#VENEZUELA: Maduro Regime Wins Seat On UN Human Rights Commission

[world politics news]

The government of President Nicolás Maduro won a seat Thursday on the U.N. Human Rights Council, a controversial victory for a regime accused of using intimidation, torture and murder to cling to power.

The Maduro government, no longer recognized as legitimate by the United States and around 50 other countries, had sought a return to the 47-member panel to counter an image of international isolation - and thwart investigations into its own alleged abuses.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#RUSSIA: Loyalty Of The Kremlin To Venezuela May Last As Long As Debt Payments Continue; And They Might Not

[world politics news]

How seriously should the US take Russian determination to stand by Venezuelan strongman Maduro? Perhaps not very strongly. Their loyalty may last as long as they continue to make payments on Russian loans.

Reports are circulating that Russia expects Venezuela to make its next scheduled debt repayment to Moscow on schedule at the end of March. Venezuela has sunk into economic and political turmoil under Maduro, with inflation seen rising to 10 million percent this year, leading to food shortages, protests and mass emigration.

The opposition disputes the legitimacy of Maduro's re-election to a second term last year, and opposition leader Juan Guaido, 35, proclaimed himself interim president this month. The US, along with Canada and several neighboring Central and South American nations, have recognized Guaido as Venezuela's rightful leader, while Russia has continued to back Maduro.

When asked if the new Venezuela may have trouble making payments on Russia's loans, Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak said  "There will probably be problems. Everything now depends on the army, on the soldiers and how faithful they will be to their duty and oath. It is difficult, impossible to give a different assessment."

For its part, the Russian Finance Ministry issued a separate statement saying it still expected the next payment to be made on time.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#VENEZUELA: Angry Politician Calls Angelina Jolie A "CIA Agent" After She Meets With Venezuelan Refugees In Peru

[world politics news]

The president of Venezuela's Constituent National Assembly is accusing Angelina Jolie of being a CIA agent after the award-winning actress concluded her trip to Peru to meet with refugees who have fled the once prosperous South American nation.

"They are agents of imperialism, the CIA, the Pentagon, all of those entities that imperialism has to act and place a tear that runs in rivers for the world to believe that ... they have touched the heart of a Hollywood star," Diosdado Cabello said  during his weekly television program.

Cabello, a key figure under the Hugo Chavez regime and who has been at the head of the country's Chavez-created "Constituent Assembly" since 2012, offered no evidence to support his claims about Jolie.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#VENEZUELA: Economic Reforms Include Plan To Knock Five Zeros From Currency

[world politics news]

The beleaguered regime of Nicolas Maduro is launching a "new" currency Monday, in a desperate attempt to stem inflation and tackle its economic crisis. The new 'sovereign bolivar' will enter circulation on Monday, which has been declared a national holiday so that the population can get used to the new banknotes. Inflation in Venezuela is forecast by to hit a million per cent this year, with a cup of coffee now costing around two million bolivars.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#VENEZUELA: Pres. Maduro Strips Parliament Of Power, Deepening Political Crisis

[world politics news]

Venezuela’s political crisis has deepened after a new pro-government "superbody" stripped the opposition-held parliament of its legislative powers and the fugitive attorney general accused President Nicolás Maduro of links to a corruption scandal. The move by the national constituent assembly, denounced by regional powers and the US, has limited practical impact. The government had in effect neutered the parliament soon after the 2015 election that brought it to power, and the new constituent assembly already has virtually unlimited reach.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#PERU: Gov't Orders Venezuelan Ambassador Out To Protest Maduro's Constituent Assembly

[world politics news]

The Peruvian government has ordered the Venezuelan ambassador in Lima to leave within five days over a perceived breakdown in Venezuela’s democratic order. Peru said the ouster had followed Venezuela’s failure to respond to a declaration issued by American nations at this Tuesday’s meeting in Lima where they announced they did not recognize President Nicolas Maduro’s new constituent assembly.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#VENEZUELA: Opposition Leaders Taken From Homes By Maduro Regime Following Election

[world politics news]

Leading Venezuelan opposition figures Leopoldo Lopez and Antonio Ledezma were taken from their homes early Tuesday, according to their families, after they opposed a controversial election that critics say will let President Nicolás Maduro illegitimately consolidate power.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#VENEZUELA: Maduro Dictatorship Hold Election For New Assembly Widely Condemned As A "Sham"

[world politics news]

There was a light turnout for the selection of a 545-members of the National Constituent Assembly, whose candidates were hand-picked by the Socialist regime of Nicolas Maduro. The Assembly will replace the current opposition-controlled parliament, and it is feared it will quickly write a new constitution giving Maduro's party absolute power. These elections take place after more than three months of protests that have left more than 120 deaths all over the country. The US and some South American nations have condemned the one-sided election as a "sham."

