International Venezuela, The Socialist Dystopia, v2: The region's worst humanitarian crisis in decades

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Fleeing Venezuela, migrants flood Colombia amid region’s worst humanitarian crisis in decades
Megan Janetsky, Special to USA TODAY | Nov. 19, 2018

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MEDELLIN, Colombia – Lis Torrealba, 19, a mother from Venezuela, is perched on the edge of a milling street in downtown Medellin, Colombia, the same way she came to the country: alone, with her 1-year-old daughter swaddled in the crook of her arm.

Once a student, Torrealba fled across the Venezuelan border three months ago with no prospects of a visa, a job or a future in Colombia.

“The money in our country, I couldn't even buy candy if I wanted to,” she said. “I can't buy anything, if there's something you need. You would need a stack of money to even pay for a tomato. You would need a big stack of money.”

Torrealba is among more than 1 million Venezuelans who crossed into Colombia fleeing widespread food and medicine shortages, rampant hyperinflation and violence by the regime of President Nicolas Maduro.

United Nations refugee officials said Nov. 8 that the number of Venezuelan refugees and immigrants who fled their South American homeland topped 3 million people. More than 1 million are in Colombia, and almost 500,000 are in Peru, while the rest are in Ecuador, Argentina, Chile and Brazil. Venezuela is home to about 32 million people.

U.N. refugee agencies plan to launch a humanitarian response to the crisis next month.

As one of the Western Hemisphere’s worst humanitarian crises in decades worsens, the Trump administration has taken notice, imposing sanctions this month and even considering military intervention.

“What is going on in Venezuela really is unacceptable,” President Donald Trump said after a meeting this fall with Colombian President Ivan Duque Marquez. “And I know from the standpoint of Colombia and other nations fairly close by, it’s very unacceptable.”

Colombia shares a 1,400-mile border with Venezuela and has absorbed the brunt of the South American immigration crisis.

In June, the Colombian government said more than 1 million Venezuelans entered the country within the previous 14 months and permanently settled.

Experts said funding from the United States and United Nations will only make a dent in the growing needs of aid organizations and in aiding the overwhelming number of refugees and immigrants along the Colombian border towns and cities. The Trump administration announced in late September it would give $48 million to ease the crisis, while the United Nations planned to create an international emergency fund to help Colombia and neighboring countries.

“They’re facing a huge need, obviously,” said Adam Isacson of the Washington Office on Latin America, or WOLA. “You’ve got a million people just in Colombia. That's beyond what any aid agency can ever handle.”

‘In Venezuela, they can’t find anything’

Colombian border towns, such as Cucuta, are overrun with Venezuelan refugees, and long lines of people snake around the border post.

Immigrants stream across the border, often with all of their belongings in a single suitcase, if that. Without shelter and without jobs, throngs of immigrants sleep on the streets and beg for money and food.

The Venezuelan immigrants tend to flock to cities instead of remaining near overcrowded border towns, according to Isacson. “They go where the work is,” he said.

In cities, it’s nearly impossible for immigrants such as Torrealba to find jobs.

Torrealba fled illegally over the border, leaving her father and mother back home. The family was starving, eating only raw yucca root to survive.

“Of course, I left to help my family,” she said. “In Venezuela, they can’t find anything, no food. They can’t find anything, nothing is good.”

Torrealba can be found every day in the heart of Medellin – Colombia’s second-largest city – standing on the edge of a busy street and fanning out a set of Venezuelan bolivars, hoping to sell her worthless currency.

“I don’t have a permit to work,” she said. “What happens is, there is curiosity by people here in Medellin, so they collect them (the bolivars), so I just ask them for what they can give. They have no real monetary value.”

Others beg, sell gum and candy, dance or juggle knives in the middle of busy intersections. At sunset each night, young Venezuelan women gather in Bolivar Plaza or by churches, looking to sell their bodies for sex.

For Torrealba, the bills generate 35 to 40 mil pesos a day – about $12 – just enough to survive and send money back to her family in Venezuela.

In Colombia, she said, at least she can survive with the money she makes. She hopes to save enough to pay for bus tickets to bring her parents to Colombia in December.

