Once Considered By Many As The De Facto President Of Venezuela, Opposition Leader Juan Guaido Flees To The U.S.

 

Zero Hedge: Juan Guaido, Once Seen By 50 Countries As Venezuelan "President", Lands In US Seeking Refuge 

Starting last November the Biden administration began easing oil sanctions on Venezuela and restarted negotiations with the government of President Nicolás Maduro, also as part of mediation efforts to establish peace with the US-backed opposition. 

The US had also been scrambling to free up oil and energy resources amid the Ukraine war and sanctions efforts against Russia. This was against the backdrop of the Venezuela regime change efforts of the prior Trump years, when opposition leader Juan Guaido had for years been dubbed by Washington as 'Interim President'. 

But "president" Guaido had no power whatsoever at any time within the socialist country, but still Washington got many dozens of its allies onboard the political fiction. At one point the American government boasted that 50 countries officially supported Guaido as leader.  

Read more ....  

Update #1: Venezuela's Guaido in Miami after 'expulsion' from Colombia (DW)  

Update #2: Guaidó, former Venezuelan opposition leader, lands in U.S. for 'refuge' (Washington Post)  

WNU Editor: The optics on how this happen look bad. That is why I am not surprised that the U.S. State Department is rushing to make a public announcement that they did not not abandoned Guaido .... US aided Venezuelan opposition leader’s secret flight to Florida (The Hill).

Venezuela's Refugee Crisis Is Now Matching The Refugee Crisis In Ukraine

Migrants from Venezuela crossing into Chile from the Bolivian border near Colchane, Chile [File: Matias Delacroix/AP]  

CNN: UN says similar numbers of refugees are fleeing Venezuela as war torn Ukraine  

More than 6 million Venezuelans have fled their country amid deteriorating conditions, matching Ukraine in the number of displaced people and surpassing Syria, according to the United Nations. 

The refugee crisis in Venezuela is striking because there is not a war in the country like Ukraine, where ongoing conflict has pushed people out of the country. 

There are about 6.8 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants spread around the world, according to the United Nations refugee agency—similar to the 6.8 million refugees from Ukraine. There are some 6.6 million refugees from Syria.  

Read more ....  

Update: Over 6.8 million have left Venezuela since 2014 and exodus grows (Al Jazeera)  

WNU Editor: If you add the internally displaced the situation in Ukraine is far worse than Venezuela or Syria .... Displaced Ukrainians now tie for largest refugee crisis worldwide (The Gazette).

Europe's Energy Crisis Continues To Get Worse. Venezuela Suspends Oil Shipments

FILE PHOTO: An oilfield worker walks next to pipelines at PDVSA's Jose Antonio Anzoategui industrial complex in the state of Anzoategui April 15, 2015. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins  

Reuters: Exclusive - PDVSA Pauses Oil-For-Debt Shipments to Europe, Wants Product Swaps 

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Venezuela has suspended new crude shipments to Europe under an oil-for-debt deal and has asked Italy's Eni and Spain's Repsol to provide it with fuel in exchange for future cargoes, three people familiar with the matter said. 

Venezuela's oil company PDVSA no longer is interested in the oil-for-debt deals that the U.S. State Department authorized in May, the sources said, which allowed the state company to resume shipments to Europe after a two-year suspension caused by U.S. sanctions. 

Washington authorized the shipments as long as cargo proceeds were used to pay off accumulated debt PDVSA owed to joint ventures with Eni and Repsol.  

Read more ....  

Update #1: Venezuela Stops Oil Shipments To Europe As Alternatives To Russian Energy Dry Up (Zero Hedge)  

Update #2: PDVSA pauses oil-for-debt shipments to Europe, wants product swaps (Energy World)  

WNU Editor: Here is an easy prediction. Expect oil prices to climb as winter approaches.

