The Odyssey
NEED TO KNOW
The Odyssey
VENEZUELA
On Jan. 10, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was sworn into office for his third term, promising to uphold the constitution even as he defied it – he reportedly lost July’s election by a landslide.
But trampling over the popular will and civil rights is nothing new for Maduro during his 12 years in power, say observers.
The only thing is, wrote World Politics Review, that now, “governing for Maduro has largely become an exercise in repression and controlling the narrative”.
Maduro has tightened his grip on the country so completely that even the protests have dwindled – the number of demonstrators that took to the streets after Maduro’s election victory could be measured in the thousands – but during the inauguration only in the hundreds.
As a result, opposition leader Edmundo González, who says he won about 67 percent of the vote in last year’s election over Maduro’s 30 percent, has been hoping for more external pressure to oust Maduro, and to that end he’s been visiting world capitals to drum up support and pressure the president.
The US, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the European Union listened. Recently, they increased sanctions on the Maduro regime while in addition the US hiked its reward for capturing Maduro and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, a top ally, to $25 million each. It also placed a bounty of $15 million for the capture of Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López.
Still, none of those measures will likely oust Maduro, who remains defiant.
“I have not been made president by the government of the United States, nor by the pro-imperialist governments of Latin America,” he said during his inauguration – which was only attended by a handful of regional leaders. “I come from the people, I am of the people, and my power emanates from history and from the people. And to the people, I owe my whole life, body and soul.”
Opponents say they are tired of waiting. “In the end, it feels as if the soup got cold,” college professor Nelson Perez told Marketplace. “We’ve been on the subject of not losing hope for a while … But then you realize it’s more of the same.”
Many say the situation is almost a rerun of 2019.
Then, the speaker of the National Assembly, Juan Guaidó, declared himself the country’s interim leader and called for mass protests on the streets after having been recognized as Venezuela’s legitimate leader by the US and around 60 other countries.
Maduro responded by cracking down on the opposition and forcing many into exile. Now he is shifting those efforts into higher gear.
In the weeks before the inauguration, the Maduro regime detained thousands of opposition supporters and their relatives. He also blocked the opposition from communicating with their supporters, blocking access to X, TikTok, VPN networks, and other ways to reroute Internet communications to bypass government restrictions.
He closed the borders when González, a stand-in for the revered opposition leader, María Corina Machado, whom the regime banned from running, tried to enter the country to hold a counter inauguration. He had his officers detain Machado – then tried to make it appear as if it was a staged detention to discredit the regime. He also cut off electricity, cellphones, and Internet access to her neighborhood to prevent her from communicating with her supporters.
The Economist believes a large-scale protest movement could dislodge Maduro. But the problem is, millions of Venezuelans have fled the dire economic conditions and repression in the country and those dissidents who remain face severe consequences. The issue is the military, which is loyal to Maduro and is the real power center in the country. It profits handsomely off of the Maduro regime.
“Democratic forces are not only contending with ruthless authoritarian rule – they are also dealing with a country dominated by an oil economy and massive criminality and corruption, complicating any transition (to democracy),” wrote Spain’s El País. “In this epic Latin American tragedy, the task ahead is not only to rebuild a democracy that has been destroyed, it is also to rebuild an economy, a society, and a country.”
THE WORLD, BRIEFLY
Shifting Gears
ISRAEL/ WEST BANK & GAZA
Israel launched a major operation in the West Bank city of Jenin Tuesday, aiming to “defeat terrorism” in the occupied Palestinian territory, in a military campaign coming just two days after it began a ceasefire with Hamas that ended months of conflict in the Gaza Strip, the Times of Israel reported.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), supported by police and Shin Bet security forces, dubbed the operation “Iron Wall” and said it aims to dismantle militant networks and neutralize imminent threats.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military campaign will “bolster security” in the West Bank following months of rising violence.
Ahead of the Israeli advance, Palestinian security forces reportedly withdrew from the refugee camp in Jenin. Palestinian media reported intense clashes, road blockages, and airstrikes targeting alleged militant strongholds.
The Palestinian health ministry said at least at least nine Palestinians died and 35 others were injured, the BBC added.
Meanwhile, Palestinian armed groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad condemned the operation and called for escalated resistance, Reuters noted.
The offensive follows the fragile ceasefire agreement in Gaza that began Sunday, halting a 15-month war between Israel and Hamas that devastated much of Gaza’s infrastructure and left 47,000 Palestinians dead, according to local health authorities. While many in Gaza celebrated the truce, the West Bank operation has sparked fresh fears of regional instability.
There has been a sharp rise in violence in the West Bank since the Oct. 7, 2023 attack when Hamas and its allies attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 Israelis and taking more than 250 hostages.
Since then, Israeli security forces have arrested around 6,000 individuals in the West Bank, including 2,350 they say are affiliated with Hamas, the Times of Israel wrote separately. Officials in the Palestinian Authority (PA) alleged that more than 858 Palestinians had been killed during that 15-month period – with the IDF claiming that the majority of the casualties were gunmen or terrorists carrying out attacks, a claim that Palestinians dispute.
Tuesday’s operation also comes amid a backdrop of rising settler violence.
On Monday, masked Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian villages near al-Funduq, burning cars and homes, following earlier attacks tied to outrage over the release of Palestinian prisoners in the Gaza ceasefire deal. The PA condemned the settler attacks and accused Israel of using roadblocks and military operations to fragment the West Bank further.
