President Biden just granted Temporary Protected Status to 472,000 Venezuelan amnesty-seekers.
Some Americans are uneasy about it -- so many people. Is this really our problem?
Some people are furious about it. GOP candidates call it an invasion. Go back where you belong!
Venezuelan asylum-seekers must cross the "Darian Gap," a roadless jungle area.
The long trip through the Gap, NY Times photo:
They walk and hitch their way to the U.S. border, photo by U.S. Rep Tony Gonzales
Finally, at a U.S. border, migrants make a final push, here through razor-wire to cross the Rio Grande at Eagle Pass, Texas.
They claim amnesty under the treaties the U.S. has signed regarding the rights of entry of people facing violent danger at home. Processing facilities are overwhelmed:
People leave border towns and spread out across the U.S. New York Mayor Eric Adams says it has become a problem as migrants fill city sidewalks:
The U.S. has had sanctions in place against Venezuelan government and individuals for 17 years. The earliest sanctions imposed related to Venezuela’s lack of cooperation on anti-drug and counterterrorism efforts. The Obama Administration imposed targeted sanctions for human rights abuses, corruption, and antidemocratic actions. The Trump Administration expanded economic sanctions in response to the increasing authoritarianism of President Nicolás Maduro, in power since 2013.
Venezuela has the world's greatest reserves of oil, more than Saudi Arabia's, at a total production cost of about $28/bbl. In an effort to make up the world's oil-supply gap amid sanctions against Russian oil, Biden made the controversial decision to allow Chevron to purchase Venezuelan oil. New oil sales barely scratch the surface of Venezuela's political and economic chaos. The New York Times documented widespread deaths of children from malnutrition.
Children picking through garbage:
U.S. sanctions were intended to bring regime change in Venezuela but the authoritarian government of Nicolás Maduro retained power. The situation on the ground is civil chaos, characterized by hyperinflation, extreme poverty, armed gangs, police corruption, drug trafficking, homicides, and contract killings. Amnesty International reports that 98% of human rights violations and 92% of common crimes go unpunished. A police officer is killed every day. People are fleeing starvation and violence.
Venezuela is far away. We have first world problems. The story on TV this morning is that Taylor Swift will be attending the Jets-Chiefs football game. Big news! Her attendance is all over the web. She is causing ticket prices to soar.
Taylor Swift's whereabouts are a more pleasant story than starvation in a country far away.
But Venezuela is in walking distance for desperate people attempting to keep their families alive. The U.S. is not an innocent bystander. We have been making, manipulating, and crushing governments in Latin America for over a century. Our sanctions targeted a government, but its primary victims are the Venezuelan people. They are escaping and going to many countries. We are one of them.
You make a mess, you clean up the mess. We have some responsibilities here.
Here is something to read about the situation they are fleeing:
https://www.icip.cat/perlapau/en/article/violence-corruption-and-organized-crime-in-venezuela/
https://www.icip.cat/perlapau/en/article/violence-corruption-and-organized-crime-in-venezuela/
Thanks for noting the US bears some responsibility for the suffering of the Venezuelans. Why don't we jump in on the side of the people for a change? Americans don't realize how little we spend on humanitarian aid, while more than half our budget goes to the military.
Maybe we should encourage regime change the old fashioned way - send in the CIA.