Category World News

Venezuela’s government has said it is in “exploratory” talks to restore diplomatic ties with the United States in the wake of Washington’s abduction of President Nicolas Maduro.

The government led by interim President Delcy Rodriguez also said on Friday that US Department of State officials were visiting Caracas and that Venezuela would soon reciprocate by sending a delegation to Washington.

The government “has decided to initiate an exploratory process of a diplomatic nature with the Government of the United States of America, aimed at the re-establishment of diplomatic missions in both countries”, it said in a statement.

US-Venezuela relations tanked in the wake of the rise of left-wing President Hugo Chavez in 1999. Over the following 10 years, both countries withdrew their respective ambassadors.

In 2019, diplomatic relations fully ceased after the administration of US President Donald Trump recognised opposition figure Juan Guaido as the country’s interim president.

Since then, the US has handled Venezuela affairs from an office in Colombia’s capital, Bogota.

Rodriguez was sworn in as Venezuela’s interim president just two days after the US military seized Maduro. The operation has been roundly condemned as a blatant violation of international law.

The former vice president had continued to decry the US actions as a flagrant violation of Venezuela’s sovereignty, even as she has softened her tone on cooperation in the US.

“Our people and our region deserve peace and dialogue, not war,” she said.

The Trump administration has pledged to use military pressure and sanctions to indefinitely assert its will on Venezuela’s government and the country’s management of its vast oil reserves.

Trump had initially threatened that Rodriguez would pay a “bigger price” than Maduro if she did not comply with US interests. Maduro remained in a US federal facility on Friday after being indicted earlier this week on “narco-terrorism” conspiracy and drug trafficking charges.

In a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump said he had cancelled “the previously expected second Wave of Attacks” on Venezuela, citing increased cooperation with Caracas.

That included Venezuela’s move on Thursday to release a small fraction of its political prisoners, in what Trump called a sign of “seeking peace”.

“The USA and Venezuela are working well together, especially as it pertains to rebuilding, in a much bigger, better, and more modern form, their oil and gas infrastructure,” Trump said, adding that US military assets would remain surged to the region.

Trump and his top officials have offered competing justifications for Maduro’s abduction and the ongoing pressure campaign against Caracas. The administration has called the attack a one-off “law enforcement operation” while also saying the use of military force to achieve its goals remain on the table.

Earlier Friday, US forces seized a fifth oil tanker in the Caribbean since Trump announced a blockade on vessels under sanction by Washington in December.

UN experts have said the blockade and Washington’s efforts to assert control over Venezuela’s oil industry are also violations of international law.

Recalled striker Iliman Ndiaye scored in the first half to give Senegal a 1-0 victory over 10-man Mali in Tangiers on Friday in the first 2025 Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinal.

Mali hopes were dealt a severe blow in first-half added time when Yves Bissouma was sent off after being shown a second yellow card.

The only goal followed a blunder by Mali goalkeeper Djigui Diarra, who then made a string of superb saves to prevent Senegal increasing their lead.

Senegal now face defending champions Ivory Coast or record seven-time winners Egypt, who meet on Saturday, in the semifinals.

Malian Lassine Sinayoko appealed for a penalty just three minutes into the first half, alleging he was fouled by Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly, who was back after a one-match suspension.

However, the South African referee waved play on, and VAR confirmed his decision was correct. Big-screen replays showed Sinayoko was guilty of simulation.

Mali captain Bissouma was yellow-carded midway through the half for fouling veteran Senegal striker and twice African player of the year Sadio Mane.

Sinayoko then broke clear only to be foiled by a superb sliding tackle from fellow French Ligue 1 player Krepin Diatta.

The deadlock was broken after 27 minutes on a cold, cloudy evening in the Mediterranean city thanks to Ndiaye.

He was involved three times in a move which ended with goalkeeper Djigui Diarra allowing a Krepin Diarra cross to slip under his body, and Ndiaye struck the loose ball into the net.

While the goal was a gift, it gave Senegal a deserved lead as they had dominated possession in only the second AFCON clash between the countries. The first was drawn at the group stage in 2004.

Pape Gueye, who scored twice for Senegal in the last-16 victory over Sudan, was just off target with a shot from outside the box.

Then, for the second successive knockout match, Mali were reduced to 10 men before half-time with Bissouma shown a second yellow card, followed by a red.

The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder fouled Idrissa Gueye in midfield, and Malian pleas for the incident to be reviewed by VAR were rejected.

Mali displayed tremendous spirit when reduced to 10 men against Tunisia in the round of 16, and it was evident again against the Senegalese as the second half progressed.

They came close to levelling on 55 minutes when defender Abdoulaye Diaby advanced for a free-kick. His close-range shot brought a reflex save from former Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.

