 Hi, everyone. Welcome to Code Pink's What the F is Going on in Latin America. This is our weekly webinar, 20 minutes of hot news out of Latin America and the Caribbean. We air every Wednesday, 12 p.m. Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific, and talk about hot news from the hemisphere. Today, we are very honored to be joined by Larry DeVoe. Larry is the Vice President, the Ministry of Human Rights in Venezuela. And we're very honored to have you with us, Larry. We're going to talk today about Venezuela's response to COVID-19. It's been quite remarkable given the extreme conditions that Venezuela is functioning under given the US unilateral coercive measures that have been placed on Venezuela. It's government, it's institutions, and inability to trade globally. So it's a fascinating story and it's a very encouraging story. Also joining us this afternoon is Leonardo Flores, who is my compañero here at Code Pink with our Latin America team. Leonardo is Venezuelan as well. He is going to provide Spanish translation for Larry today. Larry's English is very good, but we want to be certain that all of the technical information that he shares with us is accurate and correct, and he is most comfortable doing that in Spanish. And so Leonardo is going to translate for us. So I just want to let all of you know that Leonardo wrote a terrific article yesterday that you can find on Code Pink.org on Venezuela's response to COVID-19, and I would encourage all of you to read that as well. So this afternoon, here's what we're planning to talk with all of you about. I'm going to ask Larry to give us a brief update on what is actually happening on the ground in Venezuela. And then we will talk about Foreign Minister Adiosas' complaint that he filed with the International Criminal Court. We will talk about some of the overt hindrances that US corporations are throwing into the mix of Venezuela's response right now, specifically the suspension of Twitter accounts in Venezuela. And then also we will like to discuss a little bit about this potential confiança repatriation flight that Venezuela is, that the Venezuelan government is hoping to send to Miami. There's somewhere between 200 and 800 Venezuelans living in the United States right now who are requesting repatriation to Venezuela. So, particularly at this time, so all a really fascinating story, and really important to share with all of you. So welcome, Larry, and let's start with a brief update from the ground in Venezuela. Bueno, buenas tardes a todos gracias por la invitación. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for the invitation. También para agradecer a coping una vez más por todo el apoyo, todo el respaldo que le brinda al pueblo venezolano. I would like to once again thank Code Pink for all the support that they show to the Venezuelan people. Para agradecer la oportunidad de compartir un poco de información sobre la situación de Venezuela actualmente. So I want to share some information about what's going on in Venezuela right now. El presidente Nicolás Maduro, apenas se presentaron los primeros casos de COVID-19 en el país. Nicolás Maduro, right as the first cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the country. Tomó la decisión de aplicar un modelo de combate estricto contra esta pandemia mundial. He took the decision to apply a strict model to fight this global pandemic. A diferencia de otros países donde se ha aplicado un modelo que se basa en que esto es una gripe más que no debemos dar la importancia que esto va a afectarnos a todos de cualquier manera. So this is in contrast with other countries who were saying that this was just a simple call that it wasn't going to affect people, but really it's going to affect everyone. El presidente Nicolás Maduro decidió activar un mecanismo que está previsto en nuestra constitución, que es el estado de alarma constitucional. Decided to apply a mechanism which is in our constitution, which is a state of alarm. Que le permite dar herramientas adicionales para poder responder adecuadamente a esta pandemia del COVID-19. Which enables him to have the tools necessary to adequately respond to the COVID-19 epidemic. En ese sentido, desde el primer momento se procedió a suspender las clases en todos los niveles de la educación, desde la educación básica hasta la educación universitaria. In that regard, classes were suspended at all levels from primary to university. Y se empezaron a aplicar medidas de distanciamiento social de cuarentena en el territorio nacional. And we began applying measures of social distancing and of quarantining the entire nation. Al comienzo, la medida de cuarentena se aplicó en algunos estados del país, que era donde se presentaron los primeros casos de COVID-19, pero luego fue ampliada a todo el territorio nacional. So at the start the quarantine was only applied to the states that had shown confirmed cases of COVID-19, but then it was applied to the entire country. Aller es importante destacar que se trata de una cuarentena social voluntaria. Es un llamado que se le hace al pueblo venezolano de permanecer en sus casas para ayudar a romper la cadena de contagio del COVID-19. So it's important to highlight that this is a voluntary quarantine. That's being, then the people are being asked