Page 14 - Venezuela

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 ...

RIL to use naphtha supplies as partial payment for Venezuela crude: Reports

Reliance, which operates the world's biggest refining complex, plans to supply naphtha, a refined product, from the US to partly pay for its Venezuelan oil purchases

Venezuela's Oppn urges armed forces to withdraw support for Prez Maduro

Venezuela's opposition leaders are calling on the country's armed forces to abandon their support of President Nicols Maduro and stop repressing demonstrators who have come out in force to dispute the leader's claim he prevailed in last Sunday's election. The armed forces are traditionally the arbiter of political disputes in Venezuela and have been key to Maduro's grip on power ever since he took over the so-called Bolivarian revolution in 2013 from his mentor, the late Hugo Chvez. So far, they've shown no signs of ditching Maduro even in the face of credible evidence presented by the opposition that it trounced the self-proclaimed socialist at the polls by a more than 2-to-1 margin. In a message posted Monday on social media, Edmundo Gonzlez who the U.S. and a half dozen countries have recognized as the victor and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado called on rank and file members of the security forces to rethink their loyalty. We appeal to the conscience of the military an

Global voices express concern over arrests in Venezuela after election

Voices across the globe expressed concern Sunday over the growing number of arrests in Venezuela following last weekend's disputed elections. Pope Francis said Venezuela is "living a critical situation" in his traditional Sunday remarks at the Vatican, adding, I appeal to all parties to seek the truth, to avoid all kinds of violence. The remarks came hours after Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro announced Saturday that the government has arrested 2,000 opponents. At a rally in the Venezuelan capital Caracas, Maduro pledged to detain more people and send them to prison. U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer told CBS program Face the Nation Sunday that the Biden administration is worried the arrests could spark wider unrest. We are concerned about the prospect of instability, should there continue to be these detentions, Finer said. And in a statement, the leaders of several European countries including France, Spain, Germany and Italy said the rights of all the Venezuela

Opposition in Venezuela demands presidential election results be overturned

Thousands of people rallied in the streets of Venezuela's capital Saturday, waving the national flag and singing the national anthem in support of an opposition candidate they believe won the presidential election by a landslide. Authorities have declared President Nicols Maduro the winner of last Sunday's election but have yet to produce voting tallies to prove he won. Instead, the government arrested hundreds of opposition supporters who took to the streets in the days after the disputed poll, and the president and his cadres have threatened to also lock up opposition leader, Mara Corina Machado, and her hand-picked presidential candidate, Edmundo Gonzlez. On Saturday, supporters chanted and sang as Machado arrived at the rally in Caracas. Machado, who has been barred by Maduro's government from running for office for 15 years, had been in hiding since Tuesday, saying her life and freedom are at risk. Masked assailants ransacked the opposition's headquarters on Friday, taking ...

Nicolas Maduro accuses Venezuela opposition of planning armed attack

The US has said it's clear the opposition won the most votes, a position shared by several countries

Venezuela election dispute traps travellers trying to leave country

The lack of options is stranding Venezuelans who live abroad but returned to vote in the July 28 election

US recognises oppn candidate Gonzlez as winner of Venezuela's prez poll

The US government has recognised Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzlez as the winner of the South American country's presidential election, discrediting the results announced by electoral authorities who declared President Nicols Maduro the victor. Given the overwhelming evidence, it is clear to the United States and, most importantly, to the Venezuelan people that Edmundo Gonzlez Urrutia won the most votes in Venezuela's July 28 presidential election, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Thursday. The National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner of Sunday's highly anticipated election, but the president's main challenger, Gonzlez, and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado have said they obtained more than two-thirds of the tally sheets that each electronic voting machine printed after polls closed. They said the release of the data on those tallies would prove Maduro lost. The announcement from the US government came amid diplomatic effor

