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Juan Guaido

Venezuela Edges Closer To Losing CITGO As Corporations Submit Offers

The second and final round of bidding in a court-mandated auction of Venezuela’s US-based oil subsidiary CITGO has concluded. Several corporations submitted binding offers by a June 11 deadline as part of a process organized by a Delaware District Court to satisfy a number of claims against the Caribbean nation totaling US USD 21.3 billion. In October 2022, Judge Leonard P. Stark set in motion the sale of shares belonging to PDV Holding (PDVH), CITGO’s parent company. The process was brought forward by Canadian miner Crystallex. The auction procedure will pay 18 creditors, which are looking to collect on international arbitration awards on a “first come, first serve basis,” based on when the court approved their writs.

Latin American Ex-Presidents Demand US Intervention In Venezuela

After the failure of the Lima Group, Latin American right-wing former presidents created a new group to continue interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, such as attempting to overthrow the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro.  This new Lima Group is named Liberty and Democracy Group, which includes the former presidents Iván Duque of Colombia, Mauricio Macri of Argentina, Jorge Quiroga of Bolivia, Guillermo Lasso of Ecuador, and Mario Abdo Benítez of Paraguay. The idea for creating this Lima Group 2.0 came from the late Sebastián Piñera, former president of Chile.

Secret Service Raids Venezuelan Ambassador’s Residency In Washington

Officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the United States Secret Service raided the residence of the Venezuelan ambassador in Washington. The diplomatic building was illegally occupied by the fugitive from Venezuelan justice Carlos Vecchio with complicity from US authorities since he declared himself Venezuela’s ambassador during the failed US “regime change” operation led by former deputy Juan Guaidó, who proclaimed himself “interim president” of Venezuela in 2019. According to a report posted by photojournalist Kyle Mazza on social media on Thursday, February 15, police activity could be seen in the area, and FBI officers were wearing bulletproof jackets and carrying long guns.

FBI Investigates Destination Of Funds Approved For Guaidó

International media has reported how the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating the destination of multi-million funds approved by the White House as humanitarian aid for the “government” of the self-proclaimed Venezuelan president, Juan Guaidó. According to reports, the FBI visited the headquarters of the EVTV Miami channel, run by media entrepreneur Carlos Méndez, to question him about the diversion of funds to his media outlet. The FBI suspects that much of the humanitarian aid supposedly directed to Venezuela ended up in the possession of Méndez and his channel, which Guaidó tried to replace teleSUR with.

Maduro Makes Historic Trip To Brazil For South American Presidents’ Summit

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro participated in a joint press conference on Monday May 29 from the Planalto Palace in Brasília and highlighted the importance of the neighboring countries resuming ties. The press conference was held following a bilateral meeting between the heads of state ahead of the South American Presidents’ Summit. Lula told national and international media that, “This is a historic moment. After eight years, President Nicolás Maduro is back to visiting Brazil and we have recovered our right to have a foreign policy with the seriousness we have always had, especially with the countries that border Brazil.”

The Non-Stop Western Pillaging Of Venezuela

This past week, while the rest of the world looked elsewhere, one of the biggest thefts committed against any country in recent history took place. In one fell swoop, the Biden government greenlighted the plunder of several Venezuelan assets: US-based oil subsidiary CITGO, millions of dollars held in US bank accounts and a state-owned aircraft. All these assets had been seized or frozen long ago but after recent (extraterritorial) US orders amidst the neverending aggression against Caracas, there is almost zero chance of the Venezuelan people ever getting them back. More blows to a besieged economy that will only increase the human toll already caused by years of a US-led blockade.

Mr. Guaidó Goes To Washington

Juan Guaidó continues to advocate punishing the Venezuelan people with US coercive economic measures. Recently shipped to Washington DC, the former “interim president” of Venezuela pleaded, “You can’t use a kind or soft approach,” such as easing the suffering, because it would “normalize dictatorship.” Guaidó was livestreamed May 3 from the quasi-governmental Wilson Center. Located in the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington DC, the Wilson Center is a think tank established by the US Congress, which “conducts research to inform public policy” in service of the US empire.

Juan Guaidó Arrives In Miami With Washington’s Assistance

This Monday, Venezuela’s former deputy Juan Guaidó was escorted by Colombia Migration and US “agents” to the El Dorado airport, from where he flew, before midnight, to the city of Miami, Florida, United States, in a commercial Avianca flight with a ticket provided by the US government, according to statements by Colombian Foreign Minister Álvaro Leyva. Earlier on Monday, April 25, the Colombian Foreign Ministry, through a press release published on social media platforms, reported that in the afternoon of Monday, Colombia Migration took Juan Guaidó—who hours earlier had entered the country illegally—to the El Dorado airport and placed him on a flight to the US.

Venezuela-US Relations: When ‘Maximum Pressure’ Fails

The strategy of “maximum pressure” imposed by Donald Trump on Venezuela has failed to achieve its goal of changing the Venezuelan government and pulling the country back into Washington’s sphere of influence. The resilience of the Venezuelan people led by President Nicolas Maduro has not only survived the attacks by the Trump Administration, it has resulted in adjustments to Washington’s strategy and has proved that resistance, creativity, and commitment to dialogue can pay off. On January 23, 2019, the government of the United States quickly recognize a little-known deputy of the Venezuelan National Assembly, Juan Guaido, as the Interim President of Venezuela, undermining the constitutional mandate obtained since May of 2018 by President Nicolas Maduro.

