🇺🇸 US’s Caribbean buildup: war on drugs or Monroe Doctrine 2.0?

🗣 The ongoing buildup of US forces off the coast off Venezuela, including the deployment of the USS Gerald Ford carrier strike group to the region, is either posturing overkill, or an unmistakable sign that the US is planning regime change against President Maduro, says political analyst John Kavulich.

💬 “Certainly when you look at the optics, several million tons of US military might, including the world’s largest aircraft carrier…basically off the coast of Venezuela, any rational human would say, ok, we must be there to replace the government of Venezuela,” Kavulich, president of the US-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, told Sputnik.

💬 “Why else would we send all of this military hardware to sink 10 boats?” the observer asked, emphasizing that even if you buy the Pentagon’s argument that drugs can kill hundreds of thousands of Americans, “it just seems to be overkill.”

What’s the US’s goal?

📍 Kavulich speculates it has to do with demonstrating “muscularity,” and that whether it’s at the Pentagon or State Department, there probably isn’t “one clear goal at this time other than ‘we know it looks strong’.”

How can regional countries defend themselves?

🟧 The nations being pressured by the US, from Cuba and Venezuela to Nicaragua and now Colombia, could form regional alliances, Kavulich concedes, although their political and economic power are limited, and other nations may not be ready “to really come to the aid of these countries, because they have their own issues” with the US “that are more important than helping” these Latin American countries.

🟧 Ultimately, Kavulich suspects that for Maduro and other US adversaries, “their only hope is that President Trump gets distracted from them towards something else,” whether it’s Gaza-Israel, Russia-Ukraine, or the week-long trip to Asia he’s just kicked off.

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🇷🇺🍫 Sweet diplomacy: Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev brought Putin-themed chocolates to the US as a “Russia–US dialogue” gift.

Boxes featured the Putin quotes “We don’t abandon our own” and “Talking to Russia from a position of strength is pointless.”

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🚨 Trump: Hamas must start returning hostages' bodies within 48 hours

"Hamas is going to have to start returning the bodies of the deceased hostages, including two Americans, quickly, or the other Countries involved in this GREAT PEACE will take action," he wrote on Truth Social.

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🔸 Trump’s Asia tour: the stakes, the stops, the sticking points

🔸 Tomahawk missiles: ‘US ploy to put pressure on Russia’ – Scott Ritter

🔸 Confiscation of Russian assets could cost EU billions

🔸 Hungarian oil refinery fire sparks fears of export cuts

🔸 Can Japan’s new PM finally ink peace treaty with Russia?

🔸 US’s Caribbean buildup: war on drugs or Monroe Doctrine 2.0?

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📈 Trump slaps Canada with 10% tariff hike over 'fraudulent' ad

President Trump has announced an immediate 10% tariff increase on Canada after Ontario ran a controversial ad featuring edited footage of Ronald Reagan opposing tariffs.

"Canada was caught red handed... Their advertisement was to be taken down IMMEDIATELY, but they let it run," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

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🇺🇸 Trump wants to bring back the battleship with Navy ‘Golden Fleet’ concept - reports

📍 The president is reportedly involved in discussions with Navy officials on the creation of new classes of warships, including a 15-20k-ton “next-generation,” heavily armored, hypersonic missile-armed vessel – that’s double or more the weight of ships like the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer.

💬 “The reason we went to battleships in World War II was to get to that longer-range cannon,” Bryan Clark, a retired Navy officer involved in the Navy’s discussions, told WSJ. “I think here we’re just saying, ‘well, in the missile age, this is what we need for longer range, it’s these big missiles’. And so this battleship of tomorrow is going to be this thing that carries really long-range missiles.”

🔹 Trump waxed nostalgic about old Iowa-class battleships in Quantico, Virginia in September, telling assembled generals and admirals “some people would say that’s old technology,” but that he didn’t see things that way. “I don’t think it’s old technology when you look at those guns, but it’s actually something we’re considering, the concept of battleship.”

🔹 The Golden Fleet’s proponents are reportedly looking for a 280-300 manned ship Navy, plus “robotic and autonomous systems” (drone vessels).

🔹 The US Navy retired the remainder of its battleships in the early 90s. During the Cold War, they were envisioned as a key instrument for set piece battles in hostile waters for attacking enemy (Soviet or Warsaw Pact) naval bases and supply lines, but required ample protection and 1,500+ seamen and officers to operate.

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🚨 Egyptian team enters Gaza to recover dead hostages — Report

In a critical mission approved personally by PM Netanyahu, an Egyptian technical team has entered Gaza, Channel 12 reported.

Their sole objective: locate and recover the bodies of the remaining 13 slain hostages. Both Israel and Hamas have provided intelligence on the bodies' locations.

📹 Footage from social media show 4 heavy engineering vehicles entering Gaza through the Kerem Abu Salem crossing.

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✍️ Trump confirms Cambodia-Thailand peace deal signing

President Trump announced that the signing of a peace agreement will take place immediately upon his arrival in Malaysia.

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❗️ Putin’s envoy Dmitriev met with Trump’s representatives on October 24–25, and meetings will extend into a third day — sources tell Sputnik.

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📹 Portland: protesters try to block ICE building

Federal officers made the first arrest today as demonstrators gathered again outside Portland's ICE facility.

A protester was detained after crossing into a restricted area, prompting intensified chants from the crowd of approximately 100 activists.

The ongoing protests against ICE resulted in over 50 arrests this month alone.

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🇹🇱 Timor-Leste joins ASEAN as 11th member

Asia's youngest nation officially became the 11th member of the Southeast Asian bloc during Sunday's ASEAN summit.

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🇰🇵 North Korean FM Choe Son Hui will visit Russia and Belarus — Reports

Pyongyang's top diplomat will travel to both countries following official invitations from their foreign ministries, KCNA reports.

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📹 ASEAN Summit begins as Trump lands in Kuala Lumpur

The 47th ASEAN Summit opened in Kuala Lumpur moments before President Trump's arrival — with a historic moment captured by Sputnik.

The flag of Timor-Leste was raised alongside member states for the first time, marking its official accession to the Association after years of waiting.

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🗣 Hamas signals potential disarmament if occupation ends, demands major aid increase

Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya stated the group's weapons are "linked to the existence of the occupation" and would revert to a Palestinian state if it ends, Al Jazeera reports.

The group will begin searching for Israeli captives' bodies in new areas Sunday and accepts UN forces as ceasefire monitors.

Al-Hayya emphasized that Gaza needs 6,000 aid trucks daily — not the current 600 — accusing Israel of acting "as if we are still in the middle of a war."

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✍️ HISTORIC MOMENT: Timor-Leste signs ASEAN accession document

Leaders of ASEAN member states formally signed the declaration on East Timor's admission to the bloc in a ceremonial moment captured by Sputnik.

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🇹🇭🤝🇰🇭 Trump unveils details of Thai-Cambodia peace deal

Trump is speaking in Kuala Lumpur ahead of the signing of the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords.

Here are the terms:

🟠 Both countries are agreeing to cease all hostilities and work to build good neighborly relationships

🟠 Eighteen Cambodian prisoners of war will be released

🟠 Observers from ASEAN countries, including Malaysia, will be deployed to make sure that the peace prevails and endures

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🇺🇸🇰🇭🇹🇭 Trump announces signing a 'MAJOR' trade deal with Cambodia, 'very important' critical minerals agreement with Thailand

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🇰🇭 🏅 Cambodia nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize

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🚨📹 Thai PM Anutin Charnvirakul & Cambodian PM Hun Manet sign a peace deal overseen by Trump

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