Others aren’t as lucky, according to Rebecca Hanson, a Latin America specialist at the University of Florida who has focused on Venezuela for years. Many who fled return, she said, because they cannot survive in other South American countries.

“Everyone I know has had one family member who has gone to Colombia, has tried to get a job or make a life for themselves,” Hanson said. “They’ve just returned in a month or so because they haven’t found a better economic situation in Colombia than in Venezuela.”

“Their logic is ‘At least in Venezuela I have family, I have a support network.’ ”

Humanitarian crisis

The Venezuelan-Colombian border they would cross is likely to become more dangerous and more militarized, a product of skyrocketing tensions among Colombia, the United States and Venezuela.

Venezuela’s Maduro announced he was placing military troops along the country’s border with Colombia.

The move came after Trump officials threatened military action and the United States slammed sanctions on Maduro’s inner circle. “We’re going to take care of Venezuela,” Trump said.

Several U.S. senators, including Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a critic of Maduro, called on the administration to declare the Venezuelan government a state sponsor of terrorism.

Rubio accused Maduro of “systematically starving his people as a means of asserting control” in a recent op-ed published in the Miami Herald. South Florida has the largest Venezuelan community in the USA.

“He heads a criminal, narco-terrorist regime that is taking a once-wealthy nation to the brink of destruction,” Rubio wrote.

Colombia ended its opposition to possible U.S. military intervention in Venezuela, and its president accused Maduro’s dictatorship of human rights abuses.

“We are experiencing the most outrageous migratory and humanitarian crisis in the region’s recent history, because of a dictatorship that has annihilated freedoms,” Duque said before the United Nations.

The geopolitical chess game has created a teetering balance between peace and violence that, according to WOLA’s Isacson, could escalate out of control with even the smallest clash between the two countries.

“If the border is a war zone, people would be that much less likely to cross. It would be impossible to cross legally,” Isacson said.

Torrealba voiced her hopes for the future as she gently shook her daughter’s rattler, her smile creeping up to reveal the braces on her teeth.

“I want to study, I want a career in social communication,” she said. “In the meantime, I will send tickets to my parents to come (to Medellin). And little by little, I will start working.”

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...rants-food-and-medicine-shortages/1808395002/

 

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U.S. considering sanctioning Cuban officials over their role in Venezuela
Such sanctions would be the first time Washington has targeted a bloc of foreign officials allied with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Nov. 21, 2018 / 1:17 PM PST By Reuters

The Trump administration is considering imposing sanctions on Cuban military and intelligence officials who it says are helping Venezuela’s socialist government crack down on dissent, according to a source with knowledge of the deliberations.

Such sanctions would be the first time Washington has targeted a bloc of foreign officials allied with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. OPEC member Venezuela is in the grips of a prolonged recession, its economy dogged by hyperinflation and food shortages.

President Donald Trump’s Republican administration has already imposed sanctions on dozens of Venezuelan officials, and has sought to disrupt the country’s growing gold exports and access to external financing as part of a pressure campaign against Maduro.

The potential human rights-related sanctions would target Cuban officials, possibly including generals, who Washington accuses of advising Venezuela’s government on how to monitor opponents and put down street protests, the source said.

The number and identities of the potential targets was unclear. No final decision has yet been made on whether and when to impose the sanctions.

The measures would cast a further chill on U.S.-Cuba relations, where Trump has rolled back some of former President Barack Obama’s moves aimed at forging closer ties, and also fuel Maduro’s assertion that Washington is bent on undermining his government for ideological reasons.

Cuba and Venezuela became close allies under the rule of late Presidents Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez. Since a series of bilateral agreements in 2000, the communist island’s economy depends heavily on Venezuelan crude oil, which Havana compensates for by providing Venezuela with Cuban doctors and other services.

The United States and Venezuelan opposition politicians have long maintained that Cuban military and intelligence officials advise Maduro’s government and security forces on the crackdown.

While Maduro often travels to Havana and the Cuban ambassador is a frequent guest at government meetings in Caracas, the extent of Cuba’s influence on and support for Venezuela’s government and military is not publicly known.

There are questions about how effective measures targeting Cuban officials would be.

