Picking up where former President Trump left off – and despite recent overtures by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to restore relationships – the Biden administration renewed a declaration of national emergency, which is the legal framework to impose strict sanctions against the Maduro regime.
Despite the hardship, the sanctions have imposed on the general population of Venezuela and the implications of the COVID War that has wracked the nation, President Biden made it clear that more suffering would be imposed unless the Maduro government bent to its demands.
WSWS.com reported that Alena Douhan, a U.N. human rights special rapporteur, called for countries such as the U.S. and Portugal to lift some of these sanctions due to the impact of the sanctions and coronavirus in the country.
Stolen Money
Caracas has been frozen out of offshore bank accounts worth billions. Ms. Douhan said that, based on early findings, the national emergency declaration that began in 2015, under former President Obama, is in violation of international law and constitutes an “intervention in the domestic affairs of Venezuela.”
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently spoke with Juan Guaidó, whom he referred to as the country’s interim president.
Guaidó’s strongest support continues to be from the U.S. government. In the Trends Journal’s 26 January article, “BIDEN RECOGNIZES VENEZUELA’S GUAIDÓ AS PRESIDENT,” we reported that many in the country see Guaidó as a fading star. In January, he called for street protests to oppose the Maduro government. Unlike the tens of thousands Guaidó mobilized a year ago after declaring himself interim president, this time, only a few hundred people turned out.
Reuters reported the country is facing hyperinflation, and its central bank is set to introduce a new banknote worth 1 million bolivars, or 52 U.S. cents. Most Venezuelans use U.S. dollars for daily transactions.
TREND FORECAST: There wasn’t a U.S. war that was started after Joe Biden got elected to Congress in 1972 which he didn’t support. As an ardent, long-term team member of the U.S. military/industrial/intelligence complex, we forecast President Biden will continue to support current wars and conflicts and wage future U.S. foreign military interventions in the name of bringing freedom and democracy to foreign nations.
