DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

But all Wright's family wants is for the 38-year-old businessman to be returned home. That position was reaffirmed Friday by the U.S. State Department in response to questions about Wright’s arrest. Some former Trump administration officials say Wright’s arrest is just the latest example of Maduro acting in bad faith. “He loved the nomadic lifestyle,” said Stewart, who didn't know her son was in Venezuela until she learned of his arrest. Wright’s family is speaking out because they feel the U.S. government hasn’t done enough to free him.

Persons: Biden, Savoi Wright’s, Nicolás, hasn’t, “, ”, Erin Stewart, Wright, Joe Biden, Maduro, Maria Corina Machado, Machado, Matthew Miller, Donald Trump's, Juan Guaidó, Kimberly Breier, Trump’s, Elliott Abrams, Maduro’s, Stewart, ” Stewart, Venezuela’s, Tarek William Saab didn’t, Luke Denman, Airan Berry —, — Eyvin Hernandez, Jerrel Kenemore, Joseph Cristella —, Moizeé Stewart, Wright’s, ” ___ Goodman, Tucker Organizations: U.S, Venezuelan, Associated Press, Oakland, U.S . State Department, Trump, Maduro, State Department, Loyola Marymount University, Green, FBI, U.S . Embassy, The State Department Locations: California, Venezuela, OPEC, Barbados, United States, Latin America, Washington, Colombia, Houston, Berkeley , California, Oakland, Miami, South America, U.S, Investigative@ap.org

☆ Paraguay to reestablish ties with Venezuela after extended pause
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Paraguay's President-elect Santiago Pena speaks during an interview with Reuters ahead of his inauguration, in Asuncion, Paraguay August 7, 2023. REUTERS/Cesar Olmedo/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsASUNCION, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Paraguay and Venezuela have decided to reestablish diplomatic ties, the Paraguayan foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday, after the South American countries broke off relations nearly five years ago. Formal diplomatic ties were severed in January 2019, when Paraguay recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela's interim president. Following talks between Paraguay's recently-elected President Santiago Pena and his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro, the ministry said ambassadors should be formally accredited in the coming days. Reporting by Daniela Desantis; Writing by Sarah Morland; Editing by David Alire GaricaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Santiago Pena, Cesar Olmedo, Juan Guaido, Paraguay's, Nicolas Maduro, Daniela Desantis, Sarah Morland, David Alire Garica Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS, Rights, South, Venezuelan, Thomson Locations: Asuncion, Paraguay, Rights ASUNCION, Venezuela, Paraguayan

The auction could start a new chapter for the 113-year-old company, which has been owned by Venezuela for almost 40 years. Washington and Venezuela's political opposition wanted Citgo to anchor the country's economic future under a democratically elected government. The sale could become the biggest court auction ever held. Motiva, Valero and Citgo's ultimate parent, Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA, did not reply to requests for comment. "Citgo will be strategic for Venezuela in the next 20-25 years, not only as a refining company, but with an expanded role," director Medina said.

Persons: Biden, Citgo, Nicolas Maduro's, Matthew Blair, Tudor, Blair, Jose Ignacio Hernandez, Leonard Stark, PDVSA, PDV, Juan Guaido, Natalie Shkolnik, Wilk Auslander, Nicolas Maduro, Stark, Evercore, Conoco, Horacio Medina, Carlos Jorda, Medina, Hernandez, Marianna Parraga, Erwin Seba, Gary McWilliams, Anna Driver Organizations: U.S . State Department, Reuters, Marathon Petroleum, Motiva Enterprises, Valero Energy, Koch Industries, Valero, U.S . Treasury, Holt, U.S, Crystallex International, PDVSA, National Assembly, Citgo, PDV, Supreme, Evercore, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil, Exxon, U.S . Treasury Department's, Foreign Assets Control, Thomson Locations: United States, Petroleum, U.S, Houston, Venezuela, Washington, Saudi, Pickering, Citgo, Delaware, Caracas

Maria Corina Machado, candidate of the Vente Venezuela party for the opposition primaries, meets with her supporters after a press conference, in Caracas, Venezuela September 6, 2023. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCARACAS, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Venezuela's opposition will hold a primary on Sunday to pick its candidate for 2024 presidential elections, despite the front-runner being barred from holding office. The primary is the first the opposition has held in 11 years. It has not backed a presidential candidate in a general election since 2013. Officials who are found guilty of corruption are banned from holding public office for up to 15 years.

