March 03, 2017

International Trade

529 food containers have arrived at the Port of La Guaira

529 containers bringing food from Mexico, aboard the container ship CNP PAITA, have arrived at the port of La Guaira. More in Spanish: (Bolipuertos, http://www.bolipuertos.gob.ve/noticia.aspx?id=36067; Ultima Hora Digital, http://ultimahoradigital.com/2017/02/alimentos-llegaron-de-mexico-para-repartirse-en-los-clap/)

Cargo that has arrived at Puerto Cabello

·         30.000 tons of rice

·         27 containers of agro chemicals for state agency AGROPATRIA

·         30.000 tons of wheat for state agency Corporación de Abastecimiento y Servicios Agrícolas (CASA)

·         30.000 tons of white corn

An additional 574 containers bearing food, personal care products and medicine arrived from Cartagena-Colombia on the MAERKS WISMAR. The shipment includes 139 containers of food: canned tuna, black beans, white rice, powdered milk, pasta and margarine. 19 containers of medicine, 12 of personal care products, and 404 bearing vehicle spare parts and machinery. More in Spanish: (Bolipuertos, http://www.bolipuertos.gob.ve/noticia.aspx?id=36065; http://www.bolipuertos.gob.ve/noticia.aspx?id=36074: Ultima Hora Digital, http://ultimahoradigital.com/2017/02/30-mil-toneladas-de-arroz-son-descargadas-en-el-puerto-de-puerto-cabello/; El Mundo, http://www.elmundo.com.ve/noticias/economia/politicas-publicas/arribaron-a-puerto-cabello-30-000-toneladas-de-arr.aspx)

 

Cargo that has arrived at Maracaibo

·         3.278 tons of food packets from México for the state government of Zulia state. More in Spanish: (Bolipuertos, http://www.bolipuertos.gob.ve/noticia.aspx?id=36063; El Mundo, http://www.elmundo.com.ve/noticias/mundo-corporativo/sociales/contenedores-con-alimentos-llegaron-al-puerto-de-m.aspx)

Cargo that has arrived at El Guamache (Margarita Island):

113 containers from Kingston, Jamaica, including 384 tons of food items such as rice, pasta and coffee, plus 1165 tons of vehicle parts and accessories, textiles, clothing and footwear, furniture and household products, hardware, health and personal care products such as soap, toothpaste and shampoo. More in Spanish: (Bolipuertos, http://www.bolipuertos.gob.ve/noticia.aspx?id=36072)

 

Oil & Energy

Hitting Venezuela's Government where it hurts. Not yet two months into his tenure, U.S. President Donald Trump has demonstrated his intention to increase the pressure on Venezuela's government, whose imperatives are at odds with those of his own administration. Washington appears ready to impose further sanctions on Venezuelan officials and entities, perhaps even against the country's vital state oil and natural gas company, Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). The U.S. government may find it easier to keep targeting Venezuela through sanctions than to organize a regional response. If the Trump administration imposes heavy sanctions on PDVSA, thereby preventing U.S. companies and businesses subject to Washington's jurisdiction from doing business with the oil firm, it could herald Maduro's ruin. Caracas depends on oil for about 95% of its total export revenue, and it has already had to slash imports over the past few years as a result of limited production capacity and sanctions. Tough sanctions on the state oil and gas company would only intensify the economic crisis and probably also the divisions within the government over whether Venezuela should continue down the path of international isolation. Whether more sanctions would cause the Maduro administration to change course depends on the ruling party's internal dynamics. (STRATFOR: https://www.stratfor.com/analysis/hitting-venezuelas-government-where-it-hurts)

 

Economy & Finance

Venezuela running out of cash

The Central Bank of Venezuela says the country is down to just US$ 10.5 billion in foreign reserves. At the same time, Caracas must meet debt obligations of US$ 7.2 billion this year. The country had nearly US$ 30 billion in reserve five years ago; in 2015, it was down to US$ 20 billion. According to economists, the trend can't go on much longer, but it’s not easy to predict how long it would take Venezuela to reach the bottom. Nearly US$ 7.7 billion of the country’s remaining reserves is in gold, according to the latest financial report for 2016. Venezuela had to ship gold to Switzerland to foot debt bills last year. Dwindling reserves are only exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the country. The economic blow has led to food and medical shortages, as well as skyrocketing prices. Inflation is expected to rise to 1,660% this year and 2,880% in 2018, according to the IMF. Among the key factors boosting inflation experts see the crashing bolivar, huge government spending, poor management of the country's infrastructure, as well as high level of corruption. However, oil prices averaging US$ 55 remain the major problem for the country’s economy. As the largest holder of reported oil reserves in the world, Venezuela produced over 2.4 million barrels of crude and condensates per day at the end of the last year, as per ministry data. Oil shipments make up more than 90% of the country's exports. That makes it more and more difficult for Caracas to pay debts and import food, medicine and other essentials for its citizens. The country's imports dropped 50% from a year ago, according to Venezuelan research firm ECOANALITICA. (RT: https://www.rt.com/business/379160-venezuela-ten-billion-down-oil/; Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/03/02/venezuelas-foreign-reserves-tank-to-10-5-billion-report-says.html)

