World

US envoy leaves Venezuela with six Americans after meeting Maduro

Published

1 year ago

February 1, 2025

U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy Richard Grenell said on Friday he was headed back to the United States with six American citizens, a surprise development after he met with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas.

Officials from the Trump administration had said earlier on Friday that one of Grenell’s top aims for the visit was to secure the release of Americans detained in the country, at a time when the Trump administration has been driving a deportation and anti-gang push in the United States, Reuters reported.

Grenell did not name the six men, shown with him aboard an airplane in a photo he posted online. They were dressed in light blue outfits used by the Venezuelan prison system.

“We are wheels up and headed home with these 6 American citizens,” Grenell posted on X. “They just spoke to @realDonaldTrump and they couldn’t stop thanking him.”

Trump cheered the move in his own post, saying Grenell was bringing “six hostages home from Venezuela.”

It is unclear exactly how many Americans were being held by Venezuela, but Venezuelan officials have spoken publicly of at least nine.

Maduro’s officials have accused most of them of terrorism and said some were high-level “mercenaries”. The Venezuelan government regularly accuses members of the opposition and foreign detainees of conspiring with the U.S. to commit terrorism. U.S. officials have always denied any plots.

“American hostages that are being held in Venezuela … must be released immediately,” Mauricio Claver-Carone, the U.S. special envoy for Latin America, said earlier on Friday, adding the Grenell-Maduro meeting was “not a negotiation in exchange for anything.”

In late 2023, Venezuela’s government released dozens of prisoners, including 10 Americans, after months of negotiations, while the U.S. released a close ally of Maduro.

Maduro told officials in an annual speech to the judiciary late on Friday evening that the meeting between him and Grenell had been positive.

“There are things where we’ve reached initial deals and when they are complied with, new issues will open, hopefully new deals for the good of the two countries and the region,” Maduro said, adding he would be looking to see if what had been discussed with Grenell was reflected in what is communicated by the U.S. about the meeting.

“President Donald Trump, we have made a first step, hopefully it can continue,” Maduro said. “We would like it to continue.”

Maduro and Grenell also discussed migration and sanctions at the presidential palace, the Venezuelan government said in a statement earlier on Friday.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said earlier on Friday that Grenell was also focused on ensuring 400 members of the Tren de Aragua gang in U.S. custody are returned to Venezuela.

An agreement on Tren de Aragua deportations was “non-negotiable,” Claver-Carone said.

Venezuelan attorney general Tarek Saab said last week that the gang had been dismantled in Venezuela in 2023, but that it was willing to restart legal cooperation with the U.S. in order to extradite gang members.

Since taking power on Jan. 20, Trump has kicked off a sweeping immigration crackdown, pledging mass deportations.

Some 600,000 Venezuelans in the United States were eligible for deportation reprieves granted by the previous administration, but U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she would cut the duration of the protections. She must decide by Saturday whether to terminate them.

Related Topics:featured Prisoners US Venezuela

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World

Israel built and defended a secret base in Iraq for Iran war, WSJ reports

Published

2 hours ago

May 10, 2026

Ariana News

Israel established a covert military installation in the Iraqi desert to support its air operations against Iran, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal, citing individuals familiar with the matter, including U.S. officials.

The report said the facility was used as a logistical hub for the Israeli Air Force and also housed special forces, as well as search-and-rescue units prepared to assist any downed pilots during operations.

According to the newspaper, the base was built with the knowledge of the United States shortly before the onset of what it described as a joint U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran.

The report added that Israeli forces conducted airstrikes against Iraqi troops on at least one occasion after they allegedly came close to discovering the site, in order to prevent exposure of the facility.

The existence of the installation reportedly came under threat in early March, when Iraqi state media said a shepherd had alerted authorities to unusual military activity in the area, including helicopter movements. Iraqi forces were subsequently dispatched to investigate.

The Wall Street Journal further reported that Iraqi troops were struck by Israeli air operations while approaching the area, based on accounts from sources familiar with the incident.

