Venezuela

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

1.2 million people in Venezuela cut from essential supplies after floods

Heavy rain has damaged 41 roads in Sucre and 28 in Anzoategui, said Transportation Minister Ramon Velasquez Araguayan

Venezuelan, Colombian presidents meet for 1st time in years as ties improve

This is the first visit by a Colombian head of state to Venezuela since 2016, reports Xinhua news agency.

Colombia's President Gustavo Petro promises to deepen ties with Venezuela

The presidents of Colombia and Venezuela met on Tuesday and said they would improve trade and security cooperation, as both countries seek to normalise relations following the election of Colombia's first leftist leader. After the meeting in Venezuela's presidential palace, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said it was suicidal for the governments of Venezuela and Colombia to have become estranged from each other recently, adding that the border between the countries had been forgotten and turned over to criminal mafias. Colombia's president said both countries would now look for ways to share intelligence on drug trafficking groups, and added that he would lobby for Venezuela's re-entry into the Andean Community of Nations, a regional trade and investment group that Venezuela withdrew from in 2006. Petro has asked for Venezuela's support in peace talks with the National Liberation Army, or ELN, a Colombian rebel group that operates on both sides of the border. Petro's efforts to ..

Iran starts refining crude oil in Venezuela: Petroleum Minister Javad Owji

Iranian Petroleum Minister Javad Owji has said that Iran has started refining its crude oil in Venezuela, state media affiliated to his Ministry reported.

Joe Biden turning to Trump-era rule to expel Venezuelan migrants

Two years ago, candidate Joe Biden loudly denounced President Donald Trump for immigration policies that inflicted cruelty and exclusion at every turn, including toward those fleeing the "brutal" government of socialist Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela. Now, with increasing numbers of Venezuelans arriving at the US-Mexico border as the Nov 8 election nears, Biden has turned to an unlikely source for a solution: his predecessor's playbook. Biden last week invoked a Trump-era rule known as Title 42 -- which Biden's own Justice Department is fighting in court to deny Venezuelans fleeing their crisis-torn country the chance to request asylum at the border. The rule, first invoked by Trump in 2020, uses emergency public health authority to allow the United States to keep migrants from seeking asylum at the border, based on the need to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Under the new Biden administration policy, Venezuelans who walk or swim across America's southern border will be expelled

US mulls Ukrainian-type parole for Venezuelan migrants, says officials

The Biden administration is developing plans for Venezuelans with financial sponsors to be granted parole to enter the United States, similar to how Ukrainians have been admitted after Russia's invasion, U.S. officials said Tuesday. Four officials offered broad outlines of the plan to deal with a large increase in Venezuelans arriving at the U.S. border with Mexico. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the matter publicly. Venezuelans who cross the border illegally on land would be immediately returned to Mexico, two officials said. Currently, Mexico only accepts migrants expelled under Title 42 authority a pandemic-era rule that denies migrants rights to seek asylum and is designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 if they are from Guatemala, El Salvador or Honduras, in addition to Mexico. Venezuelans who qualify for parole would enter the U.S. at airports, two officials said, mirroring a program introduced in April that allows Ukrainia

Venezuela searches for missing after landslide in Las Tejerias; 43 dead

Rescuers worked to clear rocks and mud from the streets of a north-central city in Venezuela on Tuesday, three days after it was hit by a massive and deadly landslide, and expanded their search for any bodies buried under the sludge. Officials raised the death toll from the slide in Las Tejerias to at least 43 and warned that it could go up further as bodies are found downstream from the hardest-hit neighbourhoods. Crews extended their search perimeter to include that area, along a river located about a mile (2 kilometres) outside the city. At least 56 people were said to be missing, and some local residents have joined in the hunt for them. Magaly Colmenares said she was with a group of firefighters that recovered the body of her grandson Monday from a house swamped by mud. The corpse was taken to a health centre that has been pressed into service as a morgue. He was buried with a man who tried to help him and his 3-month-old sister, Colmenares said. I found my angel, and we have

Venezuela, South Korea, Afghanistan lose vote for UN rights body

Venezuela, South Korea and Afghanistan lost contested races for seats on the top UN human rights body in Tuesday by the General Assembly, which faced criticism for electing countries like Vietnam and Sudan, which have been accused of having abysmal human rights records. The 193-member assembly voted by secret ballot to fill 14 seats on the 47-member Human Rights Council. Seats are allocated to regions to ensure geographical representation, a rule that has regularly led to many regions putting forward uncontested slates as Africa, Eastern Europe and Western nations did this year. Human rights groups have long criticised this practice, saying it denies UN member nations any choice of countries on the council and virtually guarantees seats for some countries with poor rights records. In this year's election, the most hotly watched race was in the Latin America and Caribbean regional group, where Chile, Costa Rica and Venezuela were vying for two seats. The result saw Chile get 144 ...

