Caracas Chronicles

• R4V reported that there are already 7.1 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants in the world. 5.96 out of which are in Latin America and the Caribbean.
• The U.S. announced a migration program for Venezuelans: a family member residing in the U.S. can be a sponsor and request the migrant’s entry. This measure would be limited to 24,000 qualifying migrants. The sponsor must prove that he can host and provide for the migrant while they legalize their status. They want to encourage migrants to enter legally. Those who use illegal pathways or cross the border illegally won’t be allowed entrance and will be returned to Mexico, which is supporting the program, according to the Mexican Foreign Ministry. 
• The Colombian Ombudsman’s Office warned that the humanitarian crisis on the border with Panama is getting worse. There are 9,000 migrants waiting to cross Darién. 
• A study by the UNHCR and IOM says that half of the 7.1 million Venezuelan migrants and refugees in Latin America and the Caribbean can’t afford to eat three times a day and lack proper housing, their humanitarian needs increase and force them into sex work, beggary and indebtedness to survive.  
• 400 migrants, mostly Venezuelan, were left stranded in a bus station in Guatemala and denounced high fares from transport mafias taking them to the border with Mexico. 
• On March 20th, four members of the Yanomami community were murdered by military officers in the Parima B sector of the Alto Orinoco, in Amazonas. Both witnesses of this massacre were taken to Caracas under absolute opacity and then moved again. On July 1st, Indigenous leader Virgilio Trujillo Arana was murdered, who was a coordinator of Uwottujja Territorial Guardians  in Amazonas. He was denouncing the expansion of illegal mining and the presence of irregular armed groups. Later in July, members of the Jivi community were murdered in Bolívar. Nobody has been charged for any of these crimes. 
• The State hasn’t admitted that Yanomami, Yekuana, Sanemá, Pemón, Wottuja, Piapoco, Jivi, Kariña and Warao communities suffer forced displacement, disappearances, murders, extortions, sexual and gender violence and pollution because of illegal mining activities in their territories. Reports on human rights violations in Indigenous communities by NGO Kapé Kapé are overwhelming. In addition to the violence they endure, malnutrition, housing, unemployment, lack of access to utilities issues, and structural problems for which chavismo hasn’t designed any public policies in the last 23 years. Their rebranding of October 12th to call it “Indigenous Resistance Day” means nothing. 
• At least 250 families were affected by floods in Portuguesa, reports Protección Civil.
• In Cumaná, Sucre, a river overflowed and affected the Tacal I, Tacal II and Barbacoa communities. Monagas and Anzoátegui states have also been affected by several rivers and streams overflowing. 
• Twelve municipalities in Trujillo have declared a state of emergency and 39 families lost their homes after the Maracaibo Lake overflowed in the La Ceiba municipality. 

The National Meteorology Institute expects “rains of variable intensity and electrical lightning threats” all over the country because of Tropical Wave 43. 

• The PAHO sent medicine and water-purifying tablets to help the inhabitants of Las Tejerías.
• PDVSA production dropped to 659,000 bpd, according to secondary sources in OPEC, and 666,000 bpd, according to the regime. Professor Francisco Monaldi tweeted that “production remains stuck at lower levels than late 2021” and added that “while there’s no investment in drills for new oil wells, PDVSA’s productive capacity will continue to decline.” 
• It’s the first anniversary of the death of former Defense ministry Raúl Isaías Baduel. He died under the custody of the State and without getting the medical attention he needed. Provea presented a report documenting the abuses he endured while in jail, including an operation he underwent against the will of his family and lawyers and which marked the last months of his life and slowly got him closer to his death. 
• Maduro appointed General Juan Sulbarán as Sole Authority for Las Tejerías, all civilian activities will answer to his mandate. But the EU expects democratic signals to loosen some sanctions. 
• In Iran, police have arrested hundreds of people and prosecutors have promised “swift justice.” At least 108 people have died because of repression in over three weeks of protests, said Iran Human Rights (IHR). Iran has blocked access to the internet and the EU approved new sanctions. 
• The UN General Assembly General voted to approve condemning four Ukrainian provinces being annexed: 143 voted in favor, five voted against and 35 countries abstained. The Netherlands and France joined Germany and the U.S. announcing they would send defense systems, Canada announced they’d send more ammo and winter gear.