ISSUE BRIEF
No. 4569 | May 26, 2016
Alleviating the Humanitarian Crisis in Venezuela
Ana Rosa Quintana
I
n recent months, the already dire situation in Venezuela has worsened. Socialist economic policies
have led to food shortages, electricity blackouts, and
runaway inflation. Criminal elements have taken
over the government and imprisoned democratic
opposition figures. All the while, a citizen security
crisis has caused the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, to
become the world’s deadliest city.
Recent polls show that support for President
Nicolas Maduro has reached record lows, with
only 20 percent of Venezuelans approving of their
leadership.1 Maduro has responded to the National Assembly’s attempts to oust him by declaring
a 60-day state of emergency. With the exception
of the new Secretary General of the Organization
of American States (OAS), regional leaders have
remained silent.
While strained relations between Washington
and Caracas limit bilateral cooperation, policymakers have options. A multilateral response, particularly through the OAS, should be pursued.
What happens in Venezuela matters to the U.S.
Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves
and is a source country for U.S. energy. It is also a major
transit source for U.S.-bound drugs and home to an
aggressively anti-American regime.2 Yet Washington
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appears reluctant to move beyond targeted sanctions.
Containing and alleviating the Venezuelan crisis will
require decisive U.S. action.
Understanding the Complexity of
Venezuela’s Crisis
The recent collapse of global oil prices, coupled
with socialist economic policies, has brought Venezuela’s already floundering economy to its knees.
The International Monetary Fund estimates that
the Venezuelan economy contracted 10 percent last
year, with runaway inflation hitting 275 percent.3 It
is estimated that inflation will leap to 720 percent
this year and 2,200 percent in 2017.4 If Venezuela’s
budget is to be balanced, oil needs to be upwards
of $200 per barrel.5 At this point, an economic collapse appears unavoidable, and the ruling United
Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) appears to be
both unwilling and unable to implement the necessary economic reforms. For the time being, generous loans from China have forestalled a looming
default.
At present, there appears to be no governing
alternative to Maduro and the PSUV. While the
democratic opposition recently achieved majority
control of the National Assembly, they have been
unable to act on that mandate. Their lack of consensus, coupled with totalitarian control of the government, leaves them with few options. The number of political prisoners in Venezuela has risen to
levels higher than Cuba’s: Over 70 are incarcerated,
including opposition leaders and former government officials.
Complicating the situation are growing revelations about President Maduro and the PSUV’s direct

ISSUE BRIEF | NO. 4569
May 26, 2016
role in narcotics trafficking. Already, former Venezuelan cabinet levels officials have been sanctioned
by the U.S. Department of the Treasury under the
Drug Kingpin Act. Recently, Maduro’s stepsons
were indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice on
charges of conspiring to transport 800 kilograms
of cocaine to the U.S.6 At the same time, U.S. prosecutors are investigating former National Assembly
President Diosdado Cabello, arguably the second
most powerful person in Venezuela. It is believed by
many in the U.S. Department of Justice he is leading
a massive drug trade operation that involves military and other high-ranking officials.7
Bearing the brunt of this crisis are the Venezuelan
people. Venezuela’s capital city is ranked the most
violent city in the world, with the highest global homicide rate.8 Overall, Venezuela ended 2015 with a homicide rate of 90 per 100,000, surpassing the traditionally deadly rates in Honduras and inching toward the
highest in El Salvador. Countrywide kidnapping rates
are higher than in Afghanistan, Colombia, Iraq, Libya,
Syria, or Yemen. Chronic shortages of food, medicine,
and medical supplies, coupled with frequent electricity blackouts, have caused an unmanageable health
catastrophe. Venezuela is believed to have over half a
million cases of the Zika virus (second only to Brazil)
but lacks the resources to contain it effectively.9
Action by the U.S. and Regional
Stakeholders Is Vital
During the anti-government uprisings in 2014,
many wondered whether the end of Maduro’s rule
was near. Two years later, the question is not when
but under what state of affairs Venezuela will collapse. To date, the U.S. has responded by implementing targeted sanctions against human rights violators. While sanctions can be useful in addressing the
Venezuelan government’s criminality, however, they
are not an adequate response to the humanitarian
crisis. U.S. policymakers therefore should:
■■
■■
Send a clear message of support to Venezuela’s
democratic opposition. In order to deal with the
Venezuelan crisis effectively, American and other
hemispheric leaders must act to restore Venezuela’s democratic institutions. The Venezuelan government’s deep-seeded corruption and criminality
threaten both hemispheric stability and America’s
national interests. America should continue to call
for the release of Venezuela’s political prisoners.
Work with the Organization of American States to build consensus on a regional
response. Considering the regionally destabilizing impact of Venezuela’s crisis, a multilateral
1.
“Venezuelans’ Approval of Leadership Remains at Record Low,” Gallup, May 20, 2016, http://www.gallup.com/poll/191663/venezuelansapproval-leadership-remains-record-low.aspx?g_source=COUNTRY_VEN&g_medium=topic&g_campaign=tiles (accessed May 22, 2016).
