Hundreds of political prisoners in Venezuela, including opposition leaders, journalists and human rights activists, could soon be freed under an amnesty bill that the country's acting president announced on Friday. 

The move represents the latest concession Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez has made since the Jan. 3 capture of the country's former leader Nicolás Maduro by the U.S.

Rodriguez told a group of justices, magistrates, ministers, military brass and other government leaders that the National Assembly, which is controlled by the ruling party, would promptly take up the bill, The Associated Press reported.

"May this law serve to heal the wounds left by the political confrontation fueled by violence and extremism," she said in the pre-taped televised event, according to the AP. "May it serve to redirect justice in our country, and may it serve to redirect coexistence among Venezuelans."

VENEZUELA RELEASES ALL KNOWN AMERICAN DETAINEES AFTER MADURO'S CAPTURE AND GOVERNMENT TAKEOVER

Rodriguez said the amnesty law would cover the "entire period of political violence from 1999 to the present," and that those incarcerated for murder, drug trafficking, corruption or human rights violations would not qualify for relief, the AP reported.

In addition to the amnesty law, Rodriguez announced the shutdown of Venezuela's notorious El Helicoide prison in Caracas. Torture and other human rights abuses have been repeatedly documented at El Helicoide. The facility is set to be transformed into a sports, social and cultural center, according to reports.

Alfredo Romero, the head of Foro Penal, Venezuela’s leading prisoner rights organization, welcomed the legislation while expressing some skepticism.

"A General Amnesty is always welcome as long as its elements and conditions include all of civil society, without discrimination, that it does not become a blanket of impunity, and that it contributes to the dismantling of the repressive apparatus of political persecution," Romero said in a post on X.

VENEZUELA’S DELCY RODRÍGUEZ SNAPS AT WASHINGTON, DECLARES ‘ENOUGH’ OF US INFLUENCE

Relatives of some prisoners livestreamed Rodríguez’s speech on a phone as they gathered outside Helicoide, according to the AP.

Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado said in a statement that the moves were not made "voluntarily, but rather in response to pressure from the US government," the AP reported. She also reportedly noted that people detained for their political activities have been held for anywhere between a month and 23 years.

Foro Penal estimates there are 711 political prisoners held in Venezuela, 183 of whom have been sentenced, the AP reported. The outlet identified prominent members of the opposition who were detained after the 2024 election and remain in prison as former lawmaker Freddy Superlano, Machado’s lawyer Perkins Rocha and Juan Pablo Guanipa, a former governor and one of Machado’s closest allies.

On Friday evening, Venezuela released all known American citizens being held in the country.

"We are pleased to confirm the release by the interim authorities of all known U.S. citizens held in Venezuela," the U.S. embassy wrote on X. "Should you have information regarding any other U.S. citizens still detained, please contact American Citizen Services."

The Associated Press and Fox News Digital's Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

All known American citizens being held in Venezuela have been released, the U.S. Embassy said Friday evening. 

"We are pleased to confirm the release by the interim authorities of all known U.S. citizens held in Venezuela," the embassy wrote on X. "Should you have information regarding any other U.S. citizens still detained, please contact American Citizen Services."

No other details about the detainees were disclosed. Fox News Digital has reached out to the State Department. 

VENEZUELA’S DELCY RODRÍGUEZ SNAPS AT WASHINGTON, DECLARES ‘ENOUGH’ OF US INFLUENCE

Interim authorities have slowly released American detainees in the weeks since the U.S. capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.

Both are being held in New York City on federal narco-terrorism charges. 

Earlier this month, Venezuela's interim government reported that 116 prisoners had been released, although only about 70 have been verified by the non-governmental organization Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón, according to Bloomberg.

STATE DEPT CONFIRMS 'LIMITED NUMBER' OF PERSONNEL IN CARACAS WORKING TO RESUME VENEZUELA DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS

Earlier this month, the U.S. government announced a travel alert advising against travel to the country. Americans in the country were advised to depart immediately. 

"The security situation in Venezuela remains fluid. The U.S. Embassy in Bogotá, Colombia, warns U.S. citizens not to travel to Venezuela, reiterating warnings against travel to Venezuela dating to 2019. As international flights have resumed, U.S. citizens in Venezuela should leave the country immediately."

The country is being run by Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro's former lieutenant. 

This week, Rodriguez signed a law overhauling the nation's oil sector, opening it to privatization and reversing a core policy of the socialist government that has ruled Venezuela for more than two decades.

