Venezuela

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Trump Blocks Creditors From Venezuelan Oil Money in US

Executive order declares national emergency

(Newser) - President Trump has moved to shield Venezuelan oil proceeds held in the US from being tapped by creditors, issuing an executive order that declares a national emergency and designates the money as off-limits to private claims. The directive, signed Friday and announced Saturday, says revenue from Venezuelan oil sales kept...

US Seizes a Fifth Oil Tanker: 'No Safe Haven for Criminals'

US boards Olina in search for sanctioned Venezuelan oil, heightening tensions with Russia

(Newser) - US forces have quietly expanded their hunt for sanctioned Venezuelan oil , boarding a fifth tanker early Friday as part of a growing maritime crackdown with global implications. US officials say the latest target is the Olina, an East Timor-flagged ship previously known as the Minerva M and under US sanctions...

Trump: 'Only One Thing' Limits My World Power

'My own morality,' he tells the New York Times

(Newser) - President Trump doesn't see many checks on his status as a world power broker. Asked by the New York Times if he perceived any limits to his powers, he responded: "Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It's the only thing that can stop me....

Trump Says He'll Accept a Second-Hand Peace Prize

He says he'll meet Venezuela's Machado soon and it would be a 'great honor' if she gives him her prize

(Newser) - President Trump says he's expecting a high-profile visitor from Venezuela—and possibly a Nobel medal. In a Fox News interview that aired Thursday night, Trump told Sean Hannity that opposition figure María Corina Machado is "coming in next week sometime" to the US and that he looks...

Trump Says He Called Off 2nd Wave of Venezuela Attacks

He praises release of political prisoners, cooperation on oil and gas infrastructure

(Newser) - President Trump says the US and Venezuela are working so well together that he has called off a second wave of attacks. In a Truth Social post early Friday, the president praised cooperation on oil infrastructure and Venezuela's release of high-profile prisoners on Thursday, CNBC reports.
  • "Venezuela is
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Gabbard Is Squeezed Out of Venezuela Operation

CIA director has a seat at the Trump's table, but not the national intelligence chief'

(Newser) - Tulsi Gabbard holds the nation's top intelligence title, but she was kept out of the loop on one of the Trump administration's biggest covert actions: the operation targeting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. According to multiple people familiar with the matter, White House officials began excluding the director of...

Resolution to Limit Trump's War Powers Passes Senate

It passed in a 52-47 vote with 5 Republicans in support

(Newser) - The Senate advanced a resolution Thursday that would limit President Trump's ability to conduct further attacks against Venezuela, sounding a note of disapproval for his expanding ambitions in the Western Hemisphere. Democrats and five Republicans voted to advance the war powers resolution on a 52-47 vote and ensure a...

Betting Market: US Strike on Venezuela Wasn't an 'Invasion'

$6.5M in bets could rest on Polymarket's ruling, which some call 'plainly absurd'

(Newser) - An online betting site that attracted millions of dollars worth of bets related to Venezuela's future is now under fire for declaring that the US special forces raid that seized the country's leader did not amount to an American invasion. Polymarket, a fast-growing prediction platform, ruled that its...

US Seizes Not One but Two Venezuela-Linked Tankers
US Seizes 2 Oil Tankers
in Back-to-Back Actions
the rundown
Jan 7, 2026 11:21 AM CST

US Seizes 2 Oil Tankers in Back-to-Back Actions

UK says it assisted with the taking of the Bella 1

(Newser) - US forces took control of two oil tankers tied to Venezuela in separate operations in the North Atlantic and Caribbean on Wednesday, escalating Washington's pressure campaign on the country's sanctioned oil trade. In addition to the seizure of the Russian-flagged Bella 1 , which the US had been pursuing...

In Cuba, 'It's Never Been as Bad as It Is Now'

About a third of the nation in poverty amid loss of Venezuelan oil, blackouts, food shortages

(Newser) - Cuba's leadership is confronting an economic unraveling that longtime residents and economists say is without precedent since the island nation's revolution in the 1950s. Power outages of up to 20 hours a day, empty ration stores, and waits for gasoline that stretch for months have become routine. "...

