May 10, 2019

International Trade

Something is happening with Venezuela’s agriculture

Venezuela’s agricultural exports rose to US$ 322.3 million in 2017 from US$ 47. 4 million in 2013. They increased again in 2018 to US$ 337.1 million. In 2013 that modest level of agricultural exports accounted for 2.32% of exports different from oil and gold. In 2017 that percentage had increased to 12.34%. Over the past year – given the low export levels of commodities different from oil and gold, and an increase in agricultural exports – the latter accounted for 15.26% of total exports. The increase of agricultural exports has taken place despite a national productive collapse with many adverse conditions, the vast majority of which relate to the lack of favorable economic policies, such as a myriad of tighter controls and permits, the lack of inputs, lack of physical infrastructure and disrespect for the agrarian property. (Latin American Herald Tribune, http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2478291&CategoryId=10717)

 

Oil & Energy

PDVSA ad-hoc board to finance bond payment with uncollected oil revenue

Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA will use uncollected oil revenue to make a bond payment due this month, the board of directors named by interim president leader Juan Guaidó said on Thursday. The opposition-controlled National Assembly on Tuesday approved the US$ 71 million payment on PDVSA’s 2020 bond, as it seeks to avoid losing control of PDVSA’s U.S. refining subsidiary CITGO. The Maduro regime had remained current on that bond even as it defaulted on billions of dollars in other bonds, because the PDVSA 2020 is backed by shares in Citgo, the country’s crown jewel overseas. In a statement, the board said the funds to pay the bond would come from “PDVSA’s overseas accounts receivable,” referring to invoices to customers that had not yet been paid. The board did not specify the value of PDVSA’s accounts receivable abroad but said it would make the payment within the 30-day grace period that began on April 27. If the payment is not made, bondholders could move to seize half the shares in Citgo, which PDVSA posted in collateral for the bond. Guaidó has sought to protect Venezuelan assets abroad from possible seizure by creditors since invoking the country’s constitution to assume an interim presidency in January. He has been recognized as the country’s rightful leader by dozens of countries, including the United States. Maduro retains control of PDVSA within Venezuela, as well as state functions. Any effort by a Maduro-linked entity to make the payment would have been complicated by sanctions the United States placed on PDVSA in January in a bid to squeeze Maduro’s government financially. (Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-bonds/venezuelas-pdvsa-ad-hoc-board-to-finance-bond-payment-with-uncollected-oil-revenue-idUSKCN1SF2KE: Bloomberg, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-08/venezuela-money-at-new-york-fed-may-be-key-to-pdvsa-bond-payment)

 

Firms flock to power auction for troubled Brazil state near Venezuela

Developers have presented more than 150 proposals for power plants ahead of an auction this month to supply electricity to the Brazilian state of Roraima, which has struggled with a rash of blackouts due to reliance on the shaky Venezuelan power grid. Roraima, which is not connected to Brazil’s national grid, has begun depending on expensive emergency fuel-burning plants in the absence of reliable power from its northern neighbor, which has sunk into a profound economic and political crisis. Brazil’s federal government set an auction for May 31 to close long-term contracts with new suppliers using any available source, from oil to wind or solar. Canadian Solar Inc and Brazilian companies Casados Ventos, Eneva SA and Equatorial Energia SA are among the potential bidders, according to industry sources.(Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-power-venezuela/firms-flock-to-power-auction-for-troubled-brazil-state-near-venezuela-idUSKCN1SF2MA)

 

