Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips recently sent technical teams to assess their prospects in the Latin American country.

The trip comes nearly four months after U.S. forces seized Rodríguez's predecessor, Nicolás Maduro​, and his wife in a daring special forces raid.

By David Shepardson and Vivian Sequera WASHINGTON/CARACAS, April 30 (Reuters) - U.S. passenger air service to Venezuela resumed on Thursday morning after seven years, with an American Airlines flight from Miami to Caracas.

Excitement is building at Miami International Airport as American Airlines is set to resume nonstop flights from the United States to Venezuela for the first time in seven years on Thursday morning. This comes after the U.

Under the agreements, US-based firms Hunt Overseas Oil Company and Crossover Energy will operate in the Orinoco Belt, where Venezuela's oil reserves are primarily concentrated.

Guyana has complained to Caribbean leaders after Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodríguez wore a controversial pin on official visits depicting a map of Guyana’s western region that Venezuela has long claimed as its own.

Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodriguez on Thursday hiked the minimum wage package by 26.3 percent, to $240, in an attempt to quell growing discontent over difficult living

The Trump administration has overseen efforts to drive new investment in the country's oil and mining sectors to help ease bottlenecks in the commodities.