TOPIC
 / people

Nicolas Maduro

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.
US President Donald Trump (right) spoke with Colombian President Gustavo Petro over the phone on Wednesday. Photos: 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.

United States

Trump ‘cancelled’ second Venezuela attack after prisoner release

videocam
5
US-Venezuela conflict

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

videocam
29
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.

videocam
17
Venezuela interim president Delcy Rodriguez meets Chinese ambassador Lan Hu. Photo: Handout
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.

videocam
11
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.

videocam
10
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
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.

videocam
17
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.

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.

videocam
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.

videocam
13
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.

videocam
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.

videocam
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.

videocam
33
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.

videocam
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.

videocam
9
French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech to French ambassadors on Thursday in Paris. Photo: AP
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.

5
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.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
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.

videocam
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.

videocam
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.

9
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.

38
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.

videocam
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.

videocam
7
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.

12
US-Venezuela conflict

US won’t rule out pressuring Venezuela to curb China, Russia ties

White House vows continued ‘American dominance in the western hemisphere’ as Trump claims Caracas will now buy ‘only American-made’ products.

videocam
74
US White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt addresses the media during a press briefing in Washington on Wednesday. Photo: EPA
United States

AI deepfakes flood social media after dramatic US raid on Maduro

Fake images of Venezuela’s abducted former leader Nicolas Maduro in US custody and recycled war photos are drowning out real news.

Captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife are escorted to a Manhattan court to face US federal charges on Monday. Photo: Reuters
US-Venezuela conflict

US to take control of Venezuela oil sales indefinitely after tanker seizures

Trump says Venezuela ‘stole’ US oil and vowed that proceeds from crude would be sold and controlled by him to benefit both countries.

videocam
43
United States

Opinion | Why Asia should be concerned about the US attack on Venezuela

Venezuela matters less as a case in itself than as a signal of how energy is being repositioned amid intensifying US-China competition.

videocam
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.
SUPPORT NOW
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement