Data on the Venezuelan economy had been kept under wraps. But after roughly a decade of statistical silence — interrupted only occasionally by partial releases — the fog has begun to lift in recent weeks as the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) updates historical series on several key indicators. This measure is crucial amidst the economic recovery efforts undertaken by Delcy Rodríguez’s government since the U.S. military intervention. The newly published figures show that inflation reached 32% in
Data on the Venezuelan economy had been kept under wraps. But after roughly a decade of statistical silence — interrupted only occasionally by partial releases — the fog has begun to lift in recent weeks as the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) updates historical series on several key indicators. This measure is crucial amidst the economic recovery efforts undertaken by Delcy Rodríguez’s government since the U.S. military intervention. The newly published figures show that inflation reached 32% in January, 14.6% in February, and 13.1% in March. The year‑on‑year rate last month stood at 649.5%.
At an elite club in northern Bogotá, some fifty Colombian investors listened last Tuesday to a statement that sums up Venezuela’s current economic situation better than any report. It was uttered by Ángel Cárdenas, infrastructure manager at CAF, the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean: “Among investors in the region, the debate is no longer whether the country represents an opportunity or a risk. The question is whether or not you’ve already been to Caracas.” After years of freef
At an elite club in northern Bogotá, some fifty Colombian investors listened last Tuesday to a statement that sums up Venezuela’s current economic situation better than any report. It was uttered by Ángel Cárdenas, infrastructure manager at CAF, the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean: “Among investors in the region, the debate is no longer whether the country represents an opportunity or a risk. The question is whether or not you’ve already been to Caracas.” After years of freefall, the country with the world’s largest oil reserves has returned to the global radar.
The end of the amnesty law in Venezuela, announced by the acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, last week, has left the country with a balance marked by partial relief, controversy, and a sense that the measure fell short.Seguir leyendo
The end of the amnesty law in Venezuela, announced by the acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, last week, has left the country with a balance marked by partial relief, controversy, and a sense that the measure fell short.
It was a bilateral meeting, but a third country had a major interest in what was being discussed. The encounter on Friday April 24, in Caracas between the acting president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, and the Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, wrapped with an important statement: the two countries will draw up joint military plans and open mechanisms to share intelligence “immediately.” Seguir leyendo
It was a bilateral meeting, but a third country had a major interest in what was being discussed. The encounter on Friday April 24, in Caracas between the acting president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, and the Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, wrapped with an important statement: the two countries will draw up joint military plans and open mechanisms to share intelligence “immediately.”
There are two pairs of eyes that have shaped the lives of Venezuelans for more than two decades. Symbolic eyes, once adorning building facades, t-shirts, and the city’s staircases. They were the eyes of Hugo Chávez: a gaze designed to suggest authority, surveillance, omnipresence. A gaze that, even after his death in 2013, remained, as if power no longer needed a body, only presence. Seguir leyendo
There are two pairs of eyes that have shaped the lives of Venezuelans for more than two decades. Symbolic eyes, once adorning building facades, t-shirts, and the city’s staircases. They were the eyes of Hugo Chávez: a gaze designed to suggest authority, surveillance, omnipresence. A gaze that, even after his death in 2013, remained, as if power no longer needed a body, only presence.
On a Saturday evening, in an upscale Caracas neighborhood, a bar fills up. Well-dressed men, smelling of cologne, recount their week. Women with sleek hair and long eyelashes take selfies in the bathroom. People on the street talk on their cell phones, engaging in heated discussions about current events, while a DJ spins vinyl records. There are signature cocktails being served. Everything is in its usual place. Seguir leyendo
On a Saturday evening, in an upscale Caracas neighborhood, a bar fills up. Well-dressed men, smelling of cologne, recount their week. Women with sleek hair and long eyelashes take selfies in the bathroom. People on the street talk on their cell phones, engaging in heated discussions about current events, while a DJ spins vinyl records. There are signature cocktails being served. Everything is in its usual place.
At 8 a.m., the 20 Marines staying at the JW Marriott in Caracas go down for breakfast. It is a unique spectacle. They are between 30 and 40 years old and almost all of them sport a chevron mustache, Freddie-Mercury-style. The tattoos reach the elbow, sometimes the knees. Caps, shorts and T-shirts are emblazoned with slogans that sit oddly in Donald Trump’s war-mongering era. “No war team,” read one of them last week. Seguir leyendo
At 8 a.m., the 20 Marines staying at the JW Marriott in Caracas go down for breakfast. It is a unique spectacle. They are between 30 and 40 years old and almost all of them sport a chevron mustache, Freddie-Mercury-style. The tattoos reach the elbow, sometimes the knees. Caps, shorts and T-shirts are emblazoned with slogans that sit oddly in Donald Trump’s war-mongering era. “No war team,” read one of them last week.
