Briefing

Vaccines for UBCH Comrades

Mayor Willington Vivas used the vaccine in a public announcement to reward party loyalty of chiefs of the Hugo Chávez Battle Units (UBCH). Venezuela had a 19.6% inflation rate in May. Jorge Arreaza assured that experts say that the sanctions against the oil industry are similar to an act of war.

Naky Soto

Photo: El Nacional

  • Venezuela owes COVAX 10 million dollars, said WHO’s Ciro Ugarte. He also said that there won’t be available vaccines soon and that the amount and brand will be announced once they are. 
    • Maduro said that the goal is vaccinating between June and September and achieving herd immunity in October. 
    • His Health Minister Carlos Alvarado said that they’re applying between 60 and 70 thousand doses per day and assured that Venezuela expects more vaccines in June. 
  • Maduro, who expects to “reopen the country in October”, didn’t say anything about the video where chavista mayor Willington Vivas used the vaccine in a public announcement to reward party loyalty of chiefs of the Hugo Chávez Battle Units (UBCH). 
    • Priority groups like healthcare workers, senior citizens and people with preexisting conditions should have been vaccinated ahead of UBCH chiefs and their families. 
  • Venezuela had a 19.6% inflation rate in May, according to the Venezuelan Observatory of Finance:

  • ANC-imposed prosecutor general Tarek William Saab said that he sent a new document to the International Criminal Court, requesting a meeting with parties involved in the Venezuelan case. 
  • Maduro’s Interior minister Carmen Meléndez said that they’re making progress with the plans for the parade on June 29th. 
  • Maduro’s Foreign minister, Jorge Arreaza, assured that experts say that the attacks endured by the oil industry with the sanctions are comparable to war. 
  • Twitter suspended CEOFANB and Admiral Remigio Ceballos’s accounts. Freddy Ñáñez,  Maduro’s Communications minister, assured that it’s “a war against the country, operating on social media.”
  • FundaRedes director Javier Tarazona said that the families of the soldiers who are still missing are threatened so they won’t provide information on their cases. Danny Vásquez and Abraham Belisario’s mothers denounced they get calls from state officials to keep them quiet. 
  • Ferrominera worker Rodney Álvarez was sentenced to 15 years in jail, even though the International Labor Organization requested his release. 
  • The Venezuelan Observatory of Prisons denounced that 40 presidents have been put in isolation in Tocorón for tuberculosis. 
    • Tocorón was built for 750 prisoners but there are around 5,000 inmates there. 
  • Provea director Rafael Uzcátegui assured that human rights violations in Venezuela have worsened and that the pandemic has been “an opportunity to exert other control mechanisms on society. 
    • He added that 123 opposition leaders, 68 press workers, and 27 civil society activists have been detained during the pandemic. 
  • Caracas is among the world’s worst ten cities to live in, according to The Economist. They examine stability, health, culture, environment, education, and infrastructure indexes for their ranking.  
  • 600 oil workers who were transferred to the Transportation Ministry payroll in August 2020, denounced that their PDVSA benefits were suspended and their salaries are 1,600,000bolivars. The dollar is now 3,110,000 bolivars. 
  • ExxonMobil announced that they discovered a high-quality oil on the Stabroek block in Esequibo waters, which are disputed with Venezuela. 
  • The National Academy of Medicine reiterated its concern for the purchase of EpiVacCorona, because of its design and the lack of clinical trials. 

  • The Biden administration is calling on Cuba and Venezuela to refuse the arrival of Iranian warships that allegedly carry weapons for chavismo: allowing the entrance of the ships would make it less likely that the U.S. would lift sanctions because receiving weapons would be seen as an act of defiance.

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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