OMNI
VENEZUELA ANTHOLOGY #5
AUGUST 27, 2040
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/2151229136087998997/3753817779419620546
COMPILED BY DICK BENNETT FOR A CULTURE OF PEACE, JUSTICE, AND
ECOLOGY
https://omnicenter.org/donate
CONTENTS VENEZUELA #5
US WAR AGAINST VENEZUELA
De
La Cruz, et al. Viviremos: Venezuela
vs. Hybrid War.
Ensberger and Podur. Extraordinary
Threat: The U.S. Empire, the Media, and 20 Years of Coup Attempts in Venezuela.
“Biden Extends U.S. Campaign to Crush Venezuela.” (5 articles).
Alan MacLeod. “…US Plans for War and
Terror against Venezuela.”
Dan Beeton. “The Venezuelan Coup, 20
Years Later.”
Ryan Swan. “Venezuela Seeks
Investigation [of war crimes] by ICC.”
“Alex Saab Is Being Tortured….”
Ricardo Vaz. US Meddling in Elections.
Jonathan Ng. “The US Is…Strangling
Venezuela.”
UN Special Rapporteur Alena Douhan Reports on US v. Human Rights in Venezuela.
Douhan. “Call for Sanctions Relief.”
Andreina Chavez Alava. “UN Expert…Impact
of U.S.-led Sanctions against Venezuela.”
Ana Perdigon. “U.S. Seditious Policy against
Venezuela.”
Lucas Koerner. “U.S. Empire’s Fixation with Chavismo.”
Ricardo Vaz. Extraditing Venezuelan Envoy
to US.
“U.S…Using Guaido to Rob Venezuela.”
Cira Pasqual Marquina. Venezuela’s Communal
Past.
Emersberger and Podur. Myth of Venezuela’s
Prosperous and Democratic Past.
“The Blockade against Venezuela…Deadly Impact of Sanctions.”
Emersberger. Alex Saab Case.
Caitlin Johnstone. US History of
Interfering with Elections.
SUPPORT OF VENEZUELA
Legacy of Hugo Chavez Lives On. (2 articles)
Leonardo Flores. “Five Reasons the Left
Won in Venezuela.”
Vargas and Sonja. Venezuela’s
Insurrectionist and Communal Past.
Mision Verdad. FAO Food Report on
Venezuela Is Positive.
Ben Norton. “Venezuela’s Economy Will
Grow. . .in 2022.”
Ociel Lopez. “Venezuela and the New
Latin Left.”
Morning Star. “…Maduro’s Successful
Socialist…Strategy.”
Cira Pascual Marquine. “Radical Land
Reform…”
Federico Fuentes. “’Commune or Nothing’….”
Dakotah Lily. “…Ecosocialism in an Oil-Rich
State.”
Jovanni. “…DemilitarizedU on Venezuelan
Elections.”
TEXTS of VENEZUELA #5 (36)
A long time ago I was asked: Shouldn’t you present both sides? I replied: No, when the opponent is the
richest nation on earth, with its allies possessing the largest propaganda (“public
relations”) organization in the history of humankind, and I am a single, unpaid
volunteer. Dear Reader: Do you agree
with me that knowledge is the foundation for any nonviolent resistance? I have a hundred Anthologies on a hundred
different topics in preparation. Will
you take one to finish? --Dick
THE US WAR ON VENEZUELA
CLAUDIA DE LA CRUZ; MANOLO DOS SANTOS;
VIJAY PRASHAD. Viviremos: Venezuela
vs. Hybrid War. International Publishers, 2021.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
pUBLISHER’S DESCRIPTION
Ever since the
Bolivarian Revolution began in Venezuela in 1998-99, the United States
government – on behalf of its various allies – pursued a policy of hybrid war
to undermine and destroy Bolivarianism. This hybrid war has included the
unilateral, criminal sanctions regime which has been deepened during the
COVID-19 pandemic; the Venezuelan people are being suffocated by a policy
imposed on them. Venezuela’s only provocation was to chart out a path for
itself that consolidates the country’s sovereignty and improves the life of the
Venezuelan people. Viviremos, say the Venezuelans as they struggle to uphold
their dignity, we will live.
The authors of this book chart out the
character of the unilateral, criminal sanctions and offer heartfelt assessments
of how this hybrid war is being prosecuted by the United States and how it is
being resisted by the people. Their essays are a contribution to ending the imperialist
attack on Venezuela.
Contributors: Carlos
Ron, Claudia De La Cruz, Manolo De Los Santos, Vijay Prashad, Prabhat Patnaik,
Ana Maldonado, Paola Estrada, Zoe PC, Samuel Moncada, Joe Sammut, Gregory
Wilpert, Anya Parampil, Belén Fernández, Miguel Stédile, and George
Ciccariello-Maher.
Joe Emersberger and Justin Podur. Extraordinary Threat. Monthly Review P, 2021.
Publisher’s
description:
A primer for answering questions
like:
What is the nature of
Venezuela's government? Is it a dictatorship?
Are Venezuela's problems due to misgovernment, or are they due to U.S.
interference?
What would happen if Venezuela fell to U.S. imperialism?
How has the U.S. been able to get away with this?
Taking
Venezuela as a case study, how does regime change propaganda work?
From Chapter 3:
....In March 2020, the
United States began imposing sanctions on foreign firms that trade with
Venezuela. It also announced a Wild West-style bounty on the head of Maduro and
other officials, based on drug trafficking allegations that were transparently political
in nature—and in some instances, totally preposterous. For example, it was
alleged that Maduro’s government intended to “flood” the United States with
cocaine. This claim, no matter how unhinged, was consistent with the
officially declared U.S. “national emergency” that said that Venezuela was an
“extraordinary threat” to the United States: a clear example of the aggressor
demanding victim status....
