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Brazil: Troops sent to border town after Venezuelans attacked

Brazil sends troops as border town residents attack Venezuelans

aljazeera.com reported extra troops to be deployed after Brazilians drive migrants back home over robbery and stabbing blamed on Venezuelans.

Brazil says it will send additional troops to its northern frontier after residents of one of its border towns attacked Venezuelan immigrants, forcing hundreds of them to flee back into their country.

Brazil’s Ministry of Public Security said on Saturday it would send an additional 60 soldiers to Roraima on Monday, reinforcing a contingent already operating in the northern state. Read Article

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Ecuador Declares State of Emergency in Three Provinces due to Migrant Surge

aljazeera.com – Ecuador has declared a state of emergency in three northern states after a large influx of migrants from crisis-ridden Venezuela entered the country via Colombia. (Carchi, Pinchincha and El Oro province)s The move is intended to help establish the infrastructure to support the new arrivals, who do not have humanitarian refugee status in […]

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Venezuela: Entire Health Care System on Verge of Collapse

npr.org / The Pharmaceutical Federation of Venezuela estimates the country is suffering from an 85 percent shortage of medicine amid an economic crisis also marked by severe hyperinflation and food scarcity. The entire Venezuelan health care system is on the verge of collapse, says Francisco Valencia, head of the public health advocacy group Codevida. Some […]

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Venezuela Crisis Deepens

Venezuelans ‘loot or die of hunger’ as crisis deepens theweek.co.uk Jan 22, 2018 Low oil output, spiralling inflation and police indifference has fuelled violence Looting by hungry mobs has led shop owners in Venezuela to take up arms and shutter shops as the country’s economic and political turmoil deepens. INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED SPANISH VOCABULARY – READ THE […]

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Academic Calls for Invasion of Venezuela

AMERICANTHINKER.COM Invade Venezuela and get it over with, top Harvard academic says By Monica Showalter Ricardo Hausmann is no typical academic. This past week, he suggested in an article that a foreign invasion may be the only way out for Venezuela’s collapsing socialist regime. The respected Venezuelan economist who is a professor at Harvard’s Kennedy […]

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Potential Crisis with thousands of Venezuelans fleeing and arriving daily in Ecuador

TELEAMAZONAS.COM (MACHINE TRANSLATED) The exodus of Venezuelans does not end on the Ecuadorian-Colombian border, with at least 2,000 migrants a day in recent weeks. Interprovincial transport increases the number of extra frequencies, to transfer migrants to different destinations in the country. Source: Teleamazonas.com SAFETY, SECURITY, HEALTH IN ECUADOR – READ THIS BOOK

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Despite Progress, Ecuador and Venezuela need to make improvements Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

ohchr.org (12 December 2017) – Progress in the social sector in Venezuela and Ecuador, consistent with the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, should be more generally known and recognized, a UN human rights expert has said. In this context, regional integration and cooperation with international organizations should be boosted to ensure that social […]

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Venezuela: Report from NGO warns 300,000 children at risk of death due to malnutrition

panampost.com/Orlando Avendaño Around 300,000 children in Venezuela are at risk of death from malnutrition, according to Caritas, a humanitarian organization run by the Catholic Church. It estimated that between five and six children die from malnutrition in Nicolás Maduro’s country each week. INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED SPANISH VOCABULARY – THIS BOOK IS AN INDISPENSABLE RESOURCE FOR ANY SPANISH […]

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Iceland blocks Venezuela from receiving shipment of tear gas from China

PANAMPOST.COM/Orlando Avendaño  – The Icelandic Ministry of Transport and Local Government received a letter from the European Transport Agency on Friday, October 20 requesting permission to transport anti-riot gear to Venezuela; however, the query was rejected. The agency requested the transfer of 16 tons of tear gas from China to Venezuela. The material would have […]

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Venezuela: Military Base Attacked by Civilians, weapons stolen

axar.az/sputnik = The attack targeting the Paramacay military base in Venezuela was carried out by a group of civilians, the country’s Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said Sunday. Earlier in the day, media reported that a group of people wearing military uniform attacked the military base. Vice President of the Venezuelan ruling United Socialist Party […]

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Collapse of Venezuela and Impact on the Region (Analysis)

The Collapse of Venezuela and Its Impact on the Region Dr. R. Evan Ellis / armyupress.army.mil Interediate / Advanced Spanish Vocabulary – get the book In May 2017, as the number killed during pro – tests against the regime of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela climbed toward 40, and with more than 130 injured and over […]

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Son of Venezuelan President threatens to seize White House

