Venezuela - Page 72

The government of Venezuela has received its first shipment of oil imported from the United States – 500,000 barrels from West Texas Intermediate (WTI), purchased through Venezuela’s U.S.-based affiliate, Citgo Oil.

The mosquito-borne Zika virus has shed light on serious shortcomings in the public health systems of the affected countries, most of which are located in Latin America.

At a historic summit in Uruguay, the health ministers of fourteen Latin American nations, alongside representatives from the regional wing of the World Health Organization, agreed on a number of measures to contain the Zika virus pandemic consuming the continent, including a “fast access” Zika information network at airports and border crossings.

A number of former Venezuela cabinet members under Hugo Chávez are calling for an investigation into hundreds of billions of dollars that are unaccounted for in national oil revenue, accusing members of President Nicolás Maduro’s government of embezzling the funds.

Members of Iran’s terror proxy Hezbollah “are moving freely” within the United States and Latin America, courtesy of Venezuelan passports issued by a Cuban company hired by Caracas, reports the UK-based Asharq Al-Awsat.

The Venezuelan navy violated the sovereignty of neighboring Colombia on Saturday night, as armed navy sailors crossed the border by the Colombian town of Arauquita, storming a night club and terrorizing beachgoers.

Zika survivors have shared their stories with the media about their experiences with the disease, including links to the rare Guillan-Barré syndrome.

CNN warns not to “hold your breath” waiting for Saudi Arabia to trim back oil production and stabilize prices.

The recently sworn-in opposition legislature of Venezuela will investigate a number of government enterprises for links to drug trafficking operations, the head of the National Assembly’s Oversight Commission confirmed Monday.

President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela has replaced his Minister of Urban Agriculture – a position created two weeks ago – as part of renewed efforts to convince Venezuelans to grow their own food, because import shortages are not going away anytime soon.

The Venezuela Pharmaceutical Federation is making demands for socialist President Nicolás Maduro to declare a “humanitarian emergency” due to the extreme shortages of drugs throughout the country, as medications ranging from simple antibiotics to cancer and AIDS drugs are nowhere to be found.

In a series of tweets, the wife of Venezuelan political prisoner Leopoldo López has accused prison guards of forcing her to disrobe and “open my legs various times,” while doing the same to her mother-in-law, in front of the couple’s young children.

Nicolás Maduro, the President of Venezuela, has announced an “economic state of emergency,” allowing him to rule by decree, in yet another attempt to diminish the power of the nation’s legislature ruled by the opposition anti-socialist party for the first time in 17 years.

Conservative candidate Keiko Fujimori is leading Peru’s presidential election with 32 percent of the vote, according to the latest national polls, signaling a potential shift rightward for yet another South American nation.

A mob of socialists protesting across from Venezuela’s National Assembly pelted journalists with rotten tomatoes and set off fireworks in protest of the new opposition-controlled legislature.

Venezuela’s First Lady, Cilia Flores, has accused the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has “committed the crime of kidnapping” against his nephews, both charged with attempting to traffic cocaine into New York.

Venezuela’s Supreme Court has declared the National Assembly, the national legislative body, “void” following the swearing-in of a majority opposition legislature for the first time in 17 years.

Venezuela’s new Vice President of Economics believes “inflation does not exist” and believes entrepreneurs are an “economic tumor” upon socialist governments. The hard-line socialist Luis Salas, a 39-year-old professor, is expected to exacerbate the nation’s already alarming finance woes.

A Venezuelan journalist and photographer were beaten in front of the National Assembly, the nation’s legislature, on Tuesday by a member of the nation’s Socialist Party (PSUV), as they tried to cover the swearing in ceremony for the new, opposition-run assembly.

Venezuelan opposition leaders have written a letter to the UN General Secretary asking the world community to prevent a “judicial coup” by the ruling socialist party.

Years of socialist price controls and rock-bottom crude oil prices have left the nation of Venezuela with little money left to spend on presents, feasts, or even Christmas lights, as residents complain December feels like “any other month” after two years of President Nicolás Maduro.

Back in 2002, in the dark ages before Breitbart News Network, the great conservative commentator Ben Shapiro warned that the United States must “Keep an eye on Russia,” because “Russia is renewing her relations with America’s enemies.” Shapiro reiterated his message in 2007, warning America that “Russia isn’t to be trusted.”

Argentine President Mauricio Macri has electrified a Mercosur trade bloc summit with the demand that Venezuela release its dozens of political prisoners or face sanctions from the group.

The socialist Venezuelan government has announced the establishment of a new legislative institution called the “National Communal Parliament,” an unconstitutional parallel legislature intended to usurp power from the nation’s legislature before the opposition takes majority control in January.

Venezuelans have resorted to using home remedies, procuring veterinary medications, and looking for black market drugs on social media has government-imposed price controls and rations have led to a scarcity of medicine so severe, 85 percent of the nation’s pharmacies are in danger of shutting down.

In a bold move sure to further destabilize very unsteady ties between the U.S. and Venezuela, U.S. prosecutors are preparing to disclose drug trafficking charges to be made against the head of Venezuela’s National Guard.

The socialist Venezuelan government has begun to purge its public agencies of workers who voted for the opposition in the December 6 election, which ended a 16-year socialist streak in the legislature. At least one agency has posted a list of the names of those fired, calling them “traitors.”

The Venezuelan socialist party, which has ruled the nation for 16 years, is still reeling from its decisive loss in the December 6 legislative elections, with the nation’s highest-ranking politicians threatening voters who oppose socialism that poverty and sickness are now on the horizon.

Reeling from a decisive loss in Sunday’s legislative elections, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has planned a “crusade to strengthen the Revolution,” lasting “however many hours it takes” on Tuesday, comprising the heads of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).

Contents: Oil prices crash and OPEC collapses over Iran-Saudi rivalry; Kazakhstan may be forced to choose between Russia and Turkey

The anti-socialist Venezuelan opposition has cemented a majority hold on the National Assembly following national elections on Sunday night. While the government has officially accepted the results of the election, many still fear oppression and violence in response to the overwhelming rejection of Chavismo displayed in the polls.

A coalition of Cuban dissidents representing a number of anti-communist groups on the island have released a video denouncing the Islamist massacre in San Bernardino, California, featuring a moment of silence and a chant denouncing international terrorism.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro referred to an opposition leader, shot to death in public on Wednesday, as a “gang leader” (“pran”) with a history of “homicide” and “general delinquency,” while on a television program Sunday.

In a speech on Thursday, Venezuelan head of state Nicolás Maduro claimed the assassination of an opposition legislation candidate Wednesday night was the product of rival gangs “settling scores,” claiming the American government is offering thousands of dollars to “armed men” to “attack the opposition and later show them off around the world.”

Caracas (AFP) – A Venezuelan opposition election candidate was shot dead while campaigning, political leaders said Thursday, raising tensions ahead of a legislative vote that could weaken the major oil producer’s socialist government.

A Venezuelan diplomat in hiding is accusing the socialist government of President Nicolás Maduro of selling visas, passports, and even falsified birth certificates out of its embassy in Baghdad to an estimated thousands of Middle Eastern citizens, including at least one confirmed Hezbollah terrorist.