CUCUTA, Colombia (AP) — U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio visited a border staging point for U.S. aid to Venezuela on Sunday and warned soldiers loyal to socialist President Nicolas Maduro that it will be a “crime against humanity” if they block entry of the goods that are being channeled through Maduro’s ...

CUCUTA, Colombia (AP) — The U.S. military airlifted tons of humanitarian aid to a Colombian town on the Venezuelan border Saturday as part of an effort meant to undermine socialist President Nicolas Maduro and back his rival for the leadership of the South American nation.

Three scheduled ...

A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these is legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked these out. Here are the real facts:

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CLAIM: Food aid for Venezuela being held in ...

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The Trump administration is sending another large shipment of humanitarian aid to the Venezuelan border in Colombia, for the first time using U.S. military aircraft as it increases pressure on Nicolas Maduro to give up power, according to a State Department email sent ...

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The latest on the political crisis in Venezuela (all times local):

8:25 p.m.

The president of Colombia says China’s role in Latin America would be stronger if the Asian country recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country’s interim ...

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The latest on the political crisis in Venezuela (all times local):

8:05 p.m.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is calling a meeting between Donald Trump and Colombian leader Ivan Duque a “feast of hate against Venezuela.”

Trump and Duque met ...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday called Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s refusal to accept humanitarian aid a “terrible mistake” and the decision an example of what can happen when the wrong government holds power.

Trump seemed also to hint at future action by the ...

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Opposition leader Juan Guaido said Tuesday that he will try to run caravans of badly needed food and medicine into Venezuela but won’t start for nearly two weeks, a timeline that threatens to deflate momentum toward unseating entrenched President Nicolas ...

CUCUTA, Colombia (AP) — Nearly three weeks after the Trump administration backed an all-out effort to force out President Nicolas Maduro, the embattled socialist leader is holding strong and defying predictions of an imminent demise.

Dozens of nations have recognized opposition leader Juan ...

CUCUTA, Colombia (AP) — Venezuelan doctors protested Sunday at the entrance to a bridge blocked by their nation’s military to demand that humanitarian aid be allowed to enter, as opposition leader Juan Guaido acknowledged the conflict over the food and medical supplies could lead to ...

CUCUTA, Colombia (AP) — The Latest on the political crisis in Venezuela (all times local):

9:30 p.m.

China says peaceful dialogue and political means are the “only way” toward enduring peace in Venezuela and says it backs multinational efforts toward that end.

Foreign Ministry ...

CUCUTA, Colombia (AP) — Dozens of volunteers prepared sacks of rice, canned tuna and protein-rich biscuits for malnourished children at a warehouse on the Colombian border on Friday as Venezuela’s opposition vowed to deliver the U.S. humanitarian aid to their troubled nation, even if it means ...

CUCUTA, Colombia (AP) — Trucks carrying U.S. humanitarian aid destined for Venezuela arrived Thursday at the Colombian border, where opposition leaders vowed to bring them into their troubled nation despite objections from embattled President Nicolas Maduro.

Two semi-trailers loaded with ...

NEW YORK (AP) — A veterinarian who surgically implanted liquid heroin in puppies on behalf of Colombian drug traffickers was sentenced to six years in prison Thursday.

One of the puppies went on to become a drug-detection dog named Heroina.

The sentence for Andres Lopez Elorez was ...

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia’s new coach Carlos Queiroz says he’ll try to build on the legacy of his predecessor Jose Pekerman, and immediately identified midfielder James Rodriguez as “the heart of the team.”

The Portuguese coach said Thursday that his two top goals for Colombia will ...

CUCUTA, Colombia (AP) — For Anahis Alvarado, whose battle with kidney failure has become more desperate as Venezuela sinks deeper into crisis, the prospect of bringing in emergency medical and food supplies can’t come soon enough.

She’s watched five fellow patients in her dialysis group ...

CUCUTA, Colombia (AP) — For Anahis Alvarado, whose battle with kidney failure has become more desperate as Venezuela sinks deeper into crisis, the prospect of bringing in emergency medical and food supplies can’t come soon enough.

She’s watched five fellow patients in her dialysis group ...

CUCUTA, Colombia (AP) — For Anahis Alvarado, whose battle with kidney failure has become more desperate as Venezuela sinks deeper into crisis, the prospect of bringing in emergency medical and food supplies can’t come soon enough.

She’s watched five fellow patients in her dialysis group ...

CUCUTA, Colombia (AP) — The Venezuelan military barricaded a bridge at a key border crossing with Colombia, issuing a challenge Wednesday to a U.S.-backed effort by the opposition to bring humanitarian aid into a nation plagued by shortages of food and medicine.

The Tienditas International ...

CUCUTA, Colombia (AP) — For Anahis Alvarado, whose battle with kidney failure has become more desperate as Venezuela sinks deeper into crisis, the prospect of bringing in emergency medical and food supplies can’t come soon enough.

