Venezuela

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The feared street gangster El Negrito sleeps with a pistol under his pillow and says he’s lost track of his murder count. But despite his hardened demeanor, he’s quick to gripe about how Venezuela’s failing economy is cutting into his profits.

Firing a gun has become a luxury. Bullets are expensive at $1 each. And with less cash circulating on the street, he says robberies just don’t pay like they used to.

For the 24-year-old, that has all given way to a simple fact: Even for Venezuelan criminals it’s become harder to get by.

CARACAS, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The Venezuelan government has launched an investigation into Friday's prison riot that has left 29 inmates killed, authorities said Saturday.

Gen. Edylberto Molina, deputy minister of the Integrated Police System (Visipol), headed a "technical team" that is in charge of the probe.

He has met with Rafael Calles, governor of northwest Portuguesa state where the prison riot happened, and other local authorities.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Representatives of the Venezuelan government and opposition have returned to Norway for a mediation effort aimed at resolving the political crisis in the South American country, the Norwegian government said Saturday.

Norway said it will facilitate discussions next week in Oslo, in an indication that the negotiation track is gaining momentum after months of escalating tension between Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Juan Guaidó, the U.S.-backed opposition leader.

Caracas, May 25 (AFP) At least 29 prisoners were killed and 19 police wounded in clashes at a jail in western Venezuela Friday, authorities said.

The incident at the police station jail in the town of Acarigua, in Portuguesa state, occurred when police special forces (FAES) tried to stop a "massive prison break" which resulted in the deaths of 29 inmates, according to Portuguesa public security secretary Oscar Valero.

Caracas, May 23; GANASHAKTI: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday ordered armed forces to be "vigilant" to deter a possible United States invasion.

"I have ordered all military branches to be vigilant and be ready to protect the peace, to make any attempt by the North American empire to try anything against our homeland impossible. Peace will be our victory!" Maduro tweeted in Spanish.

BARQUISIMETO, Venezuela (AP) — Andreina Cordero started the year skipping meals so her three kids could eat. Her husband, a construction worker, was out of a job. And the family’s savings had been devastated by the nation’s hyperinflation, limiting Cordero’s children to a diet of rice, beans, pasta and fried corn patties.

But the family got a break from their daily struggle to feed themselves this spring when a social worker enrolled them in a program run by a Silicon Valley startup that is donating cryptocurrency to hundreds of Venezuelan families.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving Venezuela’s crisis accelerated on Thursday as the government and opposition sent envoys to talks in Norway, though the two sides’ mutual mistrust and differences on key issues could prevent any quick solution.

The Norwegian attempt to mediate comes amid tensions that exploded in street violence when the opposition called in vain for a military uprising on April 30.

CARACAS, May 12 (Xinhua): U.S. sanctions against the state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) have caused the suspension of health programs and affected patients in vulnerable situations, according to executive secretary of Venezuela's National Council of Human Rights.

In an interview with Xinhua, Larry Devoe, who is also the state agent for the International Human Rights System, said that the health programs, supported by PDVSA in conjunction with institutions in Italy and Argentina, have been blocked by the sanction measures taken by the U.S. government.

Caracas, May 10 (Prensa Latina) President Nicolas Maduro on Friday thanked the U.S. citizens who protect the see of the Venezuelan embassy in Washington and face aggressions from authorities of this country.

Through Twitter, the head of state assured that he admired the solidarity of the U.S. social movements that reject the interventionist actions of the United States against the Bolivarian territory.

CARACAS, May 9 (Xinhua): With a prescription in his hand, Francisco Gonzalez, a night watchman whose wife was suffering from cancer, walked out of a private pharmacy in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas.

With the composure of someone who has become accustomed to the difficulties of finding medications, Gonzalez told Xinhua the medicines he needs "haven't been found for now."