Opposition supporters shout government ‘is going to fall’ while tearing down monuments of Maduro’s mentor
As protests over Venezuela’s disputed presidential election spread across the country, opposition supporters have focused their fury on president Nicolás Maduro’s predecessor and political mentor, Hugo Chávez.
At least seven statues of the former leader have been attacked, some beheaded with sledgehammers, and some completely torn down.
Continue reading...Authoritarian leader vows to squash what he calls ‘violent counter-revolution’ as more than 700 arrests are made
Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters have returned to Venezuela’s streets to decry Nicolás Maduro’s alleged attempt to steal Sunday’s election, as the country’s authoritarian leader vowed to squash what he called “a violent counter-revolution” and more than 700 arrests were made.
Maduro’s disputed claim to have won the vote has plunged the South American country into another chapter of unrest and uncertainty which has spooked regional governments.
Continue reading...María Corina Machado says president should understand he lost vote, amid international doubts over victory claim
The opposition leader battling to bring the curtain down on Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian regime has urged the Venezuelan strongman to accept that his exit from power is inevitable. The call came as thousands of protesters hit the streets to repudiate Maduro’s disputed claim to have won a third term in power.
Venezuela’s incumbent president was officially proclaimed the victor of Sunday’s election by the government-controlled electoral authority on Monday morning.
Continue reading...Protests seen around country after results appear to dash opposition hopes of ending quarter century of chavista rule
Nicolás Maduro’s claim of victory in Venezuela’s presidential election has brought the South American country to a hazardous standoff, with his thwarted opponents accusing him of rigging the election to remain in power, and many leaders in the region and beyond questioning the veracity and transparency of the vote.
Late on Monday, street protests were reported across the capital and all around the country, including in the states of Falcón, where demonstrators were filmed tearing down a statue of Hugo Chávez, and Portuguesa, where footage showed a group vandalizing a propaganda billboard featuring a photograph of Maduro and a slogan promising “More Changes and Transformation”.
Continue reading...Washington says it has ‘serious concerns’ about result, while president of Uruguay says it is open secret Maduro would win ‘whatever real results were’
Among the many international figures weighing in on the situation in Venezuela was the US vice president, Kamala Harris.
“The will of the Venezuelan people must be respected. Despite the many challenges, we will continue to work toward a more democratic, prosperous, and secure future for the people of Venezuela,” she said.
More than a thousand international observers have taken part in the Venezuelan election. The people have spoken and their will should be respected. The right only goes along with democracy when it wins and that is unacceptable.
Continue reading...Nicolás Maduro faces calls to publish transparent breakdown of vote but allies hail his apparent victory
Nicolás Maduro’s apparent re-election as Venezuela’s president has been met with scepticism, suspicion and calls for a transparent and detailed breakdown of the vote in Sunday’s controversial poll.
Although the results, released by the government-controlled electoral authority, were immediately hailed by Maduro’s allies in Latin America, they drew a guarded and often accusatory response from others in the region and farther afield.
Continue reading...Result with 80% of votes is immediately challenged by opposition and several governments
Nicolás Maduro has been declared the winner of Venezuela’s presidential election by the government-controlled electoral authority – a result that appeared to dash opposition hopes of ending his authoritarian, socialist rule. It was immediately challenged by rivals and several governments in the region and beyond.
After a six-hour delay in releasing the results of Sunday’s poll prompted international concern, Venezuela’s electoral council claimed Maduro had won with 51.21% of votes compared with 44.2% for his rival, the former diplomat Edmundo González Urrutia.
Continue reading...Edmundo González Urrutia could upset Nicolás Maduro’s run for a third term – but several obstacles can prevent a regime change
Venezuelans go to the polls on Sunday against a backdrop of hope and fear in a presidential election that could end 25 years of socialist rule – if a free and fair vote is allowed.
Opinion polls suggest that the president Nicolás Maduro, 61, who is seeking his third term, could be defeated by the opposition coalition candidate, retired diplomat Edmundo González Urrutia, 74.
Continue reading...Brazilian leader says he was ‘frightened’ by counterpart’s warnings of ‘bloodbath’ if he loses to Edmundo González
Brazil’s president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has urged Venezuela’s government to respect the result of next Sunday’s election, saying he had been “frightened” by Nicolás Maduro’s warnings of a “bloodbath” if he loses the vote.
After 11 years in power, Venezuela’s authoritarian leader is currently trailing in opinion polls to the opposition candidate, the retired diplomat Edmundo González, and in recent weeks, Maduro and his allies have stepped up their predictions of post-election violence following what they say will be a victory for the ruling party.
Continue reading...Head of security for María Corina Machado detained weeks before election in string of arrests of opposition staffers
Less than two weeks before Venezuela’s presidential election, the head of security for a key opposition figure has been arrested, further raising concerns that the country will not see a fair contest on 28 July, when Nicolás Maduro will seek a third term.
María Corina Machado, the opposition’s outspoken figurehead, wrote on X that her security chief, Milciades Ávila, had been detained early on Wednesday, the latest in string of arrests of opposition activists and staffers.
Continue reading...Edmundo González Urrutia, who has never before run for office, hopes for a more ‘democratic and peaceful country’
The soft-spoken septuagenarian who could be on the brink of leading Venezuela into a new political era has promised to build a country of prosperity, democracy and peace if he is elected president, and vowed to govern for all citizens – including supporters of his authoritarian rival Nicolás Maduro.
Retired diplomat Edmundo González Urrutia is leading the polls ahead of the South American country’s 28 July presidential election, despite never having sought elected office and, until recently, being unknown to voters.
Continue reading...Hopes rise that Edmundo González Urrutia can beat Nicolas Maduro on 28 July and lead the country out of a wretched decade
The road from Caracas to Guatire is lined with propaganda billboards glorifying President Nicolás Maduro and likening his political rivals to gangsters from the country’s most infamous criminal group. “They won’t defeat us,” the slogan declares.
But with less than a month until the economically fractured South American country holds its long-awaited presidential election on 28 July, some people are not persuaded.
Continue reading...Patrol boat off Venezuelan coast shoots and sinks vessel suspected of carrying drugs as three people go overboard
A high-seas shootout pitting drug runners against the law ended with the smugglers’ boat at the bottom of the Caribbean Sea and the US Coast Guard seizing $63m worth of cocaine, authorities in Florida said on Friday.
The dramatic encounter took place on Tuesday about 25 miles (40km) north of Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, when the coast guard cutter Resolute – patrolling with the Dutch navy ship Groningen – identified a vessel in international waters suspected of carrying narcotics, according to a press release from the USCG south-east region.
Continue reading...Naval exercises spurred by US support for Ukraine are likely to include port calls in Cuba and Venezuela, says official
Russia plans to send combat vessels into the Caribbean region this summer as part of naval exercises that will probably include port calls in Cuba and possibly stops in Venezuela, a senior US official said on Wednesday.
“As part of Russia’s regular military exercises, we anticipate that this summer, Russia will conduct heightened naval and air activity near the United States. These actions will culminate in a global Russian naval exercise this fall,” the official said.
Continue reading...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.
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