Russia sends troops to Venezuela in message to Trump administration

The Russian Defense Ministry send An-124 military transport aircraft, IL-62M jet airliner and more than 100 troops to Caracas, against the backdrop of growing tensions between Venezuela and the U.S.

Some source claims that Chief of the General Staff of the Ground Forces Col. Gen. Vasily Tonkoshkurov have arrived with troops.

According to media reports in recent days, General Vasily Tonkoshkurov, arrived in the capital of Venezuela with almost 100 troops. In addition, An-124 brought 35 tonnes of equipment. What arrived in containers is still unknown.

Vz.ru reported that the cargo plane arrived in Venezuela from Moscow through Syria.

https://defence-blog.com/army/russia-sends-troops-to-venezuela-in-message-to-trump-administration.html

Venezuela: Why Was the Pemon Massacre Ignored by Mainstream Media Outlets?

The international mainstream media is generally eager to report on stories involving indigenous populations who are being discriminated against or abused by the powerful: governments, multinational corporations, wealthy landowners, farmers, oil pipelines. The Standing Rock protests in North Dakota were a classic example of this.

In the remote Amazonian jungles of southeastern Venezuela, and northern Brazil, the Pemon remain one of the poorest tribes on the South American continent.

For anyone who thinks that the twenty year political project of Chavismo served to further the interests of the poor and weak, the Pemon represent a striking counter-example. They, along with several other indigenous tribes mainly in remote eastern Venezuela, have suffered greatly during the six disastrous years of Maduro’s rule.

Despite the proclamations of an army of pro-Maduro propagandists who deemed the humanitarian aid to be merely a pretext for military invasion, the Pemon enthusiastically welcomed the efforts of the United States, Colombia, and Brazil, in conjunction with British billionaire Richard Branson, to bring supplies of much-needed food and medicine into Venezuelan territory.

When members of the Pemon tribe observed a Venezuelan military convoy speeding towards the Brazilian-Venezuelan border, with the intent of preventing the entrance of humanitarian aid, they decided to take matters into their own hands. In the southeastern Venezuelan village of Kumaracupay, 40 miles from the border, they attempted to block Highway 10, and prevent the arrival of the soldiers.

They were met with live ammunition from the Venezuelan military.

The first victim was identified as Zoraida Rodríguez, 40, who died of a gunshot wound. A second as-of-yet unidentified victim died later at a local hospital.

A dozen wounded were also taken to the hospital. One man, Alberto Delgado, spoke forcefully about why he came to protest against the Venezuelan military, and how the Chavista regime has impacted his life, and that of his family:

“I did this for my grandfather, who has been sick in bed for six years; I did this for my uncle Jorge William, who is in a wheelchair; I’m doing this for my uncle, Cipriano López, who is doing dialysis every week and we have to spend money…I was shot in both legs and I hope that all Venezuelans see this. The only person responsible is named Maduro and he has to leave now. We’re going to get this criminal out.”

For those Democrats in Congress who refuse to label Maduro a dictator, perhaps they should speak with Alberto Delgado and the members of his tribe.

Maduro and his disastrous policies have brought ruin and misery to Venezuela’s largely urban population, but they have brought utter devastation to Venezuela’s indigenous people, who are now dying for lack of food and medicine.

https://panampost.com/david-unsworth/2019/03/01/venezuela-why-was-the-pemon-massacre-ignored-by-mainstream-media-outlets/

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For some odd reason the plight of these indigenous people has hardly gotten a peep here. I guess they're less worthy than other indigenous people. That's the only logical explanation.

America imported no oil from Venezuela last week.

America's once-robust imports of crude oil from Venezuela have ground to a halt because of Trump administration sanctions and chaos gripping the OPEC nation.

The United States imported exactly zero barrels of crude from Venezuela last week, according to government statistics. That's never happened since the US Energy Information Administration began tracking this weekly metric in 2010.

