US
President Donald Trump took aim at Venezuela at the United Nations
Tuesday, hitting Caracas with a fresh round of sanctions and openly
talking about the military overthrow of President Nicolas Maduro.
Trump’s
speech at the 73rd UN General Assembly (UNGA) dedicated special
attention to Venezuela, with the US President claiming that “the
socialist dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro has inflicted terrible pain”
on the Venezuelan people and vowing “further action” against the
South American country.
The
statements coincided with a new round of sanctions unveiled by the US
Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)
Tuesday, targeting high-ranking Venezuelan figures. These included
the first lady, Cilia Flores, the Vice-President, Delcy Rodriguez,
and other members of the cabinet. Assets were also seized from Rafael
Sarria, who OFAC claim works as a frontman for Diosdado Cabello, the
current President of the National Constituent Assembly.
Besides
individual sanctions, which have included President Maduro himself,
US actions have put up hurdles for all Venezuelan financial
transactions and targeted the ability to service and re-finance debt
issued by the Venezuelan government and state oil company PDVSA.
Torino Capital Chief Economist Francisco Rodriguez has argued that US
financial sanctions may have played an important role in the collapse
of the oil-dependent country’s crude production and consequent
worsening of its economic crisis.
While
attending the UNGA, Trump also held a press conference with recently
elected hard-right Colombian President Ivan Duque in which the US
leader claimed that a military coup would succeed easily in
Venezuela.
“It’s
a regime that, frankly, could be toppled very quickly by the military
if the military decides to do that,” said the US President in reply
to a journalist. Trump reiterated on Wednesday that “all options
are on the table” with regard to Venezuela.
Earlier
this month, the New York Times revealed that US diplomats met
repeatedly with dissident Venezuelan military officers who solicited
Washington’s support in executing a coup against President Maduro.
The
Trump administration has, nonetheless, downplayed the possibility of
a direct US military intervention in Venezuela, despite concerns by
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel that an “October surprise” may be in
the works.
For his
part, Navy Vice Admiral Craig Faller indicated during his Senate
confirmation hearings to lead US Southern Command that while there
were no plans to intervene militarily in the Caribbean nation, normal
preparations for “a range of contingencies” were underway.
Trump’s
hawkish stance vis-a-vis Caracas was mirrored by regional US allies
at the UNGA, with Argentine President Mauricio Macri expressing
“concern” for the human rights situation in Venezuela. His
Brazilian counterpart Michel Temer, who came to power after what is
widely considered a parliamentary coup that ousted former President
Dilma Rousseff, echoed those concerns and added that in South America
there is “no more room for alternatives to democracy.”
Colombian
President Ivan Duque went even further in his speech on Wednesday,
stating that “putting an end to the Venezuelan dictatorship is a
global challenge” and even claiming that Venezuela is experiencing
“the worst humanitarian and migratory crisis in history.”
According
to the UN’s International Organization for Migration, an estimated
2.3 million Venezuelans were living abroad as of July 2018.
Approximately five million Colombian citizens currently reside in
Venezuela, many of whom refugees of Colombia’s over half-century
long civil war.
Venezuelan
reaction
Venezuelan
leaders were quick to react to the heated rhetoric and fresh actions
coming out of New York.
Speaking
at a ceremony in Caracas in which Venezuelan citizenship was granted
to more than eight thousand immigrants, President Nicolas Maduro
welcomed the latest sanctions as a badge of honor.
“The
sanctions, besides being illegal and useless, are a medal, an award
that shows that we are brave and on the right track,” he stated.
The
Venezuelan President is due to address the UN General Assembly
himself on Wednesday afternoon.
For his
part, Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza, who is in New York for the
UNGA, also condemned Trump’s threats when speaking to the press.
“It is
worrying that President Trump is once more raising the banners of the
anachronistic Monroe Doctrine, which is against international law,
the UN charter, and multilateralism […]. We have to defend the
continent from these unilateral threats,” he said.
Arreaza
went on to warn that a foreign military intervention would cause an
actual migration crisis and numerous deaths, stressing that the
Venezuelan people and armed forces know how to defend themselves.
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