VENEZUELANS

U.S. officials say a 98% drop in Venezuelan arrivals has helped lead to a steep decline in migrants crossing the U.S. border illegally from Mexico since pandemic-related asylum limits expired last week.

Governments and financial institutions are pledging millions of dollars for humanitarian and development projects to address the urgent needs of Venezuelans at home and abroad.

Like many of the 7 million Venezuelans who’ve abandoned their homeland in recent years, when Dinorah Figuera left behind her family and medical career in 2018 she was forced to accept meals from charities and hop from one low-cost shared apartment to another when she arrived in Spain.

President Joe Biden will arrive Sunday in El Paso for his first, politically thorny visit to the southern border.

Migrants entering the U.S. illegally are devastated to learn they may be sent back to Mexico under expanded limits on the pursuit of asylum.

President Joe Biden says the U.S. will immediately begin turning away Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans who cross the border from Mexico illegally.

For three years, Juan Guaidó has led the Venezuelan opposition’s efforts to bring about new elections and remove socialist President Nicolás Maduro.

A group of opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is looking to strip Juan Guaidó of his authority as the internationally recognized head of the country's so-called interim government.

Colombia wants the Biden administration to grant temporary legal status to its citizens now living in the United States, noting its own efforts to address regional migration by hosting 2 million Venezuelans who fled their homes.

A former Venezuelan treasurer and nurse to the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is contesting criminal charges in the U.S. Claudia Diaz is charged with money laundering, accused of taking at least $4.2 million in bribes and gifts in exchange for green lighting lucrative currency transactions.

U.S. authorities stopped migrants more than 230,000 times on the Mexican border in October, the third-highest month of Joe Biden’s presidency.

With dashed dreams and empty hands, hundreds of Venezuelan migrants are stranded in Panama’s capital looking for a way home after surviving the crossing of the Darien Gap only to find that a United States policy change had closed the border to them.

The Associated Press interviewed about a dozen migrants who recently arrived in the U.S. and agreed to share documents they received when they were released from U.S. custody while they seek asylum after crossing the border with Mexico.

U.S. authorities say a surge in migration from Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua in September brought the number of illegal crossings to the highest level ever recorded in a fiscal year.

In a shelter on Mexico City’s east side, Venezuelan mechanic José Cuicas is waiting anxiously for an American friend to answer his request to sponsor him for one of the 24,000 visas the Biden administration says it will give to Venezuelans.

U.S. and Mexican officials say far fewer Venezuelans entered the United States in the first week of a U.S. policy to expel them to Mexico without a chance to seek asylum.

Presidents Joe Biden and Andrés Manuel López Obrador spoke Tuesday as a growing number of migrants from crisis-gripped Venezuela arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border.

When Joe Biden was running for the White House, he denounced then-President Donald Trump's immigration policies.

Venezuelan Gilbert Fernández still plans to cross the dangerous Darién jungle into Panama headed over land toward the U.S. despite Washington's announcement that it will grant conditional humanitarian permits only to 24,000 Venezuelan migrants arriving by air.

The United Nations says almost three-quarters of the 6 million Venezuelan migrants currently in Latin America lack adequate food, shelter, employment or medical care.

The Biden administration has agreed to accept up to 24,000 Venezuelan migrants, similar to how Ukrainians have been admitted since Russia’s invasion.

A fugitive defense contractor nicknamed “Fat Leonard” who claims to have incriminating sex photos of top U.S. Navy brass could become the latest bargaining chip in Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s efforts to win official recognition from the Biden administration.

Venezuelans have surpassed Guatemalans and Hondurans to become the second-largest nationality stopped at the U.S. border in August after Mexicans.

U.S. authorities say the number of Venezuelans taken into custody at the U.S. border with Mexico soared in August.

Republican governors are escalating their practice of sending migrants without advance warning to Democratic strongholds, including a wealthy summer enclave in Massachusetts and the Washington, D.

About 6.8 million Venezuelans have left their homeland since economic crisis took hold in earnest for the country of some 28 million people.

