Our Tuesday Sociedad Media Now daily newsletter focusing on the latest developments impacting relations between the U.S. & Latin America.
“No One Is Exempt”: U.S. Bars Seven Former Ecuadorian Officials, and Sends Warning To Guatemala
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. bars seven former Ecuadorian officials — including judges and a former lawmaker — from entry over alleged bribes taken to protect networks tied to CJNG, Los Choneros, Los Lobos, and the Sinaloa Cartel.
Days later, the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala amplified the case with its own pointed warning: “no one is exempt,” regardless of position or country.
The timing lands just weeks after Guatemala’s Attorney General confirmed his office is actively investigating similar narco-politics allegations domestically.
Venezuela Joins G20 Energy Talks in Houston as Special Guest
HOUSTON, TEXAS — Venezuela is attending the G20 energy ministerial talks in Houston this week as a special guest, despite not being a G20 member, following Trump’s August oil deal granting the U.S. a 35% stake in 17 Venezuelan fields with 65 billion barrels of potential production.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum framed the invitation in geopolitical terms:
“This is about the geopolitical center of oil moving out of the Middle East.”
The same week, opposition leader María Corina Machado speaks separately at a nearby Houston energy conference, underscoring how far ahead Venezuela’s economic realignment with Washington has moved compared to its unresolved political transition.
Alex Saab, Maduro’s Longtime Frontman, Pleads Guilty in Miami. What It Means for the Man He Served
MIAMI — Alex Saab, one of Maduro’s most trusted financial operatives, pleads guilty to money laundering in Miami, closing a decade-long legal saga tied to a scheme that diverted over $350 million from Venezuela’s food-aid program through laundered PDVSA oil sales.
His journey through the U.S. system spans two administrations — charged in 2019, pardoned by Biden in 2023 in a hostage swap, then deported back to the U.S. by Venezuela’s own government in May 2026 under American pressure.
The plea lands as prosecutors build the broader case against Maduro himself, with Venezuela’s government having once called Saab “the keeper of state secrets.”