to implement it in order to break the chain of transmission of COVID-19. Y hay que también valorar la respuesta que el pueblo venezolano ha dado ese llamado al presidente Nicolás Maduro, que más del 95% de la población se ha mantenido respetando esa cuarentena de manera adecuada. And we also really have to stress how great it is that the people have responded to the president's request. Over 95% of the people have heeded the request to maintain the national quarantine. Por supuesto que se ha permitido que aquellas personas que trabajan en servicios que no pueden suspenderse, como lo tiene que ver con la salud, como tiene que ver con las telecomunicaciones puedan seguir realizando su trabajo en el marco de esta cuarentena. Of course there are exceptions being made for people who work in critical industries such as health or telecommunications. Those workers can keep on working during this quarantine. Además por supuesto se han suspendido todas reuniones públicas, se han establecido que los locales comerciales no pueden funcionar, salvo aquellos que vendan alimentos, que vendan medicina para la población. And we've also shut down all businesses that are not essential, with the exception of of course places that sell food or places that sell medicine, things that are necessary for the people. Un elemento muy importante de la respuesta venezolana al COVID-19 es que se ha realizado de la mano, siguiendo todos los lineamientos que ha fijado la organización mundial de la salud. So one thing that's really important to stress is that Venezuela's response to COVID-19 has strictly followed the guidelines established by the World Health Organization. Y por supuesto se ha avanzado en preparar el país para la respuesta hospitalaria en materia de salud que debe brindarse de ser necesario en el caso de una expansión del COVID-19. And of course we have been preparing the nation's hospital system in case that there's an expansion in the number of cases of COVID-19. Es decir se han determinado algunos hospitales como hospitales de referencia para atender a los pacientes, se ha dispuesto de todas las camas posibles para tenerla para el cuidado intensivo de los pacientes que así lo requiera. Y se ha buscado en el mercado internacional todos los insumos y medicamentos necesarios para responder ante esta pandemia. So for example we've established reference hospitals that are going to be kind of the centers exclusively dedicated to seeing patients with COVID-19. We have increased the number of beds that are going to be available for intensive care cases. And we have sought out, we have sought to make purchases on the international market for all the supplies and medical equipment that we need to deal with this pandemic. Y allí se ha hecho un uso de la cooperación internacional para poder responder ante esta pandemia. Sobre todo vista las características de Venezuela, que es un país que se encuentra sometido a una agresión ilegal, que le genera dificultades para poder acceder al mercado internacional a comprar medicamentos, a comprar insumos básicos para esta emergencia. An international cooperation has been one of the keys to this response, especially considering that Venezuela is subjected to an illegal aggression that makes it difficult for the country to access international markets and purchase medicine and equipment. Ahí ya por ejemplo hemos recibido las primeras donaciones de parte de China que nos ha enviado kits para el diagnóstico rápido del COVID-19, al igual que Rusia que ha enviado pruebas para el COVID-19. Cuba nos ha enviado un medicamento que está siendo recomendado para el uso ante los enfermos de esta virus, el interferón. So for example, China has sent us already its first shipment of aid which consists of quick diagnosis kits for COVID-19. Russia has sent us testing kits as well and Cuba has sent one of the medicines that's been highlighted or identified as being effective in treating COVID-19 and that's interferon to be. Y hay un elemento, también que es interesante, que es que a través de la plataforma del sistema patria, que es un sistema en el cual están registrados casi 20 millones de venezolanos, lo que es más del 90% de la población adulta, se ha hecho una encuesta sobre síntomas del COVID-19 para poder luego ir directamente a las personas que señalen allí en esa encuesta estar afectadas. So one thing that's really interesting is that we have kind of taken what's known as the homeland system, this online portal and we worked and reworked it a bit. So there's 20 million Venezuelans that are registered in this portal and we added a survey of symptoms to this website and that way people who show these, who claim that they have these symptoms can be visited in their houses and the health authorities can go directly to them to test them. Entonces en esos casos que se ya se logran identificar personas a través de esa web que presentan fiebre, que presentan dificultad para respirar, que presentan tos, van los médicos comunitarios a su casa a hacerle el diagnóstico gratuito y hacer las pruebas para el despistaje del COVID-19. So in those cases where people who fill out the survey say that they either have fever or difficulty breathing, then we send community doctors directly to their house to carry out free tests in order to kind of discard the possibility that they have COVID or otherwise. Adicionalmente se han tomado medidas para proteger a la población frente a este el impacto digamos económico que tiene esta pandemia del COVID-19. Also we have taken measures to protect the people from the economic impact of COVID-19. Por ejemplo se ha suspendido el pago de los alquileres de viviendas y de locales comerciales y se ha prohibido el desalojo de esos locales. O sea suspendido también el pago de los créditos bancarios y se ha prohibido ejecutar esos créditos. So for example we have suspended rent payments for homes and for businesses and also made it prohibited evictions during this time. And we have also suspended loan payments during this time and prohibited the banks from calling on those loans. El estado también está asumiendo el pago de las nóminas de las pequeñas y de las medianas empresas que no pueden funcionar. Bueno el estado va a pagarle a estos trabajadores durante el tiempo que dure la pandemia. E igualmente se han previsto a designaciones económicas especiales para aquellos que trabajan por cuenta propia y que se ven afectados en este momento por la epidemia. So the state is assuming the payroll of small and medium businesses and the state will pay workers for the entire duration of this pandemic. Furthermore there has been a special bonus for people who are self-employed to help them write out the pandemic. En resumen es una estrategia que pone en el centro de la acción del estado la protección del ciudadano y de la ciudadana frente a esta pandemia global. So in sum it's a strategy that centers people in the face of this global pandemic. Y por supuesto que este contexto tiene un vínculo con el segundo tema que nos plantea aunque es el de la remisión a la Corte Penal Internacional. And of course this issue is related to the second topic that you proposed which is the lawsuit in front of the International Criminal Court BICC. Porque bueno la respuesta de Venezuela en esta pandemia se ha visto limitada por el impacto del efecto que generan las llamadas sanciones que desde los Estados Unidos se han dictado contra el país. So for example, Venezuela's response to this pandemic has been limited due to the so called sanctions that have been imposed on the country. Venezuela ha hecho contacto con laboratorios con proveedores de insumos médicos y esas operaciones no han podido realizarse producto de estas sanciones de la persecución que hay contra Venezuela en el mundo. So Venezuela has made contact with laboratories and medical equipment suppliers, but that has all been kind of inhibited or blocked due to these sanctions and this persecution at a global level. Venezuela es uno de los elementos estructurales que Venezuela planteó en esa remisión que realizó a la Corte Penal Internacional el 13 de febrero de este año. So that's one of the main elements that Venezuela proposed or identified rather in its lawsuit to the ICC which began on February 13. Venezuela ha denunciado ante la Corte Penal Internacional que las medidas coercitivas unilaterales adoptadas al menos desde el año 2014 constituyen un crimen de lesa humanidad. So Venezuela has denounced that the unilateral coercive measures that have been put into place since 2014 are basically are a crime against humanity. En ese documento que fue consignado por nuestro cancillero Jorge Arrasa se describió cuál era la situación de Venezuela hasta el año 2014 y cómo esa situación se ha visto afectada producto de esas medidas coercitivas unilaterales. In the document presented by Foreign Minister Jorge Arrasa to the ICC, we explained what Venezuela's situation had been up to 2014 and how after these measures were affected, how that has affected the rest of the country since then. Un algunos datos para compartirlos brevemente con ustedes se adoptaron medidas específicas de sanciones contra la industria petrolera venezolana. Eso ha llevado a que el ingreso de Venezuela por petróleo pase de cerca de 42,000 millones de dólares en el 2013 a 4,000 millones de dólares al año en el año 2018. So some important figures to share the sanctions against the oil industry have decreased oil and income dramatically in 2013 oil income was at $42 billion a year, whereas in 2019 it felt a $4 billion. Leonardo, can I add something here with the oil. Can you translate for Larry, and I think this is important for our audience to understand also is that not only in sanctioning the sale of oil you're depleting the Venezuelan, the national income of the country but also. The inability to purchase and import all of those parts needed to keep the extraction equipment modern and functioning so there's there's a number of things happening when you cut off the oil income. Entendista Larry, Yes, The sanctions not only affect the oil sales, but also affect the Venezuelan capricity of import and supply to keep the equipment. That's right. No solamente se persigue las ventas de petróleo que Venezuela quiere hacer en el mundo. Recientemente se le impuso unas sanciones a una filial de una empresa rusa que vendía cerca del 80% del petróleo venezolano, pero que también esas sanciones impiden la importación y la inversión para mantener operativos mucho de los pozos petroleros en el país. That's exactly right. So not only do the sanctions go after Venezuelans