Venezuelan Government Targets Juan Guaido as Some Power Returns

CARACAS, LELEMUKU.COM - Venezuelan officials reported blackouts easing in some areas Tuesday, while the chief prosecutor said opposition leader Juan Guaido is being investigated for allegedly sabotaging the national power grid, whose collapse last week has inflicted misery on millions.

The announcement by Tarek William Saab, the attorney general, escalated the Venezuelan government's standoff with Guaido, although there are questions about how aggressively authorities would move against a man who is staunchly supported by the United States as well as many Venezuelans.

Guaido, who is trying to oust President Nicolas Maduro and hold elections, blames corruption and incompetence for nearly a week of nationwide blackouts that deprived most of the already struggling population not just of electricity, but also water and communications.

Adding to tension over Venezuela's fate, the United States said it was withdrawing its last diplomats still in Caracas. The U.S. State Department also said U.S. citizens residing or traveling in Venezuela should leave the country, a heightening of an advisory issued Jan. 29 that said they should ``strongly consider'' doing so.

"Bye-bye," Maduro said on national television after praising the professional conduct of James Story, the top-ranking diplomat at the U.S. Embassy. Maduro also said he would seek the help of allies Cuba, Russia, China and Iran in investigating his allegation a U.S. "cyberattack" targeted Venezuelan power facilities, which he claimed was launched from Houston and Chicago.

The U.S. has dismissed the Venezuelan government's accusation as absurd and an attempt to divert attention from its own chronic failings.

Venezuela's information minister, Jorge Rodriguez, said the power grid had been almost completely restored and that water service was also returning. However, anecdotal reports indicated continuing outages for many Venezuelans, who were already suffering from hyperinflation and shortages of food and medicine.

On Tuesday, long lines of people converged again at springs in the mountains of Caracas to collect water in bottles because water pumps have been out of service without power.

Even some relatives of Maduro couldn't stand the power outages, according to authorities in Colombia.

The leader's cousin, Argimiro Maduro, along with his spouse, children and extended relatives, tried to enter the neighboring country, seeking relief until power is restored in Venezuela, said Christian Kruger, Colombia's migration director.

Permission was denied. Colombia, which views Maduro as an illegitimate leader and recognizes Guaido as Venezuela's interim president, will not allow Maduro's relatives to vacation while "avoiding the reality of a people in agony," Kruger said.

Maduro did not comment on the report that his family members tried to enter Colombia, though he has said he has been suffering alongside Venezuelans during the blackout.

One of the areas hit hardest by the power cuts that started Thursday evening is the city of Maracaibo, where widespread looting has occurred since Sunday.

On Tuesday, areas of the city still had no power and debris lay in some streets. Hundreds of people looted nearly half the 270 shops in Maracaibo's Sambil mall, even dismantling doors and windows and taking them away, said Juan Carlos Koch, the mall's general manager.

Saab, the chief prosecutor, said the case against Guaido also involves messages allegedly inciting people to rob and loot during power outages.

Guaido is already under investigation for alleged instigation of violence, but authorities have not tried to detain him since he violated a ban on leaving the country and then returned a week ago from a Latin American tour. He said at a Caracas demonstration Tuesday that allegations that he sabotaged the power grid are false.

"The whole world knows who the saboteur is. Maduro is responsible," said Guaido, who has accused the government of negligence and looting state resources for years.

Authorities also detained a Venezuelan journalist and activist and confiscated computers and cellphones from his home, human rights activists said. The arrest of Luis Carlos Diaz after he left Union Radio station Monday followed an accusation by a pro-government leader that he caused Venezuela's blackouts, Human Rights Watch said.

Michelle Bachelet, the U.N high commissioner for human rights, said that she is concerned about Diaz and that a U.N. mission visiting Caracas asked authorities for access to him.

News of the withdrawal of the last U.S. diplomats came from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who tweeted late Monday that the continued presence of the envoys in Caracas had become a "constraint" on U.S. policy. He did not clarify exactly what he meant by that remark.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said "all options are on the table" in his administration's support for Guaido. Maduro accuses Guaido and the United States of plotting an invasion.

The Venezuelan government disputed Pompeo's account, saying it had instructed the U.S. diplomats to leave. Their presence "entails risks for the peace, integrity and stability of the country," Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said.

Maduro's government in January cut ties with the U.S. over its recognition of Guaido as Venezuela's rightful leader, a stand taken by about 50 other countries. U.S. officials rejected that, saying Maduro had no authority. Venezuela later allowed a skeletal staff to remain at the hilltop U.S. Embassy. (VOA)

US to Remove All Diplomatic Personnel from Venezuela

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM - The United States says it is removing all remaining personnel from its embassy in Venezuela.

In a statement issued late Monday night, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the personnel will be pulled out of Caracas this week. Secretary Pompeo said the decision to shut down the embassy “reflects the deteriorating situation in Venezuela” as well as the conclusion that the presence of the diplomatic staff “has become a constraint on U.S. policy.”

