Venezuela

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.

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

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.

Venezuela's opposition, claiming victory in presidential elections they say were stolen by strongman Nicolas Maduro, gathered in the thousands in Caracas and elsewhere on Saturday, vowing to fight "to the end."

The presidents of Brazil and Colombia called on Thursday for fresh elections in Venezuela after last month's disputed victory by Nicolás Maduro — a proposal quickly rejected by the opposition, who slammed the strongman for blocking a "political transition."