On January 13, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned seven former opposition lawmakers, among them Luis Parra, who was sworn in as president of the National Assembly (AN, in Spanish) after the Nicolás Maduro regime blocked entry to Venezuela’s congress to Interim President Juan Guaidó and other lawmakers. In [ … ]
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Almagro: ICC Should Investigate Torture in Venezuela
On December 12, 2019, Luis Almagro, secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS), said that the International Criminal Court (ICC) should investigate torture in Venezuela inflicted on adversaries with the support of Cuban agents. Almagro’s statements followed the presentation at OAS headquarters in Washington, D.C. of the annual [ … ]
First Female Fighter Pilots Graduate in Ecuador
First Lieutenants Jazmín Pérez Cobos and María José Cuevas changed the history of aviation in Ecuador, as they became the first female fighter pilots in the Ecuadorean Air Force (FAE, in Spanish). After a year of academic training at Manta Air Base on Ecuador’s Pacific coast, 40 hours in a [ … ]
Gas Shortage Affects the Venezuelan Capital
Víctor Quintero works as a motorcycle taxi driver in Caracas, but says work has now become difficult because of long lines to buy fuel. “I’ve been to more than five gas stations, and there are lines everywhere. This is not normal in Caracas [...]. It shouldn’t be like this. We [ … ]
Social Control: Maduro’s CLAP
In 2019, the food distributed through the Local Supply and Production Committees (CLAP, in Spanish) of the Nicolás Maduro regime, reached fewer families, while delivery time increased. In addition, some products, such as canned tuna and wheat flour, were excluded from the subsidized food program, said a report from Venezuelan [ … ]
Why Guaidó’s Role in the Venezuelan National Assembly Matters
The importance of Interim President Juan Guaidó’s for democracy in Venezuela. In Venezuela, the National Assembly is the only democratic institution left. Juan Guaidó is its president. He also serves as the country’s interim president. Here’s how one role led to the other: What is the National Assembly? Formed as [ … ]
Venezuelans Ask for Better Services After Chaotic 2019
Problems with the supply of basic services in Venezuela have worsened during 2019, Venezuelans told Voice of America (VOA). They addressed the consequences of living in a country going through a crisis that, in their opinion, has interrupted the supply of public services, such as drinking water, electricity, garbage collection, [ … ]
Cuban Health Workers Were Not Doctors, Bolivia’s Government Reports
On January 8, Bolivian Communication Minister Roxana Lizárraga said that about 700 presumed Cuban doctors, who were working in Bolivia as part of a health agreement signed by former President Evo Morales, weren’t qualified to practice, because they lacked the necessary degrees or had fraudulent ones, and that their true [ … ]
At Least 80 Tons of Gold Are Smuggled Out of Venezuela Each Year, Experts Say
Thirty percent of Venezuela’s gold production is destined for contraband, according to data from the nongovernmental organization Transparencia Venezuela. During a speech at the headquarters of the think tank the Atlantic Council, experts warned about illegal mining activities, contraband, displacement, and violence taking place in Venezuela due to gold mining, [ … ]
US Imposes Sanctions on Nicaraguan President’s Son
On December 12, 2019, the United States imposed sanctions on Rafael Ortega Murillo, the son of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, alleging he is guilty of corruption and money laundering to enrich his family. “Rafael Ortega is the key money manager behind the Ortega family's illicit financial schemes,” U.S. Treasury Secretary [ … ]
Brazil Grants Refugee Status to More Than 21,000 Venezuelans
Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported on December 5, 2019 that Brazil’s refugee agency, CONARE, granted refugee status to 21,432 Venezuelans. Until then, CONARE had only granted asylum to 263 Venezuelans, and according to HRW, 224,000 Venezuelans are living in Brazil. In June 2019, CONARE concluded that “there are serious and [ … ]
United States Sanctions Two More Officials of Venezuela’s Disputed Government
On December 9, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned Venezuelan officials Gustavo Adolfo Vizcaíno Gil and Juan Carlos Dugarte Padrón, both members of the Nicolás Maduro regime, over their alleged participation in acts of corruption. In a press release, the U.S. Department of the Treasury indicated that during his [ … ]