A series of large-scale drug seizures at clandestine laboratories in a Venezuelan border state suggest the ELN and ex-FARC mafia are expanding cocaine processing in a region that was once used only as a trafficking route from Colombia. Venezuela’s armed forces seized 8.6 tons of cocaine at two makeshift processing laboratories in Jesús María Semprún, a municipality in the western state of Zulia, and another 650 kilograms at two nearby sites, the Venezuelan military announced February 9. Just a week earlier, authorities seized 350 kilograms of cocaine base and 600 kilograms of the chemical precursor urea at another clandestine lab in Zulia. Full Text -> InSightCrime

Based on a year-long investigation, this story traces Prieto’s rise from petty gangster to governor. It reveals how he turned the local police into his private militia, abusing and extorting the population, cracking down on dissent, and embarking on a rampage of extrajudicial killings. And it shows how Prieto’s inner circle grew rich and powerful amid accusations of their involvement in extortion, contraband smuggling, embezzlement, and illegal expropriations.  Full Text-> InSight Crime

Aquel 18 de noviembre de 1709, una humilde mujer lavandera, llamada María Cárdenas, encontró una tabilla mientras lavaba ropa, se la llevó a su casa y la utilizó como tapa de una tinaja. Mientras la mujer se encontraba colando café, se percató que en la tabla había una figura de una virgen dibujada, por lo que colocó el objeto en la pared como si fuera un cuadro. Luego de unos minutos, se escucharon unos golpes en la pared de la vivienda de Cárdenas. Cuando la lavandera fue a ver lo que ocurría y, al llegar al sitio donde estaba colgada la tabla, observó como en la tabla brillaba la imagen de la Virgen de Chiquinquirá. «¡Milagro! ¡Milagro!», gritó la mujer. Los vecinos, al escucharla, fueron a la vivienda a ver lo que ocurría y corroboraron la existencia de la Virgen de la Chinita. Texto Completo-> ElNacional

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That November 18, 1709, a humble laundress named María Cárdenas found a tablet while she was washing clothes, took it home and used it as a lid for a jar. While the woman was brewing coffee, she noticed that on the table there was a figure of a virgin drawn, so she placed the object on the wall as if it were a painting. After a few minutes, knocks were heard on the wall of Cárdenas’s house. When the laundress went to see what was happening and when she reached the place where the table was hung, she observed how the image of the Virgin of Chiquinquirá shone on the table. “Miracle! Miracle! ”The woman screamed. The neighbors, upon hearing her, went to the house to see what was happening and corroborated the existence of the Virgen de la Chinita.

Most impoverished citizens can’t afford to buy food, there are electricity failures and outages, they’ve gone from 15 to 30 days without running water, cooking gas tanks must be purchased in dollars and Zulian doctors were the most affected by the pandemic, in addition to the fact that the living conditions of Indigenous communities got worse: la Guajira isn’t only struck by COVID-19, but by tuberculosis, HIV and malaria. CODHEZ demands solutions. By Naky Soto. Full Text -> CaracasChronicles