What does the US attack on Venezuela mean for Russia and China?

Beijing and Moscow are strong allies of Venezuela’s abducted President Nicolas Maduro.

The capture of President Nicolas Maduro by the United States came despite his country’s longstanding alliance with both China and Russia – allies of Venezuela’s leader.

Both Beijing and Moscow have criticised the US attack, but have taken no action.

What's the biggest risk for instability in Venezuela now?

Venezuela's military has recognized Maduro's deputy, Delcy Rodríguez, as the country's acting leader. Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said the armed forces have been activated nationwide to defend Venezuela's sovereignty. Padrino added that many of Maduro's security team were killed when U.S. special forces extracted the deposed leader from the capital, Caracas.

Explosions heard over Venezuelan capital Caracas amid US tensions

Yolanda Díaz, Spain’s leftwing labour minister and deputy prime minister, said the US had violated both the UN charter and international legality, adding:

We roundly condemn this imperialist attack on Venezuela. The world is less safe and less free since Trump and the international hate movement began acting with impunity. We will always be on the side of international law and peace.

Her comments came after Spain’s socialist prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said his government was “closet monitoring” the situation in Venezuela. He added:

The southern area of ‌the ‌city, ⁠near a major military ‌base, is reportedly without electricity.

Explosions have been heard and plumes of smoke are rising in the Venezuelan capital Caracas, according to an Al Jazeera correspondent there, amid spiralling tensions with the United States.

The Reuters news agency also reports loud ‍noises were being ⁠heard ​in Caracas in the ‍early hours ⁠of Saturday morning, according to ​ ‌witnesses.

The Associated Press news agency reported at least seven explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas.

The southern area of ‌the ‌city, ⁠near a major military ‌base, was reportedly without electricity.

Why isn’t US media busting the ‘narco-state’ myth?

The United States’ deadly “counter-narcotics mission” off Venezuela’s coast hinges on an unproven drug-smuggling narrative – a familiar pretext for regime change, and one the mainstream media have been quick to echo. Meanwhile, Venezuelans face escalating repression at home.

Concern grows as Venezuela blocks international election observers

Panama's Foreign Ministry says a plane carrying four former Latin American presidents has not been allowed to take off, after their destinaton country - Venezuela - closed its airspace. The former Panamanian, Mexican, Costa Rican and Bolivian presidents were planning on observing Sunday's presidential election in Venezuela. Caracas however denies it prevented the former leaders from entering. President Nicolás Maduro is seeking a third six-year term in office and is facing his toughest electoral challenge in decades.

Shunned over war, Russians holiday on Venezuelan island paradise

Posing for pictures on beautiful beaches and dancing awkwardly to merengue: Russian tourists have found a friendly holiday destination on Isla de Margarita, a Venezuelan island far from the motherland and its war with Ukraine. For thousands of Russians seeking sun-soaked holidays, but faced with visa and flight restrictions, it is a match made in Caribbean heaven.

The Venezuelans fleeing to Colombia to avoid fighting

Thousands of Venezuelans have fled their country in the past month. They are running away from intense armed clashes which involve Venezuela’s army and Colombia’s rebel groups.
 

The Bay of Piglets

 

We investigate a farcical attempt by mercenaries to capture and overthrow Nicolas Maduro, the president of Venezuela.

Latin America has seen a remarkable number of revolutions and coups d’etat over the last century. However, whether military endeavours, covertly backed by foreign governments, or the result of purely domestic political pressure, they have not always been successful or achieved their aims.

Venezuela - the bitter legacy of Hugo Chávez

 

People around the globe are witnessing the disintegration of an oil-rich country. Venezuela had the world’s fourth-highest per-capita income in 1950. Now it’s being ripped apart by record levels of poverty. More than 90% of Venezuelans struggle to subsist.

How did Venezuela end up with two presidents? | Start Here

 

Venezuela has two competing presidents — Juan Guaido and Nicolas Maduro. Neither seems able to fix the mess that the country is in. Will parliamentary elections only make things worse?

Venezuela gas shortage makes quarantine unavoidable

Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world, so it comes as a surprise to some that gasoline has been in short supply there for years. Without fuel it could be easier to keep to coronavirus lockdown regulations, but at what cost? The shortage has now reached unsustainable levels, and is hitting the capital Caracas in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Oil and ruin — exodus from Venezuela

Venezuela is in the grips of what is now the world’s second largest refugee crisis after Syria. But unlike Syria, Venezuela is not mired in civil war, and the country is sitting on the world’s largest proven oil reserves. How could such a rich nation be driven into ruin? Where has the country’s wealth gone, and why are its people starving? Corruption and mismanagement are driving displacement worldwide. The majority of the world’s refugees and migrants are fleeing from countries in the top 10 of Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index - places like Afghanistan, Syria, South Sudan and Somalia.

Will there be a US military intervention in Venezuela?

We discuss Venezuela with Juan Guaido's UK envoy and ask Iyad el-Baghdadi about a potential threat from Saudi Arabia.