...As 2020 came to a
close, the United States seemed unwilling to declare an end to the Guaidó era
any time soon—the very long attempt to oust Maduro through threats, appeals to
the Venezuelan military to perpetrate a coup, and, worst of all, constantly
escalating economic warfare. The lack of opposition to this prolonged
coup attempt where it would be most effective—in Western governments, media,
and prominent nonprofits—has proven lethal. The empire centered in Washington
is an extraordinary threat to the world.
The following piece is
adapted from Extraordinary Threat: The U.S. Empire, the Media and 20 Years
of Coup Attempts in Venezuela, Monthly
Review Press,
2021.
In his State of the
Union address on February 6, 2019, Donald Trump
said:
We stand with the
Venezuelan people in their noble quest for freedom—and we condemn the brutality
of the Maduro regime, whose socialist policies have turned that nation from
being the wealthiest in South America into a state of abject poverty and
despair.
Monthly Review Press,
2021
Trump’s ridiculous
comment was not considered controversial, because the Western media, including
the anti-Trump outlets like the New York Times, have spent many
years conveying a lie: that Venezuela had been very prosperous and democratic
until Hugo Chávez, and then his successor Nicolás Maduro, came along and ruined
everything. If readers believe that, then they may indeed wonder, “Why shouldn’t
the U.S. government help Venezuelans return to that prosperous state?”
But this attitude is
the result of common deceptions about Venezuela’s economic history, and it
ignores how the rise of Chávez actually brought democratic reform, not
regression, to Venezuela. The story the Western media tell should instead make
people wonder how Chavismo could have become the dominant political force if
everything had once been wonderful in Venezuela. . . . MORE
“Biden Extends U.S. Campaign to Crush
Venezuela”
CovertAction Magazine via gmail.mcsv.net
Biden reinstates sanctions on Venezuela April 18, 2024. NPR https://www.npr.org ›
2024/04/18 › biden-reinstates-sa...
Biden will allow Venezuelans who fled the Maduro
regime ... Vox https://www.vox.com › policy-and-politics ›
venezuela-...
Mar 8,
2021 — Former President Donald Trump previously offered Venezuelans in the US the opportunity to
apply for another kind of humanitarian protection ...
Will the Biden Administration Abandon Democracy
in ... Council
on Foreign Relations
https://www.cfr.org ›
blog › will-biden-administration-...
Mar 30,
2024 — "President Biden is committed to a
foreign policy that...is centered on the defense of democracy and the
protection of human rights, Secretary ...
U.S. Will Allow Nearly 500000 Venezuelan
Migrants to ... The
New York Times https://www.nytimes.com ›
biden-adams-migrants
Sep 20,
2023 — The move, announced late Wednesday, followed intense lobbying
by New York Democrats before and during President Biden's visit to New
York ...
US reimposes oil sanctions on Venezuela as hopes ...AP News https://apnews.com › article ›
venezuela-united-states-sa... Apr 17,
2024 — The Biden administration
reimposed crushing oil sanctions on Venezuela in a rebuke to
President Nicolas Maduro.
“Mark
Esper’s tell-some reveals U.S. plans for war and terror against Venezuela.” Mronline.org (5-29-22).
By Alan MacLeod (Posted May 28, 2022)
Originally published: MintPress News on May 23, 2022 (more
by MintPress News).
Empire, Imperialism, State Repression, WarAmericas, United States, VenezuelaNewswireMark Esper, Operation Gideon
A new book from former Defense Secretary Mark Esper has
revealed shocking new details about the Trump administration’s war on
Venezuela. “A Sacred Oath: Memoirs of a Secretary of Defense During
Extraordinary Times” admits that the Trump administration plotted to invade
Venezuela and discussed assassinating President Nicolas Maduro, carrying out a
wave of terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure, and raising a mercenary
army to start a Contra-style terror war. Esper also all but confirms
Washington’s involvement in Operation
Gideon–a botched military
invasion of the country, and a 2018 attempt on Maduro’s life.
While barely covered
in Western media, Esper’s confessions have caused a storm of commotion in the
South American nation. However, Diego Sequera, a Caracas-based investigative journalist, told MintPress that
few were taken aback by the news. “It is, in a way, shocking. But on the other
hand, it is pretty much usual for us here,” he said, adding:
The news is not
surprising at all; we in Venezuela are used to it. Since 2004, when the first
Colombian paramilitary unit with a plan to assassinate President [Hugo] Chavez
was arrested, there have been a lot of exposés of this nature. . . . MORE
“The Venezuela Coup, 20 Years Later” By Dan Beeton, CEPR. PopularResistance.org
(4-16-22). On April 11, 2002,
Venezuela’s democratically elected government, headed by Hugo Chávez Frías, was
ousted in a military coup d’etat. Then, dramatically, two days later, the
coup was overturned by a mass mobilization of Venezuelans. They demanded
the restoration of democracy and the return of a government that appeared to be
making good on its commitment to redistribute Venezuela’s oil wealth to benefit
the country’s most marginalized sectors. These events led to lasting
ramifications not just for Venezuela, but for Latin America and... -more-
“Venezuela Seeks Investigation by
International Criminal Court (ICC) as to Whether U.S. Sanctions Constitute
Crimes Against Humanity” By Ryan Swan on Apr 11, 2022.
Adopted as part of regime-change operation, sanctions have
killed at least 40,000 Venezuelans.
Economic coercive measures, commonly known as economic
sanctions, are a means of coercive pressure through disruption of trade
relations and economic isolation. The use of sanctions under international law
is governed chiefly by Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, providing
that the Security Council may decide to enact a “complete or partial
interruption of economic relations” in order to restore international peace and
security.
Measures not authorized by the Security Council, or “unilateral
coercive measures” (UCM), have become an increasingly common coercive tactic of
the United States, which presently imposes sanctions on approximately one-third
of the global population.
