The political and economic crisis in Venezuela was the center of the political debate among the heads of state that, this Wednesday, met in Santa Fe, Argentina in the Mercosur semi-annual summit, a block from which the Caribbean country is currently suspended. Neither Uruguay, Bolivia nor Chile addressed a word regarding the Venezuelan situation.
Drivers queued for hours in towns across Venezuela on Friday as fuel shortages worsened in the country following a plunge in gasoline imports and a stoppage at the nation's second-largest oil refinery.
President Nicolas Maduro ordered the closure of Venezuela's border with Brazil on Thursday in an increasingly fraught power struggle. Guaido set out in a convoy of vehicles to personally pick up US aid being stockpiled on the other side of the Colombian border, defying Maduro's military to stop him.
Venezuela’s government said on Wednesday that it was closing its border to air and sea traffic from three Caribbean islands in an effort to block aid shipments to the country organized by the Venezuelan opposition.
A C-17 cargo plane of the United States Air Force took off Saturday from the Homestead Air Force Base, in Florida, with the Venezuelan-Colombian border as the destination. The aircraft is one of three that will transport 250 tons of food, hygiene kits and nutritional supplements, a congressional aide to the US Congress told the Associated Press (AP).
Russia said on Tuesday it was ready to facilitate the start of dialogue between Venezuela's government and opposition, but warned the United States against intervening in Caracas' internal affairs.
The government of the United Kingdom announced on Tuesday that it will grant 6.5 million pounds, approximately 8.4 million dollars, to finance the different humanitarian agencies that are in the region assisting Venezuelan citizens inside and outside their country.
Presidents from Uruguay and Argentina, Tabare Vazquez and Mauricio Macri, will be meeting on Wednesday to discuss an open agenda, but which according to Buenos Aires sources will be centered on the Venezuelan situation, where the two countries hold different positions. The meeting is scheduled to take place in Colonia, at the Anchorena Park, which is an official resting place of the Uruguayan Executive, and a twenty minutes helicopter flight distance from Buenos Aires.
To end the Maduro regime with the minimum of bloodshed, we need the support of pro-democratic governments, institutions and individuals the world over.
Venezuelan authorities on Monday approved a new, privately run foreign exchange system that will operate in parallel to the official currency control system, as an emboldened opposition challenges President de facto Nicolás Maduro.