2.
Nicolas D. Loris, Luke Coffey, Ted R. Bromund, James Phillips, Dean Cheng, Ana Quintana, Lisa Curtis, and William T. Wilson, “The Economic
and Geopolitical Benefits of Free Trade in Energy Resources,” Heritage Foundation Backgrounder No. 3072, October 9, 2015,
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2015/10/the-economic-and-geopolitical-benefits-of-free-trade-in-energy-resources.
3.
David Biller, “IMF Sees Venezuela Inflation Rocketing to 720 Percent in 2016,” Bloomberg, January 22, 2016, http://www.bloomberg.com/
news/articles/2016-01-22/imf-sees-venezuela-inflation-rocketing-to-720-percent-in-2016 (accessed May 18, 2016).
4.
Amanda Mars, “IMF Sees Inflation in Venezuela Soaring to 2,200% by 2017,” El Pais, April, 13, 2016,
http://elpais.com/elpais/2016/04/13/inenglish/1460550468_366568.html (accessed may 18, 2016).
5.
Ben Moshinsky, “Venezuela Needs Oil Close to $200 a Barrel to Balance Its Budget,” Business Insider, February 18, 2016, http://www.
businessinsider.com/deutsche-bank-report-on-commodities-says-venezuela-needs-200-oil-to-balance-its-budget-2016-2?r=UK&IR=T
(accessed May 18, 2016).
6.
Jose De Cordoba, “U.S. Arrests Two Relatives of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Drug-Trafficking Charges,” The Wall Street Journal,
November 11, 2015, http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-says-it-arrests-two-relatives-of-venezuelan-president-nicolas-maduro-on-drugtrafficking-charges-1447276449 (accessed May 20, 2016).
7.
Jose De Cordoba and Juan Forero, “Venezuelan Officials Suspected of Turning Country into Global Cocaine Hub,” The Wall Street Journal,
March 18, 2015, http://www.wsj.com/articles/venezuelan-officials-suspected-of-turning-country-into-global-cocaine-hub-1431977784
(accessed May 20, 2016).
8.
Mimi Yagoub, “Caracas World’s Most Violent City: Report,” Insight Crime, January 27, 2016, http://www.insightcrime.org/news-briefs/
caracas-most-violent-city-in-the-world-2015-report, (accessed May 20, 2016).
9.
Joshua Partlow, “Venezuela Faces ‘Worst-case Scenario’ as Zika Outbreak Expands,” The Washington Post, February 15, 2016, https://www.
washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/venezuela-faces-worst-case-scenario-as-zika-outbreak-expands/2016/02/13/e59f7f2c-cc6b11e5-b9ab-26591104bb19_story.html (accessed May 20, 2016).
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May 26, 2016
response is necessary. America should empower
the new OAS leadership to convene a hearing of the
Permanent Council, notwithstanding Venezuela’s
objections. According to Articles 19 and 20 of the
Inter-American Democratic Charter, which binds
all 34 permanent members of the OAS, the OAS
Secretary General or any other member state can
convene a Permanent Council meeting to evaluate
whether there is an “unconstitutional alteration of
the constitutional regime [in a member state] that
seriously impairs the democratic order in [that]
member state.”10 Given President Maduro’s egregious violations of human rights and democratic
institutions, application of the Inter-American
Democratic Charter could well be warranted.
■■
Urge the Pan American Health Organization
(PAHO) and regional stakeholders to address
Venezuela’s health crisis. According to Venezuela’s Ministry of Health, “75% of the medicines
considered ‘essential’ by the World Health Organization are not available in Venezuela.”11 These
chronic shortages are occurring in the midst
of a regional Zika virus epidemic. Shortages of
foodstuffs and other basic goods are expected
to worsen, and a further collapse of Venezuela’s
health system will affect neighboring countries
Colombia, Guyana, and Aruba. Using reappropriated funds left over from the Ebola crisis, the U.S.
should work with regional partners and international organizations like PAHO.
Conclusion
U.S. policymakers must respond to the deteriorating situation in Venezuela. Moreover, regional
leaders and stakeholders must encourage Caracas
to respond effectively to the humanitarian crisis as
well. By remaining on the sidelines, their silence and
inaction amount to a tacit endorsement of President
Maduro’s government.
—Ana Rosa Quintana is Policy Analyst for Latin
America and the Western Hemisphere in the Douglas
and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy, of the
Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for
National Security and Foreign Policy, at The Heritage
Foundation.
10. Organization of American States, Inter-American Democratic Charter, September 11, 2001,
http://www.oas.org/charter/docs/resolution1_en_p4.htm (accessed May 25, 2016).
11. DPA, “Venezuela se queda sin medicamentos esenciales,” La Vanguardia, January 27, 2016, http://www.lavanguardia.com/
internacional/20160127/301697711498/venezuela-escasez-medicamentos-deterioro-sanidad.html (accessed May 20, 2016).
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