January 10, 2019

International Trade

Venezuela launches WTO challenge to U.S. sanctions

Venezuela has launched a complaint at the World Trade Organization to challenge U.S. sanctions, saying that a ban on travel by blacklisted individuals and trade restrictions break WTO rules, a WTO filing showed on Tuesday. In the complaint, filed on Dec. 28, Venezuela also cited U.S. rules on sales of gold and discriminatory treatment of Venezuela’s debt and transactions in digital currency as breaches of the WTO rulebook. (CNBC: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/08/reuters-america-venezuela-launches-wto-challenge-to-u-s-sanctions.html)

 

Oil & Energy

Venezuela congress slams oil deals with U.S., French companies

Venezuela’s opposition-run congress on Tuesday issued a resolution calling deals between state-run oil company PDVSA and U.S. and French companies announced this week illegal, since they had not been sent to lawmakers for approval. The body said the oilfield deals with France’s Maurel & Prom and little-known U.S. company EREPLA violated article 150 of Venezuela’s constitution, which requires that contracts signed between the state and foreign companies be approved by the National Assembly, as Venezuela’s congress is known. “They are giving concessions that violate the law,” said lawmaker Jorge Millan, mentioning the two contracts. Congress, largely stripped of its power since the opposition took it over in 2016, is unlikely to be able block the deals from going forward. But the rejection could create legal complications under a future government. (Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-oil/venezuela-congress-slams-oil-deals-with-u-s-french-companies-idUSKCN1P22HG)

 

Venezuela plans to remap its offshore oil territory, escalating tension with EXXON

Venezuela will remap its Caribbean oil and gas prospects in a move that could further stoke a century-long border dispute with Guyana and collide with EXXON MOBIL Corp.’s venture in the region, people with knowledge of the plan said. The seismic survey is planned for the coming months and will include an eastern area of Venezuela that borders Guyana. Venezuela has mapped its offshore territory for oil deposits in the past, but some areas remain uncharted. The new survey will also include areas bordering Caribbean islands such as Grenada and Saint Vincent. “More surveys are pending to identify commercially viable options for gas,” said Antero Alvarado, a managing partner at consulting firm Gas Energy Latin America. “Past PDVSA studies ignored identifying gas deposits because the focus was always on oil.’’ Maduro has issued a decree stating Venezuela’s continental shelf is open for oil exploration, although no investment plans have been announced for the area yet. PDVSA’s offshore division produces mainly gas from the western coast in a partnership with Italy’s ENI. It also has several inactive oil and gas projects in the east, near Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana. Three of them are in partnerships with Norway’s EQUINOR ASA, CHEVRON Corp. and France’s TOTAL. (Bloomberg: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/venezuela-plans-remap-offshore-oil-100000274.html)

 

Venezuela claims it can prove EXXON ships entered its waters

The Venezuelan government presented on Tuesday what it described as evidence that vessels belonging to global oil giant EXXONMOBIL entered the nation’s territorial waters last month. Vice President Delcy Rodriguez presented a press conference with audiovisual material in which officers of the Venezuelan navy are heard talking with crews of the oil company’s ships. (Latin American Herald Tribune, http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2472825&CategoryId=10717; AVN, http://www.avn.info.ve/contenido/venezuela-will-deliver-evidence-illegal-incursion-exxonmobil-ships; Bloomberg, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-08/venezuela-is-said-to-map-caribbean-as-tension-with-exxon-grows)

 

Curacao oil refinery resumes work after eight-month stoppage

Curacao’s 335,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) ISLA refinery has resumed work, management of the government-owned facility said on Tuesday, after eight months of paralysis caused by a dispute between its operator, Venezuela’s PDVSA, and U.S. producer CONOCO PHILLIPS. ISLA, which has been looking for a new operator to run the refinery beginning at the end of this year, restarted one of its crude distillation units and its thermal cracker, it said in a statement. The plant suffered a fire early last year and fell idle after CONOCO PHILLIPS brought legal actions against PDVSA over a US$ 2-billion arbitration award linked to the nationalization of CONOCO’s projects in Venezuela. The U.S. company got court orders temporarily seizing PDVSA’s cargoes and terminals across the Caribbean. (Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-refinery-operations-pdvsa-curacao/curacao-oil-refinery-resumes-work-after-eight-month-stoppage-idUSKCN1P22CI)

