US Senate Passes Bolívar Act to Intensify Blockade Against Venezuela

This Wednesday, March 17, the Government Affairs and National Security Committee of the United States Senate passed the bipartisan Banning Operations and Leases with the “Illegitimate” Venezuelan Authoritarian Regime (BOLIVAR) Act.

This legal instrument aims to sanction any company that maintains commercial deals with the Government of President Nicolás Maduro and, therefore, further asphyxiates the Venezuelan people by promoting new sanctions.

Disgracefully using the name of Simón Bolívar, the Venezuelan independence hero and an insightful anti-imperialist, the United States advances in its plan of bringing more hardship and pain to ordinary Venezuelans who, instead of supporting its “regime-change” operation, do the contrary and join the ranks of those disgusted with US imperialism.

Sen. Rick Scott’s Bipartisan BOLIVAR Act to Hold Maduro Accountable Passes Senate Committee https://t.co/73WUXpM1W4 #LaPatillaUSA
— La Patilla (@la_patilla) March 18, 2021

This sanctioning mechanism was co-sponsored by senators Rick Scott, Jacky Rosen, Marco Rubio and Thom Tillis last January, and approved on Wednesday, March 17. Through a post on Twitter, Senator Scott threatened to be “one step closer to prohibiting all federal agencies from doing business with anyone who supports the ‘ruthless’ Maduro ‘regime.'”

In addition, he assured that they will continue to manipulate and block the money that belongs to the Venezuelan people: “we have to do everything possible to restrict the money that Maduro uses to cling to power,” meaning that republican politicians are aiming at restricting all forms of remittances that ordinary Venezuelans send to their relatives in Venezuela.

In 2019, Scott himself included an amendment, which prevented the movement of Venezuelan funds, in the National Defense Authorization Law.

Featured image: Capitol Hill while blasted by republican Donald Trump’s sympathizers. File photo.

(La IguanaTV) with Orinoco Tribune content

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/JRE/SL