International Trade
Venezuela, Russia seek
to increase bilateral cooperation in agricultural, mining sectors
Venezuela and Russia are seeking to expand
bilateral cooperation, including in the agricultural and mining sectors, a
Venezuela senior official said Friday. "We've decided to include the areas of agriculture and mining, given the
strategic importance of both areas in national development," said
Tareck El Aissami, vice president of the economy, at a meeting of the Russia-Venezuela
High Level Commission in Caracas. Embracing the agriculture and mining sectors,
the core areas of cooperation between the two countries will be expanded to
five, which already included the energy, commercial and military technology areas,
he said. (Xinhua: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-11/17/c_137613448.htm)
Logistics & Transport
Venezuela: The country
with the worst internet connectivity in Latin America
Venezuela, one of the countries with the least
amount of freedom in the world, now enjoys yet another dubious distinction: it
is among the three nations with the worst internet connection in the entire
world. According to the Speedtest Global Index, the country, governed by
Nicolás Maduro, was ranked 128th out of 130 countries, ahead of only Algeria
(129) and Yemen (130). The study also reveals that Venezuela is the country
with the worst internet connection in Latin America. Only in October the global
average download speed was 50.88 Mbps (Megabytes per second), and the average
upload speed 25,52 Mbps; however, Venezuela had an average of 4.08 Mbps for
download, and 1.71 Mbps for upload. And recently, Freedom House’s annual report
on internet freedom in 2018 concluded that Cuba and Venezuela continue to lead
the list of the least free nations in the region The Institute of Press and
Society (Ipys) noted that “the conditions
of Venezuelan citizens are precarious, because they exercise their freedom online
in the worst digital ecosystem in Latin America, in terms of quality of access
to internet.” In this study, the data obtained by the Measurement Lab
(MLAB), between January and February of 2018, also reflects the abysmal state
of Venezuela in terms of connectivity. The study put Venezuela in last place in
an analysis of ten countries, with even Bolivia (1.78 Mbps) and Suriname
(2.42mbps) faring better. To date in Venezuela there are more than 2,500 pages
that the Nicolás Maduro regime is blocking: these are internet sites to which
Venezuelans have restrictions and limitations for entering. (Panam Post: https://panampost.com/sabrina-martin/2018/11/19/venezuela-the-country-with-the-worst-internet-connectivity-in-latin-america/?cn-reloaded=1)
Oil & Energy
PDV Marina fleet in
critical shape, may halt tanker operations as qualified personnel deserts
On November 16th, PDVSA’s security department
received a report from PDV Marina-Paraguaná about the situation with the
company’s tanker fleet, which is becoming impossible to mobilize due to lack of
personnel. The report says the situation has become critical as 48% of the trained
staff has walked off the job. This includes sailors and officers. Company
personnel complain that the quality of life on board has deteriorated, lacking
security equipment, supplies, transportation to load or offload, launches, or
lodging. According to PDV Marina the result could be a “possible forced
collapse” in tanker operations, which would “seriously hit compliance with
maritime transport of the product, and directly hit fuel supply in the local
market”. More in Spanish: (Venepress: https://venepress.com/article/No-hay-marinos-colapso-de-Pdvsa-llego-a-filial-PDV-Marina1542635749218)
Iran and now Venezuela
are shaking things up in the tanker market
After the Iranian sanctions, another factor
which could shake things up in the tanker market is the fall in Venezuela’s oil
production. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Gibson says: “since January Venezuelan crude output has
averaged at 1.4 million b/d, down by 0.6 million b/d over the corresponding
period last year. The fall in output is reflected in crude exports. ClipperData
indicates that this year the country’s total exports have averaged just under
1.2 million b/d, down by 0.37 million b/d year-on-year. The decline has been
witnessed both in the long haul and short haul crude trade. Shipments to Asia
Pacific, mainly China and India have averaged 0.57 million b/d during the 1st
ten months of this year, down by 80,000 b/d versus 2017 figures. There also has
been a notable decline in crude trade to the Caribbean where PDVSA owns/leases
crude storage facilities for further shipments. Exports to the Caribbean have
fallen in 2018 by 170,000 b/d year-on-year. Without a doubt, the seizure of
PDVSA’s assets by ConocoPhillips in May this year has been a contributing
factor behind the overall decline. However, some progress in their dispute has
been made after a payment from PDVSA to Conoco concluded using a combination of
cash and commodities. Finally, Venezuela on average has shipped less crude to
the US this year than it did over the same period in 2017, although some minor
rebound has been seen in recent months. Overall, between January and October
2018, crude trade has averaged 0.43 million b/d, down by 120,000 b/d when
compared to the same period last year”. Gibson said that “interestingly, the decline in Venezuela’s
total crude shipments this year has been smaller than the fall in production
levels as the problems faced by Venezuela’s refining sector intensifies as
well. A lack of funds for upgrades and maintenance as well as skilled staff
seeking employment elsewhere has been the driving force behind the issues.
