Nicolás 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.

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. 

Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz met with Venezuela's Vice President and Oil Minister Delcy Rodriguez on Monday to discuss strengthening bilateral relations and addressing regional and global issues.

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.

More than 700 people arrested during protests that erupted after Venezuela's disputed presidential election have been transferred to maximum security prisons, a human rights group said on Aug. 31.

Electricity has been cut off across Venezuela, including the capital Caracas, due to what the government described as sabotage, according to Communications Minister Freddy Ñáñez, as reported by the Associated Press. Energy workers are currently addressing the issue, which arose around noon Bulgarian time. In Caracas, authorities have implemented measures to maintain ground transportation.