Caracas Chronicles

• Three American citizens were jailed in the first quarter of 2022 for allegedly trying to enter the country illegally, reported AP journalist Joshua Collins. In late March, Eyvin Hernández, a 44-year-old Californian lawyer, and Jerrel Kenemore, 55-year-old from Texas, were arrested in Táchira on separate occasions. A third American citizen was arrested in January, but his family doesn’t want the press to divulge his name. The State Department confirmed the arrests and a spokesman said that officers are working for the release of all American prisoners, eleven in total. Hernández was arrested with a Venezuelan friend when they crossed the border. Kenemore was allegedly living in Colombia for over a year with a Venezuelan woman and was arrested on the border. They were both charged with conspiracy and association to commit crimes. According to Venezuelan laws, foreigners that don’t have visas must be deported, not imprisoned. 
• The commercial division of London’s Superior Court will examine (in a four-day trial) whether the BCV board appointed by Maduro or the board appointed by Juan Guaidó is authorized to manage the gold reserve deposited in the Bank of England. 
• U.S. judge William Dimitrouleas denied a motion by former treasurer Claudia Díaz Guillén, better known as Hugo Chávez’s nurse, where she asked to dismiss three counts of money laundering. 
• Ralph Steinmann (Swiss) and Luis Vuteff (Argentinean) were charged with being tied to a scheme to launder 1.2 billion dollars from PDVSA. 
• Former Táchira governor Laidy Gómez denounced that a judge ratified the ruling after a suit introduced by Freddy Bernal, who demanded 12 million dollars for moral damages causing her to lose her home. Gómez supported the actions by the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) that took over Acción Democrática’s symbols and spot on the ballot. 

Oil production dropped 2% in June, according to OPEC’s last report. Secondary sources said that PDVSA produced 706,000 bpd, compared to 720,000 bpd in May. However, the price of the barrel went up from $88.07 to $92.25. 

• The National Assembly (AN) approved the Criminal Record and Registry Law. Jorge Rodríguez said the law is founded on “respect for human rights, privacy and respecting due process. The Interior Ministry will manage the registry. 
• The judicial nomination committee that “evaluated” the new TSJ will review the credentials of the candidates for ombudsman, despite their job being questioned since they didn’t comply with the necessary impartiality, transparency, and branch independence standards. 
• Maduro announced that Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit the country in the coming days, in a visit that will “have a fundamental significance in Venezuela’s development and economic recovery.” 
• Workers, union members and pensioners protested in downtown Caracas to demand the elimination of the Onapre rulebook that doesn’t recognize salary scales. They managed to reach TSJ headquarters. 
• FundaRedes has documented the disappearance of 96 people on border states in 2022, 14 of them are children and teenagers. In 2021, FundaRedes presented a report titled “Armed groups take advantage of the absence of the State in Venezuelan schools,” where they denounce the inaction of the State when it comes to children being victims of human traffickers and prostitution rings. 
• Colombia and Perú, the two main destinations of Venezuelan migrants and refugees, are failing to guarantee and protect the women’s rights to lives without violence or discrimination, said an Amnesty International report. 
• 108 unions and NGOs demanded the immediate release of six union leaders and human rights activists that were arrested last week. They rejected and condemned the arbitrary detentions of Alcides Bracho, Alonso Meléndez, Emilio Negrín, Gabriel Blanco, Reynaldo Cortés and Néstor Astudillo.
• Chile’s Chamber of Deputies approved a commission to investigate Conviasa operations in the country. They will analyze the circumstances of the Airbus A340 flight and its links to the Emtrasur plane that was retained in Argentina for alleged ties with international terrorist organizations.