Podcast appearances and mentions of nicholas casey

From an Australian perspective the commemoration of war has long been wrapped up with our national identity.Both 20th C world wars have loomed large for many Australians, and we continue to commemorate our war dead - note the Federal Government has just dropped over half a billion taxpayer dollars on a refurb of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.Everyone deserves a proper and decent burial. Even those who have lived a life of crime or scandal can surely expect some dignity in death. But what if the deceased is a war criminal -- specifically a Nazi? In Germany, an organisation established after World War 1 to help locate and re-bury the remains of some of the millions who died, has found itself in an ethical dilemma. A fascinating story called Unburying the Remains of the Third Reich by Nicholas Casey , a journalist and staff writer at The New York Times based in Madrid. 

The election of Pope Leo XIV is having an immediate and concrete effect in Australia – but in a way you might not have imagined. In the Fair Work Commission, the country's Catholic bishops are pushing for a major pay increase for the lowest paid workers. And they're using a famous statement from one of Pope Leo's predecessors – Leo XIII – way back in 1891. Professor Tom Barnes is an economist with the Australian Catholic University. He helped write and present the submission.Everyone deserves a proper and decent burial. Even those who have lived a life of crime or scandal can surely expect some dignity in death. But what if the deceased is a war criminal -- specifically a Nazi? In Germany, an organisation established after World War I to help locate and re-bury the remains of some of the millions who died has found itself in an ethical dilemma. Nicholas Casey is a staff writer for The New York Times magazine. He explored this question in a recent cover story. GUESTS:Nicholas Casey, writer and journalist - author of Unburying the Remains of the Third ReichTom Barnes, Economist with the Australian Catholic University and contributor to the Catholic Church's Wage Submission

In this week's episode, One Decision hosts Kasia Madera and resident spymaster, former Chief of Britain's MI6, Sir Richard Dearlove, are joined by the New York Times Magazine staff writer Nicholas Casey to uncover the sober reality of the Sudanese civil war. Earlier this year, Casey was embedded with the Sudanese People's Movement Army, a rebel group fighting for democracy. He shares what it was like to report on the world's "forgotten war" and why peaceful intervention in the region has been largely absent. Plus, how countries like Egypt, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates are playing a major role in funding war efforts.

Bob Seidenschwarz and Nicholas Casey discussed journalism during the first hour. Casey is a staff writer for N.Y. Times Magazine. Then we had folks from the Missoula Chamber of Commerce on.

The phenomenon of babies stolen from hospitals in Spain, once shrouded in secrecy, is now being spoken about.The thefts happened during the end of the regime of Francisco Franco, the right-wing dictator who ruled the country until 1975, and even today the disappearances remain a subject of mystery and debate among scholars.According to the birth mothers, nuns who worked in maternity wards took the infants shortly after they were delivered and told the women, who were often unwed or poor, that their children were stillborn. But the babies were not dead: They had been sold, discreetly, to well-off Catholic parents, many of whom could not have families of their own. Under piles of forged papers, the adoptive families buried the secret of the crime they committed. The children who were taken were known in Spain simply as the “stolen babies.” No one knows exactly how many were kidnapped, but estimates suggest tens of thousands.Nicholas Casey relates Ana Belén Pintado's discovery, after the deaths of her parents, that she was a “stolen baby,” and considers the web of culpability and the tricky question of blame, as Spain reckons with its past.This story was written by Nicholas Casey and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android. 

Valencia announces its fiscal plan for 2022-2023, a digital nomad visa is underway, five years since the Catalan declaration of Independence, MidCat pipeline updates, driving license outcry, and much more! Thanks for tuning in! Let us know what you think and what we can improve on by emailing us at spain@rorshok.com.   Like what you hear? Subscribe, share, and tell your buds. To read more about the ‘stolen babies' in Franco's era, follow the link to the article penned by Nicholas Casey called Taken under Fascism, Spain's “stolen babies” are learning the truth.  https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/27/magazine/spain-stolen-babies.html (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/27/magazine/spain-stolen-babies.html) To know more about the MidCat pipeline, and the discussion between France and Spain, click on the link:  https://www.ft.com/content/074d5f67-beeb-493d-a97b-93986eefefbf (https://www.ft.com/content/074d5f67-beeb-493d-a97b-93986eefefbf) To check out what's the cheapest supermarket in your city, follow the link: https://www.20minutos.es/noticia/5064173/0/buscador-consulta-cual-es-el-supermercado-mas-barato-de-tu-ciudad/ (https://www.20minutos.es/noticia/5064173/0/buscador-consulta-cual-es-el-supermercado-mas-barato-de-tu-ciudad/) Oops! It looks like we made a mistake. In 05:13, the reader said "countries" instead of "counties". Sorry for the inconvenience!

Hi there, Article Clubbers! This month, we're reading, annotating, and discussing “My Father Vanished When I Was 7. The Mystery Made Me Who I Am,” by Nicholas Casey.A few weeks ago, I got to interview Mr. Casey with fellow Article Clubber Lauri. It was a great conversation. He talked about how he came to write this piece and about how writing his own story was different from his regular work as a journalist. Mr. Casey also talked about his father, the concepts of melancholy and wanderlust, and the age-old nature vs. nurture question.Most of all, I want to appreciate Mr. Casey for generously sharing his time and thoughtfulness with us. Also, to Lauri: Thank you for nominating this article for Readers' Choice Month and for collaborating closely on this podcast episode.After listening to the interview, feel free to add your thoughts in the comments. And if you're participating in the discussion, see you this Sunday! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit articleclub.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to November! I'm excited to announce that it's our first-ever Readers' Choice Month. This month, we'll be reading and discussing “My Father Vanished When I Was 7. The Mystery Made Me Who I Am.” by Nicholas Casey. Thank you to everyone who nominated an article, and congratulations to Lauri for being the winner!Originally published in The New York Times Magazine in June, the piece chronicles Mr. Casey's long search for his father and explores issues of identity and connection. Where do we come from? What makes us the way we are?Here's an excerpt from the piece:I spent much of my life imagining who I was — and then becoming that person — through vague clues about who my father was. Part of me still likes to believe we each determine who we are by the decisions we make and the lives we choose to live. But what if we don't? Now I often wonder whether this long journey that has led me to so many corners of the world wasn't because I was searching for him, but because I am him.Nicholas Casey is the Madrid bureau chief at The New York Times, covering Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Over the last decade he was stationed in Colombia, Venezuela, Israel, Mexico, and the United States, where he covered the 2020 election. In 2016, he won the George Polk for his work in Venezuela. Mr. Casey's reporting has also won the New York Press Club Award, the Clarion Award, and honorable mention from the Society of Publishers in Asia.I hope you'll join me and fellow Article Clubbers in discussing this article on Sunday, November 21, 2:00 - 3:30 pm PT! This event will be on Zoom and be limited to 24 participants.Are you IN? I hope so. If so, here's what to do:Sign up for the discussion.Leave a comment below. Say hi and share why you're interested in this month's article.Start reading the article. Here's the original, and here's a shared version we can annotate together.Coming up this month at Article ClubThis week: We'll sign up for the discussion and start reading the article.Next week: We'll annotate the article with fellow Article Clubbers.The week of November 15: We'll listen to an interview with Mr. Casey.Sunday, November 21: We'll discuss the article with fellow Article Clubbers.Are you new to Article Club? If so, welcome! We look forward to meeting you and having your voice in the conversation. Feel free to reach out with questions: mark@highlighter.cc.Article Club is a community of thoughtful people who read, annotate, and discuss one great article every month on race, education, or culture. Everyone is welcome. The author participates, too. Article Club is part of The Highlighter, a weekly newsletter featuring the best articles on race, education, and culture. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit articleclub.substack.com/subscribe

Nicholas Casey - Bureau Chief Madrid for the New York Times... with TRE´s Giles Brown

Javier Cancho nos desvela la historia de Nicholas Casey. Su padre desapareció cuando él tenía 7 años. Ese misterio marcó el resto de su vida. Su padre era un enigma. ¡Llega ‘Punta Norte'!

During his childhood, Nicholas Casey, Madrid bureau chief for The New York Times, received visits from his father. He would arrive from some faraway place where the ships on which he worked had taken him, regaling his son with endless stories. He had black curly hair like Nicholas's and the beard he would one day grow.But then after Nicholas's seventh birthday, he vanished.The familial riddle that plagued him would remain unsolved until his 33rd birthday with a gift from his mother: an ancestry test.This story was written by Nicholas Casey and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Deep in southwest Georgia, a local school board has been torn apart over racial gerrymandering. On Georgia Today, New York Times reporter Nicholas Casey discusses how the long shadow of voter suppression manifested in a voting map, and why electoral outcomes often come down to the lines we draw on paper.

This episode contains strong language. During much of this election cycle, Julius Irving of Gainesville, Fla., spent his days trying to get former felons registered to vote.He would tell them about Florida’s Amendment Four, a ballot initiative that extended the franchise to those who had, in the past, been convicted on felony charges — it added an estimated 1.5 million people to the electorate, the nation’s largest voting expansion in four decades.On today’s episode, Nicholas Casey, a national politics reporter, spends time with Mr. Irving in Gainesville and explores the voting rights battle in Florida.Guest: Nicholas Casey, a national politics reporter for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily Background reading: Former prisoners can now go to the polls in Florida. But fines remain one obstacle. Believing anything will make a difference is another. That’s where Julius Irving comes in.

This episode contains strong language. During much of this election cycle, Julius Irving of Gainesville, Fla., spent his days trying to get former felons registered to vote.He would tell them about Florida’s Amendment Four, a ballot initiative that extended the franchise to those who had, in the past, been convicted on felony charges — it added an estimated 1.5 million people to the electorate, the nation’s largest voting expansion in four decades.On today’s episode, Nicholas Casey, a national politics reporter, spends time with Mr. Irving in Gainesville and explores the voting rights battle in Florida.Guest: Nicholas Casey, a national politics reporter for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily Background reading: Former prisoners can now go to the polls in Florida. But fines remain one obstacle. Believing anything will make a difference is another. That’s where Julius Irving comes in.

Urge tomar conciencia ante la agresión de periodistas por parte de seguidores de Santrich y la salida del país del corresponsal Nicholas Casey.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode, we will be speaking with The New York Times Andes bureau chief Nicholas Casey. He covers a number of South American countries but has spent a large amount of time working in Venezuela, reporting on events taking place from within the country for The New York Times. He came in to talk about the recent nationwide blackout that struck the country while he was there, along with the current availability and use of cryptocurrencies in Venezuela. For our What the Tech feature, where we look at frighteningly accurate or hilariously inaccurate tech predictions from celebrities and experts in the tech industry, we have a clip from a 2003 presentation from Steve Jobs which hasn’t aged well, especially given recent headlines. And for our Neuron To Something piece, where we look at psychology studies and research influenced by technology, we have a study analyzing the psychology behind why people choose to watch disturbing videos online of torture and murder.