Since 2010, the United States has also been enforcing
select secondary sanctions against international actors that maintain economic
relations with sanctioned states. The adverse effects of these measures on
civilian populations of targeted countries—“especially severe for vulnerable
groups,” including “women and children”—have been repeatedly and
unequivocally documented. MORE
The post Venezuela Seeks Investigation by International Criminal Court
(ICC) as to Whether U.S. Sanctions Constitute Crimes Against Humanity appeared first on CovertAction Magazine.
“Alex
Saab is being tortured in the U.S., denounces Diplomat’s wife Camila (+Oscar
López Rivera).” Editor. mronline.org.
Originally published: Orinoco Tribune on February 6, 2022 (more by Orinoco Tribune) | (Posted Feb 09, 2022). Empire, Imperialism, Incarceration, InequalityUnited
States, VenezuelaNewswireKidnapping, Torture
Venezuelan diplomat
Alex Saab “is suffering torture and inhumane treatment everyday in the United
States,” decried his wife Camila Fabri Saab during a solidarity event for the diplomat, hosted last Friday,
February 3, by the U.S.-based human rights organization Alliance for Global
Justice.
“Today, as we are
speaking here, another day passes in which my husband Alex Saab, a Venezuelan
diplomat, remains kidnapped,” she continued. Saab, a special envoy of the
Venezuelan government to Iran and Russia, and Venezuela’s alternate ambassador
to the African Union, was illegally arrested in June 2020 in Cape Verde while
he was on his way to Iran on a diplomatic mission. Since then, the diplomat has
been illegally held for more than 600 days, first in Cape Verde, and since
October 16, 2021, in the United States.
Ambassador Saab, in an
open letter,
denounced the Cape Verdean authorities for torturing him for days—under U.S.
orders—to force him to make false accusations against the Venezuelan government
and President Nicolás Maduro. . . .
MORE
Ricardo Vaz. “In
Venezuela, Elections Aren’t ‘Democratic’ unless Winners Are US-Approved.” Extra! (Jan-Feb. 2022), a publication of FAIR.
Biden’s State Dept. imitates earlier ones by trying to
discredit election results when the US empire does not like the results. Vaz writes for Venezuelanalysis, Peoples Dispatch, and other
news media.
“The U.S. is intentionally strangling
Venezuela.”
mronline.org (1-11-22). By Jonathan Ng (Posted Jan
10, 2022).
Empire, Imperialism, Movements, Political Economy, RevolutionsAmericas, VenezuelaCommentary, NewsFeatured
. . . In recent years,
a raging humanitarian crisis has slowly but brutally undermined the Venezuelan
Revolution, which had virtually eradicated malnutrition and slashed poverty in half. Inflation has devoured savings, while
compelling families to make severe economies. Many must regularly decide whether to eat or buy medicine. Hunger has become a constant for the skeletal figures walking the streets of Maracaibo,
forming food lines, and populating hospital beds.
Mismanagement of the
economy and state corruption partly explain their misery. Yet it is also an official
policy of the U.S. In the world of high politics, suffering is an
instrument of statecraft, and officials are trying to strangle the Venezuelan
Revolution with sanctions. Above all, they fear the radical ambitions of
the popular classes, which once transformed Venezuela and may do so again. The
current crisis is incomprehensible apart from this deeper history of collective
struggle and imperial backlash.
Aló Presidente
That history begins in the Cold War. . .
. MORE
“Preliminary
findings of the visit to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela by the Special
Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the
enjoyment of human rights.” Mronline.org (2-16-21).
The United Nations Special
Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the
enjoyment of human rights, Ms. Alena Douhan, visited the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
from 1 to 12 February 2021. She thanks the Government of the Bolivarian
Republic of Venezuela for enabling and supporting her visit to the country. The
purpose […] | more…
“Washington Maintains Seditious Agenda Against Venezuela”
By
Ana Perdigón . Orinoco Tribune. Popular Resistance.org
(11-23-21). The government of the United
States ratified its seditious policy against Venezuela by continuing to
recognize former deputy Juan Guaidó as the interim president of Venezuela. On
Tuesday, November 16, the Undersecretary of State for the Western Hemisphere,
Brian Nichols, confirmed that the US still recognizes former deputy Juan Guaidó
“and his government.” The statement was made during Nichols’ appearance before
the Foreign Subcommittee of the Chamber of Deputies, in which Nichols was asked
whether the US administration plans to recognize the President of Venezuela,
Nicolás Maduro. -more-
“UN
Expert Releases Full Report on Impact of U.S.-led Sanctions Against Venezuela.” Editor.
Mronline.org (9-21-21).
Special
Rapporteur Alena Douhan reiterated her call for sanctions relief, stating they
undermine Venezuelans’ human rights.
Originally published: “UN Expert Releases Full Report on Impact of U.S.-led Sanctions Against
Venezuela” on September 18, 2021 by Andreína Chávez Alava (more by UN
Expert Releases Full Report on Impact of U.S.-led Sanctions Against Venezuela) (Posted Sep 20, 2021). Human Rights, Imperialism, Inequality, State RepressionUnited States, VenezuelaNewswireAlena Douhan, Sanctions, U.S. sanctions, United Nations (UN), Venezuela sanctions
United
Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur Alena Douhan presented a 19-page report detailing the negative
consequences of US-led sanctions on the Venezuelan people.
The document compiles
Douhan’s complete assessment of her 12-day visit to the Caribbean country
in February. Presenting the findings at the 48th UN Human
Rights Council session on September 15, the independent expert reiterated that the wide-reaching sanctions program
against Venezuela has had a “devastating” effect on the entire population’s
living conditions.
Douhan went on to
explain that Venezuela’s pre-existing economic and social crisis was
exacerbated by the imposition of “sectoral sanctions on the oil, gold and
mining industries” as well as “the economic blockade and the freezing of the Central Bank
assets.”
