,
58 tweets,
27 min read
Read on Twitter
People don't seem to understand how crippling and absolutely murderous the Venezuela sanctions are. Here is a little thread about what they are, and how they work. And here is a link to the primary source: state.gov/e/eb/tfs/spi/v… 
As an initial matter, there was a United Nations report on the Venezuela sanctions, which bluntly stated that the "economic sanctions kill" Venezuelans. The full report itself is very readable. web.archive.org/web/2019013020…
So let's look at some of the sanctions that were imposed in August 2017. Section 1 over here makes it illegal for the government of Venezuela to raise any kind of money, through the sale of bonds or securities. It also makes it illegal for Venezuelan companies to remit profits.
Think about how ABSOLUTELY BRUTAL AND MURDEROUS THAT IS! And that is just *one* of the sections out of many.
So what happens after this restriction is imposed? For one, Venezuela's oil production drops off IMMEDIATELY.
What else happens? Well, inflation had been up and down, but it ABSOLUTELY SKYROCKETS in response to these sanctions.
So let's go back to the UN report. It points out that the sanctions have contributed to "shortages in medicine," have "contributed to many deaths," and could constitute "crimes against humanity."
So why were these sanctions imposed? The UN report compares this to a "medieval siege," designed to being a "sovereign country to its knees." The sanctions are INTENDED to kill people, and are part of a strategy coupled with "pseudo-human rights rhetoric" (i.e., propaganda).
The sanctions have also prevented Venezuela from accessing its own money in its own bank accounts. Instead, the USA has given access to those accounts to the guy leading a right-wing coup.
So the sanctions (i) prevent Venezuela from accessing ITS OWN money in its own bank accounts, (ii) prevent people from LENDING money to Venezuela, a capability that every government needs to function, and (iii) prevents Venezuela companies that earn money overseas from sending $
To be clear, Hugo Chavez did an amazing job of lowering poverty levels, infant mortality, and malnutrition in Venezuela. GDP went way up. Chavez was incredibly popular because he helped the poor, at the expense of the rich. He promoted equality... and the wealthy hated that.
And make no mistake... the wealthy right-wing "opposition" in Venezuela has historically been VIOLENT. They want to forcibly take power, because they can't win fair elections. Here they are bombing a police convoy.
The wealthy right-wing opposition has also set fire to the Supreme Court building. But your traditional news outlets in the USA (CNN, NYT, etc.) hardly ever mention this, if they mention it at all.
You might have come across the word "guarimbero" in recent years... this is the term used in Venezuela to describe right-wing groups who barricade roads, and are often armed. They have been responsible for a lot of violence over the years. They can't win the vote, so they attack.
Has the USA helped Venezuela to resolve its conflicts with these violent groups? No. Instead, the US (laughably) labels them as "pro-democracy" and gives them money. Here is a recent budget item, giving Trump the authority to supply the right-wing agitators with $20 million.
So the USA's strategy has two economic prongs. First, it absolutely STARVES the state of Venezuela, and cracks down on anyone who even tries to do arms-length business with them. Second, it funds the most violent right-wing thugs it can find.
Donald Trump and the war criminal Elliott Abrams want to create the conditions so that there is right-wing violence in Venezuela, so that they can install a puppet who has unpopular opinions on the economy. The USA would prefer that the puppets do the dirty work & killing.
People should know better by now. When the left wing won elections in Chile in the 1970s, the USA imposed sanctions to "make the economy scream" and fostered a right-wing coup that brought in a bloody dictator (Pinochet).
In fact, we now have Elliott Abrams in charge of Venezuela efforts. This is the same guy who illegally provided weapons/assistance to right-wing death squads in Nicaragua in the 1980s. He EXPLICITLY SAID that "the purpose of our aid" was to "increase violence" by death squads!!!
Anyway, you should all follow @MikePrysner, @anyaparampil, @MaxBlumenthal, @BenjaminNorton, @medeabenjamin, @BootsRiley, @AbbyMartin, and @venanalysis. Keep up to speed.