She’s watched five fellow patients in her dialysis group ...

CUCUTA, Colombia (AP) — The Latest on Venezuela’s political crisis (all times local):

4:10 p.m.

A young Venezuelan man is standing near the border bridge where the military has created a barricade and is urging troops to accept humanitarian aid.

Twenty-two-year-old Jose Mendoza ...

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — More than a dozen European Union countries endorsed Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country’s interim president Monday, piling the pressure on embattled President Nicolas Maduro to resign and clear the way for a new presidential election.

Maduro ...

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido is moving ahead with plans to try to bring in humanitarian aid through the Colombian border city of Cucuta, where the U.S. government will transport and store food and medical supplies destined for Venezuela.

The Venezuelan ...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan on Tuesday would not rule out sending U.S. military forces to Colombia or the region in connection with the ongoing political upheaval in Venezuela.

Shanahan told reporters that he hasn’t spoken to national security adviser John ...

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The coalition of Latin American governments that joined the U.S. in quickly recognizing Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president came together over weeks of secret diplomacy that included whispered messages to activists under constant surveillance and a high-risk ...

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Copa America host Brazil was drawn in a relatively easy group for this year’s tournament, where it will face Bolivia, Venezuela and Peru.

The draw was made on Thursday in Rio de Janeiro, and gave Argentina the toughest path of the top-seeded teams as it was placed in ...

MUNICH (AP) — Leon Goretzka’s emergence at Bayern Munich is bad news for James Rodriguez.

James, as he is known, watched from the bench Friday as Goretzka - playing in the Colombian’s favored No. 10 position - scored two goals in Bayern’s 3-1 victory at Hoffenheim.

“We did everything ...

Numerous governments in the Western Hemisphere quickly recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the interim president of his crisis-torn country Wednesday.

The United States and all but one member of the Lima Group of regional nations threw their support behind Guaido after ...

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — World leaders in favor of international cooperation and free trade struck back Wednesday against the wave of populist nationalism that has featured more prominently than usual at the gathering of elites in Davos, Switzerland.

As a dizzying array of heads of state ...

HAVANA (AP) — The head negotiator for Colombia’s rebel National Liberation Army is denying advance knowledge of a bombing attack on a police academy that killed 21 people last week and is demanding that the Colombian government allow negotiators to return safely from Cuba.

Pablo Beltran, ...

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The latest on a reported national guard uprising in Venezuela (all times local):

10:25 p.m.

A group of unidentified men saying they are friends of the Venezuelan military appears in a video saying they are preparing an advance into Venezuela to help unseat ...

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia is pressuring Cuba to turn over leaders of the South American nation’s last remaining rebel group who had been on the island for peace talks that have been stifled by the bombing of a police academy that left 21 dead.

The National Liberation Army claimed ...

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Thousands of Colombians dressed in white poured into the streets Sunday to repudiate terrorism after a car bombing at a Bogota police academy killed 21 people and left dozens more wounded.

Amid heavy security and loud chants of “Down with the terrorists!” and “No ...

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has prayed for peace in Colombia after the Bogota bombing at a police academy.

Francis told faithful in St. Peter’s Square Sunday that he wanted to assure the Colombian people of his closeness after the “grave terrorist attack” on Jan. 17 that claimed 21 ...

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Before a car bomb exploded at a Colombia police academy this week, killing 21 people, the young cadets inside were busy pushing forward dreams of serving their country and helping lift their families out of poverty.

Maria Corredor, a tailor who works at the academy ...

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia called on Cuba to arrest 10 National Liberation Army commanders currently in Havana for stalled peace talks after a car bombing blamed on the leftist rebels killed 21 people and injured dozens at a police academy in Bogota.

President Ivan Duque said late ...

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombian President Ivan Duque on Friday demanded Cuba arrest 10 peace negotiators from the National Liberation Army after his government blamed the leftist group for a car bombing against a police academy that left 21 dead and dozens more wounded.

In a televised ...

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — The Latest on the car bombing in Bogota (all times local):

7:20 p.m.

Colombia’s President Ivan Duque has reactivated arrest orders against the leaders of the county’s last remaining rebel group after it was blamed for carrying out a car bombing on a police ...

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — When Emili Espinoza was finally able to make a video call to the 3-year-old son she hadn’t seen since fleeing Venezuela, the little boy named Elvis didn’t recognize her.

“No,” he told her. “My mom is sleeping.”

That cold denial sent a shiver of sadness down ...

PAMPLONA, Colombia (AP) — As night approached, Sandra Cadiz wrapped her shivering daughter in a blanket and prayed for a ride up the frigid Colombian mountaintop known as “the icebox.”

Ten-year-old Angelis already had on nearly all of the clothes she’d brought for the 2,700-mile trek ...