{"id":1032,"date":"2020-03-20T23:12:04","date_gmt":"2020-03-20T23:12:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/?p=1032"},"modified":"2020-05-04T22:00:23","modified_gmt":"2020-05-04T22:00:23","slug":"us-ramps-up-sanctions-devastating-venezuelas-health-sector-as-coronavirus-spreads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/us-ramps-up-sanctions-devastating-venezuelas-health-sector-as-coronavirus-spreads\/","title":{"rendered":"US ramps up sanctions devastating Venezuela\u2019s health sector as coronavirus spreads"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Promising to \u201csmash\u201d Venezuela\u2019s government during a \u201cmaximum pressure March,\u201d Trump has imposed crushing sanctions that force Venezuela to spend three times as much as non-sanctioned countries on coronavirus testing kits.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

By Leonardo Flores<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

During his State of the Union address this February, President Trump promised to \u201csmash\u201d and destroy the Venezuelan government. His vows were followed by a renewed threat of a naval blockade<\/a> on the country, which is an act of war under U.S. and international law. Next, the State Department excitedly announced that the \u201cMonroe Doctrine 2.0<\/a>\u201d will be \u201cfleshed out in the weeks and months to come,\u201d declaring a \u201cmaximum-pressure March\u201d against Venezuela.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These threats have been backed up by concrete policies and actions. Russian oil company Rosneft, one of the world\u2019s primary purchasers of Venezuelan oil, has seen two of its subsidiaries sanctioned by the US in less than one month for doing business with Venezuela. The State Department telegraphed its move in February<\/a>, singling out oil companies Rosneft, Reliance (India) and Repsol (Spain). Chevron, the biggest U.S. oil company still working in Venezuela, has been warned by the Trump administration that its license to operate in the country (which exempts it from the sanctions) will not be renewed<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2015, the U.S. government has sanctioned<\/a> 49 oil tankers, 18 Venezuelan companies, 60 foreign companies and 56 airplanes (41 belonging to state airliner Conviasa and 15 belonging to state oil company PDVSA), but this is the first time they\u2019ve gone after foreign oil companies. By targeting Rosneft Trading and TNK Trading (the two Rosneft subsidiaries), the United States makes it next-to-impossible for those firms to continue trading in Venezuela oil, as shipping companies, insurance companies and banks will refuse to work with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sanctions have taken a heavy toll, causing at least 130 billion dollars\u2019 worth of damage to the economy between 2015 and 2018<\/a>. Even worse, according to former U.N. special rapporteur Alfred de Zayas, the sanctions been responsible for the death of over 100,000 Venezuelans<\/a>. It is hardly surprising that Venezuela has asked that the International Criminal Court investigate the lethalsanctions as crimes against humanity<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The effects of the sanctions are most noticeable in Venezuela\u2019s health sector, which has been decimated over the past five years. The US measures have impeded banks from carrying out financial transactions for the purchase of medical supplies. What\u2019s more, they have caused a 90% decrease in Venezuela\u2019s foreign income earnings, depriving the health sector of much needed investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Were it not for the solidarity of China<\/a> and Cuba<\/a>, which sent testing kits and medicine, Venezuela would be woefully ill-equipped to handle the coronavirus. The sanctions are worsening an already dangerous situation, forcing Venezuela to spend three times as much for testing kits<\/a> as non-sanctioned countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Maduro has appealed directly to Trump to lift the sanctions in the name of fighting the global pandemic of coronavirus. His appeal will likely go unanswered, given the intensification not just in sanctions, but in the violent opposition\u2019s acts of irregular warfare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On March 7, a warehouse containing virtually all of Venezuela\u2019s electronic voting machines was\u00a0deliberately burned to the ground<\/a>. A group named the Venezuelan Patriotic Front,\u00a0allegedly composed of soldiers and policemen<\/a>, claimed responsibility for the terrorist act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although no direct connection can (yet) be made between this group and the Trump administration, it beggars belief that an operation requiring clearly significant logistical and financial costs would not have received support from at least one the many actors openly engaged in regime change: the Trump administration, the Duque administration in Colombia, the Bolsonaro administration in Brazil or the extremist right-wing opposition factions lead by Juan Guaid\u00f3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The silence from the international community on a terrorist act targeting Venezuela\u2019s democratic institutions is deafening. In fact, the OAS, EU or U.S. were also silent after a warehouse containing telecommunications equipment was burned<\/a> in February, or when rebel soldiers attacked barracks<\/a> in southern Venezuela in December 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is already evidence that Venezuelan paramilitaries opposed to the Maduro government have received support and training in both Colombia<\/a> and Brazil<\/a>, not to mention the alleged millions of dollars spent by the U.S.