美国发布了年度人权报告，对委内瑞拉涉嫌虐待的行为进行了批评，该行为受到联合国一天前对美国的严格制裁。
国务院周三发布了《 2019年人权实践国家报告》，详细介绍了全球各国的记录，尤其着重于对敌对政府的批评。在委内瑞拉，美国拒绝了总统尼古拉斯·马杜罗（NicolásMaduro）长达一年以上，而是支持了反对派控制的国民议会领导人胡安·瓜伊多（JuanGuaidó）。此外，唐纳德·特朗普总统的政府还指控执政的社会主义政府非法镇压瓜伊多的权力。
国务院报告说：“前总统马杜罗在数百名古巴安全部队成员的支持下，拒绝放弃对国家权力工具的控制，阻止临时总统瓜伊多在国内行使权力。”
该文件继续指责委内瑞拉政府任意逮捕和法外处决，并“对不利的新闻媒体主张采取法律程序，经济制裁和行政行动”。周二，联合国人权事务高级专员米歇尔·巴切莱特（Michelle Bachelet）也谴责了马杜罗（Maduro）政府的一些政治做法，但她的目标是华盛顿实施的制裁。
巴切莱特说：“在经济和社会权利方面，新经济制裁的实施令人担忧，特别是那些影响到康维亚萨航空公司的制裁以及对石油行业的制裁，这些制裁减少了政府用于社会支出的资源。” “尽管允许进口药品，食品和人道主义用品，公共服务和普通民众的例外情况，仍然继续受到金融部门过度遵守规定的影响。”
委内瑞拉的石油经济在马杜罗（Maduro）的前任联合社会党创始人雨果·查韦斯（HugoChávez）于2013年去世之前就达到了顶峰。此后，该国的国内生产总值（GDP）大幅下降，在2017年又一次急剧下滑之前开始短暂反弹。去年，特朗普上任，并针对拉丁美洲国家的石油工业推出了新的制裁措施。
这些限制已经广泛扩大，接近委内瑞拉的亲密盟友古巴在七十年前的共产主义革命之后实行的禁运。像古巴一样，委内瑞拉也越来越靠近俄罗斯，俄罗斯举行了联合军事演习，并保证继续进行军事技术合作，以及其他无视美国政策的援助。中国和伊朗也保证提供帮助。
随着国际社会的分裂，瓜伊多未能获得必要的支持以使现任总统就职。然而，抗议活动在大街上持续不断，安全部队成员与反对派支持者之间的冲突仍在继续。自去年一月以来，欧洲和美洲大部分地区都与美国一道撤销对马杜罗的承认，马杜罗的反对者指责政府欺诈和腐败。同时，全球的左翼国家和其他主要大国，例如土耳其和南非，都留在了委内瑞拉政府。
示威活动也在华盛顿发生，最近针对特朗普的委内瑞拉特使埃利奥特·艾布拉姆斯（Elliott Abrams）。这位高级外交官在帮助美国政府应对拉丁美洲的左翼政府方面有着悠久的历史，而艾布拉姆斯的纪录在周二发布的视频中遭到抗议者的抨击，抗议者打断了他代表亚历山大·汉密尔顿学会的讲话。
委内瑞拉政府和反对派试图通过外交手段解决分歧，但在挪威和巴巴多斯举行的会谈破裂了。马杜罗（Maduro）扬言要以煽动动荡的罪名逮捕盖伊多（Guaidó），并拘留了他内心圈子的一些成员。特朗普政府威胁要报复反对派领导人是否被捕。
当天，马杜罗（Maduro）指责他的竞争对手在电视讲话中试图将这种疾病政治化。总统说：“在委内瑞拉，我们已经开始了一段紧张的预防期，包括对我国的保护和预防，以面对冠状病毒。”瓜伊多上个月进行了国际巡回访问，其中包括在华盛顿与特朗普会晤后返回加拉加斯。自从他返回以来的首次重大集会中，他周二告诉支持者，他将解决全球冠状病毒大流行的问题。委内瑞拉尚未登记任何确诊病例。
他补充说，第二天该国将尽管“最有害的帝国迫害和封锁”仍将努力保护医疗保健。
世界各国，包括拉丁美洲的一些国家，已经记录了超过120,000例冠状病毒病例，其中约有一半患病康复，有4300多人死亡。在周三关于发布《 2019年人权实践国家报告》的新闻发布会上，国务院民主，人权和劳工局助理秘书长罗伯特·德斯特罗（Robert Destro）表示，特朗普政府“将竭尽全力并提供帮助。甚至与伊朗和朝鲜等受制裁的国家抗击该病毒。
The United States has released an annual human rights report that criticizes alleged abuses in Venezuela, which is subject to strict U.S. sanctions criticized by the United Nations a day earlier.
