Venezuela

A collection of 261 posts

Politics

House Foreign Affairs members endorse María Corina Machado and press for elections

Members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday exited a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill endorsing María Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader, and urging prompt free and fair elections. Representative Michael McCaul, Republican of Texas, said she had “all the right stuff” to be Venezuela’s next president

Crypto

USDT demand falls over 40% in Venezuela as exchange gap narrows

Beincrypto reports USDT demand in Venezuela has fallen by over 40% in the past 10 days, sharply narrowing the gap with the Central Bank’s official exchange rate. Policy shifts and new oil agreements with the United States have raised expectations of greater foreign-currency supply; earlier in January the American

World

C.I.A. sabotage in Venezuela aided U.S. raid to seize Nicolás Maduro

A covert C.I.A. team conducted sabotage operations in Venezuela to help ensure that a U.S. military strike force could enter the country safely to seize President Nicolás Maduro early this month, according to people briefed on the operation. Officials described the work as evidence of close cooperation

World

U.S. pushes to tap Venezuelan oil after capture of Maduro, but industry balks

After U.S. troops captured Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, the Trump administration has pressed to secure Venezuelan oil, urging a rapid rebuild of the country’s oil industry at a White House meeting with energy executives and beginning to sell 50 million barrels that had been trapped, my colleague

Politics

Three US cardinals say current US foreign policy risks 'incalculable suffering'

Three US Catholic cardinals have criticised the Trump administration’s foreign policy, saying its push to obtain or otherwise seize Greenland, recent military action in Venezuela and cuts to humanitarian aid risk “destroying international relations and plunging the world into incalculable suffering”. The joint statement from Blase Cupich, Robert McElroy

World

U.S. Accuses Venezuela of Hosting Hezbollah; Experts Say Impact May Be Limited

After American forces seized Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the country had become a regional platform for Iranian influence and accused the government of hosting Hezbollah. Mr. Rubio told CBS that among the reasons for capturing Mr. Maduro on Jan. 2 the U.S. wanted

World

Chavistas divided as Venezuela’s interim government forges ties with U.S.

Supporters of former president Hugo Chávez are divided over Venezuela’s new pact with the United States after U.S. forces seized President Nicolás Maduro this month, the New York Times reported. The report said the director of the C.I.A. travelled to Caracas to meet with interim President

World

Soaring food costs deepen Venezuela's economic crisis

Economic instability in Venezuela after a U.S. raid to capture its president has deepened inflation and rattled the currency, sending grocery bills soaring for millions of people, the New York Times reported. Residents described frantic spending on paydays and rapidly rising prices: Nair Granado said she rushed to buy

Business

Trump and oil majors clash over investing in Venezuela's heavy crude

President Trump said he would "probably be inclined to keep Exxon out" after Exxon Mobil chief Darren Woods described Venezuela as "uninvestable" at a White House event, highlighting a wider dispute over whether U.S. oil companies should invest in Venezuela. Mr. Trump has promised that

World

U.S. forces fast‑rope onto seized oil tankers in recently released videos

Videos posted this week by the U.S. military and Coast Guard show American troops fast‑roping from helicopters onto civilian oil tankers, including the Marinera (previously Bella 1), which the Coast Guard seized off the coast of Scotland, and the Veronica, which the U.S. military said it seized

World

Trump halts Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba; experts warn of severe shortages

President Trump has stopped Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba, and experts warn the interruption could plunge the island into extended darkness because oil fuels its electric grid. Experts say Cuba needs about 100,000 barrels of oil a day to keep lights on and power buses, trains and factories, but

Politics

Trump Accepts Machado’s 2025 Nobel Medal in Oval Office but Is Not a Laureate

President Trump accepted the framed 2025 Nobel Peace Prize medal from Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado in the Oval Office on Thursday, a symbolic transfer that left the medal at the White House after Ms. Machado departed. The meeting came amid Mr. Trump’s long-standing fixation on the Nobel

Business

White House moves reshape U.S. stock market at start of 2026

President Trump’s administration is having a big influence on the stock market at the start of 2026, driving large moves in specific sectors from oil to credit-card lenders and technology. The U.S. attack on Venezuela sent the value of some oil stocks surging, a social media post by

