Venezuela & ALBA News 10.27.2025:
SAVE THE DATE: National Week of Actions againsgt War with Venezuela, November 15-23, 2025. Write James@AFGJ.org for more info.
Orinoco Tribune: Colombia’s President Responds to US Sanctions: We Will Never Kneel
President Petro condemned the sanctions imposed by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on himself, his wife, his son and Minister of the Interior Benedetti. Petro reported, “My children, my wife, and I have been added to the OFAC list. My lawyer for my defense will be Dany [Daniel] Kovalik from the US.” “Fighting drug trafficking effectively for decades brings me this measure from the government of the society that we helped so much to stop its cocaine consumption. It is quite a paradox, but we will not take a single step back and will never be on our knees.”Due to Petro’s support for Venezuela amid US invasion threats, the OFAC also accused him of having allied himself with the “narco-terrorist regime of Maduro and the Cartel de los Soles,” a drug-trafficking organization that does not exist and the US claims is led by President Maduro.
TeleSur: President Maduro Warns Washington: “If They Touch Colombia, We Are One Homeland” Maduro expressed full support for Colombian President Petro after Trump accused him of drug trafficking and suspended US aid to Bogotá. Maduro warned that any attack on Colombia would be considered a threat to Venezuela as well. “Colombia knows we are one, like Siamese brothers, and whatever happens to Colombia happens to Venezuela, and whatever happens to Venezuela happens to Colombia, as a Colombian military officer wrote to me a few weeks ago.” Trump previously announced the ending of assistance to Colombia and imposed trade measures on the country. Petro responded, “The magnitude of Trump’s insult to Colombia and to me is no longer aimed at pursuing an effective anti-narcotics strategy, but at influencing next year’s Colombian elections, once again seeking a victory for the far right—strong and demonstrably linked to drug trafficking, yet obedient when it comes to carrying out invasions. They now believe that by weakening Colombia’s democratic movement, they will more easily gain access to Venezuela’s oil.”
Common Dreams: Trump’s Escalation Against Venezuela Continues as Hegseth Deploys Aircraft Carrier Strike Group to Latin American Waters The Trump admin ordered the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, which contains the largest warship in the world, to waters off the coast of Venezuela, marking another major military escalation after a new surge of extrajudicial boat bombings. This came shortly after the administration announced its 10th strike on what it claimed to be a drug-running boat, killing six people and bringing the death toll from the operations up to 43. As usual, the claim came with scant evidence. The strikes have been met with increasing criticism in recent days, not just from Democrats, but from Republican lawmakers, including Sens. Rand Paul (Ky.) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska),who introduced a resolution last week to require congressional input before carrying out acts of war against Venezuela. Former national security officials condemned the strikes as “illegal” and “ineffective.” Latin American leaders said, “The Trump administration is planning to lead a new ‘War on Drugs.’ That war may start with regime change in Venezuela, but we know that it will not end there. Already, the US is threatening illegal drone strikes on Mexican soil in the name of its ‘national security.’ If we do not stand for peace now, we risk a new wave of armed interventions across the region.”
Orinoco Tribune: US Military Maneuvers with Trinidad and Tobago Designed to Create Incident “The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela denounces before the international community the dangerous military exercises carried out by the government of Trinidad and Tobago between the 26th and 30th of this month, under the coordination, financing and control of the United States Southern Command. This action constitutes a hostile provocation against Venezuela and a serious threat to the peace of the Caribbean. Venezuela reports that it has captured a mercenary group with direct information from the US intelligence agency, the CIA, and has been able to determine that a false flag attack is underway from waters bordering Trinidad and Tobago or from Trinidadian or Venezuelan territory itself, which could lead to a full-blown military confrontation against our country.”
New York Times: Trump Supporters Are Uneasy About Military Actions Against Venezuela Some conservative policy advisers, including Laura Loomer and Stephen Bannon, are raising questions about the administration’s policy in the region. Curt Mills, executive director of The American Conservative, wrote that “avoidable catastrophe continues to loom.” And, “We’re getting down to the Real Business of murdering people randomly with no plan.” The NYT article states “To placate Trump, Maduro has offered the US dominant stakes in Venezuela’s oil and mineral wealth” – however, there is no statement by officials of either country substantiating this story.