When Mexico imposed a visa requirement on Venezuelans in January, it briefly had the desired effect of plunging numbers of Venezuelans detained at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Three Americans were quietly jailed in Venezuela earlier this year for allegedly trying to enter the country illegally and now face long prison sentences in the politically turbulent nation.

Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who fled their country’s humanitarian crisis and are in the United States under temporary legal protection will be allowed to remain for another 18 months.

President Joe Biden and other Western Hemisphere leaders have announced what is being billed as a roadmap for countries to host large numbers of migrants and refugees.

After walking along rural highways in southern Mexico for two days, Venezuelan Wilber Pires spent what was supposed to be a day of rest for several thousand migrants traveling in a caravan, asking for help to buy medicine for his daughter.

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro has been welcomed in the Turkish capital one the same day as the foreign minister of Russia, a key ally of the ostracized Latin American regime, was also visiting the city.

Venezuela's auto mechanics are increasingly busy these days, trying to coax a little more life out of aging vehicles.

The eyes of Fabiana Marquez brightened after she took the first bite of a savory, crescent-like bread stuffed with ham and cheese.

Maybel Sequera and Juan González recently shared for lunch a plate of noodles and beans at their home in a low-income neighborhood west of Venezuela’s capital.

The ground shook as the voice of Mexican singer Alejandro Fernandez collided with the cheers of fans at his first Venezuelan concert in over a decade.

The Venezuelan opposition was re-energized recently by an unexpected gubernatorial victory in the home state of the late President Hugo Chavez.

Venezuelans are getting a chance on to demand a recall of President Nicolás Maduro.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro says he has spoken by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin about cooperation between the two countries.

The internal struggles of the movement started by late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez were encapsulated by the apparent defeat _ and its aftermath _ of one of his brothers during the gubernatorial election in November.

Monitors from the European Union say Venezuela’s regional elections last weekend happened under better conditions compared to the country's elections in recent years but were marred by the use of public funds to benefit pro-government candidates.

A divided Venezuelan opposition has found itself on familiar territory, having lost an overwhelming majority of races disputed in a regional election over the weekend.

Hundreds of Venezuelans have been traveling to Colombia recently for coronavirus shots, as Venezuela struggles to get enough doses for its people.

Federal prosecutors have unveiled criminal charges against an alleged corruption ring accused of paying millions of dollars in bribes to a top ally of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to profit from lucrative contracts to import food and medicine at a time of widespread hardship in the South American country.

A new currency with six fewer zeros is debuting in Venezuela, whose currency has been made nearly worthless by years of the world’s worst inflation.

Representatives of Venezuela’s government and opposition say they have agreed to find ways to deal with the pressing needs of Venezuelans, especially in combatting the coronavirus pandemic.

Government and Venezuelan opposition representatives are continuing a dialogue aimed at finding a common path out of their country’s political standoff.

The government of Venezuela and its opposition have met for the first time in two years to look for a change in the South American nation's prolonged political standoff.

The government of Venezuela and its opposition are scheduled to begin a new dialogue this week, marking the third effort in four years.

Yosmar Sanguino says she struggles to put food on the table for for her two daughters and three grandchildren in a low-income neighborhood of Venezuela’s capital.

The United Nations refugee agency says it is seeking to help a Venezuelan boxer who fought in the Tokyo Games for the Refugee Olympic Team, a day after his father said he cannot return to Trinidad and Tobago where he had been living.

A man revered by millions of Venezuelans as the “doctor of the poor” is one step away from sainthood.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government is intensifying efforts to court the Biden administration as the new U.S. president weighs whether to risk a political backlash in Florida and ease up on sanctions seeking to isolate the socialist leader.

The 14-year-old has been selling his drawings on his Twitter account to help the family get by. Without his mother's knowledge, he began selling his drawings on his Twitter page to help the family get by and to pay for a special diet doctors say he needs in Venezuela's troubled economy. I’m Samuel, I’m selling my drawings for $1 to help my mom with my diet, buy her a house and a shop so she won’t work on the street and get sick with COVID-19 and buy peanut butter for me. But they came home in December after she lost her job and found increasing prejudice against the growing number of Venezuelan migrants. Venezuelan artist Oscar Olivares, who runs an art academy, saw Samuel’s tweets and gave him a scholarship to study drawing.

