Venezuela’s Penal Forum estimates that Nearly three-quarters of all political detainees are awaiting trial for more than two years, the group said on Monday, arguing it is a sign that authorities use pretrial detention as a punishment.
The new administration of president Joe Biden is in “no rush” to lift U.S. sanctions on Venezuela but would consider easing them if President Nicolas Maduro takes confidence-building steps showing he is ready to negotiate seriously with the opposition, according to White House sources.
The European Union has declared Venezuela's ambassador in Brussels as a persona non grata in a tit-for-tat diplomatic move. A EU statement said member states had agreed that Venezuela's ambassador would no longer be welcome as an envoy to the bloc.
Venezuela announced on Wednesday that the head of the European Union's delegation in Caracas had 72 hours to leave the country and declared her persona non grata after the bloc imposed new sanctions on Venezuelan officials this week.
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro on Monday denounced international sanctions against his country, saying they have limited the government’s ability to fight the health and economic effects of the COVID-19 crisis. European Union foreign ministers on Monday imposed new sanctions on 19 leading Venezuelan officials.
The European Union on Monday imposed sanctions on 19 senior Venezuelan officials, lawmakers and members of the security forces in response to December's legislative election that the bloc said was rigged in favor of President Nicolas Maduro.
AP – The European Union called for broad political talks in Venezuela to set up new elections and warned that it stands ready to slap sanctions on more senior Venezuelan officials in the country if they undermine democracy or take part in human rights violations.
Guyana and the Unites States have signed a new pact aimed at boosting the South American CARICOM nation’s military might. It comes following a decree issued by embattled Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, unilaterally laying claim to Guyana’s Essequibo territory.
After greeting his cabinet, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Tuesday “we are back” to the legislative body that he did not attend in 4 years, a period in which the opposition-controlled the National Assembly. In a special session of a parliament now controlled by chavismo, Maduro offered his first annual message in four years. Among the figures he gave during his speech, the poverty indicators managed by the State standout: 4% of extreme poverty and 17% of “general” poverty.
The United States is doubling its support for Guyana in the territorial dispute with Venezuela, another flank in Washington's campaign to force Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro out of power.