Briefing

The Infamous Agenda

Naky Soto
Photo: @cancilleriaVE

Official media says that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, was invited to Venezuela by Nicolás “so she can observe and know in detail the negative impact caused by the unilateral coercive measures imposed against Venezuela,” a colossal lie. But if chavismo lacks something, that’s coherence and sense of opportunity, that’s why on World Refugee Day and with the High Commissioner in the country, chavismo used propaganda videos of Nicolás with children and teenagers, an unwise proposal if the videos were going to be played at the event for the promotion of generals, another group that adds to our important record: not only do we have the highest hyperinflation in the world and one of the most dramatic migration flows, but also we have more generals than any Armed Force and they serve as ministers, on the boards of state companies, governors and in many other roles that transcend the nation’s defense. Nicolás gave them replicas of Bolívar’s Sword “as the highest symbol of loyalty,” and added: “Good battles are coming for our country.”

The vice-presidents

Michelle Bachelet met with Foreign Ministry headquarters with the sectoral vice-presidents of Political Sovereignty, Vladimir Padrino López; Social Development, Aristóbulo Istúriz and Planning, Ricardo Menéndez, who allegedly focused on informing her “about the systematic attack carried out by the United States government against the Venezuelan economy.” Menéndez said the High Commissioner received important information about human rights violations in the country, but not the one committed by the state he’s a part of, but “as a consequence of the unilateral and illegal coercive measures imposed by the Trump administration,” and that’s why he highlighted 1.6 billion euros retained in England, the 1.3 billion in Portugal and the 1.1 billion in the United States, and for all of them he was as bold as to establish equivalences with the payment for CLAP boxes, agroindustrial supplies and medicines. Menéndez asked the UN’s mediation “for the release of these confiscated resources.”

An Ombudsman, a Prosecutor

The meeting with Ombudsman Alfredo Ruiz was so transcendental that the tweets of the propaganda system used his post and name, Bachelet’s post and name, and the name of the room where they met; that’s how important what he said was.

Meanwhile, ANC-imposed Prosecutor General Tarek William Saab said that he handed Bachelet a balance of how human rights have been guaranteed in Venezuela despite “a factor of political life that has taken the path of violence,” that their meeting “is a sign of the Venezuela state’s good will” and that’s why they expect positive results; and he also claimed that the state (through the Prosecutor’s Office) “sanctions, investigates, prosecutes and condemns human rights abusers,” adding the extraordinary contributions of the Committee for Justice, Peace and Public Tranquility.

Maikel’s justice

Michelle Bachelet also met with Chief Justice Maikel Moreno and the statement of the Supreme Tribunal’s press department says: ”The meeting, in which both authorities exchanged judicial experiences, was held in the Ministry of People’s Power for Foreign Affairs (MPPRE).”

Justice Maikel Moreno was accompanied by justice Indira Alfonzo Izaguirre, first vice-president of the Supreme Tribunal and president of the Electoral Chamber.” The statement also adds hat the visit was by invitation of Nicolás and that it must be repeated: it’s not true, because he took a long while to authorize it. Rafael Uzcátegui, head of PROVEA, explained that the regime wanted the visit to take place during these days so it could be added to the third special report about Venezuela that the Office of the High Commissioner will issue on July 5th, and include the official narrative, with a special emphasis on economic sanctions as the reason behind the humanitarian emergency, although the figures recently published by the Central Bank of Venezuela prove that the economic (and social) decline started long before that.

Briefs and serious

  • In May, a family of five members required a total of Bs. 2,552,836.38 to cover the food basket, according to Cendas, which represented a 32.7% increase (equal to Bs. 628,571) compared to April. The current minimum wage of Bs. 40,000 only covers 1.6% of the basket, so a family needs 63.8 minimum wages to pay for the entire basket. The interannual increase is 115,865.3%.

  • Former governor Henri Falcón published a letter addressed to High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet, requesting her cooperation in unblocking the Venezuelan political game and urgently lifting financial sanctions, “due to their demolishing effect; because the contribute to the intensification of the crisis. This must be considered a first order of business, in the context of a process of political consensus to guarantee the stability of a transition process,” said Falcón.
  • Reuters published an important article about the armed groups that recruit Venezuelans at the Colombian border to swell their ranks. Colombian military commanders say that up to 30% of fighters in illegal armed groups are Venezuelan. General Luis Fernando Navarro said that recruitment is relatively easy due to the vulnerability of immigrants; Deisson Mariño, Ombudsman for Arauca department, added that most Venezuelans aren’t crossing to Venezuela to join armed groups, but that with their level of vulnerability, the offer of food and shelter is appealing.

Russia in Venezuela

An event about Russian influence in Venezuela was held this Thursday, with U.S. Senator Rick Scott as speaker, who said that our crisis will inevitably affect the United States and that the Kremlin’s involvement in the crisis increases its important for regional interests, “from mercenaries that act as Maduro’s security services to Russian control on the Venezuelan economy, Moscow’s growing platform in the region demands a political responder from the U.S. Without the Kremlin’s support, Maduro would’ve resigned and fled the country before the crisis intensified to the current state,” adding that the Kremlin has doubled its support for Nicolás in an attempt to prolong the crisis. For John Herbst, Director of Eurasia Center: “While Putin sees his regime policy in Venezuela as a victory, Maduro’s ouster could bring challenges. Putin won’t have the political capital or the means to prevent Maduro’s ouster, after which point his possibilities in the region change.”

…

Believe it or not, Juan Carlos Alemán, head of the National Refugee Commission, said yesterday morning in VTV: “We’ll open an office in Bolivar and Amazonas to assist asylum seekers entering through those states. We already have offices in Apure, Tachira and Zulia.” That’s how chavismo laughs at how they’ve caused the forced migration of millions of people.

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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