We’ll be starting our next segment of Venezuela : Down The Rabbit Hole on Monday but there’s plenty to get to.We still don’t know if Bank of Venezuela has managed to get user services back online after the “attack” a week ago to it’s tech platform. Now the Tuy III water pumping system in Caracas has gone down.As we told you in our Down The Rabbit Hole segment,”Just The Basics”, this is a big deal. Since Caracas sits well above sea level all of it’s water must be pumped uphill and it’s been having problems going back to the big power outage (another “terrorist attack”) in March,2019. So what’s the problem now? You guessed it…another “terrorist attack”. VP Delcy Rodriguez addressed the recent outages at Bank of Venezuela, the Tuy III pumping system, as well as the ongoing power outages and refineries going down. She referred to them all as “attacks” and said “…factors that believe in violence and people’s suffering as a way to obtain power.” Don’t look now but it’s becoming more and more evident and more and more public that the only ones inflicting violence and suffering on the people of Venezuela are the Chavistas. You do have to give them credit for consistency of messaging though. The only thing more common than “terrorist attacks by right-wing oligarchs and imperialists trying to bring down ‘The Revolution’ ” are assassination plots targeting Maduro,again intended to bring down ‘The Revolution’.

 And speaking of attacks, Journalist Roberto Deniz is under constant assault by the Chavista propaganda machine. This time it’s allegations that he has accounts worth millions, an attempt to discredit him. As usual, no proof is offered.

 In a follow up on something from a week or two ago we have another case of someone dying of “black fungus” in Venezuela as reported by the Director of Epidemiology in Merida. Outbreaks of black fungus are rare but can be a big problem as occurred in India.

 Maduro issued his address to the UN General Assembly and there were no surprises including that it was prerecorded and not given in person. After the usual calls for lifting of sanctions etc. Maduro called for “a new world without colonialism … a multi-polar world”. What exactly is a multi-polar world? A good start to a “new world” would be one without Maduro in it.Oh, and he voiced his support for climate change initiatives but didn’t mention that his “Mining Arc” and poorly maintained oil infrastructure are causing widespread environmental devastation.And one more item from Nico was to assure people that there is economic growth (albeit negative) in Venezuela and in keeping with the Chavista “attack” mantra, said “they are using international institutions to justify ‘attacks’ against “the people” (Chavismo). He also said that the Mexico talks seek to return extremist opposition to democracy. Uhhh… OK…I guess that would be the democracy Chavismo has systematically destroyed.

 Let’s talk Coronavirus. The Russian ambassador tells us that with the recent shipment Venezuela has received one million doses of SputnikV vaccine. With two doses required for treatment that covers 500,000 people out of a population of around 27 million. This comes on the heels of VP Delcy Rodriguez informing us that Venezuela received 200,000 Sputnik V vaccine doses but hasn’t received it’s vaccines from COVAX. With their current vaccination rate coming in around 15% it doesn’t look good for reaching their goal of 70% by October (or have they moved it to November?). No worries though, they can always blame the WHO and the COVAX system. And exactly where do all those numbers of Covid cases etc. that they are always throwing around come from? 89% of labs in Venezuela aren’t working and 70% of bioanalysts have resigned. The Chavistas must be happy with their progress though. Maduro announced that he may ease his 7+7 lock down plan (you know, seven days of free movement followed by seven days of lock down) in November and December so economic activity develops. Hey,wait a minute! Didn’t we just report that Venezuela just experienced it’s 35th consecutive quarter of decreased economic activity? Just saying…

 In light of all the recent news about the lack of independent judiciary in Venezuela, Foro Penal reports that with Chavismo’s recent legal reform 67 political prisoners should be released as they have exceeded the limit for “preemptive prison” (three years). Huh? Does that mean what I think it means? Can you be held for three years in prison without a trial? Or a hearing? Or anything? Of course you can.

 We should all keep a positive attitude though. Prensa Latina (Cuba) tells us that “Venezuela’s President ratifies attachment to talks and reconciliation.”

 Then there’s this from Caracas Chronicles…Salva Foods,the packers of CLAP boxes (Maduro’s fraudulent food program) haven’t received any money in two months and that the food they receive as part of their benefits is “poor quality”.

 I almost forgot something on the political prisoner front. DDHH reports that political prisoner Jose Gomez’s health is severely deteriorating. He’s been serving time since 2015 for conspiracy.

 Here’s a little something to think about as we close out another week in ‘dystopia’. It comes to us from The Cipher Brief regarding Latin America. “We need to understand that ignoring the region’s problems will not insulate us from them.”

 Have a great weekend everybody!