Venezuela & ALBA News 12.10.2021 Venezuela Recovers Oil Production; Guaido UN support drops to 15 countries

Popular Resistance: Biden’s “Summit for Democracy” The Apex of Hypocrisy Biden’s December 9-10 “Summit for Democracy” has already stirred up a storm. The White House says the summit will have “three principal themes: defending against authoritarianism, fighting corruption, and promoting respect for human rights” – clearly targeting Washington’s chosen “autocratic states,” China, Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua. They are not invited, but Taiwan and puppet Guaido are.

“Democracy is not a prerogative of a certain country or a group of countries, but a universal right of all peoples,” the joint Chinese-Russian statement says. “It can be realized in multiple ways, and no model can fit all countries. Whether a country’s path works depends on whether it meets the country’s realities, …and brings about economic development, social stability and progress, and better lives for the people. Ultimately, it relies on the support of the people and will be proven by its contribution to human progress.”

Orinoco Tribune: China plays a crucial role supporting progress and sovereignty in Latin America Chinese investment has been widely recognised across the region for its positive economic and social impact, particularly in terms of facilitating government projects to reduce poverty and inequality. “Venezuela has been actively spending public funds to expand social inclusion to the country’s poor. The country … was able to fund such expenditures given the high price of oil in the 2000s — and due to the joint fund with China.” The view of China as an imperialist force in the region is not limited to the Trumpian far-right. Reducing Lenin’s analysis to a caricature, some on the left see China’s rising capital exports as an example of imperialism. But imperialism cannot be defined purely on the basis of foreign investment; if that were the case, we would have to denounce Angola as an imperialist power in Portugal. Chavez spoke plainly about the difference between China and the imperialist powers: “China is large but it’s not an empire. China doesn’t trample on anyone, it hasn’t invaded anyone, it doesn’t go around dropping bombs on anyone.”

US Political Prisoner Alex Saab
Orinoco Tribune: Legal Case determining Alex Saab’s Diplomatic Immunity Freezes his Court Case In Florida The trial against the Venezuelan diplomat, Alex Saab, in the Court of the US Southern District of Florida, was suspended due to the ongoing appeal for his diplomatic status. In response to the US Department of Justice argument to refute the defense’s request, claiming that there should be no recognition of it by the US State Department, defense attorney David Rivkin pointed out that the US government “should not be regarded as a global record of all the world’s diplomats.”

Videos: Caracas Free Alex Saab Meeting talks by Camila Saab and Roger Harris (Task Force on the Americas)

Venezuela
TeleSur: Venezuelan Oil Reaches Nearly 1 Million Barrels per Day in December The 930,000 bpd production figure for the first week of December far surpasses the 569,000 bpd average for 2020. The figure also represents a significant boost from the 756,000 bpd reported for October 2021. The level of production has been achieved due to the efforts of the company’s exploration and production workers, PDVSA noted. Similarly, a stable supply of Iranian diluents, as part of an oil-for-condensate swap agreement, made it possible to continue improving the country’s main production and transportation operations in the Orinoco Belt.

Venezuelanalysis: Guaidó Increasingly Isolated as UN Recognizes Maduro Gov’t in ‘Resounding’ Vote – support for Guaido only 15 countries“In 2019, the colonial slave created by the US [Guaido] to plunder Venezuela had the support of 60 countries. At the UN General Assembly, only 16 out of 193 countries refused to recognize President Maduro. It’s a victory for international law and the self-determination of the peoples.” The 16: the US, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Georgia, Guatemala, Honduras [soon to leave], the Marshall Islands, Israel, Paraguay, the UK, and South Korea. Meanwhile, the pro-Maduro vote marks yet another setback for Venezuela’s self-proclaimed “Interim President” days after former ally Julio Borges resigned his post as “foreign minister” in his administration and called for it to “disappear completely”.

MintPress News: Jorge Arreaza on Venezuela Recovering from Sanctions in New Post-Petro Economic Plan “After 22 years of revolution, we have had to deal with President Clinton, President Bush, President Obama, President Trump, and President Biden. And there are no major differences between them because it is not a matter of who is in the Oval Office; it is a matter of who really controls the decisions in the United States….We did things that the U.S. did not even imagine that we could do to recover our oil industry. And we, of course, trusted in the working class of PDVSA. They have done this by themselves. We, as the government, brought all the spare parts and chemical components that were needed. I can’t tell you how, because if I tell you, then they would try to stop this from happening. But it was the working class; the workers from PDVSA, who really made this miracle happen.”

AntiWar.com: What You’re Not Supposed to Know About Cuba and Venezuela But as US foreign policy on those two “great threats” to America continues seamlessly on from the Trump presidency to the Biden presidency, there’s something the White House and the media don’t want you to know. In both Venezuela and Cuba the US has aggressively intervened in an attempt to make a desired and imagined plot come true. In both countries that attempt has failed.

Cuba
The War on Cuba series:Episode 1 Episode 2 Episode 3 Episode 4 Episode 5 Episode 6

Documentary Cuba’s Life Task (Tarea Vida): Combating Climate Change ($7 rental) In 2017, the Cuban government approved the State Plan to Confront Climate Change, known as Tarea Vida (Life Task). Cuba is disproportionately affected by climate change through extreme weather events, heat waves, drought, torrential rain, hurricanes, and rising sea levels. Up to 10% of Cuban territory could be submerged by the end of the century, wiping out coastal towns, polluting water supplies, destroying agricultural lands and forcing one million people to relocate. This documentary shows how Cuba is using environmental science, natural solutions and community participation in its 100-year plan for adaptation and mitigation.

Bolivia
MintPress News: Bolivian President Luis Arce on Country Recovering from US-Backed Coup & Latin American Unity “The message that we give to Mr. Biden is that he should continue being president of the United States and let all the presidents of Latin America be presidents of our countries.”As the MAS candidate, Arce swept to power in a landslide, receiving almost double the votes of their nearest challengers; and, since then, Arce’s government has set to work undoing the damage caused to the economy by 12 months of dictatorship.

Nicaragua
Nicaragua Severs Ties with Taiwan and Recognizes China

The Grayzone: Nicaragua explains why it’s leaving OAS, responds to US attacks on its elections Nicaraguan diplomat Michael Campbell Hooker explains why they are leaving the Organization of American States, which he says is a “failed,” “coup-plotting” organization dominated by Washington. He also responds to US attempts to discredit their November elections, and the importance of autonomy for Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities on the Caribbean Coast.

Webinars and Forums
December 11: Venezuelan Regional Elections: The International Political Implications
December 11: Democracy: China, Cuba, Venezuela vs US
December 12: Cuba Eyewitness: Four South Florida Activists Report Four Miami activists were among the first visitors to visit Cuba after the country reopened its borders to tourism on November 15. They were among the 75 participants in the Pastors for Peace/IFCO Friendship Caravan that spent two weeks in Cuba.
December 14: Hands Off Venezuela! Elections Report Back + Online Picket Action Raul Burbano (Common Frontiers), Fred Mills(COHA), Alison Bodine(Fire This Time), Luis Acuna (former Charge d’affaires of the Venezuela Embassy in Canada)
December 15: Venezuela under siege: sanctions, elections and revolution
January 26: COVID-19 Response in Chicago and Havana