Congressional Dish: CD190: A Coup for Capitalism (2024)

Feb 11, 2019

We knew it was coming, and now it's here: A coup is in progressin Venezuela. In this follow up episode to CD176 (Target Venezuela:Regime Change in Progress), learn additional backstory and detailsabout the recent events in Venezuela, including the proclamation byJuan Guaido that he is now the President of Venezuela and all ofthe efforts being made by the Trump administration to get thisregime change to stick.

Executive Producer: George Melcher

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Sound Clip Sources

Hearing: U.S. Africa and Southern Command Operations, Senate ArmedService Committee, C-SPAN, February 7, 2019.

Witnesses:

  • Admiral Craig Fuller - U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM)Commander

Sound Clips:

  • 16:10 Fuller While Russia and Cubaand China prop up the Maduro dictatorship, the reminder of theworld is united. SOUTHCOM is supporting diplomatic efforts and weare prepared to protect U.S. personal and diplomatic facilities, ifnecessary.
  • 53:44 Sen. Rick ScottIn theVenezuelan military, have you -- have you seen any cracking fromthe standpoint, what we've been doing over the last -- especiallythe last two weeks, has any thingchanged?Fuller - Certainly, there's beenreadiness aspects of their military that we watch very closely.It's a degraded force, but it is still a force that remains loyalto Maduro, and that makes it dangerous. We're looking for signs ofthose cracking, and we can talk in the closed session on some moredetails in trends we're seeing.
  • 1:00:00 Sen. Tom Cotton (AR) - Hesaid earlier Cuban guards completely surround the Madurogovernment. Does that mean that Maduro is dependent on the Cubansecurity and intelligence forces for his continuation inoffice?Fuller - Senator, I think it's a goodsense of where the loyalty of the Venezuelan people are that to hisimmediate security forces made up ofCubans.Cotton - So the men thatsurround Maduro, like our Secret Service, are Cubans notVenezuelans.Fuller - That's my understandingand assessment.
  • 1:01:54 Fuller - I would also mentionthat the presence of China, China has not been helpful in adiplomatic way. I will leave that to the diplomats. China is thereand involved in cyber in ways that are absolutely not helpful tothe democratic outcome.
  • 1:18:47 Sen Tim Kaine (VA)- Ifthe world wants to see a democracy versus a dictatorship challengeVenezuela is just like the perfect test case for circa 2019, whatdo democracies care for an what dictatorships care for, Venezuelagovernment of Maduro is supported by Russia, Cuba, and Iran. Andthey are enabling him to do all kinds of horrible thingseconomically and in violation of human rights. The interimgovernment, which has a constitutional claim in the vacancy of apresident, the speaker of the legislative assembly becomes interimpresident supported by the United States and the EU. You really cansee what the difference between democracy and the aspirations ofdemocratic governments and dictatorship and what they care aboutvery clearly int eh Venezuela circumstance now. Here's the reality,we are dealing with regional institutions like the OAS, everynation has one vote. The U.S. has a hard time to get the UA askedfirmly come out against the Maduro government because manyCaribbean nations still support the Maduro government. They've beenbribed to do so with low-price oil. But it's very hard for us to dosomething like this on our won and when a principal regionalinstitution like the LAS is not completely with us it's hard to putthe appropriate pressure on.
Interview: Mnuchin says Trump's economic plan is working and 'we're not goingback to socialism', CNBC, February 6, 2019.
  • 00:58:37Steven Mnuchin: I’ve always watched the stock market a lot. I’ve been in theinvestment business since I graduated from Yale and I’ve tended towatch the stock market every day since then... As the Presidenttalked about last night, his economic program is working. We’re notgoing back to socialism. We’re going on an economic plan forAmerica that works.
2019 State of the Union Address: Trump appeals for unity to end political gridlock, February 5,2019.
2019 State of the Union Address: Trump Praises the Venezuela Coup, February 5, 2019.
  • 1:05:28 President Donald Trump - Twoweeks ago, the United States officially recognized the legitimategovernment of Venezuela, and its new interim President, JuanGuaido. We stand with the Venezuelan people in their noble questfor freedom -- and we condemn the brutality of the Maduro regime,whose socialist policies have turned that nation from being thewealthiest in South America into a state of abject poverty anddespair. Here, in the United States, we are alarmed by new calls toadopt socialism in our country. America was founded on liberty andindependence --- not government coercion, domination, and control.We are born free, and we will stay free. Tonight, we renew ourresolve that America will never be a socialist country.
Interview: President Trump on "Face the Nation," CBS News, February 3,2019.
  • 00:42:58MARGARETBRENNAN: What would make you use the U.S. military inVenezuela? What's the national securityinterest?PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Well Idon't want to say that. But certainly it's something that's on the-it's an option.MARGARET BRENNAN: Would youpersonally negotiate with Nicolás Maduro to convince him toexit.PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Well he isrequested a meeting and I've turned it down because we're very faralong in the process. You have a young and energetic gentleman butyou have other people within that same group that have been veryvery - if you talk about democracy - it's really democracy inaction.MARGARET BRENNAN: When did he requesta meeting?PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: We'regoing to see what happened. A number of months ago he wanted tomeet.
Interview: NationalSecurity Adviser Ambassador John Bolton, interviewed by HughHewitt, Hugh Hewitt Book Club, February 1, 2019.