It marks a sharp decline from the prior week, when the United States imported 112,000 barrels per day from Venezuela. The plunge in oil shipments from Venezuela helped lift US oil prices above $60 a barrel this week for the first time since November.

But US Gulf Coast refineries have long relied on Venezuela's heavy grade of crude to churn out gasoline, jet fuel and diesel that keep the American economy humming. Just a year ago, Venezuela shipped more than half a million barrels of oil per day to US shores, making the Latin American country one of America's largest suppliers.

"I suspect it will stay at zero. It's a big problem for US refiners," said Ryan Fitzmaurice, energy strategist at Rabobank. "We really do need that heavy crude that comes from Venezuela. We're finding it difficult to source it from elsewhere."

The United States has never gone a full month without importing oil from Venezuela since the EIA started measuring this monthly data in 1973.

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/03/21/business/venezuela-oil-imports-united-states/index.html

Maduro upped the ante

Forces loyal to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro may have just committed one of their most brazen acts — one that threatens to plunge the country into even greater chaos.

On Thursday, Venezuela’s intelligence forces detained the chief of staff for Juan Guaidó, the opposition leader who claims to be the country’s legitimate president and who is backed by the United States. In an overnight raid, they seized Roberto Marrero from his home shortly after also nabbing dozens of journalists and two state utility workers.

This is potentially a massive escalation by Maduro and could signal a new phase in his bid to maintain power despite America’s efforts.

https://www.vox.com/2019/3/21/18275688/venezuela-maduro-guaido-marrero-intelligence

And this also:

As well as seizing Marrero early Thursday, SEBIN officers raided the home in the same building of an opposition lawmaker, Sergio Vergara.

Vergara was not arrested. He told reporters that he saw Marrero bundled off into the street.

He said around 15 SEBIN officers threw him to the floor and "ransacked" his own home for around two hours, while asking where to find Marrero, a lawyer who works in the National Assembly.

"They started to bash on the door of Roberto Marrero's place, which is a few meters (yards) from my door, until they were able to get inside," he said.

https://www.afp.com/en/news/3954/venezuela-risks-us-reaction-arresting-guaidos-chief-staff-doc-1ew7071

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Guaido says SEBIN claims they found two rifles and a grenade in Marrero's house. I'm shocked they didn't find a tank or an aircraft carrier.

Jamaica To Temporarily Close Venezuelan Embassy

“As we have previously stated publicly, we have been monitoring circumstances related to the operations of the Embassy, both in the wider context of our diplomatic representation review, as well as in the particular circumstances of the mission in Caracas. The Ministry along with its Embassy have been experiencing significant challenges in the operations at the post for some time, and temporary closure is now the practical solution,” Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Kamina Johnson Smith explained in a statement this morning.

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20190320/jamaica-temporarily-close-venezuelan-embassy

Now THAT'S diplomatic-speak.

Venezuela's opposition-controlled legislature makes new military offer

Members of the Venezuelan armed forces that abandon President Nicolas Maduro will keep their rank and be reinstated once a new government is in place, the opposition-controlled legislature said Tuesday.

The announcement marked the latest offer from the National Assembly, headed by opposition leader and self-declared interim president Juan Guaido, to try to convince more military personnel to switch sides.

A text approved by the National Assembly said it "guarantees that every military professional citizen who decides to restore constitutional order... will be reincorporated into the armed forces" once a new government assumes power.

The assembly said this would preserve the chain of command in a bid to assuage any fears the high command may have that they would lose their power and influence should Maduro fall.

https://www.france24.com/en/20190320-venezuelas-opposition-controlled-legislature-makes-new-military-offer

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Interestingly, I think it's a matter of time running out for both sides.

How the Maduro Regime Hides the Collapse of Healthcare from a UN Mission

The technical mission sent by UN Human Rights Commissioner and former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet, didn’t inspect the terrible conditions of Antonio María Pineda Central Hospital in Barquisimeto.

