Thread by @ACLatAm

STARTING NOW: @ACLatAm's latest event, "Stemming Maduro's Illicit Activities: What's Next After the Jan. 5 Elections?" Click the link and tune into the livestream or use #ACVenezuela to follow along on Twitter:
atlanticcouncil.org/event/stemming…

@AtlanticCouncil @AmericoDeGrazia @Miguel_Pizarro @DWStweets @RepRooney @NTN24 @EmilianaMolinaF @jmarczak @DiegoArea Venezuelans are undeterred In the aftermath of Nicolás Maduro's most recent abuse of power. They, and many of their representatives in the National Assembly, have united behind interim President #JuanGuaidó, reports @Miguel_Pizarro. #ACVenezuela.

@AtlanticCouncil @AmericoDeGrazia @Miguel_Pizarro @DWStweets @RepRooney @NTN24 @EmilianaMolinaF @jmarczak @DiegoArea The regime is doing what it can to confuse, to mislead, to frustrate the efforts of the international community to stay abreast of developments in #Venezuela. The only solution is to stand firm in the face of this adversity, urges @Miguel_Pizarro. #ACVenezuela.

@AtlanticCouncil @AmericoDeGrazia @Miguel_Pizarro @DWStweets @RepRooney @NTN24 @EmilianaMolinaF @jmarczak @DiegoArea Now on illicit markets in #Venezuela. There are at least four distinct armed groups operational in #Orinico Mining Arc - the largest and most active being the #ELN - competing for power, for control over gold and other vital resources, explains @AmericoDeGrazia #ACVenezuela.

@AtlanticCouncil @AmericoDeGrazia @Miguel_Pizarro @DWStweets @RepRooney @NTN24 @EmilianaMolinaF @jmarczak @DiegoArea It's important that everyone listening understand how entrenched this illicit activity is in informal, illegal international markets. #Russia, #Turkey and others are involved, each interested in this illicit source of revenue, explains @AmericoDeGrazia #ACVenezuela.

@AtlanticCouncil @AmericoDeGrazia @Miguel_Pizarro @DWStweets @RepRooney @NTN24 @EmilianaMolinaF @jmarczak @DiegoArea And as far as the regime's assault on the January 5th election - we believe that the #Maduro regime's intervention and attempt to seize one of #Venezuela's remaining democratic institutions was the result of a direct command from #Russia, notes @AmericoDeGrazia #ACVenezuela.

They - #Maduro, #Russia and other conspiring actors - see the opposition in the National Assembly as an obstacle to the legitimization of the illegal extraction of gold, petroleum and other #Venezuela natural resources, says @AmericoDeGrazia #ACVenezuela.

@AmericoDeGrazia What is clear is that the #Maduro regime is illegal. Its renewal and second term is illegitimate & undemocratic. And with the assault upon the National Assembly vote, the global community has more proof that the regime has a singular objective, says @DiegoArea #ACVenezuela.

@AmericoDeGrazia @DiegoArea That objective? To take over the National Assembly by any means necessary, and effectively eliminate the final bastion of significant political opposition, explains @DiegoArea #ACVenezuela

@AmericoDeGrazia @DiegoArea At the end of the day, regime change is up to the Venezuelan public, but they need all the support they can get because it's increasingly obvious that the #Maduro regime is determined to stay in power, regardless of public pressure says @DiegoArea #ACVenezuela.

@AmericoDeGrazia @DiegoArea Regardless of what's said here about #Maduro's attempted delegitimization of the National Assembly vote, the enduring issue, the underlying issue is that millions of Venezuelans are suffering. We mustn't lose sight of that, reminds @Miguel_Pizarro #ACVenezuela.

@AmericoDeGrazia @DiegoArea @Miguel_Pizarro And in the Mining Arc, where criminal activity continues to proliferate, there's more than just environmental destruction. Innocent people are suffering at the hands of malign actors, terrorist groups and foreign powers, say @AmericoDeGrazia & @Miguel_Pizarro #ACVenezuela.

@AmericoDeGrazia @DiegoArea @Miguel_Pizarro Indeed, the #HumanRights & environmental implications of criminal mining in the #Orinico is not subject to ideological debate. This issue is not one of Left vs Right. This is an issue of human rights, of democracy and moral turpitude, says @AmericoDeGrazia #ACVenezuela.

