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End Texas Torture of Revolutionary Elder Xinachtli
Organization Support Letter
Letter to demand the immediate medical treatment and release of Chicano political prisoner Xinachtli (Alvaro Hernandez #00255735)
To the Texas Department of Criminal Justice,
We, the undersigned organizations, write to urge immediate action to protect the life, health, and human rights of Xinachtli (legal name Alvaro Hernandez). Xinachtli is 73-year-old Chicano community organizer from Texas who has spent 23 years in solitary confinement and 30 years incarcerated as part of a 50-year sentence. His health is now in a critical and life-threatening state and requires prompt and comprehensive medical intervention.
Since his conviction in 1997, Xinachtli has spent decades in conditions that have caused significant physical and psychological harm. As an elder in worsening health, these conditions have effectively become a de facto death sentence.
Xinachtli’s current medical condition is severe. His physical, mental, and overall well-being have declined rapidly in recent weeks. He now requires both a wheelchair and a walker, has experienced multiple falls, and is suffering from rapid weight loss. He is currently housed in the McConnell Unit infirmary, where he is receiving only palliative measures and is being denied a medical diagnosis, access to his medical records, and adequate diagnostic testing or treatment.
A virtual clinical visit with licensed medical doctor Dr. Dona Kim Murphey underscores the severity of his condition. In her report of the visit, she wrote: "Given the history of recent neck/back trauma and recurrent urinary tract infections with numbness, weakness, and bowel and bladder incontinence, I am concerned about nerve root or spinal cord injury and/or abscesses that can lead to permanent sensorimotor dysfunction."
Despite his age and visible disabilities, he remains in solitary confinement under the Security Threat Group designation as a 73-year-old. During his time in the infirmary, prison staff threw away all of his belongings and “lost” his commissary card, leaving him completely without basic necessities. He is experiencing hunger, and the lack of consistent nutrition is worsening his medical condition. McConnell Unit staff have also consistently given him incorrect forms, including forms for medical records and medical visitation, creating further barriers to care and communication.
A family visit on November 29 confirmed the seriousness of his condition. Xinachtli, who was once able to walk on his own, can no longer stand without assistance. He struggled to breathe, has lost more than 30 pounds, relied heavily on his wheelchair, and was in severe pain throughout the visit.
In light of these conditions, we, the undersigned organizations, demand that TDCJ take immediate action to save Xinachtli’s life and comply with its legal and ethical obligations.
We urge the immediate implementation of the following actions:
Immediate re-instatement of his access to commissary to buy hygiene, food, and other critical items. Immediate transfer to the TDCJ hospital in Galveston for a full medical evaluation and treatment, including complete access to his medical records and full transparency regarding all procedures. Transfer to a geriatric and medical unit that is fully accessible under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Xinachtli requests placement at the Richard P LeBlanc Unit in Beaumont, Texas. Approval of Medical Recommended Intensive Supervision, the release program for individuals with serious medical conditions and disabilities, in recognition of the severity and progression of his current health issues. Failure to act will result in the continued and foreseeable deterioration of Xinachtli’s health, amounting to state-sanctioned death. We urge TDCJ to take swift and decisive action to meet these requests and to fulfill its responsibility to safeguard his life and well-being.
We stand united in calling for immediate and decisive action. Xinachtli’s life depends on it.
Signed, Xinachtli Freedom Campaign and supporting organizations
Endorsing Organizations:
Al-Awda Houston; All African People’s Revolutionary Party; Anakbayan Houston; Anti-Imperialist Solidarity; Artists for Black Lives' Equality; Black Alliance for Peace - Solidarity Network; Columbia University Students for a Democratic Society; Community Liberation Programs; Community Powered ATX; Contra Gentrificación; Diaspora Pa’lante Collective; Down South; DSA Emerge; Entre nos kc; Fighting Racism Workshops; Frontera Water Protectors; GC Harm Reductionists; JERICHO MOVEMENT; Jericho Movement Providence; Montrose Anarchist Collective; NYC Jericho Movement; OC Focus; Palestine Solidarity TX; Partisan Defense Committee; Partido Nacional de la Raza Unida; PDX Anti-Repression; Red Star Texas; Root Cause; San Francisco Solidarity Collective; Shine White Support Team; Sunrise Columbia; UC San Diego Faculty for Justice in Palestine; Viva Palestina, EPTX; Water Justice and Technology Studio; Workshops4Gaza.
Sign the endorsement letter for your organization here:
https://cryptpad.fr/form/#/2/form/view/MiR1f+iLiRBJC7gSTyfhyxJoLIDhThxRafPatxdbMWI/
IMPORTANT LINKS TO MATERIALS FOR XINACHTLI FREEDOM CAMPAIGN:
PHONE BLAST: Your community can sign up for a 15-minute-long call shift here: bit.ly/xphoneblast
FUNDRAISER: Here is the link to Jericho's fundraiser for Xinachtli: http://givebutter.com/jerichomovement
CASE HISTORY: Learn more about Xinachtli and his case through our website: https://freealvaro.net
CONTACT INFO:
Follow us on Instagram: @freexinachtlinow
Email us:
xinachtlifreedomcampaign@protonmail.com
COALITION FOLDER:
https://drive.proton.me/urls/SP3KTC1RK4#KARGiPQVYIvR
In the folder you will find: Two pictures of Xinachtli from 2024; The latest updated graphics for the phone blast; The original TRO emergency motion filing; Maria Salazar's declaration; Dr. Murphy's report from her Dec. 9 medical visit; Letter from Amnesty International declaring Xinachtli's situation a human rights violation; Free Xinachtli zine (which gives background on him and his case); and The most recent press release detailing who Xinachtli is as well as his medical situation.
Write to:
Alvaro Hernandez CID #00255735
TDCJ-W.G. McConnell Unit
PO Box 660400
Dallas, TX 75266-0400
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Help World-Outlook Win New Subscribers
(the subscription is free of charge)
Dear reader,
Over the last month, World-Outlook and its sister publication in Spanish Panorama-Mundial have published unique coverage of U.S. and world events.
This includes the three-part interview with Cuban historian and writer Ernesto Limia DÃaz, ‘Cuba Is the Moral and Political Compass of the World.’ A related article by Mark Satinoff, World Votes with Cuba to Demand an End to U.S. Blockade, included information on the campaign to send medical aid to Cuba in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa and was shared widely by the Los Angeles Hands Off Cuba Committee and other Cuba solidarity groups.
A number of readers sent their appreciation for Cathleen Gutekanst’s article Chicago Residents Fight ICE Abductions, Deportations, which provided a compelling, eyewitness account of this example of working-class resistance to the Trump administration’s war on undocumented immigrants. Some readers shared it widely on social media platforms.
The news analysis Bigotry, Jew Hatred Take Center Stage in GOP Mainstream also generated interest. It is part of World-Outlook’s consistent analysis of the danger of the rise of incipient fascism that Trumpism has posed for the working class and its allies in the U.S. and the world.
Most recently, another article by Mark Satinoff, ‘From Ceasefire to a Just Peace’ in Israel and Occupied Territories, was promoted by Friends of Standing Together (FOST NY/NJ) on the group’s website. Alon-Lee Green and Sally Abed — the two Standing Together leaders featured at the November 12 event in Brooklyn, New York, that Mark’s article covered — and Israelis for Peace sent their thanks to Mark for his accurate reporting.
This is a small sample of the news coverage and political analysis World-Outlook offers.
We ask you to use this information to try to convince at least one of your acquaintances, colleagues, friends, fellow students, neighbors, or relatives to subscribe to World-Outlook. As you know, the subscription is free of charge. Increasing World-Outlook’s subscription base will widen the site’s reach. It will also provide new impetus to improve our coverage. Comments and reactions from subscribers, or initiatives from readers to cover events in their areas, often result in unexpectedly invaluable articles or opinion columns clarifying important political questions.
Feel free to share this letter, or part of its contents, with those you are asking to subscribe. And keep World-Outlookinformed about the reactions you get from potential new readers.
In solidarity,
World-Outlook editors
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Funds for Kevin Cooper
Kevin was transferred out of San Quentin and is now at a healthcare facility in Stockton. He has received some long overdue healthcare. The art program is very different from the one at San Quentin but we are hopeful that Kevin can get back to painting soon.
For 41 years, an innocent man has been on death row in California.
Kevin Cooper was wrongfully convicted of the brutal 1983 murders of the Ryen family and houseguest. The case has a long history of police and prosecutorial misconduct, evidence tampering, and numerous constitutional violations including many incidences of the prosecution withholding evidence of innocence from the defense. You can learn more here .
In December 2018 Gov. Brown ordered limited DNA testing and in February 2019, Gov. Newsom ordered additional DNA testing. Meanwhile, Kevin remains on Death Row at San Quentin Prison.
The funds raised will be used to help Kevin purchase art supplies for his paintings . Additionally, being in prison is expensive, and this money would help Kevin pay for stamps, books, paper, toiletries, supplies, supplementary food, printing materials to educate the public about his case and/or video calls.
Please help ease the daily struggle of an innocent man on death row!
An immediate act of solidarity we can all do right now is to write to Kevin and assure him of our continuing support in his fight for justice. Here’s his address:
Kevin Cooper #C65304
Cell 107, Unit E1C
California Health Care Facility, Stockton (CHCF)
P.O. Box 213040
Stockton, CA 95213
www.freekevincooper.org
Call California Governor Newsom:
1-(916) 445-2841
Press 1 for English or 2 for Spanish,
press 6 to speak with a representative and
wait for someone to answer
(Monday-Friday, 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. PST—12:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. EST)
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Dr. Atler Still Needs Our Help!
Please sign the petition today!
https://www.change.org/p/texas-state-university-give-tom-alter-his-job-back
What you can do to support:
—Donate to help Tom Alter and his family with living and legal expenses: https://gofund.me/27c72f26d
—Sign and share this petition demanding Tom Alter be given his job back: https://www.change.org/p/texas-state-university-give-tom-alter-his-job-back
—Write to and call the President and Provost at Texas State University demanding that Tom Alter be given his job back:
President Kelly Damphousse: president@txstate.edu
President’s Office Phone: 512-245-2121
Provost Pranesh Aswath: xrk25@txstate.edu
Provost Office Phone: 512-245-2205
For more information about the reason for the firing of Dr. Tom Alter, read:
"Fired for Advocating Socialism: Professor Tom Alter Speaks Out"
Ashley Smith Interviews Dr. Tom Alter
—CounterPunch, September 24, 2025
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Stop Cop City Bay Area
Did you know about a proposed $47 million regional police training facility in San Pablo—designed for departments across the Bay Area?
We are Stop Cop City Bay Area (Tours & Teach-Ins), a QT+ Black-led grassroots collective raising awareness about this project. This would be the city’s second police training facility, built without voter approval and financed through a $32 million, 30-year loan.
We’re organizing to repurpose the facility into a community resource hub and youth center. To build people power, we’re taking this conversation on the road—visiting Bay Area campuses, classrooms, cafes, and community spaces via our Fall 2025 Tour.
We’d love to collaborate with you and/or co-create an event. Here’s what we offer:
Guest Speaker Presentations—5-minute visits (team meetings, classrooms, co-ops, etc.), panels, or deep dives into:
· the facility’s origins & regional impacts
· finding your role in activism
· reimagining the floorplan (micro-workshops)
· and more
· Interactive Art & Vendor/Tabling Pop-Ups — free zines, stickers, and live linocut printing with hand-carved stamps + artivism.
· Collaborations with Classrooms — project partnerships, research integration, or creative assignments.
· Film Screenings + Discussion — e.g., Power (Yance Ford, 2024) or Riotsville, U.S.A. (Sierra Pettengill, 2022), or a film of your choice.
👉 If you’re interested in hosting a stop, open to co-creating something else, or curious about the intersections of our work: simply reply to this email or visit: stopcopcitybayarea.com/tour
Thank you for your time and consideration. We look forward to connecting.
In solidarity,
Stop Cop City Bay Area
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Dear Organization Coordinator
I hope this message finds you well. I’m reaching out to invite your organization to consider co-sponsoring a regional proposal to implement Free Public Transit throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.