<\/a>to get Venezuelan military officials to turn on the government. In addition to supporting irregular warfare, the Trump administration is preparing for conventional warfare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The threat<\/a> of a naval blockade \u2013 an act of outright war \u2013 was followed up by separate meetings between Trump, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and high-ranking military officials withColombian President Ivan Duque<\/a> and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro<\/a>. (Ironically, while meeting with the Brazilian delegation to discuss the destruction of the Maduro government, Trump was likely exposed to coronavirus<\/a>. One of the delegation\u2019s members, Bolsonaro\u2019s communications secretary, tested positive for the disease.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides the naval blockade, the U.S. plans an \u201cenhanced presence of ships, aircraft and security forces to\u2026 counter a range of threats to include illicit narco-terrorism<\/a>,\u201d a clear reference to Venezuela despite the fact that according to the U.S. government\u2019s own statistics, it is not a primary transit country for drug trafficking<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMaximum pressure March\u201d is timed to coincide with important negotiations in Caracas<\/a> between the Venezuelan government and moderate sectors of the opposition. The two sides have set up a commission that will select new members of the National Electoral Council in time for this year\u2019s legislative elections. One of Juan Guaid\u00f3\u2019s allies, Henry Ramos Allup, leader of opposition party Acci\u00f3n Democr\u00e1tica (Democratic Action), came under fire from the extreme right for saying he will participate in the elections<\/a>. The terror attack on the voting machines is unlikely to affect the timing of the elections, but without its system of electronic voting backed up by paper receipts and audits of the vote count, the results will be vulnerable to claims of fraud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not the first time that the Trump administration has amplified its regime change efforts in response to negotiations between the Venezuelan government and the opposition. It did so in February 2018, when then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson threatened an oil embargo and said he would welcome a military coup right as the two sides were about to sign a comprehensive agreement worked on for months in the Dominican Republic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It happened again in August 2019, when the U.S. applied what the Wall Street Journal characterized as a \u201ctotal economic embargo<\/a>\u201d in the middle of discussions between the Guaid\u00f3-led opposition and government. In both instances, negotiations fell apart as a result of U.S. government actions and statements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This time, it is unlikely that the pressure will scuttle dialogue, as moderate opposition politicians are coming to terms with the fact that 82% of Venezuelans reject sanctions and support dialogue<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, the Trump administration has made it clear it doesn\u2019t care about what Venezuelans want. Instead, it continues to ramp up the pressure and might even be setting the scene for a military intervention \u2013 perhaps an October surprise to shore up Trump\u2019s reelection bid.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Promising to \u201csmash\u201d Venezuela\u2019s government during a \u201cmaximum pressure March,\u201d Trump has imposed crushing sanctions that force Venezuela to spend three times as much as […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101012,"featured_media":1033,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[7,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-aggression","category-venezuela"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1083,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/amid-coronavirus-pandemic-bolsonaros-brazil-begs-for-cuban-doctors-after-expelling-them\/","url_meta":{"origin":1032,"position":0},"title":"Amid coronavirus pandemic, Bolsonaro\u2019s Brazil begs for Cuban doctors \u2013 after expelling them","author":"Editorial Team","date":"March 27, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Brazil\u2019s far-right government requested the return of thousands of Cuban doctors to help fight the coronavirus. Months ago, President Jair Bolsonaro smeared the doctors as \u201cterrorists\u201d and expelled them. By Ben Norton The coronavirus pandemic has overwhelmed the health infrastructure of countries around the world. Desperate to contain the deadly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Covid-19"","block_context":{"text":"Covid-19","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/cuba\/covid-19\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cuban-doctors-Brazil-coronavirus.jpg?fit=958%2C572&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cuban-doctors-Brazil-coronavirus.jpg?fit=958%2C572&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cuban-doctors-Brazil-coronavirus.jpg?fit=958%2C572&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cuban-doctors-Brazil-coronavirus.jpg?fit=958%2C572&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2785,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/trump-unveils-new-sanctions-targeting-cuban-rum-cigars-hotels\/","url_meta":{"origin":1032,"position":1},"title":"Trump unveils new sanctions targeting Cuban rum, cigars, hotels","author":"Editorial Team","date":"September 23, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday imposed new curbs on imports of Cuban rum and cigars and banned Americans from staying at properties owned by the Cuban government, as he sought to lock in the Cuban-American vote in the swing state of Florida ahead of November\u2019s presidential election. The