Venezuela: Resistance or disintegration?

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro stated an agreement between his government and the country’s political opposition would likely be reached by the end of the year, adding that his administration is open to dialogue with all opposition groups.

Jul 03 2019 - Venezuela's Maduro Says Likely to Reach Agreement with Opposition by End of 2019
Venezuela's Maduro Says Likely to Reach Agreement with Opposition by End of 2019

“I am sure that in 2019 we will reach a great agreement on mutual understanding and peace, dialogue and democracy for Venezuela”, Maduro told Venezuelan state television.

The Venezuela's president also reaffirmed his government’s readiness to continue talks with the opposition in Norway.

“I would like to reaffirm the government’s readiness for the dialogue in Norway, aimed at creating a permanent mechanism for talks and search for solutions. This is the goal and I can say that the process is developing in a good manner”, Maduro noted.

Jul 04 2019 -Several Districts in Venezuela's Caracas Facing Blackouts
"An accident disrupted electricity supply in Baruta [district]. The residents report that the electricity supply is stable only in Chula Vista, Colinas de Bello Monte and Cumbres de Curumo," Darwin Gonsales, the head of Caracas' Baruta neighborhood, wrote on Twitter on Wednesday, according to Sputnik.

Gonsales added that all existing algorithms for tackling such emergencies have been activated.

The Nacional newspaper reported that disruptions in the electricity supply have now occurred for three days in a row.

Jul 04 2019 - Peru Invites China, Russia to Lima Group Meeting to Be ‘Part of Solution’ in Venezuela
Peru Invites China, Russia to Lima Group Meeting to Be ‘Part of Solution’ in Venezuela

With Caracas and the Venezuelan opposition still locked in a stalemate after the botched coup attempt in April, Juan Guaido supporter Peru has invited Russia, China, Turkey, Cuba and the US to the next Lima Group meet-up.

Peru's Foreign Minister Nestor Popolizio told a Wednesday press conference that his government has sent out invitations to 100 countries to join the August meeting of the 14-member Lima Group, RT reported.

Among the invitees are Russia, China, Cuba, Bolivia and Turkey, the countries that have rejected the attempt by Western-backed Venezuelan opposition leader Guaido to overthrow the government and stood by elected Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

The US, which was the first nation to recognize Guaido and has since been aggressively promoting his cause, including encouraging the Venezuelan military to defect to Guaido's side, has also been invited to the August gathering.

Popolizio said that by seeking to gather both Guaido allies and those backing the Maduro government, Lima is “looking for a point of convergence that allows us to establish a credible dialogue” that might eventually pave the way for snap elections in the crisis-hit country.

However, taking into account the sides' opposing takes on the Venezuelan issue, there is no talk about drawing up a binding document.

Venezuela's Maduro promotes dialogue with opposition after Guaido dismisses talks
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro walks past a painting of South American revolutionary hero Simon Bolivar during the National Journalist Award ceremony at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela June 27, 2019. REUTERS/Manaure Quintero

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Tuesday he was committed to talks with the opposition to resolve a political crisis, hours after opposition leader Juan Guaido said there would "never" be a good time to negotiate with a "dictatorship."
 
Putin to Guaido: 'Get back to reality and follow the democratic procedures.'

04.07.2019
 
Russia plans to take steps to strengthen Venezuela's armed forces, RIA news agency cited Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Friday.

Russia to help beef up Venezuela's armed forces: RIA cites official
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov speaks during a news conference in Moscow, Russia February 7, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov speaks during a news conference in Moscow, Russia February 7, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

Russia is a staunch ally of embattled socialist President Nicolas Maduro and has backed him alongside China, while most western powers have backed opposition leader Juan Guaido.

“I want to underline that I am talking specifically about work with equipment which was delivered there,” Ryabkov was quoted as saying.

On Venezuelan independence day, Maduro calls for dialogue as Guaido slams 'dictatorship'
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who many nations have recognised as the country's rightful interim ruler, gestures with supporters at a rally against the government of President Nicolas Maduro and to commemorate the 208th anniversary of the country's independence in Caracas, Venezuela July 5, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Venezuela's bitterly divided political factions held competing commemorations of the country's independence day on Friday, with President Nicolas Maduro calling for dialogue and opposition leader Juan Guaido decrying alleged human rights violations by Maduro's "dictatorship."

Venezuela releasing judge, journalist, 20 students - U.N.
FILE PHOTO: Judge Maria Lourdes Afiuni waves to supporters outside her house in Caracas June 14, 2013. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo

Venezuela is releasing 22 people, including judge Maria Afiuni and journalist Braulio Jatar, a senior U.N. official said on Friday, and an opposition lawmaker called for more releases.

Venezuela says U.S. sanctions hit debt refinancing, oil sales
FILE PHOTO: Opposition supporters take part in a rally against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government in Caracas, Venezuela March 9, 2019. Placard reads Bachelet, if you are neutral towards the injustice, you have chosen the side of the dictatorship. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo

Venezuela charged on Friday that U.S.-led sanctions had stopped foreign debt refinancing, blocked vital food and medicine imports, and cost billions of dollars in lost oil assets.

Peru to host international talks on Venezuela in Lima next month
FILE PHOTO: Peru's Foreign Minister Nestor Popolizio makes declarations to the media next to Chile's Foreign Minister Roberto Ampuero and Colombia's Foreign Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo after a Lima Group regional bloc summit in Lima, Peru May 3, 2019. REUTERS/ Guadalupe Pardo/File Photo

Peru has invited China, Russia, Cuba, the United States and dozens of other countries to Lima on Aug. 6 to discuss the political crisis in Venezuela, Peru's foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Venezuela opposition pledges equal treatment for creditors in possible restructuring
Venezuelan bolivar notes are pictured in an open cash register at a parking lot in Caracas, Venezuela May 29, 2018. REUTERS/Marco Bello

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido's economic advisors have proposed treating most creditors equally in a possible debt restructuring should the coalition oust President Nicolas Maduro from power, according to a document published on Wednesday.
 
Maduro on Friday defended the Norway-backed dialogue process, while Guaido the same day said there would never be a good moment to mediate “with kidnappers, human rights violators, and a dictatorship.”