 

Mohammed Barkindo: Venezuela continues to be a key country for OPEC

On Tuesday, OPEC secretary, Mohammed Barkindo, held a meeting at the Miraflores Palace with the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, as part of his visit to the country for the inauguration of the President. Thursday, January 10th. In his statements to the media, Barkindo stressed that Venezuela continues to be fundamental in all the efforts promoted by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). (AVN, http://www.avn.info.ve/contenido/mohammed-barkindo-venezuela-continues-be-key-country-opec)

 

Economy & Finance

Maduro era is endurance test as Venezuela's lifelines fall away

President Nicolas Maduro’s second term is officially six years. However, it will endure only as long as Venezuela’s moribund economy allows. He has weathered protests, impeachment drives, an assassination attempt and U.S. sanctions. But as Venezuela’s economic lifelines drop away, his survival now depends on the country’s stamina. In his next term, Maduro must manage to feed a hungry nation, kick-start production at state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA and fend off creditors threatening to snatch up assets abroad. He has deepened ties with authoritarian allies such as Russia, China and Turkey, but they have provided only limited support. Maduro shows no sign of hesitation: “Rain, thunder or lightning,” he said this week. “Venezuela will stay on its course.” Calls are growing within the ruling socialist party to dissolve the opposition-led congress, the only elected institution Maduro doesn’t control, and one that has already been defanged. On Tuesday, the politically omnipotent National Constituent Assembly passed a measure that could be the first step to enable its disappearance. The super-body convened by the president also threatened treason investigations against dissident lawmakers. Constituent Assembly President Diosdado Cabello said Tuesday that lawmakers in the threatened national legislature who support the idea should be punished. “Those who are now in the National Assembly are traitors. Several lawmakers turned their backs on the most sacred: respect for sovereignty,” he said. Increasingly, however, it’s the Chavistas against the world. Now the U.S. is even considering designating Venezuela itself as a state sponsor of terrorism. Throughout it all, America has remained the primary buyer of Venezuelan crude. Gregory Weeks, a professor of political science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, said that if the U.S. truly wants to isolate Venezuela, it would have to stop buying its oil. “You can say you’re not going to recognize him, but if you’re still trading and buying Venezuela oil, how much does it really matter?” Weeks said. (Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-10/maduro-era-is-endurance-test-as-venezuela-s-lifelines-fall-away)

 

Venezuela to collect tax in cryptocurrency - but no Petro?

A decree issued yesterday by Nicolas Maduro’s government states that those conducting business in Venezuela involving either cryptocurrency or foreign fiat money must also pay taxes on that business using cryptocurrency or foreign fiat money, respectively. Exceptions to this stipulation, according to article two, include an exemption for securities traded on the national stock market, and on the “export of goods and services, carried out by bodies or public entities.” The plan to accept cryptos is not fleshed-out yet, however, and currently seems to be only an aspiration of this particular issue of the gazette. Notably, the decree does not mention which particular cryptoassets are usable for paying taxes. There is no mention anywhere in the decree of the country’s national crypto, the Petro, a ERC-20 token issued on the Ethereum network. (Cryptoglobe: https://www.cryptoglobe.com/latest/2019/01/venezuela-to-collect-tax-in-cryptocurrency-but-no-petro/)

 

Mexico tortilla giant GRUMA sues Venezuela for US$ 525 million over 2010 expropriation

The world's leading tortilla maker GRUMA's Spanish subsidiaries Valores Mundiales, S.L. and Consorcio Andino, S.L. have filed a US $525 million lawsuit in U.S. Federal District Court in Washington, D.C. against Venezuela over the expropriation of its Venezuela subsidiaries. The lawsuit is to enforce a US$ 525 million award made against Venezuela for the expropriation of GRUMA's food businesses in Venezuela. On July 25, 2017, an arbitral tribunal brought before the World Bank's International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) ruled that Venezuela must pay Valores Mundiales, S.L. and Consorcio Andino, S.L. US$ 430.4 million in damages, plus compound interest at LIBOR + 2% from January 22, 2013 and until the effective date of payment of the Award, and more than US$ 5.9 million in legal expenses and costs incurred by GRUMA in the course of the arbitration, meaning that Venezuela owes some US$ 525 million to GRUMA. (Latin American Herald Tribune, http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2472777&CategoryId=10717)

