Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela’s president, right, waves to attendees while accompanied by Tareck El Aissami, Venezuela’s vice president, before the start of his annual address at the Supreme Court in Caracas on Jan. 15, 2017. The Trump administration is preparing sanctions against Venezuelan Vice President Tareck El Aissami, who’s been under investigation for years by U.S. authorities for alleged participation in drug trafficking and money laundering, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Category: Venezuela
Bipartisan US lawmakers urge Trump to sanction Venezuela
In this Nov. 14, 2016 file photo, a billboard along the highway near Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, features an ant drawing and the Spanish slogan, “Freedom from bachaqueros.” Venezuelans call people who make a living illegally reselling food “bachaqueros,” after the leaf-cutter ants that haul food through the jungles.
Venezuela leader says cash crackdown a victory over foes
Venezuela’s president said Sunday that the sudden decision to scrap the country’s most-used currency bill was an economic triumph over the country’s enemies even as the government sent troops and police to cities where riots and looting broke out over the measure. In a national radio and television broadcast, Nicolas Maduro said his abrupt action had flooded the country’s banks with currency deposited by Venezuelans racing to get rid of the paper bills while also devastating Colombian-border currency traders he blames for the bolivar’s precipitous plunge in value against “the criminal dollar.”