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Iran backs Maduro to keep Latin America foothold as Trump increases pressure on Venezuela
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Iran is backing Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro just as the Trump administration steps up military pressure in the Caribbean and expands its crackdown on criminal networks tied to the regime in Caracas.
Earlier this week, Iran condemned U.S. actions and publicly tied itself to Maduro. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei warned of «dangerous repercussions» from U.S. military activity in the region, arguing the operations threaten «international peace and security,» according to Iran’s official news agency, IRNA.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Iván Gil Pinto immediately welcomed Tehran’s backing. In comments reported by the Tehran Times, he thanked Iran for its «solidarity with the Venezuelan people.»
WAR ON CARTELS? WHITE HOUSE SAYS IT HAS AN IRON-CLAD CASE TO STRIKE NARCO-TERRORIST GROUPS
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro holds up a copy of his country’s case taken to the International Criminal Court regarding U.S. sanctions during a press conference at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Isaias Medina III, a former Venezuelan diplomat at the U.N. Security Council who resigned in 2017 due to Maduro’s human rights violations, told Fox News Digital that «Iran’s partnership with the rogue Venezuelan narco-dictatorship is far from a principled stand for ‘sovereign rights’ under the U.N. Charter. It is a calculated strategy serving mutual interests in criminal enterprise and asymmetric warfare, posing a direct and evolving threat to U.S. national security,» he said.
«This is a partnership for power, not principles. Iran’s engagement centers on deepening military, criminal, and intelligence cooperation that blatantly disregards international norms,» he said.
When asked on Monday whether he had ruled out anything, including U.S. troops on the ground, President Donald Trump told reporters, «No, I don’t rule out that, I don’t rule out anything. We just have to take care of Venezuela. They dumped hundreds of thousands of people into our country from prisons.»
CARTEL CONNECTION: HEZBOLLAH AND IRAN EXPLOIT MADURO’S VENEZUELA FOR COCAINE CASH
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is pictured sitting next to a senior military official in Iran. (Getty Images)
Danny Citrinowicz, a senior fellow at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, told Fox News Digital that Iran’s public defense of Venezuela reflects deep strategic anxiety inside Tehran.
«Iran is extremely, extremely worried that it’s going to lose its main hub in Latin America,» he said. «Losing Maduro will be a strategic loss for Iran, because Venezuela is a strategic hub, not only for the activity in Venezuela itself, but also activity in Latin America in general.»
Citrinowicz pointed to the recently exposed assassination attempt on Israel’s ambassador in Mexico, which Mexican authorities linked to operatives with ties to Iran’s Quds Force. According to Citrinowicz, the operation illustrates how Iran uses Venezuelan territory as a staging ground.
TRUMP’S STRIKE ON CARTEL VESSEL OFF VENEZUELA SENDS WARNING TO MADURO: ‘NO SANCTUARY’
Former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi welcomes Venezuelan dictator, Nicolás Maduro at Sadabat Palace in Tehran, Iran on June 11, 2022. (Photo by Iranian Presidency / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
He said the Iranians «used their presence in Venezuela, mainly the Quds Force presence, in order to gather the right people that actually tried to commit this attack.»
«It’s one example of many, how Iranians are using their presence in Venezuela as some sort of way to jump into the Latin American continent as a whole.»
He added that Venezuela has long been Iran’s most important foothold in the region: «Losing Venezuela is not only losing the grip of Venezuela itself, but also the ability to use Venezuela in order to enhance their activity in Latin America in general, also including operational activity like we saw in Mexico.»
Citrinowicz said that Iran has already lost one longtime ally in the region after recent elections in Bolivia. Remaining partners include Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua, but «strategically and historically, Venezuela was the most important one because it gave them enough room to operate.»
