US relations with Venezuela conflict between Trump and Nicolas Maduro
Many countries have  over the past few weeks  taken a "wait and see" approach to relations with the US government under President Donald Trump  perhaps none more so than Venezuela.
Venezuela's relations with the US have been contentious for much of the last 20 years  but Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro appears to hold out some hope ties could be better with  Trump .
Venezuela has been close to Russia under Vladimir Putin  whom  Trump  has spoken highly of  and this week  when the US slapped sanctions on Maduro's vice president  Venezuela's response appeared to avoid mentioning  Trump  by name  perhaps in an effort to keep open the possibility of improved dealings.
Deploying these sanctions now "can be seen as the opening salvo of the  Trump  administration in dealing with Latin America's deepest crisis " Michael Shifter  president of the Washington  DC-based policy group Inter-American Dialogue  told The New York Times.
That impression is bolstered by  Trump 's recent actions.
During a call on Wednesday   Trump  and Argentine President Mauricio Macri shared mutual "concern" over the situation in Venezuela.
Just hours after  Trump  spoke with Macri  he met in the Oval Office with Lilian Tintori  wife of Leopoldo Lopez  a hardline Venezuelan opposition leader jailed on trumped-up charges related to weeks of deadly anti-government protests in Venezuela in 2014.
At the conclusion of the meeting  which Vice President Mike Pence and Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio also attended   Trump  tweeted  "Venezuela should allow Leopoldo Lopez  a political prisoner & husband of @liliantintori (just met w/ @marcorubio) out of prison immediately " including a photo of the group.
Tintori is not the first Venezuelan opposition figure to visit the Oval Office  but  Trump 's statement after the meeting is a departure from the typically muted posture the US government took toward Venezuela under Obama.
"The Bolivarian Republic [of] Venezuela rejects the intrusion and aggression of [US President] @realDonaldTrump [who intends] to give orders to our homeland " Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez tweeted in response to  Trump . "It is lamentable that lobbies and Miami mafias in complicity with the violent Venezuelan opposition impose on @realDonaldTrump policies against Venezuela."
While  Trump 's broader approach to Venezuela  and Latin America in general  remains unclear  his seeming endorsement of the country's political opposition may amount to little.
Many in Venezuela and abroad support Lopez's release  and Maduro currently commands the approval of only about 20% of the public. But  Trump  is a widely disliked figure in the region.  His  support may not inspire many of Lopez's backers or bring more people to the opposition's ranks. (It may also further solidify support within the government for Maduro.)
Nor are reprimands from  Trump  likely to cut Venezuela off from  its  neighbors and partners.
"Despite  its  standing in Mercosur  the Venezuelan government isn't isolated " Tim Gill  a post-doctoral fellow at Tulane University focused on Venezuela's foreign relations  told Business Insider  adding:
 Trump  has taken a hardline on Venezuela since the latter days of  his  campaign. While the members of  his  transition team focused on Latin America suggest that hardline will continue  the substance of  Trump 's position toward the the country  like many other policies  remains to be seen.
Many countries have  over the past few weeks  taken a "wait and see" approach to relations with the US government under  [TGT] perhaps none more so than Venezuela.
Venezuela's relations with the US have been contentious for much of the last 20 years  but Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro appears to hold out some hope ties could be better with  [TGT]  .
Venezuela has been close to Russia under Vladimir Putin  whom   [TGT]   has spoken highly of  and this week  when the US slapped sanctions on Maduro's vice president  Venezuela's response appeared to avoid mentioning   [TGT]   by name  perhaps in an effort to keep open the possibility of improved dealings.
Deploying these sanctions now "can be seen as the opening salvo of the   [TGT]   administration in dealing with Latin America's deepest crisis " Michael Shifter  president of the Washington  DC-based policy group Inter-American Dialogue  told The New York Times.
That impression is bolstered by   [TGT]  's recent actions.
During a call on Wednesday    [TGT] and Argentine President Mauricio Macri shared mutual "concern" over the situation in Venezuela.
Just hours after   [TGT] spoke with Macri  he met in the Oval Office with Lilian Tintori  wife of Leopoldo Lopez  a hardline Venezuelan opposition leader jailed on trumped-up charges related to weeks of deadly anti-government protests in Venezuela in 2014.
At the conclusion of the meeting  which Vice President Mike Pence and Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio also attended    [TGT]   tweeted  "Venezuela should allow Leopoldo Lopez  a political prisoner & husband of @liliantintori (just met w/ @marcorubio) out of prison immediately " including a photo of the group.
Tintori is not the first Venezuelan opposition figure to visit the Oval Office  but   [TGT]  's statement after the meeting is a departure from the typically muted posture the US government took toward Venezuela under Obama.
"The Bolivarian Republic [of] Venezuela rejects the intrusion and aggression of [US President] @realDonaldTrump [who intends] to give orders to our homeland " Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez tweeted in response to  [TGT]  . "It is lamentable that lobbies and Miami mafias in complicity with the violent Venezuelan opposition impose on @realDonaldTrump policies against Venezuela."
While  Trump 's broader approach to Venezuela  and Latin America in general  remains unclear  his seeming endorsement of the country's political opposition may amount to little.
Many in Venezuela and abroad support Lopez's release  and Maduro currently commands the approval of only about 20% of the public. But   [TGT]   is a widely disliked figure in the region.   [TGT]   support may not inspire many of Lopez's backers or bring more people to the opposition's ranks. (It may also further solidify support within the government for Maduro.)
Nor are reprimands from   [TGT] likely to cut Venezuela off from  its  neighbors and partners.
"Despite  its  standing in Mercosur  the Venezuelan government isn't isolated " Tim Gill  a post-doctoral fellow at Tulane University focused on Venezuela's foreign relations  told Business Insider  adding:
  [TGT] has taken a hardline on Venezuela since the latter days of   [TGT]   campaign. While the members of   [TGT]   transition team focused on Latin America suggest that hardline will continue  the substance of  Trump 's position toward the the country  like many other policies  remains to be seen.