India-Canada, Mexico and South America: News and Discussion

[uddu]

One Jet After Another…’ Venezuelans Flee Capital Caracas As US Says ‘Troops Postured’ To Attack?|


Venezuelans are reportedly fleeing Caracas amid rising fears of a possible U.S. military intervention, as Washington states its troops are "postured" for action. The situation has sparked panic and uncertainty, with jets frequently seen overhead, escalating public anxiety.

[sanjaykumar]

You mean politicians and integrity are mutually exclusive. Who would have thunk?

Jagmeet is widely reviled. Perhaps even more so than Trudeau. These are huge steps given vote bank politics.

I agree that Canada’s brand is diminished and that without Alberta oil this would be another Lithuania or Ukraine.

However there are huge positives about Canada. Not everything can be measured in terms of national power.

[uddu]

https://x.com/fsalasl/status/1965392016835334588
@fsalasl
I was honoured to meet @DrSJaishankar as I finalise my tour of duty in India. Under his tenure as EAM our bilateral relations have expanded in all sectors and strengthened, and for this am very grateful. Am sure the relationship between & will continue to prosper.

https://x.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1965329150014877979
@DrSJaishankar
Pleased to meet Ambassador Federico Salas of Mexico for a farewell call today.

Appreciate his personal contribution to strengthening our ties. Wish him best for all future endeavors.

[uddu]

https://x.com/FrontalForce/status/1970089799534227581
@FrontalForce
BREAKING

Ajit Doval met his Canadian counterpart 2 days back & today, Canada Arrested Khalistani Terrorist Inderjit Singh Gosal, Close Aide Of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun

[A_Gupta]

Khalistani terrorist Inderjit Singh Gosal, a close aide of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, has been arrested in Canada.

Gosal, who became a key organiser for US-based Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) after the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, was arrested in Ottawa on multiple firearms-related charges.

[uddu]

Reposted from Modi 3.0
“We would be very happy to work” EAM Jaishankar Invites SICA to adopt India’s UPI Payment System
“We would be very happy to work” EAM Jaishankar Invites SICA to adopt India’s UPI Payment System

[A_Gupta]

The 2024-2025 figures don’t seem to be available.

India’s total trade with Latin American and Caribbean region, comprising of 43 countries, stood at USD 35.73 billion with exports worth USD 14.50 billion and imports worth USD 21.23 billion during 2023-24.

According to figures released by India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India's total trade with the Latin American and Caribbean region was $38.89 billion during the fiscal year 2018–2019 (April to March).

I wonder why it regressed. India stopped buying oil?

[A_Gupta]

India-South America trade:
India exports more to Latin American countries than to its neighbours, traditional trade allies
https://indiaseatradenews.com/india-exp ... de-allies/

[uddu]

https://x.com/ThevoiceAlexa/status/1975608007120794077
@ThevoiceAlexa
MONTREAL: A man wearing a Crusader outfit with the Jerusalem Cross is standing here in opposition to the pro-Hamas crowd.

[Vayutuvan]

https://x.com/ThevoiceAlexa/status/1975608007120794077
@ThevoiceAlexa
MONTREAL: A man wearing a Crusader outfit with the Jerusalem Cross is standing here in opposition to the pro-Hamas crowd.

I find this even more fitting for the internecine abrahamic fight in West Asia. which is honorary Europa. Let us leave it to these people to bomb each other to middle ages/pre-crusade.

[Manish_P]

The problem is not modern. One side is modern and the other is still medieval.

[uddu]

"Allegations have become evidence": Indian high commissioner pushes back against interference claims

[uddu]

This is a problem. Russia be made to agree to supply Brahmos to Guyana and Suriname. If Russians decline, Nirbhay must be going to them. This capability will be used against Guyana and Suriname by Venezuela. A counter right now can prevent a war in the region and keep Guyana and Suriname safe. if our Babudom mess up, watch for U.S sitting in Guyana with their Tomahawk.
https://x.com/NetramDefence/status/1985937530324468134
@NetramDefence
Russia is ready to supply Venezuela with the Oreshnik missile system. This follows an increase in US military presence in the Caribbean. Russian-built Buk-M2E missile systems are already confirmed near Caracas, as the US is preparing for expanded operations.

[uddu]

https://x.com/IndiainPanama/status/1990999022568346034

@IndiainPanama
India Panama

|| QIPs: Touching Lives of Panamanians ||

India and Panama have signed 5 MoUs to implement Quick Impact Projects (QIPs)

The ceremony was presided over by the First Lady of Panama H.E. Maricel Cohen de Mulino

Ambassador
@doctorsumitseth
signed 5 MoUs for implementation India-Panama Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) with the Minister of Presidency, H.E. Mr. Juan Carlos Orillac and the National Director of
@senacyt
Mr. Eduardo Ortega Barria at a Signing Ceremony held at the historic venue of Presidential Palace

These QIPs would contribute significantly to the economic and social development and improvement of public welfare and would give fresh impetus to the bilateral cooperation between India and Panama.

