Page 8 - Venezuela

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

Under pressure over border, Biden admin to protect thousands of Venezuelans

The Biden administration said that it was granting temporary legal status to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who are already in the country quickly making them eligible to work as it grapples with growing numbers of people fleeing the South American country and elsewhere to arrive at the US border with Mexico. The move along with promises to accelerate work permits for many migrants may appease Democratic leaders who have pressured the White House to do more to aid asylum-seekers, while also providing grist for Republicans who say the president has been too lax on immigration. The Homeland Security Department plans to grant Temporary Protected Status to an estimated 4,72,000 Venezuelans who arrived in the country as of July 31, 2023, making it easier for them to get authorisation to work in the US. That's been a key demand of Democratic mayors and governors who are struggling to care for an increased number of migrants in their care. That's in addition to about 2,42,700 ...

China upgrades relationship with Venezuela to 'all weather' partnership

China announced on Wednesday it was upgrading its diplomatic ties with Venezuela to an all weather partnership, a label reserved for a select few of its diplomatic partners. Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro is on a state visit to Beijing, his fifth as president, according to state broadcaster CCTV. He met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The two signed a series of bilateral documents for Belt and Road projects and cooperation in the areas of the economy, trade, and education, according to CCTV. China is willing to increase imports of Venezuelan products, Xi said, according to the CCTV readout. The broadcaster did not give other details on the nature of the cooperation. Venezuela is also the first Latin American country to join in China's International Lunar Research station, a long-term project that will study the moon. One of the best known of China's select all-weather strategic partnerships is with Pakistan, where it has invested USD 25.4 billion over the past decade. Abou

S Arabia welcomes Venezuelan leader, reaching out to yet another US foe

Saudi Arabia has welcomed Venzuelan President Nicolas Maduro on an official visit, reaching out to yet another U.S. foe as the oil-rich kingdom engages in a flurry of diplomacy. Maduro arrived late Sunday in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, where he was greeted by Saudi officials, according to the state-run Saudi Press Agency. It did not give a reason for the visit or elaborate on his schedule, but Saudi Arabia is hosting an international conference on combating extremism later this week in the capital, Riyadh. The gathering will be co-chaired by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Saudi Arabia has been a close U.S. ally for decades, but relations have been strained in recent years. Over the last few months, the kingdom has restored relations with Iran's theocracy and Syria's President Bashar Assad both seen as pariahs in the West. Last month, the Saudis welcomed Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a close Western ally, to an Arab League summit. But days later, they hosted a .

Venezuelan president Maduro to fully open border with Colombia from Jan 1

Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro on Monday announced his intention to fully open the border crossings with Colombia starting January 1, a measure repeatedly postponed following the restoration of diplomatic and commercial ties between the South American neighbours. Relations between the countries were broken off in 2019, but Maduro has said the environment is conducive to improved ties with the election of Gustavo Petro as Colombia's first leftist president. The neighbours resumed diplomatic relations in September. I am going to announce that we will be completely opening the border, for all of western Venezuela with Colombia, for the passage of vehicles, motorcycles, trucks as of January 1. Maduro said on state television. We are preparing everything to comply with what we announced, to fulfill what was promised to President Gustavo Petro, he said. Petro has recognised Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela. His predecessor, Ivn Duque, along with dozens of other countri

Biden administration eases Venezuela sanctions as opposition talks resume

The Biden administration on Saturday eased some oil sanctions on Venezuela in an effort to support newly restarted negotiations between President Nicols Maduro's government and its opposition. The Treasury Department is allowing Chevron to resume limited energy production in Venezuela after years of sanctions that have dramatically curtailed oil and gas profits that have flowed to Maduro's government. Earlier this year the Treasury Department allowed the California-based Chevron and other U.S. companies to perform only basic upkeep of wells it operates jointly with state-run oil giant PDVSA. Under the new policy, profits from the sale of energy would be directed to paying down debt owed to Chevron, rather than providing profits to PDVSA. Talks between the Maduro government and the Unitary Platform resumed in Mexico City on Saturday after more than a yearlong pause. It remained to be seen whether they would take a different course from previous rounds of negotiations that have not ..

Venezuela, Colombia resume flights after 2-year hiatus due to Covid

The flight on Monday by Turpial Airlines from Caracas to Bogota is the first one since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in early 2020