South America's last bastion of Socialism is falling to pieces

The currency is worth a dime, though probably not even that much. The brain drain is immense. People are starving. Unemployment is in the double digits. Inflation is triple digits. And its president, Nicholas Maduro of the disastrous United Socialist Party of Venezuela, talks to deceased president Hugo Chavez who comes to him in the form of a little bird. South America's last hold-out of pre-colonial times is going broke. It has US$ 10 billion in foreign currency reserves. There are now individuals in South America that have more money than Venezuela's central bank. If Maduro wanted to be more like Cuba, he's got it, maybe minus the 57 Chevy's and armies of doctors. It's not just the popping of the oil bubble that's hurt Venezuela. Every other one trick pony has managed to survive. Venezuela's economy has contracted an impressive 18.6% in 2016. If there is a failed state in the America's, Maduro is running it. Dwindling oil revenues have knocked Venezuela out. It faces unprecedented social, political and economic crisis. The only thing that is keeping incomes up is the fact that Maduro keeps giving poor people money. In the absence of structural reforms and without a resolution to the political impasse between the ruling Socialists and the opposition, the country is set for another challenging year. The absence of real sector and inflation information makes any assessment of the economy difficult. (Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2017/03/02/south-americas-last-bastion-of-socialism-is-falling-to-pieces/#3b804a292fd8)

Job losses, low wages add to Venezuela economic hardship

Multiple companies - local and foreign - are closing doors or cutting payrolls across Venezuela, which despite its oil wealth is suffering deep recession, triple-digit inflation and chronic shortages. As per CONSECOMERCIO, the major retail industry group, Venezuela in the past 18 months lost close to 1 million private sector jobs. "Who is creating jobs? Nobody," said CONSECOMERCIO Vice President Alfonso Riera. "That unemployed population unfortunately is migrating to the street, informal work or worse." Government critics say nationalizations of businesses and more than a decade of price and currency controls have crippled private enterprise, but President Nicolas Maduro says Venezuela is a victim of an "economic war" led by business leaders with U.S. help. Venezuela has not reported official unemployment figures since April 2016, when the rate was at 7.3%. A survey by three universities showed unemployment at the end of 2016 remained at that level. But the study also found 38% of those surveyed were working informal jobs ranging from buying and reselling goods to freelance work without benefits. Only 28% said they were public employees and 27% had a job in the private sector. Union sources said major companies such as food and beermaker POLAR, carmaker FORD and bottler COLA-COLA FEMSA all are reducing their workforce by negotiating redundancies and offering employees buyouts. "People are taking the packages," said Johnny Magdaleno, who leads a POLAR union. He said workers were being offered the equivalent of US$ 2,500 at the black-market exchange rate. "Production has fallen too much," he said. "The workers who are left are making 4,000 bolivars weekly ($1 at the black-market rate). That doesn't even enable them to buy a pack of flour."  (Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-economy-idUSKBN16926M)

 

Politics and International Affairs

US Senate unanimously passes resolution demanding Trump act on Venezuela
US Senators unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday urging President Donald Trump to take further action against Venezuelan officials. The bill also expressed support for a controversial move by Organization of American States (OAS) head Luis Almagro to invoke the Democratic Charter. If invoked, Venezuela would be suspended from the OAS. When Almagro first announced the move in 2016, he also demanded President Nicolas Maduro be “immediately” removed from office, prompting many Latin American leaders to accuse the OAS head of overreach. Despite the controversy, the Senate bill called on Trump to “provide full support for OAS efforts in favor of constitutional and democratic solutions to the political impasse and to instruct federal agencies to hold officials of the Venezuelan government accountable for violations of US law and abuses of internationally recognized human rights.” The bill will now head to the House of Representatives. One of the main supporters of the bill, Senator Marco Rubio, thanked both Republicans and Democrats for supporting the move. The bill was co-sponsored by prominent Democrats including Senators Bob Menendez and Bill Nelson, along with Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential running mate Tim Kaine. (Venezuelanalysis.com: https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/12953; El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/noticias/daily-news/senate-lobbies-for-release-political-prisoners-venezuela_641844; Latin American Herald Tribune, http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2431988&CategoryId=10717)

US Council on Foreign Relations: Options for U.S. Policy in Venezuela, prepared for the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Venezuela’s economic, political, and social situation represents both a regional problem and a global affront to democratic values. As such it should be a priority for the current U.S. government, which should invest in the necessarily complex, time consuming, and fragile diplomatic processes to push for change, as well as to prepare for the day when it in fact may come. (Full presentation: ATTACHED)

