Fresh demonstrations were planned across the United States this weekend in the wake of the fatal shooting of a woman by an immigration officer in Minneapolis, as local officials slammed federal agencies for excluding them from the investigation.

Protest organisers said they expected to hold more than a thousand weekend demonstrations following the killing of motorist Renee Good, 37, by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent on Wednesday.

Officials in the midwestern state of Minnesota said their law enforcement agencies have been shut out of the investigation into the shooting.

A local prosecutor said on Friday that federal investigators had taken Good’s car and shell casings from the scene.

The Trump administration has sought to paint Good as a “domestic terrorist,” insisting that the agent who fatally shot her was acting in self-defense.

Cell phone footage apparently taken by the officer who fired the fatal shots shows him interacting with Good as he approaches and circles her car, and her saying, “I’m not mad at you”.

After he passes in front of the car, another agent can be heard ordering Good to exit the vehicle before she tries to drive off and shots ring out.

The agent filming the video can be heard saying “fucking bitch” at the end of the clip.

The White House insisted the video gave weight to the officer’s claim of self-defense — even though the clip does not show the moment the car moved away, or him opening fire.

“This is not the time to bend the rules. This is a time to follow the law […] the fact that Pam Bondi’s Department of Justice and this presidential administration has already come to a conclusion about those facts is deeply concerning,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, told a briefing on Friday.

“We know that they’ve already determined much of the investigation,” he said, adding that the state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, within its department of public safety, has consistently run such investigations.

“Why not include them in the process?” Frey said.

On Thursday, US Vice President JD Vance said that the ICE officer, named in US media as Jonathan Ross, had “absolute immunity”— a claim disputed by local prosecutors.

Court filings seen by AFP showed that in June 2025, Ross was dragged 100 yards (91 meters) along a road by a car driven by a man who was the subject of immigration enforcement activity.

“When the FBI, when the federal agencies, say they won’t share evidence with the local authorities, the public can’t trust that it’s going to be a true, transparent investigation,” said local Patrick O’Shaughnessy, 43.

• Iranian military says it will protect public property.
• Rubio says US supports “the brave people of Iran”.
• Rights groups document 65 deaths, 2,500 arrests.
  

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned on Saturday that safeguarding security was a “red line” and the military vowed to protect public property, as the clerical establishment stepped up efforts to quell the most widespread protests in years.

The statements came after US President Donald Trump issued a new warning to Iran’s leaders on Friday, and after Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday declared: “The United States supports the brave people of Iran.”

Unrest continued overnight. State media said a municipal building was set on fire in Karaj, west of Tehran, and blamed “rioters”. State TV broadcast footage of funerals of members of the security forces it said were killed in protests in the cities of Shiraz, Qom and Hamedan.

Protests have spread across much of Iran over the last two weeks, beginning in response to soaring inflation, but quickly turned political with protesters demanding an end to clerical rule.

Authorities accuse the US and Israel of fomenting “the riots”. Rights groups have documented dozens of deaths of protesters.

‘Terrorist group seeks to undermine security’

Authorities continued to impose an internet blackout.

A witness in western Iran reached by phone said the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) were deployed and opening fire in the area from which they were speaking, declining to be identified for their safety.

In a statement broadcast by state TV, the IRGC said terrorists were targeting military and law enforcement bases over the past two nights, killing several citizens and security personnel and saying property had been set on fire.

Safeguarding the achievements of the 1979 Islamic revolution and maintaining security was “a red line”, it added, saying the continuation of the situation was unacceptable.

The military, which operates separately to the IRGC but is also commanded by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, announced it would “protect and safeguard national interests, the country’s strategic infrastructure, and public property”.

• US diplomats in Caracas to discuss reopening embassy: officials
• Venezuela says it would reciprocate by sending delegation to US.
• Trump urges US oil giants to repair Venezuela’s energy industry.
  