Consequently, the
country’s revenues, essentially from oil exports, were significantly reduced, affecting
“public electricity, gas, water, transport, telephone and communication
systems, as well as schools, hospitals and other public institutions.” MORE
“‘The Blockade Against
Venezuela: Measures and Consequences’.” Editor.
Mronline.org (8-25-21).
Originally published: Venezuelanalysis.com on August 22, 2021 by
Venezuelanalysis.com (more by Venezuelanalysis.com) | (Posted Aug 24,
2021). Health, Imperialism, Inequality, State RepressionUnited States, VenezuelaNewswirecoronavirus, COVID-19, pandemic, U.S. blockade, Utopix's Kael Abello
In recent years, the
United States and its allies have unleashed a devastating blockade against
Venezuela in hopes of triggering regime change. In this infographic, designed
by Utopix’s Kael Abello, we detail the measures and
deadly consequences of this
multi-pronged aggression.
“Who’s
afraid of Hugo Chávez? Race, Empire, and Chavismo’s revolutionary subjectivity.” Lucas Koerner examines the U.S. Empire’s
fixation with Chavismo. April
10, 2021 | Newswire. Mronline.org (4-11-21). Originally published: Black Agenda Report on March 17, 2021 (more by Black Agenda Report).
Empire, Imperialism, Revolutions, State RepressionUnited States, VenezuelaNewswireChavismo
What is it about
Chávez and the national-popular movement bearing his name that is so
threatening to the U.S. Empire to this day?
For years, a specter
has haunted the West, the specter of populism. Spawned originally by the
leftist “Pink Tide” sweeping Latin America in the 2000s, the populist menace
has morphed into a generalized moral panic following the election of Donald
Trump in 2016. The far-right real estate mogul has come to personify the
proverbial barbarian at the gates of liberal democracy, in the eyes of the U.S.
ruling class, alongside an unlikely doppelganger: Venezuela’s socialist Afro-indigenous president, Hugo Chávez
Frías, who according to Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani recently returned from the
grave to rig the 2020 U.S. election. How are we to understand U.S. elites’
obsession with Chávez and what can that tell us about the racial
ideology underpinning U.S. imperialism? What is it about Chávez and the
national-popular movement bearing his name that is so threatening to the U.S.
Empire to this day? In what follows, I will make a case for reading the
reactionary fixation with Chávez as an index of Chavismo’s enduring
world-historical significance. I argue that Chávez must be taken seriously as a
Marxist thinker whose praxis of “mutual interpellation” with the popular
masses–perhaps unique in the post-Cold War world–has crucial implications for
revolutionary theory and practice across the globe. . . . MORE
“Cape
Verde greenlights Venezuelan gov’t envoy extradition to U.S.” Ricardo Vaz.
The Cape Verde Supreme Court has approved
a request to extradite Venezuelan government envoy Alex Saab to the U.S.
MR Online |March
27, 2021 . Newswire
By Ricardo Vaz (Posted Mar 27, 2021). Empire, Ideology, Movements, StrategyUnited States, VenezuelaNewswireAlex Saab, Sanctions
The Cape Verde Supreme
Court has approved a request to extradite Venezuelan government envoy Alex Saab
to the U.S. “The Supreme Court confirms
the legal authorization for Saab’s extradition to the United States,” the
ruling issued on Wednesday read.
The Colombian-born
businessman was detained on an Interpol warrant in June 2020 during a stopover
in the African archipelago. He was reportedly on his way to Iran to negotiate
trade agreements on behalf of the Nicolás Maduro government.
Caracas protested his arrest, arguing that Saab was
protected by diplomatic immunity as “an agent of a sovereign government,” and
launched a campaign for his release. The subsequent months saw Washington’s
request approved by lower courts, in spite of the absence of a mutual
extradition treaty between the two countries, and appealed to higher instances
by Saab’s lawyers. His defense team,
which includes high-profile Spanish jurist Baltasar Garzón, secured his transfer to house arrest in
January and vowed to appeal the latest ruling before the Cape Verde
Constitutional Court. . . . MORE
“U.S.
to continue using Guaido to rob Venezuelan assets abroad.” Mronline.org (3-7-21).
The
continuation of the Trump administration’s aggressive policies toward Venezuela
by the Biden administration is reflected in the recent meeting between the new
U.S. Secretary of State and Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó. more…
Originally published: teleSUR English on March 4, 2021 (more
by teleSUR English).
Imperialism, Inequality, State Repression, StrategyUnited States, VenezuelaNewswireDestabilization
in Venezuela, Juan Guaidó, U.S.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Venezuela Opposition
The conversation held
by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken with opponent Juan Guaidó is evidence
that Joe Biden’s government will continue to use the former Venezuelan
parliament member to appropriate all the resources Venezuela holds abroad,
according to international analyst Laila Tajeldine, Sputnik reported.
Blinken held a
telephone conversation with Guaidó on March 2 and reiterated that the U.S.
government continues to support all kinds of pressure on President Nicolás
Maduro, with allies such as the European Union, the Lima Group, the
Organization of American States (OAS), and the International Contact Group.
“The United States is
completely following Citgo (a subsidiary of Petroleos de Venezuela), which is
still in a legal process, and the figure of Guaidó allows it to retain
Venezuelan assets abroad; until that is not done, the United States is going to
continue using the figure of Guaidó to steal all the resources, and once the
objectives are fulfilled it will discard it,” Tajeldine said.
Pair this with Blinken's explicit admission of support
for "Interim President Juan Guaido" (https://t.co/1B9dwoeZEK ) and it's clear
the attempted coup in Venezuela is only beginning. Reluctant continuation of
Trump policy? Doubtful. Imperialists stick together: blue and red. https://t.co/4UmP0LxhyG
— drew
(@undercover_drew) March
4, 2021
According to the
lawyer, Venezuela is not surprised by this stance of the new U.S.
administration since Blinken had vowed publicly before assuming his current
position a continuation of the Trump policies (2017-2021).
