Caracas Chronicles

• Rains have caused floods and damages in many states, especially in Merida, where 18 people have died, six people are missing and over 400 families have lost everything. Governor Ramón Guevara confirmed that the Tovar municipality is the most affected. 
  • In Zulia, the Chama River has flooded and caused the collapse of a couple of bridges and a dam, leaving 1,200 families uncommunicated. It also compromised most of the plantain crop, there are around 12,000 hct. in danger. 
  • In Portuguesa, the failures of the sewage system have caused an emergency in Guanarito. 
  • In Apure, there are areas that have been flooded for two weeks and remain underwater. 

• Interior minister Remigio Ceballos reported the country is on an “emergency alert” because of the rains and said they’ll last for ten more days. He said that 54,543 people have been affected in ten states and said that they’re distributing 313 tonnes of food, medicine and supplies, but didn’t say where these resources came from. Current authorities and chavista candidates are using it as an opportunity to campaign. 
• Maduro went there: “I could say that something good comes out of the bad, because with all this persecution—of the sanctions—we managed to move from an oil economy to a diverse economy.” He forgot to say that, because of chavismo’s economic policies, the country lost 90% of its productive capacity.
• Foreign minister, Félix Plasencia, welcomed the statement of his Peruvian counterpart, Óscar Maúrtua, where he expressed his willingness to accompany the Mexico process.

The deadline to submit candidates for the November election is six days away and Acción Democrática, Primero Justicia, Voluntad Popular and Un Nuevo Tiempo haven’t decided which candidates will be running. 

• The deputy of Maduro’s Assembly and former presidential candidate Javier Bertucci formalized he’s running for governor of Carabobo. Enzo Scarano called for unity and said he’ll put his name forward for consideration but that he’ll wait for consensus. 
• The Observatorio Venezolano de Conflictividad Social (OVCS) registered 671 protests in 2021, for an average of 22 protests per day: 91 demanding vaccines, 81 for fuel, 173 for labor rights and 152 tied to political participation. 
• The new Education Minister and former Monagas governor Yelitze Santaella, was governing a state that, according to the president of the Monagas Federation of Teachers, Jesús Sánchez, lost 50% of every part of the public education system, including students, teachers and administrative personnel. 

Roland Carreño was arbitrarily detained 304  ago. Lawyer Ana Leonor Acosta warned that he’s undergoing a legal process even though there’s no evidence against him and that the case files are full of fake information. 

• Juan Guaidó highlighted that despite the distrust in Nicolás’s regime and Jorge Rodríguez, the negotiation process has the support of the international community and guarantees that will allow an agreement for a solution to the Venezuelan crisis: “We aren’t expecting the regime to act in good faith but creating the conditions to have the guarantees for all sectors, included those who are keeping Maduro in power,” he said. 
• The IPU’s agenda was suspended because one of its representatives, Nassirou Bako-Arifari, tested positive for COVID-19. 
• Miami’s prosecutor office requested the Cape Verde Supreme Court for a 30-day extension to counter-argue the defense presented by Alex Saab’s legal team. If they approve, the final decision on the case could be delayed until October.  
• American senator Chris Coons considers that Colombia isn’t receiving as much help as it needs to receive 1.8 million Venezuelan migrants.
• Julio Borges exhorted Chile to review their immigration policy to avoid the deaths of Venezuelans dying while trying to enter using illegal pathways. 
• Cáritas has an account for donations for the people who have been affected by the floods: 

Banco Provincial

N° 0108 0032 3102 0000 0492

A.C. Cáritas de Venezuela

RIF J-304856970.