https://www.scmp.com/rss/325095/feed Under President Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela's prosperity and stability have evaporated. In 2014, Venezuela entered recession. In 2015, the country's inflation rate soared to its highest in history. Failing healthcare, food shortages, corruption and increased crime underpinned deepening dissatisfaction with Maduro's government, enabling the opposition to win control of the National Assembly. Full-scale political meltdown followed when, in October 2016, the National Electoral Council called for... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Juan Fernando Herrera Ramos Juan Fernando Herrera Ramos Beijing’s position in Latin America is far from collapsing, looking at the number of countries in the region that have switched diplomatic ties to it from Taipei. But in parts of the continent, governments are increasingly reassessing what their relationships with Beijing are delivering economically and politically. The shift is becoming visible in countries such as Honduras, Venezuela and Cuba, where economic strain, energy instability and geopolitical pressure are exposing the limits of... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3352923/latin-america-reassessing-benefits-warm-ties-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3352923/latin-america-reassessing-benefits-warm-ties-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 May 2026 12:30:06 +0000 SCMP SCMP We have selected six of the most interesting and important news stories covering Latin American relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Chile exposes smuggling ring that shipped US$917m in stolen copper to China Chinese buyers were the end destination of a five-year smuggling pipeline that drained an estimated US$917 million worth of stolen copper from Chile, authorities said in April after police dismantled the network... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3351914/beijing-backs-cuba-brazil-slams-byd-slave-labour-conditions-latin-america-relations-reads?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3351914/beijing-backs-cuba-brazil-slams-byd-slave-labour-conditions-latin-america-relations-reads?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 May 2026 15:00:09 +0000 Teresa Elena Frontado Teresa Elena Frontado With Congress again failing to curb US President Donald Trump’s authority over Cuba, the centre of gravity in US policy towards the island is shifting decisively back to the White House – and to a narrower, more consequential question: what comes next? Tuesday’s 51-47 Senate vote to block a Democratic-led war powers resolution on Cuba does not change policy on its own. It was widely expected, reflecting a long-standing pattern in which Congress has struggled to assert its war powers authority... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3352085/senate-vote-leaves-cubas-uncertain-future-dangerous-crossroads?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3352085/senate-vote-leaves-cubas-uncertain-future-dangerous-crossroads?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Apr 2026 20:39:15 +0000 He Huifeng He Huifeng Two months after the United States’ capture and forcible extradition of former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro – and as the South American country attempts to settle into a state of relative normalcy in the aftermath of the military incursion – a cohort of Chinese migrants are relocating there in search of business opportunities. Not all are new arrivals. Mey Hou, a long-term Venezuela resident in her 40s who fled the country during Maduro’s tenure, said many people from her hometown in... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3347566/maduros-capture-sparked-outrage-confusion-and-chinese-migration-wave-venezuela?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3347566/maduros-capture-sparked-outrage-confusion-and-chinese-migration-wave-venezuela?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Apr 2026 02:00:07 +0000 Wenran Jiang Wenran Jiang The bombs falling on Iran have extinguished any remaining doubt. The US-Israeli military campaign has ignited a major regional war. This explosion of violence is the ultimate rebuke to a central promise of US President Donald Trump’s second term: that America could disengage from distant quagmires to focus on confronting China. Over a year into this administration, the strategic picture affirms the conclusion I reached last summer: America’s hoped-for single-minded containment of China lies in... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3345177/china-waits-and-watches-us-fights-all-its-tigers-once?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3345177/china-waits-and-watches-us-fights-all-its-tigers-once?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Mar 2026 01:30:09 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Venezuelan opposition leader and winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize Maria Corina Machado said on Sunday that she will return to Venezuela in the coming weeks and that elections will be held in the South American country. Machado did not set a date for her return but said one of the objectives will be to prepare “for a new and gigantic electoral victory”. In a message shared on social media, the politician called on her supporters to “strengthen the unity of Venezuelans that began with the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3345059/venezuelas-opposition-leader-machado-will-return-country-coming-weeks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3345059/venezuelas-opposition-leader-machado-will-return-country-coming-weeks?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Mar 2026 22:44:21 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg China has bought some Venezuelan oil that was bought earlier by the US, according to Energy Secretary Chris Wright. “China has already bought some of the crude that’s been sold by the US government,” Wright told the media in Caracas, without giving details. “Legitimate Chinese business deals under legitimate business conditions” would be fine, he said, when asked about possible joint ventures in the country. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said he wasn’t familiar with Wright’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3343368/china-bought-legitimate-venezuelan-oil-us-after-maduro-seizure-energy-secretary-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3343368/china-bought-legitimate-venezuelan-oil-us-after-maduro-seizure-energy-secretary-says?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Feb 2026 14:23:13 +0000 Junjie Wang,Haining Gao Junjie Wang,Haining Gao – https://www.scmp.com/plus/economy/article/3343247/china-vies-us-latin-america?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/economy/article/3343247/china-vies-us-latin-america?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Feb 2026 02:25:48 +0000 Igor Patrick Igor Patrick China will support Cuba “in the best way possible” as the island grapples with an energy crisis following tougher measures imposed by US President Donald Trump’s administration, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday. Speaking at a regular press briefing in Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said China “will do what it can” to assist Havana and again condemned what he described as “inhumane actions that deprive the Cuban people of their right to survival and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3343242/china-vows-do-what-it-can-us-blockade-leaves-cuba-just-weeks-oil?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3343242/china-vows-do-what-it-can-us-blockade-leaves-cuba-just-weeks-oil?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Feb 2026 22:37:01 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Venezuela’s Nobel peace laureate Maria Corina Machado said on Monday that armed men “kidnapped” a close ally shortly after his release by authorities, following ex-leader Nicolas Maduro’s capture. The country’s Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed later that same day that former National Assembly vice-president Juan Pablo Guanipa, 61, was again taken into custody and put under house arrest, arguing that he violated the conditions of his release. Guanipa would be placed under house arrest “in... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3342858/venezuela-frees-several-opposition-members-after-lengthy-politically-motivated-detentions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3342858/venezuela-frees-several-opposition-members-after-lengthy-politically-motivated-detentions?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Feb 2026 22:39:52 +0000 Fan Chen Fan Chen China has promised to send more aid to Cuba and deepen cooperation with Uruguay as it reaches out to its Latin American allies to fend off renewed American interest in the region. Cuba became the second Latin American country to send a high-ranking official to China this week. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla’s arrival in Beijing follows that of Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi, the first regional leader to travel to China since the US assault on Venezuela in early... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3342705/china-keeps-cuba-and-uruguay-fold-puts-panama-out-cold?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3342705/china-keeps-cuba-and-uruguay-fold-puts-panama-out-cold?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Feb 2026 15:00:10 +0000 Reuters Reuters Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodriguez ‌on Friday announced a proposed “amnesty law” for hundreds of prisoners in the country, and said the infamous Helicoide detention centre in the capital Caracas, which rights groups have long denounced as the site of prisoner abuse, would be converted into a centre for sport and social services. “May it be a law that serves to heal the wounds left by political confrontation, violence and extremism. May it serve to restore justice in our country and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3341915/venezuela-proposes-free-hundreds-prisoners-turn-torture-prison-sports-hub?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3341915/venezuela-proposes-free-hundreds-prisoners-turn-torture-prison-sports-hub?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 31 Jan 2026 01:05:39 +0000 Igor Patrick,Xinmei Shen Igor Patrick,Xinmei Shen US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused China of profiting from Venezuela’s long-running economic collapse by securing discounted oil, telling senators that removing Nicolas Maduro was necessary to end energy arrangements that he said “favoured Beijing at the expense of the Venezuelan people”. During a hearing of the US Senate Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday, Rubio portrayed China as a central beneficiary of the Maduro government, arguing that Beijing had taken advantage of sanctions... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/article/3341598/rubio-says-china-profited-venezuelas-collapse-through-cut-price-oil?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/article/3341598/rubio-says-china-profited-venezuelas-collapse-through-cut-price-oil?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Jan 2026 20:16:00 +0000 Igor Patrick Igor Patrick Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi will travel to China next week, in what is expected to be the first visit by a Latin American leader to Beijing since the United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in an early January operation. Beijing says the trip will focus on strengthening political dialogue and expanding economic cooperation. The state visit will run from February 1 to 7, according to China’s foreign ministry, and comes at a tense moment in the western hemisphere following... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3341315/xi-meet-uruguays-orsi-first-latin-america-china-visit-us-capture-maduro?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3341315/xi-meet-uruguays-orsi-first-latin-america-china-visit-us-capture-maduro?