On
Venezuela UN Bans Gandarilla
Bermejo While UN Guterres
Silent Censor of Press
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Video
CJR PFT Q&A
UN GATE, Nov 16 –
When the foreign minister of
Venezuela, or at least of
Nicolas Maduro, Jorge Arreaza
emerged from the 3 Sutton
Place mansion where UN
Secretary General Antonio
Guterres lives alone and met
with him on February 11, Inner
City Press asked Arreaza two
questions. Video
here. Now on November
16, with Guterres still silent
while censor the Press now 501
days, this: "The Department is
publicly designating Julio
Cesar Gandarilla Bermejo,
Minister of Cuba’s Ministry of
the Interior (MININT), under
Section 7031(c) of the FY 2019
Department of State, Foreign
Operations, and Related
Programs Appropriations Act,
as carried forward by the
Continuing Appropriations Act,
2020, due to his involvement,
by command responsibility, in
gross violations of human
rights in Venezuela.
Section 7031(c) provides that,
in cases where the Secretary
of State has credible
information that foreign
government officials have been
involved in significant
corruption or a gross
violation of human rights
(GVHR), those individuals and
their immediate family members
are ineligible for entry into
the United States. The
law also requires the
Secretary of State to publicly
or privately designate such
officials and their immediate
family members. In
addition to the public
designation of Julio Cesar
Gandarilla Bermejo, the
Department is also publicly
designating his children,
Julio Cesar Gandarilla
Sarmiento and Alejandro
Gandarilla Sarmiento."
On May 14
the US Mission to the UN,
which has yet to call out
Guterres for having stayed in
his mansion during the
emergency UN Security Council
meeting on Venezuela in
January, has issued this:
"Today, the UN Security
Council met in closed
consultations to discuss the
deteriorating situation in
Venezuela. In the meeting, the
United States raised alarm
over the May 8 detention of
Edgar Zambrano, the First Vice
President of Venezuela’s
National Assembly. We are
concerned Zambrano’s arrest is
a major escalation of the
ongoing crackdown by the
Maduro regime against the
National Assembly, the sole
remaining democratic
institution in Venezuela. The
regime has intensified efforts
to jail opposition leaders in
a campaign that media outlets
in Venezuela have dubbed,
“Operation Scorched Earth.”
The United States calls on all
member states to be prepared
to take concrete actions in
response to the Maduro
regime’s repression throughout
Venezuela.
The world is watching as the
dire humanitarian crisis and
assaults on basic human rights
in Venezuela worsen by the
day. More than 3.7 million
Venezuelans have left their
country due to political
chaos, threats of violence,
and a lack of basic amenities,
including food, electricity,
and water. The brutality of
the Maduro regime seems to
know no bounds, as it uses
live ammunition and tear gas
against peaceful protestors,
and on at least one occasion
ran over them with an armored
vehicle. It also uses lawless
criminal groups known as
colectivos to intimidate and
beat up the population.
Maduro’s cronies have also
taken steps to censor the
media and block the public’s
access to independent
information from social media,
radio, and
television.
The United States is proud to
be part of a community of
democratic countries that have
recognized Interim President
Juan Guaidó as the legitimate
leader of Venezuela. We urge
the international community to
unite in support of interim
President Guaidó’s call for a
peaceful democratic transition
and to be clear about the need
for Maduro to relinquish
power." Guterres, meanwhile,
is in Fiji, saying nothing on
this - in fact, he used public
money to con NYPD to restrict
the Press which questions him,
on March 22 on the sidewalk of
96th Street in Manhattan, here.
#DumpGuterres. On March
15 from DC, this Q&A: "The
IDB has put out a statement
already saying that Mr.
Hausmann can begin as the
representative there because
enough – there have been
sufficient votes cast.
