U.S./Venezuela Work Together...on Human Rights

[Peter1469]

Well that is the problem. The government has tried to manage the economy. Look what it got them.

The UN should as the government to get the heck out of the way.

[waltky]

Venezuelan gov't. persecuting journalists...

Venezuelan Govt. Continues to Harass Press Amid Worsening Human Rights Crisis
September 13, 2016 – The Venezuelan journalist Braulio Jatar, jailed after he reportedly posted a video online of a confrontation between angry citizens and President Nicolas Maduro, could face a long time behind bars as the human rights crisis in the country worsens, according to an Amnesty International official.

“There is a high risk he will remain in detention,” Erika Guevara-Rosas, the group’s Americas director, told CNSNews.com. The Maduro government has “co-opted” the judiciary to attack its opponents, she said, noting that students detained after anti-government protests last year were still sitting in jail awaiting trial. “We are very concerned that we are seeing another case of someone who is being detained for politically motivated reasons,” Guevara-Rosas said. “The detention of opposition leaders is putting the country in a very serious human rights crisis.” “The situation is very critical given the humanitarian crisis the country is facing.” Jatar, director of the news website Reporte Confidencial (Confidential Report) on Margarita Island, was seized Sept. 3 by the Venezuelan intelligence service and accused of money laundering, according to the Inter American Press Association (IAPA).

Authorities arrested Jatar on his way to work a day after a large crowd of angry citizens banging pots and pans confronted and then chased Maduro as he left an official event on foot in the island’s small town of Villa Rosa. According to Foreign Policy, Jatar posted online a video of the confrontation which he had filmed on his cell phone. The government initially denied it had detained Jatar, finally acknowledging his arrest 12 hours after he was secretly transferred from Margarita to a jail in Caracas, Guevara-Rosas said. His family and lawyers still do not have physical access to him and there’s a “question mark as to what is going to happen,” she added. Jatar holds both Chilean and Venezuelan citizenship, and the Chilean government demanded that the authorities reveal his location and respect “minimal norms,” the BBC reported. Brazil also condemned his detention, calling it a “clear” failure by Maduro’s government to respect fundamental liberties.

While Jatar remains in custody, 30 people arrested following the confrontation with Maduro on Margarita have all been released, the BBC reported. Jatar’s arrest follows a longstanding pattern of harassing journalists and denying freedom of expression that began when Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chavez, was first elected in 1999, according to Ricardo Trotti, executive director of the Inter American Press Association. “This is not new. It’s been like this since the beginning of the Chavismo era,” Trotti said by phone from Miami. “It’s not getting worse, because it’s always been like that,” he said. According to the IAPA, the Maduro government denied entry to numerous foreign journalists seeking to cover a massive Sept. 1 march in Caracas organized by the opposition, including reporters from NPR, the Miami Herald, Al Jazeera and the French newspaper Le Monde.

IAPA said the Colombian television broadcaster NTN24 “complained that its news, technical and production team in Venezuela has received verbal threats from self-styled ‘pro-government collectives.’” The publishers of the Venezuelan newspapers El Nacional, Tal Cual, and LaPatilla were all convicted of defamation after reporting that the president of Venezuela's National Assembly was being investigated by U.S. authorities for drug trafficking, according to Trotti. El Nacional publisher Miguel Otero is in self-exile in Miami. “He knows he is going to be arrested and thinks he doesn’t have any chance with the judicial system” in Venezuela, Trotti said, describing Venezuela as “one of the worst Latin American countries” for journalists. In Mexico, Trotti said, the problem is censorship enforced by organized crime. In Venezuela, it’s the state. “That’s the big difference between the two.”

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/...-rights-crisis

[donttread]

Deflection again. If we concentrate on human rights abuses elsewhere we don't have to clean up our own $#@!. The problem is hypocrits always get outed.

[waltky]

Let `em eat cake...