@MikePrysner @anyaparampil @MaxBlumenthal @BenjaminNorton @medeabenjamin @BootsRiley @AbbyMartin @venanalysis There is also a lot of *bad* reporting and anti-Venezuela propaganda out there, as you probably know. This thread--by a guy who literally wrote a book on the topic--is worth reading to get some important context.
The propaganda is very important, because the coup will NOT work if it is widely perceived that the USA is behind Venezuela's economic collapse. When the USA tried (and failed) to destabilize Cuba (which still suffers under an embargo), one US ambassador said exactly that.
Attacking Venezuela will definitely harm Cuba (which buys oil from Venezuela). But Donald Trump also clearly views the attack on Venezuela as a way to attack the people of China and Russia (who have loans to Venezuela).
In fact, the USA has already cracked down on Cuba and Russia, effectively stealing THEIR money because they had the audacity to do arms-length business with people in Venezuela. This is starvation + theft.
To be sure, Venezuela *does* have some allies. Mexico, South Africa, India, China, and Russia are some of the major countries that still support the democratically elected (yes) Maduro government. They can legitimately push for a peace process, with Mexico at the lead.
The Venezuelan government has repeatedly offered to peacefully mediate the dispute with the (illegal) right-wing opposition. However, Guaido and the USA have totally REFUSED, because they just want everyone else to give in to their extortionary demands.
The best course would be to have a peaceful mediation, with Mexico or the Vatican facilitating a discussion and the sanctions lifted so that people can recover. But the right-wing coup has been itching for violence. Guaido appeared on FOX to claim he could authorize invasion.
The right-wing Venezuelan opposition is a VIOLENT group that will not accept peaceful solutions. CNN had a story today about the literal assassination attempt against Maduro last year. They used a drone loaded with "military grade explosives." (Bolton lied about it to the media.)
Let's also not forget the right-wing coup in Venezuela in 2002. They kidnapped Hugo Chavez and installed businessman Pedro Carmona Estanga. USA President Bush immediately backed Carmona, who moved to privatize the state oil company (to screw Venezuelans & enrich USA investors).
In 2013, when the right wing lost in the elections again, Henrique Caprilles--one of the men who had participated in the 2002 coup and received a lenient sentence--urged his followers to "unload their fury." These thugs killed 9 people, injured 78, and burnt party headquarters.
In 2014, right-wing extremist Leopoldo Lopez called for his supporters to take the streets. They used home-made firebombs, and explicitly told reporters: "We're not peaceful here." The USA media did a terrible job of covering this, but dozens died (incl. police shot by snipers).
Also in 2014, right-wing psychopath Angel Vivas called for his supporters to string steel wire at about neck-height across the roads in order to attack government officials on motorcycles. They decapitated a 29 year old grocery clerk and killed a 37 year old mother.
It's also important to keep in mind that these violent right-wing protest groups have always been upper and middle class people. These are the wealthier people who are afraid of their power slipping away, and the lower classes making advances. THAT is what motivates them.
The actions by these right-wing groups have always been heavily concentrated in the wealthiest provinces of Venezuela.
Still in 2014, the right-wing agitators murdered popular Venezuelan socialist politician Robert Serra, along with his partner Maria, in their home. He was tied up and stabbed more than 30 times. In January 2019, the right-wing groups burned down the Robert Serra Cultural Center.
In 2017, they literally set a black Chavista on fire!!!
Today, a guest on Fox News threatened to put "a bullet to the forehead" of Maduro. A few weeks ago Senator Little Marco posted a similar threat to murder Maduro. This happens on national television and on Twitter, and people never raise a fuss about these murder threats.
The coup has been failing because all of these people (like Little Marco) are cowards who want someone *else* to do the dirty work. The USA wants either the right-wingers or Colombia to launch the attack. The right-wingers want someone else. Colombia doesn't want a bloody war.
While people don't always have the stomach to start a violent civil war, people in the USA are comfortable engaging in "lawfare" from a desk (no less deadly). In the 2000s, traders in Miami cost Venezuela BILLIONS through cyber attacks. US courts don't want to allow redress, tho.