Measles is back in the United States and is currently spreading quickly; the number of cases in the United States in 2019 has already surpassed the number of cases in all of last year. In this episode, get highlights from two Congressional hearings addressing the measles outbreak, which answered a lot of questions about the dangers of the disease, what is causing the outbreak, what is being done about it by the government, and what we can do to help. Please Support Congressional Dish – Quick Links Click here to contribute monthly or a lump sum via PayPal Click here to support Congressional Dish for each episode via Patreon Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Send Cash App payments to: $CongressionalDish or Donation@congressionaldish.com Use your bank's online bill pay function to mail contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North, Number 4576, Crestview, FL 32536 Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Recommended Congressional Dish Episodes CD190: A Coup for Capitalism Additional Reading Article: New York City vaccination order shines spotlight on insular Jewish community by Lenny Bernstein, Lena H. Sun, and Gabrielle Paluch, The Washington Post, April 11, 2019. Tweet: Congratulations to Netanyahu from Rep. Jeff Duncan, April 11, 2019. Article: 78 new measles cases reported nationwide since last week, CDC says by Debra Goldschmidt, CNN, April 8, 2019. Article: More Americans have gotten measles this year than in 2018 - and it's only April by Sara Chodosh, Popular Science, April 8, 2019. Article: Australia ramps up measles warnings as cases jump, Yahoo News, April 7, 2019. Article: Judge lifts Rockland's measles emergency order banning unvaccinated children from public by Jenna DeAngelis, CBS Local New York, April 5, 2019. Article: In three months, US measles cases surpass 2018 numbers by Carolyn Wilke, The Scientist, April 2, 2019. Article: The measles virus was down and out. Now it's primed for a comeback by Helen Branswell, Stat News, March 26, 2019. Article: Footage contradicts U.S. claim that Nicolas Maduro burned aid convoy by Nicholas Casey, Christoph Koettl, and Deborah Acosta, The New York Times, March 10, 2019. Article: Measles cases mount in Pacific northwest outbreak by Jonathan Lambert, NPR, February 8, 2019. Article: Measles cases at highest for 20 years in Europe, as anti-vaccine movement grows by Sarah Boseley, The Guardian, December 21, 2018. Article: Vitamin A: Benefits, deficiency, toxicity and more by Jillian Kubala, Healthline, October 4, 2018. Article: Vitamin A protects against measles: Top Doctor by Sylvia Booth Hubbard, Newsmax Health, February 3, 2015. Research Article: Measles-induced encephalitis by D.L. Fisher, S. Defres, and T. Solomon, QJM International Journal of Medicine, May 26, 2014. Research Article: Measles inclusion-body encephalitis caused by the vaccine strain of measles virus by A. Bitnun, P. Shannon, A. Durward, P.A. Rota, W.J.Bellini, C. Graham, E. Wang, E.L. Ford-Jones, P. Cox, L. Becker, M. Fearon, M. Petric, and R. Tellier, PubMed, October 29, 1999. Resources Center for Disease Control and Prevention: Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) Vaccine Safety Center for Disease Control and Prevention: Measles (Rubeola): Transmission Center for Disease Control and Prevention: Vaccine Information Statements (VISs) Center for Disease Control and Prevention: Vaccine Safety: Autism Health Resources & Services Administration: HRSA Data and Statistics: Vaccine Compensation National Institute of Health: Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., NIAID Director Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS): Table of Reportable Events Following Vaccination Washington State Department of Health: Measles Outbreak 2019 Website: generationrescue.org Sound Clip Sources Hearing: Vaccines Save Lives: What is Driving Preventable Disease Outbreaks, Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions, Senate.gov, March 5, 2019. C-SPAN Witnesses: Dr. John Wiesman: Secretary of Health for Washington State Jonathan A. McCullers, MD: Professor and Chair, Department of Pediatrics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Pediatrician-in-Chief, Le Bonheur Children's Hospital, Memphis, TN Saad B. Omer, MBBS, MPH, PhD: William H. Foege Professor Of Global Health Professor of Epidemiology & Pediatrics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA John G. Boyle, President And CEO: Immune Deficiency Foundation, Towson, MD Ethan Lindenberger: Student, Norwalk High School, Norwalk, OH Sound Clips: 20:00 Dr. John Wiesman: As of yesterday, Washington State's measles outbreak had 71 cases plus four cases associated with our outbreak in Oregon and one in Georgia. Containing a measles outbreak takes a whole community response led by governmental public health. The moment they suspected cases reported, disease investigators interviewed that person to determine when they were infectious, who they were in close contact with and what public spaces they visited. If still infectious, the health officer orders them to isolate themselves so they don't infect others, notifies the public and the about the community about the public places that they were in when they are infectious and stands up a call center to handle questions. We also reach out to individuals who were in close contact with the patient. If they are unvaccinated and without symptoms, we ask them to quarantine themselves for up to 21 days. That's how long it can take to develop symptoms and we monitor them so that we quickly know if they develop measles. If they show symptoms, we get them to a healthcare provider and obtain samples to test for measles and if they have measles, we start the investigation process all over again. This is a staff and time intensive activity and is highly disruptive to people's lives. Responding to this preventable outbreak has cost over $1 million and required the work of more than 200 individuals. 21:15 Dr. John Wiesman: So what do we need from the federal government? First, we need sustained, predictable and increased federal funding. Congress must prioritize public health and support the prevention and public health fund. We are constantly reacting to crises rather than working to prevent them. The Association of state and territorial health officials and over 80 organizations are asking you to raise the CDC budget by 22% by FY22 this will immediately bolster prevention services, save lives, and reduce healthcare cost. Second, our response to this outbreak has been benefited greatly from the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act, so thank you. The Public Health Emergency Preparedness Cooperative Agreement in the hospital preparedness programs authorized by this law are currently funded $400 million below funding levels in the 2000s. More robust funding is needed and I strongly urge you to quickly reauthorize POPRA because many of the authorizations expired last year. Third, the three 17 immunization program has been a flat funded for 10 years without increased funding. We cannot afford to develop new ways to reach parents with immunization information nor maintain our electronic immunization systems. Fourth, we need federal leadership for a national vaccine campaign spearheaded by CDC in partnership with states that counter the anti-vaccine messages similar to the successful TRUTH tobacco prevention campaign. We have lost much ground. Urgent action is necessary. 46:15 Sen. Lamar Alexander (TN): In your opinion, there's no evidence, reputable evidence, that vaccines cause autism? Jonathan McCullers: There is absolutely no evidence at this time that vaccines cause autism. Sen. Lamar Alexander (TN): Dr. Omer, do you agree with that? Saad B. Omer: Absolutely. Sen. Lamar Alexander (TN): Doctor Wiesman, do you agree with that? Dr. John Wiesman: I do. Sen. Lamar Alexander (TN): Mr. Boyle, do you agree with that ideal? John Boyle: I do. Sen. Lamar Alexander (TN): Mr Lindenbergeer? Ethan Lindenberger: I do. 47:30 Dr. John Wiesman: The choice to sort of make exemptions more difficult - to get them to be a sort of as burdensome as not getting the vaccine - is incredibly important. In Washington state, as you know, we have two bills right now that are looking to remove the personal exemptions from a vaccine for school entry and for child care entry. I think that's one of the tools that we have and that we should be using for this. 47:45 Dr. John Wiesman: I will also say in Washington state, another problem we have is that about 8% of our kids are out of compliance with school records so that we don't even know if they're vaccinated or would like exemptions and we have to tackle that problem as well. 1:05:45 Sen. Rand Paul (KY): Today though, instead of persuasion, many governments have taken to mandating a whole host of vaccines including vaccines for nonlethal diseases. Sometimes these vaccine mandates have run a muck when the, as when the government mandated a rotavirus vaccine that was later recalled because it was causing intestinal blockage in children. I'm not a fan of government coercion, yet given the choice, I do believe that the benefits of most vaccines vastly outweigh the risks. Yet it is wrong to say that there are no risks to vaccines. Even the government admits that children are sometimes injured by vaccines. Since 1988 over $4 billion has been paid out from the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Despite the government admitting to in paying $4 billion for vaccine injuries, no informed consent is used or required when you vaccinate your child. This may be the only medical procedure in today's medical world where an informed consent is not required. Now, proponents of mandatory government vaccination argue that parents who ref use to vaccinate their children risk spreading these disease to the immunocompromised community. There doesn't seem to be enough evidence of this happening to be recorded as a statistic, but it could happen. But if the fear of this is valid are we to find that next we'll be mandating flu vaccines. Between 12 and 56,000 people die from the flu or are said to die from the flu in America and there's estimated to be a few hundred from measles. So I would guess that those who want to mandate measles will be after us on the flu next. Yet the current science only allows for educated guessing when it comes to the flu vaccine. Each year before that year's flu vaccine is, or strain is known, the scientists put their best guess into that year's vaccine. Some years it's completely wrong. We vaccinate for the wrong strain of flu vaccine. Yet five states already mandate flu vaccines. Is it really appropriate, appropriate to mandate a vaccine that more often than not vaccinates for the wrong flu strain. As we contemplate forcing parents to choose this or that vaccine, I think it's important to remember that force is not consistent with the American story, nor is force considered consistent with the liberty our forefathers saught when they came to America. I don't think you have to have one of the other, though. I'm not here to say don't vaccinate your kids. If this hearing is for persuasion, I'm all for the persuasion. I vaccinated myself. I vaccinated my kid. For myself and my children I believe that the benefits of vaccines greatly outweigh the risks, but I still do not favor giving up on liberty for a false sense of security. Thank you. 1:13:20 Sen. Elizabeth Warren (MA): This administration has repeatedly sought to cut the Prevention and Public Health Fund, which supports key immunization programs, and they've continued their efforts to weaken the Medicaid program, which covers all of the recommended vaccines for children and for many adults as well. I am glad that most of my colleagues are on the same page about the importance of vaccines. Now let's make sure we're also on the same page about the importance of public health funding, so people get access to those vaccines. 1:28:30 Jonathan McCullers: So Mississippi does not allow any nonmedical exemptions, and they have nearly a 100% rate of immunization at school entry. They pay a lot of attention to it. Tennessee's in the middle, they allow religious exemptions, but not philosophical exemptions. In Tennessee, we have about a 97% vaccination rate of kindergarten entry, but we've seen the rate of nonmedical exemptions under the religious exemption triple in the last 10 years, so you can predict where that's going. Arkansas ,on the other hand, allows both religious and philosophical exemptions and has a rate that's around 93 to 94% below the level for community immunity. Hearing: Confronting a Growing Public Health Threat: Measles Outbreaks in the U.S., Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, House of Representatives, C-SPAN, February 27, 2019. Witnesses: Dr. Nancy Messonnier Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Sound Clips: 3:42 Chairman Diana Degette (CO): The national measles vaccination rate of children between 19 and 35 months old is currently at 91%. That may seem high to some, but given the highly contagious nature nature of measles, it's well below the 95% vaccination rate that's required to protect communities and give it what it's known as herd immunity. This so called herd immunity is particularly vital to protecting those who cannot be or are not yet vaccinated against the measles, such as infants or those with prior medical conditions who are at a higher risk of suffering severe complications from the vaccine. 4:30 Chairman Diana Degette (CO): While the overall national rate of MMR vaccinations is currently at 91%, the rate in some communities is much lower. Some are as low as 77%. 9:15 Rep. Brett Guthrie (KY): Every state except three have enacted religious exemptions for parents who wish not to vaccinate their children. There are 17 states allow a personal philosophical exemption, which means that most people can opt out for any reason. For example, in Washington state, just 0.3% of Washington's families with kindergartners use a religious exemption. While 3.7% of families use a personal exemption and 0.8% use a medical exemption. Vaccine exemptions have increased in the past three years to a median 2.2% of kindergardeners among all states. 10:00 Rep. Brett Guthrie (KY): After the Disneyland linked outbreak to measles in 2014, the state of California ended the religious and personal exemption for vaccines. The Washington legislature is working on legislation that substantially narrows the exemptions for vaccination that would eliminate the personal or philosophical exemption while tightening the religious exemption. In recent weeks, take legislators in New Jersey, New York, Iowa, Maine, and Vermont, have proposed eliminating religious exemptions for vaccines. However, last week, the Arizona House Health and Human Service Committee approved three bills to examine exemptions for mandatory vaccinations. 23:25 Dr. Nancy Messonnier: From January 1st to February 21st, 159 cases of measles have been confirmed in 10 states, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, New York, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. In 2018, 372 people with measles were reported from 25 states and the district of Columbia. Most cases have been unvaccinated. 24:15 Dr. Nancy Messonnier: Nationally, we enjoy high measles vaccination coverage. However, there are pockets of people who are vaccine hesitant, who delay or even refuse to vaccinate themselves and their children. Outbreaks of measles occur, when measles gets into these communities of unvaccinated people. Those choosing not to vaccinate, tend to live near each other. Some of these are what we call close knit communities. People who share common religious beliefs or racial ethnic background. Others are people who have strong personal belief against vaccination. 25:15 Dr. Nancy Messonnier: Vaccine hesitancy is the result of a misunderstanding of the risk and seriousness of disease combined with misinformation regarding the safety and effectiveness of vaccines. However, the specific issues fueling hesitancy varies by community. Because vaccine hesitancy remains a highly localized issue, the strategy to address these issues need to be local with support from CDC. Strong immunization programs at the state and local levels are critical to understanding the specific issues and empowering local action. CDC also works to support state and local public health efforts through research to understand these reasons and develop targeted strategies to address hesitancy. 28:40 Dr. Anthony Fauci: Measles virus is one of the most contagious viruses that we know among the pathogens that confront mankind. As mentioned, that if an individual gets into a room with someone who has measles, and that person is coughing and sneezing, there's about a 90% chance that that person. That is very unlike other diseases like influenza and other respiratory diseases when the hit rate, although it's high, is nothing, uh, approaching 90%. 30:00 Dr. Anthony Fauci: As was mentioned prior to the vaccine era, there were about 3 million deaths each year. The decrease was dramatic. There were 21 million lives that were saved from vaccines between the year 2000 and 2017. But as shown on the last bullet on this slide, there are 110,000 deaths still today in the world, which means there's the danger of the reinsertion of measles from other countries, and if we're not protected. 31:00 Dr. Anthony Fauci: Well, let's take a look at some of the things that I mentioned about the disease itself. Fever, cough, rash, as was mentioned by Dr. Burgess, again, contagious from four days before the rash to four days after. So people are spreading measles before they really know that they actually have measles. We have a group of individuals who are particularly at risk for complications, infants and children, pregnant women, immunocompromised, and even adults. If you're not protected and you get infected, adults have a high incidence of complications. You've heard about the complications. They are not trivial. One out of 10 with ear infections, which could lead to deafness, pneumonia in one out of 20 cases, and encephalitis one in a thousand. A very rare occurrence called subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, seven to 10 years after an individual develops measles, they can have a very devastating neurological syndrome, no known cure, and is vaccine preventable. 34:15 Dr. Nancy Messonnier: Taking care of your health, eating well, exercising, getting enough sleep: Those are all parts of a healthy lifestyle, but the only way to protect against measles is to get vaccinated. It's a safe and effective vaccine, and parents should go ahead and get vaccinated. 36:00 Chairman Diana Degette (CO): What are the risks inherent in the vaccine itself? I think that might be one reason why, um, some, some parents are choosing not to vaccinate their children as they believe that the risks with the vaccine outweigh the benefits. Dr. Nancy Messonnier: I think you're exactly right and I think in the setting of not a lot of measles cases around, parents weigh in their mind the risks and benefits and think they shouldn't vaccinate. Truth is this is an incredibly safe vaccine. We have a host of experience with it. The vaccine's been used for a really long time. We in the United States enjoy one of the most robust systems to monitor the safety of vaccines. And that's why we can say with confidence that this is a safe vaccine. The most common side effects are a sore arm, which goes away pretty quickly. 42:00 Rep. Brett Guthrie (KY): I've heard some parents claim that measles vaccine can cause brain inflammation known as encephalitis. Is that true? Dr. Anthony Fauci: Brain inflammation? Rep. Brett Guthrie (KY): Encephalitis? Can the measles vaccine cause encephalitis? The vaccine? Dr. Anthony Fauci: The vaccine? No. Rep. Brett Guthrie (KY): There's no cases? Chairman Diana Degette (CO): The Chair will remind all persons in the audience that manifestation of approval or disapproval of proceedings is in violation of the rules of the house and its committees. Gentlemen may proceed. Dr. Nancy Messonnier: In healthy children, the MMR vaccine does not cause brain swelling or encephalitis. Rep. Brett Guthrie (KY): So if a, if a child was unhealthy when they're vaccinated? Dr. Nancy Messonnier: So, there are rare instances of children with certain very specific underlying problems with their immune system and who the vaccine is contra indicated. One of the reasons its contra indicated is in that very specific group of children, there is a rare risk of brain swelling. Rep. Brett Guthrie (KY): Would the parent know if their child was in that category before… Dr. Nancy Messonnier: Certainly, and that's why parents should talk to their doctor. 43:15 Rep. Brett Guthrie (KY): So there's another thing that's that people can self medicate with vitamin A to prevent measles and not do the vaccine. Is that, what's the validity of that in your opinion? Dr. Anthony Fauci: Well, the history of vitamin A and measles goes back to some very important and I think transforming studies that were done years ago in, in sub Saharan Africa, is that with vitamin A supplements, particularly in vitamin A deficiency that children who get measles have a much more difficult course. So vitamin A associated with measles can actually protect you against some of the, uh, toxic and adverse effects. Importantly, since in a country, a developed nation where you really don't have any issue with vitamin A deficiency, that you don't really see that transforming effect. But some really good studies that were done years ago show that vitamin A supplementation can be very helpful in preventing the complications of measles. Rep. Brett Guthrie (KY): It doesn't prevent the onset of measles if, if you're not… Dr. Anthony Fauci: No. Rep. Brett Guthrie (KY): is that what you're saying? It doesn't want to put words in your mouth. Dr. Anthony Fauci: It doesn't prevent measles. But it's important in preventing some of the complications in societies in which vitamin A deficiency might exist. 46:10 Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL): I'm trying to understand what has happened between 2000 and 2019 and why we're, we've fallen so far from the public health success stories, um, when the CDC actually said that there we had eradicated in the United States, uh, measles in, in, in 2000. So Dr. Messonnier, yes or no: Do you believe the primary cause of the spike and measles outbreak over the past few years is due to vaccine hesitancy and misinformation? Dr. Nancy Messonnier: Yes and no. I think vaccine hesitancy is a, is a word that means many different things. Parents have questions about vaccines, they get those questions answered. That isn't what you should call a hesitancy. So I do believe that parents concerns about vaccine leads to under vaccination and most of the cases that we're seeing are an unvaccinated communities. However, if you look nationally at measles vaccination coverage, there were other things that are associated with low coverage. Um, for example, living in a rural area versus an urban area. Rural areas have lower vaccine coverage with measles. Schakowsky: How would you account for that? Messonnier: Well, I think that there are other things besides the sole choice that are around access to care. For example, kids without health insurance have lower measles vaccination coverage. Schakowsky: So generally lack of access to care. Messonnier: In addition to parents making decisions not to vaccinate their kids. Yes. 50:20 Rep. Michael Burgess (TX): I do feel obligated dimension that vitamin A is not like vitamin C. You may not take unlimited quantities of vitamin A with impunity. It is a fat soluble vitamin and it is stored in the body. Uh, so don't go out and hyper dose on vitamin A because it, uh, it will not accrue to your long-term benefit. 54:15 Rep. Michael Burgess (TX): Did the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine ever contain mercury or thimerosal? I'll need a verbal answer for the clerk. Dr. Anthony Fauci: No. It's preservative free. 56:00 Dr. Nancy Messonnier: So measles was identified as eliminated in the United States in 2000 because there was no longer sustained transmission in the US. However, measles continues to circulate globally, which means unvaccinated US travelers can be exposed to measles and bring it back home with them, and folks in their families and their communities, if they're not protected by vaccine, are at risk. And measles is so incredibly contagious that it can spread really quickly. So yes, we should be concerned. 57:00 Rep. Frank Pallone (NJ): What role do you see this spread of disinformation online playing in, in, in the rise of, um, of these outbreaks? Dr. Anthony Fauci: Yeah, I believe Mr. Pallone, that it plays an important role. It's, it's not the only one but, but I believe it plays an important role. And I think the classic example of that was the disinformation associated with the relationship between measles, vaccination and autism, which, uh, back when it came out, uh, years ago, there was a big concern that this was the case when it was investigated. It became clear that the data upon which those statements were made were false and fraudulent. And the person who made them had his medical license revoked in England. And yet, as you know very well, the good news about the Internet is that it spreads important information. That's good. And the bad news about the Internet is that when the bad information gets on there, it's tough to get it off. And yet people refer to things that have been proven to be false. So this information is really an important issue that we need to try and overcome by continuing to point people to what's evidenced based and what's science-based. So in, in so many respects, we shouldn't be criticizing people who get these information that's false because they may not know it's false. We need to try and continue to educate them to show them what the true evidence base is. But in direct answer to your question, that is an important problem, disinformation. Rep. Frank Pallone (NJ): Now do you think that the promotion of this inaccurate and fear based messages, would you consider that in itself a threat to public health? Dr. Anthony Fauci: Yes, of course. I think the spread of false information that leads people into poor choices, even though they're well meaning in their choice, it's a poor choice based on information. I think that's a major contribution to the problem that we're discussing. (lady behind him holds up a book titled “Autism Epidemic”) 1:04:00 Dr. Anthony Fauci: But when you have a highly effective, and I want to underscore that because measles is one of the most effective vaccines that we have of any vaccine that a massive public health effort could lead to eradication. Because we don't have an animal vector, we don't have an intermediate host. We don't have a vector that transmits it. It is just person to person transmissibility. So theoretically we could eradicate it. The problem between eradication and elimination, if you eliminate it like we did in this country in 2000 as long as this measles somewhere, you always have the threat of it reemerging if you let down the umbrella of herd immunity. 1:05:00 Dr. Nancy Messonnier: Dr. Fauci is correct about Madagascar, but I think Americans don't realize that in 2018 there were also outbreaks in England, France, Italy, and Greece. American travelers going abroad need to think about their immunization status, not just when they're going into countries like Madagascar, but even going to Europe. 1:11:45 Rep. Jeff Duncan (SC): And one of the world's measle outbreaks right now, it's happening in Brazil where people fleeing a completely broken country of Venezuela are spreadingeas measles and - madam chair- I'd like to submit for the record, an NPR article, "The collapse of health system sends Venezuelans fleeing to Brazil for basic medical needs." And I'll submit that for the record. Um, they've been in a unvaccinated population because of the collapse of the failed socialist state in Venezuela where there should be an instructive example for some of us in this committee room of the lack of that sort of medical treatment of vaccinations. I would note that the humanitarian aid that countries like the U.S. are trying to send to Venezuela is being burned on bridges by the Maduro regime instead of actually being used to help his own people. This includes vaccinations, like the ones we're discussing today. There were measles vaccinations that were burned on the bridges as part of the relief effort to Venezuela. 1:18:30 Rep. Kathy Castor (FL): I was a little confused by the last line of questioning that they're, the alarm should be over, uh, immigration and, and asylum seekers. You have a comment on that, Dr. Fauci? Dr. Anthony Fauci: Well, I, I think what Dr. Messonnier said is absolutely correct. If you look at the known outbreak, so if you take the outbreak in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn in New York City and in Rockland County, it was a relatively closed group who had a rate of vaccination that was below the level of a good herd immunity. A person from Israel understandably came over legally as a visitor into the community. And then you had a massive outbreak in New York. The Somali community in Minnesota, the same thing happened. You had a group there who had a lower rate that went below the cutoff point for herd immunity. Some immigrant came in as one of the members of the community, was a relatively closed community, and that's what you have. So I think when you talk about outbreaks, it really transcends some of the demographic issues that you were talking about, about lower income or rural versus urban. It really is an a closed community that we're seeing it. Castor: with lower vaccination rates. Fauci: Right, exactly. So a lower vaccination rates. 1:23:45 Rep. Paul Tonko (NY): In response to the spotlight on the monetization of misinformation about vaccines and the ways in which platforms are being manipulated to promote anti vaccination messaging, some companies have announced new policies. For instance, Facebook says it is working on its algorithms to prevent anti-vaccination content from being recommended to users. Pinterest has decided to remove all vaccination related posts and searches, even accurate information. And YouTube just recently announced that it would prevent channels that promote anti-vaccination content from running advertising. Dr Fauci, do you think these actions are a step in the right direction to ensure parents and families have access to science-based factual health information? Dr. Anthony Fauci: Obviously it's a very sensitive subject because it then gets in the that borderline between the, you know, the essentially crushing of information that might actually be useful information. However, having said that, I do think that a close look and scrutiny at something that is egregiously incorrect has some merits of taking a careful look as to whether, one, you want to be participating in the dissemination of that. Always being careful about not wanting to essentially curtail freedom of expression. You still want to make sure you don't do something that is so clearly hazardous to the health of individuals. Rep. Paul Tonko (NY): I appreciate that. And Dr. Messonnier, as the agency charged with protecting our national public health, what efforts are underway at CDC to counter the online proliferation of anti vaccination disinformation. Dr. Nancy Messonnier: As a science based agency, CDC really focuses on making sure that we get scientifically credible information available to the folks at the front lines it needed every day. In order to do that, we do scan social media to see what issues are arising and what questions are emerging to make sure that we can then gather the scientifically appropriate answers and get that to our partners in the front line so that they can talk to patients about that information. 1:30:30 Dr. Nancy Messonnier: The concept of herd immunity is that by vaccinating an individual, you don't just prevent them from getting disease, but you also prevent them from transmitting it to others. And what that means is that in our community, individuals who, for example, can't get the vaccine because they're too young, or they have some kind of illness that prevents it, are still protected by the cushion of protection provided by their community. Radio Interview: National Security Advisor Ambassador John Bolton, Hugh Hewitt Book Club, February 1, 2019. Hugh Hewitt: There are reports of Venezuela shipping gold to the United Arab Emirates. The UAE is a very close ally of ours. Have you asked the UAE to sequester that gold? John Bolton: Let me just say this. We’re obviously aware of those reports consistent with what we did on Monday against PDVSA, the state-owned oil monopoly where we imposed crippling sanctions. Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury Secretary, is implementing them as we speak. We’re also looking at cutting off other streams of revenue and assets for the Maduro mafia, and that certainly includes gold. And we’ve already taken some steps to neutralize gold that’s been out of the country used as collateral for bank loans. We’ve frozen, and our friends in Europe, have frozen a substantial amount of that. We want to try and do the same here. We’re on top of it. That’s really all I can say at the moment. White House Daily Briefing: Trump Administration Officials Announce Sanctions on Venezuelan Oil Sector, C-SPAN, January 28, 2019. Speakers: Steve Mnuchin - Treasury Secretary John Bolton - National Security Advisor Sound Clips: 7:43 Steven Mnuchin: But effective immediately, any purchases of Venezuelan oil by U.S. entities, money will have to go into blocked accounts. Now, I've been in touch with many of the refineries. There is a significant amount of oil that's at sea that's already been paid for. That oil will continue to come to the United States. If the people in Venezuela want to continue to sell us oil, as long as that money goes into blocked accounts, we'll continue to take it. Otherwise, we will not be buying it. And again, we have issued general licenses, so the refineries in the United States can continue to operate. 9:06 Steven Mnuchin: The purpose of sanctions is to change behavior. So when there is a recognition that PDVSA is the property of the rightful rulers, the rightful leaders, the president, then, indeed, that money will be available to Guaido. Interview: Jenny McCarthy talks to CNN on how she cured her sons Autism caused by VACCINATIONS, CNN, October 23, 2008. Documentary: Mission, Measles - The Story of a Vaccine, Co-produced by US Public Health Service and Merck, C-SPAN/American History TV, 1964. 3:30 Narrator: As of this time, measles is by far our most serious epidemic childhood disease. Although nearly half a million cases are reported each year, the actual number is probably closer to 4 million. 3:45 Narrator: In 1961 after the polio vaccines had reduced the deaths from that disease to 90, that same year 434 measles deaths were reported. In the less developed countries of the world, the toll taken by measles is much greater. In Nigeria, it is estimated that one out of four babies contracting measles dies from it. The tragic toll of measles is also told in a neighboring republic Upper Volta, where in one village, an epidemic killed 113 out of 115 children who got the disease. Across the ocean in Chile, measles accounts for half of all childhood deaths from acute communicable diseases each year.     Community Suggestions See Community Suggestions HERE. Cover Art Design by Only Child Imaginations Music Presented in This Episode Intro & Exit: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio)

