April 09, 2019

Logistics & Transport

 

US-blacklisted Iranian airline may begin direct flights to Venezuela

A plane belonging to MAHAN Air, a private Iranian airline accused by the West of transporting military equipment to Middle East war zones, landed in Caracas on Monday, and the two countries will discuss launching a direct flight “in the coming months,” Minister Jorge Arreaza told reporters. An Iran Foreign Ministry delegation left Tehran early Monday on a MAHAN Air flight in route to Caracas, Iran’s IRNA news agency reported. The spokesman of Iran's Civil Aviation Organization, Reza Jafarzadeh, told MEHR news agency the delegation included a group representing the private airline that was traveling to Caracas to discuss maintaining regular flights between the two countries. MAHAN Air, established in 1992 as Iran’s first private airline, has the country’s largest fleet of aircraft. But the U.S. blacklisted MAHAN in 2011 after accusing it of providing support to Quds Force, an elite unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. The carrier recently halted flights to Germany and France due to U.S. sanctions over its military transport flights to Syria, where Iran supports President Bashar Assad’s forces. The United States views private Iranian airline Mahan Air’s launch of a direct flight from Tehran to Caracas as a “politically motivated gesture” with “no commercial reason,” a White House official said on Monday. “This is a politically motivated gesture that is unhelpful to the Venezuelan people because it doesn’t accelerate the change that we’re looking for,” the official said. (Fox News: https://www.foxnews.com/world/us-blacklisted-iranian-airline-begins-direct-flights-to-venezuela; Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-venezuela-airlines-usa/no-commercial-reason-for-irans-mahan-air-flights-to-venezuela-white-house-official-idUSKCN1RK2CJ; https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-venezuela-airlines/iranian-delegation-travels-to-venezuela-to-discuss-direct-flight-route-idUSKCN1RK1VM; https://www.reuters.com/article/iran-venezuela-airlines/irans-mahan-air-launches-direct-flights-to-venezuela-idUSL8N21Q11T)

 

As the Maduro regime blocks aid and makes arbitrary arrests, locals turn to an app as a lifeline

In a crumbling country where almost all but state-owned media outlets have been shuttered, food and medicine are scarce, unrest is rising, and authorities could throw you behind bars at any moment – there is an app that is being accredited as something of a lifeline for desperate Venezuelans and for their compadres abroad. ZELLO, which functions akin to a walkie-talkie and is a push-to-talk voice messaging app, introduced the Venezuela-specific channel Venezuela Hasta Los Tuétanos to provide information about the burgeoning political, social, economic, and humanitarian calamity. The app creators are purporting not only to help Venezuelans coordinate protests, elude security and mobilize their marches, but it also endeavors to assist in pinpointing where crucial humanitarian resources such as food and medicine can be located. Since the contested Nicolas Maduro took a self-styled oath for a new term, which has not been recognized by most of the international community, there has been a 135% uptick in downloads. Overall, there have been 735,696 downloads in Venezuela, and over 13,600 in the ailing nation this year alone. Furthermore, the 24/7 channel itself is documented to now has over 70,000 subscribers and on average, there are 200 to 2,000 listeners connected at any given time. And as the once oil-swathed and wealthy nation continues to fall apart at the seams, the app doesn’t come at a cost. Yet on the ground in the poverty-stricken country, views on the app were mixed. Some expressed concern that it had been penetrated by government intelligence and that even though identities were not disclosed, efforts to challenge the regime could still be intercepted and ultimately crushed. (Fox News: https://www.foxnews.com/tech/as-venezuelas-government-blocks-aid-and-arbitrarily-arrests-locals-turn-to-an-app-as-a-lifeline)

 