This initiative directly supports low-income families, working people, seniors, youth, and others who rely on public transportation. It would eliminate fare barriers while helping to address climate justice, congestion, and air pollution—issues that disproportionately affect disadvantaged communities.
We believe your organization’s mission and values align strongly with this proposal. We are seeking endorsements, co-sponsorship, and coalition-building with groups that advocate for economic and racial equity.
I would love the opportunity to share a brief proposal or speak further if you're interested. Please let me know if there’s a staff member or program director I should connect with.
A description of our proposal is below:
sharethemoneyinstitute@gmail.com
Opinion: San Francisco Bay Area Should Provide Free Public Transportation
The San Francisco Bay Area is beautiful, with fantastic weather, food, diversity and culture. We’re also internationally famous for our progressiveness, creativity, and innovation.
I believe the next amazing world-leading feature we can add to our cornucopia of attractions is Free Public Transportation. Imagine how wonderful it would be if Muni, BART, Caltrain, AC Transit, SamTrans, SF Bay Ferries, and all the other transportation services were absolutely free?
Providing this convenience would deliver enormous, varied benefits to the 7.6 million SF Bay Area residents, and would make us a lovable destination for tourists.
This goal - Free Public Transportation - is ambitious, but it isn’t impossible, or even original. Truth is, many people world-wide already enjoy free rides in their smart municipalities.
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is promoting free transit, with a plan that’s gained the endorsement of economists from Chile, United Kingdom, Greece, and the USA.
The entire nation of Luxembourg has offered free public transportation to both its citizens and visitors since 2020. Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, has given free transit to its residents since 2013. In France, thirty-five cities provide free public transportation. Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, offers free rides to seniors, disabled, and students. In Maricá (Brazil) – the entire municipal bus system is free. Delhi (India) – offers free metro and bus travel for women. Madrid & Barcelona (Spain) offer free (or heavily discounted) passes to youth and seniors.
Even in the USA, free public transit is already here. Kansas City, Missouri, has enjoyed a free bus system free since 2020. Olympia, Washington, has fully fare-free intercity transit. Missoula, Montana, is free for all riders. Columbia, South Carolina, has free buses, and Chapel Hill, North Carolina, has enjoyed free transit for over a decade. Ithaca, New York, and Madison, Wisconsin, offer free transit to students.
But if the San Francisco Bay Area offered free transit, we’d be the LARGEST municipality in the world to offer universal Free Transit to everyone, resident and visitor alike. (Population of Luxembourg is 666,430. Kansas City 510,704. Population of San Francisco Bay Area is 7.6 million in the nine-county area)
Providing free transit would be tremendously beneficial to millions of people, for three major reasons:
1. Combat Climate Change - increased public ridership would reduce harmful CO2 fossil fuel emissions. Estimates from Kansas City and Tallinn Estonia’s suggest an increase in ridership of 15 percent. Another estimate from a pilot project in New York City suggests a ridership increase of 30 percent. These increases in people taking public transportation instead of driving their own cars indicates a total reduction of 5.4 - 10.8 tons of emissions would be eliminated, leading to better air quality, improved public health, and long-term climate gains.
2. Reduce Traffic Congestion & Parking Difficulty - Estimates suggest public transit would decrease traffic congestion in dense urban areas and choke points like the Bay Bridge by up to 15 percent. Car ownership would also be reduced. Traffic in San Francisco is the second-slowest in the USA (NYC is #1) and getting worse every year. Parking costs in San Francisco are also the second-worst in the USA (NYC #1), and again, it is continually getting worse.
3. Promote Social Equity - Free transit removes a financial cost that hits low-income residents hard. Transportation is the second-biggest expense after housing for many Americans. In the Bay Area, a monthly Clipper pass can cost $86–$98 per system, and much more for multi-agency commuters. For people living paycheck-to-paycheck, this is a significant cost. People of color, immigrants, youth, seniors, and people with disabilities rely more heavily on public transit. 55–70% of frequent transit riders in the Bay Area are from low-to moderate-income households, but these riders usually pay more per mile of transit than wealthy drivers. Free fares equalize access regardless of income or geography.
Free transit would help people 1) take jobs they couldn’t otherwise afford to commute to, thus improving the economy, 2) Stay in school without worrying about bus fare, 3) Get to appointments, child care, or grocery stores without skipping meals to afford transit.
To conclude: Free Public Transit should be seen as a civil rights and economic justice intervention.
The Cost? How can San Francisco Bay Area pay for Free Transit throughout our large region?
ShareTheMoney.Institute estimates the cost as $1.5 billion annually. This sum can acquired via multiple strategies. Corvallis, Oregon, has had free public bus service since 2011, paid for by a $3.63 monthly fee added to each utility bill. Missoula, Montana, funds their fare-free Mountain Line transit system, via a property tax mill levy. Madison, Wisconsin’s transit is supported by general fund revenues, state and federal grants, and partnerships/sponsorships from local businesses and organizations.
Ideally, we’d like the funds to be obtained from the 37 local billionaires who, combined, have an approximate wealth of $885 billion. The $1.5 billion for free transit is only 0.17% of the local billionaire's wealth. Sponsorship from the ultra-wealthy would be ideal. Billionaires can view the “fair transit donation” they are asked to contribute not as punishment or an “envy tax”, but as their investment to create a municipality that is better for everyone, themselves included. They can pride themselves on instigating a world-leading, legacy-defining reform that will etch their names in history as leaders of a bold utopian reform.
Our motto: “we want to move freely around our beautiful bay”
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Hank Pellissier - Share The Money Institute
Reverend Gregory Stevens - Unitarian Universalist EcoSocialist Network
*..........*..........*..........*..........*..........*..........*..........* *..........*..........*..........*..........*..........*..........*..........*  Russia Confirms Jailing of Antiwar Leader Boris Kagarlitsky In a secret trial on June 5, 2024, the Russian Supreme Court’s Military Chamber confirmed a sentence of five years in a penal colony for left-wing sociologist and online journalist Boris Kagarlitsky. His crime? “Justifying terrorism” — a sham charge used to silence opponents of Putin’s war on Ukraine. The court disregarded a plea for freedom sent by thirty-seven international luminaries. Kagarlitsky, a leading Marxist thinker in Russia’s post-Soviet period, recently addressed socialists who won’t criticize Putin: “To my Western colleagues, who…call for an understanding of Putin and his regime, I would like to ask a very simple question. [Would] you want to live in a country where there is no free press or independent courts? In a country where the police have the right to break into your house without a warrant? …In a country which…broadcasts appeals on TV to destroy Paris, London, Warsaw, with a nuclear strike?” Thousands of antiwar critics have been forced to flee Russia or are behind bars, swept up in Putin’s vicious crackdown on dissidents. Opposition to the war is consistently highest among the poorest workers. Recently, RusNews journalists Roman Ivanov and Maria Ponomarenko were sentenced to seven, and six years respectively, for reporting the military’s brutal assault on Ukraine. A massive global solidarity campaign that garnered support from thousands was launched at Kagarlitsky’s arrest. Now, it has been revived. This internationalism will bolster the repressed Russian left and Ukrainian resistance to Putin’s imperialism. To sign the online petition at freeboris.info —Freedom Socialist Party, August 2024 https://socialism.com/fs-article/russia-jails-prominent-antiwar-leader-boris-kagarlitsky/#:~:text=In%20a%20secret%20trial%20on,of%20Putin's%20war%20on%20Ukraine. Petition in Support of Boris KagarlitskyWe, the undersigned, were deeply shocked to learn that on February 13 the leading Russian socialist intellectual and antiwar activist Dr. Boris Kagarlitsky (65) was sentenced to five years in prison. Dr. Kagarlitsky was arrested on the absurd charge of 'justifying terrorism' in July last year. After a global campaign reflecting his worldwide reputation as a writer and critic of capitalism and imperialism, his trial ended on December 12 with a guilty verdict and a fine of 609,000 roubles. The prosecution then appealed against the fine as 'unjust due to its excessive leniency' and claimed falsely that Dr. Kagarlitsky was unable to pay the fine and had failed to cooperate with the court. In fact, he had paid the fine in full and provided the court with everything it requested. On February 13 a military court of appeal sent him to prison for five years and banned him from running a website for two years after his release. The reversal of the original court decision is a deliberate insult to the many thousands of activists, academics, and artists around the world who respect Dr. Kagarlitsky and took part in the global campaign for his release. The section of Russian law used against Dr. Kagarlitsky effectively prohibits free expression. The decision to replace the fine with imprisonment was made under a completely trumped-up pretext. Undoubtedly, the court's action represents an attempt to silence criticism in the Russian Federation of the government's war in Ukraine, which is turning the country into a prison. The sham trial of Dr. Kagarlitsky is the latest in a wave of brutal repression against the left-wing movements in Russia. Organizations that have consistently criticized imperialism, Western and otherwise, are now under direct attack, many of them banned. Dozens of activists are already serving long terms simply because they disagree with the policies of the Russian government and have the courage to speak up. Many of them are tortured and subjected to life-threatening conditions in Russian penal colonies, deprived of basic medical care. Left-wing politicians are forced to flee Russia, facing criminal charges. International trade unions such as IndustriALL and the International Transport Federation are banned and any contact with them will result in long prison sentences. There is a clear reason for this crackdown on the Russian left. The heavy toll of the war gives rise to growing discontent among the mass of working people. The poor pay for this massacre with their lives and wellbeing, and opposition to war is consistently highest among the poorest. The left has the message and resolve to expose the connection between imperialist war and human suffering. Dr. Kagarlitsky has responded to the court's outrageous decision with calm and dignity: “We just need to live a little longer and survive this dark period for our country,” he said. Russia is nearing a period of radical change and upheaval, and freedom for Dr. Kagarlitsky and other activists is a condition for these changes to take a progressive course. We demand that Boris Kagarlitsky and all other antiwar prisoners be released immediately and unconditionally. We also call on the authorities of the Russian Federation to reverse their growing repression of dissent and respect their citizens' freedom of speech and right to protest. Sign to Demand the Release of Boris Kagarlitskyhttps://freeboris.infoThe petition is also available on Change.org *..........*..........*..........*..........*..........*..........*..........* *..........*..........*..........*..........*..........*..........*..........* |
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Mumia Abu-Jamal is Innocent!
FREE HIM NOW!
Write to Mumia at:
Smart Communications/PADOC
Mumia Abu-Jamal #AM-8335
SCI Mahanoy
P.O. Box 33028
St. Petersburg, FL 33733
Join the Fight for Mumia's Life
Since September, Mumia Abu-Jamal's health has been declining at a concerning rate. He has lost weight, is anemic, has high blood pressure and an extreme flair up of his psoriasis, and his hair has fallen out. In April 2021 Mumia underwent open heart surgery. Since then, he has been denied cardiac rehabilitation care including a healthy diet and exercise.
He still needs more complicated treatment from a retinal specialist for his right eye if his eyesight is to be saved:
Donate to Mumia Abu-Jamal's Emergency Legal and Medical
Defense Fund
Mumia has instructed PrisonRadio to set up this fund. Gifts donated here are designated for the Mumia Abu-Jamal Medical and Legal Defense Fund. If you are writing a check or making a donation in another way, note this in the memo line.
Send to:
Mumia Medical and Legal Fund c/o Prison Radio
P.O. Box 411074, San Francisco, CA 94103
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Resources for Resisting Federal Repression
https://www.nlg.org/federalrepressionresources/
Since June of 2020, activists have been subjected to an increasingly aggressive crackdown on protests by federal law enforcement. The federal response to the movement for Black Lives has included federal criminal charges for activists, door knocks by federal law enforcement agents, and increased use of federal troops to violently police protests.
The NLG National Office is releasing this resource page for activists who are resisting federal repression. It includes a link to our emergency hotline numbers, as well as our library of Know-Your-Rights materials, our recent federal repression webinar, and a list of some of our recommended resources for activists. We will continue to update this page.
Please visit the NLG Mass Defense Program page for general protest-related legal support hotlines run by NLG chapters.
Emergency Hotlines
If you are contacted by federal law enforcement, you should exercise all of your rights. It is always advisable to speak to an attorney before responding to federal authorities.