We knew it was coming, and now it's here: A coup is in progress in Venezuela. In this follow up episode to CD176 (Target Venezuela: Regime Change in Progress), learn additional backstory and details about the recent events in Venezuela, including the proclamation by Juan Guaido that he is now the President of Venezuela and all of the efforts being made by the Trump administration to get this regime change to stick. Please Support Congressional Dish – Quick Links Click here to contribute monthly or a lump sum via PayPal Click here to support Congressional Dish for each episode via Patreon Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Send Cash App payments to: $CongressionalDish or Donation@congressionaldish.com Use your bank's online bill pay function to mail contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North, Number 4576, Crestview, FL 32536 Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Recommended Congressional Dish Episodes CD186: National Endowment for Democracy CD176: Target Venezuela: Regime Change in Progress Sound Clip Sources Hearing: U.S. Africa and Southern Command Operations, Senate Armed Service Committee, C-SPAN, February 7, 2019. Witnesses: Admiral Craig Fuller - U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) Commander Sound Clips: 16:10 Fuller While Russia and Cuba and China prop up the Maduro dictatorship, the reminder of the world is united. SOUTHCOM is supporting diplomatic efforts and we are prepared to protect U.S. personal and diplomatic facilities, if necessary. 53:44 Sen. Rick Scott In the Venezuelan military, have you -- have you seen any cracking from the standpoint, what we've been doing over the last -- especially the last two weeks, has any thing changed? Fuller - Certainly, there's been readiness aspects of their military that we watch very closely. It's a degraded force, but it is still a force that remains loyal to Maduro, and that makes it dangerous. We're looking for signs of those cracking, and we can talk in the closed session on some more details in trends we're seeing. 1:00:00 Sen. Tom Cotton (AR) - He said earlier Cuban guards completely surround the Maduro government. Does that mean that Maduro is dependent on the Cuban security and intelligence forces for his continuation in office? Fuller - Senator, I think it's a good sense of where the loyalty of the Venezuelan people are that to his immediate security forces made up of Cubans. Cotton  - So the men that surround Maduro, like our Secret Service, are Cubans not Venezuelans. Fuller - That's my understanding and assessment. 1:01:54 Fuller - I would also mention that the presence of China, China has not been helpful in a diplomatic way. I will leave that to the diplomats. China is there and involved in cyber in ways that are absolutely not helpful to the democratic outcome. 1:18:47 Sen Tim Kaine (VA) - If the world wants to see a democracy versus a dictatorship challenge Venezuela is just like the perfect test case for circa 2019, what do democracies care for an what dictatorships care for, Venezuela government of Maduro is supported by Russia, Cuba, and Iran. And they are enabling him to do all kinds of horrible things economically and in violation of human rights. The interim government, which has a constitutional claim in the vacancy of a president, the speaker of the legislative assembly becomes interim president supported by the United States and the EU. You really can see what the difference between democracy and the aspirations of democratic governments and dictatorship and what they care about very clearly int eh Venezuela circumstance now. Here's the reality, we are dealing with regional institutions like the OAS, every nation has one vote. The U.S. has a hard time to get the UA asked firmly come out against the Maduro government because many Caribbean nations still support the Maduro government. They've been bribed to do so with low-price oil. But it's very hard for us to do something like this on our won and when a principal regional institution like the LAS is not completely with us it's hard to put the appropriate pressure on. Interview: Mnuchin says Trump's economic plan is working and 'we're not going back to socialism', CNBC, February 6, 2019. 00:58:37 Steven Mnuchin : I’ve always watched the stock market a lot. I’ve been in the investment business since I graduated from Yale and I’ve tended to watch the stock market every day since then... As the President talked about last night, his economic program is working. We’re not going back to socialism. We’re going on an economic plan for America that works. 2019 State of the Union Address: Trump appeals for unity to end political gridlock, February 5, 2019. 2019 State of the Union Address: Trump Praises the Venezuela Coup, February 5, 2019. 1:05:28 President Donald Trump - Two weeks ago, the United States officially recognized the legitimate government of Venezuela, and its new interim President, Juan Guaido. We stand with the Venezuelan people in their noble quest for freedom -- and we condemn the brutality of the Maduro regime, whose socialist policies have turned that nation from being the wealthiest in South America into a state of abject poverty and despair. Here, in the United States, we are alarmed by new calls to adopt socialism in our country. America was founded on liberty and independence --- not government coercion, domination, and control. We are born free, and we will stay free. Tonight, we renew our resolve that America will never be a socialist country. Interview: President Trump on "Face the Nation," CBS News, February 3, 2019. 00:42:58 MARGARET BRENNAN: What would make you use the U.S. military in Venezuela? What's the national security interest? PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Well I don't want to say that. But certainly it's something that's on the- it's an option. MARGARET BRENNAN: Would you personally negotiate with Nicolás Maduro to convince him to exit. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Well he is requested a meeting and I've turned it down because we're very far along in the process. You have a young and energetic gentleman but you have other people within that same group that have been very very - if you talk about democracy - it's really democracy in action. MARGARET BRENNAN: When did he request a meeting? PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: We're going to see what happened. A number of months ago he wanted to meet. Interview: National Security Adviser Ambassador John Bolton, interviewed by Hugh Hewitt, Hugh Hewitt Book Club, February 1, 2019. Transcript Sound Clips: 01:20:23 Hugh Hewitt: There are reports of Venezuela shipping gold to the United Arab Emirates. The UAE is a very close ally of ours. Have you asked the UAE to sequester that gold? John Bolton: Let me just say this. We’re obviously aware of those reports consistent with what we did on Monday against PDVSA, the state-owned oil monopoly where we imposed crippling sanctions. Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury Secretary, is implementing them as we speak. We’re also looking at cutting off other streams of revenue and assets for the Maduro mafia, and that certainly includes gold. And we’ve already taken some steps to neutralize gold that’s been out of the country used as collateral for bank loans. We’ve frozen, and our friends in Europe, have frozen a substantial amount of that. We want to try and do the same here. We’re on top of it. That’s really all I can say at the moment. Council Session: Political Situation in Venezuela, Atlantic Council, January 30, 2019. Witnesses: Ed Royce - Former Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Carlos Alfredo Vecchio - Voluntad Popular Co-Founder, Interim Venezuelan Charge d’Affaires to the U.S. Julio Borges - Former President for the National Assembly of Venezuela David O’Sullivan - European Union Ambassador to the United States Sound Clips: 11:30 Carlos Alfredo Vecchio (via translator): What do we want to do? What is what we are asking the international community to support us with? First, to put an end to the usurpation of power by Nicolas Maduro. We cannot resolve the political and economic and social crisis as long as the dictatorship is in place. And this is something that we have to make clear. That is my priority, is to put an end to that and to help orchestrate international support to put an end to Maduro's dictatorship. 13:30 Carlos Alfredo Vecchio (via translator): Just to make very clear, I mean, from an economic point of view, we believe in an open market, an open economy. We believe in the private sector, we believe in the international and the national sectors, though, often, of course, our main source of revenue is the oil sector. So that would be a key element to recover our country, and we need to open that market. We need to increase our oil production. 39:15 David O’Sullivan: I think we absolutely share the same objective here. The European Union has always believed that the situation in Venezuela is unsustainable. We did not accept the results of the so-called elections last year. We declined collectively to attend the inauguration. And we are wholly supportive of the efforts of the National Assembly and Guaido to restore true democracy and free and fair elections. 48:00 Representative Ed Royce (CA): And a few years ago when the people in Venezuela elected the National Assembly, over two-thirds opposition to Maduro, he doubled down by asking China to bring the ZTE Corporation in and do a social credit system inside Venezuela on the same basis that it's done in China, which means that you now need that card in order to get food or medicine or your pension or your basic services. 48:30 Representative Ed Royce (CA): The fact that this ZTE-type arrangement exists in Venezuela, and now it exists in North Korea, and there's one other country where they have a contract—they're putting it in the Republic of Iran—this represents a new challenge to democracies. 1:15:00 Carlos Alfredo Vecchio: Just to make very clear, I mean, from an economic point of view, we believe in an open market, an open economy. We believe in the private sector, we believe in the international and the national sectors, though, often, of course, our main source of revenue is the oil sector. So that would be a key element to recover our country, and we need to open that market. We need to increase our oil production. 1:23:30 Carlos Alfredo Vecchio: Those agreements that has not been recognized by an international examiner, who has been illegal, we will not recognize illegal agreements. The rest, yes, we will comply with that. And let me send a clear message. For example, the only way that bond holders will not get paid, if Maduro remains in power. Nobody will complain with them. And China has to understand that, and Russia has to understand that. Discussion: Political Situation in Venezuela, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), January 29, 2019. Witnesses: Gustavo Tarre - George Washington University, CSIS Americas Program member, Designated Venezuelan Ambassador to the Organization of American States (appointed by Juan Guaido William Brownfield - Former US Ambassador to Venezuela, Chile, and Columbia during the George W. Bush administration and Obama administration Michael Matera - Center for Strategic & International Studies, America’s Program Director Sound Clips: 3:30 Michael Matera: In what is shaping up to be a very unstable and potentially explosive situation in Venezuela, the leading authoritarian nations of the world have stood by Maduro. Russia, Iran, Turkey, China, and Cuba, among a few others, have stated their continued recognition of Maduro. The future of Venezuela is turning more clearly than ever into a proxy struggle between the authoritarian regimes and the democratic nations. Venezuela could easily become the active front on which this struggle is defined. 8:15 Gustavo Tarre: Not only because his knowledge of Venezuela— Madea Benjamin: Not easy because you are here representing a coup. You are totally illegitimate. Nobody elected Juan Guaido, and nobody legitimate appointed you. You are taking Venezuela down the path of a civil war— Unknown Male Speaker: Excuse me. Excuse me, ma’am. Madea Benjamin: How dare you go to a civil war? What kind of patriot are you that allow yourself to be manipulated— Unknown Male Speaker: Out. Get out. Madea Benjamin: —by Donald Trump, John Bolton, and now Elliott Abrams, the ultra hawk. It is a very dangerous situation. We need negotiations, which is why we should be supporting Mexico and Uruguay in their call for negotiations. You don't follow the coup collaborators, like this man right here. Say no to coup. Unknown Male Speaker: See ‘ya. Ambassador— Madea Benjamin: We’re in the 21st century. 1:08:50 William Brownfield: What is the Cuban interest? It's 50,000 barrels of oil a day to an energy-starved nation. What is the Chinese approach? It is very much an economic approach, which is to say there are raw materials of great importance to the Chinese economy that are located in Venezuela, and they have a long-term economic interest in having access to them, driven by economics. Russia is more complicated. They do not need oil. They are, in fact, one of the three largest oil producers in the world right now, who produce more than their national need. It is geostrategic politics. I would offer everyone two thoughts—because I have taken this question from excellent representatives of the media over the last week with some frequency—first, don't listen that closely to the words that you hear from the governments of China or Russia. See if they put another billion or two or three billion investment into Venezuela. Money talks, and I have not seen evidence of that, which suggests that they, too, are pausing and taking a look at what happens. And second, if I could be Russia-specific briefly, I would note, and we all realize this, that over the last 10 years or so, Russia annexed the Crimea, and the Western democracies criticized and protested. Russia created two new republics—one in South Ossetia, the other in North Georgia, I believe—and the Western world protested. Russia at least supported, and I would argue actually infiltrated, large numbers of security personnel into the two easternmost provinces of Ukraine, and the Western world criticized. But at the end of the day, geography and history determined the Crimea is still under Russian control, South Ossetia and North Georgia still exist as independent states, and Russian influence is still quite visible in and whatever the other province is called. All right. That is geographic reality. We are now in the Western Hemisphere. If Brazil and Colombia and Argentina and Canada and the United States take a position, those same geographic realities will, in fact, move in the other direction. Of course we must listen to the Russian and Chinese governments—they are two of perhaps the three most important governments in the world—but we're entitled to use our brains as we calculate what they are saying and how we respond to it. 1:16:30 William Brownfield: What if Maduro hangs on yet once again, which by the way, ladies and gentlemen, is not inconceivable; it's happened before. We had not quite this much of a conversation, but in 2017 some sensed that things might be happening, and they did not happen. Is it possible again? Of course, it is. That is why we talk about a strategy, an international community strategy with two elements: one element being focused on the Maduro de _____(00:35) esta, the removal of that government, and that strategic component is not eliminated until someone new has moved into Miraflores Palace; and the second, related but separate element of planning for the day after. Hearing: Hearing to Consider Worldwide Threats, Select Committee on Intelligence, U.S. Senate, January 29, 2019. C-SPAN Report Video Witnesses: Dan Coats - Director of National Intelligence Christopher Wray - FBI Director Gina Haspel - CIA Director Lt. General Robert Ashley - Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Director General Paul Nakasone - National Security Agency Director Sound Clips: 1:11:00 Senator Marco Rubio (FL): We know they have openly and repeatedly, at least Maduro has, invited the Russians and Putin to establish either a rotational or a permanent presence somewhere in Venezuela, thereby creating a Russian military presence in the Western Hemisphere. In fact, they flew, about three weeks ago or a month ago, two Russian nuclear-capable bombers into the Caribbean Sea. 1:12:15 Senator Marco Rubio (FL): Is it not in the national interest of the United States of America that the Maduro regime fall and be replaced by a democratic and more responsible government? 1:15:15 Lieutenant General Robert Ashley: The reference you made to the Tu-160 Blackjacks that flew those strategic bombers, third iteration of that—first time was in '08, and then '14, and we've seen it again. As far as presence on the ground, we can talk a little bit more detail in a closed session about where we see Russia and China going with that greater instability. But in the open press, what you've seen thus far really is nothing more than just vocal support that's coming out of Moscow and that's coming out of China as well, but there is relationship there. From the military standpoint in the way of training, lots of Venezuelan officers go to Russia for training, and there's a reciprocal relationship for equipping them as well. 1:16:00 Senator Angus King (ME): In light of Senator Rubio's comments, I'd just like to note of caution, he listed refugee flows, human rights abuses, and corruption. There are lots of countries in the world that meet that description, and our right or responsibility to generate regime change in a situation like that, I think, is a slippery slope. And I have some real caution about what our vital interests are and whether it's our right or responsibility to take action to try to change the government of another sovereign country. That same description would have led us into a much more active involvement in Syria, for example, five or six years ago, other parts of the country. I just wanted to note that. Fox Business Video: John Bolton on Regime Change in Venezuela, Iraqi Christian HRC, Twitter, January 28, 2019. White House Daily Briefing: Trump Administration sanctions against Venezuela's state-owned oil company, January 28, 2019. Speakers: Steve Mnuchin - Treasury Secretary John Bolton - National Security Advisor Sound Clips: 1:26 John Bolton: As you know, on January the 23rd, President Trump officially recognized the president of the Venezuela National Assembly, Juan Guaido, as the interim president of Venezuela. Venezuela's National Assembly invoked Article 233 of the country's constitution to declare Nicolas Maduro illegitimate. This action was a statement that the people of Venezuela have had enough of oppression, corruption, and economic hardship. Since then, 21 other governments in the region and across the world have joined the United States in recognizing Guaido as Venezuela's interim president. 3:53 John Bolton: I reiterate that the United States will hold Venezuelan security forces responsible for the safety of all U.S. diplomatic personnel, the National Assembly, and President Guido. Any violence against these groups would signify a grave assault on the rule of law and will be met with a significant response. 4:24 Steven Mnuchin: Today Treasury took action against Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, PDVSA, to help prevent the further diversion of Venezuela’s assets by former President Maduro. 5:21 Steven Mnuchin: The path to sanctions relief for PDVSA is through the expeditious transfer of control to the interim president or a subsequent democratically elected government who is committed to taking concrete and meaningful actions to combat corruption. 5:40 Steven Mnuchin: Today OFAC also issued a number of general licenses that authorize certain transactions and activities with PDVSA for limited periods of time to minimize any immediate disruptions and support of ongoing humanitarian efforts. 6:00 Steven Mnuchin: Citgo assets in the United States will be able to continue to operate provided that any funds that would otherwise go to PDVSA instead will go into a blocked account in the United States. 6:10 Steven Mnuchin: Refineries in the United States have already been taking steps to reduce the reliance on imports from Venezuela. Those imports have fallen substantially in recent months. We have also issued general licenses to ensure that certain European and Caribbean countries can make an orderly transition. 6:20 Steven Mnuchin: We continue to call on all of our allies and partners to join the United States in recognizing Interim President Guaido in blocking Maduro from being able to access PDVSA funds. 7:10 Reporter: Is there any circumstance under which American forces would get involved? John Bolton: Well, the president has made it very clear on this matter that all options are on the table. 7:43 Steven Mnuchin: But effective immediately, any purchases of Venezuelan oil by U.S. entities, money will have to go into blocked accounts. Now, I've been in touch with many of the refineries. There is a significant amount of oil that's at sea that's already been paid for. That oil will continue to come to the United States. If the people in Venezuela want to continue to sell us oil, as long as that money goes into blocked accounts, we'll continue to take it. Otherwise, we will not be buying it. And again, we have issued general licenses, so the refineries in the United States can continue to operate. 9:06 Steven Mnuchin: The purpose of sanctions is to change behavior. So when there is a recognition that PDVSA is the property of the rightful rulers, the rightful leaders, the president, then, indeed, that money will be available to Guaido. 9:52 John Bolton: And the authoritarian regime of Chavez and Maduro has allowed penetration by adversaries of the United States, not least of which is Cuba. Some call the country now Cubazuela, reflecting the grip that Cuba’s military and security forces have on the Maduro regime. We think that’s a strategic significant threat to the United States, and there are others as well, including Iran’s interest in Venezuelan’s uranium deposits. 15:56 Steven Mnuchin: We're dealing with Venezuelan oil that is a rather modest part of our overall supply. Again, we're a net exporter of energy. We are particularly concerned that there were a handful of refineries that had a dependence on Venezuelan oil. I think they read the tea leaves. They reduced that dependence significantly along the way. Most of them have in the neighborhood of 10% or less of their dependent on Venezuelan oil. So, I don't expect that people will see an impact on the gas pumps. 17:10 Steven Mnuchin: I’m sure many of our friends in the Middle East will be happy to make up the supply as we push down Venezuela’s supply. Meeting: Secretary Pompeo Speaks at U.N. Security Council Meeting on Venezuela, January 26, 2019. Speaker: Mike Pompeo - Secretary of State Sound Clips: 2:20 Mike Pompeo: Let’s be crystal clear: The foreign power meddling in Venezuela today is Cuba. Cuba has directly made matters worse and the United States and our partners are the true friends of the Venezuelan people. 16:40 Mike Pompeo: Such scenes of misery are now the norm in Venezuela, where millions of children are suffering from malnutrition and starvation, thanks to a socialist experiment that caused the economy to collapse. 