Maduro looks to get on Trump’s good side with praise for Congressional address

Venezuela’s socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro appears to be attempting to ingratiate himself with his American counterpart Donald Trump, praising the president’s joint address to Congress on Tuesday as “the first time I hear a U.S. president speak of the struggle against drug trafficking.” He highlighted as significant President Trump’s emphasis on combatting drug addiction from the United States, particularly in poorer communities. Maduro’s compliments follow a month in which the U.S. Treasury Department designated his vice president, Tareck El Aissami, a “Specially Designated Narcotics Trafficker” for his ties to various cocaine-trafficking outlets and President Trump personally welcomed Lilian Tintori, wife of Venezuelan political prisoner Leopoldo López, to the Oval Office. Maduro nonetheless highlighted that he and President Trump “have differences” but reiterated that he wished to engage in respectful diplomatic relations with the White House, a departure from his regular warnings that President Barack Obama was preparing a ground invasion of Venezuela during his tenure. Among those differences is the fact that Maduro employs a known high-level drug trafficker as his second-in-command. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, El Aissami has cooperated with “groups as varied as the Mexican Zetas cartel and Hezbollah.” Reports — published prior to the Treasury using the Drug Kingpin Act to freeze El Aissami’s U.S. assets — accused him of, among other crimes, recruiting Latin American Muslims to join Hezbollah and running his own cocaine trafficking outfit the Cartel de los Soles. Diosdado Cabello, the Socialist Party’s minority leader in Venezuela’s National Assembly, is widely believed to be the Cartel de los Soles’s boss. While Maduro himself has never been accused of drug trafficking, reports have indicated he has funded political campaigns with drug money generated by Cabello and El Aissami. El Aissami responded to the Treasury sanctions with a full-page ad attacking the United States in the New York Times. In addition to sanctioning El Aissami, the Trump administration has called for the release of all political prisoners under Maduro’s chavista dictatorship. In February, Trump welcomed Tintori, an anti-socialist activist and wife of Popular Will party leader Leopoldo López, to the White House, publishing a photo standing next to her, Vice President Mike Pence, and Senator Marco Rubio on Twitter. (BREIBART: http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2017/03/02/venezuela-tries-get-trumps-good-side-drug-war/)

 

…but falls back on familiar defiant discourse after US Senate vote

Embattled President Nicolas Maduro warned Wednesday of a resurgence in “racism and xenophobia”, the day after the US Senate unanimously voted a resolution expressing “profound concern” about the present Venezuelan crisis.
It is a familiar pattern for Cuban and Venezuelan leaders, and, in his first public speech after the U.S. Senate’s vote, Maduro re-adopted it with ease. “I am making a worldwide alert in the face of surging dangerous, segregationist, racist and xenophobic currents that threaten to divide mankind even further, threaten to fill the whole world with war. That’s why I am calling and asking for the Venezuelan people to unite, to keep on making the revolution and keep on defending our identity,” Maduro said during an event of the CLAP, a new government mechanism to ration price-controlled foodstuffs administered by ruling party PSUV militants. Maduro didn’t mention the U.S. vote specifically, but he denounced “white supremacy” and it was enough for a crowd of hundreds, clad in red, to cheer for him. (Latin American Herald Tribune, http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2432136&CategoryId=10717)

 

US State Department reports Venezuela has “failed demonstrably” on drug traffic control

“During the past 12 months, the Venezuelan government failed demonstrably to make sufficient efforts to meet its obligations under applicable international counter-narcotics agreements or to uphold the counter-narcotics measures set forth in the Foreign Assistance Act.  Due to Venezuela’s porous border with Colombia, its weak judicial system, sporadic international counter-narcotics cooperation, and permissive and corrupt environment, Venezuela remains a major drug-transit country.  It is one of the preferred trafficking routes for illegal drugs, predominately cocaine, from South America to the Caribbean region, Central America, the United States, Western Africa, and Europe. In 2015, the Venezuelan government engaged in minimal bilateral law enforcement cooperation with the United States.  Venezuelan authorities do not effectively prosecute drug traffickers, in part due to political corruption. Although the Venezuelan government, as a matter of policy, neither encourages nor facilitates illicit drug production or distribution, and although it is not involved in laundering the proceeds of the sale of illicit drugs, public corruption is a major problem in Venezuela that makes it easier for drug-trafficking organizations to operate.  Additionally, the Venezuelan government has not taken action against government and military officials with known links to FARC members involved in drug trafficking.” US Department of State: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/268025.pdf)

OAS Democratic Charter action on Venezuela hinges on Vatican

In response to the US Senate resolution, Luis Almagro, Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS) says: “As long as the Vatican remains there we will definitely take no action to apply the Democratic Charter. If we are told that dialogue is over and we receive notice from the opposition and the Vatican about it, we will recommend the timely steps to take”. Talks between the Maduro regime and the Venezuelan opposition remain paralyzed since December, with the opposition charging that the government has reneged on agreements. Spain has said it continues to support efforts by its former President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero to prop up talks here. More in Spanish: (Notiminuto: http://www.notiminuto.com/noticia/para-la-carta-democratica-todas-las-miradas-van-al-vaticano/#

