President Donald Trump has called off a planned second wave of military strikes on Venezuela. He praised the interim government for working with the US, including letting many political prisoners go. This choice comes after the US operation last week that took former President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores into custody. Trump said that working together to rebuild Venezuela’s oil and gas infrastructure was a key factor in easing tensions.
The new government in Venezuela is led by Delcy Rodríguez, who is acting as interim president. On Thursday, they started letting go of opposition leaders and prisoners as a “gesture of seeking peace.” Trump said in a post on Truth Social that “all ships will stay in place for safety and security reasons,” even though he called off more attacks. María Corina Machado, the leader of the opposition, will be in Washington next week. This could mean changes in diplomacy.
Today, Trump will meet with oil executives at the White House to get at least $100 billion in investments for Venezuela’s energy sector. The US has taken control of tankers that are linked to drug trafficking and wants to control oil sales around the world from the country. This plan puts more weight on controlling the economy than on long-term military action.
Trump said that the US would “manage” Venezuela after Maduro, going after drug trafficking and terrorism. Oil companies are doubtful about large investments, but Trump’s administration wants to quickly fix up the country’s infrastructure. Spain has confirmed that prisoner releases include people from other countries.
