Democracy.Org The Us and World Report 01-08-26

 

No, It’s Not the US’s Hemisphere

By Phineas Rueckert

01.06.2026

South America / United States

International Relations

Donald Trump speaks of an expanded Monroe Doctrine that asserts US domination across the Americas. Chilean ex-diplomat Jorge Heine told Jacobin about the need for a new nonaligned movement that can resist imperialist claims.

US immigration agent fatally shoots woman in Minneapolis

Sakshi Venkatraman

A US immigration agent has fatally shot a 37-year-old woman in the city of Minneapolis, sparking a war of words as local officials rejected the Trump administration's account that it was self-defence.

The Great Unraveling Has Begun

Opinion

Guest Essay

Jan. 6, 2026

By Oona A. Hathaway

Professor Hathaway teaches law and political science at Yale and is a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the president-elect of the American Society of International Law.

President Trump’s decision to launch a secretive predawn military operation in Venezuela to grab President Nicolás Maduro is a blatant assault on the international legal order. The action threatens to end an era of historic peace and return us to a world in which might makes right. The cost will be paid in human lives.

Mexico becomes crucial fuel supplier to Cuba but pledges no extra shipments after Maduro toppled

By MARÍA VERZA
Updated 2:33 PM PST, January 7, 2026

MEXICO CITY (AP) — As the United States prepares to seize control of Venezuelan oil and the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump hardens its stance toward Cuba, Mexico has emerged as a key fuel supplier to Havana.

When It Comes to Russia, Trump Navigates Conflicting Goals

President Trump’s efforts to court President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia are rife with contradictions about stability and displays of American power.

By Anton Troianovski

Reporting from Washington

Jan. 8, 2026, 12:00 a.m. ET

The Trump administration declared in December that it sought “strategic stability with Russia.” That goal has run headlong into an even higher Trump priority: displaying American power.

World headlines DemocracyNow.org 01-07-26

 

AXIOS: Miller says no one would stop U.S. from seizing Greenland

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller listens as President Trump addresses the media during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago club on Jan. 3 in Palm Beach, Florida. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Avery Lotz

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller insisted Monday that Greenland should belong to the United States and said no one would oppose the U.S. militarily should it stake a claim to the self-ruling island.

Rubio to meet Danish counterpart next week on Greenland crisis

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that he will meet with his Danish counterpart next week in Washington to discuss the crisis over Greenland.

Barak Ravid

Trump weighs military option to take control of Greenland

CONFLICTS / UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Shakeel Sobhan with AP, AFP, Reuters

The US president has argued that control of Greenland is a "strategic" necessity. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has tried to downplay Trump's rhetoric, emphasizing the preferred option would be to buy Greenland.

US President Donald Trump is considering options that include military action to take control of Greenland, the White House said on Tuesday.

U.S. to lead "multinational force" for Ukraine's security

efsyn.gr

EUROPE 06.01.26

The draft joint declaration, as reported by Agence France-Presse, outlines the details of a "multinational force" with European participation under U.S. leadership.

According to a draft joint declaration ahead of the Paris summit, the United States will lead a "ceasefire monitoring and verification mechanism" with European involvement if a peace agreement is reached in the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Venezuela to export $2 billion worth of oil to US in deal with Washington

By Marianna Parraga and Erin Banco

January 6, 2026

Summary

• Deal to redirect Venezuelan oil exports to US from China
• Trump says agreed volume to supply is 30-50 million barrels
• Exports expected to stem further cuts to Venezuelan output
• Chevron only US firm currently authorized to export Venezuelan oil
• US Interior Secretary says US Gulf refiners would take advantage

HOUSTON/WASHINGTON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Caracas and Washington have reached a deal to export up to $2 billion worth of Venezuelan crude to the United States, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, a flagship negotiation that would divert supplies from China while helping Venezuela avoid deeper oil production cuts.

Trump Has Started Carving Up the World. Now It’s Putin and Xi’s Turn.

 DONROE DOCTRINE 

Brynn Tannehill

January 4, 2026

Fiona Hill warned in 2019 of a “strange swap agreement” involving Venezuela and Ukraine. Seven years later, here we are.

The U.S. invasion of Venezuela late last Friday shocked the world for many reasons. It represents another fundamental departure from the post–World War II order supported by the United States for the last 50 years. It was also an unprovoked, naked act of aggression based on the flimsiest of pretexts. Congress was not consulted, and the executive branch has far exceeded the 60 days allowed by the 1973 War Powers Act to get congressional approval for ongoing military action.

Trump seizing Greenland could set off a chain reaction

After Venezuela, Europeans are taking the president’s threats seriously

January 5, 2026

By Shane Harris, Isaac Stanley-Becker, 

and Jonathan Lemire

Danish officials think they know how Donald Trump might seize Greenland. In a late-night Truth Social post, the president announces that the Danish territory is now an American “protectorate.” Because neither Denmark nor its European allies possess the military force to prevent the United States from taking the island, they are powerless to resist Trump’s dubious claim. And as the leading member of NATO claims the sovereign territory of another state, the alliance is paralyzed. Arguing that possession is nine-tenths of the law, Trump simply declares that Greenland now belongs to the United States. 

Latin America silent as Trump menaces Cuba, Colombia and Mexico

           

 POLITICO 
By Eric Bazail-Eimil, Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing, and Megan Messerly

 01/05/2026 
The silence marks a sharp departure from the widespread and passionate condemnation this weekend of the U.S. capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

President Donald Trump is lobbing increasingly direct threats at multiple countries in Latin America following the U.S. operation in Venezuela this weekend. But rather than banding together, the reeling region is splintering over what sort of defense to mount — if any.

NASA announces incredible discovery that may have settled the 'life on Mars' debate

01-02-2026
By Eric Ralls
Earth.com staff writer
A recent analysis of the Sapphire Canyon mudstone core, drilled by NASA’s Perseverance rover in July 2024, adds new and convincing evidence to the ongoing search for life on Mars.

Astronomers Watch Black Hole Twist Spacetime As Einstein Predicted Over 100 Years Ago

By Cardiff University
January 3, 2026

Astronomers have finally caught a spinning black hole in the act of twisting the fabric of spacetime itself. The discovery came from watching a distant star get torn apart, forming a glowing disk and powerful jets that began to wobble together in a steady rhythm. (Artist’s concept.) Credit: SciTechDaily.com

Trump wants Venezuela's oil. Will his plan work?

BBC News & Reuters 12 hours ago

Archie Mitchell, Business reporter, and 
Natalie Sherman, Business reporter

Donald Trump has vowed to tap into Venezuela's oil reserves after seizing President Nicolás Maduro and saying the US will "run" the country until a 'safe' transition. The US president wants American oil firms to pile billions of dollars into the South American country, which has the largest crude oil reserves on the planet, to mobilise the largely untapped resource. He said US companies will fix Venezuela's "badly broken" oil infrastructure and "start making money for the country". But experts warned of huge challenges with Trump's plan, saying it would cost billions and take up to a decade to produce a meaningful uplift in oil output. So can the US really take control of Venezuela's oil reserves? And will Trump's plan work?