Venezuela’s biggest refinery, Amuay, is running at under 20% and other key
refineries are barely functioning. The ongoing decline in crude refining runs
means an increasing need to import products, mostly from the US. It has been
reported that large amounts of heavy naphtha have been shipped south to blend
with Venezuela’s deteriorating local crude quality. Apart from more product
shipments into the country, there are also logistical issues. Media reports
suggest that delays have occurred in unloading fuel cargoes since most of their
ports are more orientated for exporting rather than importing therefore
contributing to shortages. It was reported that one tanker bringing imported
gasoline was highly contaminated forcing PDVSA to withdraw the product from
distribution. The incident has been allotted to them having to seek fuel from
‘unreliable suppliers’ due to many companies unwilling to do business with a
country carrying US sanctions”, the shipbroker noted. “Going forward, the economic turmoil faced by Venezuela shows no signs
of abating. As such, there appears little upside to crude production levels,
despite the country having one of the world’s largest oil reserves. Many are
seeing 1 million b/d as the floor to Venezuela’s production, although others
have mooted the idea of output being as low at 0.7 million b/d by the end of
2019. Nonetheless, Venezuela’s oil
minister Manuel Quevedo has stated recently that even with all the problems
faced production has stabilized and that the government is hopeful that output
will increase to 1.6 million b/d by the end of the year. An ambitious target,
perhaps, considering the falling rig count, which is usually an indicator of
future production”, Gibson concluded. (Hellenic Shipping News: https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/iran-and-now-venezuela-are-shaking-things-up-in-the-tanker-market/)
Refiners get taste of post-IMO world with
gasoline/diesel imbalance
Refineries around the world are squeezing out
every last drop of diesel while drowning in gasoline, in what could well become
the new normal for the next few years. The imbalance is a confluence of major
shifts in oil markets - surging production of light U.S. shale oil, plummeting
exports of heavier Venezuelan and Iranian crude, weakening gasoline demand and
rising diesel consumption. The coming in 2020 of the biggest change in fuel
regulations in decades, when the International Maritime Organization (IMO) will
start requiring ships to use cleaner fuel, is likely to prolong this reality,
oil executives and analysts say. Refineries that distil crude oil into fuel
have always had to adapt their output to shifting demand patterns such as high
consumption of gasoline in summer and increased demand for heating oil in winter.
(Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-refining-imo-analysis/refiners-get-taste-of-post-imo-world-with-gasoline-diesel-imbalance-idUSKCN1NO1R4)
Venezuela will preside over Ministerial Meeting
of the Forum of Gas Exporting Countries in 2019
In the framework of the XX Ministerial Meeting of the Forum of Gas
Exporting Countries (FPEG), held on Wednesday, the Bolivarian
Republic of Venezuela received the presidency of the Ministerial Meeting for
the year 2019 of the FPEG. This decision was announced during the celebration
of this meeting held in Trinidad and Tobago. (AVN, http://www.avn.info.ve/contenido/venezuela-will-preside-over-ministerial-meeting-forum-gas-exporting-countries-2019)
Commodities
Urban ranching: A socialist commune's response
to Venezuela's crisis
A socialist commune has drawn the ire of its
neighbors in a wealthy area of Caracas with an unusual response to the
hyperinflation and food shortages afflicting Venezuela: turning its backyard into
an urban cattle pasture. The leaders of the Apacuana commune, devotees of
socialist President Nicolas Maduro, drove six hours to purchase 11 450-kilo
(992-lb) cows. They set them to graze behind their 2,000-square meter (21,528
square-foot) home, donated by the state-owned telecommunications company two
years ago. The government began transferring billions of dollars to a network
of more than 70,000 such community groups under the administration of late
President Hugo Chavez, who supported the communes as an alternative to a
capitalist economic model. Maduro has called communes “the epicenter of solidarity.” (Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-cattle/urban-ranching-a-socialist-communes-response-to-venezuelas-crisis-idUSKCN1NL1U6)
Economy & Finance
576 failed government
monopolies
The most serious ailments affecting Venezuela
and Venezuelans right now can be traced back to the country having 576 failed
or failing state-owned companies, local NGO “Transparencia Venezuela” stated in a report published Friday in
Caracas. Transparencia, the local chapter of Transparency International, began researching
into Venezuela’s “Empresas Propiedad del
Estado” (EPE, the Spanish acronym for “Enterprises Property of the State”)