Later in March, Iraq submitted a complaint to the United Nations alleging that foreign forces were involved in attacks in the area and initially attributed responsibility to the United States. However, the report cited a source familiar with the matter as saying the U.S. was not involved.

World

Trump releases government UFO files, more expected

Published

1 day ago

May 9, 2026

Ariana News

At the order of U.S. President Donald Trump, the Defense Department on Friday released dozens of previously classified files on alleged UFO sightings to provide what ‌it called “unprecedented transparency” to the American people, though analysts said many of the documents had already been made public.

The disclosure of documents, photos and videos of “unidentified anomalous phenomena” will be followed by future releases as more materials are declassified, the Defense Department said in a statement, Reuters reported.

Trump was the latest president to release U.S. government reports on UFOs, a disclosure process that began in the late 1970s. Experts said the batch of around 160 files released on Friday contained new videos of known sightings but gave no conclusive evidence of alien technology or extraterrestrial life.

The files include a 1947 report of “flying discs” as well as grainy photos of “unidentified phenomena” taken from the moon’s surface by the 1969 Apollo 12 lunar mission and a transcript of the Apollo 17 crew describing unidentified objects seen from the moon in 1972.

‘BRIGHT PARTICLES’ DURING APOLLO 17

Apollo 17 mission pilot Ronald Evans reported “a few very bright particles or fragments or something that go drifting by as we maneuver,” based on the transcript.

“Roger. Understand,” mission control replied.

“These files, hidden behind classifications, have long fueled justified speculation – and it’s time the American people see it for themselves,” Hegseth said in a statement.

The records release is likely to fuel fresh debate over government secrecy and the possible existence of life in the cosmos.

“Whereas previous Administrations have failed to be transparent on this subject, with these new Documents and Videos, the people can decide for themselves, “WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?” Trump said in a statement. “Have fun and enjoy!”

The move was welcomed by U.S. Representatives Tim Burchett and ‌Anna Paulina ⁠Luna, both proponents of declassifying UFO files. Luna said an additional tranche of material was expected in about 30 days.

“The files show that UAP are not simply a matter of speculation or public curiosity,” Harvard University astrophysicist Avi Loeb said in an email to Reuters. “The government has collected records.”

The images from Apollo 12 and 17 were fascinating but could be the result of asteroid impacts on the lunar surface, Loeb said.

DISTRACTION FROM POLITICAL PROBLEMS?

Some critics cast the UFO disclosures as a distraction from Trump’s political woes, including ⁠the unpopular U.S. military campaign against Iran and public pressure to release further files tied to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“I really don’t care about the UFO files. I just don’t. I’m so sick of the ‘look at the shiny object’ propaganda,” former Republican U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote on X.

UAP investigator Mick West said the administration of former President ⁠Joe Biden disclosed much of the same information as Friday’s release.

“They’re evidence of us not being able to identify a small white dot that’s a long distance away,” the Sacramento, California-based analyst said of the new UAP videos and images.

Independent journalist Leslie Kean said the release showed there was still a lot ⁠of government information on UAP that should be disclosed. Kean co-authored a 2017 New York Times story on a secret Pentagon UAP program, which prompted Congress to push for declassification of UFO documents.

“I think we’ve already proven the existence of UAP, but that doesn’t mean we’ve proven they’re alien or extraterrestrial or that we know what they are,” said Kean.

World

Trump says United States will get uranium from Iran

One of Trump’s central objectives in launching ‌military ⁠strikes against Iran was to ensure Tehran does not develop a nuclear weapon.

Published

3 days ago

May 7, 2026

Ariana News

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the United States ‌would get enriched uranium from Iran, as the two countries struggle to reach an agreement on ⁠ending the Gulf war, Reuters reported.

“We’re going to get it,” Trump told a reporter as he left a White House event.

One of Trump’s central objectives in launching ‌military ⁠strikes against Iran was to ensure Tehran does not develop a nuclear weapon. Iran ⁠has yet to hand over more than 900 pounds (408 kg) ⁠of highly enriched uranium.