President Donald Trump Plans to Visit Venezuela After U.S. Ousts and Detains Nicolás Maduro

President Donald Trump Plans to Visit Venezuela After U.S. Ousts and Detains Nicolás Maduro

12 February, 202612 sources compared
South America

Key Points from 12 News Sources

  1. 1

    President Donald Trump said he plans to visit Venezuela

  2. 2

    U.S. forces ousted and detained Nicolás Maduro after air strikes

  3. 3

    U.S. blocked Venezuelan oil to Cuba, causing jet-fuel shortages and Russia's tourist evacuations

Full Analysis Summary

Maduro capture and reactions

Reports say Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro was captured and detained, with some accounts saying he was ousted and taken to New York to face drug and weapons charges.

LBC reports that Former US president Donald Trump said he plans to visit Venezuela and described Washington’s relationship with the country as "very good."

LBC says the US is 'working together very closely' with acting leader Delcy Rodríguez, particularly on oil access.

Folha de S.Paulo reports that President Donald Trump announced for the first time that he plans to visit Venezuela, though he gave no date.

Folha says that since Maduro’s arrest the White House has been engaging with interim chavista leader Delcy Rodríguez and easing some sanctions.

Anadolu Ajansı says Cuba’s fuel shortages worsened after the U.S. military captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3 and barred the acting authorities from supplying energy to the island.

The sources contain contradictions: LBC refers to Donald Trump as 'Former US president,' while Folha calls him 'President Donald Trump,' and some accounts describe Maduro as ousted and taken to New York while Anadolu describes him as captured by the U.S. military on Jan. 3.

Taken together, the reports link Maduro's reported capture and detention to Trump's announced plans to visit, Washington's engagement with Delcy Rodríguez, and concerns about regional energy supplies.

Coverage Differences

Title/Labeling

Sources differ on how they label Trump: LBC calls him 'Former US president Donald Trump' while Folha de S.Paulo uses 'President Donald Trump.' This is a direct discrepancy in titles across sources rather than a factual contradiction about the visit itself; when quoting or paraphrasing, each article preserves its own form of address.

Event framing

Articles vary in phrasing for Maduro’s removal: LBC says he was 'reportedly ousted' and 'detained and taken to New York to face drug and weapons charges,' Folha describes him as 'captured' and 'is now imprisoned and awaiting trial in New York on narcotics-trafficking charges,' while Anadolu states the U.S. military 'captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3.' Each source reports the event but uses different verbs and levels of certainty.

U.S. engagement with Venezuela

LBC and Folha report that the United States has moved quickly to engage with Delcy Rodríguez.

Some U.S. officials are treating Rodríguez as the acting Venezuelan authority.

LBC quotes Trump saying the US is 'working together very closely' with Venezuela's acting leader, former vice-president Delcy Rodríguez, 'particularly on access to oil.'

Folha states the White House 'has been engaging with interim chavista leader Delcy Rodríguez and easing some sanctions,' and adds that Trump said the U.S. already considers Rodríguez the legitimate leader, praised her work and described bilateral relations as "as good as one could wish."

Travel And Tour World and Firstpost note that U.S. steps have reduced Venezuelan oil supplies to regional partners such as Cuba, linking diplomatic engagement with energy-access arrangements.

Source descriptions vary, calling Rodríguez an acting leader, an interim chavista leader, and a former vice-president.

Coverage Differences

Tone

Folha presents the relationship as formally recognizing Rodríguez and praises her work (reporting Trump's words that the U.S. 'already considers Rodríguez the legitimate leader'), while LBC emphasizes operational cooperation ('working together very closely' 'particularly on access to oil') — a difference between portraying legitimacy and portraying pragmatic cooperation.

Policy detail

Folha mentions a recent U.S. Treasury action ('the U.S. Treasury issued a general license on Tuesday') but its snippet cuts off without specifying details; LBC focuses on rhetoric and cooperation on oil access. This illustrates uneven reporting detail across outlets about concrete policy measures.

Russia's Cuba response

Moscow has moved to mitigate spillover effects in Cuba by organizing repatriation flights and offering fuel aid.

Al Jazeera reports "Russia is arranging return-only flights to evacuate its citizens from Cuba" and that Rossiya will run return flights "to evacuate roughly 5,000 Russian tourists."

Anadolu Ajansı says "Russia will send oil and petroleum products to Cuba as humanitarian aid 'in the near future.'"

Firstpost and Travel And Tour World similarly describe Rossiya, Nordwind and Aeroflot operating return flights and Moscow coordinating evacuations.

Firstpost summarizes that "Rossiya and Nordwind (and Aeroflot) are operating return flights from Havana and Varadero while the Russian embassy coordinates with Cuban authorities and Moscow plans humanitarian oil shipments."

