The following lists events in the year 2020 in Venezuela.

2020
in
Venezuela

Centuries:
Decades:
See also:Other events of 2020
Years in Venezuela
Timeline of Venezuelan history

Incumbents

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Governors

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Events

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January to March

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April

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  • 1 April – U.S. President Donald Trump announces that he is stepping up pressure on President Maduro. Trump sends Navy ships and AWACS planes to the region near Venezuela in the largest military build-up in the region since the 1989 invasion of Panama to remove General Manuel Noriega from power.[11]
  • 2 April – The government releases journalist Darvinson Rojas, arrested 21 March.[12]
  • 3 April
    • The European Union announces its support of the US-led plan for a transitional government in Venezuela.[13]
    • Hundreds of Venezuelan migrants return from Colombia.[14]
    • The National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela prepare artillery for a possible attack by the United States.[15]
    • The Venezuelan patrol boat Naiguata rams the Portuguese-flagged RCGS Resolute, which was accused of piracy. The Naiguata sinks.[16]
  • 16 April – The 30-ton ″Kueka stone″ is returned to the Pemon people, 34 years after it was taken to Berlin, Germany. The stone represents the story of star-cross lovers, each turned to stone by a deity as punishment for marrying a member of another tribe.[17]
  • 17 April
    • Venezuela suffers its worst crisis since Maduro took office. The U.S. has a price on Madur′os head, a fleet of warships patrols the waters around the country, the coronavirus pandemic rages, gasoline shortages threaten food supplies, and a lack of liquidity makes it nearly impossible to resolve the crisis. Venezuela is caught in the middle of an international power play by the United States, Russia, and China.[18]
    • The National Assembly, which is controlled by Juan Guaidó, authorizes the transfer of US$342 million at an account in Citibank to an account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Guaidó had earlier seized control of Venezuelan government assets held in the United States, including Citgo, the US-based subsidiary of the state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA).[19]
  • 22 April – An Iranian Airbus A340-642 lands in Paraguaná Peninsula. There is speculation that the flight may be related to drug trafficking.[20]
  • 23 April
    • Elliott Abrams, the United States special representative for Venezuela, says that "many people" both inside and outside the Maduro government support the proposed U.S. transition to a government that would involve neither Maduro nor Guaidó.[21]
    • Two flights of Iranian technicians have arrived to help run the Paraguaná Refinery Complex. 14 more flights of technicians are expected soon.[22]
    • Opposition lawmakers approved a payment of US$5,000 per month for themselves as part of a plan to help health professionals during the coronavirus pandemic. Doctors and nurses will get a one-time US$100 each.[23]
  • 27 April – Maduro appoints Tareck El Aissami oil minister and Asdrúbal Chávez to head PDVSA. The government of the United States has offered a $10 million bounty for the arrest of El Aissami, who is on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ten-most-wanted list.[24]
  • April 29 – 500 Venezuela migrants living in Colombia block a highway in protest of the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Colombia. They say the makes it impossible for them to work. There are 1.8 million Venezuelan migrants living in Colombia.[25]
  • 30 April – Maduro refuses to bow to pressure from Brazil to remove its diplomatic personal by May 2.[26]
  • 1 May – Guanare prison riot: A riot and attempted escape attempt leaves 47 dead and 75 injured in the Centro Penitenciario de los Llanos in Guanare, Portuguesa State.[27]
  • 4 May – Eight dissidents were killed and seventeen were captured after a failed beach landing in Macuto, Vargas state, including the two Americans, organized by the private security company Silvercorp USA and headed by Jordan Goudreau in the codenamed Operation Gideon.[28]
  • 12 May – Passenger flights are banned for thirty days.[29]
  • 13 May – Criminal charges are filed against the prison warden and five guards following the riot in Guanare that left 47 inmates dead and dozens more injured.[30]
  • 14 May – Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino tells state television that its troops captured 39 army deserters on the Colombian border.[31]
  • 19 May – The government sends the military to put down protests in Barquisimeto, Iribarren Municipality. Five arrested.[32]
  • 20 May – The Maduro government sues the Bank of England, accusing it of stealing 31 tons of gold. Maduro said, "It is the colonial war against Venezuela!"[33]
  • 25 May – Dozens of people from Sucre Municipality, Miranda protest because they have not had water for 57 days.[34]

