US President Barack Obama issued an executive order declaring Venezuela “a threat to the national security”. The country that holds the largest oil reserves on earth, and now plagued by famine, recession and growing popular anger, could be a ticking bomb, and the State Department wants to be prepared.
It is the worst diplomatic crisis since president Nicolas Maduro took power in 2013, following the death of populist, and popular, Hugo Chávez. Two weeks ago Caracas ordered Washington to trim the staff of the American embassy from 100 to 17, and made visas mandatory for American tourists.
“The E.O. does not target the people or the economy of Venezuela,” said the White House spokesman, Josh Earnest briefing the press. “It wants to persuade the government to change its behavior (…) Corrupt actions by Venezuelan government officials deprive Venezuela of needed economic resources that could be invested in the Venezuelan people and used to spur economic growth”.
Sanctions implemented on Monday target seven Venezuelan officials, freezing their U.S. assets and banning them from entering the United States, or doing business with U.S. citizens. All seven were involved in one way or another in human rights violations and abuses and in the violent response to antigovernment protests in 2014, which caused 43 deaths and 357 injured.
Washington is telling Maduro that it will consider sanctioning other members of the so-called “oficialismo”, the power group that supports the president. “The erosion of human rights guarantees, persecution of political opponents, curtailment of press freedoms, and arbitrary arrest and detention of antigovernment protestors, as well as the exacerbating presence of significant public corruption, constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.”, reads the E.O. Members of the chavista entourage were accused recently of corruption, and even of benefitting directly from the proceeds of drug trafficking, being linked to the Sole cartel, the bosses of which may include some high-ranking military, according to some reports.
The first seven officials sanctioned, including the chief of the Intelligence Services and that of the National Police, “will not be welcome here, and we now have the tools to block their assets and their use of U.S. financial systems,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in a statement. This point is important for the US. Venezuela is a threat because of the illegal activities related to drug trafficking. The sanctions are intended to safeguard democratic institutions, and protect “the U.S. financial system from the illicit financial flows from public corruption in Venezuela.“
Declaring the Caribbean country “an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security” also provides Washington with the tools needed to impose further sanctions. The same process was pursued in the case of Iran, Syria, Burma, Sudan and Yemen, among other countries.
Caracas reacted immediately. “Venezuela has to be ready if it doesn’t want to become another Libya or Iraq. We are a land of peace,” said Maduro live on all networks. “We cannot allow the Yankee’s boot to come against Venezuela.” Maduro ordered on Wednesday a “special defensive military exercise” for March 14, and called on the people to “join the Bolivarian Armed Forces”.
The reactions of the Venezuelan public have been different. Some joked about the ludicrous threat to the US military that is the Army of a country on the brink of default. Some opposition leaders, however, like Governor Henry Falcon of the state of Lara, said that the E.O. was a “disrespectful interference”, which, on the other hand, “helps little the opposition because it distracts the government from priority issues.” Among these are the empty shelves in supermarkets and the lack of medicines in hospitals.
“The government will take advantage of the possibility of using the figure of an external enemy, imperialism, to build a more repressive legal framework,” said Edgar Gutierrez, president of the polling company Venebarometro.
Gutierrez knows what he is talking about. Less than 72 hours after the E.O., president Maduro had already demanded extraordinary powers to deal with the “threat of the United States.” The “anti-imperialist enabling Law” – which must be approved by 60% of the National Assembly, exactly the percent of the seats of the socialist — allows the head of state to rule by decree for a year on specific issues. The law would allow the chavistas to control the parliament agenda, and to approve or reject bills without having to negotiate with the opposition.
Washington’s diplomatic might be also pushing the other Latin American countries to choose sides. Some would already like to discuss the issue within the Organization of American States. Cuba immediately offered Venezuela its “unconditional support”. It is the first time that Cuba voiced open disapproval against the United States after the two countries began discussions in December on fully restoring diplomatic relations.
Oil is not at stake here. Oil-rich Venezuela began last November importing refined oil for the first time, but is still the fourth largest supplier of crude to US refineries. The US, in turn, is the main trading partner of Venezuela. The interdependence of the oil industry and the other commercial interests of both countries will keep them away from sanctions, said the financial analysis firm Eurasia.
It is a paradox, but the United States decision, i.e. that of the quintessential enemy, could help the chavistas. It provides a good excuse to close ranks within the Party and for the government to increase the volume of its rhetoric, anti-imperialist in this case. That will cover up, at least for a while, the critical state of the Venezuelan economy, and allow clamping on anti-government groups and actions. Only 20-22% of the population in Venezuela would vote today for Maduro, according to polls.
“God will provide,” said Maduro at the beginning of the year when oil prices fell dramatically. The time left for a miracle, however, is less and less by the day.
US President Barack Obama issued an executive order declaring Venezuela “a threat to the national security”. The country that holds the largest oil reserves on earth, and now plagued by famine, recession and growing popular anger, could be a ticking bomb, and the State Department wants to be prepared.
It is the worst diplomatic crisis since president Nicolas Maduro took power in 2013, following the death of populist, and popular, Hugo Chávez. Two weeks ago Caracas ordered Washington to trim the staff of the American embassy from 100 to 17, and made visas mandatory for American tourists.
