COVID 19 & the Economic War against Venezuela

Monday, August 17, 2020 - 1:00pm
Andrés Eloy Ruiz & Sair Ramses Sira Méndez

In the midst of the pandemic, the war against Venezuela has been escalating. U.S. sanctions have driven Venezuela’s oil exports to their lowest levels in nearly 80 years, starving President Nicolas Maduro’s government of its main source of revenue. In mid-July, U.S. Special Envoy Elliott Abrams threatened to “go after” shipping companies that continue to transport Venezuelan oil.

On July 2, a decision by the U.K.’s High Court blocked the Venezuelan Central Bank’s efforts to repatriate gold reserves being held by Bank of England on the pretext that the U.K. recognizes U.S.-backed Juan Guaidó--an opposition figure who has appointed himself “interim president”--as Venezuela’s leader. The government had planned to sell the gold, valued at an estimated US $1.2 billion, and transfer the proceeds to the United Nations Development Programme in order to import food, medicines and healthcare equipment needed to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Venezuela remains one of the countries in the region least devastated by the pandemic--so far. However, cases are rising steadily and, stripped of much-needed economic resources, the Venezuelan healthcare system is struggling to save human lives in the midst of the crisis. Despite the sanctions and aggressive Washington policy, the Bolivarian Revolution remains committed to building a new society based on human solidarity and the interests of the majority.

Counsel Minister Andrés Eloy Ruiz and First Secretary Sair Ramses Sira Méndez from the Venezuelan Embassy provide an update on the situation in Venezuela.

UPCOMING TOURS

June 15, 2025 to June 25, 2025
Join us in an exciting visit to Cuba--a country committed to building socialism. We will learn about Cuba’s stunning accomplishments such as free health care and education, its collective production in agricultural and urban cooperatives, We will dialogue with leading thinkers about their visions... Read more
March 3, 2025 to March 7, 2025

We will depart from San Miguel early in the morning to Patzcuaro, where we will spend three days. We will visit the most important buildings and churches in Patzcuaro and also visit a number of nearby indigenous villages:

Upcoming Forums & Films

Monday, March 3, 2025 - 1:00pm
CST
Omar S. Dahi
Location:
Join in person at the Hotel Quinta Loreto Community Room

Omar S. Dahi is Professor of Economics at Hampshire College and Founding Director of Security in Context, a research network on peace, conflict, and global affairs. He was born and raised in Syria and currently lives with his wife and two children in Amherst. Dahi has served as a lead expert on the United Nations Economic and Social... Read more

Monday, March 17, 2025 - 1:00pm
CST
Harry Targ
Location:
Join in person at the Hotel Quinta Loreto Community Room

Behind the turmoil of the Ukraine and Israeli wars, tensions between the United States and China, African contestation over neo-colonial political, economic, and military influence, and US meddling in the politics of Latin America, there are fundamental forces in play that seek to rearrange and change the architectures of global social... Read more