Page 13 - Venezuela

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

Venezuela Oppn calls on US to cancel oil firm licences to pressure Maduro

Venezuela's main opposition coalition on Monday called on the US to cancel the licenses that allow Chevron and other energy companies to operate in the South American country to pressure President Nicols Maduro to negotiate a transition from power. The appeal came from an adviser to the campaign of Edmundo Gonzlez Urrutia, who represented the Unitary Platform coalition in the July 28 election, and his main backer, opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. Gonzlez and Machado claim their campaign won the vote by a wide margin, contradicting the decision of national electoral authorities to declare Maduro the winner. We want them cancelled this is a lifeline to the regime, adviser Rafael de la Cruz said in reference to the licenses during a panel discussion hosted by a Washington-based think tank. We want all the oil companies to go to Venezuela. So, it's not about the companies. It's about the situation that is impoverishing the country so badly that practically the whole population ..

Venezuela arrests 6 foreigners allegedly involved in plot to kill Maduro

Three Americans, two Spaniards and a Czech citizen were arrested Saturday after Venezuelan officials accused them of coming to the South American country to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro. The arrests were announced on state television by Diosdado Cabello, the nation's powerful interior minister. Cabello said the foreign citizens were part of a CIA-led plot to overthrow the Venezuelan government and kill several members of its leadership. In the television program, Cabello showed images of rifles that he said were confiscated from some of the plotters of the alleged plan. The arrest of the American citizens included a member of the Navy, who Cabello identified as Wilbert Joseph Castaeda Gomez. Cabello said that Gomez was a navy seal who had served in Afghanistan, Iraq and Colombia. Spain's embassy in Venezuela did not reply to a request for comment on the arrests of its citizens. The US State Department late Saturday confirmed the detention of a US military member and said it

Venezuelan Oppn still hopes to unseat Maduro despite Gonzalez's exile

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado tried to reassure supporters Monday that her coalition still hopes to gain control of the presidency despite the departure into exile of their candidate Edmundo Gonzlez Urrutia. Machado's group maintains that it has evidence that Gonzlez won the July 28 presidential election by a wide margin against Venezuela's authoritarian incumbent president, Nicols Maduro, despite his claim to have won. Machado told an online meeting Monday of opposition leaders, reporters and others that her group still hopes to see Maduro leave office in January, even if for voters those hopes seem increasingly tenuous since Gonzlez's decision to flee into exile to Spain over the weekend. She said the former diplomat could fulfill the role of opposition candidate with much greater protection and security from abroad. She herself has gone into hiding in the weeks since the election, while Maduro's government has arrested more than 2,000 people and cracked down o

Oppn presidential candidate left nation for asylum in Spain: Venezuela

Former Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez has left the South American country after seeking asylum in Spain, according to a senior Venezuelan official. The surprise departure by the candidate who Venezuela's opposition and several foreign governments consider the legitimate winner of July's presidential race is a serious blow to efforts to unseat President Nicols Maduro and comes just days after the government ordered his arrest. Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said in a message posted on Instagram that Gonzalez, who has not been seen since the election, had sought refuge in past days at Spain's embassy in Caracas. She said the government decided to grant Gonzlez safe passage out of the country to help restore the country's political peace and tranquility. Neither Gonzalez nor anyone from Venezuela's opposition has yet to comment. Gonzalez, a 75 year old former diplomat, was a last minute stand in when opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was

Venezuelan judge issues arrest warrant for Oppn's ex-presidential candidate

A Venezuelan judge on Monday issued an arrest warrant for the opposition's former presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzlez as part of a criminal investigation into the results of a disputed election. The warrant was issued at the request of authorities who accuse Gonzlez, a former diplomat, of various crimes including conspiracy, falsifying documents and usurpation of powers. The warrant comes just over a month after election officials declared President Nicols Maduro the winner of an election that his opponents say he lost. Authorities sought the warrant after Gonzlez failed to appear three times to answer questions from prosecutors in a criminal investigation stemming from the disputed election results. Ruling party-loyal electoral authorities declared Maduro the victor of the July 28 election, hours after polls closed. They did not show any detailed results to back up their claim as they had offered in previous presidential elections. The lack of transparency has drawn internation

Elon Musk vs the world: Fights the tech titan has been picking up globally

Maduro to Zelensky: Here are all the world leaders Elon Musk has clashed with

ONGC Videsh in talks with Russia, US to regain control of projects

Sought special licence from US for Venezuela operations, rouble payments to Russia for Sakhalin

Brazil, Colombia urge Venezuela to release vote tallies, denounce violence

The leaders of Brazil and Colombia on Saturday again called on Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro to release voting tallies, days after the country's Supreme Court backed the government's disputed claims that it won elections in July. In a joint statement, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Colombian President Gustavo Petro said the credibility of the electoral process can only be restored through the transparent publication of disaggregated and verifiable data. The two leaders also warned against repression as the Venezuelan government has jailed thousands and met protests with violence. The governments spoke a day after several other Latin American countries and the U.S. rejected the Venezuelan high court's certification. Many were waiting to see how the two leftist leaders would respond to the court because both are close allies of Maduro and have been working to facilitate talks with both sides. Maduro claims that he won the presidential vote, but so far has refu

White House walks back Biden comment on renewed Venezuelan election

Responding to Biden's remarks later Thursday, Maduro said he "completely and absolutely rejects that the US government intends to become the electoral authority of Venezuela or any other place

Venezuelan oppn leader rejects Brazil's idea of redoing prez vote

Venezuelan opposition leader Mara Corina Machado on Thursday rejected a proposal from Brazil's president that Venezuela hold a new presidential election following the contested results of last month's vote. Her comments came shortly after Brazilian President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva said that he still doesn't recognize Nicols Maduro as the winner of last month's presidential election in Venezuela, and that his counterpart could call for a new vote if he has good sense". US President Joe Biden also expressed support for new elections. Lula said that Maduro still owes an explanation to Brazilians and the rest of the world. Machado said during a virtual press conference with Argentine media that redoing the election would be an insult to the people, and she asked if second election were held and Maduro still didn't accept the results, "do we go for a third one? Brazil is by far South America's largest nation and shares one of Venezuela's longest land borders. Unlike many other nations

Venezuela Prez Maduro suspends X for 10 days after exchange with Elon Musk

President Nicolas Maduro said he has ordered a 10-day block on access to X in Venezuela, accusing the owner Elon Musk of using the social network to promote hatred after the country's disputed presidential election. Associated Press journalists in Caracas found that by Thursday night posts had stopped loading on X on two private telephone services and state-owned Movilnet. Elon Musk is the owner of X and has violated all the rules of the social network itself, said Maduro in a speech following a march by pro-government groups. Maduro alleged Musk has incited hatred. Maduro also accused the social network of being used by his opponents to create political unrest. Venezuela's president said he had signed a resolution with the proposal made by CONATEL, the National Telecommunications Commission, which has decided to remove the social network X, formerly known as Twitter, from circulation in Venezuela for 10 days so that they can present their documents. Maduro did not provide more ...