[FULL STORY HERE]

#VENEZUELA: Opposition Leader Released From Prison

[world politics news]

Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez was on Saturday released from military prison and transferred to house arrest, an order the Supreme Court said was for health reasons.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#VENEZUELA: Protests Planned To Commemorate Those Killed in Demonstrations

[world politics news]

After weeks of violent protests that left at the very least 22 individuals lifeless, Venezuelans will take to the streets Saturday wearing white to pay tribute to these killed in anti-authorities demonstrations this month.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#VENEZUELA: Oppo. Denounces "Coup" As Maduro-Friendly Court Disbands National Assembly, Seizes Control

[world politics news]

Venezuela's opposition is calling the Supreme Court's move Thursday to dissolve the opposition-controlled Congress and assume full control over all branches of government a "coup." The court is the virtual puppet of Socialist Pres. Maduro. There was swift and widespread international condemnation of the annulment of the National Assembly. The head of the Organization of International States, Luis Almagro, said the Venezuelan court had dealt the final blows to democracy.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#VENEZUELA: USA Sanctions VP El Aissami For Involvement In Narcotics Trafficking

[world politics news]

The U.S. government added Venezuelan Vice President Tarek El Aissami to its sanctions list Monday, saying he “played a significant role in international narcotics trafficking” and freezing his access to a fortune estimated at $3 billion after a lengthy investigation of his alleged links to drug traffickers and Muslim extremists.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#VENEZUELA: Opposition Marches Call For President Maduro's Ouster Amid Violent Crackdown

[world politics news]

Rivals and allies of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro rallied in the streets Monday as the opposition demanded early elections to oust him over the country's ongoing economic and political crisis. It was the first coordinated street demonstration called by the opposition since Maduro launched a crackdown with the arrests of several of his opponents early this month.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#VENEZUELA: Mass Opposition Protests Planned After Referendum On Maduro Recall Denied

[world politics news]

The opposition coalition in Venezuela is planning sustained street protests after a ruling by the National Electoral Council not to allow a Referendum on the Presidency of Nicolas Maduro this year. Instead, they are requiring the high hurdle of the signatures of 20% of all voters in each state, and would only allow a referendum late next year. The opposition is seeking the removal of the Maduro's leftist regime as the economy endures a full collapse.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#VENEZUELA: Socialist Regime Arrests Oppo Ldr At Home In 3 AM Raid

[world politics news]

Human rights figures around the world are condemning the Socialist regime of Nicolas Maduro after opposition leader Daniel Ceballos was arrested in a 3 a.m. raid on his home this past Saturday. Security forces said he was being taken to a "medical exam," but a waiting ambulance instead took him to a prison. Tensions are rising as mass protests against Maduro are scheduled for Thursday, seeking his removal from office.

#VENEZUELA: South American MERCOSUR Trade Group May Expel Venezuela

[world politics news]

The coordinators of MERCOSUR - a trade association consisting of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela - may decide as early as Aug. 23 to expel Venezuela, which joined in 2012. A meeting in Montevideo, Uruguay will discuss legal sanctions on Venezuela, which self proclaimed itself the presidency of the group on July 30, and is also allegedly not complying with over 200 rules and regulations, requirements they agreed to when they joined. Venezuela could then lose its full member status.

Pictured: The flags of MERCOSUR’s five member-states: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela. 

#VENEZUELA: Desperate For Food, Gov't Uses Forced Labor In The Fields

[world politics news]

The government of Venezuela has issued a decree that "effectively amounts to forced labor" in an attempt to fix a spiraling food crisis, according to a new report from Amnesty International. A Venezuelan ministry last week announced Resolution No. 9855, which calls for the establishment of a "transitory labor regime" in order to relaunch the agricultural and food sector. The decree says that workers can be forcefully moved from their jobs to work in farm fields or elsewhere in the agricultural sector for periods of 60 days.

#CUBA: Economy Slows To 1%; Pres. Raul Castro Says Venezuela Crisis Partly To Blame

[world politics news]

Pres. Raul Castro says the crisis in Venezuela, Cuba's key ally and main trading partner, is having a negative effect on the island's Communist economy. Officials have begun ordering energy-saving measures and rationing for the coming months. The Cuban leader said the economy grew just one percent in the first part of the year, half of what the government had planned for.

#VENEZUELA: War of Words Heats Up Between Opposition-Run Nat'l Assembly And Maduro Regime

[world politics news]

The president of the nation's parliament has called Pres. Maduro "a fool" heading an "outlaw" regime, and Maduro's team has struck back, saying he was acting like a "rude troublemaker." The National Assembly, run by the opposition to the Leftist Maduro regime since last December, is becoming bolder in it's plan to oust him in the next six months.

#VENEZUELA: Nat'l Assembly's Conservatives Want To Privatize Public Housing; Emulating Thatcher

[world politics news]

Venezuela's right wing-controlled National Assembly took a step closer Thursday to approving a bill that would privatize ownership of public housing. The bill has widespread support among the majority right-wing coalition, the Democratic Unity Roundtable, but is fiercely opposed by President Nicolas Maduro.