All posts tagged: Venezuela

BBC Expert Compares Government Plan To Cap Supermarket Prices To Venezuela

BBC Expert Compares Government Plan To Cap Supermarket Prices To Venezuela

Shoppers buy food in a supermarket in London. A government plan to ask supermarkets to voluntarily cap the prices of certain products to tackle the cost of living crisis has echoes of Venezuela, according to the BBC’s business editor. Simon Jack said it could even lead to food shortages amid a mounting backlash to the idea. The Financial Times reported that the Treasury had spoken to supermarkets about offering “incentives” to encourage them to cap the price of essentials like eggs, bread and milk. That could include easing packaging policies and delaying potentially costly changes to healthy food rules. On Radio 4′s Today programme, Jack said: “The British Retail Consortium said the history of price controls is not a good one. A lot of people will be forced to potentially sell things at a loss, and when that happens people stop making them. “If you look back through history, whether it’s the US in the 70s or Venezuela more recently, you can end up with food shortages when you try and impose price controls.” Economist …

Venezuelan Mother Dies 10 Days After State Confirms Missing Son Died in Custody

Venezuelan Mother Dies 10 Days After State Confirms Missing Son Died in Custody

May 17 (Reuters) – Carmen Navas, the ⁠82-year-old ⁠mother who spent ⁠nearly a year searching for her detained ​son in Venezuela, has died just 10 days after ‌the government confirmed he ‌had died in state custody, the NGO ⁠that handled ⁠his case reported.  Navas became a prominent figure in Venezuela ​while publicly pleading for information on her 50-year-old son, Victor Quero. Ten days ago authorities revealed Quero died ​of respiratory failure in the infamous Rodeo I ⁠prison last ⁠July.  Foro Penal head Alfredo ⁠Romero ​said prison officials had repeatedly told Navas they did ​not know where ⁠her son was. Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado mourned Navas on social media, praising her for confronting a “terror apparatus” to find her son. “Not just ⁠a mother died; a woman who turned pain into courage ⁠and despair into denunciation was extinguished,” Machado wrote, adding that Navas’ voice had become that of thousands of mothers seeking disappeared or imprisoned children.  Early this year, after the U.S. attacked Caracas and captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Venezuela’s government …

Venezuelan official Alex Saab, a Maduro ally, deported to US

Venezuelan official Alex Saab, a Maduro ally, deported to US

Venezuelan official Alex Saab, a Colombian-Venezuelan businessman and ally of former President Nicolas Maduro, was deported to the United States, Venezuela’s migration agency, SAIME, said on Saturday (May 16). Saab was arrested in Caracas in February during a joint operation by US and Venezuelan authorities, according to a US law enforcement official at the time. Saab’s arrest occurred a month after Maduro’s own capture by US special forces in Caracas.  The arrest and deportation of Saab suggested a new level of collaboration between US and Venezuelan law enforcement under acting President Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro’s former vice president. The Colombian-born Saab, 54, was previously detained in Cape Verde in 2020 and held in the US on bribery charges. He was granted clemency in 2023 in exchange for the release of Americans detained in Venezuela. Saab could provide US authorities with information to strengthen their criminal case against Maduro, according to sources familiar with the matter. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were taken to New York in January to face criminal charges, including conspiracy to commit …

DOE’s NNSA Removes Enriched Uranium From Venezuela And Japan

DOE’s NNSA Removes Enriched Uranium From Venezuela And Japan

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has coordinated with Japan and Venezuela to remove enriched uranium from both countries.  The U.S. has secured its largest-ever HALEU fuel shipment, working in partnership with Japan. This significant transfer advances President Trump’s strategy to restore America’s energy dominance and power next-generation nuclear reactors. https://t.co/h5Oc6f5kRq pic.twitter.com/EG7kA9Eopg — NNSA (@NNSANews) May 7, 2026 The NNSA coordinated with Japanese government and nuclear agencies to transfer 1.7 metric tons of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) from Japan to the US. The material comes from excess supplies at the recently shut-down test reactor in Japan.  Japan has not completely ceased research into new reactor technology, and instead will focus on the Joyo research reactor. There is a long-standing coordination between the US and Japan to offload excess quantities of enriched uranium due to proliferation concerns. Typical commercial reactors run on low-enriched uranium (LEU) which is typically enriched to 3-5%. The percentage of enrichment indicates how much of the fuel is actually usable for fission; the amount of U-235 isotopes present in …