Sound Clips:

  • 01:20:23Hugh Hewitt:There are reports of Venezuela shipping gold to the United ArabEmirates. The UAE is a very close ally of ours. Have you asked theUAE to sequester that gold?John Bolton: Letme just say this. We’re obviously aware of those reports consistentwith what we did on Monday against PDVSA, the state-owned oilmonopoly where we imposed crippling sanctions. Steven Mnuchin, theTreasury Secretary, is implementing them as we speak. We’re alsolooking at cutting off other streams of revenue and assets for theMaduro mafia, and that certainly includes gold. And we’ve alreadytaken some steps to neutralize gold that’s been out of the countryused as collateral for bank loans. We’ve frozen, and our friends inEurope, have frozen a substantial amount of that. We want to tryand do the same here. We’re on top of it. That’s really all I cansay at the moment.
Council Session: Political Situation in Venezuela, Atlantic Council, January 30,2019.

Witnesses:

  • Ed Royce - Former Chairman of the House Foreign AffairsCommittee
  • Carlos Alfredo Vecchio - Voluntad Popular Co-Founder, InterimVenezuelan Charge d’Affaires to the U.S.
  • Julio Borges - Former President for the National Assembly ofVenezuela
  • David O’Sullivan - European Union Ambassador to the UnitedStates

Sound Clips:

  • 11:30 Carlos Alfredo Vecchio (viatranslator): What do we want to do? What is what we areasking the international community to support us with? First, toput an end to the usurpation of power by Nicolas Maduro. We cannotresolve the political and economic and social crisis as long as thedictatorship is in place. And this is something that we have tomake clear. That is my priority, is to put an end to that and tohelp orchestrate international support to put an end to Maduro'sdictatorship.

  • 13:30 Carlos Alfredo Vecchio (viatranslator): Just to make very clear, I mean, from aneconomic point of view, we believe in an open market, an openeconomy. We believe in the private sector, we believe in theinternational and the national sectors, though, often, of course,our main source of revenue is the oil sector. So that would be akey element to recover our country, and we need to open thatmarket. We need to increase our oil production.

  • 39:15 David O’Sullivan: I think weabsolutely share the same objective here. The European Union hasalways believed that the situation in Venezuela is unsustainable.We did not accept the results of the so-called elections last year.We declined collectively to attend the inauguration. And we arewholly supportive of the efforts of the National Assembly andGuaido to restore true democracy and free and fair elections.

  • 48:00 Representative Ed Royce (CA):And a few years ago when the people in Venezuela elected theNational Assembly, over two-thirds opposition to Maduro, he doubleddown by asking China to bring the ZTE Corporation in and do asocial credit system inside Venezuela on the same basis that it'sdone in China, which means that you now need that card in order toget food or medicine or your pension or your basic services.

  • 48:30 Representative Ed Royce (CA):The fact that this ZTE-type arrangement exists in Venezuela, andnow it exists in North Korea, and there's one other country wherethey have a contract—they're putting it in the Republic ofIran—this represents a new challenge to democracies.

  • 1:15:00 Carlos Alfredo Vecchio: Justto make very clear, I mean, from an economic point of view, webelieve in an open market, an open economy. We believe in theprivate sector, we believe in the international and the nationalsectors, though, often, of course, our main source of revenue isthe oil sector. So that would be a key element to recover ourcountry, and we need to open that market. We need to increase ouroil production.