Colombia’s FM says dialogue is the only way to face Venezuela’s great problems

Colombian Minister of Foreign Affairs María Angela Holguín has called for more dialogue between the Venezuelan government and the opposition, sponsored by former presidents José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (Spain), Martín Torrijos (Panama) and Leonel Fernández (Dominican Republic), in order to face up to this nation’s "great difficulties." During a press conference in Madrid, after a meeting with his Spanish counterpart, Alfonso Dastis, Holguín said Rodríguez Zapatero, “has made a great effort” for dialogue in Venezuela. “Polarization in Venezuela is immense, but through dialogue a solution will be found to a crisis that worries many countries around the world; we, in Colombia, have it closer,” the minister said. (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/noticias/daily-news/holguin-dialogue-the-only-way-face-great-problems_642023; http://www.eluniversal.com/noticias/daily-news/colombia-backs-dialogue-venezuela_641837)

 

European Foreign Service asks Venezuela to abide by its Constitution

Adrianus Koetsenruijter, Head of the South America Division of the European External Action Service (EEAS), has strongly recommended that the Venezuelan government must abide by the Constitution and made an appeal for renewed dialogue between government authorities and the dissent. “It has to do with respect for the Constitution, respect for fundamental rights and liberties, such as freedom of speech, opinion and association,” Koetsenruijter while speaking at the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs. He reported that many Venezuelans have been incarcerated in the absence of proper conditions of transparency, and insisted that the government ought to observe the “basic principles of democracy”. (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/noticias/daily-news/european-external-service-exacts-venezuela-observance-constitution_641647)

 

New charges brought against imprisoned Defense Minister

A military court here has brought new charges against former Defense Minister General Raúl Isaias Baduel, who was due to be freed today after serving seven years and eleven months for alleged corruption. He is now being accused of “treason”, and was forcibly transferred to the military court by the Military Counter-Intelligence agency. Baduel’ s legal counsel termed the charges “unfounded military criminal persecution”. Baduel had been on conditional freedom since mid-2015, but was detained again on January 12^th for allegedly violating the conditions of his parole. Baduel was Defense Minister under the late President Hugo Chavez and one of his closest advisors. He is considered to have been the key force in bringing Chavez back to power after he was ousted for 48 hours in April 2002, but signed a 2010 manifesto publicly calling on the late president to resign, thus becoming a key opposition figure. More in Spanish: (Infolatam: http://www.infolatam.com/2017/03/03/dictan-nueva-privativa-libertad-exministro-baduel-e-imputan-otros-cargos/
 

In search of Venezuelan pilots of a plane in flames in Honduras

Honduras police authorities are searching for the pilots of a plane with Venezuelan registration that entered the country on Monday morning and landed to the north of the nation. Honduran investigators suspect that the plane had been used to carry narcotics, in keeping with the standards of such flights related to drug trafficking, such as arriving in the early hours of the morning, landing on non-authorized areas and setting fire to the plane after the unloading, DPA cited. The aircraft with Venezuelan registration landed in a field in the city of Choloma, around 280 kilometers from Tegucigalpa. (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/noticias/daily-news/search-venezuelan-pilots-plane-flames-honduras_641648)

 

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.

February 02, 2017

International Trade

Cargo that has arrived at Puerto Cabello:

148 containers bearing food staples and chemicals for agribusiness, consigned to state agency CASA, including 13 containers of beef, 38 of whole milk; 5 of Sulphur; 15 of Diuron herbicide; 8 of etaxilated grease; and 7 with reax85 chemicals. More in Spanish: (Bolipuertos, http://www.bolipuertos.gob.ve/noticia.aspx?id=34959; El Mundo, http://www.elmundo.com.ve/noticias/economia/politicas-publicas/arriban-al-pais-148-contenedores-con-alimentos-e-i.aspx)

 

Oil & Energy

PDVSA braces for oil production drop as default looms large

The recent bump in oil prices isn’t enough to help Petroleos de Venezuela SA as it faces its fourth consecutive year of declining production. The company’s crude output is expected to fall this year as it failed to raise cash for investments and after Venezuela agreed to cut 95,000 barrels a day for six months as part of a deal struck by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other non-members to lift oil prices, analysts say. Even the recent increase in oil prices, following the cuts, aren’t enough to ease the company’s financial burden, Lucas Aristizabal, a senior director at Fitch Ratings, said. “Giving the tight liquidity, prices need to be significantly higher to revive output,” Aristizabal said in a phone interview from New York. “At least more than US$ 100 to start with,” he said. Fitch reiterates that a default of PDVSA’s debt is "probable" amid lower production associated with a moderate oil price increase and weak liquidity. (Bloomberg, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-01/pdvsa-braces-for-oil-production-drop-as-default-looms-large)

 

Venezuela's Paraguana refineries at 42% capacity

The Paraguana refining complex was operating at about 42% capacity, a union official said late on Monday, citing an internal report that came amid chronic unit stoppages in the country's refining system. The 645,000-barrel-per-day Amuay refinery was operating at about 300,000 bpd, while the adjacent 310,000-bpd Cardon refinery was at around 100,000 bpd, according to Ivan Freites, a union leader and fierce critic of state oil company PDVSA. Cardon's fluid catalytic cracking unit was halted on Jan. 23 due to a problem with a compressor, Freites said, adding it was likely to be down around two weeks. Amuay's flexicoker is still down too, according to Freites.