Venezuela opposition says it will meet Maduro envoys in Norway-mediated talks
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro takes part in a military parade to celebrate the 208th anniversary of Venezuela's declaration of independence in Caracas, Venezuela July 5, 2019. Miraflores Palace/Handout via REUTERS

Venezuela's opposition will meet with representatives of President Nicolas Maduro's government in Barbados for talks mediated by Norway, the parties involved said on Sunday, as part of efforts to resolve an ongoing political crisis.

Venezuela talks to resume this week: Norway
FILE PHOTO: Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro speaks during the starting ceremony of a military parade to celebrate the 208th anniversary of Venezuela's declaration of independence in Caracas, Venezuela July 5, 2019. Miraflores Palace/Handout via REUTERS

Talks between Venezuela's opposition and representatives of President Nicolas Maduro's government will take place this week, mediator Norway said.

Venezuela's Maduro ratifies Padrino as defense minister
FILE PHOTO: Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino speak during a meeting with military commanders, in Caracas, Venezuela June 3, 2019. Miraflores Palace/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Sunday announced he will maintain Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino in his post, following months of rumors that top military brass would be replaced after a failed uprising in April.

Rule of law has crumbled in Venezuela: jurists' group
FILE PHOTO: Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro greets people next to his wife Cilia Flores during a rally in support of the government in Caracas, Venezuela May 20, 2019. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado/File Photo

The rule of law has crumbled in Venezuela under the government of President Nicolas Maduro which has usurped the powers of the legislative and judicial branches, an international legal watchdog said on Monday.
 
Putin says he hopes Venezuela talks will normalize situation
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with his Bolivian counterpart at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia July 11, 2019. Kirill Kudryavtsev/Pool via REUTERS

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he hoped Norway-brokered talks between Venezuela's government and the opposition would normalize the situation in country and bring an end to political turmoil.

Venezuela will use Russian military equipment at drills on July 24: RIA
Venezuela will use Russian military equipment during exercises on July 24, RIA news agency cited Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Thursday.

“The arms and military equipment in Venezuela held by the Bolivarian armed forces are mainly Russian manufactured equipment. So it (the drills) simply can’t be carried out any other way,” he was quoted as saying.
 
Found this article in Chile's press of interest.

Isabel Allende who is Salvador Allende's daughter and a Chilean Senator from the Chilean Socialist Party (same party as her father and former Chile President Michelle Bachelet who is now the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights ) came out in support of Bachelet's report.


Senadora Isabel Allende dijo que el gobierno de Nicolás Maduro “no escapa a la condición de dictadura”
Rodrigo Ogalde
Ayer La parlamentaria destacó el “riguroso, valiente, claro y categórico” informe de la Alta Comisionada para los Derechos Humanos de la ONU, Michelle Bachelet, sobre la situación de Venezuela.

file_20190712191013.jpg

Isabel Allende, senadora PS.

Junto con descartar que la ex Presidenta Michelle Bachelet pueda ser candidata a ocupar ese mismo cargo por tercera vez, la senadora socialista e hija del ex Presidente chileno, Salvador Allende, Isabel Allende Bussi, se refirió al informe sobre la situación sociopolítica de Venezuela que elaboró la ex Mandataria en su rol de Alta Comisionada para los Derechos Humanos de la ONU.

“(En la Derecha) hicieron todo tipo de críticas, y terminó siendo un informe sumamente, riguroso, valiente, claro y categórico, denunciando todas las violaciones a los Derechos Humanos en Venezuela”, dijo en entrevista con SoySanAntonio.cl

En esa línea, Allende Bussi afirmó que en el gobierno de Nicolás Maduro “hay graves violaciones a los Derechos Humanos y ejecuciones sin el debido proceso, y evidentemente el encarcelamiento de muchas figuras de la oposición. Claramente, por desgracia, lo que partió, en la época de Hugo Chávez, como un movimiento que reivindicaba las políticas sociales para los sectores más postergados, y había un proceso de corrupción bastante evidente, fue bien interesante pero devino en un gobierno autoritario que hoy día no escapa a la condición de dictadura”.

Agregó que en Venezuela debe surgir un acuerdo mediante una negociación en que “podamos convocar a nuevas elecciones, garantizadas, vigiladas, supervisadas, y que le den una salida pacífica (al conflicto) porque además yo jamás estaría de acuerdo con una intervención foránea”.

Sobre ese último aspecto, dijo que la situación de Chile previo al golpe militar de 1973 es muy diferente a lo que ocurre hoy en Venezuela, pero admitió que, a su juicio, “la conducta de Estados Unidos en este terreno ha tenido un largo historial, más que lamentable, en su relación con América Latina, y así están Guatemala, El Salvador, Chile y muchos países, invasiones directas como ocurrió en Santo Domingo hace años atrás. Si hay algo que ha sido lamentable es la política de Estados Unidos hacia América Latina y la experiencia que tuvimos como gobierno de la Unidad Popular también fue clarísima, lo que se llegó a denominar el ´Vietnam silencioso´, que era una toda una intervención que después salió a la luz con el informe Church”.

Ratificó que es casi imposible que Bachelet regrese a Chile para ser candidata a Presidenta. “Si algo que no veo es a la Presidenta encabezando un tercer gobierno, no creo que ella esté disponible ,y eso es muy respetable”, aseveró.
 
Found this article in Chile's press of interest.

Isabel Allende who is Salvador Allende's daughter and a Chilean Senator from the Chilean Socialist Party (same party as her father and former Chile President Michelle Bachelet who is now the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights ) came out in support of Bachelet's report.


Great find, on_strike_usaexpat! :perfect:

Bird's-of-a-feather. Bachelet is kicking up stones all over the place. Bachelet is one of the main forces, behind the protests in China and the claim that the Uighurs are in detention camps. Actually, they are enrolled in an educational and rehabilitation program, all for their benefit. A report came out today stating, that at least 37 States are interested in China's program.

Exclusive: West, Japan rebuke China at U.N. for detention of Uighurs
FILE PHOTO: People hold signs protesting China's treatment of the Uighur people, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, May 8, 2019. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson/File Photo

Nearly two dozen countries have called on China to halt its mass detention of ethnic Uighurs in the Xinjiang region, the first such joint move on the issue at the U.N. Human Rights Council, according to diplomats.