  • 1:23:30 Carlos Alfredo Vecchio: Thoseagreements that has not been recognized by an internationalexaminer, who has been illegal, we will not recognize illegalagreements. The rest, yes, we will comply with that. And let mesend a clear message. For example, the only way that bond holderswill not get paid, if Maduro remains in power. Nobody will complainwith them. And China has to understand that, and Russia has tounderstand that.

Discussion: Political Situation in Venezuela, Center for Strategic andInternational Studies (CSIS), January 29, 2019.

Witnesses:

  • Gustavo Tarre - George Washington University, CSIS AmericasProgram member, Designated Venezuelan Ambassador to theOrganization of American States (appointed by Juan Guaido
  • William Brownfield - Former US Ambassador to Venezuela, Chile,and Columbia during the George W. Bush administration and Obamaadministration
  • Michael Matera - Center for Strategic & International Studies,America’s Program Director

Sound Clips:

  • 3:30 Michael Matera: In what isshaping up to be a very unstable and potentially explosivesituation in Venezuela, the leading authoritarian nations of theworld have stood by Maduro. Russia, Iran, Turkey, China, and Cuba,among a few others, have stated their continued recognition ofMaduro. The future of Venezuela is turning more clearly than everinto a proxy struggle between the authoritarian regimes and thedemocratic nations. Venezuela could easily become the active fronton which this struggle is defined.

  • 8:15 Gustavo Tarre: Not only becausehis knowledge of Venezuela— Madea Benjamin: Noteasy because you are here representing a coup. You are totallyillegitimate. Nobody elected Juan Guaido, and nobody legitimateappointed you. You are taking Venezuela down the path of a civilwar— Unknown Male Speaker: Excuse me. Excuse me,ma’am. Madea Benjamin: How dare you go to a civilwar? What kind of patriot are you that allow yourself to bemanipulated— Unknown Male Speaker: Out. Get out.Madea Benjamin: —by Donald Trump, John Bolton, andnow Elliott Abrams, the ultra hawk. It is a very dangeroussituation. We need negotiations, which is why we should besupporting Mexico and Uruguay in their call for negotiations. Youdon't follow the coup collaborators, like this man right here. Sayno to coup. Unknown Male Speaker: See ‘ya.Ambassador— Madea Benjamin: We’re in the 21stcentury.

  • 1:08:50 William Brownfield: What isthe Cuban interest? It's 50,000 barrels of oil a day to anenergy-starved nation. What is the Chinese approach? It is verymuch an economic approach, which is to say there are raw materialsof great importance to the Chinese economy that are located inVenezuela, and they have a long-term economic interest in havingaccess to them, driven by economics. Russia is more complicated.They do not need oil. They are, in fact, one of the three largestoil producers in the world right now, who produce more than theirnational need. It is geostrategic politics. I would offer everyonetwo thoughts—because I have taken this question from excellentrepresentatives of the media over the last week with somefrequency—first, don't listen that closely to the words that youhear from the governments of China or Russia. See if they putanother billion or two or three billion investment into Venezuela.Money talks, and I have not seen evidence of that, which suggeststhat they, too, are pausing and taking a look at what happens. Andsecond, if I could be Russia-specific briefly, I would note, and weall realize this, that over the last 10 years or so, Russia annexedthe Crimea, and the Western democracies criticized and protested.Russia created two new republics—one in South Ossetia, the other inNorth Georgia, I believe—and the Western world protested. Russia atleast supported, and I would argue actually infiltrated, largenumbers of security personnel into the two easternmost provinces ofUkraine, and the Western world criticized. But at the end of theday, geography and history determined the Crimea is still underRussian control, South Ossetia and North Georgia still exist asindependent states, and Russian influence is still quite visible inand whatever the other province is called. All right. That isgeographic reality. We are now in the Western Hemisphere. If Braziland Colombia and Argentina and Canada and the United States take aposition, those same geographic realities will, in fact, move inthe other direction. Of course we must listen to the Russian andChinese governments—they are two of perhaps the three mostimportant governments in the world—but we're entitled to use ourbrains as we calculate what they are saying and how we respond toit.

