Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's allies asked the Supreme Court on Monday to block a bid to call a referendum on sacking him, accusing the opposition of fraud. The move casts doubt on the recall vote sought by the opposition, which accuses the high court of pro-Maduro bias and has clashed with it repeatedly since winning control of congress in December.
One of Venezuelan top opposition leader on Monday launched a tour of Latin American countries to rally support for his side in its bid to remove President Nicolas Maduro from office. Henrique Capriles, a senior figure in the opposition MUD coalition, was in Paraguay, Argentina and planned to move on to Brazil.
This Monday evening the Organization of American States 46th General Assembly will officially open in Santo Domingo and this year's convening agenda refers to Institutional Strengthening for Sustainable Development in the Americas. The two day gathering is also expected to focus on the Venezuela, Haiti and the Inter-American Human Rights Commission situations, and as is the norm, the Falklands-Malvinas issue will be addressed or included in the final declaration.
Brazil and Paraguay foreign ministers Jose Serra and Eladio Loizaga expressed deep concern with the Venezuela crisis situation, particularly the economic and human rights continued deterioration, and reiterated their two countries willingness to cooperate and promote dialogue.
After directing criticism at Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and urging that Caracas be considered for suspension from the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro has accused Argentine President Mauricio Macri of impeding those efforts and of reversing his campaign promises of taking a hard line against Maduro.
Uruguay will hand over the chair of Mercosur to Venezuela at the end of July, as indicated by the organization's calendar, and does not support the implementation of the Democratic clause against the government of president Nicolas Maduro, as sponsored by OAS secretary general, Luis Almagro a former Uruguayan foreign minister.
Brazilian government would like to block Venezuela from taking the rotating presidency of Mercosur later this month, a move to further debilitate Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro's power, according to Planalto sources close to interim president Michel Temer, who admitted the proposal has yet to be discussed with other members.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Tuesday that Organization of American States chief Luis Almagro had called for foreign “intervention” in his country by invoking the body’s Democratic Charter in response to the political crisis in Venezuela.
The largest airline in Latin America, Latam, (Lan Chile and Braizl's TAM) announced it is suspending its flights to Venezuela because of the worsening economic situation. The suspension came a day after Germany's Lufthansa said it would suspend its services to the country.
Venezuela's government on Saturday extended by two weeks a decree reducing the public sector workweek to Mondays and Tuesdays in a bid to tackle the oil-rich country's electricity crisis. The enforced leave was first announced in late April, a drastic move for a government also grappling with an economic crisis that has Venezuelans queuing for hours to buy scarce supplies.