Venezuela’s opposition leader Maria Corina Machado says she has been barred from public office for 12 months.
Maria Corina Machado, who is a former congresswoman, said she was given 15 days to appeal against the decision.
It was not clear on what grounds she was barred but the move could prevent her from standing again for congress in December’s parliamentary election.
Maria Corina Machado led a major street protest against the government in early 2014.
Government opponents have accused President Nicolas Maduro of bullying the opposition ahead of the elections.
Another leading opposition figure, Daniel Ceballos, a former mayor who is also running for parliament, was also banned from holding public office.
Venezuelan media said Daniel Ceballos was disqualified for not presenting a sworn wealth declaration.
Maria Corina Machado was stripped of her seat in the National Assembly last year after accepting an invitation from Panama to speak before the Organization of American States (OAS) to give her account of the wave of unrest which spread through Venezuela in early 2014.
The state prosecutor’s office then charged Maria Corina Machado of taking part in an alleged plot to kill President Nicolas Maduro.
Eight Brazilian senators visiting Venezuela to meet jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez say they had to flee after their bus was attacked.
The Brazilian opposition politicians were trying to meet former mayor Leopoldo Lopez, who is in jail accused of inciting violence during protests.
The senators said the bus was stoned as it travelled from Caracas airport.
Brazil’s foreign ministry says it will seek an explanation from the Venezuelan government.
One of the senators, Ronaldo Caiado, tweeted: “Our bus was under siege; they were beating and trying to break it. I filmed them throwing stones against the bus.”
Another, former presidential candidate Aecio Neves, said: “We are here to defend democracy and until now the Venezuelan government has shown little appreciation of it.”
The group returned to the airport and is reportedly waiting to go back to Brazil.
The incident occurred a few hours after the senators landed in Caracas airport.
Earlier this month former Spanish PM Felipe Gonzales left Caracas earlier than expected after his attempts to speak to Leopoldo Lopez, who has been in jail for more than a year.
Leopoldo Lopez is accused of inciting violence during protests last year. More than 40 people, from both sides of the political divide, were killed in months of demonstrations against the government of Nicolas Maduro.
President Nicolas Maduro’s government is wary of foreign support of Venezuelan opposition leaders.
The Brazilian Foreign Ministry said hostile acts against its politicians were unacceptable and promised to seek an explanation from Venezuela.
It released a statement June18 saying:“The Brazilian government regrets the incidents that affected this visit to Venezuela.”
“Hostile acts from protesters toward Brazilian lawmakers are unacceptable,” the statement added.
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro has granted a flat to a woman after she made her point by hitting him on the head with a mango.
Marleny Olivo threw a mango at Nicolas Maduro while he was driving a bus through the central state of Aragua.
It had a message on it, in which she pleaded for his help.
President Nicolas Maduro displayed the mango with Marleny Olivo’s telephone number on it during a live television show afterwards. He said he had agreed to her request for a flat.
The move, the president said, was part of the “Great Housing Mission of Venezuela”.
Marleny Olivo had written a message on a mango: “If you can, call me” – along with her name and phone number. She got as close to the bus as she could when it passed and then tossed the mango at Nicolas Maduro.
In a video that has gone viral in Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro can be seen lowering his head when he is hit just above the left ear. He then calmly picks up the mango and displays it to the crowd.
Later he discussed the incident in one of his regular live TV broadcasts in which he displayed the infamous mango.
“She had a housing problem, right? And, Marleny, I have approved it already, as part of the Great Housing Mission of Venezuela, you will get an apartment and it will be given to you in the next few hours.
“Tomorrow, no later than the day after tomorrow, we will give it to you.”
Marleny Olivo said that there was “no evil intent” behind the incident only a desire to fulfill her dreaming of owning a home before she dies.
Nicolas Maduro – who is a former bus driver and likes to connect with ordinary Venezuelans by touring local communities at the wheel of a coach – added that the mango was ripe and that he would eat it later.
In a move to reduce food hoarding and panic buying, Venezuela will install about 20,000 fingerprint scanners at grocery stores across the country.
Over the last year there have been long queues at supermarkets because of widespread shortages of basic goods.
President Nicolas Maduro said the shortages were due to manipulation of the food supply and prices.
Last month the owners of several chains of supermarkets and drugstores were arrested for allegedly artificially creating long queues by not opening enough tills.