The UN commission stuck exclusively to the agenda imposed by the Maduro regime. On March 17th, they were taken by officials from the dictatorship to the Autonomous Service of Pharmaceutical Development (SEFAR) and to the Pastor Oropeza Hospital of the Institute of Social Security, in the Alí Primera social housing project. While there are private healthcare centers or managed by institutions such as the Red Cross, the aforementioned centers are all managed by the central state.

The patients and healthcare professionals of the Antonio María Pineda Hospital were hoping that the mission would visit the city’s most important public hospital, since they had received three containers with medicines, medical supplies, cleaning products and air conditioners from the Health Ministry; maintenance staff was cleaning the main areas, while others worked on fixing the elevators, replacing light bulbs and painting some walls, something unusual in the Venezuelan healthcare system nowadays. Even security in the facilities was reinforced.

While these cosmetic operations were taking place, outside the hospitals, the patients’ relatives offered heartbreaking testimonies about the service’s true conditions, worsened by the blackout that lasted over five days in Barquisimeto, leaving a severe water crisis. “It’s been a week of many calamities,” said a patient in the maternity area who chose to remain anonymous. “We can catch an infection, there’s blood on the floor, the restrooms are filthy. My baby’s also a patient in the hospital but the pediatric wing is a bit cleaner.”

Julimar Heredia, the relative of a hospitalized patient, said: “They’re patching all the holes and everything’s impeccable so they can say that everything’s fine, that there’s no lack of medicines, even when everything’s horrible. We’re worse every day and they deny it.” Julio Aguirre’s wife entered the obstetric emergency for a c-section on March 13th. “They told us to bring absolutely everything: three cold packs, eight pairs of gloves, a small hook used for newborn babies, four bags of saline solution and 26 litres of water. I spent Bs. 173,000 the first day alone. Now that an inspection’s coming, they’re throwing a bunch of smokescreens, but just yesterday, there was a puddle of urine in front of the elevator.”

https://www.caracaschronicles.com/2019/03/19/how-the-maduro-regime-hides-the-collapse-of-healthcare-from-a-un-mission/

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And here's an interesting story that hits really close to home.

Stepson just left here for Maturin yesterday after 3 days in Caracas. He's handling the affairs of a foundation founded by his sister to help infants and young children. She's in Madrid with her young daughter getting life-saving surgery for the child that they could not get here in Venezuela. She'll be there for at least year though mom's afraid they may never return.

Anyway, a Venezuelan citizen from New York recently donated 1200 kilos of high-protein baby formula to the foundation for distribution to hospitals in Maturin. That's where the foundation is based. The shipment was stopped in Caracas by the National Guard because of "problems". Of course, leaving 30% of the shipment with them and the problem would go away. Stepson refused, contacted the donor in New York, and they finally worked out a deal with the National Guard to donate the 30% to hospitals in Caracas. The donor, being from Caracas originally, named the hospitals to receive the milk. One on the list was a government-run operation named J.M. de Los Rios.

When the stepson arrived and made contact with a hospital representative, he was told they not only wouldn't accept the donation, according to the contact, they couldn't because he said there were armed colectivos inside the place watching all of the hospital's employees and activities. Inside the hospital, stepson saw heavily armed men and woman dressed in civilian clothes. He didn't speak to any of them to confirm that they were colectivos, but hey, if it walks like a duck. This was all going down at the same time that the UN delegation mentioned in the linked story was in Venezuela.

The remainder of the shipment still hasn't made it to Maturin and when it does, it'll be interesting to see if the government-run hospitals there accept it. We have our fingers crossed. They need it.

Venezuelan steelmaker Sidor shuts all operations after energy blackout

Venezuela's largest steelmaker Sidor shut all operations after the country's energy blackout March 8, sources within the mill said Tuesday.

There was no timetable for resumption, the sources said.

When contacted, Sidor did not respond.