(CNN.com )Nicolás Maduro Guerra, the son of the Venezuelan President, is threatening to seize the White House with rifles if President Donald Trump sends the US military to his nation.  The White House has condemned President Nicolás Maduro’s regime for human rights abuses. More than 120 people have died in anti-government protests since April. Read […]

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Venezuela: At Least Nine Killed, clashes reported during vote for new legislative body

Venezuela constitutional vote marred by violence, death At least nine killed and clashes reported as people vote for new legislative body tasked to reform constitution. aljazeera.com At least nine people, including an election candidate, have been killed in the past 24 hours in Venezuela as the country votes for an all-powerful new legislative body tasked […]

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Venezuelans lining up at Ecuador Border seeking entrance

number of foreigners seeking to enter Ecuador, from Colombia, increased in Rumichaca El Comercio / The Migration Office of Ecuador, located on the International Bridge of Rumichaca, on the border with Colombia, increased from 6 to 13 windows of attention to the public. This seeks to expedite the procedures of the growing number of foreign […]

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Venezuela Exodus: Thousands Fleeing Country in Desperation

panampost.com / The Colombian Director of Migration confirms the movement of 26 thousand Venezuelans across the border during the last few hours. While some have speculated that many of them are only crossing into Colombia to stock up on food, others believe most of them crossed into Colombia before arriving to other countries like Ecuador […]

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Venezuela: Things to come to a head on Sunday

INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED SPANISH VOCABULARY – READ THIS BOOK france24.com/(AFP) – Venezuela is hurtling toward a high-stakes political confrontation this week pitting an increasingly isolated President Nicolas Maduro against an opposition scenting blood. On Wednesday and Thursday, the opposition is staging its second nationwide strike in a week, then another mass protest on Friday, upping the […]

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AVIANCA Suspends Flights to and from Venezuela

INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED SPANISH VOCABULARY – READ THIS BOOK eldiario.ec/EFE”Avianca will no longer operate the Bogota-Caracas-Bogotá (two daily flights) and Lima-Caracas-Lima (one daily flights) flights starting Wednesday, August 16, 2017, when the last flights between These cities, “the company said in a statement. The company added that this decision was taken after a meeting held in […]

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Venezuela accuses Sen Rubio, CIA in plotting overthrow of government

zerohedge.com/ CIA And Sen Marco Rubio Accused Of Plotting Regime Change In Venezuela Venezuela’s leftist dictator Nicolas Maduro plans to proceed with a vote to create a new constituent assembly to replace the country’s opposition-controlled Congress with a friendly constituent assembly, potentially enabling the embattled despot to redraft the country’s constitution and officially marginalize his […]

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U.S. Military along with other countries conducting exercises off coast of Venezuela

radiolaprimerisima.com / The United States Southern Command began a military exercise with the participation of 18 associated nations and about 2,500 soldiers on the island of Barbados, 1,078 kilometers from Venezuela. The military organization reported that the so-called Tradewinds 2017 is a “multinational exercise of security and response to maritime disasters in the Caribbean” with […]

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Venezuela: Protesters Using Excrement Bombs Against Security Forces “Shit March”

By Girish Gupta and Christian Veron CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s opposition protests on Wednesday may be the messiest in a six-week wave of unrest as demonstrators prepare to throw feces at security forces, adding to the customary rocks, petrol bombs and tear gas. The new tactic has been dubbed the “Poopootov” in a play on […]

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Venezuela: Warao Indigenous people fleeing crisis, arrive in Brazil

INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED SPANISH VOCABULARY – READ THIS BOOK Around 400 indigenous Warao people from the Orinoco Delta in Venezuela have arrived in the Brazilian city of Manaus in the Amazon. BBC.COM / The authorities have declared a social emergency to seek government funds to help with the influx. The Warao say they travelled around 2,000 […]

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Caracas Venezuela: Violent clashes, protests, tensions growing

(CNN)Thousands of protesters clashed Saturday for a fifth consecutive day with security forces in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital. Officers in riot gear blocked a highway as marchers tried to advance, chanting “Liberty, Liberty!” Protesters tossed rocks and returned tear gas canisters used against them. The Venezuelan National Guard also used water tanks against the demonstrators […]

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Grisly Find in Venezuela Prison: Headless Bodies, at least fifteen corpses

theguardian.com / Reuters / Fifteen corpses, three of them headless, have been found in a mass grave at a Venezuelan prison and more may be discovered, investigators said on Saturday. The grisly find at the General Penitentiary in central Guarico state has thrown a spotlight on the South American nation’s crowded, violent and gang-dominated prisons […]

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Venezuela: 51 percent of operating rooms in public hospitals not operational

redaccionmedica.ec José Manuel Olivares , president of the Health Subcommittee of the Venezuelan National Assembly, presented the results of the ‘ 2017 National Hospitals Survey’ , which indicates that 51 percent of operating theaters in public hospitals in that country are not Are operational and 78 percent of these centers suffer from a shortage of […]

