All posts tagged: Venezuela government

Venezuela tells China oil prices won’t be set by the U.S. after Maduro capture

Venezuela tells China oil prices won’t be set by the U.S. after Maduro capture

Published by Sam Flores

Venezuela has assured Beijing that its oil pricing will not be dictated by the U.S. and that Chinese investment in the South American country remains secure, according to state media. Speaking at a press briefing Tuesday, Remigio Ceballos, Venezuelan ambassador to China, dismissed reports that Washington would influence the price China pays for Venezuelan crude, saying Caracas would not abide by U.S. arrangements. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that U.S. President Donald Trump was considering exerting control over Venezuela’s state-run oil company Petróleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, including lowering prices to $50 per barrel. “Regarding oil pricing, Venezuela will not heed the arrangements of the United States or other countries. We have the right to make independent decisions, and oil prices will be determined based on international market prices,” Ceballos said. The comments came about a month after the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in a surprise military operation, and moved to assert influence over its oil sector through sanctions and negotiated oil sales. China, which …

U.S. handing over seized tanker to Venezuela, officials say: Reuters

U.S. handing over seized tanker to Venezuela, officials say: Reuters

Published by Sam Flores

People walk in front of a crude oil tanker at Maracaibo Lake in Maracaibo, Venezuela, on January 12, 2026. After the US raid that deposed Nicolas Maduro as Venezuela’s leader, citizens hope the ensuing talks on selling its oil to US may improve their dire economic fortunes. (Photo by Margioni BERMÚDEZ / AFP via Getty Images) Margioni Bermudez | Afp | Getty Images The United States is handing over to Venezuela a tanker that it seized this month, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Wednesday. The United States has been carrying out a months-long effort to seize oil tankers linked to Venezuela – carrying out seven apprehensions since late last year. The officials, who were speaking on the condition of anonymity, identified the vessel being handed over to Venezuelan authorities as the Panama-flagged supertanker M/T Sophia. They did not say why the tanker was returned. The U.S. Coast Guard, which leads interdiction and seizure operations, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Venezuelan communications ministry, which handles all press queries for the government, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Sophia was carrying oil when it was interdicted on Jan. 7 by the Coast Guard and …

Norway shocked by Machado’s move to present Nobel prize to Trump

Norway shocked by Machado’s move to present Nobel prize to Trump

Published by Sam Flores

Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado waves to supporters outside the White House following a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on January 15, 2026 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images News | Getty Images Norwegian lawmakers reacted with shock and dismay over Venezuela opposition leader María Corina Machado’s decision to present U.S. President Donald Trump with her Nobel Peace Prize medal. “It’s completely unheard of,” Janne Haaland Matlary, a professor of international politics at the University of Oslo and former state secretary in the foreign affairs ministry, told public broadcaster NRK on Friday. She called Machado’s gesture “disrespectful” and “pathetic,” saying it undermined the value of the prize, which the Norwegian Nobel Committee awards annually. Raymond Johansen, a Norwegian lawmaker for the center-left Labour Party and former governing mayor of Oslo, said in a Facebook post it was “incredibly embarrassing and damaging to one of the world’s most respected and important prizes,” according to a Google translation. Machado, who met Trump at the White House for the …

Trump seeks to stop courts from seizing Venezuela oil revenue

Trump seeks to stop courts from seizing Venezuela oil revenue

Published by Sam Flores

U.S. President Donald Trump takes questions from members of the media during a meeting with oil and gas executives in the East Room of the White House on Jan. 9, 2026 in Washington, DC. Alex Wong | Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order that aims to block the seizure of Venezuelan oil revenue held in U.S. Treasury accounts. The executive order states that the revenue, which is held in foreign government deposit funds, are “held solely for sovereign purposes” and that any court attempt to seize the funds will “materially harm the national security and foreign policy” of the U.S. The order, which declared a national emergency, said the funds are the sovereign property of Venezuela held in U.S. custody for governmental and diplomatic means, and are not assets subject to private claims. Any use of judicial process against the funds will interfere with efforts to “ensure economic and political stability in Venezuela,” the order says. Trump signed the order nearly one week after U.S. military forces captured Venezuelan …

Classified Maduro briefing splits lawmakers

Classified Maduro briefing splits lawmakers

Published by Sam Flores

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks to the media ahead of a secure briefing about U.S. action in Venezuela, on Capitol Hill in Washington,, D.C., U.S., Jan. 5, 2026. Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters The Trump administration on Monday briefed congressional leaders on the U.S. military operation that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, sharpening a partisan divide over the president’s authority to use force without congressional approval. Top Republicans who attended the classified briefing rallied to the president’s defense while Democrats questioned the scope of the operation and pushed to halt further military action. The partisan split-screen among the lawmakers briefed, who are part of the so-called “Gang of Eight” group authorized to receive highly classified information, underscores the difficulty Congress may face in trying to rein in President Donald Trump’s military efforts.  U.S. President Donald Trump has, in recent days, said the U.S. would “run” Venezuela, threatened Colombia and Cuba and renewed his push to acquire Greenland. Those remarks followed a weekend military strike that captured Maduro from Caracas and whisked him to the U.S. …