World
Venezuela teeters as guerrilla groups, cartels exploit Maduro power vacuum
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Venezuela is teetering on the edge after the U.S. capture and arrest of former President Nicolás Maduro, as armed militias, guerrilla groups and criminal networks threaten a path toward stability, according to reports.
As interim President Delcy Rodríguez assumes control, backed by President Trump’s administration, analysts have warned that the country is completely saturated with heavily armed groups capable of derailing any progress toward stability.
“All of the armed groups have the power to sabotage any type of transition just by the conditions of instability that they can create,” Andrei Serbin Pont, a military analyst and head of the Buenos Aires-based think tank Cries, told The Financial Times.
“There are parastate armed groups across the entirety of Venezuela’s territory,” he said.
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Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who, according to the State Department, leads the Cartel de los Soles, beside members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang in an apartment building in Aurora, Colorado. (Jesus Vargas/Getty Images; Edward Romero)
Experts say Rodríguez must keep the regime’s two most powerful hardliners onside: Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino.
“The focus is now on Diosdado Cabello,” Venezuelan military strategist José García told Reuters, “because he is the most ideological, violent and unpredictable element of the Venezuelan regime.”
“Delcy has to walk a tightrope,” said Phil Gunson, a Crisis Group analyst in Caracas.
“They are not in a position to deliver any kind of deal with Trump unless they can get the approval of the people with the guns, who are basically Padrino and Cabello.”
Since Maduro’s removal, government-aligned militias known as “colectivos” have been deployed across Caracas and other cities to enforce order and suppress dissent.
“The future is uncertain, the colectivos have weapons, the Colombian guerrilla is already here in Venezuela, so we don’t know what’s going to happen, time will tell,” Oswaldo, a 69-year-old shop owner, told The Telegraph.
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Demonstrators critical of the government clash with the security forces of the state. After the last conflict-laden days, interim president Guaido, with the support of his supporters, wants to continue exerting pressure on head of state Maduro. (Rafael Hernandez/picture alliance/Getty Images)
As previously reported by Fox News Digital, armed motorcyclists and masked enforcers have erected checkpoints in the capital, searching civilians’ phones and vehicles for signs of opposition to the U.S. raid.
“That environment of instability plays into the hands of armed actors,” Serbin Pont added.
Outside the capital, guerrilla groups and organized crime syndicates are exploiting the power vacuum along Venezuela’s borders and in its resource-rich interior.
Guerrillas now operate along Venezuela’s 2,219-kilometer border with Colombia and control illegal mining near the Orinoco oil belt.
The National Liberation Army (ELN), a Colombian Marxist guerrilla group with thousands of fighters and designated a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, has operated in Venezuela as a paramilitary force.
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Armed colectivos deploy across Venezuelan cities while guerrilla groups control borders following former President Nicolás Maduro’s capture. (Juancho Torres/Anadolu via Getty Image)
Elizabeth Dickson, Crisis Group’s deputy director for Latin America, said the ELN “in Venezuela … has essentially operated as a paramilitary force, aligned with the interests of the Maduro government up until now.”
Carlos Arturo Velandia, a former ELN commander, also told the Financial Times that if Venezuela’s power bloc fractures, the group would side with the most radical wing of Chavismo.
Colectivos also function as armed enforcers of political loyalty.
“We are the ones being called on to defend this revolutionary process radically, without hesitation — us colectivos are the fundamental tool to continue this fight,” said Luis Cortéz, commander of the Colectivo Catedral Combativa.
“We are always, and always will be, fighting and in the streets.”
Other armed actors include the Segunda Marquetalia, a splinter group of Colombia’s former FARC rebels. Both guerrilla groups work alongside local crime syndicates known as “sistemas,” which have ties to politicians.
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The Tren de Aragua cartel, designated a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S., has also expanded across Venezuela and into Colombia, Chile and the U.S.
As reported by Fox News Digital, an unsealed indictment alleges Maduro “participates in, perpetuates, and protects a culture of corruption” involving drug trafficking with groups including Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, the ELN, FARC factions and Tren de Aragua, with most of the problematic groups named.
World
‘X-Men’ Star Famke Janssen Says Marvel ‘Made a Mistake’ By Not Asking Her to Return as Jean Grey in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’
Famke Janssen said during a recent conversation with Nerdtropolis at Spacecon 2026 that Marvel “made a mistake” by not bringing her back as Jean Grey for December’s “Avengers: Doomsday.”
“I am so bad at keeping secrets that I always say to everyone I’m the worst actor in the world. It’s all on my face. You right away will read it,” Janssen said. “I think they made a mistake, but hey, who am I? I’m just a little me who thinks that.”
Janssen first appeared as the telepath Jean Grey, aka Phoenix, in 2000’s “X-Men,” and then reprised the role for 2003’s “X2: X-Men United” and 2006’s “X-Men: The Last Stand.” She also briefly appeared as Grey in 2013’s “The Wolverine” and 2014’s “X-Men: Days of Future Past.”
Janssen’s absence from “Doomsday” is notable, considering Marvel is bringing back many of her “X-Men” co-stars for the film. Patrick Stewart (Charles Xavier), Ian McKellen (Magneto), James Marsden (Cyclops), Kelsey Grammer (Beast), Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler) and Rebecca Romijn (Mystique) are all set to return.
In an October 2025 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Janssen said in every interview she does, she’s asked about the future of Jean Grey in the MCU.
“It’s interesting,” Janssen said. “I didn’t realize that was such a big part. Every interview I do, that will come up, and of everything I say, that is going to be the only thing that’s gonna be printed.”
“I should be flattered, I suppose, that this character has resonated with people,” she added. “It’s been so long, but it’s nice that people are still talking about her. I’m sure every single time there’s a new movie that they’re doing, like [is it] ‘Doomsday?’ … it’ll come up again.”
World
Two-train crash leaves at least 1 dead, 89 injured as emergency crews rush to chaotic scene
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Authorities are responding after two passenger trains crashed into each other Friday near Bedford, England, killing at least one person and injuring nearly 90 others.
The East of England Ambulance Service said it was called to a collision involving two trains at Elstow, near Bedford, at about 5:15 p.m. local time and quickly declared a “major incident.”
One person died at the scene, 11 people suffered very serious injuries, 22 were seriously injured and 56 people had minor injuries, officials said.
Bedford is roughly 60 miles north of London.
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Two passenger trains collided Friday in the United Kingdom. (Fox News)
All the patients with the most serious injuries have been taken from the scene to hospital.
The ambulance service said it sent numerous resources to the scene, including more than 20 ambulances, specialist hazardous area response teams and six air ambulances.
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Emergency crews were pictured working near the scene. (Fox News)
“Our thoughts are with everyone affected, and we thank all emergency service colleagues for their swift response,” the ambulance service wrote in a statement.
The Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service confirmed its crews were also responding.
“Please avoid the area,” fire officials wrote in a statement on X.
Sources told The Telegraph the train driver was on the phone with maintenance staff discussing a safety issue at the time of the crash.
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This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
World
Lebanese influencer organises World Cup event amid Israel’s attack on Leban
As Israel’s war on Lebanon rages, hundreds gather in Rmeileh by Sidon Gate to watch the 2026 World Cup. Organised by influencer Bilal Haddad, the fan zone offers food trucks, shisha and family activities, giving people a rare chance to relax. Al Jazeera’s Justin Salhani went to check it out.
Published On 20 Jun 2026
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