Regina Garcia Cano| Associated Press

The government announced a goodwill effort last week to free imprisoned opposition figures, civil society leaders, journalists and more. Relatives of more than 800 detainees began gathering outside prisons Thursday.

Venezuelan leaders are asserting the country's independence after the U.S. captured President Nicolás Maduro. On Monday, politicians in Caracas reelected their longtime speaker and condemned Maduro's capture by U.S. forces. Maduro's son, Nicolás Maduro Guerra, called for his father's return and international support.

The onetime bus driver for the Caracas subway had risen to become president over a long political career. But as his country's leader, Maduro oversaw Venezuela's economic collapse and democratic undoing.

In a pretaped interview aired Thursday, Maduro expressed readiness to discuss serious agreements with the U.S. He also mentioned that Venezuela is open to U.S. investment in its oil industry.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was once critical of English. But he now sings John Lennon's "Imagine" and promotes peace with his newest catchphrase "No War, Yes Peace." Venezuela's opposition says this is a display of desperation.

The Associated Press learned the identities of four men who were among the more than 60 people killed since the U.S. military began attacking boats that the Trump administration alleges were smuggling drugs.

Residents say drug trafficking and fishing are common, but the strike has halted local spending. Fishermen claim they don't transport drugs but understand why some do, as fishing alone leads to poverty.

Venezuelan migrants imprisoned for months in El Salvador under a U.S. immigration crackdown have reunited with their families. The men spent months in a prison some of them described as "hell" because of the severe abuses they allege happened there.

Venezuela's protracted crisis continues to evolve, entering a critical phase in recent weeks by further gutting people's purchasing power and laying the groundwork for a recession. This latest chapter in the 12-year crisis even prompted President Nicolás Maduro to declare an "economic emergency" last week.

Ecuador's April runoff election for president will test the lasting influence of former leftist President Rafael Correa when his protege, lawyer Luisa González, goes up against the conservative incumbent Daniel Noboa.

In 2022, the White House granted Venezuela a financial lifeline “to support the restoration of democracy” after President Nicolás Maduro promised to work toward an open presidential election, granting U.S. energy giant Chevron a permit to pump and export Venezuelan oil despite sanctions

The inauguration of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has left his opponents grappling with conflicting feelings of hope and disappointment, pondering why the leftist leader could not be stopped despite credible evidence that he had lost the election last year.