The European Union’s International Contact Group on Venezuela issued a statement today on the ongoing crisis in the country, and asserted that “the ‘status quo’ is not an option”. According to the statement, the Group makes the assessment based on the “costs” of the continued existence of the Maduro regime:
The costs for the population of the continued erosion of democracy and the rule of law, political repression, human rights violations and poor living conditions, as well as the unprecedented impact on the region are untenable.
In the same statement, the Groups tresses that “only a negotiated transition” towards free, fair and transparent elections and the re-establishment of the rule of law “can bring a lasting solution” to the Venezuelan crisis.
The statement also includes the news that the EU’s Special Adviser for Venezuela, Enrique Iglesias, will head to Caracas gain “for contacts with all relevant national stakeholders”.
Bloomberg: Russia Sends Cash to Venezuela
Bloomberg reported today that the Russian government has sent “hundreds of millions in dollars in cash” to Venezuela recently to help provide “a lifeline” to the Maduro regime.
According to the website, Moscow shipped $315 million in both US dollars and Euros to the country between May 2018 and April, citing import data made available to the publication. Bloomberg claims:
The cash came from lenders run by the countries’ governments and went to Venezuela’s development bank, the records show.
Bloomberg reports that in April of this year, Russia’s Evrofinance Mosnarbank sent
“about $97 million in notes” to Venezuela, while Gazprombank sent over $160 million in Euros and US dollars in January of this year.
The Maduro regime has become increasingly isolated from the world’s financial networks due to sanctions imposed against it by the White House.
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