United States prepares sanctions against Venezuela - Polidicks

[url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/31/us-venezuela-sanctions-nicolas-maduro]Source[/url] [quote]The US government has imposed financial sanctions on Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, after the election of a new legislative body to redraft the country’s constitution in a vote described by Washington as a “sham.” Maduro hailed Sunday’s election as a popular mandate to dramatically recast the troubled state, but his political opponents have warned this could lead to the dissolution of existing powers and turn the country into a fully fledged dictatorship. Nicolás Maduro: will Venezuela’s president drag his people to the edge? Read more On Monday, he was added to the growing list of high-ranking Venezuelan officials target for sanctions which freeze any of Maduro’s assets under US jurisdiction, and prohibit US citizens from doing business with him. “Yesterday’s illegitimate elections confirm that Maduro is a dictator who disregards the will of the Venezuelan people,” said treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin. “By sanctioning Maduro, the United States makes clear our opposition to the policies of his regime and our support for the people of Venezuela who seek to return their country to a full and prosperous democracy.” Acording to Reuters, the US is still considering broader sanctions against Venezuela’s oil industry, which could prove devastating for a country which is already in a state of economic free fall. The targeted sanctions against Maduro “send a loud message that the US is prepared to get tough,” said Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington-based think tank. But the specific targeting of Maduro signals that for the moment “the US is not comfortable with broader sanctions,” he said. “The international community’s options are not great because what hits the government the hardest is oil but anything that involves oil is going to hit Venezuelans hard too and they are already suffering.” Last week, the US Treasury department imposed sanctions on 13 high-ranking officials including the head of the Electorate Council and the former treasurer of the state-run oil company PDVSA. Because Venezuela relies on oil exports for 95% of its revenue, opposition figures have warned that broader sanction targeting the oil industry could further exacerbate the social and economic crisis facing the country.[/quote] Bit of a double edged sword

Yeah, I don't know about this. When the people of Venezuela are already starving, sanctions aren't going to do a damn to help.

[QUOTE=archangel125;52526993]Yeah, I don't know about this. When the people of Venezuela are already starving, sanctions aren't going to do a damn to help.[/QUOTE] Well.. Rebellions tend to be more common during food shortages... Wow, I'm terrible. Immoral and morbid realizations aside, the administration of Venezuela right now is really one the world needs to detest in some way, and sanctioning them, while it does hurt the people, also hurts the regime. I just don't know what else can be done, aside from an intervention, which would probably cause more harm.

I suspect the UN will be sending in observers at some point soon.

[QUOTE=Boilrig;52527118]I suspect the UN will be sending in observers at some point soon.[/QUOTE] it's absurd they haven't already

I'm amazed civil war has yet to break out. Or an armed rebellion.

[QUOTE=archangel125;52526993]Yeah, I don't know about this. When the people of Venezuela are already starving, sanctions aren't going to do a damn to help.[/QUOTE] None of the sanctions will affect the Venezuelan people, they've thus far only sanctioned individuals, like Maduro and all his cronies. The nuclear option would be simply to stop buying Venezuelan oil, because yes, even to this day, the largest buyer of Venezuelan oil is the US, the "Empire" itself.

[QUOTE=Big Bang;52527739]None of the sanctions will affect the Venezuelan people, they've thus far only sanctioned individuals, like Maduro and all his cronies. The nuclear option would be simply to stop buying Venezuelan oil, because yes, even to this day, the largest buyer of Venezuelan oil is the US, the "Empire" itself.[/QUOTE] I doubt that would ever happen. The government in the US would never purposely make the price of gas at the pump rise for the consumers because there would be hell to pay come the elections.

[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;52527876]I doubt that would ever happen. The government in the US would never purposely make the price of gas at the pump rise for the consumers because there would be hell to pay come the elections.[/QUOTE] If we invade, disstablize and destroy numerous democratic countries for U.S interests and the petrodollar then why can't we do the same for Venezuela? A actual dictatorship.

I doubt there's much in it for invading Venezuela besides giving Maduro a much needed scapegoat and probably getting at least some of the angry horde at his feet off his back for a while towards the US. Well at least that's how I would try to run things as Maduro, or just flat out step down and let the people have another election but this time don't rig it or anything then let whoever next gets into power try and deal with it but I have a feeling most leaders don't realise when their solutions stop being solutions & start being problems these days.

[QUOTE=Boilrig;52527118]I suspect the UN will be sending in observers at some point soon.[/QUOTE] And what would the UN do? The treaty that established the UN specifically excludes it from internal politics. And the only real force in the UN is the Security Council, but that's mainly because if the top economic and military powers agree on something they generally can get it done. But a good example is North Korea, even with Security Council resolutions it still does whatever it wants internally. If those in power choose to ignore the other countries then their power becomes limited. So the options become trade sanctions or military force. But for those other countries they are primarily driven by self-interest. Not interest in the welfare of the inhabitants of the country in question. Again, with North Korea it is widely known that North Korean people suffer immensely. Yet the only reason the UN and the other countries are doing what they're doing is because of the threat North Korea is making to those countries. If North Korea abandoned its nuclear program and cut itself completely off from the rest of the would then the UN and the countries that make it up wouldn't care about the suffering if North Korean citizens.

Should I get my hopes up or not?

When have economic sanctions actually achieved anything other than hurting innocent, lower class citizens in foreign countries? Really, I'm genuinely curious, when have sanctions by themselves had a positive influence on the world stage? All they seem to do is just damage foreign relations even further.

[QUOTE=LTJGPliskin;52531268]When have economic sanctions actually achieved anything other than hurting innocent, lower class citizens in foreign countries? Really, I'm genuinely curious, when have sanctions by themselves had a positive influence on the world stage? All they seem to do is just damage foreign relations even further.[/QUOTE] These are sanctions against individuals. They shouldn't actually do anything, because a socialist, anti imperialism paragon like Maduro shouldn't have assets in the US... And yet he does. And so does his entire cabinet, assets in the hundreds of millions of dollars, the Vice President had like 4 houses and a private jet.