INTERNACIONAL
China moves into Venezuela as Maduro regime gets Beijing lifeline amid US tensions
Venezuela’s Maduro accuses US of starting ‘eternal war’
Manhattan Institute fellow Daniel Di Martino, who faces losing his Venezuelan citizenship, discusses Nicolás Maduro’s plan to target opposition activists and President Donald Trump’s denial that he is considering strikes within the country.
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As President Donald Trump warns of «zero tolerance» for narco-states in America’s backyard, China is tightening its grip on Venezuela — a high-risk economic and political bet that could soon collide with U.S. power.
U.S. defense officials confirmed to Reuters last month that a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group had entered the Southern Command region, which covers the Caribbean and the northern coast of South America, to monitor narcotrafficking routes linked to Venezuela’s military leadership.
The Pentagon said the arrival of USS Gerald R. Ford, carrying more than 4,000 sailors and dozens of tactical aircraft, would «bolster US capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities.» It added that the mission aims to «degrade and dismantle transnational criminal organizations.»
CHINA CONDEMNS US MILITARY BUILDUP OFF VENEZUELA COAST AS FOREIGN INTERFERENCE IN REGIONAL AFFAIRS
China’s President Xi Jinping (R) waves next to Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro during a visit to a housing development in Caracas July 21, 2014. China will provide Venezuela with a $4 billion credit line under an agreement signed on Monday, with the money to be repaid by oil shipments from OPEC member Venezuela. The deal was inked during a 24-hour visit to Venezuela by Xi, who is on a tour of Latin America. (Carlos Garcia Rawlins/ Reuters)
Within weeks, Venezuelan officers were reportedly training for guerrilla-style defense against a possible U.S. strike — an acknowledgment, according to Reuters, of «rising anxiety inside Caracas.»
Into this standoff, Beijing unveiled a «zero-tariff» trade agreement with Caracas at the Shanghai Expo 2025, announced by Deputy Minister for Foreign Trade Coromoto Godoy. Venezuelan officials said the accord covers roughly 400 tariff categories, removing duties on Chinese and Venezuelan goods.
While final implementation details remain pending verification, the goal is clear: Beijing is moving fast into a sanctioned economy that Washington has sought to isolate.
«This really looks like China is going to completely take over the Venezuelan economy,» said Gordon Chang, an expert on China’s global trade strategy. «It’s going to decimate Venezuela’s local industry.»
«Venezuela basically sells petroleum to China and very little else,» he said. «China, of course, is a manufacturer of many, many items. Venezuelan manufacturing is not going to experience a renaissance anytime soon — it’s going the opposite direction.»
VENEZUELA MOBILIZES TROOPS, WEAPONS IN RESPONSE TO US WARSHIP BUILDUP IN CARIBBEAN
Sailors aboard the world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), launch a Carrier Air Wing 8 F/A-18E Super Hornet attached to Strike Fighter Squadron 31 from the flight deck, Sept. 26, 2025. (Mariano Lopez)
Chang added that Maduro’s sudden embrace of Beijing stems from fear of Trump’s next move.
«Maduro probably doesn’t have a choice,» he said. «He realizes he’s got a problem in the form of Donald J. Trump. There’s a U.S. aircraft carrier not far from his shores, and a lot of military assets bearing down on him. He needs a friend, and he’s desperate.»
«For Maduro, the zero-tariff pact may offer temporary relief — but it only deepens dependence,» Chang added. «I don’t see this trade deal as strengthening Venezuela. I see it strengthening China’s stranglehold over Venezuela.»
US MILITARY BUILDUP IN CARIBBEAN SEES BOMBERS, MARINES AND WARSHIPS CONVERGE NEAR VENEZUELA
From Beijing’s perspective, the tariff-free pact opens a commercial and strategic doorway into the Western Hemisphere just as Washington doubles down on sanctions.
The Council on Foreign Relations estimates that China has extended around $60 billion in loans to Venezuela over the past two decades, much of it repaid through oil shipments — a figure still cited by both Chinese and Venezuelan officials in 2025.
Members of the Bolivarian National Militia patrol on a street in the 23 de Enero neighborhood during a military exercise, in Caracas, Venezuela, January 23, 2025. (Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/Reuters)
«China has leveraged multibillion-dollar loans and the establishment of satellite positioning and surveillance facilities to secure strategic control over Venezuela’s natural resources and critical infrastructure,» said Isaias Medina III, an Edward Mason Fellow at Harvard University and a former Venezuelan diplomat to the U.N. Security Council.
