Caracas Chronicles

• In its yearly report, Amnesty International affirms that the repressive policy of the Maduro regime hasn’t improved and denounced new cases of extrajudicial executions, excessive use of force, arbitrary detentions, torture, and other cruel and inhuman treatment.  “Human rights activists and journalists were victims of intimidation, harassment, aggression, and detention,” said Amnesty International, citing cases like FundaRedes director Javier Tarazona. 
  • They also mentioned that in January 2021, 14 men were killed during a security operation in La Vega, western Caracas, in circumstances that point to have been extrajudicial executions (…) According to the UN Fact-Finding Mission, the police forces have killed over 200 people until March.” Amnesty International documented violations of other human rights in Venezuela, like collapsed public services, the complex humanitarian emergency, a weak health system, and fuel shortages. 

• The minimum wage increase ordered by Maduro came into effect on March 15th, but pensioners of the Venezuelan Institute for Social Services (IVSS) are still waiting: they received their last payment on February 9th. Carlos Alberto Garrido, a representative of CANTV’s association of retired workers, denounced that some members haven’t had access to their medicine in two months. 

The Venezuelan Prison Observatory said that inmates at INOF were punished for at least three months, after a raid where they found cell phones. They punished prisoners without food that they receive from their family members because the food provided by the prison is disgusting. 

• Blanca Eekhout, Carola Chávez and Luis Martínez are part of the delegation Nicolás sent to Argentina to demand an investigation of former President Mauricio Macri’s alleged plans to invade Venezuela. 
• The time that the National Assembly established on Friday to appoint 20 new justices to the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) hasn’t expired. José Gregorio Correa said they don’t have a definitive list. They’re negotiating power quotas for some political groups close to chavismo. 
• The 2015 AN debated the unconstitutionality of the Judicial Branch reform, as a mechanism to try to elude the International Criminal Court. 
• Roszarubezhneft, a Russian company that has stakes in five companies in Venezuela, is trying to transfer assets in the country to another company in Moscow, to avoid potential embargoes amid Russian sanctions. The companies produce around 125,000 BPD, 16% of the 788,000 BPD that Venezuela produced last month. 

Utopix reported that there were 41 femicides in Venezuela during the first two months of the year, an average of one woman being murdered every 35 hours. In 2021, there was one femicide every 36 hours. 

• Ítalo Atencio, president of the National Supermarket Association, said that most establishments haven’t been able to adjust to the new tax on big transactions, affecting the whole value chain. Some stores started charging the tax but others opted for suspending payments in foreign currency. 
• A proposition approved by the Spanish parliament exhorts the Spanish government to defend press freedom in Venezuela, “freedom of expression and commercial freedom, systematically violated by Nicolás Maduro.” 
• The negotiation between Russia and Ukraine re-started on Tuesday in Istanbul. Moscow announced that they’ll reduce military activity around the capital “with the goal of increasing mutual trust and creating necessary conditions for future negotiations,” even though they said it’s not a ceasefire agreement. Ukraine insisted on security guarantees in exchange for renouncing NATO membership and sealing its neutrality. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the U.S. is paying attention to what Russia does, not what it says. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the Russian invasion “is about to end” and asked Denmark to strengthen sanctions against Russia. Western countries agreed to keep sanctions and continue to provide military aid for Ukraine. 
• The UN has confirmed the death of 1,179 Ukrainian civilians.