This initiative would directly benefit the people of Panama touching their lives with immediate and visible results.

[A_Gupta]

https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/india-c ... nt-9687757
India, Canada Look To Reset Ties As Talks Begin On Key Trade Deal CEPA The development was announced following a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders' Summit in Johannesburg today.

[A_Gupta]

Modi Forges Trilateral Tech Alliance with Australia and Canada Amid G20 Talks
https://english.bombaysamachar.com/inte ... ada/?amp=1

Johannesburg – Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened with his counterparts from Australia and Canada on the fringes of the G20 Summit here, unveiling a groundbreaking trilateral pact focused on advancing technology and innovation among the three nations.

In a statement shared on X, Modi described the gathering as “an excellent meeting” with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. The discussions paved the way for the formal launch of the Australia-Canada-India Technology and Innovation (ACITI) Partnership, which Modi highlighted as a timely step toward enhancing cooperation across continents.

[A_Gupta]

Begum Para in Canada:
The Dhaka Tribune includes this:
https://www.dhakatribune.com/business/3 ... l-epidemic

Leaked financial records from offshore havens, including the Panama and Paradise Papers, had once placed the spotlight on global billionaires and political figures. But Bangladesh’s own intelligence files tell a more complex story—one where the list of those shifting wealth abroad includes bureaucrats, NBR officials, engineers, doctors, and even law enforcers.

According to government sources, over 570 officials—both current and retired—have come under the scanner for suspicious overseas transactions and property holdings. Many of them have no political affiliations; some are even known to keep an apolitical profile.

Yet their families maintain lavish homes in Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, and the UAE—properties often registered under the names of spouses or relatives.

These trends have given rise to notorious enclaves like “Begum Para” in Toronto, where numerous Bangladeshi families—often with one spouse still serving in public office—own expensive homes, funded through undeclared means.

Data from the Bangladesh Bank’s BFIU and the Real Estate Board of Canada say that many influential families in Bangladesh have bought permanent houses and flats in the Toronto and Mississauga areas in the past decade.

In Canada, this is called “Begum Para”—where the family lives abroad, and the husband or entrepreneur runs the business in the country.

A 2023 Canadian parliamentary report mentioned that the property purchase rate of Bangladeshis has increased the fastest among South Asian countries.


Similarly, under Malaysia's Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) program, at least 4,500 Bangladeshis took up permanent residence from 2010 to 2022.

[uddu]

Canada Seeks Massive Trade Deal and Uranium Pact With India | India-Canada Moving Forward | N18G
Over the last few weeks, the relationship has shifted from cautious outreach to active engagement. We’re looking at revived CEPA talks, a $50 billion trade ambition, and a near-final $2.8 billion uranium deal. That’s a reset — with deliverables on the table.
And the most interesting part? This momentum is coming from the Canadian side. So what are big developments driving this change? Shubhangi Sharma explains on Finepoint

[A_Gupta]

Atmanirbhaar Canada (in steel). The idea that Canada has is to have a sufficient internal market that its steel industry is not easily disrupted by Trumpian tariffs.

https://youtu.be/lWlwQLQVomM?si=Ha9YvSUWYM5mbEYy

[Tanaji]

https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/mexico- ... _topscroll

50% tariffs by Mexico. Of all the things this was not a development one would have expected

[A_Gupta]

Israel blocks Canadian MPs at West Bank crossing: Delegation sponsored by ‘terror entity’
Member of PM Carney’s party alleges she was shoved by border officials; Israeli Embassy in Ottawa says trip backed by subsidiary of Islamic Relief Worldwide, a designated terror organization
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-bl ... or-entity/

Israel’s embassy in Canada told AFP in a statement that the charity receives funding from Islamic Relief Canada, a subsidiary of Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW), which Jerusalem designates as a terror organization.

IRW has rejected Israel’s long-standing charge that it is a terrorist group with ties to Hamas.

-----
Just that India needs to keep an eye on who sponsors Canadian parliamentarians on junkets to India.

[uddu]

South American countries are courting India. It's going to increase in the coming days. We must mark our presence in Guyana.
Guyana counts on Indian expertise to become a healthcare hub in Carribean
https://www.aninews.in/news/world/asia/ ... 101130035/

Guyana counts on Indian expertise to become a healthcare hub in Carribean.

Guyana invites Indian companies to bid in oil blocks auction in 2026
https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes ... /126273748

Seeking to diversify players in its fast-growing energy sector, Guyana has invited Indian companies to participate in the exploration and production of crude oil, with oil blocks slated for auction in 2026.

