En alianza con la Federación Nacional de Ganaderos de Venezuela (Fedenaga), el Observatorio identificó 50 casos de ciclos de invasiones en 2021, una situación que, explica Tovar, en la mayoría de los casos, ocurre de manera progresiva y pasa por un proceso de hostigamiento contra propietarios y trabajadores.Añade que, a las invasiones, se suman las fiscalizaciones gubernamentales que, en algunos comercios, bajan los precios, “a veces a perdida”, propiciando que “difícilmente tenga para reponer el stock de productos”, afectando la “disponibilidad de alimentos y la accesibilidad a ellos”. Por Carolina Alcalde. Texto Completo -> VOA

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Cuba and Venezuela agreed on Tuesday to promote food sovereignty by expanding bilateral cooperation to the field of agri-food, which the governments of the countries say is one of the areas most affected by sanctions imposed by the United States. The agreements were signed within the framework of the XXI Cuba-Venezuela Intergovernmental Commission held in Havana, headed by the Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez and Cuban Vice Prime Minister Ricardo Cabrisas. Full Text -> LaPrensaLatina

Thus far, it is hard to demonstrate that barring diesel swaps (and gasoline swaps) has led to shortages but advocates of allowing the diesel swaps suggest real shortages are coming. It’s worth noting that the Maduro regime gives thousands of barrels of diesel per day to Cuba, suggesting that the commodity is still available in Venezuela.The humanitarian argument—that many Venezuelans are hungry already, so we should not do anything that may interfere with food supplies—comes up against a stark fact: many Venezuelans are hungry yet the vicious regime refuses to allow the World Food Program (WFP) to operate there.  by Elliott Abrams. Full Text -> CouncilofForeignRelations

Venezuela is now on the verge of famine, the International Crisis Group warns. More than half of the land used to grow vegetables last year won’t be replanted, according to farming federation Fedeagro. Corn production is expected to cover less than a quarter of national demand. And the tightening vice of U.S. sanctions threatens to strangle what little food and oil is getting in from abroad. By Fabiola Zerpa, James Attwood and Nicolle Yapur. Full Text-> Bloomberg News

Rosa Coromato Marcha’s mother is one of the millions mothers who has no choice but to risk her life so she can support her daughter and her five grand children who live with her. Since Venezuela’s government imposed a lockdown on 15th March 2020, Rosa and her children have had to stay at home while her mother works as an assistant in a health clinic to put food on the table. Full Text -> ReliefWeb

Fuel shortage and lockdowns are reigniting the regime’s controlling instincts—and overwhelming the people’s capacity for survival By Isabella Laroca. Full Text-> Caracas Chronicle

Venezuela, which has recently been hit hard with virus cases, has been under a 6-week mandatory lockdown in order to curb further infection rates. However, due to an already-high poverty rate among the country’s citizens, many are resorting to protests and looting as a means of survival. Full text-> The Deep Dive

An archbishop in Venezuela warned that desperation is growing in the country, as the national coronavirus quarantine measures have compounded a tenuous political and economic situation. He urged people in the country to resist violence and social unrest. By Diego Lopez Marina. Full text -> Catholic News Agency

Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said the government would also assume supervision of Empresas Polar, the national food giant and Venezuela’s largest privately held company headed by Lorenzo Mendoza. Ham-maker Plumrose Latinoamerica will also be supervised. By Patricia Laya and Alex Vasquez. Full text -> Bloomberg

With millions of people hungry in Venezuela, acute fuel shortages are forcing farmers to let crops rot in fields or feed them to livestock since they cannot transport food to market during the coronavirus quarantine. By Anggy Polanco. Full Text -> Reuters