Economic instability in Venezuela after the U.S. raid to capture its president is deepening inflation and rattling the currency, sending grocery bills soaring for millions of people.

CIA director John Ratcliffe delivered a message that the U.S. "looks forward to an improved working relationship" with Venezuela, a U.S. official told CBS News.

A day after she gave President Donald Trump her Nobel Peace Prize medal, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado insisted that her country was on an irreversible path toward democracy, even as Trump has spoken far more frequently in recent days about securing Venezuelan oil than bringing about free elections.

Rodriguez consolidates power, appoints loyalists in key positions Interior Minister Cabello seen as biggest threat to Rodriguez's leadership Intelligence chief Gonzalez's control questioned due to Cabello influence Jan 17 (Reuters) - In the 12 days since the U.

In the early morning of Jan. 3, United States military forces arrived in Caracas, Venezuela, and struck numerous military targets, capturing President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The couple has since been taken to the United States for alleged charges of narco-terrorism and drug trafficking.

Venezuela’s road to democracy does not start or end with Trump’s extraction of Maduro, writes journalist Helena Carpio.

Jan 16 (Reuters) - CIA Director John Ratcliffe met Venezuela's interim leader in Caracas to discuss cooperation, a U.S. official said on Friday, in the most senior known visit by a U.S. official since the United States toppled President Nicolas Maduro this month.

Decades of nationalization, socialism, crony hiring and money printing turned Venezuela’s oil sector into a hollow shell, shrinking output, crushing incomes and forcing a historic exodus.