  • 1:16:30 William Brownfield: What ifMaduro hangs on yet once again, which by the way, ladies andgentlemen, is not inconceivable; it's happened before. We had notquite this much of a conversation, but in 2017 some sensed thatthings might be happening, and they did not happen. Is it possibleagain? Of course, it is. That is why we talk about a strategy, aninternational community strategy with two elements: one elementbeing focused on the Maduro de _____(00:35) esta, the removal ofthat government, and that strategic component is not eliminateduntil someone new has moved into Miraflores Palace; and the second,related but separate element of planning for the day after.

Hearing: Hearing to Consider Worldwide Threats, Select Committee onIntelligence, U.S. Senate, January 29, 2019.

Witnesses:

  • Dan Coats - Director of National Intelligence
  • Christopher Wray - FBI Director
  • Gina Haspel - CIA Director
  • Lt. General Robert Ashley - Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)Director
  • General Paul Nakasone - National Security Agency Director

Sound Clips:

  • 1:11:00 Senator Marco Rubio (FL): Weknow they have openly and repeatedly, at least Maduro has, invitedthe Russians and Putin to establish either a rotational or apermanent presence somewhere in Venezuela, thereby creating aRussian military presence in the Western Hemisphere. In fact, theyflew, about three weeks ago or a month ago, two Russiannuclear-capable bombers into the Caribbean Sea.

  • 1:12:15 Senator Marco Rubio (FL): Isit not in the national interest of the United States of Americathat the Maduro regime fall and be replaced by a democratic andmore responsible government?

  • 1:15:15 Lieutenant General RobertAshley: The reference you made to the Tu-160 Blackjacksthat flew those strategic bombers, third iteration of that—firsttime was in '08, and then '14, and we've seen it again. As far aspresence on the ground, we can talk a little bit more detail in aclosed session about where we see Russia and China going with thatgreater instability. But in the open press, what you've seen thusfar really is nothing more than just vocal support that's comingout of Moscow and that's coming out of China as well, but there isrelationship there. From the military standpoint in the way oftraining, lots of Venezuelan officers go to Russia for training,and there's a reciprocal relationship for equipping them aswell.

  • 1:16:00 Senator Angus King (ME): Inlight of Senator Rubio's comments, I'd just like to note ofcaution, he listed refugee flows, human rights abuses, andcorruption. There are lots of countries in the world that meet thatdescription, and our right or responsibility to generate regimechange in a situation like that, I think, is a slippery slope. AndI have some real caution about what our vital interests are andwhether it's our right or responsibility to take action to try tochange the government of another sovereign country. That samedescription would have led us into a much more active involvementin Syria, for example, five or six years ago, other parts of thecountry. I just wanted to note that.

Fox Business Video: JohnBolton on Regime Change in Venezuela, Iraqi Christian HRC,Twitter, January 28, 2019.
White House Daily Briefing: Trump Administration sanctions against Venezuela's state-owned oilcompany, January 28, 2019.

Speakers:

  • Steve Mnuchin - Treasury Secretary
  • John Bolton - National Security Advisor

Sound Clips:

  • 1:26 John Bolton: As you know, onJanuary the 23rd, President Trump officially recognized thepresident of the Venezuela National Assembly, Juan Guaido, as theinterim president of Venezuela. Venezuela's National Assemblyinvoked Article 233 of the country's constitution to declareNicolas Maduro illegitimate. This action was a statement that thepeople of Venezuela have had enough of oppression, corruption, andeconomic hardship. Since then, 21 other governments in the regionand across the world have joined the United States in recognizingGuaido as Venezuela's interim president.

  • 3:53 John Bolton: I reiterate that theUnited States will hold Venezuelan security forces responsible forthe safety of all U.S. diplomatic personnel, the National Assembly,and President Guido. Any violence against these groups wouldsignify a grave assault on the rule of law and will be met with asignificant response.

  • 4:24 Steven Mnuchin: Today Treasurytook action against Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, PDVSA, tohelp prevent the further diversion of Venezuela’s assets by formerPresident Maduro.

  • 5:21 Steven Mnuchin: The path tosanctions relief for PDVSA is through the expeditious transfer ofcontrol to the interim president or a subsequent democraticallyelected government who is committed to taking concrete andmeaningful actions to combat corruption.

  • 5:40 Steven Mnuchin: Today OFAC alsoissued a number of general licenses that authorize certaintransactions and activities with PDVSA for limited periods of timeto minimize any immediate disruptions and support of ongoinghumanitarian efforts.

