Police arrest Tijuana couple for killing a puppy

Police arrested a couple in Tijuana in northern Mexico for beating a pitbull puppy to death on 27 December. They were seen, and filmed, beating the creature before putting its remains in a suitcase, the daily Heraldo de México reported on 5 January. The pictures were posted on social media, prompting an animal rights groups, Patitas firmes, to call the police. The couple may be jailed for up to five years and fined if convicted of relevant charges of cruelty to animals. Neighbors were said to be so incensed with the couple's conduct they had gathered for a possible lynching, El Sol de Tijuana reported.

Venezuelan hardliners seek tighter control at home amid U.S. threats..

The Miami Herald reported on 5 January on the Venezuelan interior minister's defiant tone toward the United States following the raid that captured the country's former leader Nicolás Maduro. Diosdado Cabello Rondón, himself a wanted figure in the United States for suspected involvement in large-scale drug trafficking, was cited as urging regime elements to patrol the streets and vowing revenge on those who aided the U.S. raid on 3 January. These faced possible arrest, CNN reported. "I'm in the street... let's go onto the streets, whatever we can (do)," Miami's El Nuevo Herald cited Cabello as saying in unspecified voice messages. He said of U.S. forces, "these rats attacked and will regret it the rest of their lives." It wasn't clear in that case if he would obstruct the acting president's bid to work with the Trump administration, which had threatened further punitive raids. Media reported on 6 January that the administration expected the interim presidency of Delcy Rodriguez to expel agents of Cuba and the Islamic Republic of Iran, stop selling oil to powers hostile to the United States and boost efforts to fight drug trafficking. Her government's relationship with U.S. officials picked to help run the country for at least a month, remained unclear.

Venezuela swears in acting president in Maduro's absence

Venezuela's former vice-president Delcy Rodríguez was formally sworn in as acting president in Caracas on 5 January even as she insisted the country's former ruler, Nicolás Maduro, remained the proper president. Maduro and his wife, who were captured by U.S. forces early on 3 January, were meanwhile formally charged with drug-trafficking offences in a New York court on 5 January. They rejected the charges and declared themselves to be the president and first lady of Venezuela, and war captives. Maduro is to reappear in court on 17 March, the website Infobae and agencies reported. Venezuela was for now in a state of External Commotion giving its regime emergency powers and postponing any bid to initiate a transition to democratic and constitutional rule. The United States previously threatened to repeat air strikes should the interim administration refuse to collaborate with U.S. forces, though President Donald J. Trump had insisted it was, without giving details. Late on 5 January, Venezuelan authorities claimed they had fought off hostile or suspect drones flying around the presidential palace. This appeared to be unrelated to Trump's threats.