Latest News Headlines Venezuela

Choose with your head or with your stomach. That is the choice that the largely starved population of Venezuela faces on Sunday.

The Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro's government gives Venezuelan identification cards to Colombians. Maduro then tries to bring them into Venezuela so they will vote for him during the presidential election of next Sunday, says the Colombian government.

Venezuela goes to the polls Sunday to choose a new president. The fact that the head of state, Nicolas Maduro, will take office in 2013, seems almost certain.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos is deeply concerned about the ever-growing influx of refugees from Venezuela. 'We need international help, the situation is very problematic', he said to the DPA news agency in Münster.

All political parties in Venezuela must have a fair chance to take part in the May 20 elections. The Venezuelan government must guarantee free and credible elections and stop undermining democracy, otherwise 'appropriate measures' can follow, warns the European Union.

US Vice President Mike Pence has called on regional leaders to do more to isolate Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. He said at the top of American countries in Peru that Washington is not 'on the sidelines' while the country collapses.

Pope Francis has called for peace in the Holy Land in his Easter message. He said that this is now being affected by conflicts that 'do not spare the defenseless.'

A fire in a police station in Venezuela killed 68 people. That is what the authorities have announced. An investigation has started.

At least five Colombian soldiers were killed on Tuesday by a bomb attack, carried out by the Marxist ELN rebels. Also, more than ten soldiers were wounded by the attack near the border with Venezuela, according to the army.

Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro has already named his new crypto petro a great success in advance. According to the head of state, there are already sold in the pre-sale for 600 million euros in petrol. He sees the virtual currency as a competitor of the American dollar. Petros will be publicly traded from next month.

Venezuelans are increasingly involved in attacks by ELN rebels in Colombia. That said the Colombian minister Luis Carlos Villegas (Defense), who is going to consult with his Venezuelan counterpart Vladimir Padrino about the security measures on the more than 2200 kilometers long border.

Due to overdue payments of the contribution Surinam may temporarily no longer cast a vote in meetings of the United Nations (UN).

Almost twenty civilians were killed in fighting in the east of Venezuela between soldiers and illegal miners. Venezuelan media reported on Monday that local authorities have confirmed acts of violence, but do not mention numbers of victims.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague has decided to investigate whether there should be a serious investigation into extrajudicial killings in the Philippines and excessive violence against demonstrators in Venezuela. Both countries have once joined the ICC and are therefore eligible to be assessed by the ICC.

The US is threatening sanctions against Venezuela's petroleum industry. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson stated that such measures are being considered because the country is slipping further and further into a dictatorship.

Rex Tillerson is going to visit colleagues in Latin America early next month (1-7 February) to mainly talk about the crisis in Venezuela.

Spain declared the Venezuelan ambassador to persona non grata on Friday. That happened a day after Caracas had told the Spanish ambassador the guard.

Nicolás Maduro participates in the upcoming presidential elections in Venezuela. The current president of the country confirmed on Wednesday that he is standing for re-election and wants to go for a new term of office.

The European Union will put seven Venezuelans affiliated with the regime of President Nicolas Maduro on a sanction list. Their possessions in the EU are frozen and they do not receive a visa. These are high-ranking political and military officials.

The United Nations is prepared to mobilize international aid for Colombia to meet the hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan refugees. This is what UN chief António Guterres said on a weekend visit to the Colombian capital Bogota.

A Colombian employee of an oil company was kidnapped by ELN rebels. The abduction was a few days after the expiry of a cease-fire with the government, just when UN top executive António Guterres visits the country, reports the BBC. According to the police, the man was taken from his workshop in Saravena near the border with Venezuela.

Nearly two hundred Arubans have been trapped in Venezuela for days since the border blockade proclaimed by President Maduro. It concerns 187 people with a Dutch passport waiting for a solution of the border conflict.

The Dutch government has not formally been informed of an extension of the Venezuelan blockade of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao. 'That is disappointing', according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The trade boycott of Venezuela for Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao remains in place. That's what the Vice President, Tarek El Aissami, said on Tuesday.

Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro has accused a series of international news agencies worldwide campaigning against Venezuela. According to Maduro, the campaign against his country is led by the AFP, AP, EFE and Reuters news agencies.

The Venezuelan army is ready this weekend at several places in the country in and around supermarkets. According to the government of the country, this is necessary after shops have been looted several times in the past few days.

Venezuela has closed the border for 72 hours for all trade with Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. President Nicolas Maduro wants to prevent this in his country from being shipped scarce food to the ABC countries.

A Swiss entrepreneur who is fascinated by the idealistic undertone of the modern literary fairy tale De kleine prins, has now collected more than 4500 copies. Soon the Swiss starts a center for children's literature in Lausanne in which his collection is recorded.

In order to make the Venezuelan holidays more enjoyable, Colombia has sent 22 tons of pork chop to Venezuela. The pork was transported by truck on the border on Saturday via the Simón Bolívar bridge.

The highest Venezuelan diplomat in Brazil is no longer welcome. According to the BBC, the authorities declared Gerardo Delgado a persona non grata.