oil sales globally. Just recently there was a sanction on a Russian subsidiary that sold 80% of Venezuelans oil, but the sanctions also crack down on imports and investments that are necessary to keep oil production flowing. Y eso por supuesto ha tenido un impacto en los indicadores sociales en el país. And of course that has had an impact on the country's social indicators. Por darles dos datos solamente la mortalidad materna en Venezuela. Pasó de 68 por cada 100 mil en 2013 a 135 por cada 100 mil en el año 2017. So just to give you two examples, maternal mortality in 2013 was 68 per every 100,000 births. Now in 2017 it rose to 135 per every 100,000 births. It's really important to understand the gendered bias too that it's women and children that are on the front lines of the sanctions. Es verdad, no Larry, las mujeres y los niños principalmente. Y esto es un esquema que está suficientemente documentado en el mundo. Las mujeres, los niños, los adultos mayores y las personas con discapacidad son siempre los más afectados por este tipo de medios. Yes, that's exactly right and this has been well documented around the world. Women, children, seniors and people who with disabilities are always the most vulnerable and always the most affected by these type of measures. 466 metros cúbicos en 2013 a 262 metros cúbicos en el 2018 es decir se cortó casi por la mitad la cantidad de agua por persona que se recibe. So I wanted to share another important statistic relating to our indicators. The availability of water per inhabitant in 2013, we were providing 460 cubic meters of water per person that felt 262 cubic meters per person in 2018. That means that water supplies are almost cut in half as a result of these measures. So is that related to not being able to keep infrastructure in good condition? Not being able to input, yeah, okay. Tiene que ver con las dificultades para el mantenimiento de los equipos que son los que hacen la distribución de agua en todo el territorio nacional. Yes, that's right, it has to do with being able to maintain the equipment and the infrastructure that distributes water at a national level. Entonces Venezuela ha planteado que estas medidas constituyen un crimen de la humanidad como les decía porque no son conductas aisladas. So Venezuela proposes that these should be considered that these things constitute a crime against humanity because they are not isolated incidents. Desde nuestra óptica constituyen un ataque que es sistemático porque se ha mantenido en el tiempo es generalizado porque afecta a toda la población. So from our perspective, these are attacks that are systematic in that they've been carried out over time and they're generalized because they affect the entire population. Collective punishment. Collective punishment. Y además se ha ejecutado con pleno conocimiento de los efectos que eso tiene pues diversos voceros de los Estados Unidos han reconocido que esas medidas tienen un impacto negativo en la población y a pesar de ello las continúan implementando. And these measures have been implemented with the full knowledge of the consequences. We've had different US government spokespersons recognize that the negative impact the negative impacts of these measures and yet they are still being applied. Por qué demuestra por supuesto que hay una intención de cometer esos actos que pueden constituir crímenes de la humanidad. So this demonstrates that there's an intention to commit these acts which can be constituted as crimes against humanity. Ahora nosotros continuamos suministrando permanentemente información a la Fiscalía de la Corte Penal Internacional esperando que pueda iniciarse una investigación que determine la responsabilidad individual de aquellos que están detrás de esta política de sanciones contra Venezuela. So we continually present information to the ICC prosecutor with the hope that they will begin an investigation in order to determine the individuals responsible for these policies for the unilateral course of measures. Y esto me lleva, digamos, al tercer tema que nos planteaban para la conversación, que es el de la persecución que hay contra Venezuela en todos los escenarios, incluyendo las redes de comunicación, las redes sociales. So this leads to the third topic that we were going to talk about, which is the persecution against Venezuela in all sectors including in social media. Por supuesto que contra Venezuela se desarrolla una campaña de desinformación brutal en el mundo todos los días, de manera permanente. So of course there's a misinformation campaign against Venezuela that goes on every day, it's permanent and it's brutal. Pero además de esa campaña se busca cortar las vías que tiene Venezuela para mantener informado al país y a la colectividad de lo que se desarrolla en nuestro país. Then on top of that there are attempts to, a campaign that seeks to cut off Venezuela's capacity to inform not just the people in the country but the world about the realities of the country. So in the sense of what's going on with COVID we've seen hundreds of accounts belonging to government officials and to state institutions be blocked and these were accounts that were giving information as to how to deal with the pandemic. This is specifically Twitter accounts or all social media. Principalmente