Medina was referring to the El Sombrero satellite ground station in Venezuela’s Guárico province — a joint China-Venezuela project that Western analysts, including a recent Associated Press report, describe as part of a wider space cooperation network giving Beijing an intelligence foothold in Latin America.
US BOLSTERS MILITARY PRESENCE IN CARIBBEAN NEAR VENEZUELA AMID TRUMP’S EFFORTS TO HALT DRUG TRAFFICKING
Medina said the new pact must be understood as one layer in a wider anti-Western alignment.
«Under the banner of so-called ‘21st Century Socialism,’ initiated by Hugo Chávez and expanded by Nicolás Maduro, the nation has evolved into a forward operating base for regimes openly hostile to the United States and its allies,» he said.
«Iran, Russia, China, and Cuba have entrenched themselves across Venezuelan territory, using the country as a platform for asymmetric warfare, intelligence operations, and ideological expansion throughout Latin America.»
President Nicolas Maduro stands in front of a portrait of Venezuela’s late President Hugo Chavez. (AP Photo/Miraflores Press Office, File)
He noted that «Russia’s military footprint includes more than $12 billion in arms sales and ongoing defense cooperation and Wagner Group presence in military exercises,» while Cuban military advisers remain embedded inside Venezuelan security institutions.
«Iran has exploited this environment to embed terrorist proxies such as Hezbollah and Hamas, using Venezuela as both a financial hub and a logistical corridor. These activities extend to former training camps in Syria, where Venezuelan operatives and mercenaries have been indoctrinated in hybrid warfare tactics,» he added. «Iranian interest includes potential drone manufacturing and uranium mining.»
«The Maduro government, shielded by the absence of the rule of law or legitimate governance, has replaced statecraft with criminal enterprise,» Medina said. «Grand corruption is not the exception; it is the system.»
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro has yet to publicly comment on the strike. (Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo)
«The humanitarian toll is catastrophic,» he added. «Over 30% of Venezuela’s population has been forcibly displaced. Starvation has been weaponized as a tool of social control, amounting to a war crime under international law. Despite the enormity of these crimes, many United Nations member states continue to recognize and engage with this illegitimate regime, thereby perpetuating its impunity. The failure to confront this crisis decisively enables a coalition of adversaries, state and non-state actors alike, to project power dangerously close to U.S. territory.»
For now, Washington’s sanctions campaign still constrains Venezuela’s oil lifelines. In March 2025, Reuters reported that U.S. threats to impose tariffs on nations buying Venezuelan crude caused a temporary disruption in shipments to China. Beijing dismissed the measures as «illegal extraterritorial actions» and vowed to continue cooperation — but has not disclosed how it will enforce the new tariff-free pact.
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The Maduro administration is seeking to rally government supporters amidst a sagging economy and refugee crisis. (Jesus Vargas/AP Photo)
Chang said the underlying reality hasn’t changed: China can’t protect Caracas from U.S. hard power.
«It can certainly launch a propaganda blitz,» he said, «but it can’t project military force in the region. It’s really up to what President Trump does. China does not have the military strength to oppose American intervention if that’s what Trump decides.»
Medina agreed that the stakes reach beyond economics. «Just three hours from U.S. shores, this narco-terrorist regime has become the operational convergence of organized crime, drug trafficking, money laundering, and human rights atrocities,» he said, urging a Western response combining «diplomatic isolation, targeted sanctions, and, when necessary, defensive deployments.»
venezuelan political crisis,china,donald trump,americas,cuba,russia
INTERNACIONAL
Mamdani disputes antisemitism definition amid blowback from Jewish community about Day 1 executive orders
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Zohran Mamdani, the newly sworn-in mayor of New York City, suggested Friday that the widely adopted definition of antisemitism from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) does not actually protect Jewish New Yorkers. The mayor spoke amid backlash over Day 1 executive orders that have angered many Jewish and civil rights groups.
The self-described democratic socialist also dismissed allegations that the timing of his executive orders, which came just hours after he was sworn in, were illustrative of what critics have argued is his record of hostility toward Israel and the Jewish community.
The new mayor’s Day 1 directives included rescinding a ban on city agencies from boycotting or divesting from Israel and ending the city’s adoption of the IHRA definition on antisemitism ushered in by the former mayor, Eric Adams.
«When we speak about the IHRA definition that you asked about, you know, protecting Jewish New Yorkers is going to be a focus of my administration, and I also know that a number, as you said, of leading Jewish organizations, have immense concerns around this definition,» Mamdani said in response to questions about his executive orders Friday afternoon in Brooklyn.