20:24 Mike Pompeo: And now it’s time for every other nation to pick a side. No more delays. No more games. Either you stand with the forces of freedom or you’re in league with Maduro and his mayhem... But no regime has done more to sustain the nightmarish condition of the Venezuelan people than the regime in Havana. For years, Cuban security and intelligence thugs, invited into Venezuela by Maduro himself and those around him, have sustained this illegitimate rule. They have trained Maduro’s security and intelligence henchmen in Cuba’s own worst practices. Cuba’s interior ministry even provides former President Maduro’s personal security... Some countries have publicly taken former President Maduro’s side. China, Russia, Syria, and Iran are just four of them. Just this morning, we tried to find a way for this council to speak in one voice in support of the Venezuelan people and our democratic ideals through a presidential statement not this council. But our Russian and Chinese colleagues refused to let this move forward. It’s not a surprise that those that rule without democracy in their own countries are trying to prop up Maduro while he is in dire straights. Meeting: U.N. Security Council Meeting on the Situation in Venezuela, January 26, 2019. Speakers: Jorge Arreaza - Venezuelan Foreign Minister Elliott Abrams - U.S. Special Envoy to Venezuela Sound Clips: 00:10 Jorge Arreaza: So 2002 is a direct precedent to what is happening. They were behind the coup d’etat. They weren’t as much in the vanguard or in advance as this time. They recognized Carmona, the dictator for the 72 hours that it lasted... It was on the 22nd, where Vice President Pence basically in a tweet gave a green light for a coup d’etat in Venezuela. As Under Secretary General said the interim President is self proclaimed. There was no ceremony. It was self proclamation by a member of Parliament at a public rally, at a peaceful public rally, one of many that there have been over the past years... If one of you can tell me in which article and which provision of the United Nations charter you can find the legal basis for self proclamation who wasn’t elected by anyone as President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, then we can open a discussion on the legal aspects, but I don’t think that will happen... At last we have a chance to speak. We have a written text but before that I wanted to share some thoughts with you. Indeed, we can even thank Mr. Mike Pompeo because in the face of failure at the Organization of American States on the 24th of January, they didn’t have enough weight to impose a resolution, well they convened a meeting of the Security Council. In fact, we - President Maduro - thought of appealing to this body not only to debate the case of Venezuela but rather the blatant and gross intervention, and mechanisms of interference by the United States in our country. In this case, the United States is not behind the coup d’etat, it is in advance in the vanguard of the coup d’etat. It is dictating the orders not only to the Venezuelan opposition but also to the satellite governments in the region, and it seems it Europe and in other parts of the world. 31:47 Elliot Abrams: I can not respond to every attack that was made on every country here. The insults that were made by calling many countries here “satellites”. In fact, it was interesting that every single country that was attacked - or criticized - was a democracy. Every single one that you criticized was a democracy... Today there is a satellite present here and it is Venezuela, which is unfortunately has become a satellite of Cuba and Russia... The regime is hiding behind, and it’s spokesman is hiding behind, the laws and constitution of Venezuela. Hearing: Defense Department Nominations, Senate Armed Services Committee, January 25, 2019. Witness: Vice Admiral Craig Faller - US Southern Command Commander Sound Clips: 1:37:00 Senator Bill Nelson (FL): What do you think that is the proper role of SouthCom in supporting the Venezuelan people now, in this time of exceptional chaos? Craig Faller: Senator, the Southern Command is focused on supporting our partners—Brazil, Columbia, those that have been most affected by the migrants, the spillover of some one-million-plus in Columbia. Recently, visited Columbia was the secretary of defense. President Duque is keenly aware and sharply focused on all his security challenges, and this is at the top of that list. As a result of the Columbian government's request, we intend to deploy the hospital ship Comfort—it will be underway shortly. It was delayed because of the hurricane—to the region to help our partners offset some of the impacts of this, particularly with the medical care that's been required and the strain that's placed on the resources. Fox Business Video: Vice President Mike Pence Tweet about US recognizing Guaido as Venezuelan President, Twitter, January 23, 2019. 00:33:32 Vice President Mike Pence: Today, freedom broke out in Venezuela with the recognition of a new interim president in Juan Guaido, a courageous man who stepped forward, the President of the National Assembly who took the oath of office, and I couldn’t be more proud that at President Trump’s direction, the United States of America became the first country in the world to recognize President Guaido, and now many other nations join us as well. Video: Vice President Mike Pence Tweet about Venezuela, Twitter, January 22, 2019. Vice President Mike Pence: Hola. I’m Mike Pence, the Vice President of the United States, and on behalf of President Donald Trump and all the American people, let me express the unwavering support of the United States as you - the people of Venezuela - raise your voices in a call for freedom. Nicholas Maduro is a dictator with no legitimate claim to power. He’s never won the Presidency in a free and fair election and he’s maintained his grip on power by imprisoning anyone who dares to oppose him. The United States joins with all freedom loving nations in recognizing the National Assembly as the last vestige of democracy in your country, for it’s the only body elected by you, the people. As such, the United States supports the courageous decision by Juan Guaido, the President of your National Assembly, to assert that body’s constitutional powers, declare Maduro a usurper, and call for the establishment of a transitional government. As you make your voices heard tomorrow, on behalf of the American people, we say to all the good people of Venezuela, estamos con ustedes. We are with you. We stand with you and we will stay with you until democracy is restored and you reclaim your birthright of libertad. Muchas gracias y vayan con Dios. Hearing: Foreign Policy in the Western Hemisphere, House Foreign Affairs Committee, July 11, 2018. Witnesses: Kenneth Merten - Deputy Assistant secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Sarah-Ann Lynch - USAID Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean Sound Clips: 27:30 Chairman Ed Royce (CA): And meanwhile, despite sitting on the world's largest oil reserves, Venezuelan oil production has fallen by half in the last few years. Venezuela in the meantime has been sending several hundred thousand barrels of oil every day to China as repayment on the tens of billions of dollars it has borrowed. And more recently, China's development bank announced a new quarter-billion dollar investment to shore up Venezuela's struggling oil production. Video: You're Welcome, Duane Johnson, Moana, YouTube, November 28, 2019. Hearing: The Collapse of the Rule of Law in Venezuela, Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women's Issues, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, July 19, 2017. Witness: Luis Almagro - Secretary General of the Organization of American States Sound Clips: 07:15 Senator Marco Rubio: I also know this, and I do not speak for the president, but I’ve certainly spoken to the president, and I will only reiterate what he has already said, and I’ve been saying this now for a number of days: it is my—I have 100% confidence that if democracy is destroyed once and for all in Venezuela on the 30th in terms of the Maduro regime, the president of the U.S. is prepared to act unilaterally in a significant and swift way. And that is not a threat; that is the reporting of the truth. Hearing: Full Committee Hearing Venezuela: Options for U.S. Policy, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, March 2, 2017. Witnesses: Dr. David Smilde - Professor at Tulane University & NYT writer Dr. Shannon O’Neil - Council on Foreign Relations Former equity analyst at Indosuez Capital and Credit Lyonnais Securities Member of the Board of Directors at Rassini, an multinational auto parts manufacturers that make parts for US auto companies Senior advisor for Latin America at Macro Advisory Partners, a multinational consulting firm founded in 2013 Mark Feierstein - Center for Strategic and International Studies Senior Advisor to the Albright Stonbridge Group CLS Strategies GBA Strategies Special assistant to President Obama and Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs Former Assistant Administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean at USAID Worked in State Dept and USAID in Clinton Administration Former principal at Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, an international political consulting firm Sound Clips: 21:53 Shannon O’Neil: Multilateral initiatives are perhaps more important and potentially more fruitful as a means to influence Venezuela. This will mean working behind the scenes to galvanize opposition and condemnation for the Maduro regime. This’ll be more effective than U.S. efforts alone as it will be much harder for the Venezuelan government to dismiss the criticisms and the actions of its South American neighbors as imperialist overreach. And such a coalition is much more possible today than in any time in the recent past, due both to the accelerating repression and the breaking of the last democratic norms in Venezuela, and due to the very different stances of South America’s recently elected leaders, particularly in Peru, in Brazil, and in Argentina. 41:12 Senator Bob Menendez: I’m pleased to have led a bipartisan and bicameral letter of my colleagues, urging the administration to take actions against the administration, and I look forward for a continuing engagement. But I hope we can work together to hold human-rights violators and drug traffickers, send a clear message, “If you’re going to violate rights of others inside of Venezuela, know that you’re next. Know that you’re next.” And while the Maduro regime may have sanctioned me and forbidden my entry into Venezuela, it will not stop me from pursuing this issue. Video Compilation: Either With Us or With the Terrorists - President George W. Bush, YouTube, May 26, 2013 Additional Reading Article: How Washington funded the counterrevolution in Venezuela by Tim Gill and Rebecca Hansen, The Nation, February 8, 2019. Statement: Pelosi statement on the situation in Venezuela, Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, February 8, 2019. Article: Venezuela says plan from Miami delivered weapons for use by enemies of Maduro by Tim Johnson, McClatchy DC, February 7, 2019. Article: Senators fail to reach deal on recognizing Venezuela's Guaido, aide says by Daniel Flatley, Bloomberg, February 7, 2019. Article: Bipartisan Venezuela legislation fizzles over use of military force by Leigh Ann Caldwell and Josh Lederman, NBC News, February 6, 2019. Article: Spotify podcast acquisitions will bring a lot of money into tiny industry by Taylor Telford, The Washington Post, February 6, 2019. Article: Spotify technology S.A. announces financial results for fourth quarter 2018, Spotify Investors, February 6, 2019. Article: Trump's Venezuela envoy to testify to U.S. House panel amid crisis by Patricia Zengerle and Arshad Mohammed, Reuters, February 6, 2019. Article: Russia starts to worry Maduro's grip is slipping in Venezuela, The Moscow Times, February 6, 2019. Article: French, German farmers destroy crops after GMOs found in BAyer seeds by Sybille de La Hamaide, Reuters, February 6, 2019. Article: Venezuela opposition will name new Citgo board this week: WSJ, Reuters, February 6, 2019. Article: How the neocons captured Donald Trump by Brian D'Haeseleer, The Washington Post, February 5, 2019. Article: Lima group warns against Venezuela military intervention, France 24, February 5, 2019. Article: Maduro's allies: Who backs the Venezuelan regime? by Rocio Cara Labrador, Council on Foreign Relations, February 5, 2019. Article: What does it mean for the United States to recognize Juan Guaido as Venezuela's President? by Scott R. Anderson, Lawfare, February 1, 2019. Article: Venezuela opposition leader outlines plan to revive nation by Ryan Dube and Kejal Vyas, The Wall Street Journal, January 31, 2019. Article: Elliott Abrams, Trump's pick to bring "democracy" to Venezuela, has spent his life crushing democracy by John Schwarz, The Intercept, January 30, 2019. Article: U.S. push to oust Venezuela's Maduro marks first shot in plan to reshape Latin America by Jessica Donati, Vivian Salama, and Ian Talley, The Wall Street Journal, January 30, 2019. Article: The real reason why those foreign powers are so interested in Venezuela by Melik Kaylan, Forbes, January 29, 2019. Article: How Citgo, a U.S. oil company, became Venezuela's lifeline by Adam Taylor, The Washington Post, January 29, 2019. Article: US diplomat convicted over Iran-Contra appointed special envoy for Venezuela by Julian Borger, The Guardian, January 26, 2019. Tweet: America stands by the people of #Venezuela... Nancy Pelosi, Twitter, January 24, 2019. Article: Russia warns U.S. not to intervene in Venezuela as military backs Maduro by Ana Vanessa Herrero and Neil MacFarquhar, The New York Times, January 24, 2019. Tweet: The citizens of Venezuela have suffered for too long at... Donald J. Trump, January 23, 2019. Tweet: Today @POTUS announced the U.S. officially recognizes Juan Guaido as... Vice President Mike Pence, January 23, 2019. Tweet: .@POTUS & the US stand w/ the Venezuelan peopl eas they seek to regain their liberty from... Vice President Mike Pence, January 22, 2019. Article: Brazil's Bolsonaro pledges action to 'restore democracy' in Venezuela, Reuters, January 17, 2019. Article: Venezuela is in crisis. So how did Maduro secure a second term? by Ana Vanessa Herrero and Megan Specia, The New York Times, January 10, 2019. Article: Lima group says it won't recognize Maduro's new term as president of Venezuela by Jim Wyss, Miami Herald, January 4, 2019. Article: Trump taps ex-Boeing executive Patrick Shanahan as acting Defense Secretary by Darko Janjevic, DW, December 23, 2018. Article: Russia sends 2 nuclear-capable bombers to Venezuela by Vladimir Isachenkov, Navy Times, December 10, 2018. Article: Russia signs $6 billion investment deals with Venezuela, Maduro says, The Moscow Times, December 7, 2018. Press Release: Rubio, Van Hollen urge administration to investigate ZTE business with Venezuelan government, Marco Rubio Newsroom, November 28, 2018. Article: How ZTE helps Venezuela create China-style social control by Angus Berwick, Reuters, November 14, 2018. Article: Trump administration tightens sanctions gains Cuba, Venezuela by Courtney McBride, The Wall Street Journal, November 1, 2018. Article: Canada's Rusoro Mining reaches $1.3B deal with Venezuela by Cecilia Jamasmie, Mining.com, October 12, 2018. Article: Rusoro Mining has received a settlement proposal from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Rusoro Mining News, October 11, 2018. Article: Venezuela hands China more oil peresence, but no mention of new funds by Ben Blanchard and Alexandra Ulmer, Reuters, September 14, 2018. Article: Trump administration discussed coup plans with rebel Venezuelan officers by Ernesto Londono and Nicholas Casey, The New York Times, September 8, 2018. Article: A record-breaking market doesn't matter to most Americans by Helaine Olen, The Washington Post, August 22, 2018. Article: The politics of food in Venezuela by Ana Felicien, Christina Schiavoni, and Liccia Romero, Monthly Review, June 1, 2018.html) by William Neuman and Nicholas Casey, The New York Times, May 20, 2018. Article: Regional leaders call on Venezuela to suspend 'illegitimate' election by Eli Meixler, Time, May 15, 2018. Article: [Venezuela election won by Maduro amid widespread disillusionment](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/20/world/americas/venezuela-election. Article: US media ignore - and applaud - economic war on Venezuela by Gregory Shupak, Common Dreams, March 22, 2018. Article: Rusoro mining wins key U.S. court ruling confirming arbitration award, Rusoro Mining News, March 14, 2018. Article: Venezuela's Maduro calls for 'mega-election' that could cement his power by Rachelle Krygier, The Washington Post, February 22, 2018. Article: Venezuela opposition will boycott election, and Maduro tightens his hold by Ana Vanessa Herrero and Kirk Semple, The New York Times, February 21, 2018. Article: Venezuela launches virtual currency, hoping to resuscitate economy by Kirk Semple and Nathaniel Popper, The New York Times, February 20, 2018. Tweet: The world would support the Armed Forces in #Venezuela if they decide to... Marco Rubio, February 9, 2018. Article: Few challengers in sight, Venezuela sets April 22 for presidential vote by Nicholas Casey, The New York Times, February 7, 2018. Briefing: Background briefing on the Secretary's travel to Austin, Texas; Mexico City, Mexico; San Carlos Bariloche, Argentina; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Lima, Peru; Bogota, Colombia; and Kingston, Jamaica, Senior State Department Officials, U.S. Department of State, January 29, 2018. Article: Venezuela calls for early elections, and Maduro aims to retain control by Kirk Semple, The New York Times, January 23, 2018. Article: Tired of regional critics, Venezuela looks to Russia and China by Ernesto Londono, The New York Times, December 27, 2017. Article: Venezuela puts up roadblock for opposition in next presidential vote by Ana Vanessa Herrero, The New York Times, December 20, 2017. Article: As Venezuela opposition shuns vote, leader's party tightens grip on power by Kirk Semple, The New York Times, December 10, 2017. Article: Putin extends lifeline to cash-strapped Venezuela by Patrick Gillespie, CNN Business, November 15, 2017. Article: Venezuela's two legislatures duel, but only one has ammunition by Kirk Semple, The New York Times, November 3, 2017. Advisory: Reports from financial institutions are critical to stopping, deterring, and preventing the proceeds tied to suspected Venezuelan public corruption from moving through the U.S. financial system, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, September 20, 2017. Article: White House raises pressure on Venezuela with new financial sanctions by Clifford Krauss, The New York Times, August 25, 2017. Article: Venezuela's new, powerful assembly takes over legislature's duties by Nicholas Casey, The New York Times, August 18, 2017. Report: Vladimir's Venezuela - leveraging loans to Caracas, Moscow snaps up oil assets by Marianna Parraga and Alexandra Ulmer, Reuters, August 11, 2017. Article: Trump says military is 'locked and loaded' and North Korea will 'regret' threats by Peter Baker, The New York Times, August 11, 2017. Article: Venezuela's new assembly members share a goal: Stifle dissent by Nicholas Casey and Ana Vanessa Herrero, The New York Times, August 3, 2017. Article: Venezuela vote marred by violence, including candidate's death by Nicholas Casey, Patricia Torres, and Ana Vanessa Herrero, The New York Times, July 30, 2017. Article: Goldman buys $2.8 billion worth of Venezuelan bonds, and an uproar begins by Landon Thomas Jr., The New York Times, May 30, 2017. Article: Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela President, calls for a rewrite of the constitution by Nicholas Casey, The New York Times, May 1, 2017. Article: Venezuela says it will leave pro-democracy organization by Nicholas Casey, The New York Times, April 26, 2017. Article: Crisis-ridden Venezuela gave $500k to Trump inauguration by Patrick Gillespie and Flora Charner, CNN Money, April 20, 2017. Article: Venezuelan court revises ruling that nullified legislature by Nicholas Casey and Patricia Torres, The New York Times, April 1, 2017. Article: As criticism mounts, Venezuela asks high court revisit power grab by Nicholas Casey, The New York Times, March 31, 2017. Article: Venezuela muzzles legislature, moving closer to one-man rule by Nicholas Casey and Patricia Torres, The New York Times, March 30, 2017. Article: An actual American war criminal may become our second-ranking diplomat by Eric Alterman, The Nation, February 2, 2017. Article: What happened when Venezuela outlawed its own currency by Jeremy Ashkenas and Quoctrung Bui, The New York Times, December 30, 2016. Article: Venezuela: three opposition lawmakers resign in concession to Maduro, Reuters, November 15, 2016. Article: Venezuelan lawmakers vote to put President Nicolas Maduro on trial by Ana Vanessa Herrero and Elisabeth Malkin, The New York Times, October 25, 2016. Article: Venezuelan electoral panel halts effort to recall President Nicolas Maduro by Patricia Torres and Elisabeth Malkin, The New York Times, October 21 2016. Article: Venezuela's supreme court consolidates Nicolas Maduro's power by Elisabeth Malkin and Nicholas Casey, The New York Times, October 12, 2016. Article: O.A.S. issues rebuke to Venezuela citing threats to democracy by Nicholas Casey, The New York Times, May 31, 2016. Article: Venezuela panel clears the way for a process to oust Nicolas Maduro by Patricia Torres and Nicholas Casey, The New York Times, April 26, 2016. Article: Venezuela's court deals another blow to opposition lawmakers by Nicholas Casey, The New York Times, April 12, 2016. Article: In power struggle, Venezuela's high court declares parliament in contempt by Mery Mogollon and Chris Kraul, Los Angeles Times, January 11, 2016. Article: Venezuela: Court held lawmakers in contempt by Nicholas Casey, The New York Times, January 11, 2016. Article: Venezuela opposition takes reins of assembly as tensions rise by William Neuman and Nicholas Casey, The New York Times, January 5, 2016. Article: 9 opposition candidates barred from Venezuela's December ballot by William Neuman, The New York Times, August 23, 2015. Article: Venezuelan court rejects challenge to Presidential election results by William Neuman, The New York Times, August 7, 2013. Article: Kerry encourages Venezuela recount by William Neuman, The New York Times, April 17, 2013. Report: Study mission of the Carter Center in 2013 Presidential elections in Venezuela, The Carter Center, April 14, 2013. Article: Venezuela coup linked to Bush team by Ed Vulliamy, The Guardian, April 21, 2002. Article: Uprising in Venezuela: The government; Venezuela's chief forced to resign; civilian installed by Juan Forero, The New York Times, April 13, 2002. Article: 12 years of tortured truth on El Salvador by Guy Gugliotta and Douglas Farrah, The Washington Post, March 21, 1993. Article: Bush pardons Weinberger, 5 others in Iran-Contra;Act called cover-up by Robert Jackson and Ronald J. Ostrow, The Los Angeles Times, December 25, 1992. Article: Elliot Abrams admits his guild on 2 counts in Contra cover-up by David Johnston, The New York Times, October 8, 1991. Article: Aide says U.S. planes carried contra arms, Archives, The New York Times, August 15, 1987. Resources Bio: Elliot Abrams, Council on Foreign Affairs National Endowment for Democracy: Elliott Abrams, Council on Foreign Relations Community Suggestions See more Community Suggestions HERE. Cover Art Design by Only Child Imaginations Music Presented in This Episode Intro & Exit: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio)