June

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  • 13 June – Authorities in Cape Verde arrest Alex Saab, a businessman accused by the U.S. of corrupt dealings with President Nicolás Maduro's government, while en route to Iran.[35]
  • 15 June – The conservative Spanish newspaper ′′ABC′′ reported on June 15 that then-Foreign Minister of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro paid Gianroberto Casaleggio €3.5 million in 2010 to finance an ″anticapitalist, leftist movement in the Italian Republic,″ which makes up the Italian political party Five Star Movement today. Casaleggio's son, Davide Casaleggio said this was fake news that had already surfaced in 2016.[36]

July

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  • July 13 – Former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson plans to travel this week to Venezuela to urge President Nicolás Maduro to free two American mercenaries and six jailed oil executives as a goodwill gesture aimed at easing tensions with the U.S.[37]
  • July 15
    • COVID-19 pandemic: Miranda (state) and Caracas join Zulia in quarantine.[38]
    • Federico Villegas, Argentine ambassador, expresses his concerns about human rights in Venezuela and demands free elections.[39]

August

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  • August 13 – The National Assembly demands information about an oi spill near Falcón state.[40]
  • August 14 – Satellite TV returns for 2,000,000 subscribers of DirecTV.[41]
  • August 19
    • Amnesty International Latin America condemns the Maduro government for mistreatment of health care workers who criticize the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[42]
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Venezuela: Venezuela again reports over 1,000 new infections in 24-hours. There are a total of 36,878 confirmed cases, 11,149 of whom are active and 561 have died.[43]
  • August 21 – Juan Guaidó calls for the cancellation of the December 6 parliamentary elections, citing fraud.[1]
  • August 25 – The Attorney General of Cape Verde opens an investigation into two men who posed as representatives of President Maduro in favor of Colombian Alex Saab.[44]

September

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  • 5 September – Amnesty International condemns the June 2019 torture and killing of Navy Captain Rafael Acosta Arévalo.[45]
  • 6 September – The NGO Programa Venezolano de Educación-Acción (Venezuelan Program for Education-Action, Provea) reports 1,500 extrajudicial killings by pro-Madero forces in 2020.[46]
  • 12 September – Maduro claims a U.S. man, a former CIA agent in Iraq, is caught spying on the refineries in Falcón.[47]
  • 14 September – In-person classes are suspended until January. Estado Vive TV will become a "superchannel" and will play a fundamental role in education.[48]
  • 16 September – The United Nations Commission on Human Rights accuses Maduro, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López, and Interior Minister Néstor Reverol of serious crimes amid human rights violations.[49]

December

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  • 6 December – 2020 Venezuelan parliamentary election: Turnout is 31% as Maduro's government is reelected with 67.6%, the traditional opposition won 17.95%, and dissidents on the left won 3% of the vote.[50] Eighteen countries in America (including the United States and Canada but excluding Argentina, Bolivia, and Mexico) call the election fraudulent and illegal.[51]
  • 7-12 December – Opposition leaders claim that 2.4 million people 845,000 Venezuelans abroad voted online and 3 million voted in person on "popular consultation" to repudiate President Nicolas Maduro's government.[52]
  • 29 December – COVID-19 pandemic: Venezuela signs a contract to acquire enough doses of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine for 10 million people. There have been 112,636 confirmed cases and 1,018 deaths in the country.[53]
  • 30 December – The U.S. sanctions Judge Lorena Carolina Cornielles Ruiz and prosecutor Ramon Antonio Torres Espinoza following the conviction of six American oil executives.[54]
  • 31 December
    • Halliburton removes all its staff in Venezuela.[55]
    • The Supreme Court rules that a move by the opposition-controlled National Assembly to extend its term an additional year is invalid.[56]