The company's steelmaking operations have been offline since August 2018, while other units, including its pellet plant, were operating at reduced levels before the blackout.

The power outage affected most of the country and was the worst in decades, local and international media reported.

Venezuela's steel and iron markets have remained at a standstill as a result of ongoing strikes in basic industry sectors since August, tightening supply and production.

Sidor had planned to have all six electric arc furnaces fully operational in 2018, although sources have questioned whether it will achieve this goal even in 2019.

https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/latest-news/metals/031919-venezuelan-steelmaker-sidor-shuts-all-operations-after-energy-blackout

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Sidor, yet another formerly-fully functional and profitable industry completely destroyed by chavismo. But hey, they let "the pueblo" run it, so there's that.

And then there was this about the aluminum industry:

This is how an electrochemical aluminium reduction cell, the heart of an aluminium factory, works: within a metal structure about 15 mts. wide, an anode with a positive charge and a cathode with a negative charge exchange electrons to transform aluminium trioxide, or alumina. With the aid of an electric resistance that reaches temperatures above 900° C, aluminium atoms split from oxygen atoms. The aluminium, cleared of all chemical impurity, precipitates to the bottom of the recipient as liquid metal.

A cell works continuously for 1,800 hours, as the components of the chemical reaction are depleted. For every 24 hours of work, each cell consumes 25,000 kWh. Venalum has an installed capacity of 905 cells; Alcasa, whose technology is more outdated, has 596. Venalum’s fifth line alone consumed 4.5 million kWh, equivalent to the monthly consumption of 90,000 homes, with a ratio of 1,500 kWh per month.

If a cell spends more than two hours without power, the electrochemical process within stops and the primary aluminium at the bottom of the cell starts solidifying, neutralizing the reduction device.

https://www.caracaschronicles.com/2019/03/14/the-big-blackout-of-the-venezuelan-aluminium-industry/

There was also the shutdown of 73 aluminium reduction cells in the Venalum and Alcasa processing plants in Puerto Ordaz, Bolivar, cells that cannot be used again and represent a massive production blow. The cost of replacing each cell is around $240K, so we’re talking of about $14.1 million here.

https://www.caracaschronicles.com/2019/03/14/the-price-tag-of-the-blackout/

Sanctions Against Venezuelan Gold Sector

Today, the United States takes necessary actions to prevent the former Maduro regime from further plundering Venezuela’s assets and natural resources.


On November 1, 2018, President Trump signed Executive Order (E.O.) 13850, which targets persons operating in the gold sector of the Venezuelan economy. Today, the United States is designating the Venezuelan state-owned gold-sector company, MINERVEN, and its president, Adrian Antonio Perdomo Mata, for operating in this sector.


Maduro and his illicit network are misusing Venezuela’s gold-mining operations as another way to steal from the Venezuelan people after having mismanaged and plundered Venezuela’s crumbling oil industry.


Today’s action will prevent Maduro and other corrupt actors from further enriching themselves at the expense of the long-suffering Venezuelan people. In addition, it will help stop mining-related environmental damage and labor exploitation in Venezuela’s gold industry.

https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2019/03/290482.htm

Venezuela suspends oil exports to India

BAKU: Venezuela has suspended its oil exports to India and views Russia and China as its main export destinations, the Azeri energy ministry said on Tuesday, citing Venezuela's oil minister.

The Azeri ministry issued the statement on Tuesday following talks in Baku between Azerbaijan's energy minister and Venezuelan oil minister and president of state-run oil company PDVSA, Manuel Quevedo.

"At the meeting... Quevedo said in order to prevent a sharp reduction, various measures are being implemented and diversification of the export market is underway," the statement said.

Read more at:
//economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/68479883.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst



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LOL at that statement. We're reducing our potential buyers from three to two in order to diversify our export market. Of course, what happened was that either the US leaned on India who gave warning they were going to stop buying, or India warned they would start paying for the oil they received by depositing the funds into a US-approved escrow account.