
The United States is preparing a “series of actions” in the coming days to increase pressure on the Venezuelan government, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News on Friday.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Tuesday that new investments from China will help his country dramatically boost its oil production, doubling down on financing from the Asian nation to turn around its crashing economy.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro dined on expensive steak at a “Salt Bae” restaurant in Istanbul during a stop-off returning from a visit to China, drawing furor back home where millions struggle to get enough to eat and red meat is a rare luxury.

A judge in Andorra has charged 29 Venezuelans with corruption - among them two former deputy ministers. Prosecutors allege that they were part of a network of corrupt officials who received US$ 2.3bn in bribes from companies in return for lucrative contracts with Venezuela's state-run oil company, PDVSA.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is travelling to China to discuss economic agreements, as the crisis-struck OPEC nation seeks to convince its key Asian financier to disburse fresh loans.

Hunger reached 821 million people in 2017 worldwide, of which about 39 million are Latin American, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The figure represents a deterioration of 6.1% in Latin America and the Caribbean compared to previous years and could be due to the economic slowdown in South America, especially marked by the case of Venezuela, the UN agency said on Tuesday.

Eight alleged criminals were killed on Sunday at the most important military complex in Venezuela amid the revelations about plans for a coup supported by the government of the United States.

Eleven Latin American countries say that they have agreed to allow Venezuelans leaving their homeland to enter their countries even if their travel documents have expired. More than 2.3 million Venezuelans have fled the country's hyperinflation and severe shortages, but many do not have valid passports because renewing them can take years.

The Brazilian government may restrict entrance of Venezuelans at the border in the remote northwestern state of Roraima, President Michel Temer said on Wednesday, after a flood of migrants has strained local services and sparked violence with residents.

A group of Venezuelan migrants has returned home from Peru at the expense of Nicolas Maduro's government. Facing an exodus from Venezuela, Maduro had proclaimed his countrymen “won't be slaves to anyone in the world.”