▲ Two women hug and pray while waiting for imprisoned relatives in the El Rodeo prison, in Caracas. Until the closing of this edition, only five Spanish citizens had been released from prison.Photo Afp
AFP, AP and Reuters
La Jornada Newspaper
Friday, January 9, 2026, p. 3
Washington. The United States Senate yesterday approved a bipartisan resolution on war powers that prohibits new hostilities against Venezuela without explicit authorization from Congress, after President Donald Trump ordered a bombing over the weekend against the Bolivarian Republic and kidnapped its president, Nicolás Maduro, without notifying the Legislative Branch.
The measure, presented by Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, was approved with 52 votes in favor and 47 against. All Democrats endorsed the resolution, as did Republicans Rand Paul, Todd Young, Lisa Murkowski, Josh Hawley and Susan Collins.
The initiative still needs to be approved by the House of Representatives and subsequently signed into law by Trump in order to take effect. It is taken for granted that the bill will not be approved in the lower house and, if it were to succeed, the president would surely veto it.
The president called the resolution “stupid” and added that the Republicans who supported it “should never be elected to office again.
“This vote greatly hinders American self-defense and national security, violating the president’s authority as commander in chief,” the magnate wrote in Truth Social.
He called “unconstitutional” the War Powers Resolution, Vietnam War-era legislation that Congress passed to prevent presidents from carrying out unauthorized conflagrations.
After Saturday’s attacks, Trump said he did not update lawmakers in advance because Congress tends to leak information.
This sparked outrage among Democrats and some Republicans, who argued that the attacks were illegal and risked plunging the United States into a protracted conflict.
In this context, Trump administration officials assured that the Venezuelan government only has a few weeks before it “breaks”, if it does not “play ball” with the United States, reported Washington Post.
According to the newspaper, US officials – who spoke on the condition of anonymity – indicated that the Trump administration estimates that the Venezuelan government can only survive economically “a few more weeks” without selling oil or reaching some kind of agreement with Washington.
Towards the end of January or February, the government faces the possibility of not being able to pay the salaries of its employees, military and police, after which its government functions could collapse and food shortages could increase, the newspaper reported.
In this scenario, Caracas could soon run out of cash reserves if it decides not to abide by the rules imposed by Trump after the kidnapping of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
