The United States on Tuesday urged Venezuela to free an opposition lawmaker immediately, saying the arrest cast a shadow over leftist leader Nicolas Maduro’s stated openness to talk with the opposition. The State Department condemned Monday’s arrest of Freddy Guevara, who prosecutors say will be charged with terrorism and treason, and what it called continued […]
Venezuela
Clashes between Venezuelan police and gangs leave 26 dead
At least 26 people died in nearly two days of clashes between Venezuelan security forces and gangs that control poor neighborhoods of Caracas, the government said Saturday. The toll is 22 suspected gang members and four police officers dead, Interior Minister Carmen Melendez said. She said an unspecified number of non-combatants died and 28 people […]
Biden reaffirms support for Venezuela opposition leader
President Joe Biden reaffirmed US support for Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido in a letter Monday even in the midst of efforts to resume negotiations with President Nicolas Maduro’s government. “Under your leadership and in coalition with civil society leaders you are preserving those ideals of freedom democracy and sovereignty,” Biden wrote in a letter […]
Venezuela arrests activists critical of border fighting
Venezuelan rights group Fundaredes said Friday authorities had arrested its director and two other activists who have lifted the lid on fighting near the border with Colombia. Director Javier Tarazona and two others were taken by Venezuelan intelligence services, the NGO said on Twitter. A fourth activist was arrested but released eight hours later, the […]
Biden offers Colombia ‘support’ after attack on Duque chopper
US President Joe Biden has promised his Colombian counterpart Ivan Duque “support to confront… terrorist actions” after Duque’s helicopter was attacked near the Venezuelan border last week, the government in Bogota said Monday. The two leaders had their first telephone call since Biden assumed office in January, it added. Duque’s helicopter was approaching Cucuta airport […]
Colombia leader says chopper hit by gunfire near Venezuela border
Colombian President Ivan Duque said Friday the helicopter he was flying in near the border with Venezuela was hit by gunfire. It was the first attack against a Colombian president in nearly 20 years. No one was injured. Colombian authorities did not say if the shots were fired from the Colombian or Venezuelan side of […]
Venezuela says it thwarted ‘coup’ bid
Venezuela’s socialist government says it has derailed a coup bid, claiming the United States, Colombia and Chile colluded in a plot to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro. The claim is the latest in a series by under-pressure Maduro, who is facing popular backlash at home over a failing economy and spiraling inflation, as well as increasing […]
US at UN warns of escalating crackdown in Venezuela
The United States told the UN Security Council on Tuesday that Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro was stepping up a crackdown on the opposition-controlled National Assembly and called on countries to respond with concrete actions. The council met behind closed doors at the request of European countries to hear a briefing on the political and humanitarian […]
Venezuela’s neighbors accuse Maduro of protecting ‘terrorist groups’ in Colombia
The Lima Group regional bloc on Friday accused the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of protecting “terrorist groups” in Colombia, keeping up pressure days after an attempted military uprising failed to dislodge Maduro from power. The bloc, a dozen countries in the Americas that meet regularly to discuss Venezuela, did not provide details on […]
‘No Cuban troops in Venezuela’
Cuba has no troops in Venezuela and engages in no security operations there but maintains the right to carry out military and intelligence cooperation, a top Cuban diplomat said Wednesday in his government’s most detailed response yet to US accusations that its forces are propping up President Nicolás Maduro. Carlos Fernández de Cossío, Cuba’s director-general […]