This is quite bizarre. Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolas Maduro, has declared Christmas early. In an official decree, Maduro declared that Christmas would be celebrated on October 1. This is the second time Maduro has declared Christmas early. Nicolas Maduro said that Christmas will come early again this year, decreeing that the annual holiday — famously celebrated in December in much of the world — will begin October 1 in Venezuelahttps://t.co/Zs6fCnb6Fm — Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) September 9, 2025 CBS had more details to report on Maduro’s bizarre action: President Nicolas Maduro said Monday that Christmas will come early again this year, decreeing that the annual holiday — which is typically celebrated in late December in most of the world — will begin on Oct. 1 in Venezuela. The move, which he said was aimed at bringing “joy” to the Venezuelan people, came on the heels of Maduro significantly increasing his planned troop deployment to the country’s borders amid an escalating military standoff with the Trump administration, which accuses him of colluding with drug gangs to smuggle narcotics into the U.S. In 2024, Maduro brought Christmas celebrations forward during a crisis following a disputed presidential election, which opponents and the U.S. government accused Maduro of stealing. This year, Maduro said on his weekly TV program “Con Maduro +” that he wants to defend “the right to happiness” of Venezuelans, amid an escalating standoff with President Trump, whose administration has increased a bounty for his arrest or capture. “Once again this year, Christmas starts on October 1 with joy, commerce, activity, culture, carols,” dancing and traditional foods, Maduro declared. President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro speaks during a news conference at Hotel Melia Caracas, Sept. 1, 2025, in Caracas, Venezuela. Maduro has vowed to defend Venezuela in the face of escalating U.S. military maneuvering off his country’s shores in recent weeks. Washington has doubled the bounty for the capture of the Venezuelan leader to $50 million, deployed warships off the country’s shores and sunk a boat, killing 11 people whom the Trump administration alleges were members of a drug trafficking gang controlled by Maduro. Maduro moves Christmas in Venezuela to October 1 amid tensions with the United States. It looks like he wants to celebrate a Romanian Christmas in October. pic.twitter.com/k7y0e3JG3y — BowTiedMara (@BowTiedMara) September 9, 2025 CFR provided the latest update on the rising tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela: Since late August, the Donald Trump administration has deployed a significant military presence to the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela. This includes at least eight warships, a submarine, and other assets, along with approximately four thousand Marines and sailors. The mission is part of a new effort to use military force to combat drug cartels that have been designated as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs), following a secret directive that Trump reportedly signed in July authorizing such action. The second Trump administration’s policy towards Venezuela began on a conciliatory note with U.S. Special Envoy Richard Grenell’s trip to Caracas on January 31, but since then, it has become increasingly adversarial. The escalation raises questions about broader geopolitical implications, including the potential for further U.S. military actions in the region. On September 2, Trump announced that “U.S. Military Forces conducted a kinetic strike against positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility.” Trump indicated that the strike—which killed eleven people—took place in international waters and was targeting individuals who were transporting drugs to the United States. In 2024, the U.S. government sanctioned the Venezuela-based Tren de Aragua gang as a transnational criminal organization, citing its involvement in a range of criminal activities, including illegal mining, kidnapping, human trafficking, extortion, and drug trafficking—particularly cocaine. Tren de Aragua was one of eight organizations that the Trump administration designated as FTOs; the others are from Colombia, El Salvador, and Mexico. The deployment and strike represent a major escalation in the U.S. government’s fight against drug trafficking, which has traditionally relied on the interdiction of vessels suspected of transporting drugs. It also represents a sharp increase in tensions with Venezuela.