Venezuela Update –ICC Report & more –4th May 2023

th of May: 2023

On Thursday, the 27th, the International Criminal Court's (or ICC) Victims' Reparation and Participation Section announced that the Maduro regime will not be granted access to the report on alleged crimes against humanity in Venezuela after the regime requested a copy of the report to prepare its response.

On its website, the ICC clarified the reason. Venezuelan non-governmental organizations said that in the report the victims' identities are revealed and that could put them at risk.

The report describes the crimes committed against more than eight thousand individuals, two organizations, and over six hundred families, including murder, imprisonment, torture, rape or other forms of sexual violence, forced disappearance and persecution for political reasons.

From the international court to international news, on Friday the 28th, the Venezuelan consulate in Cúcuta, Colombia reopened its doors to the public.

Although it is not yet fully operational due to staff and system shortages, consulate officials are providing assistance. However, consulate-related procedures such as passport, visa, ID, and apostille applications will have to wait until regular operations resume.

plomatic relations rupture in: 2019

One door opens while others stay shut, like the case of the US embassy in Venezuela.

On Wednesday the 3rd, a Department of State official informed CNN that James Story, the United States ambassador for Venezuelan affairs, will depart from his position on the 19th of May.

At present, the US is without diplomatic representation in Venezuela, as Story has been performing his duties from the US embassy located in Colombia.

Nonetheless, the US government appointed Michael A Barkin as the new ambassador to Venezuela on the same day. Barkin, who has previously worked as a diplomat at the United Nations and served as the top adviser to the US ambassador to the United Nations, will take up the post.

A feeling of brotherhood and empathy is in the air of Buenos Aires.

On Saturday the 29th, Argentina celebrated the thousands of Venezuelans who now call Argentina their home. For the occasion, thousands of people gathered on the iconic Avenida de Mayo in Buenos Aires.

This was a new edition of "Buenos Aires Celebra Venezuela", an event organized by the city government. Over one hundred stands were set up along the street, where visitors could taste typical Venezuelan dishes such as tequeños, arepas, and pabellón criollo. They also had the chance to try traditional drinks like chicha and papelón con limón.

In addition, the crowd enjoyed Venezuelan handicrafts and musical performances by several groups including D'kumana, Tambor Palenke, A Pura Voz, Rumbarepa, among others.

In more friendly news, on Monday the 1st, Venezuelan President Maduro and the recently elected President of Paraguay, Santiago Peña, had a cordial phone call in which Maduro congratulated Peña and they discussed the possibility of restoring relations between the two countries.

In January: 2019

t honor a debt dating back to: 2009

Speaking of Maduro, on Monday the 1st, on the occasion of Labor Day, Maduro organized a large gathering in Caracas to address the public and listen to proposals from socialist workers.

During the gathering, Maduro announced the approval of new increases in the Bono Contra la Guerra Económica and the prepaid food card, which is an electronic prepaid card for meal allowances issued by companies. The bonus will now be thirty dollars per month, while the card will be at forty. However, the minimum wage base remains at 6 dollars per month.

Starting this: 2023

However, not everyone is happy with the new announcement.

Hours later, hundreds of workers, both opposition and chavistas, took to the streets to reject this new measure, stating that the minimum wage remains very low and not everyone receives the benefits of the bonus.

In other news, on Friday the 28th, while enacting the Organic Law of Asset Forfeiture approved by the controversial Chavista National Assembly, Maduro ordered the Bolivarian Intelligence Service, better known as SEBIN, to take action against those who betray him, amidst the ongoing Chavista purge.

In the national broadcast, he also announced that, so far, one thousand assets, including buildings, apartments, mansions, cars, aircraft, weapons, etc., have been seized in the Chavista purge operations.

The President stated that these assets will be allocated to programs that provide basic services such as healthcare and education, they will be invested in public services, and they will provide resources to security services and public institutions fighting against corruption.

Speaking of corruption, on Tuesday the 2nd, according to the La Patilla website, Brigadier General Jorge Luis Gómez Pimentel was recently arrested in the Bolívar state on suspicion of being involved in corruption within the Venezuelan Corporation of Guayana (or CVG).

Gomez Pimentel was reportedly serving as both the commander of the Directorate General of Military Counterintelligence in Bolivar, as well as the manager of CVG Logistics and the manager of Integral Protection of Sidor.

In election news, on Thursday, the 27th, Henrique Capriles Radonski, the pre-candidate of the political party Primero Justicia, stated in a press conference that he does not believe the presence of the National Electoral Council (better known as CNE) in the opposition primaries poses a risk to the voters' identities.

Capriles dismissed concerns about digital fingerprint capture and emphasized that the National Primary Commission is solely responsible for the process.

Capriles also stressed the importance of extending the primary to cover the entire national territory, enabling all Venezuelans, including those abroad to participate. He believes that increased participation in the primaries will help strengthen the opposition.

Moving on, on Tuesday, the 2nd, the National Institute of Civil Aviation (or INAC) announced the lifting of all COVID-19-related health restrictions and biosecurity protocols at all airports in the country.

Speaking of the INAC, on Monday the 1st, its authorities reported a missing aircraft that was covering the Cumaná-Coro route.

aircraft with registration YV-: 1207

After a few hours, INAC activated the search service, which carried out several overflights. Meanwhile, other security agencies in the Venezuelan coastal area, as well as in the central and western regions of the country, were notified of the incident.

The whereabouts of the aircraft remain unknown to date, and authorities continue to search for it.

Picasso takes over Caracas.

On Saturday the 29th, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Caracas inaugurated an exhibition to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of the Spanish painter and sculptor Pablo Picasso. The exhibition features forty six works including ceramics, graphics, and paintings.

Susy López, the curator of the exhibition, said the exhibition aims to connect the public with "the taste and pleasure" of enjoying art and to highlight Venezuela's important collection of Picasso's work in Latin America. They will open the exhibition to the public for at least three months, with the possibility of extending it.

Aaaand that's it for this week! Remember We have a Mastodon account! Check out our instance rorshok.social. If you don't know what Mastodon is or want to know more about it, check out the link in the show notes to our Substack.

¡Hasta la próxima!