Relief had been granted after president Nicolás Maduro promised to hold free and fair elections this year The Biden administration has reimposed crushing oil sanctions on Venezuela, admonishing the president Nicolás Maduro’s attempts to consolidate his rule just six months after the US eased restrictions in a bid to support now fading hopes for a democratic opening in the Opec nation. A senior US official, discussing the decision with reporters, said any US company investing in Venezuela would have 45 days to wind down operations to avoid adding uncertainty to global energy markets. The offici ..read more

Tareck El Aissami latest in purge of politicians, human rights advocates and critics by government of Nicolás Maduro Venezuela’s former oil minister Tareck El Aissami – once one of the closest allies of Nicolás Maduro – has been arrested for allegedly participating in an international scheme that syphoned off hundreds of millions of dollars from the country’s state oil company. The charges against El Aissami are part of a wider government purge that has so far led to charges being brought against more than 50 people, including some of Venezuela’s most important political and business figures ..read more

Detention of influencer Oscar Alejandro Pérez at Caracas airport en route to southern national park raises free speech concerns A popular Venezuelan YouTuber has been arrested in Caracas on terrorism charges as President Nicolás Maduro’s government steps up its crackdown on free speech ahead of upcoming elections. Oscar Alejandro Pérez was detained in the capital’s main airport on Sunday by police on accusations of terrorism, his family said ..read more

Economic crisis has driven Warao communities from their traditional life in lush forest to a Brazilian slum Photographs by Nicola Zolin At 4pm, the sound of sirens is fading. On the pavement, a teenage girl – her eyes darting back and forth to monitor police presence – starts smoking crack. She is across the street from “Hotel 583”, a makeshift shelter in a dangerous part of downtown Manaus, the capital of Amazonas in Brazil. On the second floor of the building, in the Cidade de Deus slum, 20 of the 27 Warao people who live here cram into a sweltering room measuring about 20 sq metres. Some ..read more

Former PM’s meeting with President Maduro, in capacity as hedge fund consultant, is under further scrutiny Labour is demanding answers over what the party said was “potentially serious impropriety” by Boris Johnson after it emerged that the former prime minister met the Venezuelan president in his role as a consultant for a hedge fund. Nick Thomas-Symonds, the shadow Cabinet Office minister, said in a letter to Oliver Dowden, the deputy prime minister and Cabinet Office minister, that there were concerns that Johnson may have breached the ministerial code ..read more

South American neighbours respond to blocking of Corina Yoris, who was favoured to beat strongman Nicolás Maduro in elections A chorus of Latin American nations, including Brazil and Colombia, have voiced concern over the deteriorating political situation in Venezuela after the opposition politician best-positioned to challenge its strongman leader, Nicolás Maduro, in July’s presidential election was prevented from registering for the vote. Corina Yoris, an 80-year-old philosopher, was little-known outside academic circles until last Friday, when she was catapulted on to the frontline of Venez ..read more

Corina Yoris will now take on Nicolás Maduro in presidential election in July after Maria Corina Machado stepped aside Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has named her replacement to take on President Nicolás Maduro in the country’s presidential election in July, after the arrest of two of Machado’s close aides. The naming of Corina Yoris, 80, as the opposition’s candidate comes after Venezuela’s attorney general announced the detention of two of Machado’s closest allies earlier this week and also said arrest warrants had been issued for seven other people, including rumoured Ma ..read more

Maria Corina Machado’s campaign manager and eight others accused of involvement in a violent anti-government conspiracy Venezuela’s top prosecutor has announced arrest warrants for the presidential campaign manager of the prominent opposition figure María Corina Machado and eight other of her staffers, accusing them of involvement in a violent anti-government conspiracy. The attorney general, Tarek William Saab, said in a nationally televised news conference on Wednesday that the campaign manager Magalli Meda and the others were accused of being part of a “destabilizing” plot that included dem ..read more

Ex-UK PM was required to seek permission for paid role with Merlyn Advisors, for whom he spoke to Venezuela president Boris Johnson did not seek permission from the post-ministerial jobs watchdog before taking a role as a consultant to a hedge fund, on whose behalf he met the Venezuelan president. As a former minister, Johnson is required to seek the advice of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) for two years from September 2022, when he left office. The committee’s advice typically comes with restrictions on lobbying and contact with the UK government. It was writing to Jo ..read more

Former PM apparently met autocratic leader Nicolás Maduro over concerns he may supply weapons to Russia Boris Johnson flew to Venezuela in February for unofficial talks with its autocratic leader, Nicolás Maduro, according to reports. The former prime minister spoke to the Venezuelan president about the war in Ukraine, amid concerns that the socialist republic could supply weapons or military support to Russia, according to the Sunday Times ..read more