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Trump to keep seized Venezuelan oil, unveils warships
United States President Donald Trump said on Monday (Tuesday AEDT) that the United States will keep crude oil and tankers seized near Venezuela, as he steps up pressure on President Nicolas Maduro and signals a tougher U.S. stance in the Caribbean. “We’re going to keep it,” Trump told reporters in Palm Beach, Florida, after unveiling a new class of battleships, named after himself. “Maybe we’ll sell it, maybe we’ll keep it, maybe we’ll use it in the strategic reserve,” Trump said of the seized oil. “We’re keeping the ships also.” Trump has ordered a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela as part of an escalating campaign against the Maduro government. The U.S. seized a large tanker on 10 December carrying more than one million barrels of oil, according to energy consulting firm Kpler. A second vessel was intercepted over the weekend, and Trump confirmed that U.S. authorities are pursuing a third tanker. “It’s moving along. We’ll end up getting it,” Trump said of the tanker. “It came from the wrong location. It came out of Venezuela, and it was sanctioned.” Asked whether his ultimate aim was to remove Maduro from power, Trump said “it would be smart” for the Venezuelan president to ste
Americas
US pursuing third oil tanker near Venezuela in a week
The United States is pursuing its third oil tanker in international waters near Venezuela in less than a week. “The United States Guard is in active pursuit of a sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela’s illegal sanctions evasion,” a U.S. official told Reuters. “It is flying a false flag and under a judicial seizure order.” The official did not give a specific location for the operation or the name of the vessel being pursued. Director of the White House’s National Economic Council, Kevin Hassett, said the first two oil tankers seized were operating on the black market and providing oil to countries under sanctions. “And so I don’t think that people need to be worried here in the U.S. that the prices are going to go up because of these seizures of these ships,” Hassett said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” program. “There’s just a couple of them, and they were black market ships.” However, an oil trader told Reuters that the seizures could lead to slightly higher oil prices when Asian trading resumes on Monday. “We might see prices increasing modestly at the opening, considering market participants could see this as an escalation with more Venezuelan barrels at risk as the tanker was not on a U.S.
Americas
Trump orders blockade of sanctioned Venezuelan tankers
United States President Donald Trump has ordered a “blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela. The move is Washington’s plan to intensify pressure on President Nicolas Maduro’s government by targeting its primary source of income. The White House has already reportedly moved thousands of troops and nearly a dozen warships, including an aircraft carrier, into the region. Venezuela’s government responded by rejecting what it described as Trump’s “grotesque threat”. Oil prices rose more than 1% during Asian trading on Wednesday following the announcement. The move follows the U.S. seizure of an oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast last week, which the administration said was transporting “sanction oil” from Venezuela and Iran. The blockade threatens to deal a significant blow to Venezuela’s economy, which is heavily dependent on oil exports. Much of the country’s crude is shipped via the so-called “dark fleet”, a global network of tankers that employ deceptive shipping practices to evade sanctions and move oil worldwide, generating revenue for sanctioned states such as Venezuela, Russia and Iran. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, sanctions im
Americas
Trump gearing up for further Venezuelan tanker seizures
The White House has confirmed that President Donald Trump is prepared and willing to seize more oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela. One was already seized earlier this week, on the grounds of being sanctioned and had been shipping crude oil to Iran, which is also sanctioned by the United States, where it will now be taken to a U.S. port, and the oil on board will also be taken. The seized shipments reportedly totalled nearly 6 million barrels of crude oil. “However, there is a legal process for the seizure of that oil, and that legal process will be followed,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said to the press the day after the seizure. Now, a source has reported to Reuters that there are plans in place for further seizures, which have been reportedly planned by the U.S. Justice Department and Homeland Security for months. This is the latest move in a series of escalating actions from the Trump administration against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and increasing U.S. military presence in the Caribbean.
