As expected, the international community was falling all over itself with praise for the “agreement” reached between the Maduro regime and the Venezuelan opposition and the subsequent easing of sanctions (partially) on Venezuelan oil. What a bunch of lemmings! First up we have a press release from the UN (United Nations). The Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, affirmed the agreement between the Venezuela government and the opposition’s Unitary Platform is “an important milestone”.

 We’ve seen this movie before, five times in fact (But of course everyone believes “this time will be different” and, as we know, it’s never different) and it always ends badly for the Venezuelan people. The international community will be applauding the “normalization” of relations with the Maduro regime (Is “normalization” the same as acceptance of the regime’s Human Rights violations and possible crimes against humanity?) and there may be some short term easing of the suffering (I hate to be the bearer of bad news but the proposed agreed upon fund, to be managed by the UN, is only $3 billion in unfrozen assets and these days $3 billion just isn’t all that much…do the math…with over 1/2 the population of Venezuela in need of humanitarian assistance that comes out to about 13 million people or about $230 per person…and that’s under the best of circumstances)

 How long will it be before the Chavistas try to get their hands on some of that money? They are, after all, the most corrupt government on the planet. It’s hard to believe they will let $3 billion flow into Venezuela for the aid of the Venezuelan people without grabbing “their cut”.

 If not that then how long before Maduro tires of the money being funneled through NGOs then to the aid of the Venezuelan people thus bypassing the Chavistas and making them look bad? (Remember, the Maduro regime has had it’s fraudulent CLAP government food program in place for years and it has done nothing to help the people) In that case they might just shut the whole thing down on some manufactured slight or pretext. They’ve done it before and they’ll do it again. It’s only a matter of time.

 Then we have People’s World, taking their place with the other lemmings marching toward the sea, telling us that in Britain, the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign (A leftist/Marxist organization) national secretary, Francisco Dominguez, said of the proposed fund to be managed by the UN, “Venezuela is rescuing $3 billion that belongs to the nation…will be devoted to improve health provision, education, and electricity generation.” He hailed the social agreement as “Another victory for Bolivarian Venezuela and for Nicolas Maduro…with a desire for peace that puts the welfare of it’s people at the center of government action.”

 Aside from the fact that this guy really needs to “do the math”I previously referenced, would you consider Maduro’s security forces committing 1,400 extrajudicial executions a year a desire for peace? And how does a 95% poverty rate put the welfare of the people at the center of government action?

 Then we have Merco Press telling us that Nicolas Maduro is calling on his fellow leftist leaders in Latin America to “…agree on the construction of a common economic space (Like the EU?) and a common monetary system.” Is he suggesting a collaborative effort on something like the Euro? (or maybe something like his totally fraudulent cryptocurrency, “El Petro”?)

 And then he went on … “…to put an end to the neoliberal model  and give the rights of education, health, work, and food to our peoples.” Why is it that Maduro constantly calls for “the people” to be provided everything he and his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, destroyed in Venezuela with 21st Century Bolivarian Socialism?

 And we have La Prensa Latina reporting that the ELN guerilla group and the Colombia government met in Caracas to restart the dialog process suspended in 2018. International observers were present and Venezuela is acting as guarantor of the talks.

 ELN can trace it’s origin back to 1964, inspired by the Cuban revolution. Our research has been unable to discover exactly what the Marxist rebel group is demanding of the Colombia government.

 ELN has staged attacks in Colombia for years (decades?) and then retreated to bases in Venezuela (Allowed by the Chavistas and at the same time denied although the evidence implicating Chavismo’s complicity is overwhelming). Statements from each side as well as a joint statement were long on platitudes and short on substance. Like the UN, we can expect more meetings…to announce more meetings…

 Then we have Mehr News telling us that the Managing Director of Iran’s Power Plant Repairs Company announced readiness to carry out power plant repairs in Venezuela. A “memorandum of understanding” (MOU) has been signed in this regard.

 As we recently stated, the Chavista’s 21st Century Bolivarian Socialism has destroyed basically every aspect of life in Venezuela including agriculture, oil and gas production, manufacturing and industrial production (including the auto industry), the technology and pharmaceutical sectors, education, healthcare, access to fresh water, the electric power grid,…you name it.

 Now, if you believe all these MOUs and “historic, strategic agreements”, twenty of which were signed in one fell swoop, (We here at TFT, being believers in “doing the math” and “connecting the dots” don’t buy any of it.) Iran is going to fix it all for the inept, corrupt, incompetent, and criminal Maduro regime. Aside from the fact that neither Iran nor Venezuela has the trillion dollars, give or take a few billion, to accomplish this…then what? Do the Iranians fix everything then turn it over to the guys that destroyed it all in the first place?

 Then we have WFP telling us that Executive Director of the UN World Food Program, David Beasley, said they will expand the school meals program in Venezuela to reach more than one million children. They will need to raise $190 million to reach their goal.

 And we have ILNA telling us that the head of Iran’s Trade Development Organization, Zahra Abin, says that Iran will export more than 100,000 cars to Venezuela in the next five years and that 1,000 vehicles have already been shipped. (For context, major auto manufacturers like GM, Ford, Toyota, and others used to produce over 200,000 cars a year in Venezuela before the Chavistas destroyed the auto industry.) She also predicted that trade will reach $2 billion between the two countries by the end of the current Persian Calendar year. That would be in March in case you’re not familiar with the Persian Calendar.

 Then we have Lloyd’s List reporting that recent tanker sales are dominated by “undisclosed” buyers and over half of all tanker sales are estimated to have been purchased for trading Iranian, Russian, or Venezuelan cargoes.

 And we have Mehr News reporting that Venezuela’s main tour operator, Venezolana de Turismo, plans to open offices in several countries including Iran. La Prensa Latina news agency described Maduro’s tourism initiative as “mega-diverse, inclusive, peaceful, and open”. Sounds like the perfect destination for all “woke” authoritarians and Human Rights abusers.

 Then we have SANA telling us that a Syrian governor met with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Can’t we just say “the Venezuela Ambassador?) to discuss joint economic and investment cooperation. (MOU or “historic, strategic agreement” anyone?) Which country is more of an economic disaster?

 And we have OilPrice.com telling us not to expect a big uptick in Venezuelan oil production any time soon. Even with the Biden administration’s easing of sanctions, according to Chevron CEO, Mike Wirth,” it will take months and years in order to begin to maintain and refurbish fields and equipment and change any investment activity”…Sound familiar?

 More tomorrow….