Sixty percent of Venezuela’s private companies have shut down over the last 20 years, according to data the Venezuelan Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Production (Fedecámaras, in Spanish), presented the Venezuelan National Assembly in mid-2019. Fedecámaras said 370,000 of the 620,000 active businesses in 1998 have now disappeared. Of [ … ]
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US Sanctions Six Tankers For Shipping Oil From Venezuela To Cuba
On December 3, the United States imposed economic sanctions on six ships for transporting oil from Venezuela to Cuba, as part of Washington’s campaign to force out Venezuelan ruler Nicolás Maduro, whose government the United States considers to be a dictatorship. The U.S. Department of the Treasury said that six [ … ]
Bolivia: Government Accuses Maduro of Promoting Instability
The Bolivian government appointed former president Jorge Quiroga as a delegate before the international community to explain the political and social crisis that the country experienced after the general elections of October 20. Interim President Jeanine Áñez announced the decision after a series of controversies that arose in different sectors. [ … ]
Venezuela: Neighbors Help Each Other To Mitigate Hunger
The ongoing economic crisis in Venezuela has led some families to share their food with neighbors to ensure access to proteins. In various parts of Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, people who live in the same community gather occasionally to prepare a full meal they cannot afford individually. Evelyn Salazar, who [ … ]
Colombia Expels 59 Venezuelans Accused of Threatening Security During Protests
On November 25, Colombia’s immigration authorities reported the deportation of 59 Venezuelans for allegedly planning to disrupt “national security” during protests against the Iván Duque government, which started November 21. The foreigners accused of “threatening public order and national security,” will be turned over to Venezuelan authorities in San Fernando [ … ]
Grounded Cubans
Cuba tightens a travel ban abroad on specific citizens to prevent the disclosure of abuses by the authorities. Although Cuba lifted restrictions for citizens to leave the country in January 2014, the Caribbean nation continues to prevent independent journalists, civil activists, and political opponents from traveling abroad. This violates freedom [ … ]
Experts: Evo Morales Promotes Violence From Abroad
The political and social upheaval in Bolivia continues to increase mainly in La Paz, where, according to the Public Defender’s Office, eight people died and over 500 were detained. In the midst of generalized chaos and vandalism, the new interim government accused Cuba and Venezuela of being destabilizing agents and [ … ]
Interim President Áñez Names New Military Leadership And Denies Coup In Bolivia
On November 13, Bolivia’s brand new interim president, Jeanine Áñez, named a new military high command and denied coming to power through a coup, as former President Evo Morales, exiled in Mexico, states. “There isn’t a coup d’état in Bolivia, there’s a constitutional repositioning,” Áñez said at a press conference [ … ]
New Minimum Wage In Venezuela Is Only Enough For 1 Carton Of Eggs
In mid-October, the Nicolás Maduro regime set the new minimum wage at 150,000 bolivars per month, which does not include the bonus for food that doesn’t affect the salary, and which amounts to roughly $8, according to parallel market exchange rates in Venezuela. Venezuela has been suffering from hyperinflation for [ … ]
Nicaragua, Second Least Competitive Country In Latin America
Nicaragua ranked 109th among 141 countries in the World Economic Forum (WEF) ranking in its Global Competitiveness Index for 2019. [caption id="attachment_29814" align="alignright" width="300"] Juan Carlos Baca, a homeless man who lives in the streets of the Larga Espada neighborhood in Managua, reads a newspaper on March 26, 2019. (Photo: [ … ]
Cuba Controls Internet Networks To Block Opposition
On July 29, 2019, the Cuban government authorized the use of private data networks to establish remote internet connections. The new regulations, however, contain a series of restrictions that violate international norms and prohibit the participation of basic components that managed to connect entire municipalities. “It’s unbelievable that a country [ … ]
US, Rio Treaty Partners Tackle Maduro Threat
The United States and 15 other members of the Rio Treaty passed a resolution September 23 in New York that paves the way for collective action against the Nicolás Maduro regime in Venezuela. The treaty, formally known as the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (TIAR, in Spanish), has been in [ … ]