Tag: Venezuela

Venezuela, Cuba, and Argentina Have the Highest Inflation in Latin America

ADN America

Venezuela, Cuba and Argentina registered the highest inflation in 2022 compared to other Latin American countries, according to figures from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and BCC reports .

The report covers the period between October 2021 and October 2022, where the highest growth of the index is led by the Caribbean country, which accumulates an increase in inflation of 146%, exceeding that of Argentina by more than 50 percentage points (87 8%), the second on the list, and Cuba, which ranked third with 34.2%.

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Biden Admin to Give Chevron Oil Pumping License in Venezuela: Report

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The Biden administration is set to give Chevron Corp. a license to pump oil in Venezuela, according to The Wall Street Journal.

As part of the deal, Chevron would retain partial control of both production and maintenance for a select set of run-down oil fields it previously had stakes in with Petróleos de Venezuela SA, a state-run oil company in Venezuela, according to the WSJ, citing people familiar with the matter. The deal, which is contingent on certain debts being repaid, would also mean President Joe Biden is continuing to move away from sanctioning the socialist regime.

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‘Truth About Socialism’ Tour Heads to University of North Florida

Peter D'Abrosca

A tour that aims to teach college students about the ills of socialism will stop at the University of North Florida Wednesday. 

“The national ‘Truth About Socialism’ tour, which aims to educate students on college campuses across America about the dangers of socialism ahead of the midterm elections, is coming to the University of North Florida,” according to the press release from the organizers of the event. “This event will be hosted by Turning Point USA in partnership with the Leadership Institute, and members of the press are encouraged to attend.”

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Commentary: Karl Marx’s Gravest Miscalculation

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I recently had occasion to re-read Karl Marx’s seminal Communist Manifesto. It had been nearly twenty years since my first reading of the text in graduate school and I remembered little beyond class antagonisms, Marx’s materialism, and the exploitation of the proletariat. But the ongoing crisis in Venezuela led me to once again reflect on the Socialist and Communist Philosophy underneath the unfolding crisis.

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Biden Admin to Expel Illegal Migrants from Venezuela, Provide Thousands of Others a Legal Pathway

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The Biden administration will begin expelling some illegal migrants from Venezuela to Mexico, while giving 24,000 others a legal pathway to enter the country, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Wednesday.

U.S. border authorities will return Venezuelan migrants who cross illegally to Mexico; however, if they cross the border at a U.S. port of entry and meet certain requirements, including having a U.S. sponsor, they will be allowed to enter and apply for work authorization, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

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Biden Turns to Communist Dictatorship for Oil After OPEC Slashes Production

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The Biden administration proposed a deal that will ease sanctions on Venezuela, allowing Chevron to pump oil in the country after the consortium agreed to its largest production cut since the COVID-19 pandemic, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

The U.S. will unfreeze hundreds of millions of dollars of Venezuelan state funds held up in American banks and in exchange, the country will allow Chevron to produce oil on its lands, according to the WSJ, which cited sources familiar with the deal. The proposal comes after OPEC agreed earlier on Wednesday to cut oil production by two million barrels a day, a decision the White House called “shortsighted,” according to a statement.

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Tennessee Lawmakers Call for Safe Return of Marine Who Attempted Suicide in Venezuelan Jail

Peter D'Abrosca

Elected officials in Tennessee are calling for the safe return of a U.S. Marine who is jailed in Venezuela after that Marine attempted to take his own life over the weekend. 

“The safe return of Matthew Heath must be the highest priority for the White House and State Department,” said Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN-03). “Our government and the Venezuelan government must come to an agreement to medically evacuate Matthew. His life is in danger, and we cannot delay.”

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Biden Once Again Turns to Venezuela for Oil After Shutting Down U.S. Leases

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The Biden Administration is reportedly set to announce that it will lift several sanctions and other restrictions on Venezuela, allowing for the purchase of oil from the socialist dictatorship.

As reported by The Daily Caller, two anonymous administration officials said that the federal government will soon ease up some of the energy sanctions against the Latin American country, and will allow the American oil company Chevron to enter into negotiations to purchase oil from the state-owned firm PDVSA. In return for the lifting of sanctions, dictator Nicolas Maduro has tentatively agreed to talks with opposition leader Juan Guadio, who has claimed that Maduro’s rule is illegitimate and that he is the rightful president of Venezuela.

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Florida Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nuñez Responds to Biden Outreach to Venezuela Amid Rising Gas Prices

Steve Stewart

Florida Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nuñez responded to a report Sunday that the Biden administration was beginning discussions with the government of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro related to oil imports

“Rather than making America energy-independent, Biden wants to buy oil from Maduro — yet another murderous thug. Troubling pattern from this administration as they continue to embolden our enemies,” said Nuñez.

Nuñez was born in Miami and her parents lived under the reign of Fidel Castro. She was elected as Florida’s first Hispanic female lieutenant Governor of Florida in 2018.

Nuñez was referring to a New York Times report which indicated that senior U.S. officials with the Biden administration traveled to Venezuela on Saturday to meet with the government of President Maduro. The purpose of the meeting was to step up efforts to separate Russia from its remaining international allies amid a widening standoff over Ukraine.

