Briefing

Internal Enemies and Executions

Most members of the UN Security Council expressed their concern for the Venezuelan situation and the regime’s attacks on dissidents; Deputy to the 2015 Assembly José Manuel Olivares warned that 71% of ICUs in Venezuela are collapsed with COVID-19 cases.

Naky Soto
  • On Wednesday, the Fact-Finding Mission presented new information before the UN Security Council. The president of the Mission, Marta Valiñas, warned that they have identified more than 200 extrajudicial executions by security forces and said that the regime uses the concept of “internal enemy” to persecute dissidents and human rights defenders. The Mission has tried to obtain permission from the regime to investigate on-site, but they haven’t answered yet. She added that: “The government has incremented the requirements needed for registering, financing and managing NGOs.” 
  • Valiñas highlighted the warrant for the arrest of Roberto Patiño (Alimenta la Solidaridad) and the detention of Azul Positivo humanitarian workers. The Mission documented that regime officers have murdered more than 200 people in extrajudicial executions. She said they’ll investigate the chain of command and establish the responsibilities in alleged crimes against humanity. 
  • Most members of the UN Security Council expressed their concern for the Venezuelan situation and the regime’s attacks on dissidents (NGOs, media, politicians, etc.); and demanded that the State fulfilled its duties. The EU said that, in case it were necessary, they’d impose new sanctions and assured that there’s no way out of the crisis if terror and persecution persist. France reminded the regime that they had to guarantee human rights because they were members of the SC, as did Japan. Switzerland asked for an agreement to solve the crisis and Colombia added that chavismo uses basic utilities and the vaccine as methods of social control. 
  • Maduro’s Foreign minister Jorge Arreaza rejected the Mission’s statement. 
  • The CNE nominations committee said the process to evaluate the next CNE authorities has concluded. Giuseppe Alessandrello said there are 75 citizens in total, 47 members of the civil society, ten from universities, 18 from the citizen’s power and that the names will be published on Thursday. 
  • Oscar Ronderos, a member of the regime’s Assembly Dialogue commission, assured that they’ll call on CONINDUSTRIA and FEDENAGA to dialogue and see their economic proposals, as they did with FEDECÁMARAS, but they didn’t include a single proposal in their legislative plan for 2021.  
  • One year into the pandemic, at least 354 healthcare workers have died of COVID-19 and thousands have left the country in the last few years. 
  • On National Doctors’ Day, NGO Médicos Unidos demanded the regime prioritized healthcare workers’ access to the vaccines and guaranteeing a larger reach. 
  • Doctors have also been treated like internal enemies when they have condemned and protested the horrible working conditions they’re subjected to and their extremely low wages: a doctor with two specializations working in a type IV hospital makes between ten and 14 million bolivars a month ($5 or $7.4). 
  • The WHO reported that nobody knows if the Brazilian variant (P.1) causes the worst type of COVID-19. Initial results back the hypothesis of the strain being more contagious and Sylvain Aldighieri confirmed that the P.1 has been found in several states in Venezuela, but that they still need more information. 
  • PAHO deputy director Jarbas Barbosa revealed that Venezuela still hasn’t made the initial payment to access the COVAX mechanism, but that there are negotiations in place, which will take around two more weeks. 
  • Deputy to the 2015 AN José Manuel Olivares warned that 71% of ICUs in Venezuela are collapsed with COVID-19 cases. Olivares emphasized that the regime doesn’t use any of the 24 labs that have the necessary equipment to run PCR tests and were brought to the country thanks to the PAHO. 
  • NGO Acceso a la Justicia denounced that the Supreme Tribunal of Justice Constitutional Chamber has been working in the shadows since 2020, because they announce their rulings but don’t publish them anywhere. 
  • Minister César Trómpiz confirmed that they’ll use the Patria system for university workers’ payroll, but that employees will receive their salaries in their regular accounts. 
  • The government of Aruba announced a three-month extension of their decision to close their airspace with Venezuela, which has been in place since February 2019. 
  • Swedish Foreign minister Ann Linde ratified their support for Juan Guaidó, and Sweden’s commitment to humanitarian aid and support for all the actors that are working towards a peaceful return to democracy. 
  • Juan Guaidó reported he will be meeting with the Norwegian delegation to ratify the need for an urgent solution to the crisis: “Venezuela needs an agreement. If it comes from Norway or Sweden, of course, we’ll have a conversation,” he said. 
  • The most feasible solution to the country’s fuel shortage is to keep importing it, including gasoil, to meet the internal demand, explained on Wednesday economist and professor Rafael Quiroz. He added that the existing deficit wasn’t caused by the sanctions or the pandemic. 

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.

Related