Bogotá, Colombia – Colombian President Gustavo Petro arrived in Caracas today to meet with his counterpart in Venezuela, Interim President Delcy Rodríguez.
The visit makes Petro the first world leader to visit the South American nation since the United States captured longtime strongman Nicolás Maduro in a military operation on January 3.
Petro and Rodríguez are expected to discuss bilateral issues including energy and security cooperation on their more than 1,300 mile shared border.
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Bogotá, Colombia – Colombian President Gustavo Petro arrived in Caracas today to meet with his counterpart in Venezuela, Interim President Delcy Rodríguez.
The visit makes Petro the first world leader to visit the South American nation since the United States captured longtime strongman Nicolás Maduro in a military operation on January 3.
Petro and Rodríguez are expected to discuss bilateral issues including energy and security cooperation on their more than 1,300 mile shared border.
The Colombian president landed in Caracas on Friday afternoon with his Foreign Minister, Rosa Yolanda Villavicencio, and Defense Minister, Pedro Sánchez.
The delegation from Bogotá has been meeting with Rodríguez and her Interior Minister, Diosdado Cabello, alongside Foreign Minister Yván Gil at the Palacio de Miraflores – Venezuela’s presidential palace.
Petro and Rodríguez were flanked by top officials at their meeting. Image courtesy of @InfoPresidencia via X
Petro and Rodríguez were scheduled to meet in Cúcuta, a Colombian city bordering Venezuela, in March but the Venezuelan president cancelled at the last minute citing security concerns.
Then last Friday, the Colombian leader announced he would head to Venezuela, saying, “If Mohammed won’t come to me, I’ll go to the mountain.”
The primary purpose of the meeting is strengthening security cooperation, according to the Petro administration.
“The aim of this meeting is for both governments to make progress on a joint plan to strengthen security and intelligence in the border area,” wrote the Office of the President in a post on X today.
The sprawling frontier is a hotbed for guerrilla activity and is largely controlled by the Colombian National Liberation Army (ELN), a rebel group involved in drug trafficking and illegal mining on both sides of the border.
The ELN was known to have ties to the Maduro regime but the Venezuelan government is under pressure from the U.S. to crack down on the rebel group, which Washington considers a “terrorist organization.”
While the Petro administration maintains the importance of strengthening bilateral cooperation, the meeting has perturbed many in the Venezuelan exile community in Colombia.
“President Gustavo Petro’s visit to Venezuela, particularly his meeting with Delcy Rodríguez, raises serious concerns among Venezuelans,” Juan Carlos Viloria Doria, President of the Global Alliance for Human Rights and Vice-President of Venezuelans in Barranquilla, told Latin America Reports.
He noted that many Venezuelans do not consider Rodríguez to be a legitimate leader, describing her as “an extension of the regime led by Nicolás Maduro.”
“In this regard, such visits can be interpreted as a political endorsement or a form of international legitimization of a situation in Venezuela that still lacks adequate democratic guarantees,” maintained Viloria.
Petro and Rodríguez greet reporters. Image courtesy of @InfoPresidencia via X
There has also been pressure in Colombia for Petro to mediate the release of 16 Colombian citizens jailed in Venezuela.
The families of those detained allege the arrests were made “without a court order or evidence” and say their loved ones have faced human rights violations including torture.
While there has been an easing in repression following Maduro’s ouster, Venezuela remains an authoritarian state and rights groups continue to denounce abuses.
“The least that we Venezuelans expect is that [the meeting] be used as an opportunity to demand concrete progress on human rights and democracy,” said Viloria.
“Any dialogue or rapprochement must be aimed at improving the living conditions of the Venezuelan people and fostering a genuinely democratic transition, not at consolidating contested power structures.”
Featured image description: Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Venezuelan Interim President Delcy Rodríguez at a meeting in Caracas on April 24, 2026.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, are preparing for a second attempt at holding a bilateral meeting. Petro announced that the two leaders are scheduled to meet in Caracas at midday on Friday — the first official visit by a head of state to Venezuela since Nicolás Maduro’s removal, and another step in Rodríguez’s consolidation of power.Seguir leyendo
Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, are preparing for a second attempt at holding a bilateral meeting. Petro announced that the two leaders are scheduled to meet in Caracas at midday on Friday — the first official visit by a head of state to Venezuela since Nicolás Maduro’s removal, and another step in Rodríguez’s consolidation of power.