Similarly, oil companies have sued Venezuela in (illegitimate and bad) international tribunals, seeking further BILLIONS of dollars from the country because it wants to use it's own natural resources to spend on social programs, rather than profits for foreign investors.
International and USA legal institutions have effectively made socialism anywhere in the world ILLEGAL, and are trying to extract BILLIONS of dollars from Venezuela because it threatens the profits of investors. Here is another large award extracted through "lawfare."
Oil companies are LITERALLY SEIZING VENEZUELA'S ASSETS IN INTERNATIONAL COURTS TO EXTORT MONEY!
So what would happen if the opposition gets into power? Well, the financial press in the West has been salivating. Unsurprisingly, it looks like the poor will get screwed, as will any governments that supported Maduro, and lazy American investors will start collecting free rents.
At the outset, it is important to keep in mind that the USA wants to first WIPE OUT any countries or private investors who made the decision to invest in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Little Marco is giddy at the idea.
After the old creditors are gone, USA and IMF investors will come in to make "investments" that are coupled with economic demands made under the barrel of a gun. It's a shakedown, like the mafia.
The right-wingers are mad at China for lending Venezuela money without requiring the country to "increase the likelihood that it regains creditworthiness." Those weasel-words mean that they want creditors to FORCE the country to institute neoliberal economic policies.
Importantly, the USA also wants to privatize Venezuela's oil, so that USA investors will get the profits from its sale. They hate that Chavez & Maduro spent oil revenue on housing for the poor, rather than handing that money over as passive income for lazy foreign investors.
Again, Guaido's team has made clear that they generally won't honor the loans that were made by China and Russia. This is a big part of why Trump wants to murder Venezuelans.
Under normal circumstances, if a country is experiencing financial hardships, the creditors (China, etc.) could restructure the debt, so that the country agrees to a longer payment schedule or just a lower amount of money. The sanctions, however, MAKE THIS ILLEGAL!
Yes it is ILLEGAL under the sanctions for the current creditors (China, etc.) to show mercy on the people of Venezuela, and agree to new terms for the debt. Trump has destroyed the economy, made it impossible to reduce the payments owed. The "humanitarian aid" is 100% gaslighting
In reality, hard-line right-wingers in the USA want blood. Yesterday, the extreme right-wing New York Post published a column explicitly calling for violence against the people of Venezuela. There is no mention of the peace process, because they just want to crush Venezuela.
Oh, and that NY Post article was authored by a guy named Roger Noriega. During the 1980s, he funneled "aid" to right-wing death squads in Nicaragua. He also played a role in the Helms-Burton act, which tightened the embargo on Cuba in an attempt to economically strangle them.
Just yesterday, Trump met with Jair Bolsonaro (the fascist leader of Brazil who openly campaigned on the promise of murdering people) to discuss INCREASING the sanctions against the people of Venezuela. Bolsonaro also met with the CIA. Keep in mind that Brazil borders Venezuela..
Just the other day, Trump decided to SANCTION THE BANKING SECTOR! If there were an ounce of *real* humanitarian concern, nobody would even dream of doing this. In reality, this is designed to make Venezuela suffer (& also Bolivia and Uruguay, whose banks were also targeted).
This is in addition to the sanctions against Venezuela's mining sector for committing the supposed crime of "propping up" the legally elected president.
Make no mistake, Trump and the war criminal Elliott Abrams know EXACTLY how sadistic these sanctions are. One "senior Trump administration official" literally compared it to STRANGLING the country. (He also made a Star Wars reference, showing the mentality of a teenage boy.)
Speaking of sadism, the literal war criminal Elliott Abrams made his intentions absolutely clear, saying "we are looking forward to the collapse of your economy." So here are two high-ranking officials commenting on how they want to "strangle" and "collapse" the economy.
Most recently, another official kept up the deadly metaphors by saying that the latest sanctions (seeking to interfere with oil shipments to Cuba) will "tighten the noose of the financial strangulation" around Venezuela. He also threatened military intervention (again). Sadists.
