International
Trade
Cargo that has arrived at Puerto
Cabello
- 14,528 tons of beef, chicken and powdered milk in
441 containers from Brazil's JBS for state agency CORPOVEX
- 2,147 tons of powdered milk and margarine in 80
containers from Brazil for CASA
- 440 tons of security valves in 24 containers,
from China for state agency CORPOELEC
- 92 tons of auto parts in 11 containers of auto
parts from Ford Motor USA for Ford Motor Venezuela.
Logistics
& Transport
6 new carriages for the Los Teques
Metro arrived at La Guaira port
Land
Transport and Public Works Minister Haiman El Troudi has announced that 6 new
carriages for the Los suburban Los Teques Metro have arrived at La Guaira's
port, for a new train linking Caracas and the satellite city. More in Spanish: (AVN; http://www.avn.info.ve/contenido/arribaron-al-puerto-guaira-6-nuevos-vagones-para-metro-teques-0)
Oil &
Energy
Maduro will propose a constitutional ban on "fracking"
in Venezuela
President Nicolás Maduro
says he will propose a "constitutional prohibition" of fracking in
Venezuela. More in Spanish: (El Mundo, http://www.elmundo.com.ve/noticias/petroleo/pdvsa/maduro-propondra-prohibicion-constitucional-del-fr.aspx#ixzz3WWMeQCad)
Harvest Natural Resources is planning a restructuring after the Venezuelan
government blocked its plans to sell assets it still has in that country. The
American crude oil and natural gas producer said it had had a restriction to
liquidity due to PDVSA not paying dividends and failing to comply with other
parts of their contract. It explained it is in talks with PDVSA to try to reach
a friendly way out of PetroDelta where the company has a 20% stake. (Veneconomy,
http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=43326&idc=4)
Economy
& Finance
FOREX reserves down 13% in March to US$ 20.973 billion from US$ 24.176 billion at the
beginning of the month. More in Spanish: (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/150406/que-esta-pasando)
Gold reserve "swap" may happen soon
The Central Bank is reported
to be negotiating a swap using 1.4 million troy gold ounces of its reserves as
4 year collateral for US$ 1.5 billion. More in Spanish: (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/150406/operacion-swap-de-oro-es-factible-en-el-corto-plazo)
Canadian Gold Reserve reports a request to declare
default against Venezuela in a Washington
court (1st District of Columbia). After an arbitration process that concluded
in September 2014, the court ruled Venezuela had to pay the mining company US$740
million. Gold Reserve filed a motion to have the ruling executed last November
to no avail. Venezuela must pay over US$ 2.8 billion for the different cases of
expropriation of assets in the country. (Veneconomy, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=43339&idc=2)
Venezuelan tax authority exceeds collection goal by
54%
The Venezuelan Customs and Tax Administration Service
(Seniat) says it has exceeded by 54% its income tax collection goal for the
first quarter this year. Income tax collection totaled VEB 60.23 billion (US$
9.56 billion) versus a goal of VEB 39.10 billion (US$ 6.2 billion), according
to a communiqué issued by SENIAT. It received
over 3.5 million tax returns, a surge of over 1,100,000 returns from
January-March 2014, which is regarded as a success in the expansion of the tax
base. (El
Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/150406/venezuelan-tax-authority-exceeds-collection-goal-by-54)
Tribunal dismisses VENOKLIM lubricants case against
Venezuela
A World Bank tribunal has thrown out an arbitration
case pitting Netherlands-incorporated motor lubricants company Venoklim against
Venezuela over a 2010 nationalization. The International Center
for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) said on Friday that Venoklim is
ultimately owned by Venezuelans and thus did not qualify for arbitration as a
foreign company. "The tribunal
dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction," wrote Venezuela's lawyer
George Kahale of Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP in an e-mail to
Reuters on Monday. "Claimant said
(the compensation sought) was a substantial amount, but the case did not reach
the stage for it to specify how much." (Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/06/us-venezuela-arbitration-idUSKBN0MX17G20150406)
Politics and
International Affairs
CARICOM supports Guyana in border dispute with
Venezuela
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) supported Guyana in
its border dispute with Venezuela, arguing that the Arbitral Award of 1899 is
valid. The 15 countries comprising the Caricom rejected a communiqué by the
Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and published in several Caribbean
newspapers, in which Venezuela contended that the Arbitral Award of 1899 was
null and void. CARICOM says the award "definitively
settled the boundary between the two countries." (El
Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/150406/caricom-supports-guyana-in-border-dispute-with-venezuela)
FOREIGN POLICY: Busting myths about the latest U.S.