For more than three decades, something more than data has been recorded in Venezuela’s barrios: emotions, connections, and ways of surviving amid precariousness. In that everyday terrain, the Center for Popular Research became a privileged observatory for understanding how people in the country’s poorest areas think and feel.Seguir leyendo
For more than three decades, something more than data has been recorded in Venezuela’s barrios: emotions, connections, and ways of surviving amid precariousness. In that everyday terrain, the Center for Popular Research became a privileged observatory for understanding how people in the country’s poorest areas think and feel.
The Venezuelan government has reported the deaths of five inmates during a riot Monday at Yare III prison, located in a town in the Tuy Valley, outside Caracas. The confirmation from the Ministry of Penitentiary Services came a day after the incident, following a weekend in which relatives and human rights advocates had denounced irregularities at the prison.Seguir leyendo
The Venezuelan government has reported the deaths of five inmates during a riot Monday at Yare III prison, located in a town in the Tuy Valley, outside Caracas. The confirmation from the Ministry of Penitentiary Services came a day after the incident, following a weekend in which relatives and human rights advocates had denounced irregularities at the prison.
Madrid, Spain – A chant at a rally for Venezuelan opposition figure María Corina Machado – referring to interim president Delcy Rodríguez as a monkey — has sparked backlash across political divides and forced a well-known Venezuelan singer to apologize.
The chant of “fuera la mona” (get the monkey out) resounded through Madrid’s Puerta del Sol on Saturday as thousands convened to show their support for Machado.
Although it lasted only seconds, the chant drew widespread criticism from both
Madrid, Spain – A chant at a rally for Venezuelan opposition figure María Corina Machado – referring to interim president Delcy Rodríguez as a monkey — has sparked backlash across political divides and forced a well-known Venezuelan singer to apologize.
The chant of “fuera la mona” (get the monkey out) resounded through Madrid’s Puerta del Sol on Saturday as thousands convened to show their support for Machado.
Although it lasted only seconds, the chant drew widespread criticism from both Venezuelan government supporters and the opposition; some denounced it as racist, while others said that, regardless of intent, it was derogatory and inappropriate to comment on someone’s appearance.
Latin America Reports was a few rows from the stage and observed that Venezuelan singer Carlos Baute had been calling for free elections when a small group began chanting. The slogan quickly spread through parts of the crowd. As it grew louder, Baute joined in and turned his microphone toward the audience, prompting even more people to repeat the chant.
By Sunday afternoon, clips were circulating on social media showing Baute joining in the chant on stage. The singer, who has more than a million followers on Instagram, issued a video apology on Monday. He said he had got caught up in the atmosphere of the rally, but insisted he is not racist.
“I let myself be carried away by the emotion of a very powerful moment… and I also know when something wasn’t right,” the 52-year-old said.
“All my life I have sung about love, life and unity. I am not racist. I am a singer who loves his country, his family and God.”
Not everyone in the crowd participated and some attendees appeared visibly uncomfortable.
Although the chanting lasted only seconds and were followed by upbeat performances and Machado’s speech, by the following day the footage had gone viral.
Machado, leader of Venezuela’s opposition, moved quickly to distance herself from the remarks, criticizing the chant in an interview with EFE on Sunday: “No one will ever hear me say anything that judges or disqualifies a person based on their religion, gender or race.”
The same day, the Venezuelan Embassy in Spain condemned the remarks, describing them as “a form of political violence rooted in misogyny and racism.”
Others, however, defended the moment, pointing to what they described as a double standard and to language often used by government supporters against opposition figures, including insults directed at Machado such as “bruja” — meaning witch — and “sayona,” a reference to a Venezuelan legend about an evil female spirit.
“Just as I have made clear the racism and therefore the idiocy of calling Delcy ‘mona’, it is impossible not to point out the cynicism of someone who insults Venezuelan women every day, when he calls Machado ‘sayona’ or ‘bruja,’” he wrote.
Machado is currently in Madrid as part of a European tour, meeting Venezuelan diaspora supporters and political figures. She has not, however, met Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
Featured image description: Delcy Rodriguez.
Featured image credit: Government of Russia via Wikimedia Commons
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