Energy Secretary Chris Wright became the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Venezuela since the United States captured former President Nicolás Maduro last month (WSJ)
He praised a law proposed by Venezuela’s interim government that would open the country’s oil sector to private investment, but said it should go farther to encourage “large capital flows” (AP)
Meanwhile, the son of opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa confirmed that he was placed under house arrest after he was freed from jail and recaptured (Reuters)
Top Prosecutor Orders Arrest of Juan Pablo Guanipa
The office of Venezuela’s top prosecutor requested the arrest of Juan Pablo Guanipa, a close ally of opposition leader María Corina Machado, less than twelve hours after his release from a detention facility; the office posted on social media that the request was made due to Guanipa’s “non-compliance with the conditions imposed by the aforementioned court” (AP)
Meanwhile, U.S. forces boarded and inspected a tanker in the Indian Ocean that was allegedly violating sanctions on Venezuelan oil, the Department of Defense announced (Pentagon)
The department said that it had been tracking the tanker—which was sailing under the Panamanian flag—since it departed the Caribbean; the Pentagon said the incident showed it remained committed to sanctions of Venezuela’s oil sector (AP)
Key Opposition Members Freed in Prisoner Releases
Opposition politicians Juan Pablo Guanipa and Freddy Superlano were freed from jail, along with lawyer Perkins Rocha, in ongoing prisoner releases; Guanipa, Superlano, and Rocha are allies of opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado, who was detained in August 2024 on terrorism charges (Reuters)
Venezuela Advances Amnesty Law for Protesters
Venezuela’s National Assembly unanimously approved the first of two votes on an amnesty law that would free jailed protesters, return seized assets, and allow exiled opposition figures to return (Reuters)
Delcy Rodríguez Meets U.S. Envoy
Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodríguez met with U.S. envoy Laura Dogu at the Miraflores presidential palace to discuss the “common agenda” between both nations (Reuters)
Meanwhile, Colombian President Gustavo Petro met with President Donald Trump at the White House, where they discussed the possibility of exporting Venezuelan gas through Colombia, Petro told a local radio station (Reuters)
Venezuela Ups Oil Exports
Interim president Delcy Rodriguez announced the first shipment of liquified petroleum gas has left Venezuela and is bound for Providence, Rhode Island (ABC)
The country exported around eight hundred thousand barrels of oil per day last month, a roughly 60 percent increase from December (Reuters)
The surge comes after the United States captured President Nicolás Maduro at the start of January, rolled back a December embargo on Venezuelan oil, and began marketing some of the country’s oil in coordination with the country’s interim authorities (Bloomberg)
Venezuelan Acting President Announces Amnesty Bill
Interim President Delcy Rodríguez announced an amnesty bill that could lead to the release of hundreds of prisoners detained for political reasons; U.S.-backed opposition groups have advocated for a bill of this kind (AP)
Rubio Gives Senate Testimony on Venezuela Policy
Rubio laid out U.S. plans to closely supervise part of Venezuela’s economy and oversee a gradual political transition in the country in Senate testimony; it constituted some of the most detailed public accounting of U.S. strategy in the country since its military operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro earlier this month (The Hill)
Rubio downplayed the possibility of further U.S. military action given the high level of cooperation from interim authorities (Reuters)
While Washington hopes to see free elections in Venezuela in the future, he said, a democratic transition would “take some time” (State)
The United States continues to exert influence over Venezuela’s oil resources through a naval quarantine and is beginning to market the country’s oil for international sale; in the short term, authorities led by interim President Delcy Rodríguez will submit a monthly budget to Washington outlining how they intend to spend proceeds from the U.S.-directed sales, Rubio testified (NYT)
Rubio met separately with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado later in the day; Machado said Venezuelans should be assured that change is on the way (Miami Herald)
Venezuela Prisoner Releases
The government released more than one hundred political prisoners over the weekend, rights group Foro Penal said (X)
While Venezuela’s interim authorities vowed earlier this month that a “significant” number of detainees would be released following Maduro’s arrest, they have not published a total list; rights groups say hundreds remain detained in the country (AP)
New U.S. Envoy to Venezuela
Laura Dogu, a former advisor to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a career diplomat, will be the new top U.S. envoy to the country, the U.S. Embassy in Venezuela announced; she will be based in Bogotá, Colombia (U.S. Embassy in Venezuela)
Dogu has also served as U.S. ambassador in Honduras and Nicaragua (The Hill)
Colombia Targets Guerillas on Venezuelan Border
Colombian President Gustavo Petro told the New York Times that he rejected an offer this week to cut a deal with a guerilla and drug trafficking group based near the Venezuelan border, and instead ordered a military offensive against them (NYT)