22 dead, more than 50 missing after landslide in Venezuela: Vice-President

At least 22 people died while more than 50 are missing after a landslide in central Venezuela; the landslide was reported after heavy rains caused a river to overflow

US looking to ease sanctions on Venezuela to boost oil supply: Report

The deal may be announced by the end of October and will allow US oil companies to drill oil in Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro will hold a free, fair presidential elections in 2024 in return

Venezuela releases 7 Americans as US frees 2 prisoners of prez's relatives

Venezuela on Saturday freed seven Americans imprisoned in the South American country in exchange for the release of two nephews of President Nicholas Maduro's wife who had been jailed for years by the United States on drug smuggling convictions, a senior U.S. official said. The swap of the Americans, including five oil executives held for nearly five years, is the largest trade of detained citizens ever carried out by the Biden administration. We are relieved and gratified to be welcoming back to their families today seven Americans who had been wrongfully detained for too long in Venezuela, said Joshua Geltzer, the deputy homeland security adviser. It amounts to a rare gesture of goodwill by Maduro as the socialist leader looks to rebuild relations with the U.S. after vanquishing most of his domestic opponents. The deal follows months of back channel diplomacy by Washington's top hostage negotiator and other U.S. officials secretive talks with a major oil producer that took on ...

US court awards $73 million to family of deceased Venezuelan opponent

A federal judge in Miami has awarded USD 73 million in damages to the family of a prominent opponent of Venezuela's socialist government who died while in custody in what he described as a murder for hire carried out by a criminal enterprise led by President Nicolas Maduro. Fernando Alban was arrested in 2018 upon arrival to the international airport in Caracas from New York, where he was part of a delegation that had denounced Maduro's government on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. He died three days later in what authorities initially described as a suicide jump from the 10th floor of a building belonging to Venezuela's intelligence services. Alban's death provoked international outrage and condemnation from the US. Last year, his widow and two children sued Maduro and several high-ranking members of his government for carrying out the kidnapping, torture and murder of the one-time Caracas councilman. The family accused the men of belonging to the Cartel of t

US migration from Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua soars to 56,000 in August

The number of Venezuelans, Cubans and Nicaraguans taken into custody at the US border with Mexico soared in August as migrants from Mexico and traditional sending countries were stopped less frequently, authorities said Monday. US authorities stopped migrants from Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua about 56,000 times last month, up from 49,826 times in July and 23,141 times in August 2021, according to administration officials. At the same time, fewer migrants were stopped from Mexico and the Central American Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras for a third straight month. Overall, migrants were stopped about 203,000 times. They were stopped 1,99,976 times on the US border with Mexico in July and 2,13,593 times in August 2021. The growing numbers from Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua, are the latest sign of rapidly changing migration flows as US authorities wrestle with unusually large influxes. While no single reason can be pinpointed, it is extremely ...

Venezuela rearrests brother of former oil czar Ramirez in corruption probe

Venezuela has thrown back in prison the brother of the country's former oil czar as part of an ongoing investigation into a multi-billion dollar embezzlement scheme at the state-run oil company. Fidel Ramirez was arrested last Wednesday after failing to appear in court as required by the terms of his bail, Venezuela's Attorney General Tarek William Saab said in a brief interview Sunday with The Associated Press. Ramirez was originally arrested in early 2018 for his alleged involvement in a decade-old scheme to siphon to a bank account in the tiny European country of Andorra USD 2 billion from state-run oil giant PDVSA. At the time of the alleged crimes, PDVSA was under the direction of his brother, former Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez, a harsh critic of the socialist government he once served. Specifically, Fidel Ramirez is accused of amassing 250,000 euros at an account at Banca Privada d'Andorra, or BPA, stemming from allegedly fraudulent medical services he billed PDVSA through tw

Venezuela will be guarantor in Colombian peace talks: President Maduro

Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro on Tuesday said his government will act as a guarantor in peace talks between Colombia's government and the National Liberation Army rebel group that are slated to begin later this year. Maduro said on national television that he had accepted a request by Colombian President Gustavo Petro to take on the diplomatic role, adding that his socialist government was interested in fomenting peace, security and stability in Colombia and throughout the continent. Previous peace talks between the Colombian government and rebel groups have included the participation of guarantor nations that have acted as observers of the negotiations and supported both sides with logistics. Venezuela was a guarantor nation in a previous round of negotiations between Colombia and the National Liberation Army, or ELN, that began in 2016. But the Colombian government asked the Maduro administration to step down from that role in 2018, as political tensions increased between the

Venezuelan prez Nicolas Maduro says border with Colombia to reopen Sep 26

"I am very happy to announce that as of #26Sep we will jointly open the borders between Venezuela and Colombia," Maduro posted on Twitter on Friday

Will join Russia oil cap coalition when alternative supply is ensured: Govt

India has said it will consider backing the price cap on Russian crude oil proposed by the US only when it will be assured of supplies from Venezuela and Iran