More on the Great Clash between Tweedledum and Tweedledumber. MCM
> > https://consortiumnews.com/2020/07/23/bidens-vision-for-venezuela-indistinguishable-from-trumps/ > Biden’s Vision for Venezuela Indistinguishable from Trump’s > July 23, 2020 > > *It’s about Florida and the 2020 election, writes Leonardo Flores. * > > Donald Trump and Joe Biden, official portraits from Wikipedia. (Andrea > Widburg, Flickr) > > *By **Leonardo Flores* <https://consortiumnews.com/tag/leonardo-flores/> > *The **Grayzone* > <https://thegrayzone.com/2020/07/09/bidens-venezuela-indistinguishable-trumps/> > > *J*oe Biden’s campaign held an online event earlier this month pitched as > the former vice president’s “vision for Venezuela and Venezuelans in the > U.S.” Spoiler alert: it barely differs from that of President Donald Trump. > > This event, which didn’t merit an appearance from Biden himself, was aimed > at getting Venezuelan-Americans to volunteer for “Uncle Joe,” as > Representative Darren Soto (D-Fl) called him. It was an hour and a half of > shilling for votes and influence, and it demonstrated that, when it comes > to Venezuela, policies of regime change, sanctions and a refusal to engage > in dialogue unite VenezolanosConBiden (“Venezuelans for Biden,” the group > hosting the event) with MAGAzuela (the term for Trump-supporting > Venezuelans). > > There are only two policy differences in the Biden and Trump approaches. > One is about TPS, or temporary protected status, which is an immigration > policy that allows people from 10 specific countries affected by disasters > to live and work in the U.S. Biden supports TPS for Venezuelans, while > Trump allies have blocked it in the Senate, and Trump himself ended the > program and has refused to issue it for Venezuelans. According to one of > Biden’s surrogates, there are 150,000 Venezuelans in the U.S. who are > either undocumented or are here on expired visas. > > The other difference is the border wall, which is now being built in part > using Venezuelan funds. The Trump administration has diverted $601 > million in assets stolen from the Venezuelan people to build the wall > <https://thegrayzone.com/2020/06/29/trump-stolen-venezuelan-money-border-wall-mexico/> > on > the U.S.-Mexico border. This money was previously held in the Treasury > Department’s “forfeiture fund,” which is typically used to finance law > enforcement operations. > > Protest against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, St. Paul, > Minnesota, January 2018. (Fibonacci Blue, Flickr) > > This $601 million is part of an estimated $24 billion that the U.S. and > its allies have frozen and looted from Venezuela in their regime-change > efforts. Juan Guaidó > <https://thegrayzone.com/2019/01/29/the-making-of-juan-guaido-how-the-us-regime-change-laboratory-created-venezuelas-coup-leader/>, > the self-proclaimed interim president, has yet to comment on how the Trump > administration is using these Venezuelan funds, but his “ambassador,” Carlos > Vecchio > <https://thegrayzone.com/2019/06/18/exxon-ambassador-carlos-vecchio-venezuela-coup-lobbyist/>, > admitted to working with the Justice Department to “establish a formal > agreement … to define the percentage” > <https://eldiario.com/2020/07/04/vecchio-este-mes-se-materializara-el-bono-para-el-personal-medico-de-venezuela/> > of > how much of the seized Venezuelan funds will go to the United States. > According to Guaidó and his associates, it is “normal” for the Trump > administration to take a cut. > > TPS and the wall are the only two points on which Biden and Trump differ. > Biden’s surrogates claim he will grant TPS to Venezuelans on day one of his > administration, and Biden says he will stop financing the wall. > > *Minor Differences * > > These differences are minor though, especially considering that Biden will > continue the policies that have led millions of Venezuelans to flee in the > first place, and he has given every indication that more funds will be > frozen. > > Biden’s vision is more of the same magical thinking that the Trump > administration has engaged in for years. His campaign says the sanctions > will continue and actually intensify. A Biden administration would seek “a > huge increase in aid,” not just for Venezuela but for Colombia and other > countries with Venezuelan migrants. They would build an “international > coalition” to rebuild Venezuela. They would persecute key supporters of the > Venezuelan government, regardless of where they are in the world. > > President Donald Trump with Juan Guaido at White House, Feb. 5, 2020. (White > House, Tia Dufour) > > According to Juan González, former deputy assistant secretary of state > under President Barack Obama and current adviser to Biden on Latin America, > they would give the government of President