USA

In an impassioned op-ed, Venezuelan economist Victor Álvarez argues that his country should follow the example of Norway and enact legislation to create a Sovereign Wealth Fund – to protect the country’s oil and mineral revenues both from the boom and bust myopia of its own governments and the ambition of the US to use Venezuela to subsidise its own industries.

The US attack on Venezuela has halted vital oil shipments to Cuba as a tightening US embargo is strangling the island's economy. Lack of fuel is collapsing the energy grid, halting all but essential transport and threatens to destroy the vital tourism industry. Cubans are resilient, but can they survive this crisis?

With attention focused on Venezuela, the Trump administration is quietly completing another regime change exercise in Honduras, where the Trump-endorsed candidate, Nasry Asfura, is likely to assume the presidency on 27 January 2026.

Grace Livingstone, author of America’s Backyard, analyses the Chavista revolution, what went wrong,  the different factions in Venezuela today and the long history of US intervention in the country.  She explains why the US did not attempt immediate regime change and discusses Trump’s plans for the country.

LAB's Sue Branford witnessed the failure of successive Venezuelan governments to use the country's resource wealth wisely to invest in skills and diversify from dependency on a single commodity -- oil.

Following its action in removing Maduro, who will the Trump administration attack next? Colombia, Mexico, Cuba? US actions now follow the course outlined in its new National Security Strategy, crudely dubbed 'The Donroe Doctrine' by the man himself. Latin America risks being left isolated.

There is absolutely no justification, says LAB, for the unilateral US military action against the sovereign state of Venezuela, leading to the abduction of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife, and their rendition to New York where they have been charged with a number of offences including drug trafficking.

The Trump administration has sent 12 military warships to Caribbean waters near Venezuela, including the world’s largest aircraft carrier, a submarine and four amphibious vessels for landing troops. US forces have killed 83 people in extrajudicial strikes on boats since September, claiming, without evidence, that these were transporting drugs. Donald Trump has now threatened land strikes on Venezuela. Grace Livingstone author of America’s Backyard, has spoken to Venezuelan and US experts about US military build-up.

The massacre of more than 100 people in Rio's favelas is an attempt by right-wing governor Claudio Castro to court popularity and revive the fortunes of the far right as they look for a successor to Jair Bolsonaro. It is at once a nod to Trump's military interventionism and a challenge to Lula.

By escalating deportations, ending humanitarian protections, and cutting remittances, Trump’s immigration policy threatens to destabilize Latin American economies and exacerbate humanitarian crises. Ironically, this might trigger a new wave of migration.