Persons: Maria Corina Machado, Leonardo Fernandez Viloria, Nicolas Maduro, Juan Guaido, Machado, Vivian Sequera, Oliver Griffin, Sonali Paul Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Electoral, Thomson Locations: Venezuela, Caracas, Rights CARACAS, U.S, Washington

CNN —Venezuelan authorities have issued an arrest warrant against former opposition leader Juan Guaido, the country’s attorney general said Thursday. “Juan Guaido used PDVSA resources to finance himself, pay his legal expenses, and forced PDVSA to accept his financing terms. However, during a live transmission on his Instagram account, Guaido called the allegations against him “false” and challenged President Maduro to submit to justice. In June, the International Criminal Court ruled that prosecutors should resume investigating alleged crimes against humanity in Venezuela by security forces under President Maduro. Why did the dictatorship not do it before?” he said of the arrest warrant.

Persons: Juan Guaido, Tarek William Saab, Guaido, “ Juan Guaido, PDVSA, ” Saab, ” Guaido, Nicolas Maduro, “, ”, Guaido’s, Maduro, let’s, Biden, Antony Blinken Organizations: CNN, Venezuelan, Venezuelan National Assembly, Saab, Interpol, Guaido, ” CNN, Criminal Locations: Caracas, Venezuelan, Colombia, Miami, Venezuela, The Hague, Mexico

CARACAS, June 30 (Reuters) - Ex-lawmaker Maria Corina Machado, a favorite to win the Venezuelan opposition's nomination for president in an October primary, is barred from holding public office for 15 years, the controller general said in a letter to a lawmaker. Machado, a 55-year-old industrial engineer, is leading polling for the 13-candidate primary, convened to select a unity candidate to face President Nicolas Maduro in a 2024 election. A previous ban placed on her has been extended because Machado supported sanctions by the United States on the Maduro government and backed former opposition leader Juan Guaido, the letter said. Machado's fellow primary candidate Henrique Capriles, who has twice run for president for the opposition, was barred from public office for 15 years in 2017. Reporting by Mayela Armas and Vivian Sequera; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Maria Corina Machado, Machado, Nicolas Maduro, Juan Guaido, Jose Brito, Maria Corina Machado Parisca, Brito, Henrique Capriles, Mayela Armas, Vivian Sequera, Julia Symmes Cobb, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Venezuelan, U.S, Thomson Locations: CARACAS, United States, Venezuela, American

Machado, a 55-year-old industrial engineer and former lawmaker, is leading polling for the 13-candidate primary, convened to select a unity candidate to face socialist President Nicolas Maduro in a 2024 election. A previous ban placed on her has been expanded because Machado supported sanctions by the United States on the Maduro government and backed former opposition leader Juan Guaido, the letter said. The ban does not affect Machado's ability to run in the primary because the opposition is holding it without state support. The opposition has said for years that bans are used by the ruling party to prevent political change. Machado's fellow primary candidate Henrique Capriles, who has twice run for president for the opposition, was barred from public office for 15 years in 2017.

Persons: Maria Corina Machado, Machado, Nicolas Maduro, Juan Guaido, Jose Brito, Maria Corina Machado Parisca, Brito, Henrique Capriles, Mayela Armas, Vivian Sequera, Julia Symmes Cobb, Daniel Wallis, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Venezuelan, American States, U.S, Thomson Locations: CARACAS, United States, Venezuela, Washington

☆ Venezuelan opposition party replaces Guaido as candidate
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 5, CARACAS - Venezuelan opposition party Voluntad Popular on Friday named a new candidate for a key presidential primary in October, replacing formerly anti-government leader Juan Guaido who left Venezuela unexpectedly in late April. At a news conference, Voluntad Popular named political coordinator Freddy Superlano, a 46-year-old engineer and critic of President Nicholas Maduro, as its nominee, explaining Guaido could not represent the party from "exile." Voluntad Popular member Desiree Barboza said the decision to name Superlano the party's candidate was unanimous. From 2019 to December 2022, Guaido served as acting president in a shadow government challenging Maduro until the opposition dissolved it. Like Guaido, Superlano is barred by judicial and administrative rulings from running for public office.

