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18.12.2025 - 08:05 [ Trinidad and Tobago Guardian ]

Not in that: PM says T&T not involved in US blockade against Venezuela

“They have asked for no as­sis­tance about blockad­ing in Venezuela, no, they have not,” Per­sad-Bisses­sar said af­ter at­tend­ing the fu­ner­al for for­mer col­league Daphne Phillips.

(,,,)

When asked about Trinidad and To­ba­go’s po­si­tion should any US mil­i­tary strikes oc­cur, Per­sad-Bisses­sar stressed that the Gov­ern­ment’s pri­or­i­ty is to keep the coun­try safe. She made it clear that T&T has no ag­gres­sive in­tent to­wards Venezuela.

“T and T first, that will al­ways be our po­si­tion. We have no in­ten­tion of en­gag­ing in any war with Venezuela. I’ve al­ways said we stand in sol­i­dar­i­ty with the peo­ple of Venezuela and we will con­tin­ue so to do.”

18.12.2025 - 04:44 [ U.S. Representative Jim McGovern ]

House Rejects McGovern’s Bipartisan War Powers Resolution, Shamefully Surrendering More Power to the White House

WASHINGTON—Today, House Republicans (and sadly, one spineless Democrat) shamefully rejected Congressman McGovern‘s War Powers Resolution, which would have directed President Trump to cease all hostilities within or against Venezuela.

“I’m furious that cowardly lawmakers have once again surrendered Congress’ Constitutional responsibility on matters of war to a wannabe dictator in the White House,” said Ranking Member McGovern. “The Founders intentionally did not want any president to have unilateral power to start a war, much less one like Donald Trump, who campaigned on ending unnecessary foreign conflicts. He‘s now breaking that promise—and his weak, pathetic lackeys in Congress are letting him drag us into yet another endless war that no one except their billionaire buddies in Big Oil want.”

18.12.2025 - 04:15 [ United States Representative Gregory Meeks ]

House Foreign Affairs Ranking Member Meeks‘ Floor Debate Remarks on War Powers Resolution to Prohibit Hostilities Against Venezuela

„As I said earlier today on this floor, during the debate on my War Powers Resolution to end this administration’s extrajudicial strikes on boats in the Western Hemisphere, those bombings are not about drugs. If the administration did want to stop drugs, Trump would not have pardoned the former President of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, or Ross Ulbricht, who operated the Silk Road drug marketplace. He wouldn’t be seizing an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. Or threatening CIA operations, blockades, and ground strikes on Venezuela.

„It’s not about drugs, it’s about regime change, and it’s about oil. That’s not just me saying that. It’s Trump himself saying it. It’s President Trump’s Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles, who said Trump wants to, and I quote, “keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle.” And it relies on the magical thinking that military force can bring democracy in Venezuela or anywhere else.

„But his chief of staff also conceded, as any reasonable person with any knowledge of the constitution should, that if Trump, quote, “were to authorize some activity on land, then it’s war, then [we’d need] Congress.”

„On that, she’s right. Congress would need to pass an Authorization for the Use of Military Force if Trump wanted to put boots on the ground or conduct military strikes on Venezuela. And for that, Republicans in Congress would need to cast their vote on whether to commit U.S. armed forces to an open-ended conflict their constituents certainly do not want.

„Trump ran on ending forever wars, but now he’s forgotten what they are. What his own Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth characterized as, quote, “interventionism, undefined wars, regime change, and feckless nation building.” Yet with Venezuela, Trump is provoking a new war right in our backyard and threatening to destabilize an entire region.

18.12.2025 - 03:46 [ theIntercept.com ]

Congress Squanders Last Chance to Block Venezuela War Before Going on Vacation

“Americans do not want another Iraq. If we intensify hostilities in Venezuela, we have no idea what we’re walking into,” McGovern said. “At least George Bush had the decency to come to Congress for approval in 2002. Don’t the American people deserve that respect today?”

Bush in 2002 sought and received a formal authorization for his attack on Iraq. Without taking any similar steps, Trump has massed thousands of American service members in the Caribbean without formal approval.

18.12.2025 - 03:03 [ Common Dreams ]

‘Absolute Dereliction of Duty’: House Republicans Kill Venezuela War Powers Resolutions

The resolution was defeated 210-216, with seven lawmakers not voting. Two Republicans—Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska and Thomas Massie of Kentucky—voted in favor of the measure. Democratic Texas Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez joined their GOP colleagues in voting down the proposal.

The second resolution, introduced by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), would have directed Trump to “remove the use of United States armed forces from hostilities within or against Venezuela, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific statutory authorization for use of military force.”

