Venezuela currently has 399 political prisoners, and 15,180 people were arrested for political reasons in the last five years, reported Venezuelan nongovernmental organization (NGO) Foro Penal on November 13. Gonzalo Himiob Santomé, the NGO’s director, said in a press conference that 20 of the more than 390 political prisoners in [ … ]
Venezuela
Venezuela’s Business Crisis
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 [ … ]
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 [ … ]
FAES, Maduro’s ‘Extermination Group’
They patrol on motorcycles. Wearing masks, with a skull embroidered on their uniforms and with bullet-proof vests and assault rifles, the members of the Bolivarian National Police’s Special Actions Force (FAES, in Spanish) are frequently seen in Venezuela’s poor neighborhoods. Their presence is ominous. FAES has been accused of carrying [ … ]
Pompeo: Considerable Effort Needed To Restore Democracy In Venezuela
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that great effort was needed to restore democracy in Venezuela. Restoring democracy in Venezuela is in our hemisphere’s interest and we should expand considerable effort to achieve that,” Pompeo said at The Heritage Foundation, a think tank in Washington, on October 22, 2019. [ … ]
PDVSA Clings to Russian Lifelines To Survive Sanctions
Venezuelan State-owned oil company PDVSA has reduced production and exports since the U.S. government-imposed sanctions. The company, however, has managed to keep some of its main clients with the help of Russian oil company Rosneft, which has become the main trader of PDVSA’s oil. Claudio Loser, former director of the [ … ]
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 [ … ]
Venezuelans Unable To Prevent Diseases
The regular water supply in Venezuela has declined notably, following a spike in power outages, creating more hardship for Venezuelan citizens. According to a study from the Venezuelan Observatory of Public Works, 72 percent of people store water. Not all, however, have the means to do it following international health [ … ]
Venezuelans Turn To Alternative Medicine Amid Shortages
The small waiting room at the home of self-styled healer "Brother Guayanes" in Caracas' rundown Petare district fills up quickly with patients — business has never been better. With Venezuela's chronic medicine shortages and hyperinflation, more and more people are turning to alternative medicine to treat common ailments in the [ … ]
Giammattei Calls Venezuela a ‘Narco-state’
Guatemalan President-elect Alejandro Giammattei said that some of the main insecurity problems the Central American nation face are due to narcotrafficking, and Venezuela is a “narco-state” that contributes to drug shipments into Guatemalan territory. Giammattei spoke at a press conference upon arriving in Guatemala from Venezuela, after being expelled from [ … ]
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 [ … ]