But their life may change drastically this year after the decision of President Joe Biden’s administration to offer temporary legal residency to several hundred thousand Venezuelans who fled their country’s humanitarian crisis. “As long as someone does not have a significant criminal record, it’s a pretty straightforward application, and I would expect nearly all to be approved,” Kagan said referring to the temporary protected status program. Gustavo Acosta cheered loudly upon learning that the Biden government had ordered temporary protected status for Venezuelans. Republicans in recent days had urged the Biden administration to formalize Trump’s executive order, but the temporary protected status issued Monday provides immigrants a more formal status that cannot be as easily reversed. “I feel happy, not only for me but for all the Venezuelans who are here.”___Garcia Cano reported from Mexico City.

AdA senior Biden administration official portrayed that as a failed strategy. “The United States is in no rush to lift sanctions," the official said, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss the policy. Any easing of sanctions would likely face opposition in Congress, but the granting of temporary protected status for Venezuelans has bipartisan support. Temporary protected status is a more formal status that cannot be as easily reversed. Citizens of 10 countries, totaling about 400,000 people, are in the United States now with temporary protected status.

European Union Ambassador to Venezuela Isabel Brilhante Pedrosa leaves a meeting with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza where she was given a letter of "persona non grata" and given 72 hours to leave the country, at Arreaza's office in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)CARACAS – The chief European Union diplomat in Venezuela left the country on Tuesday, a week after the government of Nicolás Maduro ordered her expulsion following the EU's decision to impose sanctions on several Venezuelan officials accused of undermining democracy or violating human rights. AdThe move marked the second time in almost eight months that Brilhante Pedrosa was declared persona non grata and ordered to leave Venezuela. Both cases were related to the European Union sanctions against officials and allies of Maduro. Last June, Brilhante Pedrosa was able to remain in Venezuela after the European Union high representative for foreign affairs, Josep Borrell, and Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza agreed on the need to maintain diplomatic relations.

Isabel Brilhante Pedrosa was given 72 hours to leave the troubled country. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said Brilhante Pedrosa was declared persona non grata by decision of President Nicolás Maduro. It is the second time in almost eight months that Brilhante Pedrosa has been declared persona non grata and ordered to leave Venezuela. Both cases have been related to the EU sanctions against officials and allies of Maduro. Without that, there will be no "kind of dialogue, gentlemen of the European Union,” he added.

Marrn says the torture he endured supports a United Nations report that Nicols Maduros government committed possible crimes against humanity. (AP Photo/Cody Jackson)CARACAS – The ransom calls began soon after Carlos Marrón learned his father hadn’t returned from his evening walk. There followed two days of intense abuse, the start of nearly two years in the Venezuelan jail, Marrón said. “Torture continues under the dictatorship.”The AP could not independently verify Marrón’s claims, but his name and allegations are included in the Sept. 16 United Nations report. She accused Venezuelan officials of gaming the system.

FILE - In this April 14, 2019 file photo, Venezuelans cross illegally into Colombia near the Simon Bolivar International Bridge, seen from La Parada near Cucuta, Colombia. President Ivan Duque said that through a new temporary protection statute, Venezuelan migrants who are in the country illegally will be eligible for 10-year residence permits, while migrants who are currently on temporary residence will be able to extend their stay. The new measure could benefit up to one million Venezuelan citizens who are currently living in Colombia without proper papers, as well as hundreds of thousands who need to extend temporary visas. Other popular destinations for Venezuelan migrants include Panama and Chile, which have imposed visa requirements that make it harder for Venezuelans to move to those countries. AdAccording to the United Nations, there are 4.7 million Venezuelan migrants and other refugees in other Latin American countries after fleeing the economic collapse and political divide in their homeland.