The meeting was also related to oil.

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State Department to Waive Fees for Immigrants Denied Visas During Travel Ban to Reapply

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The State Department will waive fees for immigrants seeking visas to come to the U.S. if they were previously denied one because of the Trump administration’s travel ban, according to a Wednesday announcement.

“An IV applicant who is the beneficiary of a valid immigration petition may submit another visa application after being refused and in most circumstances they are required to pay again the relevant application fees,” according to a Federal Register rule published Wednesday. “The Department exempts from such fees only those IV applicants who are applying again after being refused” a visa under the travel ban.

The ban prevented immigration from Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen. President Joe Biden issued an executive order repealing the ban on his first day in office in January 2021.

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Trump at Arizona Rally: U.S. Becoming ‘Large-Scale Version of Venezuela’ Under Biden

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At a “Save America” rally in Arizona Saturday night, Former President Donald Trump treated a raucous crowd of followers stretching “as far as the eye can see” to a blistering indictment of President Biden, who, he said, has caused “more destruction than five presidents in the last year.”

Trump, who has fueled speculation that he may mount another run for the White House in 2024, told a crowd in Arizona Saturday night that “our country is going to hell” and “the American people must take their lives and future back.”

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Amid U.S. Nuclear Talks, Iran Provokes by Firing Missiles, Inviting Venezuelan Leader for Visit

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missile firing into the sky

Iran fired missiles in a provocation toward Israel and invited Venezuela’s socialist leader for a visit as it continued to antagonize the West in the midst of slow-moving negotiations to stop Tehran’s nuclear program.

The official IRNA news agency reported the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired 16 surface-to-surface missiles Friday at the end of five days of military drills in the desert, airing footage of the missile launches and suggesting it was a warning to Israel.

“These exercises were designed to respond to threats made in recent days by the Zionist regime,” Major General Mohammad Bagheri told the state television network.

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Attorney Lin Wood: Trump Will Be Inaugurated Based on Voter Fraud in Dominion Voting Machines

Corinne Murdock

Attorney Lin Wood stated that the investigations into election fraud would clear the path for President Donald Trump to be inaugurated come January.

In an interview with The John Fredericks Show, Wood shared details of his Sunday night court victory. Initially, the court impounded all Dominion machines throughout Georgia. The court has since changed its order to reflect that only three counties would have their machines impounded.

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Venezuela Judge Convicts Six American Oil Execs, Orders Prison

The Associated Press

Six American oil executives held for three years in Venezuela were found guilty of corruption charges by a judge Thursday and immediately sentenced to prison, dashing hopes of a quick release that would send them home to their families in the United States.

Some relatives had been bracing for the disheartening outcome, which came on the evening of Thanksgiving Day.

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Sidney Powell ‘Releases the Kraken’ in Georgia Lawsuit

Corinne Murdock

Attorney Sidney Powell filed her “Biblical” lawsuit on Wednesday in Georgia, making good on her promise to “release the Kraken.” The defendants were named as Governor Brian Kemp, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, and State Election Board members David Worley, Rebecca Sullivan, Matthew Mashburn, and Anh Le. The lawsuit called into question around 146,600 votes at minimum.

The 104-page lawsuit claimed that Dominion Voting Systems (Dominion) engaged in virtual ballot-stuffing through its electronic voting software. It bolstered its claim by alleging that the software design was created to manipulate the Venezuelan elections of Hugo Chavez, and was designed in a way to hide vote manipulations from any audits.

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Smartmatic Voting Technology Firm Linked to Alleged Fraud in Elections in Philippines, Venezuela

Jason M. Reynolds

Smartmatic, a voting technology company that Trump’s lawyers have called out from the Nov. 3 election, has been linked to allegedly fraudulent elections in the Philippines and socialist Venezuela, foreign outlets have previously reported.

Sidney Powell, President Donald Trump’s election lawyer, spoke to Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo on Sunday on the many legal challenges that are active in several states and concerns about Smartmatic and Dominion Voting Systems, The Tennessee Star reported.

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US Tries to Seize Iranian Gas Heading Toward Venezuela

The Associated Press

U.S. federal prosecutors are seeking to seize four tankers sailing toward Venezuela with gasoline supplied by Iran, the latest attempt to disrupt ever-closer trade ties between the two heavily sanctioned anti-American allies.

The civil-forfeiture complaint filed late Wednesday in the District of Columbia federal court alleges that the sale was arranged by a businessman, Mahmoud Madanipour, with ties to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization.