@AmericoDeGrazia @DiegoArea @Miguel_Pizarro Entire families, rather entire communities are being destroyed by the reckless greed fueling the illicit mining in the #Orinico Mining Arc. Countless are displaced and countless more are losing livelihoods, health and happiness, says @AmericoDeGrazia #ACVenezuela.

@AmericoDeGrazia @DiegoArea @Miguel_Pizarro And the Maduro regime is determined to extend and expand the destabilization of the region. @DFRLab and @ACLatAm have found considerable evidence of the regime's weaponization of disinformation, propaganda and general instability and uncertainty, says @DiegoArea #ACVenezuela.

@AmericoDeGrazia @DiegoArea @Miguel_Pizarro @DFRLab And #Venezuela is not the only place where disinformation and state propaganda are being deployed by the #Maduro regime. As @AmericoDeGrazia has mentioned several times, #Russia is culpable too, explains @DiegoArea #ACVenezuela.

@AmericoDeGrazia @DiegoArea @Miguel_Pizarro @DFRLab They are working in tandem to undermine democratic institutions in #Venezuela and elsewhere, and they're doing so systematically over social media, as is well documented in the #AlertaVenezuela newsletter from @DFRLab & @ACLatAm, explains @DiegoArea atlanticcouncil.org/alertavenezuel…

@AmericoDeGrazia @DiegoArea @Miguel_Pizarro @DFRLab Despite all this, however, we are committed to a peaceful and democratic solution to the countless other issues facing #Venezuela. We represent the majority, and with that comes enormous responsibility to uphold the ideals we espouse, says @Miguel_Pizarro #ACVenezuela.

@AmericoDeGrazia @DiegoArea @Miguel_Pizarro @DFRLab But peaceful and democratic efforts require the support of the global community because, for as long as the #Maduro regime remains in power, we can expect for the suffering of Venezuelans to worsen, says @AmericoDeGrazia #ACVenezuela.

@AmericoDeGrazia @DiegoArea @Miguel_Pizarro @DFRLab That is @Miguel_Pizarro and myself (@AmericoDeGrazia) are here to discuss with you the issues facing us, our constituents and our fellow Venezuelans around the world. We need the global community to remember that these issues - these lives - matter #ACVenezuela.

@AmericoDeGrazia @DiegoArea @Miguel_Pizarro @DFRLab Now begins the portion of today's event with @ACLatAm's
@jmarczak and United States Representatives @DWStweets (D-FL) and @RepRooney (R-FL) #ACVenezuela. Tune into the live webcast here: atlanticcouncil.org/event/stemming…

@AmericoDeGrazia @DiegoArea @Miguel_Pizarro @DFRLab @jmarczak @DWStweets @RepRooney There are no depths to which the #Maduro regime "won't sink," that much is clear from the video footage of #Guaidó and his allies in the legislature attempting to clear the fence to the National Assembly on Sunday, notes @DWStweets.

@AmericoDeGrazia @DiegoArea @Miguel_Pizarro @DFRLab @jmarczak @DWStweets @RepRooney We - me, my constituents, my colleagues in Congress - care about #Venezuela and the suffering of its people. We've appropriated millions of dollars to provide humanitarian relief and millions more in direct support to the interim government, says @DWStweets #ACVenezuela.

@AmericoDeGrazia @DiegoArea @Miguel_Pizarro @DFRLab @jmarczak @DWStweets @RepRooney This is a bipartisan effort here in Washington - we want to get this situation resolved and relieve some of the suffering of #Venezuelans and the diaspora. And we want to help our international partners do the same, says @RepRooney #ACVenezuela.

@AmericoDeGrazia @DiegoArea @Miguel_Pizarro @DFRLab @jmarczak @DWStweets @RepRooney One key component is to mitigate or otherwise minimize the influence of #Russia in #Venezuela, and the role it plays in propping up an illegitimate regime, explains @DWStweets #ACVenezuela.

@AmericoDeGrazia @DiegoArea @Miguel_Pizarro @DFRLab @jmarczak @DWStweets @RepRooney #Maduro's cronyism runs deep and, unabated, sets a bad example for what the global community will tolerate in the region, says @RepRooney #ACVenezuela.

@AmericoDeGrazia @DiegoArea @Miguel_Pizarro @DFRLab @jmarczak @DWStweets @RepRooney In addition to extending #TPS, Congress can mobilize more effective and more ambitious humanitarian resources to balance US support for ordinary Venezuelans with US sanctions against #Maduro and his affiliates, says @DWStweets #ACVenezuela.