Economy & Finance

Meet Venezuela's jilted creditors

Since December a handful of lawsuits have been brought against Venezuela and its state-owned oil company, PDVSA, over unpaid debts. One of the most recent comes from Siemens-owned DRESSER RAND. The oil-and-gas-equipment manufacturer is seeking US$ 132 million from PDVSA to cover missed interest payments and other fees. That suit followed another by Connecticut-based hedge fund CONTRARIAN Capital Management for US$ 182 million in unpaid promissory notes from PDVSA. Its subsidiary, Red Tree Investments, snapped the securities up from GE Capital at the start of the year. Given the ongoing power struggle at the highest echelons of the Venezuelan state, one firm has been told to wait for now, while the other is likely to face a similar fate. Earlier this week, US District Judge Alison Nathan granted the opposition government led by Juan Guaidó its request for a stay in the ongoing case with Red Tree. The stay is set to last 120 days, meaning no legal proceedings will take place during that time. Other firms have also filed lawsuits, including London-based hedge fund PHARO Management and another hedge fund registered in Panama City, BROKWEL Management. Given the opposition government's recent success in the courts, however, the more litigious of the creditors might want to rethink their strategy. (FT Alphaville: https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2019/05/10/1557486677000/Meet-Venezuela-s-jilted-creditors/)

 

Politics and International Affairs

Arrest of key legislator draws condemnation as Maduro tightens pressure on opposition

European and Latin American countries have condemned the arrest of a top lawmaker who backed calls for a military uprising against Nicolás Maduro. Edgar Zambrano, vice president of the opposition-controlled National Assembly in Venezuela, was leaving his Democratic Action party’s headquarters on Wednesday when he was detained by members of Maduro’s intelligence agency who surrounded his car. Zambrano was arrested by the regime's intelligence services on Wednesday. The SEBIN intelligence police towed Zambrano's car with the 64-year-old lawmaker inside it after he refused to step out outside the headquarters of his Democratic Action Party.  After a half-hour standoff, the SEBIN simply towed his car away while he remained in it. People who witnessed the incident shouted “assassins!” at the armed intelligence agents, who are loyal to the Maduro government. Zambrano tweeted, “Democrats will keep fighting!” as he was being whisked away to prison. The detention of Zambrano – who was among those who joined Guaidó’s fruitless attempt to spark a pre-dawn uprising against Maduro on 30 April – sparked a wave of domestic and international condemnation. “Maduro’s arrest of … Zambrano breaches parliamentary immunity and is a clear violation of the constitution,” tweeted the British foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt. “Feels like the act of a desperate man on borrowed time.” The US state department slammed Zambrano’s “illegal and inexcusable” detention and warned: “If he is not released immediately, there will be consequences.” US President Donald Trump himself spoke out against the arrest on Twitter and signaled his support to Guaidó. He wrote: “I am returning to Washington, D.C. with Senator Rick Scott and Senator Marco Rubio, discussing the terrible abuses by Maduro. America stands with the GREAT PEOPLE of Venezuela for however long it takes!” The Lima Group, which includes a dozen Latin American countries and Canada, said his arrest was unconstitutional because his parliamentary immunity was illegally lifted. The European Union condemned the arrest of Zambrano, saying it formed part of Maduro's strategy to subjugate the opposition-held legislature. "Zambrano's arrest is a politically motivated action aimed at silencing the National Assembly," said an EU spokesperson. "The EU will continue to react, through its different policy instruments, to further erosion of democratic institutions, the rule of law and human rights." Legislators Américo de Grazia and Mariela Magallanes are both in the Italian embassy, while their colleague Richard Blanco has gone to the Argentine embassy. They are among 10 lawmakers stripped of immunity after a pro-Maduro tribunal said they should be investigated for conspiracy, rebellion and treason. Seven other National Assembly lawmakers remain at risk of being arrested. Maduro has not tried to arrest National Assembly President Juan Guaidó, who invoked the constitution to assume the position of interim president, arguing that Maduro's re-election last year is considered illegitimate. The arrest of Zambrano appears to be part of a carefully calibrated crackdown on the opposition. Diosdado Cabello, a leading political ally of Maduro, suggested that the government is taking a methodical approach in its struggle with the opposition. “We're not in a rush,” Cabello said. On Thursday, General Miguel Rodríguez Torres, a former spy chief who became a government critic, was also transferred by military police to a maximum-security cell at a Caracas military base, his political movement said. Rodríguez Torres was arrested a year ago. In a televised address on Wednesday night, Maduro claimed “victory” over the 30 April plotters and promised to dedicate himself to rescuing Venezuela’s collapsed economy. But other top Chavistas are more cautious and warn there may be further attempts to topple their embattled leader in the days ahead – a view shared by many political observers in Caracas. “There could be a repeat – today, in two hours, in a week, in a fortnight,” Freddy Bernal, a senior Socialist party figure, told state television on Tuesday. Maduro’s regime has so far avoided arresting Guaidó, which would likely provoke a stronger international backlash. But the recent measures suggest the ruling Socialist Party is seeking to isolate him by pursuing key political allies. (PBS: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/arrest-of-venezuelan-opposition-figure-draws-condemnation; BBC News: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-48224790; VOA: https://www.voanews.com/a/venezuela-maduro-tightens-pressure-on-opposition/4910662.html; Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics/venezuelan-lawmakers-seek-refuge-in-embassies-after-crackdown-on-Guaidó-allies-idUSKCN1SF1YK; Local 10: https://www.local10.com/news/venezuela/venezuela-s-maduro-defies-trump-s-warnings-on-Guaidó; VOX: https://www.vox.com/2019/5/9/18540091/venezuela-Guaidó-maduro-zambrano-arrest; Express: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1124978/venezuela-news-nicolas-maduro-juan-Guaidó-arrest-donald-trump)