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Trump: ‘I Just Want to Get a Vaccine That Works,’ Touts Vaccine by End of Year; Trump Moves Signal Maduro Regime Now on the Clock

Neil W. McCabe

  Trump at the Lincoln Memorial President Donald Trump told Fox News anchor Brett Baier and Martha McCollum he expects a COVID-19 vaccine before the end of the year at Sunday night’s virtual town hall held at the Lincoln Memorial. “Look, a vaccine has never gone like it’s gone now,” the president said. “We’re so far ahead of any vaccine ever in history. You know, these things would take two, four, five, six years, 10 years. I think we’re going to have a vaccine. I’m telling you, by the end of the year, I think we’re going to have a vaccine.” MacCallum asked Trump: “Do you think another country could beat us?” Trump said in reply: “I don’t care. I just want to get a vaccine that works. I really don’t care, if it’s another country, I’ll take my hat off to them.” The three sat in chairs roughly six feet apart in front of Daniel Chester French’s 1920 sculpture of President Abraham Lincoln for a format that including video questions from around the country to supplement the anchors’ inquires. Sitting in such a stark setting, the president opened up about people in his life that he lost to  COVID-19.…

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Commentary: The Big Red Fake News Machine

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In the late 1990s, Latin America underwent a seismic shift away from its northern neighbor as a result of the domineering and interventionist policies of successive U.S. administrations dating back to the 19th century. This led to the 1998 election of Hugo Chávez Frias as president of Venezuela, and a chain reaction of similar governments of varying leftist ideological stringency coming to power in nations such as Nicaragua, Bolivia, Uruguay, Brazil, and Ecuador. 

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Eight Industries Venezuela Nationalized (Besides Oil)

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Caracas, Venezuela

Venezuela has experienced one of the sharpest economic declines in modern history—rampant inflation, near-famine, and an exodus of millions of asylum seekers. Yet there remains disagreement over what caused it.

Many refuse to blame socialism, instead citing the collapse of oil prices, corruption, its abandonment of democracy, and other factors. If socialism did play a role, it was a small one, says Venezuelan writer Francisco Toro in the Washington Post, citing “a unique mix of circumstances, in which socialism is just one ingredient.”

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The Hard Facts Behind Venezuela’s Oil Crisis

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by Kaylee Greenlee   The citizens of Venezuela have gotten used to spending days parked in mile-long lines for state-owned gasoline as shortages worsened for the world’s largest oil producer. In the capital of Caracas, hundreds of motorists waited in lines last month while carrying rocks and pipes to defend themselves as Venezuela’s socialist regime clung to power, The Wall Street Journal and others reported. Violent crime became common at fueling stations, and Reuters reported one instance of a man being killed. A teenage boy lost his eyesight Monday after a policeman fired pellets at him during a protest of fuel shortages in Tariba in northwest Venezuela, The Sun newspaper in the United Kingdom reported. Why the fuel crisis? Sanctions implemented in January by the U.S. banned the sale of diluting agents used for transporting and processing crude oil to Petróleos de Venezuela S.A., the country’s state-run oil and natural gas company. Amid the sanctions, U.S. allies also were “prohibited from doing business” with the state-owned entity, according to a report by Ana Quintana, a senior policy analyst for Latin America and the Western Hemisphere in The Heritage Foundation’s Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy. The lack of…

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‘Cowardice’: Nikki Haley Takes Aim At Ocasio-Cortez, Omar And Sanders Over Venezuela

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by Peter Hasson   Former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley sharply criticized three prominent Democrats — Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders — for going soft on Venezuela’s socialist dictatorship. “On the fringes of the left, celebrity politicians refuse to condemn [Venezuelan dictator Nicolas] Maduro. Worse, some have actually embraced him,” Haley wrote in a Monday post for Stand For America, her new political organization. Haley ticked through the responses from Ocasio-Cortez, Omar and Sanders, taking shots at each one. Ocasio-Cortez dodged when asked if Maduro was a legitimate ruler. “A simple ‘no’ would have sufficed,” commented Haley. Omar blamed “a lot of the policies that we have put in place has kind of helped lead the devastation in Venezuela” in an April interview. “When I saw this, I couldn’t stay silent,” Haley wrote, explaining why she slammed Omar’s response in a viral tweet on May 1. .@IlhanMN the avg Venezuelan adult has lost 24 lbs. Babies have no medicine. Families have to walk miles in the heat to get the only meal they may have that day. All bc of the corrupt Maduro regime. Your comments are so far from the truth.…

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Commentary: The ‘Linda Problem’ and Why Democratic Socialists Flunk Logic 101

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by Barry Brownstein   Consider the following facts: Venezuela is a country with vast natural resources. Once it was one of the wealthiest countries in South America. Venezuela nationalized many vital industries such as oil. Price controls were instituted, and hyperinflation destroyed savings. Supermarket shelves emptied, and some even killed zoo animals for food. Malnutrition, even starvation, is common. Essential medicines, such as antibiotics, are unavailable. The ruthless despot who runs the country has stolen billions. He gives long speeches filled with socialist slogans and claims American interference, not socialism, has caused the failures of his regime. Which alternative is most likely? Venezuela is a failed socialist regime. Venezuela is a failed socialist regime, and the US caused its failure. No matter how you feel about US foreign policy, this is a question in pure logic. The question I posed is a variation on Nobel laureate in economics Daniel Kahneman’s famous Linda problem. Despite what many think, it is impossible for a conjunction of two events to be more likely than one event alone. The Linda Problem in Venezuela Democratic socialist-leaning Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN) is sure that if Venezuela has failed, it is not the fault of socialism. Appearing on the television…

