Briefing

Delcy Kicked the Vaccine Negotiation Table

Delcy Rodríguez attacked the working table for the agreement to receive vaccines from COVAX; Alberto Fernández’s government announced they’re leaving the Lima Group; The partial rules of the new decree of law of identification states that passports will be valid for ten years.

Naky Soto
  • Delcy Rodríguez attacked the working table for the agreement to receive vaccines from COVAX. The table, which included the regime, had been working since October 2020, alongside the PAHO and the National Assembly elected in 2015, and a deal was finally reached last week. 
    • Yesterday, Rodríguez threatened to refuse to vaccinate the Venezuelan population with the vaccines provided by COVAX, which assigns them according to availability. 
    • She challenged the mechanism’s functionality and erased the good news that PAHO released when they announced that the first vaccines sent with COVAX would be the AstraZeneca brand, produced in South Korea. The advantage to this vaccine is that it’s cheaper ($4 per dose), while the Russian vaccine costs $10 and Maduro said he’d pay $20 for them. In addition, it’s easier to store. 
    • This will slow down the vaccination even further, considering it’s been negligent and opaque already. The pandemic seems like the ideal “political” circumstance for chavismo, so it’s obvious they’ll make it last as long as they can even if it costs more lives. 
    • Manuel Figuera, vice president of the Venezuelan Society of Infectology, said on Wednesday that the regime should reconsider the decision to not allow the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, because it would limit the actions of the COVAX mechanism in the country.
  • Far from the report presented by FAO and the World Food Programme yesterday, Nicolás signed a draft law for the AgroVenezuela Mission, an alleged “fundamental pillar of sovereignty and food security,” in a country marked by hunger. 
  • FundaRedes director Javier Tarazona reported a new clash in La Victoria, Apure on Tuesday. FundaRedes said that there’s a “hybrid war” raging in Apure and the FARC’s double dissidents said condemned the Venezuelan Armed Forces for “kidnappings, raids and extortion”, supporting Fundaredes’ statement. Meaning, the guerrillas are saying that military officers are violating civilians’ human rights. The Colombian municipality of Arauquita has seen Venezuelans arrive in masse, fleeing violence and military raids, while chavismo keeps silent. The Colombian Foreign Minister expressed concern for “the serious humanitarian effects” caused by the armed conflict in Apure. The UNHCR is supporting the Arauquita mayorship with tents and food for refugees, but they don’t have enough. 
  • Delcy Rodríguez reported that they requested the Public Ministry to start an investigation against Juan Guaidó, for allegedly “blocking necessary resources” and accused him of “leading a criminal gang that’s stealing Venezuelan resources”. 
  • ANC-imposed prosecutor general Tarek William Saab announced the creation of an Anti-Drug Intelligence Division and a Special Prosecutor’s Office against femicides. 
  • The partial rules of the new decree or law of identification was published in the Official Gazette No. 42,092 which states that passports will be valid for ten years for citizens after 18 years old and if the passport expires but it’s in pristine condition it can be extended for five years. 
  • Three workers of the Maternidad Concepción Palacios died of COVID-19 in less than a week, said Monitor Salud. Dr. Aida Lara was the last victim. 
  • The National Academy of Medicine asked the regime to stop spreading information lacking scientific support, because of the regime’s campaign on Carvativir. They also recommended not purchasing “anti COVID” kits. 
  • The family of councilman Fernando Albán, who died on October 18th, 2018 under state custody, sued Nicolás, the FARC and other chavista authorities in Miami. They are accused of “building a criminal organization that tortures and murders its enemies.” 
  • The ULA’s Human Rights Observatory denounced that for the first time, a student had to defend his thesis while being illegally detained: Erickvaldo Moreno. Even though a judge ruled that he could be released from jail because he’s innocent and there was no evidence against him, the prosecutor has kept him in jail since 2017. He was taken in handcuffs to defend his thesis. He passed. 
  • Community leader Jairo Pérez was arbitrarily detained in the Policaracas station of La Cota 905 because he was protesting the lack of running water in La Vega. The human rights activists network, the community and social media mobilized in his favor and it worked.
  • Alberto Fernández’s government announced they’re leaving the Lima Group, which was created in 2017 to deal with the Venezuelan situation and they asked for “inclusive dialogue” to solve the crisis. 
  • OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro assured that “the toughest sanction against Venezuela is Maduro’s dictatorship. That’s the only sanction killing Venezuelans,” he said before the U.S. Senate. Almagro asked the international community for “real help”, because the recognition wasn’t enough. 
  • Álex Saab’s defense asked the Economic Community of West African States’ Tribunal of Justice to impose sanctions on Cape Verde.

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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