Scientists reclassify Humboldt glacier, also known as La Corona, after it melted faster than expected
Venezuela has lost its last remaining glacier after it shrunk so much that scientists reclassified it as an ice field.
It is thought Venezuela is the first country to have lost all its glaciers in modern times.
Continue reading...Relief had been granted after president Nicolás Maduro promised to hold free and fair elections this year
The Biden administration has reimposed crushing oil sanctions on Venezuela, admonishing the president Nicolás Maduro’s attempts to consolidate his rule just six months after the US eased restrictions in a bid to support now fading hopes for a democratic opening in the Opec nation.
A senior US official, discussing the decision with reporters, said any US company investing in Venezuela would have 45 days to wind down operations to avoid adding uncertainty to global energy markets. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss US policy deliberations.
Continue reading...Tareck El Aissami latest in purge of politicians, human rights advocates and critics by government of Nicolás Maduro
Venezuela’s former oil minister Tareck El Aissami – once one of President Nicolás Maduro’s closest allies – has been arrested for allegedly participating in an international scheme that syphoned off hundreds of millions of dollars from the country’s state oil company.
The charges against El Aissami are part of a wider government purge that has so far led to charges being brought against more than 50 people, including some of Venezuela’s most important political and business figures.
Continue reading...Detention of influencer Oscar Alejandro Pérez at Caracas airport en route to southern national park raises free speech concerns
A popular Venezuelan YouTuber has been arrested in Caracas on terrorism charges as President Nicolás Maduro’s government steps up its crackdown on free speech ahead of upcoming elections.
Oscar Alejandro Pérez was detained in the capital’s main airport on Sunday by police on accusations of terrorism, his family said.
Continue reading...Former PM’s meeting with President Maduro, in capacity as hedge fund consultant, is under further scrutiny
Labour is demanding answers over what the party said was “potentially serious impropriety” by Boris Johnson after it emerged that the former prime minister met the Venezuelan president in his role as a consultant for a hedge fund.
Nick Thomas-Symonds, the shadow Cabinet Office minister, said in a letter to Oliver Dowden, the deputy prime minister and Cabinet Office minister, that there were concerns that Johnson may have breached the ministerial code.
Continue reading...South American neighbours respond to blocking of Corina Yoris, who was favoured to beat strongman Nicolás Maduro in elections
A chorus of Latin American nations, including Brazil and Colombia, have voiced concern over the deteriorating political situation in Venezuela after the opposition politician best-positioned to challenge its strongman leader, Nicolás Maduro, in July’s presidential election was prevented from registering for the vote.
Corina Yoris, an 80-year-old philosopher, was little-known outside academic circles until last Friday, when she was catapulted on to the frontline of Venezuela’s long-running political crisis by being named as the substitute for María Corina Machado, a prominent opposition figure who had been banned from running in the election.
Continue reading...Corina Yoris will now take on Nicolás Maduro in presidential election in July after Maria Corina Machado stepped aside
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has named her replacement to take on President Nicolás Maduro in the country’s presidential election in July, after the arrest of two of Machado’s close aides.
The naming of Corina Yoris, 80, as the opposition’s candidate comes after Venezuela’s attorney general announced the detention of two of Machado’s closest allies earlier this week and also said arrest warrants had been issued for seven other people, including rumoured Machado replacement, Magalli Meda.
Continue reading...Maria Corina Machado’s campaign manager and eight others accused of involvement in a violent anti-government conspiracy
Venezuela’s top prosecutor has announced arrest warrants for the presidential campaign manager of the prominent opposition figure María Corina Machado and eight other of her staffers, accusing them of involvement in a violent anti-government conspiracy.
The attorney general, Tarek William Saab, said in a nationally televised news conference on Wednesday that the campaign manager Magalli Meda and the others were accused of being part of a “destabilizing” plot that included demonstrations, a media campaign and plans to attack military barracks.
Continue reading...Former PM apparently met autocratic leader Nicolás Maduro over concerns he may supply weapons to Russia
Boris Johnson flew to Venezuela in February for unofficial talks with its autocratic leader, Nicolás Maduro, according to reports.
The former prime minister spoke to the Venezuelan president about the war in Ukraine, amid concerns that the socialist republic could supply weapons or military support to Russia, according to the Sunday Times.
Continue reading...Benefits for Latin American host nations could be greater still if access to jobs for migrants were increased, research shows
An exodus of nearly 8 million Venezuelan migrants who have fled poverty and political turmoil is boosting the economies of other countries across South America, two studies published by leading international financial institutions have found.
The foreign workforce will lift the economies of their main host nations in Latin America and the Caribbean by 0.10-0.25% on average each year from 2017 until 2030, according to the research.