CNN —Venezuela’s former opposition leader Juan Guaidó is visiting Washington this week, where he hopes to meet with the Biden administration, he told reporters on Tuesday during a surprise appearance at the Washington Conference on the Americas. Asked if he sought political asylum in the US, he said, “I am currently visiting. Guaidó landed in Miami the following day, after accusing Colombia of forcing him out of the country – a claim Colombian officials refuted. “We also hope to meet with the Biden administration – obviously it’s a critical moment for the region, especially Venezuela, a moment in which we are pressing to achieve a free election,” he said. The Biden administration loosened some sanctions against the Maduro government in 2022, and last November, it granted Chevron limited authorization to resume pumping oil from Venezuela.

☆ Venezuelan Opposition Figure Flees Country, Arrives in U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Juan Forero | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Juan Guaidó said he left Venezuela because his family was threatened. Photo: GABY ORAA/REUTERSBOGOTÁ, Colombia—Venezuelan opposition figure Juan Guaidó, who had led a pro-democracy movement with the support of the U.S. and dozens of countries, landed Tuesday in the U.S. after fleeing his homeland. Mr. Guaidó had remained a notable figure in the Venezuelan saga even though the opposition stripped him of his position in January when the parallel government he ran was dissolved. In describing his exit from Venezuela, Mr. Guaidó said that his family was under threat.

[1/5] Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Colombian Foreign Minister Alvaro Leyva attend an international conference on the political crisis in Venezuela, at Palacio de San Carlos in Bogota, Colombia April 25, 2023. The meeting in Bogota, hosted by Colombian President Gustavo Petro with support from the United States, included Spain, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Brazil and others. The meeting was meant to help Maduro and the opposition restart stalled talks in Mexico focused on free elections and the possible lifting of sanctions against the government. Attendees found common ground over the need for free elections and lifting of sanctions parallel to agreements between the two sides, he said. The Mexico talks, held briefly last year and in 2021, are supposed to provide a roadmap out of the long-running crisis.

☆ U.S. to pledge over $171 mln in aid for Venezuela -US official
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, March 17 (Reuters) - The United States plans to pledge over $171 million in funding for Venezuela at a donor conference on Friday in Brussels, a U.S. official told Reuters, as the country's opposition awaits U.S. moves to process frozen Venezuelan government funds. The pledge is expected to come at a European Union-backed conference focused on building solidarity with Venezuelan refugees and migrants. The U.S. official did not provide details on the funding, which builds on a further $376 million in funding Washington pledged last year. Washington backs Venezuela's opposition, recognizing its parallel legislature and decrying what it says is President Nicolas Maduro's dictatorship. Under the administration of former President Donald Trump, the United States intensified its sanctions against the South American country.

☆ Fact Check-Clip of military vehicle running over protesters filmed in Caracas, Venezuela in 2019
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

(Warning: This article contains graphic content)A clip of a military vehicle running over protesters was filmed in Caracas, Venezuela in April 2019 and not Peru amid protests in January 2023. The clip was shared by social media users online amid protests that kicked off in December following the ousting of Peru’s then president, Pedro Castillo. The social media users erroneously captioned it as an incident in Peru during the protests. Reuters also produced an article reporting that a Venezuela National Guard vehicle ran protesters over outside a military base in Venezuela’s capital on April 30, 2019 (here). Read more about our work to fact-check social media posts here.

☆ Venezuela opposition names committee to manage foreign assets
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Deisy Buitrago | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Venezuela traditionally has only one legislature, but currently has two parallel bodies - one of government-allied lawmakers and another for the opposition. Opposition party members Carlos Millan, Rene Uzcategui, Yon Goicoechea and Fernando Blasi will serve on the committee headed by Gustavo Marcano. Many assets controlled by the opposition have enjoyed the United States' protection against creditors, which this week extended its protection of Citgo for three months. Marcano, Goicoechea and Blasi served on the spending control committee previously operated under the interim government of former opposition leader Juan Guaido. Blasi will also represent the assembly in the United States, while lawmaker Miguel Pizarro will work on the assembly's behalf at the United Nations.