The State Department ordered all non-emergency personnel to leave Venezuela back in January, days after President Nicolas Maduro ended diplomatic relations with Washington and ordered U.S. diplomats to leave after President Donald Trump officially recognized Juan Guaido as interim president. Guaido had declared himself president after claiming Maduro’s re-election was illegitimate.

The U.S. announcement that it was closing its embassy comes as Venezuela enters the sixth day of nationwide power outage Tuesday. Desperate residents are fetching water from a polluted river and drainage pipes, with schools and businesses closed and stores unable to keep cold and fresh whatever food is on hand.

Some hospitals have generators and doctors are hoping to be able to transfer patients who need operations to save their lives to those facilities.

Power was restored to parts of the country Monday, but was reported to be unreliable. It is also hard to confirm reports of deaths and looting coming out of Venezuela because of communication difficulties.

President Maduro blames the power outage on the United States and the political opposition, accusing them of a cyberattack on a hydroelectric dam.

Guaido says government corruption and mismanagement are the cause. Engineers say a lack of maintenance and skilled experts fleeing the country have left the Venezuelan electrical grid in terrible shape.

The United States denies having anything to do with the power shortages and Pompeo Monday blasted Cuba and Russia for backing the Maduro regime.

"No nation has done more to sustain the death and daily misery of ordinary Venezuelans, including Venezuela's military and their families, than the communists in Havana," Pompeo said. "Cuba is the true imperialist power in Venezuela."

Pompeo says Maduro sends up to 50,000 barrels of oil to Cuba per day to help prop up Cuba's "tyrant socialist economy while Maduro needs Cuban expertise and repression, to keep his grip on power. A match made in hell," said Pompeo.

Pompeo added that Russia joins Cuba in showing contempt for the rule of law and prosperity in Venezuela.

"Russia, too, has created this crisis. It, too, for its own reasons, is thwarting the Venezuelan people's legitimate democratic hopes and their dreams... The Kremlin is standing with its Venezuelan cronies against the will of the people of a sovereign nation to protect a Moscow-friendly regime."

Pompeo said oil-rich Venezuela's plunge from wealth to poverty has left economists with "amazement and horror."

The United States expanded sanctions against Venezuela Monday to include a Moscow-based bank jointly owned by the Venezuelan and Russian governments.

The Treasury Department says the bank allegedly tried to avoid earlier sanctions on Venezuela by backing Maduro's failed efforts. (Nike Ching-VOA)

US Looking for New Ways to Get Aid into Venezuela

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the U.S. is looking for ways to get humanitarian assistance into Venezuela, after troops loyal to President Nicolas Maduro repelled aid trucks in clashes at the borders with Brazil and Colombia.

The top U.S. diplomat, in an interview Sunday on CNN, did not suggest how the U.S. might carry out the aid mission in the face of armed opposition.

He said, however, that the United States would consider imposing more sanctions against the Venezuelan government to increase pressure on Maduro to quit in favor of the country's interim president, Juan Guaido, the president of the National Assembly. Guaido is considered by the U.S. and dozens of other countries as the legitimate leader in Caracas.

Pompeo called Maduro a tyrant, saying, "I'm confident that the Venezuelan people will ensure that Maduro's days are numbered."

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is meeting Monday with Guaido and other regional leaders in Bogota, the Colombian capital, to discuss a strategy against Maduro and how to get aid into Venezuela, where supplies of food and medicine have run low.

Maduro has blocked the aid effort spearheaded by the U.S., saying it is a pretext for an armed U.S. invasion.

On Saturday, Maduro supporters fired bullets at those attempting to get aid trucks into Venezuela, while Venezuelan border troops fired tear gas and rubber bullets.

Foro Penal [Criminal Forum], a group that tracks violence in Venezuela, reported four deaths at the Brazilian border with Venezuela on Saturday. It said the victims were shot by pro-government militia members.

A spokesman for the group, Alfred Romero, posted a video on Twitter saying more than two dozen other people were wounded in the violence.

At one border point, aid trucks caught fire, leading the crowd to rush to save the boxes of food and medical supplies.

A U.S. State Department official traveling with the Brazilian aid convoy told VOA that the trucks crossed the borderintoVenezuela, but were not allowed through the military checkpoint there, and did notunload their cargo.

Afterward, Guaido pressed the case for new foreign assistance to oust Maduro. "Today's events force me to make a decision: to pose to the international community in a formal way that we must have all options open to achieve the liberation of this country that is fighting and will continue to fight," he said on Twitter.

The European Union, also supporting Guaido, condemned Maduro's actions to repel the trucks with the humanitarian aid. "We repudiate the use of irregular armed groups to intimidate civilians and lawmakers who have mobilized to distribute assistance," EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on behalf of the 28-member bloc of countries.

Sunday, Pompeo deplored the fact that the Venezuelan military, despite a small number of defections to the opposition, has mostly remained loyal to Maduro.

"We hope the military will take that role back in protecting their citizens from these tragedies. If that happens, I think good things will happen," he said.

