Where things stand
• Oil plans: President Donald Trump said he will personally decide which US companies can enter Venezuela and rebuild its oil industry. Oil executives largely declined to commit to such a deal during a White House meeting today, with ExxonMobil’s CEO warning the country is “uninvestible” in its current state.
• Prisoners released: Venezuela has released at least nine political prisoners — just over 1% of the total held in the country — according to human rights organization Penal Forum. Releasing prisoners has been among the key US demands for the interim government in Caracas since Nicolás Maduro’s ouster. Sigue nuestra cobertura en español.
• Eyes on Greenland: The emboldened US president has mused in recent days about making other strategic moves in the Western Hemisphere, including taking control of Greenland. Trump told reporters today if he is not able to acquire the Arctic territory “the easy way,” then he will have to “do it the hard way.”
Colombian fugitive faction leader calls for unity with other guerrilla groups against US interventionism
The leader of the largest dissident faction of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla group has called for unity with other rebel groups against US intervention in the region.
Nestor Gregorio Lozada, known as “Ivan Mordisco,” shared the message in a video, which FARC has confirmed is authentic.
Lozada is considered one of the top commanders of the Central General Staff, a federation of FARC dissident fronts. He refused to lay down arms after the 2016 peace agreement, the landmark deal that ended more than 50 years of armed conflict between the guerrilla group and the Colombian government.
Lozada’s group continues armed operations in Colombia following the formal demobilization of the FARC political movement. The group has been active in various regions of Colombia and is engaged in illicit activities, including drug trafficking and armed insurgency.
He is identified in the US Treasury sanctions records and linked to FARC dissident operations.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has condemned the video, saying the presence of Lozada and his group does not benefit Colombia or any country in Latin America.
“Dedicated to drug trafficking, they have become the perfect excuse for aggression” against the region, he said in a post on X, adding that “Latin American armies must come together to remove from our countries this pretext.”
“Armed drug traffickers must be defeated by the people, united with their states,” Petro added.
Rodríguez spoke with leaders of Brazil, Colombia, Spain about "criminal" aggression by the US
Venezuela’s acting president Delcy Rodríguez said Friday that she had spoken with the leaders of Brazil, Colombia, and Spain about what she termed “serious criminal, illegal, and illegitimate aggression” by the United States.
“During these exchanges, I provided a detailed account of the armed attacks against our territory, which resulted in the killing of more than a hundred civilians and members of the military, as well as the grave violations of international law, including the violation of the personal immunity of the constitutional president of the Republic, Nicolás Maduro Moros, and of the first lady and first combatant, Cilia Flores,” Rodríguez said in a statement.
During a public event in Caracas on Friday, Rodríguez addressed the calls and thanked the leaders of the three countries. She also said that the “US and Venezuelan governments are exploring possibilities to reopen embassies to denounce the aggression Venezuelan people suffered with the military intervention.” She added that Venezuela’s response “will be via diplomacy.”
The Venezuelan government said earlier this week that the US military attack on Venezuela on January 3 — which led to the capture of Maduro and Flores and their subsequent detention in New York — left at least 100 people dead.
The governments of Brazil, Colombia, and Spain jointly condemned the US military attack on Venezuela.
Earlier on Friday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said his country “supports a peaceful transition” in Venezuela, and that he conveyed that message to Rodríguez.
Meanwhile, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said he had asked Venezuela’s acting president to work together to combat drug trafficking.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva confirmed that he spoke with Delcy on Saturday. He has condemned the US actions as crossing an “unacceptable line.”
Oil companies were interested but did not commit billions to operating in Venezuela, Wright says
Trump administration officials emerged from a lengthy White House meeting with oil CEOs seemingly without a major deal from companies to go in and invest billions in new oil infrastructure in the country.
“We had a great meeting with oil executives. We sort of formed a deal” Trump told reporters Friday evening as he prepared to depart to Mar-A-Lago for the weekend. “They’re going to be blowing in with hundreds of billions of dollars.”
But when Energy Secretary Chris Wright was asked if any firm commitments had been made following the meeting, he told CNN’s Kristen Holmes that there was “tremendous interest” but didn’t say that any deals had been reached.
