Briefing

When Patients Die

Around 90,000 people complied with Guaidó’s call for volunteers and registered on the VoluntariosXVenezuela website. Maduro keeps showcasing our military power in laughable videos on social media. Regular government spokespeople are erratic and incoherent.

Naky Soto
Photo: RCN Radio

This Sunday, dozens of Venezuelan doctors rallied in the Las Tienditas bridge to demand the entry of humanitarian aid to the country. Their testimonies are evidence of the complex humanitarian emergency we’re going through and the huge need for medicines and supplies in the hospitals where they work, explaining how much more vulnerable a malnourished person is: “It’s the medieval phase of medicine, this is how low the regime has dragged us,” said traumatologist José Luis Mateus.

In the morning, caretaker President Juan Guaidó announced that a platform will be launched to register the people who want to participate in the entry of humanitarian aid to the country: “Thousands of people have already registered in the great volunteer work for the access of humanitarian aid,” he said and called for registering at: www.voluntariosxvenezuela.com. Guaidó cautioned the military and chavismo that blocking the humanitarian aid makes them “almost genocidal,” because that’s a crime against humanity: “I understand that the regime refuses to recognize the crisis they caused. But we’re working very hard to end the usurpation and see to this emergency,” he said.

The war of all the people?

Nicolás started this Monday the military exercised that will extend until Friday and, as usual, he opened with his favorite contradiction: talking of peace while re-creating war: “Get out of Venezuela, Donald Trump! Out with your threats, there’s an armed force here and there’s people here to defend the country’s honor, dignity and decorum,” he said from Fuerte Guaicaipuro, Charallave, while soldiers and the military appeared to be participating in a flash mob, with more flags and guns, with more rhythm than discipline. Nicolás announced that he’ll approve the necessary investments to have the entire system of anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense (no matter that people are dying of hunger and lack of medicines); he also claimed that they’ve trained 10,000 militia men as snipers, ready to mix with the surroundings, but the crown jewel was the explanation of the “masked container,” a truck that will pretend to transport food, but will work as a moving arsenal.

“Advancing in the consolidation of our new military doctrine, the war of all the people, based on the ideals of our liberators,” said Nicolás in a tweet last night. Just to be sure, ask any stranger if they’d fight for him or the military high command.

Chavismo’s noise

Regime Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza made some funny remarks, inviting the European Union to “demand the end of the economic and financial blockade against Venezuela.” Not as cool but just as cynical, Delcy Rodríguez asked Juan Guaidó to meditate and stop the madness of his actions. She said something strange: “A project to hand over Venezuela’s resources, an unworthy project,” because it invites anyone to think of the Orinoco Mining Arc or each social program that has reported no accomplishments due to corruption, but no, Delcy would rather see the mote in another’s eye and deny the humanitarian crisis, hyperinflation, general shortages and the decline of all public services. Meanwhile, Remigio Ceballos, head of the Armed Forces’ Strategic Operational Command, told cousin Mumm-Ra (José Vicente Rangel) that there are no fissures within the Armed Forces, saying that it’s unthinkable and unacceptable that the brass recognizes Juan Guaidó. He said that deserters are “counter-revolutionary,” denying that soldiers violate human rights, condemning the support that so many democracies have given Guaidó and claiming that social networks are the “current battlefield.”

https://twitter.com/ceofanb/status/1094595351519129600

Taking his words for granted, Ernesto Villegas has consistently failed in that field and Gualberto Ibarreto’s statement demanding the access of humanitarian aid was a bombshell.

The mechanisms of repression

Romelis Guilarte is the mom of Jickson Rodríguez, the kid who was jailed on January 23rd despite his age (14 years old) and neurological condition (he’s been epileptic since he was 5 years old). After his release with precautionary measures on January 29th, Jickson spoke of the cruel and inhuman treatment he suffered. Last Saturday night, his mom was arrested by the National Guard, who accused her of manipulating her son to speak ill of them.

With this abuse, let’s quote Fernando Pereira from Cecodap, who reminds us: “67 teenagers remain detained among the 120 prisoners since January 21st. 53 were released but let’s not forget those who remain.”

Caretaker President Juan Guaidó denounced this Sunday that his family was again targeted by persecution from state security bodies; this time they visited the house of his wife’s grandmother in Mérida State, an 83-year-old lady. Armando.Info released an interesting work about lieutenant colonel Igbert Marín Chaparro, who used to lead the Ayala battalion: in March 2018, this commander was summoned by the Defense Ministry where he spoke of the dissatisfaction among soldiers affected by the crisis. He left the office straight to prison. His detention wasn’t made public, allegedly because he was respected among his superiors and troops, and he remains in DGCIM headquarters (and not in Ramo Verde) because they fear his ascendancy might influence the balance that the regime is holding.

About PDVSA

Reuters says that PDVSA instructed the chairmen of mixed companies that from now on, they’ll receive the money from oil exports in a new bank account in the Russian bank Gazpombank to sidestep the sanctions imposed by the United States, but Gazpombank said this Sunday that PDVSA has had accounts in the entity for several years, and they haven’t opened another account recently.

Additionally, Carlos Paparoni, head of the National Assembly’s Finance Committee, cautioned about a new modality executed by the regime to obtain foreign currency: PDVSA is seeking to trade its foreign debt bonds through an exchange in Bulgaria. “They’re asking the debtors to send money there so that they can retrieve it in cash,” Paparoni wrote.

Movements on the board

The U.S. is pressuring the UN Security Council to demand free, fair and credible presidential elections in Venezuela with international observers, said diplomats, a measure that allegedly made Russia propose a rival project to seek a solution, expressing their “concern for any attempts to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of Venezuela” and “for the threats to use force against the territorial integrity and political independence” of Venezuela. In any case, Mike Pompeo held a meeting with the executive director of FAO to discuss the situation in Venezuela and Yemen.

Former Vice-President Joe Biden said that “Only a tyrant would prevent the delivery of food and medicine to people he claims to lead,” later adding that it’s time for Nicolás to leave power and allow a democratic transition.

After the power outage in Miraflores during the press conference, security advisor John Bolton said that “the lights are going off” for Nicolás’s regime.

…

Caretaker President Juan Guaidó called the people to join the protest on Tuesday, February 12th, to demand the access of humanitarian aid. See you at 10:00 a.m.

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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