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Venezuela: Despite political, economic crisis, love is in the air, romantic hotels

eluniversal.com reported / We are in the month of love, the most fun month for people who dream of tender feelings and feel illusion. It is true that life is more beautiful loving, and living for someone you consider special. How divine it is to be in love, to share an illusion that is becoming […]

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Colombia: As FARC demobilizes, many feel unprotected as other criminal groups move in

bbc.com reported officials said people are fleeing because illegal armed groups are trying to take over the mining and cocaine trade which had provided the Farc with an income. Norte de Santander has emerged as the country’s main hub for coca cultivation. Last week peasant farmer organisations in the region around Catatumbo blocked the demobilisation […]

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China’s Growing Presence in Venezuela

Marc Frank/reuters.com From buses and trucks to a $500 million golf resort, China is deepening its business footprint in Cuba, helping the fellow Communist-run state survive a crisis in oil-benefactor Venezuela and insulate against a possible rollback of U.S. detente. Cuban imports from China reached a record $1.9 billion in 2015, nearly 60 percent above […]

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Venezuela having difficulty issuing passports

Antonio Maria Delgado After suffering months of merciless shortages of food and medicine, Venezuelans now face a new problem as a result of the economy’s collapse: They can’t even get the passports they need to leave the country. INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED SPANISH VOCABULARY – READ THIS BOOK Venezuela’s bankrupt government does not have the money to […]

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Venezuela: Crisis deepening

By Sofia Barbarani January 23 at 6:03 PM washingtonpost.com CARACAS, Venezuela — Political parties called for a nationwide protest Monday against Venezuela’s socialist-oriented government but attracted only several thousand people, in a sign of the difficulties the opposition is facing in building a strong protest movement even as the nation descends into crisis. In September, […]

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More than 150,000 Venezuelans left so far in 2016, many fleeing in boats0

nytimes.com/ NICHOLAS CASEY wrote: Well over 150,000 Venezuelans have fled the country in the last year alone, the highest in more than a decade, according to scholars studying the exodus. “We have seen a great acceleration,” said Tomás Páez, a professor who studies immigration at the Central University of Venezuela. He says that as many […]

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American languishes in jail, accused of trying to destabilize Venezuela according to minister

8/23/2016 washingtonpost.com / Max Bearak reported in many ways, politics in Venezuela increasingly resembles politics in North Korea. An authoritarian and corrupt government consolidates power as food supplies dwindle and political opponents are thrown in jail. Problems at home are blamed on a favorite external scapegoat: the United States. To be an American and travel […]

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Venezuela elections postponed, denounced by opposition

ADVANCED SPANISH VOCABULARY – READ THE BOOK bbc.com reported Venezuela’s elections for state governorships have been postponed until next year, a move denounced by the opposition as unconstitutional. The polls had been expected in December, but the election board said they would now be held around mid-2017. Opinion polls have suggested the government of President […]

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Venezuela: Soccer Team’s Bus Assaulted, players left with no shirts or shoes

BBC.COM reported that a Venezuelan football team was held up by armed men in the north-eastern state of Anzoategui on Monday. First division Trujillanos were driving back after losing Sunday’s away game against Monagas when their team bus was stopped and boarded by six men. The men stripped the players and staff of their possessions, […]

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Venezuela Crisis Rural Hospitals: Carboard Boxes Used for Newborn babies, no cribs

Hannah Dreier ‏@hannahdreier 4h4 hours ago Cutest dimension of Venezuela crisis: Newborn babies placed in cardboard boxes amid shortages at rural hospitals ADVANCED SPANISH VOCABULARY – READ THIS BOOK

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Venezuela unraveling at breakneck speed, one dozen eggs $150

OSINT GLOSSARY – GET THE BOOK FOR IMPROVED INTERNET SEARCH RESULTS zerohedge.com reported — The question of whether Socialism can be an effective economic system was famously raised when Margaret Thatcher said of the British Labor Party, “I think they’ve made the biggest financial mess that any government’s ever made in this country for a […]

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Venezuela: Journalist, lawyer charged for money laundering after protest

Reuters.com/ Girish Gupta reported A prominent journalist and lawyer on the Venezuelan island of Margarita was charged Monday with money laundering and will remain behind bars, according to family and a rights group, following his detention after publicizing a protest against President Nicolas Maduro. Videos published by activists, purportedly from the locality of Villa Rosa, […]

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Venezuela Hunger Crisis: Horse at Zoo Butchered for the meat