Saudi Arabia and Russia among 37 states backing China's Xinjiang policy
Saudi Arabia, Russia and 35 other states have written to the United Nations supporting China's policies in its western region of Xinjiang, according to a copy of the letter seen by Reuters on Friday, in contrast to strong Western criticism.

~~~
Unfortunately, Bachelet also has a hand in fostering the Hong Kong protests, using the excuse of an Extradition Bill that was coming up for a vote. So, China is getting hit on two-fronts.

Hong Kong protesters, police clash as demonstrations target Chinese traders
Riot police stand guard during a march at Sheung Shui, a border town in Hong Kong, China July 13, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
Hong Kong protesters clashed with police on Saturday in a town near the boundary with mainland China where thousands rallied against the presence of Chinese traders, seizing on another grievance following major unrest over an extradition bill.

China's top official in Hong Kong says Beijing backs city's leader
FILE PHOTO: Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam speaks to media over an extradition bill in Hong Kong, China July 9, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo

China's top representative in Hong Kong said on Thursday the central government in Beijing maintained its support for Chief Executive Carrie Lam, who is grappling with the city's greatest political crisis since it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

~~~
Bachelet's influence is behind protests in the Philippine's attacking Duterte's "war on drugs". Duterte has been clamping down on more then drugs, he's gone after the drug lords and the criminal elements that go with it. He's been doing a great job - cleaning house - maybe "too-good" for the like's of some privileged over-lords?

U.N. to probe Philippines drug war deaths
FILE PHOTO: Activists and families of drug war victims display placards during a protest against the war on drugs by President Rodrigo Duterte in Quezon city, Metro Manila in Philippines, August 28, 2018. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez/File Photo

The U.N. Human Rights Council voted on Thursday to set up an investigation into mass killings during Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's so-called 'war on drugs', a step that activists said was long overdue.

Philippine drug war critics hope U.N. probe can dent Duterte's deadly campaign
Members of the human rights groups hold banners calling to investigate Philippine President Rodrigo Dutere, during a news conference in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines July 12, 2019. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
When Jocelyn Marquez found her missing son, he was in a Manila morgue, his body riddled with bullet wounds.

Duterte mocks 'ice-eating' Iceland over U.N. vote on Philippine war on drugs
FILE PHOTO: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte delivers a speech during their joint press statement with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (not pictured) at Abe's official residence in Tokyo, Japan May 31, 2019.  Kazuhiro Nogi /Pool via Reuters

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte took a swipe at Iceland on Friday for spearheading a U.N. resolution to investigate his bloody war on drugs, saying it was a nation made entirely of ice, with no understanding of his country's problems.

~~~
The U.S. isn't immune to Bachelet's dictates, either. Trump has started a heavy campaign in rounding up illegal migrants. Bachelet focuses on the Border. Where-ever she shows up, trouble follows.

U.N.'s Bachelet 'appalled' at U.S. treatment of migrants and refugees
U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet is "appalled" at the conditions in which the United States is keeping detained migrants and refugees, including children, her office said in a statement on Monday.

~~~
Weaponizing human rights': UN chief Bachelet's Venezuela report follows US regime change script (tweets)
image1170x530cropped.jpg

July 6, 2019 - Former UN special rapporteur Alfred de Zayas slams UN High Commissioner Bachelet’s report on Venezuela as a politicized collection of baseless accusations by “advocates of regime change”

When United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet traveled to Venezuela earlier this year, she met with an array of citizens who lost family members to right-wing violence in the country.

Among them was Inés Esparragoza, whose 20-year-old son, Orlando Figuera, was doused with gasoline and lit on fire by an opposition mob during violent anti-government riots, known as guarimbas, in May 2017.

“He was stabbed, beaten and cruelly burnt alive,” Esparragoza declared before Bachelet in March. “Simply because of the color of his shirt, the color of his skin, and because he said he was Chavista.”

While Esparragoza poured her family’s torment out before the former Chilean president, Bachelet scribbled notes and glanced down at horrific photos which captured the moment masked men attacked Figuera. As the young man knelt to the ground, a gang of anti-government thugs poured petrol over his body before lighting a match.

“I call on the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to make justice,” she said. “These are not peaceful protesters, they are bloodthirsty.”

Yet shockingly, when Bachelet released her long-anticipated report on the situation in Venezuela on July 5, it was as though that meeting never took place.

Apparently unmoved by the testimony of Figuera’s grieving mother, or anyone else’s story of injury and suffering, Bachelet made no mention of opposition violence in her report. Her failure to properly detail the plight of Venezuelans who have suffered at the hands of anti-government rioters was just one of many glaring omissions which has one of the top international legal experts to have served at the UN calling the high commissioner’s objectivity into question.

Alfred de Zayas became the first UN rapporteur to visit Venezuela in 21 years, traveling to the country in 2017 to examine the social and economic impact of unilateral coercive measures applied by the US. He determined US-led sanctions were largely to blame for the country’s hardship, accusing Washington of waging “economic warfare,” and comparing its harsh measures to “medieval sieges of towns.”

De Zayas was no less scathing towards Bachelet’s report, slamming it as a politicized document that depended heavily on unfounded claims by activists dedicated to Maduro’s removal. “The new Bachelet report is methodologically flawed, as were indeed the earlier reports, relying overwhelmingly on unverified allegations by opposition politicians and advocates of regime change who are only interested in weaponizing human rights,” the former special rapporteur told The Grayzone.

“The same occurred with the reports of [former UNHCHR] Zeid [Raad Al Hussein],” de Zayas continued, referring to Bachelet’s predecessor. “The lack of professionalism on the part of the UN secretariat is a disgrace and should be exposed by civil society.”

“I was not a UN employee with a salary, and no one could give me instructions,” de Zayas noted, “A high commissioner is not independent and is subject to political pressures. I endured pre mission, during mission and post mission mobbing. A rapporteur is obliged to be independent. Sure enough, I was pressured, intimidated, insulted by non governmental organizations and even colleagues, but I was able to proceed with my investigation and reflect what I saw and learned on the ground. I am not an ideologue. There are many in the U N secretariat.”

Prior to serving as UN high commissioner, Bachelet was a career politician in Chile, where she became the country’s first female president in 2006. She was the most centrist figure among the leaders of the progressive “pink tide” that momentarily washed across Latin America. This January, a years-long corruption investigation into her son’s land deals was closed.