Nicolás Maduro > <https://thegrayzone.com/2019/08/06/interview-venezuelan-president-nicolas-maduro/> > one > option: elections observed by a respected (and unnamed) multilateral > institution and he must leave office. > > Biden’s surrogates warn that Venezuela is a national security issue for > the U.S., that the country has been infiltrated by terrorist groups and > everything must be done to end Russian, Chinese and Cuban influence. They > responded to a question about the impact of sanctions by blaming the > “humanitarian crisis” on Chavismo. They say Biden will not negotiate with > Maduro. > > The Biden campaign even attacked Trump for suggesting he would meet with > Maduro, forcing Trump to backtrack > <https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-backtracks-on-a-meeting-with-venezuelas-maduro-after-chorus-of-criticism/2020/06/22/8f25d598-b491-11ea-aca5-ebb63d27e1ff_story.html> > on > the offer. The campaign has been running ads > <https://www.northwestgeorgianews.com/associated_press/trump-s-willingness-to-meet-with-maduro-becomes-fodder-for-biden-campaign-ads-in-miami/article_aab66742-c0bc-5ea0-ac3c-3354630ec24d.html> > in > Miami accusing Trump of being soft on Maduro. > > Biden’s policies are the same policies and reflect the exact rhetoric used > by the Trump administration. Since 2017, the U.S. has imposed sanctions > that have cost 100,000 Venezuelans their lives and led to economic losses > of $130 billion > <https://thegrayzone.com/2020/03/17/us-sanctions-venezuelas-health-sector-coronavirus/>. > But according to Biden supporter Soto, “there hasn’t been enough of a > crackdown” on the Maduro government. > > Trump has spent three years building an approximately 60-country > anti-Maduro coalition, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has traveled the > world seeking more aid allegedly for Venezuela, but that ends up in > countries with Venezuelan migrants. They have sanctioned foreign companies > doing business with Venezuela and sought to arrest Venezuelan businessmen > overseas. > > On the issue of military intervention, the Biden surrogates claimed > Trump’s threats of a military option were empty and insisted other options > must be explored and all other avenues of pressure exhausted (except, of > course, dialogue) before considering military action. They did not say > whether U.S. intervention should be “on the table,” and framed the > discussion around the U.S. public’s alleged aversion to another war rather > than on the catastrophic consequences this would have for the Venezuelan > people, let alone the illegality of any sort of military intervention. > > It is no secret that regime change in Venezuela is a bipartisan objective, > and Trump’s tactic of pandering to right-wing Latino extremists in Florida > has led the Democrats to do the same. > > The Biden campaign strategy is clear: mimic the administration’s Venezuela > policy while offering TPS to draw votes away from Trump. > > The surrogates also repeatedly insisted that Biden is not a socialist — > apparently a common misconception among the MAGAzuela crowd. > > It should be no surprise that this is all about Florida and the 2020 > election. Trump not only won the state in 2016, but his allies took the > governorship and a Senate seat in 2018, albeit by small margins. Republican > Governor Ron DeSantis and Senator Rick Scott > <https://thegrayzone.com/2019/06/25/how-sen-rick-scott-became-big-oils-point-man-on-venezuelan-regime-change/> > both > accused their opponents of being socialists who are soft on Venezuela. The > Biden camp is doing its utmost to prevent those types of attacks from > sticking against their candidate. > > There is no reason to believe that Biden will change course on Venezuela > if elected. There are too many votes in Florida at stake, as well as > donations to be had from wealthy Venezuelan expats – who at this point are > playing both sides and doing so very well. > > A Biden presidency, just like another four more years of Trump, looks to > be disastrous for the Venezuelan people. > > *Leonardo Flores is a Latin American policy expert and campaigner with * > *CODEPINK* <https://www.codepink.org/>*.* > > *This article is from **The **Grayzone* <https://thegrayzone.com/>*.* > > *The views expressed are solely those of the author and may or may not > reflect those of Consortium News.* > > *Please **Contribute* > <https://org.salsalabs.com/o/1868/p/salsa/donation/common/public/?donate_page_KEY=14124&okay=True> > > > *to Consortium News on its 25th Anniversary * > > > -- If you appreciate News From Underground, please consider making a donation — either a one-time gift or a monthly subscription: http://markcrispinmiller.com/support/ Thank you for your support. 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