Welcome to Nuestra América Online Radio — your trusted voice
for news that shapes the Americas. Today is January 9, 2026. Here are the
latest national and international stories.
Across the United States, federal immigration enforcement
operations continue to make headlines with nationwide raids and controversial
law enforcement actions sparking protests and political fallout.
In Minneapolis, Minnesota, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen was
fatally shot by a federal immigration agent in an incident that has ignited
public outrage and demonstrations. Federal authorities characterize it as
self-defense, while local officials question the narrative and call for
independent oversight. Community vigils and protests have spread as lawmakers
discuss curbing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) funding in response
to the events.
Simultaneously in Portland, Oregon, Border Patrol agents
shot and wounded a couple during a traffic stop that the Department of Homeland
Security describes as defensive action involving a suspected gang member. Local
leaders have demanded a halt to ICE operations while investigations continue.
Federal law enforcement has also expanded enforcement
activity under so-called Operation Salvo in New York City, which federal
officials say has led to dozens of arrests linked to alleged gang networks,
though critics raise civil liberties concerns and allege profiling.
Across the nation, faith communities and neighborhood groups
are responding in varied ways. In Louisiana, a traditional church festival
continued despite fears of immigration raids, highlighting the tension between
cultural traditions and enforcement efforts.
Shifting to national policy — the White House faces
intensified scrutiny as senior advisors shape immigration and foreign policy
with a hardline approach. Inside the administration, plans are reportedly
underway to broaden enforcement, even as political resistance grows in Congress
and among state officials.
UNITED STATES:
The Trump administration is pulling the United States out of
dozens of international organizations, including key UN agencies and the treaty
underpinning global climate talks. It is the latest ratification of the U.S.’s
retreat from multilateral cooperation, reports AFP.
Trump’s ouster of Maduro is less beneficial for the U.S. —
and much more positive for China — than is initially apparent, argues Melanie
Hart in the Atlantic Council.
“The US’s first overt attack on an Amazon nation last
weekend is a new phase in its rivalry with China. The outcome will decide
whether the vast mineral wealth of South America is directed towards a
21st-century energy transition or a buildup of military power to defend
20th-century fossil fuel interests,” writes Jonathan Watts in the Guardian.
Maduro’s ouster demonstrates the failure of sanctions to
leverage change in Venezuela argue Dafna A. Rand and Kari Heerman in a Brookings Institution commentary. Twenty years of
increasingly expansive sanctions against Venezuela by the U.S. “imposed real
economic damage and narrowed the regime’s economic options. But they never
generated decisive leverage sufficient to force a change in the regime’s core
objectives or to improve U.S. security interests; efforts to escalate or ease
sanctions over time instead underscored how difficult they are to calibrate in
practice.”
“The ouster of Maduro highlights another Kremlin failure to
support an ally, following the downfall of Syria’s former President Bashar
Assad in 2024 and last year’s U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran,” reports
the Associated Press. But “Trump’s actions in Venezuela also
are causing unease in Western nations and giving the Kremlin fresh talking
points to defend its war in Ukraine.”
“One remarkable aspect of the Venezuela raid is how Trinidad
and Tobago’s prime minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, has openly aligned with
Donald Trump,” reports the Guardian. But it is an outlier in a region that has a debt
of gratitude to Venezuelan Chavista aid. Nonetheless, Caricom countries have
treaded carefully, likely out of fear of attracting Trump’s ire.
Internationally, the U.S. military’s dramatic capture of
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro late last week continues to reverberate
across the hemisphere. The operation, described by the U.S. as part of a
campaign against narco-terrorism and drug trafficking, has divided global
opinion. Supporters praise it as a blow against corruption and criminal
networks, while critics — including governments in Mexico, Brazil, and across
Europe — condemn the intervention as a violation of international law and a
threat to regional stability.
Maduro has made his first appearance in a U.S. court, where
his legal team is expected to contest the legitimacy of his detention.
In Venezuela, acting authorities announced the release of
several political prisoners, including prominent activists and foreign
nationals, in what they framed as gestures toward peace. The U.S. government
lauded the move, though human rights advocates caution that many detainees
remain and that meaningful reforms are still needed.
