Amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, there is new potential for the country’s massive reserves of oil to end up in Chinese and Russian hands. It is unlikely that the U.S. will allow this to occur, even if it means getting into yet another proxy conflict with those countries.
Three South American countries are preparing to hold a large military drill near Venezuela later this year. The involvement of the U.S. military in the drill has raised concerns about the U.S.’ true intentions in the area, as it has already worked to covertly destabilize Venezuela’s economy.
The bill also allots an additional US$10 million for ‘democracy promotion,’ including “US$500,000 to carry out the activities … with the Organization of American States to ensure credible international observation that contributes to free, fair, and transparent democratic electoral processes in Venezuela” and “US$9,500,000 to carry out the activities … directly, or through nongovernmental organizations to defend internationally recognized human rights … support the efforts of independent media outlets … facilitate open and uncensored access to the Internet … and to combat corruption.”
This week's bipartisan Venezuela Humanitarian Assistance and Defense of Democratic Governance Act not only seeks to pump US$10 million to Venezuela as part of a “humanitarian assistance” package but also looks to provide millions to efforts to undermine the government