Venezuelans suffering from hunger and shortages in their struggling country broke into Caracas zoo and pulled a black stallion from its pen, butchering it for the meat. The crime occurred late last month, in the small hours of the morning at Caracas’ Caricuao Zoo. A gang of people sneaked into the state-run park under the […]

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Venezuela: Shortage of Materials, two men fill the void with cardboard coffins

nationnews.com reported VALENCIA, Venezuela – When Venezuelan entrepreneurs Alejandro Blanchard and Elio Angulo decided to create cardboard coffins, they were looking for an ecological selling point to compete against classic wood and brass caskets. Three years on, with the oil-rich country mired in deep economic crisis, their “bio-coffins” are becoming a viable option because of […]

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Venezuela Army Detains Journalists

Venezuelan army detains journalists outside palace dw.com reported Venezuela’s national press union has condemned the detention of two journalists who were detained while reporting outside the presidential palace. The pair were working for foreign media outlets. Venezuela’s national press union has condemned the detention of two journalists who were detained while reporting outside the presidential […]

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Venezuela: Govt. will fire civil servants for signing recall petition for Maduro

Maduro to fire public workers who backed his recall The Venezuelan government will fire senior civil servants for signing a petition linked to ousting President Nicolas Maduro, according to Maduro’s top aide. Hundreds of people claim they already lost their jobs. The president sent out lists of employees to be fired from posts on the […]

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President Maduro threatens what will happen if there is coup attempt in Venezuelaey child’s play compared to similare event in Venezuela

Theguardian.com reported Venezuelan president warns rivals: ‘Did you see what happened in Turkey?’ Nicolás Maduro has said Erdoğan’s crackdown after the failed Turkish coup is child’s play compared to how he would handle a similar attempt Nicolás Maduro has said the purge Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has meted out on rivals after a failed […]

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Cuba: Nicholas Maduro President of Venezuela in Cuba with wife for Castro’s birthday

radioangulo.cu reported the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arrived in Cuba Friday night to participate in the activities to mark the 90th birthday of Cuban Revolution leader Fidel Castro. President Maduro is expected to attend a couple of cultural galas to pay homage to Fidel, along member of his delegation. This new visit by Maduro is […]

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39,000 Venezuelans in Ecuador in attempt to escape crisis in Venezuela

ecuavisa.com reported the Interior Ministry indicates that about 17 thousand Venezuelans were left to reside in Ecuador over the past three years. Outsiders looking for better days away from the political and economic crisis facing the ‘Ranger’ country. The company indicates that entered Ecuador in 2014 and left 19,800 Venezuelans 116.88. In 2015 they reached […]

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Venezuela: At a Cross Roads

Forbes.com/Kenneth Rapoza reported New York’s biggest Venezuela ‘death watch’ specialist, Siobhan Morden of Nomura Securities, says that the crisis-wracked country is at a cross roads. Here’s where it can go, in the simplest of terms: towards a Cuban style autocracy led by Socialist Party leader and current president Nicolas Maduro, or a military coup of […]

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Suicide Ever Increasing sign of crisis, disaster in Venezuela

PANAMPOST.com / Orlando Avendaño wrote gaining access to suicide rates in Venezuela is difficult. If you go to a morgue such as that of Bello Monte in Caracas, neither family members nor officials will admit there are any cases in which people ended their lives to escape their circumstances. The last time official numbers detailed […]

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Thousands of pensioners living abroad from Venezuela not receiving pensions

Reuters.com reported thousands of elderly people in Latin America, Spain, and elsewhere who are dependent on a Venezuelan state pension have been forced to find other ways to survive after payments stopped last year, some of those affected told Reuters. An estimated 1,000 retirees in Chile are no longer receiving pension income from Venezuela. Many […]

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Venezuela intentionally crushed the middle and working class

mises.org/Ryan McMaken Unlike other leftist South American regimes, the Venezuela regime has intentionally crushed even the middle and working classes. The economic disaster in Venezuela has prompted many to take a look at the country and attempt to understand what it is that has made things so bad in Venezuela. It’s not enough to say […]

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Venezuela: Military launches military exercises ordered by Maduro

President preparing for any scenario eldia.es reported Venezuela today launched a series of military exercises ordered by President Nicolas Maduro to prepare for an alleged coup or intervention of “foreign armies,” said the president. Maduro has stated on several occasions to be the victim of an “unconventional warfare” running, in his view, “the national and […]

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Crisis worsens in Venezuela, Maduro blames fascist right and U.S.

globalpost.com/Agence France-Presse reported… Under the state of emergency imposed by President Nicolas Maduro, the military, along with government-organized civilian committees, ensures that food packets are delivered door-to-door in order to — as officials say — cut out black market operators. The president however says he is fighting an “economic war” being waged by Venezuela’s “fascist” […]