The crew looks at the crisis in Venezuela and considers the American and world responses to it. Is it any of Washington’s business what goes on there, and will any result have democratic legitimacy? Will more sanctions help to quickly resolve the situation in a way that benefits the people there, or will they increase the suffering? Are Elliot Abrams and John Bolton making a push for military intervention? Finally, Chris congratulates the Patriots while Melanie and Bryan roll their eyes, and Melanie finds a reason to wholeheartedly praise the Trump administration.   Links David A. Graham, "How Seriously Should the World Take Trump's Venezuela Threat?", Atlantic, January 29, 2019 Kirk Brown, "GOP Should Back Trump If Emergency Declared To Build Border Wall," State, February 04, 2019 Peter Baker and Edward Wong, "On Venezuela, Rubio Assumes U.S. Role of Ouster in Chief," New York Times, January 26, 2019 Ernesto Londoño and Nicholas Casey,“Trump Administration Discussed Coup Plans With Rebel Venezuelan Officers,” New York Times, September 08, 2018 John Glaser, Tweets, January 24, 2019   Peter Baker and Edward Wong, “Intervening Against Venezuela’s Strongman, Trump Belies ‘America First’,” New York Times, September 24, 2019 Ro Khanna, “Why I strongly oppose U.S. military intervention in Venezuela,” Washington Post, January 30, 2019 John Stuart Mill, “A Few Words on Non-Intervention: Excerpts,” Libertarianism “End the War in Afghanistan,” New York Times, February 03, 2019 Patricia Zengerle, "Senate Leader Wants U.S. Troops To Stay in Syria," Reuters, January 29, 2019 Peter Baker, "A Growing Chorus of Republican Critics for Trump's Foreign Policy," New York Times, January 29, 2019 Moises Naim and Francisco Toro, "Venezuela's Suicide: Lessons from a Failed State," Foreign Affairs, January 28, 2019 Krishnadev Calamur, "Trump's Dumping of Maduro Could be Just the Start," Atlantic, January 24, 2019 Uri Friedman, "The White House's Move on Venezuela is the Least Trumpian Thing It's Done," Atlantic, January 26, 2019 Donovan Slack, "USA Today Investigation: VA Knowingly Hires Doctors with Past Malpractice Claims, Discipline for Poor Care," USA Today, December 3, 2019 Anne Gearan, Paul Sonne, and Carol Morello, "US to Withdraw from Nuclear Arms Control Treaty with Russia, Raising Fears of a New Arms Race," Washington Post, February 1, 2019 Music and Production by Tre Hester

