Page 13 - Venezuela

Venezuela pledges to free those deported to El Salvador jail: Official

President Donald Trump's administration deported 238 Venezuelans over the weekend, accusing them of membership of the Tren de Aragua gang

President Trump's lawyers keep judge in dark on Venezuelan deportation data

US District Judge James Boasberg convened a hearing Monday to press Justice Department lawyers for answers about whether the deportations took place after he'd issued an order Saturday not to do so

Trump admin deports hundreds of immigrants despite judge's orders to pause

The Trump administration has transferred hundreds of immigrants to El Salvador even as a federal judge issued an order temporarily barring the deportations under an 18th century wartime declaration targeting Venezuelan gang members, officials said Sunday. Flights were in the air at the time of the ruling. US District Judge James E Boasberg issued an order Saturday blocking the deportations but lawyers told him there were already two planes with immigrants in the air one headed for El Salvador, the other for Honduras. Boasberg verbally ordered the planes be turned around, but they apparently were not and he did not include the directive in his written order. OopsieToo late, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, a Trump ally who agreed to house about 300 immigrants for a year at a cost of $6 million in his country's prisons, wrote on the social media site X above an article about Boasberg's ruling. That post was recirculated by White House communications director Steven Cheung. Secretar

US poised to order more companies to cease operations in Venezuela

Stopping the companies from working in Venezuela will be a blow to the nation's beleaguered economy, putting pressure on Maduro as Trump pushes for a deal over democratic reforms

Trump revokes oil permit, Chevron license in Venezuela in blow to Maduro

A permit issued by the United States government allowing energy giant Chevron Corp. to pump and export Venezuelan oil will be terminated this week, President Donald Trump announced Wednesday, ending what became a financial lifeline for the South American country. Trump's announcement in his Truth Social network accused the government of President Nicols Maduro of not meeting democratic conditions for last year's July presidential election as well as of not moving fast enough to transport back to Venezuela immigrants set for deportation. We are hereby reversing the concessions that Crooked Joe Biden gave to Nicols Maduro, of Venezuela, on the oil transaction agreement, Trump wrote. Trump post did not specifically mention California-based Chevron nor the permit, formally known as a general license, that exempts the company from economic sanctions and allows it to export and sale Venezuelan oil in the U.S. But it is the only Venezuela-related license whose issuance and renewal ...

Venezuela sends planes to US to return migrants, signalling improving ties

Two Venezuelan planes flew to the United States on Monday and returned home with deported Venezuelans, signaling a possible improvement in relations between longtime diplomatic adversaries and a victory for President Donald Trump in his efforts to get more countries to take their people back. The US and Venezuelan governments separately confirmed the flights by Venezuelan airline Conviasa without saying how many were aboard or disclosing their routes. Flights of Illegal Aliens to Venezuela Resume, the White House said in a post on the X platform, saying they were overseen by Richard Grennell, a top Trump adviser who recently traveled to Venezuela. The Venezuelan government confirmed the flights in a statement that took issue with an ill-intentioned and false narrative around the presence of members of the Tren de Aragua gang in the United States. It said most Venezuelan immigrants are decent, hard-working people and that U.S. officials sought to stigmatize the South American ...

Court allows to block Venezuelan immigrants from being sent to Guantanamo

A federal court on Sunday blocked the Trump administration from sending three Venezuelan immigrants held in New Mexico to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba as part of the president's immigration crackdown. In a legal filing earlier in the day, lawyers for the men said the detainees "fit the profile of those the administration has prioritized for detention in Guantanamo, i.e. Venezuelan men detained in the El Paso area with (false) charges of connections with the Tren de Aragua gang." It asked a US District Court in New Mexico for a temporary restraining order blocking their transfer, adding that the mere uncertainty the government has created surrounding the availability of legal process and counsel access is sufficient to authorize the modest injunction. During a brief hearing, Judge Kenneth J Gonzales granted the temporary order, which was opposed by the government, said Jessica Vosburgh, an attorney for the three men. "It's short term. This will get revisited and further fleshed

Trump admin to seize Venezuelan prez's 2nd plane held in Dominican Republic

The Trump administration plans to seize a second plane belonging to Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro 's government that is currently in the Dominican Republic. Secretary of State Marco Rubio intends to announce the seizure on Thursday during a visit to Santo Domingo, the last stop of his five nation tour of Central America, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter and a State Department document obtained by The Associated Press. Carrying out the seizure required that Rubio sign off on a foreign aid freeze waiver request to pay more than USD 230,000 in storage and maintenance fees. It also required approval by the Department of Justice. That waiver request, submitted early last week, has been approved and Rubio is expected to make the announcement at what the State Department has described publicly as only a law enforcement engagement. The plane is a Dassault Falcon 200 that has been used by Maduro and top aides, including his vice president and defense minister to ..

Trump admin ends temporary deportation protection for 350,000 Venezuelans

US President Donald Trump's administration is ending protections that shielded roughly 350,000 Venezuelans from deportation, leaving them with two months before they lose their right to work in the US. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's order affects 348,202 Venezuelans living in the US with Temporary Protected Status slated to expire in April. That's about half of the approximately 600,000 who have the protection. The remaining protections are set to expire at the end of September. The termination notice will be published Wednesday and go into effect 60 days later. It's among the latest Trump administration actions targeting the immigration system, as officials work to make good on promises of cracking down on people illegally living in the country and to carry out the largest mass deportation effort in US history. Congress created TPS in 1990 to prevent deportations to countries suffering from natural disasters or civil strife, giving people authorization to work in ...

