Venezuela’s Attorney General Tarek William Saab announced that two members of the armed forces implicated in the in-custody death of retired Navy Captain Rafael Acosta Arévalo were sentenced to 30 years in prison.

The country’s top prosecutor wrote on Twitter that the convictions and sentencing demonstrated Venezuela’s “commitment to full justice and punishment for those who violate human rights."

The in-custody death of Arévalo in June 2019 drew international attention and was one of a number of high-profile cases cited before the International Criminal Court (ICC) as evidence of alleged human rights abuses by the Venezuelan state.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15447

The Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard killed a Venezuelan nine-month-old baby and injured his mother after opening fire on a boat carrying about 40 migrants.

In a statement, the Coast Guard claimed the crew acted in “self-defense” following alleged “aggressive maneuvers” by the migrant vessel. The fatal shooting took place on Saturday night when the boat was intercepted crossing into Trinidad and Tobago waters.

The Venezuelan government expressed "its deepest regret and rejection” of the shooting against the migrant boat, urging Trinidad "to carry out an exhaustive investigation to clarify the facts surrounding this fatal incident."

Port of Spain's migration policy towards Venezuela has been a contending point between the two countries, with Caracas denouncing heavy-handed measures which violate human rights.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15450

Geo Maher interviews former commune minister and writer Reinaldo Iturriza.

Geo Maher: The role of grassroots popular power – or what is often called constituent power – in Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution is generally misunderstood or ignored. How do you understand its place in recent Venezuelan history?

Reinaldo Iturriza: The process of popular subjectification represented by Chavismo remains under-analyzed. The emphasis is almost always placed on the figure of Chávez himself, while the unique historical conjuncture that made his leadership possible is relegated to the background, and in particular the influence of that popular subject without which Chávez would be inconceivable. Something similar happens with the Caracazo, the street-level rebellion of 1989 which many now see as the proximate origin of the Bolivarian process.

Read more 👇

https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/15449

#NEWS 📰 Venezuelan high-profile gang leader Carlos Revette aka “Koki” was reportedly shot dead in clashes with security forces on Tuesday.

Beginning on Sunday, agencies including the Bolivarian National Police and the forensic and criminalistic body CICPC moved in with tactical units, armored cars and helicopters against the armed group led by Carlos Gómez, alias “El Conejo” and Revette’s cousin.

The gang had taken control of the small town some 70 kilometers from Caracas that stands next to one of the country’s busiest highways. According to local reports, the criminal group engaged in drug trafficking, fuel smuggling, kidnapping and murder, while also extorting local businesses.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15451

The Alexis Vive Patriotic Force was born in the working-class barrio 23 de Enero during the 2002 counter-coup. The organization, which considers itself both Guevarist and Leninist, aims to carry out Chávez’s project of building socialism through communes. To that end, in 2006 they formed the El Panal Commune, which produces both basic goods such as bread and clothing along with revolutionary culture.

This #interview with its main spokesperson, Robert Longa, sheds light on that communal project and the organization's vision of the future.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/interviews/15452

The #12Feb, 2014 violent anti-Chavista protests (guarimbas) are a useful reminder of the Venezuelan opposition's fascist nature and how the corporate media plays a key role in the never-ending coup against the Bolivarian democratically-elected gov’t.

Let’s recap some media lies [Twitter thread] 👇

https://twitter.com/venanalysis/status/1492650335244017665

Venezuela’s oil production and exports have declined once more after a months-long steady rise.

The latest Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) report placed the Caribbean country’s January output at 668,000 barrels per day (bpd), a slide from the previous month’s 718,000 bpd, as measured by secondary sources. For its part, state oil company PDVSA documented 755,000 bpd, 116,000 bpd less than December.

The slip in oil output comes as PDVSA runs out of available storage due to mounting inventories of diluted crude oil (DCO), a less exportable grade due to its high sulfur and water content.

Read more 👇

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15453

On #13Feb 2020, Venezuela filed a lawsuit at the International Criminal Court (ICC) to have US sanctions classed as “crimes against humanity.”

Will the lawsuit prosper? Unlikely given that the ICC upholds imperialism, not justice.

Nonetheless, let’s recap why #SanctionsKill 👇

1️⃣ In 2015, the US declared Venezuela a "national security threat" opening the path for sweeping sanctions against key sectors of the economy: mining, banking, food imports, and especially the oil industry, the source of over 90% of the country's revenue. [INFOGRAPHIC] https://bit.ly/3gGEYEq

Tap the links below to continue reading 👇

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CZ7Tnegsl4j/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/venanalysis/status/1492952363786776584
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/venanalysis/posts/10165999422610142

#NewsRecap 📰

1️⃣ President Maduro called on the Venezuelan youth to join the fight against corruption and bureaucracy during a spirited march held on Saturday to commemorate National Youth Day.

"I call you to the political struggle, to consolidate the Bolivarian Revolution,” said Maduro.

2️⃣ Venezuela’s inspiring Pueblo a Pueblo distributes 200+ tons of freshly produced food for schools in popular neighborhoods monthly.

The self-managed initiative, created in 2014, groups 220 campesino families that work alongside urban popular organizations to feed kids across the country.