The resolution failed by a vote of 211-213, with nine members not voting. Republicans Bacon, Massie, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia voted “yes” on the legislation, while Cuellar voted against the proposal.

17.12.2025 - 05:50 [ MehrNews.com ]

Gaza death toll rises to 70,667 since Oct. 07

Thousands of others are still missing and buried under rubble in the Gaza Strip.

Since the ceasefire was established on October 11, 2025, 393 people have been martyred and 1,074 others have been injured. Also, the bodies of 634 martyrs have been recovered from the rubble during this period.

17.12.2025 - 05:31 [ Palestine Chronicle ]

Two Palestinian Youths Killed in under 24 Hours in Ongoing West Bank Raids

Tuqu Mayor Muhammad al-Badan said that as mourners dispersed following the funeral of 16-year-old Ammar Sabah who was killed on Monday evening, a few youth remained at the northern entrance to the town, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

An illegal settler then got out of his vehicle and opened fire at them, killing Muheeb Ahmed Jibril and seriously wounding another young man, the report added.

17.12.2025 - 04:42 [ Trinidad Express ]

US gets green light …Military aircraft to use local airports

“In keeping with established bilateral cooperation, the ministry has granted approvals for United States military aircraft to transit Trinidad and Tobago’s airports in the coming weeks,” Monday’s release stated.

17.12.2025 - 04:35 [ ABC News ]

Hegseth says Pentagon won’t release video of strike on drug boat survivors to public

At issue is whether the Sept. 2 military strike on the alleged drug boat amounted to a war crime, as some lawmakers have suggested. Officials have confirmed there were four military strikes against the boat — the first strike killing nine of the 11 people aboard. Some 40 minutes later, a second strike was ordered to kill the remaining two survivors. Two more strikes were ordered to sink the boat, officials say.

Trump initially said he would release the video, telling reporters on Dec. 3 “whatever they have, we’d certainly release, no problem.” Trump later backtracked, saying he would defer to Hegseth.

17.12.2025 - 03:55 [ Fox News ]

Trump declares ‚Venezuelan regime‘ a foreign terrorist organization, orders oil tanker blockade

President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered a total blockade of oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela, declaring the Nicolás Maduro regime a foreign terrorist organization and accusing it of using stolen U.S. assets to finance terrorism, trafficking and other criminal activity.

„Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America,“ Trump said on Truth Social. „It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before – Until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us.

17.12.2025 - 03:48 [ NPR.org ]

U.S. military says strikes on 3 boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean kill 8 people

(December 16, 2025)

The military said in a statement on social media that the strikes targeted „designated terrorist organizations,“ killing three people in the first vessel, two in the second boat and three in the third boat. It didn‘t provide evidence of their alleged drug trafficking but posted a video of a boat moving through water before exploding.

17.12.2025 - 03:13 [ Antiwar.com ]

House To Vote This Week on Bill To Block Trump From Launching a War With Venezuela

(December 15, 2025)

The House is expected to vote on Thursday on a bipartisan War Powers Resolution aimed at blocking President Trump from launching an attack on Venezuela amid a major US military buildup in the Caribbean and threats of a regime change war to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

17.12.2025 - 03:07 [ Antwiar.com ]

US War Department Says ‘No Force Posture Changes’ in Syria After Three Americans Killed

(December 15, 2025)

“Currently, we have no force posture changes to announce,” a War Department official told Antiwar.com when asked if the Trump administration was planning to withdraw from Syria.

The US withdrew a few hundred soldiers from Syria earlier this year, but the comment signals a full withdrawal isn’t on the table. There are currently around 1,000 US troops in the country, a Pentagon official told The New York Times.

16.12.2025 - 03:53 [ theGuardian.com ]

Europe ready to lead ‘multinational force’ in Ukraine as part of US peace plan

In a statement, the leaders of the UK, France, Germany and eight other European countries said troops from a “coalition of the willing” with US support could “assist in the regeneration of Ukraine’s forces, in securing Ukraine’s skies, and in supporting safer seas, including through operating inside Ukraine”.

15.12.2025 - 02:41 [ New York Times ]

Behind the Seized Venezuelan Tanker, Cuba’s Secret Lifeline

(December 12, 2025)

President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela and his predecessor, Hugo Chávez, have for decades sent oil to Cuba at highly subsidized prices, providing a crucial resource at low cost to the impoverished island.

