Defying Trump threat, Venezuela to press controversial congress

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Samuel Moncada talks to the media during a news conference in Caracas, Venezuela July 18, 2017. REUTERS/Marco Bello

By Andrew Cawthorne and Andreina Aponte

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government on Tuesday vowed to proceed with plans for a controversial new congress despite what it called a “brutal interventionist” threat of U.S. economic sanctions.

President Donald Trump said on Monday he would take “strong and swift economic actions” if Maduro went ahead with the new body that would have power to rewrite Venezuela’s constitution and supersede other institutions.

Polls show a majority of Venezuelans oppose the assembly, which critics call tantamount to enshrining dictatorship in the South American OPEC nation. Maduro insists it is the only way to bring peace after months of anti-government unrest that has killed 100 people and further hurt a crippled economy.

Foreign Minister Samuel Moncada said the July 30 vote for the legislative super-body known as a Constituent Assembly would go ahead. “It is an act of political sovereignty by the Republic. Nothing and nobody can stop it,” he told reporters.

“Venezuelans are free and will unite against the insolent threat from a xenophobic and racist government … (and) the United States’ brutal interventionist efforts.”

Trump called Maduro, who narrowly won election in 2013 to replace the late Hugo Chavez, “a bad leader who dreams of becoming a dictator.”

Maduro’s opponents say they drew 7.5 million people onto the streets at the weekend to vote in a symbolic referendum where 98 percent disagreed with the assembly plan.

Calls to cancel the assembly and instead hold conventional elections have come from around the world, including the European Union and major Latin American nations.

The ruling Socialist Party would likely be thrashed in any normal vote due to widespread anger over economic hardships.

“WHOLE WORLD ASKING”

“The Constituent Assembly should be abandoned to achieve a negotiated, safe and peaceful solution in Venezuela. The whole world is asking for that,” Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos tweeted.

Venezuelan opposition supporters have been in the streets for nearly four months demanding a presidential election, freedom for several hundred jailed activists, independence for the National Assembly legislature, and foreign aid.

Protesters blocked roads in parts of Caracas on Tuesday.

Maduro insists opposition leaders are U.S. pawns intent on sabotaging the economy and bringing him down through violence as part of an international right-wing conspiracy.

Decrying “imperialism” still resonates for some in a region scarred by Washington’s support of coups during the Cold War. Sanctions from Trump, who is largely unpopular abroad, could actually help unite the ruling Socialists.

Senior White House officials told Reuters last month the Trump administration was considering sanctions on Venezuela’s vital energy sector, including state oil company PDVSA.

The idea of striking at the core of Venezuela’s economy, which relies on oil for some 95 percent of export revenues, has been discussed at high levels of the administration as part of a wide-ranging review of U.S. options.

But such an unprecedented step could deepen suffering for Venezuelans, already undergoing food shortages and soaring inflation during a fourth year of precipitous economic decline. It could also raise U.S. fuel prices, which would be unpopular with American consumers.

Venezuela is the third largest foreign oil supplier to the United States, after Canada and Saudi Arabia, exporting about 780,000 barrels per day of crude.

A senior Trump administration official said on Monday “all options are on the table” for Venezuela. Also under consideration are more measures against individuals, including senior officials, accused of rights violations, corruption or drug trafficking, the official said.

A Venezuelan opposition legislator who is vocal on economic policy said nobody wanted a U.S. oil embargo. “What Venezuelans want is for Maduro to stop the Constituent Assembly. Listen to the people!” tweeted Angel Alvarado.

(Additional reporting by Diego Ore, Alexandra Ulmer and Girish Gupta in Caracas, Marianna Parraga in Houston, Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Editing by David Gregorio)

Trump threatens sanctions if Venezuela creates Constituent Assembly

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a "Made in America" products showcase event at the White House in Washington, U.S., July 17, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump threatened on Monday to take “strong and swift economic actions” if Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro goes ahead with plans to create a super-legislature known as a Constituent Assembly in a July 30 vote.

“Yesterday, the Venezuelan people again made clear that they stand for democracy, freedom and rule of law. Yet their strong and courageous actions continue to be ignored by a bad leader who dreams of becoming a dictator,” Trump said in a statement issued by the White House.

“The United States will not stand by as Venezuela crumbles. If the Maduro regime imposes its Constituent Assembly on July 30, the United States will take strong and swift economic actions,” Trump said.

Maduro’s foes are demanding a presidential election and want to stop the leftist leader’s plan to create the Constituent Assembly, which would have the power to rewrite the constitution and annul the opposition-led legislature.

On Sunday, 98 percent of opposition supporters in an unofficial vote rejected the proposed assembly.

Maduro insists opposition leaders are U.S. pawns intent on sabotaging the economy and bringing him down through violence as part of an international right-wing conspiracy led by Washington and fanned by private domestic and foreign media.

Senior White House officials told Reuters last month the Trump administration was considering sanctions on Venezuela’s vital energy sector, including state oil company PDVSA, a major escalation in U.S. efforts to pressure the country’s government amid a crackdown on the opposition.

The idea of striking at the core of Venezuela’s economy, which relies on oil for some 95 percent of export revenues, has been discussed at high levels of the administration as part of a wide-ranging review of U.S. options.

The White House officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the United States could hit PDVSA as part of a “sectoral” sanctions package that would take aim at the OPEC nation’s entire energy industry for the first time.

They made clear the administration was moving cautiously, mindful that if such an unprecedented step was taken, it could deepen the country’s economic and social crisis, in which millions suffer food shortages and soaring inflation.

Another complicating factor would be the potential impact on oil shipments to the United States, for which Venezuela is the third largest oil supplier after Canada and Saudi Arabia. It accounted for 8 percent of U.S. oil imports in March, according to U.S. government figures.

(Reporting by David Alexander; Additional reporting by Girish Gupta in Caracas and Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Editing by Peter Cooney)