"We're aimed at a singular mission -- ensuring the Venezuelan people get the democracy they so richly deserve and the Cubans and the Russians who have been driving this country into the ground for years and years and years no longer hold sway," he said.

Colombian officials say more than 60 Venezuelan soldiers defected Saturday. Venezuelan Army Major Hugo Parra announced his defection, telling VOA Noticias he recognizes Guaido as the legitimate president of Venezuela.

Guaido tweeted his praise of the soldiers' actions. "They aren't deserters," he said. "They've decided to put themselves on the side of the people and the constitution."

Maduro announced in a speech to his supporters Saturday that he is cutting off diplomatic ties with Colombia. Colombia President Ivan Duque has been making public appearances with Guaido as they work to transport aid across Venezuelan borders.

Duque said Colombian ambassadors and consuls have 24 hours to leave Venezuela.

Colombian Foreign Minister Carlos Holms Trujillo released a statement in response, saying, "Colombia holds the usurper Maduro responsible for any aggression or violation of the rights of Colombian officials in Venezuela."

Maduro also said he would defend Venezuela's independence with his life. He called Guaido a puppet of the White House.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted his support for Guaido.

"The people of Venezuela stand at the threshold of history, ready to reclaim their country and their future. God Bless the people of Venezuela!" Trump said. (VOA)

Rival Protests,Juan Guaido Underway in Venezuela as General Defects

CARACAS, LELEMUKU.COM - Supporters of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido and President Nicolas Maduro participated in rival demonstrations Saturday in Caracas as a member of the country's air force high command disavowed Maduro's socialist government and said he recognizedGuaidoas the interim president.

Thousands of Guaido's supporters, carrying flags and blowing horns, converged on a handful of locations around Caracas in support of his call for early elections and the establishment of a transitional government amid mounting global pressure for Maduro to step down.Guaido arrived at one of the rallies with his wife, Fabiana, and was quickly surrounded by exuberant supporters.

Pro-Maduro demonstrators took to the streets on the western side of Caracas to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Bolivarian revolution that led to the rise of socialist Hugo Chavez, Maduro's deceased predecessor. Maduro addressed the crowd, the first time he has appeared at a public rally since Aug. 4.

Maduro called for new parliamentary elections earlier than planned, repeated he was the country's legitimate president and told the crowd, "I am very ashamed to see this group of opposition coup perpetrators" take orders from Washington.

As he announced his defection,Gen. Francisco Yanez called on other members of the military to defect. Top military leaders have helped Maduro survive previous mass demonstrations in recent years by jailing activists and repressing opposition protesters. It remains unclear how much military support there is forGuaido.

Guaido said in an interview with VOA Noticiashe had offered "amnesty and guarantees" to high-ranking military officials as part of a broader effort to get "this usurpation to end."

Sunday deadline

The demonstrations marked the second week of heightened tensions in Venezuela and came before a Sunday deadline set by major European countries for Maduro to call snap elections. Britain, France, Germany and Spain have said they will follow the U.S. in recognizing National Assembly SpeakerGuaidoas Venezuela's interim president if Maduro does not order new elections by Sunday.

Guaidodeclared himself interim president last week, a move that was supported by some two dozen countries.Guaidosaid during the VOA interview he would order new elections "when we achieve the capacity to convene elections." First,Guaidosaid, "we have to achieve the necessary force in order for this usurpation to end."

Guaidohas rejected offers from Mexico's and Uruguay's presidents to negotiate with Maduro.Hetold them in a letter that "to be neutral is to be on the side of the regime that has condemned hundreds of thousands of human beings to misery, hunger and exile, including death."

Maduro has presided over Venezuela's economic collapse that has resulted in chronic food and medicine shortages. He blames the U.S. for supporting what he calls a coup to remove him from power and exploit Venezuela's vast oil reserves.

Guaidotold supporters Saturday that the opposition would start collecting humanitarian aid in Brazil, Colombia and an unnamed Caribbean island, andhe calledon the military to allow the aid into the country.

'No time for dialogue'

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence met Friday with exiled Venezuelans in the southeastern U.S. city of Miami. He reassured them the U.S. would continue efforts to oust Maduro from office.

"This is no time for dialogue," Pence said. "It is time to end the Maduro regime."

Saturday's opposition protests were the second such action taken this week.Guaidoled a peaceful demonstration Wednesday in Caracas, a week after street protests deteriorated into days of violence that resulted in the deaths of nearly three dozen people during clashes with government security forces. (VOA)

US Warns Venezuela's Top Prosecutor Against Threatening Guaido

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM - U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton warned Venezuela's attorney general that there may be "serious consequences" after the prosecutor asked the country's Supreme Court to keep opposition leader Juan Guaido from leaving the country.

"We denounce the illegitimate former Venezuelan Attorney General's threats against President Juan Guaido," Bolton wrote Tuesday on Twitter. He added the consequences will hit "those who attempt to subvert democracy and harm Guaido."

Attorney General Tarek William Saab also asked the court to block Guaido's financial accounts, as he launched a criminal investigation into Guaido's activities against President Nicolas Maduro's socialist government.

Saab said the probe is linked to unrest that came after Guaido declared himself the country's legitimate president last week.

In a CNN interview Tuesday, Guaido said it is possible to have a peaceful transition from Maduro and eventually hold free elections.

Guaido's remarks came after Washington imposed sanctions on PDVSA, Venezuela's government-owned oil company.

The Trump administration said the sanctions are intended to preserve the assets for the Venezuelan people. The U.S. has recognized Guaido as the country's interim leader and condemned the 2018 election, in which Maduro won another term, as a charade that was neither free nor fair.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is meeting at the White House on Tuesday with Carlos Alfredo Vecchio, appointed by Guaido to be Venezuela's representative in the United States.

'Stealing' Citgo

The sanctions announced Monday will freeze any assets the state-owned PDVSA has in the United States. U.S. firms and citizens are barred from doing business with it.

PDVSA's U.S.-based subsidiary, Citgo, which refines Venezuelan oil and sells Citgo brand gasoline in the U.S., will continue to operate as usual. But any money Citgo earns will be placed in a blocked account.

Maduro said the United States is trying to "steal" Citgo from Venezuela.

"I have given specific instructions to the head of PDVSA to launch political and legal action in U.S. and international courts to defend the property and assets of Citgo," he said on Venezuelan television.

The embattled president also demanded that his U.S. counterpart keep his "hands off" Venezuela, and warned that if violence breaks out in the country "the blood that could flow in Venezuela will be blood that will be on your hands."

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Maduro and his allies have long used the state oil company as a vehicle for corruption and embezzlement. He said Venezuela is rich in oil and there is no reason for its people to suffer thorough economic disaster and severe food and fuel shortages.

PDVSA is the country's main source of income and cash from the United States. Venezuela's oil industry has long relied on the U.S.

Mnuchin said Venezuela can get relief from the sanctions when control of the oil company is turned over to Guaido.

Backing Guaido

In other developments, the U.S. State Department said Tuesday it has certified the authority of Guaido to control specific Venezuelan government assets held by any U.S.-insured bank. State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said the certification "will help Venezuela's legitimate government safeguard those assets for the benefit of the Venezuelan people."

Guaido declared himself president last week after his opposition-controlled National Assembly declared Maduro's presidency illegitimate.

Guaido called on Venezuelans to mount a peaceful, two-hour, midday protest Wednesday "to demand that the armed forces side with the people." He is offering amnesty to soldiers who back his movement and reject Maduro's socialist government.

Maduro insisted Sunday that the military is on his side as he watched military exercises using Russian-built rocket-propelled grenades and anti-aircraft machine guns.

The collapse of world energy prices, corruption and failed socialist policies have created an economic and humanitarian crisis in oil-rich Venezuela.

Food, fuel and medicine are in extremely short supply. Inflation is out of control. Millions of Venezuelans have fled the country, and Maduro has shown little tolerance for opposition-led protests.

Mounting tensions in Venezuela prompted the U.S. State Department to warn U.S. citizens Tuesday not to travel to the country. The agency issued the warning "due to crime, civil unrest, poor health infrastructure, and arbitrary arrest and detention of U.S. citizens."

Maduro has blamed his country's woes on the United States, which he accuses of working with the opposition to topple the government.

He has called world leaders who want him gone "Trump sycophants." (VOA)

UN Rights Chief Calls for Talks on Venezuela Crisis

CARACAS, LELEMUKU.COM - U.N. rights chief Michelle Bachelet has called for talks to defuse the situation in Venezuela, saying that it “may rapidly spiral out of control with catastrophic consequences.”

Bachelet also called for an independent investigation into reports that Venezuelan security forces had killed 20 people and detained more than 350 in protests this week.

United States President Donald Trump bluntly warned Maduro Thursday that “all options are on the table” if there is not a peaceful transition to democracy in the South American country.

Severing diplomatic ties

On Wednesday, Venezuela’s disputed president Nicolas Maduro said he was ending diplomatic relations with the United States in response to Trump’s announcement that the U.S. was officially recognizing National Assembly President Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s interim leader, as Guaido declared himself interim president during a day of mass demonstrations.

Maduro ordered U.S. diplomats to leave within 72 hours. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, however, said Maduro no longer has the authority to issue orders.

Thursday, 16 of the 34 nations in the Organization of American States (OAS) recognized Guaido, the opposition head of the National Assembly, as the interim president of Venezuela at an emergency session.

Pompeo urged members to oppose the “illegitimate” Maduro and pledged to make $20 million available for humanitarian assistance to Venezuela.

“All OAS member states must align themselves with democracy and respect for the rule of law,” the top U.S. diplomat said.

Meanwhile, the State Department ordered non-emergency personnel to leave Venezuela, but is not closing its embassy in Caracas.

The department said it was ordering the evacuating for security reasons, and that U.S. citizens should “strongly consider” leaving the country.

More sanctions possible

White House officials emphasized that Trump is not ruling out any response, such as a naval blockade or other military action, if Maduro unleashes violence against protesters or takes action against Guaido.

The most immediate action by Washington likely would be enhanced sanctions against members of Maduro’s government.

“In our sanctions, we’ve barely scratched the surface on what actions the United States can take,” said a senior administration official.

Several nations have joined the U.S. in recognizing Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president, including Canada and 11 of the 14 members of the newly formed Lima Group of Latin nations, among them Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Peru.

French President Emmanuel Macron called Venezuela’s elections “illegitimate” in a Tweet on Thursday, and saluted the bravery of Venezuelans demanding freedom.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Thursday the situation in Venezuela could descend into “disaster” if the country’s main political rivals fail to reach an agreement.

Speaking Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Guterres said the U.N. hopes “dialogue can be possible, and that we avoid an escalation that would lead to the kind of conflict that would be a disaster” for the people of Venezuela and the region.

Warnings from Russia, China

But officials in Russia, one of Venezuela’s biggest allies, reacted with anger Thursday at the United States and other Western nations for backing Guaido, accusing them of interfering in its internal affairs. Russia’s Foreign Ministry warned the United States against any military intervention, saying such a move would have “catastrophic” consequences.

China urged the United States to stay out of the crisis. Beijing and Moscow have extensive economic interests, having loaned Caracas billions of dollars.

Bolivia, Cuba, Iran and Syria also have issued statements throwing their support behind Maduro.

The three member nations of the Lima Group that have not supported Guaido are Guyana, Saint Lucia and Mexico.

“From a constitutional, humanitarian, and democratic perspective — and according to international law — there was no option left for the United States and the international community but to recognize Juan Guaido as the interim president of Venezuela,” Moises Rendon, associate director and associate fellow of the CSIS Americas Program, told VOA.

Venezuela and its state-owned oil company, PDVSA, are estimated to owe $7 billion on a combined trade debt of about $60 billion. The country’s oil-based economy, which is wracked by hyperinflation, has collapsed. (VOA)

Venezuela Crisis: Familiar Geopolitical Sides Take Shape

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM - Russia, China, Iran, Syria and Cuba have come down on one side. The United States, Canada, and countries in Western Europe are on the other.

As the crisis in Venezuela reaches a new boiling point — with embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro facing a challenge from opposition leader Juan Guaido — the geopolitical fault lines look familiar.

President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued statements Wednesday proclaiming U.S. recognition of Guaido, saying the U.S. would take all diplomatic and economic measures necessary to support a transition to a new government. Canada said it was recognizing Guaido as the interim president, and British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt called him “the right person” to take Venezuela forward.

But Washington's adversaries are issuing warnings against U.S. intervention. Russian officials have called the move a “coup” orchestrated by the U.S.

The U.S. and Russia already are at odds over Syria's civil war, and the Venezuelan crisis has the potential to add further strain. Russian-U.S. ties have sunk to post-Cold War lows over Moscow's support of separatists in Ukraine and allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.

“We view the attempt to usurp power in Venezuela as something that contradicts and violates the foundations and principles of international law,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Putin calls Maduro

In a phone call with Maduro, President Vladimir Putin expressed support, noting that “destructive foreign interference tramples on basic norms of the international law,” and called for a peaceful dialogue, according to the Kremlin.

Venezuela's status as a major oil producer — it has the world's largest underground oil reserves, but crude production continues to crash — means its political instability has deep implications globally.

And Russia has taken a special interest. Last month, Russia sent two Tu-160 nuclear-capable bombers to Venezuela for several days in what was seen as a precursor for a possible long-term military presence.

Pompeo criticized the move at the time as “two corrupt governments squandering public funds and squelching liberty and freedom while their people suffer. Peskov dismissed the comment as “undiplomatic” and “inappropriate,” saying that half of the U.S. military budget “would be enough to feed the whole of Africa.”

Crisis at a ‘dangerous point’

Russia's Foreign Ministry said Thursday the crisis now “has reached a dangerous point” and urged the international community to mediate between the government and the opposition.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev even injected some domestic U.S. politics into the equation, citing the partial government shutdown and the differences between Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“Let's imagine, just for an instant, how the American people would respond, for example, to the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives declaring herself the new president against the backdrop of the budget crisis and government shutdown,” Medvedev said on Facebook. “What would be the reaction from the current U.S. president, especially if this move was supported by the leadership of another country, for example, Russia?”

Russia frequently decries popular uprisings like the “color revolutions” that have taken place in Ukraine, Georgia and other countries in its former sphere of influence.

Warning from China

China's Foreign Ministry also sternly urged against interference by Washington in Venezuela. Beijing's allies, including Iran and Syria, followed suit.

China “opposes external intervention in Venezuela,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said. “We hope that Venezuela and the United States can respect and treat each other on an equal footing, and deal with their relations based on non-interference in each other's internal affairs.”

In the last decade, China has given Venezuela $65 billion in loans, cash and investment. Venezuela owes it more than $20 billion. China's only hope of being repaid appears to lie in Venezuela ramping up oil production, although low oil prices and the country's crashing economy appear to bode poorly for such an outcome.

