Caracas

Venezuelan official Alex Saab was reportedly arrested in a joint US-Venezuelan operation, though his lawyer and government aligned figures denied the claim as conflicting accounts emerged.

The Trump administration eases some sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector, allowing US companies to invest, but excludes firms from China, Russia, and other rivals.

The call, joined by Harari’s daughters Yael and Yaara, followed more than a year in which Harari was held by authorities in Caracas alongside other Western detainees.

Trump seemed inclined to negotiate with Khamenei in his second term and probably would not have used force against the regime if not for an Israeli decision to attack Iran's nuclear program.

MILITARY AFFAIRS: Venezuela’s military arsenal, sourced from Russia and Iran fail under technologically and operationally superior US attack.

Venezuela's top lawmaker, Jorge Rodriguez, said earlier on Thursday that a significant number of both foreign and Venezuelan prisoners would be freed in the coming hours.

“Obviously, it’s the beginning of the end of the Chávez era, but the job has not been finished,” a source told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency on Tuesday.

Moscow's foreign ministry said in a statement that it welcomed the Venezuelan authorities' efforts to protect their sovereignty and national interests.

Cuba survives on foreign power; its fate may now be in US hands.

Media workers were briefly detained while reporting on pro-Maduro marches and the new legislature’s swearing-in, days after the US captured the Venezuelan president.