Early in the year,
President Maduro had indicated hope in a change in relations with the United
States “on the basis of mutual respect, dialogue, communication and
understanding” after Biden’s arrival to power.
However, the analyst
emphasizes the existence of a right-wing sector in the U.S. opposed to any
change in the current status of confrontation because it bets on the
destabilization of Venezuela to get hold of its resources.
“The U.S. economic
lobby opts rather for the destabilization or destruction of the institutions
and the State in Venezuela, and that lobby is the one that is saying that it is
more convenient a destroyed Venezuela, a failed State in which they can arrive
through intervention and steal all the resources,” he argued.
In his dialogue with
Guaidó, Blinken also highlighted the “importance of a return to democracy in
Venezuela through free and fair elections.”
MORE
“The
media myth of ‘once prosperous’ and democratic Venezuela before Chávez.” Joe Emersberger. Mronline.org (8-29-21).
Economists
typically use GDP per capita to assess how rich a country is. It is basically a
measure of the average income per person. If journalists cared to be at all
precise when they say that Venezuela had once been “rich,” then that’s a
statistic they’d cite.
By Joe Emersberger, Justin Podur (Posted Aug 28, 2021)
Originally published: FAIR (Fairness & Accuracy in
Reporting) on August 26, 2021 (more
by FAIR
(Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting)). Democracy, Economic Theory, Imperialism, State RepressionUnited States, VenezuelaNewswire
“Saab case shows Western
media’s casual acceptance of U.S. atrocities.” Joe Emersberger. Mronline.org (7-24-21).
Imagine being imprisoned
for nonviolently attempting to prevent a heinous crime. That sums up the
absurdity of Saab’s predicament–and Western media’s coverage of it.
Originally published: Venezuelanalysis.com on August 22, 2021 by Venezuelanalysis.com (more by Venezuelanalysis.com) | (Posted Aug 24,
2021.) Health, Imperialism, Inequality, State RepressionUnited States, VenezuelaNewswirecoronavirus, COVID-19, pandemic, U.S. blockade, Utopix's Kael Abello
By Joe Emersberger (Posted Jul 23, 2021)
Originally published: FAIR (Fairness & Accuracy in
Reporting) on July 21, 2021 (more by FAIR
(Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting). Empire, Imperialism, Incarceration, InequalityUnited StatesNewswireAlex Saab
A Colombian
businessperson named Alex Saab was traveling to Iran on behalf of the
Venezuelan government in June 2020. His official
mission was to negotiate
shipments of medicine and other
essential products to
Venezuela. He was arrested in Cape Verde at the behest of the U.S. government,
where he remains to this day; President Joe Biden has continued Donald
Trump’s effort to extradite him to the U.S.
Western corporate
media have been frank about the fact that Saab was targeted for helping
Venezuela get around U.S. sanctions. Though you’d struggle to learn it
from those media, these sanctions have been directly linked to tens of
thousands of Venezuelan deaths since 2017 (FAIR.org, 6/14/19). Articles about Saab’s case have also
ignored all the powerful arguments that the sanctions
are illegal under both U.S.
and international law. . . . MORE
“The case of Alex Saab – U.S. abduction of Venezuelan diplomat, a global
challenge.” Editor.
Mronline.org (6-27-21).
The case involves the kidnapping of a
diplomat by the world’s sole superpower locked in an unequal struggle to
destroy the formerly prosperous, oil rich country of Venezuela.
June
26, 2021 | Newswire
“America’s
soup-brained president says ‘the U.S. never interferes in other countries’
elections.” Caitlin A. Johnstone. Mronline.org (6-19-21). The U.S. is far and away the single most
egregious offender in the world on this front, which is largely why it is
perceived around the world as a greater threat to democracy than any other
government.
June
18, 2021 | Newswire
Originally published: CaitlinJohnstone.com (more by CaitlinJohnstone.com).
Empire, StrategyUnited
StatesNewswirePresident
Joe Biden
During an astonishingly sycophantic press conference after the Geneva
summit with Vladimir Putin, President Biden posited an entirely hypothetical
scenario about what the world would think of the United States if it were
interfering in foreign elections and everybody knew it.
When AP’s Jonathan Lemire asked the president of the most
powerful government in the world what “consequences” he’d threatened the
Russian leader with should the Kremlin interfere in U.S. elections going
forward, Biden meandered his way through one of his signature not-quite-lucid
word salads, and then said the following:
Let’s get this straight: How
would it be if the United States were viewed by the rest of the world as
interfering with the elections directly of other countries, and everybody knew
it? What would it be like if we engaged in activities that he is engaged in? It
diminishes the standing of a country that is desperately trying to make sure it
maintains its standing as a major world power.
The fact that the
entire press corps did not erupt in side-splitting laughter at this ridiculous
utterance is in itself proof that western news media is pure propaganda. The
United States has directly
interfered in scores of foreign elections since it began its ascent to global
domination at the end of the second World War, to say nothing of all the coups,
color revolutions, proxy conflicts and regime change military invasions it has
also participated in during that time. The U.S. openly
interfered in Russia’s
elections in the nineties, and literally just tried
to stage
a coup in Bolivia by
interfering in its democratic process. The U.S. is far and away the single
most egregious offender in the world on this front, which is largely why it
is perceived
around the world as
a greater threat to democracy than any other government.
This is not a secret,
internationally or in the United States. Anyone who has done any learning about
the U.S. government’s actual behavior on the world stage knows this. Hell, a
former CIA director openly
joked about it on Fox News a
few years ago.
Fox’s Laura Ingraham
unsurprisingly introduced former CIA Director James Woolsey as “an old friend”
in a
2018 interview about Special
Prosecutor Robert Mueller’s indictment of 13 alleged members of a Russian troll
farm, in which Woolsey unsurprisingly talked about how dangerous Russian
“disinformation” is and Ingraham unsurprisingly said that everyone should
actually be afraid of China. What was a bit surprising, though, was what
happened at the end of the interview.
