Monday 7 March 2016

Palestinian Artist Pays Tribute to Hugo Chavez as Obama Renews Venezuela Sanctions

[Ed. note – Today is the anniversary of the death of Hugo Chavez. In the video above we see Gaza artist Frans Alsalmi paying tribute to the great Venezuelan leader in both words and art. For his own part, US President Barack Obama has marked Chavez’s passing in a somewhat different manner. On Thursday it was announced that the US would extend its sanctions against Venezuela for another year. Furthermore, Obama  reiterated his rather bizarre assertion that the South American oil producer represents an “unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States,” and also announced he intends to declare a “national emergency” to counter the threat. ]
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Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega Accuses US of Virtually Declaring War Against Venezuela
MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) — Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega said on Saturday that the United States have virtually proclaimed a war against Venezuela.
“[The United States] are accusing Venezuela of being a threat to their security, that is called a declaration of war…this is as serious as the blockade against Cuba,” Ortega said at the ceremony commemorating the anniversary of former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s death as quoted by the Noticias24 news website.
In March 2015, US President Barack Obama issued an executive order imposing sanctions against seven Venezuelan officials, freezing their assets and banning them from entering the United States. Obama described “erosion” of human rights guarantees in Venezuela as an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to the US security.
In response, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez said in the light of the US decision Caracas would reconsider its bilateral ties with Washington.
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US regime change efforts seem to be fully under way in Venezuela. The US-backed opposition, described by the Washington Post as a “centrist” coalition, has announced a “triple-barreled strategy” to oust the country’s democratically elected president, Nicolas Maduro, from power within the first half of 2016.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   
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