Nicolas Maduro has also accused Colombian food smugglers of buying up price-controlled goods in state-run supermarkets along the border.
Last week South American foreign ministers said the region would help Venezuela address the shortages.
The lack of staple foods and medicines in Venezuela has contributed to discontent and to frequent large, often violent anti-government demonstrations.
The economic crisis has been made worse by falling oil prices.
Venezuela’s plummeting currency rates and the falling price of oil by nearly half since November has diminished its supply of dollars to buy imported food.
Venezuela has given the United States 15 days to dramatically reduce the number of diplomats it has in the country.
Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez said the US should decide which of its 100 diplomats should be sent home.
She said the goal was to bring the balance down to 17 – the number of Venezuelan diplomats in the US.
On February 28, President Nicolas Maduro said the US had been meddling in Venezuela’s affairs.
He said American citizens visiting Venezuela would now be required to apply for visas charged at the same rates levied on Venezuelans wishing to visit the US.
Nicolas Maduro said Venezuela would also issue a list of banned politicians who it considered to have promoted human rights abuses.
Earlier this month the US imposed visa restrictions on unnamed Venezuelan officials it accused of human rights violations and corruption.
The move builds on sanctions imposed last year on Venezuelan officials alleged to have violated the rights of protesters during demonstrations that shook the country in the first six months of 2014.
Nicolas Maduro has frequently accused the US of working with opposition groups against his government.
Earlier this year Nicolas Maduro said the US had attempted to encourage a coup that involved bombing the presidential palace. Washington rejected the accusations as ludicrous.
Venezuela and the US have not exchanged ambassadors for the last five years.
Venezuela will limit the number of US diplomats working in the country, President Nicolas Maduro has announced.
Nicolas Maduro said he wanted a review and reduction of American diplomatic staff.
American citizens visiting Venezuela would also need visas and there would be a list of politicians who would be banned from entry.
Nicolas Maduro said US meddling had forced him to adopt the new measures.
The president said that the US government had 100 employees working in Venezuela whereas Venezuela had 17 based in the US.
Nicolas Maduro said Venezuela would be charging Americans the same rates for visa as those levied on Venezuelans wishing to visit the United States.
A list of banned politicians would include George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Bob Menendez and Marco Rubio.
Nicolas Maduro said these were all men who had violated human rights and encouraged terrorism, particularly in Iraq and Syria.
Earlier this month the US imposed visa restrictions on unnamed Venezuelan officials it accused of human rights violations and corruption.
The move builds on sanctions imposed last year on Venezuelan officials alleged to have violated the rights of protesters during demonstrations that shook the country in the first six months of 2014.
The list of officials banned from entering the US was extended to include family members.
Earlier this month President Nicolas Maduro accused the US of working with opposition groups to stage what he said was a coup that involved bombing the presidential palace.
Washington rejected the accusations as ludicrous.
Venezuela and the US have not exchanged ambassadors for the last five years.
Venezuela has indicted Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma for plotting violence against the government – a move strongly condemned by the country’s opposition.
The attorney general’s office said Antonio Ledezma, 59, would remain in a military prison pending his trial.
President Nicolas Maduro earlier accused the opposition mayor of being involved in a US-backed coup.
This comes on the anniversary of the start of protests against Nicolas Maduro’s rule that left dozens of people dead.
On February 20, opponents of President Nicolas Maduro again protested in Caracas against what they described as a crackdown on his political opponents.
The US has also denounced the “systemic intimidation” by the Venezuelan authorities of the country’s opposition.
State department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said: “Venezuela’s problems cannot be solved by criminalizing legitimate, democratic dissent.”
The attorney general’s office said on February 20 that Antonio Ledezma was charged with conspiracy to plot violence against the government.
This came a day after camouflaged police smashed into the mayor’s office in the banking district and carried him away.
President Nicolas Maduro has said the opposition leader must answer “for all the crimes committed against the country’s peace and security”.
Venezuela’s opposition is now demanding the authorities produce any evidence of the alleged conspiracy.
Opposition leader Henrique Capriles asked: “Does Maduro think that putting everyone in prison is going to get him 50 popularity points or that he’s going to win elections?”
Antonio Ledezma was on a list of people and foreign powers named by Nicolas Maduro last week as attempting to bring down his administration.