Human rights-related sanctions typically freeze assets, seize property, block travel in the United States and prohibit U.S. business dealings with the targets. However, given Washington has maintained a six-decade financial and trade embargo on Cuba, few if any Cuban officials are believed to have a sizeable financial presence in the United States.

The White House declined comment in response to Reuters questions about possible Cuba sanctions.

In the past, Maduro has blasted sanctions as “imperialist” moves designed to complicate financial transactions, including food imports and bond payments. He has also derided U.S. sanctions on himself and other Venezuelan officials as ineffective and a badge of honor.

Maduro’s government has been criticized by Washington, the European Union and Latin American neighbors for overriding Venezuela’s opposition-led Congress, jailing opponents, using excessive force against protesters and failing to allow the entry of foreign humanitarian aid to ease the economic crisis.

‘Troika of tyranny’
The Trump administration has in the past floated the idea of sanctions that were not ultimately rolled out, and Washington has stressed it wants to minimize harm to Venezuelan people.

Asked about possible sanctions on Cuban officials, a senior U.S. government official told Reuters in early November: “We are looking at all the potential avenues to deter those who are really helping the Maduro regime stay afloat and giving them the tools they need for repression.”

Trump’s national security adviser John Bolton said earlier this month Washington would take a tougher line against Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, calling them a “Troika of Tyranny.”

“The Venezuelan regime’s repression is of course enabled by the Cuban dictatorship,” Bolton said during a speech in Miami, home to a diaspora of Venezuelans and Cubans who have historically been a bedrock of Republican support in swing state Florida.

“The United States calls on all nations in the region to face this obvious truth, and let the Cuban regime know that it will be held responsible for continued oppression in Venezuela,” Bolton said.

Trump’s top Latin America adviser, Mauricio Claver-Carone, is a Cuban-American who was opposed to Obama’s historic opening to Cuba after a 2014 diplomatic breakthrough between the two Cold War foes.

Separately, the United States is considering adding Venezuela to its list of state sponsors of terrorism, two people familiar with the deliberations said earlier this week, although a U.S. official said it could be difficult for the Trump administration to provide concrete proof.

Such a designation could further limit U.S. assistance to Venezuela and impose new restrictions on financial transactions.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino...n-officials-over-their-role-venezuela-n939111

 

[VivaRevolution]

China navy ship visits Venezuela for the first time as Nicolás Maduro cozies up to Beijing
September 22, 2018

Venezuela's Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez attends the arrival ceremony of the China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy hospital ship Peace Ark at the port in La Guaira, Venezuela on September 22, 2018 ​

https://www.businessinsider.com/r-c...-visit-to-venezuela-after-maduro-visit-2018-9

Yeah, I'm sure the Hawks will respond well to that.

 

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China's oil trade and investment in Venezuela​

By Andrew Hayley | September 11, 2023

BEIJING, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro has arrived in Beijing for a visit that will likely feature energy and debt repayment talks against a backdrop of China's souring relations with the West.

China, the world's largest importer of crude oil, is Venezuela's largest creditor and a major player in the country's oil and gas sector. Venezuela boasts the world's largest proven oil reserves, although years of mismanagement have led to its output sliding to a quarter of what it was 20 years ago.

OIL TRADE​

Despite U.S. sanctions, China has been a key regular buyer of Venezuelan oil.
Since state major China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) (CNPET.UL), a dominant investor and oil client of Caracas, stopped lifting Venezuelan oil in August 2019 following toughened U.S. sanctions, China has been receiving Venezuelan oil via traders who branded them as Malaysian.

Data from tanker tracker Kpler showed China bought 110 million barrels, roughly 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Venezuelan crude in 2022.

Vortexa, another tanker counting specialist, estimated China's Venezuelan oil imports, branded as Malaysian crude or a bitumen mix, averaged at 430,000 bpd during the first eight months of 2023.

Separately, to help repay debt owed to Beijing, China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp (CASIC) (SASAAI.UL), a state-owned, defence-focused conglomerate has since November 2020 been shipping Venezuelan crude to China. The shipments entered China through a customs green channel and not subject to import quota systems.

Officially, China has not reported any crude oil imports from Venezuela since September 2019.

