Switzerland to freeze any Maduro assets 'with immediate effect'

The Swiss government said Monday that it had decided to freeze any assets held in Switzerland by the deposed Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro or his associates "with immediate effect".

Bern said it had reached its decision after Maduro was seized in Caracas in a shock US military operation, and brought to New York to face narcotrafficking charges.

Describing the situation as "volatile", the Swiss government said in a statement that it wanted "to ensure that any illicitly acquired assets cannot be transferred out of Switzerland in the current situation".

"It has therefore decided, as a precautionary measure, to freeze any assets held in Switzerland by Mr Maduro and other persons associated with him," it said.

"The asset freeze comes into force today with immediate effect and will remain valid for four years until further notice."

The government added that "should future legal proceedings reveal that the funds were illicitly acquired, Switzerland will endeavour to ensure that they benefit the Venezuelan people".

"The asset freeze does not affect any members of the current Venezuelan government," it said.

The move, decided under Switzerland's Federal Act on the Freezing and the Restitution of Illicit Assets Held by Foreign Politically Exposed Persons, comes in addition to existing sanctions on Venezuela in force since 2018, which also include asset freezes, the government said.

The new asset freezes "target individuals who have not previously been sanctioned in Switzerland", it said.

The government said it was monitoring the situation unfolding in Venezuela closely, and called "for de-escalation, restraint and compliance with international law, including the prohibition of the use of force and the principle of respect for territorial integrity".

It highlighted Switzerland's repeated offers of its "good offices to all sides in order to find a peaceful solution to the situation".

Bern said that "the reasons behind Mr Maduro's fall from power do not play a decisive role in asset freezes... nor does the question of whether the fall from power occurred lawfully or in violation of international law".

The decisive factor, it said, was that "a fall from power has occurred and that it is now possible that the country of origin will initiate legal proceedings in the future with regard to illicitly acquired assets".

Myanmar pro-military party wins first phase of junta-run election: official results

YANGON, Myanmar, Jan 5, 2026 (AFP) - Myanmar's dominant pro-military party won the first phase of junta-run elections, the last released official results showed on Monday, with the USDP taking nearly 90 percent of lower house seats.

The military staged a 2021 coup that ousted the democratic government of Aung San Suu Kyi, but is overseeing a month-long phased election it pledges will return power to the people.

Western diplomats and democracy advocates dismiss the poll as a ploy to rebrand military rule, citing Suu Kyi's jailing, her party's dissolution, a crackdown on dissenters and a ballot stacked with military allies.

The pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) won 89 of 102 lower house seats included in the first phase, according to an AFP tally of official results released from Friday to Monday.

The USDP win equates to more than 87 percent of lower house seats included in the first phase of voting on December 28 the remainder mostly won by a smattering of parties representing ethnic minorities.

Many analysts and democracy watchdogs describe the USDP as a proxy of the military, citing the large numbers of retired officers serving in senior positions.

Overall results are due after the vote's third and final phase scheduled for January 25.

Regardless of the vote, a quarter of lower house seats and key cabinet positions will be reserved for members of the armed forces under the terms of the country's military-drafted constitution.

The USDP was trounced by Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party in the last elections in 2020 before the military overturned the vote, alleging widespread fraud and staging a coup.

Suu Kyi, 80, remains jailed incommunicado and the NLD is not appearing on ballots.

The military coup sparked a civil war as pro-democracy protesters formed guerrilla units to fight alongside ethnic minority armed groups which have long resisted central rule.

Rebel factions have pledged to block the vote from the enclaves they control, and the junta has admitted the vote cannot be held nationwide, but is waging offensives in a bid to claw back ground.