Maduro again advances Christmas in Venezuela to October amid U.S. tensions

Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro announced that Christmas celebrations will begin on October 1, continuing a practice he has used during periods of crisis and political tensions.

“We are going to apply the formula of other years, which has worked well for the economy, for culture, for joy, for happiness,” Maduro said Monday. “And we are going to decree that from October 1 Christmas begins in Venezuela once again. This year too. This year Christmas begins on October 1.”

Maduro has advanced the start of Christmas multiple times since 2013, often during periods of political or economic crisis.

In 2024, he declared that celebrations would also begin on October 1, presenting it as a tribute to Venezuelans who endured a nationwide blackout that his government claimed was the result of sabotage.

The announcement comes one week after President Donald Trump confirmed a U.S. military strike that killed 11 members of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan criminal group designated as a foreign terrorist organization by Washington.

Following the strike, Venezuela deployed F-16 fighter jets near a U.S. Navy destroyer in international waters. Trump warned that any Venezuelan aircraft flying over American ships and “putting us in a dangerous position” would be shot down.

On Monday, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited Puerto Rico to assess the island’s potential role in expanded military operations against drug cartels.

The U.S. Justice Department says Maduro leads the Cartel of the Suns, a drug-trafficking network composed of senior Venezuelan officials, and that he also supports operations by Tren de Aragua.

The State Department has steadily raised the reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest. The current offer stands at up to $50 million, the highest ever in the Narcotics Rewards Program.