International Trade
115,811 tons of bulk cargo have been offloaded
at Puerto Cabello
from the BOSPHORUS PRINCE and BULKTEC, including 58,677 tons of soy paste, plus
32,000 tons from MV EUROSKY, and over 30,000 tons of White corn aboard the WESTERN
LUCREZIA, according to the local port authority. The port also reports receiving
4,952 tons of goods from the AS FABIANA, CFS PALAMEDES, PERITO MORENO,
MAERSK WISMAR, MV VICTORIA, CONTSHIP RAY, NIKOLAS and AS ANGELINA. More in
Spanish: (Bolipuertos, http://www.bolipuertos.gob.ve/noticia.aspx?id=43637)
Oil & Energy
Iran, Venezuela supply cut tightens heavy oil
market
India's NAYARA Energy Ltd, part-owned by a
consortium led by Russian oil major ROSNEFT, is scouting for ultra-heavy oil
amid tightening supply following U.S. sanctions against Iran and Venezuela, its
vice-president said on Tuesday. "Iran and Venezuela have taken 3.5
million barrels per day (bpd) out of the market," said Ashutosh S
Deshpande, referring to the impact of sanctions restricting supplies from those
countries. (The Economic Times: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/energy/oil-gas/nayara-says-iran-venezuela-supply-cut-tightens-heavy-oil-market/articleshow/71062313.cms)
Economy & Finance
The Bank of Spain denies being used by Caracas
to move money
The Bank of Spain denied being used by the
Government of Venezuela as a tool to move its money, as published by the
Bloomberg agency, which accused Caracas of using the Spanish central bank to
avoid the sanctions that prevent it access to commercial banking services. "The
account referred to in the news only allows transfers to be made with origin
and destination at the Central Bank of Venezuela. It has been open for years
and is one of the accounts that several central banks have opened at the Bank
of Spain," Bank of Spain sources explained. According to the sources
consulted, the account balance is "relatively small" and
"had no significant variation in the last year" "Basically,
it is being used to pay the usual operating expenses of diplomatic relations
between the two countries and by supranational organizations to send funds to
their offices in Venezuela, since they cannot use the commercial banking
channel," they add from the Bank of Spain. On September 9, Bloomberg
published that President Nicolás Maduro "had found an ally in the Bank
of Spain" after "an increasing number of banks around the
world refused to move their money." It added that: Venezuelan central
bank officials are telling contractors that going through the Bank of Spain is
an option to make and receive payments outside of the country, while warning
that it may still take at least a month to clear transactions due to increased
scrutiny, one of the people said.(MBS News: https://www.mbs.news/2019/09/the-bank-of-spain-denies-being-used-by-caracas-to-move-money.html; Bloomberg, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-09/maduro-regime-is-moving-its-money-through-spain-s-central-bank)
Maduro regime tries to reinstate price controls
Nicolás Maduro has issued orders to his economic
affairs authorities to return to price controls in “concert” with agribusiness
and agriculture. Ricardo Cusanno, who heads FEDECAMARAS, the nation’s largest business
organization, warned the move would only bring about increased scarcity. More
in Spanish: (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/50214/gobierno-anuncia-regreso-al-control-de-precios-en-el-pais)
Venezuela’s Central Bank withdrew the PETRO as
an accounting unit from its portal
The Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) decided to
withdraw the Petro’s contribution as an accounting unit from its portal. In
this regard, the economist and academic of the Metropolitan University Luis
Oliveros told CRIPTONOTICIAS: “PETRO as an accounting unit does not exist.
It was something that never existed. It was an attempt at something from
the government and, as usual, it didn’t work.” He added that “without an
attack on the fiscal disaster, there is no way out of hyperinflation.” The
exclusion of the contribution of this asset issued by the government of
Venezuela on the BCV portal has generated expectations regarding a possible
wage increase, which currently stands at Bs. 40,000, which implies that this
buys less than 0.00025 BTC. (Our Bit Coin News: https://ourbitcoinnews.com/venezuelas-central-bank-withdrew-petro-as-an-accounting-unit-from-its-portal/); and more in Spanish: El Nacional,
https://www.elnacional.com/economia/bcv-retiro-de-su-portal-al-petro-como-unidad-contable/)
Politics and International Affairs
Colombia to tell UN that Venezuela harbors terrorists
A reportedly leaked Venezuelan intelligence
report indicates that Nicolás Maduro's socialist regime is harboring Colombian
rebels inside Venezuela, allegations that dovetail with evidence Colombian
officials say they will present this month to the United Nations. Bogota-based SEMANA
magazine on Sunday published a report that it said was based on Venezuelan
documents showing how a top military official under instructions from Maduro
ordered generals to provide support to a so-called "Red Group"
at "training zones" inside Venezuela. The allegations come
against the backdrop of rising tensions between the two countries after
Colombian President Ivan Duque accused Maduro of providing safe haven to the
former chief negotiator of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC,
who announced he was rearming. One of the alleged documents, dated Aug. 9, is
signed by Adm. Remigio Ceballos, the second highest-ranking Venezuelan military
officer, and directed to regional military commanders. In that document,
relaying what he said are direct instructions from Maduro, Ceballos orders his
subordinates to avoid entering into conflict with a so-called "Red
Group at training zones" inside Venezuela. He also instructs members
of the national guard in four states to provide training and logistical support
to the rebels. According to the report, "Red Group" is a code
word used by Venezuelan security forces to describe guerrillas from the
National Liberation Army and FARC, both of which are classified as a terrorist
organization by the U.S. and European Union. Ceballos posted a message on
Twitter saying the documents presented by SEMANA were a falsification. Maduro's
minister of communications, Jorge Rodriguez, appeared on Venezuelan state TV
alleging the supposedly leaked documents were fakes. But Foreign Minister
Carlos Trujillo said the news report coincides with information his government
has collected showing that Maduro has repeatedly violated a U.N. Security
Council resolution from 2001 banning support for terror groups. He said Duque
will present the evidence when he addresses U.N. General Assembly this month. "The
Maduro regime now favors and protects terrorist organizations from its
territory so they can commit crimes against Colombia," Trujillo said
in an interview Monday. The allegations triggered Maduro to deploy
anti-aircraft missiles and order military exercises along Venezuela's western
border with Colombia that are set to begin on Tuesday. Overall, Colombian
authorities estimate as many as 1,000 ELN rebels — or around 40% of the group's
fighting force — operate from Venezuela, where they plan attacks like the
January car bombing at a Bogota police academy that killed more than 20 mostly
young cadets. (AP: https://news.yahoo.com/colombia-tell-un-venezuela-harbors-135944485.html)
Maduro convenes Defense Council to address
Colombia’s ‘war-mongering’ behavior
Nicolas Maduro has convened a National Defense
Council to discuss Colombia’s alleged attempts to send terrorists and turncoat
officers to Venezuela to disrupt its military infrastructure. In a televised
address on Monday, Maduro pulled no punches as he went on yet another verbal
offensive against Colombia and its president, Ivan Duque, accusing his
government of plotting attacks on public infrastructure, as well as on civilian
and military sites. Maduro further insisted that he has evidence to support his
claims about Colombia’s nefarious plans to topple his government and impose
Venezuela’s interim president Juan Guaido. Maduro said that that the Colombian
authorities have been responsible for a total of 42 acts of aggression against
Venezuela over the past three months. Some of these were aimed at undermining
Venezuela’s missile defense shield and radar systems. In order to infiltrate
the country’s defense infrastructure, Colombia allegedly recruited Venezuelan
army officers, who, Maduro claimed, are “selling their nation.” Last
week, Maduro declared an "orange alert” over a Colombian threat and
deployed missile defenses to the border. He also raised the alarm over a
potential false-flag attack that could be used by Duque as a pretext to start a
full-fledged armed conflict and enlist support from the international
community. Earlier that week, Venezuela presented satellite images purporting
to show ‘terrorist’ training camps on Colombia’s territory. The Venezuelan
military will begin a two-week series of exercises today along the Colombian
border. Though the rhetoric is bellicose, the exercises are not infrequent–
these are the third such drills this year. The Maduro regime is likely
posturing and attempting to show that it still has support from and control
over the country’s military, a key source of power. (RT: https://www.rt.com/news/468459-venezuela-defense-council-colombia/; Foreign Brief: https://www.foreignbrief.com/daily-news/venezuelas-to-hold-military-drills-in-border-regions-amid-tensions-with-colombia/)
Maduro may push anti-Trump petition at UN, US
believes
Nicolas Maduro may present a petition against
US President Donald Trump at the United Nations despite opposition charges that
the signatures have been gathered through threats to withhold food aid, US
diplomats say. Maduro, who remains in charge in Venezuela despite a half-year
US-backed effort to remove him, has not yet announced if he will head to New
York for the annual UN General Assembly later this month. "Our
diplomats have been hearing that Maduro plans to present a petition against
President Trump, signed by millions of Venezuelans, at UNGA, if he actually
attends," a US official said. The Maduro government has been gathering
signatures among Venezuelans as part of its "No More Trump"
campaign. But the opposition says that the Maduro government has gathered the
signatures through extortion over desperately needed nutritional assistance. Videos
recently posted showed what appeared to be Venezuelans refusing orders to sign
in exchange for receiving the aid, known locally as a CLAP box. The US State
Department described Maduro's effort as a "starvation petition"
and said it was evidence that he could not win a fair election. (France24: https://www.france24.com/en/20190909-venezuela-s-maduro-may-push-anti-trump-petition-at-un-us-believes)
Washington pushes EU for tougher sanctions on
Venezuela
President Donald Trump’s envoy on Venezuela has
attacked the EU as “unhelpful” and guilty of “miscalculation”
over its failure to impose tougher sanctions on Nicolás Maduro’s regime. Elliott
Abrams urged the 28-member European bloc to crack down on figures linked to the
regime in Caracas who were using the continent as a “kind of resort area”
to buy property, bank money and go clubbing. Mr. Abrams’ remarks during a
visit to Brussels on Monday underscore the growing pressure Washington is exerting
on the Europeans to help unseat Maduro’s regime, which it accuses of
corruption and fomenting a humanitarian crisis. “The Europeans
are making a real miscalculation here,” Mr. Abrams warned at an event
hosted by The German Marshall Fund of the United States, arguing that imposing
additional Venezuela sanctions could “push the regime towards
compromise”. “We do think the reluctance on the part of the EU has been
unhelpful.” “A far greater number of people from the regime are now
using Europe as a kind of resort area: they send their families here, their
wives, their mistresses and their children, their bank accounts are here,”
Mr. Abrams said. “We have repeated information about the mansions they buy,
the nightclubbing of their teenage children. That should not be happening.”
An EU spokesperson said the bloc would “continue to work with all the
relevant actors in the region and the international community to support a
peaceful and truly Venezuelan-owned solution to the crisis”. The
spokesperson added that any additional sanctions would be against individuals
only and targeted to avoid any harm to the wider population. Josep Borrell, the
EUs new foreign policy chief set to take office in November, has expressed
frustration to aides over failed efforts to build a consensus in the bloc over
the recognition of Juan Guaidó as interim president. Instead, some states —
including Spain — have offered recognition, while others have withheld it. (Financial
Times: https://www.ft.com/content/efb62bce-d260-11e9-a0bd-ab8ec6435630)
Guaidó to ask OAS to call out Rio Treaty against
the Maduro regime
An emissary of Venezuela’s interim president
Juan Guaidó in Washington said Monday that he's garnered an 11-nation majority
to impose measures aimed at ousting Maduro under the 19-member Inter-American
Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance, a defense pact that could provide political
cover for greater international involvement in Venezuela's crisis. Venezuela's
opposition-run National Assembly led by Guaidó approved the country's return to
the treaty in July, and Gustavo Tarre, Guaidó's representative to the
Organization of American States, said signatory members will vote Wednesday to
call for a minister-level conference so they can assess available options in
the coming days. (Foreign Brief: https://www.foreignbrief.com/daily-news/venezuelas-to-hold-military-drills-in-border-regions-amid-tensions-with-colombia/)
Rubio supports steps taken to invoke Rio Treaty
in support of Venezuela
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) today issued a
statement following the announcement that the Organization of American States
(OAS) has begun the process of invoking the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal
Assistance, also known as the Rio Treaty, in support of the restoration of
democratic order and the rule of law in Venezuela. The measure comes following
Interim President’s Juan Guaidó’s request that the democratically elected
National Assembly approve Venezuela’s return to the Inter-American Treaty. “I
welcome the OAS’s intention to invoke the Rio Treaty to counter the Maduro
regime’s menace. It is time for all of the democracies in the region to stand
in support of the Venezuelan people and denounce any attack by the Maduro
regime as an attack against all members. I applaud the leadership of U.S.
Ambassador to the OAS Carlos Trujillo and Venezuelan Ambassador to the OAS Gustavo
Tarre Briceño, who have tirelessly worked in support of the cause of freedom
from tyranny in Venezuela.” Rubio is Chairman of the Senate Foreign
Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere. (Rubio:
Killings, torture still going on in Venezuela:
U.N. rights chief
The United Nations’ chief human rights official
said Monday that millions of Venezuelans continue to suffer rights violations,
including dozens of possible extrajudicial killings carried out by a special
police force. Non-governmental organizations report that the Special Action
police force carried out 57 suspected extrajudicial killings in July alone
within Caracas, Michelle Bachelet said in an oral presentation on Venezuela to
the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva. Bachelet’s latest presentation
followed a scathing written report issued in early July that drew a government
backlash. It found a “pattern of torture” under the regime of Nicolás
Maduro and citing violations like arbitrary detention, extrajudicial killings,
sexual violence and enforced disappearances. Bachelet’s latest presentation, which
also received pushback from powerful figures in Maduro’s government, noted some
areas of progress, while pointing to more cases of human rights violations and
declining conditions as more than 4 million Venezuelan have fled a country
beset by hyperinflation that leaves monthly minimum wages equal to US$ 2. While
Bachelet said she had called for officials to dismantle the feared Special
Action police force, the unit has actually received ongoing support from the
highest levels of the government, she said. Bachelet raised concern that groups
that collaborated with her in the earlier report have since come under
criticism and threats by senior officials. “Reprisals for having cooperated
with the United Nations are unacceptable,” she said. “I urge the authorities
to take preventative measures.” The only way to overcome Venezuela’s human
rights crisis is for Maduro’s government and the opposition led by National
Assembly President Juan Guaidó to return to negotiations overseen by Norway,
Bachelet said, and renewed her offer to support all such efforts. Some Latin
American countries and activists are urging the Geneva forum, whose 47 members
include Venezuela, to establish a U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Venezuela at
the three-week session. (The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/un-human-rights-chief-cites-continued-abuses-in-venezuela/2019/09/09/7d00fbe2-d321-11e9-8924-1db7dac797fb_story.html; VOA: https://www.voanews.com/americas/un-human-rights-chief-cites-continued-abuses-venezuela; Daily Mail: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7446781/Nicolas-Maduros-death-squads-executed-57-people-just-one-month-Venezuela.html; Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-security-un/killings-torture-still-going-on-in-venezuela-u-n-rights-chief-idUSKCN1VU1IB)
Venezuela opposition parties back Guaido as
congress chief in 2020
Venezuelan lawmakers from small opposition
parties on Friday said Juan Guaido should continue as head of congress in 2020,
waiving their option to lead the legislature under an informal agreement to
rotate leadership between parties. The announcement ended speculation of an
opposition rift over the 2020 legislative term, which under a 2016 agreement within
the opposition would have fallen to a group of 17 small parties. Guaido in
January declared President Nicolas Maduro a usurper and assumed a rival interim
presidency that has been recognized by more than 50 countries, and the
opposition is keen for him to remain in the post. (Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics/venezuela-opposition-parties-back-guaido-as-congress-chief-in-2020-idUSKCN1VR2FS)
Maduro rejects talks with opposition over alleged
envoy's remarks
President Nicolás Maduro says that he won't
resume talks with the opposition until it rejects alleged calls by a top
supporter in Britain to "drop the topic" of Venezuela's longstanding
claims to an oil-rich part of neighboring Guyana.
Maduro's comments late Friday came after his
chief prosecutor opened an investigation against Vanessa Neumann, the top envoy
in London for opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who is recognized as Venezuela's
rightful president by the U.S., United Kingdom and four dozen other nations. But
Maduro last month broke off the talks taking place on the Caribbean island of
Barbados over the opposition's support for tougher U.S. sanctions to punish
companies from third countries that do business in Venezuela. Both Guaidó and
Neumann have dismissed the claim as false. (Bloomberg, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-07/maduro-rejects-talks-with-opposition-over-envoy-s-remarks)
Russian diplomat claims US undoubtedly pulling
strings to form a Guaido government
The decision by Venezuelan opposition leader
Juan Guaido to form his own government is another ploy to legitimize dual power
in the country and create a pseudo-legal reality, Russian Foreign Ministry
Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday. "We see this decision as
another dangerous endeavor to legitimize dual power and create a pseudo-legal
reality that leads to the further polarization of Venezuelan society, and
delays the search for a compromise solution, which Venezuela needs so much in
order to improve the humanitarian situation and return to the path of
sustainable development. There is no doubt as to who orchestrated Guaido’s
statement," she specified. According to Zakharova, that was
predictable, given the fact that many of Guaido’s so-called ministers had long
been on the payroll *of organizations sponsored by US NGOs. (TASS: https://tass.com/politics/1076433)
5.5 magnitude earthquake in Venezuela
A 5.5 magnitude earthquake occurred 18 kilometers
from the town of Araya, near the coast of Venezuela. No injuries or damages
were reported as a result of the quake. Shock waves were observed at a depth of
just 5.9 kilometers in the sea, more than 200 kilometers from Caracas. (Novinite: https://www.novinite.com/articles/200052/5.5+Magnitude+Earthquake+in+Venezuela)
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.