Peru is hosting roughly 1 million displaced Venezuelans, an influx that began around 2014 as inflation, unemployment, crime and shortages of food and medicine soared in their homeland. Then the coronavirus pandemic came, hitting Peru particularly hard, and Marero found herself out of work as did countless other migrants. Using imprisonment data in Peru as a proxy for crime rates, researchers said 1.3% of inmates were foreign born. Federico Agusti, the representative in Peru of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, challenged officials' assertions that Venezuelan immigrants are increasingly involved in crime. He said data that the government has shared with the U.N. body show that only 1.8% of all complaints in Peru are against Venezuelans.

Stuntman Pedro Aldana performs a wheelie on his motorcycle during an exhibition in the Ojo de Agua neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. The motorcycle trick rider and adrenalin junkie who prefers the nickname "Crazy Pedro," draws masses of Venezuelans starved for entertainment to his shows across the country. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)CARACAS – If police aren't shutting down his street shows for lack of permits, Venezuelan motorcycle trick rider Pedro Aldana is battling coronavirus quarantines or the tropical rains that turn the asphalt slick and send fans running for cover. For the last decade, he's been travelling across Venezuela to put on shows drawing up to 7,000 spectators. Aldana says he’s worked official channels in the past to get permission, but has been frustrated by bureaucrats demanding bribes.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a ceremony marking the start of the judicial year at the Supreme Court in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. “Ten drops under the tongue every four hours and the miracle is done,” Maduro said in a televised appearance on Sunday. Other leaders too have embraced solutions dismissed by scientific studies. Maduro said the treatment, which he called carvativir, has been under testing for nine months among Venezuelans ill with the coronavirus. She said colleagues at a local health center and some neighbors have died from COVID-19.

FILE - In this Sept. 19, 2020 file photo, a doctor takes a nasal swab sample to test for COVID-19 at the Cocodrilos Sports Park in Caracas, Venezuela. The acrimonious posturing has already led Venezuela to miss a December deadline to make an $18 million down payment on vaccines to the U.N. But Venezuela risks falling behind the world in vaccinating health workers and the most-vulnerable populations. “Supposedly, a shipment is coming to Venezuela,” said Contrera, who buys and sells food products and car parts to support his family. “Right now, I don’t know anything about its effects,” he said of the vaccine.

Trump signed an executive order deferring for 18 months the removal of more than 145,000 Venezuelans who were at risk of being sent back to their crisis-wracked homeland. He cited the “deteriorative condition” within Venezuela that constitutes a national security threat as the basis for his decision. The Trump administration was the first of now more than 50 countries in the world to recognize Guaidó as Venezuela’s president shortly after the young lawmaker rose up to challenge Maduro’s rule two years ago. More than 700 Venezuelans have been removed from the U.S. since 2018, while 11,000 more are under deportation proceedings, according to the TRAC immigration data base of Syracuse University. All are accused of helping the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA evade earlier U.S. sanctions designed to stop the president from profiting from crude sales.

National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez gives an interview at Congress in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 15, 2021. It’s unclear if the Biden administration will accept the overture or continue with the hardline policy of regime change it inherits. Past attempts at government dialogue with the opposition have failed to end the country’s stalemate and Maduro has tightened his grip on power. As National Assembly president, Rodriguez is second in the line of presidential succession, behind his younger sister, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez. Analysts say Biden has limited options to undo crippling oil sanctions imposed as part of Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign.

National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez gives an interview at Congress in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 15, 2021. It’s unclear if the Biden administration will accept the overture or continue with the hardline policy of regime change it inherits. Past attempts at government dialogue with the opposition have failed to end the country’s stalemate and Maduro has tightened his grip on power. As National Assembly president, Rodriguez is second in the line of presidential succession, behind his younger sister, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez. Analysts say Biden has limited options to undo crippling oil sanctions imposed as part of Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign.