“Have we ever tried to
meddle in other countries’ elections?” Ingraham asked in response to Woolsey’s Russia remarks.
“Oh, probably,”
Woolsey said with a grin.
But it was for the
good of the system in order to avoid the communists from taking over. For
example, in Europe, in ’47, ’48, ’49, the Greeks and the Italians we CIA-
“We don’t do that
anymore though?” Ingraham interrupted.
We don’t mess around
in other people’s elections, Jim?
Woolsey smiled and
said said “Well…”, followed by a joking incoherent mumble, adding,
Only for a very good
cause.
And then they both
laughed.
The fact that not one
person in the press pool questioned or criticized Biden’s outrageous remarks
tells you everything you need to know about the western media and what its real
function is. This is further illustrated by the rest of the behavior of these
odious propagandists during the summit, which was illustrated quite well by the
glowing praise of Democratic Party insider Andrea Chalupa on Twitter:
“The winners of #GenevaSummit2021 are the White House press corp,”
Chalupa said.
Excellent questions
confronting Putin and challenging Biden on holding a summit with a ruthless
dictator. And they literally held their ground when shoved by Putin’s security
and propagandists.
That actually says it
all. Western reporters are forbidden by their oligarchic owners from ever
confronting power in any meaningful way; the closest they’re ever allowed to
get to punching up is challenging the leaders of CIA-targeted governments, and
demanding to know why their own officials aren’t being more hawkish
and aggressive toward those leaders.
As RT’s Murad
Gazdiev pointed
out, “ABC, NBC, BBC, CNN,
and many other Western outlets were invited for Putin’s press conference. No
Russian media was invited to Biden’s press conference.” The whole thing was a
navel-gazing, masturbatory cold war propaganda orgy where western “journalists” made
up fantasies about their
soup-brained leader staring down Putin, where they yelled nonsense about Alexei Navalny at the Russian
president and then fangirled
at Biden’s response.
SUPPORT OF VENEZUELA, ACHIEVEMENTS
“Hugo
Chávez didn’t die, he multiplied!”
Editor.
Mronline.org (3-10-23).
Ten years since his
passing, the legacy of Commander Hugo Chávez lives on in the people. Originally published: Peoples Dispatch on March 7, 2023 (more by Peoples Dispatch) (Posted Mar 09, 2023). Culture, Ideology, Movements, PhilosophyAmericas, VenezuelaNewswire
March 5 marked ten
years since the passing of Commander Hugo Chávez, former president of Venezuela
and the father of the Bolivarian Revolution. Chávez was Venezuela’s president
from February 2, 1999, until his death on March 5, 2013.
Chávez inaugurated a
new period in Venezuela’s history. Through his comprehensive and inclusive
social and economic policies, he brought back dignity and pride to the
Venezuelan people and transformed the social reality of the country. He forged
important projects for Latin American unity and integration such as the
Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), the Bolivarian
Alliance for the Peoples of Our America—Peoples’ Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP), and
the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR). He died at the age of 58,
following a two-year battle with cancer.
On the tenth
anniversary of his death, thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets of the
capital Caracas to pay homage to Chávez and ratify their commitment to defend
his anti-imperialist and socialist legacy. . . . MORE
“Those
who die for life–like Hugo Chávez–cannot be called dead: The Ninth Newsletter
(2023).” Vijay Prashad.
Mronline.org (3-4-23).
On 28 October 2005, a special event was held in Caracas at
the National Assembly of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. At this
gathering, held on the birthday of Simón
Rodríguez (Simón Bolívar’s teacher), the Venezuelan government announced
that nearly 1.5 million adults had learned to read through Mission Robinson.
Originally published: Tricontinental: Institute for Social
Research on March 2, 2023 (more by Tricontinental:
Institute for Social Research). Human Rights, Protest, Revolutions, StrategyAmericas, Global, VenezuelaNewswireTricontinental
Newsletter
Five Reasons Why The Left Won In
Venezuela”
By
Leonardo Flores,. Popular
Resistance.org (11-24-21). For the
first time in four years, every major opposition party in Venezuela
participated in elections. For the fifth time in four years, the left won in a
landslide. Voters elected 23 governors, 335 mayors, 253 state legislators and
2,471 municipal councilors. The governing United Socialist Party of Venezuela
(PSUV) won at least 19 of 23 governorships (one race remains too close to call)
and the Caracas mayoralty in the November 21 “mega-elections.” Of the 335
mayoral races, the vote count has been completed in 322 of them, with PSUV and
its coalition taking 205, opposition coalitions 96 and... -more-
“The imprint of an
insurrectional past: a conversation with Iraida Vargas and Mario Sanoja.” Cira Pascual Marquina. Mronline.org (10-17-21).
Two eminent anthropologists
talk about Venezuela’s history and its relation to the present.
. .
.In The Long March toward Communal Society you write: “The
persistence of communitarian traditions of both aboriginal and black-Venezuelan
societies contributes to supporting the development of extensive communal
systems, both rural and urban, propelled by the Bolivarian Revolution.” This is
interesting but could a culture as urban as that of most Venezuelans today
really preserve elements of that communitarian past?
Vargas: If anything has been revived thanks to
the Bolivarian Revolution, it is communal life. The Chavista people have put
into practice Chávez’s slogan Commune or Nothing! and this, in turn, is a product of
popular organization or popular power.
We see communal
construction not only in rural areas but also in cities. To understand the
phenomenon we should point to the fact that urban barrio cultures
here have a campesino origin. In the 50s, 60s, and 70s people
from rural areas came to the cities, and with them they brought vestiges of
communal life. In fact, you can see this in the distribution of domestic
spaces, which are somewhat reminiscent of the houses in the Llanos
[center-south of the country] and Andes [Venezuela’s mountainous region] where
common spaces with flower gardens are often found.