WATCH: COAST GUARD SEIZES COCAINE, SUSPECTED NARCO-TERRORISTS IN PACIFIC VIPER RAID
Venezuela’s Minister of Petroleum Pedro Tellechea and his Iranian counterpart Javad Owji sign agreements during a meeting of Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro and then Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi at the Miraflores Palace, in Caracas, Venezuela, June 12, 2023. (Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/Reuters)
Asked whether Iran is aiding the Venezuelan military directly, he said: «They have advisors on the ground. They can help the Venezuelan army, and they can also send arms via Qeshm Fars Air flights flying from Tehran to Caracas. They did that in the past, and they can do that even today.»
On Tuesday, American Families Against Cartel Terrorism (AmFACT) President Adriana Jones welcomed the U.S. State Department’s designation of Venezuela-based Cartel de los Soles as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
Jones — whose sister Maria «Rhonita» LeBaron and four of her children were murdered in the 2019 Juárez cartel massacre — said the move demonstrates Washington’s resolve.
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«The terrorist designation of the Cartel de los Soles is an important reminder that the Trump administration is willing to use Foreign Terrorist Organization designations to combat dangerous drug and human trafficking cartels,» she said.
She urged policymakers to extend the same designation to the Juárez Cartel and its armed wing, La Línea, arguing that every day without it «allows them space to operate with impunity and heightens the likelihood that more American families will endure the same grief and devastation we have.»
Since September, the U.S. has launched at least 21 fatal strikes on boats allegedly involved in narcotics trafficking off Central and South America, including one on Sunday, as part of what officials describe as a widening campaign to disrupt maritime routes tied to Venezuelan criminal networks.
iran,venezuelan political crisis,donald trump,terrorism,narco terror
INTERNACIONAL
Apagones, inflación y transporte limitado: la vida incierta de los cubanos sin combustible por el cerco impuesto por Estados Unidos
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President Donald Trump will deliver his fourth State of the Union address of his presidential tenure Tuesday night, which will include guests stretching from conservative speaker Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erika, to the parents of the National Guard member fatally shot on the streets of Washington, D.C., in November 2025.
Trump will take the dais at 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time Tuesday, when he is expected to deliver a data-heavy speech focused on the economy and his administration’s wins lowering cost-of-living woes.
He will be joined by special guests who will help illustrate how his policies have delivered real savings to everyday Americans, those who have been the victims of crimes and tragedy and those embodying American triumph.
Among top names invited to the address are Erika Kirk, who is now leading conservative group Turning Point USA after her husband, the group’s co-founder and executive director, was assassinated in September 2025 while touring college campuses. Trump’s speech will include mentions of the U.S.’ «tremendous revival of faith, Christianity, and belief in God in our country» since Kirk’s death, The Daily Wire reported.
Brady Tkachuk, Jack Hughes, Matthew Tkachuk and Quinn Hughes attend a celebration of the USA Men’s Hockey Team’s Olympic Gold Feb. 23, 2026, in Miami. (Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images for E11EVEN Miami)
The U.S. men’s hockey team also is traveling to the speech after winning the gold in the Olympics after defeating Canada 2–1. The team traveled on a blue-and-white Air Force jet from Miami to the nation’s capital Tuesday.
Everyday Americans also will play a large role in Trump’s speech, with the president inviting women such as Catherine Rayner of Norfolk, Virginia. Rayner and her husband have been navigating fertility complications and in vitro fertilization for five years.
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Rayner became the first patient of TrumpRx.gov — a government-run portal designed to steer consumers toward lower-cost prescription drugs offered by manufacturers — earlier in February when it rolled out, and saw pharmaceutical bills drop from about $4,000 to $500, Fox News Digital previously reported.
President Donald Trump will deliver his fourth State of the Union address of his presidential tenure Tuesday night. (Win McNamee/Pool via Reuters)
The president also invited Pennsylvania mom Megan Hemhouser, who homeschools her two children and also works as a waitress in the evenings. Her husband is a heavy machinery operator, with the family showcasing how the president’s «no tax on tips» and «no tax on overtime» policies have benefited everyday families. The Hemhousers have benefited from a $5,000 increase in take-home pay under Trump’s tax plans included in the one «big beautiful bill.»