Venezuela said Friday it had launched talks with the United States on restoring diplomatic ties, days after US forces deposed Nicolas Maduro as its president.

It was the latest sign of cooperation following the leftist leader’s capture and US President Donald Trump’s claim to be “in charge” of the South American country.

Officials said US diplomats were in Caracas to discuss reopening the country’s embassy, while in Washington Trump met with oil companies over his plans to access Venezuela’s huge crude reserves.

The government of interim President Delcy Rodriguez “has decided to initiate an exploratory diplomatic process with the government of the United States of America, aimed at re-establishing diplomatic missions in both countries,” Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said in a statement.

John McNamara, the top US diplomat in neighbouring Colombia, and other personnel “travelled to Caracas to conduct an initial assessment for a potential phased resumption of operations,” a US official said on customary condition of anonymity.

Venezuela said it would reciprocate by sending a delegation to Washington.

Rodriguez, in a statement, condemned “the serious, criminal, illegal and illegitimate attack” by the United States and vowed: “Venezuela will continue to confront this aggression through the diplomatic route.”

Trump vows oil investments

Trump said earlier Friday that he had called off a second wave of attacks on Venezuela due to the prisoner releases.

The US president had suggested he might use force again to get his way in Venezuela, which has the world’s largest proven oil reserves.

At a White House meeting on Friday, he pressed top oil executives to invest in Venezuela’s reserves, but was met with a cautious reception — with ExxonMobil chief executive Darren Woods dismissing the country as “uninvestable” without sweeping reforms.

Trump said foreign firms had enjoyed no meaningful protections under Maduro, “but now you have total security. It’s a whole different Venezuela.”

He also stressed that the companies would deal only with Washington, not Caracas, when exploiting Venezuela’s oil resources.

Trump earlier said that oil companies promised to invest $100 billion in Venezuela, whose oil infrastructure is creaky after years of mismanagement and sanctions.

He had earlier announced a plan for the United States to sell between 30 million and 50 million barrels of Venezuelan crude, with the money to be used at his discretion.

He promised any funds sent to Caracas would be used to buy only US-made products.

In the meantime, Washington has maintained maritime pressure on oil tankers in the Caribbean, where it seized a fifth tanker carrying Venezuelan crude — oil that would be sold, Trump said.

State-owned oil company PDVSA confirmed in a statement that one vessel was returning to Venezuelan waters, describing it as the “first successful joint operation” with Washington.

Prisoners’ release

Anxious relatives waited outside Venezuelan jails for a glimpse of their loved ones as the authorities began releasing political prisoners — a move Washington claimed credit for.

“When I heard the news, I broke down,” said Dilsia Caro, 50, waiting for the release of her husband Noel Flores, who was jailed for criticising Maduro.

Venezuela began releasing prisoners on Thursday in the first such gesture since US forces removed and detained Maduro in the deadly January 3 raid.

Trump told Fox News he would meet next week with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, whom he earlier brushed aside as lacking the “respect” to lead Venezuela.

Exiled Venezuelan opposition figurehead Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia said that any democratic transition in the country must recognise his claim to victory in the 2024 presidential elections.

Maduro was proclaimed the winner of the vote, but his re-election was widely seen as fraudulent.

Gonzalez was hoping for the release of his son-in-law, who was detained a year ago in Caracas.

Protests in Caracas

Maduro was seized in a US special forces raid accompanied by airstrikes, operations that left 100 people dead, according to Caracas.

US forces took Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores to New York to face trial on drug-trafficking and other charges.

Rodriguez insisted Thursday her country was “not subordinate or subjugated” despite her pledge to cooperate with Trump.

Angry protesters rallied in the streets of Caracas on Friday, demanding Maduro’s release in the latest of a daily series of demonstrations.

“We don’t have to give one little drop of oil to Trump after all that he has done to us,” said one protester, Josefina Castro, 70, a member of a civil activists’ group.

“Our Venezuelan brothers died (in the attack), and that hurts.”