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Exoskeletons are shedding their bulky, sci-fi image to become lightweight, AI-powered consumer devices that manufacturers hope will become as commonplace as smartwatches, targeting everyone from hikers to seniors seeking to stay active.The metal contraptions are impossible to miss in the aisles of the CES consumer technology show in Las Vegas, with visitors eager to try out devices that, depending on the model, help to train the legs, support the knees, and strengthen the back. Some say they do all three at once.The Hardiman suit, the first exoskeleton of the modern era created by engineer Ralph Mosher for General Electric in the mid-1960s, is a far cry from these new models.It was massive in appearance, resembling the boxy “Transformers” characters from the toys and movies. By contrast, several models presented in Las Vegas weigh less than two kilograms (4.4 pounds) without batteries.Although exoskeletons gradually made their way into industry and healthcare more than 20 years ago to relieve warehouse workers or assist in patient rehabilitation, they have remained niche products until now.Today, a host of startups are looking to capitalize on equipment more adapted to everyday use, with improved battery life and more affordable prices.Several of them offer products costing around $1,000 each, equipped with sensors that use artificial intelligence to adapt the mechanical assistance to the terrain and walking pace.Some are also designed for running, such as an offering from Dnsys, which claims a maximum speed of 27 kilometers (16.8 miles) per hour — faster than the sprinting pace of the vast majority of humans.Casual walkers and experienced hikers alike are being targeted by exoskeleton manufacturers, which are almost exclusively Chinese and dream of success in the vast US market.”We’re working hard to make exoskeletons commonplace so people don’t feel that social anxiety of wearing something like this,” said Toby Knisely, communications manager at Hypershell, which says it has already sold 20,000 units.”It’ll hit a critical mass at some point, and maybe become as commonplace as smartwatches or glasses,” he said.- You do the work -After trying out an Ascentiz exoskeleton, Trevor Bills, a Canadian entrepreneur visiting CES, was quite impressed.”You hardly feel it, because it seems to be very good at keeping up with you,” he said.”It was only when I slowed down that I was fighting it a little bit.”One of the obstacles to overcome is the idea that exoskeletons reduce physical effort and diminish the health benefits of exercise.”It doesn’t do the work for you,” said Bills, his forehead glistening with sweat.”If it gets people out and about and makes them more active, that’s a good thing.”Half of Dnsys’s customers are over-50s “who enjoy walking but do so less as they get older,” says Xiangyu Li, co-founder of the company.Hypershell states on its website that users must be able to walk and balance on their own to ensure that everyone uses the device safely and not as a crutch or walking aid.When these machines become more common on the streets, “social anxiety, or the embarrassment associated with wearing an exoskeleton” will fade, said Knisely.”People don’t want to look like robots,” said Xiangyu Li.

The White House said Thursday that US law enforcement was under “organized attack” as protesters clashed with officers in Minneapolis following the fatal shooting of a woman by an immigration agent.The victim of Wednesday’s shooting, identified as 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, was shot in the head as she apparently tried to drive away from agents approaching her car, which they said was blocking their way.Vice President JD Vance said, without providing evidence, that she was part of a “broader left-wing network” opposed to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, and he insisted the officer acted in “self-defense.”The day after the shooting, officers armed with pepperball guns and tear gas jostled with a large crowd of protesters beside a government facility in Fort Snelling just outside Minneapolis.A noisy crowd chanted slogans attacking ICE as officers pushed against protesters, detaining several including one who struck an agent with a cardboard sign.Footage of Wednesday’s incident shows a masked agent attempt to open the victim’s car door before another masked agent, standing near the vehicle’s front bumper, fired three times into the Honda SUV.The vehicle then hurtled out of control and smashed into stationary vehicles, as horrified onlookers hurled abuse at the federal officers.Her bloodied body is then seen slumped in the crashed vehicle. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said she leaves behind a wife and six-year-old child, for whom a fundraiser has received more than $600,000.President Donald Trump and senior officials quickly claimed Good was trying to kill the agents, an assertion Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey dismissed.”I want to see nobody get shot. I want to see nobody screaming and trying to run over policemen either,” Trump said in an interview with The New York Times.Department of Homeland Security (DHS) chief Kristi Noem called the incident “domestic terrorism” later saying she was not opposed to deploying more officers to Minneapolis.Witness Tyrice told US media he heard “three gunshots and then I hear a car crash.””I see this lady hugging the victim,” he said.”There’s blood all in the snow in front of our house. And I could see a lady in the car…You could see the wounds and everything, like a whole bunch of blood.”Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara told CNN that Good was not the target of immigration enforcement action and that she was only suspected of blocking traffic.Vance told a briefing Thursday that Good was “part of a broader left-wing network to attack, to doxx, to assault and to make it impossible for our ICE officers to do their job.”White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday’s incident was “a result of a larger, sinister left-wing movement” and “law enforcement are under organized attack.”- Immigrant deportations -Protests grew after Minnesota’s Democratic Governor Walz called it a “patriotic duty” to demonstrate for justice.On Thursday he said Minnesota must be part of the probe into the shooting alongside federal investigators — as otherwise Noem “is judge, jury and basically executioner.”But Vance seemed to suggest the officer would be cleared by a federal probe that would exclude state-level officials.”The idea that this was not justified is absurd,” he said.Minneapolis schools were closed Thursday and Friday as a precaution against unrest.ICE officers have been at the forefront of the Trump administration’s immigrant deportation drive, with raids carried out over the objections of some local officials.Wednesday’s incident came during protests over immigration enforcement in the southern part of Minneapolis.They are part of widespread anger over the Trump administration’s high-profile crackdown on undocumented immigrants, with the Republican vowing to arrest and deport “millions.The victim’s mother, Donna Ganger, told the Minnesota Star Tribune that her daughter “was probably terrified” and “not part” of anti-ICE activity.Good was a mother and poet who studied creative writing at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, US media reported.On Thursday, religious leaders addressed hundreds of people attending a vigil at the scene of the shooting, with a growing memorial of flowers and candles erected to commemorate Good’s life.

There’s a few special words that will perk the ears of many a dog — hungry, park, and of course T-R-E-A-T.But a choice group of gifted canines appear to have remarkable capacity for learning human vocabulary, to the point that they acquire language by eavesdropping the way young toddlers do.That’s according to a new study published Thursday in the journal Science, which shows that some “gifted word learner” dogs already known capable of learning toy names through training and play can also pick up words simply by overhearing people speak to each other.Cognitive researcher Shany Dror of the Veterinary University of Vienna’s Clever Dog Lab has spent years running a “Genius Dog Challenge” that recruits canines who’ve demonstrated particular ability to learn language through social interactions.In her research she noticed that some dogs seemed to be listening in on their owners: “They would tell me stories, like we were talking about ordering a pizza, and then the dog came into the living room with the toy named pizza,” Dror told AFP.So she and a team out of Hungary’s Eotvos Lorand University set out to test whether their group of particularly intelligent dogs could create the association of a new word to a new object without being directly taught the connection.And in a new development they found the gifted dogs could learn new toy names just as well from overheard speech as they did when directly addressed, proving it by later retrieving the toys.These dogs are considered outliers: Dror said her team has been searching for some seven years for dogs who know toy names, and have found about 45.Yet she said the findings offer some clues about the “complex machinery needed for social learning, to see if it exists in an animal that does not have language.””We found that it does exist,” Dror said. “This gives us a kind of hint to the fact that before humans developed language, they first had this very complex cognitive ability to learn from others.”- Canine savants? -Clive Wynne, a canine behaviorist at Arizona State University, called the study “very nicely done,” but cautioned that the animals studied were “deeply exceptional” and that people shouldn’t expect genius qualities from their family pets.But how do these intelligent pups become so smart?”One obvious possibility is that these dogs are true canine savants,” said Wynne. “But another possibility is that it’s not their cognition that’s exceptional, it’s their motivational system — that they have motivational systems that can be activated and yet never fill up.”Wynne gave the example of the dog Chaser, who had a phenomenal vocabulary of more than a 1,000 words — and who also had a phenomenal capacity for training and play that isn’t representative of the species.Chaser was a Border Collie, a working dog breed Dror said is among the top dog types among gifted word learners.But she said they have seen a “surprising” range of breeds represented including a Shih Tzu, a Pekingese, Yorkshires along with mixed breeds including a rescue.Even though “typical” dogs aren’t likely to learn from overheard speech, Dror emphasized that dogs in general still “are really good at understanding human communicative cues.””Even if our dogs do not know the names of objects, I think we can still pay more attention to how we are conducting ourselves when we’re interacting with our dogs,” Drof said, “with the underlying thought that maybe our dogs are learning something from this.”