GROWING NUMBER OF DEMOCRATS SKIPPING TRUMP’S 2026 STATE OF THE UNION
Members of the National Guard patrols along Constitution Ave. on December 01, 2025 in Washington, DC. Two West Virginia National Guard troops were shot blocks from the White House on November 26, resulting in the death of Sarah Beckstrom on Thursday, November 27, following what authorities called a targeted attack. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
Trump also invited the parents of Sarah Beckstrom, the 20-year-old National Guard member who was killed in Washington, D.C., ahead of Thanksgiving 2025.
Dalilah Coleman, 7, will also attend the speech, CBS News reported. Coleman was left seriously injured by a California car crash involving an illegal immigrant truck driver in 2024.
SPEECHWRITERS FROM REAGAN TO BIDEN AGREE: TRUMP’S SOTU IS A CRITICAL TEST FOR HIS SECOND TERM
President Donald Trump revealed that first lady Melania Trump is no fan of his public dancing on stage. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
First lady Melania Trump invited guests who the White House said reflect on her «Be Best, Fostering the Future» push, including Sierra Burns, a participant in her Foster Youth to Independence Program, and Everest Nevraumont, a 10-year-old student at an AI-focused private school, Alpha School, an AI advocate and a TedX speaker.
The pair will join the first lady in her box for the 2026 State of the Union, spotlighting her focus on expanding opportunity through education and technology, according to the White House’s website.
Trump additionally invited the U.S. women’s hockey team to the speech after their gold win over Canada, but they declined due to the timing of the speech.
Trump’s speech is expected to focus on economic wins under his leadership, while celebrating the nation’s landmark 250th anniversary of independence.
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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital ahead of the speech, «President Trump’s State of the Union Address will celebrate 250 glorious years of our nation’s independence and excellence, highlighting incredible stories of American heroes throughout the speech.»
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donald trump,state of the union,politics,economy,erika kirk
INTERNACIONAL
Iran’s shadowy chemical weapons program draws scrutiny as reports allege use against protesters
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A new report from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) raises concerns about Iran’s opaque chemical weapons program, which argues policymakers have paid little attention to compared with Iran’s more scrutinized nuclear weapons program.
The FDD report outlines how the Iranian regime may have resorted to the unconventional use of chemical weapons while it faced an unprecedented uprising beginning in December 2025, a wave of unrest Tehran has not seen since the 1979 Islamic revolution. Any use of chemical weapons by Iran would be in defiance of their obligations under the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention.
«The United States, its allies and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) should investigate credible claims that Iran’s regime used chemical weapons against its own people,» Andrea Stricker, deputy director of FDD’s nonproliferation program and author of the report, told Fox News Digital.
An Iranian military truck carries surface-to-air missiles past a portrait of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during a parade on April 18, 2018, in Tehran. (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)
Iran’s illicit chemical weapons program is under renewed scrutiny as the Trump administration appears closer to taking military action against Iran and its nuclear weapons program.
While the U.S. has been engaged in indirect talks with Iranian officials mediated by Oman in Geneva, the U.S. has increased its military presence in the Persian Gulf, sending the USS Gerald R. Ford to join dozens of other warships to the region.
On Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi posted on X that «Iran will resume talks with the U.S. in Geneva with a determination to achieve a fair and equitable deal—in the shortest possible time.»
The foreign minister claimed that Iran will not pursue nuclear weapons under any circumstances but emphasized that Iran will not forgo its right to harness peaceful nuclear technology.
ISRAELI OFFICIALS REPORTEDLY WARN IRAN’S BALLISTIC MISSILES COULD TRIGGER SOLO MILITARY ACTION AGAINST TEHRAN
The headquarters of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague, Netherlands, May 5, 2017. (Peter Dejong/The Associated Press)
«A deal is within reach, but only if diplomacy is given priority,» he added.
