Venezuela

People close to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado's political team say the Nobel Peace Prize winner is considering a visit to the diaspora in Miami after she meets Thursday with President Trump — who this month disparaged her prospects of governing Venezuela.

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.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel says his administration is currently not in talks with the U.S. government. This comes a day after President Donald Trump threatened Cuba following the U.S. attack on Venezuela earlier this month. The situation remains tense, with Cuba facing significant economic challenges due to U.S. sanctions.

Pope Leo XIV has met with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado at the Vatican. Monday's meeting was not previously announced. Machado is touring Europe and the United States after escaping Venezuela in early 2025. Pope Leo, the first American pontiff, calls for Venezuela to remain independent following the capture of former President Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces.

Cuba is a major beneficiary of oil shipments from Venezuela. But Cuba has been cut off from shipments as U.S. forces seize tankers. Trump used a social media post Sunday to urge Cuba to make a deal before, as he put it, "IT IS TOO LATE."

The United States and Venezuela are exploring the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations. On Friday, a delegation from the Trump administration arrived in Venezuela. The U.S. diplomats and their security detail are making a preliminary assessment about reopening the U.S. Embassy in Caracas.

President Donald Trump says American intervention in Venezuela will bring billions of dollars of investment in the country's infrastructure, a revival of its once-thriving oil industry and a new age of prosperity for the Latin American country. But those pledges of future prowess can be hard to digest for Venezuelans living through today's crumbling economy.

Venezuela released a number of imprisoned high-profile opposition figures, activists and journalists, in what the government described as a gesture to "seek peace".

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has used public comments and private briefings to lawmakers to tone down bombastic remarks from the president and other top officials even as he offers a full-throated defense of Trump’s more audacious plans.

President Donald Trump abruptly changed his tone Wednesday about his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, saying they had exchanged a friendly phone call and he'd even invited the leader of the South American country to the White House.

Immigration experts in the United States and Latin America and groups that track Venezuelan prisons said Venezuela has no known policy or practice of sending prisoners to the U.S., and Venezuelan prisons remain overcrowded.

COMMENTARY President Trump's "law enforcement" capture of Venezuela's dictator will be regarded a failure if it doesn't mean democracy restoration — which may require more U.S. military force.