The fallout from the Venezuelan operation has stretched to
Cuba, with U.S. officials suggesting that the island nation’s fragile economy
could deteriorate further without Venezuelan oil support — comments that have
alarmed regional observers and raised the specter of expanded U.S. pressure.
Meanwhile, in Latin America, Mexico’s government has firmly
rejected proposals for foreign intervention against cartel networks,
emphasizing national sovereignty even as pressures mount from U.S. policymakers
calling for more aggressive action against transnational organized crime.
Latino communities in cities like Chicago express mixed feelings — some fearing
military escalation, others urging more effective strategies to tackle
corruption and violence at home.
The Trump administration has signaled an escalation in
anti-drug efforts, including talk of land strikes against Mexican cartels — a
move that, if pursued, would mark a stark new chapter in U.S. foreign policy
toward its southern neighbor and could further complicate immigration and
bilateral relations.
In other world news:
• In the Middle East, despite a ceasefire, reported air
strikes have killed civilians in Gaza, drawing calls from international groups
for renewed negotiations and humanitarian aid flows.
• Iran continues to experience major protests and an
internet blackout as citizens push against political and economic pressures,
with global human rights organizations tracking developments closely.
• The U.S. House of Representatives has voted to reinstate
Affordable Care Act tax credits, in a move that may affect millions of
Americans.
Brazil
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was granted a
brief leave from his 27-year prison sentence for a coup attempt, yesterday, so
that he could undergo medical tests at a hospital in the capital after he fell
from his bed, reports the Associated Press.
Mexico
Mexican officials and environmentalists say Elon Musk’s
Space X test launches in Texas have inflicted ecological damage over the border
in Playa Bagdad, causing economic harm for fishers.
EUROPE
The European Union is renewing internal negotiations over a
free trade agreement with the South American Mercosur bloc. “Italy is seen as
the linchpin of the deal. If Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni joins the
deal’s supporters led by Germany, then it will pass over the objections of
France and Poland,” reports the Associated Press.
Argentina
Argentina’s central bank secured a $3 billion loan from six
major international banks, yesterday, allowing the country to make a big
looming debt payment and boost its scarce dollar reserves, reports the Financial Times.
“A court in Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires province, has ordered
a local newspaper to publish a correction to an article printed in the 1970s,
clarifying that 37 people it said had been arrested or killed during a military
operation were actually kidnapped, tortured, executed, and disappeared by
Argentina’s last dictatorship,” reports the Buenos Aires Herald.
Cuba
With Venezuelan oil under blockade and the U.S. preparing to
harden its stance against Cuba, Mexico has emerged as a key supplier of crude
oil for Havana, reports the Associated Press. President Claudian Sheinbaum said that
“no more oil is being sent than has been sent historically; there is no
specific shipment.”
“Havana has traditionally been shy about admitting its
security and intelligence support of the Maduro regime, but it has had to
acknowledge 32 Cubans died in the US military attack on Venezuela,” reports
the Guardian.
The high number of Cubans killed in the U.S. military’s raid
to oust Venezuelan Maduro shows the island country’s level of involvement in
the Chavista government. “The capture of Maduro was the culmination of a chain
of glaring mistakes made by Cuba’s intelligence agencies, which had previously
gained a reputation inside the U.S. intelligence community for its capacity to
infiltrate the U.S. government and run spy networks around the world,” reports
the Miami Herald.
COLOMBIA:
U.S. President Donald
Trump invited his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, to the White House this
week just days after threatening him with military action over alleged drug
trafficking.
After Trump accused Petro of being involved in drug
trafficking and hinted at future military actions against Colombia, Sunday,
Colombia’s leader had said he was ready to “take up arms” in the face of such
threats. While most of the region’s leaders have been cautious in their
language criticizing the U.S. military incursion in Venezuela, Petro has been a
vocal critic.
That’s the latest from Nuestra América Online Radio for
January 9, 2026. Join us throughout the day for updates and in-depth coverage
affecting our communities across the Americas. Stay informed. Stay engaged.
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