a través de Twitter, pero también en Instagram se han tomado algunas medidas. And the vice president del siro Rodriguez it's mostly been on Twitter but also on. Sorry, it's mostly been on Twitter, but we've also seen some accounts been being blocked on Instagram. And please government officials by the vice president who's in charge of leading the COVID-19 response for the nation. I'm sorry for the interruption Leo. Así es la cuenta oficial de la vice presidencia fue suspendida y también la cuenta de la vice presidenta ejecutiva, quien es la que dirige la comisión presidencial de lucha contra el COVID-19. Yes, that's right against the vice president, who is the one in charge of leading the presidential commission to handle the COVID-19 response. So can I share a personal story here with Larry that something that because I think he deserves a lot of credit for helping lead this response. One of the things that a very good friend of mine, living in Venezuela has shared. Is that in lieu of Twitter, there are a lot of trucks with microphones being used throughout the communities throughout the country, urban and rural to communicate this and as you said earlier. In, in our discussion that 95% of the civilian population is responding to this. And I just have to say what a testament that is to the Venezuelan people, and to you and your guidance through all of this. And that one of the things shared with me about this 95% response is that, unfortunately, your country has been up against basically war in various forms for the past 20 years. And so many people do understand what that this is just another form of warfare and do understand how to respond to such a situation and I just think that's a really huge testament to you. And your people that you're able to do this. That's right. We've used all the tools that are at our disposal at our disposal. Social media is just one of the tools, but other things we've used include the homeland system that online portal I mentioned earlier which sends information. The police are always offering information and importantly organized communities are offering information, including establishing trucks with loudspeakers that tell people how to, you know, what the protocols are for responding to this COVID-19 pandemic. And, well, in relation to the last point that was presented to us in the fourth point, the repatriation of the Venezuelans, there is an element there that I want to highlight that has also been a negative consequence of this policy that has been imposed from the United States to want to create a parallel institution in Venezuela. So going to the fourth topic of the repatriation of Venezuelans in the US, there's one thing I'd like to highlight, and that has to do with the negative consequences of the US policy of setting up kind of a parallel institution. Well, as a result of that failed strategy that was imposed from the United States, Venezuela has lost its legitimate representatives in various countries, including the United States. So as a result of that failed policy, Venezuela has lost its legitimate representatives in various countries, including in the United States. Incluso las sedes diplomáticas de Venezuela, muchos de esos países, incluyendo los Estados Unidos han sido invadidas ilegalmente. Even we've even seen diplomatic premises in many countries, including the United States, be illegally invaded. Y, por supuesto, eso deja a los Venezolanos y las Venezolanas en esos países en una situación de desprotección, pues no hay un representante diplomático o consular que pueda asumir con seriedad y con capacidad real de resolución la atención de sus problemas. So, of course, that leaves Venezuelans overseas completely unprotected since they have no diplomatic or consular representatives that can help them resolve their problems. Y, además de eso, en este contexto surge el hecho de que la principal línea aérea venezolana, que es con Villasa, es la que se utiliza para apoyar todo este proceso de repatriación que ejecuta Venezuela, se encuentra sometida también a sanciones por parte del Departamento del Tesoro. So, on top of that, Venezuela's main airline con Villasa, which is the one that's being used for Venezuela's process of repatriating citizens from various countries, that airline has been sanctioned by the US Treasury Department. Y eso, por supuesto, genera problemas operativos en muchos países para adquirir combustible, para pagar servicio aeroportuario, para el mantenimiento de las aeronaves, buscan que las operaciones de conviasas deban cesar. So, of course, that creates all sorts of operational problems in various countries, such as when planes have to be fuel, maintaining the planes and being able to pay the airport fees. The objective behind the sanction on the airline is to make sure that it is no longer able to function. A pesar de todo eso, el presidente Nicolás Maduro ha ordenado que se prepare un vuelo o los vuelos necesarios para ir a buscar a los Estados Unidos y a diferentes países, a los venezolanos que allí se encuentre embarados. Y ya se han hecho las coordinaciones necesarias, las solicitudes de permiso necesarias y estamos en espera de respuesta de las autoridades en este caso de los Estados Unidos. So, in that regard, President Maduro has ordered that one