The move reverses Petro’s yearslong efforts to strike a peace deal with the group (CFR)
Petro and Trump spoke on the phone last week after Trump threatened to bomb Colombia for allegedly harboring drug traffickers (NYT)
Opposition Leader Machado Visits White House
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado gave Donald Trump her Nobel Peace Prize medal, praising his “action to secure a free Venezuela” in a framed message (X)
Machado has called for Venezuela’s democratic opposition to assume leadership of the country following the United States’ ouster of former President Nicolás Maduro (X)
The White House press secretary said that Trump is “committed to hopefully seeing elections in Venezuela one day,” without providing a timeline (White House)
Greeting supporters outside the White House, Machado said, “we can count on President Trump” (AP)
U.S.-Venezuela Talks
Trump told reporters that he is “getting along very well” with Venezuela following a phone call with acting President Delcy Rodríguez (White House)
The United States has already brokered its first sale of Venezuelan oil, a Department of Energy spokesperson confirmed to the New York Times(NYT)
Ongoing Political Prisoner Releases
The government has freed fifty-six political prisoners in the country since Venezuela’s top legislator announced the releases as a “peace” gesture on January 8, according to human rights group Foro Penal (X)
Authorities claimed that it was more than 110 (Reuters)
Meanwhile, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado met with Pope Leo at the Vatican, ahead of her meeting with Trump later this week (Vatican News)
Trump Says He Canceled “Second Wave of Attacks”
Trump said he dropped the planned second attack due to the Venezuelan authorities’ cooperation, and praised the release of activists and journalists from prison in a social media post (Truth Social)
Venezuela Prisoner Releases
Authorities released a number of imprisoned activists and journalists in what the head of Venezuela’s legislature called a “peace” gesture (AP)
Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate agreed to debate a resolution on limiting the use of military force in Venezuela without congressional approval (NYT)
U.S. Seizes Two Oil Tankers Accused of Evading Blockade
After a two-week-long pursuit, the U.S. Coast Guard and military special forces intercepted a Russian-flagged vessel in the North Atlantic that attempted to evade the U.S. blockade on Venezuelan oil (CNN)
A Russian lawmaker called the interception an act of piracy; the Russian Foreign Ministry called for the safe release of its citizens onboard the tanker (Reuters)
Later, the U.S. military said it intercepted a “stateless, sanctioned dark fleet motor tanker” in the Caribbean (BBC)
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the United States intends to sell Venezuelan oil on the international market (ABC)
The United States is “selectively” reducing sanctions to allow the transport and sale of Venezuelan oil on global markets, the Energy Department said in a statement; funds from those sales will go to U.S.-controlled accounts at “globally recognized banks” and will then be disbursed “for the benefit of the American people and the Venezuelan people” (Department of Energy)
Unnamed sources told the Wall Street Journal the U.S. plans include some control of Venezuela’s state oil company (WSJ)
Venezuela’s state oil company said in a statement that it was negotiating oil sales with the United States, but did not confirm the details announced by U.S. officials (PDVSA)
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio described a three-phase plan for economic stabilization and political transition inside the country (Reuters)
Rubio told reporters that after stabilizing Venezuela through oil sales, Washington would facilitate the reentry of international energy firms alongside a political “reconciliation” process in which opposition actors would be released from prison (NYT)
A third “transition” phase would follow, though he did not elaborate (NPR)
Rubio said the U.S. quarantine on Venezuelan oil—including today’s seizure of two tankers—gave Washington the leverage to carry out its plan (ABC)
Trump told the New York Times that he expected U.S. oversight of Venezuela to last for years, and that the interim government there is “giving us everything that we feel is necessary” (NYT)
Reactions from U.S. lawmakers briefed on the White House plans were divided along party lines (NYT)
U.S. energy companies expressed skepticism about returning to Venezuela given the volatile policy environment, the Financial Times reported (FT)
Trump: Venezuela Will Transfer Thirty to Fifty Million Barrels of Sanctioned Oil
Trump wrote on social media that he will use money from its sale “to benefit the people” of both countries; he did not offer a timeline or other details (Truth Social)
Meanwhile, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado praised the U.S. capture of Nicolás Maduro as “a huge step for humanity, freedom, and human dignity” and called for new elections in a Fox News interview (Fox News)
Venezuela’s constitution mandates an election occur within thirty days if a president is “permanently unavailable” to serve, but the interim authorities have announced no such plans (AP)
Trump earlier this week dismissed the possibility of Venezuelan elections within the next month (NBC)
Ousted Venezuelan Leader Maduro Pleads Not Guilty in U.S. Court