Conveniently ignoring the impact of US sanctions
Just three short paragraphs in Bachelet’s 16-page document are dedicated to the crushing sanctions the US and its allies have imposed against Venezuela since 2015. She went on to write off the claim “that due to over-compliance, banking transactions have been delayed or rejected, and assets frozen, [hindering] the State’s ability to import food and medicines” as the government merely “assign[ing] blame” for its difficulties.

Bachelet’s dismissal of the destructive impact of sanctions on the Maduro government overlook years of sustained economic attack on the Venezuelan economy by the most powerful nation on earth. With the Obama administration’s move to declare Venezuela’s government a “national security threat” in March of 2015, Venezuela’s economy and its ability to restructure its debt have been under systematic attack.

As the independent Venezuelan outlet Mision Verdad reported, “Venezuela was catalogued by the French financial company Coface as the country with the highest risk in Latin America, similar to African countries that are currently in situations of armed conflict… From 2015 onwards, the country-risk variable began to increase artificially in order to hinder the entry of international financing”.

Even mainstream outlets like The Wall Street Journal have acknowledged that the measures applied by the US “have made banks more reluctant to touch accounts that might relate to Venezuela for fear of sanctions violations.”. WSJ even noted that Goldman Sachs was criticized in 2017 “when it was revealed that the company bought about $2.8 billion in Venezuelan bonds, which were seen as a lifeline to the Maduro government”.

According to the US government’s own summary of Venezuela related sanctions, unilateral measures introduced by the Trump Administration in 2017 and 2018 “restrict the Venezuelan government’s access to U.S. debt and equity markets” and “[prohibit] transactions related to the purchase of Venezuelan debt”.

Considering these restrictions and Washington’s move to freeze what National Security Advisor John Bolton estimated to be $7 billion worth of Venezuela’s US-based assets, it’s hard to understand how Bachelet so easily dismissed the idea that sanctions have contributed to the economic crisis. As The Grayzone reported this May, the US State Department openly bragged about its ability to destroy Venezuela’s economy in a factsheet published on its own website, which it quickly deleted out of apparent embarrassment.

Among the “key outcomes of US policy” listed in the document was the fact that oil production in the country had been drastically reduced.

“If I were the State Department I wouldn’t brag about causing a cut in oil production to 763,000 barrels per day,” Mark Weisbrot, Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy research told The Grayzone at the time. “This means even more premature deaths than the tens of thousands that resulted from sanctions last year.”

In April, Weisbrot co-authored a report which documented 40,000 preventable deaths that occurred between 2017 and 2018 as a direct result of US sanctions. This groundbreaking report was also ignored by Bachelet, who had far more resources at her disposal to investigate its disturbing conclusions and perhaps prevent thousands more deaths.

While Bachelet did concede “sanctions are exacerbating” Venezuela’s economic woes, she argued that the current crisis predated those measures, thus transferring blame onto the policies of a besieged government.

The author of this article recently participated in a panel discussion during which Venezuela’s ambassador to the United Nations, Samuel Moncada, addressed accusations like these.

Responding to the widely repeated accusation of economic mismanagement, Moncada asked, “If we are committing [economic] suicide, what do you need sanctions for? The problem is they are applying sanctions as never before. So they actually think that sanctions have an aim and an end result, and they are trying to implode the country.”

Moncada also explained how the 2015 oil crash impacted Venezuela’s economy, insisting that “we tried, perhaps erroneously, to keep the very same social support policies going without the oil” wealth on which the government traditionally depended. The international oil market collapsed in 2015, just months after Reuters reported US Secretary of State John Kerry met with Saudi King Abdullah in order to discuss plans to increase petrol production.

Former special rapporteur de Zayas agreed with that determination, telling The Grayzone, “the initial cause of the economic crisis was, of course, the dramatic fall in oil prices. The current crisis is ‘made in the USA’ and corresponds directly to the sanctions and financial blockade.”

Bachelet claimed Venezuela’s oil industry was “already in crisis before any sectoral sanctions were imposed,” discounting the ebb and flow of the international market. She also noted a “drastic reduction of oil exports” between the years 2018 and 2019, but stunningly failed to connect the decline to US sanctions unleashed in January 2019 which specifically aimed to prevent Venezuela’s oil industry from exporting products to the outside world.

By the logic of High Commissioner Bachelet, Maduro is so incredibly incompetent or evil that he refused to pay his country’s bills and destroyed its entire oil industry singlehandedly in an effort to starve his own people.

Attacking Venezuela’s food distribution program with baseless claims
In 2016, the government of Maduro introduced the Local Committees for Supply and Food Distribution program, or CLAP, to offset the impact of sanctions and the economic crisis brought on by falling oil prices. Today, the program provides food and sanitary supplies at almost no cost to six million families – a whopping slice of Venezuela’s population.

According to Bachelet, Maduro did not initiate this program to feed the most vulnerable among his country’s population, but in order to promote “intelligence gathering and defence tasks.” She provided no supporting evidence for her claim.

Bachelet also baselessly claimed that the food delivery program was used in a politically prejudicial manner, asserting that some families “were not included in the distribution lists… because they were not government supporters.”

Bachelet’s attack on CLAP came just as the Trump administration threatened to target the food delivery program with sanctions.

The claims made by Bachelet during an abbreviated tour of Venezuela stood at stark odds with the findings of multiple media outlets, Venezuelan citizens and foreigners who recently traveled to Venezuela to witness CLAP distribution.

Terri Mattson of CODEPINK spent three months living with a family in Venezuela earlier this year and was also on the aforementioned panel with this author and Ambassador Moncada.

“It’s a fantastic program and it’s helping people who would not otherwise have access to food,” Mattson remarked. “My neighborhood… was predominantly opposition. Those people got food just as we in the chavista household got food. The food was distributed through the community council, the community council was majority opposition… everyone got food, everybody participated in the weekly community council meetings.”

Bachelet’s assault on CLAP will undoubtedly be used to justify the US government’s attempts to sanction the program and further contribute to the starvation of Venezuelans. If a critical food distribution program is undermined from the outside, what other outcome can be expected but more hunger?

