What Happened Last Week In Venezuela? 🏔️ The Country Loses Its Last Glacier
A military refugee is kidnapped in Chile, Venezuela wraps its last glacier in plastic and Chavismo and the opposition meet to define a date for the elections.
Venezuela loses its last glacier
The Ministry of Ecosocialism began a process to cover the remains of Venezuela’s last glacier, La Corona, on Humboldt Peak at 4,900 meters above sea level with a plastic blanket. It hopes to slow the inevitable end of the last glacier, making Venezuela the first country in the world to lose its glaciers to climate change.
The proposal has been criticized by academic groups who allege that it was not properly consulted and that it has environmental risks for mountain species and communities that may be affected by plastic waste.
According to a group of scientists specialized in the Venezuelan Andean peaks, the Humboldt glacier “is no longer a glacier and we should consider it officially dead” because it has become too thin and is already in “negative balance”: that is, it is melting faster of what it is capable of accumulating in the form of ice.
A new opportunity for Citgo?
New York’s highest court ruled that Venezuelan law governs whether PDVSA bonds are valid, after the opposition argued that they were not approved by the National Assembly at the time. But the court left the decision on whether to consider them invalid to federal courts. This would be a victory for the opposition fighting for Citgo.
The decision calls into question the validity of bonds that, until recently, investors considered safe. These were backed by the Citgo holding and the bondholders were counting on the sale of Citgo assets to pay the requests.
PDVSA bonds subsequently collapsed. The drop in bond values continued on Wednesday, Bloomberg reported, after a decline of 17 cents in the previous two days. They were trading at around 72 cents on the dollar.
However, Venezuelan sovereign bonds and those of PDVSA will once again be part of JPMorgan's emerging market debt indices for a three-month period starting in April. Venezuelan bonds responded to the news with a rise of 3.5 cents, reaching around 21 cents on the dollar on Thursday afternoon.
The Barbados zombie
The delegations of Chavismo and the Unitary Platform met, together with representatives of the Kingdom of Norway, to discuss the electoral schedule following the Barbados Agreements. Previously, Chavismo did the same with representatives of the loyal “oppositions.”
Jorge Rodríguez, Chavismo's chief negotiator, assured that he received a proposal for the date and schedule of elections from the Unitary Platform. The opposition coalition, for its part, denied having made a proposal and said that a joint working team will be formed to make a formal proposal for a date for the presidential elections.
The Unitary Platform demanded the activation –following the Barbados Agreements– of massive operations to update and register in the Electoral Registry and denounced an "unjustified delay" by Chavismo in calling for international observers.
Gerardo Blyde, chief negotiator of the opposition, sent a document to Norway –the country mediating the negotiations– denouncing eight violations of the Agreements by Chavismo. The Platform reiterated that, together with its candidate María Corina Machado, it remains "on the electoral path."
Comando Con Vzla , María Corina Machado's campaign center, called on Venezuelans to form self-managed “comanditos” –of 10 or 15 people– for the organization, mobilization and defense of the vote in Venezuela's presidential elections. Machado promoted the creation of these during her visit to the state of Sucre. Also, the Bolivarian National Police blocked the candidate's passage at the San Antonio de Capayacuar checkpoint in Monagas. But locals came out to support her, helping her cross a bridge in front of the officials who could not stop her.
Rocío saw her daughter
After a call between the foreign ministers of Spain and Venezuela, the daughter of Rocío San Miguel's –an expert in military affairs recently detained in what human rights activists described as a "forced disappearance”– was able to visit her at the Helicoide. According to Joel García, San Miguel's lawyer, her daughter was able to confirm that “despite the unjust deprivation of her freedom, [San Miguel] is strengthened and very confident of her innocence.”
Attorney General Tarek W. Saab accused San Miguel of being a "spy." The alleged evidence includes –publicly accessible– maps demarcating security zones, lists with military profiles and having “delivered sensitive data” on air defense to European ambassadors.
San Miguel has not been able to see her lawyers and has not been allowed the right to appoint a technical defense of his confidence.
The United Nations human rights office also confirmed that its staff left the country after the expulsion by the government of Nicolás Maduro. Meanwhile, Brazilian President Lula Da Silva said he has “no information about what is happening in Venezuela.”
The long arm of repression?
The Government of Chile issued an Interpol alert and reinforced border security after the kidnapping of Venezuelan refugee Ronald Ojeda Moreno. The former lieutenant, previously expelled from the Armed Forces, was kidnapped tied and half-naked from his home in Santiago de Chile by “subjects posing as the Chilean Investigative Police” which warned that “he could be taken out of the country.” Some observers fear that the Maduro government has extended its repressive reach to other territories to pursue exiled dissidents.
Also, an extraordinary meeting of the Chilean ministers of the Interior, Foreign Affairs and Justice was held due to the kidnapping of the former Venezuelan lieutenant.
Petrodollars come, petrodollars go
Colombia is unlikely to meet its goal of importing gas from Venezuela this year as the pipeline connecting the two countries urgently needs repair, said the head of Colombian association Naturgas.
Meanwhile, Guyana has postponed approval of oil drilling in the disputed waters until the International Court of Justice rules on the Essequibo dispute. Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat emphasize respect for international law and avoid actions that could increase tensions. ExxonMobil now faces restrictions and its activities in certain areas are suspended.
Also, Bloomberg reported, Venezuela –two decades after the Petrocaribe program began, which sold oil to Caribbean islands at preferential prices with low long-term interests– received a $500 million payment from Haiti in January to cancel part of a $2.3 billion debt. According to the government, in the middle of an election year, the payment will be used to finance social missions. The agreement with Haiti was finalized after the US Treasury Department granted Haiti a license to pay Venezuela through the international banking system.
“Haiti is a failed state, which does not even have a real government since the assassination of the President Jovenel Moïse in 2021. Furthermore, USD 500 million is 40% of all public budget income,” said economist Omar Zambrano, “Who provided the money?”
The migrants crisis
77% of 1,352 Venezuelan walkers who returned to the country between August and December 2023 presented states of mild, moderate or severe thinness, according to a study by the Social Research Observatory in Border.
Further north, the United States has deported 1,800 Venezuelans since October. However, a survey of more than 440 Venezuelans in the US by a Washington NGO found that more than 65% say they would return to Venezuela if the opposition won this year.
The Mining Arc takes its toll
The informal mine “Bulla Loca” in Bolívar state collapsed. The mayor of the Angostura municipality confirmed at least 30 dead and 100 buried. According to the NGO FundaREDES, the illegal mine was controlled by gangs of "el Ciego" and "Nelson el Caracas", supposedly involved in gold extraction, extortion and murders.
According to the NGO SOS Orinoco, the mine had expanded by 80 hectares in just ten months.
More station closures.
Three radio stations were closed on Friday in Ciudad Ojeada, Zulia: Senda 96.1 FM, Mágica 93.3 FM and Clásicos 93.9 FM. A Conatel commission ordered them to turn off the transmitters after a "technical administrative review," reported the National Union of Press Workers.
Postcards from the world of finance
The Venezuelan agroindustrial company Purolomo launched –through the financial company Fivenca– a public offering of commercial papers in the amount of one million dollars that are negotiable and can be settled in bolivars at the official exchange rate, with a rate of 12% annually . The issue begins with a first series for $500,000, which will expire on August 21.
Meanwhile, Humberto Velutini – new president of the Caracas Stock Exchange – said that he estimates “that the fixed income market [investment focused on preserving capital and income, such as bonds], ended the year 2023 with a movement of approximately $80 million dollars” and estimates that it will triple between this year and 2025 due to the need for capital in the private and public sectors.
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