Skip to content

Venezuela

Biden’s Venezuela Policy: Continuity With Trump

March 29, 2021 Steve Ellner, The Analysis. , , ,
Welcome to theAnalysis, I’m Greg Wilpert. Recently, the Biden administration announced that Venezuelans living in the United States would be able to qualify for temporary protected status or TPS. This means that about 300,000 Venezuelans could remain in the U.S. for another 18 months or longer if the program is extended. Also recently, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken had a phone call with so-called interim president and hard-line opposition leader Juan Guaidó, where Blinken reaffirmed that the United States continues to recognize Ecuador as the legitimate president of Venezuela, even though he no longer leads Venezuela’s national assembly and was never elected. The European Union, in contrast, withdrew its recognition of Guaidó following last December’s legislative elections in Venezuela.

Venezuelan Army Reports New Attack On Border Post With Colombia

March 28, 2021 Ultimas Noticias, Orinoco Tribune. , , ,
The Strategic Operational Commander of the Venezuelan Army (FANB) Admiral Remigio Ceballos reported through his Twitter account that on the night of Wednesday, March 24, “a group of Colombian criminals tried to attack a border post and several terrorists were neutralized.” “We continue to give heavy blows to Colombian irregular criminal groups that flee to Colombia, and no one stops them. Last night they tried to attack a border post and several terrorists were neutralized. Search and Attack Operations Continue! We will win!” reads the message on the social media network.

Argentina Withdraws From Lima Group

March 27, 2021 Morning Star Online. , , ,
Argentina has withdrawn from the Lima Group of countries established in 2017 to push for regime change in Venezuela. Buenos Aires withdrew symbolically on March 24 — the Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice, which commemorates victims of Argentina’s “dirty war” on the anniversary of the 1976 coup d’etat. It condemned the group’s support for sanctions on Venezuela in the midst of a global pandemic and its treatment of the self-proclaimed Juan Guaido administration, a US-backed body with no territory, as Venezuela’s representative within it.

Venezuela Sues The US At The WTO

March 27, 2021 Telesur English. , , ,
Venezuela's Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Arreaza on Friday informed that his country sued the U.S. before the World Trade Organization (WTO) for imposing unilateral coercive measures contrary to international norms and principles. "Sooner rather than later, Venezuela will defeat through law what the U.S. intends to impose through force," he said, recalling that the U.S. blockade seeks to destabilize President Nicolas Maduro's administration. In an attempt to avoid criticism from a multilateral institution, the United States prevented Venezuela from requesting the formation of a WTO panel whose objective would...

Venezuelan Women Endure The ‘Sanctions’ With Their Bodies

March 25, 2021 Carmen Navas Reyes and Laura Franco, Internationalist 360. , , ,
On February 20, the New York Times published an article titled “Venezuelan Women Lose Access to Contraception, and Control of Their Lives.” This article attempts to distort reality, as it completely ignores the siege and aggressions the Venezuelan people currently subjected to. For greater context, we should note that in 2012, Venezuela granted completely free access to safe and quality contraceptives, reaching a coverage of 22.16% in the national public health system. Access was nearly universal both due to the purchasing power of Venezuelans at the time and because both private and public health networks were subsidized up to 70% by the government, with funds guaranteed by the country’s foreign income.

Venezuela Protests Biden’s Extension Of Executive Order 13692

March 9, 2021 Paul Dobson, Venezuelanalysis. , , ,
Venezuela has “categorically rejected” US President Joe Biden’s renewal of Executive Order 13692. The renewal extends a state of national emergency which has been the basis for Washington’s sanctions regime against Venezuela. The decree states that Venezuela represents an “unusual and extraordinary threat to the [US] national security and foreign policy.” The order has been renewed annually by both former presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama since its initial signing in 2015, and been widely denounced by the international community, as well as at the United Nations, with over five million Venezuelans signing a petition demanding its withdrawal. Penning his decision to Congress last Wednesday, Biden argued that “The situation in Venezuela continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy.” He offered no further explanation.

The US Is Starving Venezuelans In the Name Of Democracy

March 9, 2021 Daniel Larison, Medium. , , ,
The Biden administration granted Temporary Protected Status to refugees from Venezuela, which will permit them to live and work in the United States. This is the right thing to do, and it is a break with the previous administration, but there need to be more significant changes to U.S. policy towards Venezuela. The TPS decision is treating the symptom of Venezuela’s deepening crisis while U.S. sanctions intensify it. As long as our government’s broad sanctions remain in place, they will exacerbate the economic and humanitarian crises in the country. The U.S. will succeed only in making conditions for ordinary Venezuelans worse while Maduro and his allies become more firmly entrenched. Trump’s pursuit of regime change in Venezuela was one of his worst policies, and it has deepened the misery of the Venezuelan people. It is maddening that the complete failure of this policy hasn’t prompted more demands for abandoning it.

