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.

Fugitive Venezuelan opposition politician Leopoldo Lopez said on Tuesday he would use his newly-won freedom in Spain to convince more countries to condemn President Nicolas Maduro's government as dictatorial and support democratic change.

The US military has been steadily massing a large number of troops, naval and air assets in the Caribbean over the last two months, conducting training missions off the coast of Venezuela, reopening a military base in Puerto Rico that had been shuttered for decades,

Donald Trump’s military build-up off the coast of Venezuela is aimed at convincing President Nicolás Maduro and his inner circle that staying in power will be more costly than leaving, according to Venezuelan opposition figures and analysts.