Ironically, Bachelet’s critique of CLAP directly contradicts the recommendation at the end of her report, which requested that the government “take all necessary measures to ensure availability and accessibility of food, water, essential medicines and healthcare services,” to average Venezuelans. Yet she did not demand the US government end the sanctions it has imposed against the country, this rendering the fulfillment of her recommendation nearly impossible.

“The government of Venezuela has demonstrated that it is already doing its utmost to ensure availability and accessibility of food and medicine,” former special rapporteur de Zayas said in response, “what the high commissioner should have demanded is the immediate lifting of US and EU sanctions.”

Bachelet’s recommendations amount to an all-out attack on the structure of Bolivarian revolution. If implemented, they would not only amount to the dismantling of the government’s structure, but would likely lead to society-wide chaos and mass starvation.

Echoing US propaganda on Venezuela’s colectivos
Besides assailing the CLAP program, Bachelet called for the government to “disarm and dismantle pro-government armed civilian groups” known as colectivos, accusing them of “exercising social control”.

Her comments echoed sensationalist US corporate media headlines as well as allegations by John Bolton and Florida Senator Mark Rubio, who have attempted to brand colectivos as violent gangs personally controlled by President Maduro.

This March, The Canary’s John McEvoy spent two weeks living with a colectivo in Caracas. The British reporter found that the groups serve an entirely different purpose than the one relayed back to the Western public by corporate media and centrist leadership.

“After the election of Hugo Chávez in 1998, colectivos mushroomed across Venezuela with the wide scale devolution of power to local communities,” McEvoy explained, “their demonisation in the corporate media serves a distinct purpose: to delegitimize Venezuela’s grassroots democratic movements.”

“As across Latin America, social organisations in Venezuela are deemed incompatible with the opposition’s US-backed neoliberal project,” the reporter continued. “They are consequently dehumanised, delegitimize, and attacked by a compliant media that categorically ignore their roots, popularity, and social value.”

With this context, Bachelet’s call for the colectivos to disarm appears to equal a demand that the country surrender its last line of defense against an ongoing regime change operation that has featured assassination attempts and threats of a full scale military invasion.

When Bachelet met with victims of guarimba violence this March, many hoped it meant those voices ignored by mainstream western media would finally be heard on the international stage. Yet the high commissioner decided their stories were unworthy, instead offering up a document which reads like a hand out from the US State Department.

And like clockwork, the State Department seized on Bachelet’s report to drive its unilateral campaign for regime change, but this time with the stamp of UN approval and behind the guise of a respectable center-left political leader.
 
Two members of Venezuelan National Assembly chief Juan Guaido's security detail were detained on Friday, both the opposition leader and government officials said on Saturday, during a pause in negotiations between the two divided political factions.

Guaido security guards detained during break in Venezuela political talks

Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said in a television broadcast that Erick Sanchez and Jason Parisi were arrested for attempting to sell rifles he said were taken from a National Guard armory at the legislative palace in preparation for Guaido's failed attempt
to unseat President Nicolas Maduro on April 30.

The arrests came just days after representatives of both Maduro and Guaido returned from negotiations in Barbados to resolve a political crisis that began in January, when Guaido invoked the constitution to assume a rival interim presidency, arguing Maduro’s 2018 re-election was illegitimate.

Norway’s government, which is mediating the talks, has said they are expected to continue. But the arrests could exacerbate tensions between the two sides at a time when other members of Guaido’s inner circle, including his chief of staff Roberto Marrero and National Assembly deputy chief Edgar Zambrano, remain in state custody.

“They are going to plant arms on them, like with Roberto Marrero. This is not new: we know what we are up against,” Guaido said in a speech in the western state of Trujillo, where he is rallying supporters this weekend.

Marrero was accused of smuggling guns and explosives from Colombia when he was arrested in March. His lawyer, Joel Garcia, has said Marrero denies all the charges and alleges that the Sebin intelligence agency planted weapons in Marrero’s home. Venezuela’s chief prosecutor’s office has not commented on the arrest of Sanchez and Parisi.

Rodriguez said he would bring evidence of the weapons accusations against the two guards to the next round of negotiations with the opposition. “We have to play clean,” Rodriguez said. “There cannot continue to be different agendas.”

Maduro calls Guaido a puppet of the United States seeking to oust him in a coup.

Venezuelan opposition returning to Barbados to continue talks with government
FILE PHOTO: Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who many nations have recognized as the country's rightful interim ruler, attends a session of Venezuela's National Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela July 9, 2019. REUTERS/Manaure Quintero/File Photo

Venezuela's opposition said on Sunday it will return to Barbados to continue talks with the government of President Nicolas Maduro as part of efforts to resolve the South American nation's political crisis.

Venezuela Signs Agreement with Large Russian Company: Minister
Venezuela Signs Agreement with Large Russian Company: Minister - Other Media news - Tasnim News Agency

July 13, 2019 - The Venezuelan authorities have signed an agreement with one of the largest Russian industrial enterprises, Minister of Industries and National Production Tareck El Aissami said.

"We have signed an agreement with a large company in Russia", El Aissami told a conference in a speech broadcast live on Venezolana de Television on Friday. The Minister did not elaborate on the agreement, TASS news agency reported.

He added that Venezuela is in talks with two large automobile manufactures in China.

"Our relations with Russia are developing in all sphere. Russia is a powerful country not only militarily, but economically as well," Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said.

This week El Aissami took part on the Global Summit on Production and Industrialization held in Russia's Yekaterinburg on July 9-11.
 
'Say cheese!'

15.07.2019

2019-07-15


Two members of Venezuelan National Assembly chief Juan Guaido's security detail were detained on Friday, both the opposition leader and government officials said on Saturday, during a pause in negotiations between the two divided political factions.

Guaido security guards detained during break in Venezuela political talks

Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said in a television broadcast that Erick Sanchez and Jason Parisi were arrested for attempting to sell rifles he said were taken from a National Guard armory at the legislative palace in preparation for Guaido's failed attempt
to unseat President Nicolas Maduro on April 30.

The arrests came just days after representatives of both Maduro and Guaido returned from negotiations in Barbados to resolve a political crisis that began in January, when Guaido invoked the constitution to assume a rival interim presidency, arguing Maduro’s 2018 re-election was illegitimate.