Wright said Chevron, the last US company operating in Venezuela, told federal officials it sees a “pathway to grow their production by 50% in the next 18 to 24 months” but did not commit financing to that. Earlier in the meeting, Trump said oil companies would invest “at least $100 billion of their money” to build up Venezuela’s oil infrastructure.
Wright said that amount of money would be what it would take to grow the country’s oil industry over the next decade if Venezuela“is peaceful and becomes a more rule of law, better operating environment.”
Addressing security guarantees sought by executives during the meeting, Wright said, “If you’re going to travel somewhere, you want to feel good about where you’re going. I think that’s a more general statement.”
“We got to make the business climate and the social safety in Venezuela much better than it is today,” he continued, adding that he thought they were heading for that trajectory under Trump’s leadership.
Here's a recap of what we learned from Trump's meeting with oil executives
Oil companies made it clear they are still weighing their plans for Venezuela during a meeting with President Donald Trump and other members of his administration today.
The heads of some of the biggest companies, including ExxonMobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips, said they want security guarantees before committing to exploration or operations in the volatile region.
Here are the key things to know:
- Trump’s vision: The president said he will personally decide which oil companies would be allowed to enter Venezuela, and that US firms would spend “at least $100 billion of their money, not the government’s money” to revitalize the country’s oil infrastructure. That figure has been met with skepticism by industry sources. The president also said he believes companies would mostly use Venezuelan workers on the ground.
- What the companies said: The oil CEOs did not publicly commit to a Venezuela deal during today’s meeting. ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods said the country was currently “uninvestible.” ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance did not commit to operating in the country, and a top Chevron official detailed the company’s current operations — rather than plans to scale them up.
- Security: Asked what security guarantees the US would give the companies, Trump said he would provide protection, that the US would also work with the Venezuelan government on the issue, and that companies could bring some of their own security.
- “Open for business”: The president defended his administration’s operation in Venezuela, saying adversaries like China and Russia would have taken over oil production if the US didn’t do it first. That being said, Trump said he would sell China and Russia “all the oil they need.”
- Interim government: Trump said he sees Venezuela and its acting president Delcy Rodríguez as an ally “right now.” He said he would meet with representatives of the country soon and that he did not “think” a second wave of attacks will be necessary.
- Venezuelan opposition: María Corina Machado will be “coming in sometime next week,” Trump said. The president deflected when asked if receiving the opposition leader’s Nobel Peace Prize would change his view of her. Trump previously expressed a lack of confidence that Machado could run the country.
- On Greenland: The president said if he is not able to make a deal to acquire the Arctic territory “the easy way” then he will have to “do it the hard way.” Greenland continues to publicly and privately insist it is not for sale.
CNN’s Samantha Waldenberg, Kit Maher, David Goldman, Ella Nilsen and Adam Cancryn contributed reporting to this post.
Who is "Nicolasito," the son of the ousted president of Venezuela?
Nicolás Maduro Guerra took center stage on Monday, January 5, just two days after his father — Venezuela’s ousted president, Nicolás Maduro — was captured in a US operation in Caracas.
Maduro Guerra is among those named in the indictment filed by the US Department of Justice in December, alongside Nicolás Maduro, Cilia Flores, and Héctor Guerrero Flores, known as “Niño Guerrero,” the alleged leader of the criminal organization Tren de Aragua.
The Justice Department — which also refers to Maduro Guerra as “Nicolasito” or “The Prince” — charges him with three counts: conspiracy to import cocaine; possession of firearms and destructive devices; and conspiracy to possess such weapons.
Without going into detail, Maduro Guerra rejected these accusations during his speech Monday at the National Assembly in Caracas.
These images, analysts consulted by CNN say, suggest that Maduro Guerra — popularly known as “Nicolasito” — will step forward as a symbolic figure of Chavismo in a campaign demanding Maduro’s return.
Maduro Guerra is Maduro’s eldest son, born from a relationship prior to the one the ousted president has with Cilia Flores. He is 35 years old, studied economics, and is pursuing a doctorate at UCAB.
He entered politics in 2013 after his father assumed the presidency following the death of then-President Hugo Chávez, according to the US indictment. In 2017, he was part of the National Constituent Assembly chaired by Delcy Rodríguez, and later took a seat in the National Assembly, where he remains to this day.
Trump says US oil companies will spend billions of their own money to update Venezuela's oil sector
President Donald Trump on Friday said the plan is for US oil companies to spend “at least $100 billion of their money, not the government’s money” to revitalize Venezuela’s oil infrastructure and eventually pump more oil.
Trump said the companies don’t need US federal funding but “need government protection and the government security” to be able to operate safely in the country. Industry sources have said political stability and security is one of their biggest concerns about going into the country.
Trump also said Venezuela has agreed the US will “immediately begin refining and selling up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil, which will continue indefinitely.”
Trump later said he hoped he wouldn’t have to give a financial “backstop” to US oil companies to explore.
“They know the risks, I mean, there are risks,” Trump said. “We’re going to help them out. We’re going to make it real easy.”
Trump on Greenland: "If we don't do it the easy way, we're going to do it the hard way"
President Donald Trump continued his escalating threats towards Greenland on Friday, telling reporters that if he is not able to make a deal to acquire the Arctic territory “the easy way” then he will have to “do it the hard way.”
“I would like to make a deal the easy way but if we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way. And by the way, I’m a fan of Denmark too. I have to tell you, they have been very nice to me. I’m a big fan,” the president said.
Asked about a recent report that the US was weighing making payments to Greenlanders to convince them to join the US, Trump said, “I’m not talking about money for Greenland yet.”
The top Washington-based diplomats for Greenland and Denmark met with White House officials on Thursday as Greenland continues to publicly and privately insist it is not for sale.
Denmark’s Ambassador Jesper Møller Sørensen and Greenland’s head of representation to the US Jacob Isbosethsen met with Trump advisers, diplomats familiar with the matter told CNN.
Trump says oil companies would mostly use Venezuelan workers
President Donald Trump said that he believes oil companies, who are seeking security guarantees as they weigh entering Venezuela, would mostly use Venezuelan workers on the ground, in addition to Americans.
“Well, there are going to be Americans. I assume they’re going to be using a lot of Americans, but they’re going to be using a lot of people from Venezuela and other places, I would imagine. But I would think that mostly they’ll be using Venezuelan workers,” Trump said Friday at a meeting with oil executives
Trump also suggested that it would be an asset for companies to use local workers, because of their familiarity with the work, also noting high unemployment in the county.
“They have a lot of great workers. They have a very high unemployment rate, and they have workers that are very familiar with taking oil out of the ground,” Trump said.
Pressed on how the United States would provide security guarantees without bringing in US troops, Trump said, “Well, we’re going to work with the Venezuelan leaders and people, and we’re going to have a very safe group, and they could also bring over some security with them.”
Trump deflects when asked if receiving Machado's Nobel Prize would change his view of her
President Donald Trump deflected Friday when asked by CNN if receiving Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado’s Nobel Peace Prize would change his view of her.
Instead, the president proclaimed that no one else in history should get the Nobel Peace Prize “more than me.”
“I’m going to have to speak to her. She might be involved in some aspect of it. I will have to speak to her. I think it’s very nice that she wants to come in. And that’s what I understand the reason is,” the president told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.
Trump previously had said that it would be “a great honor” to share Machado’s Nobel Peace Prize after she suggested doing so.
“I can’t think of anybody in history that should get the Nobel Prize more than me. And I don’t want to be bragging, but nobody else settled wars,” he said on Friday.
Trump says that he sees Venezuela as an ally "right now"
President Donald Trump told reporters Friday that he sees Venezuela and its acting president Delcy Rodriguez as an ally “right now” and cautioned that his administration does not want Russia or China in the region.
“Right now, they seem to be an ally. And I think it’ll continue to be an ally and we don’t want to have Russia there. We don’t want to have China there,” the president said.
Pressed by reporters if he will meet with Rodriguez or other leaders in Venezuela, the president said he would like be meeting with representatives of the country soon.
“I will be meeting with various representatives of Venezuela probably pretty soon. We haven’t set that up,” the president said. “But the relationship that we have with the people that are currently running Venezuela is very good. We also have a young lady that received the Nobel Peace Prize. She’s going to come in and pay her regards to our country, really to me.”
Trump said Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who dedicated her Nobel Peace Prize to Trump when she won it last year, would be “coming in sometime next week.”
Oil CEOs largely do not commit to ramping up Venezuela exploration or operations
CEOs of major oil companies did not commit to a Venezuela oil deal pushed by President Donald Trump during Friday’s White House meeting.
ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods explained to Trump and his top officials that the country was currently “uninvestible.” Woods said he would have a team from the company start to assess the situation in the country as long as they had a security guarantee. ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance did not commit to his company operating in the country, and a top Chevron official at the meeting detailed the company’s current operations rather than discussing dramatically scaling them up.
Even Harold Hamm, founder of independent US oil company Continental Resources and a close ally of Trump, was careful to not overcommit exploring for oil in Venezuela when asked by Trump.
Trump suggests the $12 billion Conoco lost in Venezuela could be "a good write-off"
When ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance told President Donald Trump the company lost $12 billion from the previous nationalization of Venezuelan assets, the president had some frank advice.
“Well, it’s a good write off,” Trump said.
In response, Lance told Trump, “It’s already been written off.”
Corporations can use tax write-offs to note business deductions to reduce their taxable income.
Trump seemed assured that the oil companies will be compensated for assets that were seized in Venezuela. Around 2006, former Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez nationalized both Exxon and Conoco’s oil assets.
“You’re going to make a lot of money, but we’re not going to go back,” Trump said.
Exxon CEO wants "significant changes" to the status quo in Venezuela, calling it "uninvestible"
ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods said with extraordinary bluntness at a White House gathering of oil executives Friday that the company would not be diving headfirst into Venezuela, saying the current situation on the ground presents an unacceptable risk to the company.
“If we look at the legal and commercial constructs and frameworks in place today, in Venezuela today, it’s uninvestible, and so significant changes have to be made to those commercial frameworks, the legal system,” Woods said. “There has to be durable investment protections, and there has to be a change to the hydrocarbon laws in the country.”
Exxon left Venezuela in 2007 when the Chavez regime nationalized the oil industry. Exxon wouldn’t accept the country’s terms, and the government seized the company’s assets there.
To return in full and restore Venezuela’s dilapidated oil infrastructure, Woods suggested Exxon would need to be convinced that the country had a stable political system, protections from crime and theft, and changes to Venezuela’s laws that require foreign companies to enter majority-government-run joint ventures and taxes of 60% on oil proceeds.
Woods said he was confident the Trump administration could make those necessary changes. But to even understand what kind of return on investment Exxon would get from Venezuela, Woods said a number of questions need to be answered first.
“The questions will ultimately be: How durable are the protections from a financial standpoint? What are the returns look like? What are the commercial arrangements, the legal frameworks?” Woods asked. “All those things have to be put in place in order to make a decision, to understand what your return would be over the next several decades that these billions of dollars of investments would be made on.”
Pressed by President Donald Trump on a timetable for a return, Woods said the company could return with a scout team to assess the situation and make determinations about what would be required for a larger comeback.
“We can we can hit the ground and within the next couple of weeks, start the assessment, and then from there, we need to understand what’s needed,” Woods said.
Trump says he does not "think" second wave of attacks will be necessary in Venezuela
President Donald Trump suggested Friday that he does not “think” a second wave of attacks will be necessary in Venezuela but said that there is an “armada” stationed off the coast in case the circumstances change.
“I don’t think it’s going to be necessary. We have an armada, a giant armada, like nobody’s ever seen in that part of the world, and it’s stationed off the coast,” the president said.
Earlier today, the president said he canceled a “second wave” of attacks on Venezuela, citing the country’s cooperation with the US in the week since leader Nicolás Maduro was ousted.
“Because of this cooperation, I have cancelled the previously expected second Wave of Attacks, which looks like it will not be needed, however, all ships will stay in place for safety and security purposes,” the president wrote on Truth Social earlier.
Trump invites China, Russia to buy "all the oil they need" from the US
President Donald Trump said Friday he would sell China and Russia “all the oil they need” as his administration takes control of Venezuela’s oil sales.