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U.S. Officials predict that President Maduro not likely to complete his term

reuters.com/Matt Spetalnick roported the United States is increasingly concerned about the potential for an economic and political meltdown in Venezuela, spurred by fears of a debt default, growing street protests and deterioration of its oil sector, U.S. intelligence officials said on Friday. In a bleak assessment of Venezuela’s worsening crisis, the senior officials expressed doubt […]

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Venezuela: Plundering is increasing problem

reuters.com reported Mobs in Venezuela have stolen flour, chicken and even underwear this week as looting increases across the crisis-hit OPEC nation where many basic products have run short. Many people now get up in the dead of night to spend hours in long lines in front of supermarkets. But as more end up empty-handed […]

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REASONS WHY VENEZUELA ON VERGE OF COLLAPSE

panampost.com reported — Following the publication of Sabrina Martin’s article in the PanAm Post, “Looting on the Rise as Venezuela Runs Out of Food, Electricity,” several readers have asked how Venezuela, a country regarded as a future Australia in the 1960’s and 70’s, entered its current economic crisis. There are hundreds of reasons for this. […]

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Venezuela at risk of famine according to chamber group

miamidiario.com reported at the end of the first quarter of this year most companies affiliated with the Venezuelan Chamber of Industry Food ensures that accounts with an average of only 15 days of inventory of raw materials and inputs, national and international matters, affecting severely continuity of production. The union said in a statement that […]

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Unchecked Power Police and Military Raids in Low-Income and Immigrant Communities in Venezuela

HRW.ORG special report on Venezuela Summary Since July 2015, Venezuelan security forces have conducted more than 135 operations, including sweeps through low-income communities, as part of a program known as the “Operation to Liberate and Protect the People” (Operación de Liberación y Protección del Pueblo, OLP). Participating security forces have included the Bolivarian National Guard, […]

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Venezuela: Severe shortage of Cancer Treating Drugs

diariopinion.com / The Coalition of Organizations for the Right to Health and Life and doctors at University Hospital of Caracas demanding that the regime of Nicolas Maduro ensure the supply of drugs. There are 200,000 affected Patients with breast cancer urged the president of the Venezuelan Institute of Social Security (IVSS) to serve more than […]

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Venezuelan expats in Ecuador approximate 32,000, 16,000 have legal status

elcomercio.com reported the tricolor flag and burgundy as characteristic colors of the Venezuelan contrasted at the first ordinary meeting of the Venezuelan Civil Association in Ecuador, the morning of Sunday, February 21, 2016, concentrated in a hall of the House of Ecuadorian Culture, north of the capital. The group won in November 2015 legal status […]

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Venezuela: Water Scarcity Contributing to Risk of Zika Virus

medicalexpress.com reported the scarcity of water is just one of a long list of headaches for the struggling South American oil giant, but it comes with a particularly nasty risk. As Venezuelans stockpile water in their homes, health officials warn, they risk fueling an expansion of the mosquito population, and with it the transmission of […]

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Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela selling crude below cost of production

reuters.com reported a more acute crude price slump this month has put several South American countries in the difficult position of selling oil for less than what it costs to produce, according to traders and sources at three companies in Colombia and Venezuela. So far, the most affected crudes are blends formulated with naphtha and […]

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Venezuela Declares Economic, Financial Emergency for at least 60 days

Expreso.ec reported the president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, the economic emergency decreed yesterday in Venezuela, giving it full powers to legislate in this area for 60 days. The move comes amid the worst crisis of the past 35 years. With a barrel of oil declining, with a paralyzed private productive apparatus because of the lack […]

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Venezuela: President places limits on power of national Assembly over Central Bank

bbc.com reported Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has limited the National Assembly’s powers over the Central Bank. President Maduro approved the changes on Wednesday, but it only became public on Monday. The president will now no longer need legislative approval to hire and fire Central Bank directors. The change was announced shortly before a new assembly, […]

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Allegation of visas, passports being sold through Venezuelan Embassy in Iraq

Venezuela Sold Immigration Documents to Hezbollah Terrorists. Frances Martel reports, faustasblog.com A Venezuelan diplomat in hiding is accusing the socialist government of President Nicolás Maduro of selling visas, passports, and even falsified birth certificates out of its embassy in Baghdad to an estimated thousands of Middle Eastern citizens, including at least one confirmed Hezbollah terrorist. […]

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Venezuela: Members of Socialist Party Dispute Election results

bbc.com reported Members of Venezuela’s Socialist party are disputing the election of eight opposition candidates in legislative elections held on 6 December. The opposition won a two-thirds majority which enables it to challenge socialist President Nicolas Maduro. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court said some losing candidates had filed challenges but it did not specify the […]