Antonio Ledezma, Caracas mayor since 2008, replied that it was government corruption that was bringing down Venezuela.
Last year, weeks of anti-government protests in Venezuela led to more than 40 deaths.
Venezuela’s economy has been heavily affected by the drop in oil prices and in late January, thousands of people joined an opposition march in Caracas.
Venezuelans voiced dissatisfaction with high inflation, crime and the shortage of many staple goods in the shops.
Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma has been arrested amid accusations of a coup attempt in Venezuela.
President Nicolas Maduro said the opposition leader must answer “for all the crimes committed against the country’s peace and security”.
Camouflaged police smashed into the mayor’s office and carried him away.
The arrest comes on the anniversary of the start of months of protests against Nicolas Maduro’s rule that left dozens of people dead.
The Human Rights Watch group has called for Antonio Ledezma’s immediate release.
Hundreds of people gathered at the intelligence agency’s HQ in Caracas to protest at the arrest.
Nicolas Maduro said: “Mr. Ledezma, who today by order of the prosecution was captured, must be processed by Venezuelan justice to answer for all the crimes committed against the country’s peace, security, constitution.”
The Caracas mayor was on a list of people and foreign powers named by Nicolas Maduro last week as attempting to bring down his administration.
Antonio Ledezma, Caracas mayor since 2008, replied that it was government corruption that was bringing down Venezuela.
He was taken on February 19 from his office in the banking district.
Opposition legislator Ismael Garcia wrote on Twitter: “I just saw how they took Ledezma out of his office as if he were a dog. They broke down the doors without an arrest warrant.”
A member of Antonio Ledezma’s security detail said about 10 men with guns and a hatchet came for the mayor, bundling him out of the building.
The US has expanded visa restrictions on unnamed Venezuelan officials it accuses of human rights violations and corruption.
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro said the measures were an attempt to violate Venezuelan sovereignty.
They build on sanctions imposed last year on officials alleged to have violated the rights of protesters.
The list of officials banned from entering the US has been extended, and now includes family members.
“We are sending a clear message that human rights abusers, those who profit from public corruption, and their families are not welcome in the United States,” said US state department spokeswoman Jen Psaki.
Nicolas Maduro reacted angrily and said he would write a letter to President Barack Obama.
“We can’t let an empire that has been eyeing all of us pretend or think it has the right to sanction the country of [Simon] Bolivar,” Nicolas Maduro said, making reference to the Venezuela-born hero of Latin American liberation.
The sanctions imposed in December were aimed at officials accused over their role in suppressing anti-government protests that shook Venezuela in the first six months of 2014.
The new visa restrictions were announced a day after Nicolas Maduro accused Vice-President Joe Biden of plotting a coup against his Socialist government during an energy summit of Caribbean leaders in Washington.
Joe Biden’s office called the allegation “baseless and patently false”.
“President Maduro’s accusations are clearly part of an effort to distract from the concerning situation in Venezuela, which includes repeated violations of freedom of speech, assembly, and due process,” read a statement.
Joe Biden and Nicolas Maduro had shaken hands in Brazil during Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff’s inauguration ceremony on January 1.
“Vice-President Biden: Look me in the eyes. I saw you in Brazil, I gave you my hand,” said Nicolas Maduro in a televised address on February 1.
“You, who said this is a new era for relations in Latin America, were going to conspire against Venezuela,” he added.
Relations between the US and Venezuela have been tense for many years. They last had ambassadors in each other’s capitals in 2010.
Venezuela’s economy has entered recession, after contracting for the third consecutive quarter of the year.
The Central Bank announced that the economy had shrunk by 2.3% in Q3 2014.
President Nicolas Maduro said the Venezuelan economy had been affected by political instability and dropping oil prices in international markets.
He accused the US of flooding the markets with oil as part of an economic war against Russia.
The central bank also said inflation had reached 63.6% in the 12 months to November, one of the highest rates in the world.
Nicolas Maduro announced a number of measures to boost economic growth and control inflation, including reforms to Venezuela’s currency control system.
“The details will be extensively explained after the New Year’s greeting,” he told reporters.
Nicolas Maduro said speculation had affected inflation but he also praised government efforts to rein in the increases.
He said Venezuela was suffering the consequences of an economic war launched by US President Barack Obama “to destroy” the oil producers’ cartel, OPEC.
