Overview

• Authorities staged official kickoffs with lights, concerts and fireworks in Caracas, including the Plaza Bolívar switch‑on and the illumination of the Waraira Repano cross.
• Vice President Delcy Rodríguez said Nicolás Maduro signed or is preparing a decree of “conmoción exterior” that grants special defense and security powers, a mechanism never before applied in Venezuela.
• Washington has deployed warships and F‑35 jets near Venezuela in what it calls counter‑narcotics operations, and recent reports describe U.S. strikes on suspected trafficker boats in the Caribbean.
• A fireworks and lighting display was filmed at El Helicoide, a SEBIN facility flagged by the UN for abuses, drawing human‑rights criticism over the choice of venue.
• Maduro presents the early holiday season as a morale and consumption boost, while critics point to severe inflation, a weakened bolívar and low wages and question the use of public resources.