Economic instability in Venezuela after the U.S. raid to capture its president is deepening inflation and rattling the currency, sending grocery bills soaring for millions of people.

A day after she gave President Donald Trump her Nobel Peace Prize medal, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado insisted that her country was on an irreversible path toward democracy, even as Trump has spoken far more frequently in recent days about securing Venezuelan oil than bringing about free elections.

The seizure comes as President Trump is set to meet​ with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado Thursday at the White House.

Venezuela sprawls over terrain twice the size of California, with vast tracts of treacherous jungles, steep mountains and cities filled with guns.

Jan 17 (Reuters) - In the 12 days since the U.S. seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, interim President Delcy Rodriguez has been working to consolidate her own power, installing loyalists in key positions to protect herself from internal threats while meeting U.S. demands to boost oil production.

CIA director John Ratcliffe delivered a message that the U.S. "looks forward to an improved working relationship" with Venezuela, a U.S. official told CBS News.

The U.S. military seized a sixth Venezuelan oil tanker in a Caribbean operation Thursday amid the Trump administration's campaign against illicit oil trade.

U.S. President Trump on Sunday posted on his social media platform saying Cuba should make a deal with the U.S. "before it is too late."

Acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez has promised to keep releasing political prisoners, but so far only a fraction of those imprisoned under Maduro have been released.

Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez says lawmakers in her country should approve reforms to the oil industry that would open the doors to greater foreign investment.