Russia’s Rosneft heavily invested

The Russian state-controlled oil company Rosneft has invested heavily in Venezuela, and its chief executive, Igor Sechin, visited Caracas in November, pressuring the Maduro government to make good on its commitments to his company. Russia, a major oil producer itself, has been buying oil from the state-run Venezuelan company PDVSA, and Sechin reportedly went to Caracas to raise concerns about Venezuela halting oil supplies.

Russia is estimated to have poured in at least $17 billion in Venezuela in loans and investment since Maduro's populist predecessor, Hugo Chavez, came to power in 1999. The Economic Development Ministry said Russia has invested around $4 billion in Venezuela, mostly in joint oil projects.

Asked if Russia would be willing to grant asylum to Maduro, the Kremlin spokesman Peskov refused to speculate and insisted that Moscow views Maduro as the only legitimate leader. Maduro visited Moscow in early December, seeking political and economic assistance as Venezuela has faced sky-high inflation and food shortages.

Shared dislike of U.S.

For Iran, its relationship with Venezuela hinges on their mutual enmity toward the U.S.

Chavez traveled to Iran in 2006 and received the country's Islamic Republic Medal, its highest award, from hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who called Chavez a “brother and a trench mate.” Chavez vowed Venezuela would “stay by Iran at any time and under any condition.” Both leaders faced criticism from then-U.S. President George W. Bush and offered their own withering criticism of him.

After Maduro took power upon Chavez's death in 2013, Iran has maintained its support of Venezuela. On Thursday, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi criticized the U.S. and other countries over meddling in Venezuela.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran supports the government and people of Venezuela against any foreign intervention in the internal affairs of Venezuela or any other illegitimate and illegal measure such as a coup d'etat,” Ghasemi said.

Turkey offers support

Strong endorsement for the current Venezuelan government also came from Turkey, where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a message of support: “My brother Maduro! Stay strong, we are by your side.”

Turkey also has cultivated close economic and political ties with Maduro. During a visit to Venezuela in December, Erdogan blamed U.S. sanctions for the country's economic hardships.

Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said Turkey, under Erdogan, would “maintain its principled stance against coup attempts.” Erdogan himself faced a military coup attempt in 2016.

‘Full solidarity’ from Syria

Syria also came to the defense of Maduro's government.

Damascus reaffirmed its “full solidarity with the leadership and people of the Venezuelan Republic in preserving the country's sovereignty and foiling the American administration's hostile plans,” the Syrian Foreign Ministry said.

Cuba's Foreign Ministry said Havana “expresses its unwavering solidarity” with the Maduro government. Cuba has sent its closest ally tens of thousands of workers, from doctors to intelligence officials, and in return has received tens of thousands of barrels a day in heavily subsidized oil. (VOA)

US Vice President, Pence to Venezuelan Opposition: 'We Are With You'

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM - U.S. Vice President Mike Pence released a video message Tuesday to the people of Venezuela, urging them to "make your voices heard" in nationwide protests expected on Wednesday.

Pence's message supported the political opposition to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his hard-left government.

The opposition-controlled National Assembly, which Maduro has declared invalid, has called for Wednesday's protests.

"We are with you," he told the political opposition in English, sprinkled with Spanish phrases. "We stand with you." The message was subtitled in Spanish. "We will stay with you until democracy is restored and you reclaim your birthright of" -- he switched to the Spanish word -- "Libertad," or, in English, liberty.

In the message Pence calls opposition leader Juan Guaido, recently sworn in as head of the National Assembly, "courageous." He said the Assembly is the "last vestige" of democracy in Venezuela.

His message concluded, "Vayan con Dios," or in English, "Go with God."

On Monday the Venezuelan Defense Ministry said Venezuelan security forces arrested 27 National Guardsmen, after they allegedly revolted against the government of President Nicolas Maduro.

The ministry said "a small group" of National Guard members had taken four hostages and stolen weapons from an outpost in Caracas' Cotiza neighborhood during a pre-dawn action.

The military said it had recovered all the weapons and captured those involved in what it described as "treasonous'' acts motivated by "obscure interests tied to the far right.''

A few hours earlier, a group of guardsmen also reportedly posted videos on social media saying they won't recognize the Maduro government and urged him to leave office. They asked those seeing the video to help them overthrow the government.

The failed revolt sparked protests in the poor neighborhoods of the capital as the news spread. At daybreak in Cotiza, a group of young men built a barricade across the street with a burning car, heavy sewer grates and a large chunk of concrete. "Freedom! Freedom!'' they chanted. "Maduro has to go!''

Maduro's administration has come under increasing domestic and international pressure as he begins a second term that that the opposition-led congress considers illegitimate. (VOA)

Venezuela Govt Puts down Mutiny in Caracas by National Guard Unit

CARACAS, LELEMUKU.COM - Venezuela's government said Monday it put down a mutiny by a National Guard unit in a poor neighborhood a few miles (kilometers) from Venezuela's presidential palace.