In Caracas barrios,
rural forms of solidarity also express themselves in the cayapas [indigenous
Caribe word referring to collective labor activities] and in other practices of
mutual aid. In fact, the collaborative construction of houses in some Housing
Mission initiatives [Campamentos de Pioneros] is a good example of mutual or
collaborative work processes.
Communal solidarity
also operates among women in the barrios. Those who work outside
the community will often get help from other women to care for their children,
who may even eat at the community canteens that offer food to those who need
it. The canteens likewise maintain campesino culinary
traditions.
Finally, when we think
about the living traditions that we inherit from communal societies, we cannot
overlook the festivities nominally dedicated to patron saints. These
distinctive cultural practices have much to do with sharing, joy of life, and
the love for music. Venezuelans tend to be cheerful, lively, and relaxed, and
these are traits that don’t have their origin in the colonizers.
Sanoja: One case that is relevant to the debate
about communes in urban spaces is 23 de Enero in western Caracas. Up until 1954
poor black communities inhabited Caño Amarillo [a part of 23 de Enero barrio]
maintaining many practices of solidarity and powerful cultural traditions. As
it turns out, 23 de Enero is an epicenter of communal organization in Caracas
today. That isn’t coincidental: the vestiges of communal organization are a key
factor.
When Chávez began
promoting the construction of communes, the people in 23 de Enero were better
positioned to advance. No doubt the recent history of rebelliousness against
the governments of the Fourth Republic [1958-99] strengthened these
communities. However, I am convinced that the pre-existing forms of communality
and cultural identity also played an important role.
If you go to El Panal Commune, you will find not only a new political
organization but also a radio, a TV station, etc. They have a socio-political
project in which one can see past communal practices reemerge and shape the new
society. . . . MORE
“FAO
report refutes Venezuelan food crisis narrative.”
Editor.
mronline.org (7-29-23).
The most recent report from the
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has revealed
positive news for Venezuela.
Originally published: Orinoco Tribune on July 26, 2023 by
Misión Verdad (more by Orinoco
Tribune) | (Posted Jul
29, 2023)
Agriculture, Culture, Political Economy, StrategyAmericas, United States, VenezuelaNewswireFood
and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Food Crisis
The most recent report from the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has revealed positive news for
Venezuela. According to the report, the number of people suffering from
undernourishment in the country has decreased significantly compared to previous
years. This trend reflects slow but steady economic progress, despite the
challenges imposed by U.S. illegal sanctions.
Researcher Clara Sánchez mentions this finding with the aim of dismantling the
narrative that Venezuelan opposition candidates are currently using in their
political campaigns, in which they refer to an alleged “food crisis” in the
country. . . . MORE
“Venezuela’s economy
will grow 20% in 2022, despite illegal U.S. sanctions, predicts Western bank.” Editor.
Mronline.org (4-9-22).
By Ben Norton (Posted Apr 08, 2022).
Originally published: Multipolarista on April 6, 2022 (more
by Multipolarista)
Economic Theory, Imperialism, Political Economy, StrategyAmericas, United States, VenezuelaNewswireCredit Suisse, illegal U.S. blockade, Sanctions, Western bank
The major
Switzerland-based bank Credit Suisse has predicted that Venezuela’s real GDP
growth will be 20% in 2022. The
prominent Western financial institution also forecasted that Venezuela’s real
GDP will increase by an additional 8% in 2023.
These predictions come despite an illegal U.S. blockade imposed on
Venezuela, which has starved the government of revenue, locked it out of the
international financial system, and fueled an economic crisis.
The top United Nations
expert on sanctions estimated that the Venezuelan government lost 99% of its
revenue due to the Western unilateral coercive measures, which are illegal
under international law. “Unilateral
sanctions increasingly imposed by the United States, the European Union and
other countries have exacerbated the [economic crisis],” stated Alena Douhan,
the UN special rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive
measures on the enjoyment of human rights, after she took a two-week fact-finding
trip to Venezuela in February 2021.
“The Government’s
revenue was reported to shrink by 99% with the country currently living on 1% of its
pre-sanctions income,” Douhan wrote. . . . MOPRE
“Crisis & Critique:
Venezuela and the New Latin American Left.” Editor.
Mronlne.org (3-13-22).
With leftist leaders
winning back power in Latin America, how will they handle the "Venezuela
issue"? Ociel López breaks it down.
Originally published: Venezuelananlysis on March 10, 2022 by
Ociel López (more by Venezuelananlysis) | (Posted Mar
12, 2022).
Culture, Democracy, Ideology, MovementsLatin America, VenezuelaNewswireChile’s Gabriel Boric, Colombian
presidential candidate Gustavo Petro, Former
Brazilian president Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silv, Peru’s Pedro Castillo, Venezuelan
President Nicolás Maduro
Recent diatribes
between Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Chile’s Gabriel
Boric and Colombian
presidential candidate Gustavo Petro allow us to analyze two things: the Latin
American left’s internal state and future relations between these governments.
Former Brazilian
president Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva and Peru’s Pedro Castillo should also be
added to the discussion. All have shown a clear intention to radically distance
themselves from Caracas, shielding against the so-called “Venezuelanization” of
the region’s politics.
The progressive
leaders have denounced an alleged “democracy deficit” in the Venezuelan
government. Meanwhile, Caracas has blasted the Latin American leftists for not
taking a strong stance against U.S. sanctions on Venezuela or conveniently forgetting
to even mention the issue.
These leftist sectors’
position is no coincidence. Venezuela has become one of the main arguments the
region’s right-wing bloc uses to attack any progressive formula or proposal
that arises. Especially in countries with a large presence of Venezuelan migrants.