On Jan. 10, President Donald Trump said American energy companies will invest $100 billion to rebuild Venezuela’s "rotting" oil infrastructure and push production to record levels.

Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez signed a law overhauling the nation's oil sector, opening it to privatization. The move reverses a core policy of the socialist movement that has ruled the country for more than two decades.

Rodriguez's policy shift, aimed at luring the foreign investors needed to rework the industry, comes less than one month after the U.S. captured former Venezuelan dictatorial leader Nicolás Maduro. The acting president, who served as Maduro's vice president prior to his capture, was facing pressure from the Trump administration, which was eyeing Venezuela's oil industry after imposing sanctions.

On Jan. 10, Trump hosted nearly two dozen top oil and gas executives at the White House. He said American energy companies will invest $100 billion to rebuild Venezuela’s "rotting" oil infrastructure and push production to record levels.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION EASES SANCTIONS ON VENEZUELAN OIL INDUSTRY AFTER MADURO’S CAPTURE

That same day, Trump signed an executive order titled "Safeguarding Venezuelan Oil Revenue for the Good of the American and Venezuelan People," blocking U.S. courts from seizing Venezuelan oil revenues held in American Treasury accounts.

"We’re talking about the future. We are talking about the country that we are going to give to our children," Rodríguez said of the reform, according to The Associated Press.

AMERICAN ENERGY DOMINANCE GIVES US THE POWER TO FEND OFF ENEMIES AND RESCUE VENEZUELA

The legislation ends the state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela SA’s (PDVSA) monopoly over the production and sale of oil, as well as pricing, and allows private companies to take control, the AP reported. 

The new law states that a private company "will assume full management of the activities at its own expense, account, and risk, after demonstrating its financial and technical capacity through a business plan approved by" Venezuela's Oil Ministry, according to the AP. However, the outlet added that the law leaves control of hydrocarbon reserves operated by private companies with the government.

The law also allows for independent arbitration of disputes, ending the requirement that they be settled in Venezuelan courts controlled by the ruling party, according to the AP. Additionally, it modifies extraction taxes, setting a royalty cap rate of 30%, the AP reported.

President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Rodriguez on Thursday, the AP reported. The call came just one day after the secretary explained to senators how the administration was planning to handle the sale of tens of millions of barrels of oil from Venezuela, the AP added. The outlet noted that Venezuela has the largest reserves of crude oil in the world.

"What we hope to do is transition to a mechanism that allows that to be sold in a normal way, a normal oil industry, not one dominated by cronies, not one dominated by graft and corruption," Rubio said at a Senate hearing on Wednesday.

The secretary said that the U.S. would retain control of the oil revenue and that Venezuela would submit monthly budget outlining what they need funded. Subsequently, the funds will be moved into an account over which the U.S. will have oversight. He explained that the money would not be in the hands of the U.S., but Washington would control its disbursement to ensure it benefits the Venezuelan people.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump on Thursday declared a national emergency via an executive order over Cuba, accusing the communist regime of aligning with hostile foreign powers and terrorist groups while moving to punish countries that supply the island nation with oil.

Thursday's executive order states that the policies and actions of the Cuban government constitute "an unusual and extraordinary threat, which has its source in whole or substantial part outside the United States, to the national security and foreign policy of the United States."

To address that threat, Trump ordered the creation of a tariff mechanism that allows the U.S. to impose additional duties on imports from foreign countries that "directly or indirectly sell or otherwise provide any oil to Cuba," according to the order.

The White House said the move marks a significant escalation in U.S. pressure on the Cuban government, aimed at protecting American national security and foreign policy interests.

MADURO'S CAPTURE IS 'BEGINNING OF THE END' FOR CUBA'S REGIME, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE CHAIR SAYS

In the order, Trump said Cuba aligns itself with and provides support for "numerous hostile countries, transnational terrorist groups, and malign actors adverse to the United States," naming Russia, China, Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah.

The administration said Cuba hosts Russia’s largest overseas signals intelligence facility, which the order states attempts to steal sensitive U.S. national security information. The order also says Cuba continues to deepen intelligence and defense cooperation with China.

According to the order, Cuba "welcomes transnational terrorist groups, such as Hezbollah and Hamas."

Trump also cited the Cuban government’s human rights record, accusing the regime of persecuting and torturing political opponents, denying free speech and press freedoms, and retaliating against families of political prisoners who protest peacefully.

"The United States has zero tolerance for the depredations of the communist Cuban regime," Trump said in the order, adding that the administration will act to hold the regime accountable while supporting the Cuban people’s aspirations for a free and democratic society.