Venezuelan crude grades, mostly heavy sour Merey and Boscan, are widely used by independent refineries in China's eastern Shandong province, where the oil has typically been labelled as diluted bitumen at customs to avoid being included in tightly controlled import quotas.

CNPC IN VENEZUELA​

CNPC has been involved in the development of Venezuela's oil and gas sector for nearly three decades.

CNPC halted fresh investments in the country in 2009, focusing instead on maintaining a small number of existing projects, company officials told Reuters last week.

Below are CNPC's main activities in Venezuela according to its website:
In 1997, CNPC won contracts to take over extraction at the long-established Intercampo field in Venezuela's Lake Maracaibo and the Caracoles field in the Eastern Venezuela Basin.

In 2001, CNPC established a joint venture agreement with Venezuelan state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) (PDVSA.UL) for an ultra-heavy oil development in the Orinoco Belt, which holds the world's largest heavy oil reserves.

This cooperation was expanded in 2006 to develop the Zumano field - which lies close to the Orinoco Belt - and to include extra heavy oil upgrading facilities producing exportable crude in 2007.

CNPC currently holds a 40% stake in the joint venture, now called Petrolera Sinovensa, which operates a number of blocks in the Orinoco Belt.

CNPC has not entered any new oil projects in Venezuela since 2009, when it committed to invest in the Junin 4 block of the Orinoco Belt, a senior company official told Reuters.

LOANS-FOR-OIL​

The development of Venezuelan oil assets has been financed by Chinese state-owned banks under loan-for-oil deals.

Starting in 2007, former Venezuela President Hugo Chavez agreed to $50 billion in credit lines and loan-for-oil deals with China.

A rout in oil prices and declining output from Venezuelan fields meant that Caracas was forced to ask for grace periods on debt owed to China in 2016.
Venezuelan crude output fell to 716,000 bpd in 2022, a fraction of the 2.8 million bpd it produced ten years earlier, according to official data reported by the country to OPEC.

The cash-strapped Maduro administration again had to negotiate grace periods for some $19 billion of debt owed to Chinese banks in August 2020.

Venezuela currently owes over $10 billion to China, according to independent data.

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/chinas-oil-trade-investment-venezuela-2023-09-12/

 

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The U.S. renews oil sanctions on Venezuela citing a failure to allow fair elections​

By Tara Neill | APRIL 17, 2024

The United States is renewing sanctions on Venezuela's oil industry, after easing some of the penalties for six months in return for assurances the South American country would hold free and fair elections this year.

Senior U.S. officials said the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro had "fallen short" of that commitment and continues its "repression" of opponents.

The U.S. had agreed to lift certain sanctions for a half-year period after the Maduro government met with Venezuelan political opposition leaders in Barbados in October last year. The Barbados accord outlined a roadmap to make the July 28 election more competitive.

The deal included a legal process for reinstating banned presidential candidates. But the main opposition hopeful, María Corina Machado, remains barred from running, a replacement contender was prevented from registering her candidacy and members of the opposition have been arrested. Most polls indicate that Machado would win any free and fair election by a landslide.

With the sanctions relief deal set to expire Thursday, the Biden administration indicated those penalties would snap back into place.

The U.S. officials said the Venezuelan government was failing to enable "an inclusive and competitive election" to take place. They were speaking on condition of anonymity to brief reporters about the policy decision.

"Despite delivering on some of the commitments made under the Barbados electoral roadmap, we are concerned that Maduro and his representatives prevented the democratic opposition from registering the candidate of their choice, harassed and intimidated political opponents, and unjustly detained numerous political actors and members of civil society," the U.S. State Department said in a statement Wednesday.

Venezuela has some of the world's largest oil and gas reserves. But years of mismanagement, impact of international sanctions and poor governance has led to the near collapse of the industry.

The U.S. Treasury Department website said Wednesday it issued a replacement license giving companies until May 31 to "wind down" previously authorized business and transactions with Venezuela's oil and gas industry.

But administration officials told reporters that U.S. energy company Chevron will be allowed to continue a joint venture with Venezuela's national oil company, PDVSA.

Nearly 8 million Venezuelans have fled their country to escape a devastating economic crisis, many to the U.S.

https://www.npr.org/2024/04/17/1245374275/us-reimposes-venezuela-oil-sanctions