Category Archives: Venezuela

UN urged to declare full-scale crisis in Venezuela as health system ‘collapses’

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Researchers warn of rise in infectious diseases amid spike in levels of malnutrition and infant and maternal mortality

The UN must officially declare a full-scale humanitarian emergency in Venezuela after the “utter collapse” of the health system, experts have said.

Warning of the return of infectious diseases and rising levels of malnutrition and infant and maternal death, a report published this week by Human Rights Watch and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health calls on the UN secretary general, António Guterres, to declare a “complex humanitarian emergency”.

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Neither the status quo nor military intervention will do in Venezuela | Letters

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Kate Ferguson on the the crisis in the Latin American country, Michael Derham on its avocados, and Alan Knight on Prince Charles’s trip to Cuba

Julian Borger is right to draw attention to growing anxiety in Latin America as the Trump administration ramps up its rhetoric towards Venezuela, and to acknowledge the problematic trajectory of US-led armed intervention since Bush’s war on terror (Mexico raises concerns over US legal justifications for war, 3 April). Greater transparency in the formal legal justifications for military intervention is not just needed at the UN but here in the UK (which is why the public administration and constitutional affairs committee has rightly opened an inquiry into authorising the use of military force).

But with respect to Venezuela, what should be at the forefront of our minds is the human rights catastrophe facing Venezuelans. Their government has engaged in the systematic use of murder, imprisonment, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence since February 2014, to the extent that they are likely to constitute crimes against humanity.

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Venezuela’s slums are turning on Maduro – but Guaidó faces uphill battle

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The support of barrios like Petare may be key to overcoming Maduro. But not all residents are sold on his challenger

Nicolás Maduro’s special forces set up camp on Petare’s doorstep just days after efforts to depose him began, daubing the pitch black exterior of their base with their commander-in-chief’s call to arms: “Always loyal, never traitors.”

Alongside, troops painted two white skulls and a second chilling mantra: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”

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Venezuela: Juan Guaidó stripped of parliamentary immunity

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Nicolás Maduro’s constituent assembly removes protection, opening the door for arrest of man backed by dozens of countries as interim leader

Venezuela’s opposition figurehead, Juan Guaidó, has vowed to continue fighting Nicolás Maduro’s “cowardly, miserable and murderous” regime after he was stripped of his parliamentary immunity – a move that potentially opens the door to Guaidó’s arrest.

More than 50 countries have recognized Guaidó as Venezuela’s legitimate leader since he launched his campaign to force Maduro from office in late January, including the United States, Britain and most Latin American governments.

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Latin Americans fear precedent set by legal justification for Syria intervention

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Countries fear that legal standard of states being ‘unwilling or unable’ to deal with terrorism could be used in Latin America

Latin American states are mounting a challenge to the acceptance of a legal standard promoted by the US, UK and their allies to justify military operations in the Middle East, fearing the same standard could eventually be used to justify intervention in their own hemisphere.

The Mexican government is spearheading an effort at the UN to bring greater transparency to the formal legal justifications presented by western powers for military operations in Syria and elsewhere.

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Venezuela: Maduro calls on armed groups to keep order amid electricity rationing

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President announces 30-day rationing plan and says pro-government colectivos must ‘defend the peace of every block’

Venezuela’s authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro has called on armed pro-government groups to help subdue unrest as he announced a 30-day electricity rationing plan set to inflict further pain on the population.

In a televised address, Maduro said he had no choice but to take drastic measures while his government rebuilt key sections of Venezuela’s national grid following a succession of crippling power failures since 7 March.

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Venezuela: Red Cross brokers Maduro-Guaidó deal to allow aid delivery

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  • First shipment for 650,000 could reach Venezuela in two weeks
  • Red Cross says aid must be ‘neutral, impartial and unhindered’

The Red Cross has brokered a deal with representatives of Venezuela’s embattled leader Nicolás Maduro and his rival Juan Guaidó to allow humanitarian aid into the country, indicating a seldom-seen middle ground between the two men that contest the presidency.

The first shipment of aid for about 650,000 vulnerable people could reach Venezuela in two weeks, Francesco Rocca, the president of the International Federation of the Red Cross told a press conference on Friday.

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Venezuela: Maduro blames blackout on sniper and tells people to pray

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Venezuelan leader claimed in a broadcast the latest outage was caused by mercenaries ‘sent by the coup-mongering right’

Nicolás Maduro has asked Venezuelans to pray for the country’s recovery from another crippling nationwide blackout, in a crackly and foreboding telephone interview that reinforced the mounting sense of crisis.

Related: Venezuela blackout: what caused it and what happens next?

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Venezuela: opposition leader promises final push against Maduro amid new blackout

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Announcement comes as Juan Guaidó’s wife met with Donald Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence in Washington

The opposition figurehead battling to topple Nicolás Maduro has told supporters to prepare for a final nationwide push against Venezuela’s authoritarian leader after the country suffered its fourth massive blackout in less than three weeks.

Addressing a rally in Caracas, Juan Guaidó said it was time for Venezuelans of all social classes to increase pressure through what he called Operación Libertad (Operation Freedom) – a mobilization across the country that would culminate in a massive march through the capital.

