Eri Silva
Venezuela : Economy, Finance & Politics (2021)
All coverage published by Brightwire
Venezuela gov't suspends talks with opposition over Saab extradition
18 Oct 2021
The Venezuelan administration of Nicolas Maduro has suspended Mexico City talks with the opposition, Maduro said on Twitter.
The suspension in response to Cape Verde's extradition of Maduro's alleged frontman Alex Saab to the US to face international money laundering charges.
Saab is expected to appear in US court on Monday. Maduro's team had requested Saab join them in the Mexico City talks before his alleged "torture" and "kidnapping," Maduro said.
"We urge our counterpart to restart as soon as possible the session in Mexico to produce the necessary agreements," said Gerardo Blyde, the chair of the oppositions team in the talks.
Alex Saab allegedly worked as Venezuela's middleman to ensure the country was able to continue trade despite US sanctions.
Caracas, Venezuela (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Venezuela fails to report ongoing oil spill issue, report says
05 Oct 2021
Venezuela failed to fully report the 53 oil spills that have occurred so far this year through September due to a lack of government oversight, according to a report by the Observatorio de Ecología Política de Venezuela.
Poor maintenance of oil refining infrastructure has reportedly caused oil spills to become an endemic problem on the Caribbean coast.
The report used citizen reporting on social media as well as satellite imagery from biologist Eduardo Klein to calculate the number of spills.
"There's a lack of action and awareness about how this problem is going to affect the future of marine environments, with repercussions on every economic sector," said Klein in an interview with Mongabay.
Blue Crab, Maracaibo Lake, Venezuela 2019 (AP Photo/ Rodrigo Abd)
Guyana criticizes Venezuela's claim to the Essequibo Region
08 Sept 2021
Guyana criticized the joint statement made by Venezuela's government and opposition laying claim to the disputed Essequibo Region, a release by the country's Foreign Affairs Ministry shows.
"That agreement is an overt threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Guyana," the ministry said, adding it violates international law. Guyana insisted the territory dispute must be handled before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), but Venezuela refuses to recognize the ICJ's jurisdiction.
Venezuela is requesting direct talks with Guyana.
Venezuela to start circulating 'digital bolivar' in October
06 Aug 2021
Venezuela will launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in October as a partial solution to the country's cash issuance problem amid hyperinflation, the Central Bank said in a release.
The country will also remove six zeros from its national currency the bolivar — the third redenomination of its currency over the past 12-13 years, according to Business Insider.
The "digital bolivar" will use an SMS-based exchange system to facilitate payments and transfers between users.
In 2018, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro started a digital currency called Petro that was largely seen as a failure despite efforts to force the population to use it, the outlet said.
Venezuela resumes fighting with armed groups near its border with Colombia
27 April 2021
Venezuela's military resumed fighting with armed groups in Apure state on Friday after failure to reach an agreement over the last week, El Tiempo reported.
"On the precise orders of citizen Nicolás Maduro… we will continue and intensify military operations in order to quash any strongholds of these criminals,” according to an official military statement.
The operation started on March 21 and has led to several arrests, the death of four civilians and the alleged torture of residents accused of collaborating with the armed groups, according to a report by the Human Rights Watch.
At least 5,800 people have fled Apure for Colombia due to the ongoing fighting as well as reported abuses by Venezuelan security forces.
The government is said to mainly be fighting dissidents from the Colombian guerrilla group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
Many Colombian guerrilla members have crossed into Venezuela to take hold of large portions of territory and key drug trafficking routes after Venezuela’s economic crisis heavily crippled the government’s ability to assist many rural and impoverished regions, the New York Times reported.
Local organizations claim that the Venezuelan military is supporting Colombian Marxist-Leninist guerrilla group the National Liberation Army (ELN).
People wait in a line to get gasoline in Sabaneta, Venezuela, Dec. 6, 2021 (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Maduro confirms planned talks with opposition as Venezuelan authorities arrest prominent opposition leader
14 July 2021
On Monday, President Nicolas Maduro confirmed plans for his administration to hold negotiations with the opposition next month as intelligence agents arrested prominent opposition leader Freddy Guevara under charges of terrorism and treason.
Guevara leads Venezuela’s Voluntad Popular party and is a close ally to US-recognized interim president Juan Guaido. He is accused of being linked to "extremist and paramilitary groups associated with the Colombian government," Attorney General Tarek Saab said in a release on Twitter.
"The US strongly condemn the unjust detention of Venezuelan Congressman Freddy Guevara and harassment of Interim President Juan Guaido in Venezuela," a spokesperson for the US State Department said.
Additionally, a group of unidentified armed men threatened to arrest opposition leader Juan Guaido while he was leaving his apartment, a Twitter post by Guaido's communications team shows.
Venezuela orders arrest of Citgo board head
20 Jan 2021
Venezuelan authorities under President Nicolas Maduro issued an arrest warrant for board head Andres Felipe Yrigoyen for being named to the position by opposition leader Juan Guaido, Infobae reported.
Authorities previously issued an arrest warrant against board member Jose Ramon Pocaterra for the same reason. The two are being charged with conspiracy, usurpation of public functions, money laundering and obstruction of justice.
The charges come days after a US court granted Venezuela approval to sell Citgo shares to compensate Canada's Crystallex for being kicked out of a mine it operated in Venezuela.
​
A man shows a new 10 Bolivar bank note after withdrawing it from a cash machine in Caracas, Venezuela, Oct 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
PDVSA sees shortage of exportable grades amid refining boost, sources say
27 April 2021
PDVSA is using most of its medium and light crude for refining, causing a shortage of crude for blending operations to produce exportable grades such as Merey 16, Hellenic Shipping News reported, citing seven people close to the matter.
Venezuela boosted refining operations amid months-long shortages of motor fuels such as gasoline or diesel.
US sanctions have impeded the country's ability to import naphtha for refining operations while light crude production has been around 160,000 barrels per day (bpd), one industry source said.
Although a drop in Venezuela's crude grades, the country’s main export, is expected to hurt government revenues, gasoline sales are expected to support the economy considering subsidies were removed in 2019.
Venezuela's crude output totaled around 525,000 bpd in March, according to figures provided to OPEC, allowing it to export 690,323 bpd.