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Jan 2026 21:55:02 +0000 Bernard Chan Bernard Chan The recent drama surrounding US action in Venezuela, its renewed interest in Greenland and tariff threats on governments that object, along with comments on Cuba, Colombia and Mexico, appear disjointed – part diplomacy, part law enforcement, part political theatre. Like many observers, I rely on the news to try to make sense of the policy logic and what it may mean for those who have to live with its consequences. Washington’s rationale for its actions in Venezuela was initially framed as law... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3340704/venezuela-greenland-trump-using-us-power-rewrite-rules?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3340704/venezuela-greenland-trump-using-us-power-rewrite-rules?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Jan 2026 01:30:08 +0000 Brian Y. S. Wong Brian Y. S. Wong For all his bombast, few could have imagined the sound and fury with which Donald Trump has taken to foreign policymaking in his second presidential term. Over the past 12 months, the US president has laid bare American ambitions to lay claim to territories within its near periphery deemed to be of strategic significance. From Greenland – a mineral-rich autonomous territory of Denmark – to Panama, a critical maritime trade choke point, the White House has made its geopolitical appetite... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3340443/trumps-blunt-interventions-risk-undermining-us-interests?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3340443/trumps-blunt-interventions-risk-undermining-us-interests?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Jan 2026 12:30:08 +0000 Albert Bakhtizin Albert Bakhtizin The latest developments in Venezuela are interpreted as part of a broader US strategy to secure access to major oil resources. They are much more than that: the US raid signals a transformation in the global economy wherein a country’s power is increasingly determined not by its political actions, but by its capacity to embed resource wealth within a self-sustaining production system. These deeper processes did not begin today, but rather around 2008-2009 when, according to an integrated... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3339789/us-venezuela-raid-shows-geopolitics-now-contest-between-economic-blocs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3339789/us-venezuela-raid-shows-geopolitics-now-contest-between-economic-blocs?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Jan 2026 08:30:13 +0000 Igor Patrick Igor Patrick Days after the operation that abducted then Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, President Donald Trump’s nominee to command US forces in Latin America dodged pressure from senators to endorse a military-first plan to counter China’s growing influence in the region. Lieutenant General Francis Donovan, who is nominated to lead US Southern Command (Southcom), repeatedly declined to say whether Washington should rely mainly on force projection to push back against Beijing’s expanding footprint. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3340106/trump-pick-south-america-command-sidesteps-china-questions-senate-hearing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3340106/trump-pick-south-america-command-sidesteps-china-questions-senate-hearing?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Jan 2026 10:00:24 +0000 Josephine Ma Josephine Ma John Mearsheimer is the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, where he has taught since 1982. He has written extensively on security issues and international politics and is best known for his theory of offensive realism, which holds that to dominate the international system, great powers must constantly engage in security competition with each other, sometimes leading to war. In this interview, Mearsheimer discusses the US raid on... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3340023/china-wins-if-venezuela-ensnares-imperialist-trump-mearsheimer-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3340023/china-wins-if-venezuela-ensnares-imperialist-trump-mearsheimer-says?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Jan 2026 02:00:27 +0000 Li Xing Li Xing When contemporary Europe engages with the world, it increasingly presents as two distinct Europes operating within the same institutional framework. This duality – a Europe of strategic dependence vs a Europe of normative assertion – creates a contradiction. For partners, particularly in China and across Asia, this is not merely an abstract identity crisis but a practical geopolitical puzzle that complicates engagement and challenges assumptions about Europe’s global role. One Europe, embedded... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3339744/internally-split-europe-can-never-fully-engage-china-and-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3339744/internally-split-europe-can-never-fully-engage-china-and-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Jan 2026 12:30:09 +0000 Richard Heydarian Richard Heydarian America’s capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro in a special operation sent shock waves across the world. With characteristically bombastic rhetoric, US President Donald Trump hailed Operation Absolute Resolve as “an assault like people have not seen since World War II” and “one of the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American military might” in history. His deputies were quick to add that the operation also showed the long arm of the US justice system by accusing... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3339093/us-action-venezuela-fuels-asias-fears-collapsing-rules-based-order?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3339093/us-action-venezuela-fuels-asias-fears-collapsing-rules-based-order?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Jan 2026 12:30:11 +0000 Reuters Reuters US President Donald Trump on Sunday said no more Venezuelan oil or money would go to Cuba and suggested the Communist-run island should strike a deal with Washington, ramping ‍up pressure on the long-time US nemesis and provoking defiant words from the island’s leadership. Venezuela is Cuba’s biggest oil supplier, but no cargoes have departed from Venezuelan ports to the Caribbean country since the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro by US forces in early January amid a strict US oil... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3339517/trump-says-no-more-venezuelan-oil-or-money-go-cuba-pushes-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3339517/trump-says-no-more-venezuelan-oil-or-money-go-cuba-pushes-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 11 Jan 2026 16:57:12 +0000 Liu Zhen,Zhao Ziwen Liu Zhen,Zhao Ziwen The extreme precision of the US in its Venezuelan operation shows why nations must be able to execute a complex special surgical strike, according to analysts who said China had long pursued the capability but had yet to master it. In a complex joint endeavour integrating its air force, navy, intelligence agencies and space and cyber units, the US military’s elite Delta Force special mission unit completed its precision raid in Caracas – from infiltration to exfiltration – in less than three... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3339503/could-china-execute-special-forces-operation-us-precision-maduro-abduction?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3339503/could-china-execute-special-forces-operation-us-precision-maduro-abduction?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 11 Jan 2026 14:00:11 +0000 SCMP Editorial SCMP Editorial The world is still digesting the implications of the capture of Venezuela’s president and his wife to face drugs and arms charges which they deny. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has said the US could be engaged for years in running an oil-rich country laid to waste by economic mismanagement, a collapse in oil output, decaying infrastructure, unemployment and crime, food and medicine shortages, corruption, poverty and political instability, to name some of its ills. Even the leader of the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3339338/what-happens-next-venezuela-should-be-international-concern?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3339338/what-happens-next-venezuela-should-be-international-concern?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 Jan 2026 23:15:11 +0000 Gabriela Bernal Gabriela Bernal The US removal of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro from power has reverberated far beyond Latin America. In Pyongyang, where regime survival is the paramount concern and every US action is scrutinised for hostile intent, the deposing of a sitting head of state sends an unmistakable message: dialogue with Washington is a dangerous gamble, and only nuclear weapons guarantee survival. The Venezuela operation may have killed the prospects for meaningful US-North Korea diplomacy in 2026 before they even... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3338953/maduros-fate-venezuela-hardens-north-koreas-nuclear-resolve?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3338953/maduros-fate-venezuela-hardens-north-koreas-nuclear-resolve?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Jan 2026 21:30:08 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse From AI deepfakes to recycled, outdated images, a surge of visual misinformation has inundated social media platforms after US forces seized Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a stunning raid on his Caracas home. Collectively racking up millions of views, the fake or misleading posts underscore a new digital reality in which hyperrealistic misinformation competes for attention with – and often drowns out – authentic images and videos following major news events. Soon after Maduro’s capture,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3339097/ai-deepfakes-flood-social-media-after-dramatic-us-raid-maduro?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3339097/ai-deepfakes-flood-social-media-after-dramatic-us-raid-maduro?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Jan 2026 16:00:19 +0000 Peiman Salehi Peiman Salehi The United States’ forcible removal of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro from power has reignited a debate over international law and sovereignty. But this risks obscuring a more consequential fact: global energy markets are not governed primarily by liberal market logic, but are shaped by geopolitical strategy. Venezuela matters less as a case in itself than as a signal of how energy is being repositioned amid intensifying US-China economic competition. For decades, many assumed that energy... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3338823/energy-markets-are-political-venezuela-latest-proof?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3338823/energy-markets-are-political-venezuela-latest-proof?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Jan 2026 08:30:14 +0000 He Huifeng He Huifeng Eight years after leaving Venezuela, David Hou, a native of southern China’s Guangdong province, returned last year, pleased to find what he described as an improved economic environment. That optimism is now shrouded in uncertainty after the United States abducted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on allegations of narcoterrorism and possessing “destructive devices” – charges he has firmly rejected. While the full impact has yet to be felt, the situation is “making people anxious and very... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3338956/chinese-business-owner-venezuela-warns-knock-effects-following-maduros-abduction?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3338956/chinese-business-owner-venezuela-warns-knock-effects-following-maduros-abduction?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Jan 2026 14:00:10 +0000 Thomas O. Falk Thomas O. Falk On a quiet Saturday morning, American special forces seized Nicolas Maduro in Caracas and flew him to the United States. Within hours, US President Donald Trump announced that Washington would “run” Venezuela – at least temporarily. What sounds like a 1990s action film plot marked the final burial of the notion that Trump is a president of peace, an illusion sustained largely by his own rhetoric. More importantly, it marked the day the world’s former arbiter of international law and norms showed... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3338773/us-now-owns-more-just-venezuelas-oil?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3338773/us-now-owns-more-just-venezuelas-oil?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Jan 2026 12:30:34 +0000 Meredith Chen Meredith Chen BBC journalists have reportedly been instructed not to describe America’s abduction of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro as a “kidnapping”, according to a British newspaper columnist. The editorial instruction was unveiled on Monday by Owen Jones, a commentator with more than a million followers on social media. Jones said a memo from BBC management had been passed to him. According to an image Jones uploaded with his post, the guidelines told BBC journalists to use “captured” when referring to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3338946/bbc-journalists-reportedly-told-avoid-saying-us-kidnapped-venezuelan-leader-maduro?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3338946/bbc-journalists-reportedly-told-avoid-saying-us-kidnapped-venezuelan-leader-maduro?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Jan 2026 11:12:32 +0000 Jianlu Bi Jianlu Bi The explosions that rocked Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, in the early hours of January 3, signalled the definitive collapse of the post-war international order. With the announcement that US forces had captured president Nicolas Maduro and his wife under “Operation Absolute Resolve,” the world has been thrust into a chilling new era. This is the era of the “Trump Corollary”, a doctrine that replaces diplomatic norms with raw power and turns the western hemisphere into a private arena for US... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3338724/trumps-us-isnt-giving-extraterritorial-power-just-rules?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3338724/trumps-us-isnt-giving-extraterritorial-power-just-rules?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Jan 2026 21:30:11 +0000 Brian Rhoads,Raymond Ma Brian Rhoads,Raymond Ma Chinese President Xi Jinping implicitly criticised the United States after American military forces seized Nicolas Maduro, the president of oil-rich Venezuela. “The world today is undergoing changes and turbulence not seen in a century, with unilateral acts of hegemony severely undermining the international order,” Xi said while meeting Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, according to Xinhua. “All countries should respect the development paths independently chosen by the peoples of other... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3338767/trumps-venezuela-raid-will-spur-china-renewables-efforts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3338767/trumps-venezuela-raid-will-spur-china-renewables-efforts?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Jan 2026 09:09:15 +0000 Luna Sun,He Huifeng Luna Sun,He Huifeng Chinese companies operating in Latin America are bracing for greater uncertainty rather than an abrupt rupture, as Washington moves to reassert dominance in the western hemisphere following the ousting of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, according to analysts. This sense of caution comes amid intensifying US efforts to curb China’s footprint in strategic resources, infrastructure and trade across the region. “There is little doubt that a Trump-style Monroe Doctrine is aimed squarely at... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3338730/after-trumps-venezuela-takeover-chinas-investors-prep-latin-american-era-anxiety?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3338730/after-trumps-venezuela-takeover-chinas-investors-prep-latin-american-era-anxiety?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Jan 2026 06:00:19 +0000 Cao Jiaxuan Cao Jiaxuan Major powers should take the lead in respecting the development path of other nations, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday, in a veiled swipe at the United States for raiding Venezuela and capturing its president, Nicolas Maduro. The remarks from Xi, which build on Beijing’s earlier criticism of US strikes on Venezuela, came during a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin in Beijing. “The world today is undergoing changes and turbulence not seen in a century, with unilateral... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3338729/xi-jinping-makes-veiled-swipe-us-hegemony-undermining-international-order?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3338729/xi-jinping-makes-veiled-swipe-us-hegemony-undermining-international-order?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Jan 2026 05:02:53 +0000 Vanessa Cai Vanessa Cai China’s influence in Latin America may be significantly tested by the US revival of the Monroe Doctrine, as Washington’s attack on Venezuela is set to have a chilling effect on the region’s engagement with Beijing, analysts warn. In a surprise precision operation on Saturday, the US military struck Venezuela, captured its leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife, and placed them in detention in New York. Without giving a timetable for elections, US President Donald Trump said the US would run... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3338689/venezuela-crisis-how-trumps-donroe-doctrine-could-challenge-chinas-latin-america-ties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3338689/venezuela-crisis-how-trumps-donroe-doctrine-could-challenge-chinas-latin-america-ties?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Jan 2026 15:01:10 +0000 Sylvie Zhuang Sylvie Zhuang US military strikes and forced regime change in Venezuela have left European countries in a diplomatic bind, as they distance themselves from Washington’s actions while hesitating to criticise them outright. The world reacted with shock after the Trump administration launched “Operation Absolute Resolve” to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, and transported them to the United States for detention at a New York facility. China has strongly condemned the US actions... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3338673/straddle-middle-ground-europeans-hard-choice-over-us-attacks-against-venezuela?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3338673/straddle-middle-ground-europeans-hard-choice-over-us-attacks-against-venezuela?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Jan 2026 11:24:28 +0000 Alcott Wei Alcott Wei China has expressed “serious concern” over the US capture and forcible removal of the Venezuelan leader, calling on Washington to ensure the personal safety of Nicolas Maduro and his wife and “release them immediately”. The United States launched military attacks on Venezuela on Saturday, capturing President Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. They were detained in New York after being flown out of Caracas. Hours after the operation, President Donald Trump said the US would run Venezuela until... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3338661/china-calls-maduros-immediate-release-accuses-us-breaching-international-law?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3338661/china-calls-maduros-immediate-release-accuses-us-breaching-international-law?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Jan 2026 06:49:05 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Venezuela released 99 prisoners on Christmas Day, officials said, with the government calling it a goodwill gesture as it assesses arrests made after President Nicolas Maduro’s re-election. “The national government and the justice system have decided to evaluate each case individually and, in accordance with the law”, released 99 citizens “as a concrete expression of the State’s commitment to peace, dialogue and justice”, the Ministry of Penitentiary Services said. “They were deprived of liberty... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3337855/venezuela-frees-99-prisoners-detained-after-2024-election-protests-prisons-authority-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3337855/venezuela-frees-99-prisoners-detained-after-2024-election-protests-prisons-authority-says?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Dec 2025 18:57:38 +0000 Alex Lo Alex Lo Donald Trump is reportedly furious that he didn’t get the Nobel Peace Prize. Instead, it went to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. But if the US president could see beyond his megalomania for a moment, he would realise that the Norwegian Nobel Committee has bent over backwards to placate his administration. The far-right Machado, after all, was nominated by Trump’s own Secretary of State Marco Rubio when he was still a senator, and former national security adviser and now US... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3328789/nobel-peace-prize-should-now-be-called-nobel-war-prize?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3328789/nobel-peace-prize-should-now-be-called-nobel-war-prize?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Oct 2025 01:30:09 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Monday said he “would constitutionally declare a republic in arms” if the South American country were attacked by forces that the United States government has deployed to the Caribbean. His comments during a rare news conference come as the US government this week was set to boost its maritime force in the waters off Venezuela to combat threats from Latin American drug cartels. The US has not signaled any planned land incursion by the thousands of personnel... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3323974/maduro-vows-declare-republic-arms-if-us-forces-caribbean-attack-venezuela?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3323974/maduro-vows-declare-republic-arms-if-us-forces-caribbean-attack-venezuela?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Sep 2025 20:01:08 +0000 Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele proposed carrying out a prisoner swap with Venezuela on Sunday, suggesting he would exchange Venezuelan deportees from the United States his government has kept imprisoned for what he called “political prisoners” in Venezuela. In a post on social media, directed at President Nicolas Maduro, Bukele listed off a number of family members of high-level opposition figures in Venezuela, journalists and activists detained during the South American government’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3307254/salvadoran-president-bukele-proposes-prisoner-swap-maduro-venezuelan-deportees?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3307254/salvadoran-president-bukele-proposes-prisoner-swap-maduro-venezuelan-deportees?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Apr 2025 23:27:24 +0000 Venezuelan opposition politician Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who fled the country after a tumultuous election and subsequent police crackdown, said on Saturday he has plans to speak with US President Joe Biden. Appearing in Argentina, where he met with President Javier Milei, Gonzalez Urrutia added that he was travelling to the United States on Sunday, though it was unclear when the conversation with Biden would take place. “We are planning a conversation with President Biden and we are waiting... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3293496/exiled-venezuelan-opposition-leader-speak-biden-visit-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3293496/exiled-venezuelan-opposition-leader-speak-biden-visit-us?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Jan 2025 10:02:55 +0000 The Argentine diplomatic residence in Caracas, where five members of the Venezuelan opposition are staying to avoid arrest, has become a “prison”, one opposition member staying there said on Saturday. The residence has been without power for more than a month, Magalli Meda, adviser to opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, said on social media. “It’s a violation of our human rights. It’s become an embassy prison,” she wrote. The Venezuelan government claims the power cut came after the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3292621/venezuela-opposition-adviser-holed-argentine-residence-calls-it-prison?