Briefing

Coyote Travel Agency Services for Venezuelans

AP published a piece on Venezuelans who pay 3,000 dollars per person to coyotes that are promoting travel agency services for transportation to the U.S.

Naky Soto

Photo: AP

  • Abdala, the Cuban vaccine candidate, is one of the five formulas being developed in the island. According to the Cuban dictatorship, Abdala has shown 92% efficiency, even though patients need three doses, one every two weeks. The third phase of the trial started in May in Cuba, with 48,000 volunteers, and will apparently end in Venezuela. Abdala isn’t certified and there’s no evidence of its quality, efficiency, or safety but on June, 24th, Delcy Rodríguez announced the agreement with Cuba as an achievement. They agreed to buy 12 million doses of this experiment that they presented as a vaccine. Only 30,000 doses arrived in the country. 
  • In Venezuela, there’s still no talk of protecting the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community, despite the hard work of activists for decades. 
    • On Monday, a group protested in front of the UN office and delivered a letter to OCHA’s Samir Elhawary. They demanded that the UN include indicators on sexual orientation and gender identity in UN surveys, to overcome the invisibilization of the community that impacts the financing of humanitarian programs. 
  • PSUV members denounced irregularities during the day when they were nominating their candidates in at least five states. They say some candidates were excluded, that voting centers were arbitrarily closed or opened late, that they were refused participation, among other concerns. 
  • Diosdado Cabello admitted to the irregularities: “We have asked that the claims are backed with the necessary evidence to proceed until the last stage of the process,” he said. 
  • The Interior Ministry donated Caracas’ Peace Quadrants with 100 vehicles (cars, SUVs, bikes, bicycles and ambulances) to protect “recovered spaces” and the citizens “who will enjoy the restored areas.” 
  • Maduro awarded the Simón Bolívar National Prize of Journalism. VTV anchorman Barry Cartaya was the speaker. His speech included offending those “who show a country in ruins” and “colleagues who sell their work to protect the aggressors.” 
  • Maduro said that starting with the regional elections he’ll eliminate protectors: “I think the best thing to do is, no matter who wins, that the winner governs their state, their municipality,” meaning he admitted to mocking the voters’ will and promised to respect it from now, as the authority and competences of the winner. 
  • CNE rector Roberto Picón reported that “they’re giving the final steps” so politicians who have been barred from running for office can do so on November 21st. 
    • He said that this decision isn’t up to the CNE, but that they’re in the process of building a solution: “We’re all interested in better conditions because an election that nobody believes in isn’t good for anyone,” he said. 
    • Former Zulia governor Francisco Arias Cárdenas announced that he’ll arrive in Maracaibo on June 30th to govern the state again. 
    • Political party MAS announced they’re supporting 15 candidates for governorships. 
  • The National Journalists Guild denounced that the director of the Pérez de León Hospital in Petare, Miranda, Zaira Medina, harassed journalist Miguel Da Silva when he was interviewing family members of the victims who were run over by a CICPC detective. 
  • Deputy Delsa Solorzano said that she’s gotten information from family members of prisoners at DCGIM and Fuerte Tiuna, 13 military officers and four civilians are malnourished, don’t have access to sunlight and are being tortured. 
  • Deputy Blanca Eekhout said that the Law of Communal Cities means to strengthen “the people’s ability to govern and self-govern in their own space.” However, 123 organizations denounced this project as unconstitutional. 
  • The caretaker government thanked Brazil for approving a process for Venezuelan migrants and refugees: all citizens who entered Brazil since March 2020 will be able to obtain documents and regular immigration status. 

  • Pope Francis received U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who reiterated his country’s support for restoring democracy and rebuilding Venezuela. 
  • Maduro tweeted about his commitment to China and said that the cooperation between both nations “became an example for the history of new diplomacy.” 
  • Joe Biden and Iván Duque included the Venezuelan situation in their phone call on Monday. In a communiqué, Casa de Nariño said that Biden showed concern for our crisis and “highlighted the importance of seeking international consensus for free and fair elections.” 

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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