Welcome to “The New Monroe Doctrine,” where I give you an update on what’s going on in the Western Hemisphere, south of our border, especially as it relates to the United States.
There is a lot going on in our big, beautiful hemisphere this week. Latin America, in particular, is giving us lots of telenovela vibes. It’s had everything from comedy to drama to adventure — Hollywood only wishes it could come up with stories like this. Because there are so many things to cover — and because I’m sick and wasn’t even sure if I’d be able to get this out on Friday evening — I’m going to give you the CliffsNotes version. My hope is that next week, I’ll be back in business and able to take some deeper dives into some of this stuff, as well as pick back up on my “China in the Americas” column that I’ve missed the last couple of weeks.
Anyway, here’s your weekly round-up of all things Latin America. Or most things. I know I’m forgetting a few.
Venezuela: Great Escape Edition.
Without a doubt, the biggest and most cinematic story of the week was María Corina Machado’s three-day journey out of Venezuela so that she could get to Oslo to collect her Nobel Peace Prize and give hope to a dying nation. I reported on some of the details earlier this week — How to Slip Past a Regime and Collect Your Nobel Peace Prize — but now we know a whole lot more about what went down.
The mission, which took nearly three days across land, sea, and air, was guided by Grey Bull Rescue Foundation. Bryan Stern, a U.S. special forces veteran who runs the organization, gave an interview with CBS and shared some of the details on Thursday. He said that moving her from Caracas to Oslo was unlike anything he’d ever done because she’s like a “rock star” in Venezuela with a target on her back. “She’s the first person that we’ve ever rescued that has billboards with her face all over it in a country, where there’s protests in her favor,” he said.
Stern confirmed that his team collaborated with the United States government unofficially, and as I wrote earlier this week, it involved Machado wearing a wig and disguise, getting through numerous security checkpoints in Venezuela, and then making her way to a fishing village on the country’s coast. On Tuesday, she took a small wooden fishing boat to Curaçao, which sounds like it was even more tumultuous than getting past Nicolás Maduro’s guards.
Stern says it was dark, and the seas were choppy as they sailed. He said Machado was cold, wet, and tired, but she was excited and talked about being able to see her children for the first time in nearly two years. “She’s a tough-as-nails, hard-as-woodpecker-lips woman, person, but she’s still a mom…” he said.
Machado arrived in Oslo via private jet on Wednesday night. She missed the ceremony, but her daughter collected her prize and read her speech on her behalf. Since then, she’s been going nonstop, giving interviews, speaking to crowds of people, hugging the Venezuelans who have gathered in Norway hoping to see her, and even making plans with president-elect Edmundo González on what the peaceful transition of power will look like when Maduro is gone. It’s been something to watch on social media. Honestly, I’ve gotten quite emotional seeing the videos, and I’ve never even been to Venezuela.
This has to be a movie someday. It’s quite a remarkable story. Here’s Machado upon arrival in Oslo.
¡Oslo, aquí estoy! pic.twitter.com/tsixUerj0q
— María Corina Machado (@MariaCorinaYA) December 11, 2025
Machado isn’t the only thing that escaped Venezuela this week. Nearly 1.8 million barrels of oil did too when the U.S. Coast Guard seized a tanker about 100 miles off the country’s coast. I won’t rehash the details; you can read about them here, but the Donald Trump administration promises there will be more where that came from: The U.S. Seized an Oil Tanker Off the Coast of Venezuela. So, What’s Next?
Again, I’d watch this movie.
Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and the United States Coast Guard, with support from the Department of War, executed a seizure warrant for a crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran. For multiple… pic.twitter.com/dNr0oAGl5x
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) December 10, 2025
And if you want a glimpse into what life is like under a dictator who proudly calls himself a Marxist-Leninist, check this out: From Governor to Corpse, From Son-in-Law to Prisoner. Coming soon to New York City?
So I gave you drama, and I gave you adventure. I guess the only thing left is comedy. Here’s Maduro dancing and singing, yet again, as the U.S. is seizing his oil, in case you missed it.
Maduro sends a new message to America in English:
“No more Vietnam!
No more Somalia!
No more Iraq!
No more Afghanistan!
No more Libya!” pic.twitter.com/8qGv6KUT90
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) December 10, 2025
A Few Other Things.
Here’s a very brief round-up of a few other things going on outside of Venezuela.
1. Honduras still doesn’t have a president. The centrist and conservative candidates are still in a tight race, but outgoing President Xiomara Castro is doing everything she can to declare the election a fraud because her hand-picked commie didn’t win. People are getting angry. Other countries are getting involved. I suspect this story will get bigger before a winner is declared.
2. Bolivia’s new right-leaning president, Rodrigo Paz, is doing some great things to clean up that country already. This week, officials arrested former president Luis Arce on corruption charges, which include embezzling public funds to the tune of $700 million.
3. Cuba is crumbling faster than the cookie I just wolfed down, and people are getting fed up. Cubans are starting to protest the deplorable conditions in which they live: daily blackouts, no food, medical epidemics with no medication, and trash piled high on the streets, for example. Earlier this week, people from Miami to Montreal gathered to protest against the commie regime.
4. Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves spent two days in El Salvador with President Nayib Bukele this week. During that time, he visited the country’s infamous CECOT prison. Costa Rica has seen an uptick in organized crime lately, and Bukele is now the model for creating national security for many nations in Latin America. Costa Rica also signed a huge trade deal with Israel this week, which earned praise from the Trump administration.
5. And speaking of Bukele, he and Elon Musk announced a partnership this week as well. El Salvador will use Grok, Musk’s AI platform, to “launch the world’s first nationwide AI-powered education program” in over 5,000 public schools.
That’s it for me. I’ll try to do better with these columns next week, once I’m recovered from my illness. As I say, Rubio isn’t handing me exclusives… yet, but I’m going to rest up this weekend so that I’m healthy enough to take them when he does. I mean, just in case.
Have a good weekend, folks!
Help us report the stories the MSM won’t tell you by becoming a PJ Media VIP member. Right now, memberships are 60% off or less than $20 for the entire year. In addition to supporting us, you gain access to exclusive stories and podcasts, the comments section where you can interact with our team and other readers, an ad-free experience, and much more. Click here to get started. We can’t wait to have you.