Analysts warn the ongoing West Bank operation could derail efforts to stabilize the region after the Gaza ceasefire.
Meanwhile, Israeli Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi and Southern Command head Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman resigned Tuesday, citing the military’s failure to prevent the Oct. 7 attack, the Associated Press wrote.
Their departures have intensified domestic calls for accountability and a public inquiry in relation to the attacks on Oct. 7, 2023. The resignations also contrast with Netanyahu’s resistance to an inquiry, analysts said.
Caught in the Crossfire
PANAMA
Panamanian authorities began auditing the Hong Kong-based company that controls the two ports adjacent to the Panama Canal, following threats by US President Donald Trump of taking back control of the waterway over alleged Chinese interference, Bloomberg reported.
The Panama Ports Company, which runs the ports, is a subsidiary of CK Hutchison Holdings, owned by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing and is based in Hong Kong.
Panama gave Li’s company concession over the canal ports in a 1998 agreement that was renewed in 2021. According to the terms of the agreement, Li must share a part of the revenue earned from running the two docks with the country.
Because the ports today handle “significantly more cargo” compared with 1998, the Panamanian government believes that the share of revenue it receives is insufficient and is auditing the company to determine the proper share.
Hong Kong is a part of China but the city operates autonomously, with its own borders, currency and legal system. However, many say Hong Kong is firmly under Chinese control.
As a result, Trump has alleged that Panama is allowing Chinese interference in the canal, violating the promise of neutrality in the American-built canal given by Panama to the US in 1999 when Washington turned over control of the waterway, the Wall Street Journal explained.
And while China’s investment and cargo in the canal are minimal compared to the US’ share, Washington worries over Beijing’s influence growing: Currently, there are some China-backed projects in Panama, including a canal bridge, a new subway line, a cruise ship terminal and a wind-energy farm, the Wall Street Journal wrote.
Two for One
AFGHANISTAN
Two Americans held in Afghanistan were released on Tuesday in exchange for a Taliban member imprisoned for life in California on drug trafficking and terrorism charges, the Associated Press reported.
The two Americans, Ryan Corbett and William McKenty, were exchanged for Afghani Taliban member Khan Mohammed, 55, who was convicted in 2008 on narco-terrorism charges and sentenced to two life sentences, according to CNN.
Corbett had lived in Afghanistan at the time of the 2021 collapse of the US-backed government and was taken by the Taliban while on a business trip in 2022.
The prisoner swap was organized by the Biden administration – which oversaw the controversial US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 – after nearly two years of Qatari-mediated negotiations between Washington and the Taliban.
Meanwhile, Mohammed arrived back in his home province of Nangarhar, in the east of Afghanistan. He had been the first person to be convicted under US narco-terrorism laws.
He was indicted in 2006 and brought to the US in 2007. During his trial, he was accused of helping the Taliban obtain rockets to attack a US military base and selling heroin intended to be distributed in the states, according to the New York Times.
The Taliban praised the swap as a step towards the “normalization” of ties between the two nations, although most countries still don’t recognize Taliban rule.
Even so, two other Americans are being held hostage by the Taliban, according to US officials.
The Taliban have been trying to receive international recognition following their takeover of the country in 2021. Afghanistan is grappling with a struggling economy and financial shortfalls since the takeover after billions in international funds were frozen and thousands of highly skilled Afghans fled the country.
DISCOVERIES
Bugs with a Grudge
Ants hold a grudge.
That’s the remarkable conclusion of a new study published in Current Biology that found that the laborious insects remember the smells of previously encountered nests and behave passively or aggressively depending on their past experience with those colonies.
The study came about after prior research showed that ants were more likely to bite and spray acid to kill other ants belonging to the colonies closest to them. Scientists didn’t understand why they behaved so aggressively toward their neighbors.
To figure this out, researchers at the University of Freiburg in Germany pitted nests of the black garden ant (Lasius niger) against each other for a two-part experiment.
First, the ants were exposed for one minute to either their nestmates, aggressive ants from a rival nest (nest A), or aggressive ants from another rival nest (nest B). The same rendezvous occurred once a day for five consecutive days.
Researchers said that each ant colony has a specific scent, which allows the insects to easily recognize each other. This also allows them to associate a certain smell with a certain level of aggression.
Unsurprisingly, ants were passive toward their own nestmates.
However, ants who already encountered nest A were significantly more aggressive toward them compared with ants who had never met with them. To understand why, the researchers moved to the next phase and modified the encounters.
In the second phase, ants were no longer exposed to their nest mates but only to ants from different colonies who were either aggressive or passive. They ensured the passive behavior of a certain nest by cutting off the ants’ antennae. The experiment confirmed that ants were less aggressive toward colonies they had previously encountered and perceived as passive.
The findings suggest that ants remember whether different ant colonies are friendly or dangerous based on their odor. This phenomenon is called the “nasty neighbor effect,” explained Cosmos Magazine.
This study is significant because it showed that behavior by insects such as ants isn’t just inspired by reacting to immediate stimuli but involves more complex cognitive abilities.
“We often have the idea that insects function like pre-programmed robots,” lead author Volker Nehrin said in a statement. “Our study provides new evidence that, on the contrary, ants also learn from their experiences and can hold a grudge.”