Advisers to President-elect Donald Trump are crafting a wide-ranging sanctions strategy to facilitate a Russia-Ukraine diplomatic accord in the coming months while at the same time squeezing Iran and Venezuela,

Russia's longest flights are to the tropical beaches of Venezuela, Bali, and Cuba (destinations free from Western sanctions).

The head of a leading Venezuelan human rights group was released from detention Thursday, his NGO said, after nine days in custody following a crackdown on critics of President Nicolas Maduro.

Nicolas Maduro’s grip on Venezuela continues to be a crisis not only for his people but for the entire Western Hemisphere.

Venezuela attorney general Tarek Saab said on Monday his office has requested an arrest warrant and Interpol red notice against opposition figure Leopoldo Lopez, who spent years in detention in Venezuela and has lived in Spain since 2020.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado confirmed on Wednesday that she and Edmundo González, recognized as the elected president by several countries including the United States, had a conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio,

However, their simplistic argument does not withstand scrutiny. Evidence shows that U.S. sanctions significantly contributed to Venezuela’s economic implosion, while the easing of sanctions in recent years has been associated with a moderate economic recovery that has helped alleviate the worst of the country’s economic crisis.

The Biden-era programs were a self-service scheduling app that Trump shut down on Monday, and an initiative that let in some migrants fleeing Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Haiti. They had allowed more than a million people to enter the country temporarily.

While the free world continues to sound the alarm about Russia’s influence in Europe, little attention has been paid to the damage Moscow is causing in America’s hemisphere.

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January 10 came and went and, as expected, Venezuelan autocrat Nicolás Maduro hung on to power. It is easy to throw our hands in the air and feel hopeless before an authoritarian government that ruthlessly persecutes any dissent.

The USA TODAY Fact Check Team is monitoring the inauguration ceremony, other addresses from Trump and former Present Joe Biden and reactions from around the country to sort fact from fiction and add context where needed. Our team uses primary documents, trustworthy nonpartisan sources, data and other research tools to assess the accuracy of claims.