☆ Venezuelan opposition to pay debts to law firms, leader says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CARACAS, Jan 9 (Reuters) - The president of Venezuela's opposition national assembly, Dinorah Figuera, said on Monday a new committee meant to manage the country's assets abroad will pay off debts to law firms in the United States. Venezuela owes some $20.7 million to U.S. law firms representing it in fights against creditors. The committee is a key part of recent moves by the opposition legislature, which appointed Figuera and two vice presidents last week after disbanding the interim government of Juan Guaido. The United States has so far protected Venezuela's state-owned oil refiner Citgo Petroleum from creditors, a protection the opposition hopes the United States will extend when it expires this month. In a statement on Monday, the U.S. Treasury Department renewed permission for U.S. citizens to engage in business with the opposition assembly and the boards it appoints.

☆ All-female team replaces Juan Guaidó as face of Venezuela opposition
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela’s opposition has selected an all-female team of mostly unknown exiled former lawmakers to replace the beleaguered Juan Guaidó as the face of its faltering efforts to remove socialist President Nicolas Maduro. Meanwhile, Maduro’s supporters seemed to be relishing the opposition’s squabbles. At Thursday’s session inaugurating the legislative year, loyalist lawmakers re-elected Jorge Rodriguez to lead the National Assembly. U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said Tuesday that the U.S. stands ready to work with any individual, or collective body, chosen by the 2015 National Assembly to represent it. We support the 2015 National Assembly as the only remaining vestige of democracy in Venezuela.”

Guaido in 2019 won the recognition of scores of nations including the United States after the widely disputed election that kept Nicolas Maduro in power. The removal of the interim government "ended up undermining attachments among opposition leadership," said Piero Trepiccione, of Caracas' Gumilla thinktank. The opposition, many of whose leaders are in exile or barred from politics, has not held a primary for a decade. The United States has said it will continue to recognize the opposition assembly. Changing the presidential election to this year instead of next may also serve Maduro, Nicholas Watson of consulting firm Teneo said in a report.

☆ Venezuela owes over $20 mln to law firms on guarding overseas assets
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] PDVSA's U.S. unit Citgo Petroleum refinery is pictured in Sulphur, Louisiana, U.S., June 12, 2018. Some U.S. courts have granted creditors rights to negotiate the sale of Venezuelan assets abroad in order to collect debts, such as the Citgo refinery, the crown jewel of Venezuela's overseas assets, and a subsidiary of PDVSA. In the document, a report from the interim government's prosecution team, the lawyers say failure to pursue the lawsuits would risk losing the overseas assets. Opposition groups maintain that control of overseas assets is not at risk, despite last month's removal of the interim government, though they have not given details of what will happen with ongoing litigation. Reporting by Vivian Sequera and Mayela Armas; Writing by Sarah Morland Editing by Marguerita ChoyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Venezuela’s Wager to Oust Maduro With Parallel Government Ends
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Ryan Dube | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Venezuela’s Juan Guaidó, once recognized by more than 60 countries as his country’s rightful president, was stripped of his position on Thursday when the opposition dissolved a U.S.-backed parallel government that had failed to oust strongman Nicolás Maduro . With Mr. Guaidó out, lawmakers from Venezuela’s battered opposition will create a committee to oversee billions of dollars in assets abroad that had come under the control of the so-called interim government. They will also try to negotiate conditions for free and fair elections in 2024.

REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez ViloriaCARACAS, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Venezuela's opposition national assembly on Thursday appointed three exiled lawmakers to direct it and create a commission to control foreign assets, including oil refiner Citgo (PDVSAC.UL). The assembly voted last week to remove Juan Guaido, the public face of the fractious opposition since 2019, as its interim president. The new leadership triumvirate is assembly president Dinorah Figuera and vice-presidents Marianela Fernandez and Auristela Vasquez - from opposition parties Justice First, A New Era and Democratic Action respectively. The new leadership will designate a five-member commission to manage foreign assets like Citgo, a subsidiary of state-owned oil company PDVSA. Because of its backing abroad, the opposition is able to control foreign assets based in other countries, like $1 billion in gold stored at the Bank of England.