In return, the Cuban government over the years has sent tens of thousands of medics, sports instructors and, increasingly, security professionals on assignments to Venezuela. That exchange has assumed special importance as Mr. Maduro has leaned on Cuban bodyguards and counterintelligence officers to protect himself against the U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean

15.12.2025 - 02:23 [ U.S. Southern Command ]

Cooperative Security Locations

Caribbean CSL (Aruba-Curacao, The Netherlands Antilles)

The CSL is at two locations: Curaçao`s Hato International Airport and Aruba`s Reina Beatrix International Airport. The formal 10-year access agreement with the Kingdom of the Netherlands was signed in March 2000 and the Netherlands` parliament ratified the agreement in October 2001. Both CSL locations required minor construction improvements to include aircraft parking ramps, maintenance, and operations buildings. Counter-drug flights were made from these locations even as improvements were being made. To date, the Aruba CSL has seen limited improvement and use while the Curacao CSL has received all required improvements to include ramp space for two large, two medium, and six small aircraft, a fresh water rise facility, a maintenance hangar, and an operations building.

Aruba-Curacao provides effective, rapid response operations in the northern source zone, which includes the Guajira Peninsula of Colombia and the Venezuelan border region, as well as a large part of the transit zone. The U.S. Air Force handles day-to-day operations at the CSL.

15.12.2025 - 02:21 [ SimpleFlying.com ]

„Outrageous“: JetBlue A320 Narrowly Avoids Mid-Air Collision With US Military Tanker Over Curaçao

To maintain a safe level of separation, the JetBlue aircraft halted its climb and leveled its altitude before eventually climbing again to cruising altitude. During communications between the aircraft and ATC, Curaçao‘s control center confirmed that the military tanker was not visible on their screens either.

With its transponder not switched on, the aircraft would also not have been visible to JetBlue‘s Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), which relies on transponder signals from nearby aircraft to warn of potential collisions. While this near-miss occurred during daylight hours, the situation could have been a lot worse if it happened at night during minimal visibility.

15.12.2025 - 02:15 [ CNN ]

JetBlue plane near Venezuela avoids ‘midair collision’ with US Air Force aircraft

A JetBlue flight from the small Caribbean nation of Curaçao halted its ascent to avoid colliding with a US Air Force refueling tanker on Friday, and the pilot blamed the military plane for crossing his path.

“We almost had a midair collision up here,” the JetBlue pilot said, according to a recording of his conversation with air traffic control. “They passed directly in our flight path. … They don’t have their transponder turned on, it’s outrageous.”

The incident involved JetBlue Flight 1112 from Curaçao, which is just off the coast of Venezuela, en route to New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.

15.12.2025 - 01:26 [ Nation News Barbados ]

US landing military aircraft in Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo – The government of the Dominican Republic has authorised several United States military aircraft to land in the country in the coming days as part of an operational support deployment in the Caribbean.

The aircraft will have temporary permits to operate from restricted areas at San Isidro Air Base and Las Américas International Airport.

15.12.2025 - 01:18 [ CNC3.co.tt ]

US military aircraft to arrive in Dominican Republic for deployment in the Caribbean

(December 13, 2025)

The C-130, in service since 1954, is one of the most successful military transport aircraft in history. Designed for rugged operations during the Cold War, it has been used in conflicts such as Vietnam and Desert Storm, as well as major humanitarian missions in Haiti, during Hurricane Katrina, and in global disaster zones.

The KC-130, introduced in the 1960s, serves as a tanker and logistics aircraft, enabling aerial refueling for fighter jets, helicopters, and drones.

It has supported operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya, as well as nighttime special operations and personnel transport.

15.12.2025 - 01:16 [ France24.com ]

Dominican Republic to allow US to use facilities for anti-drug ops

(November 27, 2025)

The announcement came during a visit by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to Santo Domingo, as the United States seeks to ramp up pressure on leftist Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, whom Washington accuses of heading a drug cartel.

„We have authorized the United States, for a limited time, to use restricted areas at the San Isidro Air Base and the Las Americas International Airport for logistical operations of aircraft,“ including refueling and the transport of equipment and personnel, President Luis Abinader told a news conference.

15.12.2025 - 00:52 [ Middle East Monitor ]

3 killed in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon despite ceasefire

December 14, 2025 at 8:07 pm

(…)

The attacks came amid reports that Lebanon had received warnings from Arab and international parties on Israeli preparations to launch a large-scale offensive in Lebanon.