State and Local Hotlines
If you have been contacted by the FBI or other federal law enforcement, in one of the following areas, you may be able to get help or information from one of these local NLG hotlines for:
Portland, Oregon: (833) 680-1312
San Francisco, California: (415) 285-1041 or fbi_hotline@nlgsf.org
Seattle, Washington: (206) 658-7963
National Hotline
If you are located in an area with no hotline, you can call the following number:
National NLG Federal Defense Hotline: (212) 679-2811
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Articles
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1) Trump’s Threat of Force Against Colombia Draws Rebuke From Its Leader
President Gustavo Petro said that he had asked the Colombian people to defend him “against any illegitimate violent act.” His defense minister emphasized that security cooperation with Washington continued.
By Genevieve Glatsky, Reporting from Bogotá, Colombia, Jan. 5, 2026
President Gustavo Petro of Colombia said he “asked the people to defend the president against any illegitimate violent act.” Credit...Sergio Yate/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
President Trump’s comments suggesting possible military action against Colombia drew a sharp response on Monday from its president, Gustavo Petro, while the country’s defense minister sought to emphasize continued cooperation with Washington.
After Mr. Trump said that U.S. military forces in the Caribbean could be used against Colombia and other countries, and accused Mr. Petro of being involved in cocaine production, Mr. Petro said: “If you detain a president whom much of my people want and respect, you will unleash the people’s jaguar.”
In a lengthy post on X, Mr. Petro said that “every Colombian soldier has now received this order: any commander of the security forces who prefers the U.S. flag over the Colombian flag will be immediately removed from the institution.” He added that he had “asked the people to defend the president against any illegitimate violent act.”
His comments came two days after the president of neighboring Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, was seized by U.S. forces and brought to New York City, where he and his wife were facing federal drug trafficking and other charges. Asked on Air Force One late Sunday if the U.S. military could conduct an operation against Colombia, Mr. Trump said, “It sounds good to me.”
For more than four decades, Colombia has been a cornerstone of U.S. counternarcotics strategy abroad and a top ally in the region. But Mr. Trump has had a combative relationship with Mr. Petro, who has blocked deportation flights, stood on the streets of Manhattan urging U.S. soldiers to disobey orders, and accused the United States of “murder” in its boat strikes in the eastern Pacific.
Colombia’s defense minister, Pedro Sánchez, declined to comment directly on Mr. Trump’s remarks in an interview on Monday with The New York Times. He said that he had remained in regular communication with the United States on counternarcotics efforts and that the two governments continue to have “a very close relationship.”
Any possible U.S. military operation against Colombia, he said, had not come up in his recent conversations with the ranking U.S. diplomat in Bogotá or American military advisers.
Mr. Sánchez added that Colombia’s information sharing with U.S. military and law enforcement agencies — including the Navy, Coast Guard, Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — continued uninterrupted.
Colombia’s armed forces, he said, remain focused on “protecting our sovereignty, our independence and our territorial integrity.”
He added that Colombia has deployed more than 30,000 troops along its border with Venezuela to prepare for potential destabilization, a surge of migrants or confrontations with drug cartels that he said would “very likely feel increased pressure and attempt to harm the Colombian people.”
He described the situation in Venezuela since Mr. Maduro’s ouster as relatively calm, but said he had not had contact with Venezuelan political or military officials in recent days.
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2) After U.S. Strikes on Christmas, Fear Grips Muslims in Rural Nigeria
A small town set amid a smattering of baobab trees is grappling with the aftermath of a bombing ordered by President Trump.
By Dionne Searcey and Eric Schmitt, Jan. 5, 2026
Dionne Searcey reported from Jabo and Sokoto, Nigeria, and Eric Schmitt from Washington.
Debris from a missile landed near a round well, center, in Jabo, Nigeria, and burned corn stalks that had been gathered for cattle feed. Taibat Ajiboye for The New York Times
The three herders stood at the lip of the crescent-shaped crater in the middle of a cornfield in Jabo, Northwest Nigeria, and peered down.
Curiosity had led them here, to a quiet farming town in Sokoto State, after nearly a week of discussing why President Trump would order a missile strike in the area, during onion harvest season, no less.
The men, who had traveled 167 miles to see the site, walked the lip of the shallow crater where parts of a Tomahawk missile struck on Christmas night before bouncing about 30 feet away and exploding, one of several strikes ordered by Mr. Trump to fight what he has called a “Christian genocide” led by Islamist terrorists in Nigeria, one of West Africa’s top economies.
Sokoto State, like numerous other parts of the country, has been troubled by violence. Bands of thugs steal cows and carry out kidnappings for ransom. A group called the Lakurawa, which some analysts and residents believe has ties to Islamic State affiliates, terrorizes residents.
Over the weekend, police said that dozens of people were killed and several abducted after gunmen attacked two neighboring villages that had been under siege for days in Niger State, elsewhere in northwest Nigeria.
But Jabo, a town of tidy tin-roofed homes set amid a smattering of baobab and acacia trees, has been a safe haven for people fleeing violence elsewhere in the region, according to the three men and local residents.
Nigerian officials have said debris from missiles used in the Christmas-night attack fell in Jabo accidentally. But that message hasn’t fully reached residents here, where word travels slowly. Residents described a ball of fire hurdling across the sky. A large cylinder from a Tomahawk landed intact in a field in Jabo. Another chunk set ablaze a carefully tied stack of cornstalks used for cooking fires and cattle feed, leaving a circular, charred stain on the ground.
“I’m hopeful and pray to God this doesn’t happen again,” said Mohammed Abubakar, one of three herders who traveled to Jabo from Zamfara State to witness the damage. “There’s nothing here,” he added, referring to terrorists.
In the days since the U.S. missile strikes, families in this rural area have combed the countryside to survey the damage. Maybe the terrorists were vaporized in the blasts, some said. Otherwise, they say they haven’t seen or heard evidence of any deaths.
Mr. Trump has said the targets were Islamic State terrorists who have been accused of killing innocent Christians. Nigeria’s information minister, Mohammed Idris, has said two major Islamic State terrorist enclaves were hit in the strikes. The U.S. military reported that the missiles hit targets in the Tangaza forest and said Friday that “assessments of the strike are ongoing.”
But residents said some of the missiles landed on farmland, with debris damaging only a handful of unoccupied buildings. They said one exploded in an abandoned encampment that dozens of Lakurawa members had fled in the days before the strikes, having heard what farmers in the area assumed were military surveillance flights overhead, according to two residents.
Amid the fear and the unknowns, a troubling narrative has emerged in Sokoto: Mr. Trump is targeting all Muslims in Nigeria. With all the might and intelligence of the U.S. military, why else would he bomb farming communities instead of terrorists?
“Some of us think this is part of his agenda to protect Christians,” said Abubakar Mohammed Jabo, whose home is not far from the strike site in Jabo.
White House officials did not respond to questions about the targeting of Muslims.
Fueling such thinking is regional history. The Sokoto Caliphate was one of the most significant empires in precolonial Africa. The city of Sokoto draws tourists to the Sultan’s Palace and the gravesite of Usman dan Fodio, the caliphate leader for whom a local university is named. Caliphate Radio Sokoto broadcasts news, and Caliphate-branded bread is sold in grocery stores.
Two U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the Sokoto State strikes were a one-time event that would allow Mr. Trump to say that he was avenging Christian deaths. The Navy destroyer that launched the missiles has moved out of the Gulf of Guinea. Both U.S. and Nigerian officials have said the United States will continue to cooperate on intelligence-sharing that could lead to further strikes by the Nigerian military.
Several residents of the choppy terrain on the outskirts of Sokoto, where communities are almost entirely Muslim, said violence terrorizes Christians and Muslims alike in the country.
Abdullahi Bako, a Muslim farmer and herder from Tangaza, said that when the Lakurawa moved in about a year ago, the group reined in thugs who had been stealing cattle and causing mayhem. The Lakurawa imposed a strict form of Islam, banning cigarettes and music, as well as socializing between men and women. They even beat barbers and their clients for shaving beards.
The Lakurawa offered to mediate spats between farmers and herders when livestock eat farmers’ crops. Mr. Bako said he had paid the Lakurawa 3 million naira (about $2,000) for damage done by his own 35 cows. But instead of giving the money to farmers, the group kept it for itself, he said.
Fearing their return, Mr. Bako has moved his small herd closer to a nearby town where the grazing is scant.
“If they come back,” he said, “they’re going to be deadlier.”
Hassan Umar Jabo traced a ball of fire across the sky the night of the bombings in Jabo. People raced to see the damage, trampling peppers, cassava and onions that had been planted. Boys grabbed metal chunks of the missile. Nigerian soldiers arrived to clean up the area and demanded everyone surrender any debris.
But some residents had squirreled it away, including a man who last week, as the sun was setting, showed off a piece of silver metal bolted to a blue wire, part of a missile that narrowly missed his hometown.
Ismail Auwal and Riley Mellen contributed reporting.
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3) Israel’s Stinging Retort to Mamdani Was Meant as Retaliation in Kind
After Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York scrapped two executive orders on antisemitism and boycotts, the Israeli Foreign Ministry issued an aggressive response to what it saw as an aggressive act.
By David M. Halbfinger, Reporting from Jerusalem, Jan. 5, 2026
The Israeli Foreign Ministry minced no words in responding to Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York, who, in one of his first official acts, rescinded two of his predecessor’s executive orders that had been billed as fighting antisemitism and demonstrating support for Israel.
“On his very first day,” the ministry wrote on social media on Friday, “Mamdani shows his true face,” noting that the mayor had scrapped a definition of antisemitism and lifted restrictions on boycotting Israel.
“This isn’t leadership,” the ministry added. “It’s antisemitic gasoline on an open fire.”
Mr. Mamdani rescinded other orders, not just those two, but while others were reissued — including one that established a city office to fight antisemitism — the ones on the antisemitism definition and on boycotting Israel were left erased from the books.
That was enough for the Israeli government to lash out.
Israel has become quick to take offense when it feels political leaders are demonstrating insensitivity to Jews or are failing to protect them — even more so after last month’s Bondi Beach massacre in Sydney, Australia.
In the hours after that attack, in which two gunmen killed 15 people at a Hanukkah celebration, the Israeli foreign minister, Gideon Saar, took issue with an initial statement by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia expressing shock and distress over the killings.
Writing on social media, Mr. Saar noted three words that did not appear in Mr. Albanese’s statement: “Jews. Antisemitism. Terror.”
And when Keir Starmer, the British prime minister, added his own “thoughts and condolences to everyone affected,” Mr. Saar replied: “Distinguished PM, the terror attack targeted Jews.”
Veteran Israeli diplomats and analysts said that the Israeli government of late had been responding harshly to anything seen as undermining vigilance against antisemitism or eroding the security of Jewish communities.
“The tone in general has been much less diplomatic than it used to be,” said Emmanuel Navon, a foreign-policy analyst and lecturer at Tel Aviv University.
There has been no shortage of material for Israeli officials and others concerned about antisemitism to address. Since the Hamas-led massacre of Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023, and throughout Israel’s war in Gaza, antisemitic attacks have soared worldwide, even as Israel has become sharply isolated on the international stage for its prosecution of that war.
Against that backdrop, Mr. Mamdani’s decision to undo former Mayor Eric Adams’s embrace of the International Holocaust Remembrance Association’s definition of antisemitism landed as an expression of objectionable priorities, as did his reversal of Mr. Adams’s ban on city agencies participating in boycotts of Israel. Mr. Mamdani has long supported the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel over its treatment of Palestinians.
The mayor rescinded every order Mr. Adams had issued since his indictment in September 2024, attempting to frame his action as a matter of good governance. A spokeswoman for Mr. Mamdani said that the decision to rescind the Adams orders had been deliberated over for months. Mr. Mamdani called the move necessary to restore the public’s trust in the office of the mayor after Mr. Adams’s indictment.
The Israeli government was not persuaded.
“The question is not why the Foreign Ministry chose to respond so quickly,” Oren Marmorstein, the ministry’s chief spokesman, said in an interview. “The real question is why Mamdani on his first day chose to repeal the I.H.R.A. definition of antisemitism and to cancel the anti-B.D.S. regulation.”
“This is his top priority,” Mr Marmorstein added. “This is a decision to deliberately send a very negative message regarding antisemitism on your very first day.”
Particularly in the wake of the Bondi Beach massacre, Mr. Marmorstein noted, Mr. Mamdani’s moves constituted an aggressive act that warranted an aggressive response.
