Venezuela: Maduro regime is aware that arresting Guaido is a ‘red line’

A new Venezuelan parliament dominated by ruling socialists has been inaugurated, consolidating President Nicolas Maduro's grip. Out of a job as speaker, opposition head Juan Guido vowed to chair rival sessions online.

Leopoldo Lopez told DW that President Maduro can call upon more global backing for his cause than those fighting for democracy in Venezuela. The activist was in Berlin to drum up support for free and fair elections.

The Central Bank of Venezuela's new notes were launched as hyperinflation and US sanctions continue to cripple the economy of the oil-producing nation. As inflation skyrockets, the biggest bill is worth just 52 cents.

Venezuela suffers a deadly second wave of the coronavirus as the head of one medical clinic says the number of cases, and their seriousness, has increased compared to last year.

"I must wear a face mask," repeat a couple of Venezuelan boys to insistent police officers as the country faces a second wave of Covid-19 infections. The officers form part of a squad that tours the city of Los Teques just outside of Caracas to ensure shop closing hours, quarantines and mask-wearing are respected.

Raised in Philadelphia, the hometown of famous Hollywood character Rocky Balboa, Nalek Korbaj hopes to honour Venezuela's Olympic boxing tradition at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

The opposition leader's wife reported the presence of armed officers at their residence live on Twitter. Authorities have meanwhile arrested Guaido's close ally Freddy Guevara on charges of terrorism and treason.

Key Venezuelan opposition figure Freddy Guevara, arrested for "treason" and "terrorism" last month, was released Sunday -- days after the start of new talks between the opposition and government.

Venezuela's government and opposition agreed on some key points during the negotiations in Mexico. But there is still "a long way to go," according to the leader of President Nicolas Maduro's team.

Mexico is presenting itself as the new champion of Latin American integration. To do that, it appears willing to embrace the continent's isolated autocratic leftist leaders. But it's a risky move.

For the third time in 13 years, Venezuela has slashed zeroes off its inflation-battered currency, the bolivar. This time, it will shed six zeroes, for a total of 14 since 2008. With that, a million bolivars have overnight become one -- still the equivalent of about 25 US dollar cents. Venezuela's central bank announced the move last month to simplify transactions, with consumers scrambling to make payment for even the most basic goods or services. According to private sector estimates around two thirds of transactions in the country now happen in US dollars. Old banknotes now worth almost nothing have become children’s toys or lie discarded in streets around the country. The once-rich oil producer is battling its eighth year of recession and hyperinflation that reached nearly 3,000 percent in 2020 and more than 9,500 percent the year before, according to central bank figures.

Congo Mirador was once an idyllic spot: a community of homes on stilts that seemed to float on the calm waters of a lagoon in western Venezuela. Now, the community is inundated with mud, a victim of silt generated by the Catatumbo river.