TOPIC

/ people

Nicolas Maduro

The latest news and top stories on Nicolas Maduro, a Venezuelan politician. Starting as a bus driver and trade union leader, he ascended through government roles, serving as Foreign Minister and Vice President under Hugo Chávez. Assuming leadership in 2013, his administration has prioritised social programmes, including housing and subsidised food. He recently negotiated a deal exchanging detained migrants for Americans and political prisoners. However, his tenure is marked by widespread criticism regarding authoritarian rule, human rights abuses and economic challenges, with his re-elections in 2018 and 2024 being widely disputed.

People attend an anti-Trump protest over US action in Venezuela near the US Embassy in Budapest, Hungary, on January 7. Photo: Reuters

United States

Editorial | What happens next in Venezuela should be of international concern

If the US can take over the running of a country in this way, it could be the beginning of a slippery slope.

1 hour ago

US-Venezuela conflict

Trump declares US national emergency to protect Venezuela oil money

3 hours ago

Canada

Trump’s Venezuela and Greenland threats make Canada fear it’s next

3 hours agovideocam

US-Venezuela conflict

Venezuela’s furious streets forces are angry, armed and asking questions

The ousting of Maduro has left the ‘colectivos’ frustrated and bewildered, convinced that he was betrayed by close allies.

10 Jan 2026 - 5:00PM

A member of “3 Raices”’ a pro-government group known as “colectivos”, stands guard with an assault rifle at the organisation’s headquarters in the working-class neighbourhood of 23 de Enero, in Caracas, Venezuela, on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

Donald Trump

Trump says Colombia’s Petro to visit US, in U-turn from threats to diplomacy

Just days ago, Trump had issued a warning to the South American leader for criticising the US attack that removed Venezuela’s Maduro.

10 Jan 2026 - 3:59AM

United States

Trump ‘cancelled’ second Venezuela attack after prisoner release

Trump made the comments as he prepared to meet major oil corporations that he said will invest at least US$100 billion in Venezuela.

9 Jan 2026 - 11:11PMvideocam

US-Venezuela conflict

US seizes fifth tanker as Washington escalates bid to control Venezuela’s oil

Joint US forces intercept the Olina amid Trump talks with Chevron, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips on US$100 billion Venezuela plan.

10 Jan 2026 - 7:45AMvideocam

Video released by US Southern Command shows the seizure of the tanker Olina in the Caribbean Sea. Photo: US Southern Command

US-Venezuela conflict

China says it is ‘deeply committed’ to Venezuela as ambassador meets new leader

Interim president Delcy Rodriguez thanked Beijing for its ‘firm and consistent’ stance following the abduction of Nicolas Maduro.

9 Jan 2026 - 8:30PMvideocam

United States

As I see it | Welcome, world, to the American jungle

Far from deterring China and Russia, the operation signals that brute force, not international law, now defines American action.

9 Jan 2026 - 8:30PMvideocam

Greenland

Greenland. Greenland. Greenland. Why is Trump so fixed on the US having it?

Denmark says it’s not for sale and people on the island seem opposed to being owned by the United States.

9 Jan 2026 - 5:12PMvideocam

Greenland is a sparsely populated Arctic island and has long been considered strategically important to US defence, mainly because of its location. Photo: Reuters

China-Africa relations

China FM Wang Yi opens Africa tour with united call for rules-based order

In Ethiopia, Wang joins African Union leader Mahmoud Ali Youssouf in voicing concerns over US raid on Venezuela.

9 Jan 2026 - 2:47PMvideocam

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, chairman of the African Union Commission, in Addis Ababa on Thursday. Photo: EPA

Hong Kong’s Tai Po fire tragedy

Letters | As Hongkongers unite around Tai Po, the fire probe must deliver

Readers discuss how to sustain social cohesion in Hong Kong, the kindness of Hongkongers, and why the world must respond to the Venezuela raid.

9 Jan 2026 - 11:30AM

South Korea

Top Seoul official calls Venezuela raid ‘violent atrocity’, stirring unease

Park Seok-woon, head of a panel in the Prime Minister’s Office, faces scrutiny for denouncing US toppling of Maduro at a rally in Seoul.

9 Jan 2026 - 9:08AMvideocam

China trade

With US focused on Venezuela, China has window to pressure Japan: analysts

Beijing’s trade actions raise stakes with Tokyo, as China’s rare earth power and Japan’s chip dominance are seen as potentially key levers in their bilateral dispute.

9 Jan 2026 - 9:00AMvideocam

A worker helps make semiconductor chips for export at a factory in China’s Shandong province. Japan has a commanding market share in semiconductor equipment and materials. Photo: AFP

US-Venezuela conflict

Venezuela frees opposition figures and activists, which Trump says US requested

The releases are the first by Venezuela’s new leaders in an apparent concession to the US after its ouster of Nicolas Maduro.