CUBA'S SHADOW IN VENEZUELA: HAVANA’S INTELLIGENCE AND MILITARY TIES EXPOSED AFTER MADURO RAID

Under the order, the Commerce Department will determine whether a foreign country is supplying oil to Cuba, either directly or through intermediaries. The State Department, working with Treasury, Homeland Security, Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative, will decide whether and how steep the new tariffs should be if so.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is tasked with monitoring the national emergency and reporting to Congress, while the Commerce Department will continue tracking which countries are supplying oil to Cuba.

In a fact sheet, the White House said the order is designed to protect U.S. national security and foreign policy from the Cuban regime’s "malign actions and policies," and described the move as part of Trump’s broader effort to confront regimes that threaten American interests.

The administration said the action builds on Trump’s first-term Cuba policy, which reversed Obama-era engagement and reinstated tougher measures against the communist government.

The executive order is set to take effect Friday.

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for additional comment.

Venezuela opposition leader María Corina Machado argued that a successful democratic transition for her country would rapidly transform the nation's economy and reverse years of instability, reshaping the region’s political landscape.

Machado told the New York Post in an interview that such an outcome would define Trump’s foreign policy legacy, comparing it to the fall of the Berlin Wall.

"The legacy to the world is going to be huge," she explained. "You’re going to have a prosperous Venezuela and the region.… If you make a comparison in history, this would mean for the Americas as much as the fall of the Berlin Wall had for Europe. It’s equivalent.

"For the first time in history, you will have the Americas free of communism, dictatorship and narco-terrorism for the first time," she added.

POST TRUMP MEETING, VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER SAYS COUNTRY WILL HOLD 'FREE AND FAIR' ELECTIONS 'EVENTUALLY'

Machado said she intends to return to Venezuela soon to help drive a democratic transition despite the risks she faces under the country’s current government.

"I need to be there. I want to go back as soon as possible," Machado said.

Her planned return would come at a pivotal moment for Venezuela, as interim President Delcy Rodríguez leads a U.S.-backed transition following the removal of Nicolás Maduro.

Rodríguez, a close ally of Maduro, was sworn into office on Jan. 5 after U.S. forces ousted the ex-leader and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their compound in Caracas during a military operation.

VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER MARÍA CORINA MACHADO PRESENTS NOBEL MEDAL TO TRUMP DESPITE INSTITUTE BAN

The duo were flown to New York and arraigned in federal court on multiple charges to which they pleaded not guilty.

Rodríguez has since been working with the White House and has spoken with President Donald Trump by phone.

Machado, however, voiced deep reservations about Rodríguez’s leadership, warning that the transition risks falling short without a broader break from the Maduro-era government.

"If Delcy Rodríguez stays, nothing truly changes," she told the Post. "There will be no rule of law, no trust, no stability. Venezuelans will not come home under a criminal."

The Department of War announced Tuesday U.S. military forces apprehended another sanctioned tanker vessel in the Carribean as part of its mission to crush illicit activity in the Western Hemisphere.

U.S. Southern Command confirmed Motor Vessel Sagitta was apprehended earlier in the day without incident.

Video showed the vessel moving through the ocean with people on board the deck of the ship.

"The apprehension of another tanker operating in defiance of President Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean demonstrates our resolve to ensure that the only oil leaving Venezuela will be oil that is coordinated properly and lawfully," officials wrote in a statement on social media.

"As the joint force operates in the Western Hemisphere, we reaffirm that the security of the American people is paramount, demonstrating our commitment to safety and stability."

The apprehension was part of #OpSouthernSpear, in partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard, Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department.

The U.S. has now seized seven oil tankers since ramping up its campaign against illicit oil trade by Venezuela.

The vessels intercepted have either been under U.S. sanctions or part of a "shadow fleet" of unregulated ships that disguise their origins to move oil from major sanctioned producers, including Iran, Russia and Venezuela.

Officials previously said the only oil leaving Venezuela will be oil that is coordinated properly and lawfully.

Fox News Digital's Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.

Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez has appeared in U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) intelligence files dating back several years and was labeled a "priority target" in 2022, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

The documents show the DEA has intelligence files on Rodríguez going back to at least 2018, with her name appearing in multiple investigations across several U.S. and international field offices, though she has never been publicly accused of any criminal wrongdoing, the outlet reported.

The DEA did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The "priority target" designation is used by the agency to focus investigative resources on individuals or organizations believed to play a significant role in major drug trafficking or money laundering operations affecting the United States, according to a 2008 DEA assessment.