in 2016, it says. The embattled Nicolas Maduro administration now has 576 EPEs
to its name, of which only 467 are in operation. Of those companies still in
operation, more than half do not make any money and actually lose the cash-strapped
Maduro government money. And the vast majority, of them, almost 75%, “have public denunciations for corruption or
bad practices”, Transparencia states. (Latin American Herald Tribune, http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2469742&CategoryId=10717)
Maduro regime claims
"international experts"
approve of the Petro
Although much of the world has refused to do
business in the Petro, Caracas claims it has the backing of political and
business leaders in Colombia, Brazil, Japan, China, Palestine, Spain and Saint
Vincent & the Grenadines. The government of Venezuela claims it has held an
international blockchain technology and cryptocurrency consultancy seminar in
Caracas, with overseas experts attending to give their take on the state-backed
Petro cryptocurrency. State media outlet TELESUR and government tweets claimed
that experts from China, Russia, Luxembourg, Spain and Mexico were in
attendance. The president’s office quotes Lluís Mas Luque, head of the Spanish
Blockchain Institute & Technology, as stating that the Petro “represents a triumph over” conventional
financial systems. The president’s offices claimed other speakers at the event
included Sri Lanka-based CRYPTO GENESIS managing partner Nilhan de Mel and
Spanish peer-to-peer energy market platform Shasta founder Alex Sicart Ramos. Meanwhile,
the coin itself has been deemed a scam by various rating sites. Venezuela’s
crypto-drive appears to be continuing apace, with department store TRAKI,
dubbed by some as the Walmart of Venezuela, recently announcing that it will
accept payment in a wide range of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Bitcoin
Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin and Dash. (Cryptonews: https://cryptonews.com/news/venezuela-claims-international-experts-approve-of-the-petro-2943.htm)
Politics and International Affairs
U.S. considers adding
Venezuela to terrorism sponsors list
United States is considering adding Venezuela
to its list of state sponsors of terrorism, but no final decision has been made,
a person familiar with the deliberations said on Monday. Discussions on the
issue have moved forward in recent days with strong lobbying from Republican
Senator Marco Rubio, who has long pressed the administration to take a tougher
stand against the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, the source
said. A time frame for a decision on whether to add Venezuela to the terrorism
list had not yet been determined, the source said. A U.S. official, speaking on
condition of anonymity, said it would be a challenge for the Trump
administration to provide concrete proof linking the Maduro government to
terrorism if it decides to put Venezuela on the list. The four countries
currently on the list - North Korea, Iran, Sudan and Syria - have been found to
“have repeatedly provided support for
acts of international terrorism.” Rubio and two other Republican senators
sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in September urging him to name
Venezuela a state sponsor of terrorism and accusing it of links to Lebanon’s
Hezbollah militant group and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or
FARC, but they offered no proof. The Washington Post, which first reported that
the Trump administration was considering the designation, said the U.S. State
Department had been asking for feedback on the proposed move from various
agencies in recent days. A State Department spokesperson said it “consistently and on an ongoing basis reviews
available information and intelligence, from many sources, on possible state-level
involvement in terrorism, evaluating all credible, verified, and corroborated
information in its entirety.” The White House declined to comment. A senior
U.S. official told Reuters earlier this month that the Trump administration was
“looking at all potential avenues” to
pressure Maduro’s government. “We believe
his presidency to be illegitimate,” the official said, reiterating
Washington’s rejection of the outcome of Venezuela’s elections earlier this
year. Maduro won a new six-year term in May, but his main rivals disavowed the
election and alleged massive irregularities. “The regime really understands that the world is getting smaller for
them. And that’s the kind of pressure that is needed to really change minds in
the regime. The sanctions are having an effect,” the official said. The
designation would ban financial transactions with the country. (The Washington
Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/;
The Hill: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/417541-trump-admin-to-designate-venezuela-as-state-sponsor-of-terrorism;
Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-usa/u-s-considers-adding-venezuela-to-terrorism-sponsors-list-source-idUSKCN1NP042;