Deaths

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Alberto Naranjo
 
Darío Vivas

January to April

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May to August

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September to December

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Juan Guaidó instó a la Unión Interparlamentaria a rechazar los comicios de diciembre en Venezuela". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  2. ^ Woody, Christopher (January 31, 2020). "A US warship sailed along Venezuela's cost to gather intelligence and send a message to Maduro". Business Insider.
  3. ^ @Simon85205764 (January 21, 2020). "#USSDetroit off the coast of Venezuela currently. Very close to the capital #Caracas #Navy USS Detroit (LCS-7) …" (Tweet). Archived from the original on February 4, 2020 – via Twitter.
  4. ^ "La Fiscalía venezolana eleva a los 11 muertos en un incendio, 9 de ellos menores". efe.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  5. ^ The IMF refuses to grant a loan of 5 billion to Maduro to contain the coronavirus (in Spanish) El País, 17 Mar 2020
  6. ^ The United States accused Nicolás Maduro of narco-terrorism and offered USD 15 million for data leading to his arrest (in Spanish) Infobae, 26 Mar 2020
  7. ^ Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro threatens Trump in face of drug charges By Yaron Steinbuch, New York Post, 27 March 2020
  8. ^ Oil company Rosneft sells its assets in Venezuela to the Government of Russia (in Spanish) El Pais, 28 Mar 2020
  9. ^ Venezuela prosecutor's office summoned Guaido for 'attempted coup' AFP, 31 Mar 2020
  10. ^ "Mike Pompeo dijo que EEUU levantará las sanciones a Venezuela si el chavismo acepta ir a elecciones libres" [Mike Pompeo said that the US will lift sanctions against Venezuela if Chavismo agrees to go to free elections]. Infobae Mexico (in Spanish). March 31, 2020.
  11. ^ Trump: US to deploy anti-drug Navy ships near Venezuela AP, 1 April 2020
  12. ^ Nicolás Maduro's regime released journalist Darvinson Rojas after 12 days in detention (in Spanish) Infobae, 2 Apr 2020
  13. ^ The European Union expressed its support for the US plan to install a transitional government in Venezuela (in Spanish) Infobae, 3 Apr 2020
  14. ^ Venezuelan migrants flee Colombian quarantine for their shattered homeland Reuters, 3 Apr 2020
  15. ^ Venezuela mobilizes its artillery before threat of armed attacks (in Spanish) La Jornada (Mexico), 3 Apr 2020
  16. ^ "Cruise ship collision sinks Venezuela navy vessel". BBC News. 3 April 2020. Retrieved Apr 21, 2020.
  17. ^ "Sacred Venezuelan stone back home after hiatus in Berlin". AP NEWS. 17 April 2020. Retrieved Apr 23, 2020.
  18. ^ Croda, Rafael (18 April 2020). "Maduro encara su peor crisis... y Washington lo cerca" [Maduro faces his worst crisis ... and Washington surrounds him]. Proceso portal de noticias (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  19. ^ "Venezuela slams US over 'vulgar' central bank funds seizure". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved Apr 19, 2020.
  20. ^ "Un extraño avión iraní aterrizó en el norte de Venezuela" [A strange Iranian plane landed in northern Venezuela]. Infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved Apr 23, 2020.
  21. ^ "Elliott Abrams aseguró que integrantes del régimen de Maduro han hecho consultas serias sobre el plan de EEUU para una transición democrática en Venezuela" [Elliott Abrams assured that members of the Maduro regime have made serious consultations about the US plan for a democratic transition in Venezuela]. Infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved Apr 23, 2020.
  22. ^ "Venezuela turns to Iran for a hand restarting its gas pumps". ABC News. Retrieved Apr 24, 2020.
  23. ^ "Sources: Guaido allies take slice of first Venezuela budget". ABC News. Retrieved Apr 24, 2020.
  24. ^ "Maduro taps US fugitive to revamp Venezuela oil industry". ABC News. Retrieved Apr 28, 2020.
  25. ^ "Venezuelan migrants block Bogota road, demand ability to travel home". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved Apr 29, 2020.
  26. ^ "Venezuela refuses to withdraw diplomats from Brazil". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  27. ^ "Familias de reos muertos en penal de Guanare acusan a autoridades de masacre". Efecto Cocuyo. 3 May 2020.
