
US President Donald Trump announced on Friday night that his country's Southern Command had killed, in a “swift and lethal” strike, Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, alias Niño Guerrero, whom he described as the leader of Tren de Aragua, “one of the most bloodthirsty terrorist organizations on the planet.” Venezuela's government confirmed hours later the death of the criminal boss, which occurred in Bolívar state, in the country's southeast.

Venezuela on Thursday granted the British company Shell a license for a first phase of exploration and exploitation of the Loran gas field, which has seven reservoirs, six of them transboundary with Trinidad and Tobago. The signing was led by acting President Delcy Rodríguez at Miraflores Palace, the seat of the Venezuelan government.

Cuba's government on Thursday accused US Secretary of State Marco Rubio of further reinforcing the economic and energy siege against the island, after Washington sanctioned the state company Unión Cuba-Petróleo (Cupet), which handles crude extraction, refining and production. Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez charged that Rubio resorts to usual vulgar lies to justify the measure.

The United States and Iran traded fire for a second consecutive night, in what amounts to a more dangerous phase of the war in the Persian Gulf and raises the prospect of a return to open hostilities. As US forces again struck Iranian targets, the Revolutionary Guard said it had hit bases with a US presence in the region, and Iran's General Staff announced the absolute closure of the Strait of Hormuz. President Donald Trump threatened new strikes on Thursday if Tehran does not accept his conditions for peace.

The United States launched a series of strikes against Iran on Tuesday in retaliation for the downing of a US Apache helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz, Central Command (Centcom) said. The action marks a sharp escalation that deepens doubts over the ceasefire in place since April 8 and over the peace negotiations that President Donald Trump says are within reach.

The US president Donald Trump is considering a plan to buy the Chagos Islands from Mauritius amid stalled plans from the UK to cede sovereignty of the territory, the Telegraph reported over the weekend.

US President Donald Trump said he would call Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ask him not to respond to the missiles Iran fired at Israel on Sunday, in an effort to prevent a new escalation and salvage a deal with Tehran that he considers very close. It was Iran's first direct attack since the ceasefire reached on April 8.

Donald Trump's return to the White House and the launch of the Shield of the Americas —a militarized anti-narcotics coalition that excludes Mexico and that Washington unveiled in Miami in March— have reshaped the security landscape in Central America. The pressure, intensified after the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January, has pushed trafficking routes into international waters and forced uneven responses across the isthmus, according to a report by EL PAÍS.

The United States sanctioned Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel and his closest circle on Thursday, in a fresh escalation of Washington's pressure on the island with the stated goal of forcing a change of regime after 67 years of communist government. Havana rejected the move at once.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Tuesday rejected the US government's argument that Brazil engages in “unreasonable” practices in the bilateral relationship, arguing that it is Washington that runs a trade surplus with his country. If anyone should impose tariffs, he said, it would be Brazil.º