#VERDAD: @USSenate Foreign Relations Committee passes #Venezuela Emergency Relief, Democracy Assistance, and Development -VERDAD- Act

Among key points: 

- $400MM Humanitarian Assistance 

- Removes sanctions on individuals not involved in human rights abuses if they recognize Interim President Guaidó.

- Clearly states this legislation is NOT an authorization of the use of military force against Venezuela. 

US Senate Foreign Relations Committee passes #Venezuela Emergency Relief, Democracy Assistance, and Development (VERDAD) Act

WASHINGTON – Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) today praised committee passage of the Venezuela Emergency Relief, Democracy Assistance, and Development (VERDAD) Act, the most comprehensive effort to date to confront the crisis in Venezuela. The bipartisan legislation will now move forward to be considered by the full Senate.

A summary of the bill follows below:

Support for Venezuela's Interim President and Recognition of the Venezuelan National Assembly

Establishes U.S. policy to pursue a peaceful, diplomatic solution to the Venezuelan crisis.
Increased Humanitarian Relief for Venezuela

Authorizes $400 million in new humanitarian assistance.

Addressing Maduro Regime's Kleptocracy

- Prohibits visas for the family members of sanctioned individuals, but establishes a waiver with conditions to lift visa restrictions.

- Removes sanctions on designated individuals not involved in human rights abuse if they recognize Venezuela's Interim President.

- Requires the State Department to work with Latin American and European governments to implement their own sanctions.

Supporting the Reconstruction of Venezuela

- Requires the Departments of State, Treasury and Justice to lead international efforts to freeze, recover, and repurpose the corrupt financial holdings of Venezuelan officials;

- Accelerates planning with international financial institutions on the economic reconstruction of Venezuela, contingent upon the restoration of democratic governance.

- Establishes that nothing in this legislation is an authorization of the use of military force against Venezuela. 

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https://www.foreign.senate.gov/press/ranking/release/senate-committee-approves-comprehensive-legislation-to-help-restore-democracy-in-venezuela-

It was a bloodbath all around yesterday...

It was a bloodbath all around yesterday...

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Deepest-ever sub #dive (10,928m) to the #MarianaTrench

MasterTech: Deepest-ever sub #dive (10,928m) to the #MarianaTr...: An American explorer finds plastic waste on the seafloor while breaking the record for the deepest ever dive. 

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How a #Chinese venture in #Venezuela made millions while locals grew hungry - @Reuters SPECIAL REPORT

#Chavez's promises, "seemed like a revolutionary idea. Now we're starving."

Great investigative piece from Reuters on the corruption that developed from / led to the alliance between Venezuela and China... 

"The diversification [into Food production] made PDVSA the conduit through which contracts, and a growing sum of money administered by Venezuela's national development bank, were awarded. By 2010, the filings say, the bank had received $32 billion from the China Development Bank and another $6 billion from an infrastructure fund created by Chavez."

https://www.reuters.com/article/venezuela-china-food/special-report-how-a-chinese-venture-in-venezuela-made-millions-while-locals-grew-hungry-idUSL1N22D1E7

SPECIAL REPORT-How a Chinese venture in Venezuela made millions while locals grew hungry

(For more Reuters Special Reports, click on)

By Angus Berwick

TUCUPITA, Venezuela, May 7 (Reuters) - The project was meant to feed millions.

In Delta Amacuro, a remote Venezuelan state on the Caribbean Sea, a Chinese construction giant struck a bold agreement with the late President Hugo Chavez. The state-run firm would build new bridges and roads, a food laboratory, and the largest rice-processing plant in Latin America.

The 2010 pact, with China CAMC Engineering Co Ltd , would develop rice paddies twice the size of Manhattan and create jobs for the area's 110,000 residents, according to a copy of the contract seen by Reuters.

The underdeveloped state was an ideal locale to demonstrate the Socialist Venezuelan government's commitment to empower the poor. And the deal would show how Chavez and his eventual hand-picked successor, President Nicolas Maduro, could work with China and other allies to develop areas beyond Venezuela's bounteous oil beds.

"Rice Power! Agricultural power!" Chavez tweeted at the time.

Nine years later, locals are hungry. Few jobs have materialized and the plant is only half-built, running at less than one percent its projected output. It hasn't yielded a single grain of locally grown rice, according to a dozen people involved in or familiar with the development.

Yet CAMC and a select few Venezuelan partners prospered.

Venezuela paid CAMC at least $100 million for the stalled development, according to project contracts and sealed court documents from an investigation by prosecutors in Europe.

#Venezuela’s Opposition Held Talks With Government on Ousting #Maduro

"In the end, the ex­act rea­son the talks broke down couldn't be de­ter­mined. On Tues­day, Mr. Guaidó, joined by only a hand­ful of Na-tional Guard troops, called for a re­bel­lion, lead­ing to two con­sec­u­tive days of wide­spread protests. But only one se­nior regime of­fi­cial—the head of Venezuela's se­cret ser­vice—has switched sides."

"The per­son fa­mil­iar with the talks said not every­one on the Venezue­lan gov­ern­ment side was act­ing in good faith. This per­son said Gen. Padrino feigned his role as a con­spir­a­tor, while at the same time in­form­ing Mr. Maduro and top of­fi­cials in the regime, as well as the Rus­sians."

Read the whole article here: Venezuela's Opposition Held Talks With Government on Ousting Maduro

#Venezuela Moves Closer to Ridding Itself of #Maduro & Co., But It's Not Yet A Done Deal

Today has been pretty crazy in Venezuela.  

Caracas woke up to Juan Guaido announcing that #OperacionLibertad was under way.

En el marco de nuestra constitución. Y por el cese definitivo de la usurpación. https://t.co/3RD2bnQhxt

— Juan Guaidó (@jguaido) April 30, 2019

Venezuelans the world over were (pleasantly?) surprised that Leopoldo Lopez was beside him, and out of his house where he has been under house arrest since his transfer from prison last year. (He was released by SEBIN agents that turned on Maduro, along with some other Political Prisoners.)

Within hours, the streets of Caracas and other cities in the interior, especially those where major military installations are located, were filled with opposition members.  In Caracas, Guaido and his supporters went to the Carlota Airbase on the eastern side of the city. Soon enough the Colectivos showed up.  These are the local militias that Chavez and Maduro armed to "defend the revolution." 

I initially posted a tweet believing the shots were being fired by these Colectivos against the opposition demonstrators. But I quickly found out that this time, it wasn't the usual script playing out.  Instead, it was the national guard and SEBIN forces that had turned on Maduro to support Guaido, that were shooting at the Colectivos that had come to harass and intimidate the demonstrators. 

No sooner had I realized my mistake, I posted a Correction within the hour.

CORRECTION: I’ve been informed by reliable sources that this is actually a video of military supporters of @jguaido fending off an attack by the #Colectivos. So I got a taste of the power of Twitter!

— MasterFeeds (@MasterFeed) April 30, 2019

  It was too late, the power of Twitter had worked its magic.  It had gone (semi) viral.  The susbsequent tweet is still waiting to hit it big....

As opposition supporters gather near the #Carlota Airbase in #Caracas, National Guard troops now loyal to interim president @JGuaido fire on #Colectivos who’ve come to target the demonstrators. #Venezuela pic.twitter.com/qhVqbSD9sM

— MasterFeeds (@MasterFeed) April 30, 2019