Opposition leader María Corina Machado plans to return to Venezuela whether or not President Nicolás Maduro is removed from power

The Trump administration has imposed new sanctions on Venezuela, targeting three nephews of President Nicolas Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, as well as six crude oil tankers and shipping companies linked to them, as Washington steps up pressure on Caracas.

By Daphne Psaledakis, Marianna Parraga and Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON, Dec 11 (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday issued new sanctions targeting Venezuela, imposing curbs on three nephews of President Nicolas Maduro's wife,

The new sanctions on Franqui Flores, Carlos Flores and Efrain Campo come a day after Trump announced that the U.S. had seized an oil tanker off Venezuela.

The Trump administration is seeking the legal authority to seize the oil from the tanker that US forces boarded

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by phone on Thursday and reassured him of Moscow's support for his government's course in the face of growing external pressure,

Trump said that “other things are happening” in addition to the U.S. military’s seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker

Following the U.S. seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker in the Caribbean, President Donald Trump escalated tensions by warning that the United States could soon begin land operations against what he called Venezuela’s narco-terrorism.

When asked if he could rule out a ground invasion of Venezuela, Trump answered: “I don’t want to rule in or out.”

María Corina Machado said in Oslo, where she collected the award, that President Donald Trump's "decisive" actions had made the Venezuelan regime "weaker than ever."