With the economy in ruins, and U.S. military forces off the coast, uncertainty and rumors mark life in Venezuela, dampening the yuletide mood.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said Friday that she is focused on an orderly transition of power in her country should President Nicolás Maduro leave power and that she is confident Venezuela’s police and armed forces would not oppose such a transition.

Now, President Donald Trump wants Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro out of power. Maduro’s “days are numbered,” Trump told Politico in an interview released on Dec. 9. His Administration considers Maduro the head of a government-sponsored cocaine smuggling syndicate.

The U.S. has imposed sanctions on three nephews of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The move is the latest by President Donald Trump to increase pressure on Venezuela to stem the flow of illegal drugs into the United States.

Maduro has survived predictions and ridicule, but along the way, Venezuela lost millions of inhabitants, 72% of its economy, democratic legitimacy in the eyes of much of the world, and many of its most important international allies.

Maria Corina Machado, asked by CBS News' Margaret Brennan about Trump's threat of land strikes, said she'd "welcome more and more pressure" on Maduro.

Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro warned that his country must “stand like warriors … ready to smash the teeth of the North American empire” Wednesday, a moment that coincided with the US seizure of an oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast.

Opposition leader María Corina Machado says she doesn’t believe the Venezuelan government knew where she was hiding for most of this year

Opposition leader María Corina Machado plans to return to Venezuela whether or not President Nicolás Maduro is removed from power

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by phone on Thursday and reassured him of Moscow's support for his government's course in the face of growing external pressure,

Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed “solidarity with the Venezuelan people” amid growing tensions between Venezuela’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, and the Trump administration.