Page 17 - Venezuela

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US pulls some of Venezuela's sanctions relief as court blocks oppn leader

The US government on Monday pulled back part of the sanctions relief it granted Venezuela last year, following through on its threat after the South American country's highest court blocked the presidential candidacy of an opposition leader. The Department of the Treasury gave companies transacting with Venezuela's state-owned mining company until February 13 to wind down operations. The department had allowed transactions with the mining company in October after the government of President Nicols Maduro reached an agreement with the US-backed opposition faction to work toward levelling the playing field ahead of the presidential election. On Friday, however, the prospect of a free presidential election was dealt a heavy blow when the country's highest court upheld a ban on the candidacy of Mara Corina Machado, a longtime government foe and winner of the primary held by the opposition. Machado, a former lawmaker, won the opposition's independently run presidential primary with more

US, 30 world leaders condemn ban on Venezuelan Oppn leader's candidacy

The US government and nearly 30 conservative world leaders on Saturday condemned the decision of Venezuela's highest court to block the presidential candidacy of opposition leader Mara Corina Machado. The Biden administration, however, remained noncommittal about reimposing economic sanctions on Venezuela, which it has threatened to do if the government of President Nicols Maduro failed to ensure a level playing field for the country's presidential election this year. "The United States is currently reviewing our Venezuela sanctions policy, based on this development and the recent political targeting of democratic opposition candidates and civil society," US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement. Machado won a presidential primary held in October by the faction of the opposition backed by the US. She secured more than 90 per cent of the vote despite the Venezuelan government announcing a 15-year ban on her running for office just days after she formally enter

Mexico and Venezuela restart repatriation flights to curb migration to US

Mexico and Venezuela announced Saturday that they have restarted repatriation flights of Venezuelan migrants in Mexico, the latest move by countries in the region to take on a flood of people travelling north to the United States. The move comes as authorities say at least 10,000 migrants a day have been arriving at the US-Mexico border, many of them asylum seekers. It also comes as a migrant caravan of thousands of people from across the region largely Venezuelans has trekked through southern Mexico this week. The repatriation flights are part of an agreement made between regional leaders during a summit in Mexico in October that aimed to seek solutions for migration levels that show few signs of slowing down. Mexico's Ministry of Foreign Relations said the two countries began repatriations with a flight on Friday and a second on Saturday in an effort to strengthen their cooperation on migration issues. The statement also said the two countries plan to implement social and work .

Billionaire Gustavo Cisneros, who defined Venezuela business, dies at 78

His death was confirmed by the Cisneros Group, without providing additional details

Brazil expresses concern over border dispute between Venezuela and Guyana

Brazil's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday it was concerned about a border dispute between Venezuela and Guyana that intensified this week following Britain's decision to send a warship to Guyana's shores. Brazil's foreign ministry urged the South American neighbours to return to dialogue and said third countries should avoid "military activities" that support either side. Brazil's statement calls on both countries to stay true to the Argyle Declaration, an agreement signed by Guyana and Venezuela two weeks ago in which their leaders said they would solve the border dispute through nonviolent means. The dispute is over Essequibo, a sparsely populated region of Guyana that is the size of Florida and is rich in oil and minerals. Venezuela on Thursday began military exercises involving 5,000 troops in the eastern Caribbean near the border with Guyana in response to Britain's decision to send the patrol ship HMS Trent. In a nationally televised speech, Venezuelan President Nicol

US government injects confusion into Venezuela's 2024 presidential election

The US government injected confusion into next year's presidential election in Venezuela on Friday by incorrectly suggesting opposition leader Maria Corina Machado had filed an appeal to reverse her ban on running for office. Machado subsequently sidestepped questions about whether she had been pressured by the Biden administration to appear before Venezuela's highest court, but she made a veiled criticism of the US comment, saying she wished she had been able to announce her actions herself. A tweet from the US government's unit that oversees Venezuelan affairs praised Machado's courage and willingness to appeal the ban. But as she left the country's highest court Friday evening, she told reporters she did not file an appeal because she has not been officially notified of the ban announced against her in June. I am not going to resort to that procedure, she said of the appeal process. Instead, Machado, a longtime foe of the ruling party and winner of an opposition presidential ...

