Venezuela

Wracked by hyperinflation, severe food and medicine shortages, soaring crime rates, and an increasingly authoritarian executive, Venezuela is in the midst of an unprecedented political and economic crisis. Experts say the Venezuelan economy has shrunk more than 50 percent since Maduro became president in 2013. An estimated 3.4 million Venezuelans have fled the country in the past five years while 25 percent of the population remains in need of dire assistance. In addition, Venezuela's crisis has only been deepened by U.S. sanctions against the Venezuelan oil industry, the Venezuelan gold mining industry, and the Central Bank of Venezuela, cutting off its access to U.S. currency and limiting its ability to conduct international transactions. In an interview in February of 2019 Maduro expressed concerned that a potential civil war could ensue if the U.S. and its western allies choose to intervene more aggressively in Venezuela’s internal affairs. In April of that same year, after years of accusing aid shipments of being a political ploy by the US and refusing to allow any foreign aid to enter the country, Maduro finally allowed the entry of a shipment of emergency supplies from the Red Cross. In 2019, the average income in Venezuela was reported by ENCOVI, to be at 72 cents per day with 96 percent of Venezuelans living in poverty and 70 percent living in extreme poverty.

“Maduro, who was not reelected via free and fair elections, clings to power through the use of force. His policies are marked by authoritarianism, intolerance for dissent, and violent and systematic repression of human rights and fundamental freedoms – including the use of torture, arbitrary detentions, extrajudicial killings, and the holding of more than 400 prisoners of conscience. Maduro has been sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, and in 2020 the Department of Justice charged him with offenses related to narco-terrorism and drug trafficking...The Maduro regime’s irresponsible intervention in the economy has facilitated widespread corruption and stoked hyperinflation leading to negative economic growth and a humanitarian crisis, including food, energy, and water shortages, in a country with the world’s largest proven oil reserves.””

- U.S. Department of State. 

 
In a prerecorded speech Maduro denounced what he referred to as the “criminal, inhuman aggression” by the U.S. aimed at ousting him from power, and added that Venezuela would resist. “The world must know that we are prepared to fight with the force of our history, our spirit, reason and international law...We must demand the cessation of all unilateral coercive measures, of all the alleged sanctions, and that they allow our people to exercise their own rights.””

- Nicolas Maduro.

 

“The dictatorial regime of Nicolás Maduro with its ties to drug trafficking and human rights violations is also usurping Venezuela’s right to speak...Today I call upon all representatives of the member states...to consider a strategy that contemplates different scenarios after the diplomatic route has been exhausted,”

- Juan Guaido.

 

“I am deeply worried about the potentially severe impact on the human rights of the people of Venezuela of the new set of unilateral sanctions imposed by the US this week...The sanctions are extremely broad and fail to contain sufficient measures to mitigate their impact on the most vulnerable sectors of the population.”

- UN Human Rights Chief, Michelle Bachelet.

Critical Thinking Questions

1. Why are the U.S. sanctions on Venezuela necessary for U.S. security?
2. What elements of internal law and Venezuelan society need to be taken into account when determining the legitimacy of an elected leader?
3. What alternative measures, besides economic sanctions, can the U.S. pursue to achieve its desired end?
4. What is the juxtaposition between a realist, liberal, and critical theory/Marxist analysis of this conflict?
5. What measures can be taken by either the international community or the Venezuelan government to mend the extreme poverty impacting a significant majority of the population?
6. Does the international community have an obligation to ensure the welfare of Venezuelan citizens?
7. How might Venezuela's economy be restructured to ensure long-term stability in the future?