flight or several flights go to the United States in order to bring Venezuelans who are stuck there to bring them back home. And we have submitted these requests and all the permits and we're waiting for a response. So I have heard there's anywhere from 200 to 800 Venezuelans wanting to return to Venezuela. Do we have an idea of obviously going to be more than one flight. Yes, yes. La cifra que fue anunciada por nuestro canciller, nuestro presidente, son de 564 Venezolanos que se han registrado a través de una plataforma creada para tal fin y que se encuentren en los Estados Unidos queriendo regresar a nuestro país. So the figure I saw that has been published by President Maduro and Foreign Minister is a 564 Venezuelans in the US who registered on a website in order to become eligible for one of these flights. Así que en este caso es urgente que el gobierno de Estados Unidos tome las medidas que deba tomar para flexibilizar, dejar sin efecto esas sanciones que se han impuesto contra conviaza y permitir esta respuesta humanitaria para estos Venezolanos que están varados allí en ese país. So, in this case, it is really urgent that the US government takes the necessary measures to flexibilize the sanctions against killing the asset to allow a humanitarian response for the Venezuelans who are stuck in the US. Y no solamente conviaza, son todas esas medidas coercitivas, todas esas sanciones tomadas contra Venezuela que deben ser levantadas para que el país pueda tener plenas capacidades de responder al marco de esta pandemia del COVID-19. And it's not just conviaza. All the unilateral coercive measures taken against Venezuela are imposed against Venezuela need to be lifted in order for Venezuela to have the capacity to properly respond to this COVID-19 pandemic. Venezuela tiene hoy retenidos en el mundo más de 5,000 millones de dólares que pudieran utilizarse perfectamente para comprar insumos de respuesta ante esta pandemia, de comprar respiradores para unidades de cuidados intensivos para responder a los efectos económicos de esta pandemia. Pero no puede hacerse producto de las sanciones. So, Venezuela has about five billion dollars frozen in accounts across the world and this is, these are funds that could be used to buy medical equipment that could be used to buy ventilators for intensive care units that could be used to help respond to the economic effects of this COVID-19 pandemic. Incluso la alta comisionada de Naciones Unidas, señora Bachelet, hacía ayer un pronunciamiento pidiendo que debían levantarse todas esas sanciones ilegales dictadas contra diversos países, incluyendo Venezuela. So the UN Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet made a declaration yesterday insisting that all of these sanctions that have to be lifted during this context. Can I add a comment here about Michelle Bachelet as well. And I think, you know, Larry can definitely speak to this because he's been living it since 2014. And one of the things she has also said in the last couple of weeks is that she has criticized what we call who have been working for so long about lifting sanctions call lateral measures is over compliance. And she has accused finally this was a few weeks ago I think you can correct me either one of you, really stated on the international to the international community that it's the international financial institutions that are practicing this over compliance that are the greatest hindrance to moving any goods and services in and out of Venezuela and other sanctioned countries as well. I'm so glad she's recognized sanctions as a huge crisis. Asie el sobre cumplimiento el over compliance es uno de los elementos que más daño hace, pero que tiene razones fundada en el carácter genérico también de esas medidas que toma el gobierno de los Estados Unidos. Yes, that's right over compliance is one of the things that does the most harm, but it's really based on kind of the generic nature of the measures and being imposed by the United States. Cinco de agosto del año pasado el presidente Trump firmó una orden ejecutiva que sanciona prácticamente a toda persona que le preste algún servicio a Venezuela y luego por supuesto vienen un complejo entramado de licencias que son difíciles de manejar para para el mundo entero. So on August 5 President Trump issued an executive order, basically sanctioning anyone who provides services to Venezuela. And on top of that there's this whole very complex and obscure system of licenses or exemptions to the sanctions which are very difficult to obtain. Entonces la respuesta global es decir mira yo prefiero no venderle nada a Venezuela. Yo prefiero no tener relaciones comerciales con Venezuela temiendo una interpretación que pueda ser el departamento del tesoro que le lugar a sanciones contra esa empresa contra esa persona. So the global responses that it's basically for people in businesses to say that they prefer not to sell the Venezuela they prefer not to have commercial relations with Venezuela in fear of what the treasure of how the Treasury Department might respond. It could be with sanctions against individuals or businesses. Y es importante que quede claro que si el gobierno de los Estados Unidos decide desoír ese clamor mundial de levantar las sanciones en el marco de esta pandemia del COVID-19 