WASHINGTON:&nbsp;Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced hope Wednesday for cooperation with Venezuela after the US toppling of Nicolas Maduro and expected a reopening soon of the US embassy there, but brandished force if the interim leader is defiant. In prepared testimony for a Senate hearing, Rubio had written that Delcy Rodriguez, who was vice president and now acting president, &quot;is well aware of the fate of Maduro.&quot; &quot;Make no mistake, as the president has stated, we are prepared to use force to ensure maximum cooperation if other methods fail,&quot; read the prepared testimony, referring to President Donald Trump. Asked about his prepared testimony during his appearance, Rubio took a more measured tone. &quot;I can tell you right now with full certainty we are not postured to, nor do we intend or expect to, have to take any military action in Venezuela,&quot; Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. &quot;The only military presence you&#39;ll see in Venezuela is our Marine guards at an embassy,&quot; he said. Trump has demanded that Venezuela, which has the world&#39;s largest proven oil reserves, cooperate with US oil companies. The State Department last week named a senior diplomat, Laura Dogu, as the top diplomat for Venezuela, and earlier sent a mission to assess the embassy in Caracas. &quot;We think very quickly we&#39;ll be able to open a US diplomatic presence on the ground,&quot; Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The restored US mission &quot;will allow us to have real-time information&quot; and improve interaction with Venezuelan authorities as well as &quot;members of civil society, the opposition,&quot; Rubio said. The United States shuttered its embassy in 2019 shortly after Washington and other major powers declared Maduro to be illegitimate following an election marred by reports of irregularities. &#39;One dictator for another&#39;&nbsp;US commandoes raided Caracas on January 3 and seized Maduro, a longtime leftist nemesis of Washington, and his wife, Cilia Flores. The couple were flown to New York to stand trial on US-issued charges of drug trafficking, which they deny. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that the operation has cost at least hundreds of millions of dollars, &quot;and yet the Maduro regime is essentially still in power.&quot; &quot;Her cooperation appears tactical and temporary, and not a real shift in Venezuela&#39;s alignment. In the process, we&#39;ve traded one dictator for another,&quot; Shaheen said. Senator Chris Van Hollen, another Democrat, pointed to Trump&#39;s meetings with oil executives and questioned if he ordered the attack for personal benefit. &quot;By any measure, this is the most corrupt administration in American history,&quot; he said. Venezuelan officials say more than 100 people died, both Venezuelans and Cubans who unsuccessfully tried to protect Maduro. Rubio called the tactical operation a success as no Americans died. Trump indicated hours after deposing Maduro that he favored working by pressuring Rodriguez rather than seeking to empower Venezuela&#39;s democratic opposition, dismissing its leader, Maria Corina Machado, as a &quot;very nice woman&quot; who did not command &quot;respect.&quot; But Trump sounded more favorable to Machado after she visited him at the White House and presented him with her Nobel Peace Prize, which she won last year despite Trump loudly coveting the prestigious honor. Rubio will hold a closed-door meeting on Wednesday with Machado, the State Department said. Rubio &mdash; a Cuban-American and fervent critic of Latin American leftists &mdash; had, as a senator, championed Machado&#39;s opposition forces. Rodriguez insisted Sunday that she has had enough of orders from Washington. But she has also worked to encourage US oil investment and said Tuesday that the United States was unblocking sanctioned Venezuela funds.&nbsp;

Americas

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US expects to reopen a diplomatic presence in Venezuela soon after Maduro’s ouster, appointing Laura Dogu to lead efforts and restore engagement with authorities, civil society and opposition.

Rubio expects US diplomatic presence to return in Venezuela soon

CARACAS:&nbsp;Venezuela&#39;s interim president on Friday dismissed businessman Alex Saab, accused of working as a front man for deposed leader Nicolas Maduro, from his post as minister of industry. In a Telegram message, Delcy Rodriguez announced the ministry would be combined with a commerce ministry and thanked Saab -- a Colombian-born Venezuelan &ndash; &ldquo;for his service to the Homeland; he will be taking on new responsibilities.&rdquo; Pressure from Washington&nbsp;The change comes amid <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/us-plans-for-venezuelan-oil-postmaduro-ouster" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">pressure from Washington</a> following the Jan. 3 US military raid that ousted Maduro. Saab, released in 2023 as part of a prisoner exchange with the United States, was appointed to office in 2024 by Maduro. A confidant of then-president Maduro, Saab was arrested during a 2020 refueling stopover in Cape Verde due to an Interpol notice over accusations he had served as a money launderer for the socialist leader. He was extradited to the United States, where he and his business partner, Alvaro Pulido, were charged with running a network that exploited food aid destined for Venezuela. Hero&rsquo;s welcome&nbsp;Upon his release, Saab was given a hero&#39;s welcome in Caracas.&nbsp; He assumed office as minister of industry in Oct. 2024. Saab&#39;s dismissal is among the latest key changes to Venezuela&#39;s government by Rodriguez since the US <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/deposed-venezuelan-leader-pleads-not-guilty-in-us-court" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">capture of Maduro</a> and his wife, Cilia Flores.