Venezuela, home to the world’s largest oil reserves, is a country that has been experimenting with a new so-called “socialist” economic model for twenty years. For this sin, two consecutive Venezuelan Presidents have been targeted for regime change by the architects of the “free market” World Trade System, an economic system they intend to be global. In this episode, learn the recent history of Venezuela and hear the highlights of a March 2017 Congressional hearing (which was not aired on television in the United States) during which strategies for a Venezuelan regime change were discussed, and then learn about the regime change steps that have been taken since that hearing which have unfolded exactly how the witnesses advised. Pat Grogan joins Jen for Thank Yous.  Please Support Congressional Dish - Quick Links Click here to contribute a lump sum or set up a monthly contribution via PayPal Click here to support Congressional Dish for each episode via Patreon Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Use your bank’s online bill pay function to mail contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North Number 4576 Crestview, FL 32536 Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Additional Reading Report: OAS adopts resolution, could bring suspension of Venezuela by Luis Alonso Lugo, AP News, June 6, 2018. Article: Venezuela scores victory as US fails to secure votes for OAS suspension, TeleSUR, June 6, 2018. Opinion: It's time for a coup in Venezuela by Jose R. Cardenas, Foreign Policy, June 5, 2018. Report: Venezuela's 2018 presidential elections, FAS, May 24, 2018. Article: Trump's team gets payback for Rubio on Venezuelan assassination plot by Marc Caputo, Potlitico, May 22, 2018. Article: U.S. places new sanctions on Venezuela day after election by Julie Hirschfeld Davis, The New York Times, May 21, 2018. Opinion: Marco Rubio: It's time to hasten Maduro's exit from power by Marco Rubio, CNN, May 16, 2018. Article: ConocoPhillips could bring deeper trouble to Venezuela by Nick Cunningham, Business Insider, May 12, 2018. Report: ConocoPhillips wins $2 billion ruling over Venezuelan seizure by Clifford Krauss, The New York Times, April 25, 2018. Article: Exclusive: Russia secretly helped VEnezuela launch a cryptocurrency to evade U.S. sanctions by Simon Shuster, Time, March 20, 2018. Article: Tillerson floats possible Venezuelan military coup, says US does not advocate 'regime change' by Max Greenwood, The Hill, February 1, 2018. Report: Venezuela's economic crisis: Issues for Congress by Rebecca M. Nelson, Congressional Research Service, January 10, 2018. Article: Venezuela's ruling party wins surprise victory in regional elections by Scott Neuman, NPR, October 16, 2017. Report: New financial sanctions on Venezuela: Key issues, FAS, September 1, 2017. Article: Venezuela's pro-Maduro assembly seizes congressional powers by Colin Dwyer, NPR, August 18, 2017. Article: Pence vows to end 'the tragedy of tyranny' in Venezuela through 'peaceable means' by Philip Rucker, The Washington Post, August 13, 2017. Report: Trump alarms Venezuela with talk of a 'military option,' The New York Times, August 12, 2017. Article: The battle for Venezuela and its oil by Jeremy Scahill, The Intercept, August 12, 2017. Article: Venezuela's dubious new constituent assembly explained by Jennifer L. McCoy, The Washington Post, August 1, 2017. Article: In wake of 'sham election,' U.S. sanctions Venezuelan President Maduro by Colin Dwyer, NPR, July 31, 2017. Report: U.S. Petroleum trade with Venezuela: Financial and economic considerations with possible sanctions, FAS, July 27, 2017. Article: Venezuela row as National Assembly appoints judges, BBC News, July 22, 2017. Report: Exxon blocked from enforcing Venezuela arbitration award: U.S. appeals court by Jonathan Stempel, Reuters, July 11, 2017. Article: Maduro wants to rewrite Venezuela's constitution, that's rocket fuel on the fire, The Washington Post, June 10, 2017. Article: Venezuela eyes assembly vote in July; man set ablaze dies by Alexandra Ulmer and Deisy Buitrago, Reuters, June 4, 2017. Article: Riven by fire and fiery rhetoric, Venezuela decides its future in the streets by Colin Dwyer, NPR, May 5, 2017. Report: AP explains: Venezuela's 'anti-capitalist' constitution by Hannah Dreier, Yahoo News, May 4, 2017. Article: Venezuela plan to rewrite constitution branded a coup by former regional allies by Jonathan Watts and Virginia Lopez, The Guardian, May 2, 2017. Article: Venezuela's Maduro sees local elections later in 2017 by Andrew Cawthorne, Reuters, April 30, 2017. Article: Opposition parties in Venezuela prepare for elections, hoping they will come by John Otis, NPR, April 8, 2017. Article: Venezuelan court revises ruling that nullified legislature by Nicholas Casey and Patricia Torres, The New York Times, April 1, 2017. Article: Venezuela's top court and president reverse course, restore powers to legislature by Jason Slotkin, NPR, April 1, 2017. Article: Venezuela muzzles legislature, moving closer to one-man rule by Nicholas Casey and Patricia Torres, The New York Times, March 30, 2017. Article: Venezuelan political crisis grows after High Court dissolves Congress by Richard Gonzelez, NPR, March 30, 2017. Article: Venezuela court effectively shuts down congress as opposition cries 'coup' by Jim Wyss, Miami Herald, March 30, 2017. Article: Order for Venezuela to pay Exxon $1.4 bln in damages overturned - lawyer by Reuters Staff, CNBC, March 10, 2017. Report: Venezuela President Maduro hikes wages, distributes social housing, DW, January 5, 2017. Article: Did Hilary Clinton stand by as Honduras coup ushered in era of violence? by Nina Lakhani, The Guardian, August 31, 2016. Article: Inside the booming smuggling trade between Venezuela and Colombia by Ezra Kaplan, Time, March 31, 2016. Article: Venezuela's constitutional crisis: How did we get here? by Juan Cristobal Nagel, Caracas Chronicles, January 12, 2016. Article: Venezuela: What changes will the new Congress bring?, BBC News, January 7, 2016. Article: Oil giants punish Venezuela through Dutch treaty by Frank Mulder, Inter Press Service News Agency, January 4, 2016. Report: Venezuela top court blocks four lawmakers-elect from taking office by Reuters Staff, Reuters, December 30, 2015. Report: Venezuela's departing legislature approves 13 new justices by Patricia Torres and William Neuman, The New York Times, December 23, 2015. Report: Venezuela's outgoing Congress names 13 Supreme Court justices by Diego Ore, Reuters, December 23, 2015. Article: Venezuela: Curb plan to pack Supreme Court, Human Rights Watch, December 10, 2015. Article: Venezuela election: Opposition coalition secures 'supermajority' by Associated Press, The Guardian, December 8, 2015. Article: Venezuela's high-life hope hard-hit poor will abandon Chavez's legacy by Sibylla Brodzinsky, The Guardian, December 5, 2015. Article: Snowden leak reveals Obama government ordered NSA, CIA to spy on Venzuela oil firm by Charles Davis and Andrew Fishman, Common Dreams, November 19, 2015. Article: The long war: Venezuela and ExxonMobil, Telesur TV, November 18, 2015. Article: Obama vs. Chavismo by Boris Munoz, The New Yorker, March 18, 2015. Article: A tale of two countries: Venezuela, the United States and international investment by John G. Murphy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, October 17, 2014. Article: The dirty hand of the National Endowment for Democracy in Venezuela by Eva Golinger, Counter Punch, April 25, 2014. Article: The 2002 oil lockout: 10 years later by Yuleidys Hernandez Toledo, Venezuelan Analysis, December 7, 2012. Article: Declassified documents show that the US finances groups opposed to Chavez since 2002, Grupo Tortuga, September 2, 2006. Article: Documents show C.I.A knew of a coup plot in Venezuela by Juan Forero, The New York Times, December 3, 2004. Report: Documents show C.I.A knew of a coup plot in Venezuela by Juan Forero, The New York Times, December 3, 2004. Article: The coup connection by Joshua Kurlantzick, Mother Jones, November/December 2004. Article: Pyrrhus of Caracas, The Economist, January 2, 2003. Article: Strike cripples Venezuela's oil industry by Jarrett Murphy, CBS News, December 10, 2002. Article: The coup that wasn't by Marc Cooper, The Nation, September 11, 2002. Article: Our gang in Venezuela? by David Corn, The Nation, July 18, 2002. Article: American navy 'helped Venezuelan coup' by Duncan Campbell, The Guardian, April 29, 2002. Article: Venezuela coup linked to Bush team by Ed Vulliamy, The Guardian, April 21, 2002. Article: Chavez rises from very peculiar coup by Alex Bellos, The Guardian, April 15, 2002. Resources Congressional Research Service: Venezuela: Issues for Congress, 2013-2016, Mark P. Sullivan, January 23, 2017. Congressional Research Service: Venezuela: U.S. Policy Overview, May 20, 2015. Global Affairs Canada: Canadian Sanctions Related to Venezuela Government of Canada: Venezuela Sanctions House Foreign Relations Committee Hearing Transcript: The State of Democracy in Venezuela, June 24, 2004. Human Development Report 2016: Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) Library of Congress: Crude Oil Royalty Rates Organization of American States: Inter-American Democratic Charter Resolution of San Jose, Costa Rica Organization of American States: Historic Background of the Inter-American Democratic Charter Public Citizen Report: Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS): Extraordinary Corporate Power in "Trade" Deals USAID Report: Venezuela 2002-2010 Venezuelan Constitution: Title IX: Constitutional Reforms (Art. 340-350) WikiLeaks: The Global Intelligence Files Re: Reliable Source for Venezuelan Inflation Statistics? WikiLeaks: USAID/OTI Programmatic Support for Country Team 5 Point Strategy, Public Library of Diplomacy, November 9, 2006. Visual References Data: How did Venezuela change under Hugo Chavez, The Guardian, October 4, 2012 Sound Clip Sources Hearing: Democracy Promotion in a Challenging World, House Foreign Affairs Committee, June 14, 2018. Video: Debunking John Oliver on Venezuela, The Real News Network, June 9, 2018. Hearing: Advancing US Business Investment and Trade in the Americas, House Foreign Affairs Committee, June 7, 2018. Video: Pompeo calls for kicking Venezuela out of OAS and more sanctions, The Washington Post, June 4, 2018. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo: “In addition to suspension, I call on member states to apply additional pressure on the Maduro regime with financial sanctions and diplomatic isolation until such time as it takes the actions necessary to return genuine democracy and provide people desperately needed access to international humanitarian aid" Hearing: Advancing U.S. Interests Through the Organization of American States, House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee, February 14, 2018. Hearing: The Venezuela Crisis: The Malicious Influence of State and Criminal Actors, House Foreign Affairs Committee, September 13, 2017. Empire Files: Constituent Assembly Dictatorship or Democracy in Venezuela? TeleSUR English, July 19, 2017. Hearing:The Collapse of The Rule of Law in Venezuela: What the United States and the International Community Can Do to Restore Democracy, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Subcommittee, July 19, 2017. 07:15 Senator Marco Rubio: I also know this, and I do not speak for the president, but I’ve certainly spoken to the president, and I will only reiterate what he has already said, and I’ve been saying this now for a number of days: it is my—I have 100% confidence that if democracy is destroyed once and for all in Venezuela on the 30th in terms of the Maduro regime, the president of the U.S. is prepared to act unilaterally in a significant and swift way. And that is not a threat; that is the reporting of the truth. 10:38 Senator Bob Menendez: Even as their president prevents international support for the basic humanitarian needs of its citizens—blocking an effort by the National Assembly to facilitate international systems—they are voting to demand fundamental freedoms. Despite the suffering of his people, and the international outcry, Maduro insists on clinging onto the shreds of a failed ideology his predecessor and a few colleagues in the region still champion. Empire Files: Abby Martin Meets the Venezuelan Opposition, TeleSUR English, July 3, 2017. Empire Files: Venezuela Economy Minister-Sabotage, Not Socialism, is the Problem, TeleSUR English, June 17, 2017. Hearing: Venezuela's Tragic Meltdown, House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee, March 28, 2017. Hearing: Venezuela: Options for U.S. Policy, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, March 2, 2017. 21:30 Shannon O’Neil: The United States can and should also delve into Venezuela’s recent financial transactions, and specifically, its use of U.S.-based Citgo assets to collateralize its loans. CFIUS should investigate bond purchases by the Russian state-controlled oil company, Rosneft, who may, in the case of default, actually gain majority control of this critical refinery infrastructure here in the United States. 21:53 Shannon O’Neil: Multilateral initiatives are perhaps more important and potentially more fruitful as a means to influence Venezuela. This will mean working behind the scenes to galvanize opposition and condemnation for the Maduro regime. This’ll be more effective than U.S. efforts alone as it will be much harder for the Venezuelan government to dismiss the criticisms and the actions of its South American neighbors as imperialist overreach. And such a coalition is much more possible today than in any time in the recent past, due both to the accelerating repression and the breaking of the last democratic norms in Venezuela, and due to the very different stances of South America’s recently elected leaders, particularly in Peru, in Brazil, and in Argentina. The OAS remains a venue and an instrument to focus these efforts. The U.S. should call on the organization to again invoke the Inter-American Charter to evaluate Venezuela’s democratic credentials and its compliance with them, and this could lead, potentially to sanctions and suspension of Venezuela from this multilateral body. 23:00 Shannon O’Neil: And then, finally, the United States should begin preparing for change. If the Maduro regime is forced out or it collapses, the country will likely face humanitarian, economic, and financial chaos. And there’re two particular things the United States can start preparing for. The first is a wave of refugees. This will hit Venezuela’s neighbors the hardest—Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, nearby Caribbean nations. It’s important to help them with money, with supplies, potentially with personnel, and to back international NGOs in multilateral efforts to ease the suffering of these people. The second aspect to prepare for is a restructuring of Venezuela’s finances and its economy. A new government will need to renegotiate 140 billion dollars’ worth of external debt, whether or not the government has already defaulted upon it or not. And this massive undertaking will likely require an IMF rescue package and the baking of the international community and creditors. The U.S. will be vital in facilitating this as well as in helping a new government take the tough economic policy choices to turn the economy around. These will include, freeing the exchange rate, reinducing market prices, creating sustainable policies for the poor, and rooting out corruption. And thought this is complicated, the faster it occurs, the faster Venezuela’s economy will grow again. 25:30 Senator Ben Cardin: We look at ways in which we can change the direction here, and it starts with the governance. When you have a corrupt government, it’s going to be very difficult to see international organizations willing to come in to help refinance their economy. Even though they have wealth, it’s going to be difficult to figure out how that takes place unless they have basic changes in the way their government’s doing business. And we don’t see any indication that that’s taking place. So, you’ve made a couple suggestions. One is we need to work with our regional partners, which I fully agree. So let’s start with OAS, which is the entire region, as to whether it’s realistic that the Democratic Charter provisions can in fact lead to change in Venezuela. Ultimately, it will require us to have the threat of at least two-thirds of the countries if we’re going to be able to invoke the Charter with some teeth. What is the likelihood that OAS could be effective as a real force in bringing about change by the Maduro government? Mr. Feierstein? Mark Feierstein: Well, thank you very much for that question, and actually, if I can hit on your two other points as well; first, with regard to humanitarian assistance. Under the Obama administration, the USAID in fact did put together a contingency plan to provide assistance if in fact, even when, the Venezuelan government is willing to receive it, and USAID has a warehouse in Miami that’s prepared to provide assistance. I know international organizations are prepared as well. There has been some dialog between the government and the Inter-American Development Bank with regard to economic reform, though, frankly at fairly lower levels, and there’s no indication at senior levels that they’re inclined at serious attempts at economic reform. With regard to the OAS, I think that we’re much better positioned now than we were a couple years ago, and that’s because of some changes in some key governments in the region—Argentina; Peru; Brazil; there was a reference to Ecuador, a potential change there as well. And I think that patience has clearly run out with Maduro. I think countries are more inclined now to take action. There has been hesitation to do so as long as the dialog was alive and long as the Vatican was engaged. One of the challenges has been with regard to the Caribbean countries, which receive significant petroleum assistance from Venezuela, and that has somewhat silenced them, and there’s been some divisions within the Caribbean. That said, I’m hopeful that in the coming months that as the situation deteriorates in Venezuela, and as that it becomes clear that the dialog cannot be successful unless there is more pressure. And I think there needs to be three forms of pressure: There needs to be domestic mobilization within Venezuela, in the form of protests. I think there needs to be additional sanctions applied by the United States to other countries. And I think there needs to be action within the OAS, including a threat of suspension of Venezuela from the organization if it does not comply with the Inter-American Democratic Charter. 41:50 Senator Bob Menendez: Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, PDVSA, and its subsidiary, Citgo, which has energy infrastructure in the United States, are under extreme financial pressure and may not be able to pay their bills in the near future. Under a recent deal, 49.9% of Citgo was mortgaged to Rosneft, the Russian government-owned oil company run by Vladimir Putin’s crony Igor Sechin. It’s also possible that Rosneft acquired other PDVSA bonds on the open market that could bring their ownership potential to over 50%. If Citgo defaults on its debts, Rosneft, an entity currently under American sanctions because of Russia’s belligerent behavior, could come to own a majority stake in strategic U.S. energy infrastructure, including three refineries and several pipelines. Given the close ties between Rosneft and Putin, Putin’s interest in undermining the United States, and Putin’s willingness to use energy as a weapon, does this potential deal concern you should a sanctioned Russian company have control over critical U.S. energy infrastructure? I would hate to see Rosneft be the sign hanging over Fenway Park. 44:50 Senator Bob Menendez: They’re— Unknown Speaker: No, I didn’t take it that way. Sen. Menendez: —just to the administration, because I think we can chew and walk gum—I know that my dear colleague, Senator Young, had a comment for me last week. I wish he was here—we can chew and walk gum, you know, and walk at the same time, which means as we’re going through cabinet officials, doesn’t mean we couldn’t get nominations that this committee, on a bipartisan basis, is generally processed very quickly. 49:50 Senator Marco Rubio: On the USAID piece, there’s a reason why we’re not in there: they don’t let us. The Venezuelan government does not allow open aid because they deny that there’s an emergency. *51:00 Mark Feierstein: As I noted before, I think we are better positioned now than we were a couple years ago because of changes in certain governments in the region, as we talked about—Argentina, Peru, Brazil, and others. I believe that, again, in the coming months, I think that some of the—that there is an opportunity—there will be an opportunity to invoke the Charter to threaten the suspension of Venezuela from the organization. And, I guess—I noted what I think, you know, we need. We need three forms of pressure for the dialog to succeed. I agree with you: dialog has not succeeded. The government has used it to buy time, to defuse domestic protests, to keep the international community at bay. But if the opposition’s able to mobilize internally; if we’re able to apply additional sanctions, and ideally, multilateralize them; and if we’re able to mobilize countries in the OAS to invoke the Charter to threaten the suspension of Venezuela from the OAS; I think, then, there would be greater prospects for a positive outcome in Venezuela. 54:55 Senator Tom Udall: I didn’t vote in favor of increased sanctions against Venezuela (Ven-su-way-la). I thought then and I believe now they’re counterproductive and could lead to further entrenchment of the current Venezuelan (Ven-su-way-len) regime, and that’s exactly what happened. The Venezuelan (Ven-su-way-len) people, many who oppose the government, are suffering. They’re going without food, without medicine, without power, without the essentials. 55:40 Senator Tom Udall: Mr. Smilde, are you clear that taking a hardline approach to Venezuela (Ven-su-way-la) will likely lead to a Cubanization of our policies there? 56:11 Senator Tom Udall: As to Venezuela (Ven-su-way-la), can you outline what role you think the Foreign Relations Committee or others should take to encourage a multilateral effort to ensure that elections are held in 2018 and to prevent a Cubanization of policies in Venezuela (Ven-su-way-la)? 58:00 Senator Tom Udall: Dr. O’Neil, would you agree that in Venezuela (Ven-su-way-la) different factions now view the situation as a zero-sum game? 1:14:25 Shannon O’Neil: One thing that has in the past in Venezuela brought the opposition together is elections, right, is a mechanism that you’re pushing towards a particular goal. And so as we look forward for 2017, there’s a party-registration process that is about to begin, and there’s questions about who may or may not qualify there and if the National Electoral committee will actually play fair in that sense. That is something that you could rally together different groups if it’s seen unfair in terms of qualifications. And then we have pending elections that did not happen at the end of last year, regional elections that may or may not be put on the table. And so I think internally, a push for elections—because that is a constitutional mechanism for parties to participate in democracy—and perhaps outside as well, we can be pushing for these parts, even we know democracy is not existent there anymore, but can we push for elections, can we push, and that’s something, at least, to galvanize those that are not in power today. Video: Trump: "The war in Iraq was a BIG FAT MISTAKE", Youtube, February 15, 2016. Hearing: Deepening Political and Economic Crisis in Venezuela: Implications for U.S. Interests and the Western Hemisphere, Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee, C-SPAN, March 17, 2015. Hearing: Assessing Venezuela's Political Crisis: Human Rights Violations and Beyond, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, C-SPAN May 8, 2014. White House Daily Briefing: Middle East Conflict and Coup in Venezuela, C-Span, April 16, 2002. State Dept Daily Briefing: Middle East Situation and Failed Coup in Venezuela, C-SPAN, April 15, 2002. Community Suggestions Podcast: The Corbett Report: NGOs Documentary: South of the Border ~ Hugo Chavez and the New Latin America Book: The Closing of the American Mind: How Higher Education Has Failed Democracy and Impoverished the Souls of Today's Students by Allan Bloom FB Thread: Operation Regime Change - articles compiled by Ramesh Mantri See more Community Suggestions HERE. Cover Art Design by Only Child Imaginations Music Presented in This Episode Intro & Exit: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio)  