Despite the optimism and push for continued talks, there remain fears that Iran will not make any meaningful concessions on their nuclear program, which could lead to U.S. military strikes on the nation.
A broader regime change campaign to topple the Islamic republic’s government, led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is also not off the table, according to some reports.
«If Washington launches strikes against Iran, it should give serious consideration to targeting the regime’s chemical weapons research and production facilities. Such action would help halt further development and potential use of these weapons while sending a clear message that the regime cannot commit atrocities with impunity,» Stricker said.
The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which Iran is party to, upholds the norms against state-held chemical weapons, specifically, banning states’ development, stockpiling, production and use of chemical weapons, even for retaliatory reasons, as well as their receipt from or transfer to anyone.
US ASSETS IN MIDDLE EAST POSITIONED FOR ‘HIGHLY KINETIC’ WAR, EX-PENTAGON OFFICIAL WARNS
Israel’s deputy ambassador to the Netherlands, Yaron Wax, said in July 2025 before a special meeting of the OPCW that «over the past two decades Iran has been developing a chemical weapons program based on weaponized pharmaceutical agents.»
These agents, Wax said, impact the central nervous system and can be fatal even in small doses.
The ambassador said at the Shahid Meisami Research Complex, destroyed by Israel in June 2025, Iran’s Shahid Meisami Group (SMG) was working on fentanyl opioid-derived tactical munitions for military use. Israel believes the pharmaceutical-based agents were transferred to Syria’s longtime and now deposed dictator, Bashar al-Assad, and Iraqi Shia militias as well.
Iran began developing its chemical weapons program in 1983 during its war with Iraq in response to chemical attacks from the regime of Saddam Hussein, according to the U.S. Intelligence Community.
As recently as 2024, the U.S. has repeatedly found Iran in noncompliance with its obligations under the CWC.
In a post on X in November 2024, the Iranian mission to the United Nations pushed back on the charges against it. «A victim of Western-donated chemical weapons employed by the Saddam regime, Iran stands as a responsible member of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). Over the past several decades, not a single instance of Iranian violation has been recorded. The current unfounded reports are merely an outgrowth of psychological warfare propagated by the Zionist regime in the wake of its recent defeat on the Lebanese front.»
Cars burn in a street during a protest over the collapse of the currency’s value in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 8, 2026. (Stringer/West Asia News Agency via Reuters)
TRUMP WARNS IRAN, DELAYS STRIKES AS RED LINE DEBATE ECHOES OBAMA’S SYRIA MOMENT
Stricker says the U.S. and international community have failed to hold Iran accountable for its illegal chemical weapons program, and meaningful action must be taken to prevent Iran from transporting banned substances to Iran’s nefarious proxy actors in the Middle East.
The report notes that the U.S. and OPCW should launch a pressure campaign against Iran, calling out the regime and publicizing any violations. The Trump administration, the report recommends, should demand a formal ultimatum to demonstrate compliance with the convention and accept monitoring and verification mechanisms.
FDD also suggests Israel should ratify the CWC and work within the OPCW, which would give Israel more credibility in combating Iranian violations.
Smoke rises after an explosion in Tehran, Iran, June 13, 2025, during an attack by Israel. (Getty Images)
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The report says that, as a last resort, the U.S. should consider launching strikes targeting regime chemical weapons facilities, or support Israeli efforts, if actionable intelligence indicates movement on Iran’s chemical weapons efforts or a renewed push by the regime to use such illegal weapons to crack down on anti-government protests.
«The only solution to Iran’s persistent WMD threat is for the United States and Israel to undermine the regime’s grip on power. Until then, the two nations will periodically be forced to play whack-a-mole with Tehran’s capabilities whenever they endanger regional peace,» Stricker said.
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iran,israel,conflicts,ali khamenei,national security
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