Venezuela Telling Hungry City Dwellers To Grow Their Own Food
November 1, 2016 • Some Venezuelan city dwellers are trying to grow their own produce to offset the country's severe shortages following socialist President Nicolas Maduro's calls for "food sovereignty."

But in a country where families are going hungry as a result of government mismanagement and sky-high inflation, many view the "Great Agro-Venezuela Mission" with skepticism. "Agriculture shouldn't be a solution" to the country's shortages, said former landowner Iraima Pacheco de Leandro, 54, a well-to-do government opponent who lives in Caracas.

Critics have taken to social media to accuse the government of downplaying the country's critical situation, and ridicule Maduro for trying to solve Venezuela's dire food crisis through getting urbanites to farm small plots of land. "Urban Farming in Venezuela. Thanks to @Nicolas Maduro" read one tweet accompanied by a photograph of a man and a dog sifting through trash, a common sight in Caracas as food supplies dwindle and black market prices soar. "BBC Venezuela report has Chavistas explaining how they're going to feed people, grow medicine, through urban farming. No, really," mocked another Twitter user.

When the project was presented in February, the newly created Ministry of Urban Agriculture announced that 12,000 square kilometers - about 4,600 square miles - would be planted in the first 100 days. The government promised to invest $300,000 in seeds, equipment and educational projects, and to help with logistics. The government urged citizens to plant in every available space - private terraces, communal areas, jails and schools, among other sites - but did not itself provide the land.

A woman buys goods at a supermarket in Caracas

Eight months into the project, only 21 square kilometers (about 8 square miles) of land have been cultivated, according to the ministry. "How are you going to tell someone with no space for a plot to grow [their own food]?" asked de Leandro, whose family-owned farm was expropriated, like many other businesses, under former president Hugo Chavez's nationalization program.

Some Venezuelans try to look on the bright side of the experiment: Producing their own food can reduce the time spent on the streets of Caracas, where crime is skyrocketing. For de Leandro, who was once kidnapped for ransom, this is a comforting thought. She grows a stunning array of vegetables on one of her terraces. But not all Caraquenians have enough land to cultivate produce, and water is also in short supply due to a drought.

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Pets starved, abandoned as Venezuela economic crisis deepens
7 Sept.`16 - Carlos Parra used to love waking up to see his pet albino boxer, Nina. Now, seeing her skeletal body on the floor next to his bed has become a daily reminder of the economic crisis engulfing Venezuela.

His other dog's thick fur barely hides her ribcage as Parra struggles to feed his pets after losing his job at a shoe store. "It's terrible to sit and eat, see them watching me with hunger, and not be able to do anything," said the 30-year-old. As Venezuela's economic crunch worsens, food shortages and rising poverty are forcing once middle-class Venezuelans to do the unthinkable: let their pets starve or abandon them in the streets. No figures are available, but activists and veterinarians say they are seeing a growing number of dogs and cats abandoned at parks, shelters, and private clinics.

An abandoned dog so skinny his ribcage is visible waits to be fed at the private shelter Funasissi, in the working-class Caracas neighborhood of El Junquito, Venezuela

In Caracas it has become common to see purebred dogs rummaging in the trash or lying outdoors, filthy and gaunt, in posh neighborhoods. The animal protection and control center in the capital's Baruta neighborhood saw as many as 10 animals abandoned each day this summer, head veterinarian Russer Rios said. Up to about a year ago there were almost none. "Now people just leave them here because they can't take care of them," Rios said.

Three rescued cats watch from the top of a fridge as their food is prepared at the private shelter Funasissi, in the working-class Caracas neighborhood of El Junquito, Venezuela

Shelters are running classes teaching pet owners to look for food substitutes in the hopes of helping them maintain their pets through the crisis. At one private shelter in the working-class Caracas neighborhood of El Junquito, a popular alternative for dogs that would never have been considered in better times is chickenfeed. "We have to give it to them because there's nothing else," Katty Quintas, a part owner of the Funasissi shelter, said as three skinny cats looked on hungrily from the top of a refrigerator. The shelter is now home to more than 200 cats and dogs.