sanctions on Venezuelans
A significant number of cognoscenti have labeled
President Obama's recent sanctions on seven Venezuelans a “mistake,” one that is likely to embolden Maduro instead of
weakening him. Don’t believe it. There’s zero evidence that the sanctions are
helping Maduro in any way. If anything, they’re hurting him. Part of the uproar
over the Executive Order has to do with its harsh language. The document calls
the situation in Venezuela “an unusual
and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the
United States,” and declares “a
national emergency to deal with that threat.” This was done in order to
invoke the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which allows the White
House to impose sanctions on individuals. This tough wording did not sit well
with Latin American governments. Most of them have expressed support for
Venezuela and called for the order’s repeal. Maduro is hoping to make this a
major issue at the upcoming Summit of the Americas and has embarked on a drive
to collect signatures for a national petition protesting the U.S. measures. But
the frenzied objections from Caracas are just hot air. Judging by his
overreaction, Maduro is terrified of further sanctions. He’s doing his best to
convince everyone that sanctions are making him stronger, and attempting to
dissuade the international community from imposing further penalties on corrupt
members of his clique. The sanctions do not affect ordinary Venezuelans in any
way. By making life hard on those in charge of implementing orders from above,
and who also happen to be the people least likely to have taken precautions to
protect themselves — the sanctions may well cause serious cracks in the
governing coalition. Venezuelans don’t seem to be buying into Maduro’s
hysterics because they have more serious problems to worry about. There have
been numerous reports of people being coerced to sign. Public servants are
being forced to do so, as are schoolchildren; and signatures are being demanded
in exchange for hard-to-find items, such as chickens sold at government grocery
stores. If the sanctions were a boon to the Venezuelan government’s standing
with its own population, you’d think that it would have been happy about the
announcement from Washington. Yet this doesn’t explain why Venezuelan officials
spent months lobbying against the implementation of the sanctions. Maduro is
trying to scare Obama from going any further and has even said that, if the
sanctions go away, Venezuela stands ready to work with the U.S. There is no
basis to conclude that sanctions are helping Maduro. If they were, he’d be
welcoming them. Instead, he’s acting like a man under siege, doing his best to
bully Obama into repealing them. That is a clear sign that they’re hurting.
(Foreign Policy, http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/04/02/busting-myths-about-the-latest-u-s-sanctions-on-venezuelans-caracas-maduro-obama/)
US does not plan to discuss Venezuela at Summit,
disappointed at lack of Latin American support
US Assistant Secretary of State for Latin America
Roberta Jacobson has said "I see no
reason to talk about a specific country" at the upcoming Summit of the
Americas in Panama. She also expressed disappointment that more Latin American
governments did not help Washington clarify that the sanctions imposed are not
directed against Venezuela's government or its economy. Jacobson also said
President Barack Obama plans only for one separate meeting, and that is with
his Panamanian host Carlos Varela. More in Spanish: (El Heraldo, http://www.elheraldo.co/internacional/ee-uu-no-piensa-abordar-tema-de-venezuela-en-cumbre-de-las-americas-de-panama-190038)
Former presidents denounce "alteration of democracy" in Venezuela
Nineteen former Ibero-American presidents denounced
the "alteration of democracy" in Venezuela through the so-called
Panama Declaration, which will be presented next April 9, ahead of the seventh
Summit of the Americas to be held in Panama. According to the FAES foundation,
whose chairman is former Spanish President José María Aznar, the undersigned
asked the participants of the Summit to join efforts to find an
"alternative" to solve the Venezuelan crisis, Efe highlighted. (El
Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/150406/former-presidents-denounce-alteration-of-democracy-in-venezuela)
Colombia's Santos deplores US sanctions against
Venezuelan officials
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos rejected the
sanctions levied by his US counterpart Barack Obama against seven Venezuelan
government officials, and called for talks among the different local political
factions. In an interview he said: "We have always said that unilateral
sanctions are counterproductive in the long run, hence we deplore them." (El
Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/150406/colombias-santos-deplores-us-sanctions-against-venezuelan-officials)
Peruvian minister: no comments about Venezuela's
situation
Pedro Cateriano, the Chairman of the Council of
Ministers of Peru, said that it would be wrong "to intervene in
Venezuela's internal affairs" when he was asked whether the government of
President Ollanta Humala should adopt a more critical stance towards the
government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. (El
Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/150406/peruvian-minister-no-comments-about-venezuelas-situation)
Rajoy hopes for "good relations" with Venezuela
Spain's President Mariano Rajoy says he hopes to have
"good relations" with
Venezuela, although he also said that he would like to see Venezuelan dissenters
Leopoldo López and Antonio Ledezma "out
of prison". In an interview, Rajoy recalled that he has met with the
wives of both dissenters in his capacity and added: "There is no reason for them (López and Ledezma) to be in prison."
(El
Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/150406/rajoy-hopes-to-have-good-relations-with-venezuela)
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