OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) – Canada will host the next meeting of the Lima Group on the Venezuela crisis, a senior government official told AFP Thursday. No date has been set for the talks, but the official said on condition of anonymity that “sooner would be better given the escalating crisis in Venezuela.” Most members of the Lima Group — a bloc of 14 Latin American powers and Canada — has urged Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro […]
Tag: Venezuela
Venezuelan military: The muscle behind Maduro
by Alexander MARTINEZ Agence France-Presse CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) – The latest developments in Venezuela’s political crisis have dealt a severe blow to President Nicolas Maduro — severe, but not fatal, for one key reason: the military still backs him. The National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela pointedly reiterated their loyalty to Maduro on Thursday, a day after opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself the country’s acting president. In a statement read out to the […]
13 dead in two days of Venezuela unrest: rights group
CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Thirteen people have died during two days of unrest in Venezuela amid protests against leftist leader Nicolas Maduro, a Caracas-based rights group reported Wednesday. The deaths, mostly from gunshot wounds, were recorded in the capital and across the country, along with reports of looting in Brazilian border state Bolivar, the Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict told AFP. Unrest first kicked off on Monday when 27 soldiers rose up against Maduro at a […]
Regional powers recognize Maduro opponent as interim leader
DAVOS, Switzerland (AFP) — The United States, Canada and major South American nations recognized the head of Venezuela’s opposition-controlled legislature as the country’s interim leader on Wednesday, leaving President Nicolas Maduro increasingly isolated. Major regional players Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Peru and Argentina all gave their backing to Juan Guaido’s self-proclamation as Venezuela’s acting president, which he made in front of crowd of tens of thousands of supporters in Caracas. Mexico, however, stood apart, saying it […]
Venezuela opposition leader names self ‘acting president’
by Maria Isabel SANCHEZ Agence France Presse CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — The head of Venezuela’s opposition-led National Assembly proclaimed himself “acting president” Wednesday in a bid to oust leftist leader Nicolas Maduro, immediately winning the backing of regional powers led by the United States. Tens of thousands jammed the streets of Caracas in an outpouring of support for Juan Guaido amid a dire economic crisis that has devastated the once rich oil-producing country. “I swear […]
Venezuela military group arrested after call to disavow Maduro
by Maria Isabel SANCHEZ Agence France Presse CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — A group of 27 soldiers rose up against Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro at a command post in Caracas on Monday, but were quickly arrested after posting an appeal for public support in a video, the government said. “We are the professional troop of the National Guard against the regime, which we completely repudiate. I need your help, take to the streets,” a man who […]
Maduro dismisses legitimacy questions as second term looms
by Maria Isabel SANCHEZ / Alexander MARTINEZ Agence France Presse CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro will begin his second mandate on Thursday plagued by accusations of illegitimacy and increasing international isolation in a country crippled by an economic crisis. The 56-year-old leader will be sworn in by the Supreme Court rather than the sidelined — and opposition controlled — parliament having been reelected in May in a poll boycotted by the majority […]
US ambassador calls for Maduro ouster with megaphone diplomacy
UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — The US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, on Thursday joined Venezuelan protesters outside the world body headquarters and called for the ouster of President Nicolas Maduro. Haley’s embrace of demonstrators was highly unusual for a diplomat from a major power at the state United Nations and came a day after President Donald Trump hinted at military options against Maduro’s leftist government. “We are going to fight for […]
Foreign journalists freed from Venezuela detention
CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) —Two British journalists and an Argentine were freed on Friday eight hours after being detained by the Venezuelan military, the national press union (SNTP) said. Argentine Laura Saravia along with British nationals Barney Green and Dan Rivers were released after being held incommunicado, the SNTP said on Twitter. They were detained “as they left the country” after having been in “Venezuela for three days reporting on tourism,” the union said earlier. Three people […]
Venezuela’s Maduro seeks deals with ‘big sister’ China
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro hailed China as a “big sister” as he prepared to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping Friday, hoping to broker economic deals for his crisis-hit country. Maduro declared after landing in Beijing overnight that he came with “great expectations” to further deepen strategic ties with Venezuela’s key creditor. The leftist leader said his visit would give a “big push” to energy investments, trade and the “successful financial […]
Venezuelans in Peru take up Maduro’s offer to fly home
by Carlos Mandujano Agence France-Presse LIMA, Peru (AFP) — Nearly 100 migrants on Monday took up an offer by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to fly them home from Lima, citing xenophobia against Venezuelans and difficulties in getting work. The move is part of the socialist government’s “Return to the Homeland” scheme to counter a mass exodus and woo back young Venezuelans to work in the crisis-torn country. Ninety-seven migrants — including 22 children and four […]
Panic but no injuries as Venezuela hit by 7.3 magnitude earthquake
by Maria Isabel SANCHEZ / Margioni BERMÚDEZ Agence France Presse CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Venezuela was rocked by a 7.3-magnitude earthquake near its northeastern coast, the US Geological Survey said on Tuesday, causing panic although there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. Edwin Rojas, the governor of the nearest state to the earthquake, told government television “the situation is calm,” adding that “it’s been many years since we’ve felt a quake of […]





