International
US team discusses help for troubled Haiti but cautious on troops
AFP
US officials on Wednesday held talks in Haiti on requests for international intervention to combat spiraling insecurity but President Joe Biden’s administration indicated reluctance over sending US troops.
The Biden administration said, however, that it was imposing US visa restrictions on Haitians blamed for the unrest and was working with Mexico on a UN Security Council resolution to draft targeted sanctions and take additional security measures.
Brian Nichols, the top US diplomat for the Western Hemisphere, and Lieutenant General Andrew Croft, deputy commander of the US Southern Command, will spend two days in the capital Port-au-Price where they will meet Prime Minister Ariel Henry and other key stakeholders, the State Department said.
The Haitian government on Friday formally requested international assistance as a cholera epidemic grows and law and order break down, with armed gangs seizing swathes of the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country including its largest fuel import terminal.
The US team will “talk about the request that was put forward by the prime minister and ensure that we are engaging actively with all sectors of Haitian society to make sure that the international community is responding to the needs of Haiti,” another US official told reporters on customary condition of anonymity.
The official said the United States was also looking to “expedite” new humanitarian assistance to fight cholera and provide fuel.
But the official indicated that Biden — a frequent skeptic of US troop deployments who last year ended the war in Afghanistan — was in no mood to include US boots in any potential force for Haiti, which the United States controlled for nearly two decades a century ago.
“The question of security presence is obviously an area where we are treading very carefully to make sure that we are doing the right things and not doing the things that in the past have not worked,” he said.
“I think it’s premature to really start thinking about whether the United States is going to put have a physical presence inside of Haiti.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for the immediate deployment of a special armed force, warning of a “dramatic deterioration in security.”
But the US official said Washington’s focus was on upgrading the Haitian National Police, which was created in 1995 under the country’s first elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, to ensure civilian control and bring security.
The United States, long the key player in Haiti, has devoted $90 million since last year to strengthening the police as well as $171 million in humanitarian assistance.
International
Top U.S. Military Commander Meets Interim Venezuelan Leaders After Maduro’s Capture
The commander of the United States Southern Command, Marine Francis L. Donovan, visited Venezuela on Wednesday, holding meetings with interim leaders following the recent capture of former President Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces. The visit, confirmed by both U.S. and Venezuelan officials, marked a significant diplomatic and security engagement in Caracas.
Donovan, accompanied by senior U.S. officials including acting Assistant Secretary of Defense Joseph M. Humire and top diplomat Laura Dogu, met with acting President Delcy Rodríguez and key members of her cabinet, including Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello.
According to official statements, discussions focused on strengthening bilateral cooperation on regional security issues, including efforts to combat illicit drug trafficking, terrorism, and migration. Both sides reiterated a commitment to pursuing diplomatic engagement and shared security goals for Venezuela and the Western Hemisphere.
The meetings also discussed progress on a three-phase plan supported by the United States to help stabilize Venezuela, following Maduro’s removal from power and subsequent detention in the U.S. on drug-related charges. This agenda reflects expanding U.S. engagement with Venezuela’s interim government amid broader efforts to restore diplomatic relations and address regional challenges.
The visit concluded on Wednesday, underscoring a growing U.S. focus on cooperation with Venezuelan authorities in the aftermath of major political developments earlier this year.
International
Bayly Says Trump ‘Gets Along Better With Dictators’ and Criticizes U.S.–Venezuela Policy
Peruvian author and journalist Jaime Bayly said Tuesday in Madrid that U.S. President Donald Trump “gets along better with dictators than he does with democrats” and that his administration is experiencing “a honeymoon with the Venezuelan dictatorship,” according to a report on his remarks during the launch of his new novel Los golpistas (Galaxia Gutenberg).
Bayly made the comments while presenting the book, which reconstructs the turbulent three days in April 2002 when Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez briefly lost power. He also sharply criticized the current Venezuelan leadership, saying that Delcy Rodríguez should be recognized as a dictator and “a continuation of Maduro’s dictatorship.”
The writer lamented that the failed 2002 coup — which he described as carried out by “amateurs” — did not lead to free elections that might have restored democracy to Venezuela. He argued that, even now, U.S. policy under Trump seems more focused on securing access to Venezuelan oil than on supporting Venezuelans’ freedom. “Venezuela could have chosen a free, clean and legitimate government — which we still impatiently await despite Trump, who only seems interested in freeing Venezuelan oil, not Venezuelans,” Bayly said.
Bayly also claimed that “every day that passes, Trump seems more enchanted with Delcy,” suggesting that Washington might leave Venezuelan leaders in power so long as they cooperate on economic interests.
A U.S. citizen who has lived in Miami for decades, Bayly said he is proud never to have voted for Trump, whom he described as “servile with the powerful and cruel with the weak.” He also criticized U.S. immigration enforcement as abusive.
Regarding the book’s creative process, Bayly said he combined extensive documentation and interviews with historical events, weaving fictional dialogue and narrative into real episodes without altering core facts. Los golpistas explores why the April 2002 coup attempt against Chávez failed and how key figures such as Chávez and Cuban leader Fidel Castroshaped modern Venezuelan history.
International
Maduro and Cilia Flores Receive Consular Visit in U.S. Jail Ahead of March 26 Hearing
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who is detained in the United States, and his wife, Cilia Flores, received a consular visit from a Venezuelan government official on January 30 while they remain in a New York jail awaiting their next court appearance, scheduled for March 26, 2026, according to a court filing.
The notification, submitted to the judge by prosecutors and the defense and now part of the digital case file, states that Maduro and Flores were visited by “an official representing the Republic of Venezuela to help facilitate any services the accused needed.”
The document also notes that U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein ordered the U.S. prosecutor’s office at the couple’s first court appearance on January 5 to ensure they had access to consular services and to inform the court when such access was provided.
Their next hearing was postponed by the court from an original date of March 17 to March 26 at 11:00 a.m., after prosecutors, with the consent of the defense, requested extra time to gather evidence, allow the defense to review it, and determine which pretrial motions they will file, the filing says.
Maduro has denied wrongdoing, calling himself “innocent” of the narcotics charges authorities have brought in federal court.
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