Venezuela

Venezuela: Main Highway to Caracas Airport Closed Indefinitely

Date: January 10th, 2006 |

The main highway that links Caracas with its Caribbean seaport and international airport has been closed, perhaps permanently, because a key bridge along the route developed structural fractures due to shifting land. Geologists have been warning since the 1980s that the bridge needed to be replaced but only stopgap measures were taken. Now the bridge [read more]

Venezuela

Date: February 15th, 2005 |

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A week of heavy rain has caused flooding and landslides in much of the country, killing 53 people, driving 21,000 from their homes and prompting a state of emergency in the capital of Caracas and nine states. The areas worst hit are the coastal areas in the north. In neighboring Colombia some 25,000 have lost [read more]

Venezuela

Date: June 8th, 2004 |

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The on-again off-again referendum on President Hugo Chavez has been cleared by the courts to go forward August 15. Chavez drew hundreds of thousands of supporters in Caracas June 6 to announce his efforts to defeat the recall, and passions will no doubt be stirred between now and the vote. Both sides have staged major [read more]

Venezuela

Date: November 18th, 2003 |

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Less than a month after restoring control of the Caracas police to the capital city’s mayor, embattled President Hugo Chavez announced he would deploy 1,300 military police officers to fight crime, which is escalating in the city and surrounding area. Criminals are often better armed than police, in part because Chavez confiscated the police department’s [read more]

Venezuela

Date: February 12th, 2003 |

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After many months of demonstrations and counter-demonstrations and more than two months of strikes trying to force President Hugo Chavez to resign, tensions have diminished somewhat. The strike has been lifted in all sectors but the oil industry, and peace talks being mediated by the Organization of American States continue. The British Foreign Office lifted [read more]

Venezuela: Express Kidnappings at Caracas’s International Airport

Date: August 30th, 2005 |

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Armed robberies of travelers inside and outside Caracas� Maiquetia Simon Bolivar International Airport have occurred with regularity the past several months, with the U.S. Embassy reporting at least one complaint per week from U.S. citizens who have been robbed. �Express kidnappings� also occur frequently. In an express kidnapping, a taxi driver persuades an arriving traveler [read more]

Venezuela

Date: August 3rd, 2004 |

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The long-awaited referendum to recall President Hugo Chavez will take place Aug. 15, and all indications are that it will be close. The last two years have been plagued with violence as supporters and opponents of the embattled president have held countless demonstrations that have thrown Caracas and other cities into turmoil. Anything could happen [read more]

Venezuela

Date: March 3rd, 2004 |

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The on-again off-again push to recall President Hugo Chavez is coming to a head and protests in Caracas and other cities are threatening to spiral out of control. If possible, minimize travel around Caracas, don’t try to push through barricades, and avoid demon [read more]

Venezuela

Date: August 20th, 2003 |

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President Hugo Chavez reached the midpoint of his term Aug. 19 while his opponents continue to pursue a referendum to oust him from office. The National Assembly has been unable to agree on a new National Electoral Council so the Supreme Court has stated it would choose one. Political demonstrations with a high potential for [read more]

Venezuela

Date: December 23rd, 2002 |

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A general strike against President Hugo Chavez that began Dec. 2 has produced severe shortages of goods and services, including fuel supplies, and has caused conflict and violence. Tensions are high and could easily spiral into major violence because the embattled president has many supporters who regularly stage counter-demon [read more]