[News] Venezuela Aid Being Politicized to ‘Destabilize the Country’ - less than ten percent of the emergency appeal has been met

[Anti-Imperialist News]

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14738


  Red Cross Chief: Venezuela Aid Being Politicized to ‘Destabilize the
  Country’

By Ricardo Vaz - December 4, 2019
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Caracas, December 5, 2019 (venezuelanalysis.com 
<https://venezuelanalysis.com/>) - The president of the International 
Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) has criticized the “unacceptable” 
politicization of humanitarian aid to Venezuela.

Speaking in a press conference in Geneva on Monday, Francesco Rocca 
denounced a lack of funding for the organization’s programs in Venezuela.

"This is not about resources, this is about political will," he told 
reporters, adding that less than ten percent of the IFRC’s September US 
$50 million emergency appeal had been met.

Rocca went on to state that aid programs run by United Nations agencies 
and other international actors in Venezuela were being likewise 
underfunded, slamming the privation of aid “as a tool to destabilize the 
country.”

The Red Cross chief drew comparisons with other countries, pointing out 
that the organization’s $12 million funding appeal for the Bahamas 
following a hurricane in September was surpassed by $8 million within 
ten days. He added that “it’s easier to receive funds for Syria and even 
for Yemen.”

“I cannot imagine any other explanation except political will for the 
creation of this situation on the ground” he concluded, while also 
dismissing the idea that the Venezuelan government is blocking access to 
aid.

The Red Cross runs a host of programs in cooperation with the Venezuelan 
government. Its operations were expanded 
<https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14416> in April with the goal of 
addressing the immediate food and medicine needs of 650,000 people. Yet, 
lack of funding has meant only around 50,000 Venezuelans have been 
reached, according to IFRC figures.

The organization had previously condemned the “politicization” of relief 
efforts when the US and the Venezuelan opposition attempted to force 
so-called “humanitarian aid” across a closed Venezuelan-Colombian border 
on February 23 <https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/14355>. The 
efforts were ultimately unsuccessful.

Opposition leader Juan Guaido proclaimed himself “interim president” in 
January and was immediately recognized by Washington and regional 
allies. He has since tried to oust the Maduro government, including via 
a failed putsch attempt on April 30 
<https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14453>. For its part, the US has led 
international efforts to encircle Venezuela including the activation of 
the TIAR <https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14737> military pact.

Venezuela has been mired in a deep economic crisis in recent years which 
has been severely exacerbated by punishing US sanctions. Following 
successive rounds of measures <https://venezuelanalysis.com/video/14279> 
targeting the oil industry and other vital economic sectors, Washington 
imposed a blanket embargo <https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14615> in 
August, banning all dealings with the Venezuelan government and state 
entities as well as authorizing secondary sanctions against third party 
actors.

US sanctions have led to drastic fall in oil output 
<https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14724> – formerly the source of 
around 95 percent of export revenues –, constraining the government’s 
ability to pay for imports of food, medicine, and other essential goods.

A report <https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14446> by the Washington 
DC-based Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) found that US 
measures have been responsible for at least 40,000 deaths since 2017, 
with hundreds of thousands more at risk.

/Edited by Lucas Koerner from Caracas./

-- 
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