A worker at the complex, who requested anonymity because he is not authorized to speak with media, confirmed the stoppages. (Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/venezuela-refinery-idUSL1N1FL0RR)

 

Economy & Finance

 

FEDECAMARAS charges there is “complete opacity” in government FOREX management

Francisco Martinez, President of FEDECAMARAS, Venezuela’s main business federation, has charged that government allocation of FOREX at preferential rates is not transparent. “We only know that certain areas of the pharmaceutical sector receive them, other than that area, there is complete opacity. Preferential dollars are a black box, no one here knows who gets them, and how much they get”. Since early 2015 the government has implemented two official and controlled exchange rates: One is the “protected dollar” (DIPRO) at 10 VEN/US$1 and the other is the “supplementary dollar” (DICOM or SIMADI), currently at 689 VEB/US1. More in Spanish: (Noticiero Venevision: http://www.noticierovenevision.net/economia/2017/febrero/1/183981=fedecamaras-sostiene-que-

 

Venezuela’s default risk drops below 50%

Traders reduced their bets on a default of Venezuela’s dollar debt over the next year amid a thin repayment schedule in the first quarter. The implied probability of nonpayment over the next 12 months plunged to 44% in January from 59% at the end of December, as per credit-default swaps data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s the first time the risk of default has been below 50% since September. The longer-term outlook is still a little murky, with the odds of a credit event over the next five years at 89%. January proved to be a volatile month in Venezuelan politics as President Nicolas Maduro reshuffled his cabinet, named and delegated wide-ranging powers to a new vice president, replaced the head of the central bank and appointed a new board at state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA. That happened as officials continue to face declining oil production, accelerating inflation and a currency still weakening on the black market. The real wild card for Venezuela’s finances continues to be the price of crude, which stagnated in January even as OPEC cuts started to kick in. With large payments totaling nearly US$ 3 billion coming due in April, nerves may start to fray again if a sustained increase in oil prices is not seen soon. (Bloomberg, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-01/venezuelan-credit-dashboard-default-risk-falls-below-50-percent).

 Debt sustainability

Venezuela’s debt is obviously not sustainable right now, but if things changed, could it be? It’s hard to say given the uncertainties. For one, the government’s spending is a black box. Over half of the public sector’s budget is cash transfers to unconsolidated entities. PDVSA is another black box. Nobody knows exactly how much oil it exports and how much cash it gets for those exports. Venezuela’s GDP in dollars is also unknown and arguably unknowable in the context of byzantine exchange controls. Debt sustainability is not just about being able to pay your debts in theory. It’s about having enough margin for error to pay them in practice. With basically no savings, Venezuela’s margin is significantly reduced. Stabilizing the debt at 83% of GDP requires that bond markets lend to Venezuela at 8% for the forecast period. But inflation is picking up and interest rates in dollars are poised to rise under Trump. That means issuing debt in dollars will be more expensive for all emerging market economies. Secondly, modern Venezuela is a semi-failed state run by largely inept politicians. The last time markets were willing bankroll Venezuela for 8% a year was a decade ago, in 2007, when oil was booming and Chavez lived. Folks on Wall Street often say that “Venezuela doesn’t need to default.” Strictly speaking, they are right. It is possible for Venezuela to get its act together, rationalize policy, attract massive investment, regain investor confidence, not default etc. But to confuse possible scenarios with probable scenarios is dangerous and misleading. Sooner or later, Venezuela will likely have to restructure its debt. It’s high time to begin planning for that scenario, rather than crossing our fingers and looking the other way. (Caracas Chronicles: https://www.caracaschronicles.com/2017/01/31/debt-sustainability-30000-feet/)

 

Politics and International Affairs

 

Regime attacks on Catholic church intensify

Attacks against the Catholic Church in Venezuela are growing in number and intensity, the church said Monday.
During Sunday mass in Caracas, a Chavista biker gang interrupted the service, sequestered the flock and forced them to listen to a pro-government tirade, days after Vatican-brokered talks between the embattled government of Nicolas Maduro and the opposition broke down. Monsignor Diego Padron, president of the Venezuelan Bishops Conference, said that the attacks were not isolated incidents but events “staged to intimidate”. (Latin American Herald Tribune, http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2430176&CategoryId=10717)

 

Venezuelan legislators vow to continue denunciations despite “aggressions”

