Facts Refuting Claims of ‘Humanitarian Crisis’ in Venezuela

Western media and states have been citing a “humanitarian crisis” in Venezuela to justify the United State’s claims for humanitarian intervention, despite the fact that the South American nation does not suffer from the levels of violence, hunger, and diseases that war-torn countries face.

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The “humanitarian crisis” is a category of the International Humanitarian Law which refers to crisis born of nature or man-made disasters like war. These crises then get transnational aid from various governments and international organizations.

According to the United Nations, to name a crisis “humanitarian”, millions of people have to be affected by violence, hunger, and diseases without a state being able to effectively control the crisis.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHRC) considers Yemen, Libya, Iraq, Syria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (in all these crises the U.S. played a direct or indirect role) as countries that qualify for the category of “humanitarian crisis”.

The mentioned countries have an increasing food crisis, epidemics, internal displacement, and forced migration, apart from huge human loss. Venezuelans do not face all these issues and whatever issues are there, are much less intensified.

For example, during an interview with the BBC, President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro said the Western media are only interested in showing the 4.4 percent of extreme poverty.

Since 2016, the hypothesis of a “humanitarian crisis” in the country was being propositioned by the Venezuelan National Assembly which is in contempt of court since 2016 because it appointed three disqualified lawmakers due to voting irregularities. 

The Organization of American States (OAS) led by pro-interventionist U.S., Luis Almagro, is also crying “humanitarian crisis” in Venezuela.

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While these organizations and countries are ready to blame President Maduro for this so-called crisis, they are turning a blind eye to the fact that the U.S. sanctions are the main reason for economic problems in the country along with private companies boycotting Venezuelan goods.

Forced displacement is another factor of humanitarian crisis which is being witnessed in Syria, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Myanmar, Somalia, and other war-torn countries. In Latin America, the largest forced displacement has been that of 7.7 million Colombians fleeing their country.

In Venezuela, no such displacement has been reported. Western and mainstream media use migrants to vilify the country but these are not forced displacements.

Currently, about 12,750 of the people who traveled to other countries to improve their economic condition have returned through the Plan Vuelta a la Patria, a program implemented to repatriate Venezuelans victims of labor exploitation, xenophobia, and human trafficking.

The western media, backed by the interventionist interest are denouncing the Venezuelan President for not accepting “humanitarian aid” while totally ignoring multilateral efforts in order to guarantee social stability.

Calling out the fakeness of the humanitarian aid for “hungry” people of Venezuela, the President said to BBC, “It's very simple if you want to help Venezuela, release the billions of dollars in resources that belong to us. So don't come with a cheap show, a show of indignity, of humiliation, where they offer $20m dollars in food that is toxic, and rotten.”