Americas
US approves sale of air strike weapons to Canada
The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale of air strike weapons to Canada worth almost US$3 billion. “The proposed sale will improve Canada’s credible defence capability to deter aggression in the region, ensure interoperability with U.S. forces, and strengthen Canada’s ability to contribute to shared continental defence,” the State Department said in a press release. The types of bombs included in the sale can be carried by fighter jets, like Canada’s CF-18s or the new U.S.-made F-35s, to carry out precision air strikes. While Canada begins taking deliveries of the F-35 fighters in 2026, the country is considering how big an order it wants, considering the increasingly unpredictable U.S. government under President Donald Trump. Canadian Global Affairs Institute president David Perry and other military experts said Prime Minister Mark Carney’s increase in military funding means the air force will have more to practice with. Some of the sales include practice bombs. The weapons will be supplied by The Boeing Company and RTC Corporation. “This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to improve the military capability of a NATO Al

Americas
Two National Guardsmen critical after DC shooting
Two National Guardsmen are in critical condition after being shot in Washington, DC. Mayor Muriel Bowser took to social media to call the attack a “targeted shooting”, in a post on X and confirmed the two men shot were part of the West Virginia National Guard. The Department of Homeland Security identified the suspect involved in the shooting that left two National Guard members in critical condition as Rahmanullah Lakanwal. “I can report tonight that based on the best available information, the Department of Homeland Security is confident that the suspect in custody is a foreigner who entered our country from Afghanistan — a hell hole on earth," U.S. President Donald Trump said in a video message. He went on to condemn the “heinous assault" as an “an act of evil, an act of hatred and an act of terror” as well as request that 500 more National Guard troops be deployed to DC. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services confirmed via X that “processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely”, effective immediately and pending further review. Shawn VanDiver, the president of AfghanEvac, a not-for-profit organisation helping relocate and settle Afghan people, called on people n
Americas
US military escalates naval presence near Venezuela
The Gerald Ford aircraft carrier strike group has moved into the Latin America region, United States officials confirmed on Tuesday, dramatically escalating a military buildup that has deepened tensions with Venezuela. The deployment was ordered by President Donald Trump last month and adds the world's largest aircraft carrier to a formidable presence that already includes eight warships, a nuclear submarine, and F-35 aircraft in the Caribbean. The Pentagon confirmed the carrier's arrival, stating its purpose was to help “disrupt narcotics trafficking and degrade and dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations”. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has repeatedly alleged the U.S. buildup is designed to drive him from power. Washington has exerted significant pressure on Maduro, whom it accuses of links to drug trafficking. In August, the U.S. doubled its reward for information leading to his arrest to US$50 million. Maduro denies the allegations. The U.S. military has already carried out at least 19 strikes against suspected drug vessels in the region, killing at least 76 people. When the Ford's deployment was first announced, Maduro warned that if the U.S. ever intervened, “millions of men and women with ri
Americas
ICE raid hits Hyundai battery plant, hundreds detained
A Hyundai plant in the United States has been stormed by federal agents, with hundreds of workers detained. Most of the 475 workers detained at the car battery factory were South Korean nationals. The raid has been labelled as one of the largest single-site enforcement operations that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has ever carried out and is part of President Donald Trump's focus on undocumented workers. The plant is a flagship electric vehicle battery site, designed to be a huge economic development opportunity for the state of Georgia, where it is located. ICE later released footage of workers being escorted off the premises in shackles. The incident has led South Korea to send diplomats out to the site, with repatriation plans underway. Kang Hoon-sik, chief of staff for South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, confirmed on Sunday that a charter plane will be dispatched to bring 300 workers home as soon as administrative processes allow.
Americas
Trump's US$2bn Harvard funding freeze ruled illegal
Harvard University was handed a landmark win when a federal judge declared United States President Donald Trump’s US$2.2 billion termination of funding grants unlawful. In the 84-page order, U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs said the Trump administration “used antisemitism as a smokescreen” to block billions in research funding unlawfully. "We must fight against antisemitism, but we equally need to protect our rights, including our right to free speech, and neither goal should nor needs to be sacrificed on the altar of the other," Judge Burroughs wrote in her order. "Now it is the job of the courts to similarly step up, to act to safeguard academic freedom and freedom of speech as required by the Constitution, and to ensure that important research is not improperly subjected to arbitrary and procedurally infirm grant terminations, even if doing so risks the wrath of a government committed to its agenda no matter the cost.” This comes after the Trump administration froze US$2.7 billion in Harvard grants and US$60 million in contracts in April following the school’s refusal to budge on he government’s demands after the administration's Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism alleged the school failed to confront ant