Venezuela’s opposition controlled National Assembly passed a resolution on the “violation of the rights” of legislators, and vowed to continue making denunciations despite what they consider “aggressions” by the government and the judiciary.  Opposition legislator Luis Florido, who heads the Foreign Affairs Committee, said his passport had been cancelled at the airport upon his return from the Dominican Republic last Friday. He was told he had a “migratory embargo” and has not been able to get a new passport despite his parliamentary immunity. Legislator Delsa Solorzano, who heads the Internal Affairs Committee, challenged a sentence by the Supreme Tribunal’s Constitutional Chamber that she said violates the legislature’s rules of procedure. Former National Assembly President Henry Ramos Allup denounced “regime ruses” and the Supreme Tribunal’s “contempt” ruling concocted to stop the duly elected representatives from carrying out their duties. During the same session, the legislature ordered the Comptroller Committee to being an investigation into bribes allegedly paid by Brazilian construction firm ODEBRECHT. More in Spanish: (Noticiero Venevision: http://www.noticierovenevision.net/politica/2017/enero/31/183944=diputados-venezolanos-dicen-que-seguiran-con-denuncias-pese-a-

 

Freedom House lists Venezuela as "not free"

Venezuela is listed as “not free” in the annual Freedom House report released on Tuesday. “Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro’s combination of strong-arm rule and dire economic mismanagement pushed his country to a status of Not Free for the first time in 2016,” says the report. “Venezuela had served as a model for populist regimes in the region, but today it epitomizes the suffering that can ensue when citizens are unable to hold their leaders to account,” the paper states. In 2016, “Maduro, relying in part on the regime’s control of the courts, responded to an opposition victory in recent legislative elections by stripping the legislature of meaningful power and blocking a presidential recall referendum, effectively cutting off the only route to an orderly change of leadership.” (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/noticias/daily-news/freedom-house-lists-venezuela-not-free_637602)

 

Economic crisis is no reason to put off regional elections in Venezuela

There is no "constitutional or legal" reason, as well as no argument to justify not holding elections for governors this year, says Venezuelan constitutional lawyer Hermánn Escarrá. He specifically rejected the need to focus attention on the economic crisis, as has been argued by the Venezuelan government, to set aside regional elections this year. "That would not be the best of arguments. We have an electoral power and it is up to them to always specify within the framework of the Constitution the period of the consultation,” says Escarrá. (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/noticias/daily-news/expert-economic-crisis-does-not-prevent-regional-elections-venezuela_637654)

 

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.

January 19, 2017

Oil & Energy

PDVSA claims operations at Venezuela oil terminal 'recovered' after oil spill

Shipping operations at one of three docks of Venezuela's main crude exporting port have "recovered" after a "minor" oil spill occurred over the weekend, state oil company PDVSA said on Wednesday, without saying how big the spill was. A spill occurred while loading a vessel bound for India at Jose port's eastern dock and also affected other tankers close to the very large crude carrier (VLCC) Nave Quasar, chartered by India's Reliance Industries, which is among PDVSA's main customers. It receives crude from the Orinoco Belt, and in some cases pays for that oil by shipping refined products to Venezuela. (Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-oil-spill-idUSKBN1521W5)

 

Economy & Finance

Maduro announces 20 new exchange houses to open on border, failure predicted

President Nicolas Maduro has announced that 20 new government-backed foreign exchange houses will open on the border between Colombia and Venezuela, in order to try to bring down the bolivar’s parity on the parallel market. Most observers, including the president of the country’s principal business organization, FEDECÁMARAS, predict the move will fail to bring curb Venezuela’s currency devaluation as it is not an in-depth solution to the problem, nor the solution business hopes for. FEDECAMARAS President Francisco Martínez says: “Exchange houses should exist throughout the nation and should exist to trade any currency in the world. You cannot open some exchange houses and say you have found the solution to all problems”. He adds that the Maduro regime is responsible for current inflation. More in Spanish: (Noticiero Venevision: http://www.noticierovenevision.net/economia/2017/enero/18/182453=abriran-20-nuevas-casas-de-cambio-en-la-frontera-en-los-proximos-dias; http://www.noticierovenevision.net/economia/2017/enero/17/182317=fedecamaras-cree-que-la-apertura-de-casas-de-cambio-no-solucionara-problematica-de-las-divisas)

Hyperinflation renders Venezuela a nation of broke millionaires

Venezuela may now be the country in the world with the most millionaires. There is, however, a caveat. That money isn’t worth much anywhere else in the world. Amid rampant inflation, widespread shortages of everything from toilet paper to medicine and a failing economy, the Venezuelan government recently introduced three new bank notes into the market ranging from 500 to 20,000 bolivars. But while somebody in Caracas can now carry 1 million bolivars in his billfold, in terms of U.S. currency those 50 bank notes are only worth only about US$ 300 on the country’s black market and one bill is valued at less than US$ 6. “That won’t get you very far,” Chris Sabatini, a professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, told FoxNews.com. “It’s like the government has almost given up. They are just adding zeros to the end of these bills and they don’t mean anything … There’s going to come a time when they’re going to run out of space on the bill for all those zeros … There is clearly no strategy in Venezuela but to surrender,” Sabatini said. Despite government assertions that the new currency is meant to combat smuggling, many Venezuelans appear are skeptical. Since global oil prices plunged in 2015, Venezuela hasn’t had the funds to import basic goods such as food and medicine, creating acute shortages and stirring anger toward Maduro. Adding to the overall misery are a drastic rise in violent crime, especially in the capital city of Caracas, rolling blackouts and widespread and often bloody protests against the government. There have been casualties and deaths on both sides of the protests and accusations from the international community of human rights abuses and political oppression. “The pressure that Venezuelans face every day is tremendous because of all the uncertainty,” Sonia Schott, the former Washington, D.C., correspondent for Venezuelan news network Globovisión, told FoxNews.com. “Nobody knows what will happen the next day.” (Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/01/18/hyperinflation-renders-venezuela-nation-broke-millionaires.html)

