All posts tagged: USVenezuela

US-Venezuela operation kills leader of Tren de Aragua gang

US-Venezuela operation kills leader of Tren de Aragua gang

Published by Sam Flores

“COUNTLESS” VIOLENT ACTS Federal prosecutors in New York filed racketeering, drug and firearms charges in December against the gang leader. “Guerrero Flores has been the mastermind of Tren de Aragua’s evolution from a Venezuelan prison gang into a transnational terrorist organization,” US Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement when the indictment was announced. Tren de Aragua, under Guerrero Flores’s leadership, has “committed countless acts of violence, extortion, and drug trafficking all over North America, South America, and Europe,” he said. The US State Department had offered a US$5 million reward for information leading to his arrest or conviction. According to a report by the InSight Crime think tank, Guerrero made Tren de Aragua “what it is today during his incarceration at Tocoron”. Under his leadership, Tocoron “became one of the country’s most notorious prisons, largely because of the unofficial policy of the Venezuelan government of handing control of certain prisons … over to criminal leaders known as pranes.” “This freedom and the gang’s criminal revenues allowed for the construction of a zoo, a swimming …

US removes sanctions on Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez | US-Venezuela Tensions News

US removes sanctions on Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez | US-Venezuela Tensions News

Published by Sam Flores

US has exerted growing influence over the Venezuelan government after abducting former President Nicolas Maduro. Published On 1 Apr 20261 Apr 2026 The United States has lifted sanctions against Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez, following its abduction and imprisonment of her predecessor, Nicolas Maduro. The US Department of the Treasury website was updated on Wednesday to show that Rodriguez had been removed from the Specially Designated Nationals List. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list The move was seen as yet another sign of tightening relations between Rodriguez and US President Donald Trump, who has sought to exert control over Venezuela’s politics since Maduro’s removal. Rodriguez hailed Wednesday’s decision with a post calling for more sanctions against Venezuelan entities and individuals to be nixed. “President Trump’s decision is a significant step in the right direction to normalize and strengthen relations between our countries,” she wrote. “We trust that this progress and determination will ultimately lead to the lifting of the additional active sanctions on our country.” Rodriguez had been sanctioned under the Office of …

Rubio says Maduro abduction ‘strategic’ necessity, downplays future attacks | US-Venezuela Tensions News

Rubio says Maduro abduction ‘strategic’ necessity, downplays future attacks | US-Venezuela Tensions News

Published by Sam Flores

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has defended the United States abduction of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro before a Senate committee, arguing the operation did not constitute an act of war while framing the attack as a strategic necessity. The hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday offered the latest window into the administration’s thinking behind the extraordinary January 3 abduction of Maduro, who remains in a New York prison awaiting drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracy charges. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Rubio began the hearing by underscoring the operation as a “strategic” necessity for the Trump administration, while downplaying what United Nations Experts have decried as a flagrant violation of international law. Rubio described Venezuela under Maduro as a “base of operation for virtually every competitor, adversary and enemy in the world”. He listed Venezuela’s alleged ties to Iran, Russia and Cuba. “[Having Maduro in power] was an enormous strategic risk for the United States, not halfway around the world, not in another continent, but in the hemisphere in which …

What lies ahead for Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado? | US-Venezuela Tensions News

What lies ahead for Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado? | US-Venezuela Tensions News

Published by Sam Flores

Prioritising stability Questions about Machado’s role in Venezuelan politics emerged within hours of the US operation to remove Maduro, a leader accused of violently suppressing dissent. Machado, 58, had been living in hiding for months after the 2024 election, for fear of facing arrest. But that changed in December, when she escaped abroad to accept the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to advance Venezuelan democracy. Given her longstanding public opposition to Maduro, Machado was widely viewed as a favourite to replace him, should his government ever fall. But when Trump announced the US military operation to remove Maduro, he quickly quashed the prospect of Machado stepping into Venezuela’s presidency. “I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country,” Trump said at a news conference hours after the attack. Rather than work with Machado, Trump announced plans to cooperate with Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro’s vice president. She has since been sworn in as interim president. “She’s essentially willing to …