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Commentary: The Three Phases of Socialism

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by John Phelan   Venezuela is in a state of turmoil. After 20 years of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela, or PSUV), its economy is collapsing. As Venezuelans have tried to vote the PSUV out of office, its leader, Nicolás Maduro, has responded by creating a rival body to the National Assembly made up exclusively of government supporters and rigging the country’s May 2018 presidential election. Left with no alternative, members of the opposition have taken to the streets where they have been met with merciless brutality by the socialist government’s forces. The Three Stages of Socialism in Venezuela Venezuela is only the latest country to go through the cycle all socialist countries go through. In his excellent new book, Socialism: The Failed Idea That Never Dies, Kristian Niemietz of the Institute of Economic Affairs describes the process: 1. The honeymoon period…during which the experiment has, or at least seems to have, some initial success in some areas…During the honeymoon period, very few dispute the experiment’s socialist character. 2. The excuses-and-whataboutery period. But the honeymoon period never lasts forever. The country’s luck either comes to an end, or its already existing failures become more…

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Oil Markets Shrug Off Venezuela’s Political Unrest Thanks to U.S. Energy Boom

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by Michael Bastach   When Juan Guaido launched his coup attempt, oil markets didn’t do what they typically do in the face of supply threats. Instead, markets largely shrugged off Venezuelan unrest instead of sending prices soaring. That’s because of two factors: mismanagement by Venezuela’s socialist government and the U.S. energy boom. At the turn of the century, Venezuela’s daily oil production was around 3 million barrels per day, but output dramatically declined during the reign of former President Hugo Chavez, a former military officer who took control in 1999. Venezuela sits atop the world’s largest proven oil reserves. “Venezuela’s oil production has collapsed in recent years,” Juan Carlos Hidalgo, a policy analyst at the libertarian Cato Institute who specializes in Latin America, told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “Years of mismanagement, corruption and underinvestment are taking a toll,” Hidalgo said. “Oil has long been a terribly distorting factor in Venezuela’s political system.” Chavez, who essentially ruled as a socialist dictator, took several actions early on that crippled Venezuela’s long-term oil prospects, according to the Council on Foreign Relations, including firing thousands of experiences oil workers and subsidizing oil shipments to Cuba and other countries. Venezuela was also burdened by high inflation, corruption and…

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Ilhan Omar Blames America for Venezuela Chaos and ‘Devastation’

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by Molly Prince   Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar stated Wednesday American policies were the catalyst for the armed conflict that tore through the Venezuelan capital of Caracas a day earlier, rather than blaming socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro. “You know, I mean, a lot of the policies that we have put in place has kind of helped lead the devastation in Venezuela,” Omar said while on the progressive show “Democracy Now!” “We’ve sort of set the stage for where we’re arriving today.” Venezuelan Interim President Juan Guaidó, who is fighting to gain control of the country, called for a military uprising against Maduro in an operation titled Operacion Libertad. Venezuelans have been protesting against Maduro for months, and the U.S. has declared support for what Omar referred to as a “regime change.” Most other Western nations also declared Guaidó to be the legitimate leader of Venezuela after red flags arose during the 2018 election. “This particular bullying and the use of sanctions to eventually intervene and make regime change really does not help the people of countries like Venezuela,” she continued. “It certainly does not help and is not in the interest of the United States.” Interestingly, despite condemning America’s…

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Pompeo: US Prepared for Military Intervention in Venezuela

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  U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday the United States is prepared to intervene militarily to stem the ongoing unrest in Venezuela. “Military action is possible,” the top U.S. diplomat told the Fox Business Network. “If that’s what’s required, that’s what the United States will do.” However, he reiterated that the U.S. would prefer a peaceful transition of power in Caracas from socialist President Nicolas Maduro to the self-declared interim president, Juan Guaido, the president of the National Assembly who is recognized by the United States and about 50 other countries as the legitimate leader of the South American country. U.S. national security adviser John Bolton told CNN and Fox News that Pompeo would talk Wednesday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov about Moscow’s continued support for the embattled Maduro. Pompeo told interviewers that Maduro, in the face of street protests against his regime, was prepared to leave Venezuela for Cuba on Tuesday, but that Russia convinced him to stay to fight Guaido’s call for the Venezuelan military to join him in a push to overthrow Maduro. Maduro and the Russian foreign ministry denied the Maduro departure allegation, with Moscow saying the U.S. claim was part of its…

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Mike Pence Urges UN to Recognize Venezuela’s Guaido

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U.S. Vice President Mike Pence called on the United Nations on Wednesday to “stand up for democracy” and recognize Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as that country’s legitimate leader. “While other international bodies have acted, the United Nations and this Security Council have refused to act,” Pence told a meeting of the U.N. Security Council called by the United States. “But now that nations across this hemisphere have spoken, the time has come for the United Nations to recognize interim president Juan Guaido as the legitimate president of Venezuela and seat his representative in this body,” Pence added. “This body should revoke the credentials of Venezuela’s representative to the United Nations, recognize interim president Juan Guaido, and seat the representative of the free Venezuelan government in this body without delay.” Pence said the United States is working on a U.N. resolution to recognize the legitimacy of the government of Guaido and urged the international community to support it. The United Nations should revoke the credentials of Venezuela’s ambassador to the @UN, recognize Interim President @jguaido, and seat a representative of the free Venezuelan government in this body without delay! pic.twitter.com/1CRhBBr5J6 — Vice President Mike Pence Archived (@VP45) April 10, 2019…