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Bartering big business in depressed Venezuela

mcclatchydc.com reported Venezuela’s grinding economic crisis has generated a plethora of problems including triple-digit inflation, shortages of basic goods and massive lines at markets. But it’s also inspiring boot-strap solutions, including a growing number of bartering websites for desperate shoppers. More than 14,000 people are following the Twitter handle @spvzla where medicine is traded and […]

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Caracas Venezuela: Group throws grenade at Military Police, killing Sergeant, injuring six

eldiario.ec reported a sergeant was killed and six others were injured by alleged criminals on Sunday night released a Granada against a group of the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB, militarized police) in central Caracas, he reported the prosecution. “According to preliminary information, at about 22.30 local time (03.00 GMT Monday) several people descended from a […]

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Venezuela: Opposition vows to revive OPEC nation

reuters.com reported Venezuela’s opposition vowed on Monday to revive the OPEC nation’s troubled economy and free jailed political activists after winning control of the legislature for the first time in 16 years of Socialist rule. By afternoon, some results from Sunday’s election were not yet in, but the Democratic Unity coalition had already won a […]

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Venezuela forced CITGO into insolvency to avoid liability, says claim

After nationalizing one of the world’s largest untapped gold reserves, Venezuela forced Citgo into insolvency to avoid multibillion-dollar liability, a Canadian mining company claims in court. Located in the southeast Venezuela, near a town appropriately christened El Dorado, Las Cristinas is Venezuela’s largest unmined gold reserve. In a federal complaint filed Monday, Toronto-based Crystallex International […]

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Colombia claims Venezuelan military jets encroached their airspace without warning, permission

bbc.com reported Colombia has said that two Venezuelan military jets entered its airspace without warning or authorisation. The planes encroached into Colombian airspace twice on Saturday morning, according to the defence ministry. They reportedly flew over a border military base in the Alta Guajira region before returning to Venezuela. Colombian officials have demanded an explanation […]

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Venezuela: Expat attorney from the U.S. murdered in Caracas

nypost.com reported aA prominent American expatriate lawyer was slain and his companion was wounded in an attack at their home in the Venezuelan capital, authorities and family members said Monday. John Ralston Pate, 70, was found dead Sunday in a well-to-do neighborhood of eastern Caracas, the South American country’s public prosecutor said. He had lived […]

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Venezuela: Narcostate

aei.org/ Venezuela is a narcostate, controlled by senior political leaders and security officials who have used state resources and state-owned companies in the cocaine trade. For example, US authorities have gathered documents and eyewitness testimonies implicating officers of the state-run oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), in engaging in transactions and money laundering on […]

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Venezuela: health sector is in abysmal state, shortages of cancer drugs

voanews.com reported that reports of shortages of cancer medicines in Venezuela are worrisome, a doctor representing the World Health Organization’s Americas arm in the scarcity-hit country said in a rare interview this week. Currency controls that crimp imports and a decline in local production have led to shortages of contraceptives, surgical equipment and medicine in […]

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Venezuela: Law of the Jungle takes over in search of groceries, desperation showing

panampost.com reported it’s the law of the jungle in Venezuela, as shopping for groceries becomes an increasingly dangerous activity. As the shortage crisis worsens, more and more angry mobs are raiding the nation’s supermarkets, looting whatever basic goods they can find. During the first half of 2015, the Venezuelan Observatory for Social Conflict (OVCS) registered […]

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Venezuela out of beer, lack of barley for production

Maduro takes over brewers complex as Venezuela runs out of beer because of lack of barley en.mercopress.com reported, Venezuela’s largest food distributor on Thursday denounced the government occupation of a Caracas warehouse amid accusations that the company is hoarding goods. Soldiers took over the warehouse complex used by Empresas Polar late Wednesday just as Venezuela’s […]

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Venezuela: Price of Tampons cost third of women’s salary at minimum wage

blog.panampost.com reported…Last month, both Venezuelan men and women were shocked to find out the new prices of tampons, sanitary pads, and other personal hygiene products set by the national government. Overnight, sanitary pads went from costing Bs. 70 (US$0.15 at the black-market rate) to Bs. 1,290 ($3, a 1,800 percent increase). To foreigners it may […]

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Man wanted for murder in Texas, detained in Venezuela, extradited back to U.S.

officer.com reported a Houston man on the run for more than seven years has been taken into custody for the alleged murder of his pregnant girlfriend whose body was found in a shallow grave in Walker County in 2008. Neriah Louis Roberts was booked into the Walker County Jail on a charge of first-degree murder […]

