Repression is intensifying inside Venezuela, says human rights group and opposition figures, as President Nicolás Maduro faces growing isolation abroad amid the US military buildup in the Caribbean.

Vladimir Padrino López, defence minister for the past 11 years, has maintained the regime’s tight grip over the armed forces and acted as a link to Moscow, which supplies most of Venezuela’s weapons. He and interior minister Diosdado Cabello, who controls the police and prisons, guarantee control and ensure dissent is swiftly repressed.

Venezuela revoked operating rights for six major international airlines that had suspended flights to the country following a warning from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. The civil aviation authority late on Wednesday revoked permits for Iberia,

Venezuela has banned six major international airlines from landing in the country after they failed to meet a 48-hour deadline to resume flights there. The airlines had temporarily suspended their routes into the capital, Caracas, after the US warned of "heightened military activity" in the area.

The U.S. declared an alleged cartel in Venezuela a terrorist organization, the latest action targeting the country and the Maduro government.

As Washington escalates pressure on Venezuela, any push for regime change risks becoming a costly, dangerous gamble — not the quick fix President Trump might hope for.

They discussed a possible meeting between the two of them, but nothing has been scheduled, and the administration continues to increase the military pressure on Venezuela.

Venezuela has told international airlines to resume flights to the country within 48 hours or risk being stripped of their clearance to fly there altogether. Several airlines suspended their flights to Venezuela after the US aviation regulator warned on Friday of "heightened military activity" in the area.

The FAA urged civilian aircraft in Venezuelan airspace to "exercise caution" due to the "worsening security situation and heightened military activity in or around Venezuela."

Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro rallied his supporters on Tuesday during a march in the country’s capital, Caracas.

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado faces criticism that she is exaggerating threats posed by Venezuela’s leader to justify U.S. force to overthrow him.