The uprising triggered protests in the same neighborhood, which were dispersed with tear gas as residents set fire to a street barricade of trash and chanted demands that President Nicolas Maduro leave power.

The armed forces in a statement said that it had captured all those involved in what it described as "treasonous" acts motivated by "obscure interests tied to the far right."

It said at around 2:50 a.m. (06:50 GMT), a small group of guardsmen took captive a captain in charge of a police station in western Caracas and then moved across the capital in two military trucks to the poor neighborhood of Petare, where they stole a cache of weapons from another outpost.

They met resistance and were caught hours later at a national guard outpost 3 kilometers (2 miles) from the Miraflores presidential palace.

The armed forces said all the weapons had been recovered and the mutinous troops captured.

A few hours earlier, a group of heavily armed national guardsmen published a series of videos on social media saying they won't recognize President Nicolas Maduro's government, which has come under increasing domestic and international pressure over a newly launched second term that the opposition-controlled congress and many nations consider illegitimate.

In one of the videos, a man identifying himself as 3rd Sgt. Alexander Bandres Figueroa, addressing the "people of Venezuela," urges his compatriots to take to the streets to show support for their rebellion.

"You asked to take to the streets to defend the constitution, well here we are," he said in a video shot at night in which several heavily armed men and a national guard truck can be seen in the background.

"You wanted us to light the fuse, so we did. We need your support," he added.

At daybreak in the adjacent neighborhood of Cotiza, a group of shirtless young men, some with their faces covered, built a barricade across the street with a burning car, heavy sewer grates and a large chunk of concrete.

An angry group of women shouted that they have lived for too long without running water.

"Freedom! Freedom!" they chanted. "Maduro has to go!"

"We must defend our homeland," Maria Fernanda Rodriguez, a 36-year-old manicurist, told The Associated Press, her eyes welling from the tear gas.

Juan Guaido, president of the congress, said the incident is a sign of growing discontent within the armed forces.

"Our military knows that the command chain is broken by the usurpation of the presidency," Guaido said in a message on Twitter in which he reiterated a promise to support all members of the armed forces working to restore Venezuela's democratic order.

Pressure has been mounting on Maduro to cede power after he began as second, six-year term this month. The U.S. and dozens of other foreign governments consider it illegitimate, in part because he banned several leading opponents from running against him.

While discontent among Venezuelans is rising amid widespread food shortages and hyperinflation, Maduro is believed to have the loyalty of his top military command. In the past troops have easily put down small uprisings.

Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said on Twitter that those responsible for the incident would be punished with the full force of the law. (VOA)

Lenin Moreno : Ecuador to Tighten Controls on Venezuelan Immigrants After Murder

QUITO, LELEMUKU.COM - Ecuador is setting up new units to check Venezuelan immigrants' legal status and may tighten entry requirements after a Venezuelan man murdered his pregnant Ecuadorian girlfriend, President Lenin Moreno said on Sunday.

The killing in the northern city of Ibarra is the first reported murder perpetrated by a Venezuelan immigrant in Ecuador since hundreds of thousands have arrived there after fleeing an economic crisis in Venezuela.

"I have ordered the immediate setting up of units to control Venezuelan immigrants' legal status in the streets, in the workplace, and at the border," Moreno said on Twitter.

The government, he added, may create a new "special permit" for Venezuelans to enter the country. He did not give further details about the units or how they will operate.

"Ecuador is and will be a country of peace. I will not allow any criminal to take that away from us," he said.

The Venezuelan man held his victim hostage on a busy street for about an hour on Saturday evening before stabbing her to death. He was then arrested by police.

Interior Minister Maria Paula Romo said she had fired Ibarra's police chief for not preventing the murder, which she said officers could have used force to prevent.

Ecuador estimates that some 1.3 million Venezuelans entered the country last year via Colombia, though most continue to Peru, fleeing a hyperinflationary collapse back home that has left millions unable to obtain basic food or medicine.

Last year, Ecuador's government said it was changing entry requirements to require that Venezuelans present a passport, but a judge blocked that change.

The president of the Association of Venezuelans in Ecuador, Daniel Regalado, said the murder risked demonizing Venezuelans just because they did not have legal status.

"These are isolated cases and they don't involve the whole Venezuelan community in Ecuador," Regalado said in an interview. (VOA)

12 Charged in Detention of Venezuelan Opposition Leader

CARACAS, LELEMUKU.COM - Venezuelan authorities say 12 officials with the country's intelligence agency will be tried for their role in the brief detention of an opposition leader whose confinement sparked international outrage as he ramps up pressure on President Nicolas Maduro.

Authorities announced Wednesday that a court in Venezuela's capital had decided to keep the agents with the feared SEBIN intelligence police under arrest as they await trial on charges that include "illegitimate detention'' and "abuse of functions.''

National Assembly President Juan Guaidowas forced out of a vehicle on his way to an anti-government rally Sunday and released within an hour.

