US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday defended sanctions on Venezuela and said the United States would not “quit the fight” in the socialist-run Latin American nation which is spiraling into deepening economic and political crisis.
The US Justice Department, who originally unsealed the charges in 2014, have requested Hugo Carvajal's extradition. Mr Carvajal was a close ally of the country's late socialist leader Hugo Chavez, but in February denounced his successor President Nicolás Maduro.
Colombia will receive a US$ 31.5 million grant to help deal with the flood of refugees from neighbouring Venezuela, the World Bank announced on Friday Colombia has received about a third of 3.7 million refugees who have fled the worsening crisis in Venezuela in recent years - the most dramatic and fastest exodus in the world after war-torn Syria, according to the United Nations.
Venezuela's state-run PDVSA has shipped one million barrels of oil to Cuba days after the United States imposed fresh sanctions on vessels and firms involved in exports to the island in an effort to halt oil trade between the political allies, according to a PDVSA document and tanker tracking data.
Cuban Communist Party leader Raul Castro said on Wednesday Cuba would never abandon its ally Venezuela despite US “blackmail”, even as the Trump administration threatened more sanctions over its support.
The new Permanent Representative of Venezuela to the Organization of American States (OAS), Gustavo Tarre, on Wednesday presented his credentials to the Secretary General of the hemispheric institution, Luis Almagro.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Monday he is working with the US government to sow dissent within the Venezuelan army. Bolsonaro, during an interview with Jovem Pan radio, and added if there is a military invasion in Venezuela, he would ask to seek the counsel of Brazil's National Defense Council and Congress on what, if any, action his country should take.
The Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) approved on Tuesday a resolution on the situation in Venezuela in which it resolves to accept the appointment of Mr. Gustavo Tarre as the National Assembly’s designated permanent representative, pending new elections and the appointment of a democratically elected government, and instructs the Secretary General ”to transmit the text of this resolution to the Secretary General of the United Nations.”
Venezuela will “fulfill its commitments” to Cuba despite United States sanctions targeting oil shipments from Maracaibo to its ideological ally, Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said on Monday.
After weeks of power cuts and limited access to water, tens of thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets on Saturday to back opposition leader Juan Guaido and protest against President Nicolas Maduro, who they accuse of wrecking the economy.