compared such a compromise to that of giving up your wallet to an “armed bandit” in exchange for your life. This concession led to the breakup of the alliance with the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries who accused him of “treason.” The Left Socialist-Revolutionaries took up an armed struggle against the Bolshevik government, including an assassination attempt on Lenin as a “traitor to the revolution” that left him badly wounded in September 1918. Two months later, Germany surrendered and the Soviet Republic regained all the territory lost at Brest-Litovsk.

Today, Venezuela faces a similar “Brest-Litovsk moment.” Isolated by right-wing regional governments and facing a near-total blockade, the revolutionary core is prioritizing the survival of the state as a rearguard base for future struggle. In this context, the priority of the PSUV and the Venezuelan government is the preservation of revolutionary state power. As the late Comandante Hugo Chávez reflected after the failure of the 1992 rebellion, “We must retreat today to advance tomorrow.” This may involve open negotiations with the US government that allow for US corporations to have greater shares and access to Venezuela’s oil production under conditions that greatly benefit US interests, among other temporary concessions in the economic sphere, to secure political space and prevent total annihilation. The goal is to maintain Venezuela and Cuba as indispensable rearguard bases for socialism and anti-imperialism in a period of retrenchment of socialist forces in the Global South.

Trump is claiming victory – that “we’re in charge.” He’s doing so chiefly for domestic political purposes. But that does not make it so. Unable to carry out actual regime change, he is essentially using words to falsely declare “the regime is changed.” The New York Times and other corporate-owned media are running misleading headlines and articles that back up Trump’s narrative that he “picked” Delcy Rodriguez as “pliant.” No socialist should have a knee-jerk reaction accepting bourgeois propaganda.

The revolution has suffered a severe blow, but its hold on state power persists. Though the coming period will test its cohesion and strategic creativity, it has consistently demonstrated a remarkable capacity to navigate and overcome major crises. Our role from within the United States is to continue to grow domestic opposition to the Empire’s plans, to counter disinformation campaigns, and do our part to shift the correlation of forces so that revolutionaries of the Global South have the space to chart their own course free of threats and coercion. The revolution is not a person; it is a social process and mass phenomenon. President Maduro is in a prison cell in New York, but the Bolivarian project remains in the streets of Caracas and in the Presidential Palace of Miraflores.

Manolo De Los Santos is Executive Director of The People’s Forum and a researcher at Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. His writing appears regularly in Monthly Review, Peoples Dispatch, CounterPunch, La Jornada, and other progressive media. He coedited, most recently, Viviremos: Venezuela vs. Hybrid War (LeftWord, 2020), Comrade of the Revolution: Selected Speeches of Fidel Castro (LeftWord, 2021), and Our Own Path to Socialism: Selected Speeches of Hugo Chávez (LeftWord, 2023).

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This article originally appeared in the January 3, 2025 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper.

Mexico City. President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo reiterated on Saturday the Mexican government’s condemnation of the United States’ military intervention in Venezuela and defended the principles of Mexican foreign policy, while also responding to recent statements by President Donald Trump regarding the bilateral relationship and the fight against drug trafficking. She stated that Mexico maintains a relationship of cooperation with the United States, not one of subordination.

When questioned about the US bombing of Venezuelan territory, the President stated that the Mexican government had already established an official position through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “We defend the Estrada Doctrine and what our country’s foreign policy represents, which is established in the Constitution, and which opposes interventions and favors the peaceful resolution of any conflict,” she affirmed.

She also recalled that the Charter of the United Nations establishes that there should be no military intervention and that disputes should be resolved multilaterally. “That is why we condemn this intervention in Venezuela and we will be closely monitoring developments,” she emphasized.

Sheinbaum insisted that Mexico’s position goes beyond any particular government and has to do with respect for international law.

Following Trump’s remarks that the United States “must do something about Mexico” regarding drug trafficking and his accusations that the country is governed by cartels, the President maintained that, despite these statements, there is a cooperative relationship with Washington.

“He has told me this several times, however, we have a very good relationship with the United States in terms of security and other issues. There is communication, there is an understanding on security matters,” he said, referring to meetings held with U.S. officials, including Secretary Marco Rubio.

The head of the federal executive stressed that the Mexican position remains firm: “collaboration, coordination but not subordination.”

Regarding the future of the relationship between Mexico and Venezuela in light of Trump’s announcements that the United States will administer that country, Sheinbaum indicated that the issue will be reviewed with her team and the Foreign Ministry, always within the constitutional framework.

She also noted that Mexico is in contact with other countries and that an additional statement will be released in the coming hours or days. President Sheinbaum emphasized the importance of Latin America and the Caribbean acting together in defense of sovereignty, international law, and the peaceful resolution of conflicts. “We will continue to evaluate the situation and continue to express our views on this matter,” he concluded.