  28. ^ "Venezuela: 2 Americans among those nabbed after beach raid". ABC News. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  29. ^ "Venezuela extiende prohibición de vuelos hasta el 12 de junio". El Informador :: Noticias de Jalisco, México, Deportes & Entretenimiento (in European Spanish). Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  30. ^ "Venezuela: Warden charged in deadly prison riot with 47 dead". ABC News. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  31. ^ "Venezuela captures 39 army 'deserters' over Maduro plot: minister". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  32. ^ de 2020, Por Sebastiana Barráez25 de Mayo. "Ante las protestas por fallas en los servicios públicos, el régimen de Nicolás Maduro usa a la Fuerza Armada para amedrentar a la población". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved May 25, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  33. ^ "El régimen de Nicolás Maduro demandó al Banco de Inglaterra por retener 31 toneladas de oro venezolano". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  34. ^ ""Queremos agua": el reclamo de los venezolanos en Sucre tras 57 días sin servicio en medio de la emergencia por el coronavirus". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  35. ^ "Businessman tied to Venezuelan leader arrested in Cape Verde". ABC News. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  36. ^ "Una investigación asegura que el régimen chavista financió al Movimiento 5 Estrellas que hoy gobierna Italia con 3,9 millones de dólares". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  37. ^ "Ex-US diplomat Richardson to urge Maduro to free Americans". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  38. ^ "Caracas y el estado de Miranda volvieron a una cuarentena radical por el avance del coronavirus en Venezuela". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  39. ^ "Argentina expresó su profunda preocupación por las violaciones a los Derechos Humanos en Venezuela y pidió elecciones libres". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  40. ^ "Venezuela's National Assembly investigates oil spill". news.yahoo.com. BBC. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  41. ^ "Satellite TV back for Venezuelans left in dark by US sanctions". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  42. ^ "Grave denuncia de Amnistía Internacional contra la dictadura de Maduro por la represión a los trabajadores de la salud en plena pandemia". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  43. ^ "Venezuela volvió a registrar más de 1.000 nuevos casos diarios de coronavirus". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  44. ^ "La Fiscalía de Cabo Verde imputó a los dos emisarios que viajaron a Caracas para tratar el caso de Alex Saab". infobae (in European Spanish). August 25, 2020. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  45. ^ "Amnistía Internacional reveló que el capitán de corbeta venezolano Rafael Acosta Arévalo fue "desaparecido, torturado y murió ante un juez"". infobae (in European Spanish). September 5, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  46. ^ "Las fuerzas del régimen de Maduro asesinaron a más de 1.500 personas en ejecuciones extrajudiciales en los primeros seis meses del año". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  47. ^ Goddard, Emily (September 12, 2020). "Venezuela: President Maduro says US spy captured near oil sites". news.yahoo.com. The Independent. Retrieved Sep 13, 2020. He was captured with specialised weapons, he was captured with large amounts of cash, large amounts of dollars and other items.
  48. ^ "El régimen de Nicolás Maduro canceló las clases presenciales hasta enero de 2021". infobae (in European Spanish). September 14, 2020. Retrieved Sep 14, 2020.
  49. ^ "La ONU señaló a Nicolás Maduro, Vladimir Padrino y Néstor Reverol como responsables de las violaciones a los derechos humanos en Venezuela". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved Sep 16, 2020.