US ‘Virtual Ambassador’ To Venezuela Hosts Insurrectionist Summit Ahead Of Biden’s Guaidó recognition

March 5, 2021 Anya Parampil and Max Blumenthal, The Grayzone. , , ,
US “virtual ambassador” to Venezuela James “Jimmy” Story promised to answer a series of questions sent to him by The Grayzone this February 24. But after a Whatsapp exchange with this reporter during which Story offered to explain why he regularly alternated between Gargamel and the Smurfs as his avatar on the messaging app, the promised exchange never took place. On March 2, Story’s assistant, David Fogelson, informed The Grayzone that the virtual ambassador “won’t be able to do the interview.” He offered no further details on Story’s turnabout. That same day, during a Zoom event with the Venezuelan American Association of the US, Story boasted that his willingness to accept a few critical questions from his online audience “shows a transparency that the regime [in Caracas] does not show.”

In Commune: The Che Guevara Commune (Part 1)

March 5, 2021 Katrina Kozarek, Venezuelanalysis. , , ,
Outside of Venezuela, communes are a little known aspect of the Bolivarian Revolution, yet the development of the communal state is integral to the vision of 21st century socialism laid out by former President Hugo Chavez. In this series, In Commune, Venezuelanalysis will explore different experiences of rural and urban communes to help better understand what these highly controversial bodies mean, how they have been put into practice, and what they could signify for the continuity of the Bolivarian Revolution in the current situation of political and economic imperialist aggression.

Venezuela And Iran Deepen Alliance With ‘Perfect Trips’

March 1, 2021 Ricardo Vaz, Venezuelanalysis. , , ,
The Venezuelan government is shipping jet fuel to Iran as part of cooperation to tackle its gasoline and diesel shortages in the South American country. According to Reuters, state oil company PDVSA and its Iranian counterpart NIOC have agreed to a swap deal that sees Tehran ship gasoline to Caracas, with the vessels carrying jet fuel in the opposite direction. Venezuela currently has a glut of the latter, with air traffic all but ground to a halt during the Covid-19 pandemic. The agreement is described as a “perfect trip” in the maritime industry as the tankers travel fully loaded in both directions. Oil export monitor Tanker Trackers reported that Iran’s handysize Forest tanker docked in El Palito refinery on February 20 and unloaded 44 million liters of gasoline, approximately 277,000 barrels.

US Sanctions On Venezuela Have Failed To Achieve Anything But Death And Misery

February 25, 2021 Daniel Kovalik, Venezuelanalysis. , , ,
In its regime-change effort in Venezuela, the US has imposed devastating sanctions that have caused tens of thousands of deaths among the most vulnerable – without ever coming close to toppling the president. Alena Douhan, the UN Special Rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures and human rights – a new position created by the UN Human Rights Council in March of 2020 – issued a stinging preliminary report last week condemning US and EU sanctions against Venezuela. Ms. Douhan has urged the US, EU and other nations to drop all sanctions against Venezuela after her two-week fact-finding mission to the country. As the report explains, sanctions were first “imposed against Venezuela in 2005 and have been severely strengthened since 2015 . . . with the most severe ones being imposed by the United States.” 

ALBA Countries Reject Interventionist EU Agenda In Venezuela

February 24, 2021 Telesur English. , , ,
The countries of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-People's Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP) have "energetically" rejected the latest sanctions approved by the European Union (EU) against 19 representatives of the different powers of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in a joint communiquè. "These actions constitute a clear violation of international law and represent an unacceptable interventionist application that in no way contributes to the development of the Venezuelan people," the text underlines. In this sense, the South American alliance has ratified its "solidarity" and support to the Venezuelan government and people and demanded the international community to reject the Brussels measures and "demonstrate in defense of the principles of respect for the sovereignty, self-determination, and independence of peoples."

UN Expert Details Crushing Human Toll Of US Sanctions On Venezuela

February 17, 2021 Anya Parampil, Red Lines. , , ,
Red Lines host Anya Parampil speaks with Alena Douhan, UN special rapporteur on the negative impact of the unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, about her recent trip to Venezuela. In her first interview since the publication of the preliminary findings of her mission to Venezuela, Professor Douhan discusses her main takeaways from the visit, her method for investigating, as well as the response to her report.

Damning UN Report Urges The UK To Unfreeze Venezuelan Gold

February 14, 2021 John McEvoy, The Canary. , , ,
Alena Douhan is the United Nations’ special rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights. Douhan visited Venezuela on 1 February “to assess the impact of unilateral sanctions on the enjoyment of human rights by people living in Venezuela and any other affected people”. On 12 February, Douhan published her preliminary findings based on “extensive consultations with a wide range of interlocutors”. The UN independent expert recognised the negative impact of coercive sanctions on human rights and urged European banks to “unfreeze assets of the Venezuela Central Bank”.

UN Special Rapporteur Urges US To Lift The Blockade Against Venezuela

February 13, 2021 Mision Verdad, Orinoco Tribune. , , , ,
The Special Rapporteur of the United Nations (UN) on the effects of sanctions on human rights, Alena Douhan, held a press conference today before leaving Venezuela. Douhan detailed the impact of the United States’ unilateral coercive measures on the Venezuelan people. Douhan reported that the unilateral “sanctions” violate International Law. The conclusion followed Douhan’s comprehensive report on damages caused by coercive measures implemented by Washington and its European partners against Venezuela, and specified that the final report will be presented to the UN in September 2021. Douhan urged the interlocutors to continue presenting additional material so that she can include them in her final report.
«12345678910»