Imperialist intervention in Venezuela: UPDATE 10

venezuela thousands attended to show their support for president maduro.credit meridith kohut for the new york times. 1 e1549220350693

  • Anti-intervention coalition initiated at UN
  • Caracas receives tons of medical aid from allies
  • Venezuelan Foreign Minister-US envoy meet
  • India to continue buying Venezuelan oil despite US threats
  • Investigation into Guaido’s acts launched
  • Danes protest U.S. coup attempt in Venezuela
  • Venezuela initiates WTO complaint against US measures

 

Anti-interventionist moves centering Venezuela are getting stronger while the imperial interventionists are making their plan more complicated.

Media reports said:

Anti-US intervention coalition

Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza introduced a group of countries opposed to the US-backed efforts to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday.

The group with more than 50 countries including China, Cuba, Iran, Nicaragua, Palestine, Russia, Syria would defend the key principles of the UN Charter that are being violated by the U.S. actions in Venezuela.

“Today we are announcing an important group of nations concerned about the need to retain respect for the founding principles of the UN Charter. We believe that these principles are being violated. We all have the right to live without the threat of force”, said Arreaza.

He cited issues of sovereignty and equality of UN members in the General Assembly, non-intervention in domestic affairs, and the peaceful settlement of disputes.

Arreaza elaborated that the new group would be conducting “a series of actions to increase awareness around the dangers that our peoples currently face, particularly the case of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. We call upon all the member states of the UN to join us in defending international law as the only guarantor of […] peaceful coexistence”.

The foreign minister said that the United States was trying to starve Venezuela and now is offering to send humanitarian aid.

“The US has blocked our economy of $30 billion, and they are sending humanitarian aid of $20 million? [They are] choking you, killing you and now saying ‘I am giving you a cookie’”, he added, probably referring to “high-energy biscuits packed with vitamins and minerals”, which Washington said were being airlifted to Colombia to be delivered to Caracas.

Commenting on reports that the US has been trying to turn Venezuela’s armed forces against President Maduro, Arreaza said: Washington needed to “rethink your strategy” because “this test of loyalty of the military is over”.

In a parallel development, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia also expressed alarm over how events are unfolding in the South American country:

“We are very concerned that some hotheads are considering military action. We are categorically against it. It’s not just about the Maduro government. It’s about defending international law and the UN Charter”.

The Trump administration repeatedly threatens that a military intervention in Venezuela was “an option”.

Responding to Trump’s remarks, Maduro has warned that he would make the US interference irreparable if Washington chooses to go ahead with the military option:

“We are planning to respond to a US intervention in such a way as to make [the US] suffer irreparable military and human losses”, he said.

The newly formed group of countries has decided to form a diplomatic team at the U.N. to defend human rights and the fundamental charter of the international organization.

“We are beginning a collective work in all instances and agencies of the United Nations. We are going to organize a strategy not only for the defense of Venezuela, but also for the defense of the principles of the U.N.,” said Arreaza, accompanied by a delegation of diplomats from the countries joining the group.

After reading several principles of the U.N. Charter, the Venezuelan Foreign Minister reported the violation of UN principles by the U.S.

Among those principles in the U.N. Charter to defend are:

1)    Respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace (Article 1.2)

2)    Respect for the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members. (Article 2.1)

3)   Settle international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered. (Article 2.3)

4)    Refrain in  international relations from the threat or use of force against a State. (Article 2.4) 

5)    Respect the territorial integrity or political independence of any States (Article 2.4)

6)    Non-intervention in matters, which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state (Article 2.7)

“We call on all the member states of the UN to unite for the defense of international law as the only guarantee of peaceful coexistence for humankind,” he added.

“We are a sovereign country, we are going to protect our people in spite of all the threats. We must ask the media not to be part of bloodshed in Venezuela,” Arreaza said, urging media outlets who have joined the interventionist campaign on the nation to cease their rhetoric.

He also stressed that “the United States has no moral standing to impose sanctions on anyone, only the resolutions of international organizations such as the U.N. are legal and will be recognized by the member states. Otherwise, they are unilateral actions.”

Maduro government receives 933 tons of medical aid from allies

Twenty-five million Euros-worth of humanitarian aid reached Venezuela from its international partners.

Sixty-four containers holding 933 tons of medical supplies, from gastrointestinal medication to prenatal vitamins, arrived from Venezuelan allies Thursday, the Venezuelan Health Ministry reported.

The humanitarian aid was delivered to Puerto de la Guaira, Venezuela, from international partners in Cuba, China, Russia, Palestine, Turkey, among others.

Over 22,570 units of spare parts for medical equipment, 192,000 kit for diagnostic tests and “more than 100,000 kit for cytology” were included in the shipment, which Health Minister Carlos Alvarado said is received regularly in the port city.

“It is not strange that we are receiving containers here in the port of La Guaira,” he said, noting that some of the products are the result of a “direct purchase” while others are part of an agreement with Cuba and China.

In this way, the Venezuelan government manages to keep the socialist health system functioning, “despite the situation of drowning of the empire,” he said.

The U.S. is continuing its attempts to send Venezuela-bound “humanitarian aid” to allies in the Caribbean and Colombia, attempting to import the items without state approval under the guise of a philanthropic gesture.

Russia also denounced the U.S. President Trump’s interventionist attempts. On Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova denounced the U.S. ‘humanitarian convoy’ as a cover for preparation for military operation out of Cucuta, Colombia.

According to the spokesperson, the U.S. has already chosen a “scenario of acute confrontation” in Venezuela, which has as its main objective to try to influence the Venezuelan Army.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister and US envoy meet

The Venezuelan Foreign Minister and the US envoy reportedly had two meetings recently.