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Pence Announces More Sanctions on Venezuela as Chaos Continues Under Socialist Dictator

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by Evie Fordham   The U.S. will impose even more sanctions on Venezuela after recognizing the rival of socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro as the country’s leader in January, Vice President Mike Pence announced Friday at Rice University in Houston. The U.S. is targeting 34 vessels owned or operated by the nation’s state-run oil firm PDVSA and two companies that transport Venezuelan crude oil to Cuba, Pence said. A word to this rising generation: Those of you who feel drawn to the siren song of socialism, be careful what you wish for. Socialism is not the road to freedom. Socialism is the road to government control. And it grows in the soil of censorship. pic.twitter.com/WZ7uNNMbIg — Vice President Mike Pence Archived (@VP45) April 5, 2019 “The struggle in Venezuela is between dictatorship and democracy, but freedom has the momentum … Nicolas Maduro must go,” Pence said. U.S. President Donald Trump shunned Maduro and recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido in January, as did other countries, including Brazil and Canada. “Thousands of Venezuelan children are starving at this very hour,” Pence later added. He also was heavy-handed in his criticism of Cuba. “Cuba’s leaders are the real imperialists in the western hemisphere. The…

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US Poised to Pump Dollars Into Venezuela After Maduro

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The United States is prepared to pump U.S. dollars into Venezuela to fortify the economy if President Nicolas Maduro leaves, the top White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow said Wednesday. Kudlow told reporters that Washington is already working with banks and the International Monetary Fund on a rebuilding plan to revitalize the country’s crushed economy and said that, when the time comes, “we will be moving as fast as we can.” “We call it Day Two,” he said at a briefing arranged by The Christian Science Monitor newspaper. “It would be a rescue plan, it would be a restructuring plan, it would be a plan to put cash into the country.” Venezuela’s oil economy has crumbled under a collapse of crude exports and international sanctions against Maduro, who Washington and its allies view as illegitimate. The United States has been pressuring for Maduro to step down or be overthrown, but he has clung to power with the support of Venezuela’s military. “The timeline is to get rid of Maduro. I have no idea when that is going to be,” said Kudlow. Once Maduro leaves economic assistance would be immediate, beginning with pushing the US currency in to reignite economic activity,…

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Trump: Russian Military Must ‘Get Out’ of Venezuela

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U.S. President Donald Trump says Russia “has to get out” of Venezuela, following the recent arrival of Russian military personnel in that country. “All options are open,” Trump repeated several times in response to a reporter’s question Wednesday about whether the United States is willing to put “boots on the ground” to remove the Russians. Trump added that Moscow is well aware of the U.S. stance. Trump spoke to reporters at the White House alongside Fabiana Rosales, the wife of Venezuelan opposition leader and self-declared interim President Juan Guaido. She went into the Oval Office following a meeting with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence. “The United States views Russia’s arrival of military planes this weekend as an unwelcome provocation,” Pence said alongside Rosales in the Roosevelt Room. “We call on Russia today to cease all support of the Maduro regime and stand with Juan Guaido, stand with nations across this hemisphere and across the world until freedom is restored.” “Today, in Venezuela, it is freedom or dictatorship. It is life or it is death,” Rosales said. “And those who are paying the price of this hate are the children.” She added that children are dying in hospitals which are without…

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OPEC Scraps April Meeting but Keeps Oil Cuts in Place

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Reuters   Oil producer group OPEC on Monday scrapped its planned meeting in April and will decide instead whether to extend output cuts in June, once the market has assessed the impact of U.S. sanctions on Iran and the crisis in Venezuela. A ministerial panel of OPEC and its allies recommended that they cancel the extraordinary meeting scheduled for April 17-18 and hold the next regular talks on June 25-26. The energy minister of OPEC’s de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, said the market was looking oversupplied until the end of the year but that April would be too early for any decision on output policy. “The consensus we heard… is that April will be premature to make any production decision for the second half,” the Saudi minister, Khalid al-Falih, said. “As long as the levels of inventories are rising and we are far from normal levels, we will stay the course, guiding the market towards balance,” he added. The United States has been increasing its own oil exports in recent months while imposing sanctions on OPEC members Venezuela and Iran in an effort to reduce those two countries’ shipments to global markets. Washington’s policies have introduced a new level of…

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Mass Looting Plagues Venezuela Amid Power Crisis

