Foreign

*Fear Grips Residents *Several Journalists Arrested For Reporting Truth *Finance Minister May Go As Govt Jittery Over Trump Venezuela's rulers have deployed armed militias to patrol streets, operate checkpoints and check people’s phones in a crackdown to consolidate authority after the US attack on Caracas, the oil-rich country's capital. Gunfire erupted on Monday night when security forces shot at unauthorised drones which reportedly were mistaken for another US operation. “There was no confrontation, the entire country remains completely calm,” the Deputy Information Minister, Simon Arrechider, told reporters, giving the government's version to the narrative. However, paramilitary groups known as colectivos…

*I've Distinct Abilities To Convince A Jury, He Says When Nicolás Maduro appeared in court in New York yesterday, his choice of lawyer quickly raised eyebrows. The captured Venezuelan President was accompanied by Barry Pollack, a top-tier US trial lawyer who spent years representing Julian Assange, eventually securing the WikiLeaks founder’s release from prison in the UK in 2024. Pollack is a partner at Harris St Laurent & Wechsler, a law firm based on New York’s Wall Street in the financial district of lower Manhattan, just a few minutes walk from the federal court where Maduro pleaded not guilty to…

*Wife In High Spirits *Case Adjourned To 17 March Deposed leader of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, pleaded “not guilty” to all four counts against him today, including drug-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine-importation conspiracy, and possession of machine guns and destructive devices. “I am innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man,” Maduro told judge Alvin Hellerstein in court today. Lawyers representing Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, told CBS News that she is in “good spirits” and that she is “aware that there is a long road ahead and is prepared.” “We look forward to reviewing and challenging the evidence the government has,"…

*We Could Have Killed Him, If -Trump *Troops Bombed Military Installations, Port Ahead Capture United States ( US) President Donald Trump has given an account of what really happened inside the safe house where the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, was captured at the weekend. He said Maduro ran off to a safe room inside the complex, but only got as far as the door before US soldiers halted him by force. Trump described the safe house as "a military fortress" located in the center of the country's capital, Caracas, adding, however, that US troops knew exactly how to breach it.…

Since Trump took office for his second term, he has put Venezuela's dictator Nicolas Maduro squarely in his crosshairs, pursuing a maximum pressure campaign against the regime. *He accused Maduro of being behind destabilising activity in the Americas, including drug trafficking and illegal immigration to the US.Maduro was alleged to have used the security agencies to murder, maim and disappear thousands of his country men/women in brutal repression against free speech and civil rights including of political opposition. He reportedly deliberately stampeded millions more to flee the country, especially to the US, for fear of their very lives. *In July,…

*He Was Head Of Drug Cartel, Not Legitimate President, Says Secretary Of State *'Cooperated With Hezbollah,Narco-Terrorist Groups, Gave Them Open Camps Inside Venezuela' Republican United States (US) Senator Mike Lee said today that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had told him Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was arrested by US forces to stand trial on criminal charges in the US. “He [Rubio] anticipates no further action in Venezuela now that Maduro is in US custody,” Lee wrote on X after a call with Washington’s top diplomat. US Attorney General Confirms Maduro Faces Criminal Charges After Indictment In New York US…

Details have begun to emerge on how Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured in the early hours of today on the orders of US President Donald Trump. Trump had in a post on his Truth Social claimed the US had “captured” Maduro and Flores and flown them out of the South American country after a pre-dawn assault on Caracas,the country's capital, and the surrounding region. “It was a brilliant operation, actually,” the US President told the New York Times after eyewitnesses in Venezuela reported a series of explosions. “A lot of good planning and [a]…

US President Donald Trump moments ago claimed that the Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife have been “captured and flown out of the country”. In a Truth Social post shared only moments ago, Trump wrote: "The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country. This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement. Details to follow. There will be a News Conference today at 11 A.M., at Mar-a-Lago. Thank you for your…

*'You’re Drinking, Using Cocaine Again, You Need God' *Please Don't Shoot Me, Please Don't Shoot Me, Stepdaughter Begs For Life A Florida man killed his wife and shot his stepdaughter in the face following an argument over watching a football game, authorities say. Jason Kenney, 47, had been drinking and watching 'Monday Night Football' in his shed in Highland City, just east of Tampa, until about 11 p.m. on 22 December, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a news conference the following day. Kenney then went inside his home and wanted to continue watching the game in the living…

*Jubilation In US Over Trump's Strikes On ISIS In Nigeria, Uneasy Calm In Sokoto *'An Amazing Christmas present' *'Trump, America Will No Longer Tolerate These Barbarians' *Attitudes Within Nigerian Govt Beginning To Favor Protecting Christians, Actions Against Those Terrorizing Christians, Moderate Muslims --Rep Huizenga By Rosemary Ameh, Sokoto, and other reports The US’s Christmas Day strikes against Islamic State of Iraq and Syria-West Africa (ISIS/ISWAP) targets in Nigeria have been met with praise by Donald Trump supporters who for months had been agitating for the President to respond forcefully to the killings of Christians in the country. Trump told Politico…