The US government has reportedly greenlighted two companies to ship Venezuelan oil to Europe as soon as next month.

According to anonymous sources consulted by Reuters on Sunday, the Biden administration has sent letters to Italy's Eni and Spain’s Repsol stating that Washington would “not object” if the energy firms resumed oil-for-debt swap deals with Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA in order to send crude cargoes to Europe.

For its part, President Nicolás Maduro reaffirmed that while these light measures were welcomed Caracas would continue to demand “the lifting of all the cruel and criminal sanctions” levied against the country’s economic sectors.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15543

VA columnist Sergio Rodríguez breaks down the timid and tenuous openings from the Biden administration towards Venezuela.

"In recent times, the US-backed sector has been left out of Venezuela's political playing field after failing in its attempts to violently overthrow the Maduro government, despite counting on financial, military, political and diplomatic support from the US and Colombia.

In this context, it seems that Washington is betting on offering tenuous sanctions relief in exchange for its puppets obtaining some space in the country's political scenario."

https://venezuelanalysis.com/around-world-60-days/15544

In this episode, the team at Venezuelanalysis answers questions submitted by readers and followers. From questions about Venezuela’s relations with its neighbors to the future of the struggle against US imperialism, it’s everything you always wanted to know about Venezuela.

Listen here: https://venezuelanalysis.com/audio/15545

The Summit of the Americas is off to an inauspicious start after several of the region’s leaders followed through on their commitment to skip the event over US President Joe Biden’s decision to exclude Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro called the US-hosted event a “total failure” and said that Argentine President Alberto Fernández would represent the voice of Venezuela at the summit.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15546

Industrias del Orinoco, C.A. (Indorca) is a factory without bosses in the industrial city of Puerto Ordaz in Bolívar state, the home of Venezuela’s basic industries. Indorca workers carried out a heroic three-year struggle to gain control of the factory after the former owner brought it to a halt. Since 2015, the enterprise has been democratically managed by the women and men who produce here day in and day out.

In Part II, we learn about the obstacles that worker-run factories face in a capitalist society and about Indorcas’ collective education projects.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/interviews/15547

The new 20-year deal reportedly also includes repair of Venezuelan refineries and the export of technical and engineering services. Venezuela will additionally receive the second of four new oil tankers built between Iranian company Sadra and Venezuela's PDVSA, with an 800,000 barrel capacity.

“The signing of the 20-year cooperation document between Caracas and Tehran is an example of the firm will of the authorities of both countries to extend cooperation in all directions” said Raisi.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15548

Both argued for a communal system that would replace the destructive, alienating, and dangerous capital system.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/15549

The renewed shipments to Europe could give a moderate push to Caracas’ crude exports as sources claim that two European firms, Eni and Spain’s Repsol, are expected to lift a combined 2 million barrels in June.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15550

Venezuelanalysis' Ricardo Vaz examines how MSM obscures the human impact of the US sanctions.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/15551

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro celebrated the triumph of the Gustavo Petro and Francia Márquez ticket from the leftist Historic Pact in Colombia’s presidential runoff election Sunday.

The election was mostly dominated by social issues that gained prominence after a massive social uprising against rising inequality in 2021 shook the country’s political establishment. As is common in Colombian politics, the specter of Venezuela was also repeatedly raised.

Martha Lía Grajales Pineda, a Colombian activist living in Venezuela and a member of Surgentes human rights collective, considers that Petro’s victory "will allow Colombia to stop being the bastion in the region to destabilize progressive or uncomfortable governments.”

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15552

Venezuelan grassroots collectives held a large-scale march on Tuesday to defend housing rights.

The mobilization was driven by the Pobladores platform, which brings together tenants, janitors, building occupiers, pioneer encampments and a number of other grassroots groups that organize around the self-managed construction of housing.

“This is an autonomous march to take back the initiative, to re-establish dialogue with the government,” Juan Carlos Rodríguez, Pobladores spokesman, told Venezuelanalysis.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15553

In Part I of this three-part interview, Indorca workers told us about their fight to keep the former bosses from dismantling the factory and regaining control of the plant. In Part II we learned about the obstacles that worker-run factories face in a capitalist society and about Indorcas’ collective education initiatives.

Here in Part III the workers tell us about the impact of the US-led sanctions, while explaining their strategies to overcome obstacles.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/interviews/15554

Venezuela celebrates the 201st anniversary of the anti-colonial Battle of Carabobo.

