Venezuela: Juan Guaidó Signs Deal with Maduro Regime, W.H.O. Subsidiary

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido gestures during a rally in the framework of a dem
CRISTIAN HERNANDEZ/AFP via Getty Images
Ben Kew

Venezuela’s rightful president Juan Guaidó announced an agreement with Nicolás Maduro’s socialist regime and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO, a subsidiary of the World Health Organization) on Tuesday to seek assistance in dealing with the Chinese coronavirus pandemic.

The agreement, signed Monday in Caracas, will establish the necessary “priorities” for dealing with the pandemic, including the rapid detection of cases, epidemiological surveillance, and the effective treatment of those infected.

“Both parties propose to work in coordination, in coordination and with the support of PAHO, in the search for financial resources that contribute to strengthening the country’s response capacities in the face of the new coronavirus,” the Maduro regime’s Communication Minister Jorge Rodríguez said in a state television address on Tuesday.

“The coronavirus does not respect or discriminate against gender, orientation, or political party,” he continued. “So this is good news, a good start so that we can deepen our work together to combat the coronavirus.”

Guaidó confirmed on Twitter that after “months of fighting and insistence, we have finally convinced the PAHO to provide the necessary donation to the National Assembly to handle the pandemic in Venezuela.”

“Our politics is based on saving lives, in dealing with the emergency, and ending this dictatorship,” he added. Neither side has confirmed the estimated amount required for the plan and has not reported under what conditions the resources would be distributed.

In a statement, Guaidó’s team assured that the agreement allows money to put emergency funds “into the hands of international organizations” and not the socialist regime. They added that the donation had been “approved” by the country’s National Assembly, the country’s last legitimate lawmaking body.

This fact does not appear in the document released by Rodríguez, who accused the opposition leader of trying to “politicize something that does not have to be politicized.”

Despite its alleged commitment to removing the Maduro regime from power, mainly through the imposition of crippling economic sanctions, Washington celebrated the “coordinated association” agreement between the two sides.

“It is an important step, but only a democratic transition will save Venezuela from catastrophe,” the U.S. Embassy said in a statement.

The agreement raises further questions about the veracity of Venezuela’s official coronavirus figures. Health authorities claim that just 1,819 people have contracted the disease, leading to 18 fatalities. The country’s decrepit “universal” healthcare system and the vulnerability of its poverty-stricken population arouse suspicion regarding the numbers.

The PAHO has previously faced accusations of enabling slave labor in relation to Cuba’s slave doctor system, in which the Castro regime forces doctors to work abroad while taking a large percentage of their pay. In 2012, the PAHO was a signatory to a deal signed by Brazil’s socialist leadership and Cuba’s regime to introduce a program known as “Mais Médicos” (More Doctors) and received a payment from the Brazilian government as a result.

The deal signed this week underlines Guaido’s rapidly dwindling authority as Venezuela’s legitimate yet effectively powerless president, which has led him to repeatedly try to enter negotiations with the Maduro regime in return for supposed concessions. After several rounds of discussions, Guaidó conceded that he had given up negotiating with such a “deadly dictatorship.” A nationwide survey taken at the time found that 87.6 percent of Venezuelans opposed any form of dialogue with Maduro.

Follow Ben Kew on Facebook, Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart.com.

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.