 

Politics and International Affairs

Venezuela's neighbors turn up heat as Nicolás Maduro begins second term

In a televised new year’s message to his atrophying nation, Nicolás Maduro struck an upbeat tone. “Victory awaits us! The future awaits us! And everything will be better!” Venezuela’s embattled president insisted, declaring 2019 “the year of fresh starts”. But the sandbags and rifle-toting troops that now encircle the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas suggest far less confidence about the days ahead, as Venezuela sinks deeper into economic ruin and political isolation and questions grow over Maduro’s future. Hugo Chávez’s 56-year-old heir – narrowly elected after his mentor’s 2013 death and then again in disputed elections last May – will begin his second presidential term on Thursday, amid intensifying international condemnation of what critics call his illegitimate and authoritarian rule. Last week, a regional bloc known as the Lima Group turned up the heat, with 13 of its 14 members announcing they would not recognize Maduro’s new six-year term and urging him to step down. Those countries included Brazil, whose new president, Jair Bolsonaro, is well-known for his hostility to Maduro and whose pro-Trump foreign minister recently called for Venezuela’s “liberation”. The US has also stepped up pressure ahead of what it calls Maduro’s “sham inauguration” with the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, telling one Brazilian newspaper “several things” could be done to rid Venezuela of Maduro’s “unacceptable” regime. Pompeo did not specify what those “things” might be. But after years of dawdling, regional patience does appear to be running out, as the situation in Venezuela deteriorates and Latin American politics swerves to the right under leaders such as Bolsonaro, Colombia’s Iván Duque, Chile’s Sebastián Piñera and Argentina’s Mauricio Macri. The Lima Group’s unexpectedly firm declaration – which includes plans for financial sanctions, preventing top Venezuela officials entering their countries, and suspending military cooperation – appeared partly designed to persuade the Venezuelan military to abandon their commander-in-chief. But any international effort to engineer a peaceful transition would founder unless Venezuela’s fractured opposition united. (The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/09/venezuela-nicolas-maduro-second-term-neighbours-latin-america)

 

Maduro accuses US of using Lima Group to instigate coup in Venezuela

President Nicolas Maduro has accused the United States of using the Lima Group of American countries to instigate a coup against his government, one day before being sworn in for a second term widely regarded as illegitimate. "I cannot lie to you, civilian and military companions... a coup d'etat is under way under the orders of Washington, from the Lima cartel against the constitutional government I preside over," the national news agency quoted Maduro as saying. "We shall not allow even a single slip. Whatever his name, whatever post he holds, whoever tries to promote a coup plan should know that he will face justice, the constitution and the civilian-military powers," Maduro added. (DPA: http://www.dpa-international.com/topic/maduro-accuses-us-using-lima-group-instigate-coup-venezuela-190110-99-499405)

 

Maduro warns of 'diplomatic measures' against Latin American critics

President Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday warned he could take “diplomatic measures” against Latin American nations that signed a statement last week describing his second term, which starts on Thursday, as illegitimate. Venezuela “has alerted very clearly to the governments of the Cartel of Lima that, if they do not rectify their position (...) we will take the most crude and energetic measures that can be taken in diplomacy,” Maduro, using a pejorative name for the group widely used by ruling Socialist Party leaders. He did not provide details what measures he could take. (Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics/venezuelas-maduro-warns-of-diplomatic-measures-against-latam-critics-idUSKCN1P32C0)

 

Group of Lima nations to deny entry to Venezuelan officials

Thirteen nations from the Group of Lima have agreed to deny entry to high-ranking officials of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government. Colombian Foreign Minister Carlos Holmes said the decision was made after a Friday meeting of the group in Peru. At the end of the Friday meeting, the Peruvian Foreign Ministry issued a joint resolution of the Group of Lima -- in which Mexico was not included -- asking President Nicolas Maduro to abstain from assuming the presidency, to transfer power to the National Assembly and to call for new elections. The resolution said that Group of Lima countries would, depending on internal legislation, take action to prevent the entry of high-ranking Venezuelan officials to their territories and evaluate lists of Venezuelan people and organizations with which transactions will be banned. (UPI: https://www.upi.com/Group-of-Lima-nations-to-deny-entry-to-Venezuelan-officials/9721547047206/#ixzz5cB7CU8ip)