Change comes amid pressure from Washington following the Jan. 3 US military raid that ousted Maduro; Saab, released in 2023 as part of a prisoner exchange with the US, was appointed to office in 2024 by Maduro.

Venezuela interim leader sacks industry minister, a Maduro ally

Web Desk

WASHINGTON: Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said Thursday she &quot;presented&quot; her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Donald Trump, in a bid to win over the US president who had sidelined her since the overthrow of Nicolas Maduro.&nbsp;Her &quot;wonderful gesture of mutual respect,&quot; as Trump called it Thursday, comes after the Republican said the award should have gone to him instead &mdash; and after he refused to back Machado following the Jan. 3 US military operation to capture Maduro.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2012006221340164338&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2Fnew%2F&sessionId=bb01fe2a5e3773c6e841501d25aedd002d3b28ba&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 826px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;"></iframe></div></div>&quot;He deserves it, and it was a very emotional moment,&quot; Machado later told broadcaster Fox News in an interview.&nbsp;Despite the gesture, Trump has backed Maduro&#39;s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, over Machado &mdash; so long as she toes Washington&#39;s line, particularly on access to Venezuela&#39;s vast oil reserves.&nbsp;&ldquo;I presented the president of the United States the medal of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/venezuelas-maria-corina-machado-wins-2025-nobel-peace-prize" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nobel Peace Prize</a>,&rdquo; Machado told reporters outside the US Capitol, where she met with lawmakers after having lunch with Trump at the White House.&nbsp;Machado, 58, said it was &ldquo;recognition for his unique commitment to our freedom.&rdquo;&nbsp;It was not immediately clear if Trump actually kept the award following the closed-door meeting.&nbsp;The Norwegian Nobel Committee says its prizes cannot be transferred. &lsquo;Not afraid&rsquo;Trump had campaigned hard to win last year&#39;s Nobel Peace Prize for what he says are his efforts to stop eight wars. Instead, it went to Machado, who appeared in Oslo last month to collect her prize &mdash; following a daring escape from Venezuela by boat &mdash; and then dedicated it to Trump.&nbsp;Venezuela&#39;s opposition has argued and presented evidence that Maduro stole the 2024 election from the candidate of Machado&#39;s party, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia &mdash; claims supported by Washington.&nbsp;But Trump has said that Machado does not have enough support among Venezuelans, and opted to stick with former Maduro loyalist Rodriguez.&nbsp;Trump and Rodriguez had their first telephone call on Wednesday, and the White House said Thursday he &ldquo;likes what he&#39;s seeing&rdquo; with Venezuela&#39;s interim leaders.&nbsp;Rodriguez said, however, that on Thursday her government was &ldquo;not afraid&rdquo; of a diplomatic clash with Washington.&nbsp;&ldquo;We know they are very powerful. We know they are a lethal nuclear power ... we are not afraid to confront them diplomatically, through political dialogue,&rdquo; said Rodriguez.&nbsp;Rodriguez was delivering Maduro&#39;s state of the nation address to parliament while the toppled Venezuelan leader is in a New York jail facing drug trafficking charges.&nbsp;By contrast, Machado, who campaigned for years to end leftist Maduro&#39;s rule, was greeted by jubilant supporters as she left the White House.&nbsp;White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said as the lunch started that Machado was a &ldquo;remarkable and brave voice for many of the people of Venezuela.&rdquo;&nbsp;But while Leavitt said Trump was &ldquo;committed to hopefully seeing elections in Venezuela one day,&rdquo; she would not give a timeline.&nbsp;&lsquo;Wonderful gesture&rsquo;US President Donald Trump heaped praise on Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on Thursday for presenting him with &quot;her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done,&quot; after they met at the White House.&nbsp;&ldquo;She is a wonderful woman who has been through so much,&rdquo; Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform, adding that Machado presenting him with the medal was &ldquo;such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect.&rdquo;

President Donald Trump meets with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado in the Oval Office on January 15, 2026, where she presents him with her Nobel Peace Prize medal.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado says she 'presented' her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Donald Trump, adding he 'deserves' it.

