The president has unveiled a plan to open Venezuela’s petroleum industry to American companies
President Donald Trump has said the US would control more than half of the world’s oil production if American companies regain access to Venezuela’s petroleum industry.
Venezuela, which has the world’s largest proven oil reserves, nationalized the assets of US companies in the 2000s during the presidency of socialist Hugo Chavez.
Trump cited the “unfair” nationalization as one of the reasons he sent commandos last week to abduct Chavez’s successor, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, from his compound in Caracas.
“We’re going to be working with Venezuela,” Trump said on Friday during a meeting with executives from oil giants ExxonMobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips at the White House.
“American companies will have the opportunity to rebuild Venezuela’s energy infrastructure and eventually increase oil production to levels never seen before. When you add Venezuela and the United States together, we have 55% of the oil in the world,” he added.
Trump announced after the meeting that US companies would invest at least $100 billion in Venezuela’s oil production. Exxon CEO Darren Woods said, however, that Venezuela was “uninvestable” without an overhaul of regulations and a restructuring of its energy sector.
Although the Venezuelan government has not confirmed granting access to American companies, Delcy Rodriguez, a close Maduro ally who was sworn in as acting president in his absence, said earlier this week that Caracas was open to energy projects with all parties, including the US.
Venezuelan officials have denounced what they describe as Trump’s plan to pilfer the country’s resources and condemned the abduction of Maduro as a gross violation of sovereignty.
Maduro pleaded not guilty to drug-trafficking and weapons charges when he was brought before a US judge on Monday.
Tensions between the United States and Venezuela continue to escalate amid a growing US military buildup near the South American country and a series of unprovoked attacks on vessels in the Caribbean Sea over recent months.
Most recently, on Wednesday, in yet another brazen act of aggression, US forces hijacked an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.
A day later, US President Donald Trump threatened to launch ground attacks on Venezuela, saying it is “going to be starting on land pretty soon.”
The Trump administration has — without presenting any evidence — accused Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of supplying drugs to the US that are “poisoning the American people.”
Maduro, speaking on Thursday, said the “mask has fallen,” laying bare the real objective behind the military buildup and repeated attacks on vessels in the region.
“The issue is not drug trafficking. It’s the oil they want to steal,” he said, adding that the imperialists have set their sights on Venezuela’s vast oil and mineral reserves.
Against this backdrop, the Press TV website spoke with Venezuelan Ambassador to Tehran, José Rafael Silva Aponte, about the rapidly unfolding developments in South America, as Trump openly pursues a policy of “regime change” in Caracas.
The following are excerpts from the interview:
Q. What is your analysis of the latest developments in the escalating tensions between Venezuela and the United States, and what are the underlying reasons for US sanctions against Venezuela and other Latin American countries?
A. There is no tension between Venezuela and the United States. What we have here is an aggression, a threat from the government of the United States toward Venezuela, the Caribbean region, and Latin America. And one of the main motives is to carry out a “regime change” and subsequently seize the wealth that Venezuela possesses.
Among these we can mention oil. As is known worldwide, Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world, as well as the fourth-largest gas reserve, but also gold, diamonds, coltan, rare earths, biodiversity, etc. This is one of the main reasons and it is the reason for the sanctions they have applied—to pressure Venezuela and other countries so that they yield to the demands of the United States.
The most recent event was the act of piracy revealed by the President of the United States himself, when he stated that they had seized an oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast; this is a theft that adds to the one committed with the illegal sale of the Venezuelan company CITGO, a subsidiary of Petróleos de Venezuela Sociedad Anónima (PDVSA).
Venezuela signals unwavering resolve as Caracas embraces a Vietnam-style underground resistance to counter 'American imperial aggression', with military leaders insisting the nation stands unified like a single rifle in defense of its sovereignty. pic.twitter.com/MQpxY0Yre3
Q. How does Venezuela interpret these developments within the framework of its foreign policy and its relations with sovereign and independent countries?
A. In Venezuela’s case, more than 1,000 sanctions have been applied since 2014, when the US President at that time, Barack Obama, through an executive order, declared Venezuela an unusual and extraordinary threat to the security of the United States.
That is when the pressure and sanctions against the country, against state institutions, and against the people began.
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela interprets this aggression and these threats as a clear violation of international law, against the Charter of the United Nations, and against the human rights of the Venezuelan people due to restrictions on access to medicine, food, among others.
All these actions arise because Venezuela does not subordinate itself to the demands of the US government nor to any other government in the world. Venezuela is independent, free, and sovereign.
Q. Is the US claim regarding its fight against drug trafficking valid, or are there other motives behind the deployment of its warships in the region?
A. We know that the military deployment has a dark background. There are warships, a nuclear submarine, countless missiles, fighter aircraft, intelligence aircraft, strategic bombers, and more than 10,000 military personnel; evidently, it is not to fight drug trafficking—this is totally false.
The main motive is to seize Venezuela’s wealth through a “regime change.” Subsequently, to install a puppet government that can be easily controlled by the imperial government.
A sign of the falsehood of this narrative is that the President of the US pardoned former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, judged and convicted by the justice system of the United States for sending more than 400 tons of drugs to the United States, sentenced to more than 45 years in prison. Well, he is pardoned by the President of the United States. This supposed fight against drug trafficking is an entire farce.
It should be noted that in this criminal farce, the US government has killed more than 80 people, has bombed more than 20 small vessels where they supposedly trafficked drugs. And the latest display of contempt for international law by the US government became clear in the case of a vessel that was bombed on September 2, 2025. There were 2 survivors in it and they were finished off at sea, most likely injured, holding on to what remained of the vessel, and they were killed.
