With all the destruction caused by 21st Century Bolivarian Socialism there is one area that is frequently overlooked as the Chavistas lay waste to everything they touch. The Hill had an article “Venezuela Sanctions and Climate Action.” They say that diplomatic efforts and international agencies are focused on the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela and Chavismo’s Human Rights violations.For the most part the massive environmental crisis has been largely ignored,although I’m not sure how that happens these days when we can reach almost manic levels of condemnation over plastic straws. We here at TFT have raised the concern before about the “ecocide” the Maduro regime is committing in the “Mining Arc” area with the mercury poisoning of the rivers etc. The Hill points out that Venezuela is number six in the world in natural gas flaming, the process of burning off natural gas, in the fossil fuels production process. So far nobody seems to have noticed.

 So far this year there have been three natural gas pipeline explosions in Venezuela with equally as many refinery fires resulting in dangerous emissions. Oil spills are so commonplace nobody pays much attention to it. They propose a novel idea which makes a lot of sense. Why not tie sanctions to environmental damage? We are so quick to hit countries with sanctions for any number of other reasons why not hit them with environmentally targeted sanctions? Perhaps the time has come.

 And as long as we’re on the topic of environmental destruction perpetrated by the Chavistas in this land of natural wonders we have this from Reuters. Lake Maracaibo is already threatened by oil pollution from the frequent spills and environmental fallout from the poorly maintained refineries. The people in the area that aren’t involved in the oil industry used to make their living fishing the waters of Lake Maracaibo. That is no longer an option as the lake has been turned black with oil pollution.But that’s not the point of the Reuters article.

 The lake that the Chavistas have turned black with oil spills etc. is now turning green …and not in a good way. The lake is now turning green as it is threatened to be overwhelmed by an environmentally destructive algae due to the area’s now inoperable sewage treatment plants. The Chavistas have killed off the fish, destroyed a way of life for the residents, and now are killing off the flora and fauna of the area and beyond. There seems to be no end to the damage caused by Chavismo.

 Now for a little “scattershot” news coverage as we close out another week in dystopia. A CNE (electoral council) board member reports that they “received around 30 notifications allowing or barring people running for office…no notification about Freddy Superlano.” Another example of how the TSJ way overstepped it’s bounds in it’s disqualification of Freddy’s victory in the Barinas governor’s race.

 And lest we forget, Voice of America reminds us that the CITGO Six have now endured four years of arbitrary detention. Remember those guys? They were lured from abroad, most of them living and working in Houston, for a supposed emergency meeting in Caracas and then arbitrarily arrested as they got off the plane. After a few years in prison on trumped up charges they were allowed house arrest but that respite was short lived. After using house arrest to show that the Maduro regime had adopted a kinder, gentler attitude and should be given due consideration as they attempted to obtain some sanctions relief at the talks in Mexico between themselves and the opposition they abruptly reversed course after the news broke that Maduro’s corrupt financial mastermind,Alex Saab, was being extradited from Cape Verde to the US. In a typical Chavista temper tantrum they withdrew from the Mexico negotiations and also withdrew the house arrest status of the CITGO Six and they are, once again, languishing in prison.

 And in the mixed emotions category we have this from Oilprice.com. They report that Iran has now delivered 4 cargoes of condensate to Venezuela. Depending on who you talk to this is a violation of US sanctions in place on both countries. That said, while I support the sanctions it’s good to know the Venezuelan people may be able to purchase much needed gasoline which has been denied them, in violation of the OPEC charter. Reuters also tells us, “Oil exports in Venezuela for November were 570,000 bpd (barrels per day) …problems with quality causing delays as well as unloading condensate occupies critical infrastructure…” Apparently these guys can’t walk and chew gum at the same time.

 And speaking of oil production,in a separate report, Reuters reports that so far in December oil production in Venezuela is up as the Chavistas scramble to meet Maduro’s production goal of 1 million bpd. Providers to PDVSA (state owned oil company) and other government owned entities are now being paid either in part or in full in dollars to reduce inflation.These payments are generally made through intermediaries.

 Law360 tells us that a Florida judge has OK’d a $188 million award against a Venezuela state-owned mining company to a British Virgin Islands commodities firm. The hits just keep on coming.

 And The Globe and Mail reports “FARC dissident leader killed in Venezuela.” Just another day in the Venezuela border areas…

 And, as if the Venezuela opposition didn’t have enough issues to deal with, Fars News reports that long-time opposition leader Julio Borges is resigning as Foreign Minister for the interim government of Juan Guaido and the 2015 National Assembly. What did I just say? The hit’s just keep on coming.

 And on a closing note regarding the environmental issues caused by Chavismo, Oilprice.com tells us that Venezuela has done nothing to reduce pollution since 2005.

 For this week…”That’s a wrap.” Have a great weekend everybody!!