“Antisemitism is on the rise, Jews are feeling intimidated, and they are being attacked,” Mr. Marmorstein said. “So what are you doing here?”
“As a leader, as someone people are looking up to, you’re sending a very wrong message,” he added.
The International Holocaust Remembrance Association’s definition of antisemitism cites seven types of Israel-related speech that it says crosses into antisemitic territory. Those include accusing Jews or Israel of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust; accusing Jews of being more loyal to Israel than to their own countries; denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, such as by saying that Israel’s mere existence is racist; and holding Israel to a higher standard of conduct than is demanded of other democratic nations. Other examples include comparing Israeli policy to that of the Nazis, and holding Jews collectively responsible for Israel’s actions.
Dozens of countries have endorsed or adopted the definition to varying degrees, as have many major cities, including Barcelona, Berlin, London, Paris, Rio de Janeiro and, in the United States, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami and Washington.
But critics of the definition contend that it is overly expansive and is being used to police speech by those who equate criticism of Israel with hatred of Jews.
Indeed, while the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s post drew considerable attention online, with 4.2 million views as of Sunday night, much of that attention was negative, accusing Israel of seeking to impinge on Americans’ freedom of speech.
Notably absent among the Israelis denouncing Mr. Mamdani’s New Year’s Day moves was Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Mr. Mamdani has said that he would like the New York Police Department to enforce an arrest warrant against Mr. Netanyahu, who has been accused of war crimes by the International Criminal Court.
According to an Israeli official briefed on the matter, the government’s strategy is for the Foreign Ministry, not the prime minister, to respond and in that way avoid exaggerating Mr. Mamdani’s importance. Otherwise, the Israeli government plans to wait and see how Mr. Mamdani’s administration addresses antisemitism and matters involving Israel going forward, according to the official, who requested anonymity to discuss private deliberations.
That resembles the approach taken by a coalition of American Jewish groups in addressing Mr. Mamdani’s two executive-order rollbacks. Those groups, including the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee and the United Jewish Appeal-Federation of New York, faulted the mayor for reversing some protections against antisemitism, while also “welcoming” his continuation of other protections. The groups added that they would be “looking for clear and sustained leadership” in the fight against antisemitism.
Theodore Sasson, a fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, said the group’s response was a “far cry” from that of the Foreign Ministry. But he added that Israeli officials were often less sensitive to charges that they “weaponize” allegations of antisemitism to shut down criticism of Israel than were American Jewish leaders, who he said generally defended the right to criticize Israel but not to deny its right to exist.
“There’s a difference in tone, and there’s a difference in the willingness to describe Mamdani as an antisemite,” Mr. Sasson said. “And that reflects a broader pattern under this government, of using the charge of antisemitism with the intention and effect of chilling criticism of Israel.”
The Israeli Foreign Ministry has also leveled accusations of antisemitism at municipal officials outside New York. It has feuded particularly acrimoniously with Ireland since that country recognized Palestinian statehood and threw its support behind South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice over the conduct of the war in Gaza. In December 2024, Israel said it would close its embassy in Dublin.
Then, in November, after Dublin announced it would rename Chaim Herzog Park — which since 1995 has borne the name of Israel’s sixth president, who was largely raised in the Irish capital — Mr. Saar assailed the move. “Dublin has become the capital of antisemitism in the world,” he wrote on social media. “The Irish antisemitic and anti-Israeli obsession is sickening.”
Dublin dropped the proposal to rename the park a few days later.
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4) Why Trump Refused to Back Venezuela’s Machado: Fears of Chaos, and Fraying Ties
U.S. intelligence suggested MarÃa Corina Machado, Venezuela’s opposition leader, would struggle to lead the government. But her relationship with Trump officials had been souring for months.
By Tyler Pager, Anatoly Kurmanaev and Julian E. Barnes, Published Jan. 5, 2026, Updated Jan. 6, 2026
Tyler Pager reported from West Palm Beach, Fla.; Anatoly Kurmanaev from Caracas, Venezuela; and Julian E. Barnes from Washington.
Ms. Machado greeting supporters from a hotel balcony in Oslo last month. Credit...Odd Andersen/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Even before the lightning-quick U.S. raid on Venezuela’s capital, President Trump had made a crucial decision about what would happen once the country’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, was out of the picture.
Mr. Trump would not be throwing his support behind MarÃa Corina Machado, the opposition leader who led a successful election campaign against Mr. Maduro in 2024 and had the greatest popular legitimacy to lead the nation.
Behind the scenes, Mr. Trump came to his conclusion based on several crucial factors, including U.S. intelligence that suggested the opposition would have trouble leading the government, and a souring relationship between Ms. Machado and top Trump officials, according to five people with knowledge of his decision-making.
“I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader,” Mr. Trump said over the weekend, after the mission ended with Mr. Maduro in U.S. custody. “She doesn’t have the support within, or the respect within, the country. She’s a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have the respect.”
Instead, Mr. Trump settled on Mr. Maduro’s vice president to take the helm.
For Ms. Machado, Mr. Trump’s comments landed like a gut punch, and it represented a public break for the United States with a leader who had spent more than a year trying to ingratiate herself to Mr. Trump — so much so that when Ms. Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, which he covets, she dedicated it to him.
The president had been persuaded by arguments from senior officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said that if the United States tried to back the opposition, it could further destabilize the country and require a more robust military presence inside the country. A classified C.I.A. intelligence analysis reflected that view, as well, according to a person familiar with the document.
For Mr. Trump, the focus in Venezuela is oil, not promoting democracy.
And even though Ms. Machado has gone out of her way to please Mr. Trump, in reality her relationship with the White House had been fraying for months. Senior U.S. officials had grown frustrated with her assessments of Mr. Maduro’s strength, feeling that she provided inaccurate reports that he was weak and on the verge of collapse. They also grew skeptical of her ability to seize power in Venezuela.
Representatives for Ms. Machado did not respond to requests for comment.
In fact, she had been a source of friction inside the Trump administration since soon after the president returned to office last January.
Shortly before a visit to the capital, Caracas, in January, Richard Grenell, Mr. Trump’s envoy, met with Ms. Machado’s representatives in the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Washington. Mr. Grenell asked them to arrange an in-person meeting with Ms. Machado in Caracas and for a list of political prisoners they wanted liberated.
But the in-person meeting never happened. Ms. Machado, despite promises from the American delegation that she would be protected, refused to meet with Mr. Grenell. Instead, a phone call was arranged during his visit, according to multiple people briefed on the call.
The phone call was cordial. But over time the relationship deteriorated, according to people briefed on the interactions. Ms. Machado and her team ignored the request for a list of political prisoners, out of apparent desire to avoid accusations of favoritism, or of intimating that her movement is taking part in the negotiations.
Mr. Grenell repeatedly pressed Ms. Machado to outline her plan for putting her surrogate candidate, Edmundo González, into office after she was barred from running. He grew frustrated when she expressed no concrete ideas of how to put the democratically elected government into power, according to people briefed on the conversations.
For her part, Ms. Machado was also upset that Mr. Grenell, unlike Mr. Rubio, did not forcefully denounce Mr. Maduro as illegitimate. Mr. Grenell told colleagues that such a statement, while true, would undercut his diplomatic outreach.
Mr. Grenell declined to comment.
For now, Mr. Trump and Mr. Rubio have said they are focused on working with the interim president of Venezuela, Delcy RodrÃguez, a vice president under Mr. Maduro.
“We are dealing with the immediate reality,” Mr. Rubio said on Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “The immediate reality is that, unfortunately and sadly, but unfortunately the vast majority of the opposition is no longer present inside of Venezuela. We have short-term things that have to be addressed right away.”
Freddy Guevara, a former Venezuelan congressman living in exile in New York and a member of Ms. Machado’s coalition, said that he did not know why the White House had chosen to move forward with Ms. RodrÃguez, but his best guess was that it was the easiest path for now.
“I think the Americans are not betting on revolution, but on reforms,” he said.
He and fellow opposition members are now focused on pushing first for the release of political prisoners in Venezuela, and then for the ability to return to Venezuela and compete in open elections.
“We’re going to keep organizing people and doing our thing inside Venezuela,” Mr. Guevara said. “But the one who’s holding the gun now is the American government. And we hope that these guys learn that the Americans are not playing, and that now there’s a credible threat if they don’t comply.”
Mr. Trump’s embrace of Ms. RodrÃguez is also forcing some Republicans, who have been staunch supporters of Ms. Machado, into difficult positions. Miami’s three Republican members of Congress faced repeated questions in a news conference on Saturday night about why Mr. Trump had dismissed Ms. Machado.
One of the lawmakers, Representative Mario Diaz-Balart, took offense at any suggestion that he or his colleagues no longer backed Ms. Machado. They reiterated their strong support for her but did not venture any explanations for Mr. Trump’s words.
“I’m convinced that when there are elections, whether there are new elections or there’s a decision to take the old elections, the last elections, that the next democratically elected president of Venezuela is going to be MarÃa Corina Machado,” Mr. Diaz-Balart said.
Ms. Machado, a scion of a conservative magnate, had built strong connections in the Republican Party over the decades spent in Venezuelan politics, but she appeared little prepared for the transformation of the party into a transactional, ideologically agnostic political machine under Mr. Trump.
Categorical rejection of any talks or contact with Mr. Maduro’s government has been a bedrock of Ms. Machado’s political strategy, a strategy that has earned her the respect and support of a majority of Venezuelan people, but it has crippled her ability to build a broader coalition capable of enabling her bid for power.
Ms. Machado’s unequivocal support of sanctions has destroyed her relations with Venezuela’s business elite, which had built a modus vivendi with Mr. Maduro to continue working in the country after a quarter-century of his government’s rule.
Ms. Machado’s economic advisers have argued that every dollar going into Venezuela was a dollar for Mr. Maduro, a radical stance that had alienated many members of Venezuela’s civil society working to improve living conditions in the country. Her message had increasingly begun to mirror the views of the diaspora and deviated from the realities of people who remained in Venezuela.
As Mr. Trump tightened his economic sanctions over Venezuela in recent months, Ms Machado remained largely silent, reducing her statements to the praise of Mr. Trump and publicizing the suffering of the hundreds of Venezuelan political prisoners.
She has not issued a comment on the cancellation of most flights into Venezuela, the deportation of tens of thousands of Venezuelan migrants from the United States, the skyrocketing inflation in the country or the collapse of oil revenues, which finance the import of basic goods into the country.
Instead, members of Ms. Machado’s team and allies in exile took to social media to attack and discredit public figures whose work deviated from their views.
These actions cost Ms. Machado the support of members of the Democratic Party and many businesspeople, American and Venezuelan, who had interests in Venezuela and influence in Mr. Trump’s orbit.
Orlando J. Pérez, a professor of political science at the University of North Texas at Dallas, said Mr. Trump’s comment on Saturday about Ms. Machado shocked him.
“The statement that she is not respected inside, I think is, is not true on the face of it,” he said. “She clearly is the most popular opposition leader. She clearly has the legitimacy that the Nobel Peace Prize gives her.”
But Mr. Pérez said Mr. Trump’s comment reflected the infeasibility of Ms. Machado’s taking power without a significant American military presence.
“They don’t have the levers of power,” he said of Ms. Machado and Mr. González. “They don’t have the institutions, and without us over assistance, they’re not going to get back into power in Venezuela.”
Mr. Trump’s comments were also widely noticed among Venezuelans in South Florida, who tend to feel deep affection for Ms. Machado.
“We were a little surprised by what he said about MarÃa Corina,” said Nelson Jiménez, 55, who left Venezuela in 2020.
Mr. Jiménez said Mr. Trump might be “ill informed” about how much support Ms. Machado has in Venezuela. “I think he’s wrong,” he said.
Reporting was contributed by Jack Nicas in Mexico City; Patricia Mazzei in Doral, Fla.; and David C. Adams in Key Biscayne, Fla.
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5) Why Israel Is Divided Over How to Investigate Oct. 7 Failures
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has proposed a commission with members chosen in a way that departs from existing law.