What does this mean generally
speaking for any kind of
economic help for
Venezuela? Venezuela is
in arrears to the IDB
anyway. And then
also, the IMF has delayed a
decision by the board, their
board, to discuss or – a poll
that would basically recognize
Guaido, and as you know, the
IMF is important as a seal of
approval for other big
institutions like the World
Bank. But what does this
overall mean to – for lending
or economic help? MR
ABRAMS: I think most –
the most important task that
Professor Hausmann will be
undertaking is to work with
the IDB on the preparations
for post-Maduro
Venezuela. He has
personally done a lot of work
on this. We actually met
yesterday. And there are
– there’s been really an
enormous amount of work done
over the last several years by
Venezuelans and by others, and
the IDB has clearly a leading
role in the recuperation of
the Venezuelan economy when we
think of things like the
electric sector, the energy
sector, which are in bad
shape. So he will now be
in a position officially to
represent Venezuela in those
IDB preparations, and that’s a
lot better than doing it from
a university. He’ll be
inside." And the UN, which
bans the Press? Amid the
events on the Venezuela -
Colombia border on February
23, there was not a word from
the UN. Inner City Press again
biked by the mansion Guterres
lives in - some of the
time - and found it empty: no
security, no Mercedes,
nothing. Periscope video here.
Now late on March 11, US
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
has said, "The United States
will withdraw all remaining
U.S. personnel from the U.S.
Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela
this week. Like the
January 24 decision to
withdraw all dependents and
reduce embassy staff to a
minimum, this decision
reflects the deteriorating
situation in Venezuela as well
as the conclusion that the
presence of U.S. diplomatic
staff at the embassy has
become a constraint on U.S.
policy." Also on March 11,
journalist Luis Carlos Diaz
has been reported missing by
the Sindicato Nacional de
Trabajadores de la Prensa
(SNTP). Professor Ezequiel
Korin says "@LuisCarlos was
singled out for his supposed
role in the sabotage that
caused the #VenezuelaBlackout
by Chavismo's strongmam
Diosdado Cabello, sanctioned
in 2018 by the US Treasury
Dept. for his role in
state-aided narco-trafficking.
#DóndeEstáLuisCarlos." What if
anything will UN Secretary
General Antonio Guterrs say?
Back on March 6 when
journalists including Cody
Weddle and his
colleague
Carlos Camacho
were
detained in Venezuela
Guterres' spokesman Stephane
Dujarric in a briefing they
banned Inner City Press from
attending claimed, "I have
seen the press report; we are
trying to get some details. As
a matter of principle, I
think, the Secretary-General
very much supports the right
of journalists to be able to
do their work free of
harassment and the response
would be for every government
around this world to ensure
that journalists have a space
in which to do their work." As
to Guterres this is not true.
He is a censor. On February
28, a draft U.S. UN Security
Council resolution was vetoed
by China and Russia (with
South Africa also voting no,
and abstentions by Indonesia,
Ivory Coast and Equatorial
Guinea). Then Russia's draft
resolution failed with four in
favor, seven against and four
abstentions. More dysfunction
at the UN. But how would
Guterres have voted? Or is his
main goal not getting vetoed
for a second term of free
travel to Lisbon? On
March 11, US
Secretary of
State Mike
Pompeo said,
"we’re asking
the same thing
of India as we
are of every
country: Do
not be the
economic
lifeline for
the Maduro
regime.
So we talked
about – I
certainly
won’t
characterize
the
conversations;
they’re
private
conversations.
But I’m very
confident – in
the same way
that India has
been
incredibly
supportive of
our efforts on
Iran, I’m
confident that
they too
understand the
real threat to
the Venezuelan
people.
And so we had
a good
conversation
around
that.
And in terms
of which other
countries are
hiding assets,
I assure you
that those
countries will
know.
But I’m not
going to share
that with you
today because
if I mention
them here
today,
goodness knows
how many of
them will end
up inside of
Russia.
We do not want
assets that
are around the
world taken
and
transferred to
Russia, where
they’ll be
hidden in the
very way that
I described in
my opening
remarks
today.
We have a
handful of
countries that
are providing
aid and
comfort to the
Maduro regime
at enormous
expense to the
people of
Venezuela, and
we want to
make sure that
the resources
– resources
that the
Venezuelan
people are
going to need
after Maduro
leaves – we
want to make
sure those
resources are
available for
the Venezuelan
people and not
shipped off to
Cuba or to
Russia or to
Iran." For
a week banned Inner City Press
has in writing asked Guterres
and his spokesman Stephane
Dujarric this question:
"February 19-3: What is the
SG's response to US Senator
Marco Rubio's criticism that
he is playing right into
Maduro plans... 'When it comes
to democracy & human
rights UN increasingly
worthless'?" Dujarric refused
to answer, despite his on
camera promise.
