Indian Oil Conglomerate Will Halt Oil Purchases From Venezuela
India’s Reliance Industries, which owns the largest refining complex in the world, stated that it will cease purchases of Venezuelan oil due to the Trump administration’s 25 percent tariffs on nations purchasing their crude oil (Reuters)
Chinese Companies Refrain From Venezuelan Oil Imports
Chinese oil refiners and traders paused oil purchases from Venezuela after Trump’s announcement of tariffs at 25 percent on countries that purchase Venezuelan oil; oil executives stated they will wait to observe the implementation of the tariffs and Beijing’s orders (Reuters)
Trump Announces Secondary 25 Percent Tariffs Against Venezuela
U.S. President Donald Trump announced that any country that continues to purchase Venezuelan oil and gas after April 2 will face 25 percent tariffs in ongoing trade with the United States, most notably affecting China as the largest purchaser of Venezuela’s crude oil; the new tariffs come as the Trump administration has sparred with Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro over U.S. deportations of hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members (Reuters)
Also, the Treasury Department extended Chevron’s deadline to wind down operations in Venezuela (Bloomberg)
Venezuela Accepts U.S. Deportation Flight For the First Time in Weeks
Caracas had previously stopped receiving such flights after Washington announced new restrictions on its oil sector; Venezuela’s return to accepting deportees came after the United States transferred Venezuelan migrants to a maximum security prison in El Salvador (NYT)
United States Threatens Further Sanctions Against Venezuela Should It Refuse to Accept Deported Citizens
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the Maduro regime must not prevent or disrupt a “consistent flow of deportation flights” into the country (Reuters)
Venezuela Denounces U.S. Deportation of 238 Alleged Gang Members
Caracas denounced the deportations against its migrants in the United States after U.S. President Trump overrode a federal court order temporarily halting the deportations based on wartime powers; El Salvador received the 238 alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren De Aragua (Reuters)
Guyana Asks ICJ to Block Venezuela From Carrying Out Election in Guyana-Controlled, Disputed Region of Essequibo
Venezuela’s communications ministry did not immediately comment. The ICJ previously issued a 2023 order forbidding Caracas from changing the status quo in the territory (Reuters)
Last week, Guyana said a Venezuelan ship entered its waters near Essequibo without permission; Venezuela said it was an international zone (Reuters)
U.S. Officials Give Chevron One Month to Stop Operations in Venezuela as Part of Sanctions Snapback
The timeline is shorter than the common six-month wind-down period, which analysts said will be hard to execute (Bloomberg)
Trump said Venezuela has not made enough progress on migrant returns or electoral reforms (Reuters)
Guyana Condemns Venezuelan Coast Guard Incursion Near Offshore Oil Fields
Guyanese President Irfaan Ali stated that the Venezuelan patrol entered its official maritime territory, leading to the deployment of Guyanese “air assets” and its coast guard; though Venezuela rejected that Guyana owns the waters in question, the United States condemned the incursion, threatening “consequences for the Maduro regime” should future incidents arise (Guardian)
Trump Plans to End Chevron’s License to Operate in Venezuela
Trump cited Venezuela’s poor electoral conditions and accused the government of moving too slowly on accepting migrants; Chevron accounts for approximately a quarter of Venezuela’s oil production (Reuters)
The Biden administration issued the license in late 2022 amid high gas prices and to coax Caracas toward democratic reforms (Bloomberg)
Venezuela Postpones 2025 Parliamentary and Regional Elections
The elections will be delayed from April 27 to May 25 after opposition parties stated that their participation is contingent on current president Nicolas Maduro admitting defeat in the highly-contested 2024 presidential elections, as well as the release of political prisoners; meanwhile, leading opposition member María Corina Machado called for boycotts of the elections (Bloomberg)
Six Soldiers From Guyana Injured in Attack Near Venezuelan Border
The Guyana Defense Forces patrolling the Cuyuni River, which lies along the border of Guyana and Venezuela, came under gunfire by unidentified armed attackers from the Venezuelan side of the riverbank (AP)
Venezuela Frees Six U.S. Detainees After Meeting Between Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Trump Envoy Richard Grenell
The country also agreed to take back undocumented migrants deported from the United States, Trump said Saturday (WaPo)