The ruling socialist party assumed the leadership of Venezuela's congress on Tuesday, the last institution in the country it didn't already control. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)CARACAS – Parading giant portraits of Hugo Chavez and independence hero Simon Bolivar, allies of President Nicolas Maduro retook control of Venezuela's congress Tuesday, the last institution in the country it didn’t already control. “They are trying to annihilate Venezuela’s democratic force,” Guaidó said in his online address, which was overshadowed by the government’s celebratory session in the legislature downtown. Rodriguez emphasized that urgent work would be needed to mitigate the fallout from U.S. sanctions, which have exacerbated Venezuela's many homespun economic problems. He also reiterated a desire for dialogue with the opposition at the same time that Maduro and others have threatened arrest for Guaidó.

Few people were there to greet them as the coronavirus pandemic and a strict lockdown dampened Christmas Eve celebrations. The Philippines prohibited mass gatherings and barred extended families from holding traditional Christmas Eve dinners. On Christmas Eve in Italy, church bells rang earlier than usual. In Athens, Christmas Eve was eerily silent. The schedule for Christmas Eve and Christmas day included Masses in English and Spanish, and a bilingual jazz vespers service.

(AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)CARACAS – President Nicolás Maduro has cemented formal control over all major institutions of power in Venezuela with authorities reporting Monday that his political alliance easily won a majority in congress. Yet he remains a pariah to much of the world following an election critics called deeply undemocratic. “The results of the election show a discouraged, tired people, the vast majority doing everything possible to survive,” Shifter said. The U.S., Panama, Canada and Germany have repeated their condemnation of the the election by Maduro's government following announcement of the results. "The international community now has to decide whether it wants to live with that or restore the democratic path for Venezuela.

The vote, championed by President Nicolas Maduro, is rejected as fraud by the nation's most influential opposition politicians. Critics say he's guaranteed that by rigging the system to smother the last remnants of democracy in Venezuela. The European Union, the U.S. and several other nations have already declared the vote a sham. “I came to vote, and in less than half a second I have voted, quickly,” Caracas resident Rafael Espinoza said. “I don’t feel like wasting my time, giving these people the opportunity, so I simply don’t vote,” she said.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro speaks to supporters during a closing campaign rally for the upcoming National Assembly elections in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020. Venezuelans will vote for a new National Assembly this Sunday, Dec 6. Opposition leader Juan Guaidó, 37, rose to head the National Assembly in early 2019, declaring presidential powers and vowing to oust the 58-year-old Maduro. Abrams said he also expects broad international support for Venezuela's opposition to remain firm, even as Maduro's government tries to push them out of Venezuela's political landscape. "We’re getting instead an election that doesn’t deserve to be called an election."

(Courtesy of John Pereira via AP)CARACAS – The family of a Houston-based Citgo oil executive convicted and ordered to prison in Venezuela alongside five others appealed directly to President Nicolás Maduro on Friday for mercy. “Our purpose for this letter is not to enter into legal tirades about the case,” the letter says. The so-called Citgo 6 are employees of Houston-based Citgo refining company, which is owned by Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA. Judge Lorena Cornielles, who oversaw the trial, did not respond to a letter from The Associated Press seeking permission to observe. Pereira's family said in the letter that he suffers from at least seven chronic health problems including diabetes and back trouble that requires surgery.

Jesus Loreto, an attorney representing Tomeu Vadell, one of six U.S. oil executives jailed for three years in Venezuela, shows a letter written by Vadell, in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2020. The so-called Citgo 6 are employees of Houston-based Citgo refining company, which is owned by Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA. Despite his circumstances, Vadell held out hope. With encouragement from his family, Vadell broke his silence, taking a risk relatives said was necessary. During his 35-year career with PDVSA and Citgo, Vadell ended up running a refinery in Lake Charles and then became vice president of refining.

Marlene Alfonso, a 69-year-old Venezuelan grandmother who goes by Toothless Cindy, sings about Venezuelan migrants' lives in hopes of tips from commuters on the Transmilenio, the crowded and crime-ridden public bus system in Bogota, Colombia, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)BOGOTA – With her pink cardigan and thick glasses, “Toothless Cindy” is becoming a musical sensation on Colombian public transport. “I’m trying to make something of myself,” she sings while riding on a bus packed with commuters heading into downtown. Two years ago, she moved to Colombia because rapping in Venezuela’s subways no longer helped her to make ends meet. This growing recognition comes as some Venezuelan migrants also make headlines in Colombia for committing crimes that include robberies on public buses.