The US Senate took a major step Thursday toward passing a resolution to rein in President Donald Trump’s military actions in Venezuela — a rare bipartisan rebuke following alarm over the secretive capture of leader Nicolas Maduro.The Democratic-led legislation, which bars further US hostilities against Venezuela without explicit congressional authorization, got through a key procedural vote with support from five Republicans.The vote on final passage, expected next week, is now seen as little more than a formality, and would mark one of Congress’s most forceful assertions of its war-making authority in decades.The effort is seen as largely symbolic however, as the resolution faces a steep climb in the US House and almost no prospect of surviving a likely veto by Trump.The president lashed out at the five Republican rebels for their “stupidity” on his Truth Social platform and said they “should never be elected to office again.””Republicans should be ashamed of the Senators that just voted with Democrats in attempting to take away our Powers to fight and defend the United States of America,” he added.The vote followed a dramatic escalation in US action — including air and naval strikes and the nighttime seizure of Maduro in Caracas — that lawmakers from both parties said went beyond a limited law-enforcement operation and crossed unmistakably into war.”Less than courageous members of Congress fall all over themselves to avoid taking responsibility, to avoid the momentous vote of declaring war,” said Senator Rand Paul, the Kentucky Republican who broke with much of his party to co-sponsored the measure. “But make no mistake, bombing another nation’s capital and removing their leader is an act of war, plain and simple. No provision in the Constitution provides such power to the presidency.”- ‘Time will tell’ -Trump said in an interview published Thursday the United States could run Venezuela and tap into its oil reserves for years, telling The New York Times “only time will tell” how long Washington would demand direct oversight of the South American nation.Democrats are framing the resolution as a constitutional line in the sand after what they described as months of misleading briefings, including assurances from the administration as recently as November that it had no plans for strikes on Venezuelan soil.The administration has argued the Maduro operation was legally justified as part of a broader campaign against transnational drug trafficking, characterizing it as a battle with cartels designated as terrorist organizations. Republican leaders largely defended the president, touting his authority to conduct limited military actions in defense of US national security.”This is something that should have taken place, probably in a previous administration,” Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma told reporters Wednesday.”Only President Trump had the backbone to pull it off, to pull out an indicted, illegitimate president that was holding Venezuela hostage.”Since Trump returned to office, war powers resolutions on Venezuela have been rejected twice in the Senate and twice in the House.Over the last century, only one congressional resolution has successfully imposed a broad, lasting limit on unilateral presidential military action abroad: the War Powers Resolution of 1973, passed over then-president Richard Nixon’s veto.

Venezuela on Thursday announced the release of a “large number” of prisoners, some of them foreigners, in an apparent concession to the United States after its ouster of ruler Nicolas Maduro.The releases are the first since Maduro’s former deputy Delcy Rodriguez became interim leader, with the backing of President Donald Trump, who said he was content to let her govern as long as Caracas gives Washington access to its plentiful oil.The prisoner releases were announced by Rodriguez’s brother, parliament speaker Jorge Rodriguez, a key figure in “chavismo,” the anti-US socialist movement founded by Maduro’s predecessor Hugo Chavez.Rodriguez said “a significant number of Venezuelan and foreign nationals” were being immediately freed for the sake of “peaceful coexistence.”He did not say which prisoners would be released, nor how many.Venezuelan rights NGO Foro Penal says there are 806 political prisoners behind bars.The group hailed Rodriguez’s announcement as “good news” but said it was still verifying the releases.US State Department officials did not comment on whether the releases were a demand of the Trump administration.On Tuesday, the US president told Republican lawmakers that Rodriguez’s administration was closing a torture chamber “in the middle of Caracas” but gave no further details.- Trump rebuked by Senate -Thursday’s gesture by Caracas came as Trump suggested the United States could run Venezuela and tap into its oil reserves for years.Shortly after Maduro’s seizure in US airstrikes and a special forces raid that left 100 people dead, according to Caracas, Trump announced that the US would “run” the Caribbean country for a transitional period.”Only time will tell” how long Washington will demand direct oversight of the country, he told The New York Times in an interview published Thursday.When asked whether that meant three months, six months or a year, he replied: “I would say much longer.”Meanwhile, the US Senate on Thursday took a major step toward passing a resolution to rein in military actions against Venezuela.The Democratic-led legislation, expected to pass a vote next week, reflects widespread disquiet among lawmakers over Saturday’s secretive capture of Maduro, conducted without their express approval.It is expected to face resistance in the Republican-dominated House, however.