By Isabel Kershner, Reporting from Jerusalem, Jan. 6, 2026
A memorial in 2025 on the grounds of the Nova music festival, which was attacked by Hamas and other militants on Oct. 7, 2023. David Guttenfelder/The New York Times
The Hamas-led attack of Oct. 7, 2023, is widely regarded as the worst military, intelligence and policy failure in Israel’s history. But for many Israelis, the question of who was responsible for those failings is far from settled.
The assault took the Israeli government, military and security services by surprise, and Israel has not yet conducted an official, comprehensive inquiry to apportion responsibility for that breakdown in national security. Thousands of gunmen crossed the border from Gaza on that day and attacked Israeli towns and villages, army bases and a music festival, killing about 1,200 people, according to the Israeli authorities. About 250 people were taken as captives to Gaza.
Now, after two years of war in Gaza, and with a fragile cease-fire in place, the Israeli government is advancing legislation to hold an inquiry into the events of Oct. 7.
Under a proposal by the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the members of the investigating commission would be chosen in a way that departs from existing Israeli law.
In a speech in Parliament on Monday, Mr. Netanyahu said that his proposal had a “broad consensus” among the public and was “the only way the truth will come to light,” but he acknowledged that the parliamentary opposition vehemently opposed the plan.
As the government enters an election year, its proposal for how it should be held to account has become another point of contention in a deeply divided country.
What is the Israeli government proposing?
The Israeli Knesset, or Parliament, narrowly approved a preliminary reading of a bill on Dec. 24 to form what the government called a “state-national commission of inquiry” into the October 2023 attack.
The proposal calls for an investigating commission of about six members. Half would be selected by Mr. Netanyahu’s governing coalition, and half by the parliamentary opposition.
According to existing Israeli law, an independent state commission of inquiry should be composed of members chosen by the president of the Supreme Court, not by lawmakers. The right-wing Netanyahu government has rejected the idea of a commission appointed by the Supreme Court president, Chief Justice Yitzhak Amit, contending that the public has no faith in him. It has instead called for a “special” commission, appointed by politicians.
The government has been battling and boycotting Justice Amit as part of its wider, divisive plans for a judicial overhaul that would curb the authorities of the court.
“An unprecedented event like Oct. 7 requires a special commission of inquiry, a broad national commission that will be acceptable to the majority of the nation,” Mr. Netanyahu said in a statement ahead of the Knesset vote. “This will be an egalitarian commission. No side will have any advantage in appointing the members of the commission,” he added.
Mr. Netanyahu insists that the commission he is proposing will be independent and have the same powers as previous commissions of inquiry. It will require several more votes in Parliament before it becomes law.
Critics say he is trying to play for time and evade responsibility for the failures on his watch.
Opposition parties have vowed not to participate in the process.
“The whole purpose of this bill is to help the prime minister duck responsibility,” Yair Lapid, the centrist leader of the opposition, said on the day of the vote, adding, “The opposition will not cooperate with this shameful farce.”
What does the public want?
Numerous polls have shown that a majority of Israelis favor a state commission of inquiry held according to existing law, viewing that as the most credible mechanism for investigating the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.
State commissions of inquiry have broad powers, including the ability to call witnesses and compel them to testify. In the past, they have apportioned blame and made recommendations against individuals.
The conclusions of the Agranat Commission, which examined the failures that led to the surprise attack by Egypt and Syria during the first days of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, forced resignations in the army’s senior ranks and a restructuring of the military. Later, the wartime prime minister, Golda Meir, also resigned.
The Kahan Commission in the 1980s apportioned indirect responsibility to Israel’s leaders for a massacre by Lebanese Phalangist forces of Palestinian civilians at the Sabra and Shatilla refugee camps in Lebanon. The panel determined that though the Israeli military held the area, no steps were taken to prevent the bloodshed. The commission recommended that Ariel Sharon, the defense minister at the time, be removed from his post, and he eventually resigned.
Has Netanyahu taken any responsibility for Oct. 7?
While Mr. Netanyahu has been in office for most of the years since 2009 and has largely shaped Israel’s security doctrine, he has so far not accepted any personal responsibility for the failures of Oct 7. He said he would answer the tough questions only after the war. An open-ended, if tenuous, cease-fire took hold about three months ago.
The Israeli military has carried out internal inquiries into its failures leading up to and during the October 2023 assault, finding that its senior officers vastly underestimated Hamas and then misinterpreted early warnings that a major attack was coming. Several military and security leaders have resigned or been removed from their posts.
What do the victims’ families say?
Among the most vociferous critics of the government’s refusal to establish a traditional state commission of inquiry are survivors of the October 2023 attack, those who were held in captivity in Gaza, and relatives of those killed in the assault.
More than 200 of the families recently signed an open letter calling for an independent state commission of inquiry. “Without a true investigation, we cannot guarantee the disaster of Oct. 7 will never happen again,” they wrote.
Mr. Netanyahu says that his special commission of inquiry will include bereaved parents as “observers.”
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6) Venezuela Braces for Economic Collapse From U.S. Blockade
Venezuela could lose the bulk of its oil export revenues this year if the U.S. blockade stays in place, according to internal government estimates, a scenario that would set off a humanitarian crisis.
By Anatoly Kurmanaev, Reporting from Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 6, 2026
“Oil tankers on a U.S. sanctions list will continue being blocked from leaving or entering until the Venezuelan government opens its state-controlled oil industry to foreign investment — presumably giving priority to American companies — Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday on ‘Face the Nation’ on CBS News.”
Employees outside Venezuela’s state oil company, known as PDVSA, in Caracas in October. Adriana Loureiro Fernandez for The New York Times
Even before American forces blasted their way into Venezuela’s capital and seized President Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, the nation was already facing dire economic prospects.
The partial blockade imposed by the United States on Venezuela’s energy exports was expected to shutter more than 70 percent of the country’s oil production this year and wipe out its dominant source of public revenue, according to people briefed on Venezuela’s internal projections compiled in December.
The Trump administration’s decision last month to begin targeting tankers carrying Venezuelan crude to Asian markets had paralyzed the state oil company’s exports. To keep the wells pumping, the state oil company, known as PDVSA, had been redirecting crude oil into storage tanks and turning tankers idling in ports into floating storage facilities.
This strategy merely bought the company some time before it ran out of storage for the pumped oil it was unable to sell. TankerTrackers, a shipping data firm, estimated late last month that Venezuela had enough spare storage until the end of January.
But production could collapse swiftly after that, the people briefed said.
If the blockade held, the Venezuelan government expected national oil production to collapse from about 1.2 million barrels per day late last year to less than 300,000 later this year, said the people briefed — a drop that would significantly reduce the government’s ability to import goods and maintain basic services. The people had access to the projections and discussed them on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Mr. Maduro’s capture has only added more uncertainty to these projections.
Oil tankers on a U.S. sanctions list will continue being blocked from leaving or entering until the Venezuelan government opens its state-controlled oil industry to foreign investment — presumably giving priority to American companies — Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday on “Face the Nation” on CBS News.
“That remains in place, and that’s a tremendous amount of leverage that will continue to be in place until we see changes, not just to further the national interest of the United States, which is No. 1, but also that lead to a better future for the people of Venezuela,” Mr. Rubio said.
But Venezuela’s interim government already appears to be testing the seriousness of that threat. At least 16 oil tankers hit by U.S. sanctions seem to have made an attempt to evade the blockade and leave Venezuelan ports since Saturday, in part by disguising their true locations or turning off their transmission signals.
If they manage to breach the blockade and export the crude, Venezuela’s oil industry could buy itself some time to adjust to the new reality, the people close to the industry said.
But if the blockade holds, the country would face a catastrophe, they added.
In a worst-case scenario considered by Venezuela’s government, this year’s national oil production would be limited to only the fields operated by the American company, Chevron. It has a unique permit from the Trump administration to work in Venezuela, and is the only company regularly shipping oil from the South American nation since the start of the partial blockade on Dec. 11, shipping data shows.
This scenario would force PDVSA, Venezuela’s largest employer, to furlough tens of thousands of workers and slash employee benefits, the people briefed said.
PDVSA and Venezuela’s communication ministry, which handles questions from news organizations, did not respond to requests for comment.
In recent years, Venezuela’s economy had seen some modest economic recovery after years of hyperinflation and food shortages that led millions of Venezuelans to flee the country. But Mr. Trump’s economic pressure campaign has snuffed out that progress and now threatens to turn an anticipated recession into another economic collapse.
Venezuela’s new leader, Delcy RodrÃguez, was initially scathing in her criticism of the Trump administration, saying that its goal was “the seizure of our energy, mineral and natural resources.”
On Sunday night, however, her tone softened in a conciliatory statement addressed to Mr. Trump. “We extend an invitation to the U.S. government to work together on a cooperative agenda, oriented toward shared development, within the framework of international law, and to strengthen lasting community coexistence,” she wrote on social media.
Oil exports account for about 40 percent of Venezuela’s public revenue, according to estimates by Francisco RodrÃguez, an expert on the Venezuelan economy at the University of Denver. Mr. RodrÃguez, who is not related to Delcy RodrÃguez, added that the oil industry’s true economic impact is even larger, since much of the country’s remaining economic activity is financed by revenue from crude sales.
Mr. Trump has justified using force against tankers tied to Venezuela by claiming that the Venezuelan government has stolen oil and land belonging to America, apparently referring to the nationalization of foreign-operated oil fields in 2007. Starting on Dec. 11, U.S. forces seized two tankers carrying Venezuelan oil and attempted to board a third tanker as it sailed to Venezuela, leading PDVSA to largely stop authorizing shipments on tankers not associated with Chevron.
So far, Mr. Trump’s partial oil blockade has had a limited impact on Venezuela’s oil output as the government stores crude oil wherever it can.
Production from PDVSA’s joint ventures with other companies, which account for the bulk of the country’s total, fell 2.5 percent in December from the previous month, according to internal PDVSA data.
Venezuela’s financial outlook is complicated by the fact that the government derives little direct financial benefit from Chevron’s exports. Its exemption from sanctions issued by the U.S. Treasury Department prohibits the company from actually making most payments to the Venezuelan government.
Instead, Chevron compensates PDVSA for the right to pump oil from its fields by giving the company part of the crude from joint projects. But PDVSA has struggled to sell its share of that crude in recent weeks, putting pressure on its limited storage facilities.
In a statement in response to questions for this article, Chevron said its operations in Venezuela fully comply with applicable laws and the U.S. sanctions framework. The company declined to provide further comment.
China, Venezuela’s biggest oil customer, is unlikely to significantly lean on the United States to ease the blockade, analysts say, since it can simply buy more from Iran or Russia.
Venezuela’s ruling party has faced comparable economic pressures before.
Oil exports collapsed to 350,000 barrels per day in the summer of 2020, during Mr. Trump’s previous effort to oust Mr. Maduro. And in 2002, oil workers allied with the Venezuelan opposition shut down the country’s oil industry for two months in a national strike.
The government’s control over key factions of security forces allowed it to weather the economic pressure both times. In recent years, the government has boosted other sources of export revenue, including gold, iron ore and strategic minerals.
Most of the brunt of the collapse of the oil revenue would be felt by the Venezuelan population, said Mr. RodrÃguez, the economist.
“We would see a massive recession,” he said. “You will get either a famine or mass migration.”
Rebecca Elliott contributed reporting from New York.
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7) Homeland Security Steps Up Enforcement in Minneapolis
Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, posted a video showing an immigration arrest being made as part of the administration’s announced crackdown.
By Madeleine Ngo, Jan. 6, 2026
Federal law enforcement agents making a traffic stop in Minneapolis on Monday. No one was detained. Credit...Tim Evans/Reuters
Department of Homeland Security officials began ramping up immigration enforcement in the Minneapolis area in recent days, escalating its push to crack down on illegal immigration in the region.
Federal officials have promoted the operation in various social media posts. On Tuesday morning, the Department of Homeland Security posted a video that depicted Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, and several law enforcement officers entering a building and taking a man into custody in Minneapolis.
“Just arrested this criminal illegal alien from Ecuador who has an active warrant for murder and sexual assault in Ecuador,” Ms. Noem said in a social media post. No confirmation of her assertions was immediately provided, and the agency did not respond to requests for details about the operation.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security posted on social media: “GOOD MORNING MINNEAPOLIS!”