The government is on the verge of another shutdown, which is lots of fun for people who like political drama but less so for people who work in government, benefit from government services and think that Congress should be able to do its job.Then we travel to south america: Nicholas Casey from the NYT is here to tell us what the hunt for Venezuela’s most wanted man tells us about the political and economic crisis in the country.And the White House was employing a dude who couldn't get a full security clearance because he allegedly abused women, but the president is still there. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Yascha Mounk and Nicholas Casey discuss whether left-populism is as dangerous as right-populism; why things are so much worse in Venezuela than they are in Ecuador; and why Latin American politics may hold the key to America's future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yascha Mounk and Nicholas Casey discuss whether left-populism is as dangerous as right-populism; why things are so much worse in Venezuela than they are in Ecuador; and why Latin American politics may hold the key to America’s future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Bombshell, we each dial in from parts-unknown to compare our drinking habits to the Queen of England. We also discuss new North Korean sanctions, whether anyone sent flowers to the new Pakistani Prime Minister, and what on earth is happening in Venezuela. White House mayhem is dialed to eleven and we dissect leaks, tweets, and the new sheriff in town. Finally Loren and Radha confess their love of spoilers because they’re obviously insane control freaks. Episode Reading: "Divers work to recover U.S. military aircraft off Australia after crash that presumably killed 3 Marines," by Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Brian Murphy, The Washington Post. "A Tweet is a Direct Order", by Phil Carter, Slate. "Venezuela's Ousted Attorney General Retreats on a Motorbike," Nicholas Casey, The New York Times. "Trump Says U.S. 'Losing' Afghan War in Tense Meeting with Generals," Carol Lee and Courtney Kube, NBC News. The Storm Before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic, by Michael Duncan (PublicAffairs, 2017).

