Venezuela

Bharat Petroleum, HPCL Mittal buy Venezuelan oil amid crude sourcing shift

The crude was bought in two separate deals and will be co-loaded on a very large crude carrier to cut shipping costs, lifting India's Venezuelan imports to at least 6 million barrels through April

Discount on Venezuelan oil to Indian refiners shrinks to lowest on record

Indian refiners see Venezuelan merey crude discounts shrink to record lows amid high freight costs and tighter supply dynamics

Maduro raid shows 'full might of US military', means 'we are feared': Trump

President Donald Trump celebrated the special forces members who ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, saying last month's audacious raid means "the entire world saw what the full military might" of the US can do and ensured "we are feared" by potential enemies around the world. Addressing soldiers and their families at Fort Bragg, one of the world's largest military bases, Trump declared, "Your commander in chief supports you totally." Then, drawing on one of his own campaign slogans, he implored them, "When needed, you're going to fight, fight, fight. You're going to win, win, win." The president and first lady Melania Trump also met privately with military families. But the visit felt more like a political rally than an official visit to celebrate the US armed forces. Trump's lauding of the raid that toppled Maduro came only after he called to the stage Michael Whatley, a former Republican National Committee chair who has the president's endorsement as he now runs for Senate

Reliance Industries likely to get licence from US for Venezuelan oil

A general licence authorises the purchase, exportation, and sale of Venezuelan-origin oil that has already been extracted, including the refining of such oil

US' curbs on Venezuela oil business unfairly target Russia: Lavrov

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia would clarify the situation with Washington

Trump admin allows US oilfield contractors to work in Venezuelan fields

The license issued by the Treasury Department allows US firms to explore, develop and produce oil and natural gas in Venezuela under certain limited conditions

IOC, HPCL buy Venezuelan oil in second deal since imports resumed

State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) have jointly bought 2 million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil - the second deal that Indian refiners have struck since oil restarted flowing into international markets. The two firms have bought 2 million barrels of Merey crude from Trafigura for delivery in the second half of April, sources said. 1.5 million barrels of oil will be delivered to IOC's Paradip refinery in Odisha and rest 500,000 barrels to HPCL's Visakhapatnam unit in Andhra Pradesh. This is the second deal for Venezuelan crude after Reliance Industries bought 2 million barrels of Venezuelan oil for April delivery from Vitol. The world's third-largest oil consumer halted Venezuelan crude purchases after US sanctions were reimposed. It has resumed imports after the US granted Vitol and Trafigura a licence to sell Venezuelan oil after President Nicolas Maduro was seized in a military operation and Washington asserted control over the

Indian Oil, HPCL buy 2 million barrels Venezuelan oil from Trafigura

New ‌Delhi has not officially announced plans to halt Russian oil imports

Venezuela's Machado says close ally kidnapped after prison release

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on Monday said one of her closest allies was kidnapped hours after being released from prison. The government had released several prominent opposition members from prison on Sunday after lengthy politically motivated detentions. Machado said on social media that Juan Pablo Guanipa was taken around midnight in a residential neighbourhood of the capital, Caracas. "Heavily armed men, dressed in civilian clothes, arrived in four vehicles and violently took him away," she posted on X. "We demand his immediate release." The releases of the opposition figures came as the government of acting President Delcy Rodriguez has faced mounting pressure to free hundreds of people whose detentions months or years ago have been linked to their political activities. The releases also followed a visit to Venezuela of representatives of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. The government's press office did not immediately respond to a request

Venezuela frees several opposition members as prisoner releases continue

Under mounting pressure from the US to free political prisoners, rights group Foro Penal said some 35 political prisoners were released on Sunday and that it was verifying additional cases

Families protest detention of Venezuelan activists, demand their release

Dozens of relatives and friends of Venezuelan opposition leaders, human rights defenders and others detained for their political activities protested Saturday outside a notorious prison in the capital to demand the immediate release of their loved ones. The demonstration outside Helicoide prison in Caracas comes during mounting pressure on the government of acting President Delcy Rodriguez to release all people whose detentions months or years ago have been linked by their families and nongovernmental organisations to their political beliefs. Her government last month announced it would free a significant number of prisoners, but families and human rights watchdogs have criticised authorities for the slow pace of the releases. Rodriguez last month also promised to close Helicoide, where torture and other forms of physical and psychological abuse of prisoners have been extensively documented. She said the facility, which was initially built to be a mall, would be turned into a ...

US strike on alleged drug-trafficking boat kills two in Eastern Pacific

The US military said on Thursday that it has carried out another deadly strike on a vessel accused of trafficking drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean. US Southern Command said on social media that the boat "was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations." It said the strike killed two people. A video linked to the post shows a boat moving through the water before exploding in flames. The strike was announced just hours after US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth declared that "some top cartel drug-traffickers" in the region "have decided to cease all narcotics operations INDEFINITELY due to recent (highly effective) kinetic strikes in the Caribbean." However, Hegseth did not provide any details or information to back up this claim, made in a post on his personal account on social media. Neither US Southern Command nor the Pentagon would answer follow-up questions about Hegseth's claim. Thursday's strike raises t

US announces $6 million aid for Cuba amid accusations of 'energy blockade'

The US government on Thursday announced an additional USD 6 million in aid for Cuba as the island's crisis deepens and tensions escalate between the two countries, with Cuba's president accusing the US of an "energy blockade." The aid is largely meant for those living in Cuba's eastern region, which Hurricane Melissa slammed into late last year. The supplies include rice, beans, pasta, cans of tuna and solar lamps that will be delivered by the Catholic Church and Caritas, said US Department of State Senior Official Jeremy Lewin. He warned that officials with the US embassy in Cuba will be out in the field "making sure that the regime does not take the assistance, divert it, try to politicise it." The US previously sent USD 3 million in disaster relief to Cuban people affected by Melissa. Lewin rejected that a halt in oil shipments from Venezuela -- after the US attacked the South American country and arrested its then leader -- is responsible for the humanitarian situation in Cuba.

Reliance buys 2 mn barrels of Venezuelan crude after nearly a year: Report

Trading houses Vitol and Trafigura were granted US licenses to market and sell millions of barrels of Venezuelan oil following the US military operation last month to capture President Nicolas Maduro

Venezuela long-standing energy partner, India open to crude sourcing: MEA

India said Venezuela has been a long-standing energy partner and New Delhi remains open to exploring crude supply options based on commercial merit, even as energy security stays the top priority

'Commercial viability key': MEA says open to Venezuela, other crude sources

The MEA said India is open to sourcing crude from Venezuela and other countries based on commercial viability, adding that energy security for 1.4 billion people remains its top priority

From sonar to AI, acoustics is emerging as a decisive weapon of war

If US action in Venezuela and the Ukraine war are anything to go by, acoustics will not merely support military power in future wars - it will shape it

Xi Jinping meets Uruguay leader, calls for 'equal, multipolar world'

This is first visit by a South American leader to the Chinese capital since the United States invaded Venezuela in January and captured then President Nicolas Maduro in a raid

US pitches Venezuelan crude to India as its Russian oil imports slow

India became a major buyer of Russian oil after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 triggered Western sanctions that drove down its price