Finally on February 26 he
blathered a defense of the
absent Guterres, adding that
"we are not going to respond
to every tweet." Dujarric
blocks Inner City Press on
Twitter. Meanwhile in
Venezuela according to
Univision, this: "Univision
News Retweeted Daniel Coronell
Attention: A @Univision team,
headed by @jorgeramosnews, is
being arbitrarily detained at
the Miraflores Palace in
Caracas. They were
interviewing @NicolasMaduro
but he didn't like the
questions. Their technical
equipment was also
confiscated." At 9 am on
February 26, Inner City Press
in writing asked Guterres, his
deputy Amina J. Mohammed, USG
Alison Smale and Dujarric:
"February 26-4: On Venezuela
and the the press freedom the
SG spoke about in Geneva
yesterday, what is his comment
and action if any on the
reported detention of
Univision's Jorge Ramos by the
authorities? AGAIN,
immediately explain how it is
legitimate to ban from enter
into the UN the media that has
been asking about these and
other questions, with no
hearing or appeal." No answer.
Guterres, Smale and Dujarric
banned Inner City Press from
entering the UN to cover
Arreaza's press conference, or
anything else. Now House
Foreign Affairs Lead
Republican Michael McCaul
(R-TX) released the following
statement on the deaths of two
Venezuelan civilians
attempting to deliver
humanitarian aid across
Venezuela’s southern border
with Brazil: “I am deeply
disturbed by reports on the
deaths of two innocent
Venezuelans at the hands of
Nicolas Maduro’s military
forces. I strongly condemn
these cowardly and disgraceful
acts and urge all military
forces to refrain from using
any sort of violence against
their own people. “The
U.S. will not tolerate any
form of oppression or acts of
violence against the
Venezuelan people and the
murderers responsible,
including Maduro, must be held
accountable. I continue to
stand with interim President
Guaido and support his
peaceful efforts to bring much
needed humanitarian aid to the
people of Venezuela. The
international community
remains vigilant to ensure
against human rights
violations and protect the
people of Venezuela.” The US
State Department has issued
this: "On February 22, the
United States and its partners
began pre-positioning
additional humanitarian aid
for Venezuelans in Boa Vista,
Brazil in proximity to the
Brazil-Venezuela border.
This life-saving humanitarian
assistance is made up of 178
metric tons of
locally-procured food supplies
and is ready to be delivered
to Venezuelans suffering from
severe food shortages inside
Venezuela. This aid
includes: Food kits
containing rice, beans, sugar,
and salt to feed nearly 3,500
people for 10 days; and
Additional rice to feed an
estimated 6,100 people for one
month. To save lives, this
critical aid must be allowed
to enter Venezuela. The
U.S. government is
coordinating with governments
in the region and our regional
humanitarian partners to
ensure that the systems are in
place to transport this aid
into Venezuela safely and
efficiently and to reach
Venezuelans. The United
States applauds Brazil for
working in partnership with us
to make this aid delivery
possible, and for providing
additional contributions of
humanitarian assistance.
The United States remains
committed to helping the
people of Venezuela, and this
assistance is not the first –
and will not be the last –
that the American people send
to help those in need.
Since Fiscal Year 2017, the
United States has provided
more than $140 million –
including nearly $97 million
in humanitarian assistance and
approximately $43 million in
development and economic
assistance – to support the
generous efforts of countries
in the region that are hosting
the nearly 3.4 million people
who have fled the chaos in
Venezuela. This includes
more than $10.5 million in
humanitarian aid to assist
Venezuelans displaced to
Brazil, particularly in the
border state of Roraima,
reinforcing the Government of
Brazil’s emergency response
efforts." Belatedly, Guterres
has said, "The
Secretary-General today met
with H.E. Mr. Jorge Arreaza,
Foreign Minister of the
Bolivarian Republic of
Venezuela. They discussed the
situation in Venezuela and in
the
region.
