The Chinese foreign ministry accused the United States of “treating Latin America as its backyard” through “pressure, threat or even subversion.” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused China last week of prolonging the crisis in Venezuela by financially supporting the government of President Nicolas Maduro (Guardian)
Pompeo Renews Call for Maduro Ouster From Venezuela
Speaking at the Columbia-Venezuela border, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo again called for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to step down and allow humanitarian aid to enter the country, reiterating that “all options are on the table” to oust Maduro after visiting a center for Venezuelan migrants alongside Colombian President Ivan Duque (Miami Herald)
Over the weekend Maduro proposed adding a million people to the country’s civilian militia in order to “defend the fatherland” (Reuters)
Venezuela Vows to Continue Oil Flow to Cuba
Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said Caracas will “fulfill its commitments” to supply Cuba with subsidized oil despite new U.S. sanctions targeting thirty-four vessels used by Venezuela’s state oil company (Reuters)
Iranian Airline Begins Direct Flights to Venezuela
Private Iranian airline Mahan Air announced it began direct flights to Caracas to transport foreign ministry officials from Tehran. Several European countries have accused the airline of transporting weapons and personnel to Syria and other conflict areas (Reuters)
Venezuelan Minister Meets With Syria’s Assad
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza, in Damascus yesterday, commended Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for what he called a victory over terrorism in the country’s civil war. He also said both of their countries “fight against U.S. conspiracies and imperialism” (Associated Press)
Report Details Humanitarian Crisis in Venezuela, Calls for UN Emergency Response
In a new report, Human Rights Watch and Johns Hopkins University researchers said the Venezuelan government has proven unable to address the humanitarian crisis in the country and has “in fact exacerbated it through their efforts to suppress information about the scale and urgency of the problems.” The report called for a major UN-led emergency response (Human Rights Watch)
Venezuelan Lawmakers Move to Prosecute Guaido
Members of the Constituent Assembly, a body aligned with President Nicolas Maduro, voted to override Juan Guaido’s parliamentary immunity, possibly paving the way for his arrest. The Constituent Assembly is a rival of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, of which Guaido, who claims to be Venezuela’s legitimate president, is the leader (Reuters)
Venezuela Moves to Lift Opposition Leader’s Immunity
Venezuela’s supreme court ruled that the head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, Juan Guaido, is in contempt of the law for defying a court-imposed travel ban and that an assembly loyal to President Nicolas Maduro’s regime will vote on whether to remove Guaido’s parliamentary immunity from prosecution (Latin American Herald Tribune)
Red Cross to Begin Venezuela Aid Deliveries
International Federation of the Red Cross chief Francesco Rocca said the humanitarian group expected to deliver food and medicine to 650,000 people in two weeks, working on the basis of “impartiality, neutrality and independence” (BBC)
Caracas Bans U.S.-Backed Venezuelan Opposition Leader From Public Office
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s embattled regime announced it has banned opposition leader Juan Guaido from public office for fifteen years (Agence France-Press)
The state’s comptroller accused Guaido, who declared himself as interim president in January and is backed by dozens of countries including the United States, of taking gifts from foreign states and having inconsistencies in his personal finances (CNN)
Also yesterday, Moscow and Caracas confirmed the deployment of Russian military personnel to Venezuela but said they would not take part in any military operations (Reuters)
Trump: Russia ‘Has to Get Out’ of Venezuela
At the White House yesterday with Fabiana Rosales, the wife of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, President Trump said Moscow is aware of U.S. opposition to its military presence in Venezuela and called on the country to stay out of the conflict (New York Times)
Venezuelan Schools, Businesses Closed Amid Second Blackout
President Nicolas Maduro said the power outage, which has affected much of the country’s western half since Monday, was due to an attack on electrical infrastructure. Power returned to most of the capital of Caracas by Tuesday afternoon (Reuters)
