↑ United States Defense and Military Forces The U.S. Has Been Building Up Forces Off Venezuela for Months - The United States military’s Southern Command said in December that about 15,000 troops were in the Caribbean region.Explosions Reported in Venezuela’s Capital - It was not immediately clear what caused the blasts. The United States has been building pressure on Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s authoritarian president, for months.Coast Guard Suspends Search for Survivors of Latest Boat Strikes - The service said that conditions in the area where the search was taking place included nine-foot seas and winds approaching 50 miles per hour.Oil Tanker Fleeing U.S. Coast Guard Broadcasts Location in North Atlantic - Russia requested this week that the United States end its pursuit of the vessel, which was intercepted in the Caribbean on its way to pick up oil in Venezuela.The 2025 Politics Yearbook: Most Likely to Be Extreme and Chaotic - How much more chaotic could a second Trump term be? 2025 did not disappoint.6 Takeaways on the Unwinding U.S.-Ukraine Alliance - A Times investigation reveals the inside story of the Trump administration’s chaotic push for a peace deal and its erratic role in the war.U.S. Kills 2 in Strike in Pacific, as Trump Pressures Venezuela - The attack was the 30th announced by the U.S. military since early September. It came days after President Trump said the U.S. had struck a coastal site related to drugs and Venezuela.Grim Evidence of Trump’s Boat Strikes Washes Ashore on a Colombian Peninsula - First came the scorched boat. Then the mangled bodies. Then the packets with traces of marijuana. Now, fishermen fear the ocean that feeds them.How Oil, Drugs and Immigration Fueled Trump’s Venezuela Campaign - New details of deliberations show how aides with overlapping agendas drove the United States toward a militarized confrontation with Venezuela.Trump’s Second-Term Promises: What He’s Done So Far on Immigration, Trade, DEI and More - President Trump has driven illegal crossings at the border to record lows, helped bring about an uneasy cease-fire in Gaza and upended the global trading system.