- ‘Tangled mess’ -Oil has emerged as the key to US control over Venezuela, which has the world’s largest proven reserves.Trump announced a plan earlier this week for the United States to sell between 30 million and 50 million barrels of Venezuelan crude, with Caracas then using the money to buy US-made products.Delcy Rodriguez on Wednesday called the US attack to depose Maduro, who was taken to New York with his wife to face trial on drugs charges, a “stain” on relations with the United States.But she also defended the planned oil sales to Washington.On the streets of Caracas, opinions remain mixed about the plan.”I feel we’ll have more opportunities if the oil is in the hands of the United States than in the hands of the government,” said Jose Antonio Blanco, 26. Teresa Gonzalez, 52, said she didn’t know if the oil sales plan was good or bad. “It’s a tangled mess. What we do is try to survive, if we don’t work, we don’t eat,” she added.The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump, who will meet oil executives on Friday, is also considering a plan for the US to exert control over Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA, which has access to the world’s largest proven oil reserves.Trump has warned Rodriguez she will pay “a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro” if she does not comply with his agenda.”Her power comes from Washington, not from the internal structure. If Trump decides she’s no longer useful, she’ll go like Maduro,” Venezuela’s former information minister Andres Izarra told AFP in an email.The US operation in Venezuela — and Trump’s hints that other countries could be next — sent shockwaves through the Americas, but he has since dialed down tensions with Colombia.burs-cb/rlp/iv

The UN climate chief led a chorus of criticism Thursday over President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from a bedrock climate treaty, calling it a “colossal own goal” that will only harm his country.Trump released a presidential memorandum Wednesday ordering the withdrawal from 66 global organizations and treaties — roughly half affiliated with the United Nations — for being “contrary to the interests of the United States.”Most notable among them is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which underpins all major international climate agreements.UNFCCC executive secretary Simon Stiell said Trump’s decision would “only harm the US economy, jobs and living standards.””It is a colossal own goal which will leave the US less secure and less prosperous,” Stiell said in a statement.His remarks were followed by comments from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who said he “regrets” the US decision to withdraw from multiple international bodies, without naming any one organization.”The United Nations has a responsibility to deliver for those who depend on us, and we will continue to carry out our mandates with determination,” Guterres said, while reminding member states of their legal obligations to fund the world body’s budget.Critics warned Trump’s move will further isolate the country on the global stage. “It’s critical the United States is a participant in and is actively trying to reduce climate change — it’s the world’s largest economy, the world’s biggest historical emitter,” Jake Schmidt of the Natural Resources Defense Council told AFP, noting that the United States would be the first of 198 parties to ever leave. The treaty adopted in 1992 is a global pact by nations to cooperate to drive down planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.”The decision by the world’s largest economy and second-largest emitter to retreat from it is regrettable and unfortunate,” European Union climate chief Wopke Hoekstra said.Trump has thrown the full weight of his domestic policy behind fossil fuels and derides climate science as a “hoax.”- Fight looms -His administration sent no representative to November’s UN climate summit in Brazil, which is held annually under UNFCCC auspices.The US Treasury Department announced Thursday it was also pulling out of the UN’s Green Climate Fund, the world’s largest multilateral climate fund.The UNFCCC was adopted 34 years ago at the Rio Earth Summit and approved by the US Senate by a 92-0 vote during George H.W. Bush’s presidency.The US Constitution allows presidents to enter treaties “provided two thirds of Senators present concur,” but it is silent on the process for withdrawing from them — a legal ambiguity that could invite court challenges.Trump has already withdrawn from the landmark Paris climate accord since returning to office, just as he did during his first term from 2017–2021 in a move later reversed by his successor, Democratic president Joe Biden.”A future US administration could both rejoin the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement on day one, without needing to go back to the Senate for another round of advice and consent,” Schmidt said. But this would be uncharted territory and legal scholars are not in full agreement.- ‘Gift to China’ -Jean Su, a senior attorney for the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity, told AFP: “It’s our contention that it’s illegal for the president to unilaterally pull out of a treaty that required two thirds of the Senate vote,” she continued. “We are looking at legal options to pursue that line of argument.”California Governor Gavin Newsom, an outspoken Trump critic who is widely seen as a presidential contender, said “our brainless president is surrendering America’s leadership on the world stage and weakening our ability to compete in the economy of the future — creating a leadership vacuum that China is already exploiting.”China is the world’s biggest polluter, but it has also become the global leader in renewable energy.Trump’s memorandum also directs the US to withdraw from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the UN body responsible for assessing climate science, alongside other climate-related organizations.

