Venezuela says at least 24 soldiers killed in US operation to abduct MaduroAt least 24 Venezuelan soldiers were killed in the US attack on Caracas to abduct President Nicolas Maduro, the country’s armed forces have said.
“In memory: 24 stars were torn from our Bolivarian firmament by the cowardly hand of the empire,” read a statement from the Venezuelan armed forces posted on Instagram, with photos of the deceased men and women published alongside the announcement.
The Venezuelan military refers to itself as the Bolivarian Army in memory of the South American freedom fighter Simon Bolivar.
A video tribute to the slain Venezuelan security officials posted to the military’s Instagram features faces of the fallen over black-and-white videos of soldiers, US aircraft flying over Caracas and armoured vehicles destroyed by the blasts.
“Their spilled blood does not cry out for vengeance, but for justice and strength,” the military wrote.
“It reaffirms our unwavering oath not to rest until we rescue our legitimate president, completely dismantle the terrorist groups operating from abroad, and ensure that events such as these never again sully our sovereign soil.”
Earlier, Cuba announced that 32 members of the Cuban security forces were killed during the US military’s operation over the weekend.
Oil CEOs expected to visit White House: ReportUS Oil CEOs are expected to visit the White House as early as Thursday to discuss investments in Venezuela, according to three sources familiar with the planning.
The details and timing of the meeting are still under discussion, one of the sources said, according to the Reuters news agency.
The meetings are crucial to the Trump administration’s hopes of getting top US oil companies back into the South American nation after its government, nearly two decades ago, took control of US-led energy operations there.
Cuba releases some details about military members killed in US attacksThe Cuban government has announced two days of mourning for 32 members of the country’s armed forces killed in US strikes on Venezuela over the weekend.
Among those reported killed were colonels, lieutenants, majors, captains, and reserve soldiers, who ranged in age between 26 and 60. Cuban state media reported that they were members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior, the country’s two main security agencies.
“Our compatriots fulfilled their duty with dignity and heroism, falling after fierce resistance in direct combat against the attackers, or as a result of the bombing of the facilities,” an official statement said.
Venezuela’s prosecutor general accuses US of ‘terrorism’Venezuela’s prosecutor general has accused the United States of terrorism following the abduction by US forces of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
“The military operation without a declaration of war or a UN Security Council resolution represents an illegal act of armed aggression of a terrorist nature,” Tarek William Saab said.
Saab called on the New York judge to recuse himself as he was not competent to try a head of state. He also called for Maduro’s immediate release.
Rubio thanks media outlets for keeping Venezuela plans quietIn the wake of last weekend’s US military action in Venezuela, the news media got something it has seldom heard from the Trump administration: a “thank you.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio credited news organisations that had learned in advance about Saturday’s strike that led to the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro with not putting the mission in jeopardy by publicly reporting on it before it happened.
Rubio’s acknowledgement was particularly noteworthy because Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has cited a mistrust of journalists’ ability to responsibly handle sensitive information as one of the chief reasons for imposing restrictive new press rules on Pentagon reporters. Most mainstream news organisations have left posts in the Pentagon rather than agree to Hegseth’s policy.
Speaking on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, Rubio said the Republican administration withheld information about the mission from Congress ahead of time because “it will leak. It’s as simple as that.”
“Frankly, a number of media outlets had gotten leaks that this was coming and held it for that very reason,” Rubio said. “And we thank them for doing that, or lives could have been lost. American lives.”
News outlet Semafor reported that The New York Times and The Washington Post had both learned of the raid in advance, but held off reporting.
Caracas and Washington in talks to export Venezuelan oil to US: ReutersVenezuelan and US officials are discussing exporting Venezuelan crude to the United States, five government, industry and shipping sources have reportedly told Reuters.
US refineries on the Gulf Coast can process Venezuela’s crude and have imported it in the past, before the US imposed sanctions on Venezuela.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Trump administration dismissed analysts’ estimates that it would take years to ramp up Venezuela’s crude production.
Raising crude output from the South American nation, which sits on the world’s largest oil reserves, is a top objective for President Donald Trump after US forces abducted Venezuela’s leader, Nicolas Maduro, in a raid on its capital, Caracas, on Saturday.
US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said one option was for Washington to lift sanctions on Venezuela that had prevented the country from accessing crucial oil field equipment and other technologies to maximise production.
“Some of these things could be done very quickly,” he told Fox Business Network in an interview. “The opportunity on the business side here is really enormous.”
Venezuela’s oil deliveries to Asia at standstill, Chevron’s exports flowingVenezuela’s main oil ports today have entered their fifth day without delivering crude for state-run PDVSA’s customers in Asia, which are the OPEC country’s main buyers, shipping data reviewed by the Reuters news agency shows, as the US presses the nation through an oil embargo.
Chevron, which is Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA’s main joint-venture partner, yesterday resumed exports of Venezuelan oil to the US after a four-day pause and called workers abroad back to its Venezuela offices as flights to the country restarted. The US firm has emerged in recent weeks as the only company fluidly exporting Venezuela’s crude.
At least a dozen vessels under sanctions that had loaded in December departed from Venezuela’s waters in early January carrying some 12 million barrels of crude and fuel bound for China. They left in “dark mode”, or with transponders off, breaking a US tanker blockade in effect since last month.
An oil export paralysis to Asia could force PDVSA, which has been struggling to keep output and refining operations running, to deepen production cuts it began in recent days amid an over accumulation of crude and residual fuel inventories.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2026/1/6/live-un-security-council-members-slam-us-abduction-of-venezuelas-maduro