It is clear that this has nothing to do with drug trafficking. If the US government wanted to fight drug trafficking, with all the information they claim to possess, why do they not capture any drug traffickers within the United States itself?
We can also say that after the attack of September 2, on another occasion there were 3 survivors, among them a Colombian citizen, an Ecuadorian citizen, and a Mexican citizen. The US government handed them over to their countries.
We can ask ourselves, in the case of the Ecuadorian, this person survived one of the attacks and was judged, processed, and convicted in the US for the crime of drug trafficking. Why did they not bring him back to the US to judge him for those acts, if supposedly this person was trafficking drugs.
This is the double standard of the imperial US government. It is clear and demonstrated that all these actions have the purpose of attacking Venezuela.
Venezuelans march to support Maduro government in the face of US threats
Q. What are the main reasons for the US sanctions against Venezuela? Does Washington intend a “regime change” in the country?
A I begin with the second part. The US government itself has already openly said that it wants a “regime change” in Venezuela. Why? Because Venezuela does not subordinate itself to the wishes of the US government.
Through these same sanctions, they pressure the Bolivarian government to yield, and the US government, together with its subordinate satellites, argue that these sanctions are meant to affect the government, when we already know this is totally false.
These sanctions have affected the country, the people. In 2015, Venezuela received around 56 billion dollars annually in revenue—mostly from oil—and after the sanctions, it stopped receiving 99% of those revenues.
These revenues were allocated to social programs such as health, education, housing, food for the people, and to enhance the living standards of Venezuelans.
However, through the economic measures taken by President Nicolás Maduro and his government cabinet, Venezuela has had 18 consecutive quarters increasing national income and therefore the benefits for the people.
Q. What impact have US policies had on Venezuelan society and the people?
A. These unilateral coercive measures and the policies applied by the US government against Venezuela have reduced the quality of life of the Venezuelan people. This was very severe in the years 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.
However, the government remained firm and applied the necessary measures to counter these economic attacks carried out by the US government and the European Union against Venezuela.
It should be noted that thanks to the wisdom, patience, and maturity of the people, we have managed to overcome these difficulties. One of the strongest impacts was migration.
The Venezuelan government is always seeking ways to provide a better quality of life for its citizens, and today we can say that many Venezuelans who left the country are returning to our homeland, and they have returned precisely because they have seen the level of economic recovery in the country.
Unfortunately, the US government is practically hunting migrants from around the world, especially those from Venezuela, to arrest them, humiliate them, and deport them. The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela seeks ways and means for our compatriots who are anywhere in the world, especially in the United States, to return to the homeland.
This has been done through the Great Mission Return to the Homeland (Gran Misión Vuelta a la Patria), which consists of the Bolivarian Government providing all means (land, sea, and air) for Venezuelans to return to their homeland. Only this year, more than 14,000 Venezuelans have been brought back to the national territory, with the support of our airline CONVIASA, most of them from the United States.
It should be noted that these Venezuelans returning to their country are received with open arms; upon arrival, they are provided health protection through medical examinations, and once these checks are completed, they are taken by Venezuelan authorities to the doors of their homes. This is done by the Venezuelan government.
Q. In your view, what will Venezuela’s response be at the various levels and international forums in the face of the hostile actions of the United States?
A. Raising the voice of Venezuela’s truth has already resonated in all corners of the world. The peoples of the world have heard Venezuela’s voice. They have protested because they oppose the aggressions that the US government applies to change Venezuela’s legitimate government.
It should be noted that within the United Nations, they have heard the voice of our ambassador, Professor Samuel Moncada, who is Venezuela’s representative to that organization. He has spoken repeatedly at the United Nations, at the Security Council, and in different international forums.
Our ambassadors around the world have raised their voices to denounce these aggressions and threats that the US government tries to impose on Venezuela.
In this regard, I take the opportunity to thank the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its people, who have raised their voices against the aggressions and threats carried out by US imperialism against Venezuela and the region of Latin America and the Caribbean.
The government of Iran, through its Foreign Ministry—specifically its spokesperson Esmail Baghaei—has made it clear that these acts of aggression are a violation of the UN Charter and international law.
A large number of nations have repeatedly joined this protest, highlighting the support of the governments of China, Russia, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Colombia.
Likewise, as a show of solidarity among peoples, on Saturday, December 6, a global campaign in support of Venezuela was held in which they rejected these aggressions and threats from the Us government.
Q. In your opinion, what role can the international community play in helping reduce tensions between Venezuela and the United States?
A. The international community has raised its voice: the United Nations, although late, did so. The UN Human Rights Representative also called for avoiding confrontation.
It should be noted that Venezuela has made it clear that we are not in tension nor in confrontation. It is the US government that is aggressing and threatening Venezuela.
It is the US government that is trying to impose itself by force and through threats, violating the United Nations Charter, specifically Article 2.
Q. Are there indications of a possible intensification of Washington’s pressure against Venezuela? If so, what measures is the Venezuelan government planning to mitigate the effects of these pressures?
A. Since August of this year, the US government has intensified pressure and has waged, above all, a psychological war, a media war, a multifaceted war, psychological terrorism with the aim of intimidating and subduing the Venezuelan government and people—but they will not succeed.
Consequently, President Nicolás Maduro has taken the necessary measures. First, he has called for dialogue with the US government. President Nicolás Maduro, as known worldwide, was foreign minister for 6 years under our eternal and supreme commander, President Hugo Chávez; therefore, he knows international politics and diplomacy very well.
But this call for dialogue does not mean weakness, and regarding the measures implemented by the national government: first, he called for enlistment of the population for the registration of citizens to defend the homeland. This call had to be extended; it was initially planned for one week and lasted two weeks.
