Venezuela

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Venezuela to Free Scores Under New Amnesty Law

Opposition activists are among 379 prisoners who applied for release

(Newser) - At least 379 people held in Venezuela for political reasons are slated to be released from prison this weekend after submitting their applications under an amnesty bill that was signed into law this week, authorities said. The measure is expected to benefit opposition members, activists, human rights defenders, journalists, and...

Pentagon: US Boarded Tanker From Venezuela in Indian Ocean

Veronica III 'tried to defy President Trump's quarantine,' military says

(Newser) - US military forces boarded another sanctioned tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking the vessel from the Caribbean Sea in an effort to target illicit oil connected to Venezuela, the Pentagon said Sunday. Several tankers had fled the Venezuelan coast, including the ship that was boarded in the Indian Ocean...

AI Bot Claude Reportedly Helped Capture Maduro

Maker Anthropic doesn't sound happy about its deployment in military operation

(Newser) - The Pentagon's push to weave artificial intelligence into warfare received its first high-profile test in Venezuela, according to the Wall Street Journal . The newspaper reports that the military used Anthropic's AI chatbot Claude in the operation to capture then-President Nicolas Maduro last month. The details about the role...

Venezuelan Families Demanding Releases Start Hunger Strike

Legislature is debating amnesty for imprisoned activists

(Newser) - Relatives of Venezuelan prisoners went on hunger strike on Saturday to demand the freedom of their loved ones as politicians in the South American nation debate granting amnesty to dissidents imprisoned under President Nicolas Maduro's rule. In a message posted on Instagram, the Committee for the Freedom of Political...

Feds Open Perjury Probe After ICE Officer Shot Venezuelan

Meanwhile, felony assault charges have been dropped against that immigrant, another

(Newser) - Federal authorities have opened a criminal probe into whether two immigration officers lied under oath about a shooting in Minneapolis last month, as all charges were dropped against two Venezuelan men. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons said Friday that his agency opened a joint probe with the Justice...

US Military Boards Oil Tanker in Indian Ocean

'It ran, and we followed,' Pentagon says

(Newser) - US military forces boarded a sanctioned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking the ship from the Caribbean Sea, the Pentagon said Monday. The Pentagon's statement on social media did not say whether the ship was connected to Venezuela, which faces US sanctions on its oil and relies...

Trump's Venezuela Oil Bet Faces Big Hurdles

India deal may hinge on shaky Venezuelan output

(Newser) - President Trump thinks he's found a new lever against Vladimir Putin in Venezuelan oil, but the reality is more complicated, reports CNN 's David Goldman. In announcing his new trade deal with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, Trump said India had agreed to stop buying Russian...

To Draw Investors, Venezuela Overhauls Its Oil Industry

Rodríguez signs measure breaking socialist foundation

(Newser) - Acting President Delcy Rodríguez on Thursday signed a law that will open Venezuela's oil sector to privatization, reversing a tenet of the self-proclaimed socialist movement that has ruled the country for more than two decades. Lawmakers in the National Assembly approved the overhaul of the energy industry...

Trump: Commercial Flights to Venezuela Will Resume

State Department hasn't lifted its 'Do not travel' warning yet

(Newser) - President Trump said Thursday he has informed Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, that he will reopen the country's commercial airspace and that Americans will soon be able to visit. Trump said he instructed his Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and the US military to take steps to open...

In Senate Hearing, Rubio Defends Trump on Venezuela

He also discussed Iran, Taiwan, Greenland

(Newser) - Secretary of State Marco Rubio gave a full-throated defense Wednesday of President Trump's military operation to seize then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, while explaining to US lawmakers the administration's approach to Greenland, NATO, Iran, and China. As Republican and Democratic members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee offered...

Dozens Indicted in Nationwide ATM 'Jackpotting' Scheme

Prosecutors say crew tied to Tren de Aragua gang allegedly stole millions from hacked machines

(Newser) - Federal prosecutors say a sophisticated crew tied to a violent Venezuelan gang turned ATMs across the US into cash dispensers on command. On Monday, the US Attorney's Office for the District of Nebraska announced charges against 31 additional people, for a total of 87 defendants accused in a nationwide...

215-215 Tie Defeats Attempt to Limit US Force in Venezuela

Measure requiring congressional approval for military action ends in shouting, late-arriving voter

(Newser) - The House narrowly blocked an effort Thursday to restrict President Trump's authority to use military force in Venezuela, with the measure failing on a 215-215 tie. The Democratic-led war powers resolution would have required the president to withdraw US armed forces from Venezuela unless Congress explicitly authorized military action....

Report: Trump Wants Regime Change in Cuba

Washington pressures Havana insiders as Cuba's fragile economy nears collapse

(Newser) - Washington is quietly testing whether the playbook it used in Caracas can be run again 90 miles off Florida's coast. According to US officials and people briefed on internal discussions, the Trump administration is actively looking for senior figures inside Cuba's government who might be willing to help...

US Seizes 7th Oil Tanker Linked to Venezuela

US Southern Command says it was taken 'without incident'

(Newser) - US military forces boarded and took control of a seventh oil tanker connected with Venezuela on Tuesday as part of the Trump administration's broader efforts to take control of the South American country's oil, the AP reports. US Southern Command said in a social media post that US...

DEA Has Been Watching Delcy Rodriguez for Years

Records show suspicions include drug trafficking, gold smuggling, money laundering

(Newser) - When President Trump announced the audacious capture of Nicolas Maduro to face drug trafficking charges in the US, he portrayed the strongman's vice president and longtime aide as America's preferred partner to stabilize Venezuela amid a scourge of drugs, corruption, and economic mayhem. Left unspoken was the cloud...

US Catholic Leaders Question America's 'Moral Foundation'

Cardinals warn against growing reliance on military force abroad

(Newser) - America's top Catholic leaders are issuing a pointed warning about how the United States wields its power abroad. In a joint statement, Cardinals Blase Cupich of Chicago, Robert McElroy of Washington, DC, and Joseph Tobin of Newark say the "moral foundation" of US foreign policy is in doubt...

UN Chief Has Some Blunt Words for Trump's Moves

'There are those who believe the power of law should be replaced by the law of power'

(Newser) - The outgoing head of the United Nations is offering a blunt new criticism of American power under President Trump: "There are those who believe the power of law should be replaced by the law of power," Secretary-General António Guterres tells the BBC in an interview. Washington now...

Norwegians Blast 'Absurd' Nobel Medal Handover

'This is, above all, absurd. The peace prize cannot be given away'

(Newser) - Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado handed her Nobel Peace Prize medal to President Trump on Thursday, a move Norwegians called "absurd" and "pathetic." "This is completely unheard of," Janne Haaland Matlary, a professor at the University of Oslo, told public broadcaster NRK. She...

Machado Says She Presented Trump With Nobel Medal

Trump says it was a 'wonderful gesture of mutual respect'

(Newser) - President Trump sat down Thursday with the Venezuelan opposition leader he no longer seems to want in charge. María Corina Machado, the Nobel Peace Prize winner once seen as Venezuela's president-in-waiting, spent about 2.5 hours with Trump at the White House in a closed-door meeting that came...

Cubans Mourn After Remains Are Returned From Venezuela

Crowds wait in rain to pay their respects

(Newser) - Cuba on Thursday publicly received the remains of 32 citizens killed in the US military operation that toppled Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, turning Havana's main airport into a stage for grief and political messaging. State television carried live images of small flag-draped boxes arriving from Venezuela on Thursday,...

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