Two robots the size of schoolchildren stepped into the ring at BattleBots Arena.The human-like combatants stumbled a bit as they swung and kicked at each other in the Ultimate Fighting Robot (UFB) match, curiosity mixing with cheers from spectators at the event on the edge of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.The contenders were a departure from the usual lineup at the event, known for wheeled machines equipped with wrecking tools.UFB backers are betting humanoid robots will win fans by transforming bouts from demolition derbies to mixed martial arts matches.A human referee addressed the robotic rivals as though they were flesh-and-blood fighters.”This is the sport of the future,” said Vitaly Bulatov, who co-founded UFB with his wife, Xenia.The couple from Russia envisions fans being won over by the “human stories” of the real people piloting the robot combatants.As the robots exchanged blows, commands to kick and punch came from human pilots ringside using a combination of cameras and motion-sensing Nintendo video game controllers.Cameras captured the pilots’ movements in real time, which were then repeated, more or less accurately, by the robots.The contenders looked at times like blindfolded boxers, triggering laughter with wild misses and cheers when blows landed.- Bang-up research -“With some more advancements, it could definitely become more entertaining, as you see in movies like ‘Real Steel,'” said Esteban Perez, a 25-year-old IT worker from Denver watching from the audience.While today’s bouts are less spectacular than those depicted in the 2011 science fiction film about robot boxing starring Hugh Jackman, UFB events have sold out in San Francisco, attracting young tech professionals.”It is definitely better than MMA,” Bulatov said, referring to mixed martial arts bouts.”It’s very hard to knock him out,” he added with a nod toward the ring.Beyond the thrills, the bouts provide opportunities to collect body movement data that can be used to train robot software.”I’m excited to just see what the entertainment value is…also the characteristics of the different robots,”” said Yael Rosenblum, project manager for the Atlas humanoid robot built by Boston Dynamics, who was attending the event with colleagues.

