US Sanctions

Venezuela: A Model Of Resistance To US Intervention

March 21, 2022 Margaret Flowers, Clearing the FOG. Podcast Alex Saab, Juan Guaido, Ukraine, US Imperialism, US Sanctions, Venezuela

Unlike Ukraine, Venezuela successfully resisted the violent US-led coup attempt in 2014, and in other years, by right wing forces and the hybrid war being waged against it. Venezuela is recovering despite the ongoing economic blockade. Now, because the United States needs oil, the Biden administration has started talking to the Maduro government and there is hope that relations between the two countries may resume. For an update on this situation, as well as the future of Venezuela's US-based oil company CITGO, the status of Venezuela's gold in the Bank of London, the demise of Juan Guaido, and the kidnapping of Venezuelan diplomat, Alex Saab, Clearing the FOG speaks with Leonardo Flores, the Latin American campaign director for CODEPINK.

Senator Sasse Calls Saudi Willingness To Trade Oil In Yuan A ‘Big, Bad Thing’

March 21, 2022 Wyatt Reed, Sputnik News. Educate! China, De-dollarization, Oil and Gas, Saudi Arabia, US Sanctions

On Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reported Saudi Arabia was in "active talks with Beijing to price some of its oil sales to China in yuan". Much of the world is looking to bolster oil reserves amid what the International Energy Agency warned on Wednesday could be "the biggest supply crisis in decades", as evidence mounts that US and EU efforts to keep Russian gas out of Western vehicles and residences may ultimately backfire. Sasse, who demanded on Fox that the US "rearm" the Ukrainian regime "constantly", and insisted that "defeating Vladimir Putin" is the only way to stop China from being able to "displace the dollar", is just one high-ranking American politician expressing alarm over the continuing de-dollarisation process encouraged by the wide-ranging sanctions on Russia.

Venezuela Defines Conditions For Sale Of Oil To US

March 20, 2022 José Manuel Blanco Díaz, Orinoco Tribune. Educate! Energy, Oil and Gas, US Sanctions, Venezuela

The government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela maintained its willingness to resume its oil trade with countries such as the United States, and even those that belong to the European Union, but it has clearly outlined the diplomatic and political conditions necessary for any exchange to take place. Venezuela’s position was reiterated by its Minister for Foreign Affairs, Félix Plasencia, within the framework of the Antalya Diplomatic Forum, in the Republic of Turkey. This international meeting of diplomats coincides with the energy crisis facing North America and Europe, due to the economic blockade they have imposed on Russia amid the military conflict in Ukraine. “If they accept that the only and legitimate government of Venezuela is the one led by President Nicolás Maduro, US and European oil companies are welcome,” said Plasencia.

Network In Defense Of Humanity Condemns Kidnapping Of Alex Saab

March 17, 2022 Network in Defense of Humanity – Venezuela Chapter, Resumen English. Resist! Alex Saab, Criminal Justice and Prisons, US Sanctions, Venezuela

We reiterate our condemnation expressed on October 18, 2021 by this Network against the crime of the kidnapping perpetrated by the United States against the person of the Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab on Saturday, October 16, 2021 in the Territory of Cape Verde, with the complicity of the authorities of that country. We note that this crime is a new application of the illegal doctrine according to which the authorities of the United States would have the authority to act outside the borders of their homeland, anywhere on earth, and consequently to detain, assault and even assassinate at their discretion any human being, a fact that was perpetrated and publicly confessed with the physical annihilation of Iranian General Soleimani.

Venezuela: Government Raises Wages As Inflation Hits Eight-Year Low

March 10, 2022 Ricardo Vaz, Venezuelanalysis. Create! US Sanctions, Venezuela, Wages, Worker Rights and Jobs

Caracas, Venezuela – The Nicolás Maduro government decreed a near twentyfold salary hike. In a public forum with trade unions on March 3, the Venezuelan president announced that the minimum wage would be set at half a Petro, some 126 bolivars (BsD) which amount to US $29 at the present exchange rate. The new figure represents a significant increase over the previous one of 7 BsD (roughly $1.6). The government is reportedly weighing raising public employee food bonuses o 45 BsD ($10.4). They are currently set at 3 BsD. Pensions and regular government bonuses, such as support for large households, will be updated with a similar factor. In his speech, Maduro called the new wages an effort to “salarize” Venezuelan

