Venezuelans are lining up to choose the opposition candidate who will take on Chávez for the presidency in October. About 20,000 voters are registered to cast their ballot

Venezuelans lined up to vote on Sunday in the country's first-ever opposition presidential primary, choosing a single challenger they hope will have what it takes to finally defeat President Hugo Chavez after 13 years in office.

Crude oil that spilled from a ruptured pipeline has blackened a river in eastern Venezuela, and the state oil company said workers are containing the spill.

Henrique Capriles, the energetic governor of Venezuela’s Miranda state, is leading the polls for Sunday’s opposition primary election. The winner will face President Chávez in October.

Opposition presidential contender Pablo Perez finished off his campaign Thursday urging public employees to join his supporters and vote in a primary election choosing a single challenger to face President Hugo Chavez.

Venezuela turned over a prominent Colombian paramilitary warlord to Colombian authorities on Thursday.

Opposition leader Henrique Capriles is heading into Venezuela's first opposition primary warning that Hugo Chavez's foes must choose a strong candidate if they want to win back the presidency and halt the country's slide into chaos.

Outmatched time and again at the polls by President Hugo Chavez, Venezuelan's opposition leaders are trying a new strategy to unseat the populist leader this year, holding the nation's first presidential primary to choose the strongest challenger.

Twenty years ago, Chávez tried to seize power by force. Now, the president is courting controversy as he celebrates that failed uprising.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez celebrated the 20th anniversary of the failed coup attempt that launched his political career on Saturday, presiding over a military parade while fighter jets and helicopters roared overhead.

An eight-nation bloc of Latin American and Caribbean countries agreed on Sunday to deposit 1 percent of their international reserves into a jointly administered development bank as they seek to deepen economic cooperation.

Cuban President Raul Castro flew to Caracas on Friday to attend a meeting with other allies of Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, who was at the airport for the arrival.

President Hugo Chavez is strongly condemning an armed pro-government group for allegedly allowing children to pose with assault rifles. He says it could hurt his image ahead of Venezuela's presidential election.