 

Venezuela's opposition vow to defy Maduro after key figure detained

Opposition politicians battling to bring down Venezuela’s strongman leader, Nicolás Maduro, have vowed to continue their struggle after the detention of one of their movement’s key figures signaled the start of a major crackdown. Interim president Juan Guaidó on Thursday called for nationwide rallies to protest the arrest of Edgar Zambrano, an opposition figure and vice president of the democratically elected National Assembly. "This Saturday, we return to streets across the country to defend every Venezuelan represented in the National Assembly," Guaidó said, referring to the opposition-held legislature. "It is up to us to remain united and mobilized until we achieve freedom." “We take it as a given that the regime is going to keep escalating its repression,” Guaidó said at a news conference, referring to Zambrano’s arrest. Guaidó accused Maduro’s regime of “kidnapping” Zambrano, who was taken to El Helicoide, a notorious political prison in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas. He portrayed the arrest and targeting of members of the assembly as acts of desperation by a government whose leaders don’t know who to trust. He also called for Venezuelans to take to the streets on Saturday for fresh protests against Maduro on Saturday. “They won’t get us out of the streets,” said Guaidó, whose public appearance in Caracas reflected his belief that Maduro does not have the confidence to arrest him. Juan Andrés Mejía, one of the targeted deputies, told the Guardian the group would not be cowed by Maduro’s “absolutely illegal and unconstitutional” counterattack. “This is not going to work … You are not going to solve Venezuela’s problems by persecuting and imprisoning people. There are just too many of us who want change,” said Mejía, a close Guaidó ally and member of his party, Voluntad Popular (Popular Will).(DW: https://www.dw.com/en/venezuelas-juan-Guaidó-calls-for-return-to-streets/a-48681844; The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/09/venezuela-maduro-Guaidó-crackdown-edgar-zambrano=

 

'We need to know why': Lawmakers wary as Trump aides weigh military options for Venezuela