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by Tim Pearce   Looters have all but emptied stores and warehouses across western Venezuela as large parts of the country remain without power more than a week after a mass blackout. The mobs overwhelmed Venezuela’s security forces and broke into buildings. People stole cars, trucks and equipment. Hundreds of businesses in the Venezuelan oil capital of Maracaibo were emptied and left in shambles. VENEZUELA: Reports of looting in some cities as nationwide blackout, now in its 100th hour, continues https://t.co/wLWp3BkSBL — BNO News (@BNONews) March 12, 2019 Looters broke through the cinder-block walls of a Pepsi plant and took thousands of cases of beer and soda and 160 pallets of food. They destroyed or stole 22 trucks and five forklifts, Bloomberg reported Friday. “If people made enough to make ends meet, we wouldn’t be trying to get by like this,” Enrique Gonzalez, an 18-year-old bus conductor, told Bloomberg. “This country has gone to hell.” Police and other emergency officials have stayed away from the carnage and refused to help businesses and property owners protect their property and assets. “It’s hard to swallow,” Bernardo Morillo, a 60-year-old mall manager, told Bloomberg. “The national guard stood by as this vandalism happened…

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US to Remove All Diplomatic Personnel from Venezuela

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The United States says it is removing all remaining personnel from its embassy in Venezuela. In a statement issued late Monday night, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the personnel will be pulled out of Caracas this week. Secretary Pompeo said the decision to shut down the embassy “reflects the deteriorating situation in Venezuela” as well as the conclusion that the presence of the diplomatic staff “has become a constraint on U.S. policy.” The State Department ordered all non-emergency personnel to leave Venezuela back in January, days after President Nicolas Maduro ended diplomatic relations with Washington and ordered U.S. diplomats to leave after President Donald Trump officially recognized Juan Guaido as interim president. Guaido had declared himself president after claiming Maduro’s re-election was illegitimate. The U.S. announcement that it was closing its embassy comes as Venezuela enters the sixth day of a nationwide power outage Tuesday. Desperate residents are fetching water from a polluted river and drainage pipes, with schools and businesses closed and stores unable to keep cold and fresh whatever food is on hand. Some hospitals have generators and doctors are hoping to be able to transfer patients who need operations to save their lives to those…

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Commentary: The Totalitarian Impulse of the Democrats’ ‘New’ Socialism Is Showing in Venezuela

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by Anna Paulina   The “new” socialism that is rapidly gaining adherents within the Democrat Party bears a striking resemblance to the totalitarian ideology that just drove oil-rich Venezuela to the point of mass starvation. They might not even realize it themselves, but beneath the facade of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s “democratic socialism” and Senator Bernie Sanders’ “Bernie bros” movement lies the same authoritarian spirit that animates every socialist experiment. American socialists and their liberal supporters tend to become extremely defensive when their ideology is compared to that of Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro, insisting they only wish to implement the variety of socialism that prevails in countries such as Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, despite those countries constantly telling Americans they are absolutely not socialist. Now that affairs in Venezuela have reached the breaking point and President Trump has put his foot down to call for the dictator Maduro’s departure, the Democrats’ socialist brigades are shifting gears and trying to downplay the brutality of that regime. Sanders, the godfather of contemporary “democratic-socialism” in the U.S., is refusing to say that the reign of Maduro and his increasingly violent band of Chavistas must end, but still ran afoul of his comrades by calling on the Venezuelan strongman to allow…

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US Imposes Sanctions on Venezuelan Officials for Blocking Aid

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The United States increased its pressure on Venezuela Friday, imposing sanctions on six high-ranking security officials as well as revoking the visas of dozens of other high officials. The Trump administration said the sanctions were a response to Venezuelan military officials, who last weekend blocked an opposition-backed effort to bring food into the country. At one border point, aid trucks caught fire and several people died. “We are sanctioning members of (President Nicolas) Maduro’s security forces in response to the reprehensible violence, tragic deaths, and unconscionable torching of food and medicine destined for sick and starving Venezuelans,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. Those being sanctioned include National Guard Commander Richard Lopez along with police and military officials based near the Colombian or Brazilian borders. The sanctions block any assets the officials have in the United States and bar Americans from doing business with them. The U.S. State Department also revoked the travel visas of 49 Venezuelans that it said were “individuals responsible for undermining Venezuela’s democracy.” The measures are part of an effort to pressure Maduro to step down. The United States sees his re-election last year as illegitimate and has recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido…

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Vice-President Pence: US with Guiado ‘100 Percent’

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Trump administration stands with the U.S.-recognized interim president of Venezuela, Juan Guaido “100 percent,” Vice President Mike Pence said Monday as he announced new financial assistance for the Venezuelan people. “We stand with you, and along with all the nations gathered here today, we will keep standing with you until democracy and liberty are restored,” Pence said in a speech delivered to the Lima Group, following a trilateral meeting in Bogota, Colombia with Guiado and Colombian President Ivan Duque. Pence said disputed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro “must go.” While in Bogota, Pence and regional leaders discussed strategy to hasten the departure of Maduro and how to get humanitarian aid currently piling up on the border in Brazil and Colombia into Venezuela, where supplies of food and medicine have run low. “We’ve imposed sanctions on more than 50 top officials as well as on Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, PDVSA, to stop Maduro’s cronies from enriching themselves at the expense of the Venezuelan people,” Pence said, noting that the U.S. plans to continue to put financial and diplomatic pressure on Maduro’s regime. He added that “it is my privilege to announce that the United States will provide an additional $56 million to…