Oil & Energy

Venezuela pledges to honor oil commitments to Cuba despite sanctions

Venezuela will “fulfill its commitments” to Cuba despite United States sanctions targeting oil shipments from this country to its ideological ally, Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said on Monday. Washington on Friday imposed sanctions on 34 vessels owned or operated by state-run oil company Petroleos de Venezuela as well as on two companies and a vessel that have previously delivered oil to Cuba, aiming to choke off a crucial supply of crude to the Communist-run island. Venezuela has long sent subsidized crude to Cuba. The United States describes the arrangement as an “oil-for-repression” scheme in which Havana helps socialist Nicolas Maduro weather an economic crisis and power struggle with the opposition in exchange for fuel. Arreaza said he would not reveal Venezuela’s “strategy,” but that the sanctions would not stop the shipments. “When the conventional power of capitalism attacks you, you have to know how to respond through non-conventional means, always respecting international law,” Arreaza told reporters. Venezuela’s legislature last month ordered an end to oil shipments to Cuba, but PDVSA - controlled by military officers loyal to Maduro - has continued the exports. The most recent fuel shipment to Cuba left Venezuela’s Jose port on April 4, carrying liquefied petroleum gas, according to REFINITIV EIKON data. In the second half of March, two tankers carrying crude and two tankers carrying refined products left for Cuba. The only tanker sanctioned on Friday, the Despina Andrianna, is currently returning to Jose after unloading crude at Cuba’s Cienfuegos refinery in March. Another three vessels are waiting off Venezuela to load with shipments destined for Cuba. (Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-cuba/venezuela-pledges-to-honor-oil-commitments-to-cuba-despite-sanctions-idUSKCN1RK2HZ)

 

US sanctions 34 tankers that transport oil from Venezuela to Cuba

The US Treasury Department announced on Friday economic sanctions against 34 oil tankers that transport petroleum from Venezuela to Cuba, a new pressure tactic against the regime of Nicolas Maduro. “The United States is holding accountable those responsible for Venezuela’s tragic decline and will continue to use the full suite of its diplomatic and economic tools to support Interim President Juan Guaidó, the National Assembly, and the Venezuelan people’s efforts to restore their democracy,” Treasury Secretary Treasury Steven Mnuchin said in a statement on Friday. “Cuba continues to profit from, and prop up, the illegitimate Maduro regime through oil-for-repression schemes as they attempt to keep Maduro in power,” Mnuchin said. “The United States remains committed to a transition to democracy in Venezuela and to holding the Cuban regime accountable for its direct involvement in Venezuela’s demise,” he added. (Latin American Herald Tribune, http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2477067&CategoryId=10717; Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-pence-houston/u-s-ratchets-up-pressure-on-venezuela-cuban-backers-idUSKCN1RH1B5; Bloomberg, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-05/u-s-sanctions-two-companies-over-venezuela-cuba-oil-shipments)

 

Lawyers for Venezuela's Guaidó ask U.S. court to protect CITGO

Representatives of Venezuelan interim president Juan Guaidó have asked a U.S. court to overturn a prior ruling allowing Canadian miner CRYSTALLEX to seize part of U.S. refiner CITGO, which is owned by state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela. Last year, a judge ruled CRYSTALLEX could seize shares in CITGO and auction them in its bid to get paid on a US$ 1.4 billion award tied to the 2008 nationalization of its gold mining operations by the now cash-strapped country. That conflicts with Guaidó’s efforts to preserve the country’s assets abroad, especially CITGO, which is pledged as collateral to multiple creditors. His lawyers argued to an appeals court that a lower court’s ruling in favor of CRYSTALLEX be reversed considering the new political circumstances. In its March 20 ruling allowing Guaidó’ s representatives to intervene in the case, the judge said CRYSTALLEX would have until April 10 to respond to its arguments. (Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-crystallex/lawyers-for-venezuelas-Guaidó-ask-u-s-court-to-protect-citgo-idUSKCN1RH2JA)

 

Restoring Venezuela's electricity system may take up to one year — regime to cut electricity 18 hours per week

Works to restore Venezuela's electricity system may take up to a year, the country's Electricity Minister Igor Gavidia told Venezolana de Television TV channel on Monday. "We will solve the problem in accordance with the plan set for us by President Nicolas Maduro. We are talking about plans for several terms - for up to 30 days, for 30-60 days, for 60-90 days, and for a year," Gavidia, who was appointed as Electricity Minister on April 1, said. The Nicolas Maduro regime released on Friday its schedule for electricity rationing for Venezuela, with the exception of Caracas and three other states, according to which the general public will be without electric power for at least 18 hours per week. The Electric Energy Ministry and the state-run CORPOELEC electricity company designed a schedule dividing 20 of the country’s 23 states into five sectors with different rationing schemes with the idea of implementing daily three-hour blackouts six days per week. According to this plan, on one day per week each sector will have electricity for the full 24 hours. The rationing measure specifically excludes the state of Vargas near Caracas where Venezuela’s main airport is located, along with the southern state of Amazonas and the northeastern state of Delta Amacuro, border regions far from the capital. (TASS: http://tass.com/world/1052742; Latin American Herald Tribune, http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2477054&CategoryId=10717)

 

