Tens of thousands of Venezuelans crossed into Colombia to buy food, medicine, and other necessities after President Nicolas Maduro reopened the border with the country on Saturday. The border had been closed since February, when opposition figure Juan Guaido led efforts to bring U.S. aid into the country (BBC)
Putin Says No Plan to Send Troops to Venezuela
President Vladimir Putin said yesterday that there is no plan to send troops to Venezuela to bolster President Nicolas Maduro’s regime, but that Moscow will continue to fulfill contractual obligations to the country regarding military and technical cooperation (Associated Press)
Pompeo Recording Details Difficultly in Keeping Venezuelan Opposition United
In a leaked recording of a closed-door meeting in New York last week, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said efforts to unite the Venezuelan opposition have “proven devilishly difficult” and that at least forty opponents of President Nicolas Maduro believe they should be his successor (Washington Post)
Canada Shuts Venezuela Embassy
Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said Canada had “no choice” but to suspend its embassy operations in Caracas since President Nicolas Maduro’s regime has refused to renew accreditation for its diplomats. Canada has recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s leader since January (Deutsche Welle)
Colombia to Distribute U.S. Aid Meant for Venezuela
The Colombian government said U.S. humanitarian aid that was sent in February and was destined for Venezuela will instead be provided to Venezuelan migrants in the neighboring country, as well as to Colombians in need of assistance. U.S. officials and Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido were involved in the decision (Associated Press)
Venezuela Talks in Oslo End Without Deal
The opposition said that, during a second round of talks with government envoys in Norway, it laid out a roadmap to end President Nicolas Maduro’s regime and install a transitional government, but that the negotiations concluded without agreement. Maduro said on TV that his government seeks a peace deal through dialogue (Deutsche Welle)
Venezuela Publishes Rare Data on Economy
The central bank published economic statistics for the first time since 2015 (Wall Street Journal)
The economy contracted about 19 percent in the first nine months of 2018, and the country suffered six-figure hyperinflation over the whole year, according to the data (Latin American Herald Tribune)
Venezuela’s Maduro Proposes Early Legislative Election
President Nicolas Maduro called for an early election for the opposition-controlled National Assembly, which he said was the only governing body that has “not been legitimized in the last five years” (Reuters)
Venezuelan Opposition Hires Top Debt Attorney
Venezuela’s opposition, led by National Assembly President Juan Guaido, has hired attorney Lee Buchheit to facilitate the restructuring of Venezuela’s $150 billion debt burden. Buchheit, a U.S. citizen, has worked on similar cases in Russia, Uruguay, and Greece. The move comes as the opposition has held talks in Norway with President Nicolas Maduro’s regime (Financial Times)
Venezuelan Parties Continue Peace Talks
President Nicolas Maduro said his government will reveal details about talks with the opposition in Norway after his information minister returns to Venezuela today. The two sides met with envoys from the International Contact Group, which is made up of European and Latin American countries seeking to resolve the crisis in Venezuela (Associated Press)
Venezuelan Regime, Opposition Reportedly in Oslo for Talks
President Nicolas Maduro said his information minister, Jorge Rodriguez, is on a mission abroad but did not provide further details (Associated Press)
Unnamed opposition members said the two sides were holding exploratory talks in Norway. Norwegian media reported that the talks are taking place in an undisclosed location and are expected to conclude on Thursday (Agence France-Presse)
Rights Group Reports ‘Systematic’ Repression in Venezuela by Maduro Regime
Abuses by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s regime, including extrajudicial executions and arbitrary detentions, may constitute crimes against humanity, according to a new report by Amnesty International. The rights group said security forces repressed and attacked perceived opponents across the country, particularly in poor areas (Amnesty International)
U.S., Venezuela Spar Over Embassy Standoff
The United States ordered the eviction of activists occupying Venezuela’s Washington embassy who said they were there at the invitation of President Nicolas Maduro’s government (Latin American Herald Tribune)
Venezuela’s vice foreign minister called the U.S. move a violation of international law. Washington recognizes opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s president (CNN)
Venezuela’s Guaido Asks for Relations With U.S. Military