15.12.2025 - 00:50 [ SadaNews.ps ]

Two Martyrs in Israeli Airstrikes and Ongoing Escalation in Southern Lebanon

Sunday 14 December 2025 – Time: 14:24

SadaNews – Two Lebanese citizens were martyred and another was injured today, Sunday, in two separate Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon; the first targeted a motorcycle in the town of Yater, and the second hit a car between the towns of Safad al-Batikh and Barashit, marking a new escalation of Israeli assaults on southern regions.

Additionally, an Israeli drone targeted a vehicle in the town of Joya, with the toll from the attack still unknown; while the Israeli army stated that it targeted three members of Hezbollah in various areas of southern Lebanon.

14.12.2025 - 10:36 [ Middle East Eye ]

Gaza death toll reaches 70,654

13 December 2025 11:53 GMT

Gaza‘s health ministry has reported that three bodies were transferred to hospital in the last 24 hours, boosting the death toll of Palestinians killed by Israel since October 2023 to 70,654 people.

14.12.2025 - 09:34 [ theGuardian.com ]

‘We’re living in terror’: fears in southern Syria over Israel’s growing occupation

(December 9, 2025)

A year after Israeli forces entered southern Syria, crossing into a UN buffer zone and in some cases beyond, its occupation remains and the frequency of the Israeli military raids on towns is increasing. An Israeli incursion in the town of Beit Jinn at the end of November left at least 13 Syrians dead, including two children.

Residents say they have traded the tyranny of Assad for a military occupation. Checkpoints are now operated by Israelis, not Assad officers. Night-time raids and phone searches continue.

14.12.2025 - 09:28 [ AirAndSpaceForces.com ]

US Needs Troops in Syria to Stop ISIS Comeback, CENTCOM Nominee Says

(June 24, 2025)

The U.S. and the SDF stayed clear of Syria’s civil war, which led to the overthrow of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who fled to Russia.

The country’s new president is Ahmed al-Sharaa, who led the Islamist rebel group Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) that swept to power last December and has vowed to establish a tolerant, multi-ethnic state.

After months of deliberation, the U.S. has thrown its support behind the new Syrian leader. President Trump announced last month that he would lift sanctions on the country, a decision he made with encouragement from Saudi Arabia while Trump was in the Middle East.

14.12.2025 - 09:22 [ Middle East Eye ]

US rebuffed Israeli demands to keep more US troops in northeast Syria, sources say

(April 23, 2025)

US President Donald Trump’s Middle East chief at the National Security Council, Eric Trager, rebuffed Israeli and northeast Syrian officials in the last several weeks, saying that the US is transitioning from a “military to political role” in northeast Syria and that the drawdown of US troops would continue, the sources told MEE, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive discussions.

“Israel is opposed to the US withdrawing from northeast Syria,” one former US official told MEE. “They want to see the US extract concessions from Turkey on demilitarisation before any American boots leave Syrian soil.”

14.12.2025 - 09:09 [ Times of Israel ]

US military said poised to slash troops in Syria; Israel seeks to limit reduction

(April 16, 2025)

Israel has been kept in the loop about plan that could see US troop presence shrunk from 2,000 to 1,000; Jerusalem fears it will increase Turkey’s ‘appetite’ to control Syria.

(…)

Trump announced a full withdrawal of US troops from Syria during his first term but never followed through completely. Then too, Israel opposed the move, expressing concern that an American withdrawal would create a power vacuum in the region, allowing Tehran to expand its military entrenchment near the Israeli border.

12.12.2025 - 08:26 [ Interfax.com.ua ]

USA wants clarity on deal by Christmas – Zelenskyy

„There were no specific ultimatum dates. The fact that everyone wants to finish as soon as possible is a fact. The United States wants to finish faster – we hear that from them. I think they really wanted, or maybe want to have a full understanding of where we are with this agreement by Christmas,“ Zelenskyy said during a meeting with journalists on Thursday.

12.12.2025 - 08:22 [ UltimasNoticias.com ]

Maduro: The crew members of the oil tanker are missing

„They committed a criminal and illegal act when they carried out a military assault, kidnapping, and robbery—like pirates of the Caribbean—of a merchant, commercial, civilian, private vessel. A ship of peace, which was attacked almost upon reaching the Atlantic, not off the coast of Venezuela. It was further north, beyond Trinidad and Tobago, towards the island of Grenada.“

Regarding the crew, he said, „As I speak to you now, the crew of that ship, which was carrying 1.900.000 barrels of oil to international markets—oil that was paid for in Venezuela, because everyone who extracts oil pays for it first—are being held captive, they‘ve disappeared, nobody knows where they are. The crew was kidnapped. The ship was stolen, and a new era has begun: that of criminal naval piracy in the Caribbean.“