In fact, with the enlistment of all the people who joined, the number reached eight million people registered in the Bolivarian Militia. Once this registration was finished, the population went to the barracks to receive basic military defense training.
Subsequently, members of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces went to the communities to give instruction to our population with the aim of teaching the art of territorial defense.
All this led to the military exercises “Independence 200,” which have continued since September, especially on our coasts, on the northern front of the country. This has been done in a perfect popular–military–police fusion, supported by the new Venezuelan defense doctrine, which was created and written by Commander Chávez.
These have been the actions. You were able to see how a telephone conversation between the President of the United States, Donald Trump, and President Nicolás Maduro came to light. It should be noted that Venezuela will never abandon dialogue.
President Nicolás Maduro respects the confidentiality of a conversation of that nature. However, the Venezuelan President said that it was a communication based on mutual respect, and if this call and this conversation is the beginning of good relations, it will be welcome.
Nevertheless, the Venezuelan government, together with its people, its armed forces, and its police forces, is prepared for any situation. If it is conflict, we will be there, standing, to defend our dignity, our sovereignty, our independence, and above all the peace of the Republic.
Q. As Venezuela’s ambassador, how do you evaluate the generation of tensions by the US in the region and its hostile actions against Venezuela, as well as the way in which the media present them? To what extent are Western media reporting reality?
A. Once again, I must clarify that there are no tensions; it is an aggression. It is a constant threat from the US government against Venezuela and the region of Latin America and the Caribbean.
It should be noted that the media and the international press are dominated by imperialism, and they will always say what their master dictates; false narratives will always be present because they do not tell the truth.
Proof of this is that they continue to talk about a “tren de Aragua”—a non-existent Tren de Aragua, a criminal group that existed in Venezuela and was eliminated, pulverized by the Venezuelan security forces. Some individuals belonging to that group left the country and governments of other countries have protected them.
Then the narrative of the non-existent “Cartel of the Suns” began, with which they try to involve high Venezuelan authorities in that fantasy cartel. And I want to state that the media do not say that the largest consumer of drugs in the world is the population of the United States of America; they do not say that 87% of the drugs produced in Colombia—unfortunately, the world’s largest producer of cocaine—leave through the Pacific Ocean.
They do not say that 8% of the drugs leave through the Colombian Caribbean. They do not say this, nor do they say that only 5% of the drugs supposedly leave through Venezuela. They do not say this, and it is reflected in the 2024 United Nations report. The United Nations says it, not the Venezuelan government. There, the United Nations states that Venezuela is neither a producer, nor a processor, nor a relevant transit country in international drug trafficking.
It should be noted that the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) itself says in its reports that Venezuela is not an important reference in regard to drugs, and much less is the supposed “Cartel of the Suns” mentioned, which has been a way of applying pressure to Venezuela to destroy its revolution and to try to overthrow the government.
Q. Is there a possibility that the US might initiate an armed conflict? And if so, what would be the possible consequences of such a war for the international community?
The United States of America has always initiated conflicts. They are the world champions in initiating wars and conflicts, in which they attempt to involve various governments and peoples. It would not be surprising; here we see an entire fleet in the Caribbean, very close to Venezuelan territory—they could do something…
However, the response would be forceful: this has been said by President Nicolás Maduro; it has been said by our Minister of Defense, General-in-Chief Vladimir Padrino López; it has been said by our authorities.
In the event of a conflict, we would move to one of the phases established in the Bolivarian military doctrine. Right now, we are in a phase of non-armed struggle, which consists of fishermen fishing; people working; students studying; everyone producing—in agriculture, in factories, we are producing.
And in the event of conflict, we would move to the phase of armed struggle, where the people, in full popular–military–police fusion, would play a fundamental role in the defense of the nation.
In this sense, we would maintain resistance and, in that case, through arms. Here, all the people would rise up in a struggle to defend the legacy of our liberators—to defend the homeland inherited by those men and women who gave their lives 200 years ago, which belongs to us, and which is desired because it has any quantity of resources of all kinds.
And we would be there to defend our territory, to defend our dignity, to defend our independence. And the US government would regret it for 500 years because they would be defeated, as they have been in other conflicts, such as Vietnam or Afghanistan, with the greatest dignity—as in the case of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the “12-Day War,” where the Zionist regime of Israel and the United States were defeated and asked for a truce. The same would happen in Venezuela—they would once again be defeated.
An onlooker holds a sign that reads “Shame” as members of law enforcement work the scene following a shooting by an ICE agent during federal law enforcement operations, Minneapolis, Minnesota, January 7, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
Press TV
A wave of condemnation has swept across social media after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent killed a woman in Minneapolis, as Vice President JD Vance publicly defended the federal agency’s actions.
The condemnations were triggered by the killing of Renee Nicole Macklin Good during an ICE operation in Minneapolis on Wednesday, part of a nationwide crackdown on immigrants that has intensified under the current administration.
Trump and the US Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, have defended the killing claiming that the woman was trying to run over the agent with her vehicle, which DHS called “an act of domestic terrorism,” but videos circulating online and witness accounts to reporters have undermined those statements.
Harry Sisson, a democrat, criticized President Donald Trump for defending the ICE agent involved in the killing of the 37-year-old American woman and noted that Trump’s account of the incident is dishonest.
“A disgustingly dishonest description of what happened but I’m not surprised,” he further said.
Trump is defending the ICE agent who murdered a 37 year old American woman in broad daylight today. A disgustingly dishonest description of what happened but I’m not surprised. What a piece of shit. pic.twitter.com/gTIdG4mHET
Abdul El-Sayed, who served as director of the Department of Health, Human, and Veterans Services for Wayne County, Michigan from 2023 to 2025, criticized the ICE in a post on his X account on Thursday.