Fought on June 24, 1821, Simón Bolívar and the patriotic army defeated the Spanish troops sealing the country's independence.

Bolívar went on to lead the South American liberation campaign.

The government of Venezuela welcomed a second high-level US delegation that included Bogotá-based Ambassador James Story and US envoy on hostage affairs Roger Carstens, President Nicolás Maduro confirmed Monday.

Although US officials tried to characterize the visit as being driven by the Biden administration’s efforts to see a handful of US citizens released from Venezuelan custody, the Venezuelan president was explicit that the meeting was a follow-up to previous bilateral talks in Caracas in March. The delegation was met by ranking Chavista politician and National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez on Monday evening.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15555

In 2012 Venezuela’s progressive Labor Law was about to be passed in the National Assembly. Since the law was set to amplify workers’ rights in a number of areas, this put the country’s capitalist class on alert. Factory owners began to sabotage production and shut down plants. This process, which put workers and owners in open conflict, affected the whole country, but was especially fierce in the industries of Guayana in Bolívar state.

After many long battles, workers in some factories got control of the plants as mandated by the Labor Law’s article 149. Here we hear the stories of the Equipetrol and Calderys factories in Puerto Ordaz (Bolívar State). The people who kept the factories running tell us about their struggle for worker control and about the hurdles that they had to overcome to keep the plants operative during the blockade, while explaining the need for import substitution.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/interviews/15556

Michelle Bachelet, United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights, recognized Venezuela’s advances to improve the judicial system while criticizing an alleged lack of judicial independence.

For its part, Caracas welcomed Bachelet’s acknowledgment of the advances to improve its judicial and prison system but took exception to the report's “imbalanced” assessment of the overall human rights situation by downplaying the severity of the US sanctions program levied against the Caribbean nation.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15557

The Venezuelan National Assembly approved legislation establishing “Special Economic Zones” (SEZ) in the Caribbean country.

The 35-article bill is the latest effort by the Maduro administration to attract foreign investment to drive economic recovery as the country remains targeted by wide-reaching US sanctions.

PSUV deputy Oliver Rivas told Venezuelanalysis that the SEZs should not be seen as the “ultimate step” towards socialism but rather as a “resistance strategy” in the face of US-promoted economic aggression.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15558

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez rejected Chilean Foreign Minister Antonia Urrejola’s questioning of the legitimacy of the Nicolás Maduro government, labeling her a stooge of Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary General Luis Almagro.

“Foreign Minister [Urrejola], as a good employee of [Almagro], attacks the Bolivarian Revolution instead of addressing the urgent issues of violence in Chile, its economy and a government that is rapidly failing!” said Rodríguez in response, referring to Boric’s declining approval ratings.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15559

On Sunday, July 3, the women and men of El Panal Commune in the working-class barrio of 23 de Enero in Caracas woke up to the music of Alí Primera, Ska-P, and Calle 13. The barrio was buzzing with activity as the communards prepared eight voting centers – one for each of the eight communal councils that make up this commune. Each communal council was due to elect 13 spokespeople in areas such as finances, communal economy, education, services, and security and defense.

On the eve of the elections, the people of El Panal – with support from the Alexis Vive Patriotic Force, which is one of the engines behind the commune – organized a festive procession to mobilize the community. Drums, whistles, and rattles sounded throughout the commune’s massive apartment blocks and self-constructed homes. These elections were a step towards consolidating self-government in the community, which in itself is cause for celebration.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/images/15560

Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab announced the arrest of 13 people for their alleged involvement in the kidnapping and murder of longtime revolutionary activist Carlos Lanz after a two-year investigation.

During a press conference on Wednesday, Saab recalled that an exhaustive probe was set in motion immediately after Lanz's disappearance on August 8, 2020, in Maracay, Aragua state. The attorney general explained that a multidisciplinary team was appointed to find Lanz and clarify the facts.

A guerilla fighter in the 1960s and 1970s, Carlos Lanz was a key figure in Venezuela’s decades-long struggle against US-backed neoliberal governments and became an important advisor to President Hugo Chávez following the 1998 electoral victory.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15561

VA columnist Jessica Dos Santos looks at the "unpredictable" 2024 Venezuelan presidential elections in this edition of "Tales of Resistance."

https://venezuelanalysis.com/tales-resistance/15562