Burgos hands out his homemade arepas from the seat of his bicycle to needy children, adults and the elderly. Burgos, 55, started handing out arepas — Venezuela’s beloved corn flour patties — from the seat of his bicycle to needy children, adults and the elderly. In fact, I enjoy it.”Luis Miguel Yajure, a slender, homeless man, said the two arepas Burgos gave him were likely the only thing he would eat that day. Thanks to Burgos, he did not need to look for food in a pile of junk and computer parts. “As long as there’s the need and I have the materials and the money to do it, I’ll do it,” Burgos said.

Maduro tasked El Aissami, who later became Venezuela's Oil Minister, with restructuring their nation's oil giant PDVSA in February 2020. The president also said two foreigners tied to extremist groups were detained a day prior to the incident with plans to kill Venezuelan leaders. Maduro did not identify the them, give their nationality or explain whether they had ties to the refinery attack. Venezuela was once a wealthy oil nation, but its broken refineries fail to produce enough fuel for drivers to fuel up their cars. “It seems like a very good idea to buy missiles from Iran,” Maduro said.

Venezuelan migrants walk to Bogota as they pass through Tunja, Colombia, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2020. Thousands of Venezuelans are heading to Colombia, Ecuador and Peru in search of work as these countries reopen their economies following months of lockdowns. Before the pandemic, over 5 million Venezuelans had left their country, according to the United Nations. Over 100,000 Venezuelans returned to their country, where at least they’d have a roof over their heads. Further complicating matters, more than half of all Venezuelans in Colombia have no legal status.

(AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)CARACAS – The second of three ships loaded with gasoline from Iran approached fuel-starved Venezuela on Wednesday amid simmering social unrest over a lack of goods and services that's sparked protests across the South American nation. Despite each being relatively small, they have raised concern among Venezuelan authorities, who have responded forcefully, sending in soldiers and local police, activists and residents told The Associated Press. The latest shipment of Iranian fuel didn't impress residents of a small farming town of Urachiche in Yaracuy state. It was the site of protests among fed-up residents in the streets last week for five straight days. Venezuelan authorities have rejected the report, claiming it is full of “falsehoods” and that it was written at the behest of Washington in its ongoing attacks against Venezuela.

The experts delved into nearly 3,000 cases, looked at more than 5,000 killings and concluded that Maduro and his defense and interior ministers were aware of the crimes committed by Venezuelan security forces and intelligence agencies. They further alleged that high-level authorities had both power and oversight over the forces and agencies, making the top officials responsible. Critics have already accused Maduro’s government of crimes against humanity. Maduro’s government has come under increasing political pressure from the United States and dozens of other countries which consider politician Juan Guaidó the legitimate leader of Venezuela. Venezuela was once wealthy, sitting atop the world’s largest oil reserves, but it has tumbled into economic and political crisis.

Authorities said cellphones taken from the men when they were arrested last week include images of a large bridge in Zulia state, military installations and dilapidated oil refineries in Falcon state. President Nicolás Maduro announced on Friday that an unnamed suspected U.S. spy had been captured, saying he was a Marine and former CIA operative in Iraq. Venezuela also struggles to provide electricity to residents, especially in Zulia state, once a major hub of the nation's vast oil production. The three Venezuelans accused of conspiring with Heath include a military officer, Saab said, adding that they helped him enter from Colombia. The ex-Green Berets in Goudreau's force — Luke Denman Airan Berry Venezuela — have been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The New York-based rights group said Venezuelan authorities have targeted dozens of journalists, healthcare workers, human rights lawyers and political opponents critical of the government's response to the pandemic. Human Rights Watch says it verified several complaints through interviews with alleged victims, while also citing reports by Venezuelan media and human rights advocates. In Venezuela today, you cant even share a private message criticizing the Maduro government via WhatsApp without fear of being prosecuted, said Jos Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. He remains under house arrest, allowed to leave his home only for medical visits, Human Rights Watch says. Venezuela's intelligence police later questioned her for several hours, and she's been charged with misuse of privileged information and put under house arrest pending trial, Human Rights Watch said.