India welcomes return of Venezuelan oil to market: Union Minister Puri

India, the world's third largest oil consuming and importing nation, welcomes the return of Venezuelan oil to the market after sanctions on the Latin American nation were eased, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said. Without saying if India has resumed purchases from Venezuela, he said some refiners in the country have the capability to process heavy crude oil produced in the Latin American nation. India last imported Venezuelan crude in 2020. The US Treasury Department in October partially lifted sanctions on Venezuela's oil and gas sector. The partially lifted sanctions are through a new six-month license authorising transactions in the country's oil and gas sector. The license is to be renewed only if Venezuela can meet commitments leading to fair voting in the next year's presidential election. "We always buy from Venezuela. We have always bought stuff from Venezuela. It's when Venezuela came under sanctions that they were not able to supply," Puri told reporters here. He

India to resume Venezuelan oil purchases, says Hardeep Singh Puri

India is willing to buy oil from any country that is not sanctioned, the minister added

BPCL plans to buy Venezuela oil; deal not to harm Russian imports: Official

"Our refineries are capable of processing Venezuelan oil and we have given our international trade (department) okay to buy it," Khanna said in an industry event

Indian refiners resume imports of Venezuelan oil, RIL seeks direct deal

But Venezuela's oil output has been volatile, limiting what it can offer for exports

India set to restart imports of Venezuelan oil as US sanctions ease

Private refiner Reliance Industries Ltd has booked two supertankers, C. Earnest and C. Genuine, which are scheduled to load crude cargoes from Venezuela between December to early January.

India may buy Venezuelan crude oil if it's cheap, says Hardeep Singh Puri

India, the world's third biggest oil importer and consumer, ships over 80% of its oil needs from overseas and wants to cut its crude import bill

Cheap Venezuela crude oil to complement discounted Russian grades

India is studying options to resume imports of oil from Venezuela after purchases stopped in late 2020

ONGC hopes to recover over $500 mn dividend as Venezuela sanctions eased

The Biden administration on Wednesday eased sanctions on Venezuela's oil sector after the government and opposition parties reached a deal for the 2024 election

US eases oil, gas, sanctions on Venezuela after electoral roadmap signed

In response to Venezuela's government and a faction of its opposition formally agreeing to work together to reach a series of basic conditions for the next presidential election, the US agreed Wednesday to temporarily suspend some sanctions on the country's oil, gas and gold sectors. Tuesday's agreement between President Nicols Maduro's administration and the Unitary Platform came just days before the opposition holds a primary to pick its candidate for the 2024 presidential election. The US Treasury issued a six-month general license that would temporarily authorise transactions involving Venezuela's oil and gas sector, another that authorizes dealings with Minerven the state-owned gold mining company and it removed the secondary trading ban on certain Venezuelan sovereign bonds. The ban on trading in the primary Venezuelan bond market remains in place, Treasury says. Brian E. Nelson, Treasury's under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said the US welcomes the .

Crude oil fall below $90 per barrel on report of US-Venezuela deal

Brent futures were down 59 cents, or 0.67%, at $90.27 a barrel at 10:30 CDT (1532 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell by 0.29 cents, or 0.37%, to $87.30 a barrel

18 migrants killed, and 29 injured in a bus crash in southern Mexico

At least 18 migrants from Venezuela and Peru died early Friday in a bus crash in southern Mexico, authorities said. Mexico's National Immigration Institute said the dead include two women and three children, and that 29 people were injured. There was no immediate information on their condition. Photos distributed by the institute showed the bus rolled over onto its side on a curvy section of highway in the southern state of Oaxaca. The cause of the crash on the town of San Pablo Huitzo, near the border with the neighbouring state of Puebla, is under investigation. The institute said a total of 55 migrants, mostly from Venezuela, were aboard the vehicle. It was the latest in a series of migrant deaths in Mexico amid a surge in migrants travelling toward the US border. Because migration agents often raid regular buses, migrants and smugglers often seek out risky forms of transportation, like unregulated buses, trains or freight trucks. Last week, 10 Cuban migrants died and 17 others

Biden admin is resuming deportation flights for Venezuelan migrants: Report

The Biden administration will resume deporting Venezuelan migrants, the largest single group encountered at the US-Mexico border last month, back to their economically troubled country as their arrivals continue to grow. The process is expected to begin shortly, said two US officials, though they did not provide specific details on when the flights would begin taking off. The officials were not authorised to disclose details of the government's plan and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. The resumption of deportation comes not long after the administration increased protected status for Venezuelans who arrive to the US, so if someone arrived to the US before July 31 of this year, but not after, they'd be eligible for protections. The decision reflects the larger strategy by President Joe Biden to not only provide expanded legal pathways for people arriving, but also to crack down on those who illegally cross into the country from Mexico. The officials would not discuss detai

Jindal Steel denies it agreed to invest in Venezuela's iron ore plant

Jindal Steel & Power "completely and categorically denies signing of any agreement or committing to any investment in Venezuela," according to a statement