Abandoned dogs gather for feeding time at the private shelter Funasissi, in the working-class Caracas neighborhood of El Junquito, Venezuela

One of the country's largest animal shelters is run by Mission Nevado, a government program set up by socialist President Nicolas Maduro and named in honor of independence hero Simon Bolivar's four-legged sidekick, dubbed "Nevado" for its white, snow-like fur. Program veterinarian Angel Mancilla said the shelter, which currently houses about 100 cats and dogs, has collapsed under the influx. "We're crying every day. You leave each day feeling traumatized," Mancilla said. Pet owners say the price of dog food has more than doubled in recent months to $2 a pound, more than a day's pay for those earning the minimum wage.

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[patrickt]

Deflection again. If we concentrate on human rights abuses elsewhere we don't have to clean up our own $#@!. The problem is hypocrits always get outed.

Speaking of deflection. Neither irony nor hypocrisy is dead. The reality is hypocrites out themselves, don't they?

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - da fix is in... Venezuela's high court forbids parliament from holding Maduro trial Nov. 15, 2016 -- Venezuela's high court on Tuesday approved an injunction filed by Attorney General Reinaldo Muñoz against the opposition-controlled National Assembly.

Supreme Tribunal of Justice, or TSJ, through its Constitutional Hall, issued the injunction -- or recurso de amparo -- that opposition parliamentarians refrain from carrying out a proposed "political judgment" against President Nicolas Maduro or any other act deemed "unconstitutional."

The TSJ's ruling comes after the Democratic Unity Roundtable opposition coalition vowed this week to bring Maduro to trial. The National Assembly in late October said Maduro would stand trial -- a symbolic trial that was later delayed -- after the opposition's efforts to carry out a recall referendum were suspended by the National Electoral Council, which is accused, along with the TSJ, of favoring Maduro. The opposition lawmakers said Maduro staged a coup d'etat by ordering unconstitutional actions, referring to the suspension of the referendum. Muñoz last week said the National Assembly's assertion that Maduro staged an unconstitutional coup d'etat and its intent to make Maduro stand trial are grounds for legal repercussions -- prompting him to file the now-approved injunction. Despite the TSJ's ruling, the opposition said it will continue with the trial. Maduro was asked to attend the trial in Caracas's Federal Legislative Palace in person to face the unicameral legislature's charges before it was delayed. "Absolutely null the new decision by the 'TSJ Unconstitutional Hall' declaring cautious favor for Maduro promoted by the cheap attorney general of the republic," Henry Ramos Allup, leader of Venezuela's National Assembly legislature, said in a statement. "'TSJ Unconstitutional Hall,' fraudulent, designed to violate the Constitution, may give instructions to its gangs of minions but not to the National Assembly elected by the people." http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-Ne...?spt=sec&or=tn

See also: Maduro asks Obama to take back calling Venezuela a national security threat Nov. 14, 2016 -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has called on U.S. President Barack Obama to revoke a decree in which he called the South American country's situation a "threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States."

During his weekly television program Sunday, Maduro said Venezuela will once again formally petition Obama to repeal the decree. Maduro said he will bring up the matter with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. "President Obama, you can win the admiration of the people of Venezuela if you have the courage to sign a decree repealing that infamous decree that says our beloved homeland Venezuela is a threat to the United States," Maduro said. In March 2015, Obama signed an executive order declaring a national emergency to protect human rights and democratic institutions in Venezuela and to protect the U.S. financial system from illicit capital flows from the country. The executive order also imposed sanctions against seven Venezuelan officials.