The Secretary-General urged
the Venezuelan authorities not
to use lethal force against
demonstrators.
The Secretary-General said
that the UN will continue to
act in accordance with the
humanitarian principles of
humanity, neutrality,
impartiality and independence,
working with Venezuelan
institutions, to assist people
in need. " As much as Guterres
tries to stack the deck,
things may come apart for him,
despite his cowardly remaining
in the mansion to try to keep
this job. Is this that the UN
is about? Useless. Watch this
site. On February 22 Pompeo's
deputy spokesperson Robert
Palladino said, "Secretary
Michael R. Pompeo met today in
New York with UN
Secretary-General Antonio
Guterres. They discussed
ongoing events in Venezuela,
as well as the importance of
parties in Yemen beginning
redeployments in Hudaydah."
This is the inverse of the
spin of Guterres whose
spokesman Stephane Dujarric
afterward issued this: "In
response to questions about
the meeting between the
Secretary-General and the
United States Secretary of
State Michael Pompeo, the
Spokesman said the
following:
The Secretary-General and the
Secretary of State discussed
the situation in Yemen, in
particular the implementation
of the Stockholm Agreement and
the importance of the parties
to begin phase 1 of the
redeployment from Hudaydah.
They also discussed the
situation in Venezuela and the
region.
Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman
for the
Secretary-General New
York, 21 February 2019." So
did Pompeo ask Guterres why he
stayed in his mansion and
neglected to even go to the
January 26 UN Security Council
meeting about Venezuela? About
his censorship? Guterres' goal
seems to only be to get a
second term at UNSG, by not
angering Russia or China, or
the US. But maybe the latter
has happened, at least with
regard to US Senator Marco
Rubio, about whom Inner City
Press asked Richard Haass on
February 20, video here.
Watch this site. On February
16, the US State Department
has restricted Maduro's
diplomats to within 25 miles
of Columbus Circle in
Manhattan, the same
restriction imposed on those
from Syria for example. Inner
City Press tweeted photo here
of order by Cliff Seagroves,
Director (Acting) for the US
Office of Foreign Missions.
Back on February 11 Inner City
Press asked Arreaza, first,
did Guterres explain to him
why he skipped the UN Security
Council's urgent meeting on
Venezuela on January 26?
Arreaza said that the Security
Council has not even come up
his in nearly one hour meet
with Guterres, who he called
very positive. Inner City
Press also asked if Arreaza
while in the U.S. would be
visiting the Federal Reserve,
where Venezuela's accounts
have been turned over to Juan
Guaido. No, he said, there are
other ways of dealing with
that than the minster of
foreign affairs. Now on
February 12 US Senator Marco
Rubio has directly criticized
Guterres: "@antonioguterres
playing right into #Maduro
plans. Fake @UN
“negotiations” to divide
opposition & buy time for
protests to die down. Maduro
will also want UN “experts” to
blame #Venezuela crisis on
sanctions. When it
comes to democracy & human
rights UN increasingly
worthless." On Cameroon that
is definitely true -- Guterres
has been in full cover up of
slaughter mode, and has
roughed up and banned the
Press which asks. On
Venezuela, Guterres' game has
been to try to avoid the
issue, staying in his/your
mansion during the UNSC
meeting, etc. Now he's been
called out - this is just the
beginning. At the February 12
press conference in the UN
Guterres bans Inner City Press
from, Arreaza said Guaido's
first call is to Rubio. None
of those let in by Guterres
even asked about it...
On February 11, Guterres'
spokes - / hatchet man
Stephane Dujarric in response
to "questions" from the
correspondents he allows in
and answers issued this: "In
answer to questions asked
about the Secretary-General’s
meeting with H.E. Mr. Jorge
Arreaza, Minister of the
People’s Power for Foreign
Affairs of the Bolivarian
Republic of Venezuela, the
Spokesman said the
following:
The Secretary-General
reaffirmed that his offer of
good offices to both parties
remains available for serious
negotiation to help the
country out of the present
standoff for the benefit of
the people of
Venezuela.
Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman
for the
Secretary-General 11
February 2019." We'll have
more on this. When Inner City
Press showed up at Guterres or
rather the public's $15
million mansion on the corner
of 57th Street there was a
large black van in front. But
later Arreaza came with
flashing sirens. The UN Media
Acccreditation and Liaison
Unit did not even include this
meeting in its Media Alert,
but allowed in Telesur and a
Japanese TV crew which asked
Arreaza, Do you have any
message for Japan? To this has
Guterres sunk. Video here.
US Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo was in the UN Security
Council at 9 am on January 26
for a meeting on Venezuela, as
was USUN charge d'affaires
Jonathan Cohen. Inner City
Press went to cover the
meeting, although banned from
any entry of the UN now for
222 days by UN Secretary
General Antonio Guterres amid
questioning his conflicts of
interest including on UN
briber CEFC China Energy. At
8:50 am, Guterres' security
remains in front of his / the
public's $15 mansion on Sutton
Place and 57th Street. While
Guterres' Global Censor Alison
Smale called the meeting
"urgent," Guterres could not
be bothered to be driven 15
blocks south to attend it.
Vine video
here. Now on February 11
Guterres is set to meet with
Maduro's Foreign Minister
Jorge Arreaza - in the same
publicly funded UN mansion on
Sutton Place and 57th Street
Guterres stayed in on January
26, skipping the urgent UN
Security Council meeting.
Inner City Press which
exclusively live-streamed
Guterres skipping the meeting
and refusing to answer why has
since then repeated asked in
writing, of Guterres, Amina J.
Mohammed, Alison Smale, Farhan
Haq and Spokesman Stephane
Dujarric, why did Guterres
skip the meeting? They never
answered, despite telling UNSR
David Kaye, Inner City Press
on the public that they would
answer such questions.
Instead, in an ill-attended
February 11 noon briefing
Inner City Press was banned
from his deputy spokesman
Farhan Haq said he skipped it
because he was going to Park
East Synagogue that morning.
But the meeting was at 9 am,
and PES at 10:40 am. And
diplomats like US Jonathan
Cohen went to the Security
Council then PES. We'll have
more on this - including
live-streaming as is our right
from outside Guterres mis-used
mansion. Back on January 26
once Inner City Press got to
the gate, the meeting had
still not begun. First there
was a procedural vote whether
to hold it - it passed with
nine votes. China, Russia,
South Africa and Equatorial
Guinea voted no; Cote d'Ivoire
and Indonesia abstained. Inner
City Press filmed UNTV from a
bus stop on First Avenue,
Periscope video here,
where a passer-by it asked if
the UN could solve Venezuela
just laughed. After Pompeo's
speech - with Cohen behind him
- Inner City Press headed
north to a protest on 47th
Street. Transit here,
protest
here. Then up to Sutton
Place, where only at 10:35 am
did Guterres finally leave his
/ your mansion, to long idling
Mercedes. Inner City Press
filmed it. It usually
does not ask questions on
Sutton Place, but this one
called for it - "Why did you
not go to the Venezuela
meeting?" No answer. Video here,
Vine here,
January 28 question tweeted at
UN Spokesperson here.
But on January 29 Antonio "Charlemagne"
Guterres rebuffed Guaido in a
letter his spokesman Stephane
"Expensive
French Restaurant"
Dujarric wouldn't even
confirm, while banning Inner
City Press for the 210th day:
"The United Nations are ready
to increase their activities
in Venezuela in the areas of
humanitarian assistance and
development,” Guterres told
Guaido in a letter dated Jan.
29 and seen by Reuters on
Wednesday. “For that, the
United Nations need, however,
the consent and cooperation of
the Government.” Some
reporting this didn't even
mention that Guterres stayed
in his mansion... Whatever
Guterres' position, he should
have gone. Full video here.
