Overview
- Press secretary Caroline Livitt said the tanker Marinera was seized to enforce an embargo on the shadow fleet moving Venezuelan oil.
- Livitt said it is too early to discuss presidential elections in Venezuela.
- She asserted President Trump expects to maintain good personal relationships with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping despite these measures.
- Livitt said U.S. policy will continue under a “peace through strength” approach and that the United States will decide what counts as lawful oil trade.
- The New York Times reported U.S. pressure on Venezuela’s interim authorities to expel certain foreign advisers, which the White House would not confirm, and separate reports of a Jan. 3 operation removing Nicolás Maduro remain uncorroborated in these briefings.