The Department of Homeland Security launched an intensive immigration enforcement operation in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region last month, primarily targeting hundreds of undocumented Somali immigrants, according to an official with knowledge of the operation and documents obtained by The New York Times. President Trump has used increasingly inflammatory language to attack Somalis living in the United States.
The administration has focused attention on Minnesota after an investigation into accusations of fraud in a Covid-19 program meant to feed children and other safety net programs administered by the administration of Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat. Federal prosecutors have asserted that as much as $9 billion might have been stolen.
More than 90 people have been charged with felonies in the federal fraud cases. Most of the defendants are of Somali origin.
On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security accused the Hilton hotel company of “maliciously” canceling reservations made at a Hampton Inn by officers using government email addresses. A representative for Hilton said the location was independently owned and operated, adding that the actions described by federal officials were not “reflective of Hilton values.”
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8) UK hunger strike passes 60 days with Palestine activists suffering severe health complications
Campaigners warn that detainees, including Heba Muraisi, face risk of organ failure as the protest enters its third month
By Areeb Ullah, Published date: 6 January 2026
Campaigners criticised the UK government for refusing to meet them to discuss the eight Palestine Action linked hunger strikers (AFP)
A Palestinian activist on remand in a UK prison is suffering worsening medical complications, including muscle spasms and difficulty breathing, as her hunger strike passes the 60-day mark.
Prisoners for Palestine (P4P) said that Heba Muraisi - on remand for more than a year over Palestine-related activism - has now reached 64 days without food, making her the longest-serving hunger striker amongst the group.
Muraisi began her strike on 3 November 2025 after she was transferred without notice from HMP Bronzefield to HMP New Hall, hundreds of miles away from her family and support network.
Muraisi told P4P that she has been “experiencing muscle spasms and twitches in her arm” and at times feels “like she is holding her breath and doesn’t know why, like she has to remind herself to breathe”.
P4P says these symptoms could indicate emerging neurological damage.
Muraisi has vowed not to end her hunger strike unless she is returned to HMP Bronzefield and granted immediate bail - demands she says reflect the strain of prolonged remand custody that, campaigners argue, has already exceeded standard UK limits.
Her mother, Dunya, who has been unable to visit her daughter, expressed support in a letter shared by P4P:
“We are here behind you, supporting you and loving you without limits,” said Dunya. “No matter how long the night of waiting lasts, the sun of freedom will surely rise.”
‘Grave danger looms’
Muraisi is one of eight activists linked to Palestine Action who have been on hunger strike to protest the goverment's decision to hold them on remand and proscribe the direct action group.
Four of the activists have paused their hunger strike and said they would resume their protest in the new year.
Last week, another hunger striker, Kamran Ahmed, was hospitalised for the fifth time since beginning his hunger strike.
His family told Middle East Eye that Ahmed said he was kept double-cuffed throughout his hospital stay, leaving his wrists swollen, while healthcare staff struggled to insert cannulas because his veins had shrunk.
Ahmed has now reached 58 days on hunger strike and has reported intermittent hearing loss - a sign that irreversible damage could be imminent, medical experts cited by campaigners warned.
P4P says it has repeatedly raised concerns about the restraints used during Ahmed’s hospital admissions and the wider lack of medical accommodation for the strikers.
The British government has so far refused to meet the hunger strikers or their representatives despite the escalating health risks, the group said, warning that organ failure, paralysis, brain damage and sudden death are becoming “increasingly more likely”.
“As the hunger strike enters its third month, those still on hunger strike continue to deteriorate, and grave danger looms over them,” said P4P spokesperson Francesca Nadin.
“Despite this, they remain firm in their actions and beliefs, that continuing to strike is the only way to get justice in the face of the government’s contempt for life.”
Hunger strike paused
Meanwhile, a third prisoner, Teuta Hoxha, has temporarily paused her hunger strike after authorities handed over a backlog of letters dating back six months, provided a book alongside an apology for the delay, and confirmed a meeting with the Joint Extremism Unit (JEXU) to discuss her conditions.
However, campaigners say the prison has since refused to send her to the hospital, despite doctors' warning that she cannot safely manage feeding herself without risk of refeeding syndrome, a potentially life-threatening complication.
P4P argues that the treatment of all three prisoners reflects a wider pattern of punitive transfers, prolonged remand, and inadequate medical protection faced by detainees linked to Palestine solidarity activism.
The Ministry of Justice and the prison service have been approached for comment.
Last month, seven UN human rights experts also warned the UK government that the eight pro-Palestine activists on hunger strike risk organ failure and death.
The seven experts who work independently of each other said the activist's decision to refuse food reflected a “measure of last resort” taken by people who believe “their right to protest and effect remedy has been exhausted”.
The lawyers are now launching legal action against the UK government for refusing to meet with them.
The eight detainees are being held on remand in five prisons over their alleged involvement in break-ins at factories owned by Israeli arms company Elbit Systems and a Royal Air Force base in Oxfordshire.
They deny the charges.
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9) Israel Tells Doctors Without Borders to End Its Work in Gaza
The move against the medical aid group enforces policies limiting criticism of Israel’s conduct in the war and requiring personal details about Gazan employees.
By David M. Halbfinger and Aaron Boxerman, Photographs by Saher Alghorra, Reporting from Jerusalem, Jan. 6, 2026
At a Doctors Without Borders center at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on Monday.
Doctors Without Borders, the international medical aid group, said Tuesday that Israel had ordered it to cease operations in the Gaza Strip after it failed to comply with new restrictions that include registration of all Gazan employees and limits on criticism of Israel’s conduct of the war.
The move threatens one of the best-known humanitarian operations in the devastated enclave. Though Israel has sought to downplay the group’s importance, Doctors Without Borders says it runs or supports more than 20 percent of the remaining hospital beds, operates clinics for people with traumatic injuries and chronic illnesses, treats malnourished children and other patients, and distributed 700 million liters of water last year.
With 40 to 50 international doctors in Gaza at any time, about 1,000 permanent Palestinian workers, and another 1,000 Gaza medical workers whose Ministry of Health salaries it augments, Doctors Without Borders says it performed more than 22,000 operations and treated more than 100,000 trauma cases in 2025.
“If we can’t work, it will have catastrophic consequences for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians,” said Claire San Filippo, the group’s emergency coordinator for Gaza.
Ms. San Filippo said that the group was told on Sunday that it could no longer bring supplies into Gaza and told on Tuesday that it could no longer bring doctors, nurses or other international aid workers into the territory. She said it was given until the end of February to cease all activities in Gaza and pull out all its international workers.
The group was one of dozens providing humanitarian aid in Gaza that objected last year after Israel announced a new requirement to supply Israel with the names and identification numbers of their Palestinian workers.
Israel said the measure was to prevent militants from infiltrating aid groups. Doctors Without Borders and other NGOs refused to comply, saying the demand flouted international law and violated workers’ privacy rights as well as European data-protection rules the groups were legally obligated to follow.
Another part of the new policy allowed Israel to blacklist aid groups over their political activity, such as promoting boycotts against the country.
Doctors Without Borders was among more than three dozen humanitarian groups told on Dec. 30 that they would have their licenses to operate in the Gaza Strip suspended on Jan. 1 and would have to clear out by March under the new rules. Now, Israel is moving to enforce that.
Israel assailed Doctors Without Borders on two main grounds. Last week, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, a military unit responsible for facilitating humanitarian aid in Gaza, downplayed the organization’s importance in addressing the medical crisis there. It wrote on social media that Doctors Without Borders had brought in only 95 truckloads of aid since the cease-fire took effect in October, operates only a few hospitals and runs just “five out of 220 medical clinics in Gaza.”
The group says it supports six hospitals, runs two field hospitals, runs four primary health clinics and supports a fifth, runs two wound-care clinics, runs an inpatient feeding center for malnutrition cases, runs six mobile clinics, and delivers one out of every three babies born in Gaza. And Ms. San Filippo said scores of its trucks had been held up from entering Gaza by Israel.
On Monday, Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, which drafted and enforces the new licensing rules for Gaza aid groups, accused Doctors Without Borders of “grave misconduct,” releasing a 25-page report by a government committee that dismissed the group’s activities in Gaza as “the pretext of humanitarian activity” while accusing it of advancing an “extreme anti-Israeli narrative.”
The report said the group posed a risk to “the security to the State of Israel” that was “extremely high.”
It backed up that charge mainly by reciting a long list of instances in which the group or its members had called Israel’s war in Gaza genocidal, criticized the “systematic destruction” in Gaza or expressed support for an arms embargo on Israel. Those statements, the committee said, could constitute grounds for “severe administrative measures” under the new guidelines.
The Israeli government strongly rejects the characterization of its war against Hamas in Gaza as genocide, arguing that it always sought to target militants who frequently fought from areas crowded with civilians. Several leading rights groups, however, disagree, citing the vast devastation in Gaza, a nearly three-month Israeli blockade on aid last year, and the enormous civilian toll from Israeli airstrikes.
Ms. San Filippo called the Israeli policy’s curbs on criticism of Israel an “outrageous overreach.”
“Bearing witness is a principle of Doctors Without Borders, no matter where we work,” she said. “If the descriptions of what our teams witness, see with their own eyes — the widespread destruction of the Gaza Strip, the wounded people, the spread of diseases as a result of the destruction of basic infrastructure, death, and the human consequences of genocidal violence — are unpalatable to some, the fault lies with those committing the atrocities, not with those who speak of them.”
The Israeli report also suggested that the Doctors Without Borders office in Gaza could have been infiltrated by Palestinian militants. It said a Doctors Without Borders employee killed during the war, Fadi al-Wadiya, had been a member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad. And it cited the social-media activity of another employee in Gaza, who was killed in 2023, expressing support for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a militant group.
Though the committee said that these were “not merely isolated incidents,” it provided no further examples. After an Israeli strike killed Mr. al-Wadiya in 2024, Doctors Without Borders said it took the allegations against him seriously and would “never knowingly employ people engaging in military activity.”
Bilal Shbair contributed reporting from the Gaza Strip.
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10) U.S. Forces Seize Two Tankers, One Under a Russian Flag
The U.S. military intercepted a Russian-flagged tanker as part of its pressure campaign against Venezuela, escalating a conflict with Moscow after ousting its ally, Nicolás Maduro.
By Nicholas Nehamas, Eric Schmitt and Julian E. Barnes, January 7, 2026
An undated government handout photo released by the US European Command shows what it says is the seizure of the Bella 1 oil tanker, also known as the Marinera, in the northern Atlantic Ocean. Credit...US European Command, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
The U.S. military seized two oil tankers on Wednesday as it tried to choke off most Venezuelan exports of crude, including a Russian-flagged tanker that had been evading American forces for weeks, escalating a confrontation with Moscow after the ouster of its ally, President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela.
The military issued a statement saying that U.S. forces had “seized” the Russian-flagged vessel in the North Atlantic, between Scotland and Iceland, for violating U.S. sanctions.
It later said, in a separate statement, that it had “apprehended a stateless, sanctioned dark fleet motor tanker,” the M/T Sophia, in international waters in the Caribbean, where it was “conducting illicit activities,” and the ship was being escorted to the United States.
The Coast Guard boarded the Russian tanker after a roughly two-week pursuit, according to one U.S. official briefed on the operation. The Coast Guard encountered no resistance or hostility from the crew, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive military operation.
Russia’s Ministry of Transport confirmed that U.S. forces had boarded the vessel in international waters, adding in a statement that contact with it had been lost. The Russian state-owned broadcaster RT published images of a helicopter approaching the Russian-flagged tanker being pursued by the Coast Guard and said it appeared that U.S. forces were attempting to board. The New York Times was not able to determine when the images were captured.
The tanker — known until recently as the Bella 1 and now called the Marinera — had been registered as a Russian vessel, and Russia had sent at least one naval vessel to meet and escort it, according to a U.S. official briefed on the operation. There were no Russian vessels in the vicinity of the tanker when the Coast Guard boarded the ship, averting the possibility of a standoff between U.S. and Russian forces, two U.S. officials said.
Russia’s Ministry of Transport said that under the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, “no state has the right to use force against vessels duly registered in the jurisdictions of other states.” The U.S. has not ratified the convention but generally recognizes its provisions as customary law.