. . . MORE
|
“Understanding Maduro’s Successful Socialist Economic
Strategy” By Morning Star. Popular Resistance.org
(8-13-22). In its intensely biased
coverage of Venezuela during the hard years of 2014-21 the mainstream media
wheeled in every imaginable academic pundit to “demonstrate” that the
country’s economic woes were the result of President Nicolas Maduro
overseeing Venezuela’s slide “into authoritarianism and economic collapse”
(The Guardian, January 24 2019) and not of cruel US sanctions. In
2019, the Economist for instance, in line with US policy, published
a front cover with a clench-fisted Juan Guaido titled “the battle for
Venezuela’s future,” positing “the world democracies are right to
seek change.” -more-
|
|
“Radical
Land Reform in Venezuela: A Conversation with Juan Carlos Loyo (Part I).” Cira Pascual Marquina. Mronline.org (2-1-22).
Chávez’s agriculture minister talks about the revolutionary changes in
land tenure that took place under the former president.
Interviewed by Cira Pascual Marquina (Posted Jan 31,
2022).
Originally published: Venezuelananlysis on January 28, 2022 (more by Venezuelananlysis) |
Agriculture, Environment, History, MovementsVenezuelaExchangeBolivarian Project, Hugo Chávez, Juan Carlos Loyo, land reform, Land Reform Laws, Peasants/Campesinos
Juan
Carlos Loyo held various posts in
Chávez’s Land Rep, including Minister of Agriculture from 2010 to 2013. Today
Loyo is a researcher and a professor of political economy at the Bolivarian
University in Caracas. In this two-part interview, he talks about the origin of
Venezuela’s latifundia–large tracts of landed property, under a regime of
low-intensity production–and the radical agrarian reform that Hugo Chávez tried
to carry out during the heyday of the Bolivarian process.
In
the debates about Venezuela’s ongoing struggle for the land, the origins of the
latifundia are often left out. However, the latifundium was the defining form
of landed property before the Bolivarian Revolution. What can you tell us about
its history?
Let’s take the Spanish
colonization as a starting point and the many rebellions and insurrections that
followed the intitial process of dispossession.
When the Spanish
occupied this territory, the crown handed over large tracts of land to what
today we might call the agrarian bourgeoisie. People who had served the
interests of the crown were retributed with land, which of course meant
violently displacing the people inhabiting the territory. If we look at our
history, we will discover that the latifundia structure implanted by the
colonists survives up until the 21st century. . . . MORE
“‘Commune or nothing’:
New laws reignite old debates over communal power in Venezuela’.” Federico Fuentes mronline.org (6-12-21)
Venezuela’s National Assembly (AN) has approved two bills with
the aim of further empowering the communal councils and communes that lie at
the heart of the country’s project of communal power.
June 11, 2021 | Newswire
“Mision Arbol: Ecosocialism In An Oil-Rich Nation”
By Dakotah Lily, Popular Resistance.(5-22-21).
President Chavez was ahead of his time for a head of state, but was merely
reiterating what thousands of activists and thinkers had been saying for
decades. “But wait!” many readers and commentators alike may say; “Chavez and
the Bolivarian Revolution exported oil, so any claims of environmentalism must
just be talk!”. Nothing could be farther from the truth, as I will show in the
following article how Chavez, his successor Nicolas Maduro, and the
Bolivarian process as a whole has an outstanding record in terms of combating
climate change and defending the environment. -more-
“New DemilitarizeU episode on Venezuelan
election.” Jovanni via email.actionnetwork.org 3-1-21 . ABOUT FACE.
Dick,
This week we've organized a special edition of our free DemilitarizeU political
education series on Venezuelan elections. Unlike previous livestreamed
episodes, this one will take place this Wednesday, March 3rd at 8pm ET
in Zoom as a panel discussion so that we can offer Spanish and English
translation. RSVP NOW
In
this webinar, we will learn more about the U.S.-led hybrid war on Venezuela,
the significance of the 2020 National Assembly elections, and the recent
visit of UN Special Rapporteur Alena Douhan’s to investigate the impacts of
US sanctions on the Venezuelan people.
We are joined by special guest, Gabriel Aguirre, geopolitical
analyst and Secretary General of the Committee of International Solidarity in
Venezuela (COSI) along with Monisha Ríos, a US Army veteran and
president of Psychologist for Social Responsibility, and Jovanni Reyes,
a US Army Veteran, Member Coordinator for About Face a long time Latin American
observer. The conversation will be moderated by Wendy Barranco, a US Army
Veteran, and Community Care Organizer with About Face.
Hope to see you there!
Jovanni Reyes(he/him)Member Coordinator
About Face: Veterans Against the War
OMNI VENEZUELA
ANTHOLOGY #4, February 14, 2021, https://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2021/02/venezuela-omni-newsletter-4-2-14-21.html , Compiled
by Dick Bennett for a Culture of Peace, Justice, and Ecology
#3, 9-9-20 https://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2020/09/omni-venezuela-newsletter-3-compiled-by.html; #3
reaches back to 2018)
#2, July 16, 2020 https://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2020/07/omni-venezuela-newsletter-2.html
CONTENTS Venezuela #4
UN to Assess US Sanctions (2-10-21)
U.S. GAO: U.S. sanctions on Venezuela have
killed tens of thousands
Former UN Rapporteur for Human Rights
Evaluates Destructive US Sanctions.
Realizing the Dream of Communal Cities.
How a lawbreaking international coalition failed to overthrow
Venezuela’s government.
U.S. Embassy caught
scrubbing Tweets urging Venezuelans not to vote.
[Venezuelan] Embassy Protection
Collective Members.
Why imperialism is
obsolete in Latin America.
Standing by a radical Chávez.
Why
Venezuela’s Dec. 6 election is legitimate.
Center-Left
convergence in Venezuela: A blow to U.S. interventionism.
Chavismo and the Left (Part II).
Revolutionary organization in Venezuela.
Hate: A key strategy
of the Venezuelan opposition.
850 thousand Insulin kits from Russia arrived in
Venezuela (9-9-20)
END VENEZUELA #5