 

Caribbean to decide the fate of Nicaragua and Venezuela at the OAS

The Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) will meet this week to address the situation of the dictatorships in Venezuela and Nicaragua. In the first case, the government of Nicolas Maduro runs the risk of being repudiated by the OAS, and in the case of Daniel Ortega, is on the verge of the application of the Inter-American Democratic Charter. In this vote, the 15 countries that make up the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) would have an important weight, which will also be very important in the case of Venezuela. The session of Venezuela will be on January 10th and the session of Nicaragua on the 11th. The process for the application of the Inter-American Democratic Charter began on December 27 after the announcement of the secretary general of the regional body, Luis Almagro. In the case of the territorial conflict over the Essequibo region between Venezuela and Guyana, CARICOM has closed ranks in favor of Guyana. Manuel Salvador Abaunza, former ambassador of Nicaragua in Venezuela, says that from January 10 there will be changes in the panorama, because the regime of Nicolas Maduro will have lost legitimacy. “It is very certain that the Caribbean countries will see that they have no future of any kind with Maduro and that it is better for them to start negotiating with the United States, or at least show a change of attitude, because Maduro no longer offers them anything by becoming a De-legitimized state,” he explained. Venezuela still has a card under its sleeve to play -which is Guyana- and that is to offer the Caribbean that they will settle the conflict with Guyana below the table. If that scenario occurs, Venezuela could get CARICOM to vote against both the Nicaraguan resolution and the one against Venezuela. (Havana Times: https://havanatimes.org/?p=146723)

 

World leaders to skip Maduro inauguration amid possible further EU sanctions

 President Nicolas Maduro’s new term will bring further international pressure on Caracas as dozens of countries have called his May re-election fraudulent and pledged not to recognize his new government. The European Union is expected to release a strongly worded warning hinting that further EU sanctions could be levied on the country, should the president continue to flout human rights and the rule of law. The lack of international recognition will be apparent from the lack of foreign visitors at the inauguration ceremony for Maduro, due to be held at 10 am outside the Supreme Court building. Only Cuba and Bolivia have confirmed their presidents will attend, while a handful of other countries will send diplomats.  Plans to organize a mass boycott of the investiture ceremony by all 28 EU ambassadors to Venezuela appeared to have fallen foul of divisions in the bloc, however. The Telegraph understands that the Spanish and Greek ambassadors will attend, but Britain’s will not. Other drastic proposals within Latin America, such as the withdrawal of diplomatic missions from the country or the appointment of a parallel president in exile, have also been rejected for now. To squash any discontent, Maduro will rely on the armed forces and paramilitary groups known locally as colectivos, as he did during 2017 street protests. In the days preceding the inauguration, local media have reported caravans of government supporters, including masked men on truck beds, passing through downtown Caracas. In one of the city’s most emblematic slums, traditionally a bastion of pro-government support, government supporters fired guns into the air on rooftops. (The Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/01/09/world-leaders-skip-maduro-inauguration-amid-possible-eu-sanctions/)

 

European Parliament reaffirms support for Venezuela’s National Assembly

Antonio Tajani, President of the European Parliament, has expressed support for the the legitimate National Assembly in Venezuela, in a telephone call to the Assembly’s newly elected President, Juan Guaidó. More in Spanish: (Noticiero Venevisión, http://www.noticierovenevision.net/noticias/internacional/europarlamento-envio-mensaje-de-apoyo-a-la-asamblea-nacional)

 

Spain and Portugal will not send representatives to Maduro’s second inaugural

Spain’s government has confirmed it will not send official representatives to Nicolás Maduro’s swearing in ceremonies. The 28 nations within the European Union announced in December that they would not send representatives if the ceremony were to be held anywhere other than the National Assembly, and that should it take place elsewhere representation would be “beneath ambassadorial rank”. More in Spanish: (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/internacional/30146/gobierno-de-espana-no-asistira-a-toma-de-posesion-de-maduro)