VENEZUELA’S ACTING PRESIDENT TOUTS ‘NEW POLITICAL MOMENT,’ HINTS AT FURTHER RELEASE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS

Rodríguez was formally sworn in as Venezuela's new leader on Jan. 5, just two days after U.S. forces extracted Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores from their compound in Caracas in an early-morning military operation.

Maduro and Flores were taken into U.S. custody and flown to New York to face federal charges.

Maduro is charged with four counts: narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine-guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine-guns and destructive devices. His wife is charged with three counts: cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine-guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine-guns and destructive devices.

TRUMP PLANS TO MEET WITH VENEZUELA OPPOSITION LEADER MARIA CORINA MACHADO NEXT WEEK

The White House has been working with Rodríguez in the weeks since Maduro was ousted. President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday that he spoke with Rodríguez by phone and praised her as a "terrific person."

"We discussed a lot of things and I think we’re getting along very well with Venezuela," he said.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado criticized Rodríguez as the Trump administration engages with the Maduro ally, arguing she does not represent the Venezuelan people.

"I want to insist on this: Delcy Rodríguez, yes, she’s a communist. She’s the main ally and representation of the Russian regime, the Chinese and the Iranians, but that’s not the Venezuelan people and that’s not the armed forces, as well," Machado said at a Heritage Foundation event on Friday.

"So I am profoundly, profoundly confident that we will have an orderly transition. This is a complex phase we are in right now. Some of the dirty work is being done by them," she added. "But then, the result of a stable transition will be a proud Venezuela who is going to be the best ally the United States has ever had in the Americas."

The Federal Aviation Administration warned pilots of U.S. airlines about flying over the eastern Pacific Ocean near Mexico, Central America and parts of South America, citing possible "military activities" and satellite navigation interference. 

The warning was issued Friday in a series of Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) distributed by the FAA, which said, "Potential risks exist for aircraft at all altitudes, including during overflight and the arrival and departure phases of flight." 

"The FAA issued flight advisory Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) for specified areas of Mexico, Central American, Panama, Bogata, Guayaquil, and Mazatlán Oceanic Flight Regions, and in airspace within the eastern Pacific Ocean," the agency also told USA Today. 

It’s unclear what prompted the advisories, which tell aircraft operators to "exercise caution." Fox News Digital has reached out to the FAA for comment.

TRUMP DISCUSSES EXPANSION OF DRUG CARTEL CRACKDOWN

The notices come after months of U.S. military strikes against suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific. 

In November, the FAA had warned all pilots to exercise caution when flying in the airspace over Venezuela "due to the worsening security situation and heightened military activity." 

In December, a JetBlue flight from the Caribbean nation of Curaçao halted its ascent to avoid colliding with a U.S. Air Force refueling tanker.

HEGSETH SIGNS OFF ON WOUNDED US TROOPS KEEPING BULLETS, SHRAPNEL REMOVED FROM THEIR BODIES AFTER MADURO RAID

Earlier this month, the Trump administration carried out a military operation capturing Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. 

President Donald Trump also recently told Fox News that the U.S. will expand operations against drug cartels.  

"We've knocked out 97% of the drugs coming in by water, and we are going to start now hitting land," Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity in early January. "The cartels are running Mexico, it’s very sad to watch and see what’s happened to that country."

The latest FAA notices will be in effect for 60 days. 

Fox News Digital’s Nora Moriarty and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Latin America’s most powerful guerrilla groups are being urged to set aside years of bloody infighting and unite against President Donald Trump, according to reports.

The calls intensified in the wake of the arrest of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, which has fueled fears among groups of a looming US-backed military intervention.

The recent call came from Colombia’s most wanted insurgent leader, Nestor Gregorio Vera, or "Ivan Mordisco," who released a video appeal to rival rebel factions, even despite years of brutal infighting, according to Reuters.

After decades of waging a bloody conflict over territory, drug routes and illegal economies, Vera said the time had come to put differences aside.

US MAY BE INVOLVED IN VENEZUELA FOR YEARS, TRUMP SAYS

"The shadow of the interventionist eagle looms over everyone equally. We urge you to put aside these differences," Vera said in the video, in which he appeared in camouflage flanked by two heavily armed fighters, Reuters said.

"Destiny is calling us to unite. We are not scattered forces, we are heirs to the same cause. Let us weave unity through action and forge the great insurgent bloc that will push back the enemies of the greater homeland," he added.