Continue reading...Fears Maduro government is trying to shut down scrutiny after lawyer is arrested and UN human rights office shut down
Human rights groups are calling for the Venezuelan government to halt a crackdown on civil society after it jailed a prominent lawyer and then banished a UN human rights office from Caracas for criticising her arrest.
The arrest of the 57-year-old lawyer and military expert Rocío San Miguel has shocked observers, who say Venezuela is entering a darker phase of state oppression intended to crush government opposition in the lead-up to elections expected later this year.
Continue reading...Foreign minister claims local office of UN high commissioner for human rights supported impunity for coup plotters
Venezuela’s government has ordered the local UN office on human rights to suspend operations, giving its staff 72 hours to leave, after accusing the office of promoting opposition to the South American country.
The foreign affairs minister, Yván Gil, announced the decision at a news conference in Caracas on Thursday. Gil’s announcement came on the heels of the detention of the human rights attorney Rocío San Miguel, which set off a wave of criticism inside and outside Venezuela.
Continue reading...Fuel continues to leak from overturned and abandoned barge as stain spreads into the Caribbean Sea
An oil spill that has stained Tobago’s coastline in the Caribbean is entering Grenada’s waters and could affect neighboring Venezuela, authorities have warned.
Eight days after Trinidad and Tobago’s coastguard first spotted the oil from an overturned and abandoned barge, the vessel continues to leak fuel, and portions of the stain have moved about 144km (89 miles) into the Caribbean Sea at a rate of 14km/h.
Continue reading...Aerial evidence follows months of President Nicolás Maduro ramping up claim to Essequibo region
Venezuela is expanding military bases near its border with Guyana and deploying forces to the jungle frontier as President Nicolás Maduro ramps up his threats to annex the country’s oil-rich neighbour, satellite images have revealed.
Maduro pledged at mediation talks in December not to take military action against his neighbour but images shared by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington today suggest a buildup of forces.
Continue reading...President of ExxonMobil Guyana confirms plan to drill two new wells off Atlantic coast as territorial dispute simmers
ExxonMobil has insisted it will explore for oil in a region bitterly contested by Guyana and Venezuela, despite the dangers that the move is likely to escalate tensions between the two South American neighbors.
Relations between the two countries have reached an all-time low in recent months following a series of announcements by the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, suggesting that he could take the Essequibo region by force.
Continue reading...Nicolás Maduro orders ‘defensive’ manoeuvres as British Navy deploys vessel in territorial dispute
Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro has ordered more than 5,600 military personnel to participate in “defensive” exercises, after the UK deployed a warship to waters off the coast of Guyana in a show of support for the former British colony.
Maduro said he was launching an action “of a defensive nature in response to the provocation and threat of the UK against peace and the sovereignty of our country”.
Continue reading...Ten Americans were released in the deal, but critics say release of Alex Saab shows that corrupt Venezuelan officials enjoy impunity
Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro, has managed to free a key collaborator from US custody after agreeing to release 10 Americans and 20 Venezuelan citizens from jail.
The Colombian-born businessman Alex Saab – a close Maduro ally whom US prosecutors accused of pilfering hundreds of millions of dollars from Venezuelan social programs as part of a vast money-laundering scheme – was extradited to the US in 2021 after being detained while transiting through Cape Verde.
Continue reading...Joint commission composed of foreign ministers of both countries will address the problem, with a report expected within three months
The leaders of Guyana and Venezuela promised in a tense meeting that neither side would use threats or force against the other, but failed to reach agreement on how to address a bitter dispute over a vast border region rich with oil and minerals that has concerned many in the region.
Instead, a joint commission composed of the foreign ministers of both countries and other officials will address the problem, with a report expected within three months.
Continue reading...High-level negotiations in St Vincent will discuss Venezuelan president’s claim for two-thirds of neighbour’s oil-rich territory
Venezuela risks becoming an international pariah if President Nicolás Maduro does not de-escalate growing tensions with Guyana, the neighbouring nation’s foreign minister told the Guardian ahead of a high-level meeting between the two countries.
“We’ve seen throughout history what happens to nation states who decide to go it alone … it usually sets the country back decades,” Hugh Todd said ahead of the summit in St Vincent on Thursday.
Continue reading...US and Britain express support for Guyana over Maduro threat to seize a third of its territory while Brazil calls for peaceful solution
The United States has said it would conduct flight operations within Guyana that build on its routine engagement, as Britain and Brazil expressed concerns about growing border tensions between Guyana and Venezuela.
The long-running spat over the oil-rich Essequibo region, which is being heard by the international court of justice (ICJ), escalated over the weekend when voters in Venezuela rejected the ICJ’s jurisdiction and backed the creation of a new Venezuelan state.
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