US Seizes Oil Tanker Russia Had Been Protecting

Russia sent escorts for the rechristened Marinera, which had been pursued by US Coast Guard

(Newser) - The US on Wednesday moved in on a Russian-flagged oil tanker tied to Venezuela and managed to seize it. The New York Times reports the US military's European Command on X confirmed the "seizure of the M/V Bella 1 for violations of US sanctions. The vessel was seized...

DeSantis Mulls State Charges Against Maduro

Fla. governor backs seeking separate state case over Venezuela leader's alleged drug crimes

(Newser) - Florida could try to pile on Nicolas Maduro's legal troubles. Gov. Ron DeSantis said this week that the attorney general's office in Florida is "looking very seriously" at bringing state charges against the Venezuelan leader, days after Maduro was brought to the US and pleaded not guilty...

Maduro, Wife Injured During US Raid on Compound

Couple treated for injuries before pleading not guilty in US court

(Newser) - Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro didn't emerge from his hidden room unscathed when US commandos showed up at his door, sources say. According to a US official and another person familiar with the operation who spoke to NBC News , Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, suffered minor injuries—either...

Trump: Venezuela to Send US Up to 50M Barrels of Oil

He says it will be sold at market price and 'that money will be controlled by me'

(Newser) - President Trump says Venezuela is about to send a gusher of oil north—and he'll personally control the cash flow. In a Truth Social post Tuesday evening, Trump claimed interim authorities in the country will transfer 30 million to 50 million barrels of "High Quality, Sanctioned Oil" to...

Venezuela Says Dozens Were Killed in US 'War Crime'

At least 24 security officers died, along with 32 Cubans

(Newser) - At least 24 Venezuelan security officers were killed in the dead-of-night US military operation to capture Nicolas Maduro and spirit him to the United States to face federal drug charges, officials said Tuesday. Venezuela's Attorney General Tarek William Saab said "dozens" of officials and civilians were killed and...

Trump: US Could Pay Back Big Oil's Venezuela Investment

He suggests the idea ahead of administration's meetings with wary oil execs

(Newser) - President Trump is dangling a major incentive to US oil companies if they help remake Venezuela's battered energy sector: the prospect that Washington might pay them back. Analysts say the effort is likely to take years and billions of dollars, per the Guardian . In an interview with NBC News...

Polls Reveal Huge Split on US Actions in Venezuela

Partisan divides revealed along with little overall support

(Newser) - Americans are backing the surprise US assault on Venezuela in only limited numbers, with far more worried about what comes next. A new Reuters/Ipsos poll finds that about one-third of Americans approve of the military operation that removed President Nicolás Maduro, while 72% fear the US will get drawn...

Machado Courts Trump— by Offering Him Her Nobel

Venezuelan opposition leader says her movement ought to be in power

(Newser) - Venezuela's most prominent opposition figure used a friendly US TV forum to court the one man now standing between her movement and power: President Trump. In a 10-minute interview on Fox News , María Corina Machado repeatedly praised the president, appealed for his backing, and even offered to hand...

Trump Administration Has Rare Reaction to Media on Venezuela

It's a 'thank you' from Secretary of State Marco Rubio to reporters for keeping plans of raid quiet

(Newser) - In the wake of last weekend's US military action in Venezuela, the news media got something it seldom hears from the Trump administration: a thank you. Secretary of State Marco Rubio credited news organizations that had learned in advance about last Saturday's strike leading to the capture of...

Prediction Traders Rapidly Wagered on Maduro's Ouster

Prediction market odds swung sharply after US airspace directive

(Newser) - Traders on a popular crypto-based prediction site spent Friday night rapidly rewriting the odds on Venezuela's leader losing power this month, the Wall Street Journal reports. On Polymarket, a site where users wager on political and world events, the implied probability that President Nicolás Maduro would be out...

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