JUAN GUAIDO

Senior U.S. officials secretly traveled to Venezuela over the weekend in a risky bid to unfreeze hostile relations with Vladimir Putin’s top ally in Latin America, a top oil exporter whose re-entry into U.S. energy markets could mitigate the fallout at the pump from a possible oil embargo on Russia.

Venezuela Opposition Leader Opposition leader Juan Guaido speaks during an interview with the Associated Press in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022. Guaidó rose to international prominence in 2019 when he declared Maduro's presidency illegitimate and himself acting president, establishing a parallel government. He was recognized as leader by dozens of countries, including the United States, and led large protests in Caracas. “For us, doing politics today in Venezuela is like doing politics in any country 100 years ago,” Guaidó said. But Guaidó argued that that only applies for a small elite sector, with more than 90 percent of Venezuelans living in poverty.

The Venezuelan opposition was re-energized recently by an unexpected gubernatorial victory in the home state of the late President Hugo Chavez.

Twice in less than two months, Venezuela’s opposition has prevailed in the gubernatorial race in the home state of the late President Hugo Chávez, with the results giving hope to that faction while shocking the ruling party.

(AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos) (Ariana Cubillos)LONDON — (AP) — The U.K. Supreme Court ruled Monday that Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó should be recognized as the nation’s interim president in a case that will ultimately determine who controls almost $2 billion of gold held by the Bank of England. A five-judge panel unanimously agreed that British courts must honor the U.K. government's 2019 decision to recognize Guaidó as interim president. The question is central to the case because Guaidó and President Nicolás Maduro have named separate boards to oversee Venezuela’s central bank and both have laid claim to the gold. The Supreme Court sent it back to a lower court to decide whether the Guaidó board has any legal standing after Venezuela’s Supreme Tribunal of Justice declared Guaidó's appointments unconstitutional. Guaidó‘s recognition flies in the face of the reality on the ground,’’ said Sarosh Zaiwalla, a senior partner at Zaiwalla & Co., representing the Maduro board.

The U.K. Supreme Court has ruled that Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó should be recognized as the nation’s interim president in a case that will determine who controls almost $2 billion of gold held by the Bank of England.

The decision to send observers to upcoming local and regional votes undermines the opposition to the regime of Nicolas Maduro.

Venezuela Guaido Venezuela opposition leader Juan Guaido flashes a victory sign as he arrives to a citizens' assembly to ask for the release of the opposition figure Freddy Guevara, a month of his arrest in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday Aug. 12, 2021. The opposition would go on to lose its National Assembly leadership in an election. Two years and a few days after the discussions in the Caribbean ended, both sides will meet Friday, this time in Mexico, under very different circumstances, the only constant being that Maduro remains in power. The country’s crises have worsened, the opposition has weakened and fractured, the U.S.’s policy toward Venezuela remains unclear, and millions of people in the troubled country are more focused on surviving the pandemic than on politics. Former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, who in the last year has confronted Guaidó, said the opposition should not limit discussions to political and electoral matters.

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido says that the county’s security forces threatend to arrest him at his home and took a close ally into custody. Mr Guaido said that security forces had entered his apartment building in Caracas in an attempt to take him into custody, but left without carrying that out. “The harassment and the threats will not stop us,” said Mr Guaido, according to Reuters.

(AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)CARACAS – President Nicolás Maduro has cemented formal control over all major institutions of power in Venezuela with authorities reporting Monday that his political alliance easily won a majority in congress. Yet he remains a pariah to much of the world following an election critics called deeply undemocratic. “The results of the election show a discouraged, tired people, the vast majority doing everything possible to survive,” Shifter said. The U.S., Panama, Canada and Germany have repeated their condemnation of the the election by Maduro's government following announcement of the results. "The international community now has to decide whether it wants to live with that or restore the democratic path for Venezuela.

Other leaders who supported Trump, including President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, congratulated Biden, indicating they rejected Trump’s claim the election wasn’t over. Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia told reporters he looked forward to a “great partnership” with Washington. Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan said he looked forward to working together to end illegal tax havens and on peacemaking in Afghanistan. Others expressed hope Biden will help to heal divisions in American society and global politics. Prime Minister Janez Jansa was the only leader who congratulated Trump even before all votes were counted and showed support after Biden’s win was announced.

