How are US sanctions affecting life in Venezuela?

On Tuesday June 13 at 19:30 GMT:
For more than 15 years, the United States has been imposing a wide variety of economic sanctions against Venezuela, claiming that the South American country has helped drug trafficking, sponsored terrorism and human rights abuses. In 2017, the then President of the United States, Donald Trump, intensified these sanctions with the aim of expel The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, adding that a “possible military option” was on the table. But US efforts to dismantle Venezuela’s elected government fell short, and civilians have borne the ill effects of US sanctions.

according to a report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research, sanctions caused more than 40,000 deaths between 2017 and 2018. They also increased disease and worsened mortality, forced millions of people to leave the country, and are a major factor in an economic collapse that has left people struggling to find food and medicine.

In this episode of The Stream, we’ll look at the impact of sanctions on Venezuelans and ask whether they are an effective foreign policy tool or simply collective punishment.

Joining us on this episode of The Stream:
Francis Rodriguez, @frrodriguezc
Economist and Professor, University of Denver
franciscorodriguez.net

Mark Weisbrot, @MarkWeisbrot
Co-director, Center for Economic Policy and Research
markweisbrot.com