  • 6:00 Steven Mnuchin: Citgo assets inthe United States will be able to continue to operate provided thatany funds that would otherwise go to PDVSA instead will go into ablocked account in the United States.

  • 6:10 Steven Mnuchin: Refineries in theUnited States have already been taking steps to reduce the relianceon imports from Venezuela. Those imports have fallen substantiallyin recent months. We have also issued general licenses to ensurethat certain European and Caribbean countries can make an orderlytransition.

  • 6:20 Steven Mnuchin: We continue tocall on all of our allies and partners to join the United States inrecognizing Interim President Guaido in blocking Maduro from beingable to access PDVSA funds.

  • 7:10 Reporter: Is there anycircumstance under which American forces would get involved?John Bolton: Well, the president has made it veryclear on this matter that all options are on the table.

  • 7:43 Steven Mnuchin: But effectiveimmediately, any purchases of Venezuelan oil by U.S. entities,money will have to go into blocked accounts. Now, I've been intouch with many of the refineries. There is a significant amount ofoil that's at sea that's already been paid for. That oil willcontinue to come to the United States. If the people in Venezuelawant to continue to sell us oil, as long as that money goes intoblocked accounts, we'll continue to take it. Otherwise, we will notbe buying it. And again, we have issued general licenses, so therefineries in the United States can continue to operate.

  • 9:06 Steven Mnuchin: The purpose ofsanctions is to change behavior. So when there is a recognitionthat PDVSA is the property of the rightful rulers, the rightfulleaders, the president, then, indeed, that money will be availableto Guaido.

  • 9:52 John Bolton: And theauthoritarian regime of Chavez and Maduro has allowed penetrationby adversaries of the United States, not least of which is Cuba.Some call the country now Cubazuela, reflecting the grip thatCuba’s military and security forces have on the Maduro regime. Wethink that’s a strategic significant threat to the United States,and there are others as well, including Iran’s interest inVenezuelan’s uranium deposits.

  • 15:56 Steven Mnuchin: We're dealingwith Venezuelan oil that is a rather modest part of our overallsupply. Again, we're a net exporter of energy. We are particularlyconcerned that there were a handful of refineries that had adependence on Venezuelan oil. I think they read the tea leaves.They reduced that dependence significantly along the way. Most ofthem have in the neighborhood of 10% or less of their dependent onVenezuelan oil. So, I don't expect that people will see an impacton the gas pumps.

  • 17:10 Steven Mnuchin: I’m sure many ofour friends in the Middle East will be happy to make up the supplyas we push down Venezuela’s supply.

Meeting: Secretary Pompeo Speaks at U.N. Security Council Meeting onVenezuela, January 26, 2019.

Speaker:

  • Mike Pompeo - Secretary of State

Sound Clips:

  • 2:20 Mike Pompeo: Let’s be crystalclear: The foreign power meddling in Venezuela today is Cuba. Cubahas directly made matters worse and the United States and ourpartners are the true friends of the Venezuelan people.

  • 16:40 Mike Pompeo: Such scenes ofmisery are now the norm in Venezuela, where millions of childrenare suffering from malnutrition and starvation, thanks to asocialist experiment that caused the economy to collapse.

  • 20:24 Mike Pompeo: And now it’s timefor every other nation to pick a side. No more delays. No moregames. Either you stand with the forces of freedom or you’re inleague with Maduro and his mayhem... But no regime has done more tosustain the nightmarish condition of the Venezuelan people than theregime in Havana. For years, Cuban security and intelligence thugs,invited into Venezuela by Maduro himself and those around him, havesustained this illegitimate rule. They have trained Maduro’ssecurity and intelligence henchmen in Cuba’s own worst practices.Cuba’s interior ministry even provides former President Maduro’spersonal security... Some countries have publicly taken formerPresident Maduro’s side. China, Russia, Syria, and Iran are justfour of them. Just this morning, we tried to find a way for thiscouncil to speak in one voice in support of the Venezuelan peopleand our democratic ideals through a presidential statement not thiscouncil. But our Russian and Chinese colleagues refused to let thismove forward. It’s not a surprise that those that rule withoutdemocracy in their own countries are trying to prop up Maduro whilehe is in dire straights.

Meeting: U.N. Security Council Meeting on the Situation in Venezuela,January 26, 2019.

