Thirty days after the U.S. captured then-President Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela remains in turmoil. Many citizens are unsure about the current situation, with fears of further attacks and government repression. Acting President Delcy RodrÃguez faces questions about her autonomy and potential U.S. influence. Despite promises of wage increases, uncertainty prevails. Maduro supporters view his capture as a kidnapping, while opposition leaders cautiously reemerge. RodrÃguez's new oil sector policies mark a shift from a pillar of the self-proclaimed socialist movement that has governed Venezuela for more than two decades. Venezuelans are balancing hope for economic improvement with fear of instability, as they navigate this complex political landscape.
By JOSHUA GOODMAN and ISABEL DEBRE Associated Press
Venezuelan opposition leader MarÃa Corina Machado says she's confident of her country's eventual transition to democracy after the U.S. military ousted former President Nicolás Maduro. But when pressed, she took pains to avoid giving details on her plans to return home or any timetable for elections in Venezuela. Her remarks on Friday reflect how President Donald Trump's endorsement of a Maduro loyalist to lead Venezuela for now has frozen out the nation's Nobel Peace Prize-winning crusader for democracy. Still, Machado has looked to get closer to Trump, presenting her Nobel medal to him a day earlier at the White House.
By REGINA GARCIA CANO, ERIC TUCKER and MEGAN JANETSKY Associated Press
Venezuela has released 10 jailed Americans in exchange for getting home scores of migrants deported by the United States to El Salvador months ago under the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. The resolution represents a diplomatic achievement for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and helps President Donald Trump in his goal of bringing home Americans jailed abroad. El Salvador will send back some 300 Venezuelan migrants whom the Trump administration agreed to pay $6 million to house in a notorious Salvadoran prison. The arrangement drew immediate blowback when Trump invoked an 18th century wartime law to quickly remove men his administration had accused of belonging to the violent Tren de Aragua street gang.
By REGINA GARCIA CANO and JOSHUA GOODMAN Associated Press
A senior Trump administration official has traveled to Venezuela to urge President Nicolás Maduro's government to take back deported migrants who've committed crimes in the U.S. and release a handful of Americans imprisoned, a U.S. official said Friday. The visit by Richard Grenell, who U.S. President Donald Trump appointed as an envoy for special missions, may come as a surprise to some Venezuelans who hoped that Trump would continue the "maximum pressure" campaign he pursued against the authoritarian Venezuelan leader during his first term. Mauricio Claver-Carone, Trump's special envoy to Latin America, confirmed Grenell's visit to Caracas in a conference call with journalists on Friday.