The US trade deficit made a sharp and unexpected pullback in October, reaching its lowest level since 2009 as goods imports dropped while President Donald Trump’s tariffs took hold, government data showed Thursday.The overall trade gap plunged 39 percent to $29.4 billion in October, said the Department of Commerce, as imports dropped by 3.2 percent.The deficit was significantly smaller than a $58.4 billion median forecast from surveys of economists by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.The release of the trade data was delayed by more than a month due to a lengthy government shutdown last year, depriving officials and companies of updated figures as they assess the health of the world’s biggest economy.While US exports rose by $7.8 billion in October to $302.0 billion, imports dropped by $11.0 billion to $331.4 billion.This was largely due to a tumble in goods imports. In particular, consumer goods declined $14.0 billion and within the category, pharmaceutical preparations fell sharply, the Commerce Department said.Imports of industrial supplies and materials like nonmonetary gold also dropped.- Gold, pharma -KPMG senior economist Meagan Schoenberger noted that nonmonetary gold made up a huge chunk of the export rise and a small part of the imports decline.”The run-up in gold in 2025 has clouded the trade picture and during the month of October made the trade deficit look narrower than the remainder of the product mixture implies,” she said in a note.But outside of that, “the main contributors to declining imports were pharmaceuticals, which fell $14.3 billion alone,” Schoenberger added.The sector has been very volatile since firms stocked up in early 2025, and could have been impacted by October trade policy announcements.”Other areas that showed small declines included auto parts, oil and natural gas and fruits and vegetables,” she said.Meanwhile, “imports of high-tech capital goods continued their upward march given tariff waivers for the industry and the build-out of data centers to feed AI demand,” she added.The figures underscore how, since returning to the presidency last year, Trump’s fast-changing and sweeping tariff policies have swayed trade flows.As the US leader unveiled wide-ranging tariffs on imports from various trading partners, businesses in the country rushed to stock up on inventory ahead of planned hikes in duties.This has allowed many firms to avoid passing on the full cost of tariffs to consumers, at least for now.As US households grapple with cost-of-living worries, Trump has more recently broadened the range of goods exempted from certain tariffs — covering key agriculture imports. But many of these exemptions were due to take effect in November.As of mid-November, The Budget Lab at Yale University estimated that consumers face an overall average effective tariff rate that is the highest since the 1930s.The US trade deficit was $48.1 billion in September.Although Trump’s tariffs have influenced trade flows this year, a large swath of them also face legal challenges.In particular, the Supreme Court is due to rule on the legality of tariffs imposed using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, after hearing arguments in November.If the conservative-majority high court were to rule that the president overstepped his authority in imposing these duties, it could temporarily hit many country-specific tariffs — although not sector-specific ones.

The United States could run Venezuela and tap into its oil reserves for years, President Donald Trump said in an interview published Thursday, less than a week after toppling Nicolas Maduro.”Only time will tell” how long Washington would demand direct oversight of the South American country, Trump told The New York Times.But when asked whether that meant three months, six months or a year, he replied: “I would say much longer.”His assertion of US dominance over Venezuela comes despite its interim leader Delcy Rodriguez saying there is no foreign power governing Caracas.”There is a stain on our relations such as had never occurred in our history,” Rodriguez said of the US attack to depose her predecessor.US special forces snatched president Maduro and his wife Saturday in a lightning raid and whisked them to New York to face trial on drug and weapons charges, underscoring what Trump has called the “Donroe Doctrine” of US dominance over its backyard.”We obviously have maximum leverage over the interim authorities in Venezuela right now” following the capture operation, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.”We’re continuing to be in close coordination with the interim authorities, and their decisions are going to continue to be dictated by the United States of America.”Trump has said the United States will “run” Venezuela, which has the world’s largest proven oil reserves.”They’re giving us everything that we feel is necessary,” Trump told the Times.But Washington has no boots on the ground, and appears to be relying on a naval blockade and the threat of further force to ensure Rodriguez’s cooperation.- ‘Not just winging it’ -Caracas announced on Wednesday that at least 100 people had been killed in the US attack and a similar number wounded.Among those hurt were Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said, though the couple were seen walking unassisted during a New York court appearance earlier this week.According to Havana, the death toll includes 32 members of the Cuban military. Maduro, like his firebrand predecessor Hugo Chavez, employed specialized Cuban soldiers as bodyguards.Trump’s administration has so far indicated it intends to stick with Rodriguez and sideline opposition figures, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado. But it has given few details about its plans.Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted on Wednesday, after meeting lawmakers on Capitol Hill critical of the post-Maduro planning, that the United States was “not just winging it”.But so far, the US plan relies heavily on what Trump said on Tuesday was an agreement for Venezuela to hand over between 30 million and 50 million barrels of oil to the United States for it to then sell.Trump said Wednesday that under the deal Venezuela “is going to be purchasing ONLY American Made Products, with the money they receive” from the oil.That would include agricultural products, machinery, medical devices and energy equipment, he added.Rubio said that in a second “recovery” phase, US and Western companies would have access to the Venezuelan market and “at the same time, begin to create the process of reconciliation nationally within Venezuela”.- ‘Indefinitely’ -Venezuela’s state oil firm PDVSA said it was discussing oil sales with the United States for the “sale of volumes of oil” under existing commercial frameworks.But Washington is looking at longer term control, according to Energy Secretary Chris Wright.”We’re going to market the crude coming out of Venezuela, first this backed-up stored oil, and then indefinitely, going forward, we will sell the production that comes out of Venezuela,” Wright said Wednesday.Trump and his advisors are considering a plan for the US to exert some control over PDVSA, the Wall Street Journal reported.The US would then have a hand in controlling most of the oil reserves in the Western Hemisphere, as Trump aims to drive oil prices down to $50 a barrel, the paper reported.Trump will Friday meet executives from US oil companies, whom he has said will invest in Venezuela’s crumbling facilities, despite no firm having yet made such pledges.