Fox News: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-administration-considers-designating-venezuela-as-state-sponsor-of-terrorism)
National Assembly
president charges that guerrillas control the border with Colombia
Omar Barboza, President of Venezuela’s opposition-controlled
National Assembly, has charged that a “great
part” of Venezuela’s border with Colombia is controlled by guerrillas from
the neighboring country, “with the
acquiescence of military and civilian authorities” here. Barboza made the
statement when asked about conditions in his home border state of Zulia. More
in Spanish: (Noticiero Venevisión, http://www.noticierovenevision.net/noticias/politica/presidente-de-la-an-aseguro-que-parte-de-la-frontera-venezolana-esta-tomada-por-la-guerrilla)
Top North Korean
official to tour Cuba, Venezuela, Mexico
A delegation from the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea (DPRK), led by the President of the Presidium of the Supreme
People's Assembly, Kim Yong Nam, will make official visits to Cuba, Venezuela
and Mexico, confirmed the North Korea Central News Agency (KCNA). In Mexico,
the senior DPRK official will attend the inauguration of President-elect Manuel
Lopez Obrador, scheduled for December 1, according to KCNA. (Cuban News Agency,
http://www.cubanews.acn.cu/cuba/8737-top-north-korean-official-to-tour-cuba-venezuela-mexico)
Former Intelligence director
reportedly arrested
General Gustavo Gonzalez Lopez, who headed the
Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN) until his recent replacement,
has been taken to the headquarters of the Directorate General of Military
Counterintelligence, according to an unconfirmed Nov. 16 report from NOTICIERO
DIGITAL. If confirmed, the report indicates that Gonzalez Lopez is being
further sidelined from Venezuela's political system as the country's
politicians work to consolidate power behind the scenes. President Nicolas
Maduro's decision to replace Gonzalez Lopez, who is an ally of influential
Venezuelan political figure Diosdado Cabello, may be intended to undermine
Cabello's power within the country's security services. Gonzalez Lopez
controlled the Venezuelan Interior Ministry and SEBIN from 2014 to 2016.
According to an intelligence report STRATFOR Received in 2017, Venezuelan
Industries and National Production Minister Tareck El Aissami is Cabello's
primary competitor for political power and intends to slowly erode his
influence within the country's security services. (Stratfor, https://worldview.stratfor.com/situation-report/venezuela-former-intelligence-director-reportedly-arrested)
Maduro regime
continues military purge as arrests reach record high
Politically motivated arrests of soldiers and
military personnel in Venezuela reached an all-time high in 2018. According to
the latest figures, 197 members of the military are facing charges on crimes
such as incitement to rebellion, treason to the fatherland, and breach of
military etiquette, charges meant to target any dissent within the ranks of
dictator Nicolás Maduro’s military. The number now surpasses that arrested former
Venezuelan dictators Hugo Chávez and Marcos Pérez Jiménez. As part of their
effort to guarantee loyalty, the regime recently began purging high-rankings
members of the military who they suspect of disloyalty. In March, Maduro issued
a presidential decree announcing that 24 soldiers had been demoted or dismissed
from the military over their supposed attempts “to damage the Republic by violent means.” Yet there is growing
evidence of widespread discontent among lower military ranks, as thousands of
soldiers choose to jump ship amid devastatingly low morale caused in large part
by a drastic fall in wages that has left many of them unable to access enough
food or living essentials. The higher echelons of the Venezuelan military
remain relatively loyal to the government, as the regime continues to subsidize
their expensive lifestyles and appoint military leaders to powerful government
positions. (Breitbart, https://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2018/11/19/venezuela-maduro-regimes-continues-military-purge-arrests-reach-record-high/)
Venezuela's exiled Supreme
Court calls on INTERPOL to arrest president Nicolas Maduro
Venezuela’s exiles Supreme Court has requested
an international warrant for the country's president, Nicolas Maduro -- but the
beleaguered leader isn't getting ready to don a prison jumpsuit any time soon. In
a letter to INTERPOL secretary-general Jurgen Stock, the Supreme Tribunal of
Justice accused Maduro of corruption. The officials, which call themselves the legitimate
TSJ, were exiled to Florida amid Venezuela’s constitutional crisis. They accuse
Maduro of accepting money from illegal activity and want the Venezuelan
president to serve about 18 years in prison. (Fox News, https://www.foxnews.com/world/venezuelas-exiled-justice-department-calls-on-interpol-to-arrest-nicolas-maduro)
Venezuelan TV mogul
with U.S. real estate fortune charged in South Florida
A Venezuelan TV network mogul has been charged
