If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view.
Daily News Brief
August 08, 2019
CFR_Logo@2x.png
Top of the Agenda
Maduro Halts Talks With Venezuelan Opposition
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro canceled plans (LAHT) for a delegation to travel to Barbados for a round of talks with the country’s opposition, criticizing opposition leader Juan Guaido for celebrating sweeping U.S. sanctions.
 
The negotiations, mediated by Norway, have been taking place in Barbados since early last month. On Monday, the United States announced a freeze on all Venezuelan government assets in the country and warned that others would face retaliation for doing business with the regime, measures that it last took in the hemisphere in the 1980s (AP). Caracas said it was open to continuing the talks in the future, while the head negotiator for the opposition tweeted (AP) that Maduro’s administration fears “the possibility of a real political change in the country.”
Analysis
“The real targets of these sanctions are Russia and China, both of which are owed billions by Venezuela. Unable to sell his oil on the world market because of sanctions on the Venezuela state-owned oil company, Maduro is now paying his debts with shipments of oil,” Eli Lake writes for Bloomberg.
 
“The case for a negotiated solution grows stronger by the day, but until the country’s political elites can overcome their fear of one another and resist the pressure from their most polarized constituents, such a solution will remain out of reach,” Ivan Briscoe writes in Foreign Affairs.
 
“Putting the United States in the driver’s seat may well be undercutting the only political solution that has a chance of success,” Michael Shifter of the Inter-American Dialogue writes for the New York Times.

 

Pacific Rim
Chinese Telecom Firms Banned From Supplying U.S. Government
Huawei, ZTE, Hikvision, Dahua, and Hytera will be banned from federal contracts (FT) under an interim rule set to take effect next week. The Trump administration is also expected to issue a final rule to supplant the interim one, which implements a congressional measure concerned with national security.
 
CFR’s Asia Unbound blog looks at the difference between Huawei’s and ZTE’s reach in the United States.
 
China: A senior official for Hong Kong affairs said that Beijing would intervene in the territory (WSJ) if the local government was unable to control the ongoing protests, warning that the central government has “enough methods and enough strength” to end the upheaval.

 

South and Central Asia
Pakistan Downgrades India Relations Over Kashmir
Pakistan announced that it will expel India’s top diplomat in Islamabad (NYT) and end trade with the country after India revoked the autonomous status of the disputed border region of Kashmir. Indian authorities arrested (Reuters) more than three hundred politicians and separatist activists in the region, according to police, local leaders, and media, as part of a lockdown.
 
CFR walks through the dispute over Kashmir’s status.
 
Kyrgyzstan: Supporters of former President Almazbek Atambayev fought off (RFE/RL) special forces aiming to arrest him, killing one security official and temporarily taking six hostage. Atambayev faces charges of corruption in office, which he calls politically motivated.

 

Middle East and North Africa
Turkey and U.S. Announce Plan for Safe Zone in Syria
Ankara and Washington said they will establish (NYT) a corridor in northwestern Syria that will allow Turkey to keep Syrian Kurdish forces from its border and facilitate the return of refugees. The announcement came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened a military incursion against the Kurdish forces, which cooperate with the United States.
 
Yemen: Southern separatists attempted to seize the presidential palace (WSJ) in Aden, signaling a rift in the anti-Houthi coalition. In a videotaped statement, Yemen’s interior minister called the attempt “a declaration of war against the legitimate government.”

 

Sub-Saharan Africa
Son of Congo President Accused of Embezzlement
The nonprofit Global Witness found that the son of Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou-Nguesso appears to have smuggled more than $50 million in public funds through jurisdictions that protect financial secrecy into shell companies. As president, Sassou-Nguesso has said fighting corruption (DW) is a priority.
 
DRC: People crossing the border between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo for nonessential reasons will need to obtain clearance from both governments (AP). The new measure is meant to prevent the spread of Ebola.

 

Europe
German Production Falls Amid Global Trade Tensions
Industrial production in the country saw its largest annual decline in nine years (Guardian), according to government data, with analysts citing a drop in sales of machine parts and cars to China amid falling currency values in Asia.

 

Americas
Brazilian Pension Reform Clears Congressional Hurdle
A bill that aims to save $230 billion over the next ten years by cutting Brazil’s pension obligations has cleared a final vote (FT) in the lower house of the National Congress. Many international businesses have delayed investments in Brazil until the pension overhaul, whose approval by the Senate is expected.

 

United States
Puerto Rico Swears In Governor After Court Ousts Predecessor
The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico swore in (NYT) former Justice Secretary Wanda Vazquez as governor after ruling that Pedro Pierluisi’s appointment to the post was unconstitutional. Pierluisi, who previously represented the territory in Congress, had been named governor by Ricardo Rossello, who resigned the office last week amid protests.
 
In Foreign Affairs, Antonio Weiss and Brad Setser trace a path to ending Puerto Rico’s perpetual crisis
 
The Office of Management and Budget ordered a freeze (NYT) on up to $4 billion in foreign aid. The freeze applies to funds for development, global health, international organizations, international narcotics control, and peacekeeping allocated in the 2018 and 2019 fiscal years.

 

Global
Report Details Food Insecurity Under Climate Change
A new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts food yield declines, increased prices, reduced nutrient quality, and supply chain disruptions as a consequence of global warming. One of its authors warned of simultaneous food crises on several continents (NYT). The report said that reevaluation of global land use and agricultural policy, as well as consumer behavior, could mitigate the harms.
 
Council on Foreign Relations
58 East 68th Street - New York, NY 10065

.

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp