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    Venezuela ‘turning over’ $2bn in oil to US, Trump says, in move that could cut supply to China

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    Deal indicates Venezuelan government is responding to Trump’s demand that they open up to US oil companies or risk more military interventionDonald Trump has said Venezuela will be “turning over” $2bn worth of Venezuelan crude to the United States, a flagship negotiation that would divert supplies from China while helping Venezuela avoid deeper oil production cuts.“This Oil will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States!” Trump said in a post online. Continue reading… More

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      The Guardian view on Trump’s raid in Caracas: oil matters, but it’s not the whole story | Editorial

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      The seizure of Venezuelan leader was induced by the prize of petroleum, but driven by spectacle, geopolitics and domestic politicsIt’s all about oil. That was the reason Nicolás Maduro, the Venezuelan leader illegally abducted by US forces at the weekend, had given for Donald Trump’s fixation with his country. A better way to think about Venezuela is that oil was necessary but not sufficient. The presence of vast reserves made Mr Trump’s interest understandable – if Venezuela’s main export was bananas this would not have happened. But oil alone cannot explain the timing or scale of the move.Venezuelan crude is extra-heavy as well as expensive and slow to bring online; it will not immediately transform US energy systems, nor rescue refineries that have already adapted to years without it. Instead, oil is the “prize” around which other agendas cohere. These include future profits for US firms; modest downward pressure on oil prices; depriving China of a meaningful ally in America’s backyard; putting pressure on Cuba; and US domestic political signalling in Florida. Each gain is small. But collectively Mr Trump could justify a high‑profile, theatrical – and unlawful – intervention even if the economic returns are incremental.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading… More

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      ‘She was the brains, Maduro was the brawn’: Cilia Flores’s role in Venezuela

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      Flores, Nicolás Maduro’s wife, wielded far more power than just being a first lady and played a front line role in politicsBefore pleading “not guilty” at her first court hearing after she and her husband, Nicolás Maduro, were captured by US special forces, Cilia Flores made a point of adding, in Spanish: “I am first lady of the Republic of Venezuela.”But Maduro himself and others close to the couple agree that she was always far more than that. Before her rendition to New York, Flores wielded power comparable with – and at times greater than – that of other figures from the regime, including Delcy Rodríguez, the former vice-president who is now the country’s acting leader. Continue reading… More

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      Opposition leader Machado says she hasn’t spoken to Trump since attack as she vows to return to Venezuela – live

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      María Corina Machado tells Fox News she would share her Nobel peace prize with US president after removal of Nicolás MaduroDeposed Maduro pleads not guilty after capture in shock US attack on VenezuelaUS foes and allies denounce Trump’s ‘crime of aggression’ in Venezuela at UN meetingMy colleague Sibylla Brodzinsky has reported on the relationship between the US and Colombia, home to significant oil reserves. Here is an extract from her story:Colombia has long been a close partner of the US in the fight against drug trafficking and enjoyed bipartisan support in Washington but relations have soured dramatically since Trump came to office.Colombia’s narcotics trade is largely controlled by illegal armed groups such as the Gulf Clan, the National Liberation Army (ELN) and dissident factions of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) guerrilla group, the majority of whose members demobilised after a 2016 peace deal … Continue reading… More

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      US ‘not at war’ in Venezuela, Johnson says after briefing with top officials

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      Speaker says Trump not looking to take control militarily as Democrats say briefing raises more questions than answersThe United States is “not at war” in Venezuela, the Republican speaker of the House Mike Johnson said on Monday, despite the weekend raid Donald Trump ordered to capture president Nicolás Maduro and announcement that the US would now “run” the country.The surprise incursion came after months of mounting US pressure on Venezuela, which has included a blockade of some oil shipments and airstrikes on vessels off its shores that have killed at least 110 people. Continue reading… More

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      ‘Soy inocente’: Maduro defiant in surreal New York courtroom spectacle

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      The Venezuelan leader entered a heartfelt not guilty plea – and told a member of the gallery he was a prisoner of warVenezuela crisis – latest updatesAt noon on Monday, Nicolás Maduro was escorted into a Manhattan federal courtroom following his capture early on Saturday in Caracas, completing the seized Venezuelan leader’s stunning journey from his capital city to a US courtroom.It was a surreal display amid the fallout of a brazen US military operation to grab Maduro that has roiled global politics and stunned observers in the US and overseas. Continue reading… More

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      With Trump’s military action in Venezuela, the US has made every other country less safe | Volker Türk

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      This weakens the only mechanism we have to prevent world conflict, namely the UN. The international community must stand up for the rule of lawVolker Türk is UN high commissioner for human rightsThe US military operation in Venezuela undermines a fundamental principle of international law, agreed after the horrors of two world wars and the Holocaust: states must not use force to pursue their territorial claims or political demands.I am deeply disturbed by these events – and by some of the reactions I have seen. A narrative is emerging that seeks to justify the US military intervention as a response to the Nicolás Maduro government’s appalling human rights record.Volker Türk has been the UN high commissioner for human rights since 2022 Continue reading… More

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      Venezuela live updates: interim president offers to ‘collaborate’ with US after Trump warns of further strikes

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      Delcy Rodríguez adopts conciliatory tone as she stands in for Nicolás Maduro after Venezuelan leader captured by American forces and brought to USTense calm spreads at border with Colombia after Maduro captureAnalysis: European leaders appear torn in face of new world orderMarkets are reacting to the turmoil over Venezuela and the US actions with investors seeking the safe haven of gold and buying up shares in defence companies. But with Donald Trump making Venezuela’s oil reserves central to his plans for the country, the price of crude is falling. You can follow the market reaction on our business blog with my colleague, Graeme Wearden, here:Prosecutors say Nicolás Maduro is the kingpin of a cartel of Venezuelan political and military officials who have conspired for decades with drug trafficking groups and US-designated terrorist organisations to flood the America with thousands of tonnes of cocaine. Continue reading… More