• 

  News Briefs

  President AMLO Breaks Silence, Condemns “Arrogant Attack” by US on Venezuela, Kidnapping

  January 3, 2026January 3, 2026

  The popular former President of Mexico has been in retirement from politics, but today advised President Trump to “tell the hawks to go to hell”.

• 

  News Briefs

  Mexican Senate Suspends Meeting That Would Have Authorized Entry of US Military Personnel for Naval Exercises

  January 3, 2026January 3, 2026

  The meeting was cancelled this afternoon, citing new circumstances following US military aggression against Venezuela.

• 

  News Briefs

  President Sheinbaum Reiterates Condemnation of US Attack on Venezuela

  January 3, 2026

  The Mexican President emphasized the importance of Latin America and the Caribbean acting together in defense of sovereignty and international law.

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Caracas, January 4, 2025 (venezuelanalysis.com) – The governments of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, and Spain issued a joint statement Sunday rejecting “unilateral US actions in Venezuelan territory.”

“These actions contravene basic principles of international law and represent a very dangerous precedent for peace and regional security,” the communique read.

The joint statement followed widespread regional and global condemnation of Washington’s January 3 strikes against Venezuelan military sites and kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.

The countries went on to issue calls for dialogue and urged the United Nations secretary general and member states to help “de-escalate tensions and preserve peace.”

In response to US President Donald Trump’s claim that he would “run” Venezuela, the signatories expressed concern over “attempts at foreign government control or seizure of natural resources.” However, the declaration made no mention of Maduro nor called for his release.

The diplomatic response to the US attacks also included an emergency summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean nations (CELAC), held on Sunday, January 4. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil decried the US actions as blatant violations of international law and the United Nations Charter.

“The US has violated the personal immunity of a sitting head of state,” Gil told regional leaders in the conference call. “Kidnapping a president is kidnapping a people’s sovereignty.”

Venezuela’s top diplomat urged CELAC member-states to “take a step forward,” warning that silence would amount to acceptance of Washington’s unilateral acts.

A number of countries, including Venezuelan allies Russia and China, have forcefully denounced the US military operation. In a Sunday statement, Beijing charged Washington with a “clear violation of international law” and called for Maduro and Flores’ “immediate release.”

The UN Security Council is scheduled to hold an emergency session on Monday.

For her part, Venezuela Vice President and now acting Interim President Delcy Rodríguez reiterated demands for Maduro’s release and vowed that the country would not submit “to any empire.” Rodríguez held a press conference Saturday afternoon and confirmed the enactment of a decree establishing a “state of external commotion.” The instrument grants the executive additional tools, including the ability to mobilize troops or restrict civil liberties, for a period of 90 days that can be extended.

On Saturday night, the Venezuelan Supreme Court ruled that Maduro’s kidnapping and rendition to US soil constituted a temporary absence and that Rodríguez was mandated to take over the presidency on an interim basis.

Footage surfaced Saturday evening showing Maduro being walked out of an airplane in New York. He was later taken to a DEA facility before being moved, along with Flores, to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. He made no statements but greeted DEA officers and appeared upbeat in photos, making a peace sign and holding his thumbs up.

The Venezuelan president was indicted by a New York district court on Saturday, with charges including “narcoterrorism conspiracy” and “possession of machine guns.” A hearing is reportedly scheduled for Monday.

For their part, Venezuela’s National BolivarianArmed Forces (FANB) likewise issued a communique on Sunday, rejecting the “cowardly kidnapping” of Maduro and Flores and reiterating its mission to “confront imperial aggression.”

The FANB voiced support for Rodríguez taking over the presidency on an acting basis and vowed to maintain readiness to preserve “peace and internal order.”

The Defense Ministry has yet to provide a report on damages and casualties from the US strikes, though Sunday’s communiqué condemned the “cold-blooded murder” of members of Maduro’s security detail. Unconfirmed reports have put forward a figure of 80 deaths.

Venezuelan popular movements and political parties took to the streets for a second consecutive day on Sunday, holding marches and rallies in Caracas and other cities. Public transportation and retail functioned to a greater degree than on Saturday.

The US attacks also spurred numerous international solidarity demonstrations over the weekend. Crowds gathered in dozens of Latin American, European and US cities. A demonstration was called for Sunday outside the Brooklyn detention center where Maduro is being held.

The January 3 operation came on the heels of the largest ever US Caribbean military build-up, with Trump having previously ordered dozebs of strikes against small boats accused of carrying drugs, killing over 100 civilians. The US president has repeatedly expressed intentions of using military threats to extract favorable oil deals for US corporations.

In a Sunday interview, Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned the acting government in Caracas to “make the right decisions” and affirmed that the US retained “leverage” mechanisms, including a naval blockade stopping oil exports.

The post Venezuela: Latin American Countries Jointly Condemn US Attacks as Interim Gov’t Backs Maduro appeared first on Venezuelanalysis.

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