As Venezuelans get ready for April鈥檚 presidential election, US Senator Marco Rubio claimed via Twitter the world would support Venezuela鈥檚 military if it decided to orchestrate a coup against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who is up for re-election.
The Republican lawmaker from Florida tweeted on February 9: 鈥淭he world would support the Armed Forces in if they decide to protect the people & restore democracy by removing a dictator.鈥
Venezuela's presidential elections have been set for April 22 as talks between the government and opposition aimed at promoting peace and unity appeared to crumble.
Venezuela鈥檚 National Constituent Assembly (ANC) has approved a proposal to hold presidential elections before聽April 30.聽
The move came a day after the European Union announced sanctions targeting seven Venezuelan senior state officials on January 22.
Venezuela鈥檚 socialists scored聽an overwhelming victory in mayoral elections on December 10, taking over 90%聽of the country's municipalities.聽
President Nicolas Maduro鈥檚 United Venezuelan Socialist Party (PSUV), along with its allies, have secured victory in 308 of Venezuela鈥檚 335 municipalities. According to preliminary results, the governing socialist party managed to take 21 out of the country鈥檚 23 state capitals as well as the Caracas Capital District.
A high profile member of the ultra right-wing Popular Will (VP) party, Yon Goicoechea, was freed by Venezuelan authorities聽on November 4 after more than a year behind bars.
Goicoechea was arrested last August by national security forces for the alleged possession of explosive devices, just two days before an opposition march.聽
Since being granted conditional release, Goicoechea has confirmed his candidacy for the mayoralty of the wealthy municipality of El Hatillo, despite his party calling for a boycott of upcoming elections.聽
Speaking to a huge march on November 7, Venezuelan President Nicol谩s Maduro said that, during the Russian Revolution,聽the workers took political power into their hands for the first time. "In Revolution, all times are a battle and they are a struggle!", Maduro told the popular celebration聽of the 100th anniversary of the Bolshevik-led revolution on the outskirts of the Miraflores Palace Caracas.
The president recalled that the Revolution聽showed for the first time聽that workers could take聽political power in their hands to build a state.
President Nicol谩s Maduro鈥檚 United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) won 17 of 23 states in Sunday鈥檚 gubernatorial elections, the National Electoral Council (CNE) has confirmed, on October 15.
According to CNE President Tibisay Lucena, 61.14% of Venezuela鈥檚 18-million-strong electorate came out to vote, marking a record participation in the country鈥檚 regional elections, second only to the 65.45% turnout in 2008.
Since the start of the year, 76 women have died while giving birth in Lara state 鈥 the highest rate of any state in Venezuela and three times the rate for the rest of the country.
Speaking about the situation to 91自拍论坛 Weekly, Katrina Kozarek from the Women鈥檚 Movement for Life in Barquisimeto, the capital of Lara, explained: 鈥淏oth the doctors and nurses treat poor, black women really badly. They slap their bottoms, call them filthy names and say 鈥榮top screaming because you didn鈥檛 scream like that when you were having sex鈥.鈥
A few days after arriving in Venezuela, we drive past La Carlota military base in the east of Caracas, which was a regular site for the violent street protests commonly known here as guarimbas.
The highway we were travelling on was often blockaded by protesters 鈥 guarimberos 鈥 who made up the backbone of the self-dubbed 鈥淟a Resistencia鈥. They received glowing praise in the international media during the wave of protests that rocked the country from April to July.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has slammed the major damage caused to Venezuela over recent months of opposition violence, comparing the right-wing protesters to the white supremacists in the United States who organised violent and deadly protests 聽in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 12.
Speaking at a media conference on August 22, Maduro deplored how 鈥渇ascist groups鈥 attacked people based on their observable ethnic characteristics 鈥 in the United States and Venezuela.
US President Donald Trump told the media on August 10 that he would not 鈥渞ule out 鈥渕ilitary options鈥 for dealing with Venezuela. His comments were followed by the imposition of economic sanctions against Venezuela on August 25.
Labeling Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as a "dictator", the White House said in a statement that the new sanctions seek to block "a critical source of funding" for the Venezuelan government, which is having to deal with a deep economic crisis.
Opposition groups in Venezuela are currently engaged in a campaign to overthrow the democratically-elected government of President Nicolas Maduro.
Portrayed by the media as a peaceful, democratic movement, it is clear that what Venezuela is experiencing is a right-wing destabilisation campaign that not only seeks to remove Maduro but to roll back the important gains of the country鈥檚 Bolivarian Revolution.