quedará plenamente demostrado el carácter criminal de quienes gobiernan en este momento los Estados Unidos y su responsabilidad por la comisión de crímenes de la humanidad. So it's really important to note that if the US government decides to ignore the global clamor of lifting sanctions during this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, then it will make it clear that of the of this administration's criminal the criminal nature of the government will become clear. And they will clearly have been shown to be responsible for carrying out crime crimes against humanity. Yo, lo dejaría hasta allí que daría atento a sus preguntas, comentarios. And I think I'll leave it there and leave some time for questions or comments. Well thank you so much Larry this has been an extraordinarily informative 45 minutes and I know I promised you'd be 20 and I'm so thankful you've been able to stay with us. I myself have a ton of of follow up questions and I wonder there's a couple things. Before we go to the audience, and some of the things that I have in mind to ask are are similar if not the same as the audience. One of the things that you mentioned earlier, and a number of our Facebook live viewers have commented on this as well that. And I personally believe that this is this is a significant difference in response and probably one of the beneficial actions is that the Venezuelan government is sending medical professionals directly into the communities. And my understanding is also that some students, medical students in their last year or so I think Leonardo you wrote about this in your article as well, have been deputatized or whatever the correct term is to assist with the professional healthcare workers. And so going directly into the communities having people be able to view symptoms online and check themselves and then have a doctor or medical professional come directly to the house is clearly preventing the person from going and spreading more, but, but the, but the healthcare crisis is being is being addressed directly at the community level. And that is so much like we see with the Cuban medical model and so I wonder if you can address how the effectiveness of dealing with the healthcare issue at the community level and and talk a little bit about Venezuela's alliance with Cuba, specifically in regards to healthcare. That's right, so since 2003, then as well then began building a community healthcare system with the support of our ally Cuba. Que ese sistema consiste fundamentalmente en la presencia de médicos comunitarios en los diferentes sectores de nuestro país en multiplicar la presencia de médicos directamente en las comunidades. So the system is basically the one of the main fundamentals of it is to have community doctors in neighborhoods, and that has been able to kind of multiplier expand the presence of medical doctors in communities throughout the country. Entonces esos médicos que están en cada comunidad atienden a sus vecinos, realizan medicina preventiva y contribuyen por supuesto a aliviar la carga de los grandes centros hospitalarios que también existen en el país. So those doctors live in their communities and they help they treat their neighbors, they offer preventive medicine, and this alleviates the load on the nation's hospital system which also of course exists. Al comienzo, la mayoría de estos médicos comunitarios eran médicos cubanos, pero luego se ha realizado todo un proceso de formación de decenas de miles de médicos venezolanos que han ido paulatinamente suplantando, sustituyendo a los médicos cubanos en las diferentes comunidades del país. So at the start of this program, the majority of the doctors participating in it were cubans. But along with this program we also began training and and educating tens of thousands of doctors who are now beginning to kind of gradually substitute the Cuban doctors that are living in communities across Venezuela. Entonces en este contexto del COVID-19 la respuesta del estado no es sentarse a esperar en el hospital que le llegue un paciente con síntomas, sino que una vez que tiene información que una persona puede estar afectada va directamente a su casa a buscarlo, hacerle el diagnóstico y si es necesario, bueno llevarlo para que recibe el tratamiento. So in the context of the COVID pandemic, the state isn't just waiting around for people to show up in hospitals. They are taking, they are finding information from people to see if people might have it that people, health care workers are sent directly to their homes. In certain cases they are tested and if they test positive, then they are taken to a health care center to receive treatment. So this is a strategy to respond in a way that allows Venezuela to attempt to definitively cut the chain of transmission of COVID-19. Y destacando por supuesto que toda esa atención es absolutamente gratuita. No son miles de dólares lo que deben pagarse, es cero bolívares lo que debe pagarse por esa visita del médico a su domicilio o si fuera necesario su traslado a un hospital para su tratamiento. So I have to highlight that all of this care is absolutely free. We're not talking about patients having to spend thousands of dollars, instead they spend zero bolívares for doctors to visit their homes for them to be tested and then