Speaking to on Wednesday, Guyana High Commissioner Dharamkumar Seeraj expressed optimism that energy ties between the two countries will grow in the coming years, while noting that Guyana supplied nearly six million barrels of crude oil to India in 2025.

[A_Gupta]

Pravda reports:
Civilian Casualties Reported After US Strikes as Maduro’s Whereabouts Unknown
Russia Reacts to USA's Brutal Attack on Venezuela: Where Are All Igla-S MANPADS?
https://english.pravda.ru/news/world/16 ... -response/

Observers have raised questions about the near-total inactivity of Venezuela's air defense systems despite official claims that the country possesses thousands of man-portable air defense systems. The Telegram channel Voennyy Osvedomitel expressed surprise at the apparent silence of Venezuelan air defenses.

The outlet recalled previous statements by Maduro claiming that thousands of Russian-made Igla-S systems had been deployed at key positions, with more than 5,000 such systems reportedly in Venezuela's arsenal. Commenting on footage showing US heavy-lift helicopters CH-53 Sea Stallion and CH-47 Chinook flying freely over Caracas, the channel asked pointedly, "Where are they?”

The video shows five helicopters passing unchallenged over the attacked capital, prompting speculation that their presence may indicate a possible airborne landing operation.

In October, Venezuela's armed forces reportedly began redeploying S-125-2M Pechora-2M air defense systems toward the coastline, with the expectation that they would protect against a potential US landing operation.

[A_Gupta]

The Straits Times of Singapore reports:
CIA source inside Venezuelan government helped track Maduro
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/unit ... -headlines

NEW YORK - A CIA source within the Venezuelan government monitored the location of Mr Nicolas Maduro in the days and moments before his capture by US Special Operations forces, according to people briefed on the operation.

The US spy agency, the people said, produced the intelligence that led to the capture of Mr Maduro, monitoring his position and movements with a fleet of stealth drones that provided near constant monitoring over Venezuela, in addition to the information provided by its Venezuelan sources.

It is not clear how the CIA recruited the Venezuelan source who informed the Americans of Mr Maduro’s location.

But former officials said the agency was clearly aided by the US$50 million ($64.28 million) reward the US government offered for information leading to Mr Maduro’s capture.

In his confirmation hearing in 2024, Mr John Ratcliffe, the CIA director, promised he would lead a more aggressive agency, one willing to conduct covert operations to both collect information and advance US policy.

US President Donald Trump authorised the CIA to take more aggressive action last autumn, and then in November approved planning and preparation for a series of operations in Venezuela.

[A_Gupta]

This is an interesting take on Venezuela's economic collapse. I'll quote the headline number here, for the detailed sequence of policies that led to this disaster, you'll have to read the article.
Anatomy of an economic suicide: Venezuela under Maduro
A forensic audit (2013-2025) shows how South America’s richest nation evaporated 80% of GDP through monetary malpractice and institutional decay
https://asiatimes.com/2026/01/anatomy-o ... er-maduro/

This report is not a political manifesto; it is an economic autopsy. It’s about the arithmetic of ruin. Between 2013 and 2025, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela experienced the single largest economic contraction in modern history for a country not at war. According to data from the World Bank and the IMF, the economy evaporated approximately 80% of its GDP, a figure that dwarfs what happened to the United States in the Great Depression (29%) and to the Soviet Union during its collapse.

For the international observer, particularly in Asia, this collapse offers a critical case study in “fiscal dominance” and the destruction of the price mechanism. It was not merely the result of falling oil prices, or external sanctions, but the mathematical inevitability of specific technical decisions: the monetization of deficits, the expropriation of supply chains and the decapitalization of the state oil company (PDVSA).

The technical anatomy of this implosion is presented here in four distinct acts.

[Amber G.]

Left Calls For Nationwide Protests in India Over US Move In Venezuela

[A_Gupta]

Rubio says that the oil blockade will be used to keep Venezuela in line:

“We have a quarantine on their oil,” Mr Rubio said on ABC’s This Week.

“That means their economy will not be able to move forward until the conditions that are in the national interest of the United States and the interest of the Venezuelan people are met.”

I wonder if the Chinese or Russians dare to run the blockade with ships under their flag? If the US stops these ships, that would be an act of war against these countries. ("A ship blockade is considered an act of war regulated by international law, primarily defined by the Paris Declaration of 1856, the London Declaration of 1909, and further interpreted by the San Remo Manual (1994).")

[A_Gupta]

This Brazilian paper from 2018 says that Maduro and Hezbollah were collaborating.
de Azevedo, Christian Vianna. "Venezuela’s Toxic Relations with Iran and Hezbollah: an avenue of violence, crime, corruption and terrorism." Revista Brasileira de Ciências Policiais 9.1 (2018): 43-90.