 

Politics and International Affairs

Maduro calls for "mediation" in conflict with Parliament, but again attacks legislature

President Nicolas Maduro says “I want the dialogue to process this conflict in which the National Assembly has entered, as it has been sequestered. We need to get it back. Venezuela needs a new AN” He said he would ask the former presidents who act as mediators in government-opposition talks “to deal with the situation of the Parliament (...) for the conflicts and conspiracies to cease.” Maduro insisted that he maintains the call to the opposition to take part in the government-opposition talks. “We offer our hands to all sectors. We are still reaching out to these sectors that are why we ratify the dialogue, which is why the former presidents are here.” At the same time, he claimed the opposition-led National Assembly has “self-destructed” and called for a new legislature. (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/noticias/daily-news/venezuelas-maduro-ask-for-meodiation-conflicts-with-parliament_635907); and more in Spanish: Noticiero Venevision: http://www.noticierovenevision.net/politica/2017/enero/18/182504=maduro-planteo-la-necesidad-de-buscar-espacios-de-entendimiento-en-la-mesa-de-dialogo; Infolatam: http://www.infolatam.com/2017/01/18/maduro-espera-lograr-nuevo-parlamento-actual-esta-destruido/

Maduro reneges on pledge to free opponent Lopez

President Nicolas Maduro is backing out of a pledge to free opponent Leopoldo Lopez now that President Barack Obama has commuted the sentence of a Puerto Rican independence activist whose release the embattled socialist has long promoted. In 2015, Maduro said he would release Lopez the day that Obama freed Oscar Lopez Rivera. When asked Wednesday at a press conference about that pledge, Maduro said he'd been joking. He also went one step further and accused Lopez of being a CIA spy not worthy of being compared to Lopez Rivera, who was serving out a long sentence for his role in a violent struggle for the U.S. island territory's independence. Lopez is serving a 14-year sentence for allegedly inciting violence against the government during a wave of anti-government unrest. (Associated Press: https://www.yahoo.com/news/venezuela-president-reneges-pledge-free-opponent-lopez-201247279.html)

Opposition to march on January 23rd, demanding elections

Julio Borges, Speaker of the National Assembly, has announced that the opposition will march toward all Nation Elections Board headquarters, in Caracas and at all state capitals, demanding a schedule for elections this year. January 23^rd marks the anniversary of the overthrow of dictator General Marcos Pérez Jiménez in 1958. Borges says: “January 23^rd is the best date on which we can show the Venezuelan people how it was done 60 years ago, a united Venezuelan people, a determined Venezuelan people, a fearless Venezuelan people that are fighting for their freedom will march to the National Elections Board this January 23^rd and show that we will united achieve change in this country.” Former presidential candidate and Miranda state governor Henrique Capriles, along with the Executive Secretary of the Democratic unity opposition coalition, Jesús Torrealba, and all major opposition political groups have also made the call to march next Monday. More in Spanish: (Noticiero Venevision: http://www.noticierovenevision.net/politica/2017/enero/18/182452=julio-borges-expreso-que-oposicion-marchara-al-cne-el-23-e-para-exigir-cronogramas-para-elecciones)

 January 23rd: Will Venezuela become Trump’s first big foreign crisis?

The embattled government of Nicolas Maduro called for a counterdemonstration on January 23rd against an opposition march calling for elections, scheduled on the 59th anniversary of the toppling of the last military dictatorship in Venezuela -- setting the stage for another big street confrontation in the oil rich country only three days after Donald Trump’s Inauguration. In calling for the “chavista” demonstration, pro-Maduro lawmaker Captain Diosdado Cabello said the march would be both “happy” and “combative” while also ruling out general elections, a recall against the President or even the possible end of the Bolivarian Revolution started by Hugo Chavez in 1998.
“There will be no general elections here. What there will be here is revolution and more revolution,” Cabello said Tuesday during a press conference. “On January 23rd we will be in the streets, with certainty the revolutionary forces will be there, once again defending the revolution”. Cabello said the “chavista” march would include the opposition-dominated National Assembly in its path, making a street confrontation almost unavoidable. (Latin American Herald Tribune, http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2429305&CategoryId=10717)

 