☆ Venezuelan opposition strips Juan Guaidó of ‘presidential’ role
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

CARACAS, Venezuela — For three years, Juan Guaidó led the Venezuelan opposition’s efforts to bring about new elections and remove socialist President Nicolás Maduro. The vote reflects a changing balance of power within the opposition, which is trying to find new ways to connect with voters ahead of the nation’s 2024 presidential election. Three of Venezuela’s four main opposition parties backed the proposal to remove Guaidó, who was supported only by his own Popular Will party. After the vote, Guaidó said the move would create a “power vacuum” that could encourage more foreign nations to recognize the Maduro administration. So the opposition legislators created an “interim government,” headed by Guaidó, that was meant to last until Maduro stepped down and free elections could be held.

☆ Venezuela’s U.S.-Backed Opposition Removes Juan Guaidó as Its Leader
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Kejal Vyas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Venezuela’s biggest opposition parties voted to remove Juan Guaidó as their leader, marking an end to a bold, U.S.-backed political gambit in which he was recognized as the country’s legitimate president as part of an unsuccessful bid to oust authoritarian Nicolás Maduro from power. Lawmakers, scattered in exile around the world, voted in a Zoom call to restructure their movement, removing Mr. Guaidó and eliminating the so-called interim government he leads. The interim government had been recognized as Venezuela’s legitimate government by more than 60 countries when it was created in early 2019. But now, the U.S. and only a handful of allies continue to recognize the Guaido-led movement, while Mr. Maduro maintains an ironclad grip on the country with support from Russia, Iran and China.

A spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council said President Joe Biden's administration will continue to back Venezuela's interim government "regardless of what form it takes." He did not comment on whether that support included extending a key protection to Citgo under the new structure. Another potential scenario with the commission taking over: a new U.S. court battle over the legitimacy of Citgo's board of directors. A federal court in 2020 ratified the executives appointed by Guaido to run Citgo. Lawyers advising Citgo's supervisory boards have warned about the challenges of presenting a new government structure before U.S. courts.

☆ Venezuela opposition removes interim President Guaido
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Mayela Armas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Supporters say opposition control of foreign assets is not at risk and the dissolution is necessary for unity ahead of the elections. "There are already tools to protect the assets in the United States, the United Kingdom, Portugal," said Justice First lawmaker Juan Miguel Matheus. Both the article eliminating the interim government and the article creating the assets commission passed with 72 votes in favor, 29 against and 8 abstentions. Guaido, whose Voluntad Popular party did not back the effort, had urged lawmakers to replace him instead of dissolving the interim government. The United States will continue to support the opposition, the assembly and the interim government "regardless of what form it takes," a spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council said on Friday.

☆ Venezuela foreign assets will not pass to Maduro -opposition
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Vivian Sequera | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CARACAS, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Opposition lawmakers in Venezuela seeking the removal of Juan Guaido as the country's interim president said on Thursday that foreign assets will not pass to the government of President Nicolas Maduro if Guaido is removed from his post. Three of four major opposition groups - Justice First, Democratic Action and A New Era - are backing a bill to oust Guaido and create a five-member commission to manage foreign assets, especially U.S.-based refiner Citgo, a subsidiary of state-owned oil company PDVSA. The effort received initial approval from the assembly last week, despite warnings from Guaido that Maduro could take control of assets abroad, but must be voted on a second time. But Maduro has remained in control of nearly all Venezuela's institutions, including its security forces, and Guaido's interim government, which has control over some foreign assets and runs many embassies, has seen international support wane. The Supreme Court in the United Kingdom - where Maduro has sued for access to the gold - has ruled British courts are bound to accept their government does not recognize Maduro as Venezuela's president "for any purpose."

Search resuls for: "Juan Guaido"

25 mentions found