This week on Bombshell, we each dial in from parts-unknown to compare our drinking habits to the Queen of England. We also discuss new North Korean sanctions, whether anyone sent flowers to the new Pakistani Prime Minister, and what on earth is happening in Venezuela. White House mayhem is dialed to eleven and we dissect leaks, tweets, and the new sheriff in town. Finally Loren and Radha confess their love of spoilers because they’re obviously insane control freaks. Episode Reading: "Divers work to recover U.S. military aircraft off Australia after crash that presumably killed 3 Marines," by Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Brian Murphy, The Washington Post. "A Tweet is a Direct Order", by Phil Carter, Slate. "Venezuela's Ousted Attorney General Retreats on a Motorbike," Nicholas Casey, The New York Times. "Trump Says U.S. 'Losing' Afghan War in Tense Meeting with Generals," Carol Lee and Courtney Kube, NBC News. The Storm Before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic, by Michael Duncan (PublicAffairs, 2017).

A music producer. A lawyer from Moscow. The Miss Universe pageant. And now: the promise of help from the Russian government. We connect the dots on Donald Trump Jr.’s communications last summer. And what happens when thousands of rebel fighters try to re-enter society as civilians? Guests: Mark Mazzetti, our Washington investigations editor; Nicholas Casey, a correspondent based in South America. For more information on today’s episode, visit http://nyti.ms/2uddQ9d.

--{ Sanction of Expansion: "Expansion of Government, Expansion of Border, The Latter to be a Hundred Miles Broader, UN's Green Economics Proposed, Meaning We are In Bondage, We Get Hosed, Phthalates in Plastics, also in Rubber, Chewing on This Stuff Makes You a Poor Lubber" © Alan Watt }-- U.S. Border Patrol, CBP, Constitution-Free Zone, Searches - Protester Identification. Green New Deal, United Nations, Global Economy - Great Depression, WWII - UNEP - Crops grown for Ethanol, Biofuel - Ice Ages, Warming Periods. Sustainable Development, Eugenics - Huxley, Hitler - Plummeting Sperm Count - Sterilization. Vaccinations - Phthalates, Plastics, Toys - Bioengineering, Hormonal Alteration - Vaccine Manufacture - Waking Up to Reality. Jacques Ellul, Science of Propaganda, Law Dramas - Carroll Quigley, Arnold Toynbee - Change, Planned Agenda - Marxism - Elite - Participation in Our Future. Bertrand Russell, Use of "the Needle", Inoculations - Autism - GM Food, Pesticides - Good Reason, Real Reason - Depopulation. (Articles: ["Homeland Security Assuming Broad Powers, Turning Swaths of U.S. into "Constitution-Free Zone" " by Barry Steinhardt, Director, ACLU Technology and Liberty Program (dailykos.com) - Oct. 22, 2008.] ["UN announces green 'New Deal' plan to rescue world economies" by Paul Eccleston (telegraph.co.uk) - Oct. 22, 2008.] ["Toys Containing Banned Plastics Still on Market" by Nicholas Casey and Melanie Trottman (wsj.com) - Oct. 23, 2008.]) *Dialogue Copyrighted Alan Watt - Oct. 24, 2008 (Exempting Music, Literary Quotes, and Callers' Comments)