Speakers:

  • Jorge Arreaza - Venezuelan Foreign Minister
  • Elliott Abrams - U.S. Special Envoy to Venezuela

Sound Clips:

  • 00:10 Jorge Arreaza: So 2002 is adirect precedent to what is happening. They were behind the coupd’etat. They weren’t as much in the vanguard or in advance as thistime. They recognized Carmona, the dictator for the 72 hours thatit lasted... It was on the 22nd, where Vice President Pencebasically in a tweet gave a green light for a coup d’etat inVenezuela. As Under Secretary General said the interim President isself proclaimed. There was no ceremony. It was self proclamation bya member of Parliament at a public rally, at a peaceful publicrally, one of many that there have been over the past years... Ifone of you can tell me in which article and which provision of theUnited Nations charter you can find the legal basis for selfproclamation who wasn’t elected by anyone as President of theBolivarian Republic of Venezuela, then we can open a discussion onthe legal aspects, but I don’t think that will happen... At last wehave a chance to speak. We have a written text but before that Iwanted to share some thoughts with you. Indeed, we can even thankMr. Mike Pompeo because in the face of failure at the Organizationof American States on the 24th of January, they didn’t have enoughweight to impose a resolution, well they convened a meeting of theSecurity Council. In fact, we - President Maduro - thought ofappealing to this body not only to debate the case of Venezuela butrather the blatant and gross intervention, and mechanisms ofinterference by the United States in our country. In this case, theUnited States is not behind the coup d’etat, it is in advance inthe vanguard of the coup d’etat. It is dictating the orders notonly to the Venezuelan opposition but also to the satellitegovernments in the region, and it seems it Europe and in otherparts of the world.

  • 31:47 Elliot Abrams: I can not respondto every attack that was made on every country here. The insultsthat were made by calling many countries here “satellites”. Infact, it was interesting that every single country that wasattacked - or criticized - was a democracy. Every single one thatyou criticized was a democracy... Today there is a satellitepresent here and it is Venezuela, which is unfortunately has becomea satellite of Cuba and Russia... The regime is hiding behind, andit’s spokesman is hiding behind, the laws and constitution ofVenezuela.

Hearing: Defense Department Nominations, Senate Armed ServicesCommittee, January 25, 2019.

Witness:

  • Vice Admiral Craig Faller - US Southern Command Commander

Sound Clips:

  • 1:37:00 Senator Bill Nelson (FL):What do you think that is the proper role of SouthCom in supportingthe Venezuelan people now, in this time of exceptional chaos?Craig Faller: Senator, the Southern Command isfocused on supporting our partners—Brazil, Columbia, those thathave been most affected by the migrants, the spillover of someone-million-plus in Columbia. Recently, visited Columbia was thesecretary of defense. President Duque is keenly aware and sharplyfocused on all his security challenges, and this is at the top ofthat list. As a result of the Columbian government's request, weintend to deploy the hospital ship Comfort—it will be underwayshortly. It was delayed because of the hurricane—to the region tohelp our partners offset some of the impacts of this, particularlywith the medical care that's been required and the strain that'splaced on the resources.
Fox Business Video: Vice PresidentMike Pence Tweet about US recognizing Guaido as VenezuelanPresident, Twitter, January 23, 2019.
  • 00:33:32Vice President MikePence: Today, freedom broke out in Venezuela with therecognition of a new interim president in Juan Guaido, a courageousman who stepped forward, the President of the National Assembly whotook the oath of office, and I couldn’t be more proud that atPresident Trump’s direction, the United States of America becamethe first country in the world to recognize President Guaido, andnow many other nations join us as well.
Video: Vice PresidentMike Pence Tweet about Venezuela, Twitter, January 22,2019.
  • Vice President Mike Pence: Hola. I’m MikePence, the Vice President of the United States, and on behalf ofPresident Donald Trump and all the American people, let me expressthe unwavering support of the United States as you - the people ofVenezuela - raise your voices in a call for freedom. NicholasMaduro is a dictator with no legitimate claim to power. He’s neverwon the Presidency in a free and fair election and he’s maintainedhis grip on power by imprisoning anyone who dares to oppose him.The United States joins with all freedom loving nations inrecognizing the National Assembly as the last vestige of democracyin your country, for it’s the only body elected by you, the people.As such, the United States supports the courageous decision by JuanGuaido, the President of your National Assembly, to assert thatbody’s constitutional powers, declare Maduro a usurper, and callfor the establishment of a transitional government. As you makeyour voices heard tomorrow, on behalf of the American people, wesay to all the good people of Venezuela, estamos con ustedes. Weare with you. We stand with you and we will stay with you untildemocracy is restored and you reclaim your birthright of libertad.Muchas gracias y vayan con Dios.
Hearing: Foreign Policy in the Western Hemisphere, HouseForeign Affairs Committee, July 11, 2018.

