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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the last 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
U.S. CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC OPERATIONS
“I am a kidnapped president, prisoner of war,” ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro told the judge in Manhattan federal court yesterday as he and his wife pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges. The couple are charged with conspiracy to import cocaine and possession of machine guns and destructive devices. Maduro is additionally charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy. Erica Orden reports for POLITICO.
U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz defended the capture of Maduro, saying “we are not occupying a country. This was a law enforcement operation” at an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council. In a statement read to the Council, U.N. Secretary General António Guterres said the Trump administration had violated the U.N. charter, citing the capture of Maduro and the military incursion into a sovereign state. Several countries agreed that the action in Venezuela was a violation of the charter, including U.S. allies such as France, Denmark, and Spain. The United Kingdom struck a more cautious tone. Farnaz Fassihi reports for the New York Times; James Landale reports for BBC News.
Following yesterday’s classified briefing, top Republican and Democratic congressmen emerged with little clarity on the future of Venezuela. The briefing was carried out by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Attorney General Pam Bondi. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) described the briefing as “extensive and long” with “far more questions than it ever answered,” adding that “their plan for the U.S. running Venezuela is vague, based on wishful thinking and unsatisfying.” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said he expected an election to be called in Venezuela in “short order,” but added that “some of these things are still being determined.” Sen. Jim Risch, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters ahead of the briefing that he would “probably” hold a hearing on Venezuela in the committee. Laura Kelly and Filip Timotija report for The Hill.
Rubio and other senior officials urged Trump not to back María Corina Machado as Maduro’s replacement. According to multiple sources, the officials said that U.S. backing of the opposition could further destabilize Venezuela and require a more robust military presence inside the country. A classified CIA intelligence analysis also reflected this view and concluded that Delcy Rodríguez, the vice president, was the best-positioned short-term successor. The CIA analysis was not focused on the forcible removal of Maduro, but examined a series of possibilities. Tyler Pager, Anatoly Kurmanaev, and Julian E. Barnes report for the New York Times; Julian E. Barnes and Tyler Pager New York Times.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro yesterday condemned the U.S. operation in Venezuela and responded to Trump’s comments that Colombia is run by a sick man, saying, “Come get me, I’m waiting for you here.” Also yesterday, Colombian Interior Minister Armando Benedetti said that Colombia will continue to work with the United States to fight drug trafficking using Washington’s intelligence and technology. “We will continue to emphasize the fight against this scourge, particularly on the Colombian-Venezuelan border,” Idarraga said. Reuters reports; Julianna Bragg reports for Axios.
About a dozen oil tankers loaded with Venezuelan crude oil have left Venezuela since the start of the year, despite President Trump’s imposition of a blockade on all sanctioned tankers in mid-December, according to documents seen by Reuters and industry sources. All the departed vessels identified are under sanctions and most are now sailing without any known flag. It is unclear whether the United States had approved or allowed the shipments. Reuters reports.
U.S. forces plan to intercept the Marinera, a crude oil tanker that was sanctioned by the Treasury Department in 2024 and that Russia has claimed jurisdiction over, according to four sources. The tanker was initially headed for Venezuela before turning around to avoid seizure by the U.S. Coast Guard last month. It was in the North Atlantic as of two days ago, near the coast of the United Kingdom. Two U.S. officials said that the plan would be to seize rather than sink the ship and could take place as early as this week. Two U.S. intelligence officials told CBS News that Venezuelan officials had discussed placing armed military personnel disguised as civilians on tankers for defense purposes. James LaPorta reports; Natasha Bertrand, Alayna Treene, Kylie Atwood, Zachary Cohen, and Avery Schmitz report for CNN.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR – INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner will attend a summit today in Paris focused on security guarantees to Ukraine in a future peace deal, a White House official said. The meeting will include leaders from roughly 30 countries who want to be part of the security guarantees and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR – CEASEFIRE
An Israeli airstrike in Gaza yesterday killed a 5-year-old girl and her uncle, and wounded two other children, according to officials at Nasser Hospital. The dead are among the more than 400 people killed in Gaza since an October ceasefire began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The Israeli military said on social media that it struck a Hamas militant who planned an imminent strike on Israeli troops, adding that the strike complied with the ceasefire agreement. It is currently unclear whether the statement referred to the same fatal strike. Wafaa Shurafa and Sally Abou Aljoud report for AP News.
ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH – CEASEFIRE
Israeli air strikes yesterday and this morning hit areas in southern and eastern Lebanon, including a commercial building in the coastal city of Sidon. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the attacks in a statement today, saying they are counter to both international efforts to de-escalate hostilities and Lebanon’s efforts to extend the government’s authority in areas dominated by Hezbollah. Bassem Mroue and Mohammed Zaatari report for AP News.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Ugandan authorities have denied reports that they are planning to cut access to the internet during next week’s election, but the government has banned live broadcasts of riots, “unlawful processions,” and other violent incidents ahead of the election, arguing that these could “escalate tensions and spread panic.” Despite assurances, the main opposition party, the National Unity Platform (NUP), has launched an offline vote-monitoring app in case of a blackout. “As we all know, the regime is plotting an internet shutdown, as they have done in past elections, to block communication and prevent citizens from organising, verifying results, and demanding accountability,” NUP leader Bobi Wine said. Sammy Awami and Jean Otalor report for BBC News.
A delegation of the Southern Transitional Council in Yemen, led by the group’s leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi, will soon travel to Saudi Arabia for talks, two sources told Reuters yesterday. Menna Alaa El-Din and Muhammad Al Gebaly report.
TECH DEVELOPMENTS
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang yesterday unveiled the company’s new Vera Rubin AI chip, which will be shipped to companies later this year. Huang said the chip is designed to fulfil AI requests more quickly and cheaply; companies will be able to train AI models with one quarter as many Rubin chips as its predecessor, the Blackwell. Tripp Mickle reports for the New York Times.
The European Commission yesterday said that the images of undressed women and children being shared across Elon Musk’s social media site X via its AI chatbot Grok were unlawful. In the United Kingdom, regulator Ofcom yesterday demanded that X explain how Grok was able to produce undressed images of people and sexualised images of children, and whether it was failing in its legal duty to protect users. Paul Sandle and Louise Rasmussen report for Reuters.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
The Homeland Security Department yesterday accused the Hilton hotel company of a “coordinated campaign” to refuse service to its law enforcement officers in Minneapolis by “maliciously” cancelling reservations. The DHS social media post included an image of an email that stated the property would not host immigration agents. Christine Chung reports for the New York Times.
The United States yesterday reached a deal with Dominica to start sending people seeking asylum in the United States to the Caribbean nation, according to Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit. Last month, the Trump administration announced it was expanding travel restrictions to 20 additional countries, including Dominica. Anselm Gibbs reports for AP News.
The State Department last week added Bhutan, Botswana, the Central African Republic, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Namibia, and Turkmenistan to the list of countries whose passport holders are required to post bonds of up to $15,000 to apply to enter the United States. Matthew Lee reports for AP News.
U.S DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
The Justice Department yesterday disclosed that it is still reviewing millions of documents and that less than 1 per cent of the Epstein files have been released so far. Kyle Cheney reports for POLITICO.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
The Defense Department has initiated proceedings to demote Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) from a retired Navy captain to a lower rank, with a corresponding reduction in pay, in response to his video warning service members not to follow illegal orders, Hegseth said yesterday. Leo Shane III and Connor O’Brien report for POLITICO.
The Trump administration plans to freeze $10 billion in funding for child care subsidies, social services, and cash support for low-income families in five Democratic-led states, according to Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Andrew Nixon. Around $7 billion in funding for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program will be cut off in Minnesota, New York, California, Illinois, and Colorado. “Democrat-led states and governors have been complicit in allowing massive amounts of fraud to occur under their watch,” Nixon said. “Under the Trump administration, we are ensuring that federal taxpayer dollars are being used for legitimate purposes.” Minho Kim reports for the New York Times.
The Homeland Security Department has drafted plans to cut the Federal Emergency Management Agency Workforce in 2026 through potential reductions of thousands of disaster response and recovery roles, according to documents obtained by the Washington Post. Emails sent to senior agency leadership in late December include detailed tables identifying roles that can be cut from the agency’s divisions. These tables include a 41 per cent reduction in CORE disaster roles, more than 4,300 positions. In a statement, FEMA spokesperson Daniel Llargués said the agency has “not issued and is not implementing a percentage-based workforce reduction.” Brianna Sacks reports.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
A federal appeals court yesterday ruled that the Trump administration could not make drastic cuts to the federal funding supporting much of the country’s medical and scientific research, reaffirming a lower court’s ruling. Zach Montague reports for the New York Times.
197 plaintiffs on Friday filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, alleging that the suspension of casework by the Homeland Security Department and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is not authorized by immigration or administrative law. Brittany Gibson reports for Axios.
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