9 Jan 2026 - 2:27PMvideocam

Bolivarian National Police unload riot control gear outside the Helicoide detention centre in Caracas before the release of foreign and Venezuelan prisoners. Photo: Reuters

North Korea nuclear crisis

Opinion | Maduro’s fate in Venezuela hardens North Korea’s nuclear resolve

It confirms Pyongyang’s belief that leaders seen as thorns in the US side who lack nuclear weapons ultimately fall victim to US intervention.

9 Jan 2026 - 5:30AMvideocam

US-China relations

US will end China’s dominance of rare earths, Trump adviser Navarro predicts

The president’s trade aide says American innovation will ‘quickly wipe away’ Beijing’s ‘weaponisation’ of critical minerals.

9 Jan 2026 - 3:30AMvideocam

US-Venezuela conflict

US Senate rebukes Trump on Venezuela with war powers vote

Five Republicans join Democrats in a 52-47 vote to limit further military action as the president eyes Greenland next.

9 Jan 2026 - 2:52PMvideocam

US President Donald Trump addressing House Republicans at their annual issues conference retreat in Washington this week. Photo: Reuters

France

France’s Macron slams US over Venezuela, Greenland actions

The French President condemned Washington’s isolationism after the capture of Venezuela’s leader and designs to take over the Danish territory.

9 Jan 2026 - 1:14AMvideocam

United States

China and US coexistence in Venezuela possible, US energy chief says

Chris Wright sees a constructive role for Beijing but insists Washington must remain the dominant force controlling Venezuela’s oil flows.

9 Jan 2026 - 2:31AM

Mergers & Acquisitions

China’s Sinopec, CNAF to undergo consolidation, creating energy powerhouse

State Council approves reorganisation between Sinopec and China National Aviation Fuel Group, state asset regulator says.

8 Jan 2026 - 9:34PM

A Sinopec worker walks past LNG storage tanks in Tianjin, China. Photo: Reuters

US-Venezuela conflict

Opinion | US invasion of Venezuela no guarantee of hemispheric dominance

By signalling how far it will go to defend its interests in Venezuela, the US might have intensified conflicts closer to home rather than resolving them.

8 Jan 2026 - 9:32PMvideocam

Ousted president Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela (second from right) and his wife Cilia Flores (second from left) arrive at the Wall Street Heliport in the New York City borough of Manhattan on January 5. Photo: TNS

China stock market

Macroscope | Chinese stocks could be biggest winner of Venezuela fallout

Amid rising fears over an AI bubble and geopolitical strife, China’s push for self-reliance has left it more insulated from global storms.

8 Jan 2026 - 4:30PMvideocam

Singapore

Singapore’s ex-PM says US raid in Venezuela is worrying for small countries

The city state has always made its stance clear on such issues, such as when it opposed the US invasion of Grenada in 1983, the ex-PM says.

8 Jan 2026 - 5:37PM

US-Venezuela conflict

‘Odious debt’: why China is at risk of painful losses in post-Maduro Venezuela

China has lent Venezuela tens of billions of dollars in recent decades. But Caracas could simply declare those obligations void, analysts say.

8 Jan 2026 - 2:27PM

Vehicles drive past the El Palito refinery in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela. Photo: AP

US-Venezuela conflict

North Korea’s Kim set to grab nuclear security blanket after Venezuela operation

Xi will ‘continue to support Kim if he sees the US and its allies undercutting China’s own influence in the region’, analyst says.

9 Jan 2026 - 12:22PMvideocam

Kim Jong-un oversees a hypersonic missile launch drill on Sunday, according to the North Korean state news agency. Photo: KCNA via AP

US-Venezuela conflict

Trump invites Colombia’s president to White House after threat of military strike

Invitation comes days after Trump accused Colombia’s Gustavo Petro of ‘making cocaine’ and warning of US intervention.

8 Jan 2026 - 10:45AMvideocam

Donald Trump

Trump calls for US$1.5 trillion in military spending, citing ‘dangerous times’

US president wants to build a ‘Dream Military’ and increase the US defence budget by more than half next year.

8 Jan 2026 - 11:24AM

Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.

SUPPORT NOW

Nicolas Maduro

.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}Editorial | What happens next in Venezuela should be of international concern

If the US can take over the running of a country in this way, it could be the beginning of a slippery slope.

Trump declares US national emergency to protect Venezuela oil money

Trump’s Venezuela and Greenland threats make Canada fear it’s next

Venezuela’s furious streets forces are angry, armed and asking questions

The ousting of Maduro has left the ‘colectivos’ frustrated and bewildered, convinced that he was betrayed by close allies.