The Venezuelan Government Is Spying On Everyone

Venezuela tapped 1.5 million phone lines. It’s just the start, experts warn. © Albert Gea/Reuters 

Caracus Chronicle: The Maduro Administration Is Spying on Everyone  

A strange transparency report published by Spanish telecommunications giant Telefónica shows how its Venezuelan subsidiary allowed the government to intervene over 20% of their subscribers phone lines. Here are the dirty details 

A transparency report recently published by Telefónica, the parent company of Movistar Venezuela, revealed indiscriminate and massive interceptions of the private communications of their Venezuelan subscribers, by order of security government agencies. 

According to the document, in 2021 Telefónica intercepted the communications of over 1.5 million (1,584,547) subscribers in Venezuela, more than 20% of Movistar telephone/internet accounts. 

These interventions were carried out by order of the government of Nicolás Maduro and included intercepting or “tapping” calls, monitoring SMS, giving the location of people through their cell phones and/or monitoring their internet traffic. 

Interventions in other countries in the region included in the report don’t even get close to 1%.  

Read more ....  

Update: Venezuela tapped 1.5 million phone lines. It’s just the start, experts warn (Washington Post)  

WNU Editor: Only 20% are tapped? I thought all of their phone lines were being monitored.

Venezuela Changes Its Currency (Again)

 

France 24: A million bolivars become one as Venezuela recalibrates battered currency 

Venezuela unveils new banknotes on Friday to once again slash zeroes off its currency, battered by runaway inflation that has compounded the country's economic collapse and left many struggling to put food on the table. 

The national economy has shrunk by 80 percent since 2013 as the oil price crashed and output dwindled during decades of under-investment, US sanctions, and mismanagement by successive socialist governments.  

Read more ....  

Update #1: Venezuela introduces new currency with 6 fewer zeros (AP)  

Update #2: Venezuela to subtract six zeros from currency, second overhaul in three years (Reuters)  

WNU Editor: Changing the currency is not going to solve the problem. And it is certainly not going to alleviate this crisis .... Study Says Three In Four Venezuelans Live In Extreme Poverty (September 30, 2021).

Study Says Three In Four Venezuelans Live In Extreme Poverty

BBC: Venezuela crisis: Three in four in extreme poverty, study says 

Three in every four Venezuelans live in extreme poverty, a study has said, as a years-long severe economic crisis in the oil-rich nation continues.

Researchers at Andrés Bello Catholic University (UCAB) linked the increase to both the pandemic and a fuel crisis. 

Since 2014, the country has suffered from shortages of basic supplies and hyperinflation. 

Millions of people are in need of aid. 

The government has not commented but it often says US sanctions are to blame. Critics, however, say the crisis is a result of President Nicolás Maduro's economic mismanagement.

Public services have collapsed, unemployment has soared and the local currency - the bolivar - is almost worthless. 

According to the report, the National Survey of Living Conditions (Encovi), extreme poverty rose to 76.6%, from 67.7% last year. 

Someone is considered to be in extreme poverty when living on less than $1.90 (£1.40) a day.  

Read more ....  

Update #1: Venezuela: Over three-quarters live in extreme poverty (NBC/Reuters)  

Update #2: More than 75 percent of Venezuelans now living in extreme poverty (The Hill)  

WNU Editor: These are terrible numbers .... 94.5% of the population (based on income) is in poverty, out of which 76.6% live under extreme poverty. More details here .... Encovi 2021: Venezuela Is The Poorest Country in Latin America (Caracas Chronicle)

Shortages Have Returned To Venezuela

Bloomberg: Venezuelans Enduring Day-Long Waits to Fill Gasoline Tanks 

 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuela’s capital city is once again rationing gasoline after output at state-owned refineries slumped, forcing motorists to endure day-long queues to top off tanks. 

Shortages have returned to Caracas, prompting drivers to prowl the streets for open filling stations as lines stretch for blocks in some areas. 

Because of breakdowns at Petroleos de Venezuela SA fuel-making plants, gasoline output has crashed by more than 40% since the end of June, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation. 

