Get our news on your inbox! x

Remember me Forgot password

MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, March 28th 2026 - 15:25 UTC

Venezuela

  • Thursday, March 26th 2026 - 18:47 UTC

    Judge refuses to dismiss Maduro case but questions blocking of funds for his defense

    The defense had requested dismissal in February after the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) denied the defendants a license to pay their lawyers with Venezuelan government funds

    Federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected on Thursday the defense's motion to dismiss the charges against former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, in a second hearing at the Southern District Court of New York that ran unusually long due to the debate over funding their legal representation.

    Add your comment!
  • Thursday, March 26th 2026 - 10:59 UTC

    Maduro faces New York court in key hearing over legal defense

    Prosecutors reject that argument and maintain that Maduro and Flores can use public defenders if they lack the resources to hire private attorneys

    Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, appear on Thursday, March 26, before the Southern District Court of New York in a second hearing in the criminal case they face in the United States following their capture in January during a U.S. military operation.

    Add your comment!
  • Thursday, March 26th 2026 - 01:57 UTC

    Rodríguez promises “legal certainty” to investors while Machado competes for attention from Texas

    Rodríguez's appearance came one day before Nicolás Maduro's hearing at a New York court

    Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, participated via videoconference on Wednesday at the FII Priority investment forum in Miami, where she assured American, Saudi, and Latin American investors that her government is advancing reforms to guarantee “legal certainty” for investments in the country.

    Add your comment!
  • Wednesday, March 25th 2026 - 00:12 UTC

    Venezuela sends diplomatic delegation to Washington to formalize restoration of ties with US

    “This week, the delegation of diplomats who will begin this new stage of diplomatic and political relations and dialog between our governments will depart for Washington,” Delcy Rodríguez said

    Venezuelan acting president Delcy Rodríguez announced on Tuesday that a delegation of Venezuelan diplomats will travel to Washington this week to advance the normalization of bilateral relations with the United States, severed since 2019.

    Add your comment!
  • Friday, March 20th 2026 - 02:47 UTC

    Delcy Rodríguez renews Venezuela's military high command following Padrino's ouster

    The reshuffle comes weeks after the surprise visit to Caracas by the head of the US Southern Command, General Francis Donovan

    Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, executed a sweeping restructuring of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces (FANB) leadership. The changes, announced less than 24 hours after the appointment of Gustavo González López as the new Defense Minister replacing the veteran Vladímir Padrino, mark a significant shift in Caracas' power structure following months of institutional attrition.

    Add your comment!
  • Wednesday, March 18th 2026 - 23:39 UTC

    Delcy Rodríguez removes Vladimir Padrino as Venezuela’s defense minister

    Padrino’s departure closes a chapter of more than a decade at the helm of the defense ministry

    Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodríguez on Wednesday removed Vladimir Padrino López as defense minister and appointed General Gustavo González López in his place, ending one of the longest and most politically sensitive tenures within the country’s ruling military hierarchy. Venezuelan media reported the move citing Rodríguez’s official message on X, in which she thanked Padrino for his “loyalty to the homeland” and said he would take on “new responsibilities.”

  • Wednesday, March 18th 2026 - 21:00 UTC

    Venezuelan National Assembly speaker meets US Senate envoys

    The Venezuelan government framed the opening as part of a broader agenda of stabilization and gradual normalization of ties.

    Venezuelan National Assembly speaker Jorge Rodríguez said on Wednesday that he met in Caracas with representatives of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and with U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Laura Dogu, in the latest sign of the bilateral opening that began after January’s political shift. Rodríguez said the agenda forms part of a dialogue “always based on mutual respect and cooperation between nations.”

  • Monday, March 16th 2026 - 05:17 UTC

    Colombia and Venezuela will seek full Mercosur membership, Petro says

    From a formal standpoint, the status of the two countries within the bloc differs. Colombia is currently an associate member of Mercosur, while Venezuela remains suspended

    Colombian President Gustavo Petro said his country and Venezuela will seek admission to Mercosur as full members, one day after a ministerial meeting in Caracas that he described as “extremely successful,” according to EFE. In a message posted on X, Petro said: “We will ask for the moratorium to be lifted so Venezuela can enter Mercosur as a full member, and Colombia will submit its own request to join as a full member.”

  • Monday, March 16th 2026 - 00:50 UTC

    Former Chevron executive told CIA the opposition would struggle to control Venezuela

    Moshiri’s position aligned with a central concern in Washington: avoiding a power vacuum in a country where much of the institutional structure remained under chavista influence

    Ali Moshiri, Chevron’s former top executive for Venezuela and a longtime Washington interlocutor on energy matters, warned the CIA before Nicolás Maduro’s ouster that a direct handover of power to the opposition led by María Corina Machado could produce an unstable transition because she lacked control over the security apparatus and the state’s real power centers, according to a report published on Sunday. In that assessment, Moshiri recommended that the United States back Delcy Rodríguez as the more viable figure to manage the immediate succession.

  • Friday, March 13th 2026 - 03:12 UTC

    Petro sends ministers to Caracas after meeting with Delcy Rodríguez is called off

    The failed meeting carried particular political significance because it would have been Rodríguez’s first international engagement as Venezuela’s acting president

    Colombia and Venezuela shifted their planned bilateral contact to the ministerial level on Friday after a presidential meeting announced for the border was abruptly canceled under the formula of “force majeure.” Instead of the face-to-face encounter scheduled between Gustavo Petro and Delcy Rodríguez at the Atanasio Girardot bridge, Bogotá sent a delegation to Caracas led by Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio and including the ministers of defense, trade, and mines and energy.

Previous