Parts of Venezuela Hit Again by Blackout
Much of Caracas and other parts of Venezuela lost power yesterday. The government blamed the outage on an “attack on the charging and transmission center” at the hydroelectric plant that supplies power to 80 percent of the country, while the opposition accused the Maduro regime of trying to “disinform and create anxiety.” A nationwide blackout earlier this month lasted for a week (Agence France-Presse)
Russian Aircraft Reportedly Land in Caracas
Russia military aircraft reportedly arrived in Venezuela, where officials are expected to discuss equipment maintenance, training, and cooperation between the allies, according to an unnamed Venezuelan official (Reuters)
UN Rights Chief Warns Over Venezuela Sanctions
UN human rights chief Michelle Bahelet warned that U.S. sanctions on Venezuela’s state oil company announced in January could have repercussions for ordinary Venezuelans’ “basic rights and wellbeing,” though she noted that the country’s economic crisis was underway before the United States imposed sanctions (Associated Press)
Separately, opposition leader Juan Guaido’s chief of staff was detained by Venezuelan intelligence officers early today, according to Guaido and other opposition lawmakers (New York Times)
Venezuela Opposition Leader Begins National Tour
Opposition leader Juan Guaido, who declared himself interim president and is backed by the United States and dozens of other countries, began a national tour, called Operation Freedom, to rally support for a march on the presidential palace in Caracas (Agence France-Presse)
Venezuelan Opposition to Appeal ConocoPhillips Ruling
The attorney general newly appointed by opposition leader Juan Guaido, who declared himself interim president of Venezuela, said he will appeal to a decision by the World Bank’s arbitration tribunal to award $8.75 billion to ConocoPhillips over the Venezuelan government’s 2007 confiscation of two of its crude oil projects (Bloomberg)
Venezuelan Minister Says Power Restored
The information minister said yesterday that power had been restored after a week-long blackout that affected most of the country. President Nicolas Maduro’s regime blamed opposition leader Juan Guaido and the United States for the outage (CNN)
Maduro Regime Accuses Guaido Over Blackout in Venezuela
Attorney General Tarek William Saab said opposition leader Juan Guaido is under investigation for sabotaging the national power grid. Separately, Colombia’s migration director said a cousin of President Nicolas Maduro attempted to enter the country during the blackout, which has affected much of Venezuela over the past week, but Bogota refused his entry (Associated Press)
U.S. Pulls Diplomatic Staff From Venezuela
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the withdrawal of all remaining diplomatic staff in Venezuela, citing the deteriorating situation in the country. Pompeo said their presence has become a “constraint on U.S. policy” (CNN)
Fears Run High Amid Blackout in Venezuela
President Nicolas Maduro’s government announced that schools and businesses will be closed today as a blackout affecting much of the country entered its fourth day (Reuters)
Opposition leader Juan Guaido said he will call for a national emergency declaration in parliament (CNN)
Blackout Leaves Most of Venezuela in Darkness
At least eighteen of Venezuela’s twenty-three states were affected by a blackout yesterday that appeared to be due to an apparent failure at a hydroelectric plant in Bolivar State. Members of President Nicolas Maduro’s regime blamed the outage on sabotage by the opposition and the United States (Guardian)
U.S. Reporter, His Assistant Detained in Venezuela
American journalist Cody Weddle was arrested and detained in Caracas yesterday before being deported (local10)
His assistant, a Venezuelan citizen, was also detained. Separately, President Nicolas Maduro ordered the expulsion of Germany’s ambassador to Venezuela for his support of opposition leader Juan Guaido (Guardian)
Venezuela’s Guaido Calls for Strike
Opposition leader Juan Guaido met with about a hundred representatives of state workers unions yesterday and called for rolling strikes to increase pressure on President Nicolas Maduro’s regime (Washington Post)
Venezuela’s Guaido Returns to Caracas
Opposition figure and self-declared interim president Juan Guaido returned to Venezuela after spending close to a week abroad with regional allies despite a court travel ban. He was met by foreign diplomats at the airport, and President Nicolas Maduro’s regime made no immediate attempt to arrest him (New York Times)