 

Ecuador will not send a representative to Maduro’s swearing-in

Ecuador’s President Lenin Moreno has announced his government’s decision to not send representatives to Nicolás Maduro’s swearing-in ceremony citing the Venezuelan regimen’s violation of human rights: “International protection for human rights is an ethical and legal obligation, not intervention into the internal affairs of other countries”, he said. He called for solving Venezuela’s problems in a peaceful and democratic way, “through dialogue”. More in Spanish: (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/politica/30150/lenin-moreno-anuncio-que-ecuador-no-enviara-representacion-para-asuncion-de-maduro)

 

As Maduro begins new term in Venezuela, opposition sees trouble looming

As Maduro begins his new term on Thursday — one that will have him leading the nation until 2025 — Julio Borges is aware of the perception that Maduro is firmly in control. But Borges doesn’t buy it. As one of Venezuela’s most visible opposition figures who’s not in detention, Borges has spent his time lobbying foreign governments to turn the screws on Maduro. And it’s been working. Borges, 49, has been one of President Nicolas Maduro’s harshest critics over the decades. A co-founder of the Primero Justicia political party and the president of the National Assembly from 2017-2018, he’s been living in exile since March, amid fears that he would join other colleagues who have been detained or died in jail. Not surprisingly, Borges’ advocacy has put him in Maduro’s cross-hairs. The president routinely accuses him of plotting coups and encouraging international invasions. While Borges says he has always favored a peaceful, democratic transition, he said the Maduro administration has opened the door to violence by closing off real opportunities for change. In August, Maduro accused Borges of being one of the masterminds behind an alleged assassination plot that included an explosive-packed drone. Talking in Bogotá, Colombia, his home in exile, Borges says there are plenty of reasons to believe that Maduro may not get to finish out his new term. “Maduro remains in power, fundamentally, due to two things: the support of the military — really just the upper ranks — and the dictatorial know-how of the Cubans,” Borges said. “Outside of that Maduro has nothing. There’s no economic support, no diplomatic support, no political support. ... I think he’s irredeemably defeated and it’s impossible for him to overcome the crisis he’s created.” Borges said the democratic opposition has used every avenue possible to create change: organizing protests, engaging in dialogue, winning the National Assembly, calling for a boycott during the 2018 presidential election, promoting international sanctions. But nothing has moved the needle. “We have done everything we can through civil society and organized politics,” he said. “But the government doesn’t care how much damage is produced as it clings to power.” He adds: “The constitution itself says that any citizen, with or without authority, has the right to restore the constitution, and that’s what society is pleading for the armed forces to do … They are asking for the armed forces to restore the constitution, which Maduro is ignoring.”  Borges said that Maduro clearly has the support of the military’s higher echelon, “the corrupt elite,” but is losing the rank and file. And that’s where the real threats are brewing … what I can tell you with certainty is that inside Venezuela’s armed forces they are not only tired of Maduro, but they’re in revolt. And the country is asking for them to complete their ‘divorce’ … for dignified, constitutional and democratic armed forces to see resurgence.” (The Miami Herald: https://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article224124250.html)

 

Defense minister asked Maduro to resign: Washington Post

Venezuela’s defense minister told socialist President Nicolas Maduro to step down last month, and said he would offer his own resignation if he did not, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing an anonymous U.S. intelligence official. Both Maduro and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez are still in office. Maduro is set to be sworn in for a second six-year term on Thursday, though several countries in the region have warned him not to take office, calling his May 2018 re-election vote a sham. Discontent within the military’s ranks has grown as Venezuela’s economic collapse has deepened, prompting millions to migrate. Security forces tortured dozens of military personnel accused of subversion last year, according to human rights groups, and detentions for desertion have increased. A U.S. government source told Reuters the government believes reports that Padrino threatened to resign if Maduro did not depart are credible. This week, however, General Padrino made a public statement on behalf of the Venezuelan military, expressing “indignation over the meddling of Latin American governments, under the auspices of the United States, through which they are attempting to ignore Venezuela’s unrelinquishable rights over the Essequibo region”. (Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-defense/venezuelas-defense-minister-asked-maduro-to-resign-washington-post-idUSKCN1P32LQ); and more in Spanish: (El Universal; http://www.eluniversal.com/politica/30048/fanb-rechazo-injerencia-de-paises-latinoamericanos)

 

Military personnel, relatives tortured in Venezuela: HRW

Venezuelan security forces in recent years have detained and tortured dozens of military personnel accused of plotting against the government, and in some cases their family members, two human rights groups said in a report published on Wednesday. The report by New York-based Human Rights Watch and Venezuela’s Penal Forum, which also says forces tortured civilians, comes as countries in the region are pushing the International Criminal Court to probe the government for alleged crimes against humanity. In most cases, members of the country's General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM) or the Bolivarian National Intelligence Services (SEBIN) carried out the arrests, according to the rights groups. In the report, detainees described being strangled, deprived of food and having the soles of their feet cut with razor blades. "The Venezuelan government has brutally cracked down on members of the military accused of plotting against it," said Jose Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. The two groups analyzed information about cases involving a total of 32 people. Victims include military officers accused of plotting against the government and civilians accused of collaborating with Oscar Perez, a rogue police official who was killed in January 2018 after opposing the government. Several detainees did not have access to their families, lawyers or adequate medical treatment during their detentions, the report said. The individuals were arrested for crimes including "treason" and "instigating rebellion", however lawyers representing the accused said the charges were fabricated and not supported by any real evidence. (Al Jazeera: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/01/military-personnel-relatives-tortured-venezuela-hrw-190109155041848.html; Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-rights/venezuela-tortured-military-personnel-accused-of-subversion-rights-groups-idUSKCN1P30BD)

 

Venezuela names ex-spy chief as head of new presidential security unit

Venezuela’s former spy chief, who was ousted last year amid an uproar over the death of a jailed opposition politician, was sworn in on Tuesday as the head of a newly-created presidential security council, according to state television. General Gustavo Gonzalez Lopez was replaced as the head of the National Bolivarian Intelligence Service (SEBIN) in October after opposition councilman Fernando Alban died while detained at the agency’s headquarters in Caracas. The death was officially ruled a suicide, but critics said he was killed. Gonzalez Lopez was sworn in by Vice President Delcy Rodriguez in a brief ceremony just days before socialist President Nicolas Maduro is set to be inaugurated for a second term. (Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics/venezuela-names-ex-spy-chief-as-head-of-new-presidential-security-unit-idUSKCN1P301X)

 

Pope criticized for comments on Venezuela and Nicaragua by 20 ex-leaders

In response to Pope Francisco’s annual Urbi et Orbi Christmas speech, 20 ex-leaders from across Latin America wrote a letter to the religious leader criticizing his words regarding the situations in Venezuela and Nicaragua. In his speech, the Pope expressed a desire for Venezuela to find “harmony” and for Nicaragua to reach “reconciliation,” both criticized by the ex-presidents of the region for being too simplistic. The letter was inspired by the Democratic Initiative of Spain and the Americas (IDEA), headed by ex-president of Costa Rica and Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar.  “Your Holiness’ speech … is being interpreted in a very negative way by many in Venezuela and Nicaragua,” the letter stated. “In the current context,” it explained, “your speech could be interpreted as a request to the people who are victims to agree with their aggressors.” In relation to Venezuela, the Pope asked that “it finds peace again and that all the members of the society work together for the development of the country, helping the weakest area of the population.”  “[Venezuelans] are victims of oppression by a militarized narco-dictatorship,” the letter read, “which has no qualms in systematically infringing the right to life, freedom and personal integrity.” (Chile Herald: https://chileherald.com/pope-criticised-for-comments-on-venezuela-and-nicaragua-by-20-ex-leaders/1592/)

 

Venezuela is in crisis. so how did Maduro secure a second term?