“We are open for business,” he said. “China can buy all the oil they want from us, there or in the United States. Russia can get all the oil they need from us.”
Trump earlier during the White House meeting with energy executives justified his administration’s capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and takeover of the country’s oil production by arguing that adversaries like China and Russia would have if the US didn’t do it first.
“If we didn’t do this, China would have been there and Russia would have been there,” he said.
Trump’s remarks represented a contrast from his past criticism of European allies for doing business with Russia amid its war with Ukraine. The president last year contended that the war would end if NATO countries stopped purchasing oil from Russia.
Trump says he may cut deal with oil companies on Venezuela as soon as today
President Donald Trump said Friday that he would personally decide which oil companies are allowed to enter Venezuela under his administration’s plans to rebuild the nation’s energy infrastructure.
“We’re going to be making the decision as to which oil companies are going to go in,” he said at the outset of a White House meeting with more than a dozen energy executives. “We’re going to cut a deal with the companies — we’ll probably do that today or very shortly thereafter.”
Trump added that the oil companies would be dealing directly with the US in negotiations for access to Venezuelan oil, rather than with Venezuela’s leadership.
The push for private sector investment comes days after Trump authorized the overthrow of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and declared the US would “run” the nation indefinitely.
“It’s a whole different Venezuela,” Trump said. “The people of the United States are going to be big beneficiaries.”
Trump says his administration is "getting along extremely well" with Venezuela
Flanked by members of his administration and oil executives, President Donald Trump said the US is “getting along extremely well” with Venezuela.
“We’re getting along extremely well with the people of Venezuela — both the people and the people that are running Venezuela,” he said.
The meeting with oil executives today is part of efforts to persuade the United States’ largest energy companies to return to the South American country.
Trump also touted the military operation that captured Nicolás Maduro and said he was called “by the leaders of numerous countries” who told him it was “impressive.” He didn’t specify which countries he talked to.
Soon: President Trump meets with US energy executives to discuss oil in Venezuela
US President Donald Trump said Friday that he will focus on Venezuela’s oil and lowering prices for Americans during a meeting with Big Oil executives this afternoon.
“Today’s meeting will almost exclusively be a discussion on Venezuelan Oil, and our longterm relationship with Venezuela, its Security, and People. A very big factor in this involvement will be the reduction of Oil Prices for the American People,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
The meeting is part of an ongoing effort to convince America’s largest energy companies to return to Venezuela. Executives are wary of investing tens of billions of dollars over a decade to restore Venezuela’s oil infrastructure, people familiar with the matter have told CNN.
Executives from oil giants Chevron, Exxon and Conoco are among the more than a dozen attendees expected at the meeting, which could also include representatives from oil trading firms and other parts of the energy sector, two people familiar with the matter said. The invite list at one point featured as many as 19 executives, though the people familiar cautioned that it remained in flux.
To return Venezuela’s production to pre-socialism levels, the oil industry would need to lay pipelines, set up drilling rigs, build port infrastructure and install reliable electricity, among other projects. That would cost more than $10 billion a year and take more than a decade to pay off, according to a consensus from industry experts, insiders and Wright.
However, with the massive oil reserves located in Venezuela, the administration is hoping investors will be lured by the prospective profit. As a start, executives are watching for the US to lift key sanctions that have suppressed Venezuela’s production, as well as provide some of the supplies necessary to move the nation’s heavier crude oil.
Hear from Venezuelans after Maduro's capture
Many in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, are reluctant to express their political views as the country’s future remains uncertain after the capture of President Nicolás Maduro in the early morning hours of January 3.
Journalist Mary Triny Mena reports from the streets of the capital:
Almost a week after the US captured Nicolás Maduro, the response from citizens in Venezuela has remained largely quiet. Journalist Mary Triny Mena went out in the country’s capital, Caracas, to try to get a better sense of how Venezuelans are feeling right now.
Spanish prime minister says his country "supports a peaceful transition" in Venezuela
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Friday that his country “supports a peaceful transition” in Venezuela, and that he expressed this to Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, and opposition leader Edmundo González.
Spain, along with five Latin American governments, had condemned the US’s military actions last Saturday that resulted in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