The State Department published the 2019 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices on Wednesday, detailing the records of nations across the globe and especially focusing on criticisms of adversarial governments. In Venezuela, the U.S. has disavowed President Nicolás Maduro for over a year and has instead backed Juan Guaidó, leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly. In addition, President Donald Trump's administration has accused the ruling socialist administration of illegally suppressing Guaidó's authority.
"Former president Maduro, with the backing of hundreds of Cuban security force members, refused to cede control over the instruments of state power, preventing interim president Guaidó from exercising authority within the country," the State Department report reads.
The document goes on to accuse the Venezuelan government of conducting arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial killings, and of holding "a preference for using legal proceedings, financial sanctions, and administrative actions against unfavorable news outlets." On Tuesday, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet also condemned a number of the Maduro administration's political practices, but she targeted sanctions imposed by Washington.
"With regard to economic and social rights, the imposition of new economic sanctions is concerning, notably those affecting airline Conviasa, as well as sanctions on the oil industry, which reduce the government's resources for social spending," Bachelet said. "Despite exceptions to allow imports of medicines, food and humanitarian supplies, public services and the general population continue to suffer from the impact of over-compliance from the financial sector."
Venezuela's oil-bound economy peaked just before Maduro's predecessor, United Socialist Party founder Hugo Chávez, died in office in 2013. Since then, the country's gross domestic product has substantially declined, briefly rebounding before the beginning of another sharp downward spiral in 2017, the year Trump assumed office and rolled out new sanctions aimed at the Latin American country's petroleum industry.
These restrictions have been widely expanded, approaching the kind of embargo imposed on Venezuela's close ally Cuba after its communist revolution seven decades ago. Like Cuba, Venezuela has grown closer to Russia, which has held joint military drills and pledged continued military-technical cooperation, along with other assistance in defiance of U.S. policy. China and Iran have also pledged their help.
With the international community divided, Guaidó has failed to attain the necessary support to unseat the sitting president. Protests persist on the streets, however, and clashes continue between members of the security forces and supporters of the opposition.The U.S. has been joined since last January by most of Europe and the Americas in withdrawing recognition of Maduro, whose opponents have accused the government of fraud and corruption. At the same time, leftist states across the globe and other major powers, such as Turkey and South Africa, have stuck with Venezuelan government.
Demonstrations have occurred in Washington as well, recently targeting Trump's special envoy for Venezuela, Elliott Abrams. The senior diplomat has a long history of helping U.S. administrations tackle left-wing governments in Latin America, and Abrams' record was attacked in a video posted Tuesday by protesters interrupting an event he was speaking at on behalf of the Alexander Hamilton Society.
Venezuela's government and opposition have attempted to resolve their differences diplomatically, but talks held in Norway and Barbados have unraveled. Maduro has threatened to have Guaidó arrested for inciting unrest and has detained a number of his inner circle's members. The Trump administration has threatened to retaliate if the opposition leader is captured.
That same day, Maduro accused his rival of trying to politicize the disease during a televised address. "In Venezuela, we have begun an intense period of prevention, of the protection of our country and of prevention in order to face the coronavirus," the president said.Guaidó returned to Caracas last month after an international tour that included a meeting with Trump in Washington. In his first major rally since returning, he told supporters Tuesday he would address the global coronavirus pandemic. Venezuela has yet to register any confirmed cases.
He added the following day that the country would strive to protect health care in spite of "the most perverse imperial persecution and blockade."
Countries around the world, including some in Latin America, have registered more than 120,000 coronavirus cases, with about half of those afflicted recovering and more than 4,300 dying. During Wednesday's press conference regarding the release of the 2019 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, the State Department's assistant secretary for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Robert Destro, said the Trump administration "will try to be useful and to provide assistance" in battling the virus, even to sanctioned countries like Iran and North Korea.