Venezuela President Maduro asks SC to audit elections, draws criticism

Venezuela's President Nicols Maduro said he asked the country's Supreme Court to conduct an audit of the presidential election after opposition leaders disputed his claim of victory, drawing swift condemnation by independent observers. Maduro told reporters Wednesday that the ruling party is also ready to show the totality of the vote tally sheets from Sunday's election. I throw myself before justice, he said to reporters outside the Supreme Court's headquarters in Caracas, adding that he is willing to be summoned, questioned, investigated. This is Maduro's first concession to demands for more transparency about the election. However, the Supreme Court is closely aligned with his government; federal officials propose the court's justices and they are ratified by the National Assembly, which is dominated by Maduro sympathisers. The Carter Centre criticised Maduro's audit request, saying the court wouldn't provide an independent review. You have another government institution which

Venezuelans protest as observers say presidential vote undemocratic

The protests, which the government denounced as an attempted coup, began on Monday after the South American country's electoral authority declared that Maduro had won a third term

Musk calls Maduro a 'dictator' in latest blow-up against foreign leader

Add Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to the growing list of foreign leaders with whom tech billionaire Elon Musk has picked a fight. Following the results of Venezuela's presidential election, in which Maduro and his opponents each claimed victory, the owner of X took to the social media platform to accuse the self-proclaimed socialist leader of major election fraud. Shame on Dictator Maduro, Musk said Monday. Maduro in turn trashed Musk as the archenemy of Venezuela's peace. Officials delayed the release of detailed vote tallies from Sunday's election after proclaiming Maduro the winner with 51 per cent of the vote, compared with 44 per cent for retired diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez. The competing claims set up a high-stakes standoff. After failing to oust Maduro during three rounds of demonstrations since 2014, the opposition put its faith in the ballot box. The elections were among the most peaceful in recent memory, reflecting hopes that Venezuela could avoid bloodshed and end

Entrenched incumbent Maduro declared winner of Venezuela's prez election

Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro was formally declared the winner of his country's disputed presidential election Monday, a day after the political opposition and the entrenched incumbent both claimed victory in the contest. The National Electoral Council, which is loyal to Maduro's ruling party, announced his victory, handing him a third six-year term as the leader of an economy recovering from collapse and a population desperate for change. The ministers of defence, communications and technology and the head of the National Assembly applauded. We have never been moved by hatred. On the contrary, we have always been victims of the powerful," Maduro said in the nationally televised ceremony. "An attempt is being made to impose a coup d'tat in Venezuela again of a fascist and counterrevolutionary nature. We already know this movie, and this time, there will be no kind of weakness, he added, saying that Venezuela's law will be respected. There was no immediate comment from the ...

Venezuelan presidential election: Maduro wins 3rd term in disputed polls

Authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner in contentious Venezuelan election amid widespread irregularities in polls, sparking protests

Venezuela's prez election results don't reflect people's will: Blinken

Blinken on Monday said the international community was watching closely and would respond accordingly

Iron lady versus autocrat: Venezuela faces existential vote for president

The election, held on the birthday of the movement's founder, Hugo Chávez, pits Chávez's successor, President Nicolás Maduro, against the previously little-known Edmundo González, a former diplomat

Venezuela's presidential election could lead to a seismic shift in politics

Venezuelans are voting Sunday in a presidential election whose outcome will either lead to a seismic shift in politics or extend by six more years the policies that caused the world's worst peacetime economic collapse. Whether it is President Nicols Maduro who is chosen, or his main opponent, retired diplomat Edmundo Gonzlez, the election will have ripple effects throughout the Americas. Government opponents and supporters alike have signalled their interest in joining the exodus of 7.7 million Venezuelans who have already left their homes for opportunities abroad should Maduro win another term. Polls opened at 6 am, but voters started lining up at some voting centres across the country much earlier, sharing water, coffee and snacks for several hours. Alejandro Sulbarn nagged the first spot at his voting centre by getting in line at 5 pm Saturday. He said he stood outside an elementary school in a hillside suburb of the capital, Caracas, for the future of the country. We are all he