The U.S. Justice Department indicted Maduro, his wife and son, and other Venezuelan politicians on conspiracy, drug trafficking, and arms-related charges (DOJ)
At Maduro’s arraignment, he argued that he was still the president of Venezuela as well as a prisoner of war, saying, “I’m innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the president of my country” (AP)
Trump administration officials have said that Maduro’s capture was not an act of war but rather a law enforcement operation (ABC)
Across town at the UN Security Council, France’s deputy ambassador said Maduro’s seizure violated the principle of peaceful dispute resolution, adding that violations of international law erode “the very foundation of the international order” (AP)
U.S. allies such as Bahrain and Mexico said Maduro’s capture violated the UN charter, while the United Kingdom and Latvia were more measured, and Argentina defended the U.S. operation (NYT;UN)
U.S. Ambassador to the UN Michael Waltz said Maduro was not Venezuela’s legitimate head of state following the disputed 2024 elections and that his capture was necessary to counter the flow of illegal drugs into the United States (UN)
News of the raid caused consternation among some U.S. lawmakers, who administration officials briefed for two hours (Politico)
Inside Venezuela, Maduro’s former Vice President Delcy Rodríguez—who has been liaising with the Trump administration—was officially sworn in as acting president (The Atlantic)
Her brother, Jorge Rodríguez, was reappointed president of Venezuela’s legislature (Reuters)
Security forces detained at least fourteen journalists and media workers in Caracas before releasing thirteen, according to a Venezuelan press union (SNTP)
Rubio Clarifies Trump’s Claim U.S. Will “Run” Venezuela
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Trump meant Washington would use a continued oil quarantine as leverage to direct policy in the country (ABC)
But Trump contradicted Rubio later in the day, saying “we’re in charge” (The Hill)
Rubio also said that Maduro’s seizure did not require prior notification to Congress, as it was a law enforcement operation; while Rubio said that “we all wish” for democratic transition in Venezuela, he downplayed those expectations in the short term and said that Washington’s immediate focus was on stamping out drug trafficking and preventing Venezuela’s oil industry from enriching U.S. adversaries (NBC)
Trump told The Atlantic that acting president Delcy Rodríguez would “pay a very big price” if she did not cooperate with the United States (The Atlantic)
She shifted her previously assertive tone from yesterday, posting that Venezuela and the United States should work together “towards shared development” (Instagram)
United States Captures Nicolás Maduro
President Trump announced on Truth Social that the United States had carried out a “large-scale strike against Venezuela” overnight to capture President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores (Truth Social)
At least seven explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard early in the morning in Caracas, with helicopters seen flying over the city and flashes and smoke appearing on the ground (AP)
The U.S. bombings and raid in Caracas reportedly killed at least forty people, thirty-two of them Cuban security personnel (NYT;AP)
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that Maduro and Flores had been indicted in the Southern District of New York on charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy and cocaine importation conspiracy (NYT)
At a press conference later in the day, Trump announced that the United States would “run” Venezuela (White House)
Venezuela’s Supreme Court named Delcy Rodríguez—formerly Maduro’s vice president—acting president (Reuters)
She shared a statement denouncing U.S. “military aggression” (Instagram)
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, meanwhile, celebrated Maduro’s capture and called for 2024 opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González to assume power (X)
China, the top buyer of Venezuelan oil, called for Maduro’s release, as did Russia (Chinese MoFA;Telegram)
Maduro Proposes Talks With United States
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said in a New Year’s interview that his country is willing to receive U.S. investment in its oil sector, coordinate in the fight against drug trafficking, and hold serious talks with the United States (Reuters)
CIA Conducts Drone Strike on Port Facility
The CIA carried out a drone strike on a port facility on the coast of Venezuela earlier this month, marking the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the United States began strikes in September, according to two people familiar with details of the operation who spoke to the Associated Press (AP)
The strike targeted a remote dock that the United States believed was being used by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua to store drugs and move them onto boats for onward shipping (CNN)
U.S. Pursuing Another Oil Tanker Off Venezuelan Coast
U.S. personnel are pursuing another vessel near Venezuela, making it the second ship targeted over the weekend as Washington increases pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro (Reuters)
U.S. Intercepts Second Oil Tanker
The U.S. Coast Guard intercepted the Centuries tanker in international waters off the coast of Venezuela; a White House spokeswoman said it was carrying sanctioned Venezuelan oil, though the ship itself did not appear on a list of sanctioned vessels (NPR)