The video was seemingly
automatically de-monetized by
YouTube. But to their credit,
when Inner City Press
appealed, YouTube on January
29 wrote back: "Hi InnerCity
Press, Great news! After
manually reviewing your video,
we’ve determined that it is
suitable for all
advertisers: "For
Venezuela UNSC Meeting
Guterres Does Not Attend As
Banned Press Covers Protest
and Vote" Thanks,
The YouTube team." The lawless
UN of Guterres and his Global
Communicator Alison Smale, and
spokes- / hatchman Stephane
Dujarric, has no appeals
process; these three and
others did not answer Inner
City Press' January 28
question on this, on
Cameroon's arrest of an
opposition figure and the UN
itself killing two civilians
in South Sudan. Guterres is
killing the UN - softly. Now
on January 29, this from UN
State Department deputy
spokesperson Robert Palladino:
"On January 25, Secretary of
State Michael R. Pompeo
certified the authority of
Venezuela’s interim President
Juan Guaido to receive and
control certain property in
accounts of the Government of
Venezuela or Central Bank of
Venezuela held by the Federal
Reserve Bank of New York or
any other U.S. insured banks,
in accordance with Section 25B
of the Federal Reserve
Act. This certification
will help Venezuela’s
legitimate government
safeguard those assets for the
benefit of the Venezuelan
people. We call on other
governments to recognize
interim President Juan Guaido
and take similar steps to
protect Venezuela’s patrimony
from further theft by Maduro’s
corrupt regime." At 3 pm on
January 28 this became public:
"Today the Department of the
Treasury’s Office of Foreign
Assets Control (OFAC)
designated Petroleos de
Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA)
pursuant to Executive Order
(E.O.) 13850 for operating in
the oil sector of the
Venezuelan economy. PdVSA is a
Venezuelan stateowned oil
company and a primary source
of Venezuela’s income and
foreign currency, to include
U.S. dollars and Euros. “The
United States is holding
accountable those responsible
for Venezuela’s tragic
decline, and will continue to
use the full suite of its
diplomatic and economic tools
to support Interim President
Juan Guaidó, the National
Assembly, and the Venezuelan
people’s efforts to restore
their democracy,” said
Secretary of the Treasury
Steven T. Mnuchin." Afterward,
US House Foreign Affairs
Committee lead Republican
Michael McCaul (R-TX) released
the following statement in
response to the
Administration’s announcement
to roll out new U.S. sanctions
against Venezuelan President
Nicolas Maduro’s state-owned
oil company,
PDVSA. “After
years of mismanagement and
plummeting production, the
illegitimate Maduro regime can
no longer be allowed to siphon
off the proceeds of Petroleos
de Venezuela at the expense of
its citizens. Maduro’s
socialist policies and
systemic corruption have
created a humanitarian crisis
in which millions of people
are suffering greatly. The
United States and our allies
must continue to use all tools
necessary, including economic
and diplomatic, until
democracy is restored in
Venezuela. “I continue
to stand with interim
President Guaidó and the brave
people of Venezuela. The
Venezuelan military should
stand with the people and help
facilitate a peaceful
transition of power. It’s time
for the socialist nightmare of
Nicolas Maduro to come to an
end.” At the January 28 UN
noon briefing Inner City Press
was banned from, no one let in
asked about Guterres' absence;
spokesman Stephane Dujarric
said they had only seen
Guaido's letter "on Twitter" -
a platform on which he blocks
Inner City Press. Now this
canned read-out: "On 28
January, the Secretary-General
met with a Caribbean Community
(CARICOM) delegation headed by
the Chairman of CARICOM, Prime
Minister Timothy Harris of
Saint Kitts and Nevis, and
comprised of the Prime
Minister of Barbados, Mia
Mottley; the Prime Minister of
Trinidad and Tobago, Keith
Rowley; the Minister of
Foreign Affairs and Labour of
Grenada, Peter David: the
Secretary General of the
Caribbean Community, Irwin
LaRocque; as well as the
Permanent Representatives of
CARICOM Member
States.
The Secretary-General and the
CARICOM leaders discussed the
situation in Venezuela and its
implications for the
region. The
Secretary-General took note of
CARICOM’s concerns and
reiterated his offer of good
offices to facilitate dialogue
and negotiation between the
parties.
New York, 28 January 2019."