FILE - In this March 12, 2020 file photo, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a press conference at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas, Venezuela. The political battle over control of Venezuela has turned to a $1 .8 billion stack of gold bars sitting in the Bank of England's vault in London, where a judge is expected to decide soon on who has the rightful claim to the bullion. Maduro says he needs the gold to help his cash-starved nation fight the coronavirus pandemic. But the central bank for the United Kingdom, whose government recognizes opposition leader Juan Guaido as his country's legitimate leader, has refused to hand it over to Maduro's socialist administration. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)

A U.S. military veteran who has claimed responsibility for a failed armed incursion into Venezuela to oust President Nicolas Maduro said on Monday that two U.S. citizens working with him have been detained by Venezuelan authorities. Venezuelan authorities said 10 people involved in a "mercenary incursion" were detained on Monday along the Caribbean coast, saying the 10 were part of the U.S.-backed plot. Venezuelan state television said two U.S. citizens were among those detained but did not provide their identities. But the American military veteran, Jordan Goudreau, who leads a Florida-based security company called Silvercorp USA, on Monday told Reuters that two Americans working with him, Aaron Berry and Luke Denman, had been captured. Washington has imposed tough economic sanctions against Venezuela in an effort to oust Maduro, whom it accuses of having rigged elections in 2018.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House has informed former national security adviser John Bolton that his book manuscript appeared to contain significant amounts of classified information and could not be published in its current form. Under federal law and the nondisclosure agreements your client signed as a condition for gaining access to classified information, the manuscript may not be published or otherwise disclosed without the deletion of this classified information, the letter said. The letter, signed by Ellen Knight, the senior director for records, access and information security management, said Boltons manuscript was still being studied. The manuscript remains under review in order for us to do our best to assist your client by identifying the classified information within the manuscript, it said. We will do our best to work with you to ensure your clients ability to tell his story in a manner that protects U.S. national security.

FILE PHOTO: White House national security adviser John Bolton attends a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Fabiana Rosales, wife of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, at the White House in Washington, U.S., March 27, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File PhotoWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House has informed former national security adviser John Bolton that his book manuscript appeared to contain significant amounts of classified information and could not be published in its current form. The letter from the White House National Security Council to Boltons attorney, Charles Cooper, and seen by Reuters, said the manuscript contained some material that was considered TOP SECRET.Under federal law and the nondisclosure agreements your client signed as a condition for gaining access to classified information, the manuscript may not be published or otherwise disclosed without the deletion of this classified information, the letter said.

DAVOS, Switzerland Venezuela's Juan Guaido pleaded for international support at the World Economic Forum on Thursday, saying the deepening crisis in Caracas was "comparative to Syria." His arrival in Davos comes exactly one year after the National Assembly leader took to the streets to declare himself the South American country's rightful interim president. At the time, it marked the boldest challenge to President Nicolas Maduro's leadership in years. But Maduro with the broad support of the military has refused to cede power. In an emotional address to world leaders at the forum, Guaido said the oil-rich but cash-poor country is facing an "international criminal conglomerate, and we need your help."

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro Marco Bello | ReutersWASHINGTON In the latest move meant to back Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, the Trump administration on Tuesday sanctioned more than a dozen aircraft used to support the regime of President Nicolas Maduro. The Department of Treasury identified 15 aircraft operated by Venezuela's state-owned oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, that transport senior members of the Maduro regime. According to the Treasury release, Venezuelan Oil Minister Manuel Salvador Quevedo Fernandez flew to an OPEC meeting last year in the United Arab Emirates on a PDVSA aircraft. During his campaign for president, Chavez vilified the U.S. and other countries he felt were taking advantage of Venezuela. Maduro, who is not the charismatic leader Chavez was, consolidated his power in 2017 by stripping the country's opposition-led legislature of power.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Sen. Rick Scott met with Venezuelan community leaders on Friday to discuss the United States' efforts to address the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. During the meeting at First Baptist Orlando, Scott spoke about his visit to the border of Venezuela and said he witnessed people suffering from lack of food, clean water and access to medicine. Scott said the situation is the result of President Nicolas Maduro remaining in power. In January, President Donald Trump said his administration would officially recognize opposition leader Juan Guaido as the legitimate president of Venezuela. Scott said humanitarian efforts are a primary focus, but military options should also be left on the table.

Copyright 2019 CNNA nationwide blackout hit Venezuela on Monday, leaving many without power. The blackout is the largest and most widespread to hit the country since March. According to NetBlocks, a nonprofit organization dedicated to tracking outages, 94 percent of Venezuela's telecommunications infrastructure was affected by the power outage. Blackouts have become a daily occurrence across Venezuela as the economic crisis has worsened, but one of this magnitude is rare. On his Twitter account, opposition leader Juan Guaido blamed the Venezuelan government for the blackout and for power rationing.