THE GUARDIAN: Venezuelan president warns of a ‘forever war’ similar to Iraq after US counterpart claims first land strike on dock
The Venezuelan leader, Nicolás Maduro, has urged Donald Trump to abandon his “illegal warmongering” and begin “serious talks” with his administration as mystery continued to surround a purported pre-Christmas CIA airstrike on the South American country.
Speaking during an hour-long TV interview, Maduro declined to confirm reports of the apparent US attack, which would be the first on Venezuelan soil since Trump began his five-month campaign of military pressure in August.
“This could be something we talk about in a few days,” Maduro told the Spanish journalist Ignacio Ramonet as the Venezuelan leader drove through the streets of Caracas in an apparent attempt to project serenity in the face of US pressure.
At one point during what Maduro called the “pod car” broadcast, he drove the silver SUV past his childhood home and the church where his baptism and first communion were held. “Caracas looks so beautiful,” Maduro declared, urging US voters to reflect on whether they wanted Trump to lead them into a South American version of the Iraq war. » | Tom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro | Friday, January 2, 2026
May God bless and protect Venezuela and the Venezuelans! — © Mark Alexander