in South Florida with siphoning hundreds of millions of dollars from Venezuela’s
government and laundering the illicit money through U.S. banks and luxury real
estate investments, according to an indictment unsealed Monday. The indictment
charges Raúl Gorrín, a politically connected Caracas businessman and owner of
the GLOBOVISION network, with conspiring to bribe Venezuelan officials and
commit money laundering by hiding the embezzled government funds in South
Florida and other parts of the United States over the past decade. Federal
authorities plan to seize Gorrín’s Cocoplum estate in Coral Gables, which has
been on the market for US$ 8 million. The waterfront home is among dozens of
his properties in South Florida and New York that are tainted by criminal
activity, authorities said. The U.S. investigation of Gorrín initially focused
on Alejandro Andrade, a former high-ranking Venezuelan treasury official who
had worked as a bodyguard for the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. Andrade,
who served as national treasurer between 2007 and 2010, was charged with money
laundering in late 2017 and pleaded guilty earlier this year to a conspiracy
offense. Andrade was staying at his equestrian ranch in the affluent Wellington
community of Palm Beach County while assisting federal authorities in the
massive foreign corruption and money-laundering probe. But federal agents
eventually seized his property, including prized thoroughbred horses, last week
as part of a forfeiture action. Andrade, Gorrín and the other associates in
Venezuela’s government, banking and business sectors are accused of enriching
themselves by capitalizing on favorable foreign currency exchanges and
concealing their huge profits in European and U.S. bank accounts and
investments, according to the indictment. (The Miami Herald, https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/venezuela/article221706585.html)
Venezuelan 'tyrant' must be isolated, says Colombia's
Duque
Colombian President Ivan Duque, who took office
in August, has granted an exclusive interview to FRANCE 24 and RFI. He focused on
the situation in neighboring Venezuela. Venezuelans are fleeing a severe
economic and political crisis at home, creating a migrant crisis in the wider
region. "It is important for the international community to understand why
we need to isolate the tyrant [Nicolas Maduro] and carry out a democratic
transition in Venezuela," he said. (France 24, https://www.france24.com/en/20181114-interview-colombia-ivan-duque-says-venezuelan-tyrant-must-be-isolated-maduro-migrants)
Guyana pleased with
new US position regarding border dispute with Venezuela
Guyana has welcomed the new position by the
United States regarding its border dispute with Venezuela, with Foreign Affairs
Minister Carl Greendige saying Washington's position “is an extremely important
statement”. Speaking at a farewell reception in honor of the outgoing United
States ambassador to Guyana, Perry Holloway, on Friday night, the deputy chief
of mission of the US Embassy here, Terry Steers-Gonzalez, said previously
Washington had “simply supported the
timely resolution of the Venezuelan-Guyana border controversy. In large measure
because of Ambassador Holloway, the US government now calls on all parties to
respect the 1899 arbitration decision,” Steers-Gonzalez said. “While some might discount this seemingly simple
addition, most of us present tonight understand how truly big it was and is.
Well done, Sir!” the diplomat added. Steers-Gonzalez said it was while
Holloway had been waiting in Washington for confirmation by the US Senate that
a decision was taken to shift from “support the timely resolution” to calling
on the two countries to “respect” the boundary award. The Government of Guyana,
through the Foreign Affairs Ministry, today announced that Guyana has submitted
its Memorial of Jurisdiction to the International Court of Justice in the case
brought against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Guyana wants the Court to
confirm, in a final and binding judgment, the full legal validity of the
arbitral award that established the international boundary between Guyana and
Venezuela more than a century ago. The Foreign Affairs Ministry noted that
Guyana has no doubt that the Court has jurisdiction to resolve the controversy
that has plagued its relations with Venezuela and undermined its ability to
develop its sovereign territory and natural resources. (Jamaica Observer: http://m.jamaicaobserver.com/international/guyana-pleased-with-new-us-position-regarding-border-dispute-with-venezuela_149981;
News Source, http://newssourcegy.com/news/guyana-files-documents-with-international-court-showing-jurisdiction-in-venezuela-border-row/)
Venezuelans flee to
Trinidad and risk jail
Trinidad and Tobago is now home to more than
40,000 Venezuelans, many of whom entered the country out of desperation and
without documents. While more than 7,000 have applied for asylum or refugee
status, they’ve found that the designation doesn’t make them legal residents.