El-Sayed said he has worked alongside law enforcement officials to help keep communities safe, but argued that ICE does not serve that role. “ICE is not law enforcement—it’s lawlessness in the name of Trump’s power,” he wrote.
Referring to a position he has held for several years, El-Sayed added, “So like I said in 2018: Abolish ICE.”
I’ve worked alongside law enforcement to keep our communities safe. ICE is not law enforcement—it’s lawlessness in the name of Trump’s power.
Seth Moulton, a candidate for US Senate in Massachusetts, slammed Vice President Vance for lying in a post on X, saying video evidence shows the woman was not interfering with law enforcement and condemning attempts to blame a murdered victim in order to shield federal officers.
“Blaming a murdered woman to shield federal officers is grotesque and disturbingly un-American. We will not ignore what we can see with our own eyes,” he noted.
I'm a former defense attorney and currently a civil liberties attorney with no political dog in this fight. I watched the video at least 10 times from different angles and at different speeds and waited to offer an opinion, which I still reserve the right to change if additional…
Rula Jebreal, a visiting professor at the University of Miami, sharply slammed the ICE, saying the country is witnessing the “full Israelification of the United States.”
“Masked ICE agents of the state murdered Renee Nicole Good and then denied their victim her medical care. It was not ‘domestic terrorism.’ It was state-sanctioned murder,” she added.
Li Jingjing a Chinese journalist & political commentator, showed outraged at US society on X.
“Domestically, ICE agents point their guns at and shoot their own citizens with no mercy. Internationally, they bomb, plunder, steal, manipulate, and kidnap every other country. Yet they have the nerve to lecture the world about human rights and democracy?!” he noted.
Shaiel Ben-Ephraim, a Jew, slammed Trump for seeking to justify the killing of American citizens who oppose him, calling a recent fatal shooting “a major step” toward setting a dangerous precedent.
“There can be no more grave precedent,” he wrote.
Another netizen Hadi Nasrallah wrote, “Hamas didn’t kill an American mother today. Neither did Venezuela or Iran. Trump did. The pedo who is ‘locked and loaded’ to burn down nations to ‘protect civilians’ is killing his own people and calling them ‘terrorists’. You think he cares about you miles away?”
US President Donald Trump has cancelled his “second wave of attacks” on Venezuela, saying Washington and Caracas were cooperating now, including on the rebuilding of the South American country’s energy infrastructure.
Last Saturday, American commandos conducted a raid on the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, abducting President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.
Trump subsequently demanded “total access” to the South American nation’s oil and said that Washington would “run” the country until a “proper transition” of power took place there. Russia along with many other BRICS and Global South nations has strongly condemned the US for its actions.
In his post on Truth Social, Trump said “I have canceled the previously expected second Wave of Attacks, which looks like it will not be needed, however, all ships will stay in place for safety and security.”
The US president said at least $100 billion will be invested in Venezuela by “Big Oil,” noting that he would meet with representatives of US oil giants at the White House later on Friday.
Trump noted Venezuela’s release of “large numbers of political prisoners,” which he called “a very important and smart gesture.”
Late on Tuesday, Caracas began releasing a number of high-profile prisoners, including opposition politicians, in what its government has called a gesture “to seek peace.”
Among the first to be released were Enrique Marquez, a former presidential candidate, and Biagio Pilieri, a businessman and former Venezuelan lawmaker, who were being held at a detention facility in the capital known as El Helicoide.
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares later confirmed that five Spanish prisoners had been released and were on a flight back to their home country.
Half of the apartment buildings in the Ukrainian capital have been left without heating.
Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko has urged the city’s residents to evacuate, stating that some 6,000 apartment buildings in the Ukrainian capital have been left without central heating.
Klitschko blamed the “extremely difficult situation” in the city on overnight Russian strikes. Moscow has said it targeted drone production facilities, energy infrastructure, and other military-related facilities across Ukraine in response to an attempted “terrorist attack by the Kiev regime” on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence in late December.
“I appeal to residents of the capital who have the opportunity to temporarily leave the city, where there are alternative sources of power and heat, to do so,” Klitschko wrote on his Telegram channel, stating the overnight attack became the most “painful” for the city of three million amid the Ukraine conflict.
According to the mayor, nearly half of Kiev’s residential buildings ended up without central heating after the strikes. An unspecified number of buildings have also been hit by water supply disruptions. He said that the city’s authorities “hope” to restore central heating for “some” of the affected buildings by the evening. The situation in the city is further aggravated by heavy snowfall and low temperatures.
In a follow-up post, Klitschko urged those residents who still have access to amenities to help less fortunate citizens and “invite them to warm up or cook food.” The mayor also reminded the residents that the capital has some 1,200 heating stations, so-called “points of unbreakability,” where people can warm up, get hot food, and charge their electronic devices.
Russia has ramped up its long-range strikes campaign against Ukraine’s military and dual-use infrastructure in recent months. According to Moscow, the ongoing wave of strikes comes in response to the continuous effort of the Ukrainian military to attack Russia’s energy infrastructure, as well as to indiscriminate strikes on civilians.
In Russia’s Belgorod Region, over half a million people were left without power after overnight Ukrainian airstrikes, according to Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, with temperatures near freezing. In addition, over half a million were left without heat and over 200,000 were let without water and sanitation services. The city of Oryol reportedly also faced heavy blackouts.
The Trial of the Chicago 7: The Official Transcript
By Aaron Sorking
Simon and Schuster 2020
Book Review
This book (an edited transcript of a five month trial) is based on the screenplay Steven Spielberg asked Sorkin to write in 2007. After a Writers Guild of America strike forced Spielberg to drop out as director, Sorking himself directed the film in 2019, with Spielberg serving as executive producer.