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Venezuela: The Court of Thugs, magical religious belief

qz.com reported The Court of Thugs, or Corte Calé, belongs to the cult of goddess María Lionza, one of the popular expressions of the most widespread magical-religious beliefs in Venezuela. These practices are based on the veneration of miraculous spirits and are divided into groups classified under certain hierarchies known as The Court of Thugs […]

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Maduro from Venezuela calls for meetings with CELAC members to discuss coup plots in Ecuador

telesurtv.net reported President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela called upon the other member countries to show solidarity with Ecuador’s elected government. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called for an urgent meeting of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) to discuss tensions and possible coup plots against the government of Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa. “It’s […]

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Ecuador: Venezuelan tourists stranded, find access to credit cards blocked

elcomercio.com reported…They have no money for food and accommodation. They arrived in Ecuador last week and met with the news that their credit cards were blocked. Between Monday 11 and Tuesday May 12, 2015, dozens of Venezuelans went to the Embassy in Quito, at Av. Amazon, for help. Until 13:00 today there were about 50 […]

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Venezuela: How to Stand in Line

bbc.com reported a combination of woeful economic management – or mismanagement – and the steep fall in oil prices has left the government with a serious cash flow problem. And it’s left the people of Venezuela standing in queues across the country every single day, often for hours at a time. People are given time […]

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Venezuela receives $5 billion financing package from China

bbc.com reported Venezuela has received $5bn (£3.4bn) in financing from China, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says. The money was for “development”, he said on Sunday, but gave no details. The announcement comes three months after Mr Maduro travelled to China – a major investor in the region. Read Article

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Ecuador: President calls Obama’s actions contradictory

telesurtv.net reported, continuing tough legislation against Venezuela while normalizing relations with Cuba makes no sense, Rafael Correa said. The contradictory actions by U.S. President Barack Obama in Latin America are incoherent, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa told teleSUR, in an exclusive interview. In the wake of the Summit of the Americas that took place Friday and […]

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Venezuelans migrating to Ecuador, Ecuadorians also leaving Venezuela

elcomercio.com reported Roberto Fernández expected in a few months leave behind his life in Venezuela. Just get a ticket will fly with his two sons and his wife to Quito, where he expects a job in the computer area. Two of his friends went before and told him of what Venezuelans who emigrate looking elsewhere. […]

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Caracas Venezuela Mayor detained by Venezuelan Intelligence unit

lanacion.com.ar reported security cameras recorded the moment of arrest of Antonio Ledezma; Leopoldo López’s wife, Lilian Tintori, warned on Twitter that the opposition leader can be sequestered to be moved to another prison. CARACAS, Venezuela Latest hours have elapsed tip of nervousness. The opposition politician and mayor of the Metropolitan District of Caracas, Antonio Ledezma, […]

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Venezuela launches new currency exchange system

infobae.com reported a new exchange system took effect today in Venezuela. This is the System Marginal Currencies (Simadi), announced last week by the government of Nicolas Maduro . According to the text published in the Official Gazette, the retail market includes “forex trading in foreign notes, travelers checks or currency transfer through natural persons as […]

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Venezuela: Nightmare for Routine Charter Flight Pilot and Crew

spiegel.de reported —- it started as a routine charter flight. But when the business jet landed in Venezuela, armed men loaded 47 sacks of cocaine on board and forced the crew to fly the cargo back across the Atlantic. Since then, the German pilot has been living under an assumed identity. There aren’t too many […]

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First Toilet Paper, then Newsprint, and now McDonald’s runs out of french fries

yahoo.com/AP reported…Forget the French fries. How about a side of yuca with that Big Mac? Venezuela’s more than 100 McDonald’s franchises have run out of potatoes and are now serving alternatives like deep-fried arepa flatbreads or yuca, a starchy staple of traditional South America diet. ….. “It’s because of the situation here; it’s a total […]

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Venezuela: opposition leader charged in conspiracy to assassinate President Maduro

france24.com reported Venezuelan prosecutors charged a prominent opposition leader with conspiracy Wednesday in relation to an alleged plot to assassinate leftist President Nicolas Maduro. Maria Corina Machado, a vocal supporter of anti-government protests that rocked the country earlier this year, vehemently rejected the charge as she left the attorney general’s office after questioning. “Today they […]

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Venezuela: Spanish clothing company restricts purchases due to demand

thelocal.es reported Spanish clothing giant Inditex, which owns Zara, has restricted customer purchases to five items per month in its stores in Venezuela as it struggles with a massive upswing in demand. An “avalanche” of clients has descended on the shops in recent weeks according to Spanish daily 20 Minutos, causing crowd problems. Months of […]

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Venezuela: Cuban Doctors fleeing to U.S. under little known visa parole program

