Venezuela shut schools and suspended the workday on Friday as the worst blackout in decades paralyzed most of the troubled nation for a second day, spurring outrage among citizens already suffering from hyperinflation and a crippling recession.
The US government on Friday announced criminal charges against a top official in Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government for violating sanctions imposed two years ago, when the official was accused of drug trafficking.
Most of Venezuela has been hit by a continuing electricity blackout that began on Thursday afternoon. The power cut plunged the capital Caracas into almost complete darkness during rush hour and has extended to the vast majority of the country.
Venezuela's government expelled the German ambassador on Wednesday as embattled President Nicolas Maduro cracks down on a challenge to his rule. Ambassador Daniel Kriener was expelled two days after he and diplomats from other embassies welcomed home opposition leader Juan Guaido at the Caracas airport.
Opposition leader Juan Guaido held talks with Venezuela’s public sector unions on Tuesday about staging strikes to help bring down the government, as President Nicolas Maduro said a “crazed minority” bent on destabilizing the country would be defeated.
The Trump administration announced Monday that it is tightening the six-decade trade embargo on Cuba by allowing lawsuits against Cuban companies using properties confiscated after its 1959 revolution.
Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaido received a hero's welcome from thousands of flag-waving supporters chanting “Yes, you can!” as he returned to Caracas on Monday, defying the threat of arrest from embattled President Nicolas Maduro's government.
Venezuela’s opposition leader called on Sunday for mass protests across the country on Monday as he announced his return to the country after a week touring Latin American allies.“I’m announcing my return to the country. I am calling on the Venezuelan people to mobilize all over the country tomorrow at 11:00 am (1500 GMT),” Guaido said on Twitter.
The United States and Russia clashed on Friday over how to assist ailing Venezuela, with Moscow pledging new relief channelled through President Nicolas Maduro and Washington slapping sanctions over the blocking of US aid it tried to force through the border.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay, Rodolfo Nin Novoa, ratified his position on Friday on a peaceful solution to the political and institutional crisis suffered by Venezuela along with his Italian counterpart, Enzo Moavero Milanesi in Montevideo. The Uruguayan chancellor questioned the attitude of the secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, considering that he took sides on the Venezuelan conflict.