Ambassadors designated by Juan Guaido, the Venezuelan opposition leader recognized by most Western nations as the country's president, have met in Colombia to discuss how to win the support of China and Russia, staunch allies of President Nicolas Maduro.
A U.S. citizen arrested in Venezuela in 2014 on weapons trafficking and attempted murder charges his family called trumped-up was released this week, his family said in a statement on Friday. Todd Leininger, 37, was arrested in western Tachira state where he and his Venezuelan wife were visiting his sister-in-law.
Supporters of the late Venezuelan president, Hugo Chávez, should have a place at the table in a democratic Venezuela, US Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams said at the Atlantic Council in Washington this week.
Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaidó called on Friday for the biggest demonstration in history to put pressure on President Nicolas Maduro to step down. The National Assembly head launched a challenge to Maduro's authority in January, declaring himself acting president.
A second shipment of Red Cross humanitarian aid will arrive in Venezuela in around three weeks, the charity organization said on Wednesday, reiterating its plea for the issue not to be politicized.“There's a shipment coming by sea that we expect to be in the country on May 8,” said Hernan Bongioanni, the Red Cross commissioner for this mission.
Spain’s Repsol has suspended its swaps of refined products for crude with Venezuela’s state-run oil company PDVSA, as U.S. officials weigh penalties for foreign firms doing business with Venezuela.
The Trump administration on Wednesday intensified its crackdown on Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, rolling back Obama administration policy and announcing new restrictions and sanctions against the three countries whose leaders national security adviser John Bolton dubbed the three stooges of socialism.
The Lima Group made up of mostly Latin American countries called on the United Nations on Monday to “take action” to prevent an escalation of Venezuela's humanitarian crisis.
Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro has said he wants a million more people to join his civilian militia by the end of the year. The call to expand the militia - which answers directly to Mr. Maduro - comes as opposition leader Juan Guaidó seeks to persuade the Venezuelan military to abandon the president. So far the military has stayed loyal.
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.