US Officials Meet Maduro, Fail To Drive Wedge Between Venezuela And Russia

March 8, 2022 José Luis Granados Ceja, Venezuelanalysis. Educate! Oil, Russia, US Sanctions, Venezuela

Mexico City, Mexico – A high-level United States (US) government delegation that visited Venezuela on Saturday failed to produce an agreement with the government of Nicolás Maduro. News of the delegation was first broken by the New York Times, which described the trip as the highest-level visit by US officials in years. Outlets subsequently reported that no agreement was reached. Caracas had not publicly commented on the meeting at the time of writing. According to Reuters, the US team was led by White House Latin America adviser Juan González and made “maximalist” demands concerning electoral guarantees. Citing three people familiar with the matter, Reuters reported that the US was seeking new presidential elections, a larger participation of foreign private capital in Venezuela’s oil industry and a public condemnation of Russia’s incursion into Ukraine.

Disarming Ukraine – Day Five; Money War On Russia – Day One

February 28, 2022 Moon of Alabama. Educate! Media, NATO, Russia, Ukraine, US Sanctions, Wars and Militarism

The U.S. and its proxies in the EU and elsewhere have put up very harsh sanctions on Russia to damage its economy. The final intent of this economic war is regime change in Russia. The likely consequence will be regime change in many other countries. This war is waged at a financial size that is unprecedented. The consequences in all markets will be very significant to extreme. But experience from Iran shows that such financial wars have their limits as the targeted country learns to survive. Moreover Russia is in a much stronger position than Iran ever was and is better prepared for the consequences. The rubel fell some 30% today but Russia's central bank immediately more than doubled its interest rate to 20%.

Biden’s $7 Billion Afghan Heist

February 17, 2022 Cheryl Benard, Medea Benjamin And Masuda Sultan, Responsible Statecraft. Educate! 9/11, Afghanistan, Joe Biden, US Imperialism, US Sanctions

With his Executive Order redefining Afghanistan’s Fiscal Reserve as a slush fund to be disbursed on his whim and with the stroke of his pen, President Biden has taken what may well be the final step in an experiment gone amok. The U.S. first attempted to make Afghanistan into a Western democracy, instead installed a kleptocracy, made Afghans endure 20 years of violence and then left in a whirlwind of chaos. With Biden’s latest move to deprive Afghanistan of its monetary reserves, the nation is likely to come full circle, turning once again into a failed state that, in the absence of economic recovery, will become a breeding ground for extremism and the recruitment of terrorists.

The Persecution Of Alex Saab

February 15, 2022 Leonardo Flores, Popular Resistance. Educate! Alex Saab, Political Prisoner, US Sanctions, Venezuela

“It’s not a crime to fulfill a diplomatic mission. It’s not a crime to evade sanctions that are harming an entire country. It can’t be illegal to help a people.” Camilla Fabri Saab made these impassioned remarks when explaining the situation behind the illegal arrest and extradition - the kidnapping, in essence - of her husband, Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab. Alex Saab is virtually unknown in the United States, where he is currently languishing in a Miami prison, but he has been vital to Venezuela’s ability to survive the brutal economic war being waged by the U.S. He is a political prisoner whose case has parallels to that of Julian Assange. Both have been subjected to extraterritorial reach by U.S. authorities, as neither are U.S. citizens, and their alleged crimes took place outside of the country.

Valentines Day Vigil To Promote Aid To Afghanistan

February 15, 2022 Massachusetts Peace Action, Popular Resistance. Resist! Afghanistan, Hunger, Joe Biden, US Sanctions

With the UN reporting that hunger in Afghanistan could kill more civilians than the 20-year Afghanistan war, an international debate is raging over the policy by the U.S. and other governments about getting aid to that country. The president just announced a plan to confiscate $7 Billion in Afghan funds and set aside half of it for families of 9/11 victims and to create a "third-party trust fund" to pay for humanitarian aid with the other half. Critics of the decision, including those who worked for the former U.S.-backed Afghan government, lambasted Biden's decision saying that the currency reserves belong to the Afghan people. With those debates as a background, peace groups and humanitarian groups are coming together in a Valentine's Day Vigil to memorialize the loss of life and to ask that the U.S. change its policies.

