Overview
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio outlined a stabilization–recovery–transition roadmap, saying the U.S. exerts extensive control over interim authorities and is coordinating naval interdictions of Venezuela-linked tankers.
- PDVSA said it is negotiating sales of oil volumes to the United States, following President Donald Trump’s statement that 30 million to 50 million sanctioned barrels will be marketed at full price with disbursements controlled by the U.S.
- On the ground, reporting points to intensified repression with checkpoints, colectivo patrols, phone searches and at least 14 journalists briefly detained since the weekend, according to Venezuelan sources cited by the New York Times and G1.
- Major AI image generators produced false arrest images of Nicolás Maduro in tests documented by the New York Times, highlighting weak safeguards as deepfakes spread widely across social platforms.
- House Speaker Mike Johnson said the United States is not at war following the Caracas raid, citing planned War Powers reporting requirements while defending the operation’s legality without prior congressional consent.