The film concerns the trial of seven anti-Vietnam war activists* arrested following a police riot against peaceful non-violent protesters at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. The protests had a dual focus – both the war itself and the corrupt process the Democratic Party employs for choosing presidential candidates.**
The Chicago 7 trial hallmarked the the intensive militarization of urban police, which continues to the present day, to discourage peaceful non-violent protest.
As the book documents, the defense team elicited testimony Chicago police deliberately started the riot by using clubs and rubber bullets against peaceful protestors and subsequently arrested them for rioting and resisting arrest. Hundreds of protestor were hospitalized with major injuries from police beatings, many with skull fractures. The defense also demonstrated US Attorney General John Mitchell, the FBI and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley colluded in bringing conspiracy to riot charges against seven of the most prominent protestors, who all belonged to different organizations and were only marginally involved in planning or organizing the protests.
Although Judge Julius Hoffman banned the presentation of this evidence to the jury, it became part of the official trial transcript.
Black Panther president Bobby Seal refused to share the same attorney as the other six. When he repeatedly demanded the right to be represented by his own attorney, Hoffman ordered him bound to his chair and gagged.
Most of the prosecution evidence came from police and federal undercover operatives who had infiltrated various peace groups. It consisted mainly of comments individual defendants made at meetings and in speeches about “fighting” the Vietnam War and government oppression.
Each of of the seven were found guilty of some level of involvement in the so-called conspiracy to cause a riot. Both defense attorneys were also charged and given long sentences for contempt of court
All had their convictions overturned on appeal.
The segment of the book I found most intriguing was Appendix B, which detailed each of the defendants’ career path and political activities post trial. Jerry Rubin (1938-1994), for example, decided to forgo political activism and became director of a small Wall Street investment banking firm.
*David Dellinger, Rennie David, Tom Hayden, Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Ruben, Bobby Seale, John Froines.
Beijing says Washington has no right to interfere in China-Venezuela economic relations.
On Thursday, He Yadong, a spokesperson for China’s Commerce Ministry (MOFCOM), questioned the United States for attempting to restrict Venezuela’s international economic relations and reaffirmed his country’s willingness to maintain trade ties with the South American nation.
“The hegemonic actions of the U.S. seriously violate international law, infringe on Venezuela’s sovereignty, and threaten peace and security in Latin America. China firmly opposes such actions,” He said.
“Economic and trade cooperation between China and Venezuela is conducted between sovereign states and is protected by international law and the laws of both countries. No other country has the right to interfere.”
“Regardless of changes in Venezuela’s political situation, China’s willingness to continuously deepen bilateral economic and trade relations remains unchanged,” the MOFCOM official stressed.
“China’s economic and trade cooperation with Latin American countries has always adhered to the principles of mutual respect and win-win outcomes. China does not seek spheres of influence, nor does it target any specific party. Economic complementarity serves as a solid foundation for China–Latin America cooperation, with openness, inclusiveness and mutual benefit as its defining features.”
“China will continue to work with Latin American countries to address international uncertainties through unity and collaboration, promote economic and trade cooperation on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, and achieve shared development,” He concluded.
The remarks by the MOFCOM spokesperson come after the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump informed Venezuela that it must end its relations with China, Russia, Iran and Cuba as part of a series of demands before it can extract and market its oil.
The Trump administration announced new dietary guidelines aimed at ending “corporate-driven” preferences for ultra-processed foods, added sugar, and refined carbohydrates on Wednesday.
The Make America Healthy Again-oriented changes to the food pyramid, nutrition education, and government programs’ methods for procurement and approval of food represent the “most significant reset of federal nutrition policy in history,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said at a White House press briefing.
“For decades, Americans have grown sicker while health care costs have soared. The reason is clear: The hard truth is that our government has been lying to us to protect corporate profit-taking, telling us that these food-like substances were beneficial to public health,” Kennedy said. “Federal policy promoted and subsidized highly processed foods and refined carbohydrates, and turned a blind eye to the disastrous consequences. Today, the lies stop.”
“My message is clear: Eat real food,” he added.
Federal dietary guidelines shape many federal programs, as well as the groceries eligible under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), school lunches, the food procured by government agencies, including the Pentagon, Veterans Affairs hospitals, and more. They also guide how Americans are educated about food and nutrition.
“Common purchases” for the 42 million Americans on SNAP are products that include added sugars and chips, Kennedy said, noting that 78 percent of those on SNAP are also enrolled in Medicaid.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said her department is working to finalize a “rule that will mandate” that all 250,000 retailers that accept SNAP benefits in the United States “double the type of staple foods” they provide to SNAP recipients.
“For decades, we’ve been fed a corrupt food pyramid that has had a myopic focus on demonizing natural, healthy saturated fats — telling you not to eat eggs and steak — and ignoring a giant blind spot: refined carbohydrates, added sugars, ultra-processed food,” Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary said, noting 60 percent to 70 percent of children “are getting their calories from ultra-processed foods,” calling it an “epidemic.”
“We are ending the war on saturated fats. Diets rich in vegetables and fruits reduce disease risk more effectively than many drugs,” Kennedy said. “Whole grains outperform refined carbohydrates. Added sugars, especially sugar-sweetened beverages, drive metabolic disease, and today, our government declares war on added sugar. Highly processed foods loaded with additives, added sugar, and excess salt damage health and should be avoided.”
Americans have often been told that purchasing healthier food options is simply more expensive and that highly processed foods are the affordable option, but Rollins said that the data does now actually show that. She also said that there are “food deserts” in some parts of the country that do not have a nearby grocery store with real food in them, which is an issue she said USDA is working to address.
