Venezuela Accuses US, EU of Stealing Its Resources by Imposing Sanctions

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Venezuelan government has submitted a detailed report to the United Nations Security Council on the damages caused to the South American country by the US and European Union sanctions policy.

The document has already been discussed in a closed session by the World Council.

The session discussed the allegations that the US and its allies’ policy against Venezuela is being conducted “with the clear intention of depleting our national resources, reversing our political independence and denying us our inalienable right to self-determination”, as the UN ambassador to Venezuela, Samuel Moncada, put it.

“Since at least 2015, our country has been subject to an economic, trade and financial blockade unilaterally and illegally imposed by the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the European Union, as part of an illegal action which, in the heart of the 21st century, reproduces the same acts of colonialism that marked the 19th century,” the report continues.

According to the report, “the expropriation of resources” now totals more than US$9 billion (R$45 billion).

However, this is only a fraction of the funds held by the Venezuelan state or companies in foreign accounts “which were also stolen”. Including “billions of dollars in dividends from accounts of the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA”, which remained frozen and have not been repatriated since 2017.

The further punitive measures imposed by the USA as of February 2020 have already caused losses of over US$116 billion, accuses Venezuela.

These resources could have been used to mitigate the economic crisis and ensure the supply of basic goods and services, food, and medicines, the report says.

It goes on to say that the blockade policy “creates a second humanitarian catastrophe by using the (coronavirus) pandemic as a weapon against our people”.

Germany, France, Belgium, and Estonia, together with Poland, which was a member of the Security Council until December, have issued a joint statement expressing “deep concern” about the consequences that Covid-19 could have for Venezuela.

The pandemic “poses the risk of disastrous human consequences in a country that is already facing a serious economic, social and humanitarian crisis”. The EU countries’ position on lifting economic sanctions is not mentioned.

In a tweet, the US ambassador to the UN described her government as “the largest individual humanitarian contributor” helping “Venezuelans at home and in 16 neighboring countries”. In view of the coronavirus crisis, “another US$9 million” would be provided.

The US government finances the Venezuelan opposition around the self-proclaimed “interim president” Juan Guaidó, now funded by frozen accounts of the legitimate government of Venezuela.

The opinion of Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council, is more detailed.

The first deputy of Russia’s Permanent Mission to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, firstly expressed his astonishment that Venezuela was the subject of debate in the context of the global coronavirus crisis, failing to recognize “that Venezuela, thanks to its efforts and cooperation with UN specialized agencies, -According to the WHO and UNDP, the United States “led the way” in the number of Covid-19 tests per capita in the Latin America and Caribbean region, “with impressive results” despite the further tightening of US sanctions.

Polyanskiy’s statement challenges the “repeated reassurances by the US” that its sanctions would not affect ordinary people, as medical and food supplies “are excluded from the lists of sanctioned products”.

Polyanskiys says it is proven that these exemptions do not work. The “illegal coercive measures” of the USA made it almost impossible to buy needed medical supplies, food, vaccines, and spare parts for the country’s main industries.

“What we have before us is the extraterritorial implementation of US sanctions through threats and blackmail in flagrant violation of international law,” said Polyanskiys.

In doing so, he said, the EU is no better than the US in sticking to US measures because it fears being subject to sanctions itself.