US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday that the US will soon begin strikes to interdict narcotics shipments making their way from Venezuela to the United States via land routes.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to begin strikes on narcotics being smuggled overland in recent weeks.
Russia and its close ally Belarus reached out to Venezuela's embattled leader, Nicolas Maduro, on Thursday as Trump ramps up pressure for his removal, raising the possibility he could seek refuge abroad.
Maduro told Trump in a phone call on November 21 that he was ready to leave Venezuela, provided that he and his family had full legal amnesty, sources have told Reuters.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday held his second meeting in 17 days with Jesus Rafael Salazar Velazquez, the Venezuelan ambassador to Moscow.
Venezuela's GNB guilty of crimes against humanity, including rape and torture, UN finds
Venezuela's Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) committed serious human rights violations and crimes against humanity over more than a decade in targeting political opponents, often with impunity, a UN Fact-Finding Mission found on Thursday.
The independent mission's latest report details GNB involvement in acts that may constitute crimes against humanity, including arbitrary detentions, sexual violence, and torture during protest crackdowns and targeted political persecution since 2014 under President Nicolas Maduro.
Victims were selected for perceived opposition to the government, the report stated.