Among the groups singled out was the left-wing National Liberation Army (ELN), Colombia’s largest and most powerful guerrilla organization, which controls vast stretches of the 1,400-mile border between Colombia and Venezuela.

US RAID IN VENEZUELA SIGNALS DETERRENCE TO ADVERSARIES ON THREE FRONTS, EXPERTS SAY

"The war between Mordisco’s Farc dissidents and the ELN has been very, very bloody with a huge humanitarian impact," Jorge Mantilla, a security analyst and expert on Colombian guerrilla groups, told The Telegraph.

"So it calls my attention that, despite that, Mordisco is still saying, ‘stop this, let’s unite against our enemy, which is the U.S. and its intervention.’ So the cards are on the table."

Colombian President Gustavo Petro, also a former guerrilla fighter, had seized on the threat of a united insurgent front to call for a concerted effort to "remove" drug-trafficking guerrillas.

He said he had invited Venezuela’s new leader, Delcy Rodriguez, to cooperate in rooting out the armed groups.

But reports of a potential joint military operation involving the U.S., Colombia and Venezuela also raised the prospect that the ELN could finally be dismantled after more than 60 years of insurgency.

NOBEL PEACE PRIZE RECIPIENT MACHADO PLEDGES TO RETURN TO VENEZUELA, SEES 'ALARMING' INTERNAL CRACKDOWN

As previously reported by Fox News Digital, guerrillas now operate along Venezuela’s 2,219-kilometer border with Colombia and control illegal mining near the Orinoco oil belt.

ELN has operated in Venezuela as a paramilitary force.

The group is believed to have around 6,000 fighters and controls key cocaine-producing regions, illegal mining operations and smuggling routes, per reports.

Following Maduro’s capture, the ELN vowed to fight to its "last drop of blood" against what it called the US empire.

"Today, the main goal of the ELN is not the takeover of power in Colombia or to rebuild a Colombian state, but more so to defend the Bolivarian Revolution, because they consider themselves a continental guerrilla [group] because their ideological inspiration is Latin Americanist, so they feel the struggle of Venezuela is their struggle," Mantilla told the Telegraph.

"I think ELN is, right now, in a very vulnerable position," Angelika Rettberg, political science professor at the University of the Andes in Colombia told the outlet.

"I also don’t think that even if they are able to build this unified organization, that would make them less likely to be hit by an eventual US attack," Rettberg said.

Interim Venezuela President Delcy Rodríguez announced Wednesday that her government will continue to release prisoners detained under the rule of former President Nicolás Maduro in an initiative she touted as a "new political moment," according to The Associated Press.

Her comments came just days after the interim government freed at least four U.S. citizens detained in Venezuela, marking the first known release of American prisoners since Maduro was ousted in a U.S. military operation earlier this month.

During her first press briefing since becoming acting leader, Rodríguez reportedly told journalists in Caracas that the process of releasing detainees "has not yet concluded," emphasizing that the effort to free those held under Maduro’s rule is ongoing. 

Rodriguez then promoted a "Venezuela that opens itself to a new political moment, that allows for ... political and ideological diversity," the AP reported.

VENEZUELA RELEASES MULTIPLE AMERICAN CITIZENS FROM PRISON FOLLOWING MILITARY OPERATION

The outlet added that possibly 800 prisoners, including political leaders, soldiers and lawyers, are still being detained, citing Venezuelan human rights organization Foro Penal.

Rodriguez also claimed her government had already released 212 detainees, but human rights organizations have estimated lower figures, The AP added.  

TRUMP SIGNS ORDER TO PROTECT VENEZUELA OIL REVENUE HELD IN US ACCOUNTS

The Maduro ally insisted that the prisoner releases do not signal a break from the past and are not the direct result of U.S. pressure, but she credited the effort to the ousted president, The AP reported. She said Maduro oversaw the release of 194 detainees in December, noting that he did so because he "was thinking precisely about opening spaces for understanding, for coexistence, for tolerance," according to the outlet.

While Rodríguez has not provided a detailed framework for determining who will be released, she said decisions will be guided by an evaluation of "crimes related to the constitutional order," warning that "messages of hatred, intolerance, acts of violence will not be permitted."

The actual coordination of these releases will be handled by Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello. 

President Donald Trump said Wednesday he recently had a "great conversation" with Rodríguez, their first since Maduro was captured and flown to the U.S. to face drug-trafficking charges.  

"We had a call, a long call. We discussed a lot of things," Trump said. "And I think we’re getting along very well with Venezuela."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel declared Monday that his administration is not negotiating with Washington, despite President Donald Trump’s threats to push Cuba into a deal now that Venezuelan oil will no longer be supplied.

