Briefing

The New Board of the Illegitimate AN Was Announced

No surprises and only expected appointments; The legitimate AN, meanwhile, approved its own continuity until there’s free elections, even though many deputies say they'll step down

Naky Soto
Jorge Rodríguez takes on his new post, on national television

Photo: CNN en Español

  • Nicolás Maduro, Cilia Flores and Diosdado Cabello announced on Monday afternoon the new board of authorities of the illegitimate National Assembly. The PSUV and parties that participated have over 90% of the seats; classic chavista figure Jorge Rodríguez will be the president, Iris Varela, the first vice president; Didalco Bolívar, second vice president; Rosalba Gil is up for the secretary spot and Inti Hinojosa will be under-secretary. Cabello controls the chavista block and will be the political president.
  • The current AN approved a text saying that “constitutional continuity will be carried on until there’s free presidential and parliamentary elections.” Its regime enemies say that the Constitution doesn’t mention continuity. Many deputies talked about the “end of a cycle” to say their time is up. It’s likely that the threats of persecution and jail had an influence. Others are preparing another strategy; The vice-president of left-leaning political party MAS, María Verdeal, called the constitutional continuity an usurpation and said it might even be a crime. 
  • Migración Colombia reported that 1,721,195 Venezuelans live in the country, out of which only 44% reside legally. 89% of Venezuelan migrants are from 0 to 39 years old, 24% are minors.
  • Venezuelan oil exports dropped to 376,500 bpd in 2020, according to data by Refinitiv Eikon and internal PDVSA documents that Reuters obtained. It’s the lowest figure in 77 years of oil activity. The decrease was even higher in fuel imports; 83,780 bpd, 51% compared to 2019.
  • The IACHR expressed concern for the death of indigenous Pemon activist Salvador Franco, “detained and kept in poor health conditions, with a court order to be moved to a healthcare center on November 27th, 2020.” The IACHR exhorted Venezuela to start an investigation. Authorities have kept silent on the issue.
  • A 28-year-old man and three other people were injured on Monday, when a platform connecting San Agustín del Sur with Parque Central collapsed, in Caracas. Mayor Erika Farías says they’ll investigate the causes. Neighbors said the structure was weak and that they had been denouncing it for a while now. A detective CICPC commission was on site, investigating possible foul play.
  • Carlos Alvarado, health minister, said that the Executive has four plans to obtain the vaccine: an agreement with Russia, agreements with China and Cuba, and a strategy for the Covas mechanism of the OAS, even though a debt of 18 million dollars to the organization remains unpaid.
  • Táchira state governor Laidy Gómez asked for another sentinel hospital because all other local hospitals are full with the increase of COVID-19 cases. Deputy Karim Vera said that the figures the regime provides are different from the reality in Táchira. 
  • The child Antonella Guadalupe Maldonado Roa, four years old, was kidnapped on January 4th at the Pérez de Tolosa slum in San Juan de Colón, Ayacucho municipality in Táchira state. Her family started a campaign asking for information on her whereabouts. 
  • Governors Héctor Rodríguez and Yelitze Santaella announced that they’re infected with COVID-19 once more, five months after they had it the first time. 
  • The U.S. Treasury issued a license allowing some transactions with Guaidó despite the sanctions. That’s how they reaffirm their support for the current National Assembly and they recognize the one-year extension. Canada also reiterated support for the AN. 
  • Japanese Foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi declared his country keeps backing Juan Guaidó. He reiterated the call for restoration of democracy, with broad participation aiming at free and fair elections: “The worsening of the political, economic and humanitarian situation in Venezuela has caused 5.4 million refugees and migrants, and has become a regional matter concerning countries around Venezuela,” he said. 
  • The Cape Verde Court of Appeals accepted the extradition of Colombian citizen Alex Saab to the U.S. said his defense team, assuring that the decision means a “direct challenge” to the order issued by the Economic Community of Western African States on December 2nd.
Briefing

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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