While fuel scarcity has long been a fixture in the countryside, the Maduro regime has striven to shield Caracas from such shortages. But the reemergence of long lines not seen in months signals the embattled government is failing to meet its pledge to ramp up production and permanently end the problem.  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: So much For the Maduro government's promise to end gas shortages.

The Collapse Of Venezuela In One Chart

The collapse of Venezuela's #Socialism in one chart. When Chavez was elected in 1999, Energy Consumption per Capita in Venezuela was 2X greater than in Argentina, Chile, and Brazil. Now it's collapsed by 50%. @marcthiessen @JonahDispatch @ivanastradner #SocialismoEsMiseria pic.twitter.com/Ept3b9AEj9

— Mark J. Perry (@Mark_J_Perry) July 8, 2021

WNU Editor: Energy consumption is the lifeblood of a nation. Once it collapses the nation collapses.

Gunfights Between Gangs And Police Close Major Roads In Caracas

Security forces in Caracas during clashes against alleged members of a criminal gang in the surroundings of La Cota 905 neighborhood on July 8, 2021 © Yuri CORTEZ / AFP  

The Guardian/Reuters: Venezuela: intense gun battles rage in Caracas between gangs and police 

* Roads closed in capital and people urged to stay at home 

* Human rights activists say at least four killed and six wounded 

Venezuelan authorities have closed roads in Caracas amid intense raging gun battles between security forces and organized crime gangs that analysts say are trying to expand the territory under their control in the capital. 

 Heavily armed criminal groups have moved in the past month to residential and commercial areas from slums in the city’s hills, and violence has exploded over the past 24 hours with firefights breaking out in at least five populous neighborhoods.

“State security agencies continue to be deployed in the areas affected by these criminals,” the interior minister, Carmen Meléndez, wrote on Twitter.  

Read more ....  

Update #1: Gunfights between gangs and police close major roads in Caracas (CNN)  

Update #2: 3 reported dead in Caracas gun battles as Venezuelan police fight gangs seeking to expand territory (VIDEOS) (RT)  

WNU Editor: Even with high oil prices, Venezuela cannot take advantage of it due tot heir broken infrastructure.

Venezuela Exodus Reaches Record Levels

Migrants cross the Táchira River, on the Venezuelan-Colombian border, last year, when the official crossing was closed due to Covid. Photograph: Schneyder Mendoza/AFP 

The Guardian: ‘Latin America will never be the same’: Venezuela exodus reaches record levels 

Country at a ‘tipping point’ that could affect wider region, experts warn, as ‘donor fatigue’ causes aid shortfall 

The continuing exodus of millions of Venezuelans is reaching “a tipping point” as the response to the crisis remains critically underfunded. 

More than 5.6 million have left the country since 2015, when it had a population of 30 million, escaping political, economic and social hardships. 

It has become the largest external displacement crisis in the region’s history, and the most underfunded. 

“Never in our history in Latin America have we faced such movement of people out of a country that was one of the richest in the region and a country that is not at war,” said Eduardo Stein, special representative of the UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). 

“Whatever fails in one of the largest and richest countries in the subcontinent is going to affect the rest of the region. Latin America will never be the same.”  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: It is staggering to believe that out of a population of 30 million, 5.6 million have left in 6 years, and instead of dropping the exodus is now reaching record levels.

Venezuela’s Maduro Pleads For Foreign Capital And A Deal With The U.S,

 

Bloomberg: Venezuela’s Maduro Pleads for Foreign Capital, Biden Deal in Caracas Interview 

Seated on a gilded Louis XVI chair in his office at Miraflores, a sprawling, neo-Baroque palace in northwest Caracas, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro projects unflappable confidence. 

The country, he says in an 85-minute interview with Bloomberg Television, has broken free of “irrational, extremist, cruel” U.S. oppression. Russia, China, Iran and Cuba are allies, his domestic opposition is impotent. 

If Venezuela suffers from a bad image, it’s because of a well-funded campaign to demonize him and his socialist government. 