UNICEF sends generators to Venezuela’s hospitals

With no end to the political crisis in sight, UNICEF has provided generators to guarantee power to 7 hospitals. Many regions of Venezuela continue to be deprived of electricity and drinking water, as more and more supplies are cut off due to the ongoing political crisis. In response the charity UNICEF has deployed portable generators to guarantee a supply of electricity to pediatric hospitals and maternity wards. Much of UNICEF’s work is being coordinated with the government ministry for health. UNICEF reports supplying generators to 7 state run hospitals to guarantee enough electricity to allow surgeries and births to take place. It is estimated that up to 24,000 children will benefit as a result of these measures. UNICEF has also increased its supply of vaccines for diseases such as measles, diphtheria, malaria and HIV, aiding another 150,000 people. The country’s water supply has also been affected by the crisis, with much of the infrastructure being neglected, depriving many areas of a reliable supply of clean water. UNICEF reports that it has distributed water purification tablets to over 12,000 families, with a further 4,200 receiving oral rehydration salts as well. (Vatican News: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/world/news/2019-04/unicef-sends-generators-to-venezuela-s-hospitals.html)

 

Venezuela oil production 'bad, getting worse,' IHS Markit's Yergin says

Daniel Yergin, vice chairman at IHS Markit, discusses Venezuela's oil production, the Trump administration's sanctions on Iran, and possible Permian basin energy firm consolidation. He speaks with Bloomberg's David Westin and Alix Steel on "Bloomberg Markets: Balance of Power." (Bloomberg, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2019-04-05/venezuela-oil-production-bad-getting-worse-ihs-markit-s-yergin-says-video)

 

 

Economy & Finance

World Bank sees Venezuela GDP contracting another 25% by year end

The economy in crisis-hit Venezuela is expected to contract a further 25% in 2019, the World Bank said on Thursday. "Real GDP contracted by 17.7% in 2018 and is likely to fall by 25.0% in 2019, which would imply a cumulative fall in GDP of 60% since 2013," the bank said in its most recent biannual report on Latin America and the Caribbean. The report attributes this "continuing implosion" in Venezuela, which has the most oil reserves of any country in the world, to the management of the country's economy rather than the global drop of oil prices and called the Venezuelan crisis "by far the worst in the region's modern history." Together with declining oil prices, "highly distortionary policies, from price controls to directed lending, a disorderly fiscal adjustment, monetization of the public sector deficit, and overall economic mis-management have led to hyperinflation, devaluation, debt defaults, and a massive contraction in output and consumption" in Venezuela, according to the World Bank. The bank repeated the estimate that the country would see inflation of 10 million per cent by the end of the year, a figure that was already predicted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in October. The report, by the World Bank's Latin America and Caribbean chief economist Carlos Vegh, stressed the "tragic growth collapse" here as "economic and social conditions continue to deteriorate rapidly." "Hunger and disease are spreading throughout the country," it said, citing the 90% poverty rate (according to unofficial estimates) and highlighting a rising infant mortality rate of 26 per every thousand live births between 2013 and 2017, a rate similar to the 1980s. "Crime and violence have also increased substantially, with Venezuela becoming the country with the highest homicide rate in the region (89 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants), a rate almost three times as high as that of countries at war," it added. (Times Now: https://www.timesnownews.com/business-economy/world-news/article/world-bank-sees-venezuela-gdp-contracting-another-25-by-year-end/394956)

 

Without water, Venezuela Central Bank said to send workers home

Venezuela’s central bank has been operating with an emergency team of only about 100 workers since a power outage left its headquarters without running water two weeks ago, according to four people with direct knowledge of the situation. Most of the bank’s 2,000 employees were sent home when the lights went off in Caracas on March 25 -- and haven’t been able to return since, said the people on condition of anonymity. The emergency group has been working from a library with the help of water tanks, focused on vital tasks to keep operations going, such as transactions between local banks and reserves, they added. The central bank’s situation underscores the disarray inside President Nicolas Maduro’s administration. Bathrooms have no water and the building has no air conditioning as a power crisis exacerbated water shortages in the Venezuelan capital amid a drought. Employees don’t know when they will be able to return to work. While a power rationing announced by Maduro late last month has so far exempted the capital, electricity has been intermittent, keeping vital pumps from reservoirs off line. Caracas, 900 meters (2,950 feet) above sea level, gets its water from the Tuy system of reservoirs, whose pumping stations require a minimum of 600 megawatts to operate. Venezuelans poured into the streets on Saturday, demonstrating against the near-total breakdown in public services and rallying behind National Assembly leader Juan Guaidó, who claims to be the country’s rightful president. (Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-09/without-water-venezuela-central-bank-said-to-send-workers-home)

 

Venezuela Needs Recovery Before Bond Talks, Hausmann Says

Ricardo Hausmann, professor at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and former Venezuela minister of planning, discusses opposition leader Juan Guaidó’ s plans to address the economic and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. He speaks with Bloomberg's Vonnie Quinn and Amanda Lang on "Bloomberg Markets." (Bloomberg, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2019-04-05/venezuela-needs-recovery-before-bond-talks-hausmann-says-video)

 

Politics and International Affairs

Venezuelans demand power, water, Maduro's ouster

After weeks of power cuts and limited access to water, tens of thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets Saturday to back opposition leader Juan Guaidó and protest Nicolas Maduro, whom they accuse of wrecking the economy. Venezuelans, already suffering from hyperinflation and widespread shortages of food and medicine, say the crisis has worsened over the past month. That is when crippling nationwide power outages began to leave vast swaths of territory in the dark for days at a time, cutting off water supplies and cellphone service. Guaidó, head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly and recognized as Venezuela's legitimate head of state by most Western nations, had called for rallies on Saturday to mark the start of what he has billed as a new wave of "definitive" protests to oust Maduro. In Caracas, thousands of opposition supporters assembled at a main rally point in the eastern El Marques district. Protesters said their homes had been without water for days and many had taken to drawing it from unsanitary pipes or streams running off the Avila mountain overlooking Caracas. "We haven't just come to demand water and power. We've come to demand freedom and democracy," Guaidó said at the Caracas rally, surrounded by a cheering crowd. "We can't let ourselves become used to this. We can't put up with it. We aren't going to let these crooks keep hold of our country." While no protest-related violence was reported in Caracas, witnesses reported clashes between protesters and police in the steamy oil hub of Maracaibo. Demonstrators in the city, in the western state of Zulia, told Reuters that police had fired rubber bullet rounds and tear gas to disperse them. The National Assembly, on its Twitter account, said two of its lawmakers had been arrested and then released by authorities at the Maracaibo protest. The ruling Socialist Party staged a rival march in Caracas' center on Saturday, with mostly state workers clad in red shirts and red baseball caps, banging drums and dancing salsa. The U.S. government on Friday took another step in its efforts to force Maduro out, by imposing new sanctions on Venezuelan oil shipments, and promising "stronger action" against key ally Cuba for helping to keep his government afloat. (VOA: https://www.voanews.com/a/venezuelans-demand-power-water-maduro-s-ouster/4864903.html; France24: https://www.france24.com/en/20190407-venezuela-protest-juan-Guaidó-declares-escalation-maduro)

 

Guaidó to host world leaders in Venezuela

Venezuela’s interim President Juan Guaidó announced on Saturday an upcoming gathering of world leaders here to address what the opposition calls a humanitarian emergency in this nation. “We will have a great global encounter here in Venezuela of leaders to talk about the situation in Venezuela, about the humanitarian emergency, about the solution and the alternatives for change in Venezuela,” he told thousands of supporters in Caracas. The speaker of the opposition-controlled National Assembly provided no details about the date of the encounter and did not name the participants, but his press team said that more information would be provided in the coming days.
The rally Guaidó addressed in the capital was one of more than 350 planned demonstrations across Venezuela to denounce the leftist regime of Nicolas Maduro for a series of nationwide power blackouts, including one that lasted five days. (Latin American Herald Tribune, http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2477093&CategoryId=10718)

 

U.S., Brazilian Vice Presidents discuss Venezuela pressure at White House

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence met with his Brazilian counterpart Hamilton Mourao at the White House on Monday to discuss sanctions and diplomatic efforts aimed at increasing the pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to exit. In his first-ever talks with Mourao, Pence aimed to encourage the former Brazilian general to use his experience and influence to urge Venezuelan military leaders - as well as China and Russia - to pull back on their support of Maduro, a White House official said. Mourao, who was a defense attaché in Caracas, "has a very unique perspective" when it comes to helping convince Venezuelan military leaders to switch sides, the White House official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "He speaks with a unique credibility from within the region as a senior political leader with a military background. That voice is very important, and he is using that voice to advance the cause," the official said. Mourao is also well-positioned to confront Russia and China over their support of Maduro, since Brazil is a partner with the nations in the BRICS group of largest emerging markets economies, the official said. (The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2019/04/08/world/americas/08reuters-venezuela-politics-usa-brazil.html)

 

Brazil's Bolsonaro says working with U.S. to sow 'dissent' in Venezuela army

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Monday he is working with the U.S. government to sow dissent within the Venezuelan Army. Bolsonaro, during an interview with Jovem Pan radio, said that if there is a military invasion in Venezuela, he would ask to seek the counsel of Brazil’s National Defense Council and Congress on what, if any, action his country should take. “We cannot allow Venezuela to become a new Cuba or North Korea,” the right-wing president said. Bolsonaro said that if any military intervention deposed Nicolas Maduro, it is quite likely that the country would see guerrilla warfare waged by Maduro’s diehard backers and whomever took power. (Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-brazil/brazils-bolsonaro-says-working-with-u-s-to-sow-dissent-in-venezuela-army-idUSKCN1RK2JC)

 

U.S. military wary of China’s foothold in Venezuela

As U.S. President Donald Trump’s national security team mulls a military intervention to oust Venezuela’s strongman Nicolás Maduro, the Pentagon is watching China’s commercial and financial creep in the crisis-gripped nation with growing alarm. In an interview with Foreign Policy, Adm. Craig Faller, the four-star military officer who heads U.S. Southern Command, pointed to a Chinese disinformation campaign designed to blame the United States for the blackouts that devastated Venezuela in recent weeks. Maduro has himself publicly accused the U.S. Defense Department of causing the blackouts. Following the power failures, Beijing offered to help the Venezuelan government restore its grid. “China came out publicly, a state spokesman, implying the blackouts were attributable to U.S. cyberattacks,” Faller said during a recent trip to Washington, D.C. “That is just such a blatant lie. The blackouts are attributed to Maduro’s inept leadership, corruption, inattention to his people, and lack of concern for any humanity.” “I think the biggest threat to democracy and the way of life around the world is the trend that we see in China,” Faller said. He said China was trying to assert economic control in Venezuela by investing in infrastructure and providing hefty loans that Caracas would have difficulty paying back. Faller would not discuss specific U.S. plans for a military intervention to oust Maduro in favor of opposition leader Juan Guaidó. He said the military is “looking at a range” of options and “will be ready” for whatever decision the president makes. “We are on the balls of our feet,” Faller said. “The crisis in Venezuela could approach that degree by the end of this year if Maduro still remains in power. It’s that bad,” said Faller, who served previously as the director of operations at U.S. Central Command. (Foreign Policy: https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/04/08/us-military-wary-of-chinas-foothold-in-venezuela-maduro-faller-Guaidó-trump-pentagon/)

 

Pompeo to visit Venezuela border on South America tour

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will travel to the Venezuela border in Colombia to highlight the plight of refugees during a four-nation trip to Latin America, the State Department announced Monday. Pompeo will pay a brief visit on Sunday to the Colombian city of Cucuta after stops in Chile, Paraguay and Peru -- all four countries led by right-wing or center-right leaders favorable to the tough US approach on Venezuela. In Cucuta, Pompeo will "visit entities supporting Venezuelan refugees and assess the challenges due to the closed border," the State Department said in a statement. In Peru, the State Department said Pompeo on Saturday will discuss support for Venezuelan refugees as well as the country's role in leading the Lima Group -- the group of Latin American nations and Canada that meets on the crisis in Venezuela. (France24: https://www.france24.com/en/20190408-pompeo-visit-venezuela-border-south-america-tour)

 

Special Representative Abrams to discuss Venezuela crisis with Portuguese and Spanish officials

Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams will meet with Portuguese and Spanish officials in Lisbon and Madrid April 9-11 to discuss the deteriorating situation in Venezuela. The United States, Portugal, and Spain support a Venezuelan-led transition toward free and fair elections. The United States is committed to supporting the restoration of democracy in Venezuela, as outlined in their constitution and through the actions of Interim President Juan Guaidó and the National Assembly. (US State Department: https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2019/04/290958.htm)

 

EU must step up diplomacy on Venezuela crisis: Spain

EU and Latin American efforts to resolve the Venezuela crisis peacefully are too slow and must be accelerated, Spain's foreign minister Josep Borrell said Monday. In Montevideo on February 7, an International Contact Group of European Union and Latin American countries gave themselves 90 days to pave the way for new elections in Venezuela, which President Nicolas Maduro rejects. With less than a month before the deadline, the work of the Contact Group is "too slow", Borrell said at talks in Luxembourg with fellow EU foreign ministers. "We did not feel a sense of urgency," Borrell said of the last Contact Group talks Thursday in Ecuador. "After today's meeting (in Luxembourg), we all left convinced that the work must be speeded up." A diplomat added that the foreign ministers were "disappointed" with the lack of progress made by the contact group. In Ecuador, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini last week reiterated her "firm rejection of the use of force to address the current crisis". She called for "the full restoration of the democratic constitutional order and the rule of law". Borrell raised the possibility of more sanctions against members of the Maduro government. (France24: https://www.france24.com/en/20190408-eu-must-step-diplomacy-venezuela-crisis-spain)