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Aid Shipments Cross Venezuelan Border as Maduro’s Soldiers Abandon Their Posts

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by Evie Fordham   The first shipment of humanitarian aid crossed the border from Brazil to Venezuela Saturday, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido declared, but getting aid to the people of Venezuela continues to be beyond difficult. “This is a great accomplishment, Venezuela!” Guaido wrote on Twitter Saturday. Guaido, a 35-year-old lawmaker and president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, declared himself the country’s interim leader in January as conditions deteriorated under socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro. Guaido’s supporters are trying to bring aid shipments from Colombia and Brazil into Venezuela, but Maduro’s troops are blocking trucks both coming and going along parts of the border. Video footage from Friday showed Venezuelan soldiers erecting barricades and brawling with Guaido’s supporters to keep trucks from exiting the country to collect aid. Meanwhile, some soldiers posted on the Venezuelan border have defected from Maduro’s control. A social media video appears to show four soldiers denouncing Maduro and supporting Guaido, who has promised them “amnesty,” reported BBC. Guaido was in Colombia Saturday seeing off shipments of aid to Venezuela with Colombian president Ivan Duque, reported CBS News. Thousands of volunteers will help get the aid into Venezuela, he said according to BBC. U.S. President Donald Trump…

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Trump Speech to Warn of ‘Dangers of Socialism’

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by Katherine Gypson, Margaret Besheer, and Steve Herman   White House officials say U.S. President Donald Trump will warn of “the dangers of socialism” in a speech Monday in support of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who is recognized by the United States as the South American nation’s interim president. Trump will make remarks at Florida International University, as his administration continues to speak out against Venezuela’s socialist President Nicolas Maduro.The school is in a Miami neighborhood that has the largest concentration of Venezuelans in the U.S. While Trump has refused to rule out a U.S. military intervention in Venezuela, Congressman Eliot Engel, the Democratic chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said during a congressional hearing Wednesday that lawmakers would not support such a move. “I do worry about the president’s saber-rattling, his hints that U.S. military intervention remains an option,” Engel said. “I want to make it clear to our witnesses and to anyone else watching: U.S. military intervention is not an option.” Trump was among the first of 51 world leaders to recognize the head of the nation’s national assembly, Guaido, as the interim president. Guaido declared himself the country’s leader following mass protests against Maduro. Venezuela suffers…

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Commentary: Imagine America Without Freedom

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by Rick Manning   Everyone is talking about the Green New Deal, and how it would end domestic airline travel, the internal combustion engine, fossil fuel usage, most electricity generation and even ban cow flatulence. You have groups guessing what the cost of the Green New Deal would be in terms of dollars on an annual basis coming up with figures in the trillions of dollars. To everyone seeking to normalize this Green New Deal, please just shut up. The Green New Deal is the baring of teeth by the new American communist. A new breed unleashed that we have seen to the streets attacking people attending Trump rallies, screaming at teenagers wearing Make America Great Again hats, shouting down and rioting against conservative speakers on college campuses. Here is the truth. Socialism and communism are evil. Putting a shroud of legitimacy and normalcy to the destruction of the American ideal is being a Menshevik in a Bolshevik Revolution, you cannot moderate the blood lust of those who seek to enslave you by trying to come up with common ground or discuss alternatives to meet their needs. The revolution demands immediate payment. So, let’s stop talking about the symptoms which…

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Top EPA Official Leaves Government To Help Trump Fight ‘Venezuela-Style Socialism’

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by Michael Bastasch   Mandy Gunasekara served two years as a top Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) adviser, but now is leaving the government to be an advocate for President Donald Trump’s agenda. “There is a void out there of folks who can understand and have the pertinent experience to talk about the energy, environment and economic successes of the Trump administration,” Gunasekara told The Daily Caller News Foundation in an interview. “I was in the room when we were making these decisions and I know the why,” she added. Indeed, as the principal deputy assistant administrator to EPA’s air office, Gunasekara was “in the room” when the agency issued major rollbacks of Obama administration regulations, including the Clean Power Plan and fuel economy mandates. Gunasekara also worked with former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to convince Trump to stick to his campaign promise and withdraw from the Paris climate accord. She was one of the few political appointees in place at EPA in the early days of the administration, so she spent many nights putting together the legal and policy rationale for withdrawal. Trump announced withdrawal in June 2017. “It was just helping him make it happen as the president,” Gunasekara…

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Venezuela Barricades Key Border Crossing to Block Humanitarian Aid

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Venezuelan soldiers have blocked a key border crossing to prevent the delivery of humanitarian aid from the United States and other foreign nations. A giant orange tanker and two large blue shipping containers were moved into the middle of a bridge connecting Venezuela to Colombia Wednesday, with armed guards patrolling the area to turn back any attempt to cross the border. The U.S. has pledged $20 million in aid to Venezuela, including desperately needed food and medicine, but President Nicolas Maduro has rejected the aid, arguing that Venezuela is not a nation of “beggars” and would pave the way towards a U.S. military invasion. Venezuela’s oil-backed economy is in tatters due to a collapse of world energy prices, corruption and failed socialist policies. Food, fuel, and many basic goods are in severely short supply and inflation is out of control, forcing millions of Venezuelans to flee to neighboring Colombia. The blocked humanitarian aid marks another chapter in the standoff between Maduro and Juan Guaido, the president of the opposition-controlled National Assembly who has declared himself the country’s interim president. More than 40 nations, including the U.S., Canada and many members of the European Union, have backed Guaido’s claim that he…

