Washington has sought an eventual transition of power in Caracas away from the remnants of the Maduro government, though the timeline for such a move remains ambiguous.

Now Maduro sits in an American prison, and Venezuela is governed by his erstwhile second-in-command, Delcy Rodríguez, under a heavy American hand. What she will do with the repressive apparatus that El Helicoide represents is the question that preoccupies many Venezuelans who hope to leave the Maduro era behind.

American Airlines is the first airline to announce plans to reinstate flights to Venezuela, adding that it would share details "in the coming months."

From boarding school to beauty pageants, the US president mingled with Venezuela’s jet set long before he set sights on the country's oil industry.

President Donald Trump said he instructed the U.S. to open up “all commercial airspace” over Venezuela.

Commercial airspace over Venezuela is set to reopen soon, allowing U.S. citizens to travel to the South American nation, President Trump announced Thursday. “I just spoke to the president of Venezuela,

This used to be one of the world's most productive oil basins, and along with the city of Maracaibo, across the lake, is seen as key to President Donald Trump's plan to get US firms to invest $100bn (£75bn) to rebuild Venezuela's energy industry. The country has the world's largest proven oil reserves, estimated at about 303 billion barrels.

Get live updates and the latest news as Trump holds a Cabinet meeting and the Senate considers taking up a government funding bill to avoid a government shutdown.