
At least 8,000 Venezuelans cross the border between Colombia and Venezuela daily to the department of Arauca, southeast of Colombia. Although the migratory flow at this point does not compare with the thirty or forty thousand Venezuelans who cross the Simón Bolívar bridge between Santander and Táchira every day, in Arauca the majority of migrants arrive in conditions of extreme vulnerability.

Venezuela’s central bank announced a devaluation of more than 99% of its official exchange rate with the launch of a new foreign exchange platform, a move critics quickly said would not create a functioning currency market.

In audio filtered to Univisión (1), the radio transmission among the Venezuelan police forces that participated on the morning of January 15 in the capture operation against a revolt pilot Óscar Pérez and six of his companions carried out outside of Caracas is revealed. In the revealed material, the commander of the operation, Major of the National Guard Rafael Bastardo confirms his surrender.

Venezuela has rejected the decision made by the United Nations to refer the border controversy with Guyana to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). “The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, faithful to its historical tradition and in accordance with the Bolivarian Diplomacy of Peace, reiterates its firm disposition to defend the territorial integrity of our Homeland and maintain political negotiation based on the 1966 Geneva Accord, as the only way to reach a peaceful solution, practical and satisfactory for both parties and in favor of our Peoples,” the Venezuelan government said in a statement on Wednesday.

The pro-government representative in the negotiations in Dominican Republic, Jorge Rodriguez announced that a pre-agreement had been reached and that he was almost certain that on Wednesday the talks would come to fruition. However, the opposition came to deny it.

A “pre-sale” of Venezuela’s new ‘petro’ cryptocurrency will begin on February 20, President Nicolas Maduro said on Tuesday, a move that the government hopes will help pull the country out of a dire economic crisis.

The U.N. children's agency UNICEF said it was seeing clear signs of a growing malnutrition crisis in Venezuela, but it lacked data to give precise information and to tackle the problem effectively.

United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres has referred the Guyana/Venezuela border controversy to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). In a statement which was published on the UN’s website on Tuesday, Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the Secretary-General stated that Mr Guterres has fulfilled the responsibility that has fallen to him within the framework set by his predecessor in December 2016, and has chosen the International Court of Justice as the means to be used for the solution of the controversy.

French President Emmanuel Macron called for further European Union sanctions on Venezuela, days after the 28-nation bloc agreed a travel ban and asset freezes on seven senior Venezuelan officials. The West accuses President Nicholas Maduro's government of violating democracy and human rights in the oil-producing nation, which is in the grip of a major economic and social crisis with millions suffering food and medicine shortages.

On December 20 the National Constituent Assembly (ANC) - formed only by pro-government officials - decreed that political parties that did not participate for the last regional election a few months ago must be revalidated before the National Electoral Council (CNE), a rule that according to the the current constitution should be should be applied when absenting more than 3 times to the suffrages.