Briefly

VENEZUELA

Maduro vows to defend against 'aggression'

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Monday branded US Secretary of State Marco Rubio the "lord of death and war" over his tough rhetoric on Latin American cartels and vowed to defend against Washington's "aggression". Referring to the US naval buildup in the Caribbean and the recent deadly attack on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat, Maduro told reporters that Caracas would "fully" exercise its "legitimate right to defend itself". Tensions between longtime foes the United States and Venezuela reached new heights in recent weeks after President Donald Trump dispatched eight warships to waters near Venezuela to pressure Maduro. The United States recently doubled its bounty for Maduro's capture to $50 million. Maduro accuses the United States of attempting to orchestrate regime change in his country.

HAITI

Over 50 killed in gang attacks: Rights group

Over 50 people were killed in a series of Haitian gang attacks last week, a local human rights NGO reported Monday, in the crisis-wracked Caribbean nation's latest gruesome mass killing. The attacks took place on Sept 11 and 12 in areas north of the capital Port-au-Prince, the National Human Rights Defense Network said in a report sent to AFP. "As of Sept 14, 2025, several victims had still not been found, while corpses still lay in the bushes, devoured by dogs," it said. Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, has been gripped by soaring violence with swaths of the country and the vast majority of the capital Port-au-Prince under the control of armed gangs.

Agencies Via Xinhua