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3292621/venezuela-opposition-adviser-holed-argentine-residence-calls-it-prison?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Dec 2024 22:48:02 +0000 Three Americans, two Spaniards and a Czech citizen have been arrested after Venezuelan officials accused them of coming to the South American country to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro. The arrests on Saturday were announced on state television by Diosdado Cabello, the nation’s powerful interior minister. Cabello said the foreign citizens were part of a CIA-led plot to overthrow the Venezuelan government and kill several members of its leadership. In the television programme, Cabello showed... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3278570/venezuela-arrests-6-foreigners-accused-plotting-kill-president-maduro?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3278570/venezuela-arrests-6-foreigners-accused-plotting-kill-president-maduro?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Sep 2024 01:22:43 +0000 Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez flew into Spain on Sunday to seek asylum, Madrid said, hours after quitting his country amid a political and diplomatic crisis over July’s disputed election. Gonzalez – who has challenged President Nicolas Maduro’s declaration of victory – arrived at the Torrejon de Ardoz military base with his wife, Spain’s foreign ministry said in a statement. The exit of the 75-year-old – seen by the United States the European Union and other... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3277678/spain-grant-asylum-venezuela-opposition-leader-gonzalez-urrutia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3277678/spain-grant-asylum-venezuela-opposition-leader-gonzalez-urrutia?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Sep 2024 11:25:55 +0000 In recent weeks, global attention on Venezuela has focused on the fallout from a highly contested presidential election that both the ruling party and its opponents claim to have won, as well as the ensuing persecution of critics and an arrest warrant against the former opposition presidential candidate. But as political tensions escalate, President Nicolas Maduro decided there was a more important matter to discuss: Christmas and the need to kick off the festive season a tad early this year. In... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3277120/christmas-comes-3-months-early-venezuela-president-decrees-october-1-celebration?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3277120/christmas-comes-3-months-early-venezuela-president-decrees-october-1-celebration?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Sep 2024 03:42:41 +0000 Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia was hit with a fresh summons after failing to appear before prosecutors on Monday as part of an investigation into his claim that he was the rightful victor of last month’s presidential election. Gonzalez, 74, has been in hiding since after the election amid threats of arrest from President Nicolas Maduro, whose contested victory has plunged the oil-rich Latin American nation into crisis. Late on Sunday, Gonzalez said in a video published... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3276024/venezuela-opposition-candidate-edmundo-gonzalez-urrutia-ignores-court-summons?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3276024/venezuela-opposition-candidate-edmundo-gonzalez-urrutia-ignores-court-summons?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Aug 2024 21:33:16 +0000 Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday accused TikTok of seeking to stoke civil war in his country after the Chinese-owned company blocked live-streaming services on his account. Maduro claimed the app suspended his access to the short-video platform until August 19. “Look how immoral TikTok is. I accuse the directors and owners of TikTok of wanting a civil war in Venezuela, of supporting fascism in Latin America and the world,” Maduro said during a meeting of the country’s defence... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3274380/venezuelan-leader-slams-tiktok-wanting-civil-war-his-country?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3274380/venezuelan-leader-slams-tiktok-wanting-civil-war-his-country?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Aug 2024 17:25:39 +0000 Venezuela’s opposition called for worldwide protests on August 17 to show support for its claimed victory in last month’s election over President Nicolas Maduro, who was declared the winner. “This Saturday, August 17, we will take to the streets of Venezuela and the world … let’s shout together so that the world supports our victory and recognises the truth and popular sovereignty,” said opposition leader Maria Corina Machado in a video on social media. Opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3274110/venezuela-opposition-leader-calls-worldwide-protests-august-17?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3274110/venezuela-opposition-leader-calls-worldwide-protests-august-17?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 11 Aug 2024 23:14:47 +0000 Venezuela’s presidential election on July 28 ended with the beginning of a political crisis. The authorities declared Nicolas Maduro the winner despite rival Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia’s claim to have won the vote. The United States and some Latin American countries have refused to recognise Gonzalez’s defeat, but Cuba and China, among others, have sent congratulatory messages to Maduro. Deadly protests have erupted across Venezuela, a familiar post-election sight met with the equally familiar... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3273310/venezuelas-crisis-holds-lessons-other-developing-nations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3273310/venezuelas-crisis-holds-lessons-other-developing-nations?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 Aug 2024 21:30:10 +0000