Trump 'presented' Nobel Peace Prize

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump warned on Saturday that the airspace above and near Venezuela should be considered closed, the latest escalation in a standoff with leftist leader Nicolas Maduro. &quot;To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers,&quot; Trump wrote on his Truth Social network, &quot;please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.&quot; The US president did not elaborate. Trump&#39;s administration is piling pressure on Venezuela, with a major military deployment in the Caribbean that includes the world&#39;s largest aircraft carrier. Washington says the aim is to curb drug trafficking, but Caracas insists regime change is the ultimate goal. US forces have carried out strikes against more than 20 alleged Venezuelan drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since early September, killing more than 80 people. Washington has yet to release evidence that the vessels it targeted were used to smuggle drugs or posed a threat to the United States. Regional tensions have flared as a result of the campaign and the accompanying military buildup. US aviation authorities last week urged civilian aircraft operating in Venezuelan airspace to &quot;exercise caution&quot; due to the &quot;worsening security situation and heightened military activity in or around Venezuela.&quot; That warning prompted six airlines that account for much of the travel in South America to suspend flights to Venezuela. The move infuriated Caracas and led it to ban the companies -- Spain&#39;s Iberia, Portugal&#39;s TAP, Colombia&#39;s Avianca, Chile and Brazil&#39;s LATAM, Brazil&#39;s GOL and Turkish Airlines -- for &quot;joining the actions of state terrorism promoted by the United States government.&quot; The New York Times reported on Friday that Trump and Maduro had spoken by phone last week and discussed a possible meeting in the United States. The report about the Trump-Maduro call came a day after the US president said efforts to halt Venezuelan drug trafficking by land were imminent, further ratcheting up tensions with Caracas.

Washington escalated tensions with Venezuela as President Trump warned airspace was closed and deployed major military assets, citing anti-drug efforts. Airstrikes, airline suspensions, and Caracas’ retaliatory bans fueled the standoff, despite reports of a recent Trump–Maduro phone call.

Trump says Venezuela airspace should be considered 'closed in its entirety'

Reuters

ISLAMABAD: The U.S. military launched a second missile strike on a suspected Venezuelan &lsquo;drug trafficking&rsquo; vessel in international waters, escalating tensions with Caracas.&nbsp;The Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, has been accused of leading a cocaine cartel.&nbsp;&nbsp;Caracas vowed to defend itself against what it calls U.S. aggression.&nbsp;US military build-upThe Trump administration dramatically increased pressure on Venezuela, deploying over 4,000 troops, warships armed with Tomahawk missiles, an attack submarine, and military aircraft in the southern Caribbean. &nbsp;&nbsp;President Donald Trump confirmed the strike killed three men aboard the boat, which he linked to the Venezuelan cartel Tren de Aragua, allegedly headed by Maduro himself.&nbsp;&nbsp;U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio supported the attacks, saying the strikes caused a significant drop in drug shipments headed to the U.S. &quot;We have 100 percent fidelity and certainty that that boat was involved in that trafficking of those drugs that ultimately were destined to reach the United States of America,&quot; Rubio said.&nbsp;Venezuelan responseThe Venezuelan president, speaking in Caracas, denounced U.S. actions as aggressive and blamed Rubio for the breakdown in communications between the two governments. Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello disputed U.S. claims. He stated the 11 people killed in an earlier strike were not drug trafficking and raised questions about why arrests were not made if drugs were aboard.&nbsp;Maduro said Venezuela had the right to defend itself fully and urged citizens to remain &lsquo;alert&rsquo;.&nbsp;&nbsp;Military posturingVenezuelan fighter jets flew close to the USS Jason Dunham, a move the U.S. Pentagon called &ldquo;highly provocative&rdquo;. While Trump avoided confirming further strikes on the Venezuelan mainland, there are worries that the September 2 strike marked the start of a broader campaign to disrupt &lsquo;narcotics trafficking&rsquo; and possibly remove Maduro from power.&nbsp;&nbsp;

US conducts second strike on Venezuelan vessel, Maduro vows defense

Caracas vowed to defend itself against what it calls U.S. aggression.

Articles tagged with "Nicolas Maduro"

Rubio expects US diplomatic presence to return in Venezuela soon

Venezuela interim leader sacks industry minister, a Maduro ally

Trump 'presented' Nobel Peace Prize

Trump says Venezuela airspace should be considered 'closed in its entirety'

US conducts second strike on Venezuelan vessel, Maduro vows defense