Axios: Trump cold on Guaidó, would consider meeting Maduro Once again Trump showed he can be more sensible than the neo-con national security state ideologues in government. Trump suggested he’s had second thoughts about his decision to recognize Juan Guaidó as the legitimate leader of Venezuela and said he is open to meeting with Nicolás Maduro. “I always say, you lose very little with meetings. But at this moment, I’ve turned them down.”

Venezuelanalysis (Lucas Koerner): Biden Bashes Trump’s Willingness to Meet with Venezuela’s Maduro  Joe Biden lashed out at Donald Trump after the US president said he would consider meeting his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolas Maduro. “Trump talks tough on Venezuela, but admires thugs and dictators like Nicolas Maduro. As President, I will stand with the Venezuelan people and for democracy.” Biden told the Council on Foreign Relations that he would “push for stronger multilateral sanctions” against the Caribbean country.

RT: Trump walks back Maduro olive branch after Biden challenges his commitment to Venezuelan regime change Trump has reaffirmed support for his administration’s regime change policy in Venezuela, reversing course on negotiation after Democratic rival Joe Biden attacked his “admiration” for “dictator” Nicolas Maduro. Trump would “only meet with Maduro to discuss one thing: a peaceful exit from power!”

Common Dreams(Leonardo Flores): Bolton Weaves a Tall Tale in his Venezuela Chapter

Per Bolton, President Maduro remains in power only because the Trump administration lacked the determination to keep the pressure on. Yet, The State Department even boasted of how tough these sanctions were in a since deleted fact sheet.Perhaps the biggest takeaway from Bolton’s “Venezuela Libre” chapter is that he and others in the administration dissuaded Trump from engaging in dialogue with the Venezuelan government.

OrinocoTribune: Venezuela Vice Chancellor Castillo: “Bolton Seeks With his Book to Misinform and Clean up his Failure in Venezuela” He commented that Bolton’s work “is a model of disinformation. Bolton even says that at Guaidó’s request, he named the Citgo Board, once stolen from Venezuela.” Yes, a foreign bureaucrat named the board of one of the most important Venezuelan oil assets and mayor retailer of gasoline in the US. The criminal and real plot is the financial blockade, the looting of Venezuelans’ money. ”

Orinoco Tribune: Trump Diverted $600 Million Stolen From Venezuelans for the Wall with Mexico The seized assets are being held by the Justice Department and the Treasury Department’s Confiscation Fund. And, according to congressional records and court documents, about $601 million from the Treasury Confiscation Fund has been used to build the Trump border wall, “Oppenheimer describes in his article published in The New Herald and the Miami Herald.

Dissident Voice: The Wasp Network Highlights our Lack of Freedom to Tell the Truth on the Cuban Five Case The film makes clear the US is the aggressor, that Cuba used the Wasp Network to defend itself. It quotes Fidel Castro pointing out “how amazing it was the biggest spy in the world would accuse the most spied upon country in the world of espionage.” Yet it is not a film that will educate people on the Cuban Five case, or on the long history of US terrorism against Cuba. No mention is even made of the Cuban Five, let alone who they were.

Consortium News (Steve Ellner): Trump’s Second Thoughts on Juan Guaido are Not Enough A deeper look at the US’ Venezuela strategy and the conflicts in the Venezuela opposition. Washington’s real challenge, along with the corporate media, is how to explain that after calling for a military coup in Venezuela, implementing draconian measures against the Venezuelan economy, labeling Maduro a narcoterrorist, and depositing complete faith in Guaidó, Trump now has had a change of heart.

Popular Resistance(Reese Erlich): Lessons From Cuban Police  “They generally treat citizens with respect. As I documented in my book Dateline Havana, police beatings of criminals are rare and police murders are nonexistent. Crime-fighting in Cuba begins with a social safety net, which provides every Cuban with free education, free health care, and subsidized cultural events. Cuba doesn’t suffer from the scourges of homelessness and cartel-instigated drug addiction, despite traffickers’ regular attempts to smuggle drugs into Cuba from Florida. Supreme Court Justice Jorge Bodes Torres told me, ““The majority of people are involved in fighting crime,” he says. “That’s the most important factor.”

COHA: Feeding the people in times of Pandemic – The Food Sovereignty Approach in Nicaragua  The World Food Program stated there is “a real danger that more people could potentially die from the economic impact of COVID-19 than from the virus itself.”At least 10 million more Latin Americans are expected to join the 3.4 million who were already experiencing chronic food insecurity. But in the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, there are no hunger flags flying. Here is why.