Maduro pushes Colombia-Venezuela alliance as U.S. doubles bounty for his arrest
Maduro offered few details on how his proposed alliance with Colombia's leftist president, Gustavo Petro, would work but suggested enhanced cooperation across both governments, including their armed forces.
His comments came days after the U.S. announced a $50 million reward for information leading to Maduro's capture, accusing him of heading one of the world's most dangerous drug trafficking networks. Petro, a former guerrilla fighter, responded swiftly, warning that military aggression against Venezuela would be considered an attack on Colombia.
In June, Petro accused U.S. officials—specifically naming Secretary of State Marco Rubio—of leading a plot to overthrow him, a charge he later softened in a letter to President Donald Trump.
Maduro reinforced his call for unity during his weekly television program, urging 'cooperation between authorities—governors, mayors, legitimate public officials—to unite two national governments with their ministries, to unite Colombia's military forces with the Bolivarian armed forces.' He argued the union was needed to rid border states of violence and dismantle drug trafficking. Maudro's timing suggested a direct response to Washington's accusations that he is among the top drug kingpins in the world.
Flanked by Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, Maduro emphasized the loyalty of Venezuela's military and security forces, signaling that the $50 million reward would not weaken their support. He praised the armed forces for defending Venezuela's 'peace and sovereignty,' framing them as defenders against foreign aggression.
The public display of unity follows intensified pressure from Washington. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau told Donald Trump Jr. in an interview this week that 'new actions' to pressure Maduro's regime were coming in the 'days and weeks' ahead.
Maduro appears determined to recast the U.S. bounty on his capture as a rallying cry rather than a threat. Local news reports say his government has launched an expensive propaganda campaign promoting the message that the situation is under control. Millions of dollars are reportedly being spent on posters, rallies, promotional merchandise and anti-U.S. slogans. Public sector employees and members of the armed forces have been instructed to join pro-Maduro demonstrations, which have drawn participants in Caracas and other major cities.
Top officials—including Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, National Assembly head Jorge Rodríguez and Caracas Mayor Carmen Meléndez—marched alongside loyalists, public workers, and motorcyclist groups in defiant displays following the U.S. announcement of the unprecedented bounty.
In revealing the decision to double the existing $25 million reward, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Maduro leads the Cartel of the Suns—a drug trafficking organization embedded in Venezuela's military—and works with groups including Venezuela's Tren de Aragua gang, Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel and other transnational criminal networks. Bondi called Maduro 'one of the world's biggest drug traffickers and a threat to our national security,' adding that the bounty increase was aimed at tightening the net around him.
Bondi also announced the seizure of over $700 million in assets linked to Maduro, including two private jets, nine vehicles, and several properties.
A federal indictment in New York outlines Maduro's alleged ascent in the Cartel of the Suns. According to court filings, after the 2013 death of former president Hugo Chávez, Maduro moved from acting as a facilitator to serving as the cartel's leader, integrating its operations with the Venezuelan state apparatus. Prosecutors allege the cartel's strategy went beyond profits, aiming to export cocaine to the United States.
While other top leaders in the Venezuelan regime such as Cabello and Tareck El Aissami were often seen as the cartel's figureheads, new evidence suggests Maduro's role was far more significant than previously believed. The indictment claims the purpose of Venezuela's drug trafficking apparatus goes beyond self-enrichment. The cartel, it says, aimed 'to flood the United States with cocaine and inflict the drug's harmful and addictive effects on users in this country.'
U.S. intelligence estimates suggest that more than 250 tons of cocaine pass through Venezuela each year, a figure that may have doubled in recent years due to the economic vacuum created by oil sanctions.
The U.S. bounty announcement marked the latest escalation in a long-running standoff between Washington and Caracas. Sanctions, diplomatic isolation and repeated calls for Maduro to step down have failed to dislodge him from power. The reward—now at a historic high—signals a shift toward even more aggressive tactics.
Maduro, meantime, is working to project confidence. Analysts believe that by aligning himself closely with Petro and other leftists leaders and attempting to frame the U.S. measures as part of a broader assault on Latin America, he seeks to strengthen regional solidarity and paint Washington as an aggressor.
'While we're dismantling the terrorist plots orchestrated from her country, this woman [Bondi] is coming out with a media circus to please the defeated far right in Venezuela,' said Maduro's foreign minister, Yván Gil, soon after the new reward was annnounced. 'It doesn't surprise us, coming from who she comes from.'
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Newsweek
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How Number of Journalists Killed in Gaza War Compares to WW2, Vietnam, Iraq
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A freelance cameraman, identified as Momen Aliwa, and a freelance journalist, Mohammed al-Khalidi, were also killed, the network said. The Israeli military confirmed it had targeted al-Sharif, saying that he was head of a Hamas terrorist cell and was involved in rocket attacks on Israel. "A press badge isn't a shield for terrorism," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. Filipino activists light candles as they hold photos of Palestinian journalists who were killed in a recent Israeli airstrike in Gaza, during a protest in Quezon City, Philippines, on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. Filipino activists light candles as they hold photos of Palestinian journalists who were killed in a recent Israeli airstrike in Gaza, during a protest in Quezon City, Philippines, on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. AP Photo/Aaron Favila An Arabic-language spokesperson for the IDF had last month posted an image appearing to show al-Sharif alongside Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader killed by Israel in southern Gaza last October. The IDF had previously accused al-Sharif and other Al Jazeera journalists of working with Hamas. A Hamas official said of al-Sharif that they had "no knowledge of his affiliation with the movement or its military apparatus." Al-Sharif himself had denied he was a Hamas member shortly before his death. "The pattern of labeling journalists as terrorists before killing them, effectively granting themselves the authority to extinguish these journalists, has become a specialty of the Israel Defense Forces," Gypsy Guillén Kaiser, advocacy and communications director for the CPJ, told Newsweek. Israel has repeatedly denied targeting journalists and has said it "takes all operationally feasible measures to mitigate harm to civilians including journalists." "Remaining in an active combat zone has inherent risks," the IDF said. It is difficult to accurately determine how many journalists are killed in a conflict, even in recent years. Those tallying often make a distinction between civilian and military journalists, as well as media representatives who are killed in the line of duty versus those who are killed away from the front lines. Others do not include those working for state-controlled outlets such as the Russian TASS news agency or the Hamas-operated Al Aqsa TV. Figures for the number of journalists killed in conflict zones before the early 1990s are even harder to verify. The CPJ has publicly available information stretching back to 1992. The Belgium-based International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said it had compiled accurate lists of journalist deaths since roughly two years prior. 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It said it is investigating another 130 potential cases of journalists being killed, arrested or injured, as well as media offices and homes being damaged. Of the 192 journalists killed in these areas in close to two years of fighting, 184 were Palestinian, according to the CPJ. Two were Israeli and six were Lebanese journalists. Israel does not allow international media to enter Gaza, with the exception of highly controlled trips stewarded by the IDF. "The abysmal situation faced by journalists in Gaza is an aberration in the field of conflict reporting," Guillén said. Nearly half of journalists killed in Gaza in 2024 were killed by drones, Guillén said, describing this as "a new and growing trend in conflict reporting." Roughly 200 journalists have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its offensive nearly two years ago, press freedom groups say. Roughly 200 journalists have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its offensive nearly two years ago, press freedom groups say. Newsweek Illustration/Canva/Getty/AP Newsroom Other groups broadly agreed with the CPJ's figures. "Nearly 200 journalists have been killed" in this phase of hostilities from late 2023, according to International News Safety Institute. This is "an unprecedented toll in modern conflict reporting," the NGO said in a statement. The IFJ and the Paris-headquartered Reporters sans frontières (RSF), or Reporters Without Borders, both told Newsweek they had similar figures. "Unlike other conflicts in the past, where journalists were respected and often even welcomed to document the conflict because there were few or no means of communication, today in Gaza, journalists are very often targeted by the Israeli army," Bellanger of the IFJ said. 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Between 100 and 150 journalists were killed in Iraq between 2003 and 2006, Bellanger of the IFJ told Newsweek. The RSF's numbers put the number of journalists killed while reporting in Iraq at 242, making it the "the bloodiest war for journalists." "It was somewhat different, in the sense that journalists were really heavily targeted by the military forces," Bruttin said. This included terrorist groups that carried out strikes followed by attacks on the media and first responders arriving at the scene. In February 2007, RSF said it was "deeply concerned by repeated violations of journalists' rights in Iraq." At the time, at least 150 journalists and media workers had been killed in the country, it said. Afghanistan There are varying numbers on how many journalists were killed in Afghanistan. Following 9/11, the U.S. led efforts to remove the Taliban from power and set up a new government in Kabul, setting the stage for two decades of involvement in the country before the Taliban took back control in 2021. According to the CPJ, 76 international and local journalists and media workers were killed in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2021. In 2018 alone, 16 journalists and two media workers were killed in the country, according to these figures. Other counts come in slightly higher. Between 2010 and 2021, 87 Afghan journalists were killed, according to the IFJ. At least six journalists were killed between the Taliban coming to power in Kabul in August 2021 and November of that year, according to the IFJ. Vietnam The communist regime in North Vietnam—backed by the Soviet Union and China—fought the government in South Vietnam, supported by the U.S., from 1955. The U.S. become directly militarily involved in 1965, until the capture of Saigon by North Vietnamese forces in 1975. RSF research indicates around 60 journalists were killed during the Vietnam War, Bruttin said. One count referenced by the Associated Press in 2006 put the total number of journalists killed or presumed dead during the war at 71. Between 70 and 80 journalists were killed in Vietnam between 1962 and 1975, Bellanger said. Korea The Korean War began in 1950, when North Korean forces invaded South Korea in an attempt to unify the peninsula under communist rule. The North Korean forces were backed by the Soviet Union and later China. South Korea was supported primarily by the U.S. under the auspices of the United Nations. The Korean War lasted three years and was brought to a close with the signing of an armistice agreement in 1953. Approximately ten journalists died, Bellanger said. World War II It is "extremely difficult" to produce a casualty count for journalists during World War II, Bruttin said. 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Yahoo