Maduro said the decree, which was extended in March, is "an atrocity that I hope Barack Obama corrects before he leaves office." Venezuela is facing an ongoing economic and political crisis under Maduro's leadership. In September, Kerry and Maduro met in Colombia. Though the officials did not reveal what they discussed, Kerry said that the Obama administration is "deeply concerned about events in Venezuela," but added that, "We want to be constructive. We are not looking for conflict." In a positive note between U.S. and Venezuelan relations, Obama sent Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas A. Shannon, Jr. to Caracas earlier this month to aid in mediation efforts during negotiations between Maduro's regime and the opposition. "Ambassador Shannon will meet with senior government officials, members of the political opposition, and representatives of civil society," the U.S. Department of State said in a statement. "His visit will underscore our support for the ongoing dialogue process, and our interest in the well-being of the Venezuelan people." http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-Ne...?spt=sec&or=tn

[patrickt]

Deflection again. If we concentrate on human rights abuses elsewhere we don't have to clean up our own $#@!. The problem is hypocrits always get outed.

In the U.S., the media is loathe to "out" hypocrites on the left. She share the dream of Venzuela or Cuba or North Korea in the former U.S.

I have sympathy with the people of Venezuela. I hope they don't let the U.S. stifle their efforts to clean up the mess. President Obama and his party have been staunch supporters of the leftists in Venezuela.

But, remembering the OP, only the UN would see Venezuela and Cuba and Libya as appropriate champions for human rights.

[donttread]

"The U.S. was elected to a second term on the U.N.'s Human Rights Council on Monday.

Venezuela also secured a position on the council, which means Obama administration officials will now be working side by side on Human Rights' issues with officials from the government of Hugo Chavez, the Latin American leader who said he wished he could have voted for Obama."
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2...Rights-Council

Now, when President Obama finishes visiting his bunk buddies in Russia he can stop by Venezuela to see how he can implement Hugo Chavez' views on human rights in the U.S.

Who will be helping whom? Especially when it comes to the rights of a citizen to get high with THEIR substance of choice, whether said substance is produced by megacorps or not

[waltky]

U.S. Congress proposes sanctions for Venezuela corruption...

US lawmakers propose sanctions for Venezuela food corruption
Jan 23,`17 -- Venezuelan officials may face U.S. sanctions for profiting from food shortages that have exacerbated hunger in the South American country.

The calls by members of Congress on both sides of the aisle come in response to an Associated Press investigation that found trafficking in hard-to-find food has become big business in Venezuela, with the military at the heart of the graft. Embattled socialist President Nicolas Maduro has given the military increasingly broad control over the food supply as shortages have led to widespread malnutrition this year. "When the military is profiting off of food distribution while the Venezuelan people increasingly starve, corruption has reached a new level of depravity that cannot go unnoticed," said Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, the ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee.

The AP report published last month detailed a chain of dirty dealing by the military, including kickbacks to generals for food contracts and bribes to move food out of the port. Some of the food is purchased in the U.S. and some of the bribes passed through the U.S. banking system. U.S. prosecutors are investigating senior Venezuelan officials, including members of the military, for laundering riches from food contracts through the U.S. financial system, the AP learned from four people with direct knowledge of the probes. No charges have been brought.

New government cargo trucks used to transport imported food wait outside the entrance of the Laramar warehouse in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, the port city where the majority of Venezuela's imported food arrives. The calls by members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to sanction Venezuelan officials for profiting from food shortages come in response to an Associated Press investigation that found trafficking in hard-to-find food has become big business in Venezuela, with the military at the heart of the graft.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, said President Donald Trump should take immediate action to sanction the top officials named in the AP report. "This should be one of President Trump's first actions in office," Rubio, who is chairman of the Foreign Relations subcommittee that oversees Latin America, said in a statement. The Associated Press cited documents and testimony from business owners who pointed to food minister Gen. Rodolfo Marco Torres and his predecessor, Gen. Carlos Osorio, as key figures involved in fraudulent food imports. Neither official responded to requests for comment, but in the past, both have dismissed charges of corruption as empty accusations propagated by political opponents.

Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Florida, said she is urging the State and Treasury Departments to apply sanctions to Marco Torres and Osorio, as well as anyone else getting rich off Venezuela's food shortages. She is also asking that government agencies ensure U.S. companies are not doing business directly with any Venezuelan business owners fronting for corrupt officials. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-New Jersey, joined her in calling for those involved in food corruption to be held accountable. In 2015, the Obama administration, at the urging of Rubio and Menendez, froze U.S. assets and denied visas for top Venezuelan officials accused of drug trafficking and of human rights violations during a wave of anti-government protests. Maduro responded by calling the U.S. lawmakers "terrorists" bent on destabilizing the oil-rich nation, and banned them from Venezuela.

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[waltky]

Anti-Corruption efforts in So. America shines spotlight on two politicians...

Venezuela probing allegations of $100M bribes under Chavez, Maduro
Jan. 26, 2017 -- Venezuela's Chief Prosecutor Luisa Ortega Díaz on Thursday said the Public Ministry launched an investigation into accusations officials under late former President Hugo Chavez and his replacement Nicolas Maduro received nearly $100 million in bribes from Brazilian company Odebrecht.

"An arrest warrant was issued against a person for his alleged involvement in the Odebrecht case," Ortega Díaz during her In tune with the Public Ministry radio program. Ortega Díaz said she will coordinate with the attorney general of Brazil to send a Venezuelan prosecutor to Brazil to interview Marcelo Odebrecht, the Brazilian company's CEO and tycoon sentenced in March to 19 years in prison.

Ortega Díaz also said authorities in Switzerland requested information regarding the accounts of several Venezuelan officials over alleged links to the bribes, including a list of all Venezuelans who received deposits from Odebrecht directly or indirectly.

The company is accused of paying about $98 million in bribes to Venezuelan officials from 2006 through 2015 to obtain and hold public works contracts. Odebrecht in December agreed to pay at least $2.6 billion in criminal penalties over its role in the massive corruption scandal.

Dozens of Brazilian business leaders and politicians have been indicted for corruption, money laundering and racketeering over the scandal in Petrobras, a semi-public oil and gas company. Politicians are accused of accepting bribes -- either personal bribes or bribes distributed to their political party -- in exchange for lucrative government contracts for Odebrecht and Braskem.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-Ne...l&utm_medium=9

See also:

Ex-billionaire Eike Batista targeted in Brazil corruption probe
Jan. 26, 2017 -- Brazilian authorities on Thursday began an operation seeking the arrest of nine people, including former billionaire Eike Batista, related to the Petrobras corruption scandal.

Brazilian Federal Police attempted to arrest Batista at his home in an upscale Rio de Janeiro neighborhood, but Batista's lawyers said the former billionaire was traveling, adding that he planned to turn himself in to authorities after returning, G1 Rio de Janeiro reported. Police said Batista and the other suspects -- identified as "large business owners" -- are accused of laundering about $100 million, most of which has already been repatriated to Brazil. The suspects are accused of active corruption, passive corruption, criminal organization and money laundering.

About 80 Brazilian Federal Police officers carried out arrest and search and seizure operations on Thursday. The warrants were issued by Brazil's 7th Federal Criminal Court. Batista's $35 billion fortune plummeted after Brazil's economy crashed starting in 2014, which led to the collapse of his Grupo EBX conglomerate.

Dozens of Brazilian business leaders and politicians have been indicted for corruption, money laundering and racketeering over the scandal in Petrobras, a semi-public oil and gas company. Politicians are accused of accepting bribes -- either personal bribes or bribes distributed to their political party -- in exchange for lucrative government contracts. In 2015, the Brazilian economy was nearly 5 percent smaller than it was the previous year. The Petrobras scandal is partly to blame because it led to decreases in foreign investment.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-Ne...1485436892/?st