Witnesses:

  • Kenneth Merten - Deputy Assistant secretary of State forWestern Hemisphere Affairs
  • Sarah-Ann Lynch - USAID Senior Deputy Assistant Administratorfor Latin America and the Caribbean

Sound Clips:

  • 27:30 Chairman Ed Royce (CA): Andmeanwhile, despite sitting on the world's largest oil reserves,Venezuelan oil production has fallen by half in the last few years.Venezuela in the meantime has been sending several hundred thousandbarrels of oil every day to China as repayment on the tens ofbillions of dollars it has borrowed. And more recently, China'sdevelopment bank announced a new quarter-billion dollar investmentto shore up Venezuela's struggling oil production.
Video: You're Welcome,Duane Johnson, Moana, YouTube, November 28, 2019.
Hearing: The Collapse of the Rule of Law in Venezuela, Subcommittee onWestern Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security,Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women's Issues, SenateCommittee on Foreign Relations, July 19, 2017.

Witness:

  • Luis Almagro - Secretary General of the Organization ofAmerican States

Sound Clips:

  • 07:15 Senator Marco Rubio: I alsoknow this, and I do not speak for the president, but I’ve certainlyspoken to the president, and I will only reiterate what he hasalready said, and I’ve been saying this now for a number of days:it is my—I have 100% confidence that if democracy is destroyed onceand for all in Venezuela on the 30th in terms of the Maduro regime,the president of the U.S. is prepared to act unilaterally in asignificant and swift way. And that is not a threat; that is thereporting of the truth.
Hearing: Full Committee Hearing Venezuela: Options for U.S. Policy,Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, March 2, 2017.

Witnesses:

  • Dr. David Smilde - Professor at Tulane University & NYTwriter
  • Dr. Shannon O’Neil - Council on Foreign Relations
  • Mark Feierstein - Center for Strategicand International Studies
    • Senior Advisor to the Albright Stonbridge Group
    • CLS Strategies
    • GBA Strategies
    • Special assistant to President Obama and Senior Director forWestern Hemisphere Affairs
    • Former Assistant Administrator for Latin America and theCaribbean at USAID
    • Worked in State Dept and USAID in Clinton Administration
    • Former principal at Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, an internationalpolitical consulting firm

Sound Clips:

  • 21:53 Shannon O’Neil: Multilateralinitiatives are perhaps more important and potentially morefruitful as a means to influence Venezuela. This will mean workingbehind the scenes to galvanize opposition and condemnation for theMaduro regime. This’ll be more effective than U.S. efforts alone asit will be much harder for the Venezuelan government to dismiss thecriticisms and the actions of its South American neighbors asimperialist overreach. And such a coalition is much more possibletoday than in any time in the recent past, due both to theaccelerating repression and the breaking of the last democraticnorms in Venezuela, and due to the very different stances of SouthAmerica’s recently elected leaders, particularly in Peru, inBrazil, and in Argentina.

  • 41:12 Senator Bob Menendez: I’mpleased to have led a bipartisan and bicameral letter of mycolleagues, urging the administration to take actions against theadministration, and I look forward for a continuing engagement. ButI hope we can work together to hold human-rights violators and drugtraffickers, send a clear message, “If you’re going to violaterights of others inside of Venezuela, know that you’re next. Knowthat you’re next.” And while the Maduro regime may have sanctionedme and forbidden my entry into Venezuela, it will not stop me frompursuing this issue.

Video Compilation: Either With Us orWith the Terrorists - President George W. Bush, YouTube, May26, 2013

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Hobby: Singing, Listening to music, Rafting, LARPing, Gardening, Quilting, Rappelling

Introduction: My name is Foster Heidenreich CPA, I am a delightful, quaint, glorious, quaint, faithful, enchanting, fine person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.