By Paul Antonopoulos - Jul 14, 2019
 
What is Pompeo and Bolton up to now ... trying to salvage - what is left of a failed Coup attempt?

Trump administration plans to divert $40 million in aid to Venezuela's opposition

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who many nations have recognised as the country's rightful interim ruler, gestures as he takes part in a session of Venezuela’s National Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela July 16, 2019. REUTERS/Manaure Quintero
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who many nations have recognized as the country's rightful interim ruler, gestures as he takes part in a session of Venezuela’s National Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela July 16, 2019. REUTERS/Manaure Quintero

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration plans to divert more then $40 million in humanitarian aid for Central America to support the US-backed opposition in Venezuela, according to an internal document obtained by Reuters on Tuesday.

The $41.9 million had been destined for Guatemala and Honduras, two of the three Central American countries at the center of a migration crisis in which thousands of people have fled poverty, violence and corruption and attempted to cross the southern U.S. border.

The congressional notification from the U.S. Agency for International Development said the money will instead be used for salaries, travel, communications equipment, technical assistance and training for the management of a government budget and other needs for the Venezuelan opposition.

The memorandum, dated July 11, says the funds are necessary because of “a significant, exigent event in the U.S. national interest, specifically the rapidly evolving crisis in Venezuela.”

The memo and its contents were first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

Spokespeople for the State Department, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido and Venezuela’s Information Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Pompeo to visit four Latin American nations in security, migration push
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at a news conference on human rights at the State Department in Washington, U.S., July 8, 2019. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at a news conference on human rights at the State Department in Washington, U.S., July 8, 2019. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

Pompeo will travel to Argentina, Ecuador, Mexico and El Salvador from Thursday to Sunday, the State Department said.

In Argentina, he will attend the second Western Hemisphere Counterterrorism Ministerial where he will also hold bilateral meetings with regional counterparts, including from Chile and the Bahamas, a senior State Department official told reporters.

“We see this week’s ministerial as an important step in bolstering our collective efforts to address these threats and protect our hemisphere from the scourge of terrorism,” the official said.

In Ecuador, Pompeo, making the first visit by a U.S. secretary of state in nine years, will discuss increased economic and trade ties, fighting drug trafficking and the surge of migrants from Venezuela fleeing that country’s economic crisis.

Ecuador estimates that some 600,000 Venezuelan citizens entered the country in 2018 via the Colombian border, most of whom continue on toward Peru.

“They have been taking a heavy pressure of inbound migration from the people expelled by Mr. Maduro’s chaos in Venezuela, and they have been doing great work,” the official said .

Most Western countries, including the United States, back opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s head of state. Guaido, denounced by President Nicolas Maduro as a U.S. puppet, says Maduro’s re-election last year was not legitimate.

In Mexico, Pompeo’s discussions with his Mexican counterpart, Marcelo Ebrard, will “cover a broad agenda,” including migration from Central America to the United States, the official said.

The flow of Central American migrants passing through Mexico to seek asylum in the United States has led to both friction and cooperation between the United States and Mexico, which share a 2,000-mile (3,000-km) border and are leading trade partners.

U.S. officials say asylum seekers, mostly from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, have inundated the U.S. side of the border. The three countries suffer from gang violence and political turmoil.

President Donald Trump’s administration has responded by restricting the ability of migrants to seek asylum and cutting hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to the three impoverished countries, punishing them for the northward migration.

It will be the topic of conversations in Pompeo’s stop in El Salvador, where he will also discuss tackling nacro-trafficking, another State Department official said.

Pompeo will extend a lease for the U.S. use of facilities at the Comalapa Airport, which are used in support of counter-narcotics operations, the official added.

Venezuela's opposition congress names ad-hoc central bank board
A man walks outside of the Venezuela's Central Bank in Caracas, Venezuela, January 31, 2018. REUTERS/Marco Bello

A man walks outside of the Venezuela's Central Bank in Caracas, Venezuela, January 31, 2018. REUTERS/Marco Bello

Venezuela’s opposition-controlled National Assembly on Tuesday appointed an ad-hoc board for the country’s central bank with the aim of “protecting its international reserves” from President Nicolas Maduro’s government.

Comment -
Is this where they are going to deposit the $40 million in humanitarian aid? I wonder if Maduro can legally seize the Bank and freeze it's assets?

The assembly head, Juan Guaido, named five people to the ad-hoc board. Most western nations recognize Guaido as Venezuela’s legitimate president, though Maduro retains control of the state, including the central bank.

Guaido did not explain how the ad-hoc board would function, but the opposition has previously sought to prevent Maduro’s government from accessing central bank gold kept at the Bank of England.

EU readies sanctions on Venezuelan security officials
European Union Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini speaks during a news conference with Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohamed Ali Alhakim in Baghdad, Iraq July 13, 2019. REUTERS/Khalid Al-Mousily

The European Union is preparing new sanctions against Venezuelan security forces involved in human rights violations, the bloc's foreign policy chief said on Tuesday, following the death in custody of a navy captain amid allegations of torture.
 
I can understand some of the reasons behind going the Diplomatic route and getting both sides together with a mediator ... but a failed Coup is exactly - that! Why haven't they arrested Guiado? The opposition did get their hands on some valuable assets and I wonder if they are trying to work out a deal where Guiado gets some type of leniency for recovery of assets?

Talks between Venezuela government and opposition continuing, says mediator Norway
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who many nations have recognised as the country's rightful interim ruler, arrives at Venezuelan National Assembly building before a session in Caracas, Venezuela July 16, 2019. REUTERS/Manaure Quintero

Talks between the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the opposition are continuing in Barbados, the foreign ministry from mediator Norway said late on Thursday in a rare statement about the progress of the discussions.

U.S. hits four Venezuelan military officers with sanctions after captain's death
The name of Rafael Acosta Arevalo, a navy captain who died while in detention according to his family, is seen at his grave after a burial at a cemetery in Caracas, Venezuela July 10, 2019. REUTERS/Manaure Quintero
The United States on Friday stepped up its response following the death of a Venezuelan navy captain, sanctioning four top officials in Venezuela's military counterintelligence agency, the U.S. Treasury Department said.

Pompeo to visit four Latin American nations in security, migration push
Pompeo will travel to Argentina, Ecuador, Mexico and El Salvador from Thursday to Sunday, the State Department said.

