Catégorie oBox : OBOXMA

Since Venezuela has effectively been under the Trump administration’s control following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife by U.S. authorities on 3 January, Washington has asserted sweeping influence over the country’s political leadership and oil sector, including the seizure of key oil assets. In that context, acting president Delcy Rodríguez signaling a first public pushback against the Trump administration as she declared «enough» while addressing a group of oil workers in the coastal city of Puerto La Cruz. Speaking at an event broadcast by state-run channel Venezolana de Televisión, Rodríguez denounced what she described as U.S. orders imposed on Venezuela, breaking weeks of official restraint and highlighting growing resistance to Washington’s expanding role in the country’s governance and energy industry.

As the Trump administration has already seized several Venezuelan oil cargoes, Washington has intensified pressure on Caracas over the country’s energy sector, particularly demands to resume and expand oil production. Speaking to oil workers in the coastal city of Puerto La Cruz during an event broadcast by state-run Venezolana de Televisión, acting president Delcy Rodríguez declared «Enough already of Washington’s orders over politicians in Venezuela», signaling a first public pushback against the Trump administration. According to CNN, U.S. officials have recently stepped up pressure on Rodríguez, delivering a series of demands tied to Venezuela’s oil output and export policy, as tensions continue to rise over U.S. influence on the country’s political leadership and strategic resources.

In the same speech, acting president Delcy Rodríguez expanded her criticism of U.S. involvement in Venezuela’s internal affairs, saying «Let Venezuelan politics resolve our differences and our internal conflicts,» before adding that «This Republic has paid a very high price for having to confront the consequences of fascism and extremism in our country.» Her remarks came amid heightened tensions with Washington, after Trump publicly claimed his administration was “going to run” Venezuela following the U.S. operation against the Maduro government. The comments also followed a meeting earlier this month between Trump and opposition leader María Corina Machado at the White House, where Machado presented him her Nobel Peace Prize recognition in an effort to secure Trump’s backing for Venezuela’s future leadership, a move Rodríguez allies have cited as evidence of foreign interference in the country’s political transition.

n an interview on CNN’s State of the Union, hosted by Dana Bash, Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, who has overseen the controversial federal immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis, defended his agents’ conduct after the fatal shooting of 37-year-old ICU nurse and protester Alex Pretti, who was shot and killed by a U.S. Border Patrol agent during protests earlier this month. Pretti’s death — the second fatal shooting by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis within weeks following the death of Renee Good — has sparked widespread protests and intense scrutiny of the operation’s tactics. Bash repeatedly pressed Bovino over his characterization of Pretti as a “suspect” and challenged discrepancies between the official account and video footage showing Pretti holding only a phone before he was pepper-sprayed and subdued. Under continued questioning, Bovino asserted that his agents were “the victims,” a claim that has drawn sharp criticism from local officials and civil-rights advocates as controversy over federal use of force in the city grows.

In the same interview on CNN’s State of the Union, Dana Bash directly challenged Gregory Bovino’s framing of the killing, telling him, «It feels as though in some ways you’re blaming the victim here.» Bovino pushed back immediately, replying, «The victim?» before asserting, «The victims are the Border Patrol agents.» He went on to argue that Alex Pretti was responsible for his own death, claiming the protester had deliberately «injected» himself into a federal law enforcement operation and was «more than likely» present with the intent to assault officers. «The suspect put himself in that situation.» Bovino said, reinforcing his portrayal of Pretti as a threat rather than a victim as scrutiny over the federal agents’ use of force continues to intensify.

In the interview, Bash pressed Bovino to clarify messaging from figures aligned with the Trump administration who blamed Pretti for bringing a gun to the protest, despite the fact that he held a lawful concealed carry permit and that all publicly available videos show him holding a phone, not a firearm, at the time he was shot. Challenging the administration’s argument that Pretti posed a direct threat to federal agents, Bash asked, «Are you saying it’s not okay for him to exercise his Second Amendment right, not to mention his First Amendment right to be there in the first place, and if you do you can be shot by federal law enforcement?» Bovino rejected that interpretation of his remarks, responding simply, «No, I didn’t say that», as scrutiny continued over the justification offered by federal authorities for the use of lethal force.

In multiple videos filmed by bystanders who witnessed the fatal encounter, Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Health Care System, is seen holding a phone as he rushes toward a woman who had been violently pushed to the ground by a federal agent during the protest. As Pretti attempts to help her back to her feet, he is abruptly targeted by agents surrounding the scene, pepper-sprayed in the face, grabbed, and forced toward a group of officers. The footage shows Pretti being struck repeatedly as several agents converge on him, with one officer appearing to hit him with a firearm. In the seconds before he was shot multiple times, video evidence reviewed by independent news organizations shows an agent removing a gun and moving away from Pretti, while other agents are heard yelling “gun” even though the recordings show Pretti holding only a phone, images that have become central to questions surrounding the use of force by federal agents during the protest.