Trump cancels second attack on Venezuela; fifth tanker seized

Rachel Evans, Bloomberg News on Jan 9, 2026

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U.S. President Donald Trump said a second wave of attacks on Venezuela has been canceled, citing improved cooperation from the country after some political prisoners were released.

Venezuela is “working well” with the U.S. on rebuilding its oil and gas infrastructure and releasing “large numbers” of political prisoners, Trump wrote in a social-media post Friday. That means another wave of strikes doesn’t appear necessary, he said.

Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to have its military in position for further action in the region after the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro last week. The U.S. Coast Guard boarded another oil tanker on Friday.

Thus far, activists have confirmed only 11 freed prisoners in Venezuela, though families have been waiting throughout the night in Caracas for further word. Trump’s focus on jailed activists and foreigners in Venezuela is a nod to the country’s political opposition, which was sidelined when the U.S. opted to work with current members of the regime following the removal of Maduro.

Brent futures pared gains on the president’s statement, trading at $62.16 a barrel as of 10:15 a.m. in London. Trump is meeting with U.S. oil executives later as his administration pushes them to rebuild Venezuela’s energy sector.

Biagio Pilieri, an aide to opposition leader and Nobel laureate María Corina Machado, was released from the infamous Helicoide prison in Caracas late Thursday, according to Foro Penal, an advocacy group. Jorge Rodríguez, head of the National Assembly, said that a significant number of prisoners would be released, and five Spanish citizens were freed earlier in the day.

Trump told Fox News Thursday that he plans to meet with Machado next week, in another gesture of recognition toward the opposition. Last weekend he said she wasn’t the right choice to lead Venezuela because she doesn’t have the “respect” of its people, but Machado has maintained her support for the U.S. president and has offered to give him her Nobel Peace Prize, an award he’s long coveted.

After Maduro’s capture, Trump had indicated that while the U.S. would consider using the military to secure the cooperation of the interim government in Caracas, he was hopeful he wouldn’t need to order additional action.

In the weeks leading up to the Maduro raid, the U.S. had built up its presence in the Caribbean and had struck more than a dozen boats the administration claimed were trafficking drugs. It hasn’t disclosed any further such attacks since Maduro’s capture.

Trump has said, without offering evidence, that most drug transit by sea has been stopped. The fight against narcoterrorism was a partial justification for last week’s operation to go after Maduro.

Military engagement in the region may also continue on other fronts. For months, Trump has signaled a willingness to target drug-manufacturing facilities in other countries, including Colombia and Mexico, and he said on Thursday strikes were being prepared, without offering a specific location.

“We are going to start now hitting the land with regard to the cartels,” Trump said Thursday in an interview with Fox News.

On Friday, the Coast Guard boarded and seized a tanker suspected of carrying embargoed oil that was attempting to evade U.S. forces on its way out of Venezuela, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a post on social media. The seizure was the fifth of a ship attempting to enter or leave the area, showing the U.S. is still attempting to ward off shipments of sanctioned oil to countries including Russia and China.

Trump’s remarks Thursday on land attacks come despite the president sending optimistic signals following a phone call with Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Wednesday. The two had previously sparred over Trump’s allegations that Petro was enabling drug production to flourish. After their conversation, Trump posted on social media that he appreciated Petro’s “call and tone.”

Petro, in his own post, said it was more convenient to start a dialogue “than to settle it on battlefields.” The leaders have agreed to meet in Washington.

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—With assistance from Catherine Lucey and Hadriana Lowenkron.