New report by US government on sanctions against Venezuela, responsible for "tens of thousands" of deaths

According to a new report, nearly 40,000 people may have died in Venezuela as a result of US sanctions making it more difficult for ordinary citizens to access food, medicine and medical supplies.

The report, published by the Center for Economic and Political Research (CEPR), a progressive think-tank based in Washington, said these deaths occurred after the imposition of sanctions in the summer of 2017. The The situation was probably aggravated since the imposition earlier this year of tougher penalties against Venezuela's vital oil industry, as part of the Trump government's efforts to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro.

"Sanctions deprive Venezuelans of medicines, medical equipment, food and other essentials, saved for life," says report, co-authored by award-winning economist Jeffrey Sachs, based at Columbia University, and Mark Weisbrot. "This is illegal under US and international law and treaties that the US has signed. Congress should act to stop it. "

The authors of the report based their badertions on estimates of excess mortality in the Venezuelan National Survey of Living Conditions, known as Encovi. The annual survey of living conditions is administered by three Venezuelan universities. It has seen a 31% increase in overall mortality from 2017 to 2018, which is more than 40,000 deaths.

Mr. Weisbrot, co-founder of the CEPR, stated L & # 39; Independent the authors could not prove that these excess deaths were the result of sanctions, but said that the increase had been parallel to the imposition of measures and the concomitant decline in oil production, which constitutes for decades one of the pillars of the Venezuelan economy.

"You can not prove a counter-fact," said Weisbrot. "But [the excess deaths do] not another obvious explanation. "

The sanctions of August 2017 prevented the Venezuelan government from borrowing on the US capital markets and preventing it from restructuring its external debt, the report says.

"Following the order of the month of August 2017, oil production has collapsed, recording a fall three times higher than that of the previous twenty months," the statement added. "This would be due to the loss of credit and therefore the ability to cover maintenance and operations and make the new investments needed to maintain production levels. This acceleration in the rate of decline in oil production would imply a loss of $ 6 billion in oil revenues over the next year. "

The report says that since the imposition of new sanctions on the oil industry, the situation has become more difficult for ordinary citizens.

For several decades, the United States has a tense relationship with Venezuela, which is one of the major suppliers of crude oil. This relationship has become increasingly difficult since the election of Donald Trump.

Earlier this year, Trump recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as president of the country and supported him in his quest for a parallel government.

The United States admitted that the sanctions were intended to dislodge Mr. Maduro, who had been sworn in for a second term as President, following last year's elections that did not have been recognized by many Western countries, although considered fair by several independent observers.

Critics of the Venezuelan leader say that he has overseen the collapse of the economy and that more than three million people have fled to escape food shortages and chaos. His government has been accused of becoming more and more autocratic and insisting on political loyalty in exchange for subsidized food and other necessities.

Addressing a rally in Miami in February, Mr Trump urged the highest officials of the Venezuelan army to defect. "Maduro is not a Venezuelan patriot, he's a Cuban puppet," he said.

This is not the first time that we are worried about the humanitarian impact of US sanctions. In January, UN Special Rapporteur Idriss Jazairy said sanctions "can lead to famine and drug shortages are not the solution to the crisis in Venezuela".

"The constraint, whether military or economic, must never be used to demand a change of government in a sovereign state," he said. "The use of sanctions by outside powers to overthrow an elected government is a violation of all norms of international law."

Meanwhile, former special rapporteur Alfred de Zayas, who ended his term at the UN in March, accused the United States of engaging in an "economic war" against Venezuela which, according to he, harms the economy and kills Venezuelans.

Asked to comment on the report's claims that Washington's sanctions killed tens of thousands of people, the US State Department said: "As the authors acknowledge, the report is based on speculation and conjecture. ".

"The economic situation in Venezuela has been deteriorating for decades, as the Venezuelans themselves will confirm, because of Maduro's inefficiency and poor economic management. Nicolas Maduro and his corrupt companions are the only ones responsible for the suffering of the Venezuelan people and the flight of more than 3 million Venezuelans into other countries and countless deaths, "added a spokesman. word.

"Our sanctions have been a response to their corruption, mismanagement and abuse, and are helping to stifle the Maduro regime from the funds it uses to suppress the people of Venezuela."

The report of the CEPR says: "[The US sanctions] would correspond to the definition of collective punishment of the civilian population as described in the international conventions of Geneva and The Hague, to which the United States is a signatory. They are also illegal under international law. "