9TH JANUARY, 2026 / AASG NEWS
- President Trump is planning to meet with a group of oil industry executives at the White House on Friday as his administration presses oil companies to reenter Venezuela.
- The president said earlier in the day he “cancelled the previously expected second Wave of Attacks” on Venezuela because it’s been “working well together” with the U.S.
- A U.S. delegation arrived in Venezuela on Friday to carry out “technical and logistical assessments” to renew diplomatic ties with Caracas, Venezuelan officials said.
- The president said he plans to meet Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado next week, after she said she’d like to share her Nobel Peace Prize with him.
Trump meeting with major oil executives at the White House.
President Trump is meeting with executives from major U.S. oil companies at the White House.
Trump says he will meet with Colombian president in the first week of February
Mr. Trump said on Truth Social that he will meet with Gustavo Petro, the Colombian president, at the White House during the first week of February.
“I am sure it will work out very well for Colombia, and the U.S.A., but, cocaine and other drugs must be STOPPED from coming into the United States,” the president wrote. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”Mr.
Trump spoke with Petro by phone on Tuesday amid the escalation of tensions in the region following the overnight capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro last week.
U.S. delegation travels to Venezuela for “exploratory” talks on diplomatic ties
A delegation of U.S. officials arrived in Venezuela on Friday to carry out “technical and logistical assessments” to renew diplomatic ties with Caracas, State Department and Venezuelan officials said.
The small team of U.S. diplomats and diplomatic security officials traveled to Venezuela to make a preliminary assessment about the potential re-opening of the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, the State Department told the Associated Press in a statement.
The government of interim President Delcy Rodriguez acknowledged the visit and said it “has decided to initiate an exploratory diplomatic process with the government of the United States of America, aimed at re-establishing diplomatic missions in both countries,” Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said in a statement.
He said a delegation of Venezuelan diplomats will be sent to the U.S. to “fulfill the corresponding tasks.” It did not say when.
Diplomatic ties between the U.S. and Venezuela broke down in 2019 under ousted leader Nicolas Maduro
