Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro placed Venezuela on high alert over a major U.S. military deployment near his country's coast.

Venezuelan government officials floated a plan in which President Nicolás Maduro would eventually leave office, a bid aimed at easing mounting U.S. pressure on the government in Caracas.

Even with U.S. warships offshore, the strongman has prevailed in efforts to unseat him—purging, spying and paying off officers so the armed forces remain loyal.

Trump administration escalates pressure on Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro through Caribbean naval deployment and cartel strikes in what analysts call modern gunboat diplomacy.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has asked Pope Leo XIV to help maintain peace in Venezuela. His comments come as the U.S. military continues to strike alleged drug-carrying boats off Venezuela.

Venezuela’s autocrat had proposed allocating his country’s oil wealth and other natural resources to the U.S. and ending deals with American adversaries to appease President Trump.

The USS Gerald R. Ford and its accompanying ships were previously off the coast of Israel in the eastern Mediterranean.

President Donald Trump said he may authorize U.S. land-based military strikes against Venezuelan drug traffickers, citing a rise in cartel activity. The U.S. has deployed more than 10,000 troops, multiple Navy ships and F-35 fighters around Venezuela,