Larry Jimenez, 34, inflates his inner tube in preparation for open sea fishing, at Playa Escondida in La Guaira, Venezuela, Friday, Aug. 14, 2020, amid the new coronavirus pandemic. Venezuelans like Jimenez have turned to fishing the high sea on salvaged inner tubes for survival as the nationwide lockdown paralyzes an already crumbling economy and eliminates their jobs in construction and restaurants. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)LA GUAIRA The biggest fear is a fishhook puncturing the inner tube that keeps them afloat far from shore. The nation remains largely paralyzed and commercial flights have been grounded at the the nation's main airport in La Guaira. Their inner tube rests on one shoulder.

CARACAS The State Departments top official on Venezuela said Tuesday that the Trump administration will continue recognizing lawmaker Juan Guaid as the nations interim president even if President Nicols Maduro's government ousts the opposition from control of congress its last major stronghold. As the bodys leader, Guaid last year claimed the nations presidency, arguing that Maduro's reelection had been fraudulent, in part because top opposition figures had been banned. In our view the constitutional president of Venezuela today and after Jan. 5, 2021 is Juan Guaid, Abrams said. The U.S. is among more than 50 nations that have recognized Guaid as interim leader, saying the nations presidency is vacant because Maduros rule is illegitimate. Our Venezuela policy over the last year and a half has been an unmitigated disaster, said Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut.

So Daz allegedly turned to one of the oldest ways of moving vast sums of money anonymously: buying gold. She radically denies having had any gold ingots or any bank account in Liechtenstein, Oliver said. Wire transfers from Panamanian shell companies were routed through CBH to Greenhill and Amblia's accounts at the state-owned Liechtensteinische Landesbank in 2012, according to the Liechtenstein court. However, U.S. prosecutors in their exchanges with Swiss authorities in 2018 suggest the bank had itself been defrauded by Beaumont. The gold bars allegedly belonging to Daz represent just a small fraction of the total amount looted from Venezuela.

A man wearing a face mask amid the COVID-19 pandemic passes a mural of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, July 22, 2020. Analysts say that in recent months the pandemic has helped suck away the oppositions scanty momentum and bolster Maduros already strong hand. The Venezuelan opposition hoped that 2020 could bring new momentum after several failed pushes to overthrow Maduro. Maduro has had an opportunity to show his territorial control, said Luis Vicente Len, a Venezuelan political analyst. The court also took over three leading opposition parties, appointing new leaders the opposition accuses of conspiring to support Maduro.

Of course, it is good that countries are taking these measures of prudence against the virus, Grandi said. The impact could be especially stark for 3.7 million Venezuelans abroad, the world's second-largest nationality of refugees after the 6.6 million Syrians displaced by their country's war. One region about which were very worried is, of course, Latin America and South America and in particular where countries host many millions of Venezuelans, Grandi said in an interview. Amid the outbreak, UNHCR has stepped up its cash transfer programs that put money directly in the pockets of displaced people. Grandi says 65 countries now benefit from such programs, and we have added 40 countries in just the last few months.

CARACAS A year after shutting down the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, Washingtons top diplomat in Venezuela has found a way to slip back inside the South American nation at least virtually. Storys live chat sessions are part of duties that include leading a team of diplomats for the highly unusual virtual embassy working out of the mission in neighboring Colombia. Brownfield, who is now retired, served as ambassador to Venezuela for three years starting in 2004. Story can also communicate his message to other foreign diplomats, many cautious about what they can say while still inside Venezuela, he said. Maduro fired back an hour later in an interview aired on state TV, citing Storys dispatches from Bogota.

Facing travel restrictions and no work due to the economic shut down to curb COVID-19, Venezuelan migrants here are waiting for help to get home. We're living in a nightmare," said Cecilio Zagarra, an organizer and one of hundreds in the camp. They say Venezuelan authorities are only allowing Venezuelans to cross three days each week at what's normally a bustling border crossing. The new shantytown just north of Bogota has become home to hundreds of stranded Venezuelans, many children, pregnant women and the elderly. The largest number of Venezuelan migrants 1.8 million crossed into Colombia.