Venezuela’s President Maduro has said in an interview that his foreign minister Jorge Arreaza met the US special envoy to Venezuela, despite Trump’s public calls for Maduro to step down.

According to the Venezuelan president, Arreaza was in New York recently, where he invited US Envoy Elliott Abrams to come to Venezuela “privately, publicly or secretly”. He said the two officials had two meetings that lasted for several hours.

His revelations have been confirmed by two Venezuelan sources not authorized to discuss the matter.

The sources disclosed that the first meeting took place on 26 January, and the second happened on 11 February. Both meetings happened at the request of the US, the sources said.

The sources said the first meeting happened in a hostile tone, with Abrams threatening Venezuela with the deployment of US troops and berating Venezuela for being allied with Cuba and Russia. The second meeting, which took place four days after Abrams said that “the time for dialogue with Maduro has long gone”, was reportedly less tense, despite Abrams insisting that US sanctions will oust Maduro even though he enjoys the support of the military.

Despite the hostile rhetoric, the Venezuelan side reportedly saw the meeting as a sign that there is room for discussion.

India to continue buying Venezuelan oil despite US threats

India’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Raveesh Kumar, said Thursday that the country would keep on doing business with Venezuela on the basis of purely economic considerations, a statement that does not submit to the U.S. strategy to isolate the Bolivarian country.

“Venezuela is the chair of OPEC and GECF (Gas Exporting Countries Forum). We don’t have any barter system with Venezuela; commercial considerations and related factors will determine the value of trade which we have with any country,” Kumar said.

By ratifying the country’s economic nexus with the Bolivarian Republic, India is not being intimidated by U.S. imposed sanctions, which are aimed at blocking Venezuela access to the U.S. financial system, among other things.

Regarding the issue, the Venezuelan Oil Minister Manuel Quevedo commented that the restrictions imposed by the U.S. Treasury Department on the Venezuelan oil industry could cost at least US$20 billion. Currently, Venezuela exports 366,000 oil barrels per day to India and expects exports to double in the near future.

“Venezuela has all the oil that India needs,” Quevedo said, anticipating that all payment methods are on the table.

On the issue, President Evo Morales said:

“We welcome India’s decision to increase the purchase of oil to Venezuela, and its initiative to pay for it with products, before the sanctions of the United States. The Empire must understand that the world is multipolar and that it cannot subject other states to its whim.”

India’s announcement comes after the U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton tried, while Quevedo was visiting India, to intimidate countries and companies buying Venezuelan oil.

“Nations and companies that support Maduro’s theft of Venezuelan resources will not be forgotten. The United States will continue to use all of its powers to preserve the Venezuelan people’s assets and we encourage all nations to work together to do the same,” Bolton wrote on his Twitter page.

Minister Quevedo also recounted that the U.S. Government has been carrying out intimidation actions so that ships, shipping agencies, stockbrokers or other international companies do not conduct business involving Venezuelan oil, gold or other raw materials.

“They want to suspend the insurance coverage to anyone who speaks with Venezuela. They call to the ship owners and shipping companies so that they cannot either send products to Venezuela or look for them,” Quevedo explained.

Regarding the political situation in Venezuela, India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson reassured that “we believe democracy, peace and security in Venezuela are of paramount importance for the progress and prosperity of the people of Venezuela. India and Venezuela enjoy close and cordial relations.”

Investigation into Guaido’s acts launched

Venezuela’s chief prosecutor Tarek William Saab said Thursday he has launched an investigation into the self-proclaimed “president” Guaido’s appointment of a transitional board of directors for the state oil company.

Saab said the appointments by Guaido and his National Assembly are part of an illegal power grab backed by foreign governments.

He also said that ambassadors of Guaido’s self-declared interim government are being investigated as part of the probe.

“Clearly, this legislative body through criminal means pretends to seize national powers,” Saab said in a news conference broadcast on state TV, calling the move part of a “circus.”

Saab said he’s looking into the board members who were designated on Wednesday to oversee PDVSA and its Houston-based subsidiary Citgo.

These people “will of course suffer legal consequences, as will the person who declared himself (president),” he said.

Magistrate Juan Mendoza of Supreme Court later read a statement in a televised address, nullifying the appointments and accusing the National Assembly of overstepping its constitutional powers.

Guaido’s representative in Washington, Carlos Vecchio, previously said the National Assembly’s decision to name a new board of directors was taken to prevent Citgo from being “plundered by the dictatorship.”

Danes protest U.S. coup attempt in Venezuela

More than 20 parties and organizations assembled in front of the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen on February 2 to protest the U.S. attempted coup in Venezuela.

In a statement, the Danish Communist Party asked “all democratic, trade-union and popular forces to — with all energy — put pressure on Danish politicians and the government […] to express support for Venezuela’s right to peace, non-interference and self-determination.”

“Venezuela initiates WTO complaint against US measures”

Venezuela has initiated WTO dispute complaint against US measures on goods and services

Venezuela has requested WTO dispute consultations with the U.S. regarding US measures affecting goods and services of Venezuelan origin. Venezuela’s request was circulated to WTO members on 8 January.

Venezuela claims that certain US laws and regulations relating to goods of Venezuelan origin, the liquidity of Venezuelan public debt, transactions in Venezuelan digital currency, and the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List are inconsistent with the WTO’s General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).

The request for consultations formally initiates a dispute in the WTO. Consultations give the parties an opportunity to discuss the matter and to find a satisfactory solution without proceeding further with litigation. After 60 days, if consultations have failed to resolve the dispute, the complainant may request adjudication by a panel.

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