 

Mexico is open to mediating Venezuela crisis, president says

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Monday that Mexico was willing to serve as a mediator between the opposing sides in Venezuela after Nicolas Maduro announced that he was open to having a third-party help end the political crisis here. "Mexico has its doors open so that a peaceful path can be found to resolving Venezuela's conflict," Lopez Obrador, the founder and leader of the leftist National Regeneration Movement (Morena), said during his daily press conference at the National Palace. The president said Mexico proposed that the parties sit down and talk. "That's the best thing, find a peaceful way (out of) the conflict in Venezuela," Lopez Obrador, popularly known as AMLO, said. "We're willing to help so that a dialogue can take place," the president said, noting that this was the Mexican tradition in foreign policy. The president warned, however, that there must be "acceptance by the opposition group" before a dialogue could take place. "The two parties have to request it. Request it, and we will help. We have already said that there are very good diplomats in Mexico and we even talked about mediation by diplomats," Lopez Obrador said. AMLO said it would be a positive move to use Mexico as the location for any dialogue. On Saturday, Maduro asked Mexico, Bolivia, Uruguay and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to reactivate the Montevideo process, an initiative to promote dialogue between the opposing sides in Venezuela. The opposition, led by National Assembly Speaker Juan Guaidó, has said on numerous occasions that it would only back a dialogue that resulted in Maduro stepping down. (EFE: https://www.hoylosangeles.com/efe-3947552-15313250-20190408-story.html)

 

Maradona fined after dedicating win to Venezuela's Maduro

Diego Maradona has been fined for dedicating a recent victory by his Mexican club to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Mexico's football federation said on Monday (Apr 8).  The Argentine, who coaches Dorados de Sinaloa, had dedicated a 3-2 win over Tampico Madero to Maduro and Venezuela in a news conference at the end of last month. The body said in a statement that Maradona had been fined an unspecified sum for violating the federation's code of ethics which mandates political neutrality. Maradona had said he was dedicating the victory to Maduro and Venezuelans caught up in an economic crisis. He also criticized US President Donald Trump. (Channel News Asia: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/sport/football-maradona-fined-after-dedicating-win-to-venezuela-s-11424974)

 

OP-ED: Showdown of world powers in Venezuela enters dangerous, new phase, by Fred Kempe

The first major showdown of our new era of great power competition, unfolding with accelerating speed over the past ten weeks in Venezuela, has entered a dangerous new phase. How this drama turns out may mark the most significant test yet of the Trump administration’s credibility, following a highest-level chorus this week of President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Advisor John Bolton, who all declared – in one way or another – that Russia had to get out of the country. What raised the stakes was Russia’s well-publicized and provocative move on March 23 to land two planes with some 100 soldiers in Caracas. The ostensible reason for their arrival was to service Venezuela’s Russian-made S-300 air defense systems, which are said to have been damaged in recent energy blackouts. Other Russian military contractors and mercenaries are already believed to be providing security support for the Maduro regime. That was accompanied by this week’s decision of Maduro’s puppet National Constituent Assembly to strip interim President Juan Guaidó of his immunity. That raises the possibility, perhaps as early as this weekend, that the Maduro regime could arrest and imprison Guaidó. What concerns US officials is that Vladimir Putin may be laying the ground for making Venezuela the defining foreign policy debacle for President Trump in the same way Syria became that for the Obama administration. Though there is a great deal that differentiates Venezuela and Syria, what connects them is considerable: a weakened dictator, who would be much more likely to fall without Moscow’s support, a U.S. declared red-line that the Kremlin finds unconvincing, and a chance for Putin to shore up his global reputation at the expense of Washington –this time in the Western Hemisphere. As is so often the case in the Trump administration, there is also a personal element for a president who has refrained from the tough language toward Putin and Russia employed by the top US officials around him. Putin is betting big that Trump has neither the will nor a plan. (CNBC: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/05/showdown-of-world-powers-in-venezuela-enters-dangerous-new-phase.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.