Iran and Venezuela have always supported each other in times of difficulty, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza tweeted. Russ Dallen, head of the Miami-based investment firm Caracas Capital Markets, confirmed the Fortune's location using ship tracking technology. Venezuela sits atop the worlds largest oil reserves, but it must import gasoline because production has crashed in the last two decades. The Iranian tankers hold what analysts estimate to be enough gasoline to supply Venezuela for two to three weeks. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned Saturday that the United States should not to interfere with the shipment of oil bound for Venezuela.

CARACAS A leading Venezuelan opposition party said a group of armed men with their faces covered raided its headquarters late Friday, taking cellphones, computers and ID cards from staffers and raising tensions the night before a nationwide protest against President Nicols Maduro. Popular Will members said Juan Guaid, who belongs to the party, was not inside at the time. They said they believe the armed men were some kind of government or security officers, though they didnt identify themselves or show a court order. Guaid arrived at the 18th-floor office in Caracas minutes later and called for an end to Maduro's dictatorship, saying the men who broke into the office were cowards for covering their faces and not identifying themselves. The opposition has called Venezuelans into the street Saturday, attempting to re-energize the country against Maduro, while the socialist party is also urging supporters to join its own demonstrations.

Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, right, talks to Cyprus' Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides, left, and Malta's Foreign Minister Carmelo Abela during an European Foreign Affairs Ministers meeting at the Europa building in Brussels, Monday, Nov. 11, 2019. European Union foreign ministers are discussing ways to keep the Iran nuclear deal intact after the Islamic Republic began enrichment work at its Fordo power plant. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)BRUSSELS The European Union is extending sanctions against Venezuela for a year due to the political and economic crisis that it blames on the government of President Nicols Maduro. EU foreign ministers decided at a meeting on Monday to prolong an arms embargo and ban on equipment sales that could be used against demonstrators until Nov. 14, 2020. The ministers say the sanctions "are flexible and reversible" and do not target ordinary Venezuelans.

The stadium is partially empty during the opening winter season game between Los Leones de Caracas and Los Tigres de Aragua in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019. Venezuela's beloved Winter League baseball season opened Tuesday with hundreds of cheering fans converging on the stadium in Caracas and elsewhere throughout the South American nation. The opening of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League, however, brought a measure of relief. The financial measures ban U.S. individuals and companies from dealing with Maduro's government, such as the state-run oil firm PDVSA, which until recently sponsored the Venezuelan baseball league. He is one of several dozen foreigners in Venezuela's league, most from the Dominican Republic.

The European Union says a "solidarity conference" has raised around 120 million euros ($133 million) for Venezuelans fleeing their crisis-wracked country and to help countries who are hosting them. The South American nation of roughly 30 million people is gripped by a deepening political and economic crisis under President Nicols Maduro. Colombia hosts the greatest number of refugees and migrants an estimated 1.4 million Venezuelans while Peru is sheltering some 860,000. "This humanitarian crisis has a name: Nicols Maduro," Peruvian Foreign Minister Gustavo Meza-Cuadra said during the conference, which involved around 120 delegations. Guaid's deputy foreign minister, Isadora Zubillaga, welcomed the "solidarity conference," but said that such efforts alone are not enough.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (center) speaks at the Balcn del Pueblo of the Miraflores Government Palace on Jan. 23, 2019, in Caracas, Venezuela. CARACAS, Venezuela (CNN) - A week before he died, a Venezuelan navy captain was arrested and accused of plotting to remove embattled President Nicolas Maduro from power. Rafael Ramon Acosta Arevalo's death Saturday remain a mystery in a country marred by political and humanitarian crises. In recent months, dozens of active and retired military officers have been detained by Venezuelan counterintelligence officers on treason charges. But Acosta is the first known military officer to die in custody amid allegations he was tortured.