US says it is to dictate Venezuelan decisionmakingAFP, WASHINGTONUS President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday said that it would dictate decisions to Venezuela’s interim leaders and control the country’s oil sales “indefinitely” after toppling Nicolas Maduro as president of the South American nation. Trump’s assertion of US dominance over Venezuela comes despite Interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez saying there is no foreign power governing Caracas. “There is a stain on our relations such as had never occurred in our history,” Rodriguez said about the US raid to depose her predecessor. “We obviously have maximum leverage over the interim authorities in Venezuela right now” following the capture operation, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told a briefing. Washington also seized two oil tankers, including a Russian-linked vessel that it pursued from Venezuela to the north Atlantic.

Source: Taipei Times January 08, 2026 17:12 UTC