"Six international airlines had suspended flights to Venezuela over the risk of possible US military strikes when an ultra-long-haul executive jet from Sao Paulo, Brazil, landed calmly in Caracas. On board that flight on 23 November was the Brazilian meat tycoon Joesley Batista twice jailed for corruption and whose companies have a long record of environmental violations. After a meeting with the Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, he returned to Brazil the following day."
"Three days earlier, Donald Trump had demanded Maduro step down, and Batista's aim was to convince the Venezuelan to do so. The Brazilian billionaire's efforts apparently had no effect, since the dictator remains in power and tensions with the US have escalated further, including the seizure of an oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast and the expansion of US sanctions."
Six international airlines suspended flights to Venezuela over fears of possible US military strikes while an ultra-long-haul executive jet from Sao Paulo landed in Caracas carrying Brazilian meat tycoon Joesley Batista. Batista, twice jailed for corruption and whose companies have environmental violations, met Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro on 23 November and returned to Brazil the following day. Three days earlier Donald Trump had demanded Maduro step down; Batista sought to persuade Maduro to resign but had no effect. US-Venezuela tensions escalated with an oil tanker seizure and expanded US sanctions. Batista also helped broker rapprochement between Trump and Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, lobbying to lift US tariffs on Brazilian imports.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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