Separately, the Trump administration signaled that it would maintain significant control over Venezuela’s oil industry for the foreseeable future. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said at a conference in Miami that the United States would oversee the sale of Venezuelan oil “indefinitely.”
On Tuesday night, President Trump said that Venezuela would begin sending oil to the United States, which would handle its sale “to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States,” in what would be a significant concession by Venezuela’s new leaders. The Venezuelan government has not commented on Mr. Trump’s statement.
Here’s what else to know:
· The Russian-flagged tanker: It had been sailing on a northeasterly heading with its location transponder active, according to ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic. Its destination was unknown, but from there, it could have been headed to the Baltic Sea or around Scandinavia to Murmansk, on the Arctic.
· U.S. pressure: Mr. Trump has said he wants Delcy RodrÃguez, the interim president of Venezuela, to give the U.S. “total access” to Venezuela’s oil industry. The American demands also include the expulsion of advisers from China, Russia and Cuba from Venezuela. Though Ms. RodrÃguez has raised the prospect of dialogue with the U.S., she has also struck a defiant tone. “The government of Venezuela runs our country,” she said. “No one else.”
· Venezuelan oil: Based on Mr. Trump’s claim and at current market prices, Venezuela would be handing over $1.8 billion to $3 billion worth of oil to the United States (30 million to 50 million barrels, about two months’ worth of production). It is unclear whether it would receive anything in return. A partial blockade by the United States has curtailed Venezuela’s energy exports, a vital source of revenue.
· Classified briefing: On Capitol Hill, senators are attending the first classified briefing by top Trump administration officials for the full Senate on the U.S. raid in Venezuela. “There are many unanswered questions,” Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic minority leader, said as he headed into the briefing.
· Crackdown in Venezuela: Armed government militias, known as colectivos, have been out in full force on the streets of Caracas, the capital, in recent days. Some citizens said the colectivos had been interrogating people and searching their phones for signs of support for the U.S. attacks.
· Cuba: Losing its supply of Venezuelan oil could bring Cuba’s economy, long plagued by power outages, food shortages and a decades-long U.S. trade embargo, to the brink of collapse. Read more ›
Adam Sella, Nicholas Nehamas, Christiaan Triebert and Vivian Wang contributed reporting.
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11) Cuba’s Long-Suffering Economy Is Now in ‘Free Fall’
With widespread power outages, medicine shortages and rising food prices, experts say Cuba’s economy has never been worse, with the crisis coming just as the supply of Venezuelan oil is threatened.
By David C. Adams and Frances Robles, Reporting from Florida, Published Jan. 6, 2026, Updated Jan. 7, 2026
Cooking soup over an open fire in Havana after the failure of a major power plant in October. Credit...Ramon Espinosa/Associated Press
By all accounts, Cuba is enduring the worst economic moment in the 67-year history of its communist revolution.
While the island nation has endured periodic episodes of mass migration, food shortages and social unrest in decades past, never before have Cubans experienced such a wholesale collapse of the social safety net that the country’s leaders — starting with Fidel Castro — once prided themselves on.
“I, who was born there, I, who lives there, and I’ll tell you: It’s never been as bad as it is now, because many factors have come together,” said Omar Everleny Pérez, 64, an economist in Havana.
As Trump administration officials congratulate themselves on a triumphant military victory in Venezuela, in which President Nicolás Maduro was seized and the United States claimed control over the South American country, eyes have now turned to Cuba, which enjoyed a warm relationship with the jailed president and which depended on the oil he sent.
Of Cuba, “It’s going down for the count,” Mr. Trump said Sunday, dismissing the need for military action there, because he said the government was likely to collapse on its own.
Odalis Reyes can see evidence of Cuba’s decay with her own two eyes.
From the window in her cramped sitting room, Ms. Reyes, a seamstress in Old Havana, looks out at a relic of the country’s obsolete past, the rusting hulk of an electric power station that once provided electricity to her poor neighborhood on the edge of the popular tourist district of Cuba’s capital.
Now it serves as a reminder of the constant blackouts.
“Yes, many hours without electricity, many, many — 14, 15 hours,” Ms. Reyes, 56, said. “Oh, that terrifies you, it terrifies you, because food — which this is the hardest thing — you’re afraid it will spoil.”
“We don’t even know how we’re going to get by anymore,” she added. “We’re like human robots, humanoids.”
In recent years, Cubans complained because the monthly allotments of rice, beans and other food staples that they received from government ration cards lasted only 10 days. Now the cards are virtually worthless because food is rarely available at the government ration stores.
To buy gasoline, people have to use an app to sign up for an appointment — at least three weeks in advance. One resident of Havana, the capital, said he joined the queue three months ago, and is now No. 5,052 in line.
The lack of gasoline has led to sporadic trash pickup, which has led to outbreaks of mosquito-borne illnesses like dengue and chikungunya. Medicines are nearly impossible to find without relatives abroad to send them.
The blackouts have exacerbated an already bleak situation, particularly in provinces outside the capital, which can go 20 hours a day without power.
It’s dark, people are sick, and they don’t have medicine, said Mr. Pérez, the economist.
The economic situation in Cuba has always been difficult. It was particularly terrible during an era in the mid-1990s known as the “special period,” which came after the collapse of the Soviet Union, which had kept Cuba afloat.
The Cuban government has consistently blamed its economic travails on a decades-long U.S. trade embargo that it claims puts a chokehold on its ability to do business in the world market and earn much-needed cash. Economic sanctions by Republican administrations, which have excluded food and medicine, have made it even harder, government officials say.
“Correcting distortions and reviving the economy is not a slogan,” President Miguel Diaz-Canel said in a speech last month. “It is a concrete battle for stability in everyday life, so that wages are sufficient, so that there is food on the table, so that blackouts end, so that transportation is revived, so that schools, hospitals and basic services function with the quality we deserve.”
At the end of the third quarter last year, the country’s gross domestic product had fallen by more than 4 percent, the president said, inflation was skyrocketing, and deliveries of rationed food were not being met.
Mr. DÃaz-Canel reiterated the government’s long running goals: to make food production a top priority and work to make state-owned businesses more efficient.
Experts say that it remains unclear how big an effect the fall of Mr. Maduro will have on Cuba, as the Trump administration exerts more control over Venezuela’s state oil industry. When Hugo Chávez was president, he kept Cuba afloat with some 90,000 barrels of oil daily. In the last quarter of 2025, Cuba received just 35,000.
The resulting power outages have hurt industries like nickel production, because the factories are off when there’s no power.
Another crucial industry, tourism, has also suffered in recent years. Before the Covid pandemic, four million people a year used to visit Cuba; that number has struggled to get back to two million, economists said.
Amid the struggles, some were calling for more private enterprise.
Emilio Interián RodrÃguez, a Cuban lawmaker who is president of an agricultural cooperative, delivered a blistering speech urging agricultural overhauls and more private enterprise. He made the declaration on the floor of the National Assembly — where pro-government rhetoric is the norm. Private business owners, he said, were doing a better job than state companies.
“Thanks to micro, small and medium enterprises, today we have more things, and thanks to micro, small, and medium enterprises today we are achieving results in many things that we had never achieved before,” he said.
Experts agree that while U.S. policies have hurt Cuba, poor planning and mismanagement are also to blame for the country’s economic troubles. Efforts to allow private businesses to operate have faltered because of onerous regulations.
The private enterprises, known as MiPyMEs, were legalized in 2021 and have been a lifeline in Cuba, Mr. Pérez and other residents said.
Some private stores resemble supermarket chains in the United States, with everything from Goya brands to Philadelphia cream cheese.
But prices at the private stores are exorbitant, particularly for people who earn salaries in the local currency. A typical monthly pension is 3,000 pesos, less than $7, while a carton of 30 eggs costs 3,600 pesos — $8.
“There is food, and plenty of it, but the prices are incredible,” Mr. Pérez said. “Nobody with a salary, not even a doctor, can hardly buy in those stores.”
About a third of Cubans receive economic help from overseas, and some earn dollars in the private sector. But about a third, particularly pensioners, are living in poverty, Mr. Pérez said.
Difficult living conditions helped spur spontaneous mass protests in 2021, but a harsh government crackdown quashed the demonstrations.
Cuba’s financial collapse has fueled an extraordinary exodus — about 2.75 million Cubans have left the country since 2020, according to Juan Carlos Albizu-Campos, a Cuban demographer. While the official population is about 9.7 million people, Mr. Albizu-Campos said 8.25 million would be more accurate.
Some people have taken to cooking with firewood. The country is producing 25 percent less power than it did in 2019, said Ricardo Torres, a Cuban economist who is currently a fellow at American University.
Cuba’s economy has declined three years in a row, he said.
“The domestic economy,” Mr. Torres said, “is in a free fall.”
Yoan Nazabal, 32, a bartender and taxi driver in Havana, said his wife had a cesarean section six months ago, and was stunned to find out what they were expected to bring to the hospital.
“We had to bring our own catheter to the hospital!” he said. “Everyone talks about how great our medical system is, and how it is free — and it has been, historically. Our doctors are first-class. But they don’t have any resources with which to do their job.”
Hannah Berkeley Cohen contributed reporting from Miami.
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12) U.S. to Control Venezuela Oil Sales ‘Indefinitely,’ Energy Secretary Says
Chris Wright said the Trump administration was in “active dialogue” with Venezuela’s government about the plan.
By Rebecca F. Elliott, Jan. 7, 2026
An oil refinery in Punto Fijo, Venezuela. President Trump said late Tuesday that Venezuela would soon send 30 million to 50 million barrels of oil to the United States. Credit...Adriana Loureiro Fernandez for The New York Times
The energy secretary, Chris Wright, said on Wednesday that the United States intended to maintain significant control over Venezuela’s oil industry, including by overseeing the sale of the country’s production “indefinitely.”
“Going forward we will sell the production that comes out of Venezuela into the marketplace,” Mr. Wright said at a Goldman Sachs energy conference near Miami.
Mr. Wright’s remarks came after President Trump said late Tuesday that Venezuela would soon hand over tens of millions of barrels of oil to the United States.
Venezuela would send 30 million to 50 million barrels of oil, or up to two months’ worth of daily production, to the United States, Mr. Trump said in a social media post, adding that he would control the profits from those sales.
“We need to have that leverage and that control of those oil sales to drive the changes that simply must happen in Venezuela,” said Mr. Wright, a former oil industry executive. He added that the money “can flow back into Venezuela to benefit the Venezuelan people.”
If put in place, the Trump administration’s plans would amount to a sharp reversal in U.S. policy on Venezuela. The nation’s oil production and exports have been severely restricted since 2019, when Mr. Trump imposed tough sanctions on the country, including on Venezuela’s state-owned oil company.
More recently, the United States has imposed a partial blockade designed to prevent many tankers from leaving Venezuela with oil. That has choked a vital source of revenue for the country’s government and forced it to keep oil in storage tanks and ships floating off the coast.
It was not clear what legal authority the Trump administration would operate under to oversee Venezuela’s sales of oil.
Taylor Rogers, a White House spokeswoman, said the Trump administration made a deal with Venezuela’s interim authorities for the United States to control the sale of the country’s oil. “Secretary Wright and the Department of Energy are working with the interim authorities and private oil industry to execute this historic energy deal that will restore prosperity, safety, and security in the United States and Venezuela,” she said in a statement.
As of Wednesday morning, leaders in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, had not commented publicly on the U.S. government’s plans or confirmed the existence of an agreement with the Trump administration.
Mr. Wright said the Trump administration was in “active dialogue” with Venezuela’s leadership, as well as U.S. oil giants that have operated in the country. Executives from some of the largest Western oil producers are expecting to meet Mr. Trump at the White House on Friday afternoon, according to people familiar with the plans.
Many Western oil companies abandoned operations in Venezuela over the last two decades. The opportunity there is large given the country’s vast oil reserves, but returning is politically risky and likely would come down to the terms of investment. Chevron is the only large U.S. oil company to stay and continue producing oil in the country.
Oil prices were down around 1 percent on Wednesday morning after Mr. Wright’s remarks.
The energy secretary echoed outside estimates forecasting that Venezuela could potentially boost oil production by several hundred thousand barrels per day relatively quickly. But more substantial increases above current output levels of around one million barrels per day would take much longer, even if international oil companies were ready to invest more money in the country.