Venezuela’s brewing economic troubles and high crime rates have been prompting Venezuelans — particularly young professionals — to emigrate by the thousands in recent months. But Cuban doctors stationed there are also getting in on the exodus: The number of Cuban medical professionals defecting from their posts in Venezuela has ballooned over the past year, […]

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70 dollar price point for barrel squeezing lifeblood out of Venezuela

washintonpost.com reported Venezuelan oil, the lifeblood of the leftist revolution entrusted to Maduro by the late Hugo Chávez, was worth $97 a barrel then. Now it’s middling around $70, and with every dollar it dips, Venezuela’s export-dependent, popularity-challenged government loses $700 million a year. Read Article

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Caracas Venezuela: Shortages in stores and markets contributes to booming street sales

Washingtonpost.com reported authorities mostly turned a blind eye to the informal commerce, but late last month Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro went on TV to decree a ban on street sales of coffee, eggs, shampoo and some 50 other “regulated” items whose prices­ are capped by the government. He ordered the National Guard to police market […]

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Ecuador, Venezuela plan to propose to OPEC to cut production

WSJ: By Mercedes Alvaro QUITO—Ecuador and Venezuela plan to present a joint proposal at the next meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries that will “imply” cutting some production, President Rafael Correa said. Read Article – Registration Required

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Venezuela: Maduro pledges to purge police force

Venezuela’s president promises to revamp country’s police force Nicolás Maduro announces measure after two police were incriminated in murder of pro-government politician. Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro has promised to launch a thorough purge of the country’s police force after two of its members were incriminated in the gruesome murder of a pro-government politician earlier this […]

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Twitter Users Detained in Venezuela in regards to murder of socialist deputy

globalvoicesonline.org reported over the last three weeks, several Twitter users have been detained by Venezuelan authorities for making online comments that police allege tie them to the murder of 27-year-old Socialist Party deputy Robert Serra, who was stabbed to death in his home on Oct. 1, 2014. Serra’s assassination shook the country’s increasingly embattled political […]

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SIP conference in Chile discusses setbacks in Latin America for freedom of expression

voanoticias.com reported the Sociedad Interamericana de Prensa (SIP) expresses concern at the setbacks suffered by Latin America in the field of freedom of expression. Gathered in Chile, experts such as Edison launches considered that “the situation of freedom of expression that is lived every day in the region leaves us breathless”. Lance, who serves as […]

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Underworld of Gambling in Venezuela, popular race horse poisoned

theguardian.com reported Venezuelan champion racehorse poisoned by gambling syndicate Currency black market and illegal betting that circumvents state controls have led to increased criminality in the sport, say officials. It sounds like a paperback thriller: Venezuelan authorities claim a gambling ring has poisoned one of the country’s most popular race horses ahead of a key […]

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Venezuela: International Tribunal finds in favor of Exxon in expropriated assets

bbc.com reported Venezuela must pay oil giant Exxon Mobil $1.6bn (£1bn) in compensation for expropriated assets, an international arbitration tribunal has decided. Exxon had claimed up to $16.6bn over the nationalisation of its Cerro Negro Project and other losses in 2007. Venezuela has not said whether it will appeal. But the foreign minister said the […]

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Venezuela: Lawmaker Murdered in his residence

bbc.com reported a lawmaker from Venezuela’s governing party has been killed in the capital, Caracas. Robert Serra, 27, and his partner Maria Herrera were found shot dead at their home on Wednesday night. Mr Serra was a member of the National Assembly for the Socialist Party (PSUV) and well known for delivering passionate speeches. Read […]

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Venezuela Seizes Factory Owned by U.S. based Clorox

bbc.com reported that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has defended the seizure of a factory owned by US-based company Clorox. “Socialist formula: any company that’s abandoned will be taken over by the working class,” Mr Maduro said. Cleaning products maker Clorox closed its production facilities in Venezuela last week, saying government-imposed price freezes were crippling it.The […]

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VENEZUELA ALERT: Toilet paper shortage, newsprint shortage, now breast implants shortage

Theguardian.com reported Breast implants shortage hits plastic surgery clinics in Venezuela Brand-name implants almost impossible to obtain, say surgeons as currency controls affect imports In Venezuela, cosmetic procedures are often regarded as a normal, even necessary rite of passage for young women. But the currency crisis, which has already caused chronic shortages of staple foods, […]

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B of A economist gets a peek at Venezuela’s gold reserves

bloomberg.com reported Francisco Rodriguez, an economist with Bank of America Corp., was at a routine meeting with Venezuelan central bank officials last week when he sprung an unusual question on them: Can you show me your gold? He’d been itching to take a peek for years and now was the time to ask. With the […]

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