Speakers:

• Manuela Bolívar, Deputy from the State of Miranda, National Assembly of Venezuela 
• Julio Castro, COVID-19 Technical Expert Commission, Interim Government of Venezuela (download his presentation)
• Carrie Filipetti, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Cuba and Venezuela, Western Hemisphere Affairs, U.S. Department of State
• David Smolansky, Coordinator, Working Group on the Crisis of Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees, Organization of American States 
• Eric Farnsworth, Vice President, Council of the Americas (moderator)

“What does it mean to fight a pandemic while under a narco-state? That’s what Venezuela is facing.” This was how OAS’ David Smolansky defined the current situation in Venezuela on an AS/COA virtual Webex panel with other experts to discuss the conditions in the country to fight the novel coronavirus. Legislator Manuela Bolívar said that 80 percent of the population of Venezuela does not have access to clean water, while U.S. diplomat Carrie Filipetti noted that there have been “carve-outs” in place in U.S. sanctions against the country that allow for humanitarian and aid efforts. When asked if the U.S. government would be willing to work with Nicolás Maduro to mitigate COVID-19, she said the State Department would have to first determine humanitarian aid is being distributed fairly. Julio Castro gave a statistical panoramoa, pointing out that Venezuela’s health crisis started a decade ago.

Speakers:

• James Story, Chargé d'Affaires, Venezuela Affairs Unit, U.S. Embassy in Bogotá, Colombia
• Michael Grant, Assistant Deputy Minister for the Americas, Department of Global Affairs of Canada
• Beatriz Borges, Executive Director, The Justice and Peace Center (CEPAZ)
• Jose E. Gonzales, Managing Partner, GCG Advisors
• Francisco Monaldi, Fellow in Latin American Energy Policy and Director of the Latin America Initiative, Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University 
• Eric Farnsworth, Vice President, AS/COA Washington
• Maria Lourdes Gallo, Vice President, AS/COA Miami
• Guillermo Zubillaga, Senior Director for Public Policy and Head of the Venezuela Working Group, AS/COA

The events of January 2020 were “watershed” moments for diplomat James Story of the U.S. State Department and ones that revealed the “desperation” of the Maduro regime. “There are a lot of smart people in this room. Not one of you knew that Evo Morales was gonna leave when he did. Not one of you thought that Milošević was done in Serbia. And not one of you knew that the Berlin Wall was gonna fall the week before it did. And those things all transpired,” said Story at an AS/COA event in Miami, adding that he’s ultimately optimistic change can come in Venezuela due to the cracks he sees in the chavista power structure. Canadian Ambassador Michael Grant was more circumspect, saying he believes democracy won’t return to the country in “a big bang” but rather through hard-fought incremental change, political leadership from within Venezuela, and redoubled international cooperation efforts. “Democracy was stolen from Venezuela. Human rights were stolen from Venezuela. Our common objective is to get that back. Venezuelans deserve that,” Grant said. A panel of experts highlighted the importance of putting Venezuela more squarely on the UN’s agenda, the state of Venezuela’s oil production and the investment needed to rebuild the sector, and the toll of hyperinflation on not just the economy but the country’s social fabric.

Guillermo Zubillaga, el jefe del grupo de trabajo de Venezuela de AS/COA, habló con Xavier Serbiá de CNN Dinero sobre si Venezuela está pasando por un golpe al parlamento o no.

“Sin duda lo es. El cinco de enero ya habíamos visto un golpe, las imágenes que hablaban por sí solas, el presidente del Congreso saltando una baranda para poder acceder al palacio legislativo”, dijo Zubillaga. Él describió una “reacción negativa” de países como Argentina y México.

“El régimen está buscando, en mi opinión, tomar control…de la Asamblea Nacional para poder adjudicar y renovar unos contratos y dárselos a su aliado principal, que es Rusia”, dijo Zubillaga. “Necesita levantar la producción petrolera”.

Zubillaga explicó que Venezuela es “un país que está en el borde de ser un estado fallido”. Él enfatizó que ya el 20 por ciento de la población se ha ido, y que los países vecinos ya no pueden más con la carga de seguir admitiendo inmigrantes venezolanos.