“The idea that a cheap meal made of processed food is cheap is an illusion, because you’re paying for it on the back end,” Kennedy added. “You’re paying for it with diabetes, with obesity, with illness, and if you internalize that cost of the meal, it would be a tiny fraction of the long-term cost.”
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Mehmet Oz noted that recommendations for alcohol consumption also changed, encouraging less alcohol use while doing away with the typical two drinks for men and one drink for women limit that has been pushed for decades. According to Oz, “There was never really good data to support that quantity of alcohol consumption.”
Chronic illness and obesity are often rooted in poor diet, and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt noted that obesity “accounts for $400 billion in medical spending each year.”
“Federal dollars have … promoted low-quality, highly processed foods that lead to scores of long-term health issues, which means Americans have gone broke because of these health issues,” she said. “Faulty dietary guidelines of the past stacked the deck against healthy eating and food options for everyday American families, which has fueled the chronic disease epidemic and jacked up the health care costs of households across the country.”
According to Kennedy, citing statistics from Johns Hopkins and the CDC, 48 cents out of every federal tax dollar are spent on health care, while 90 percent of health care spending is to treat chronic disease. “That means that 40 percent … of every dollar that taxpayers pay in this country is going to treat diseases that could be averted through good food,” he said.
“The United States has the highest obesity and Type 2 diabetes rate in the developed world,” while spending “three times more per capita” than Europe on health care and reaching a life expectancy that is five years shorter than Europe’s, “largely due to diet-related chronic disease,” Kennedy said.
America has extremely high levels of childhood obesity, Kennedy added, and about 33 percent of teens have pre-diabetes, while 35 percent of teens are overweight. A fifth of young adults have fatty liver disease unrelated to alcohol consumption, and more than three-quarters of “military-aged Americans are ineligible for military service” because of health issues related to diet.
“If a foreign adversary sought to destroy the health of our children, to cripple our economy, to weaken our national security, there would be no better strategy than to addict us to ultra-processed foods,” Kennedy said. “It’s shocking that our own government helped to drive these cataclysmic changes in our diet. The damage is real. It is preventable, and President Trump has ordered it to end.”
Kennedy anticipates that through changes in Americans’ diets the United States could save $600 billion a year, which translates to “50 percent of Medicare’s projected long-term deficit or $5,000 per family annually.”
Oz also estimated significant reductions in taxpayer expenditures for Medicare and Medicaid, noting America’s health expenses are rising twice as fast as gross domestic product (GDP) is growing.
“You can’t be a wealthy nation without being a healthy nation,” he said, adding that “30 percent of health care costs are directly attributable to obesity,” about $300 billion per year from Medicare alone. He also estimated a 10 percent reduction in obesity would lower Medicare costs by $30 billion.
Oz also pointed out that if Americans live longer and healthier lives, they will likely find themselves working beyond the current age of retirement, which is 61. If they work just one more year, because their health allows it, Oz anticipates a resulting multi-trillion-dollar increase in GDP.
Clashes have renewed in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo between the forces of the Islamist-led Interim Government and fighters affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), with reports indicating that Damascus had made the decision to go to war against the Kurdish-led group.
Tensions between the Interim Government and the SDF have been building up for months over the failure to implement the integration agreement signed last March.
The end of the year deadline passed with no progress, and direct talks held in Damascus on January 4 failed to produce any meaningful understanding.
The clashes broke out around the Kurdish neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh on January 6, with each side accusing the other of attacking first.
Multiple attempts to de-escalate failed, and by the end of the day it became clear that government forces are preparing a military operation to capture the neighborhoods, which are under the de facto control of the SDF. Dozens of main battle tanks and armored personnel carriers were deployed around Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh by government forces, which also began to use heavy artillery and drones.
By January 7 morning, six civilians, including two women and a child, had been killed in the Kurdish neighborhoods, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which also reported the death of three other civilians, two women and a child, and three members of government forces on the other side.
Damascus escalated further, with the operations command of its military declaring Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh a “closed military zone,” and classifying all SDF positions within the two neighborhoods as “legitimate military targets.” The military also announced a curfew and opened two evacuation corridors, promoting an exodus of civilians from the neighborhoods.
Clashes later raged to the north and east of the neighborhoods, mainly along the Castillo road and the Alleramoon round about.
The SDF said that an attack by government forces was repelled, but a military source denied in a statement to the state-run SANA news agency that an advance attempt was made.
“Security and stability will soon be established in the Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhoods in a manner appropriate to protect the residents from the brutality of the SDF organization,” the source was quoted as saying.
Separately, a Syrian official confirmed to Al-Jazeera that a “limited” military operation will be launched against the SDF in Aleppo.
Meanwhile, the SDF began to amass forces in the town of Deir Hafer in the eastern Aleppo countryside. The group is either attempting to pressure Damascus, or seriously considering launching an attack towards Aleppo city to relieve Kurdish forces.
Notably, the escalation in Aleppo began right after Syria, Israel and the United States announced an understanding on a joint coordination mechanism that would demilitarize southern Syria and give Israel security and even economic influence over all of the region. The understanding was reached following two days of talks in Paris.
A Syrian official close to President Ahmed al-Shara told Israel’s i24NEWS that Israel urgently asked Washington to delay finalizing an agreement between Damascus and the SDF. This indicates that the attack on the Kurdish-led group may be a part of the understanding reached in France.
Kurdish forces in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh are well-armed, highly-experienced, and numbered in the thousands. The neighborhoods are also located on high ground, and reported to be fortified, even with a complete network of underground tunnels. The battle there could go on for weeks, or even months.
Damascus seems determined to take over these neighborhoods, and the only way to avoid a deadly battle there may be an agreement that allows Kurdish forces to withdraw. It is unclear if the SDF would accept this, however.