In Argentina, he will attend the second Western Hemisphere Counterterrorism Ministerial where he will also hold bilateral meetings with regional counterparts, including from Chile and the Bahamas, a senior State Department official told reporters.

I don't know if there is any connection with Pompeo and this bilateral meeting with Chile on "Counter-terrorism" and this report that just came up on the news wire?

Alert issued for stolen car with nuclear substance in Chile
SANTIAGO - What appeared to be a typical case of car theft in Chile’s capital on Friday became more dire when authorities said the vehicle was carrying a dangerous radioactive substance.

Chilean nuclear agency CCHEN said the stolen vehicle, a truck, was carrying a piece of industrial radiographic equipment called a SENTINEL 880, “which contains a radioactive substance Iridium-192.”

Iridium-192 is a radioactive isotope of chemical element iridium, according to the U.S. National Center for Biotechnology Information. High doses of Iridium-192 are used to treat tumors. The substance is also used in clinical X-ray systems.

“Don’t touch, manipulate or attempt to utilize the device, as it can cause serious health effects,” CCHEN said in a statement.

The agency posted a photo of the equipment on its Twitter account and recommended anybody who spotted it or the stolen vehicle immediately call their local police or fire department.
 
Widespread blackout hits Venezuela, first major outage since March
A man walks at parking garage during a blackout in Caracas, Venezuela July 22, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
A man uses a flashlight to illuminate a woman boarding her car at a parking garage during a blackout in Caracas, Venezuela July 22, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

At least 14 Venezuelan states lost power on Monday, according to Reuters witnesses and reports on social media, the first nationwide blackout to include the capital Caracas since March.

Without providing evidence, socialist President Nicolas Maduro has blamed the blackouts on sabotage coordinated by the United States.

US aircraft violates Venezuelan airspace for second time in last 3 days — minister
Venezuelan Minister of Communications and Information Jorge Rodriguez EPA-EFE/RAUL MARTINEZ

Venezuelan Minister of Communications and Information Jorge Rodriguez © EPA-EFE/RAUL MARTINEZ

CARACAS, July 22, 2019 - A US reconnaissance aircraft has violated the Venezuelan airspace for the second time in three days, Minister of Communications and Information Jorge Rodriguez said on Monday.

At this moment, the same or very similar aircraft is once again crossing into our zone of responsibility around the airport in Maiquetia," Rodriguez told a press conference that was broadcast on Twitter.

Last Saturday, the Venezuelan Defense Ministry said that a US Air Force reconnaissance aircraft had violated Venezuela's airspace. Several Venezuelan planes were sent to intercept the reconnaissance aircraft. The ministry said that after this, the US aircraft "changed its course and left the region."

A spokesperson for the US Southern Command said that the aircraft was carrying out tasks in the international aispace over the Caribbean.

According to Rodroguez, US military aircraft have violated Venezuela's airspace 78 times since the start of the year. The Venezuelan authorites believe that US aircraft were collecting reconnaissance on those missions.

Russian deputy foreign minister meets with Venezuelan leader in Caracas
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov Mikhail Pochuyev/TASS

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov © Mikhail Pochuyev/TASS

CARACAS, July 21, 2019 - Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said he met with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro during his visit to Caracas on Saturday.

We had the honor to be received by President Nicolas Maduro," Ryabkov told reporters after the talks.
"We, on our part, tried to stress that, first of all, the strategic partnership between Russia and Venezuela is unshakable. Secondly, we are convinced that the country’s government led by President Nicolas Maduro is absolutely capable of overcoming the difficulties it is facing," the diplomat continued. "In this regard, the Venezuelan government has Russia’s full support."

The diplomat said the bilateral agenda was "very positive" and experienced "no negative effects of the current situation."

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro described the talks as positive.

"A positive working meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has taken place. We talked about the importance of promoting cooperation and exchange in all domains in order to assist the development of our nations," the Venezuelan leader wrote on his Twitter page.

Ryabkov said he met with other senior Venezuelan officials to discuss increasing the presence of Russian companies in Venezula’s machine-building, mining and hydrocarbon extraction sectors.

"We were also received by Executive Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez. We also held good consultations at the level of deputy foreign ministers to discuss the whole range of international issues. Our cooperation develops steadily at the UN and other international organizations," he added.

"We have also discussed all areas of our bilateral cooperation and initiatives in this shere, including the trade. Among other things, we discussed ways to expand the presence of Russian companies here in all economic sectors - machine-building, pharmaceutical industry, hydrocarbon extraction and mining," he said.

"I think that all of this should be considered in the relevant context of creating efficient protection against the unilateral and unlawful coercive measures on the part of the United States, and this was also discussed during the meetings in Caracas," the deputy minister added.

The senior Russian diplomat visited the Venezuelan capital to take part in the Ministerial Meeting of the Coordination Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).

Russian deputy foreign minister discusses bilateral cooperation with Venezuelan leadership
Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov met with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Executive Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez and Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza in Caracas.

The bilateral meetings confirmed that the settlement of internal discord by the Venezuelans themselves through peaceful negotiations has no alternative. The Russian side expressed support for a direct dialogue between the government and the opposition maintained with the mediation of Norway," the foreign ministry said.

"They discussed current issues of Russian-Venezuelan cooperation in international organizations, bilateral trade-economic and cultural-humanitarian cooperation, mutual support," the ministry added.

Ryabkov also participated in a ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) coordination bureau. "During a plenary session, he made a statement on the issue of Russia-NAM relations, drawing attention to undisguised attempts by a group of countries to put pressure on Venezuela," the ministry noted.

In a constructive atmosphere, "participants in the event exchanged views on key issues on the international agenda, including the development and strengthening of multilateral framework in the settlement of global problems," the foreign ministry added.
 
