Venezuelan lawmakers on Thursday backed a plan that would make it easier for foreign companies to participate in the country’s oil industry, in the latest move by Caracas to meet the demands of US President Donald Trump.

U.S. diplomatic personnel have been deployed to Caracas as the Trump administration moves to resume relations with Venezuela after Nicolás Maduro's capture.

U.S. Southern Command said the Liberian-flagged Motor Vessel Sagitta was apprehended “without incident” and was taking oil from Venezuela in defiance of sanctions.

WASHINGTON, Jan 22 (Reuters) - The United States has named a two-time U.S. ambassador as its top envoy for Venezuela, according to the U.S. embassy in Caracas website. Laura Dogu, who previously served as ambassador to Honduras and Nicaragua,

Mr Putin praised Russia’s constructive role in Latin America and the Middle East. He made no mention of America’s armed forces having abducted Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s president, a Russian ally whom he had welcomed in the Kremlin eight months earlier—much less of how easily they had knocked out Venezuela’s Russian-built air defences.

Several surveys show that a majority of Latin Americans who were questioned endorsed the intervention, suggesting a shift, at least for now, from ideology to pragmatism.

It lines up another potential showdown between the two superpowers that could further complicate the South American country's path out of default.