by Francesco FONTEMAGGI Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, D.C., United States (AFP) – How far should Joe Biden go to limit soaring US gas prices? The US president has launched an oil diplomacy gambit to compensate for banning Russian petroleum, but he risks accusations of propping up authoritarian leaders and undermining his own battle for democracy. Amid the war unleashed by Russia in Ukraine, a recent American mission to energy-rich Caracas was intended to be discreet. And […]
Tag: caracas
Well drilling thrives as Caracas water supply flounders
by Andrea TOSTA Agence France-Presse CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Alfredo Araya used to dig wells on farms or out in the countryside, but due to a failing water supply he says demand for his services has recently exploded in Venezuela’s capital Caracas. Using a huge drill to perforate the soil, Araya struck the underground aquifer below an apartment bloc in Caracas’ comfortable Los Palos Grandes neighborhood so that residents now have access to water that […]
Large oil spill washes up to Venezuela shores
CARACAS, Venezuela (AF) — Oil has washed up to Venezuela’s west coast after a leak in a pipeline that takes crude to the country’s main refinery, national oil company PDVSA said on Saturday. The spill has spread over more than 13 kilometers (eight miles) according to the environmental commission of the opposition-majority national parliament. Venezuela suffers fuel shortages despite having the largest proven oil reserves in the world with only a limited number of its refineries currently […]
How the world is reacting to Venezuela ‘coup bid’
Venezuela was plunged into heightened chaos on Tuesday after self-proclaimed leader Juan Guaido said he had the support of troops to oust President Nicolas Maduro, while the government denounced what it called an attempted coup. Following are some initial reactions from world governments: – ‘Democracy cannot be defeated’ – The White House urged Venezuela’s armed forces to stand by the country’s “legitimate institutions.” President Donald Trump’s administration has been waging a mounting pressure campaign to […]
Death toll in Caracas club stampede rises to 18
CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Venezuelan authorities on Wednesday revised to 18 the death toll following a stampede at a crowded Caracas club over the weekend. The deaths occurred after a brawl broke out during a middle school graduation party and someone detonated the tear gas, sending more than 500 people rushing for the exits, said Interior and Justice Minister Nestor Reverol. “The tear gas canister did not cause the death of these 18 people,” he told […]
Maduro, mired in crises, hits re-election campaign trail
by Maria Isabel SANCHEZ Agence France-Presse CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) – With Venezuela in economic free-fall, massively unpopular President Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday launched his sudden campaign for a new term in a vote to be held by late April. The 55-year-old, who was Hugo Chavez’s handpicked successor, will be the ruling socialist party’s sole candidate. Maduro, a former union activist and bus driver assumed power in April 2013 after longtime president Hugo Chavez died in office from […]
Several dead in operation to arrest Venezuela pilot
CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) – Several people, including two police officers, were killed in an operation to capture a helicopter pilot who bombed Venezuela’s Supreme Court during anti-government protests last year, the interior ministry said Monday. A ministry statement said members of a “terrorist cell” were killed in a fierce gunbattle, and five were captured, but did not say whether the pilot, Oscar Perez, was among the dead or detained. At the height of street protests against President Nicolas Maduro […]
Venezuela, in ‘selective default’, signs debt deal with Russia
by Andrea Palasciano with Maria Isabel Sanchez in Caracas Agence France-Presse MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) – Venezuela signed a debt restructuring deal with major creditor Russia on Wednesday, as ratings agencies declared Caracas in partial default. The country is seeking to restructure its foreign debts, estimated at around $150 billion, after it was hit hard by tumbling oil prices and American sanctions. A Venezuelan delegation led by Finance Minister Simon Zerpa signed the deal restructuring $3.15 billion of […]
Venezuela opposition defiant as protesters shot dead
by Maria Isabel Sanchez Agence France-Presse CARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuela’s opposition vowed no letup Tuesday in its bid to remove leftist President Nicolas Maduro from power even as more protesters were shot dead in an increasingly violent political crisis. Maduro’s center-right rivals planned to push on with a wave of street protests that have seen 26 people killed this month in clashes involving protesters and security forces. In the latest unrest, public prosecutors said a 23-year-old man died […]
Venezuela protesters vow to block roadways
by Maria Isabel SANCHEZ Agence France-Presse CARACAS, Venezuela – Protesters rallied Monday vowing to block Venezuela’s main roads to raise pressure on President Nicolas Maduro after three weeks of deadly unrest that have left 21 people dead. Riot police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to break up one of the first rallies in eastern Caracas early Monday while other groups were gathering elsewhere, the opposition said. It called for crowds to fill the main […]
Venezuela opposition sets up new showdown with Maduro
by Maria Isabel SANCHEZ Agence France-Presse CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) – Venezuela’s opposition said Thursday it will seek to trigger early elections by declaring President Nicolas Maduro has “abandoned his post,” launching a new year of political battles in a country fighting off economic collapse. Kicking off its second year in control of the Venezuelan National Assembly, the opposition installed a new legislative speaker and announced a fresh offensive against the leftist president it has vowed […]
Venezuela bank note chaos prompts looting
Agence France-Presse CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) – Desperate Venezuelans looted delivery trucks and clashed with police Friday as protests broke out in anger at chaotic efforts to change the country’s banknotes, officials and locals said. The authorities took the largest-denomination note out of circulation but failed to release the bigger bills supposed to replace it in time, leaving citizens with no way of buying food. “There is attempted looting in various parts of the country,” tweeted […]