Widespread blackout hits Venezuela, first major outage since March
At least 14 Venezuelan states lost power on Monday,
according to Reuters witnesses and reports on social media, the first nationwide blackout to include the capital Caracas since March.
Without providing evidence, socialist President Nicolas Maduro has blamed the blackouts on sabotage coordinated by the United States.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-07-22/electromagnetic-attack-sparks-massive-blackouts-across-venezuela-breaking-report said:
"Electromagnetic Attack" Sparks Massive Blackouts Across Venezuela

Widespread power blackouts were first reported on Monday evening across 15 Venezuelan states and Caracas, as per a report from Reuters Caracas newsroom.
Central #Caracas (#Chacao) right now #apagón #blackout #Venezuela pic.twitter.com/6Pvp3QdPPW
— Adriano Mérola Marotta (@AdrianoMerola) July 22, 2019
Venezuelan information minister Jorge Rodrigues said an "electromagnetic attack caused the nationwide blackout" and power companies along with government officials, are in the process of restoring the nation's power grid.

Back in March, the country experienced the most damaging rolling blackout in decades that brought the country, already devastated by an economic crisis, even closer to outright collapse.

"It terrifies me to think we are facing a national blackout again," said Maria Luisa Rivero, a 45-year-old business owner from the city of Valencia, in the central state of Carabobo.
"The first thing I did was run to freeze my food so that it does not go bad like it did like the last time in March. It costs a lot to buy food just to lose it," she said.

1563849293763.png
Netblocks, a civil society group observing internet traffic around the world, sent out several alerts via Twitter starting around 5:45 pm est. about widespread power loss across Venezuela that disrupted the country's internet.

The group said even state television, a key source of government propaganda, was brought offline.

Netblocks tweeted a photo of internet outage broken down by region:

Urgent: Nationwide power outage detected across #Venezuela; real-time network data shows drop in national connectivity to just 6%; incident ongoing #SinLuz #Apagon #22Jul #ApagónEnVenezuelaVenezuela knocked offline after nationwide power outage - NetBlocks pic.twitter.com/A6vGNDfnpm
— NetBlocks.org (@netblocks) July 22, 2019

The latest disruption comes a little more than four months after widespread blackouts crippled the country for about one week in March.

As of Monday evening, most of Venezuela's 23 states have no internet connectivity.

In the previous blackout, we documented how cryptocurrency transaction volumes plummeted throughout the region. Some residents were prepared for the chaos, they set up local transaction networks via powerful WiFi repeaters powered by generators.

NetBlocks diffscans, which tracks the entire IP address space of a country in real-time, indicates the latest internet outages occured during the same time of the power cuts, labels the incident impact as severe for most of the states.

"Internet outages caused by electricity grid disruptions have a distinct network pattern used by NetBlocks to determine and attribute the root cause of an outage, a process known as attribution which follows detection and classification stages," NetBlocks said in a blog post.

Widespread power outages and no internet connectivity have occurred just before Juan Guaidó, the self-proclaimed interim president of Venezuela, is expected to launch nationwide anti-Maduro protests on Tuesday.



https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-19/u-s-sets-up-venezuela-unit-as-it-presses-for-maduro-to-resign said:
U.S. Plans for Post-Maduro Future With Team to Send to Venezuela

The U.S. State Department is setting up a 13-person Venezuela unit that will be based in Colombia for now and deploy to Caracas once security allows, as the Trump administration continues to exert pressure on President Nicolas Maduro to step down.

The Venezuela Affairs Unit, based at the U.S. embassy in Bogota, will allow the department to “engage the broadest and most meaningful group of Venezuelan actors” and “participate in the greatest number of events and meetings to affect change,” according to a letter sent by the State Department to Idaho Senator Jim Risch, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The unit’s personnel, who will deploy later this month, would be among the first to go to Caracas once the security situation allows, according to the July 11 letter, which was obtained by Bloomberg News. The U.S. pulled out all its embassy staff from Caracas in March.

President Donald Trump has been trying to coalesce support around National Assembly leader Juan Guaido since he declared himself Venezuela’s interim president in late January. More than 50 countries now support Guaido and the U.S. regularly announces new sanctions against Maduro and his associates, but so far Trump has been unable to get Maduro to leave or persuade the country’s military to abandon him.

In a separate congressional notification also sent July 11, the U.S. Agency for International Development said it was diverting $41 million intended for Guatemala and Honduras to address the “rapidly evolving crisis in Venezuela.”

The notification, which was first reported by the Los Angeles Times, said the money was needed to support the “democratically elected National Assembly and interim government.” The Trump administration has also slashed aid to Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador as it demands they do more to stem the flow of migrants toward the U.S.





















 
"Electromagnetic Attack" Sparks Massive Blackouts Across Venezuela said:
"Electromagnetic Attack" Sparks Massive Blackouts Across Venezuela

Widespread blackout hits Venezuela, government blames 'electromagnetic attack'
A general view is seen during a blackout in Caracas, Venezuela July 22, 2019. REUTERS/Manaure Quintero
More than half of Venezuela's 23 states lost power on Monday, according to Reuters witnesses and reports on social media, a blackout the government blamed on an "electromagnetic attack."

U.S. says Venezuelan plane aggressively shadowed a U.S. military aircraft
FILE PHOTO: An U.S. Navy EP-3E Aries II electronic spy turborprop airplane from VQ-1 Squadron sits on the tarmac at Ault Field at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Oak Harbor, Washington April 13, 2001. REUTERS/Anthony P./File Photo
The U.S. military on Sunday accused a Venezuelan fighter aircraft of "aggressively" shadowing a U.S. Navy EP-3 Aries II plane over international airspace, a fresh sign of growing hostility between the two countries.
 
Power returns to Caracas but other Venezuelan states still in the dark
A general view is seen during a blackout in Caracas, Venezuela July 22, 2019. REUTERS/Manaure Quintero
Venezuelans in Caracas woke up on Tuesday with the lights back on after the worst blackout since March knocked out power in half the country a day earlier, though service remained down in other states and cities.

Russia says Venezuela's opposition is in contact with Moscow
Venezuela's opposition, including representatives of its leader Juan Guaido, has been in contact with Moscow, Russia's Foreign Ministry said on its website on Tuesday.

Venezuela rejoins regional defense treaty but Guaido warns it's no 'magic' solution
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who many nations have recognised as the country's rightful interim ruler, gestures as he speaks during a session of Venezuela’s National Assembly at a public square in Caracas, Venezuela July 23, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
Venezuela's National Assembly approved a law returning the OPEC nation to a regional defense treaty on Tuesday, but opposition leader Juan Guaido sought to tamp down supporters' hopes it could lead to President Nicolas Maduro's imminent downfall.
 
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