Voting has ended in Venezuela for legislative elections in which the ruling Socialist Party is seeking to fend off a challenge from opposition candidates. Venezuelan election officials began tallying ballots from Sunday’s legislative vote, as...

Most historians have accepted that Simón Bolívar, the 19th-century hero of Venezuelan independence, died from tuberculosis on 17 December 1830, aged 47, and that his body was moved to the national pantheon in Caracas in 1876. But President Hugo...

The moves come ahead of a visit to Havana next week by Vatican Foreign Minister Dominque Mamberti, who is likely to press Cuba on its estimated 190 political prisoners in talks with Cuban leaders. The transfers will bring to 12 the number of prisoners...

A gas platform has sunk in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela, but the energy minister says it poses no risk to the environment. President Hugo Chavez announced the incident via his account on the social networking site Twitter. He said all...

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has launched a new radio program in which he can take to the airwaves at any time of the day or night.

A visitor here might be confused when suddenly, at the end of December, there appears in street stalls and market bins a mountain of underwear for sale. At subway stops, in grocery aisles, in department stores, it’s all about ladies’...

December is usually a festive month in Caracas. But this year, beneath the Christmas tree at a private school in the affluent Caracas neighborhood of Los Palos Grandes, the topic among parents is dread. December is probably the worst month for...

President Hugo Chavez’s new National Police Force formally came into being last Sunday and officers were promptly despatched to take up the battle against bad guys in arguably the single most dangerous district in a city that’s widely...

Mourners in the western Venezuelan state of Tachira on Wednesday laid to rest the body of a university student who was shot dead at a protest while unarmed police looked on. The killing of Jesus Eduardo Ramirez Bello, 19, brought to the forefront...

At first sight, Calle de las Brujas doesn’t look so witchy — there are no steaming cauldrons or pointy hats. It’s just a one-lane, cobblestone colonial street. Tourists amble up and down the road, buying woven bags, hammocks and...