NEW: The Justice Department has quietly dropped its claim that Nicolás Maduro led a real drug cartel called Cartel de los Soles, backing away from a central assertion promoted by the Trump administration.

A revised indictment now says the term refers not to an organization, but to a culture of corruption and patronage tied to drug money within Venezuela’s military and government.

The original claim, echoed by the Treasury and State Departments and by Marco Rubio, had treated the phrase as a formal cartel. While prosecutors still accuse Maduro of drug trafficking, they no longer describe him as leading an actual cartel.

Source: NYT

BBC: You have been incredibly clear, consistently, that Vladimir Putin’s attack on the sovereign country of Ukraine was wrong. So what about President Trump’s attack on the sovereign country of Venezuela?

Starmer: At the moment, this is a fast-moving situation. There is still a lot that we do not know.

BBC: So will you condemn that action against a sovereign state?

Starmer: I want to gather all the material facts together, because we simply do not yet have the full picture.

I need to speak to President Trump, and I need to speak to our allies.

Latin America Expert Dr. Emrah Kaya:

Following the operation or attack carried out against Maduro, we can see that a message was effectively sent to left-wing leaders across Latin America.

There is a clear right-wing ascent, and with the recent operation carried out in Venezuela, it is possible to argue that these right-wing groups and factions will become even stronger, while left-wing leaders or states governed by leftist parties will lose significance.

WATCH

Trump has no clear plan for Venezuela’s future after the arrest of Maduro, with policy being made day by day.

Source: The Telegraph

The U.S. has proposed a security pact between Israel and Syria that would include a demilitarized joint economic zone along their border.

The plan was presented during U.S.-mediated talks in Paris, where both sides agreed to speed up negotiations after a two-month stalemate.

The proposal includes freezing military activity, creating a U.S.-led “fusion cell” in Jordan to manage security and talks, and developing cross-border economic projects such as agriculture, renewable energy, and tourism.

Source: Axios

Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán:

The Ukrainian dwarf is begging for food.

Netanyahu meets with Japanese MPs in Jerusalem.

Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodriguez declared seven days of national mourning for military members killed during the U.S. operation to capture President Maduro.

Source: Reuters

NEW: Russia sent a submarine and other naval forces to escort an oil tanker the United States has been pursuing near Venezuela.

The tanker—formerly Bella 1—was empty but suspected of involvement in sanctioned oil trading. After evading a U.S. boarding attempt, it repainted itself, switched its name, and re-registered under Russia, complicating U.S. legal authority to seize it.

Moscow has urged the U.S. to back off, while the Coast Guard continues to trail the ship as it heads toward northern Europe.

Source: WSJ

Former CIA officer Aldrich Ames, who betrayed U.S. intelligence by selling classified information to the Soviet Union and later Russia, died at the age of 84 in a U.S. federal prison.

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NEW: An assault team is attempting to board the tanker Marinera, which is being pursued by the U.S. Coast Guard.

It is assumed that the personnel involved are U.S. servicemembers.

UK PM Starmer:

Can I begin by saying I hope all colleagues had a happy Christmas.

It probably feels quite a long time ago now, but not for Reform, of course, because today is the day that they celebrate Christmas in Russia.

Colombian President Petro:

The armed mafia of Colombia is made up of different cartels with foreign command. Trump is wrong—he thinks they are Colombians.

Some are Colombian, but they do not live in Colombia. They live in Spain; they used to live in Dubai but moved because of the war in Palestine and Iran, with permission from the United States.

They keep trafficking to Europe and Australia, and they keep killing us here. We are left with the dead, while the profits stay with the owners of the mafia.

Anders Vistisen, Danish member of the European Parliament, on Trump’s Greenland remarks:

It is appalling and, frankly, stupid to continue to talk about capturing a NATO country.

We don’t see it as very realistic that U.S. troops would enter Nuuk anytime soon.

Reporter: Why not rule out taking Greenland by military force?

White House: All options are always on the table for Trump. Trump's first option is always diplomacy.

Reporter: What specifically would the U.S. gain by taking control of Greenland?

White House: More control over the Arctic region and ensuring that China and Russia cannot continue their aggression in that region.

Federal officials say ICE agents fatally shot a woman in her car during an operation in Minneapolis on Wednesday.

The Department of Homeland Security said the woman tried to run over officers, calling it an act of domestic terrorism.

NEW: Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA, confirmed it is in talks with the United States to sell Venezuelan crude.

Donald Trump and Colombia’s Gustavo Petro held their first direct phone call since Trump returned to office.

They discussed bilateral disagreements — especially drug trafficking and Venezuela — and agreed to arrange an in-person meeting at the White House soon.

Trump said “it was a great honor to speak with Petro.”

Petro shared this picture from his phone call with Trump.

BIG: UAE-backed STC leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi fled Aden, Yemen by boat to Berbera (Somaliland), then flew via Mogadishu to Abu Dhabi with UAE's support.

President Trump told The New York Times that the United States expects to control and extract Venezuela’s oil for years as part of its ongoing oversight of the country.