FW: Venezuela Exposes Plot to Assassinate President Maduro // U.S. House of Representatives Passes Sanctions against Venezuela // Rejecting US claims that the Venezuelan state sanctions human rights abuses

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Matthew Willgress

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Jun 3, 2014, 9:27:43 AM6/3/14

VENEZUELA SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN EMERGENCY E-UPDATE

JUNE 3 2014 - Please Circulate To Help Break the Media Silence!

1. Venezuelan Government Exposes Plot to Assasinate President Maduro

2. US House of Representatives Ignores Latin American Consensus & Passes Sanctions Against Venezuela

3. ANALYSIS: Rejecting US Claims That The Venezuelan State Sanctions Human Rights Abuses

1. Venezuelan Government Exposes Plot to Assasinate President Maduro

Venezuelan authorities have publicized correspondences between opposition leaders & U.S. diplomats which, they say, constitute a plan to assassinate president Nicolas Maduro & overthrow his administration. (You can see the document circulated by the Venezuelan Government at http://tinyurl.com/28maycoupdoc). Jorge Rodriguez, mayor of Libertador municipality, presented data collected by Venezuelan intelligence agencies which point to opposition figure Maria Corina Machado as the principle strategist of the proposed “annihilation” of Maduro.“I believe the time has come to join forces, make the necessary calls, & obtain the financing to annihilate Maduro… & the rest will come falling down,” read one of Machado’s emails intercepted by government security agencies. Read more here

2. US House of Representatives Ignores Latin American Consensus & Passes Sanctions Against Venezuela

Despite emphatic opposition from UNASUR, CARICOM, the OAS, the Movement of Non-Aligned Nations & Venezuelan public opinion, the U.S. House of Representatives has voted overwhelmingly for sanctions against Venezuela. A last ditch appeal by Representative John Conyers of Michigan and 13 other Democrats who opposed sanctions & called for restoration of diplomatic relations between the two nations was also ignored.

On May 9, both parties of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives voted to recommend the bill, to impose sanctions on Venezuela and authorize increased money to fund opposition organizations. Now, after 20 minutes of debate, the full House, which includes 435 members, has voted by voice to support the bill. Read more here & use this handy online tool to ask your MP to oppose proposed US sanctions on Venezuela

3. ANALYSIS: Rejecting US Claims That The Venezuelan State Sanctions Human Rights Abuses

This call for sanctions is based on the wholly false premise that the government of Nicolas Maduro is engaging in human rights abuses. A key sponsor of the sanctions, Marco Rubio, stated they are “to punish human rights abusers in Nicolas Maduro’s regime… The Venezuelan people have suffered enough under the incompetence of Hugo Chávez and now Nicolás Maduro.”

The last remark makes its clear what the real issue is about. This is an intervention into a Venezuela’s sovereign affairs to try to weaken Chavismo by its long term opponents. In doing so the supporters of sanctions show a disregard to the fact that the governments of Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro have been democratically elected time after time.

Nonetheless, supporters of sanctions cite human rights abuses as their justification. This has been a dominant media message too, stemming directly from the spokespeople for the opposition. As the Economist wrote in May : “Nicolas Maduro has none of comandante’s [Chavez’] famous charisma, and growth in oil income has stalled. [So] Anger over food shortages and uncontrolled violent crime spilled over in February into nationwide protests. The government’s response has been a harsh crack-down”

The allegation that it has been the Maduro government that has been responsible for the wave of violence, the majority of deaths and for sanctioning human rights abuses in a “crack down” is wide of the mark. The picture on the ground is far from the simple media narrative of state forces targeting peaceful protesters in a wave of government sanctioned killings. Read an in-depth analysis & rebuttal of these myths from the VSC Media & Information Working Group here.