by Gloria Guillo, published on CovertAction Magazine, July 30, 2024
Sanctions are a misnomer when it comes to Venezuela. Here, the U.S. isn’t “just” illegally punishing a nation-state to effect regime change by withholding necessary resources and key inputs that cause food shortages, grave illness, death and economic instability.
In Venezuela, the United States is also committing racketeer-level crimes against its people for not handing over their sovereignty and oil to Washington’s oligarchy on a silver platter.
That is a serious charge. But the proof is in plain sight for anyone not totally brainwashed by The New York Times, Washington Post, CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, MSNBC, Facebook, Google and the rest of our state-controlled corporate media, which has been totally infiltrated and corrupted by the CIA.
Venezuela is recognized as having the largest proven oil reserves in the world.
So, when it comes to having their bulletproof electoral process maligned, electoral results contested, and its results ignored by the United States—a country with an electoral process that is a farce in comparison since it is contested by both its major political parties—the Venezuelan people were not perturbed and still unwaveringly voted their conscience.
Essentially, Washington’s smear campaign against President Maduro failed miserably as did their extremist puppet leader, Maria Corina Machado’s alleged “threat of violence that will be unleashed with support from abroad” after the election. This threat has President Maduro’s main opponent Edmundo Gonzalez supposedly “preparing to flee the country” to Hollywood, Florida, on Monday, July 29.
Voters remember what it is like living under Washington’s boot and they know the outstanding progress Venezuela has made under Presidents Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro.
So, without much surprise, the people of Venezuela re-elected President Nicolas Maduro on Sunday, July 28, for his third term with 5,150,092 votes (51.2%). The official election results were announced shortly after 12:00 a.m. on July 29.
It was clear going into the vote, from Maduro’s massively attended political rallies, that he remained their favorite. Link to rally here.
Coup Attempt
At approximately 11:00 p.m. on the night of the election (July 28), the Venezuelan government alerted the world of foreign interventions against the electoral process, right to self-determination and sovereignty of the homeland.
Accordingly, “the infamous defunct and defeated Lima Group – that includes government officials from Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama and other countries, along with a group of ultra-right-wing political hitmen specialized in destabilizing governments in Latin America, such as Iván Duque, Mauricio Mácri, Andrés Pastrana, Oscar Arias, Marco Rubio and Rick Scott – aimed to distort what had been a peaceful electoral process.”
No further information is known but election results were announced shortly thereafter.
The president of the Consejo Nacional Electoral (CNE), Elvis Amoroso, called upon the attorney general to investigate the attacks on the electoral transmission system. Allegedly, local polling stations were attacked.
Beyond Sanctions
Both U.S. Democrats and Republicans are on the same side when it comes to: assassination attempts against President Maduro; the double kidnapping, torture and imprisonment of diplomat Alex Saab; the piracy against vessels carrying its fuel, approximately 1.1 million barrels; the robbery of its Citgo gas stations and refinery, valued between $32-40 billion; the theft of its funds held by the New York Federal Reserve Bank (NY Fed), estimated to be between $3 and $5 billion and also those of countries, like Puerto Rico doing business with Venezuela.
Sanctions against trade partners create a chilling effect on countries and corporations that would like to do business with Venezuela but fear U.S. repercussions.
Additionally, the U.S. has encouraged countries such as the U.K. to steal $1 billion in Venezuela’s gold. The U.S. claims Venezuela’s assets are frozen when they are not. Instead, the “frozen” funds are used in the repurchasing market by the NY Fed’s “dealer” banks for leveraged profits.
These extensive and pervasive sanctions have decimated Venezuela’s economy which is, fortunately, on the mend under President Maduro’s leadership. Consider that in 2020, Venezuela obtained oil revenues in the order of US$743 million, which represented 99% less than in 2012, which was US$ 50 billion. However, this information is not widely known since armchair reporters and the mockingbird media repeat Washington’s lies without blinking and shadow bans boots-on-the-ground investigative journalists.
Airport Interview
While at the Caracas airport awaiting my departure on July 29th, I interviewed a middle-class white woman approximately 50 years old. She was friendly, as she initially identified with me due to physical similarities and we were on a long and boring line and both open to killing time.
Apparently, many middle-class white people flew into Venezuela to vote for the opposition candidate and were returning to their homes outside the country as the airport was very crowded with similar types. The woman stated that she “felt that the voting process was good but didn’t like the outcome because her candidate didn’t win.” She unsolicitedly started to speak about how terrible the president was.
I asked if she understood how U.S. sanctions make things very difficult for the government of Venezuela to serve the people as well as they would like. She said she “didn’t know.” I then asked if she “didn’t know or didn’t want to know.” She then ignored me. So, I assume many Venezualans practice willful ignorance for various reasons, just like Americans in the United States do to maintain their world view and cognitive dissonance.
As the comic Roseanne Barr said, “You can’t wake those pretending to be asleep.”
Beyond Lies/High Stakes
Not only does the U.S. want Venezuela’s natural resources, but it also wants another geopolitical victory in Latin America.
To achieve this objective, Washington has conducted a relentless media war that baselessly calls Venezuela’s electoral process a sham, and at its biased best calls President Maduro “an authoritarian strongman” and his prime right-wing competitor, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia “a quiet, bird-loving grandfather.” While there are 10 candidates, there are only two real contenders as shown in the photos taken from the Venezuela Analysis website.
The claim of voter fraud is particularly hypocritical coming from a country whose 2020 election was considered stolen by President Trump’s supporters and many Americans. Without surprise, “grandpa” Gonzalez is Washington’s new choice puppet. He is rumored to have been a CIA asset in the 1970s. However, this has not been confirmed.
