Caracas Chronicles

• On Tuesday morning, Manuel Isidro Molina, general director of Radio Rumbos, a radio station that had been broadcasting for 71 uninterrupted years, read a ruling by the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice establishing that the station now belongs to banker Pedro Torres Ciliberto. 
  • Whatever the reason behind this serious action, the State should preserve access to information as a public interest good, so getting rid of scheduled programming violates citizens’ rights to access information. 
  • Molina said that they’ll ask the TSJ to reconsider their ruling and said that they haven’t received a notification by the Constitutional Chamber or any judge in the Caracas metropolitan area, so he said the process was irregular. 

• Reporters Without Borders published its report on the press freedom situation in 180 countries. Venezuela ranked 148th. 
  • According to Reporters Without Borders, Latin America “shows the worst loss in regional scores this year.” 
  • There are eight countries in the region in a difficult or very difficult situation: Bolivia (110th), Brazil (111th), Guatemala (116th), Nicaragua (121st), Colombia (134th), Mexico (143rd), Venezuela (148th) y Honduras (151st).

• Over 660 civil society organizations issued a communique to reject the regime’s decision to force them to register before the “Office Against Organized Crime and Terrorism Financing”. They warned that this action is unconstitutional and violates international laws on the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

• Primero Justicia issued a statement ratifying their wish for a political agreement that would open the door for democracy in Venezuela. 
  • They reiterated their commitment to democratic unity and expressed their support for “a process that leads to free elections and democratic change.” 
  • PJ said that the largest responsibility in a potential agreement is in Maduro’s hands. 
  • They demanded a balanced CNE, legalizing political parties, and an electoral calendar with guarantees and international observation. 

• Dr. Julio Castro said that AstraZeneca produces almost 70% of COVAX vaccines, so if that purchase is blocked, the suppliers decrease and with it the available supply. 
• Because of chavismo’s rejection of the Oxford vaccine, without showing scientific evidence to sustain it, they endanger the purchase of 2.5 million doses from COVAX in May. Delaying the vaccination process costs lives. 
• The National Academy of Medicine reiterated that the national vaccination plan has a statistics system that allows consolidating data to process and analyze the information collected. The academy reiterated their offer to advise the State in designing the vaccination plan.  
• The Russian Fund for Direct Investment and Richmond Labs announced the production of the first batch of Sputnik V in Argentina. 
• Cendas director Óscar Meza reported that the basic food basket cost 322.57 dollars in March, meaning almost 613 million bolivars. You’d need $10 per day (11.35 minimum wages) to cover the cost of food. 
• The president of the Private Schools Association Fausto Romero said that we need to find a way to allow children back in the classrooms, in a safe yet not massive manner.

• There was an accident at the Puerto La Cruz refinery over the weekend, where some workers even had third-degree burns. In order to start producing gas again, they must fix the electricity failure that generated the blackout. 
• José Brito, a deputy to Maduro’s National Assembly, assured without evidence that Monómeros, under the protection of the 2015 National Assembly, is providing urea, a chemical used to process cocaine, to Colombian drug traffickers. 
• The UNHCR reported that over 50,000 Venezuelan migrants and refugees have been taken to 675 cities in Brazil as part of a nationwide program that has improved the quality of life of one out of five Venezuelans in the country. 
• The UN Committee of Migrant Workers expressed its concern for the Chilean government’s decision to expel Venezuelans. The committee recommended respecting these people’s rights. 
• Alex Saab’s defense sent a letter to President Joe Biden, requesting that his administration stops pressuring for his extradition. 

A report by Spain’s Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit accused former ambassador Raúl Morodo of paying commissions to René Arreaza, José Vicente Rangel’s right-hand man, to obtain millionaire contracts with PDVSA when Rangel was the vice president. Jorge Arreaza was also involved.