Julie Turkewitz | The New York Times

An assassination attempt against a Colombian senator and presidential hopeful Saturday has horrified much of the nation, and not just because it represents the highest-profile political violence in the country in years.

Polling places in Caracas, the capital, and other cities were sparsely populated but officials claimed turnout was higher than 40%.

Six American prisoners — including a nurse from Florida — came home from Venezuela in late January, after an unusual visit by a Trump administration official. At their Venezuelan prison, the guards wore name tags that read “Hitler” and “Demon” and covered their faces with ski masks. They were confined to cement cells, beaten, pepper-sprayed and subjected to what one prisoner called “psychological torture.”

After finding refuge and building power in Venezuela, a decades-old rebel group has waged the worst violence in Colombia in a generation, setting off troubling regional tensions.

Clashes between armed groups in Colombia have led to some of the worst violence in the country in years.

A generation that fled political persecution and economic hardship is finding a way to laugh amid the pain.

In an interview with The New York Times, an electoral council official expressed grave doubts about claims to victory by the authoritarian president, Nicolás Maduro.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said there was “overwhelming evidence” that Edmundo González had won, despite President Nicolás Maduro’s claim of victory.