On April 5, the U.S. Treasury Department announced new sanctions on Venezuela and Cuba. The sanctions are on 34 vessels owned or operated by Venezuelan state-run oil company Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A, or PDVSA , and also on two companies and a vessel that delivered oil to Cuba in February and March. The announcement stated, … Continue reading New U.S. Sanctions on Cuba and Venezuela
Reuters recently uncovered documents and other information disclosing how Cuba in 2008 began to assist its close ally Venezuela in suppressing dissent within the latter’s military. [1] The precipitating event for this assistance was the December 2007 Venezuelan referendum that unexpectedly defeated a proposal that would have enabled President Hugo Chavez repeatedly to run for … Continue reading Cuba Helped Venezuela Suppress Military Dissent
On April 17, Admiral Craig S. Faller, the Commander, U.S. Southern Command, gave a special briefing focused on “the enhanced counternarcotics operations led by [the U.S. Defense Department’s] Southern Command,” which “is responsible for providing contingency planning, operations, and security cooperation in its assigned Area of Responsibility which includes Central America, South America and the … Continue reading Comments on Cuba by the U.S. Commander of U.S. Southern Command
Last week saw the failure of an attempt to take over the Venezuelan government by the country’s opposition leader and president of the National Assembly, Juan Guaidó, and U.S. reactions to this development. Failed Take Over[1] On Tuesday morning (April 30), Guaidó, with the support of his mentor (Leopoldo López), the director of the regime’s … Continue reading U.S. Reactions to Failure of Juan Guaidò’s Attempt To Take Over Control of Venezuela
On January 24 a Wall Street Journal editorial criticized Nicolas Maduro’s record in Venezuela and opined that the “crucial but underreported question now is whether dictator Nicolás Maduro’s protectors in Cuba and Russia will intervene to stop this democratic uprising.” (Emphasis added.) [1] Cuba, says the editorial, is a key player in this drama because it … Continue reading Wall Street Journal Supports U.S. Hostility Towards Cuba’s Links with Venezuela
Page 1 of the Sunday New York Times for March 17 contained the start of a lengthy report that at least some of the Cuban doctors on medical missions in Venezuela had been ordered not to use oxygen for medical emergencies, but instead to use them closer to the May 2018 election as a means … Continue reading Cuban Doctors in Venezuela Provide Political Support to Maduro: New York Times
On January 2, 2020, the U.S. Department of State designated Leopoldo Cintra Frias and his two children ineligible to enter the U.S.[1] He is the Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba (MINFAR) and according to the State Department. “bears responsibility for Cuba’s actions to prop up the former Maduro regime in Venezuela. Alongside … Continue reading Another U.S. Designation of Cubans Ineligible To Enter U.S.
On or about November 16, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo reiterated U.S. hostility towards Cuba in an interview by Carlos Alberto Montaner, an exiled Cuban author now living in Spain. Here are the key points of that interview. [1] “Cuba is a foreign policy priority for the Trump Administration. The President’s National Security Memorandum of June … Continue reading Secretary Pompeo Reiterates U.S. Hostility Towards Cuba
On April 1 U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton renewed his threats against Cuba. In a tweet Bolton said, “ the U.S. will hold Cuba accountable for its subversion of democracy in Venezuela and direct hand in Maduro’s ongoing repression of the Venezuelan people.” [1] Bolton’s tweet also cited to an article by the Bloomberg … Continue reading John Bolton‘s New Threat Against Cuba
On December 31 President Trump released a lengthy recital of his administration’s alleged successes over its first three years and as an obvious prelude to his re-election campaign.[1] In that recital President Trump said the following about Cuba: “President Trump has promoted democracy throughout the Western Hemisphere and imposed heavy sanctions on the regimes in … Continue reading President Trump Proclaims His “Success” on Cuba