The irony is striking: Jordanian C-130 Hercules aircraft dropped aid packages, containing food and medical supplies, many reportedly expired, over the bombed and besieged Gaza Strip, supposedly to ease the humanitarian crisis there.
Yet, at the same time, Amman secretly backed Israel’s genocidal attacks, even taking part in joint air missions. These contradictions reveal a government trapped in a geopolitical game, where its supposed humanitarian actions serve as a cover for aiding Israel’s war efforts.
In West Asia’s complex geopolitical arena, where secret alliances shape events and happenings and public rhetoric often hides deeper and sinister motives, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, under King Abdullah II, has become a key actor in supporting Israel’s military campaigns in Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, Yemen and elsewhere.
What began as a betrayal during the lead-up to the 1973 Yom Kippur War (also known as the Six-Day War) has evolved into a systematic collaboration, one that sustains Israel’s military-intelligence operations even as it carries out war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
This account, based on declassified documents, leaked diplomatic cables, and recent reports, examines the Jordanian government’s double game: public displays of solidarity with Palestinians contrasted with hidden military, intelligence, and economic ties to Tel Aviv.
Viewed through this lens, Jordan’s monarchy appears not as a neutral mediator but as an active accomplice, placing Israel’s military priorities above the rights, lives, and democratic aspirations of its own people, most of whom are of Palestinian origin, and those in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, and the occupied Jerusalem al-Quds.
September 1973: King Hussein’s Secret Warning to Golda Meir
The roots of Jordanian-Israeli connivance stretch back to September 1973, and perhaps even earlier. As Arab armies prepared for what would become the Yom Kippur War, King Hussein bin Talal, father of Abdullah II and known to Israeli intelligence by the codename “Lift”, secretly flew by helicopter to meet with Israeli regime officials.
While Radio Cairo was declaring, “Here is Damascus, the beating heart of the Arabs,” Hussein was, in secret, conferring with the enemy.
In a clandestine nighttime meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, the Jordanian king shared detailed intelligence on Syrian and Egyptian military movements, information about troop concentrations along the Golan Heights and Sinai Peninsula, and warnings of a coordinated two-front assault.
According to Israeli regime’s archives, his disclosures undermined the element of surprise that Egypt and Syria had relied upon, allowing Israel to reinforce its aggressive positions in advance.
This episode, emblematic of the Jordanian monarchy’s recurring betrayal of Arab and Muslim causes, reached its culmination with the 1994 Wadi Araba Treaty, a so-called peace agreement that deepened Jordan’s economic dependence on Israel while eroding the Hashemites’ claim to legitimacy as guardians of Islam’s holy sites in occupied Palestine, including the custodianship of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Hussein’s “peace” with Israel, ironically termed such, since there had been no war between the two, further fractured the Arab front and set the stage for his son’s reign as a reliable conduit for Israeli occupation interests. That dynamic, far from diminishing, only intensified amid the ongoing genocidal war on Gaza’s nearly two million inhabitants, killing nearly 70,000 of them.
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January 31, 2024: Jordan-Israel nexus amid genocide in Gaza
As Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza intensified, leveling homes, schools, hospitals, shelters, and critical infrastructure across the territory, including in Khan Yunis, Rafah, and Jabalia,the Jordanian government continued to cling to its deep ties with Israel.
On October 13, 2023, the Jordanian Parliament passed a resolution urging a comprehensive review of all bilateral agreements with Israel in solidarity with Gaza’s suffering. Yet Amman’s response was limited or cosmetic. It suspended only the UAE-mediated water-for-energy deal announced in November 2023, while leaving untouched the 2016 gas-for-electricity agreement that supplies more than 96 percent of Jordan’s energy imports.
Beneath this symbolic gesture, however, lay a darker reality. The supposed suspension of cooperation served to placate domestic outrage while concealing indirect support for Israel’s ongoing campaign. In effect, Jordan’s actions allowed it to publicly denounce Israel’s war crimes while quietly maintaining the economic and logistical ties that reinforced Israel’s position.
Paradoxically, this duplicity also weakened Amman’s own leverage to promote any meaningful solution to the Palestinian issue, further entrenching its role as a dependent partner in the Israeli regime’s regional strategy.
April 15, 2024: Jordan shields Israel from Iranian retaliation
To intercept Iranian ballistic missiles and Shahed-136 drones aimed at Israeli military targets, Jordanian Air Force F-16s operated alongside US Navy destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean, while French Rafale jets joined the effort at Amman’s request.
The Jordanian government said the interceptions were necessary to defend its airspace and prevent regional escalation, relieving pressure on Israel’s Iron Dome system, thereby facilitating the continued massacres in Gaza, including the April 2024 siege of al‑Shifa Hospital
The move, however, sparked widespread anger across Jordan. Demonstrators in downtown Amman’s Hashemite Square slammed King Abdullah II for “dropping missiles on his citizens to protect Israel.” The outrage was particularly strong among Jordan’s Palestinian-origin majority, who make up more than half of the kingdom’s 11.3 million people.
Observers said the decision exposed a deep contradiction between the monarchy’s public condemnation of the Gaza genocide, including King Abdullah’s UN General Assembly remarks denouncing the humanitarian crisis, and its military coordination with Western allies defending Israel. The move effectively positioned Jordan as a key buffer in the Iran-Israel confrontation, insulating the Gaza war from potential outside intervention.
May 15, 2024: Aid drops and Iranian Missile downings
Alongside the so-called Gaza aid airdrops, Jordan’s cooperation with Israeli military systems continued with the interception of Iranian missiles and drones.