Read more 👇

https://www.facebook.com/venanalysis/posts/10166000356335142

Thousands of Venezuelan youth marched on Saturday in Caracas to commemorate Youth Day and affirm their commitment to the Bolivarian Revolution.

Maduro made a plea for the youth to play a leading role in the government’s “3 R’s” campaign that calls on the public to “Resist” imperialism, to partake in the “Rebirth” of values, and to “Revolutionize” where necessary to correct past errors.

“If there is anyone who should be the protagonist of the rebirth of Venezuela, it is the Venezuelan youth!” exclaimed Maduro.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/images/15454

A new journalistic investigation revealed that Argentina's army contemplated the invasion of Venezuela, under the government of former President Mauricio Macri, who supported the U.S. military strategy to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro.

In the Puma exercises between April and July 2019, which simulated an invasion of Venezuela, the armed forces executed seven sessions in the garrison of Campo de Mayo and by videoconference with the paratrooper brigade of Córdoba, the X Mechanized Brigade of La Pampa and the Special Operations Force commandos, also of Córdoba.

The investigation by Argentinian journalist Horacio Verbitsky, published on Sunday, revealed that General Juan Martin Paleo, who was then commander of the rapid deployment force, was in charge of the operation. Since March 2020 he has been Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15455

A US judge set October 11 for the trial on Venezuelan government special envoy Alex Saab, who was charged with conspiracy to launder money.

Wednesday’s Miami hearing was marked by the unsealing of new court records filed by the US Department of Justice, adding another layer to the controversial case. The documents alleged that Saab “proactively” cooperated for 12 months with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) since June 2018.

In response to the new allegations, the Venezuelan envoy’s lawyers immediately issued a statement confirming that some meetings did occur but denying accusations of Saab being an informant.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15456

What is going on with Venezuela's anti-corruption drive that has seen members of the ruling Socialist Party (PSUV) arrested? Find out in this video 👆

President Maduro went on to reiterate Caracas’ backing for its Eurasian ally in the context of ongoing tensions with Ukraine and NATO.

“Russia can count on the full support from Venezuela in the face of the threats from NATO and western countries,” the Venezuelan leader affirmed. Last month, he expressed a similar position in a phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15458

Production has been falling in Venezuela’s oil industry for more than five years. In 2019, the US oil embargo on Venezuela added insult to injury in an already struggling industry. Carlos Mendoza Potellá, an economics professor at Venezuela’s Central University and former advisor to Venezuela’s Central Bank, discusses the present conjuncture while looking at the future of the oil industry.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/interviews/15457

When Hugo Chávez was elected in 1998, one of his priorities was to address two centuries of poverty and inequality in the Venezuelan countryside. A landmark Land Law published in 2001 allowed campesinos and the state to rescue over six million hectares of unproductive land.

But these efforts also provoked a violent reaction from landowners and the rural bourgeoisie, with over 300 campesinos killed in the past 20 years.

In the latest episode of The Venezuelanalysis Podcast, we go over these historical struggles and the present reality in rural Venezuela. Host José Luis Granados Ceja talks to Andrés Alayo, one of the key spokespeople of the Campesino Struggle Platform, about current contradictions in the countryside and the fight against an agribusiness model amidst a severe economic crisis.

Subscribe now for early access: patreon.com/posts/62779230

#Venezuela At least 100 “activists” abandoned Leopoldo López’s right-wing (fascist) political party Voluntad Popular. During a press conference on Saturday, they took off their shirts and hats with the party’s symbol proclaiming the leadership doesn’t represent them anymore.

Argentine authorities committed to an “exhaustive and detailed” investigation into alleged preparations for an invasion of Venezuela as part of a US military strategy to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro.

Argentine Defense Minister Jorge Taiana confirmed the probe with his Venezuelan counterpart Vladimir Padrino López in a phone call.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15459

🎙 The Venezuelanalysis Podcast Episode 05: Campesinos, Class Struggle and the Land!

In the latest episode of The Venezuelanalysis Podcast, we go over historical land struggles and the present reality in rural Venezuela.

Listen here: https://venezuelanalysis.com/audio/15460

In Tuesday’s Doha summit, government representatives discussed measures to preserve stability in global hydrocarbon markets against the backdrop of mounting tensions with Ukraine and NATO as well as Washington’s newly imposed sanctions on Russia following Moscow’s recognition of Luhansk and Donetsk’s independent republics.

Venezuela and Iran celebrated efforts to stabilize the markets while denouncing the need to stop Washington’s coercive measures which severely hampered their industries. The two nations rank seventh and second in natural gas reserves worldwide, respectively.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15461

Grassroots organizations rallied in Caracas on Tuesday to demand action from judicial authorities in the struggle for urban housing.

Dilsia Arévalo, spokeswoman from the Tenants’ Movement, urged Attorney General Tarek William Saab to set sights on recurring attacks and attempts to evict families in order to drive up rent prices. She added that homeowners use tactics such as turning off the water supply or outright violence to coerce tenants into leaving. “We are witnessing property rights and speculation trample peoples’ right to housing.”

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15462