Venezuela

• Tuesday, January 27th 2026 - 09:55 UTC

  Delcy Rodriguez meets Repsol, Chevron and Shell as Venezuela pushes oil law overhaul to draw investment

  

  Venezuela’s acting president Delcy Rodriguez met on Monday in Caracas with representatives of oil companies including Repsol, Chevron and Shell to discuss a hydrocarbons law reform now moving through the National Assembly, as her government seeks to attract private and foreign investment. The meeting took place at PDVSA facilities and forms part of a mandatory public consultation phase after the bill cleared its first legislative debate.

• Monday, January 26th 2026 - 23:18 UTC

  Lula urges Trump to limit “Peace Board” to Gaza in call covering governance, Venezuela and bilateral agenda

  

  Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva held a phone call on Monday with U.S. President Donald Trump, in a nearly hour-long conversation that blended global governance issues with the bilateral agenda. Brazilian media, citing Planalto Palace sources, reported that Lula argued Trump’s proposed “Peace Board” should be restricted exclusively to the future governance of the Gaza Strip and should also contemplate the creation of a Palestinian state—an approach those sources said Trump does not share.

• Monday, January 26th 2026 - 01:11 UTC

  Venezuela releases “at least 80” political prisoners as families wait outside jails

  

  Venezuela freed “at least 80” political prisoners on Sunday across multiple detention facilities, according to a preliminary count by rights group Foro Penal, in a slow-moving release process that has left relatives camping outside prisons while awaiting official confirmation.

• Friday, January 23rd 2026 - 19:29 UTC

  Chavismo pushes oil-law reform to open Venezuela’s upstream to private firms

  

  Venezuela’s National Assembly has approved, in a first reading, a reform to the country’s Hydrocarbons Law that would expand private participation in crude production and marketing—an important shift from the long-running “mixed-company” model in which the state held majority stakes. The bill still requires a second reading before it can become law, EFE reported.

• Friday, January 23rd 2026 - 03:50 UTC

  Venezuela frees opposition leader’s son-in-law as Caracas signals thaw with Washington

  

  Venezuelan authorities on Thursday released Rafael Tudares, the son-in-law of opposition figure Edmundo González Urrutia, in one of the most politically charged prisoner releases since Nicolás Maduro’s ouster and the installation of an interim administration led by Delcy Rodríguez, according to agency reporting.

• Thursday, January 22nd 2026 - 21:51 UTC

  US appoints career diplomat Laura Dogu as new mission chief for Venezuela amid thaw signals

  

  The United States has named veteran Foreign Service officer Laura Dogu as its new mission chief for Venezuela, a step that aligns with broader signs of a tentative diplomatic reset — including discussions about reopening embassies and plans for Venezuelan acting president Delcy Rodríguez to travel to Washington, though no dates or agenda have been disclosed.

• Wednesday, January 21st 2026 - 19:22 UTC

  White House confirms upcoming Washington visit by Venezuela’s Delcy Rodríguez

  

  Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodríguez is expected to travel to Washington “soon,” a White House official told EFE on Wednesday, without providing dates or an agenda. The planned trip comes as the administration of US President Donald Trump seeks to entrench a transition framework in Caracas following the US operation that captured and removed Nicolás Maduro in early January.

• Wednesday, January 21st 2026 - 03:52 UTC

  Trump signals possible role for Machado as U.S. tightens Venezuela oil crackdown

  

  United States President Donald Trump said Venezuela opposition leader María Corina Machado could “maybe” be brought into the transition process “in some way,” marking a notable shift in tone as Washington balances political messaging with day-to-day coordination in Caracas following Nicolás Maduro’s capture on January 3, according to a Reuters report.

• Tuesday, January 20th 2026 - 15:29 UTC

  Delcy Rodríguez vows 30% increase in gold output to boost hard-currency inflows

  

  Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodríguez said her administration aims to raise gold production by 30% in 2026 to generate additional foreign-currency revenues, as the government seeks to shore up public finances and draw fresh investment into the mining sector, according to reports attributed to EFE.

• Saturday, January 17th 2026 - 08:02 UTC

  Delcy Rodríguez meets CIA director in Caracas

  

  Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodríguez met on Thursday in Caracas with CIA Director John Ratcliffe, holding talks focused on security and cooperation, US intelligence sources confirmed to EFE.