“It is a two-year plan, which is affecting the prices of commodities and many developing economies,” Nicolas Maduro said.
“The US wants to impose a unipolar world controlled from Washington. That is madness.”
The crisis offered a “great opportunity for Venezuela to change its economic model,” the president added.
Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves, with its economy highly dependent on oil exports.
The Venezuelan opposition blames the socialist policies of Nicolas Maduro and his late predecessor, Hugo Chavez, for a shortage of many staples, such as corn oil and milk, amid a serious economic crisis.
Venezuela’s economy shrank by 4.8% and 4.9% respectively in Q1 and Q2 2014.
Venezuela’s leading opposition figure Maria Corina Machado is to be investigated over an alleged plot to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro.
Maria Corina Machado, a former congresswoman, led a major street protest against President Nicolas Maduro’s government in January.
She dismissed the accusations as a charade designed to silence her.
The alleged plot came in a series of emails which Maria Corina Machado says are fake.
She said the charges were designed to distract Venezuelans from a growing economic crisis.
Officials produced the emails in the midst of months of street protests.
They said they contained conversations between Maria Machado and US State Department officials discussing a plot to overthrow the Venezuelan government.
Maria Machado said the messages used her old email accounts and had been manipulated and were fabricated.
She said on her social media account that the conspiracy charges were in retribution for demanding a new leadership at the state elections council.
Maria Machado had helped lead demonstrations which had initially been started in January in the western state of Tachira by university students.
They were protesting against the high rate of crime on campuses and the country’s struggling economy.
She was expelled from the National Assembly in March after she backed the protests which had spread across the country.
The President of the National Assembly, Diosdado Cabello said Maria Machado had been expelled because she had incited violent protests in which over forty protesters and police officers died.
Before her court appearance, she said: “Our protest movement has always been peaceful in its essence. Violence is what the regime does to frighten people and de-motivate citizen protest.”
She said she would continue to support all types of protests in the country against what she described as “daily abuses committed by the government”.
Since narrowly winning an election last year to succeed his mentor, the late President Hugo Chavez, Nicolas Maduro has said there have been five assassination attempts against him and more than a dozen acts of sabotage and conspiracy.
Conspiracy carries a prison sentence of between eight and 16 years in Venezuela.
The commemoration of late Hugo Chavez with a rewriting of the Christian Lord’s Prayer is causing controversy in Venezuela.
Venezuela’s Roman Catholic Church is denouncing the used of Hugo Chavez’s name in an “untouchable” prayer.
President Nicolas Maduro defends it, and calls critics “new inquisitors”.
The scandal forth started on September 1, when socialist party delegate Maria Estrella Uribe read the prayer at a party convention.
“Our Chavez who art in heaven, lead us not into the temptation of capitalism,” she read.
The commemoration of late Hugo Chavez with a rewriting of the Christian Lord’s Prayer is causing controversy in Venezuela
Hugo Chavez’s legacy has taken on a religious glow in Venezuela since the leader’s death last year. Rosaries adorned with Hugo Chavez’s face, shrines and images depicting him with a Christian cross have become commonplace. Followers often say they believe Hugo Chavez was on a divine mission.
On September 3, the Venezuela Catholic Church released a statement calling the Lord’s Prayer “untouchable, saying it “is the archetypal prayer for Christians around the world, and comes from the very lips of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
On September 4, Nicolas Maduro defended Maria Estrella Uribe’s modification, and said she was being targeted by new inquisitors who wanted to turn her humble prayer into a sin.
During his presidency, Hugo Chavez frequently crossed paths with Venezuela’s church, which sometimes accused the socialist leader of becoming increasingly authoritarian.
Hugo Chavez described Christ as a socialist and said local church authorities were misleading the Vatican with warnings that Venezuela was drifting toward dictatorship.
Venezuela is 90% Catholic, though many marry their Christianity with Santeria and other syncretic belief systems.
A mandatory fingerprinting system will placed in Venezuela’s supermarkets to combat food shortages and smuggling, President Nicolas Maduro has announced.
Nicolas Maduro said the system would stop people from buying too much of a single item.
However, the opposition in Venezuela rejected the plan, saying the policy treated all Venezuelans as thieves.
Critics said fingerprinting consumers of staple products was tantamount to rationing and constituted a breach of privacy.
