CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Chaos erupted in Venezuela this week during another round of protests against the socialist government, with buildings set afire, tear gas canisters lobbed back and forth, and at least three new deaths reported. Grisly videos captured much of Monday’s violence. In a video purporting to show the final moments of one … Continue reading
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets in wealthy eastern Caracas amid a tropical downpour Thursday, April 13, to support a protest movement that is gaining steam even as it turns more deadly. Venezuela officials confirmed earlier in the day that a fifth person had died in the wave of anti-government … Continue reading
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Thousands of protesters demanding new elections faced off with security forces who launched tear gas and stood shoulder-to-shoulder blocking roadways in the Venezuelan capital Monday, April 1o. Demonstrators covered their faces to protect against the plumes of tear gas that wafted through the streets of Caracas. A few threw rocks as … Continue reading
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s government has barred opposition leader Henrique Capriles — twice a major presidential candidate — from running for office for 15 years, a surprise move sure to ratchet up tensions amid a growing street protest movement Capriles read from excerpts of the comptroller general’s order at a rally Friday, April 7, … Continue reading
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called on Sunday, April 9, for an investigation against a leading opposition politician for falsely suggesting the government was carrying out a Syria-like chemical attack against protesters. Caracas-area Mayor David Smolansky on Saturday denounced the presence of a previously unseen red gas used to scatter thousands of … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the Organization of American States wants regional governments to suspend Venezuela from the Washington-based group unless general elections are held soon to break a political impasse that he said Tuesday, March 14, is destroying the country’s democracy. OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro made the request in a 75-page report … Continue reading
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s government condemned U.S. sanctions on the country’s vice president, saying Tuesday, February 14, that the Trump administration’s designation of Tareck El Aissami as a major drug trafficker represented an unprecedented and “highly dangerous” infringement on the South American nation’s sovereignty. In a series of defiant messages posted on social media, … Continue reading
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — The revolution will now be televised. The life of Hugo Chavez, who mesmerized Venezuela’s impoverished masses before dying of cancer in 2013, is being dramatized in a Spanish-language TV series that is generating a backlash even before it airs. Produced by Sony Pictures Television, “El Comandante” premieres this week throughout Latin … Continue reading
DEL MAR, Calif. (AP) — Francisco Marquez says he constantly heard screams from prisoners being beaten in neighboring cells. He once saw a dozen inmates handcuffed, forced to run naked for hours under the hot sun as punishment for a failed escape attempt. The 30-year-old dual U.S. citizen spoke of his four-month incarceration in his … Continue reading
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles says he was harassed in a Margarita Island airport for four hours by armed and hooded government supporters. The tense standoff ended after midnight Wednesday when the supporters withdrew from an area close to baggage claim where they awaited Capriles and a delegation of opposition politicians … Continue reading
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s opposition is vowing to keep up pressure on President Nicolas Maduro after flooding the streets of Caracas with demonstrators Thursday, September 1, 2016, in its biggest show of force in years. Protesters filled dozens of city blocks in what was dubbed the “taking of Caracas” to pressure electoral authorities to … Continue reading
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Opponents of President Nicolas Maduro promise to flood the streets of Caracas Thursday,Sept. 1, in a major test of their strength and the government’s ability to tolerate growing dissent. The march called the “taking of Caracas” aims to pressure electoral authorities to allow a recall referendum against Maduro this year. The … Continue reading
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Until recently, Julio Noguera worked at a bakery. Now he spends his evenings searching through the garbage for food. “I come here looking for food because if I didn’t, I’d starve to death,” Noguera said as he sorted through a pile of moldy potatoes. “With things like they are, no one … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the Organization Of American States on Tuesday called for an emergency meeting of regional governments to evaluate Venezuela’s respect for democracy, a move that could lead to the country’s suspension from the hemispheric body. Luis Almagro said Venezuela had suffered “grave alterations of democratic order” and called for a … Continue reading
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan cities cleaned up from a night of looting and fiery protests Wednesday as government offices closed their doors for the rest of the week in the face of a worsening energy crisis that is causing daily blackouts. Amid complaints about the electricity crisis, opposition members began a previously planned signature … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 