Diarra atoned for his first-half blunder by making several superb saves to keep alive Malian dreams of winning a maiden AFCON title.

With 15 minutes of regular time remaining, scorer Ndiaye was substituted. In his place came 17-year-old Paris Saint-Germain forward Ibrahim Mbaye, whose goal sealed victory over Sudan.

Diarra rescued Mali again as time ticked away, blocking a shot from substitute Pathe Ciss, who had broken clear.

The White House is summoning oil executives to discuss potential investment in Venezuela, and while a preliminary list of attendees features the big names of US oil companies – Chevron, Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips – it also includes several smaller independents and private equity-backed players.

The meeting with US President Donald Trump is scheduled for Friday at 2:30pm (19:30 GMT).

Only the largest US oil producers have the scale and capacity to operate in Venezuela and have experience doing so, said an oil industry source. The inclusion of smaller domestic companies in the meeting is notable, given that they mostly operate in the US.

Continental Resources, which bills itself as the biggest privately owned oil and natural gas producer in the world, will be in attendance, as will HKN Inc, which was formerly known as Harken Energy.

Several of the companies have connections to Denver, Colorado, the home turf of Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and a relatively small hub for oil and gas activity compared with other parts of the United States.

Oil output in PADD 4, the production region that includes Colorado, totalled 1.02 million barrels per day (bpd) in October, according to the latest data from the US Energy Information Administration. PADD 3, which includes states like Texas and New Mexico, produced 10.28 million bpd that month.

Raisa Energy, which acquires non-operated stakes in energy assets and has a Venezuelan CEO, is based in Denver and backed by investment funds Citadel and Ares Management.

Tallgrass Energy – a midstream company with pipeline and terminal assets in areas including the US Rocky Mountains and Oklahoma – and Aspect Holdings, which lists former Speaker of the US House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy as an independent director, are also headquartered in Denver.

The Department of Energy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Raisa, Tallgrass, and Aspect did not immediately reply to questions about any previous discussions they may have had about Venezuela ahead of the Friday meeting.

Many of the smaller firms and independents may not have as much experience with heavy oil that is typical in Venezuela, but they will be familiar with lighter oil around Lake Maracaibo and shale that has not yet been tapped, said a long-time oil industry executive.

Swiss prosecutors have requested that one of the owners of a bar where a massive New Year’s Eve fire killed 40 people and injured dozens be placed in pre-trial detention.

The Valais region’s chief prosecutor Beatrice Pilloud said in a statement on Friday that the detention of the man, Jacques Moretti, was needed to avoid a “risk of flight”.

Moretti’s wife and co-manager, Jessica Moretti, will remain free under judicial supervision, the statement said.

Authorities have been investigating the owners of La Constellation bar in the ski resort town of Crans-Montana on suspicion of crimes, including homicide by negligence.

Under Swiss law, a person is held in custody until a court rules within 48 hours on whether their detention is warranted.

Moretti’s detention comes as Switzerland held a national day of mourning on Friday for the victims of the blaze, pausing for a minute of silence before church bells rang out across the country.

An official ceremony to commemorate the victims, held in the town of Martigny, was attended by about 1,000 people, including French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Belgium’s Prime Minister Bart De Wever.

“Our country is devastated by this tragedy,” Swiss President Guy Parmelin said at the ceremony.

“We honour the memory of those who were lost, and we stand beside those now facing a long journey of recovery,” he said.

More than half of those who were killed in the fire in the early hours of New Year’s Day were teenagers, while another 116 people were injured.

Several French and Italian citizens were among the dead, and Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has called for stern punishment to be meted out to those responsible for the blaze.

‘Everything is different’

Meanwhile, about 1,400 people gathered at the Crans-Montana congress centre to attend a livestreaming of the official Martigny event.

A memorial erected outside the bar has been covered in a white, igloo-like tarpaulin to protect it from heavy snowfall.

“Everything is different now,” a French woman in her 30s who works seasonally in Crans-Montana and who did not want to give her name told the AFP news agency on Friday.

“Before, this place was all smiles. Now, there are no more smiles here,” she said.

Swiss prosecutors have said they believe the deadly fire started when sparklers attached to champagne bottles were raised too close to sound insulation foam on the ceiling in the bar’s basement section.

Local authorities said on Tuesday that the bar had not undergone a safety inspection since 2019, drawing outrage.

In a statement this week, the bar owners pledged their “full cooperation” with investigators.

“We are devastated and overcome with grief, our thoughts are constantly with the victims, their loved ones who have been bereaved so brutally and prematurely, and all those who are fighting for their lives,” they said.

In his speech at the ceremony on Friday, Parmelin, the Swiss president, said hope “depends on our justice system’s ability to bring failures to light and to impose consequences without delay or leniency”.