Up to 40% of the goods which Venezuela subsidizes for its domestic market are smuggled to Colombia, where they are sold at much higher prices, the authorities say.
A mandatory fingerprinting system will placed in Venezuela’s supermarkets to combat food shortages and smuggling
“The amount of staples smuggled to Colombia would be enough to load the shelves of our supermarkets,” Gen. Efrain Velasco Lugo, a military spokesman, told El Universal newspaper earlier this week.
The opposition blames what it says are the failed left-wing policies of the past 15 years – initiated by late President Hugo Chavez – for the country’s economic crisis.
Dissatisfaction with the shortage of many staples, as well as rampant crime and high inflation, led thousands of people in the western Venezuelan states of Tachira and Merida to take to the streets in January.
The protests quickly spread to the rest of Venezuela, which faces similar problems.
Earlier this month Venezuela launched an anti-smuggling operation on its border with Colombia.
It deployed 17,000 troops along the border and began closing all the crossings at night.
The one-month ban will be lifted in mid-September.
The decision to close the border was agreed with Colombia, where the smuggling of cheap goods from Venezuela is also seen as a major problem.
The Colombian government says it leads to a big loss in taxes, with complaints of unfair competition faced by local businesses.
Venezuela’s key party – United Socialist Party (PSUV) – has begun its first congress since President Hugo Chavez died in March 2013.
Party leaders have urged delegates to consider proposals that will help consolidate the program of social reforms initiated by Hugo Chavez in 1999.
The conference, which ends on July 31, goes ahead after months of anti-government protests across the country.
The opposition blames the economic crisis on failed left-wing policies.
The government says the protests are part of a right-wing plot.
Venezuela’s PSUV is holding its first congress since Hugo Chavez died
“Neo-fascists are trying to take over power in Venezuela, Ukraine, Syria, Libya and Palestine. But they won’t succeed,” President Nicolas Maduro said earlier this week.
Nicolas Maduro was elected by a narrow margin to succeed Hugo Chavez in April last year.
Since then, Venezuela has become more politically polarized and the economic crisis has deepened.
The 537 delegates gathered in Caracas have been encouraged to be inspired by the left-wing ideas and determination of Hugo Chavez.
The head of the National Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, said the Third Congress of the PSUV will consolidate the party.
The PSUV was founded in 2008, amalgamating some 10 left-wing parties that supported Hugo Chavez.
“This is a revolutionary country. The right thinks they will return to power in this country. No! They won’t come back,” said Diosdado Cabello, who’s also the party’s first vice-president.
Earlier this week, the trial of Leopoldo Lopez, one of Venezuela’s main opposition leaders, began in Caracas.
He has been in custody since February, accused of inciting violence at an anti-government protest.
Leopoldo Lopez accused Nicolas Maduro’s government of “jailing Venezuelans for seeking democratic change”.
Venezuela’s military has admitted it committed “some excesses” during weeks of political unrest that have left 41 people dead.
The military’s strategic command chief, General Vladimir Padrino Lopez, said they were investigating 97 officers and police staff for “cruelty and torture”.
However, Vladimir Padrino Lopez stressed these were less than 1% of all officers.
Security forces have been accused of human rights abuse during the almost daily anti-government protests.
“We are able to say that 97 [officers] are being investigated by prosecutors for cruelty, for torture,” Gen. Vladimir Padrino Lopez said.
General Vladimir Padrino Lopez insists the security forces of President Nicolas Maduro respect the rule of law
“That represents only 0.4% of the force,” he told Venevision television.
The protests have left at least 41 people killed and hundreds more injured on both sides.
The Venezuelan opposition and human rights activists accuse the security forces of repression and using heavy-handed tactics.
However, Vladimir Padrino Lopez insisted the security forces were acting “in accordance with the rule of law”.
“No soldiers have received orders to hurt anyone, harass or end the life of a Venezuelan,” he said.
On Thursday, President Nicolas Maduro met opposition leaders in crisis talks aimed at quelling more than two months of protests.
The demonstrations began over high levels of crime, rising inflation and shortages of basic foods, but have since grown into a wide opposition movement.
Venezuela remains sharply divided between supporters and opponents of Nicolas Maduro, who narrowly beat his bitter rival, opposition leader Henrique Capriles to the presidency last year.
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro has met opposition leaders in crisis talks aimed at quelling weeks of protests.
