A woman checks her phone on a hill in Tehran, Iran on Oct. 2, 2025. Iran was plunged into a nationwide internet blackout on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, internet monitoring groups said, amid widespread protests over dire economic conditions and anger at the Islamic Republic. (Arash Khamooshi/The New York Times) By PRANAV BASKAR and SANAM MAHOOZI Iran was plunged into a nationwide internet blackout Thursday, internet monitoring groups said, amid widespread protests over dire econom

Long lines at a pharmacy in the Vedado neighborhood in Havana, Dec. 14, 2024. Never before have Cubans experienced such a wholesale collapse of the social safety net that the country’s leaders — starting with Fidel Castro — once prided themselves on. (Jorge Luis Baños/The New York Times) By DAVID C. ADAMS and FRANCES ROBLES By all accounts, Cuba is enduring the worst economic moment in the 67-year history of its communist revolution. While the island nation has endured period

The Cardon oil refinery in Punto Fijo, Venezuela, Dec. 30, 2021. The United States on Wednesday seized an oil tanker in the North Atlantic that had evaded its effort to crack down on Venezuela’s energy exports, U.S. officials said. (Adriana Loureiro Fernández/The New York Times) By NICHOLAS NEHAMAS, ERIC SCHMITT, JULIAN E. BARNES and CHRISTIAAN TRIEBERT The United States on Wednesday seized an oil tanker in the North Atlantic that had evaded its effort to crack down on Venezu

Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, in Kyiv, on Feb. 15, 2024. The Ukrainian leader is reshuffling his cabinet as a corruption scandal reshapes the political landscape at a pivotal point in peace negotiations. (Brendan Hoffman/The New York Times) By CONSTANT MÉHEUT For several weeks, with peace talks at a critical moment, Ukraine faced a power vacuum. It had no energy minister amid rolling blackouts caused by Russian strikes. No justice ministe

A woman is pumping gas at a gas station on the day the price of gas officially gone up for the first time.since 2019, in Tehran, Iran, on Dec. 13, 2025. Officials said that leaders were in survival mode amid anti-government protests and the prospect of again coming into the cross hairs of Israel and the United States. (Arash Khamooshi/The New York Times) By FARNAZ FASSIHI Iran’s government has in recent years weathered wave upon wave of nationwide protests challenging its rul

An apartment struck by a rocket during the U.S. military action in La Guaira, Venezuela, on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (Alejandro Cegarra/The New York Times) By SIMON ROMERO, ISAYEN HERRERA and MARÍA VICTORIA FERMÍN As the death toll climbs from the U.S. military raid to capture Nicolás Maduro, Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s new leader, faces an immense challenge. As she tries to solidify control over her government, she must also field the demands of President Donald Trump. Much of

By YAN ZHUANG President Donald Trump suggested earlier this week that the United States could take action against other countries after its attack on Venezuela. He threatened Colombia and its president, described Cuba as “ready to fall” and reasserted his desire to take control of Greenland. Trump has been facing questions about his plans for Venezuela since a U.S. raid in Caracas captured the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, and brought him to New York City to face feder

Nicolás Maduro, the ousted president of Venezuela, and his wife, Cilia Flores, are escorted off a helicopter en route to the federal courthouse in Manhattan on Monday morning, Jan. 5, 2026. They faced charges of drug trafficking and other crimes, two days after they were captured in a U.S. military raid in Caracas. (Vincent Alban/The New York Times) By JONAH E. BROMWICH, BENJAMIN WEISER, MAIA COLEMAN and HURUBIE MEKO Two days after being ripped from a compound in Caracas, Ven