President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela is set to be inaugurated on Thursday for the second time, extending his term in office to 2025, after winning an election last year that had been rejected by nations across the region as illegitimate. But even as his country is grappling with a humanitarian crisis driven by this collapse, Maduro has clung to power. So how did he get here, and how has he managed to hold on? Here’s what to know as Mr. Maduro begins his second term in office. Maduro’s re-election in May 2018 was widely criticized, with reports of coercion, fraud and electoral rigging. Election officials said Maduro won 68% of the vote. The chaotic state of the country and the desperation of poor voters may have contributed to Maduro’s ability to maintain control. Representatives of Maduro’s party tracked those who voted by registering their “Fatherland Card” — or national benefits card — and promised aid and government subsidized food handouts if re-elected. Independent international observers were not on hand, and a crackdown on critics left several of them unable to participate. Opposition leaders called for a boycott of the election, and that, combined with the disillusionment of many longtime government supporters, meant the turnout was exceptionally low. Less than half of the country’s voters cast ballots. How strong is his grip on power? Despite international criticism and a crisis at home, Maduro has won the loyalty of the country’s powerful military by handing its leaders control of the food and oil industries as well as profitable mining regions. But there are clear signs of growing discontent. While the country’s opposition lost much of its power as a result of government persecution and the forced exile of some of its most prominent figures, the election last week of a new president in the opposition-controlled National Assembly, Juan Guaidó, has renewed calls to remove Maduro from power. Who still supports him? Maduro has found some allies in the region, including President Evo Morales of Bolivia, a fellow socialist who will attend the inauguration. And Mexico’s new leftist president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, invited  Maduro to his own inauguration and has taken a friendlier stance in relations with Venezuela than his predecessor. Russia has remained a staunch ally, with President Vladimir V. Putin voicing his support for Maduro during a December meeting in Moscow. Venezuela has also received recent financial support from China. Within his country, loyal “chavista” governors, named for their support of Chávez and his revolutionary leftist policies, expressed their support for Maduro in a news conference on Wednesday. What’s the impact on Venezuelans? Daily life in Venezuela has become unrecognizable from what it was a few short years ago. Where once the government built homes, clinics and schools for the poor as part of its socialist policy, people are now finding themselves without the most basic necessities. The country’s health system has collapsed, leaving many without access to lifesaving medicine. Hunger is common, and the shelves of grocery stores lie bare. But there is no sense conditions are improving. (The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/10/world/americas/venezuela-maduro-inauguration.html)

 

EDITORIAL: Latin America has never seen a crisis like Venezuela before

The epic political and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela is due to pass a new juncture Thursday when President Nicolás Maduro is sworn in for a second six-year term. His first saw an implosion unprecedented in modern Latin American history: Though his country was not at war, its economy shrank by 50%. What was once the region’s richest society was swept by epidemics of malnutrition, preventable diseases and violent crime. Three million people fled the country. Yet Maduro, having orchestrated a fraudulent reelection, presses on with what the regime describes as a socialist revolution, with tutoring from Cuba and predatory loans from Russia and China. If there is any light in this bleak picture, it is that Venezuela’s neighbors are edging toward more assertive action to stem a crisis that, with the massive flow of refugees, threatens to destabilize several other countries. Last week, 13 governments, including Brazil, Colombia, Argentina and Canada, issued a statement declaring Maduro’s presidency illegitimate and threatening sanctions. Peru imposed travel and banking restrictions on Maduro and his cabinet, and several countries said they would recognize the opposition-controlled National Assembly as Venezuela’s only legitimate institution. Unfortunately, that is unlikely to move the regime. Like three administrations before it, the Trump White House has struggled over how to respond to the Chavistas. As conditions continue to deteriorate Maduro may finally be toppled by dissidents inside the regime or a new popular uprising. If not, the pressure Venezuela is putting on its neighbors will escalate. One recent study by scholars at the Brookings Institution concluded that 5 million more refugees may pour across the borders. The region has never seen a crisis like this: a steadily escalating catastrophe with no solution — either from inside or outside — in sight. (The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/latin-america-has-never-seen-a-crisis-like-venezuela-before/2019/01/09/26cc15b4-1381-11e9-b6ad-9cfd62dbb0a8_story.html)

 

The following brief is a synthesis of the news as reported by a variety of media sources. As such, the views and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Duarte Vivas & Asociados and The Selinger Group.