World

CIA director visits Venezuela as María Corina Machado vows she will be president

The CIA director, John Ratcliffe, flew to Venezuela to meet acting president Delcy Rodríguez, the visit coming as sidelined opposition leader María Corina Machado publicly vowed she would become the country’s first elected female president. The Guardian said Ratcliffe’s agents had reputedly played a key role in locating

World

Cuba faces oil shortfall after Venezuela supply is cut

The Trump administration’s removal of Nicolás Maduro as Venezuela’s president has given the United States new leverage over Cuba and, by blocking Venezuelan shipments, cut off Cuba’s primary oil supplier, leaving the island with by most accounts less than two months of imported oil on hand. The

Crypto

Venezuelan charged in alleged $1 billion crypto-money laundering case

Beincrypto reports the Department of Justice charged a Venezuelan national this week for allegedly using cryptocurrency exchanges and other methods in a roughly $1 billion money-laundering scheme that moved funds in and out of the United States. According to court records, 59-year-old Jorge Figueira of Venezuela is accused of using

Politics

Venezuelan journalist describes slow erosion of democracy and 2024 election dispute

On Jan. 3 in Caracas the author heard explosions and aircraft overhead as many Venezuelans believed the Americans were involved; scenes of celebration over the perceived end of Nicolás Maduro’s rule coexisted with fear of foreign intervention. The author argues that Venezuela’s democracy did not fall suddenly but

Politics

CIA Director John Ratcliffe Meets Interim Venezuelan Leader in Caracas

John Ratcliffe, the director of the C.I.A., met with Delcy Rodríguez, the interim president of Venezuela, in Caracas on Thursday, reinforcing the Trump administration’s message that it sees the interim government as the best path to short-term stability. Mr. Ratcliffe is the most senior American official and

World

Petro Threatens Joint Military Action with Venezuela Against ELN

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has threatened military action, alongside Venezuela, against the National Liberation Army (ELN), a leftist group that experts say has become a major cocaine trafficker with a foothold in Venezuela. Mr. Petro wrote on X that “If the ELN does not join the peace process by leaving

World

Trump signals preference for Delcy Rodríguez as oil partner over opposition leader

President Trump this week signalled a preference for Delcy Rodríguez, a sanctioned ally of Nicolás Maduro whom he praised after a conversation, over María Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader who visited Washington and presented Mr. Trump with her Nobel Peace Prize medal. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said

Politics

U.S. Coast Guard seizes Russian‑flagged tanker Galileo in Caribbean

The U.S. Coast Guard said it boarded and seized a Russian‑flagged oil tanker in a pre-dawn operation in the Caribbean Sea, releasing video that shows armed U.S. forces sliding down ropes from a helicopter onto the ship. The service described the vessel as the sixth ship intercepted

Business

Trump’s Venezuelan oil ambitions face steep economic and political hurdles

Donald Trump — described in the piece as "now self-anointed acting president of Venezuela, as well as the United States" — may be keen to appropriate Venezuela's oil, the article says, driven in part by hopes of cheaper fuel and quick cash. The write-up lists several possible motives:

Politics

Trump to meet María Corina Machado at White House over Venezuela's future

Donald Trump will host María Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader and 2025 Nobel peace prize winner, at the White House on Thursday for talks about the oil-rich nation’s future following the US capture of Nicolás Maduro. Many in Venezuela and abroad had expected Machado to take charge after

World

Delcy Rodríguez delivers State of the Union in Caracas, backs opening oil fields

Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s interim leader, delivered her first State of the Union address before the National Assembly in Caracas on Thursday, blending the anti‑imperialist rhetoric of predecessors with moves that she framed as aligning with President Trump’s agenda. In the roughly 40‑minute speech Ms. Rodríguez echoed

World

Cuba repatriates remains of 32 citizens killed in U.S. strikes in Venezuela

Cuban national television broadcast the return on Thursday morning of the remains of 32 Cuban citizens killed in U.S. strikes in Venezuela during the early‑morning Jan. 3 operation to capture the ousted Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro. The remains arrived in smaller boxes draped in the Cuban flag and