On Contact: The Precarious State Of The US Economy

February 14, 2022 Chris Hedges, RT. Resistance Report Chris Hedges, Finance and the Economy, Ukraine, US Sanctions

A bipartisan group of senators are crafting legislation to impose sweeping sanctions on Russia if it engages in what they consider hostile action of any kind against the Ukraine. New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez, the chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, calls the legislation “the mother of all sanctions bill.” The bill led in the House by Gregory Meeks of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, like Menendez a Democrat, demands that the administration “not cede to the demands of the Russian Federation regarding NATO membership or expansion.” This cuts off the ability to discuss Moscow’s core demands, including a ban on future NATO membership for Ukraine.

Are Western Countries Determined To Starve The People Of Afghanistan?

January 17, 2022 Vijay Prashad, People's Dispatch. Educate! Afghanistan, Hunger, International Monetary Fund, US Sanctions

On January 11, 2022, the United Nations (UN) Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths appealed to the international community to help raise $4.4 billion for Afghanistan in humanitarian aid, calling this effort, “the largest ever appeal for a single country for humanitarian assistance.” This amount is required “in the hope of shoring up collapsing basic services there,” said the UN. If this appeal is not met, Griffiths said, then “next year [2023] we’ll be asking for $10 billion.” The figure of $10 billion is significant. A few days after the Taliban took power in Afghanistan in mid-August 2021, the US government announced the seizure of $9.5 billion in Afghan assets that were being held in the US banking system. Under pressure from the United States government, the International Monetary Fund also denied Afghanistan access to $455 million of its share of special drawing rights, the international reserve asset that the IMF provides to its member countries to supplement their original reserves.

Nicaragua Slams US And EU Sanctions

January 12, 2022 Steve Sweeney, Morningstar Online. Educate! Nicaragua, Sandinista Revolution, US Imperialism, US Sanctions

Nicaragua has hit out at a new raft of sanctions imposed on the country just hours before President Daniel Ortega’s inauguration on Monday. The measures targeting a number of Nicaraguan officials were announced as Mr Ortega was sworn in for a fourth consecutive term of office in a ceremony in the capital Managua attended by dignitaries and guests from across the world. Sanctions were imposed by the European Union and the United States, which denounced the November 7 elections won convincingly by Mr Ortega and his Sandinista National Liberation Front as “a sham.” They have presented no concrete evidence to back their assertions, however, and hundreds of international observers described the elections as free, fair and transparent.

UK Gold Ruling Based On ‘Illegal Interference’ In Venezuela

December 23, 2021 José Luis Granados Ceja, Venezuela Analysis. Educate! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Juan Guaido, US Sanctions, Venezuela

Mexico City, Mexico, December 20, 2021 – The United Kingdom’s highest court issued a ruling on Monday favoring opposition figure Juan Guaidó and his efforts to wrest control of US$1.7 billion worth of Venezuelan gold stored at the Bank of England (BoE). The Monday decision is the latest episode in the legal struggle by the democratically-elected Nicolás Maduro government to regain access to the reserves. Following what the court described as the “one voice principle," the court ruled that under the UK’s constitutional arrangements political recognition of foreign states falls to the country’s executive. In 2019, Conservative UK Prime Minister Theresa May recognized Guaidó, then president of the National Assembly, as “interim president” as part of the US-led effort to oust the Maduro government.

Despite Appeals, US Denies Possibility Of Unfreezing Afghan Assets

December 15, 2021 People's Dispatch. Educate! Afghanistan, Human Rights, Taliban, US Sanctions

US White House press secretary Jen Psaki clarified on Tuesday, December 14 said that the government has no plan to unfreeze Afghanistan’s assets. Psaki was responding to a public call by Afghanistan’s foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi made a day earlier to unfreeze the assets. The US government had announced a freeze of nearly USD 10 billion worth of Afghanistan’s assets days after the Taliban took over power in the country on August 15, claiming the possibility of misuse of the funds. It also severed all diplomatic relations with Afghanistan after the complete withdrawal of its troops on August 30. The Taliban government in Afghanistan, the UN, and several other governments, including China, have demanded that the US release the funds to facilitate necessary public expenditure in Afghanistan.

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