Since April 2020, U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) has seen an increase in narcotrafficking through and from Venezuela toward Central America and Europe, two U.S. government officials said on August 28. “Venezuela has become a criminal paradise […] for narcoterrorists and drug traffickers,” U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Andrew Tiongson, SOUTHCOM [ … ]
Features


Maduro Calls Venezuelans with COVID-19 ‘Bioterrorists’
The illegitimate Maduro regime wants Venezuelans to denounce their neighbors who are sick with COVID-19, calling them “bioterrorists.” Nicolás Maduro’s National Bolivarian Armed Force encouraged citizens to look for sick Venezuelans, saying a returning migrant “is a bioterrorist who puts everyone’s health at risk.” They also provided an email address [ … ]

US Announces Additional Humanitarian Assistance to Venezuela
During a visit to Boa Vista, Brazil, as part of his three-day tour of South America, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced nearly $348 million in additional U.S. humanitarian assistance in response to the crisis in Venezuela. “The United States is demonstrating our continued commitment to the Venezuelan people [ … ]

USS William P. Lawrence Freedom of Navigation Operation Challenges Venezuela’s Excessive Maritime Claim
On September 30, the U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence challenged Venezuela’s excessive maritime claims in international waters during a successful freedom of navigation operation in the Caribbean Sea. The U.S. Navy previously contested Venezuela’s excessive claims on July 15, when the USS Pinckney lawfully and [ … ]

Colombian, Guatemalan Armed Forces Neutralize Narco-plane Coming from Venezuela
In late July, The Colombian Air Force (FAC, in Spanish), during a combined operation with the Guatemalan Air Force and Army, neutralized a light aircraft coming from Venezuela carrying more than 2 tons of cocaine. According to an August 6 press release from the FAC, the aircraft was intercepted in [ … ]

Maduro Hands Over Control of Urban Areas to Illegal Armed Groups
As the political crisis and the coronavirus pandemic worsen, the regime of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro has ceded control of different urban areas in Caracas and the country’s inland to the so-called “illegally armed colectivos.” At the entrance to the 23 de Enero parish, barely half a kilometer from the Miraflores [ … ]

Duque to the Lima Group: ‘Diplomatic Pressure Has Pushed the Dictatorship Out of Its Comfort Zone’
On August 14, Colombian President Iván Duque said that “diplomatic pressure has pushed the dictatorship out of its comfort zone,” in reference to the illegitimate Nicolás Maduro dictatorship, during the XIX Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Lima Group. The head of state, speaking from Bogotá, stated that [ … ]

Maduro Welcomes Terrorist Groups to Venezuela, Says Report
The Maduro regime encourages international terrorist groups to run free in Venezuela, according to a U.S. Department of State report. The Country Reports on Terrorism 2019, released June 24, documents Colombian and religious terrorist organizations inside of Venezuela that are not only permitted to operate in the country but encouraged [ … ]

Half a Million Weapons Seized Per Year, According to United Nations Study
Arms trafficking is one of the main global safety challenges. The Global Study on Firearms Trafficking 2020 points out that weapons contribute to violence and “they are often used by organized crime and they support operations related to armed conflicts and terrorism.” The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime [ … ]

Uruguay Says Venezuela Is a Dictatorship and Will Discontinue Talks with Maduro
The new Uruguayan Foreign Minister Francisco Bustillo introduced the course of action that will guide his tenure and the foreign policy of the government of President Luis Lacalle Pou. In this respect, he announced changes in the country’s strategy on Venezuela, and made it clear that the Nicolás Maduro regime [ … ]

Chinese Technology Helps Maduro ‘Control’ Venezuelans
A U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations report, accusing China of promoting an authoritarian atmosphere in cyberspace, says that the Venezuelan regime has taken full advantage of China’s hardware and services to control Venezuelans. The report, commissioned by Democrat Senator Bob Menéndez, says that Venezuela owns internet and mobile network [ … ]

US, Other Nations to Continue Recognizing Guaidó despite Maduro’s Scheduled Elections
With the announcement by Venezuelan Interim President Juan Guaidó and other opposition parties that conditions do not currently exist for free and fair elections in Venezuela, the United States vowed they will continue to recognize the decisions made by the National Assembly, and Guaidó as the legitimate leader of Venezuela. [ … ]