Venezuelan government seizes headquarters of independent newspaper founded in 1943
The duty of journalists is to keep those who are in power in check. This continues to be difficult in Venezuela where Nicolas Maduro and his supporters harass the Venezuelan editors, writers, reporters, and photojournalists who are doing their job.
Maduro consolidates power in Venezuela with control of National Assembly
BOGOTA, Colombia – Nicolas Maduro’s allies took over Venezuela’s National Assembly on Tuesday, as part of a consolidation of power that increases the vulnerability of his opponents. Diosdado Cabello, the vice president of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, leads the ruling party bloc. Jose Gregorio Correa, an outgoing legislator, delivered a speech in the National Assembly chambers. There are 253 members — including 219 members of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela — who belong to a left-wing electoral alliance. (Content for Local 10 News)Luz Marina Guzman was among the dozens of people who Maduro mobilized to stand outside of the National Assembly to celebrate with flags and signs.
Venezuela's socialists take control of once-defiant congress
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.
COVID hits dozens of Latin leaders, including presidents
FILE - In this May 25, 2020, file photo, Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro, wearing a face mask amid the coronavirus pandemic, stands among supporters as he leaves his official residence of Alvorada palace in Brasilia, Brazil. Bolsonaro said Tuesday, July 7, he tested positive for COVID-19 after months of downplaying the virus's severity while deaths mounted rapidly inside the country. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)
Venezuela’s Diosdado Cabello announces he has COVID-19
MIAMI – Venezuela’s Diosdado Cabello announced on Twitter Thursday that he was diagnosed with COVID-19. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced Cabello is resting. Maduro also announced Zulia Gov. Omar Prieto was diagnosed with COVID-19. Interim Bolivian President Jeanine Áñez and the Brazilian President Jair Bolosonaro also announced they were diagnosed with COVID-19 this week.
COVID hits dozens of Latin leaders, including presidents
Bolsonaro said Tuesday, July 7, he tested positive for COVID-19 after months of downplaying the virus's severity while deaths mounted rapidly inside the country. And in Venezuela, 57-year-old socialist party chief Diosdado Cabello said Thursday on Twitter that he, too, had tested positive, at least temporarily sidelining a larger-than-life figure considered the second-most-powerful person in the country. An Associated Press review of official statements from public officials across Latin America found at least 49 confirmed cases of new coronavirus in leaders ranging from presidents to mayors of large cities, along with dozens, likely hundreds, of officials from smaller cities and towns. Many leaders have used their diagnoses to call on the public to heighten precautions like social distancing and mask wearing. They have to be responsible.Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei placed his entire Cabinet and their staff in quarantine Thursday after one of his ministers tested positive.
Failed Maduro coup leader flew on pro-govt magnate's plane
The invaders were caught almost immediately and the embattled leader paraded on state TV the American combatants as evidence of a U.S.-backed coup attempt. Its unclear why the men traveled on the plane to Colombia or if Durn even knew about it. lvarez was named in 2017 director of Industrias Venoco de Centroamerica, two years after the company was registered in Panama. Upon Durn's release in 2011 and return to Venezuela, a legal battle with the Venezuelan state to reclaim Venoco ensued. But Durn appears to have never wavered in his support of the anti-imperialist revolution to which he owed his fortune.