The head of Defense of Venezuela, Vladimir Padrino López, assured, in a video released this Sunday, that the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) does not break down with sanctions or with reward “blackmail”, after the United States offered 15 million dollars for information that leads to his capture.
“We do not break down with sanctions or reward blackmail, here the brave are in formation (…) with weapons to, according to our Constitution, defend our territory, our independence, our territorial integrity and our national sovereignty,” said the head of Defense of Venezuela.
Padrino López, in office since 2014, made a call to “not fall into the game of psychological war” or “that plan”, as well as to “stand firm” and defend, “serene and bravely”, the people.
He assured that today the Armed Forces are “much more united” and “aware of the historical moment that the homeland is living,” and thanked the “solidarity” of the military institution with him and the leader of Chavismo, Nicolás Maduro, for whose capture the US increased the reward from 15 to 25 million dollars, after his swearing-in for a third term in a row.
On Saturday, the FANB said that a “spurious reward will not make a dent in the physical and spiritual strength” of both, and that this “aggression only further strengthens cohesion and absolute union in the demand for respect” to its “leaders and hierarchical superiors”.
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The US also offers a reward of 25 million dollars for information that leads to the capture of the head of the Interior and Justice, Diosdado Cabello.
In addition, the FF.AA. expressed its “most energetic and categorical rejection” of the sanctions of the United States, the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom announced on Friday, when Maduro was sworn in as president for the period 2025-2031, a fact that the largest anti-Chavista coalition, which claims the electoral victory of Edmundo González Urrutia, denounced as the consummation of a “coup d’état”.
The opposition leader, who claims to be “very close to Venezuela” and “ready for safe entry,” said on Friday that, as “commander-in-chief” and “president-elect,” he orders “the high military command to ignore illegal orders given to them by those who confiscate power” and to prepare “their security conditions to assume office.”
Jalisco’s grim discovery: drug cartel mass grave found in construction site
A mass grave was discovered in a residential area under construction in the municipality of Zapopan, part of the metropolitan area of Guadalajara, the capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco.
“After analyzing the recovered remains, they correspond to 34 individuals,” said a state official during a press conference. Jalisco has one of the highest numbers of missing persons in Mexico, largely due to the activity of drug cartels.
As of May 31, official data shows that Jalisco has recorded 15,683 missing persons, according to the state prosecutor’s office. Authorities attribute most of these cases to criminal organizations, which often bury or cremate their victims clandestinely.
“The construction company notified us at the end of February after discovering some remains,” explained the official, González, adding that excavation efforts have been ongoing since then.
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) operates in the region and was designated as a foreign terrorist organization earlier this year by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. Washington has accused CJNG and the Sinaloa cartel of being the main sources of fentanyl trafficking, a synthetic opioid responsible for tens of thousands of overdose deaths in the U.S.
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Mexico has accumulated more than 127,000 missing persons, most of them since 2006, when the federal government launched a heavily criticized military-led anti-drug offensive.
U.S. targets families of sanctioned drug traffickers with new Visa restrictions
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Thursday a new visa restriction policy targeting the family members and close associates of individuals sanctioned for drug trafficking, as part of efforts to combat the spread of fentanyl.
Overdoses from this synthetic opioid remain the leading cause of death among Americans aged 18 to 44. According to official sources, more than 220 overdose deaths are reported daily in 2024, and over 40% of Americans know someone who has died from opioid-related causes.
“Today, I am announcing a new visa restriction policy (…) which will apply to close family members and personal or business associates of individuals sanctioned for drug trafficking,” Rubio said in a statement.
White House claims challenged as most ICE arrests in LA involve non-criminals
Nearly seven out of ten people arrested during immigration raids in Los Angeles from June 1 to June 10 had no criminal record, contradicting White House claims that the raids targeted “criminals,” according to an analysis published Wednesday by the Los Angeles Times.
Around 722 individuals were detained in the Los Angeles metropolitan area during the first ten days of June, when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) initiated the raids, according to data obtained by the Deportation Data Project of the University of California Berkeley School of Law.
The Los Angeles Times analysis found that 69% of those arrested during this period had no criminal record, and 58% had never been charged with any crime.
These figures contradict the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which said in a statement Tuesday that since June 6, ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) launched an operation “to remove the worst criminal illegal aliens.”
DHS Deputy Secretary Tricia McLaughlin warned that the arrests are part of President Donald Trump’s promise to secure the border by deporting criminals, including drug traffickers in Los Angeles, without providing further details.
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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass criticized last week in a CNN interview that although the White House said it would target violent criminals, the raids had focused on workers.
“This wasn’t a drug den, it was a Home Depot,” Bass said, questioning the locations where raids were conducted.
Activists have also denounced the raids for targeting vulnerable workers who are easy to detain.
The Los Angeles Times analysis found that the average age of those arrested was 38, mostly men. Nearly 48% were Mexican, 16% Guatemalan, and 8% Salvadoran.