Guaidohas catapulted himself into the limelight after becoming the leader of the only branch of government controlled by the opposition. The assembly passed a resolution Tuesday accusing Maduro of "usurping'' power. (VOA)

Caracas AM Danza, Disabled Venezuelans Reach New Heights Through Dance

CARACAS, LELEMUKU.COM - A stray bullet crushed Iraly Yanez’s aspirations of becoming a professional dancer eight years ago as it ruptured two of her vertebrae and left her paraplegic.

But now the young Venezuelan dancer is pursuing her lifelong passion in a wheelchair — and hoping to put her career back on track — thanks to a contemporary dance company that is helping disabled people perform.

Caracas based AM Danza works with 50 young Venezuelans who are pursuing their passion for dance despite limitations like broken spines, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome or blindness.

Yanez, 34, joined the group three months ago and recently performed in her wheelchair in an emotional hour-long show that the dance troupe put together for its followers.

“This is the opportunity of a lifetime” Yanez said after the contemporary dance review, “Ubuntu,” was held in one of the Venezuelan capital’s most prestigious theatres. “I can’t allow external issues to affect me any longer.”

During the show, disabled dancers performed alongside fully abled professional dancers to demonstrate that art knows no barriers. Some members of the audience shed tears.

Dancers with limited mobility in their legs lifted their crutches in the air in unison. A dancer hoisted Yanez from her wheelchair and lifted her above her shoulders to perform complex moves.

“Dancing is all about passion” said AM Danza’s director, Alexander Madriz. “You have to enjoy your possibilities and use your body to express emotions.”

Madriz has worked for two decades with dancers who have disabilities and says that thanks to them he has learned that corporal expression has no limits.

“Not everything has to be the perfect lines and symmetry that you see in contemporary classical dance” he said.

Madriz, 47, said that the students’ love for dance has helped them overcome the numerous obstacles faced by disabled people in Venezuela, where public transport is still mostly inaccessible to people on wheelchairs and ramps on sidewalks and public buildings are few and far between.

In addition, like everyone else in Venezuela, they have to cope with rampant medical shortages and hyperinflation that has devastated their incomes.

Yanez says that on weekdays she can spend up to three hours waiting for one of the few wheelchair-friendly buses that pass through her humble neighborhood in the suburbs of Caracas to take her to AM’s dance studio.

But that doesn’t seem to diminish her will to train.

She said that the dance company has allowed her to come to terms with the accident that changed her life and make feel like she can now “fly through the sky.”

The ballerina was hit by a stray bullet on New Year’s eve in 2010 as she entered her home in a crime-ridden slum. That was the end of her dancing until she joined AM Danza in September.

As 2018 comes to a close, Yanez says she is looking forward to participating in more performances.

In the kitchen of her small apartment, she glanced at a drawing of dancers posted on the refrigerator by her 10-year-old niece, who also now practices ballet.

“She’s one of the reasons that I am keeping up my struggle” Yanez said. “I see her, and I also see myself.” (VOA)

United Nations Seeks $738M to Help Venezuela's Migrant Flood

CARACAS, LELEMUKU.COM - The United Nations said on Tuesday it was seeking $738 million in 2019 to help neighboring countries cope with the inflow of millions of Venezuelan refugees and migrants, who have "no prospect for return in the short to medium term".

It was the first time that the crisis was included in the U.N. annual global humanitarian appeal which is $21.9 billion for 2019 without Syria.

Three million Venezuelans have fled the political and economic crisis in the Andean country, most since 2015, according to the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR.

"There is one crisis for which we for the first time have a response plan, which is to help the countries neighboring Venezuela deal with the consequences of large numbers of Venezuelans leaving the country," U.N. emergency relief coordinator Mark Lowcock told a Geneva news briefing.

In Caracas, Venezuela’s Information Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

The majority of Venezuelans who have left have gone to 16 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, led by Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

"In 2019, an estimated 3.6 million people will be in need of assistance and protection, with no prospects for return in the short to medium term," the U.N. appeal said.

Colombia, which has taken in one million Venezuelans, is "bearing the biggest burden of all", Lowcock said.

President Nicolas Maduro blames the country's economic problems on U.S. financial sanctions and an "economic war" led by political adversaries.

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maduro would discuss financial help for Caracas when the two leaders meet in Moscow on Wednesday.

The exodus, driven by violence, hyperinflation and major shortages of food and medicine, led to a U.N. emergency appeal of $9 million announced last week for health and nutrition projects inside Venezuela.

Lowcock, asked about Venezuelan government acceptance of aid inside the country, said:

"I think there is a shared agreement that more U.N. help in those sorts of areas would be a very helpful thing in reducing the suffering of people inside Venezuela.

"What we have agreed with the government of Venezuela is that we should strengthen our collaborative work and support for
example in area of health services and nutrition," he said.

David Beasley, executive director of the World Food Programme (WFP), told a separate briefing: "This is a story unfolding, we have yet to be allowed access inside Venezuela."

The WFP has urged the United States and other donors to help it reach Venezuelans in surrounding countries with rations, he said, "because many of the people, if they can just get food, they will at least stay in their home area, in that region." (VOA)