Trump says Colombia’s Petro to visit US, in U-turn from threats to diplomacy

Just days ago, Trump had issued a warning to the South American leader for criticising the US attack that removed Venezuela’s Maduro.

Trump ‘cancelled’ second Venezuela attack after prisoner release

Trump made the comments as he prepared to meet major oil corporations that he said will invest at least US$100 billion in Venezuela.

US seizes fifth tanker as Washington escalates bid to control Venezuela’s oil

Joint US forces intercept the Olina amid Trump talks with Chevron, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips on US$100 billion Venezuela plan.

China says it is ‘deeply committed’ to Venezuela as ambassador meets new leader

Interim president Delcy Rodriguez thanked Beijing for its ‘firm and consistent’ stance following the abduction of Nicolas Maduro.

As I see it | Welcome, world, to the American jungle

Far from deterring China and Russia, the operation signals that brute force, not international law, now defines American action.

Greenland. Greenland. Greenland. Why is Trump so fixed on the US having it?

Denmark says it’s not for sale and people on the island seem opposed to being owned by the United States.

China FM Wang Yi opens Africa tour with united call for rules-based order

In Ethiopia, Wang joins African Union leader Mahmoud Ali Youssouf in voicing concerns over US raid on Venezuela.

.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Letters | As Hongkongers unite around Tai Po, the fire probe must deliver

Readers discuss how to sustain social cohesion in Hong Kong, the kindness of Hongkongers, and why the world must respond to the Venezuela raid.

Top Seoul official calls Venezuela raid ‘violent atrocity’, stirring unease

Park Seok-woon, head of a panel in the Prime Minister’s Office, faces scrutiny for denouncing US toppling of Maduro at a rally in Seoul.

With US focused on Venezuela, China has window to pressure Japan: analysts

Beijing’s trade actions raise stakes with Tokyo, as China’s rare earth power and Japan’s chip dominance are seen as potentially key levers in their bilateral dispute.

Venezuela frees opposition figures and activists, which Trump says US requested

The releases are the first by Venezuela’s new leaders in an apparent concession to the US after its ouster of Nicolas Maduro.

Opinion | Maduro’s fate in Venezuela hardens North Korea’s nuclear resolve

It confirms Pyongyang’s belief that leaders seen as thorns in the US side who lack nuclear weapons ultimately fall victim to US intervention.

US will end China’s dominance of rare earths, Trump adviser Navarro predicts

The president’s trade aide says American innovation will ‘quickly wipe away’ Beijing’s ‘weaponisation’ of critical minerals.

US Senate rebukes Trump on Venezuela with war powers vote

Five Republicans join Democrats in a 52-47 vote to limit further military action as the president eyes Greenland next.

France’s Macron slams US over Venezuela, Greenland actions

The French President condemned Washington’s isolationism after the capture of Venezuela’s leader and designs to take over the Danish territory.

China and US coexistence in Venezuela possible, US energy chief says

Chris Wright sees a constructive role for Beijing but insists Washington must remain the dominant force controlling Venezuela’s oil flows.

China’s Sinopec, CNAF to undergo consolidation, creating energy powerhouse

State Council approves reorganisation between Sinopec and China National Aviation Fuel Group, state asset regulator says.

Opinion | US invasion of Venezuela no guarantee of hemispheric dominance

By signalling how far it will go to defend its interests in Venezuela, the US might have intensified conflicts closer to home rather than resolving them.

Macroscope | Chinese stocks could be biggest winner of Venezuela fallout

Amid rising fears over an AI bubble and geopolitical strife, China’s push for self-reliance has left it more insulated from global storms.

Singapore’s ex-PM says US raid in Venezuela is worrying for small countries

The city state has always made its stance clear on such issues, such as when it opposed the US invasion of Grenada in 1983, the ex-PM says.

‘Odious debt’: why China is at risk of painful losses in post-Maduro Venezuela

China has lent Venezuela tens of billions of dollars in recent decades. But Caracas could simply declare those obligations void, analysts say.

North Korea’s Kim set to grab nuclear security blanket after Venezuela operation

Xi will ‘continue to support Kim if he sees the US and its allies undercutting China’s own influence in the region’, analyst says.

Trump invites Colombia’s president to White House after threat of military strike

Invitation comes days after Trump accused Colombia’s Gustavo Petro of ‘making cocaine’ and warning of US intervention.

Trump calls for US$1.5 trillion in military spending, citing ‘dangerous times’

US president wants to build a ‘Dream Military’ and increase the US defence budget by more than half next year.

Editorial | What happens next in Venezuela should be of international concern

Letters | As Hongkongers unite around Tai Po, the fire probe must deliver