Venezuela

• Wednesday, May 18th 2016 - 11:39 UTC

  The Army must decide is they side “with the Constitution or with Maduro”, says Venezuelan opposition

  

  The army in crisis-hit Venezuela has to choose whether it is “with the constitution or with [President Nicolas] Maduro,” opposition leader Henrique Capriles said on Tuesday.He made the statement to journalists after Maduro decreed a state of emergency broadening the powers of soldiers and police - and a day before opposition-led marches demanding a referendum to oust the president.

• Monday, May 16th 2016 - 18:49 UTC

  Venezuelan soldiers steal goats because no food is left in the barracks

  

  The situation in Venezuela has become so bad that even soldiers are struggling to support themselves. Over the weekend, six members of the Venezuelan military were detained by local authorities for stealing goats, the Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional reported on Sunday. It said the soldiers confessed to stealing the goats and said they did it to feed themselves, since they had no food left in their barracks.

• Monday, May 16th 2016 - 05:46 UTC

  Brazil warns neighbors about “propagating falsehoods over the internal political process”

  

  Brazil's interim government dismissed criticism by populist countries in Latin America, including Venezuela, Cuba and Bolivia, over the impeachment process of Dilma Rousseff, who was suspended as president by the senate.

• Saturday, May 7th 2016 - 13:22 UTC

  Venezuela accuses Washington and the opposition of plotting to overthrow Maduro

  

  Venezuela's foreign minister accused the United States of conspiring to topple President Nicolás Maduro's government in conjunction with Venezuela's opposition. Minister Delcy Rodríguez says the plot includes attempting to remove Maduro's government from the Organization of American States in conjunction with the organization's secretary-general, Luis Almagro.

• Tuesday, May 3rd 2016 - 06:00 UTC

  Venezuela's explosive situation makes Pope Francis send a “personal letter” to Maduro

  

  Pope Francis has sent a “personal letter” to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in which he addresses his concern over the “seriousness” of “the county’s situation”, revealed papal spokesman Federico Lombardi confirmed to journalists this weekend.

• Monday, May 2nd 2016 - 05:56 UTC

  Maduro announces 30% increase in the minimum wage

  

  Venezuela's president Nicolas Maduro has ordered a 30% increase in the minimum wage, the latest move by the socialist government to grapple with high inflation and economic stagnation.

• Monday, May 2nd 2016 - 05:34 UTC

  Venezuela moves local time 30 minutes up, back to normal

  

  Venezuelan government on Sunday moved local time up 30 minutes, to four hours behind UTC, with an eye toward dealing with the emergency caused by the ongoing severe drought. The time change will enter into effect as of this month and brings Venezuela back to the time schedule that prevailed until 2007, when the government shifted the nation's clocks back by half an hour.

• Thursday, April 28th 2016 - 07:34 UTC

  Maduro blames the “crazy right” for riots sparked by daily several/hours blackouts

  

  Venezuelan cities cleaned up from a night of looting and fiery protests on Wednesday as government offices closed their doors for the rest of the week in the face of a worsening energy crisis that is causing daily blackouts. In Caracas, hundreds of angry voters lined up to sign a petition beginning the process of recalling the deeply unpopular President Nicolas Maduro.

• Friday, April 22nd 2016 - 08:07 UTC

  Venezuela imposes daily four/hours blackout to save power; brewery out of barley will stop beer production

  

  Recession-hit Venezuela will turn off the electricity supply in its 10 most populous states for four hours a day for 40 days to deal with a severe power shortage, the government said Thursday.

• Thursday, April 7th 2016 - 09:03 UTC

  Venezuela becomes strong client of millions of barrels of US WTI crude

  

  Venezuela's PDVSA will discharge in the coming days its first cargo of U.S. crude bought from British BP, who along with China Oil was awarded a tender to supply the state-run company with some 8 million barrels in the second quarter, traders close to the deal revealed on Wednesday.