SOCIALIST MAYOR MAMDANI INAUGURATED ALONGSIDE BERNIE SANDERS AND AOC ON NEW YEAR’S DAY
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani suggested Friday that the widely adopted definition of antisemitism from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance does not actually protect Jewish New Yorkers. (Reuters/Jeenah Moon and Jennifer Mitchell/Fox News Digital)
«What we will do is actually deliver on our commitment to protect Jewish New Yorkers in a manner that is able to actually fulfill that,» he added before moving on to another question.
When asked about the criticism regarding the speed of the executive orders aimed at rescinding protections against antisemitism in New York City, Mamdani did not directly answer the question.
«As the new mayor of a city, you have to sign a continuation of all prior executive orders or a revocation or an amendment of all of them. And, so, what we did was sign an executive order that continued every executive order that predated the moment when our former mayor was indicted, a moment when many New Yorkers lost even more faith in New York City politics and the ability of city government to actually prioritize the needs of the public,» Mamdani responded.
«And what we will now do is showcase that new era to protect each and every New Yorker and to deliver for those same New Yorkers in a manner that they have not seen under prior administrations.»
Newly sworn-in Mayor Zohran Mamdani and former New York City Mayor Eric Adams (Getty Images; AP Images)
Mamdani’s responses at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn came shortly after a slew of civil rights and pro-Jewish organizations doubled down on the criticism over Mamdani’s Day 1 directives affecting the Jewish community.
ZOHRAN MAMDANI WILL BE FIRST MAYOR TO BE SWORN IN ON QURAN DURING NEW YORK CITY INAUGURATION
«We are deeply troubled that, on his first day in office, Mayor Mamdani weakened protections to fight antisemitism,» the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) New York and New Jersey chapter said Friday.
The group, alongside a cohort of other New York-area Jewish groups, issued a joint statement against Mamdani’s executive orders.
«Revoking these executive orders removes key tools for addressing antisemitism, including BDS-driven efforts that seek to demonize, delegitimize and isolate the world’s only Jewish state,» the ADL added.
Zohran Mamdani has faced backlash from the Jewish community over his Day 1 executive orders affecting Jewish New Yorkers. (Andres Kudacki/Bastien Ohier/Hans Lucas via Getty Images)
In addition to Mamdani’s executive order rescinding «all executive orders issued on or after September 26, 2024,» which included the measures affecting the Jewish community, the new mayor also unveiled a second executive order on Day 1 establishing five new deputy mayor positions in his administration.
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Also Friday, Mamdani unveiled another new executive order shortly after he was sworn in to establish a new «Office of Mass Engagement,» which aims to prioritize and centralize the city government’s public comment and feedback mechanisms intended to help New Yorkers stay engaged with politics in the Big Apple.
zohran mamdani,new york city,executive policy,executive,anti semitism,new york,politics
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A customer at a McDonald’s in Brazil was seen launching into a flying kick toward an employee during a fight in the fast-food restaurant.
The incident happened at the chain’s Sao Paulo location during a confrontation between workers and customers, The Sun reported.
A couple was seen arguing with staff members on Dec. 13 when the dispute escalated.
MCDONALD’S WORKER SHOOTS CUSTOMER IN NECK DURING ‘MCMESS’ ALTERCATION, FLORIDA SHERIFF SAYS
An altercation occurred in a McDonald’s in Brazil, which ended in a customer launching a «flying kick» at an employee. (Mike Leidig/newsX)
As both sides scream at each other, a female customer is seen hurling a fallen burger at one of the employees, the outlet reported.
In response, an employee throws what appeared to be a burger box at a man in a white T-shirt who appears to be accompanying the woman.
The man leads a small girl away before he launched himself at employees near a counter with a flying kick. An employee then appears to throw a punch, prompting the man to walk away.
WATCH: FOOD ORDER MIX-UP TRIGGERS BRAWL AT BURGER JOINT, LEADING TO SEVEN ARRESTS
Footage captured an altercation in a McDonald’s in Brazil. (Mike Leidig/newsX)
Other employees attempted to step in as the woman demanded her money back. She is seen picking something up from the counter and throwing it before the footage ends.
The reason for the dispute was unclear, but local media outlets said it could have stemmed from a food order.
McDonald’s said it regretted the scenes of violence at its Sao Paulo branch, the Sun report states.
A McDonald’s employee in Brazil is seen getting ready to throw something toward a customer. (Mike Leidig/newsX)
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The fast-food giant said it was investigating the incident and taking appropriate measures.
fast food,brazil,food
Francia instauró una de las restricciones más estrictas de Europa sobre las sustancias perfluoroalquiladas y polifluoroalquiladas (PFAS), conocidas como “químicos eternos”, al prohibir desde el 1 de enero de 2026 la producción, importación y venta de cosméticos, ropa y otros productos que contienen estos compuestos, siempre que existen alternativas disponibles.
