Venezuela’s ruling Socialists won more than two-thirds of Sunday’s regional elections — prompting opposition claims of fraud. With the result in Bolivar state too close to call, the United Socialist Party (PSUV) won 17 of 23 state governorships to the Democratic Unity Roundtable (Mud) coalition’s five. Mud candidates won in the alliance’s Colombian border strongholds  Zulia, Merida and Tachira, along with central Anzoátegui and the island state of Nueva Esparta. President Nicolas Maduro asked the recently-elected constitutional reform assembly to order the National Electoral Council (CNE) to audit 100 per cent of the ballot papers — calling the opposition’s bluff. “As we have absolute faith the the electoral transparency, I ask, as head of state, that the National Constituent Assembly order an audit of the entire electoral process from A to Z.” Earlier Mr Maduro praised the conduct of the election, saying: "There has not been a single incident, electoral process in pea...

Cuba solidarity campaigners accused US President Donald Trump yesterday of pandering to hard-line Republicans by expelling Cuban diplomats. Britain’s Cuba Solidarity Campaign (CSC) spoke out after US officials leaked government plans to order Havana to cut its Washington embassy staff by 60 per cent  —  later confirmed as the expulsion of 15 diplomats.  The decision came after the US State Department cut its staff in Havana by a similar proportion — from around 50 to about 20. It followed bizarre claims that at least 21 US embassy staff in Havana — mainly spies operating under diplomatic cover — were made ill by “sonic attacks” starting in November last year, days after US President Donald Trump’s election. Republican Florida Senator Marco Rubio, a hardline opponent of Cuban socialism, applauded the administration's step, tweeting: the move to expel "Castro regime employees" from embassy "was the right decision." CSC director Rob Miller said: “Unfortu...

Venezuelan police broke up an opposition plot to sabotage electricity, gas and water supplies, President Nicolas Maduro announced on Monday night. Mr Maduro said members of the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) coalition were “caught red-handed.” Speaking from Vargas state, where he was meeting candidates for his United Socialist Party (PSUV) in this month’s regional elections, the president said: “We have our hands on part of this group.” Electrical Energy Minister Luis Motta said on saturday at least 50 suspects had been arrested over the past two weeks for involvement in a plan to sabotage the national grid. He said 38 others had been killed trying to steal high-tension electricity cables, while others got away with 19,000 metres of the material. A spate of similar incidents occurred last year. Mr Motta said the conspiracy may have been timed to coincide with the October 15 elections, while Vice-President Tarek El Aissiami indicated it was aimed at hindering the relaunc...

Former Ecuadorean president Rafael Correa backed Vice-President Jorge Glas on Monday — even as he was detained on corruption charges. "An honest man has lost his freedom," Mr Correa tweeted after the Supreme Court ordered Mr Glas remanded in custody pending an investigation into allegations he took bribes from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht. President Lenin Moreno stripped Glas of his duties as vice president in August but allowed him to keep his title. Mr Glas claimed his detention was "a clear retaliation" for criticising Mr Moreno's policies, with additional pressure from "major businessmen and opposition leaders." Mr Glas’ barrister Eduardo Franco said he would appeal the "bad, unjust and arbitrary decision" which he described as a "judicial coup" — like that against Brazilian Workers’ Party president Dilma Rousseff last year. "He is being victimised by the media, and by the political perversity of opposi...