OAS meets Venezuelan opposition legislators

The Organization of American States (OAS) mission in Caracas met with Venezuelan opposition congressmen. The deputies who marched to their headquarters to ask that the OAS demand of the Venezuelan government that it respect the right of Venezuelans to vote, and to publish in the upcoming days the election schedule of 2017.
“We reaffirm that the only solution in Venezuela is to vote. The best dialogue is 20 million Venezuelans talking through vote,” said National Assembly Speaker Julio Borges at OAS headquarters here. (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/noticias/daily-news/oas-welcomes-venezuelan-opposition-deputies_635848)

 

Congressman Luis Florido says pressure will be intensified

Deputy Luis Florido has been ratified as chair of the Foreign Policy, Sovereignty and Integration Committee of the Venezuelan National Assembly. He announced that they are ready to begin and consolidate a process of world parliamentary union to “press the Venezuelan Government and rescue democracy.” “We will intensify the national and international pressure for the rescue of democracy; we will continue acting firmly in this historical fight of the Venezuelan people. Parliamentary diplomacy around the world will deepen with a clear strategy in defense of Venezuelans aiming to block the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro,” says Florido. (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/noticias/daily-news/venezuelan-deputy-luis-florido-will-intensify-pressure_635912)

 

Machado: The remarkable dignity of Venezuela's women

It was barely mentioned in the recent U.S. presidential elections, but Venezuela is suffering the consequences of being under the boot of one of the most atrocious and enduring Socialist dictatorships of our time. In fact, at the end of the first U.S. presidential debates, Venezuela received a minute of attention when Hillary Clinton mentioned a former Venezuelan beauty queen to spite Donald Trump, the former owner of the Miss Universe Organization. Interestingly, Venezuela leads in winning Miss World contests and is second in Miss Universe pageants.  And while Venezuelan women are particularly beautiful, they have also proven to be extremely valiant and resilient. Mothers across the country are struggling and forfeiting their own well-being to feed their babies. Today, as the health system collapses in Venezuela, giving birth to a child can frequently become a ruthless calamity. Hospitals, destitute of 90% of the medicines they routinely use, are congested and have no choice but to stop relying on modern emergency procedures. Many surgery rooms are dysfunctional and many hospitals are literally struggling not just to save lives but to stay open. Clean water and electrical shortages are frequent, not to mention the scarcity of basic detergents to clean hallways and hospital rooms. Mothers have had to give birth on the steps of hospitals due to overcrowding. Diseases, which were once kept in check – and in some cases, had vanished in Venezuela, such as Malaria and Diphtheria – are reappearing at alarming rates due to the lack of preventive measures threatening both mothers and their newborns in hospitals and throughout the national health system. Premature births and miscarriages, which are expected to diminish as countries develop, are increasing exponentially in Venezuela, often due to maternal malnutrition during pregnancy. The serious economic crisis, the hardships and expenses of finding traditional contraceptive methods are forcing many desperate women in Venezuela to contemplate being forced into sterilization. Some of them are doing this at an early age, relinquishing their hopes of becoming mothers. Over the past few weeks, there have been many reports about Venezuelan women bartering anything, including selling their hair at the Colombian border in return for basic supplies. Many Venezuelan women have resorted to abandoning their children because they feel they have no other choice. In the best scenarios, they might desert their children leaving them with a relative, or a neighbor.  There is also the option of state agencies and charities, which have seen a surge in the number of parents begging for help.  Yet in some extreme cases, mothers simply abandon their children on the streets of our towns and cities. Last month a baby boy –a few months’ old– was found inside a paper bag in a relatively affluent area of Caracas.  A few weeks later a malnourished one-year-old baby was found abandoned in a cardboard box in the eastern city of Ciudad Guayana. Moreover, more and more Venezuelan women are resorting to prostitution. A recent report revealed that the border city of Cúcuta has become a center for prostitution. Teenage girls can make more money in a weekend in Cúcuta from prostitution than they can in a year on the minimum wage in Venezuela. Many lactating mothers are malnourished because they cannot find basic foods, or pay the black market prices, not to mention things like essential vaccines. One frequently sees long lines of mothers with their screaming babies in their arms waiting in front of a supermarket or a pharmacy. Sometimes they spend four or five hours in a queue. They are waiting for milk or diapers. The moment the word is spread (and it spreads like wildfire) that a lorry-load of diapers or milk has been seen arriving at a given address, there is mayhem.  By the time you arrive at the address, if supplies have lasted, the chances are you can’t even afford to buy your quota of what you require at government controlled prices.  For Venezuelan women, it is permanent crisis mode. Yet the women of Venezuela are courageous and resilient. You will find them at every demonstration, at every protest.  Women of all ages standing bravely, often in the line of fire, for their freedom; for their dignity. Article by María Corina Machado, is one of the current leaders of the movement for democracy in Venezuela, former member of the National Assembly of Venezuela and leader of Vente Venezuela. (Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/01/18/remarkable-dignity-venezuelas-women.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.