In this week's UpFront, we discuss the political crisis in Venezuela with self-declared president Juan Guaido's envoy to London Vanessa Neumann.

In the Reality Check, we shed light on alternative ways to win the so-called war on drugs.

And in our special interview, Palestinian pro-democracy activist Iyad el-Baghdadi discusses why he thinks he may have been the target of a threat from Saudi Arabia.

El-Baghdadi was placed under protective custody in Norway this month following a CIA tip that his life was in danger from the kingdom.

Is Kashmir the most dangerous place in the world?

We talk to Arundhati Roy about Kashmir and Modi and debate US intervention in Venezuela.

Arundhati Roy: Modi 'reckless' in Kashmir

The military escalation between India and Pakistan may have abated, but tensions remain high following the latest series of aggressions triggered by a February 14 suicide bomb attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed at least 42 paramilitary personnel.

When asked about the Indian media's role in perpetuating the conflict, Roy says journalists are "more than complicit". She added that "sometimes they are literally calling for war".

Roy, who has been a vocal critic of Prime Minister Modi, says there are elements of fascism in his politics.

"If you look at the games that have been played, the false flag attacks, the trail of deaths, of murders, of lynchings, you see fascism," said Roy, who is also the author of the book The Ministry of Utmost Happiness.

Venezuela's crisis and the geopolitics of news narratives

Opposition figure Juan Guaido proclaims himself 'President' in Venezuela. Plus, Serbian media under Vucic.

Venezuela's crisis and the geopolitics of news narratives

When opposition figure Juan Guaido declared himself interim president in Venezuela last week, he was quickly backed by the United States and many other governments. The US media covered the push to remove President Nicolas Maduro, without saying whether that attempt, if successful, would amount to a coup.

The coverage also mostly stayed away from the role successive American administrations - through economic sanctions - have played in handicapping the Venezuelan economy. As Iraqis, Iranians, Libyans and others would tell you, this isn't the first time the US has taken a disproportionate interest in the governance of a country loaded with oil. Washington has a playbook for this kind of thing. And so, apparently, do the US media.

Less paper, more Maduro: Venezuela's media crisis

Nicolas Maduro starts his second term as president of crisis-ridden Venezuela. Plus, political eulogies in the US media.

Earlier this month, Nicolas Maduro was sworn in for a second term as Venezuela's president. The election that got him there has been widely condemned as having been rigged, and opposition voices were mostly absent from the airwaves.

The case against Maduro's treatment of the media is compelling. His critics contend that since he first took office in 2013, 33 newspapers and almost 100 radio and TV stations have been censored or shut down, while 50 journalists have been prosecuted.

Venezuelans now suffer not only under chronic shortages of food and medicine, but also of paper - adding a further barrier to the free flow of information in the country.

Why Colombia has taken in 1 million Venezuelans

Colombia is currently dealing with a massive wave of refugees coming from Venezuela. Venezuelans are fleeing their home because of a severe economic crisis under President Nicolas Maduro. There are high inflation rates and there isn’t enough food available for people within Venezuela to even eat. Thousands of Venezuelans cross the Simon Bolivar bridge located at Cúcuta every day and Colombia doesn’t seem to be turning anyone way. This borders episode looks at why Colombia doesn’t turn away these refugees, the shared history of the two nations

The Battle for Venezuela

The Big Picture examines the present-day crisis in Venezuela by exploring the divisions rooted in its past.

Venezuela is gripped by crisis. Economic collapse and political meltdown have devastated a country that was once the wealthiest in the region, and still, today boasts the world's largest oil reserves.

Latin America's once 'model democracy' now struggles to maintain order and feed a divided people.
But the seeds of its current demise were sewn a century ago, when the events of its formative years ensured that the fate of Venezuela would be written in oil.

As the country developed into a functioning "petrostate", other vital elements of its modernisation were left distinctly under-developed.

Venezuela: Protests, propaganda and self-censorship

Venezuela's competing media narratives around protests. Plus, a look at when Cuban movie theatres delivered the news.

Venezuela: Protests, propaganda and self-censorship

With Venezuela's economy poised on the brink of collapse the government's few remaining allies in the news media are replaying the familiar blame game, pointing the finger at foreign enemies. But Nicolas Maduro's hold on the narrative is slipping as journalists turn to Telegram to get the story out. 

Venezuela's Maduro: Fighting a losing media war?

Venezuela: The battle over news coverage 

With pressure intensifying for Venezuela's government, President Nicolas Maduro is tightening the screws on the media yet again. He is also encouraging his supporters to take their message online, but the battle to control the cyber narrative is not easier.

On our radar:

• The Washington Post goes against its own source and says US President Barack Obama should not pardon the actions of whistleblower Edward Snowden.
• Mexico remains one of the most deadly places for journalists as two more reporters were killed in just three days.
• The Guardian newspaper's announcement to cut more jobs in the US comes just over a month after heavy job losses at its UK operation.