Venezuelans waited Sunday for more political prisoners to be freed as ousted president Nicolas Maduro defiantly claimed from his US jail cell that he was “doing well” after being seized by US forces a week ago.The government of interim president Delcy Rodriguez on Thursday began to release prisoners jailed under Maduro in a gesture of openness after she pledged to cooperate with Washington.The government said a “large” number would be released in a gesture of appeasement for which President Donald Trump’s administration took credit — but rights groups and the opposition say only about 20 have walked free since, including several prominent opposition figures.Rodriguez, vice president under Maduro, said Venezuela would take “the diplomatic route” with Washington, with Trump claiming the United States was “in charge” of the South American country.”Venezuela has started the process, in a BIG WAY, of releasing their political prisoners. Thank you!” Trump said in a post late Saturday on his Truth Social platform.”I hope those prisoners will remember how lucky they got that the USA came along and did what had to be done.”Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were captured in a dramatic January 3 raid that began with overnight air strikes across Caracas. They were taken to New York by US forces to stand trial on drug-trafficking and weapons charges.- Anxiety over prisoners -A detained police officer accused of “treason” against Venezuela died in state custody, the opposition and rights groups said on Saturday.”We directly hold the regime of Delcy Rodriguez responsible for this death,” Primero Justicia (Justice First), which is part of the Venezuelan opposition alliance, said on X.Families held candlelight vigils outside El Rodeo prison east of Caracas and El Helicoide, a notorious jail run by the intelligence services, holding signs with the names of their imprisoned relatives.”I am tired and angry,” Nebraska Rivas, 57, told AFP as she waited for her son to be released from El Rodeo.”But I have faith that they will hand him over to us soon,” she said after sleeping on the pavement outside the prison for two nights.- ‘Trust blindly’ -Maduro claimed he was “doing well” in jail in New York, his son Nicolas Maduro Guerra said in a video released Saturday by his party.Around 1,000 protesters, waving flags and placards with the face of the mustachioed ex-leader and his wife Cilia Flores, rallied on Saturday in the west of Caracas and a few hundred in the eastern Petare district. “I’ll march as often as I have to until Nicolas and Cilia come back,” said demonstrator Soledad Rodriguez, 69. The demonstrations were far smaller than Maduro’s camp had mustered in the past, and top figures from his government were notably absent.The caretaker president has moved to placate the powerful pro-Maduro base by insisting Venezuela is not “subordinate” to Washington.- Pressure on Cuba -Trump vowed to secure US access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves following Maduro’s capture, and Delcy Rodriguez has pledged to cooperate.Trump pressed top oil executives at a White House meeting on Friday to invest in Venezuela’s reserves, but was met with a cautious reception.Experts say Venezuela’s oil infrastructure is creaky after years of mismanagement and sanctions.Washington has also confirmed that US envoys visited Caracas on Friday to discuss reopening their embassy there.Trump on Sunday pressured Caracas’s leftist ally Cuba, which has survived in recent years under a US embargo thanks to cheap Venezuelan oil imports.He urged Cuba to “make a deal” or face unspecified consequences, warning that the flow of Venezuelan oil and money to Havana would now stop.Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel retorted on X that the Caribbean island was “ready to defend the homeland to the last drop of blood.””Cuba is a free, independent and sovereign nation,” he said. “No one tells us what to do.”

“Avatar: Fire and Ash” kept the North American box office churning, claiming the top spot for a fourth week running with $21.3 million in ticket sales, industry estimates showed Sunday.The third installment in director James Cameron’s blockbuster fantasy series has now earned a massive $1.23 billion worldwide, according to Exhibitor Relations.”Fire and Ash” stars Zoe Saldana as Na’vi warrior Neytiri and Sam Worthington as ex-Marine Jake Sully, who must battle a new foe threatening their family’s life on the planet Pandora.It is the fourth Cameron film to pass the $1 billion mark, with the first two “Avatar” films and “Titanic.”Debuting in second place in the United States and Canada was “Primate,” a horror film about a violent pet chimpanzee, with $11.3 million.”This is a good opening for an original horror film,” said David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research.”Horror stories that feature an evil creature generally perform better at the box office than horror stories about evil humans.”Not far behind in third place at $11.2 million was “The Housemaid,” an adaptation of Freida McFadden’s best-selling novel about a young woman who is hired by a wealthy couple with dark secrets.Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried star in the Lionsgate release.Disney’s feel-good animated film “Zootopia 2” — the other juggernaut of the holiday box office — dropped to fourth place at $10.1 million. Its global total now stands at $1.65 billion.Lionsgate’s disaster sequel “Greenland 2: Migration” starring Gerard Butler came in fifth place at $8.5 million.Rounding out the top 10 are:”Marty Supreme” ($7.6 million)”Anaconda” ($5.1 million)”The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants” ($3.8 million)”David” ($3.1 million)”Song Sung Blue” ($3 million)

Hollywood’s A-listers are set to hit the red carpet on Sunday for the Golden Globes, with the politically charged “One Battle After Another” expected to solidify its status as the film to beat this awards season.With nine nominations, “One Battle” appears a lock to take home the prize for best comedy/musical film.”We’re seeing a real sweep and a juggernaut in that movie,” Deadline’s awards columnist and chief critic Pete Hammond told AFP, two months ahead of the Oscars.Paul Thomas Anderson’s screwball thriller, which centers on an aging revolutionary (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his teenage daughter (Chase Infiniti), is a rollicking ride featuring violent leftist radicals, immigration raids and white supremacists.At a time when the United States is deeply polarized, many critics and pundits have hailed the film as capturing the moment.DiCaprio will vie for best actor at the Globes — a sometimes eccentric bellwether for the Academy Awards — with Timothee Chalamet, who stars in “Marty Supreme” as an ambitious 1950s table tennis player.”Leonardo DiCaprio would be tremendously helped by actually winning at the Globes. That’s the ideal moment to stop Timothee Chalamet’s momentum before the Oscars,” Hammond said.Teyana Taylor, who plays an unapologetically bold leftist revolutionary, could fuel a sweep for “One Battle” if she can pick up the prize for best supporting actress.But in her way are Amy Madigan for her wacky villainous turn in “Weapons” and Ariana Grande for her portrayal of Glinda in the blockbuster “Wicked: For Good.”- ‘Sinners’ versus ‘Hamnet’ -The Golden Globes offer separate awards for dramas and comedies/musicals — widening the field of stars in attendance, and fueling the suspense. “Sinners,” Ryan Coogler’s period horror film about the segregated South of the 1930s, is expected to be the toughest competition for “One Battle” at the Oscars. But at the Globes, they are in separate categories.”Sinners” surprised moviegoers with its eclectic mix of vampires, politics, race relations and blues music.It is the frontrunner for the best drama film Globe, against rival “Hamnet,” which stars Paul Mescal as William Shakespeare and Jessie Buckley as his grief-stricken wife, as the two cope with the death of their young son.”Sentimental Value,” the Norwegian family dramedy starring Stellan Skarsgard, earned a strong eight nominations and is also in the running.A “Sinners” victory “would be an indication of a real change,” Hammond says, noting that in the past, voters “were never actually that drawn to Black stories.”Buckley is the favorite for best drama actress honors.The Golden Globes went through a crisis period, following a Los Angeles Times expose in 2021 that showed that the awards’ voting body — the Hollywood Foreign Press Association — had no Black members.Now under new ownership, and with the HFPA disbanded, a wider net of overseas critics has been brought in to pick the winners.”These new voters are less keen on movies that make a lot of money at the box office, and more interested in international movies that are highly praised in Cannes and Venice,” Hammond explained.- Prize for Iran’s Panahi? -One of those movies is Brazilian thriller “The Secret Agent,” and lead actor Wagner Moura is favored to win best drama actor honors over “Sinners” star Michael B. Jordan, according to awards prediction site Gold Derby. Skarsgard, a Hollywood stalwart, is poised to take home the award for best supporting actor. “The Secret Agent” and “Sentimental Value” will vie for the Globe for best non-English language film with “It Was Just An Accident” from Iranian dissident director Jafar Panahi. “The Globes may want to make a statement and give him this prize,” Hammond said of Panahi.The Globes also honor the best in television, with HBO’s black comedy anthology “The White Lotus,” sci-fi office thriller “Severance” and searing teen murder saga “Adolescence” leading the contenders.Comedian Nikki Glaser, who is returning as host of the gala in Beverly Hills, says she will not hold back on the jokes.”Everyone is fair game,” she told People magazine.