United States President Joe Biden has announced a dramatic expansion of restrictions on people from Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti seeking asylum at the US border with Mexico, writes Barry Sheppard.
US sanctions
The United States barred eight Cuban government officials from entering the country this month, accusing them of being implicated in the alleged repression of peaceful protests in July last year, reports Ian Ellis-Jones.
President Biden's reluctance to make any immediate changes in US policy toward Cuba is more than anything the result of domestic politics, writes Ian Ellis-Jones.
A reporter recently told US President Donald Trump he had a moral responsibility to help Iran as it is hit by the new coronavirus. No mention was made about Venezuela. Why Iran and not Venezuela? Steve Ellner explains why.
It is supposedly in our name that the PM would send Australians to kill and die in Iran. A war there would almost certainly result in a catastrophe that would compound and eclipse the regional destabilisation caused by the US and Australia during the invasion of Iraq and the ongoing war in Afghanistan, writes Hector Ramage.
The border between Venezuela and Colombia has been partially reopened after nearly four months.
The principal crossing posts of the Simon Bolivar and Francisco de Paula Santander International Bridges — which connect Venezuela’s Tachira State with Colombia’s Northern Santander Department — were reopened on June 8 for pedestrian crossing. They still remain closed for vehicles.
On May 26, journalists from the Real News Network (RNN) interviewed residents and local representatives from the barrios in Caracas about the impact of US sanctions on critical water supplies.
Direct losses to Venezuela's economy from US financial sanctions are estimated to be US$38 billion.
Last week, the US formally adopted sanctions on Venezuelan national oil company PDVSA, as well as on CITGO, its US-based distribution arm, as part of its press for regime change in Caracas. National Security Advisor John Bolton estimated the actions would affect some $7 billion in assets and would block $11 billion in revenue to the Venezuelan government over the next year.
US President Donald Trump is prepping a team of lawyers and policy experts to help right-wing Latin American governments write new laws imposing sanctions on Venezuelan officials and industries, a US source familiar with the policies told McClatchy News' Washington Bureau.
The push is part of Washington’s economic and political war against the left-wing government that aims to undermine Venezuela’s democracy and oust President Nicolas Maduro.