The Argentine government of President Alberto Fernández Wednesday confirmed the country had decided to withdraw from the so-called Lima Group, a consortium formed with Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Guyana, and Saint Lucia. Barbados, the United States, Grenada, and Jamaica to isolate the Venezuelan administration headed by Nicolás Maduro.
As part of a rare deal between Venezuela’s government and the opposition, some US$ 30.3 million of the country’s offshore funds that were frozen under U.S. sanctions will be used to pay for coronavirus vaccines.
United Nations human rights are looking into allegations that Venezuelan police forces from president Nicolas Maduro's regime had killed 200 people this year and investigators raised concerns about possible summary executions in a neighborhood of Caracas.
The Joe Biden’s administration is granting temporary protected status to Venezuelans living in the United States and is also working to coordinate international pressure against president Nicolas Maduro to hold free and fair elections, senior U.S. officials said on Monday.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores have received their first doses of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, Venezuelan state television reported, while the country received a second shipment of the vaccine.
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido said on Wednesday that he would support naming a new electoral council but cautioned its members should not be chosen unilaterally by the National Assembly currently held by the ruling socialist party of President Nicolas Maduro.
Venezuela’s Penal Forum estimates that Nearly three-quarters of all political detainees are awaiting trial for more than two years, the group said on Monday, arguing it is a sign that authorities use pretrial detention as a punishment.
The new administration of president Joe Biden is in “no rush” to lift U.S. sanctions on Venezuela but would consider easing them if President Nicolas Maduro takes confidence-building steps showing he is ready to negotiate seriously with the opposition, according to White House sources.
The European Union has declared Venezuela's ambassador in Brussels as a persona non grata in a tit-for-tat diplomatic move. A EU statement said member states had agreed that Venezuela's ambassador would no longer be welcome as an envoy to the bloc.
Venezuela announced on Wednesday that the head of the European Union's delegation in Caracas had 72 hours to leave the country and declared her persona non grata after the bloc imposed new sanctions on Venezuelan officials this week.