Venezuela's Oppn supporters fight hope, distress after Maduro sworn in

The inauguration of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro left his opponents to grapple with with conflicting feelings of hope and disappointment on Saturday, pondering why the self-described socialist leader could not be stopped despite credible evidence that he had lost the election last year. Some described their mood after Friday's ceremony at the legislative palace in Caracas, Venezuela's capital, like an emotional hangover while others said they feel abandoned. Many expressed cautious optimism, finding a measure of comfort in the social media videos released by two opposition leaders popular former lawmaker Mara Corina Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez, the opposition's candidate in the vote who had promised to topple Maduro. In the end, it feels as if the soup got cold, college professor Nelson Perez said. We've been on the subject of not losing hope for a while. ... But then you realize it's more of the same. That realization is hard to process for millions of Venezuelans who, l

Nicols Maduro takes oath as Venezuela's President amid protests, rebuke

Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro was sworn in Friday for a new term, extending his increasingly repressive rule in the face of renewed protests and rebukes from the United States and others who believe he stole last year's vote. Venezuela's legislative palace, where he was sworn in and delivered a fiery speech, was heavily guarded by security forces who have become Maduro's main hold on power since last summer's disputed election. Crowds of people, many sporting pro-Maduro T-shirts, gathered in adjacent streets and a nearby plaza. Maduro, likening himself to a biblical David fighting Goliath, accused his opponents and their supporters in the US of trying to turn his inauguration into a world war. He said his enemies' failure to block his inauguration to a third six-year term was a great victory" for Venezuela's peace and national sovereignty. I have not been made president by the government of the United States, nor by the pro-imperialist governments of Latin America, he said, aft

Venezuela's Oppn leader defies Maduro to lead protests, claims arrest later

Venezuela opposition leader Mara Corina Machado's aides said she was detained Thursday, followed moments later by official denials of her arrest, in a confusing episode that capped a day of protests seeking to block President Nicols Maduro from clinging to power. It remained unclear what exactly happened after Machado bid farewell to hundreds of supporters, hopped on a motorcycle and raced with her security convoy down a main Caracas avenue. At 3:21 pm local time, Machado's press team said in a social media post that security forces violently intercepted her convoy. Her aides later told The Associated Press that she had been detained, and international condemnation poured in from leaders in Latin America and beyond, demanding her release. But about an hour later, a proof-of-life, 20-second video of Machado emerged online in which she says she was followed after leaving the wonderful rally and had dropped her purse. Her aides later claimed in a social media post that the video messag

Trump backs Venezuela's Oppn leader Maria Machado after detention incident

Fear of repression in Venezuela has escalated in recent days as the inauguration of Maduro's third term approaches on Friday, following last year's contested presidential election, CNN reported

Venezuelan Oppn leader Maria Machado arrested after anti-govt protest

Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was arrested Thursday when her motorcycle convoy was fired upon by security forces as it departed an anti-government protest in Caracas, according to aides. Machado emerged from months of hiding earlier Thursday to reappear in public as part of a last-ditch attempt to block President Nicols Maduro from clinging to power. Machado's press team said in a social media post that security forces violently intercepted the convoy as it was leaving eastern Caracas. There were no immediate details on her whereabouts and Maduro's government has yet to comment. They wanted us to fight each other, but Venezuela is united, we are not afraid, Machado shouted to a few hundred protesters from atop a truck in the capital moments before her arrest. The protests are taking place a day before the ruling party-controlled National Assembly is scheduled to swear in Maduro to a third six-year term despite credible evidence that he lost the presidential ...

Venezuela top court fines TikTok $10 mn over deadly video challenges

Venezuela's Supreme Court has issued a USD 10 million fine against TikTok for not implementing measures to prevent viral video challenges that have allegedly led to the deaths of three Venezuelan children recently. Judge Tania D'Amelio said TikTok had acted in a negligent manner and gave it eight days to pay the fine, while also ordering the video service company to open an office in Venezuela that would supervise content so that it complies with local laws. The judge did not explain how Venezuela would force TikTok, whose parent company is based in China, to pay the fine. Venezuela has blocked dozens of websites in previous years for not complying with regulations set by its telecommunications commission. TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press. In November, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro blamed TikTok for the death of a 12-year-old girl who allegedly died after participating in a TikTok challenge that involved taking tranquilizer

Reliance resume oil swap with Venezuela's PDVSA under US licence: Report

A supertanker carrying about 1.9 million barrels of Venezuelan Merey heavy crude departed earlier this month for India's Sikka port

Venezuela President releases 103 imprisoned since disputed July election

After Presidential election, thousands of protesters flooded the streets in cities like the capital Caracas, and the opposition released data it said showed Gonzalez won handily against Maduro

Venezuelan Opposition leaders awarded EU's freedom of thought prize

The Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought award is considered the European Union's highest human rights honour

Jindal abandons oil venture with Venezuela's crude producer PDVSA: Report

Jindal is exiting the deal under which it would have overseen one of Petroleos de Venezuela's key installations for producing and processing heavy-crude oil for export

Experts legitimise tally sheets Venezuela Oppn provided, shows Maduro lost

An independent group of election experts that observed Venezuela's July presidential election on Wednesday legitimised the vote tally sheets the opposition has offered as proof of President Nicolas Maduro's defeat, telling the Organization of American States the electronic balloting system worked and the ruling party as well as other stakeholders "know the truth". The assertions from an expert with the US-based Carter Center came during a session convened by members of the regional body to address the dispute that emerged from Venezuela's presidential election. The group was one of the two independent panels that the government invited to observe the vote on July 28, which electoral authorities claimed -- without offering any proof -- favoured Maduro. The dispute has centred on thousands of tally sheets known as actas -- printouts that resemble shopping receipts -- that have long been considered the ultimate proof of election results in Venezuela. Each of the 30,000 electronic voti