The Trump administration on Friday denied reports from Caracas alleging that the United States had abruptly halted deportation flights to Venezuela. Venezuelan authorities said the U.S. government had unilaterally suspended a scheduled deportation flight that was due to land on December 12.

The Trump administration’s seizure of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela is one of the most dramatic twists yet in a military pressure campaign against Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.

The favourite in Chile's election on Sunday is the right-wing José Antonio Kast. A Kast victory would be the latest rightward political shift in South America, as U.S. President Donald Trump and the White House try to coax or force the socialist leader of Venezuela from office.

Venezuela’s foreign affairs minister denounced the seizure, calling it a “blatant theft” and “an act of international piracy.”

Now, President Donald Trump wants Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro out of power. Maduro’s “days are numbered,” Trump told Politico in an interview released on Dec. 9. His Administration considers Maduro the head of a government-sponsored cocaine smuggling syndicate.

Experts say that Russian and Chinese support for Venezuela has largely dried up, with no prospect of real military or financial aid.

Trump admin weighs next steps in Venezuela as military presence ramps up

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday held a second meeting in 17 days with the Venezuelan ambassador to Russia, at a time of mounting pressure by U.S. President Donald Trump for the removal of Venezuela's president,