"There are no conversations with the U.S. government, except for technical contacts in the migration field," Díaz-Canel said in a post on X.

Díaz-Canel continued to denounce the U.S., accusing it of applying hostile pressure on the island, and insisted that negotiations would only take place if they are conducted in accordance with international law.

"As history demonstrates, relations between the U.S. and Cuba, in order to advance, must be based on International Law rather than on hostility, threats, and economic coercion," he said.

TRUMP ADMIN TO CONTROL VENEZUELAN OIL SALES IN RADICAL SHIFT AIMED AT RESTARTING CRUDE FLOW

"We have always been willing to engage in a serious and responsible dialogue with the various governments of the United States, including the current one, on the basis of sovereign equality, mutual respect, principles of International Law, reciprocal benefit without interference in internal affairs and with full respect for our independence," Canel added. 

On Sunday, Trump declared that Cuba would no longer receive oil or money from Venezuela, a move that would sever Havana’s longtime energy and financial lifeline. 

The announcement came after a stunning Jan. 3 operation in Venezuela, in which American forces captured President Nicolás Maduro and reportedly killed at least 32 Cuban personnel.

VENEZUELAN OIL SHIPMENTS SURGE TO US PORTS WITH HEAVY CRUDE AFTER MADURO CAPTURE

"THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA - ZERO! I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE," he warned.

Cuba has long depended on imported oil to keep its aging power grid running. Before the U.S. attack on Venezuela, Havana was receiving 35,000 barrels a day from Venezuela, roughly 7,500 from Russia and some 5,500 barrels daily from Mexico, The Associated Press reported, citing Jorge Piñón of the Energy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin, who tracks the shipments.

Even with Venezuelan oil imports, Cuba has suffered widespread blackouts in recent years due to persistent fuel shortages, an aging and crumbling electric grid and damage from hurricanes that have battered the island’s infrastructure.  

Now, with U.S. sanctions tightening on both Russian and Venezuelan oil, blackouts could worsen as Havana’s leaders reject Trump’s call to strike a deal. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez declared Sunday that the island nation would defend itself "to the last drop of blood," responding to pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to strike a deal with Washington. 

President Trump had spoken about Cuba in a Truth Social post earlier in the day, urging that "they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE."

"Those who blame the Revolution for the severe economic shortages we suffer should hold their tongues out of shame. Because they know it and acknowledge it: they are the fruit of the draconian measures of extreme strangulation that the U.S. has been applying to us for six decades and now threatens to surpass," the Cuban wrote on X, according to a translation of the Spanish-language post. 

"#Cuba is a free, independent, and sovereign nation. No one dictates what we do. Cuba does not aggress; it is aggressed upon by the United States for 66 years, and it does not threaten; it prepares, ready to defend the Homeland to the last drop of blood," he wrote in another post, according to the translation.

CUBA IDENTIFIES 32 MILITARY PERSONNEL KILLED IN US OPERATION AGAINST MADURO REGIME IN VENEZUELA

U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., who was born in Cuba, responded to the foreign figure's post.

"You dictators, henchmen, and executioners of the Cuban nation think you own the island. You don't have much time left," he declared, according to the translation of his post, also written in Spanish.

CUBAN-BORN GOP LAWMAKER WARNS VENEZUELA ELECTIONS MUST HAPPEN IN ‘MONTHS,’ NOT ‘YEARS’ AFTER MADURO DOWNFALL

Trump declared in a Truth Social post on Sunday, "Cuba lived, for many years, on large amounts of OIL and MONEY from Venezuela. In return, Cuba provided ‘Security Services’ for the last two Venezuelan dictators, BUT NOT ANYMORE! Most of those Cubans are DEAD from last weeks U.S.A. attack, and Venezuela doesn’t need protection anymore from the thugs and extortionists who held them hostage for so many years.

"Venezuela now has the United States of America, the most powerful military in the World (by far!), to protect them, and protect them we will. THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA - ZERO! I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE," he warned.

TRUMP ULTIMATUM TO CUBA: ‘MAKE A DEAL, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE’ OR FACE CONSEQUENCES

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Rep. Gimenez thanked the president.

"I was born in Cuba & forced from home shortly after the Communist takeover. Today, I represent my community in Congress. Thank you, President Trump, first Venezuela & next is Cuba. We will be forever grateful. Our hemisphere must be the hemisphere of liberty," the lawmaker wrote in a post on X.