Guaidó Threatens Additional US Sanctions

Speaking on behalf of the United States government, far-right former deputy of Venezuela Juan Guaidó threatened to intensify illegal sanctions imposed by the White House on the Venezuelan people if the national government does not resume the dialogue process in Mexico.

This was stated by the opposition figure in an interview published this Monday, January 24, by Reuters. The piece was subsequently shared by other outlets and social media platforms, constituting a new attempt to revive the fake “interim government” that has little to no support inside or outside of Venezuela. In the interview, Guaidó repeated his provocative attacks against Venezuelan state institutions, and again expressed his disregard for the Constitutional government of Nicolás Maduro.

“We are willing to review the sanctions and we have ratified it with a view to an agreement, if they don’t sit down at the negotiating table again,” said Guaidó. In this manner, the former deputy encouraged further coercive measures under the protection and support of Washington. No mention was made of Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab, kidnapped by the US regime for his role in procuring food and medicine to circumvent the illegal economic blockade imposed by the US government. Following Saab’s illegal extradition from Cape Verde to the US in October, the Venezuelan government has insisted on his release as a condition to continuing dialogue with the opposition.

Regarding the intention that the US government has expressed to “soften” some sanctions, the self-appointed “interim president” Guaidó asserted that the Biden administration’s offer “is not indefinite.”

In mid-2021, the US government issued some “licenses” that allowed transactions previously included in the blockade to be executed. For example, the Department of the Treasury exempted certain operations in ports and airports, as well as some activities related to the banking and oil sectors.

Conditions or blackmail?
It is not the first time that former deputy Guaidó requested increased sanctions against Venezuela and presented the option as a blackmail, to demand supposed “free elections” that would violate the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

In fact, the Venezuelan electoral schedule has been fulfilled as planned. According to the Constitution, the people will elect the president of the Republic again in the year 2024. For this reason, the head of state, Nicolás Maduro, frequently reiterates his call to the opposition leaders to resume the path of democracy, as they did during the recent regional and municipal mega-elections.

In reality, a recall referendum process was activated a few days ago against President Maduro, according to Constitutional provisions, and the signature collection process was held this Wednesday, January 24. The event was labeled as an absolute failure in terms of people signing to express their willingness to see Maduro leave office.

Similarly, in the interview with Reuters, Guaidó persisted in the use of language that tries to frame Maduro’s administration as a “dictatorship.” The language is familiar to those who have followed the narrative manufactured by US and UK corporate and mainstream media over the last few years.

Even with that discursive line, the opposition politician declared that “for all the creditors, including China, the best alternative is the recovery of democracy in Venezuela, the reactivation of the oil sector and judicial security.” Ironically, these are the very same sectors that have suffered the harshest blow from the coercive economic measures that Juan Guaidó himself promotes against millions of Venezuelans.

Featured image: Former deputy Juan Guaidó. File photo.

(RedRadioVE) by José Manuel Blanco Díaz, with Orinoco Tribune content

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

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