Above photo: From Orinoco Tribune.
NOTE: Venezuelan Vice Foreign Minister Carlos Ron spoke to Teri Matson of CODEPINK for an hour today about the Trump Administration’s “Maximum Pressure” campaign of escalating economic warfare and acts of terrorism within the country and how Venezuela is working to resist it.
Washington DC – Members of CODEPINK interrupted a speech by Elliott Abrams hosted by The Alexander Hamilton Society at SAIS, the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in D.C. Abrams, named Special Representative on Venezuela by President Donald Trump in January 2019, oversees the administration’s regime change efforts in Venezuela.
The administration’s rhetoric has become significantly more aggressive in 2020, with Trump himself threatening to “smash” and destroy the legitimate elected government of Venezuela. The State Department has followed suit, recently declaring that the “Monroe Doctrine 2.0” is in effect and that this month will be known as “maximum pressure March.” In addition to intensifying its sanctions against Venezuela, the Trump administration has threatened a military blockade and has recently met with the presidents of Brazil and Colombia to coordinate their regime change efforts.
Abrams oversees this hybrid war on Venezuela. According to Alfred de Zayas, a former U.N. special rapporteur, the sanctions imposed by the United States have already killed over 100,000 Venezuelans, which he characterizes as a crime against humanity. In addition, Abrams manages Washington’s relations with Juan Guaidó, the opposition leader hand-picked by the Trump administration to declare himself president of the country. Guaidó lacks legitimacy and backing in Venezuela, yet he routinely asks for more sanctions and has made calls for a military intervention.
Abrams is no stranger to crimes against humanity, having a sordid history of supporting death squads and soldiers who committed genocide and war crimes during the civil wars in Central America in the 1980s. Furthermore, his role in the 2002 coup in Venezuela has been well documented. Abrams cancelled the event after multiple people disrupted the event, questioning why a man convicted of lying to Congress with a history of supporting war criminals was invited to speak in the first place.
CODEPINK supports the ongoing dialogue between the government and opposition sectors in Venezuela and denounces Elliott Abrams and the Trump administration for attempting to sabotage these negotiations, as the U.S. government did in February 2018 and August 2019.