moves\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Featured"","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/news\/featured\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/TRUMP-.jpeg?fit=760%2C542&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/TRUMP-.jpeg?fit=760%2C542&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/TRUMP-.jpeg?fit=760%2C542&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/TRUMP-.jpeg?fit=760%2C542&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8693,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/what-is-the-unitedstates-doingin-venezuela\/","url_meta":{"origin":1032,"position":2},"title":"What is the UnitedStates doingin Venezuela?","author":"Editorial Team","date":"January 7, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Helen Yaffe,\u00a0Professor of Latin American Political Economy at the University of Glasgow, addresses the context and possible consequences of Maduro\u2019s kidnapping. Venezuela enters 2026 under the onslaught of US military operations to enforce regime change against socialist president Nicol\u00e1s Maduro and the Bolivarian Revolution he leads. This follows a quarter-century\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "US Aggression"","block_context":{"text":"US Aggression","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/usa\/us-aggression\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-01-07-at-22.56.19.png?fit=765%2C502&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-01-07-at-22.56.19.png?fit=765%2C502&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-01-07-at-22.56.19.png?fit=765%2C502&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-01-07-at-22.56.19.png?fit=765%2C502&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1079,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/the-noriega-remix-new-way-of-staging-a-coup-in-venezuela-us-narcotrafficking-charges-against-maduro-straight-out-of-panama-playbook\/","url_meta":{"origin":1032,"position":3},"title":"The Noriega remix new way of staging a coup in Venezuela\u2019: US narcotrafficking charges against Maduro straight out of Panama playbook","author":"Editorial Team","date":"March 26, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Washington\u2019s decision to indict Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on drug charges is \u201ca new form of coup d\u2019etat,\u201d as well as a move to win over hispanic voters in Florida, Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza has claimed. The US Justice Department unsealed indictments against Maduro and more than a dozen Venezuelan\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "US Aggression"","block_context":{"text":"US Aggression","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/usa\/us-aggression\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Maduro-charged-narco-terrorism-by-US.png?fit=1200%2C679&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Maduro-charged-narco-terrorism-by-US.png?fit=1200%2C679&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Maduro-charged-narco-terrorism-by-US.png?fit=1200%2C679&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Maduro-charged-narco-terrorism-by-US.png?fit=1200%2C679&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Maduro-charged-narco-terrorism-by-US.png?fit=1200%2C679&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2984,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/the-war-on-cuba-and-venezuela\/","url_meta":{"origin":1032,"position":4},"title":"The War on Cuba and Venezuela","author":"Editorial Team","date":"October 21, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"BY\u00a0LEE SCHLENKER Why are Havana\u2019s food markets so empty? For the Cuban people, the U.S. War on Venezuela stands out as a clear culprit contributing to these daily frustrations and hardships. \u201cRight now fewer trucks are coming in. Less merchandise too. And the quality isn\u2019t the same because a lot\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "US Aggression"","block_context":{"text":"US Aggression","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/usa\/us-aggression\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2020-10-21-at-21.27.40.png?fit=613%2C309&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2020-10-21-at-21.27.40.png?fit=613%2C309&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2020-10-21-at-21.27.40.png?fit=613%2C309&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1231,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/oliver-stone-usa-turned-the-covid-19-into-a-weapon-against-venezuela-cuba-nicaragua-and-iran\/","url_meta":{"origin":1032,"position":5},"title":"Oliver Stone: USA turned the Covid-19 into a weapon against Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Iran","author":"Editorial Team","date":"April 6, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Renowned filmmaker Oliver Stone accuses the United States of turning the new coronavirus into a weapon against Iran, Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua, countries on which the US has imposed coercive and unilateral measures, reports an article published by the New York Daily News quoted by Hispan TV.In that article, US\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cuba"","block_context":{"text":"Cuba","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/cuba\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/oliver-stone.png?fit=780%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/oliver-stone.png?fit=780%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/oliver-stone.png?fit=780%2C400&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/oliver-stone.png?fit=780%2C400&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3xdTY-gE","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/trump-and-bolsonaro.jpg?fit=845%2C450&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/101012"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1032"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1032\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}