A New COVAX Contract

Maduro’s regime asked COVAX to change the initial contract to get vaccines, said PAHO deputy director Jarbas Barbosa. U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported that they’ve seen sustained growth in the numbers of Venezuelan migrants crossing the border with Mexico.

Photo: Ariana Cubillos / AP

  • Maduro’s regime asked COVAX to change the initial contract to get vaccines, said PAHO deputy director Jarbas Barbosa. 
    • Barbosa revealed that “in the beginning, it wasn’t clear if Venezuela was going to stay with COVAX or not, but thankfully, it is, and they’re even making the payments that all high-income countries have to make.” 
    • He added that the country is negotiating with COVAX but in order to obtain access to the vaccines, they must pay the debt, 10,031,000 dollars.  
    • PAHO’s Emergency director Ciro Ugarte said that Venezuela has confirmed the presence of two variants of the virus. 
  • ANC-imposed prosecutor general Tarek William Saab said they detained three public officers for fraud and embezzlement: “Eight citizens were detained, among them three workers of the Economy and Finance Ministry, for stealing large sums of money from this institution and from Fonden.” He said that the workers installed “AnyDesk” in a computer to access the ministry’s systems, passwords, and accounts. “With the information, they transferred the money to accounts they borrowed. Then they gave the money to third parties or bought dollars,” said Saab. He spoke of detaining 269 public prosecutors for corruption as a victory. 
  • Vice president Delcy Rodríguez traveled to Qatar to “strengthen bilateral relations” and work on the agreements for the economy, oil and customs. 
  • The Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) lifted all measures against Galaxy Entertainment (Directv) executives. NGO Acceso a la Justicia explained that in 2020, TSJ had already lifted some of the measures to allow the sale of Directv. ç
  • The Interior Ministry published photos of 18 members of the gang-controlled by a.k.a. Mayeya, who allegedly controls parts of La Vega in Caracas. Cofavic rejected the violent actions in the area and warned that the attacks have affected unarmed neighbors. 
  • Humberto Ramírez, Vice Minister of Interior, said they had destroyed over 31,000 weapons that were confiscated. He said that’s how they’ll guarantee peace for Venezuelans. 
  • Deputy elected to the 2015 Assembly Gilberto Sojo was once again a victim of procedural delays, his hearing didn’t take place yesterday. “Judge Hennit López is being indifferent to the case and violating due process,” said the National Observatory of Human Rights. 
  • During Pride Month, a gay couple and a trans woman were murdered in Baruta. Several NGOs have asked for protection for members of the LGBTQAI+ community and demanded the media to correctly cover the cases and respect the victims’ dignity. 

  • Karim Khan swore his oath of office as the new chief prosecutor of the ICC yesterday. Amnesty International exhorted Khan to not delay the decision on the preliminary investigation for crimes against humanity in Venezuela. 
  • It’s been a year since the first death in the healthcare sector of COVID-19 in Venezuela. Médicos Unidos said that there have been at least 651 deaths in a year, 450 of which have been doctors. Despite the figures, Maduro’s regime hasn’t executed a solid plan for vaccinating healthcare workers. 
  • Zulia governor Omar Prieto, Governor de Zulia used a mandatory TV and radio broadcast to favor PSUV and their alleged primaries. He also promoted his candidacy. 
  • CNE vice president Enrique Márquez warned Maduro he can’t use his position to favor candidates or any political party. 
  • About the investigation of VTV, Márquez said that he’s waiting for the CNE president to invite media outlets to speak about the need to respect the law. 
  • Juan Guaidó considers the elections in November could serve to mobilize and organize Venezuelans, if they’re part of a broader calendar that includes presidential elections: “We have to give a political answer to this milestone we’re going to face,” he said in a conversation on Twitter. He mentioned that this “isolated” election isn’t a solution and insisted that we need to demand fair conditions and an electoral calendar. 
  • The Central Bank (BCV) reported an increase of 28.5% in the National Consumer Price Index in May.

Naky Soto

Naky gets called Naibet at home and at the bank. She coordinates training programs for an NGO. She collects moments and turns them into words. She has more stories than freckles.