The bombast is predictable. But in between his denunciations of Yankee imperialism, Maduro, who’s been allowing dollars to circulate and private enterprise to flourish, is making a public plea and aiming it directly at Joe Biden. 

The message: It's time for a deal.  

Read more ....  

Update: Venezuela President Maduro Talks Sanctions, Economy: Transcript (Bloomberg)  

WNU Editor: Venezuela under the current regime is one of the worse places to invest capital. 

Venezuela already owes tens of billions to China, and it is now being "killed" by the imposition of a special tax on oil .... Venezuela’s Maduro receives harsh economic blow from an unlikely source: China (Miami Herald). And Russia, another country that Venezuela owes tens of billions of dollars, has stopped providing credit to the Maduro regime since last year.

Venezuela Continues Its Trend To Be A Failed State

DNYUZ/New York Times: Bouncy Castles and Grenades: Gangs Erode Maduro’s Grip on Caracas 

CARACAS, Venezuela — From within his presidential palace, President Nicolás Maduro regularly commandeers the airwaves, delivering speeches intended to project stability to his crumbling nation. 

But as the Venezuelan state disintegrates under the weight of Mr. Maduro’s corrupt leadership and American sanctions, his government is losing control of segments of the country, even within his stronghold: the capital, Caracas. 

Nowhere is his weakening grip on territory more evident than in Cota 905, a shantytown that clings to a steep mountainside overlooking the gilded halls from which Mr. Maduro addresses the nation. 

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Venezuela is now trying to implement a Covid-19 vaccination program .... Long lines and confusion as Venezuela begins COVID-19 vaccination (Reuters), and it looks like it is falling apart.

And for a country that has the largest reserves of oil in the world, it has finally received its first shipment of diesel in six months .... Iranian fuel shipment reaches Venezuelan waters (AFP).  

Update: I do not see this happening in the foreseeable future .... In An Attempt To Ease Sanctions, Venezuela's Maduro Reaches Out To U.S. (NPR).

Colombia's ELN Guerilla Movement Is Making Headway In Venezuela

DNYUZ: Armed Groups Step Into Venezuela as Lawlessness Grows 

GUARERO, Venezuela — They bring drinking water to residents in the arid scrublands, teach farming workshops and offer medical checkups. They mediate land disputes, fine cattle rustlers, settle divorces, investigate crimes and punish thieves. 

They’re not police officers, civil servants or members of the Venezuela government, which has all but disappeared from this impoverished part of the country. 

Quite the opposite: They belong to one of Latin America’s most notorious rebel groups, considered terrorists by the United States and the European Union for carrying out bombings and kidnappings over decades of violence. 

Venezuela’s economic collapse has so thoroughly gutted the country that insurgents have embedded themselves across large stretches of its territory, seizing upon the nation’s undoing to establish mini-states of their own. 

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: The ELN guerilla movement has always been prominent in Venezuela. Here is a good article from 2018 on their presence in Venezuela .... ELN Now Present in Half of Venezuela (Insight Crime).

A Desperate Venezuela Says It Will Pay For Covid-19 Vaccines With Oil

 

Reuters: Venezuela's Maduro proposes paying for coronavirus vaccines with oil 

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Sunday proposed paying for vaccines against the novel coronavirus with oil, though he provided few details about how such a scheme would work. 

The crisis-stricken OPEC nation’s crude exports have plummeted to their lowest levels in decades since Washington sanctioned state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela in 2019, cutting off Venezuela’s exports to the United States and dissuading many other customers from buying Venezuelan oil as well. 

Read more .... 

WNU editor: I guess this Covid-19 herbal remedy plan by the Venezuelan President has failed .... Facebook freezes Venezuela leader Maduro's page for false COVID claim (Axios). 

