Brazil lifts ban that stopped Venezuela's Maduro entering country - official gazette

FILE PHOTO: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro delivers a speech during the extraordinary session of the National Assembly of People's Power of Cuba in commemoration of the 18th anniversary of the creation of ALBA-TCP at the Convention Palace in Havana, Cuba, December 14, 2022. Courtesy of Miraflores Palace/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

Brazil's outgoing government of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has lifted a ban on Venezuelan senior officials entering the country, according to a decision published on Friday in the Official Gazette.

The ban prevented Venezuelan leftist President Nicolas Maduro from accepting an invitation to attend the inauguration on Sunday of President-elect Luis Inacio Lula da Silva that will be attended by 19 heads of state, including the King of Spain.

(Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Alex Richardson)