Las conclusiones son claras: las democracias del Caribe no han sido, no son y no serán amigas de la transición democrática en Venezuela. La política exterior de estos pequeños países responde únicamente a sus intereses de Estado y políticos, no a una diplomacia basada en el apego a los valores democráticos, normas de derechos humanos e instrumentos internacionales que buscan promover la democracia en la región y de los cuales dicen ser garantes, como la Carta Democrática Interamericana o su propia Carta de Sociedad Civil. Con las miras puestas en las elecciones presidenciales del 2024, Petrocaribe será clave para asegurar el silencio de Caricom a cualquier crítica que busque censurar y sancionar los ya habituales actuares dictatoriales de Maduro. Por Leonardo Di Bonaventura-Altuve. Texto Completo -> ElNacional

︎For English text, use Google’s translator at the bottom ︎

Corrosive capital can take many forms, but the outcome is always the same. The erosion of democratic foundations and the predatory exploitation of regulatory and governance gaps in the public and private sectors of the recipient country. The implications could define the fate of a region. It is of absolute importance to distinguish if financing, whether state or private, is corrosive or constructive.China’s economic and political influence in Latin America is steadily increasing. To discuss this, the premier organizations working with the private sector and local governments in Latin America and the Caribbean, CIPE and AS/COA, are pleased to invite you to attend an event focusing on the impact of Chinese corrosive capital on host communities.  Full Text -> CIPE/AS/COA

Traducción de cortesía ->

El capital corrosivo puede adoptar muchas formas, pero el resultado es siempre el mismo. La erosión de los cimientos democráticos y la explotación predatoria de las brechas regulatorias y de gobernanza en los sectores público y privado del país receptor. Las implicaciones podrían definir el destino de una región. Es de absoluta importancia distinguir si la financiación, ya sea estatal o privada, es corrosiva o constructiva. La influencia económica y política de China en América Latina aumenta constantemente. Para discutir esto, las principales organizaciones que trabajan con el sector privado y los gobiernos locales en América Latina y el Caribe, CIPE y AS / COA, se complacen en invitarlo a asistir a un evento que se centra en el impacto del capital corrosivo chino en las comunidades anfitrionas.

“The coercive and aggressive US foreign policy, which has included strangulating sanctions against the Venezuela President, which has mostly hurt the Venezuelan people, has been conducted with the support of Almagro and caused major division among Caricom countries. This has been Trump’s legacy in the Caribbean.” By Shaliza Hassanali. Full Text -> T&TGuardian

Caribbean islands that once formed the bustling near-shore oil refining and logistical network of Venezuela’s state-owned PdV are finding that the distressed company was easier to evict than to replace. Full Text->ArgusMedia

Whether it wishes to be drawn in or not, the region is being encouraged directly and indirectly to take sides. In the 1970 and ’80s this was for ideological reasons, but today it is because external parties see Latin America and the Caribbean as the next front in a worldwide confrontation about attaining influence and economic supremacy. By David Jessop. Full Text -> Barbados Advocated

Furthermore, without supporting local organizations and addressing the conditions driving so many Venezuelans to illicit activities, the impacts of the effort will not be sustainable. The following enhancements could improve the U.S. effort to reduce drug trafficking and help ensure a lasting solution. By Laura Burroughs. Full Test -> The Maritimes Executive

Maduro and his cronies have been indicted as drug traffickers, and they profit enormously from illicit trade – a 50 percent increase in the illicit drug trafficking into and out of Venezuela in recent years.That makes the narcotraffickers who work in and out of Venezuela a target for our disruption, dismantlement, and defeat operations like any other transnational criminal organization.  There are no transnational criminal organizations that are exempt. Full text-> US State DEpartment

So, while these deployments are designed to deter Maduro from attacking Guaido’s person, they’re also intended as a response to his rejection of the U.S. offer. The Trump administration wants Maduro to believe that his continuing intransigence will lead only to a more painful fate. Considering the justifiably limited appetite in Washington for military intervention in Venezuela, however, I’d suggest that Maduro still retains the cards. If and until Cuba abandons him and the military flips against him, the dictator will continue to sit relatively secure in power. By Tom Rogan, Full text -> Washington Examiner

The Trump administration announced Wednesday afternoon that the U.S. is moving newly-deployed naval ships toward the coast of Venezuela as it enhances counter-narcotic operations in the Caribbean following a U.S. indictment of Nicolás Maduro on drug charges. Officials announced a 22-country coalition, led by the US will be operating in the region. Ships including Navy destroyers, Air Force surveillance aircraft are in the Caribbean, officials said. Full text -> CBS

UNICEF’s latest ‘Migration flows in Latin America and the Caribbean,’ situation report, released Wednesday, showed that the number of migrants from Venezuela to Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago were surpassing the capacities of the countries and “further straining already vulnerable host communities. Full text -> NewsAmericas