 More News On Venezuela Saying It Will Pay For Covid-19 Vaccines With Oil 

Venezuela Looks To Pay With Oil For COVID Vaccines -- OilPrice.com 

Venezuela wants to pay for vaccines with oil -- The Hill 

Venezuelan President Maduro offers ‘oil for vaccines’ as country sees spike in Covid-19 cases -- RT 

A Desperate Maduro Proposes "Oil For Vaccines" Plan -- Zero Hedge

Due To Hyperinflation Venezuela To Print 1,000,000-Bolivar Bills

Tres nuevos billetes serán incorporados al Cono Monetario vigente, como parte de la ampliación de la actual familia de especies monetarias.#BCV 🇻🇪 pic.twitter.com/HdUDbrrZ5F

— Banco Central de Venezuela (@BCV_ORG_VE) March 5, 2021

DW: Venezuela to introduce 1-million-bolivar bill 

The Central Bank of Venezuela's new notes were launched as hyperinflation and US sanctions continue to cripple the economy of the oil-producing nation. As inflation skyrockets, the biggest bill is worth just 52 cents. 

The Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) announced Friday the introduction of three new banknotes: 200,000, 500,000 and one million bolivars. 

But with inflation skyrocketing, the highest denominated bill has a value of just $0.52 cents (€0.44 cents), according to the official rate. 

Read more .... 

WNU Editor: Venezuela's inflation rate in 2020 was 3,000% .... Venezuela reports 2020 inflation of 3,000 percent (AFP). 

 More News On Venezuela To Print 1,000,000-Bolivar Bills Amid Raging Inflation 

You can now be a ‘millionaire’ in Venezuela for 50 cents -- NYPost 

Struggling Venezuela introduces 1,000,000 Bolivar note – worth US$0.53 -- Bloomberg 

Hyperinflation Pushes Venezuela to Print 1,000,000-Bolivar Bills -- Bloomberg 

Venezuela to issue 1-million-bolivar bill, but it’s worth only 50 cents amid raging hyperinflation -- RT

Mali And The Emirates Are Helping Venezuela Sell Its Gold Reserves

FILE PHOTO: Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro touches a gold bar as he speaks during a meeting with the ministers responsible for the economic sector at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela March 22, 2018. REUTERS/Marco Bello 

Reuters: Mali, Emirates facilitated Venezuelan gold trade in 2020, opposition says 

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela sent gold to Mali in 2020 via Russian-owned planes to exchange for euros and U.S. dollars that President Nicolas Maduro’s government used to remain afloat despite U.S. sanctions, an opposition representative said on Wednesday. 

Julio Borges, designated by opposition leader Juan Guaido as his chief overseas envoy, told reporters that the gold was refined in Mali and then resold primarily in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to allow for Maduro’s administration to obtain the equivalent of at least $1 billion in euros in particular. 

Read more .... 

WNU Editor: The gold reserves are dropping fast .... Venezuela gold reserves drop to new five-decade low as withdrawals accelerate (Reuters).

Venezuela to Privatize Some Of Its State-Owned Businesses

This is what socialism does to a country.

But remember: it started with "democratic" socialism. pic.twitter.com/jYhKHpYYpB

— Jon Miltimore (@miltimore79) February 15, 2021

Jon Miltimore, Foundation for Economic Education: Bloomberg: Venezuela Turns to Privatization After Being Bankrupted by Socialism 

After much pain and suffering, Venezuelan socialist leaders have conceded they cannot effectively run an economy. 

Early in 2007, after winning a second six-year term as president, Hugo Chávez announced his plan to nationalize Venezuela’s largest telecommunications company, CANTV, hinting at wider nationalization plans to come. 

“All that was privatized, let it be nationalized,” announced Chávez, who had run under the banner of democratic socialism. 

Nearly a decade and a half later, on the brink of mass famine and a growing energy crisis, Venezuela is now moving in the opposite direction. 

According to Bloomberg News, Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro has quietly begun transferring state assets back into the hands of private owners in an effort to reverse the country's economic collapse. 

Read more .... 

WNU editor: Too little and too late. And more to the point .... 