Managing an ally, appealing to a pope – POLITICO

Managing an ally, appealing to a pope – POLITICO

And Crosetto said at an event during Italy’s Armed Forces Day that “in a world that has gone crazy … it is our duty to ensure that Italy can defend itself,” validating Trump’s longstanding demand that NATO allies should do — and spend — more to defend themselves. Meloni will try to convey alignment when she sits down with Rubio, including through increased defense spending, according to analyst Filippo Simonelli of the Rome-based Istituto Affari Internazionali think tank. And longer-term commitments offer a potential path to ease tensions without requiring immediate public concessions: Crosetto’s meeting is a sign that something could move in that direction, Simonelli argued. “Italy is not strictly necessary, but the U.S. is losing ground with allies, so reinforcing ties with a middle power may in the end be worth the effort,” continued Simonelli. “They will likely try to find some meeting point and a path forward for cooperation.” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is navigating a more complicated domestic landscape. | Simona Granati – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images On Wednesday, the …

Nearly 600,000 Venezuelans in limbo after losing temporary protected status – Focus

Nearly 600,000 Venezuelans in limbo after losing temporary protected status – Focus

To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. Accept Manage my choices One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. Try again FOCUS © FRANCE 24 Issued on: 06/05/2026 – 15:24Modified: 06/05/2026 – 15:24 06:00 min From the show Reading time 1 min In 2025, the US Supreme Court provisionally authorised the Trump administration to lift Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans living in the United States. This status had allowed them to work legally and remain in the country as long as their return to Venezuela was deemed dangerous. Nearly 600,000 people now live in a state of profound legal uncertainty. FRANCE 24’s Fanny Allard and Fraser Jackson report from Florida. Source link

Why U.S. Officials Are in Venezuela Right Now

Why U.S. Officials Are in Venezuela Right Now

new video loaded: Why U.S. Officials Are in Venezuela Right Now U.S. officials visited Venezuela after the first direct flight between the two countries since 2019. Our White House correspondent Tyler Pager describes how the main message of the trip was, in the words of a White House adviser “drill, baby, drill.” By Tyler Pager, Melanie Bencosme and Todd Heisler May 1, 2026 Source link

Ex-Florida GOP lawmaker convicted of secretly lobbying for Venezuela 

Ex-Florida GOP lawmaker convicted of secretly lobbying for Venezuela 

A Miami federal jury on Friday convicted former Florida Rep. David Rivera (R) of conspiracy and other crimes tied to a multimillion-dollar lobbying campaign on behalf of the Venezuelan government.  Rivera and his consultant, Esther Nuhfer, were found guilty of breaking the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) when they secretly lobbied U.S. lawmakers and members… Source link

The EU-Mercosur deal takes effect — but the fight over it goes on – POLITICO

The EU-Mercosur deal takes effect — but the fight over it goes on – POLITICO

What’s changing? The agreement will gradually eliminate duties on more than 90 percent of EU exports, including on cars, pharmaceuticals, wine and spirits, and olive oil. Some so-called non-tariff barriers — such as on labeling — will be removed. Public procurement markets will open up, allowing EU companies to bid for government contracts. The Commission estimates that EU exports to the Mercosur region will grow by 39 percent through 2040, to €50 billion. “The benefits are real and visible as of now,” von der Leyen said in a post on X. “Tariffs start falling. Companies are gaining access to new markets. Investors have the predictability they need.” But gains will be slower to materialize on some products. “In most cases, the tariff reductions will be phased in over a period of 10 to 15 years. The economic effects will therefore become apparent primarily in the medium to long term,” said Oliver Richtberg, head of foreign trade at Germany’s VDMA engineering federation. If either the Court of Justice or lawmakers ultimately reject the agreement, the European Commission …