The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will provide the Venezuelan opposition with $ 52 million in financial assistance, a statement said on the organization’s official website.
“Today, after meeting with Venezuelan lawmakers, human rights defenders, and Venezuelan ambassador to the United States Carlos Vecchio, the director of the US Agency for International Development, Mark Green, announced the allocation of $ 52 million to assist the interim president of Venezuela, Juan Guaido, his government and the Venezuelan people in their efforts to restore democratic governance focused on the needs of citizens, ”the statement said.
It is also noted that the allocated funds will go to programs aimed at "supporting the Venezuelan National Assembly, independent media, civil society and the restoration of the health sector."
“The new funding for programs in Venezuela complements the hundreds of millions of dollars of humanitarian aid that the US government has already provided earlier in the wake of the regional crisis in Venezuela. This assistance includes vital support for needy Venezuelans and communities in Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Peru, and other countries in the region, ”the USAID emphasizes.
- Carlos Vecchio - Representative of Venezuelan Opposition Leader Juan Guaido in the USA
- Reuters
- © Jim Bourg
The organization also recalled that the United States "fully supports" the opposition leader Juan Guaido and the Venezuelan people in attempts to "put an end to the illegal Maduro regime."
Recall, USAID is the highest federal government agency in the United States to provide “assistance” to other countries. The administrator of the Agency and his deputy are appointed by the president with the approval of the Senate and work under the leadership of the head of the White House, the Secretary of State and the US National Security Council.
“Foreign policy instrument”
Allocating millions of dollars "for the needs of the opposition," Washington seeks to aggravate the situation in Venezuela, which, according to the American side, can lead to the overthrow of the president of the Bolivarian Republic who is objectionable to him, said Vladimir Bruter, an expert at the International Institute for Humanitarian and Political Studies.
“Such a move by the United States is direct intervention in the internal affairs of Venezuela and another attempt to carry out a coup in the country. The US Agency for International Development is Washington’s foreign policy instrument. This special institute is in fact directly connected with the American government and is designed to camouflage America’s participation in a number of international issues, ”the analyst explained.
At the same time, according to Bruther, the United States does not risk acting with more stringent methods.
“At the moment, it’s beneficial for them to use a scheme that will have a delayed effect. Now the United States wants to intensify the activities of opposition leader Juan Guaido so that he has chances in the upcoming parliamentary elections in Venezuela, ”the expert noted.
A similar opinion is shared by Alexander Chichin, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation. According to him, Washington could allocate this money for the Guaido election campaign on the eve of the parliamentary elections in Venezuela.
“The opposition leader will again try to awaken the mood, activate his supporters, organize new demonstrations across the country, attract attention in every possible way. Oppositions also need money for militants who organize armed clashes on the streets of Caracas, ”the analyst predicts.
Chichin recalled that the United States had repeatedly “financially” supported the Venezuelan opposition.
“Money is usually transferred to Guido through his representative in Washington,” the expert added.
- US Department of State Building in Washington
- AFP
- © Alastair Pike
At the same time, it is possible that the current “tranche” of the White House allocated PDVSA from the Venezuelan state oil company from the frozen funds, Chichin suggested.
"Through the Citgo Petroleum Corporation, headquartered in Houston, all operations with PDVSA were carried out, and now more than $ 7 billion in fact are at the disposal of Washington," the analyst explained.
Meaningless step
On September 22, the Venezuelan opposition leader announced the creation of a delegation consisting of opponents of Maduro to participate in the 74th UN General Assembly.
“We have formed a delegation that will represent our government and all Venezuelans next week at the 74th UN General Assembly. This delegation is authorized to enter into agreements with leading world leaders in order to increase pressure on the dictatorship and support the people of Venezuela in the face of a serious crisis in our country, ”the opposition wrote on his Twitter page.
La delegación enviada a Naciones Unidas estará encabezada por el Comisionado para Relaciones Exteriores @JulioBorges; y participarán también el Embajador ante los EE.UU @carlosvecchio y el Comisionado para la Ayuda Humanitaria @Miguel_Pizarro, así como diputados y víctimas.
- Juan Guaidó (@jguaido) September 22, 2019Alexander Chichin notes that the United States “needs to nourish” Guaido, as his position in the country has recently become very weak.
“Given that the self-proclaimed leader of Venezuela not so long ago himself acknowledged the failure of the opposition’s attempts to overthrow Maduro, he, of course, needs help from Washington,” the expert said.
However, according to experts, despite the financial assistance of Washington, Guaido has no chance to overthrow the legitimately elected President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro. Even if Guaido will again begin to travel around the country and try to convince Venezuelans to take to the streets, this will not lead to anything, I am sure Chichin.
“It’s already clear that this is absolutely hopeless - Guaido is not associated with the leader of their country among the people of Venezuela,” the analyst said.
- Opposition Leader Juan Guido
- Reuters
- © Ivan Alvarado
In addition, Maduro managed to split the opposition, concluding a peace agreement with its moderate part, Chichin recalled.
Vladimir Bruter agrees with a similar position. According to him, it was very important for Washington to allocate a lot of money for the opposition now, so that, if necessary, the US could, at its discretion, manage Guiado and his team.
“However, this is pointless, because even during the period of maximum activity, the Venezuelan opposition was unable to achieve anything. And now she does not have at all any potential to carry out a coup. Opponents of Maduro will try to maintain their visible activity and wait for the team from Washington, ”the expert noted.
“It will heat up the situation”
In parallel with funding for the Venezuelan opposition, Washington is expanding prohibitive measures against Caracas. This time, the United States added four more companies and four vessels for the transport of oil and products to the sanctions lists.
Earlier, the United States imposed sanctions on a number of companies, mainly engaged in the supply of food to the republic.
Washington’s actions in the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry called economic terrorism and a violation of international law.
Nevertheless, according to Alexander Chichin, the United States will continue to pressure and try to further aggravate the situation in Venezuela.
“The White House intends to create a situation in which the majority of deputies opposed to the Venezuelan president will be in the new parliament. Based on this, the United States will provoke a confrontation between Maduro and parliament. If Washington manages to influence the formation of the country's legislative body, the White House will more insistently demand the re-election of the president, ”the expert predicted.
According to him, during the election campaign in Venezuela, Washington will use "any kind of provocations and incidents diligently prepared by the American side."
In turn, Vladimir Bruter emphasizes that it is now important for Maduro to concentrate not on US actions, but on normalizing the economic situation in the country.
“For the President of Venezuela, this will be most important now, since instability is a good basis for Washington’s attempts to erode its leadership,” the analyst explained.
- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro
- Reuters
- © Miraflores Palace
Bruter also believes that if Maduro manages to normalize the country's economic situation, his chances of staying in power will increase significantly.
“In order for the situation in Venezuela to stabilize, it is necessary to put it on a reasonable and efficient economic footing, which the President of the Bolivarian Republic is likely to continue to do in the short term,” the expert noted.
At the same time, the Venezuelan leader has every reason to believe that now the situation in the country is under his control, and the support of the Venezuelan people is still strong, said Alexander Chichin.
“This is proved by the fact that the President of the Bolivarian Republic is not afraid of a coup, leaving his country for some time, for example, to conduct negotiations in Moscow. Maduro is confident in the loyalty of his environment, ”concluded the analyst.