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Dems Panicked Trump’s Venezuela Policy Will Be Popular with Their Voters

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by Tim Pearce   Florida Democrats are praising President Donald Trump’s strong stance against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro while growing increasingly uneasy about Trump’s growing appeal with their base, Politico reports. Trump recognized Venezuelan opposition party leader Juan Guaidó as the country’s rightful president after Maduro declared victory in an election seen as illegitimate by many foreign leaders. The Trump administration is taking steps to weaken the Maduro regime, including slapping sanctions on Venezuelan oil Monday, a blow to the government’s main source of revenue. Trump followed up with a Wednesday phone call with Guaidó, reiterating his support for the opposition leader. Guaidó is under intense pressure by Maduro’s regime and the Venezuelan Supreme Court. He has been barred from leaving his country and is under a possible criminal investigation for anti-government activities. U.S. support for Guaidó is playing well with Florida’s significant Hispanic population, many of which are from or have connections in Latin American countries. “It’s been very frustrating,” Democratic state Sen. Annette Taddeo (pictured above) of Miami told Politico. “Trump is doing the right thing, and I’m not going to criticize Trump for doing the right thing because you lose credibility.” Taddeo immigrated from Colombia and represents…

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Trump, Guaido to Collaborate on Efforts to Restore Democracy to Venezuela

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The White House says President Donald Trump reinforced his “strong support” for efforts to restore democracy in Venezuela during a conversation Wednesday with opposition leader Juan Guaido, who has proclaimed himself as the country’s president. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump and Guaido also committed to maintaining “regular communication to support Venezuela’s path back to stability, and to rebuild the bilateral relationship” between the two countries. Trump said earlier Wednesday that embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is willing to negotiate with representatives of Guaido’s opposition movement to solve the political crisis in the South American nation, but warned Americans not to travel to Venezuela “until further notice.” Trump’s early morning tweet referred to Maduro’s offer to hold talks with the country’s opposition forces and hold early legislative elections. He added the threat of U.S. sanctions, including cutting off Venezuelan oil revenues, contributed to the apparent softening of Maduro’s stance. Maduro made the offer earlier Wednesday during an interview with Russia’s RIA news agency, saying he is willing to sit down at the negotiating table “for the good of Venezuela.” But he said there will not be a new presidential election until 2025, rejecting a demand by Guaido, president…

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Commentary: Today’s Venezuela Is Where Socialism Meets Authoritarianism

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by Anthony B. Kim and Ana Quintana   Many on the left have for years cheered Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, as heroes of “21st-century socialism.” Ironically, however, the undeniable downward spiral of Venezuela’s economic freedom and the far-reaching suffering of its people have put the true meaning to those “hero” claims: Socialism and corruption have destroyed Venezuela. In a Jan. 22 Wall Street Journal op-ed, “Venezuela, America Stands With You,” Vice President Mike Pence noted: As I have heard many times from Venezuelans over the past [two] years, Mr. Maduro has exacerbated the country’s corruption and socialist policies, accelerating its descent from one of the richest countries in the Western Hemisphere to one of the poorest and most despotic,” Pence wrote. “He promised prosperity, but his actions have caused Venezuela’s economy to shrink by nearly 50 [percent]. The vice president added, “For the sake of our vital interests, and for the sake of the Venezuelan people, the U.S. will not stand by as Venezuela crumbles.” Indeed, Venezuela’s decline over the past 25 years, exacerbated by the combined ills of socialism and authoritarianism, is well-documented in The Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom, a data-driven benchmark study…

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Pompeo Urges International Support for Venezuelan Opposition Leader

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U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged the international community to support the Venezuelan people and recognize the interim government of opposition leader Juan Guaido as he stands up to disputed President Nicolas Maduro. “Now it is time for every other nation to pick a side,” Pompeo told the U.N. Security Council during a rare Saturday morning session. “No more delays, no more games. Either you stand with the forces of freedom or you’re in league with Maduro and his mayhem.” Several European governments, including Britain, Spain, Germany and France, said Saturday they would recognize the 35-year-old Guaido as president if no election is called within eight days. The United States requested the Security Council meeting. Pompeo was accompanied by his newly appointed special envoy for Venezuela, Elliott Abrams. Pompeo called the Maduro regime an “illegitimate mafia state” and criticized countries including Russia, China, Iran and Cuba for supporting him. Russian envoy Vassily Nebenzia shot back that regime change is “a favorite geopolitical game of the United States,” and he asked Secretary Pompeo directly whether the Trump administration plans to militarily intervene in Venezuela. “Does that mean that the United States is ready to use military force against a sovereign…

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