Nicolas Maduro opened the talks by shaking hands with his bitter rival, opposition leader Henrique Capriles.
The rare meeting, broadcast live on television, was brokered by foreign ministers from South American nations.
Venezuela protests erupted over soaring crime rates in February, but have snowballed into wider anti-government rallies. Some 40 people have been killed.
Nicolas Maduro, who says the protests are part of a “fascist” US-backed plot against him, told the meeting that there would be no deal with the opposition.
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro has met opposition leaders in crisis talks aimed at quelling weeks of protests
“There are no negotiations here. No pacts. All we’re looking for is a model of peaceful coexistence, of mutual tolerance,” he said.
The president has said any kind of formal deal with the opposition would make him a “traitor to chavismo”, the socialist platform of his predecessor Hugo Chavez.
Nicolas Maduro called on the opposition to renounce violence.
Henrique Capriles, who was narrowly defeated in last year’s presidential election, insisted that the opposition did not want a coup against the government.
The talks lasted six hours. There will be another round of talks on Tuesday.
Pope Francis sent a letter giving his support to the talks.
“I urge you not to get stuck in the conflict of the moment but open yourselves to one another to become true builders of peace,” Pope Francis said, in a letter read out at the meeting.
Venezuela is sharply divided between supporters and opponents of Nicolas Maduro, who narrowly beat Henrique Capriles to the presidency last year.
Mario Vargas Llosa has announced he will travel to Venezuela to back anti-Maduro groups.
The Peruvian Nobel Prize winning author accused President Nicolas Maduro of trying to install a “Cuban-inspired dictatorship” in Venezuela.
Mario Vargas Llosa, 78, said that all Latin American countries would be under threat if Nicolas Maduro succeeded.
At least 39 people have been killed in nearly three months of protests.
Mario Vargas Llosa has announced he will travel to Venezuela to back anti-Maduro groups
The victims come from both sides of the political divide, with hundreds of thousands of people also taking to the streets to support the government.
The unrest began in western Venezuela on February 4 and grew into a nationwide movement denouncing the economic crisis, high inflation, crime and police brutality.
Nicolas Maduro says the protests are part of a right-wing plot backed by the US to oust his democratically elected government.
Mario Vargas Llosa said he was going to travel to Venezuela on April 15 to attend a conference organized by an opposition think-tank, Cedice.
“I will go with other liberals to lend our support and show our solidarity to those who are putting a big fight against the dictatorship of Maduro,” he said.
Mario Vargas Llosa is one of Latin America’s most acclaimed writers.
He is also known for his strong political views, including his opposition to the Cuban government and political oppression in China.
The author has previously said he wanted his 1969 novel Conversation in the Cathedral to show “how a dictatorial and authoritarian government corrupts all the society”.
Mario Vargas Llosa ran for president of Peru in 1990 but lost to Alberto Fujimori in a run-off.
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro has announced that three air force generals have been arrested for plotting an uprising against his government.
Nicolas Maduro said that the authorities had been tipped off by “young officers”.
The three generals, who have not been named, had links with the opposition, said Nicolas Maduro.
The arrests are the latest development in nearly two months of political unrest, which have cost the lives of at least 32 people.
Nicolas Maduro has announced that three air force generals have been arrested for plotting an uprising against his government (photo AFP)
Nicolas Maduro’s comments were made during a meeting with a delegation of foreign ministers of the UNASUR regional bloc, which was sent to Venezuela to assess the political crisis.
“The generals who have been detained have direct links with opposition sectors and were saying that this week was going to be decisive,” said Nicolas Maduro.
They were planning to create “chaos in the public services, power cuts across Venezuela,” he added.
He said the authorities had been alerted by “alarmed younger officers, generals, lieutenant colonels” who had been invited to join the coup. The generals were arrested on Monday night.
Nicolas Maduro has previously accused right-wing sectors backed by the US of stirring up trouble as part of a plot to oust him.
The opposition has accused the government of heavy-handedness in their response to the street protests, which began in the first week of February.
Venezuela has stripped leading opposition congresswoman Maria Corina Machado of her mandate after she spoke before the Organization of American States (OAS) last week.
Maria Corina Machado had been invited by Panama to give her account of the recent wave of unrest in Venezuela.
But Venezuela’s authorities say Maria Corina Machado “acted as a Panamanian official” by accepting the invitation.
