Overview
- Human-rights group HRANA reported more than 2,400 confirmed deaths among Iranian protesters as of January 13, with communications blackouts hampering independent verification.
- President Trump threatened Tehran with possible intervention in response to the bloodshed reported in Iran.
- Nicolás Maduro and his wife were reported abducted in Caracas on the night of January 2–3, a shock that intensified scrutiny of Washington’s posture in the region.
- A late‑2025 U.S. national security white paper links American influence in the Western Hemisphere to control of natural resources, with critics citing actions over Venezuelan oil and Greenland minerals as evidence of a neo‑imperial turn.
- Analysts note muted reactions from China and Russia to Maduro’s capture, while European commentary casts the EU–Mercosur agreement as a trade-focused reply and revives debates over strategic autonomy.