It seems Washington gave up on Juan Guaido, the once self-proclaimed and U.S.-anointed “interim president” who never ran in a presidential election and was previously unknown to Venezuelans.
Economic Recovery Program
In August 2018, President Maduro presented the Economic Recovery Program to resolve the economic problems affecting the country. The four structural measures used to stabilize the economy:
- Stimulated and diversified national production, which resulted in 60,000 new brands and achieved food sovereignty. Venezuela no longer imports 85% of its food; it now produces 96%.
- Increased tax collection by 105% to guarantee social investments in family income and public services that did not entirely rely on oil revenues.
- Fostered non-traditional exports.
- Provided support for one million entrepreneurs.
[Source: Courtesy of Gloria Guillo]
Bulletproof Electoral System
Voting is handled by the independent National Electoral Council (CNE). Venezuela’s presidential elections are a single-round process won by plurality: whichever candidate gets the most votes wins.
The CNE set up 16,025 polling stations across the country, which can have one or more voting booths. Voting is held on a Sunday to enable most Venezuelans to vote on their day off. The polls are open from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; however, in cases where there are still lines after 6:00 p.m., the polls are permitted to remain open later to accommodate voters in queues.
Venezuela’s electoral system puts the U.S. to shame. Unlike in the United States, Venezuela’s electoral system is automated, manual and auditable.
Venezuelans go through a so-called “electoral horseshoe” to cast their votes. First, voters run their fingerprints through a biometric ID machine. Once cleared, they move to the second step, where a touchscreen machine is unlocked. After picking their preferred candidate, the machine prints a paper back-up confirming the choice that is to be deposited in a ballot box. The fourth and final station has voters sign and stamp their fingerprints on the electoral record. Please refer to video link here and photos detailed below of the process.
Before President Maduro voted, a polling station member showed proof that the voting machine was at zero here.
As an added safeguard, Venezuela’s machines confirm that the voter selected their desired candidate by showing them again in the touchscreen and requiring the voter to confirm their selection with a “yes or no” answer. A “no” answer permits the voter to correct their electronic ballot.
Venezuela’s electronic voting machines run on open-source code and are not connected to the internet. Participating political parties monitor all processes through a series of 16 real-time audits that occur before, during and after election day. They verify that all components, from the voting software to data transmission, are working properly. Fifty-four percent of voting machines are randomly chosen for an audit to compare the electronic totals with the paper tallies. The total number of votes must match.
All participating organizations must enter a unique, partially encrypted key to validate the results. In addition, they sign off on the final tally, which must match the results published on the CNE website. The tallies are distributed to witnesses for each political faction after all voting is over.
In contrast, in Brooklyn, New York, where I am registered to vote, I do not need to present any identification. The poll worker merely compares my signature with the one that is on file. The machines do not confirm my choice of candidate but only acknowledge that my vote was cast. There are no paper tallies or receipts, the machines connect to the internet and run on secret proprietary software.
Voter Requirements/Demographics
Venezuelans must register to vote and be at least eighteen years old to cast a ballot. Voting is not mandatory but optional. Venezuela permits voting outside the country. According to the CNE’s registry published in early July, there were 21,392,464 people eligible to vote on July 28.
However, given recent migration, the actual total is expected to be 3-4 million below that. In addition, because of a convoluted registration process coupled with Western countries that do not recognize the Venezuelan government (i.e., there are no diplomatic relations or functional embassies) only 69,000 Venezuelans abroad are eligible to participate.
Election Observers
The elections also count on several observation missions, including teams from the Latin American Council of Electoral Experts and the Carter Center, the African Union, and the Latin American Council of Electoral Experts (CEELA), as well as a United Nations expert panel that will produce a report for the organization’s Secretary General.
According to the U.S. based National Lawyers Guild electoral observers, there were more than 910 electoral observers from 95 countries on the ground, of which this United States citizen and author is one. Electoral accompaniment teams visit voting centers on election day and witness the audit processes. There were more than 1,300 accredited journalists.
Conclusion
On December 20, 2022, I waited with other U.S. journalists and human rights defenders to hear if Judge Robert N. Scola, Jr., would grant Venezuelan Ambassador Alex Saab’s motion to dismiss his case and release him so he could return to his country and family. Although his defense team presented many logical arguments and documents that should have secured his release, Judge Scola denied the motion and justified it by stating: “Alex Saab is not recognized by the State Department as a diplomat because the U.S. president [Joe Biden] does not recognize Nicolas Maduro as the President of Venezuela.”
Hearing the absurdity of the prosecution’s case with one’s own ears is very different from reading about it. The fact that the decisions made by tens of millions of Venezuelans in a sovereign country are somehow less than the judgment of one man that resides in another is beyond galling. I cannot find the words that properly describe this outrageous level of evil arrogance.
We watched in tears as Diplomat Saab, a man who risked his life to arrange for food for the people of Venezuela, was led back to his prison cell in shackles. Thankfully, he has been released now that the United States and Europe blew up the Nord Stream Pipeline and aren’t too proud to negotiate with Venezuela for oil.
What Washington does not understand is that injustice unifies people and toughens their resolve.
Everyone in the Miami courtroom that fateful day learned firsthand how the people of Venezuela and their newly re-elected president, Nicolas Maduro, find the personal strength necessary, despite all obstacles, to carry on.
It is because with open eyes we all are witnesses to U.S. crimes and what is seen can never be unseen.
Gloria Guillo is CAM’s corespondent on location and a former NYC Urban Planner, Public Administrator, singer, songwriter. She is a co-founding member of Green Renaissance-Sovereign Rights Movement and a contributor to Sactionskill.org.