Venezuela starts ‘exploratory process’ to re-establish formal ties with US | US-Venezuela Tensions News

Venezuela starts ‘exploratory process’ to re-establish formal ties with US | US-Venezuela Tensions News

Published by Sam Flores

US State Department officials are visiting Caracas less than a week after the military abduction of Nicolas Maduro. Venezuela’s government has said it is in “exploratory” talks to restore diplomatic ties with the United States in the wake of Washington’s abduction of President Nicolas Maduro. The government led by interim President Delcy Rodriguez also said on Friday that US Department of State officials were visiting Caracas and that Venezuela would soon reciprocate by sending a delegation to Washington. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list The government “has decided to initiate an exploratory process of a diplomatic nature with the Government of the United States of America, aimed at the re-establishment of diplomatic missions in both countries”, it said in a statement. US-Venezuela relations tanked in the wake of the rise of left-wing President Hugo Chavez in 1999. Over the following 10 years, both countries withdrew their respective ambassadors. In 2019, diplomatic relations fully ceased after the administration of US President Donald Trump recognised opposition figure Juan Guaido as the country’s interim president. Since …

Is the US unlocking Venezuela’s oil wealth or exploiting it? | US-Venezuela Tensions

Is the US unlocking Venezuela’s oil wealth or exploiting it? | US-Venezuela Tensions

Published by Sam Flores

President Donald Trump aims to control and revive Venezuela’s oil industry. Critics call it modern-day colonialism. A nation with the world’s largest oil reserves, Venezuela is now at the centre of a high-stakes economic power play over energy supply – with global ramifications. The United States says it will control the sales and revenue of Venezuelan oil “indefinitely”, days after it abducted the nation’s President Nicolas Maduro. President Donald Trump wants US companies to invest billions of dollars to revive the nation’s oil sector. Washington says that would benefit the people of Venezuela and the US. Critics, though, have called the move modern-day colonialism and a direct grab for energy resources. And, we look at Iran’s economic crisis. Published On 9 Jan 20269 Jan 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Source link

Greenland takeover could “upend US foreign policy” | US-Venezuela Tensions

Greenland takeover could “upend US foreign policy” | US-Venezuela Tensions

Published by Sam Flores

“Greenland has a lot of rare earth. It also has gold and oil.” Melinda Haring, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council Eurasia Center, explains what the US threats to take over Greenland will mean for the NATO alliance. US president Donald Trump has stated that a military takeover of the island is an option. Greenland is a territory of Denmark, a fellow NATO member. Published On 7 Jan 20267 Jan 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Source link

Rodriguez says ‘no foreign agent’ running Venezuela, US role still unclear | US-Venezuela Tensions News

Rodriguez says ‘no foreign agent’ running Venezuela, US role still unclear | US-Venezuela Tensions News

Published by Sam Flores

Venezuela’s interim leader, Delcy Rodriguez, has said that “no foreign agent” is running Venezuela in the wake of Nicolas Maduro’s abduction by United States military forces. Rodriguez, who had been Maduro’s vice president before his abduction, spoke during a televised event on Tuesday, a day after Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty in a New York court to drug-trafficking conspiracy charges. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list “The government of Venezuela is in charge in our country, and no one else. There is no foreign agent governing Venezuela,” Rodriguez said. Venezuela’s prosecutor general, meanwhile, called for the immediate release of Maduro and his wife. “The military operation, without a declaration of war or a UN Security Council resolution, represents an illegal act of armed aggression of a terrorist nature,” Tarek William Saab said. The statements come amid the continuing fallout from Saturday’s military operation, which left dozens of people in Venezuela dead. The offensive has been broadly condemned as a violation of international law. Venezuela on Tuesday released a list …