Key Venezuelan government officials launched a furious broadside at the Organization of American States (OAS), a day after its secretary general, Luis Almagro, criticized Caracas and questioned the fairness of the upcoming December 6 parliamentary polls.
Two nephews of Venezuela's first lady have been arrested in Haiti and taken to the US to face drug trafficking charges, US media reports say. Franqui Francisco Flores-de Freitas and Efrain Antonio Campo-Flores are accused of conspiring to smuggle 800kg of cocaine into the United States.
A tough criminal and labor lawyer who helped win Hugo Chavez's release from prison after a failed coup two decades ago, Venezuela's former attorney general Cilia Flores has since never been far from the circle of power around the late populist leader.
The Venezuelan government is organizing a massive turnout for Thursday January 10 in support of re-re-elected president Hugo Chavez with the attendance of several Latinamerican leaders in what has been described as a “virtual taking office” ceremony.
The heir-designate of President Hugo Chavez is a former bus driver and trade unionist with the Caracas public transport. Nicolás Maduro, 50, has been foreign minister since 2006 and also was named vice president in October. As foreign minister Maduro has been a faithful ambassador of Chávez’ views, including often radical critiques of global affairs from a hard left-wing stance.