Links to a report and an article of commentary: from the Associated Press and Middle East Eye; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (Scroll down for VENEZUELA 1-23-26, and up or down for WEST BANK (restored), IRAN, SYRIA, WEST BANK (erased temporarily), GAZA, and MEDIA.) — MCM

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Rubio defends Trump on Venezuela while trying to allay fears about Greenland and NATO, by Matthew Lee, Stephen Groves and Joshua Goodman | AP  WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Marco Rubiogave a full-throated defense today of President Donald Trump’s military operation to capture then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, while explaining to U.S. lawmakers the administration’s approach to Greenland, NATO, Iran and China. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others.

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Why U.S. claims of Venezuelan ‘cooperation’ are null and void, by Angel Gómez | Common Dreams  A growing body of evidence indicates that the purported “partnership” with Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodríguez and the interim government was not the product of diplomacy or mutual interest, but of military intervention, direct threats, and sustained economic coercion. READ MORE . . .

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