Nicolas Maduro

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced yesterday, Saturday, his intention to assign another of his loyalists, Richard Grenell, to the nascent post of presidential envoy for “special missions.”

“Rick will work in some of the hottest spots in the world, including Venezuela and North Korea,” Mr. Trump said via Truth Social.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday discussed bilateral ties in the Russian city of Kazan, the site of a summit of the BRICS group of countries.

During the meeting, Erdoğan and Maduro spoke about bilateral relations and regional and global issues, Türkiye's Communications Directorate said in a statement.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan arrived in Russia on Wednesday for talks at the BRICS summit in Kazan.

The two-day summit takes place as the international community is expressing growing concerns over the continued regional conflicts in the Middle East and Eurasia.

Venezuelan authorities have arrested a former oil minister accused of links to a firm controlled by U.S. intelligence services, the public prosecutor's office has announced. 

Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar and Venezuelan Vice President and Oil Minister Delcy Rodriguez have discussed new opportunities for cooperation in the exploration, production and trade of natural gas and oil.

Bayraktar met with the Venezuelan committee in the Turkish capital Ankara, the Turkish minister said on X.

Spain rejects allegations by Venezuela that Madrid was involved in a plot to destabilize the government of the Latin American country, a Foreign Ministry source said on Sunday.

Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia—who insists he, not strongman Nicolas Maduro, is Venezuela's legitimate president-elect—fled to Spain on Sunday, vowing to "continue the fight" for freedom and democracy.

The Venezuelan government said Saturday opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who disputed President Nicolas Maduro's July 28 reelection, has left the country to seek asylum in Spain.

Gonzalez Urrutia had been in hiding for a month, ignoring three successive summons to appear before prosecutors, saying attending the hearing could have cost his freedom.

AFP FILE- Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate for the Plataforma Unitaria Democratica party, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, poses for a picture during an event with the Voluntad Popular opposition party in Caracas on May 23, 2024

The United States has seized an aircraft belonging to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, citing violations of US sanctions and other criminal concerns, reports CNN. The plane, often described as Venezuela's equivalent to Air Force One, was flown to Florida on Monday after being seized in the Dominican Republic, according to two US officials.