  .... The Maduro government is still using everything from price controls on food to minimum wage hikes to currency manipulation to manage its economy, not to mention selecting which businesses get to participate in its privatization efforts (and who gets to invest). In terms of overall economic freedom, Venezuela ranked 179 out of 180 countries in 2020—one place ahead of North Korea and one behind Cuba.

Venezuela Is Still A Mess

Venezuelans come prepared when they queue for petrol; they know it can take days 

Katy Watson, BBC: 'A total mess': Venezuelans see little hope of improvement 

Dawn has just broken at Patanemo bay, a large white sandy beach on Venezuela's Caribbean coast.

Fishermen are cooking up breakfast on an open fire alongside their fishing shed. On the menu, fish of course: fried bonito with boiled cassava. 

Some colleagues have just returned from emptying the nets from overnight. They off-load several cool-boxes of red snapper and bonito but as they start cleaning up their catch, scraping the scales off and chopping the flesh up, one fisherman tells me they are disappointed. 

Read more .... 

WNU Editor: The government and its supporters still believe .... Venezuela is quietly quitting socialism (CNN).

Maduro's Allies Win Control Of Venezuela's Congress After Opposition Boycotted Election

 

The Guardian: Maduro tightens grip over Venezuela with win in boycotted congress vote 

National assembly was only institution not commanded by ruling Socialist party Nicolás Maduro tightened his grip over Venezuela on Sunday in legislative elections that some believe effectively marked the end of Juan Guaidó’s US-backed campaign to topple the South American strongman. 

The bulk of Venezuela’s beleaguered opposition boycotted the contest for the 277-seat national assembly, calling it a sham designed to lend Maduro’s authoritarian regime an air of democratic legitimacy. 

“The dictatorship doesn’t intend to hold an election, it intends to annihilate a nation’s hope,” Guaidó, the opposition leader, said on the eve of a ballot he denounced as a “fraud”. 

Read more .... 

 More News On Maduro's Allies Winning Control Of Venezuela's Congress 

Venezuela’s Maduro claims sweep of boycotted election -- AP 

Boycott-tainted poll win gives Maduro total control in Venezuela -- France 24 

Pro-Maduro candidates win control of Venezuelan congress after disputed election -- CNN 

Venezuela’s Last Democratic Body Falls to Maduro After Vote -- Bloomberg 

Maduro claims "great victory" in boycotted election -- Axios 

U.S., EU say they do not recognize Venezuela parliamentary vote -- Reuters 

U.S.'s Pompeo says Venezuelan elections were 'political farce' -- Reuters 

Venezuela Elections: What Maduro's Parliament Control Means -- Time

Venezuelan Voters Go To The Polls To Elect A New Parliament that Is Being Boycotted By The Opposition

 

Reuters: Venezuela votes for parliament as opposition denounces fraud 

CARACAS, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Venezuelans on Sunday choose a new congress in an election that the opposition is boycotting and most Western nations call a fraud by President Nicolas Maduro to retake the last state institution not in the hands of the ruling Socialist Party. 

The vote is almost certain to return congress to Maduro’s allies despite his government struggling with an economy in ruins, aggressive U.S. sanctions that stifle the OPEC nation’s oil exports, and the migration of some 5 million citizens. 

Members of the new congress will have few tools to improve the lives of Venezuelans whose monthly salaries rarely cover the cost of a day’s groceries, nor will their election improve Maduro’s reputation among Western nations for mismanagement and undermining of human rights. 

Read more .... 

WNU Editor: The outcome has already been predetermined. There is really no point to even vote. 

 More News On Venezuela's Parliamentary Elections 

Venezuelan voting begins in disputed assembly elections amid boycotts from opposition -- FOX News/AP 

Maduro Allies Set To Win Back Venezuela's Congress In Vote Boycotted By Opposition -- NPR Maduro eyes victory as Venezuela polls open despite opposition boycott -- AFP 

Polls open for Venezuela’s legislative election -- Al Jazeera 

Maduro set to tighten grip over Venezuela as Guaidó denounces 'fraud' -- The Guardian 

Venezuela's parliamentary poll: Five things you need to know -- BBC