if necessary for them to be transferred to a hospital where they also receive free care. Y también en este contexto se ha hecho un llamado a también médicos que ya se hayan retirado o también a los estudiantes en los últimos años de medicina para reforzar las capacidades del sistema médico para estar preparado en caso de que fuera necesario responder ante un incremento en el número de casos. So there has also been a call for retired doctors and medical students in their final years of education to be identified and be able to come forward in case that Venezuela sees an increase in the number of cases it has and in case that they are needed. So basically it's to prepare the country and these doctors. El presidente lo ha, lo ha dicho de esta manera nosotros estamos poniéndonos dos o tres pasos por delante del desarrollo de la pandemia. President Maduro said it like this. We are two or three steps ahead of the development of this pandemic. I would say that's a fundamental difference between Venezuela and the United States and given, you know, our very sophisticated healthcare system that no one can afford to have access to your way ahead of attacking the spread of this virus and and your citizens are very fortunate to have access in a way that a good percentage of us citizens do not and that perhaps is why so many fellow Venezuelans want to go back home now to they understand the difference between the two economies and the two societies and that and what you have to offer there. So, Larry, this has been a fantastic hour long conversation, and I am so thankful that you were able to spend this time with us today. I'm going to post a couple things for our viewers. Yeah, on Facebook on the, on the video feed in the comments section I'm going to put a couple resources, and one of them will be Leonardo's article that he wrote yesterday but I also want to share with you since Larry brought up that the gendered bias particularly of unilateral coercive measures that it's generally women and children that suffer first and principally as well as older people in society. There's a terrific report that came out last fall called the humanitarian costs and gendered bias of us sanctions on North Korea. It was authored in part by our guests last week Dr Keith Park from Harvard University, but those findings extrapolate to all countries, living under US sanctions there's 39 of them right now. In addition to Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, North Korea, Syria, and on and on 39 countries, comprising one third of the global population. They're living under US unilateral sanctions I want to share with you Dr Park's report and also a report prepared by the Center for Economic Policy and Research last year, which discusses us sanctions as collective punishment, specifically to Venezuela. I'm very familiar with that report. And then there's a new one that came out yesterday today, written by Jeffrey sacks, and Francisco Rodriguez, and against sanctions and the humanitarian costs and the inability of Venezuela to another population to properly respond to cobit 19, which of course puts the entire global population at risk when one country is one or more and we're looking at 39 now who potentially cannot respond appropriately, although I will say it's a testament to Venezuela and for its response and how many cases I think you told me 91 before we aired today. 91 cases have been detected so far and no debts. Until yesterday. Yeah, through yesterday. So, I mean that's just a tremendous testament to you and your people. And I'm so thankful you were able to take a break from working on all of this at home in Venezuela and sharing this information with our viewers here in the United States I will be happy to share this link with you Larry so we can share it across the globe to help spread Venezuela's story. So thank you. Thank you so very much very happy to spend the hour with you. Thank you for the opportunity and I once again want to thank you for all the solidarity and support that you showed a lot of people, and we will still continue to show that solidarity and work with you. Okay everyone thank you so much. Look for those additional reports in the comment section be sure to watch or not watch listen to code pink radio tomorrow 11am Eastern 8am Pacific on WBAI out of New York City and WPFW out of Washington DC both Pacifica stations and then please join us again next Wednesday at noon time Eastern for what the F is going on in Latin America. Be sure to go to code pink dot org for a list of webinars regarding sanctions including more information on Iran and Venezuela both Cuba to coming up over the weekend I believe. So all right everyone. Thanks again. Thank you Leonardo for joining us. Is there anything you want to say in closing. Now just code pink followers be aware that today we're going to launch campaign aims at Twitter to have them unblock all the accounts of the Venezuelan government and institutions and political figures that have seen their accounts suspended during this COVID-19 pandemic. Okay, great. So that's an action that you'll be able to work with us on and help Venezuela and her people. So all right everyone until next Wednesday. Thank you so much. Thank you for joining us. Thank you Larry. Thanks so much. Thank you. Bye.