  50. ^ Cano, Arturo (6 December 2020). "En Venezuela el madurismo se declara ganador, pese al elevado abstencionismo - Mundo - La Jornada". www.jornada.com.mx (in Spanish). La Jornada. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  51. ^ "Mientras México, Argentina y Bolivia callan, 18 países americanos calificaron como fraudulentas e ilegales las elecciones en Venezuela". infobae (in European Spanish). December 7, 2020. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  52. ^ "Venezuela opposition claim big turnout in protest vote". aljazeera.com. Al Jazeera English. December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  53. ^ Williams, Jordan (31 December 2020). "Venezuela signs contract to acquire doses of Russian coronavirus vaccine". TheHill. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  54. ^ "US sanctions Venezuelan judge, prosecutor over Citgo convictions". aljazeera.com. Al Jazeera English. December 30, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  55. ^ "Halliburton eliminates Venezuela staff after U.S. sanctions halt operations". Reuters. 31 December 2020. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  56. ^ "Venezuela Supreme Court rules parliament's term extension invalid". aljazeera.com. Al Jazeera English. December 31, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  57. ^ "Falleció la diputada Addy Valero tras una larga lucha contra el cáncer". elnacional.com (in Spanish). 22 January 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  58. ^ "Falleció El baterista y compositor Alberto Naranjo a los 78 anos". eluniversal.com (in Spanish). 27 January 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  59. ^ Tiempo, Casa Editorial El (April 16, 2020). "Falleció el humorista venezolano Carlos Donoso". El Tiempo.
  60. ^ "Fallece Jorge Spiteri, pionero del rock de Venezuela". diariolasamericas.com.
  61. ^ "Outrage in Venezuela after prize racehorse stolen, butchered". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  62. ^ Murió el diputado Hernán Alemán por covid-19 Archived 2020-07-07 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)
  63. ^ "Falleció el "negrito fullero" Daniel Alvarado tras sufrir un accidente doméstico". Falleció el "negrito fullero" Daniel Alvarado tras sufrir un accidente doméstico. July 8, 2020.
  64. ^ "Muere diputado venezolano exiliado en Colombia que padecía covid-19". CNN (in Spanish). 8 July 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  65. ^ "Fallece Flor Isava, la eterna dama del olimpismo venezolano". July 26, 2020.
  66. ^ "President of Venezuelan soccer body Berardinelli dies". ABC News.
  67. ^ Nacional, El (August 6, 2020). "Falleció la exprimera dama Blanca Rodríguez de Pérez".
  68. ^ Greenberger, Maximilíano Durón,Alex; Durón, Maximilíano; Greenberger, Alex (August 14, 2020). "Luchita Hurtado, Influential Painter Who Created Dizzying Images of Women and Nature, Is Dead at 99".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  69. ^ "Governor of Venezuela's capital district, key Maduro ally, dies of COVID-19". Reuters. August 13, 2020 – via www.reuters.com.
  70. ^ ¡Leyenda! Murió exgrandeliga porteño Remigio Hermoso (in Spanish)
  71. ^ "World Para Powerlifting sends condolences to family of Zuray Marcano". International Paralympic Committee.
  72. ^ "Muere por complicaciones relacionadas al Covid-19 otro dirigente chavista en Venezuela | DIARIO DE CUBA". diariodecuba.com. September 1, 2020.
  73. ^ "Olympedia – Domingo Rivas". www.olympedia.org.
  74. ^ Nacional, El (November 5, 2020). "Falleció de cáncer el expelotero zuliano Johnny Paredes".
  75. ^ Anthony Galindo, former member of Menudo and MDO, dies at 41
  76. ^ "Falleció Obispo Emérito de Maracay a la edad de 77 años". El Universal. October 12, 2020.
  77. ^ Nacional, El (December 17, 2020). "Falleció la diputada a la Asamblea Nacional Bolivia Suárez por covid-19".
  78. ^ Com, ntn24 (December 18, 2020). "Falleció José Vicente Rangel, ex vicepresidente de Hugo Chávez". Falleció José Vicente Rangel, ex vicepresidente de Hugo Chávez.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  79. ^ "Mundo artístico lamenta el fallecimiento del músico Víctor Cuica". El Universal (in Spanish). 26 December 2020.
  80. ^ "Falleció el músico y actor venezolano Víctor Cuica a los 71 años". Letralia, Tierra de Letras (in Spanish). 27 December 2020.
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