Cuban leader Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez shared their amazement and joy upon the triumphal return to power of the late Venezuelan leader after a brief coup in 2002, an exchange vividly captured in a transcript released Friday.

"You have to make a movie about it," a delighted Castro told Chavez in a lengthy telephone conversation shortly after the Venezuelan president was welcomed back to presidential palace in Caracas by cheering masses.

A court in Venezuela said Friday it had rejected an appeal for the release of jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, who stands accused by the government of inciting deadly protests.

The court of appeals said the complaint filed by Lopez's lawyers was "without merit."

Following weeks of violent protests, Venezuela's leftist government on Thursday agreed to having an outside "witness" to ease stalled talks with its political opposition.

The deal, brokered by a group of South American foreign ministers, is aimed at ending the impasse between the government of President Nicolas Maduro and his political opponents, some of whom have been jailed for allegedly inciting violence.

A moderate Venezuelan opposition group said Wednesday it was ready to talk to the protest-hit government of President Nicolas Maduro, in a rare potential step forward following weeks of unrest.

"We are ready for a transparent, balanced and fair dialogue, a public one with a national or international good-faith facilitator ... that can mediate if needed," Ramon Aveledo told broadcaster Globovision.

Venezuelan opposition politician Maria Corina Machado traveled home from Peru Wednesday, daring her country's leftist government to arrest her for allegedly inciting protest marches.

Machado was a member of Venezuela's legislature until Monday, when National Assembly head Diosdado Cabello kicked her out and stripped her parliamentary immunity.

Forest fires on a mountain overlooking Caracas knocked out power to downtown areas of the city Tuesday and officials said they suspected the blazes were set deliberately.

A fire broke out Monday afternoon that affected electric power lines, followed by a second fire that ignited during the night leaving part of the center of the city in the dark, they said.

Venezuela has arrested three air force generals suspected of plotting an uprising against the leftist government, President Nicolas Maduro said Tuesday.

Maduro told a meeting of South American foreign ministers that the three generals, who were not identified, had been in contact with the opposition and "were trying to rise up against the legitimately constituted government."

An ousted Venezuelan lawmaker hit back at President Nicolas Maduro on Monday, accusing the government of desperation after she was effectively fired for raising the country's deadly political crisis.

Maria Corina Machado has been placed under criminal investigation on the suspicion that she incited violence, terrorism and homicide by addressing a meeting of the Organization of American States.

A prominent Venezuelan opposition lawmaker has been stripped of her seat after she raised the country's political crisis at a meeting of a regional body, a senior official said Monday.

National Assembly president Diosdado Cabello said Maria Corina Machado had forfeited her seat by addressing a session of the Organization of American States as a guest of Panama's delegation.

Police fired tear gas and made several arrests as 20,000 people marched Saturday in the Venezuelan capital Caracas against what they say is President Nicolas Maduro's heavy-handed repression of dissent.

At least 31 people have been killed in more than six weeks of student-led protests against the government, representing the biggest challenge yet to Maduro, the elected socialist heir to longtime late President Hugo Chavez.