
The Lima Group regional bloc said on Monday that it backed the re-election of opposition leader Juan Guaido as head of Venezuela's Congress after the government of Nicolas Maduro forced a separate vote imposing a new leader of the legislative body.

Two lawmakers in Venezuela have both declared themselves parliamentary Speaker after a tumultuous day in the country's politics. US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaidó and rival Luis Parra both claimed to be Speaker of the National Assembly on Sunday.

After a tumultuous year in which he declared himself Venezuela's acting president and at times seemed close to toppling socialist leader Nicolas Maduro, Juan Guaido will bid for re-election as the parliament's speaker on Sunday.

The State Department announced on Thursday it was barring Cuba's defense chief from entering the US, citing what it called human rights violations in supporting the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, said Monday that 11 people have been arrested in connection with an assault early Sunday at a military post in the south of the country and said that some of those involved were in Brazil along with the stolen weapons of the installation.

Bolivia on Sunday announced its entry into the Lima Group regional bloc that was set up to find a way out of the Venezuelan crisis. The Bolivian foreign ministry said in a statement that it hoped to “contribute to a peaceful, democratic and constitutional solution to the crisis in Venezuela, which must be guided by the Venezuelan people.”

The United States on Friday promised further sanctions to pressure Venezuela's leader Nicolas Maduro, accusing him of bribing lawmakers to block the re-election of his opponent Juan Guaido.

Venezuela's Supreme Court opened criminal cases Monday against four National Assembly lawmakers opposed to President Nicolas Maduro, accusing them of rebellion and treason for their part in a failed military uprising.

OPEC Wednesday announced that oil pumping in Venezuela in November reached 697.000 bpd. But one country's increase in production may not have a positive impact in the near future in view of OPEC's decision to curb output in an attempt to keep inventories at a level that holds profit margins attractive.
![The minimum income only covers 2% of the [basic] food basket, according to Alvarado](/data/cache/noticias/73629/260x165/alvrado.jpg)
Hyperinflation continues to reign supreme in Venezuela as it reached 38.5% in November, with a cumulative rate of 5,515.6% and an interannual of 13,475.8%, the opposition National Assembly reported Tuesday.