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Millions of Venezuelans endure second power blackout – video

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Officials blamed an attack on a hydroelectric plant for an outage that resulted in businesses having to close, plunged Venezuela's main airport into darkness and left commuters stranded in Caracas. Power went out in much of the capital and nearly a dozen states in the early afternoon. It came after a week-long blackout earlier in March that was the most severe in the country's history

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Venezuela: call for calm amid blackouts and anti-Maduro protests

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Vice-president blames ‘fascist right’ and its ‘imperial masters’ in Washington for power cuts

Nicolás Maduro’s embattled administration has called for calm after millions of Venezuelans were again plunged into darkness by a nationwide blackout reportedly affecting 21 of its 23 states and the capital, Caracas.

In a late-night television broadcast – which most people were unable to watch because of the outage – the communications minister, Jorge Rodríguez, claimed it was the result of a “brutal” attack on a hydroelectric plant on Monday night.

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‘No more hope’: fresh blackout leaves half of Venezuela without power

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Fourteen of country’s 23 states affected just weeks after the country’s worst power failure in history

Venezuela has been hit by another major power cut, with more than half of the country reportedly affected by the latest blackout.

The El Nacional newspaper reported that Monday’s power cut had affected 14 of Venezuela’s 23 states as well as the capital, Caracas. The broadcaster NTN24 said 16 states were affected.

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Russian military officials arrive in Venezuela to discuss ‘training and strategy’

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Russia-flagged cargo plane and airliner spotted at Caracas airport as Moscow boosts under-pressure Maduro regime

Russian military officials have arrived in Venezuela to discuss equipment maintenance and training, and strategy, an official in Caracas has said.

The statement came after a Russian-flagged cargo plane and an airliner were spotted at Maiquetia airport outside Caracas guarded by a contingent of Venezuelan national guardsmen.

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Venezuela opposition fears crackdown after Maduro threatens arrests

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Embattled president hints that Juan Guaidó and allies are in his sights

Venezuela’s opposition is bracing for a severe political crackdown after Nicolás Maduro lashed out at the “diabolical pro-imperialist puppets” he claimed were trying to remove him from the presidency and vowed to imprison them all.

The struggle between Maduro and his challenger, Juan Guaidó, escalated dramatically last week with the detention of Guaidó’s right-hand man, Roberto Marrero.

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Venezuelan minister accuses Guadió chief of staff of leading ‘terrorist cell’

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Maduro’s interior minister alleged a cache of ‘weapons of war’ had been apprehended with Roberto Marrero as face-off escalates

The face-off between Nicolás Maduro and his US-backed challenger Juan Guaidó has escalated dramatically after Venezuelan intelligence agents seized Guaidó’s chief of staff and accused him of leading a “terrorist cell” plotting a wave of political assassinations.

Related: Juan Guaidó's chief of staff arrested by Venezuelan agents

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Venezuela’s revolution of hunger: a photo essay

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Economically destroyed, socially unstable and now hungry, Venezuela is undergoing turbulent times. Photographer Ignacio Marín has been covering the crisis since May 2018. He talks about his images and his experience

For a time the “Saudi Arabia” of South America, today Venezuela more closely resembles Syria. Economically destroyed and socially unstable, the country is now fighting an ever more alarming spectre: hunger. In the slum of Petare in the metropolitan area of the capital, Caracas, refrigerators remain empty, supermarket queues grow longer and the necessity of procuring something to eat drives young people to violence.

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Venezuela blackout devastates country’s second city as world focuses on Caracas

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The sick must provide their own medical supplies as havoc grips Maracaibo, but shelves in the looted shops are bare

The air in the crowded emergency ward was already thick with the rusty smell of dried blood when the door burst open and two men barged in, screaming for help.

Between them, they carried a third man: barefoot, bare-chested – and bleeding freely from a deep wound which had nearly severed his right arm.

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Venezuela: power returns after blackout but normal service may be a long way off

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  • Report finds outage caused by bush fire near substation
  • Parts of the country remain without electricity

Related: Venezuela blackout: what caused it and what happens next?

Power has been restored to much of Venezuela, a week after a devastating blackout struck across the country, crippling water supplies, and cutting off telephone and internet services for millions.

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Venezuela: Guaidó under investigation for ‘sabotage’ of power grid

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  • Thursday’s blackout left most of Venezuela in the dark
  • US pulls staff as Maduro accuses Trump of ‘demonic’ plot

Venezuela’s chief prosecutor has asked the country’s supreme court to open an investigation into opposition leader Juan Guaidó for alleged involvement in the “sabotage” of the country’s power grid.

Related: US pulls all staff from Venezuela as Maduro blames blackout on 'demonic' Trump plot

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Venezuela: prominent journalist taken by intelligence service

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Luis Carlos Díaz, who went missing at about 5.30pm Monday, was taken by Sebin, fellow journalists confirmed

A prominent Venezuelan journalist who had been reporting on the country’s escalating political crisis and electricity blackout out has been seized by secret police, sparking international condemnation.

Related: US pulls all staff from Venezuela as Maduro blames blackout on 'demonic' Trump plot

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