Guaidó Is Gone But London Keeps The Gold

In late December, Venezuela’s leading opposition parties voted to oust Juan Guaidó as “interim president” and dissolve his parallel government. This was clearly not the ending the U.K. government had in mind. Four years ago, the British government made the bold decision to recognise Guaidó as Venezuelan president and proceeded to facilitate his legal battle to seize roughly $2 billion of gold held in the Bank of England. Indeed, the U.K. government insisted at every turn that it recognised Guaidó — and not Nicolás Maduro — as Venezuelan president. In turn, Guaidó’s lawyers argued that he was authorised to represent and control the assets of the Central Bank of Venezuela held in London. Throughout this time, Guaidó paid his U.K. legal costs by drawing on millions of dollars of his country’s assets originally seized by the U.S. government. In other words, Guaidó tried to seize Venezuelan state assets with looted Venezuelan state assets.

Which Government Does The United States Recognize In Venezuela?

On January 3, 2023, Shaun Tandon of Agence France-Presse asked US State Department spokesperson Ned Price about Venezuela. In late December, the Venezuelan opposition after a fractious debate decided to dissolve the “interim government” led by Juan Guaidó. From 2019 onward, the U.S. government recognized Guaidó as the “interim president of Venezuela.” With the end of Guaidó’s administration, Tandon asked if “the United States still recognize[s] Juan Guaidó as legitimate interim president.” Price’s answer was that the US government recognizes the “only remaining democratically elected institution in Venezuela today, and that’s the 2015 National Assembly.” It is true that when the U.S. government supported Guaidó as the “interim president” of Venezuela, it did so because of his role as the rotating president in that National Assembly in 2019.

Washington’s ‘Democracy Promotion’ Spectacularly Fails In Venezuela

The Los Angeles Times reports that “the audacious gamble by the U.S. government to…restore democracy” suffered a “spectacular failure” in Venezuela. What this State Department stenographer masquerading as a newspaper considers a “democratic” setback consisted of failing to impose unknown US security asset Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s president. This man just got the boot from his own fractious opposition group, which voted 72-29 to disband his “interim government.” The Hill reports that the pretend president still claims the post and retains a “powerful network of support,” although not in his home country. Guaidó’s support comes from outside of Venezuela consisting of the likes of Democratic US Senators Dick Durbin and Bob Menendez along with the Biden State Department plus fellow neo-cons on the other side of the aisle.

The Inglorious End Of Juan Guaidó

And so it ended. Not with a bang, but with a whimper. After all, it was made of cardboard. It is very rare to have a political phenomenon beautifully encapsulated in a single moment or image. But in the case of (former) self-proclaimed “Interim President” Juan Guaidó, we got exactly that. On November 22, 2021, the Obama knockoff politician was giving a press conference in a fancy-looking set, with plenty of flags and a little podium. As he trudged along his nonsense something magical happened: the presidential shield behind him fell to the floor. It was made of cardboard. For all the absurdity that preceded and followed this episode, this will be Guaidó’s defining moment. Last week, his opposition allies finally had enough and decided to end the “interim government.”

Venezuela: Opposition Parties Oust Guaidó As ‘Interim President’

Caracas - The three largest Venezuelan opposition groups voted to eliminate the so-called “interim government.” On Thursday, Democratic Action (AD), Justice First (PJ) and A New Era (UNT) followed through on their pledge to put an end to the bureaucratic apparatus led by self-proclaimed “Interim President” Juan Guaidó. The decision was taken during a virtual session of the defunct, opposition-controlled National Assembly (AN) elected in December 2015. Though its term ended in January 2021, the main anti-government parties boycotted the December 2020 legislative elections and instead kept a largely ceremonial parallel parliament by unilaterally extending its mandate on a yearly basis. Via a Zoom call, a project to reform the so-called “Transition Statute” garnered 72 votes in favor, 29 against and 8 abstentions.

Saab Oral Argument Focuses On Legitimacy Of Maduro Government

On December 12 to 13, 2022, an evidentiary hearing in the case of The United States v. Alex Saab was heard before Judge Robert Scola in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. In “Saab Hearing Proves He Deserves Diplomatic Immunity, Exposes Prosecution’s Duplicity” (coha.org, 12-16-22), I summarize the key facts presented by Alex Saab’s attorney in support of the following argument: “Saab was a diplomat, specifically a Special Envoy, of Venezuela, when he was captured in Cabo Verde, a country off the coast of West Africa in which Saab’s plane stopped to refuel on the way to Iran.  Saab, the defense contends, was and is therefore entitled to diplomatic immunity.” Here I provide an update on the hearing of December 20 in which Judge Scola heard legal arguments based upon the evidence submitted the week before.

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Due to the attacks on our fiscal sponsor, we were unable to raise funds online for nearly two years.  As the bills pile up, your help is needed now to cover the monthly costs of operating Popular Resistance.

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