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.

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

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.

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.

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 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.

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

A U.S. ground invasion is improbable, according to many analysts. From Maduro’s perspective, staying in Venezuela might be the safest way of protecting himself, his money and his family, said Moisés Naím, an analyst at the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.