Caracas Chronicles

• There were long lines to enter Colombia through the Simón Bolívar Bridge. 
• Wingo reported that the Venezuelan government demanded suspending operations, while the government solve some issues. Ambassador Armando Benedetti assured that Petro’s plan is that state airline Satena to become the main airline connecting Caracas – Bogota, but Satena doesn’t operate international routes. Colombia has at least three private airlines that can operate in Venezuela and have been preparing to do so for months: Wingo, Latam, and Avianca. 
• Colombian ombudsman Carlos Camargo asked for an institutional solution so Venezuelan minors don’t stay indefinitely in shelters and institutions protecting children and teenagers. 
• On Tuesday, Maduro gave a speech judging María Corina Machado’s presidential candidacy: “She says she’s launching a campaign and she’s going to win by a landslide in the election and the main promise of the oligarchy is privatizing everything,” and added that this kind of candidate is a threat on the country’s “social life, social stability.” Nicolás has already flirted with privatization, except he’s done it without transparency and providing information only after handing out the assets. He insisted that María Corina Machado will privatize everything only for the wealthy, but this was said by one of the richest men in the country. It’s also weird that María Corina Machado was the first person he recognized as a candidate. 
• The board of the Venezuelan Central Bank (BCV) will appeal a ruling in July that granted the authority over the gold in the Bank of England to the ad hoc BCV board.  
• Two tankers carrying 1.22 barrels of crude and 2 million of condensate from Iran will arrive in Anzoátegui shortly. PDVSA uses both products to turn heavy crude oil. Venezuela imported 4.8 million barrels from Iran between July and August. 
• Maduro’s regime sent “electoral observers” to the referendum taking place in Russian-controlled regions in Ukraine. 

The BCV established changes in the currency exchange terms for banks: eliminating minimum amounts of purchase but establishing that the annual limit is 8,500 euros. 

• The new DANE bulletin revealed that one of nine births in Colombia are by Venezuelan mothers, and went from a 10.5% rate in 2020 to 11% in 2022. There were 67,175 births by Venezuelan mothers out of 612,228 total births in the country. 
• After the report by the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Venezuela, the Unitary Platform (PUEDE) considered that Venezuela received “solid support in its fight against human rights violations.” They thanked the countries that spoke out in Geneva and demanded the Mission’s mandate be renewed. 
• Judge Luis Ovalles absolved six GNB officers charged with the murder of student Rubén Darío González Jiménez, who was 16 years old when he was murdered in a protest in 2017. 
• Juan Guaidó spoke about Colombia reestablishing relations with the regime: “I’d like to know if President Gustavo Petro will raise his voice for human rights, for fair elections, for the most vulnerable.” He added that only with justice and democracy will prosperity arrive in Venezuela. 

Henrique Capriles confirmed he still has presidential aspirations but that it isn’t a personal aspiration, but an “aspiration to see a change in the country.” 

• The IOM estimates that 200,000 migrants will cross Darién in 2022, and demanded a regional response to manage the phenomenon. Santiago Paz said immigration won’t stop, so it’s crucial to establish data collection and exchange systems to create common public policy. 
• According to authorities, 84,394 migrants from Cuba and Venezuela entered Honduras illegally this year, on their way to the U.S. The INM registered 4,082 migrants from Cuba and Venezuela in 2021. 
• New York started building tents for humanitarian aid to shelter the migrants sent from Texas. Official figures reveal that over 13,600 people, mostly Venezuelans, demand shelter, schooling, food, and clothing. 
• Six days before the first round of elections in Brazil, the most recent poll estimates Lula da Silva is 17 points over President Jair Bolsonaro. 
• The President of Guyana, Mohamed Irfaan Ali, said he isn’t worried about the bond between the U.S. and Venezuela, but he demands to know more and obtain all the information. “The Essequibo is 100% Guyanese (…) the ICJ has ruled on it (…) we encourage Venezuela to respect the decision.” 
• Thousands of Iranian women have been protesting the death of Mahsa Amini, in the hands of the Iranian morality police. At least 76 people have died, according to NGO Iran Human Rights, hundreds have been injured and over 1,200 people have been arrested.