An Opportunity

We can deduce two interpretations from the announcement made by U.S. President Barack Obama’s government regarding Venezuela: This country represents “an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy” of the country up north, we can read in the decree issued by the White House. [These are] tough words that otherwise leave behind an extensive trail of political interpretations.

The first [objection], the most obvious and superficial, is one that they have adopted in Venezuela since the news was sent out: that the United States is behind a coup d’état in Venezuela; that this is a strategy to further destabilize policies there; that there is the possibility of a gringo invasion of what is a legitimate state. We don’t doubt, of course, that this series of visions and stances is scattering internationally like dust at every meeting of Latin American nations. Furthermore, it is possible that this may be used to create some kind of pressure mechanism — hence the big, fat carrot offered by the administration of Barack Obama, which is offering a carrot rather than using a stick, but is being beaten with that carrot.

The other interpretation, however, goes a little more in depth — above all on the subject of U.S. foreign policy: The declaration of a “national emergency” permits the president of that country to apply a series of economic sanctions upon a group of very determined individuals. It is a question of language: “Emergency” and “threat” are big words that sound like endless and dangerous interventions, but they hide behind them the simple necessity to render effective a series of pecuniary punishments.

As our columnist Arlene Tickner said in this newspaper, the emergency declaration is something more common than it seems: “This gives the executive extraordinary powers to, among other things, freeze the assets of non-sanctum persons. Since the end of 2014, Obama has invoked that law eight times in matters as dissimilar as the H1N1 pandemic and the situation in Ukraine.” What this clearly implies is that it is necessary to revise the situation; in particular, in order not to distort the reality that surrounds it.

Gustavo Enrique Gonzales Lopez, general director of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service and former Director of Operations of the Bolivarian National Guard Antonio José Benavides Torres are indicated as “responsible for the erosion of human rights” since last year’s protests. Also on the list is Antonio José Benavides Torres, who directed the operations of the Bolivarian National Guard during the protests of 2014; former Commander General of the GNB (Venezuelan National Guard) Justo José Noguera Pietri, who is currently the president of the Venezuelan state’s Corporation of Guayana; District Attorney Katherine Nayarith Haringhton Padrón, who was responsible for the accusations against Caracas; Mayor Antonio Ledezma; and Bolivarian National Armed Forces Inspector General Miguel Alcides Vivas Landino. From this point on, these public servants have their assets frozen in the U.S. and cannot enter that country.

This is the true magnitude of the declaration: seven accused individuals. But the terms of it point to an answer that Obama himself didn’t want: We already see President Nicolas Maduro enacting a new supporting law that permits him to govern by decree without any type of interference to combat this imperialistic attack. Soon we will see if Maduro uses the law he enacted. In order to analyze it from here, it is appropriate to accept the true facts. And those are …