The decision means Maria Corina Machado will lose her parliamentary immunity and could be prosecuted for “inciting violence”.
More than 30 people have died since mid-February in demonstrations against high inflation, food shortages and violence levels.
Venezuela’s National Assembly’s president, Diosdado Cabello, said Maria Corina Machado had contravened the constitution.
Venezuela has stripped Maria Corina Machado of her Congress mandate after she spoke before the OAS
Diosdado Cabello also said Maria Corina Machado was introduced at the OAS meeting in Washington DC as an “alternate ambassador” to Panama.
“Maybe the Panamanian government will now name her permanent ambassador,” he added.
Arriving in Peru’s capital, Lima, for a seminar at an institution presided by the 2010 Nobel Prize winning author Mario Vargas Llosa, Maria Corina Machado accused Diosdado Cabello of running a “dictatorship in the National Assembly”.
Maria Corina Machado wrote later on Twitter: “Mr. Cabello: I am a Congresswoman at the National Assembly so long as the people of Venezuela want it.”
She also said she was prepared to deal with the consequences of her actions.
“If the price that I must pay for having gone to the OAS so that the voice of the Venezuelan people could be heard is that I’m being persecuted today, in what they’re doing to me now, I will pay for it one and a million times.”
On Saturday, President Nicolas Maduro had already referred to Maria Corina Machado as “former congresswoman”.
Maria Corina Machado has been openly demanding the resignation of Nicolas Maduro since the start of the recent protests.
Venezuela’s government accuses “right-wing fascists” of inciting the unrest as part of a plot to overthrow the government.
Air Canada has decided to suspend flights to and from Venezuela, citing concerns over security.
Air Canada said it would consider resuming operations once the situation in Venezuela had stabilized.
The airline operated three return flights between Toronto and Caracas per week.
Twenty-nine people – from both sides of the political divide – have been killed in six weeks of protests against high inflation, crime and the shortage of many staples in Venezuela.
“Due to ongoing civil unrest in Venezuela, Air Canada can no longer ensure the safety of its operation and has suspended flights to Caracas until further notice,” says the Canadian airline in a statement.
It says customers who have not begun their travel “may obtain refunds”. Others may be rebooked on other airlines.
Air Canada has decided to suspend flights to and from Venezuela
Several international airlines have reduced operations in recent weeks in Venezuela, but their main grievance has been the government’s tight currency controls.
International airlines say the government of Nicolas Maduro owes them more than $3 billion.
Tough foreign currency controls make it difficult for foreign airlines to repatriate money obtained from ticket sales in Venezuela.
In January, Ecuadorean airline Tame suspended flights to Venezuela, demanding $43 million – one third of the company’s yearly revenue – in overdue payments for tickets.
President Nicolas Maduro said that airlines that reduced their operations in Venezuela would face “severe measures”.
“The company that leaves the country will not return while we hold power,” he said.
The government says right-wing groups backed by the US have fomented the unrest as part of a coup plot.
Tight controls over foreign exchange were first imposed in 2003, following a troubled year which saw a coup against then-President Hugo Chavez.
The government expected to avoid capital flight, but the economic crisis of the past year has led to a shortage of foreign currency.
Two months ago, Venezuela introduced further exchange controls.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has urged the US to discuss “peace and sovereignty” in a high level commission mediated by the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR).
Nicolas Maduro also asked President Barack Obama not to heed US factions that he says want to kill him.
Venezuela blames the US for the anti-government protests that have left 28 people dead in the past month.
The US says Venezuela is using it as a scapegoat for its internal problems.
Earlier, thousands of government supporters marched through the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, to thank the country’s security forces for their policing of the recent unrest.
Nicolas Maduro and several military leaders held speeches praising the “civic-military” partnership.
The president also proposed the creation of a “high-level commission” to discuss “peace and respect to the sovereignty” in Venezuela.
Nicolas Maduro has urged the US to discuss peace and sovereignty in a high level commission mediated by the UNASUR
Nicolas Maduro said he wanted the head of the National Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, to negotiate with a “high-level officer” of the US administration under the auspices of UNASUR.
“President Obama: give peace, and respect, a chance and let’s set the foundation for a new type of relations between the US, Venezuela and if possible, Latin America and the Caribbean,” Nicolas Maduro told the crowd in a speech broadcast on radio and TV.