US President Donald Trump’s administration said Wednesday it will dictate decisions to Venezuela’s interim leaders and control the country’s oil sales “indefinitely” after toppling Nicolas Maduro.The United States could effectively run Venezuela and tap into its oil reserves for years, Trump later told the New York Times.The American leader’s assertion of US dominance over the oil-rich South American country comes despite its interim leader Delcy Rodriguez saying there is no foreign power governing Caracas.”There is a stain on our relations such as had never occurred in our history,” Rodriguez said about the US attack to depose her predecessor.US special forces snatched president Maduro and his wife on Saturday in a lightning raid and whisked them to New York to face trial on drug and weapons charges, underscoring what Trump has called the “Donroe Doctine” of US dominance over its backyard.”We obviously have maximum leverage over the interim authorities in Venezuela right now” following the capture operation, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told a briefing.”We’re continuing to be in close coordination with the interim authorities, and their decisions are going to continue to be dictated by the United States of America.”Trump has said the United States will “run” Venezuela, which has the world’s largest proven oil reserves.”They’re giving us everything that we feel is necessary,” Trump told the Times. “Don’t forget, they took the oil from us years ago.When asked if US control of the country would last three months, six months or a year, Trump told the paper: “I would say much longer.”But Washington has no boots on the ground, and appears to be relying on a naval blockade and the threat of further force to ensure the cooperation of the interim president.Meanwhile Caracas announced Wednesday that at least 100 people were killed in the US attack and a similar number injured.Among those hurt were Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said. The couple were seen walking on their own power during a New York court arraignment earlier this week.According to Havana, the death toll includes 32 members of the Cuban military. Maduro, like his firebrand predecessor Hugo Chavez, employed specialized Cuban soldiers as bodyguards.- ‘Not just winging it’ -Trump’s administration — which has so far indicated it intends to stick with Rodriguez and sideline opposition figures, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado — has given few details about its plans.Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted on Wednesday, after meeting lawmakers on Capitol Hill who have been critical about the post-Maduro planning, that the United States was “not just winging it.”But so far, the US plan relies heavily on what Trump said on Tuesday was an agreement for Venezuela to hand over between 30 million and 50 million barrels of oil to the United States for it to then sell.Trump said Wednesday that under the deal Venezuela “is going to be purchasing ONLY American Made Products, with the money they receive” from the oil profits they receive.That would include agricultural products, machinery, medical devices and energy equipment, he added.Rubio said that in a second “recovery” phase, US and Western companies would have access to the Venezuelan market and “at the same time, begin to create the process of reconciliation nationally within Venezuela.”Venezuela’s state oil firm said it was discussing oil sales with the United States for the “sale of volumes of oil” under existing commercial frameworks.But Washington is looking at longer term control, according to Energy Secretary Chris Wright.”We’re going to market the crude coming out of Venezuela, first this backed-up stored oil, and then indefinitely, going forward, we will sell the production that comes out of Venezuela,” Wright said Wednesday.- ‘Immense opportunity’ -Trump will on Friday meet executives from US oil companies, whom he has said will invest in Venezuela’s crumbling facilities, despite no firm having yet made such pledges amid the turmoil in the country.”It’s just a meeting to discuss, obviously, the immense opportunity that is before these oil companies right now,” Leavitt told reporters.Trump also invited leftist Colombian President Gustavo Petro to meet at the White House “in the near future,” after the two leaders had their first phone call Wednesday since Trump took office last year.Washington moved further to stamp its authority on Venezuela when it seized two oil tankers, including a Russian-linked vessel that it pursued from Venezuela to the North Atlantic.Moscow condemned the operation but Leavitt insisted the oil tanker had been “deemed stateless after flying a false flag.”