TeleSur: President Nicolás Maduro instructs the working class to go on general strike in case of aggression Maduro urged the declaration of a general, insurrectionary and revolutionary strike, in the event of an action that violates the sovereignty of the country and affirmed that “the greatest shield that the nation has is the working class.” His remarks came during the Promoting Commission for the Venezuelan Workers’ Constituent Assembly. This committee brings together workers’ productive councils, union delegates, and workers’ movements. “The order has been given; if they dared, not a pin would move in this country. They would see the parade of millions of men and women with rifles in the combat corps … I’m not just saying this; we’ve rehearsed it and prepared it.”
TeleSur: US Senator Rand Paul: Fentanyl is not produced in Venezuela “Is it too much to ask that we know the names of those we killed before killing them, that we know what evidence there is of their guilt?” said the senator in response to the U.S. attacks in the Caribbean. Senator Paul stressed that “we don’t blow up boats in Miami because 25% of the time the suspicion is wrong, and we shouldn’t do it in Venezuela either,” Paul said, emphasizing that many of these boats are “small outboard motors without fentanyl and without a route to Florida.”
TeleSur: Brazil President Lula Urges the U.S. To Cooperate Against Drug Trafficking Instead of Invading CountriesPresident Lula suggested that the US should work together with Latin American countries to combat drug trafficking instead of attempting to invade them through military operations supposedly justified as anti-drug actions. “Before judging anyone, before punishing anyone, you have to have proof. You can’t simply say you’re going to invade or that you’re going to fight drug trafficking in another country’s territory without taking into account that country’s constitution, the self-determination of its people, and the territorial sovereignty of each nation.” Lula brought up with Trump the issue of Venezuela, emphasized that Latin America seeks to remain a region of peace, and expressed his willingness to mediate between Washington and the Bolivarian Revolution.
TeleSur: Venezuela Has More Than 5,000 Igla-S Missiles For Air Defense And To Guarantee Peace President Maduro announced the deployment of more than 5,000 Russian-made Igla-S man-portable air-defense systems nationwide. The Russian-origin Igla-S is a highly effective man-portable air-defense system designed to counter low-flying aircraft and drones. Venezuela also has S-125 Neva/Pechora surface-to-air missile system, which has an effective range of up to 15,000 meters. For ultra-long-range threats, the Armed Forces also operate the Russian-made S-300 missile system, capable of intercepting enemy aircraft and missiles at ranges between 45 and 90 kilometers. To complement this formidable system, they also deploy the Buk-M2 surface-to-air missile system, offering a mobile and versatile defense against a variety of aerial threats.
Michelle Ellner: The oldest colony, the newest war: Puerto Rico as a launchpad for war on Venezuela The island that has lived under US rule since 1898 is once again being used as a staging ground for US militarism, this time for Washington’s latest “war on drugs” narrative, masking a campaign of coercion against Latin America’s independent governments.
For six decades, the US Navy used Vieques as a live-fire testing ground, dropping millions of pounds of explosives and munitions, including napalm and depleted uranium. The result was environmental devastation and one of the highest cancer rates in the region. It took a mass civil disobedience movement to finally force the Navy out in 2003. That victory proved Puerto Ricans’ capacity for organized resistance.
For Puerto Ricans, the present US militarization means more surveillance, more environmental risk, and a deeper entanglement in wars they never chose. Puerto Ricans cannot vote for president, have no senators, and possess only a symbolic representative in Congress. Puerto Rico’s place reveals Washington’s core hypocrisy: it wages wars abroad in the name of freedom while denying that freedom to the colony it still holds.
Resumen Latinoamericano: The Cynicism of Marco Rubio and the State Department: A Revealing List of Torture Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez denounced the enormous pressure the US Department of State exerted on governments to prevent them from voting against the blockade at the UN General Assembly. Under the argument that the blockade is not the cause of the Cuban economic problems and that Cuba is a threat to the peace of our region, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has sent a letter to capitals around the world threatening sanctions if the Trump administration’s wishes are not met. We share with you a summary prepared by MINREX analysts of Marco Rubio’s 25 main measures in 2025 to torture Cuba.
Wisconsin Bail Out the People Movement 
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