Here now is from Pompeo's
(January 25) interview
by Gustau Alegret of NTN24,
Q: Guaido said this
morning that Maduro could have
amnesty. Do you think
that he deserves this
amnesty? SECRETARY
POMPEO: We’ll have to
see how things proceed with
respect to it, and ultimately,
this will be a decision for
the Venezuelan people,
right? These – this is
their country; this is their
effort. It was the
Venezuelans who are in the
streets. It’s their
process. The United
States is aiming to make sure
that they get a chance to do
so in safety and security, and
we’ve now identified resources
– $20 million – to provide
humanitarian assistance,
demonstrating once again that
the United States is a real
force for good for the
Venezuelan people. We
intend to remain so.
QUESTION: How are you
going to canalize or
channelize this 20 million in
humanitarian help? The
government is under the
control of Nicolas
Maduro. Juan Guaido is
just the leader of the
National Assembly, so
far. SECRETARY
POMPEO: Well, he’s the
interim president. The
United States recognizes him
as such, and we will find a
methodology by which to get
this – these resources to the
people who need them the
most. QUESTION:
Tomorrow there is a UN
Security Council. What
do you expect from Russia and
China in this council?
SECRETARY POMPEO: Well,
we hope they’ll come to see
that the right path forward is
to reflect the will of the
Venezuelan people and to
recognize President Guaido as
the interim – as the interim
leader of that country.
It’s certainly not what
they’ve chosen to do so far,
but we expect every country to
see that what’s best for the
Venezuelan people, what the
Venezuelan people have
demanded, is the outcome that
the United States has now
acknowledged." On January 28
from Australia's Foreign
Minister Marise Payne, this:
"Australia recognises and
supports the President of the
National Assembly, Juan
Guaidó, in assuming the
position of interim president,
in accordance with the
Venezuelan constitution and
until elections are held.
Australia calls for a
transition to democracy in
Venezuela as soon as possible.
Australia supported the Lima
Group’s early call for Nicolas
Maduro to refrain from
assuming the presidency on 10
January, relayed through our
non-resident Ambassador to
Venezuela. We now urge all
parties to work constructively
towards a peaceful resolution
of the situation, including a
return to democracy, respect
for the rule of law and
upholding of human rights of
the Venezuelan people."
Earlier this: Venezuela's
military attaché in
Washington, Col. Jose Luis
Silva Silva, said he's
breaking with Maduro and
supporting Juan Guaido. And on
January 27, Pompeo said this:
"The United States accepted
interim President Juan
Guaido’s designation of Carlos
Alfredo Vecchio as the Chargé
d’Affaires of the Government
of Venezuela to the United
States on January 25.
Mr. Vecchio will have
authority over diplomatic
affairs in the United States
on behalf of
Venezuela.
After his accreditation, Mr.
Vecchio met with Under
Secretary of State for
Political Affairs David Hale,
who reaffirmed the United
States’ strong support for
interim President Guaido’s
leadership of Venezuela.
The United States looks
forward to working with Mr.
Vecchio and other diplomatic
staff as designated by interim
President Guaido." The EU put
out this on January 26:
"Federica Mogherini, High
Representative for Foreign
Affairs and Security
Policy/Vice-President of the
European Commission, held in
these hours a series of
conversations regarding the
latest developments in
Venezuela and the work of the
European Union and its
partners for a peaceful and
inclusive democratic solution
to the benefit of all
Venezuelans.
Federica Mogherini coordinated
the EU position, reflected in
the Declaration issued this
afternoon on behalf of the 28
Member States, through
contacts, among others, with
the Spanish and the Italian
Prime Ministers, Pedro Sanchez
and Giuseppe Conte
respectively, the Foreign
Minister of the Netherlands,
Stef Blok, and senior
representatives of the
governments of France,
Germany, Italy, Spain and the
United Kingdom.
The High Representative also
talked to the UN Secretary
General Antonio Guterres" -
what, spoke to an official who
although living in a $15
million publicly funded
mansion 15 blocks away didn't
even bother to go to the
meeting?.. I
believe I have a similar right
to continue this issue.
Responsible are Chef de
Cabinet Viotti (who was called
by the Reporters Committee on
Freedom of the Press) and/or
DSG Amina Mohammed. Or,
pending that, please have the
Mission bring me in to these
meetings. The only written
communication I have received
from the UN is this letter
from USG Smale, here."
We'll have more on this.
***
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