Briefing

Calma, pueblo

Your daily briefing for Tuesday, September 26, 2017. Translated by Javier Liendo.

Naky Soto

OAS chief Luis Almagro released the fourth report on Venezuela yesterday, accompanied by a video in which he says that the report “shows that democracy was completely dismantled on July 30th, 2017, when the illegitimate ANC was imposed.”

Almagro explained that the previous three reports were meant to denounce “how an assault on constitutional order has gradually become a total rupture of democratic order,” and restated that they have documented, denounced and presented evidence of the abuses we have suffered, of how the regime has systematically undermined the fundamental pillars of democracy, showing that there’s no respect for human rights or essential liberties, no rule of law or branch autonomy here.

What else does it say?

“Today, Venezuela is under a regime that has lost its original legitimacy,” the report reads, as it associates the loss with the process that started with the suspension of the recall referendum in 2016 and how, from there, the regime has disregarded the basic principles of the rule of law and has violated the legal system and its institutions, acting unconstitutionally and illegally.

Almagro requests harsher sanctions against the regime; global admission that our situation is a hazard for peace and security in the hemisphere (due to the humanitarian crisis and the exodus) and compensation for Venezuelans by: nullifying the ANC, ending repression, releasing all political prisoners, investigating key regime members, holding free elections as soon as possible with the presence of qualified international monitoring, and reestablishing constitutional order with full respect for power independence.

Travel ban

The same day that Aeropostal finally ceased operations after flight hours of the only plane they kept operational expired, president Donald Trump updated the list of countries facing a travel ban to the United States due to their low security ratings or the lack of cooperation of their authorities.

The ban on Venezuela is limited to government officials and their families, with particular emphasis on the ministries of Interior and Foreign Affairs, SAIME (identification), SEBIN (political police) and CICPC (scientific police).

Under Trump’s proclamation, citizens may also be subject to enhanced vetting to ensure that their information remains up to date.

The other countries included in what vice-president Tareck El Aissami called the “honorable” ban list, aside from those already mentioned, are: Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia and Yemen.

Reaction

The government issued a statement condemning the travel ban against its officials, saying that the measure is coercive, and claiming that it violates principles of international law, despite the fact that diplomatic visas remain unaffected.

According to the Foreign Ministry, Trump’s decision is irrational, and this action, they claim, is part of a “campaign of systematic assaults” against them, which creates a wrong opinion about their regime and “forces a change in the Venezuelan government.” Using the principle of reciprocity as a justification, the government threatens to apply “all the necessary measures to defend the nation’s interests and sovereignty.”

Yawns at the UN

Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza spent his speech before the UN parroting the words of the Chavismo’s Basic Dictionary: induced violence, meddling, hegemony; even bringing back “cold war”, showing his pathetic sense of opportunity in a day plagued by threats of war between North Korea and the U.S.

Arreaza said that President Trump is an emperor who threatens and challenges mankind and quoted el finado’s ever-present “huele a azufre” expression.

He claimed that the U.S. is the main human rights abuser in the world and, like a miss, he included calls for world peace, environment protection and freedom for nations. Later, with great coherence, he said that the government has always been open to dialogue with the U.S.

Political prisoners

José Manuel Olivares, gubernatorial candidate for Vargas, denounced that SEBIN officers arbitrarily arrested his brother during the opening of a dining hall in Catia La Mar. The boy’s whereabouts were unknown as of late Monday, and Olivares made Governor José Luis García Carneiro and Nicolás personally responsible should anything happen to him.

Luis Almagro demanded medical attention for political prisoner Efraín Ortega, imprisoned since 2014 in El Rodeo II.

Political prisoner Alejandro Zerpa‘s wife reported that after two years, the student leader underwent surgery for injuries caused to his spine by the torture he suffered in SEBIN headquarters, and demanded the humanitarian measure of parole that he needs to recover from such a delicate surgery.

Abroad

Canada will host the next meeting of the Lima Group in October to work on actions in support of Venezuela.

Prosecutor General Luisa Ortega Díaz was summoned for October 13th to the Spanish Senate to supply the Political Party Investigation Committee with the information she has on Venezuela’s alleged financing of Podemos. Lawmaker Freddy Guevara was also summoned on the same day and for the same reason.

Yesterday, Kremlin spokesman, Dimitry Peskov, said that Nicolás may visit Putin, “as well as the possibility of communication between both presidents,” a phrase that doesn’t seem to help Nicolás’ case about the alleged usual conversations he holds with his “friend”.

Briefs

  • Basic Food Basket: Increased to Bs. 2,938,277 in August, Cendas reported, a hike of nearly Bs. 900,000 in just one month. The annual variation is 484.3%, equivalent to 25 minimum wages! and the gap between controlled and market prices is 18,000%.
  • Health at risk: A group of doctors protested before the Pan American Health Organization due to the serious healthcare crisis, requesting humanitarian aid and demanding that PAHO put together a report on eradicated diseases that resurfaced this year.
  • Censorship: In the pilot of his VTV show, Minister Ernesto Villegas accused the members of radio show “Calma pueblo,” produced by La Mega 107.3 FM, of violating the Framework Law for the Protection of Children and Adolescents (LOPNA). Yesterday, the National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel) opened a punitive administrative procedure against the radio station and the show was pulled off the air for a precautionary measure.

Naky Soto

Naky gets called Naibet at home and at the bank. She coordinates training programs for an NGO. She collects moments and turns them into words. She has more stories than freckles.

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