Caracas Chronicles

• Michelle Bachelet asked all countries that have imposed sectoral sanctions against Venezuela to lift them because they’ve worsened the economic and social situation of the population. 
  • She also asked for humanitarian aid and assuring a fair distribution of vaccines. 
  • She said that her office and the regime renewed their agreement on Friday, to keep UN personnel working in the country. 
  • She expects the negotiation in Mexico to cover the citizens’ demands. 
  • Bachelet also expressed her concern about the criminalization of human rights defenders and union leaders in the country.
  • This UN report was criticized by human rights NGOs in Venezuela and Maduro’s diplomatic corps. Foreign minister Félix Plasencia said her report was “regrettable” and said those were “false statements and baseless claims.”

Read more about how the findings of the Fact-Finding Mission can be used to continue pressuring the government: Remember the Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela? It’s Still Useful

• An advisor to Organización de Trasplantes en Venezuela (ONTV), Anabel Arminio, assured that the lack of medicine and the conditions in healthcare centers paralyzed the transplant programs in the country in June 2017, when there were no sanctions. 

Read more about the effects of sanctions in the present and their impact on the near future: What Do We Talk About When We Talk About U.S. Sanctions in Venezuela

• During the event celebrating Acción Democrática’s 80th anniversary, their secretary-general Henry Ramos Allup highlighted the party’s trajectory. 
  • He defended the decision to participate in the election and to stay in the Mexico process and emphasized that the decision to run in the election was consulted. 
  • He admitted that there have been disagreements on the candidacies since all aspirations are legitimate, but assured that “unity is worth more than stupidity.” 
  • He promised that they’d support all unitary candidates because the goal is to win. 

• The process to switch candidates on the ballot began yesterday and will end on September 22nd. 
• Board member Roberto Picón said that the National Electoral Council is supervising the campaign and working on making sure it’s balanced. He said that they’re working on international observers to guarantee transparency. 
  • Picón and Enrique Márquez expressed their concern about the discretionary use of barring candidates from running for office, something they called “an absolutely unacceptable and unconstitutional twist.” 

Read more about Why the Opposition Needs Elections

• David Uzcátegui insisted on holding a primary to define the unitary candidate for Miranda governor. 
• The pandemic has caused at least 4,627,854 deaths and over 224.5 million cases in the world. 

NGO Médicos Unidos warned about the presence of five variants of the virus in the country, detected by the IVIC. 

• The Comando Nacional Antiextorsión y Secuestro (GN) is officers investigating 12 CICPC  that stole 36 cheese baskets and dollars from a couple of drivers. 
• Avior reported that they’ll be flying to Maracaibo and El Vigía during flexible quarantine weeks. 
• There were more electricity problems in several states on Monday. On Sunday, September 12th, minister Néstor Reverol said these failures were due to “a terrorist attack.” 
• Pediatricians, epidemiologists, and teachers demanded students be back in school with all safety measures since children are the group that’s least affected by COVID-19. 

Lawyer Mariano De Alba assured that the process to extradite Hugo “El Pollo” Carvajal to the U.S. won’t be that easy. Carvajal introduced a request for political asylum on which he hasn’t obtained an answer. 

• About Alex Saab’s case, Mariano De Alba said that even though Saab is well-protected, “it’s very likely he’ll be extradited.” 
• Guyanese president Irfaan Ali warned that he’ll enlist the help of CARICOM in convincing Venezuela to accept the dispute ends under ICJ jurisdiction. 
• Colombia said that on Saturday, a unit that was carrying out military operations in Arauquita was attacked by the ELN from Venezuela. They announced a $160,000 reward for information that leads to the capture of the perpetrators of this attack, where five military officers were killed. Nicolás’s Foreign minister Félix Plasencia rejected the accusation.