He also warned Barack Obama against agreeing to alleged plans to kill him, put forward by “extremists” in the US administration.
“It would be the worst mistake in your life to authorize the assassination of President Nicolas Maduro and fill [Venezuela] with violence,” he told the crowd, adding he was a “humble president and bus driver” who like Barack Obama also had “African grandparents”.
Venezuela’s opposition has called for further protests on Sunday against “Cuban repression” in the country and criticized the government’s march.
“We know soldiers and officials are against this act ordered by Cuba,” Maria Corina Machado, an opposition leader, wrote on Twitter.
The opposition says it will continue to protest against Venezuela’s high inflation, food shortages and violence levels until there is a change of government.
US Secretary of State John Kerry has been accused by Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Elias Jaua of inciting violence and “murder”.
Elias Jaua was reacting to comments by John Kerry, who accused Venezuela of waging a “terror campaign against its own people” in its response to protests.
Venezuela has repeatedly accused the US of orchestrating the unrest, which already left 28 people dead.
The US argues Venezuela is using it as a scapegoat for its domestic problems.
On national television, Elias Jaua said he was not going to “tone down” his rhetoric following John Kerry’s strong words on Thursday.
“Mr. Kerry, we denounce you before the world. You are inciting violence in Venezuela, and we will denounce it in every part of the world. We denounce you as a murderer of the Venezuelan people,” Elias Jaua said in Caracas.
“Every time we’re about to isolate and reduce the violence, out comes Mr. Kerry with a speech and immediately road blocks are reactivated in the mains spots of violence,” he added.
Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Elias Jaua has accused John Kerry of inciting violence and called him a murderer
While US State Departments’ spokeswoman Marie Harf declined to comment on Elias Jaua’s comments, she said the Venezuelan government was “not telling the truth” about the protests.
On Thursday, John Kerry also said the Organization of American States (OAS), allies and neighbors should demand accountability of Venezuela over the protests.
“We are trying to find a way to get the [President Nicolas] Maduro government to end this terror campaign against his own people and to begin to, hopefully, respect human rights in an appropriate way,” John Kerry told a committee in the US Congress.
American legislators say they are ready to impose sanctions on the oil-rich nation, although no decision has yet been taken on the matter.
President Nicolas Maduro, however, offered his American counterpart, Barack Obama, some advice on Friday.
“Let’s hope that with two remaining years left [in his presidency], Mr. Obama doesn’t pass into history as the man who attacked Venezuela and filled it with violence,” he told foreign reporters in the presidential palace in Caracas.
Nicolas Maduro also said the destabilization of Venezuela would have “unbearable consequences” for the US, bringing about “political instability in Latin America” and thousands of people to seek refuge in the richer neighboring nation.
The government of Venezuela must end its “terror campaign against its own citizens”, US Secretary of State John Kerry has said.
John Kerry said the Organization of American States (OAS), allies and neighbors should demand accountability of Venezuela over the protests.
Authorities say 28 people have died since they began more than a month ago.
Venezuela accuses the US of helping “right-wing fascists” to plot a coup with the unrest.
John Kerry’s remarks are the starkest from Washington since the protests began.
“We are trying to find a way to get the [President Nicolas] Maduro government to engage with their citizens, to treat them respectfully, to end this terror campaign against his own people and to begin to, hopefully, respect human rights in an appropriate way,” John Kerry told a committee in the US Congress.
John Kerry said the OAS, allies and neighbors should demand accountability of Venezuela over the protests
American legislators have been debating whether or not to impose sanctions on Venezuela.
Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro said his week that his government had “neutralized” a “right-wing coup”.
Nicolas Maduro blamed groups in the US, Venezuela and other Latin American countries for the alleged plan.
The Venezuelan government has already expelled the Panamanian ambassador and three other diplomats.
Last month, three US diplomats were also declared “persona non-grata”, following accusations of conspiring with protesting students.
Venezuela’s Attorney General Luisa Ortega Diaz said on Thursday that 28 people had died in the protests.
Also on Thursday, renewed clashes between protesters and security forces took place in Caracas, where government supporters also marched.
The protests started in the western states of Merida and Tachira at the beginning of February by disgruntled students, who demanded more security in the region.
Dozens of demonstrators were arrested.
Less than two weeks later, three people were shot dead in Caracas on the fringes of a protest demanding students and other activists be freed.
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