The Trump administration will end Temporary Protected Status in the coming months for more than three hundred thousand Venezuelans, removing protections from deportation, according to documents reported by multiple news sites Sunday (NYT)
Venezuelan Government Announces It Will Hold Regional and Parliamentary Elections on April 27
Opposition leader María Corina Machado called for a boycott, potentially splitting the opposition; Machado has led boycotts of past votes, though she supported the candidate in Venezuela’s July 2024 election that the opposition—and the United States along with several other countries—said won (Bloomberg)
Members of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro Government Ordered the Assassination of a Venezuelan Dissident Residing in Santiago Last Year
Chile’s attorney general said three witnesses shared the information with Chilean investigators that; Venezuela’s communication ministry did not respond to a request for comment (WSJ)
French and Italian Governments Summon Venezuelan Diplomats After Government Restricted French, Italian, and Dutch Diplomats in Caracas
Venezuela cited the countries’ “hostile” response to its disputed election; France’s foreign ministry said it would take unspecified “reciprocal measures” against Venezuela (Reuters)
Venezuelan Opposition Figure Briefly Detained Ahead of Maduro’s Inauguration
Opposition figure María Corina Machado was detained and then released following her appearance yesterday at a protest against today’s swearing-in of President Nicolás Maduro; the full circumstances of the detention were not immediately clear (NYT)
Maduro is being inaugurated for a third term today after a disputed election that the United States, EU, and several Latin American countries say his opponent won (WaPo)
Venezuelan Opposition Plans Protest Against Maduro’s Inauguration
Opposition leader María Corina Machado called Venezuelans to the streets today to reject tomorrow’s planned inauguration of President Nicolás Maduro for a third term; several countries including the United States recognize opposition candidate Edmundo González as the true winner of Venezuela’s July 2024 election (CNN)
Maduro’s government detained opposition members, including a former presidential candidate, ahead of today’s marches (Reuters)
Venezuela Opposition Challenger Says Son-in-Law Kidnapped in Caracas
Opposition leader Edmundo González said his son-in-law was kidnapped by hooded men a day after González met with Biden in Washington; the United States is among the countries that recognize González as the victor of Venezuela’s July 2024 election, though President Nicolás Maduro is due to be sworn in on Friday (AP)
Venezuelan Opposition Leader Meets With Biden
Edmundo González Urrutia, whom the United States recognizes as Venezuela’s president-elect after a disputed July vote, met with President Joe Biden at the White House; it came just days before the scheduled inauguration of Nicolás Maduro, who Venezuela’s election authority declared the winner, on Friday (Bloomberg)
Biden voiced support for Venezuela’s “democratic aspirations” (AFP)
González also met with an advisor to Trump (Reuters)
Separately, Paraguay recognized González as president-elect and broke official ties with the Maduro government (MercoPress)
Opposition Figure Edmundo González Begins Tour of Latin America in Argentina
The opposition and some countries, including the United States, say González won Venezuela’s July 2024 presidential election, while President Nicolás Maduro is preparing to be sworn in for a third term on January 10 (AFP)
Argentina Says Venezuela Is Harassing Activists Sheltering at Consulate
The Argentine consulate in Venezuela is attempting to keep six Venezuelan opposition members safe but is subject to water, power, and food restrictions, Argentina’s foreign minister said; more than a dozen members of the Organization of American States called on Caracas to allow the activists safe passage out of the country (AP)
UN Human Rights Council Opens Probe Into Venezuela Presidential Election
The probe was in response to reports that President Nicolás Maduro’s government stole the July 2024 election and ordered the country not to destroy any evidence from the election, such as tally sheets from voting machines; Maduro plans to begin a third term in January (AP)
United States Describes Venezuela’s Edmundo González as Rightful President-elect for First Time
The move deepened Washington’s repudiation of Nicolás Maduro’s claim that he won the country’s July election; many countries have also failed to recognize Maduro’s claim since Caracas has not released customary disaggregated voting data as proof (El País)
Authorities Release 225 People Jailed After Venezuela’s Disputed Presidential Election
The country’s attorney general said they were freed based on new evidence gathered by prosecutors; over 1,800 were jailed following the July vote, local rights group Foro Penal estimated (Reuters)