In a letter addressed to the people of the world, the President of Venezuela N. Maduro takes stock of the situation generated by the blockade of his country; a blockade initiated by the USA and other countries, as well as by the repeated interference to destabilize the country and especially in the perspective of the legislative elections of 6 December.
The economic sanctions against Venezuela do not begin with Trump's presidency but under Obama's. The latter declaring that Venezuela poses "an extraordinary threat to the national security" of the United States – a declaration necessary to legally justify the sanctions. They begin in December 2014. The United States Congress approves Law 113-278 entitled "Public Law for the Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society in Venezuela". This legal instrument dictates the political course of action of the United States government and its vassals against Venezuela.
Law 113-278 establishes the possibility of taking unilateral coercive measures against Venezuela in the economic, financial and commercial fields. In addition, it stipulates to "work" in this direction with its member partners of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the European Union.
Since 2017, United States economic sanctions have almost completely barred Venezuela from accessing international financial markets. For the former independent rapporteur to the United Nations Alfred de Zayas, the US sanctions amount to "crimes against humanity" since they significantly deteriorate food security and the country's health system. The tragic death toll due to the blockade is estimated at 40,000 for lack of food and medicine that could not be imported.
In his letter to the peoples of the world, President Maduro underlines the terrible damage to the national economy and the people. He indicates that the measures applied against Venezuela during the six-year period between 2014 and 2019 caused a 99% drop in foreign exchange earnings. “For every 100 dollars or euros the country got from the sale of oil in 2014, it now gets less than a dollar. We went from $ 56 billion to less than $ 400 million in 2019”.This record is claimed by the USA themselves:“The pressure campaign against Venezuela is working. The financial sanctions that we have imposed have forced Venezuela to default and we are witnessing a total economic collapse in that country. So our policy works. Our strategy is working and we will maintain it."
The aim is to starve the Venezuelan people into rejecting the legitimately elected power and making them accept an oligarchic dictatorship in the service of US capitalist interests. To fight against the blockade and its consequences, Venezuela is now adopting an “anti-blockade” economic law aimed at providing the State with legal means to counter the blockade and the restrictions it implies in Venezuela’s international trade.
It is in this context that the USA, the Latin American countries in its fold, the European Union are exerting maximum pressure to postpone the legislative elections scheduled for December 6. It is about rejecting the results and justifying a coup beforehand. This tactic of direct interference has become commonplace, as we have seen recently with regard to Belarus. The problem is that Venezuela refuses this blackmail; it emphasizes that most of the political forces, apart from a handful of potential putschists around J. Guaido, who proclaimed himself president with the support of the USA and many others… including France, have agreed to participate in these elections. For its part, the Communist Party of Venezuela is participating under the acronym of the Popular Revolutionary Alternative; on this matter you can refer to the article published recently on our site:
Venezuela : Un affrontement de classe aigu sous une terrible pression impérialiste
For our part, we strongly reaffirm our condemnation of imperialist foreign interventions against Venezuela and its people.