“To get back to the historical production numbers, that takes tens of billions of dollars and significant time,” Mr. Wright said. “But why not?”
Emma Bubola, Kenneth P. Vogel and Ivan Penn contributed reporting.
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13) Buy Greenland? Take It? Why? An Old Pact Already Gives Trump a Free Hand.
Analysts say the Cold War agreement allows the president to increase the American military presence almost at will.
By Jeffrey Gettleman, Amelia Nierenberg and Maya Tekeli, Maya Tekeli reported from Copenhagen, Jan. 7, 2026
The remnants of an American air base on Greenland called Bluie East Two, which was built during World War II. Ivor Prickett for The New York Times
President Trump has ridiculed Denmark’s dog sled teams in Greenland.
He has cited mysterious Chinese and Russian ships prowling off the coast.
He seems increasingly fixated on the idea that the United States should take over this gigantic icebound island, with one official saying the president wants to buy it and another suggesting that the United States could simply take it. Just a few days ago, Mr. Trump said: “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security.”
But the question is: Does the United States even need to buy Greenland — or do something more drastic — to accomplish all of Mr. Trump’s goals?
Under a little-known Cold War agreement, the United States already enjoys sweeping military access in Greenland. Right now, the United States has one base in a very remote corner of the island. But the agreement allows it to “construct, install, maintain, and operate” military bases across Greenland, “house personnel” and “control landings, takeoffs, anchorages, moorings, movements, and operation of ships, aircraft, and waterborne craft.”
It was signed in 1951 by the United States and Denmark, which colonized Greenland more than 300 years ago and still controls some of its affairs.
“The U.S. has such a free hand in Greenland that it can pretty much do what it wants,” said Mikkel Runge Olesen, a researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies in Copenhagen.
“I have a very hard time seeing that the U.S. couldn’t get pretty much everything it wanted,” he said, adding, “if it just asked nicely.”
But buying Greenland — something that Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers on Tuesday was Mr. Trump’s latest plan — is a different question.
Greenland does not want to be bought by anyone — especially not the United States. And Denmark does not have the authority to sell it, Dr. Olesen said.
“It is impossible,” he said.
In the past, Denmark would have been the decider. In 1946, it refused the Truman administration’s offer of $100 million in gold.
Today, things are different. Greenlanders now have the right to hold a referendum on independence and Danish officials have said it’s up to the island’s 57,000 inhabitants to decide their future. A poll last year found 85 percent of residents opposed the idea of an American takeover.
Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, has repeatedly scoffed at the idea of being bought, saying this past week, “Our country is not for sale.”
The relatively short, straightforward defense agreement between the United States and Denmark was updated in 2004 to include Greenland’s semiautonomous government, giving it a say in how American military operations might affect the local population. The roots of the agreement go back to a partnership forged during World War II.
At that time, Denmark was occupied by the Nazis. Its ambassador in Washington, cut off from Copenhagen, took it upon himself to strike a defense agreement for Greenland with the United States. (The island is part of North America, along the Arctic Ocean and close to Canada’s coast.)
The fear was that Nazis could use Greenland as a steppingstone to America. The Germans had already established small meteorological bases on the island’s east coast and relayed information for battles in Europe. American troops eventually ousted them and established more than a dozen bases there with thousands of troops, landing strips and other military facilities.
After World War II, the United States continued to run some bases and a string of early warning radar sites. As the Cold War wound down, the United States closed all of them except one. It’s now called the Pittufik Space Base and helps track missiles crossing the North Pole.
The Danes have a light presence, too: a few hundred troops, including special forces that use dog sleds to conduct long-range patrols. In recent months, the Danish government has vowed to upgrade its bases and increase surveillance.
After American special forces captured Nicolás Maduro, the president of Venezuela, from a safehouse last week, Mr. Trump seemed emboldened. Stephen Miller, a top aide, then claimed that Greenland should belong to the United States and that “nobody’s going to fight the United States” over it. Danish and Greenlandic anxiety skyrocketed.
On Tuesday night, Danish and Greenlandic leaders asked to meet with Mr. Rubio, according to Greenland’s foreign minister. It’s not clear if or when that might happen.
Tensions between Mr. Trump and Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, have been steadily rising, as Mr. Trump pushes to “get” Greenland, as he puts it, while Ms. Frederiksen refuses to kowtow to him.
Just a few days ago, Ms. Frederiksen cited the 1951 agreement, saying, “We already have a defense agreement between the Kingdom and the United States today, which gives the United States wide access to Greenland.” She urged the United States “to stop the threats” and said an American attack on Greenland would mean the end of the international world order.
European leaders issued their own statement on Tuesday, also citing the 1951 agreement and saying, “Greenland belongs to its people.”
Analysts said that if the United States tried to use the defense pact as a fig leaf to send in a lot of troops and try to occupy Greenland, that wouldn’t be legal either.
According to the 2004 amendment, the United States is supposed to consult with Denmark and Greenland before it makes “any significant changes” in its military operations on the island. The 2004 amendment, which was signed by Gen. Colin L. Powell, who was then the secretary of state, explicitly recognizes Greenland as “an equal part of the Kingdom of Denmark.”
Peter Ernstved Rasmussen, a Danish defense analyst, said that in practice, if American forces made reasonable requests, “the U.S. would always get a yes.”
“It is a courtesy formula,” he said. “If the U.S. wanted to act without asking, it could simply inform Denmark that it is building a base, an airfield or a port.”
That’s what infuriates longtime Danish political experts. If Mr. Trump wanted to beef up Greenland’s security right now, he could. But there has been no such official American request, said Jens Adser Sorensen, a former senior official in Denmark’s Parliament.
“Why don’t you use the mechanism of the defense agreement if you’re so worried about the security situation?” he said, adding: “The framework is there. It’s in place.”
But Greenland’s strategic location is not the only thing that has attracted Mr. Trump’s inner circle. The enormous island has another draw: critical minerals, loads of them, buried under the ice. Here, too, analysts say, the United States doesn’t need to take over the island to get them.
Greenlanders have said they are open to doing business — with just about anyone.
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14) Federal Agent Shoots Woman Amid Minneapolis Crackdown
Her condition was not immediately known. Gov. Tim Walz asked for calm.
By Julie Bosman and Mitch Smith, Jan. 7, 2026
The aftermath of a shooting involving federal agents in Minneapolis. Credit...Tim Evans/Reuters
A federal immigration officer shot a woman in Minneapolis on Wednesday during an enforcement operation, state and local officials said.
The shooting came as the Trump administration ramped up a promised crackdown on illegal immigration in Minnesota.
The woman’s condition was not immediately clear. The Department of Homeland Security had no immediate comment.
Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota said in a statement that he had been informed of the shooting involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which took place in a residential neighborhood in South Minneapolis.
“My public safety team is working to gather information on an ICE-related shooting this morning.” Mr. Walz said. “We will share information as we learn more. In the meantime, I ask folks to remain calm.”
About 2,000 federal agents were expected to take part in the enforcement operation, which could last for weeks, according to administration posts on social media.
Elliott Payne, the president of the Minneapolis City Council, said in an interview from the scene that a woman appeared to have been driving a maroon sedan while agents were conducting an enforcement operation.
“I don’t know if she was an observer or their target,” he said, condemning the presence of ICE in Minneapolis. “They’re an escalating factor. We need them out of our city.”
Mayor Jacob Frey said on social media that the shooting involved an ICE agent. Mr. Frey, a Democrat who was recently sworn in for a third term, said that “the presence of federal immigration enforcement agents is causing chaos in our city.”
He added, “We’re demanding ICE to leave the city immediately.”
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15) Oil Firms Say Venezuela Owes Them Billions, Complicating Trump’s Plan
Companies like Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips say that Venezuela owes them billions of dollars for confiscating their assets two decades ago.
By Ivan Penn, Jan. 7, 2026
“ConocoPhillips’s claims against Venezuela add up to $12 billion, while Exxon Mobil, the largest U.S. oil company, has said the country owes it an estimated $20 billion.”
A tanker docked near a refinery in Punto Fijo, Venezuela. The cost of restoring the country’s oil production after decades of decline is expected to be substantial. Credit...Adriana Loureiro Fernandez for The New York Times
Western oil companies have been fighting to recoup tens of billions of dollars that they say Venezuela owes them — debts that could greatly complicate efforts by President Trump to compel U.S. businesses to produce more oil in the country.
Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips top the list of oil companies with big financial claims against Venezuela, whose president, Nicolás Maduro, was captured by U.S. forces over the weekend in Caracas.
American and European oil companies once had significant operations in Venezuela, ranked as having the world’s largest proven oil reserves. But most Western energy businesses abandoned the country after disputes with its leftist government, and since then corruption, mismanagement and neglect have greatly eroded oil production.
The foreign oil companies have been fighting for two decades to be compensated for being forced out of the country under Mr. Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez. Oil executives and experts have said that until those debts are resolved these companies will be very reluctant to invest more in the country — something Mr. Trump has made one of his key aims for reviving the Venezuela’s economy.
In the mid-2000s, the Chávez government demanded that oil companies accept a smaller stake in Venezuelan projects without compensation. Most foreign companies left the country rather than accept the new terms.
ConocoPhillips’s claims against Venezuela add up to $12 billion, while Exxon Mobil, the largest U.S. oil company, has said the country owes it an estimated $20 billion.
Chevron is the only U.S. oil company that stayed in Venezuela. That gambit has put it in a potential position to reap a significant reward as the Trump administration presses the country to accept greater U.S. investment.
Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips and other companies have spent years trying to make Venezuela pay through international arbitration and cases in U.S. courts.
“It’s a stigmatizing action against a country,” Shon Hiatt, director of the Zage Business of Energy Initiative at the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. “It’s basically telling everybody that they’re never going back in to the country.”
European energy companies, including Italy’s Eni, France’s TotalEnergies and Spain’s Repsol, also invested billions of dollars in Venezuela though their operations were much smaller than those of Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips, said Mr. Hiatt, who has long tracked the oil industry in Venezuela.
While oil companies have categorized those debts as unlikely to be repaid, they are highly unlikely to give up on their claims.
ConocoPhillips may end up recouping some of its losses as part of a U.S. Bankruptcy Court’s auction of Citgo, an American subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela.
ConocoPhillips declined to comment beyond what it has said in regulatory filings.
The company had substantial investments in oil projects in central and eastern Venezuela as well as off the country’s coast. International arbitration bodies have repeatedly ruled in Conoco’s favor, but turning those decisions into cash has been very difficult.
Exxon Mobil has said in regulatory filings that it collected awards of $908 million related to its investment in the Cerro Negro Project in eastern Venezuela, and $260 million in compensation related to the La Ceiba Project on a port in the nation’s central region.
But another $1.4 billion arbitration award was annulled in the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes. Exxon filed a new claim to restore the award, but that and the large majority of Exxon’s claims have gone unpaid.
Exxon Mobil did not respond to requests for comment.
Venezuela has contested many foreign oil company claims, and said it owes much less or nothing at all.
U.S. and European oil companies have been speaking with the Trump administration about their next steps in Venezuela. But new investments pose significant challenges because of the political instability created by Mr. Maduro’s capture.
Mr. Trump said on Saturday the U.S. oil companies would “spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure” and “start making money for the country.”
An Energy Department spokesman said that Chris Wright, the energy secretary, “remains in close contact with U.S. oil companies and plans to meet with several of them” at a conference on Wednesday.
But investors remain wary. Exxon Mobil’s stock price fell more than 3 percent on Tuesday. ConocoPhillips fell more than 1 percent, and Chevron’s share price dropped more than 4 percent after significant gains on Monday.
Even before the Trump administration seized Mr. Maduro, the cost of restoring Venezuela’s oil production would have been substantial.
The Inter-American Development Bank, the primary source of development financing in South America and the Caribbean, estimated in 2020 that it would cost $10 billion a year over a decade to restore Venezuela’s oil production.
The Center for Energy Studies at the Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy estimated that Venezuela’s production peaked in 1998 at 3.4 million barrels of oil a day and dropped to 1.3 million barrels a day by 2018.
In a 2020 report the center noted that the failure to attract more investment into its oil industry has been “one of the key drivers of the economic catastrophe facing the country.”
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