Record wildfires hit Venezuela during climate-driven Amazon drought
Sao Paulo/Maracay, Venezuela Reuters Venezuela is battling a record number of wildfires, according to data released on Monday, as a climate change-driven drought plagues the Amazon rainforest region. Satellites registered more than 30,200 fire points in Venezuela from January to March, the highest level for that period since records started in 1999, according to Brazil’s […]
Venezuela arrests allies of opposition leader Machado
Caracas, Venezuela Reuters Venezuela Attorney General Tarek Saab said on Wednesday that two people close to opposition candidate Maria Corina Machado had been arrested, prompting Machado to call the charges leveled at her team “completely false.” The arrests are set to complicate an already-confused scenario ahead of the July presidential contest. Machado won the opposition’s […]
Venezuela arrests close ally of opposition leader Machado
Caracas, Venezuela Reuters Venezuela’s Attorney General on Saturday announced the arrest of a regional campaign leader for opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, citing alleged conspiracy, among other crimes. Attorney General Tarek William Saab accused Emill Brandt Ulloa of taking part in violent demonstrations against the government in January, adding he will be prosecuted in an […]
ICC judges reject Venezuela’s appeal against human rights probe
The Hague, The Netherlands Reuters Appeals judges at the International Criminal Court on Friday rejected Venezuela’s appeal against a decision to resume an investigation into alleged human rights abuses by government officials. Last year, Caracas appealed a decision to resume the probe, arguing its prosecution should trigger the complementarity principle, where the court can only […]
Tobago’s tourism, fishing hit as oil slick spreads across Caribbean
Sacborough, Tobago Reuters Nine days after a slick was first spotted by Trinidad and Tobago’s Coast Guard, an oil leak from a capsized barge remains unplugged, according to first responders and authorities, prompting nations across the Caribbean to coordinate a response. The spill has spread miles from Tobago’s shore, the area first hit by the […]
Tobago oil spill spreading to Grenada, could also impact Venezuela
Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago Reuters An oil spill that has stained Tobago’s coastline in the Caribbean is entering into Grenada’s waters and could impact neighboring Venezuela, Tobago’s Chief Secretary Farley Augustine told Reuters on Thursday. Eight days after Trinidad and Tobago’s Coast Guard first spotted the oil from a capsized vessel whose owner […]
Record half-million migrants crossed Latin America’s dangerous Darien Gap in 2023
Panama CityReuters A record 520,000 migrants crossed the treacherous jungle between Colombia and Panama known as the Darien Gap in 2023, more than double the number reported the year before, according to government figures seen by Reuters on Tuesday. The migrants who made the journey that marks the start of the dangerous trek north from […]
US, Mexico agree to strengthen efforts to curb record migration
Mexico City, MexicoReuters Mexican and US officials have agreed to work together more closely to tackle record migration at their shared border, the countries’ governments said in a joint statement on Thursday, a day after high-level talks on stemming record numbers. Following a visit to Mexico by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the countries […]
Twenty-four Venezuelans released as part of US prisoner swap, opposition says
Caracas, VenezuelaReuters Twenty-four Venezuelans have been freed as part of this week’s prisoner exchange deal with the United States, Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Maria Corina Machado said on Thursday. The United States announced on Wednesday that President Joe Biden had granted clemency to Colombian businessman Alex Saab, an ally of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, in […]
Venezuela frees dozens, including Americans, in prisoner swap
Caracas, VenezuelaReuters Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government is freeing at least 20 opposition-linked prisoners and 10 Americans in exchange for the US release of a Maduro ally, two senior US officials said on Wednesday. The Maduro ally is Colombian businessman Alex Saab, who was granted clemency by US President Joe Biden and sent back to […]