Talk of possible U.S. military action in Venezuela is prompting bipartisan concern in Congress, where Democrats and Republicans alike cautioned against a rush toward intervention amid escalating rhetoric from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton. U.S. intervention would be highly controversial and could spark a political backlash, in the United States and across the hemisphere. "What would our military’s mission be in Venezuela?” said Sen. Todd Young, an Indiana Republican, who sits on the Foreign Relations Committee. “Would the administration push for our military to conduct regime change?” The Marine Corps veteran has called for immediate congressional hearings on the issue and said he wants several “threshold questions” answered by President Donald Trump's top advisers. On Thursday, Trump denied a Washington Post report he is frustrated with Bolton's hardline position on Venezuela and that Bolton was pushing him into a war he didn't want. “John’s very good. He has strong views on things which is okay," Trump told reporters on Thursday. "I’m the one who tempers him ... I have John Bolton and I have people who are a little more dovish than him.” Any move by the Trump administration to send American forces to Venezuela would require congressional authorization, Young and other lawmakers said. That, in turn, would require Pompeo and others to make a compelling case to Congress and the American public that such a move is warranted. And there seems to be little political appetite among lawmakers for approval of such a move. Even some hawkish Republicans who have championed a U.S. military role in Venezuela seemed to shy away from a direct U.S. confrontation with Maduro’s military forces when pressed on the matter. “It’s too early,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, said Tuesday. Military options should be “on the table,” he said on Tuesday, but “we should really be putting a lot of pressure on Cuba right now.”  Other Republicans said U.S. military involvement in Venezuela, despite a strong desire to see Maduro step down, would only play into Maduro's hands.  “The first step…is calling on the administration to explain their thinking for threatening military action in the press,” said Young, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “If hostilities are imminent, then we need to know why.” Young said the committee's GOP chairman, Sen. James Risch of Idaho, shares his concerns and has promised to work on his request for hearings, although those might be closed-door sessions. (USA Today: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/05/09/lawmakers-not-comfortable-us-troops-venezuela-back-Guaidó-maduro/1137011001/)

 

Pence warns Venezuela’s Maduro harboring Iran-backed terrorists

 “The Iranian regime has been working with Venezuela’s corrupt dictatorship to establish a safe haven for its terrorist proxies,” U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said in a May 7 address to the Council of the Americas. “Hezbollah is working to extend its dangerous network throughout Venezuela, and from there, throughout our hemisphere,” Pence said.  “Venezuela is a failed state,” Pence said. “And as history teaches, failed states know no boundaries. Drug traffickers, criminal gangs, terrorist groups seeking to destabilize the region and profit from the misery of the Venezuelan people every day.” Pence pointed to an Iranian connection in Venezuela by citing last month’s “very public launch of direct air service between Caracas and Teheran by Mahan Air, a blacklisted airline controlled by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps, which President Trump recently designated as a terrorist organization.” The vice president also denounced Maduro confidant and cabinet member Tareck El Aissami, who has been sanctioned by the United States as a drug kingpin and the European Union as a human rights violator. Pence described him as “a drug runner and a money launderer who partners with terrorist networks to bring Iran-backed terrorists into the country.”  “The struggle in Venezuela is the struggle between dictatorship and democracy,” Pence said Tuesday. “Nicolas Maduro is a dictator with no legitimate claim to power, and Nicolas Maduro must go.” (World Tribune: https://www.worldtribune.com/pence-warns-venezuelas-maduro-harboring-iran-backed-terrorists/)

 

Sen. Marco Rubio: China ‘controlling defense cyber operations’ in Venezuela

The Chinese government has actively helped Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro control, censor, and shut down the Internet in his quest to keep the legitimate president of the country, Juan Guaidó, from governing, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) told Breitbart News in an interview Monday. Rubio suggested that Beijing may be distancing itself from Maduro because the tide has shifted so definitively against him in Latin America that the rest of the region may sour on investments with China if it interferes to help him. That does not mean China is not helping Maduro, merely that it cannot afford the bad press, Rubio stated. “The Chinese are very involved. First, they are owed a bunch of money, so they want to get paid,” he explained. “Number two is they are single-handedly helping conduct the Internet control operation. They have basically taken a commercial version of their great Internet firewall and given it to Maduro, and it is a service they are providing him, so they are the ones that are shutting down the Internet and access to social media.” Maduro’s regime regularly cuts nationwide access to the Internet to prevent Guaidó and other opposition leaders from being able to communicate with the masses or organize rallies against him. Guaidó, according to Rubio, has “no access to the media. Any time he tries to speak or communicate on social media, they shut down the Internet. … Literally, every time he holds a rally, they shut down the Internet.” As the Chinese are “single-handedly controlling the defensive cyber operations shutting down the Internet,” they are responsible for silencing Guaidó. Yet being more open about their role could jeopardize investments in other parts of the continent. “The Chinese play a tricky game because on the one hand, they are trying to grow in influence and presence throughout Latin America, so they are seeing all of these countries supporting Guaidó, and they don’t want to … antagonize these countries by being cheerleaders for the Maduro regime,” Rubio noted. (Breitbart: https://www.breitbart.com/latin-america/2019/05/09/marco-rubio-china-controlling-defense-cyber-operations-venezuela/)

 

Is Trump failing in Venezuela?

We finally may have found a peak Donald Trump headline: “A frustrated Trump questions his administration’s Venezuela strategy.” The Washington Post story that goes with it is a classic. It seems that Trump hired John Bolton to be his national security adviser, cleared the path for him to be the main policy maker on foreign affairs, and … is now shocked that Bolton is something of a warmonger and that his schemes don’t produce perfect and painless results overnight. Trump and his aides also aren’t eager to disguise that the president is something of an outsider to his own administration’s policy-making process. Remember: It’s not uncommon for presidents to fight with executive-branch departments and agencies for control over policy. Those bodies have multiple masters. But splits between the president and his own staffers in the White House are far rarer, since such people work directly for, and answer only to, the president himself. Trump has said in recent days that Bolton wants to get him “into a war” — a comment he has made in jest in the past but that now belies his more serious concerns, one senior administration official said. Despite Trump’s grumbling that Bolton had gotten him out on a limb on Venezuela, Bolton’s job is safe, two senior administration officials said, and Trump has told his national security adviser to keep focusing on Venezuela. Trump also spoke approvingly of Russian actions in Venezuela following a lengthy phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, saying that Putin “is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than he’d like to see something positive happen for Venezuela. And I feel the same way. We want to get some humanitarian aid.” U.S. officials think time is on their side and that Maduro will fall of his own weight. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who has been influential in shaping the administration’s Venezuela response, said Trump and Bolton are on the same page. Rubio, who said he spoke to Trump about Venezuela on Tuesday evening, backs the policy of waiting out Maduro. Rubio said some of the harshest U.S. sanctions are only now having full effect, including sowing dissension among Maduro aides. (Bloomberg, https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-05-09/why-donald-trump-is-failing-in-venezuela; The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/a-frustrated-trump-questions-his-administrations-venezuela-strategy/2019/05/08/ad51561a-71a7-11e9-9f06-5fc2ee80027a_story.html)

 

US Secretary of State Pompeo to meet Russian President Putin, FM Lavrov on May 14

Mike Pompeo is to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov when he travels to Russia next week, the US State Department said in a statement. The visit comes as the relations between Moscow and Washington are at a new low over accusations of Russian meddling and disagreements over approaches to Venezuela and Iran’s nuclear program. The State Department says they will discuss “the full range of bilateral and multilateral challenges” during a meeting in the southern city of Sochi on May 14. (RT: https://www.rt.com/news/458985-pompeo-travel-russia-date/)

 

Russian FM Lavrov speaks on prospects for US-Russia deal on Venezuela

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has announced that there won’t be any “deals” on Venezuela between Moscow and Washington. "Trump is the one who usually prepares deals", Lavrov remarked. The foreign minister delivered this statement ahead of the upcoming meeting between him and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, which is scheduled to take place on 14 May in Sochi. Earlier this week, Lavrov also dismissed speculations about the possibility of a military intervention in Venezuela, stating that Russia opposes “hostilities anywhere in violation of international law”, and that “the use of force may only be authorized by the UN Security Council, or force may be used in response to aggression against a sovereign state”. (Sputnik News: https://sputniknews.com/world/201905091074854135-russia-us-venezuela-deal/)

 

Russia not planning to send more military specialists to Venezuela

Moscow does not plan to send more Russian military specialists to Venezuela, RIA news agency quoted Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov as saying on Thursday. The Kremlin said in March that Russian military specialists are in Venezuela to service pre-existing contracts for the supply of Russian arms. (Journal Pioneer: https://www.journalpioneer.com/news/world/russia-not-planning-to-send-more-military-specialists-to-venezuela-ria-309646/)

 

Ex-Venezuelan spy chief says Venezuelans should 'build a new state'

The ex-head of Venezuela’s SEBIN intelligence service, who was replaced last week after an attempted military uprising against Nicolas Maduro, urged Venezuelans on Thursday to build a new state and combat corruption.

In his first public appearance since Maduro replaced him on April 30, Manuel Christopher said Venezuelans “deserve a better country,” according to a video of Christopher posted on Twitter by Venezuelan TV outlet NTN24. (Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-intelligence/ex-venezuelan-spy-chief-says-venezuelans-should-build-a-new-state-idUSKCN1SF2PO)

 

Venezuelan Embassy’s power cut off in tense Washington standoff

A chaotic political standoff with international diplomatic implications began unfolding quietly weeks ago on a leafy side street in the upscale Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, as a group of American activists moved into the five-story Venezuelan Embassy and made themselves at home. With some 100 Venezuelan diplomats still working inside during the day, the activists from Code Pink and other antiwar groups brought their things to spend the night, sleeping on couches to keep the building occupied around the clock. They said they were guests, invited by the regime of Nicolás Maduro, and their mission was to oppose any American military intervention in the troubled nation. The antiwar activists have been alone in the embassy building since late April, when the American visas for the shoestring embassy staff expired, forcing the diplomats to go home. Appointees of Juan Guaidó, the opposition leader recognized by the United States and some 50 other countries as Venezuela’s interim president, had pledged to take over the embassy, a move those now occupying the facility fear could lead to a reciprocal siege of the American Embassy in Venezuela, and an armed conflict. Late last month, local Venezuelans who support Mr. Guaidó learned of the occupation and descended on the building, demanding that the activists, whom they view as unlawful trespassers, get out. In the ensuing days, tense clashes between the occupiers and the Venezuelans, who are camped in tents surrounding the building, have escalated, prompting nine arrests by the Secret Service. Late on Wednesday, the power company shut off electricity to the embassy, thrusting its occupants into darkness. The protesters outside cheered. The extraordinary stalemate has challenged local authorities and the Trump administration, turning the inoperative embassy into a stand-in for the much larger crisis vexing Venezuela, as Mr. Maduro’s supporters maintain control despite of efforts by the opposition and the United States. The State Department has said it considers their presence to be “unauthorized.” Washington police and the Secret Service have set up a barrier separating the pro-Guaidó camp from Maduro sympathizers and other activists across the street. Late on Wednesday, the power company shut off electricity to the embassy, leaving the activists inside in darkness. Only about 15 people remain in the building,  (The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/09/us/venezuela-embassy-protests.html)

 

OP-ED: Can the U.S. help Venezuela militarily without use of force? by Sarah Lee

Lawmakers are debating whether the U.S. should proceed with military action in Venezuela to help end the socialist Maduro regime even as debate about whether the U.S. has a responsibility to protect Venezuela — and if there are ways the military can be utilized without use of force. Luis Almagro, Secretary General of the OAS, detailed the reasons he believes the U.S. and other nations would be justified in entering Venezuela and using force if necessary, under UN guidelines covering the “responsibility to protect” policy, or R2P.  While the Trump administration continues conversations with nations such as Russia and Iran, as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo did this week, some are noting that military intervention doesn’t necessarily have to mean use of force. How would it work? U.S. special forces, next door in Colombia to assist that country’s armed forces, would train the Venezuelan opposition in best practices of nonviolent resistance. This includes teaching tactics of dispersal, evading tear gas, erecting barricades, and maintaining command and control in the face of government repression. But can nonviolent resistance work? A new report by the Joint Special Operations University on Support to Resistance (STR) operations suggests it can. With the Maduro regime arresting interim president Juan Guaidó’s ally, National Assembly Vice President Edgar Zambrano, Wednesday, the U.S. may need to decide quickly on just how to help its neighbor to the south. (Town Hall: https://townhall.com/tipsheet/sarahlee/2019/05/09/can-the-us-help-venezuela-militarily-without-use-of-force-n2546111)

 

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.