Opposition leader María Corina Machado obtained 93.13 % of the vote in Venezuela's primary elections held Sunday. According to local authorities in Caracas, the results were not released until Monday due to technology issues. Although Machado was widely expected to win, it remains to be seen whether she is allowed to run against President Nicolás Maduro, who has been in office since 2012.
Thousands of Venezuelans voted this Sunday in the opposition primaries in the hope of a change of president in 2024, a long race that citizens opposed to chavismo took on with enthusiasm, with the purpose of voting. Liberal María Corina Machado, a pariah of the Venezuelan opposition for the past decade, is now emerging as a strong favorite.
The agreement signed Tuesday in Barbados between the Venezuelan government of President Nicolás Maduro and the main opposition leaders has been welcomed by the European Union, the United States, Brazil, and Argentina among other players on the world stage.
While US President Joseph Biden announced Monday he would be traveling to Israel this coming Wednesday to express his country's support in light of Hamas' attacks, his administration hinted sanctions against Venezuela would be eased if free and fair elections are held in 2024. Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro has forcefully expressed his support for the Palestinian cause and against Israel.
Venezuela's Attorney General's Office issued an arrest warrant on Thursday against opposition leader Juan Guaidó for the crimes of treason and usurpation of functions, it was reported in Caracas. Guaidó is currently residing in the United States.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is appealing for governments in Central America and Mexico to collaborate to address the immediate humanitarian needs of people on the move as unprecedented numbers of vulnerable migrants transit through the region, while also working on long-term solutions to tackle the drivers of migration.
A court in Buenos Aires Wednesday acquitted former Planning Minister Julio De Vido and AFIP tax bureau Chief Ricardo Echegaray for the 2007 attempted smuggling of a suitcase containing nearly US$ 800,000 which was being brought into the country by Guido Antonini Wilson, who was believed to be an envoy of then-Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.
Chinese President Xi Jinping Thursday announced after meeting with his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolás Maduro that relations between both countries would be strengthened to the point where the South American nation would become an all-weather strategic level, it was reported from Beijing.
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado Tuesday asked the Brazilian Senate's Public Security Committee through a video appearance to help the Caribbean country hold fair primary elections. Machado also denounced the attacks by Nicolás Maduro's regime and insisted she intended to run despite her disenfranchisement.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro told Chinese media during the weekend that he wanted the South American country to join the BRICS bloc (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) as a way to consolidate ties between the Asian giant and Latin America and the Caribbean, it was reported in Beijing. Venezuela has already expressed its interest in joining BRICS formally.