Opposition leader Juan Guaido, who has sought to oust President Nicolas Maduro, said at a Saturday rally that he told his envoy in the United States to open “direct communications” regarding U.S. military coordination with the opposition (Associated Press)
Venezuelan Opposition Figures Seek Refuge
Two opposition lawmakers sought shelter at the Argentine and Italian embassies in Caracas yesterday after the country’s supreme court stripped them and their colleagues of immunity and said they should be investigated for treason (Reuters)
Venezuelan Opposition Leader’s Deputy Arrested
Security forces towed the car carrying Edgar Zambrano, the vice president of Venezuela’s opposition-controlled National Assembly, and detained him after he refused to exit his vehicle yesterday. President Nicolas Maduro’s regime accused Zambrano of being involved in a failed coup attempt last week led by the opposition leader Juan Guaido (Guardian)
U.S. to Deploy Hospital Ship for Venezuelans
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said the USNS Comfort, a military hospital ship, will begin a five-month deployment in June to provide care for Venezuelan refugees across Latin America (Miami Herald)
Pence also said Washington will consider lifting sanctions on top Venezuelan military officials who break with President Nicolas Maduro (New York Times)
Pence to Lay Out Incentives for Venezuela
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, in a speech today, is expected to lay out incentives for Venezuela’s armed forces to abandon President Nicolas Maduro in favor of opposition leader Juan Guaido. He is also expected to announce new sanctions on top Venezuelan judges (Reuters)
Pompeo to Meet With Russia’s Lavrov to Discuss Venezuela
An unnamed State Department official said that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, will discuss the situation in Venezuela on the sidelines of an Arctic Council meeting in Finland next week (Associated Press)
Separately, he Spanish government said it has no intention of turning over opposition politician Leopoldo Lopez and that it expects President Nicolas Maduro’s regime to “respect the inviolability” of the residence of Spain’s ambassador in Caracas, where Lopez has taken refuge. Venezuela’s supreme court issued an arrest warrant for Lopez, who was freed from house arrest earlier this week by dissident members of the military (El Pais)
Venezuela’s Guaido Urges Military to Defect
Opposition leader Juan Guaido acknowledged that his calls this week for an uprising against President Nicolas Maduro did not draw enough support from the Venezuelan military and said “we have to insist that all the armed forces protest together” (CNN)
Yesterday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that U.S. military action to back Guaido is possible (Voice of America)
U.S.-Backed Opposition Makes Push for Maduro’s Ouster
Venezuelan opposition leader and self-declared President Juan Guaido called for a second day of protests and again urged the military to break with President Nicolas Maduro following bloody clashes as Guaido led an attempt to oust the regime yesterday (Associated Press)
One man died after he was shot during protests in Aragua State, and dozens of people across the country were injured from live fire, rubber bullets, and tear gas, according to a Caracas-based monitoring group (Washington Post)
Venezuela’s Guaido Leads Offensive to Oust Maduro
Opposition leader and self-declared interim president Juan Guaido, outside a Caracas air base with dozens of men in military uniform, said the armed forces took “the correct decision” to assist the opposition in forcing out President Nicolas Maduro (Reuters)
Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said the government was facing a small coup attempt led by military traitors (Associated Press)
Separately, Peru yesterday deported a group of more than forty Venezuelan migrants (Reuters)
Lima Group Diplomats Walk Out During UN Speech
Dozens of diplomats from countries across the Americas that back Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido walked out of an address by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza to the UN General Assembly yesterday. Arreaza called the move “discriminatory and unacceptable” (Agence France-Presse)
U.S. Announces Sanction on Venezuela, Other Socialist Governments
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Advisor John Bolton announced a raft of new measures meant to tighten the screws on Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, including sanctions on Venezuela’s central bank and on a Nicaraguan bank Bolton described as a “slush fund” for President Daniel Ortega (CNN)
Red Cross Delivers Aid to Venezuela
President Nicolas Maduro said the aid delivery was coordinated with his government, which had previously denied the existence of a humanitarian crisis and blocked an effort by the opposition and the United States to deliver aid in February (Associated Press)