CILIA FLORES

A day after burying his mother, Rafael Negrín has carried the coffin of his aunt who also died in floods and landslides in central Venezuela that killed at least 43 people and left dozens missing.

Venezuela’s government has freed seven Americans imprisoned in the South American country in exchange for the release of two nephews of President Nicolás Maduro’s wife who had been jailed for years by the United States on drug smuggling convictions.

Senior Biden administration officials have quietly traveled to Caracas in the latest bid to rebuild relations with the South American oil giant as the war in Ukraine drags on, driving higher gas prices and forcing the U.S. to recalibrate other foreign policy objectives.

A businessman accused of siphoning off millions in state contracts from Venezuela met secretly with U.S. law enforcement to provide intelligence against Nicolás Maduro’s government prior to being charged.

A businessman who prosecutors say was a major conduit for corruption by Nicolás Maduro’s inner circle has appeared for the first time in Miami federal court after an extradition that has further strained relations between the U.S. and Venezuela’s socialist government.

Venezuela’s socialist government said it would suspend negotiations with its opponents in retaliation for the extradition to the U.S. of a close ally of President Nicolás Maduro to face money laundering charges.

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.

Men stand close to their cars as they wait for hours to fill their cars up with gasoline in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, April 02, 2020. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)CARACAS – With gas lines across Venezuela growing, a controversial shipping magnate has stepped in to prevent the country from running out of fuel amid the coronavirus pandemic, The Associated Press has learned. “In Venezuela, the only thing spreading faster than the coronavirus are the gasoline shortages,” said Russ Dallen, head of Caracas Capital Markets, a brokerage. While U.S. sanctions have driven away from Venezuela many established shipping companies and commodity traders, Ruperti appears to be little fazed. One person said the gas that Maroil billed to PDVSA is en route and should arrive to Venezuela in the coming days.