This collaboration led many to label King Abdullah II a “traitor” to the Palestinian cause, despite Jordan hosting 2.2 million Palestinian refugees from the 1948 Nakba and the 1967 Six-Day War.
Security forces carried out internal crackdowns in May 2024, dismantling networks linked to Muslim Brotherhood–affiliated activists under the supervision of the General Intelligence Department (GID).
Several citizens were accused of smuggling Iranian-sourced weapons through Syria to Palestinian resistance groups such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, reflecting Abdullah’s ongoing suppression of resistance movements.
This security apparatus, aligned with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s vision of expanding control over the Jordan Valley and Area C settlements, has left Jordan’s regime appearing subservient to Israeli interests and abandoning the right of return for Palestinian refugees enshrined in UN Resolution 194.
By crushing these networks, Abdullah, widely criticized across the Arab world, has not only removed potential threats to Israeli outposts in Hebron and Nablus but has also alienated a growing number of young Jordanians in cities like Irbid and Zarqa.
November 26, 2024: Domestic discontent and enduring ties
Jordan’s long-touted role as a “buffer state” shielding Israel from Iranian resistance allies in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, and the Occupied Palestinian Territories began to strain under the weight of Gaza’s genocidal devastation, which by late 2024 had claimed more than 43,000 lives, mostly children, women, and the elderly, according to UNRWA.
In the September 10, 2024, parliamentary elections, the Islamic Action Front (IAF) secured 31 of 138 seats (22.5 percent), reflecting rising pro-Palestinian sentiment amid Israel’s right-wing confederation proposals that some compared to the Soviet–Nazi partition of Poland, hinting at partial annexation of the occupied West Bank.
Despite public anger, the Jordanian government maintained its alliance with Israel, continuing to uphold the Wadi Araba Treaty’s security provisions, including joint border patrols along the 307-kilometer frontier from Aqaba (Eilat) to the Yarmouk River.
This adherence, reinforced by fears of renewed refugee flows from Syria after the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s government, was evident in the November 21, 2024, sentencing of former MP Imad al-Adwan to ten years of hard labor for transferring weapons to the occupied West Bank.
The ruling blurred the line between resistance and sedition, effectively serving Israeli occupation goals in Jenin and Tulkarm refugee camps, the occupied West Bank.
King Abdullah’s mild condemnations of Israeli genocidal attacks in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis thus rang hollow, as they failed to counter the expanding Israeli confederation plans that threaten the viability of an independent Palestinian state.
December 15, 2024: Shin Bet and Israeli army intelligence meet in Amman
The Jordanian government’s security cooperation with Israel appeared to deepen when Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar and Israeli Military Intelligence Chief Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder reportedly paid a discreet visit to Amman, meeting with senior Jordanian officials, likely including General Intelligence Department (GID) head Maj. Gen. Ahmad Husni.
According to regional sources, discussions focused on alleged Iranian weapons routes through Mafraq and Zarqa to the occupied West Bank, Jordan’s mediation role between Israel and factions in Syria, and possible responses to movements that could destabilize the kingdom.
This coordination positioned Amman more firmly as a partner in Israel’s regional security network, particularly in efforts to monitor and restrict arms smuggling into the Palestinian territories.
Analysts at the time warned that such deepening ties could heighten domestic tensions within Jordan, where fears of unrest in cities like Amman and Irbid reflect growing unease over the kingdom’s reliance on Israeli support for internal stability.
April 15, 2025: Sabotage foiled or resistance quashed – GID’s purge
Jordan’s repressive measures intensified when the General Intelligence Department (GID) announced the arrest of 16 citizens, under surveillance since 2021, accused of involvement in a conspiracy that included the fabrication of 3-5 km-range rockets in hidden workshops near Salt, a drone assembly hub in Balqa Governorate, recruitment networks in Turkey and Qatar, and the storage of C-4 explosives and AK-47 variants in safe houses in Madaba.
Authorities claimed the group aimed to “sow chaos” and suggested that alleged Palestinian ties through Muslim Brotherhood channels justified a wider crackdown on Gaza solidarity movements.
Coinciding with Israel’s Rafah offensive, which displaced about 1.4 million civilians, Jordan’s intensified security campaign gave the authorities a pretext to conflate political dissent with terrorism, aligning with Israeli efforts to disrupt arms supply routes from Jordan’s Allenby Bridge to the occupied West Bank.
By criminalizing expressions of solidarity and dismantling Palestinian resistance networks, King Abdullah’s government not only secured new financial backing from Persian Gulf states but also shored up its increasingly fragile rule.
May 27, 2025: Diplomatic charades and unabated entwinement
King Abdullah II’s recent symbolic gestures, such as withdrawing from the UAE-Israel water-energy deal and recalling Jordan’s ambassador from Tel Aviv, served largely as palliative measures aimed at appeasing the kingdom’s Palestinian-origin majority.
Protests against the war in Gaza continued across cities like Russeifa and Sahab, underscoring deep public anger over the ongoing bloodshed.
Despite these moves, Jordan’s security and economic ties with Israel only deepened. From intercepting Iranian missiles in April 2024 to holding joint security meetings in Manama on “West Bank instability,” a euphemism for Palestinian resistance, Amman’s actions continued to align with US and Israeli strategic interests.
Jordan’s dependency explains much of this compliance: water from Israel’s Sorek desalination plant, gas from the Leviathan fields, more than US$1.45 billion in annual US aid, 100 million cubic meters of water drawn from Israeli-controlled sources, and investments from Persian Gulf states all hinge on the kingdom’s adherence to Israeli military frameworks.
Yet, this alignment has come at a cost. Public discontent is rising, and the regime’s legitimacy continues to erode as Jordanians express outrage over policies seen as enabling Gaza’s ongoing devastation.
The Most Revolutionary Act 