Coverage Differences

Numbers

Different sources give different evacuation figures: Al Jazeera and Firstpost cite roughly 5,000 Russian tourists to be repatriated, while El País reports "roughly 4,000" — an observable numerical discrepancy across outlets reporting Russian repatriation plans.

Attribution of cause

Sources differ on causal framing: Al Jazeera and Anadolu explicitly link the Cuban fuel crisis to U.S. actions following Maduro's capture (Al Jazeera: 'links the fuel crisis to a US-imposed oil blockade' and Anadolu: 'worsened after the U.S. military captured...'), while other outlets focus on operational consequences and Russia's humanitarian framing without adopting the same explicit blame language.

Cuba fuel crisis effects

The Cuban economy and public services are reported to be under acute strain because of fuel shortages.

Al Jazeera notes that "Cuba can produce only about one-third of its fuel needs and is experiencing widespread power outages and service disruptions: reduced bus and train routes, some hotel closures, restrictions at schools and universities, and a four-day week for many public-sector workers."

Travel And Tour World lists similar impacts — schools and universities cutting back, rolling blackouts, and suspended international routes.

El País quantifies the tourism downturn, saying Cuba "earned just $917 million from tourism in 2025 with 1.9 million visitors, a 14% drop from 2024."

CubaHeadlines and other local-focused outlets frame the shortages as worsening after the U.S. blocked Venezuelan oil shipments to the island.

Coverage Differences

Severity emphasis

Some outlets concentrate on immediate social disruptions (Al Jazeera, Travel And Tour World), while El País emphasizes the measurable economic effects on tourism revenue and visitor numbers. CubaHeadlines and other local outlets explicitly attribute the worsening crisis to U.S. actions, a causal claim that not all international outlets state as directly.

Blame attribution

CubaHeadlines and some others explicitly state the crisis 'worsened after the U.S. blocked oil shipments from Venezuela' while other international outlets report disruptions and link them to U.S. restrictions or to follow-up measures without identical direct phrasing.

Travel disruptions and responses

International responses and travel disruptions reflect widening geopolitical and humanitarian concerns.

El País reports that Rosaviatsia arranged repatriations and that Rossiya and Nordwind will operate return-only flights.

El País also reports that Rosaviatsia warned flights could be suspended after repatriation operations.

Firstpost, Al Jazeera and Travel And Tour World say major carriers such as Air Canada, Air Transat and WestJet paused services and that Moscow has warned citizens not to travel to Cuba.

Travel And Tour World cites the United Nations' alarm, reporting United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned of a possible 'humanitarian collapse' if energy needs are not met.

Multiple sources say Russia frames its actions as humanitarian and aims to fill a strategic vacuum.

Several outlets report Kremlin officials accusing the U.S. of trying to 'suffocate' Cuba.

Coverage Differences

Narrative framing

Some outlets (El País, Firstpost) emphasize the operational logistics and tourism-sector impacts, whereas other outlets (Yeni Safak English, Anadolu Ajansı) present Moscow's intervention as geopolitically motivated to sustain an ally and frame U.S. measures as coercive — they quote Kremlin statements calling the U.S. action 'suffocating' Cuba or frame Moscow's aid as filling a strategic vacuum.

Urgency language

The UN warning cited by Travel And Tour World ('possible "humanitarian collapse"') conveys international institutional alarm; other reports focus on country-level measures and logistics without repeating that specific UN formulation.

All 12 Sources Compared

Al Jazeera

Russia evacuates tourists from Cuba as US-engineered fuel crisis deepens

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Anadolu Ajansı

Russia to supply energy to Cuba as humanitarian aid

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Attack of the Fanboy

US oil pressure hits Cuba’s airports hard, and Russian tourists are caught in the fallout

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CiberCuba

The Government of Canada issues a warning about the collapse of services in Cuba and advises against travel

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CubaHeadlines

Russian Tourists to Be Evacuated from Cuba Amid Severe Fuel Shortage

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El País

Russia announces the repatriation of its tourists in Cuba.

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Firstpost

Russia to evacuate citizens from Cuba as US sanctions threaten oil supplies

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Folha de S.Paulo

Trump speaks for the first time about going to Venezuela, but does not specify a date.

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lbc.co.uk

Trump says he plans to visit Venezuela after establishing 'very good' relationship with interim leader

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The Guardian

Moscow preparing to evacuate Russian tourists from Cuba amid US oil blockade

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Travel And Tour World

Russia’s Bold Action to Save Citizens in Cuba: Evacuation Flights Begin as US Sanctions Leave Island in the Dark, Sparking an Urgent Humanitarian Response to a Growing Crisis

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Yeni Safak English

Russia dispatches oil aid to Cuba as fuel crisis deepens after Maduro capture

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