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National Guard troops on the streets of DC to fight what Trump calls ‘out of control' crime in the nation's capital
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2 hours ago
Powerful sister of North Korean leader denies removal of front-line speakers
SEOUL, South Korea -- The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Thursday dismissed South Korean claims that the North is removing some of its loudspeakers along the inter-Korean border, mocking the government in Seoul for clinging to hopes of renewed diplomacy between the war-divided rivals. South Korea's military said over the weekend that it had detected the North removing some of its loudspeakers, days after the South dismantled its own front-line speakers used for anti-North propaganda broadcasts in a bid to ease tensions. Kim Yo Jong reiterated previous North Korean statements that it has no immediate interest in reviving long-stalled negotiations with Washington and Seoul, citing an upcoming joint military exercise between the allies as proof of their continued hostility toward Pyongyang. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff did not disclose where it spotted the North removing some of its speakers. The North Korean speakers that have been visible from civilian-accessible border areas in the South were still seen by Associated Press photojournalists after the military's announcement. During a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, South Korea's new liberal President Lee Jae Myung described the North's alleged steps as a 'reciprocal measure' and expressed hope the Koreas could 'gradually reopen dialogue and communication.' Kim accused Lee's government of misleading the public, saying that North Koreans 'have never removed loudspeakers installed on the border area and are not willing to remove them.' When asked about Kim's comments, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson, Col. Lee Sung Joon, maintained that the South's military had confirmed the removal of some North Korean speakers and cautioned against 'being easily swayed' by North Korean statements with political intent. 'It has always been the case that North Korea often makes claims that aren't true,' he said. South Korea's Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, said in a statement that Seoul will continue to pursue 'sustained steps' to improve relations but acknowledged that the process will require patience. Kim Yo Jong also dismissed South Korean media speculation that the North may use this week's planned meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump to convey a message to Washington via Moscow. "Why should we send a message to the U.S. side," she said, adding that the North has no interest in talks with the Americans. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, North Korea has made Russia the priority of its foreign policy and has sent thousands of troops and large supplies of military equipment, including artillery and missiles, to help fuel Russia's war. North Korean and Russian state media said Wednesday that Kim Jong Un and Putin held a phone call to discuss their deepening ties and war efforts against Ukraine. Russia's TASS news agency said Putin also shared with Kim information about his upcoming talks with Trump in Alaska on Friday, but the North Korean reports did not mention the Trump meeting. Kim Yo Jong had also released statements in July dismissing Washington and Seoul's stated desires to restart diplomacy aimed at defusing the North's nuclear program, which derailed in 2019 following a collapsed summit between her brother and Trump during his first term. In recent months, South Korean border residents have complained that North Korean speakers blasted irritating sounds, including howling animals and pounding gongs, in a tit-for-tat response to South Korean propaganda broadcasts. The South Korean military said the North stopped its broadcasts in June, after Lee ordered to halt South's broadcasts in his government's first concrete step toward easing tensions between the war-divided rivals. The South's military began removing its speakers from border areas last week but did not say if they would be redeployed if tensions flared again. North Korea, extremely sensitive to any outside criticism of its authoritarian leadership and its third-generation ruler, had seen South Korea's anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts as a major provocation. The South's previous conservative government resumed daily loudspeaker broadcasts in June last year, following a yearslong pause, in retaliation for North Korea flying trash-laden balloons toward the South. The speakers blasted propaganda messages and K-pop songs, a playlist designed to strike a nerve in Pyongyang, where Kim Jong Un has been pushing to eliminate the influence of South Korean pop culture and language among the population, in part of attempts to strengthen his family's dynastic rule. The psychological warfare campaigns further heightened tensions already inflamed by North Korea's advancing nuclear program and South Korean efforts to expand joint military exercises with the United States and their trilateral security cooperation with Japan. Lee, who took office in June after winning an early election to replace ousted conservative Yoon Suk Yeol, wants to improve relations with Pyongyang, which reacted furiously to Yoon's hard-line policies. Experts, however, say the North clearly feels no urgency to resume diplomacy with South Korea and the U.S. anytime soon and remains focused on its alignment with Russia. annual combined U.S.-South Korean military exercises that start Aug. 18.