(PDF)
https://dspace.mj.gov.br/bitstream/1/76 ... P43-90.pdf

In 2007, the current president of Venezuela, Nicolås Maduro, was still fairly unknown to the general public when he met the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, in a hotel in Damascus/Syria. At the meeting was also present Rafael [sea, Venezuela's former vice-minister of Finance and a fourth person, a translator. (BLASCO, 2015). They apparently had a long talk. What exactly happened in that room and the conversationss details remain undisclosed, but it was later reported that the talk was about the arrangements between Hezbollah and the Venezuelan government in a way that Hezbollah would have a stronger grip within Venezuela so it could better structure its Colombian cocaine trafficking operations from Venezuela, as well as the trafficking of arms to Lebanon, and also Hezbollah's access to Venezuelan passports m order to ease the travels of its operatives m and out of the country. (BLASCO, 2015; NAGEL, 2015; HUMIRE, 2015; CHAYA, 2017). The next day, Isea and Maduro would take a private flight to Tehran to join Hugo Chåvez and meet Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad3 for furthering their diplomatic mission in the region. (BLASCO, 2015; NAGEL,2013).

That inauspicious encounter in Damascus and the strategic meeting in Tehran were simply the consolidation of a relationship between Hezbollah/ Iran and Venezuelan government that lasts to this day.

[Vayutuvan]

Left Calls For Nationwide Protests in India Over US Move In Venezuela

Commies of the world unite AKA Comintern. Wasn't that history with the fall of USSR and China becoming "mole capitalist than John Adams Amelican capitarist pigs"?!!!

[SBajwa]

South American countries are courting India. It's going to increase in the coming days. We must mark our presence in Guyana.
Guyana counts on Indian expertise to become a healthcare hub in Carribean
https://www.aninews.in/news/world/asia/ ... 101130035/

Guyana counts on Indian expertise to become a healthcare hub in Carribean.

Guyana invites Indian companies to bid in oil blocks auction in 2026
https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes ... /126273748

Seeking to diversify players in its fast-growing energy sector, Guyana has invited Indian companies to participate in the exploration and production of crude oil, with oil blocks slated for auction in 2026.

Speaking to on Wednesday, Guyana High Commissioner Dharamkumar Seeraj expressed optimism that energy ties between the two countries will grow in the coming years, while noting that Guyana supplied nearly six million barrels of crude oil to India in 2025.

This is a must for us. Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago (11 KM Island from Venezuela wirh 25% population of Bharat Origin) and Suriname all have large population from Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and UP. They have their own unique Bhartiya culture that they kept alive as they know in 1850s India. The Indian restaurants are called "Roti". Even the Bihar/Bhojpuri language that they speak is called "Sarnami Language".

[Amber G.]

Venezuela not only took his oil but Nobel peace prize too...

Recent comments made by Trump dismissing Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado as the person to replace Nicolás Maduro, stating that she doesn’t have the “support or respect” needed to become the President of Venezuela, stemmed from her recent decision to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, an award that had been publicly craved by President Trump.

Two people close to the White House told the Washington Post that Machado’s acceptance of the prize was an “ultimate sin” to President Trump, despite her having dedicated the award to Trump and time against having complimented his work towards Venezuela. “If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today.”

[tandav]

Fairly quick and surgical operation. Maduro captured and brought back to USA by the DEA (not US Marines or other Armed forces). Gotta give it to the Yanks, their police, armed forces, shiny and pointy stuff works fairly well.

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cwy1x9vwn3dt

[saip]

Isn't Delta Force part of the US Army?

[tandav]

Isn't Delta Force part of the US Army?

Mea Culpa! I was referring to the image where all the operators surrounding Maduro are seemingly dressed up in DEA gear. I guess its the Delta Force personnel simply wearing DEA vests for legal reasons as apparently they were detaining and extracting a drug kingpin as per Trump. Still quite interesting that the most modern Armed force in Latin America did not put up a fight.

[vera_k]

Similar allegations as made by Hersh about the bin Laden raid in Pakistan are being aired. In that internal factions cut a deal in exchange for some financial benefits. Rings true given how security was deputized to Cubans to some extent.

[Rudradev]

OSINT indicates civil-war like conditions in Caracas. VE air force F16s and Su30s have been overflying the capital. There are firefights in the streets between what seem to be infantry squads engaging each other. BMP-3s have been spotted. Some faction has set up a strongpoint near Miraflores palace with a few APCs.

[SBajwa]

Isn't Delta Force part of the US Army?

Mea Culpa! I was referring to the image where all the operators surrounding Maduro are seemingly dressed up in DEA gear. I guess its the Delta Force personnel simply wearing DEA vests for legal reasons as apparently they were detaining and extracting a drug kingpin as per Trump. Still quite interesting that the most modern Armed force in Latin America did not put up a fight.

Delta forces captured him and flew out of Venezuela to a landing city in US and then handed over to DEA. 1 or 2 DEA officers might have accompanied them.