Venezuela

CARACAS/MARACAY, Venezuela (Reuters) - Fuel shipped from Iran began arriving at Venezuela’s gasoline stations on Saturday, just hours before President Nicolas Maduro announced higher prices at the pump that are set to end more than two decades of almost-free gasoline.

As authorities in the country with the world’s cheapest gasoline got ready to expand retail sales under a system combining subsidies and international prices, the fifth cargo of an Iranian flotilla approached the Caribbean Sea and is expected to reach Venezuelan waters on Sunday, according to Refinitiv Eikon.

28 May 2020; MEMO: The third Iranian oil tanker carrying gasoline and oil products arrived on Tuesday safely in Venezuela despite the United States’ threats to prevent the delivery.

Venezuela announced that Petunia entered its exclusive economic zone following the same route as the Fortune, which arrived earlier in the day, and the Forest, which was the first to arrive at the oil terminal.

CARACAS, May 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Venezuela’s Supreme Court approved opposition member Luis Parra as parliament speaker after a tense, months-long stand-off with opposition leader Juan Guaido, who also claims the role.

The court, made up of loyalists to President Nicolas Maduro, declared Parra’s claim “valid,” it said in a statement. Guaido has dismissed Parra as “an accomplice to dictatorship.”

The National Assembly parliament is the only Venezuelan branch of government in opposition hands.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Defying dire predictions, Venezuela so far seems to have avoided the coronavirus wave striking much of South America.

But experts warn that while the virus may have been slow to spread here, due in large part to Venezuela’s isolation, the number of daily illnesses could soon climb high enough to severely test the country’s already dilapidated health system.

TEHRAN, May 25 (IRNA-NNN) — The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported that the first of five Iranian oil tankers headed to Venezuela has berthed at the country’s port ignoring US warnings.

Quoting TankerTrackers tweet, IRNA said the Iranian oil tanker had loaded 43 million liters of gasoline from southern Iranian port of Shahid Rajaei in mid-March.

So far there has been no indication of any interference from the US on the fuel delivery. The remaining vessels are expected to arrive Venezuela in the next few days.

CARACAS (Reuters) - The first of five Iranian tankers carrying fuel for gasoline-starved Venezuela entered the South American country’s exclusive economic zone on Saturday, despite a U.S. official’s warning that Washington was considering a response to the shipment.

The tanker, named Fortune, reached the country’s waters at around 7:40 p.m. local time (1140 GMT) after passing north of the neighboring dual-island Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago, according to vessel tracking data from Refinitiv Eikon.

CARACAS, May 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) —The Venezuelan military will escort Iranian tankers delivering much-needed petrol to the country to prevent any attempt by the US to stop them.

Five vessels are on the high seas and are due to arrive in the coming days.

Venezuela’s defence minister said they would be “welcomed” into its exclusive economic zone, which extends 370km from its shores.

The US, which has imposed sanctions on Venezuela and Iran, is reportedly considering steps to deter shipments.

CARACAS, May 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Two advisors to Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaido resigned after being accused by the government of President Nicolas Maduro of links to a botched “invasion” by mercenaries.

“The political strategist Juan Jose Rendon and deputy Sergio Vergara presented their resignations” to Guaido’s team, its press office said in a statement.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó said Monday that two U.S.-based political advisers have resigned in the fallout from a failed incursion into the Caribbean nation led by a former-Green Beret aimed at capturing President Nicolás Maduro.

CARACAS, May 11 (NNN-Xinhua) — Venezuela has arrested another three suspects allegedly involved in a failed armed incursion intended to topple President Nicolas Maduro earlier this month, a top military official said.

The suspects were arrested in Tovar, a city in central Aragua state, in an operation to capture those behind the incursion, said Remigio Ceballos, strategic operational commander of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces.