Venezuela

• Monday, January 26th 2015 - 07:17 UTC

  Venezuela denies authorization to former presidents to visit political prisoner

  

  The Venezuelan government has turned down a request by former presidents of Chile and Colombia to visit opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez in jail. Chile's Sebastian Piñera and Colombia's Andres Pastrana say they are in Venezuela to support the opposition and have called for the release of Mr Lopez, who was arrested nearly a year ago.

• Friday, January 23rd 2015 - 05:43 UTC

  In “God will provide” speech Maduro admits economic failure and calls for unity

  

  In a three-hour State of the Nation speech to the National Assembly on Wednesday night, president Nicolás Maduro acknowledged some of the economic realities facing Venezuela: the economy contracted by 2.8% in 2014 and inflation stood at 64%.

• Tuesday, January 13th 2015 - 07:30 UTC

  Arrests in Venezuela following protests over swelling lines for basic goods

  

  At least a dozen protesters arrested in Venezuela remained in jail and masked assailants burned a bus overnight amid scattered unrest over swelling lines for basic goods, activists said.

• Thursday, January 8th 2015 - 05:34 UTC

  Maduro announces 20bn dollars in investment credits from China

  

  President Nicolas Maduro said on Wednesday he had secured a total of more than 20 billion dollars in investment from major creditor China for economic, social, and oil-related projects.

• Saturday, January 3rd 2015 - 06:11 UTC

  Maduro and Biden shake hands and meet briefly at Rousseff's inauguration

  

  On the sidelines of the inauguration of Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff at the Planalto Palace seat of Brazil's Executive, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden met briefly with Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro in a hand-shake facilitated by Uruguay President Jose Mujica.

• Friday, January 2nd 2015 - 05:19 UTC

  Venezuela takes its seat at the UN Security Council replacing Argentina

  

  As of January first Venezuela is holding a non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council for two years (2015-2016). In such position, the government will have to take a stance on global issues, based on its “multi-center, pluri-polar world” approach.

• Wednesday, December 31st 2014 - 03:23 UTC

  Venezuela admits recession in the last three quarters and inflation of 63.6%

  

  Venezuela confirmed on Tuesday it had entered a recession while inflation remained the highest in the Americas, but President Nicolas Maduro's populist government blamed political foes for the dismal data. According to the latest Central bank information, GDP contracted in each of the first three quarters: 4.8%, 4.9% and 2.3%, while twelve-month inflation reached 63.6% in November.

• Wednesday, December 31st 2014 - 03:17 UTC

  Venezuela has world's second highest homicide rate: 24.980 killings in the year

  

  Venezuela has the second highest homicide rate in the world, according to a report released by the NGO Venezuelan Violence Observatory. The country's homicide rate for 2014 stood at 82 per 100,000, with a total of 24,980 killings recorded for the year. The figure marked an uptick from the group’s estimate for the year prior, which stood at 79 per 100,000.

• Tuesday, December 30th 2014 - 08:30 UTC

  Maduro loyals appoint new TSJ Justices in Venezuela

  

  No agreement reachable with opposition in three previous sessions. Nominations Committee must continue working.

• Monday, December 29th 2014 - 08:04 UTC

  Lopez: 'Venezuela on the brink of collapse'

  

  Human rights traded for other means of survival as shortages hit average people, says the 43-year-old Harvard graduate from his prison cell in a letter to the Wall Street Journal .