La medida, celebrada por organizaciones medioambientales y respaldada por más de 140.000 ciudadanos en una petición parlamentaria, respondió a la creciente alarma sobre los efectos nocivos de estas sustancias en la salud y el medio ambiente. Los PFAS agrupan más de 10.000 compuestos sintéticos que se usan desde la década de 1940 para fabricar artículos diversos como utensilios antiadherentes, prendas impermeables y productos de cuidado personal.
Estas sustancias se caracterizan por su extrema durabilidad; pueden tardar miles de años en degradarse y se detectaron prácticamente en todos los rincones del planeta, desde la cima del Everest hasta el interior de cetáceos en océanos remotos. Esta persistencia facilita su acumulación en suelos, aguas subterráneas, la cadena alimentaria y el agua potable.
La exposición crónica a los PFAS, incluso a bajas concentraciones, se vinculó con daños hepáticos, alteraciones del colesterol, disminución de la respuesta inmunitaria, menor peso al nacer y distintos tipos de cáncer.
Investigaciones recientes señalan que estas sustancias pueden ingresar al organismo no solo por ingestión o inhalación, sino también a través de la piel, lo que incrementó la preocupación por su uso en productos de uso cotidiano, según informó Euronews.
La ley francesa se aprobó en febrero de 2025 y representó un cambio radical para industrias clave como la cosmética y la textil. La industria cosmética francesa, que genera más de EUR 30.000 millones anuales según la asociación FEBEA, reformuló ingredientes y procesos para cumplir la nueva normativa. Las empresas textiles también enfrentaron el desafío de revisar cadenas de suministro y buscar materiales alternativos, debido al uso extendido de PFAS por sus propiedades de resistencia y fácil mantenimiento, de acuerdo con France 24.
La prohibición incluye cosméticos, cera para esquís y la mayoría de prendas de vestir, aunque mantiene excepciones para ciertos textiles industriales considerados esenciales o vinculados a la soberanía nacional.
Tras una fuerte presión del fabricante francés Tefal y otros actores, los utensilios de cocina antiadherentes quedaron exentos. Tefal aseguró que sus productos actuales no usan PFAS clasificados como carcinógenos ni PFOA desde 2012, aunque varios estudios advierten que los recubrimientos de PTFE pueden liberar micro y nanoplásticos durante la cocción.
Entre las obligaciones adicionales, la ley estableció controles periódicos del agua potable para detectar PFAS y contempló multas para los contaminadores. En Europa, se estima que 12,5 millones de personas residen en áreas con agua potable contaminada por estas sustancias.
El enfoque francés contrastó con el de otros países. En Estados Unidos, solo algunos estados, como California, aprobaron prohibiciones parciales sobre los PFAS en cosméticos a partir de 2025, y se prevé que más estados adopten medidas similares en 2026.
Dinamarca eliminó estos compuestos en ropa, calzado y productos impermeabilizantes desde julio de 2026, y los prohibió en envases alimentarios desde 2020. La Unión Europea estudia una normativa integral, pero aún no implementó una prohibición generalizada para productos de consumo .
A nivel mundial, el Convenio de Estocolmo sobre Contaminantes Orgánicos Persistentes limitó varios PFAS desde 2019, con más de 150 países adheridos, aunque China y Estados Unidos excluyeron algunas restricciones.
Entre las sustancias reguladas figuran el ácido perfluorooctanoico (PFOA), utilizado por DuPont para fabricar teflón desde los años cincuenta, y el ácido perfluorooctano sulfónico (PFOS), empleado por el grupo 3M y severamente restringido desde 2009.
A pesar de los avances legislativos, los PFAS continúan detectándose en numerosos ecosistemas y organismos, lo que subraya la urgencia de alternativas seguras y regulaciones más estrictas en la cadena de consumo.
“Esta prohibición en Francia es una gran noticia para quienes buscan reducir su exposición a estos compuestos nocivos”, señaló Sandra Bell, de CHEM Trust, aunque advirtió: “Es fundamental que la Unión Europea avance hacia una restricción aún más amplia que proteja a todos los ciudadanos”, según documentó Euronews.
La nueva regulación francesa redefinió los estándares en la industria cosmética y textil, planteó exigencias técnicas y económicas, y se convirtió en referencia para futuras políticas europeas orientadas a la protección de la salud pública y el entorno natural.
científicas,laboratorio,París,Torre Eiffel,cosméticos,PFAS,innovación,ciencia,contaminación,análisis químico,seguridad,productos libres de tóxicos
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