Polls show only 13.9 per cent of Venezuelans plan to vote for the incumbent, but popular rival Maria Corina Machado is facing a ban from holding public office.

High-risk, high-cost mega-infrastructure projects like those backed by Belt and Road Initiative decline in popularity, with developments now seen in sectors with faster returns and fewer operating costs.

The Venezuelan chef-owner of Latin American restaurant Mono in Central talks to Kate Whitehead about finding his passion – for both food and Hong Kong.

Venezuelan Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino says the troops are safeguarding the country’s national sovereignty, amid a border dispute with Guyana over mineral-rich Essequibo.

Venezuela’s president ordered more than 5,600 military personnel to participate in a ‘defensive’ exercise near the border with Guyana, in response to Britain sending a warship to the area.

Defence contractor Leonard Glenn Francis is the central character in one of the largest bribery scandals in Pentagon history.

Leaders met in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to discuss in their long-running dispute over the oil-rich Essequibo area.

Guyana’s president said troops are prepared to defend the nation’s territory after Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro revived a long-dormant dispute over the oil-rich Essequibo region.

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting at Guyana’s request on Venezuela’s claim to a vast oil-rich region called Essequibo.

Voters in Venezuela backed the creation of a new state in the potential oil-rich Essequibo region in a Sunday referendum.

The supertanker Olympic Trophy, chartered for US$13 million, is expected to load in early December, according to a source and ship tracking data on Kpler.

The ruling could risk the wrath of the United States, which this month rolled back some sanctions in exchange for the electoral deal.

Government critic Maria Corina Machado declared herself the winner early on Monday after early results showing her ahead with more than 90 per cent of support.

US sanctions deal comes after Venezuela’s government and opposition agreed to hold elections next year.

The Tocoron prison had served as the headquarters for Tren de Aragua, Venezuela’s most powerful local gang.

Chinese and Venezuelan presidents meet for the first time in five years, agreeing to boost collaboration in areas from oil and trade to space exploration.

Beijing and Caracas are strengthening ties against a backdrop of intensifying US-China rivalry across the region and Venezuela is seeking energy investments to boost the economy ahead of next year’s election.

Reformist outsider Bernardo Arevalo is up against former first lady Sandra Torres, both social democrats, meaning Guatemala will have its first leftist leader in more than a decade.

Currency swap to help Buenos Aires make good on US$2.7 billion owed, with remaining US$1 billion balance covered by Development Bank of Latin America.

Instagram model Sofia Salomon aims to challenge the nation’s deeply conservative society and, if accepted, will be the first transgender woman in the competition.

Latin American nations are strengthening relations with China amid a belief that Washington’s focus turned to the Middle East and now the Indo-Pacific.

The Talavera mine in Venezuela’s Bolivar state flooded on Wednesday after heavy rains but rescuers could not continue recovery efforts before Saturday. Authorities will return to the site on Sunday to check for further survivors.

The president is hosting a regional summit as he seeks to to revive a bloc of 12 politically polarised countries.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called for a ‘multipolar’ world rather than one dominated by the US, as he arrived in Brazil seeking to rebuild his nation’s alliances after years of isolation.

The pope, who was in hospital due to bronchitis last week and suffers from a knee condition, approached the altar in a wheelchair. He is expected to celebrate the Easter Sunday Mass in St Peter’s Square.