They still risk being jailed for working without permission or not having the
proper documents. Last week, 78 Cuban migrants — many of them asylum seekers —
were detained on charges of blocking the sidewalk as they protested for better
conditions outside of the United Nations building in Port of Spain. In
September, the government reported that there were 118 people at the Immigration
Detention Center west of Port of Spain — about 75% of them there for entering
the country illegally — and almost all of them Venezuelan. But activists say
they really don’t know how many people are detained at any given time. Living
Water Community, a local nonprofit that works with the U.N. to register asylum
seekers, says it hasn’t been given unfettered access to the Immigration
Detention Center since 2014. While migrants are sometimes offered temporary
work permits in Colombia, Peru and Chile, some small nations and territories of
the Caribbean have been much less welcoming. On the Dutch island of Curacao,
island officials took over the process of registering asylum seekers and
refugees in July 2017. Since then, an Amnesty International report found the
government had virtually quit approving asylum requests and had stepped up
deportations. In 2017, the government repatriated 1,203 Venezuelans, and an
additional 386 were deported during the first four months of 2018 — often
without the right to seek protection. The backlash comes as some small islands
fear being flooded by Venezuelans. In Curacao, 16% of the population is now
Venezuelan. In Aruba, Venezuelans represent 15%, and in Trinidad and Tobago,
they make up 3% of the population, according to the latest U.N. figures. In the
meantime, Venezuelans living in Trinidad and Tobago say they feel stuck in a
place where they may have the right to exist but not the right to truly live.
And they fear detention and deportation every time they leave home. Facing
these hardships, many of the Venezuelans blame the UNHCR — the U.N.’s refugee
agency — and other nonprofits for processing their asylum claim but not helping
guarantee their rights. But the agencies point out that they’re entirely dependent
on the host country. (The Miami Herald, https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/venezuela/article221511330.html)
Venezuelan rape-survivor-turned-lawyer
finally gets justice
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights found
Venezuela responsible on Friday for failing to prevent, investigate or punish
extreme violence against a young woman who was kidnaped, raped and tortured in 2001.
The ruling sets a much-anticipated legal precedent and could have implications
for victims and survivors worldwide. The case centers on the abduction, rape
and torture of Linda Loaiza Lopez Soto, who was 18 years old at the time. After
being rescued three months after the kidnapping, Lopez had to undergo multiple
surgeries for her injuries and disfigurement. She then faced a David-and-Goliath-like
quest for justice against her well-connected abductor. In its decision on
Friday, the court held Venezuela responsible, "because of its gross
omissions", for the torture and the sexual slavery Lopez suffered, as well
as for preventing her access to justice. The court ordered Venezuela to revisit
the criminal case, pay Lopez and her family compensation, and provide for her
lifelong medical and psychological care. The ruling also asked Venezuela to
finance any further post-secondary studies for Linda and her siblings, whether
in Venezuela or abroad. (Al Jazeera, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/11/venezuela-rape-survivor-turned-lawyer-finally-justice-181117000627036.html)
Murder rate soars in
Venezuela, forcing population to take extreme precautions
As if coping with constant food and medicine
shortages were not enough for crisis-weary Venezuelans, many live in constant
fear in a country where three people die violently every hour. The nation
registered 26,000 homicides last year, 89 per 100,000 inhabitants and a figure
15 times the global average, according to the Venezuelan Observatory of
Violence, a non-governmental group. Almost everyone in Venezuela uses an older
cellphone in public, keeping their smartphone out of sight. An application called
'Pana' - a slang word for friend - was created to help ensure people could feel
more secure on the road. Recently, bikers with high-visibility vests, dark
glasses and radios sped to the rescue of a young medical student in distress on
the highway. Thugs often target vehicles with stones, sticks or bottles to
force drivers to stop, intent on robbery or even kidnap. In the streets of
Venezuela, it's rare to see a car without tinted, reinforced glass. Sundown
brings challenges for the citizens of Caracas. Once filled with light and
bustle, economic crisis and accompanying crime means the capital now switches
off at night. Most people now gather in private homes, being safer and cheaper,
and prefer to wait until the light of dawn before they venture home. Most
foreign airlines prohibit their crews from staying overnight in Venezuela. (Daily
Mail, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6405051/Murder-rate-soars-Venezuela-forcing-population-extreme-precautions-amid-shortages.html)
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