Briefing

Venezuela Is the Least Peaceful Country in the Region

Venezuela was ranked the least peaceful country in the region and 152nd in security, out of 163 countries. UN High Commissioner for Refugees claimed that one of four Venezuelan children has been separated from his or her parents, one of four goes to bed hungry, and around two-thirds haven’t gone to school since the pandemic started. 

Naky Soto

Photo: Open Democracy

  • Canada held the second International Donors’ Conference in Solidarity with Venezuelan Refugees and Migrants. They raised $1.5 billion dollars, less than last year, even though the number of migrants and refugees increased and that they’re undergoing worse conditions as a consequence of the pandemic. Canadian minister Karina Gould said she was satisfied with the result of the conference and the presence of 46 countries. 
  • UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi assured that this is a critical moment in the situation of Venezuelans: One of four Venezuelan children has been separated from his or her parents, one of four goes to bed hungry, and around two-thirds haven’t gone to school since the pandemic started. 
    • UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the increase of discrimination and xenophobia and explained the impact of the pandemic has been devastating for these vulnerable groups. 
    • He warned that closing the borders forced Venezuelans to flee in even worse conditions and highlighted the importance of including Venezuelans in vaccination plans. 
    • There were testimonies of Venezuelan children being bullied in school in other Latin American countries. 

  • Foreign minister Jorge Arreaza went to Turkey to participate in the Antalya Diplomatic Forum and UE High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell will meet with him there. The EU restated the support for a negotiation that allows for free and fair elections. 
  • Nicolás Maduro Guerra revealed that there are four new special economic areas to reactivate production: Falcón, Puerto Cabello-Morón, Vargas and Nueva Esparta. According to him, the law will give confidence to the private sector and “new property figures”. He means the communal figure. 
  • The U.S. Treasury Department issued a special license authorizing Venezuela to make transactions related to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of COVID-19. 

  • The president of the Venezuelan Insurance Chamber María del Carmen Bouffard said that the cases so far in 2021, exceed those in 2020 by far: they’ve had 17,000 insured citizens with the virus. 
  • Two men in a motorcycle injured writer Milagros Mata Gil, who was detained in April for writing a FB post about a wedding that Tarek Wiliam Saab attended. 
  • Foro Penal reported that Colonel Ruperto Sánchez has been released after seven years in prison, for allegedly being involved in conspiracy plans. 
  • In Venezuela, internet speed is 7 megabits per second, explained Pedro Marín, the president of the Telecom Service Business Chamber. Mobile internet in Venezuela is the second slowest in the world, according to the ranking published by Hootsuite in February. 
  • The di Korsou Refinery, property of Curaçao, is planning to re-sell 865,000 barrels of oil and other products to settle the debt of PDVSA. 
  • The Plataforma Unitaria de Venezuela reported the start of an international tour to gather support for the negotiation process that will achieve the National Salvation Agreement (ASN). The commission is led by Gerardo Blyde.
  • The Nigerian Ambassador to Venezuela Olorundare Phillip Awoniyi arrived to Venezuela yesterday. 
  • Venezuelan goalkeeper Wuilker Fariñez had an extraordinary game yesterday and managed to stop what could have been eight goals by the Colombian team. We tied 0-0.

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.

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