Foreign Policy Update – USA Gov Policy

VENEZUELA

With the Covid-19 pandemic capturing much of the world’s attention US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo did not forget the US citizens wrongly held in a Venezuelan prison. This week he pointed out that the Maduro regime finally is acknowledging that COVID-19 cases are appearing in Venezuela. The Secretary then called for the Americans to be released saying “We are extremely concerned about the risk for the five U.S. citizens and one U.S. resident from Citgo who are currently languishing in the notorious Helicoide prison in Caracas. These wrongfully detained men all have weakened immune systems due to cumulative health problems and face a grave health risk if they become infected. Seventeen hearings have been cancelled. They have already spent more than two years in jail without an ounce of evidence being brought against them; it is time to release them on humanitarian grounds.” The brutal Maduro regime continues to hold a number of political prisoners and many other in the country remain unaccounted for since he took over power in April 2013.

IRAN

The State Department this week added five Iranian nuclear scientists to its growing sanctions list for their involvement in Iran’s pre-2004 nuclear weapons program, known as the Amad program. Secretary of state Pompeo said that the group of five “continue to be employed by the regime to this day.” “After work on the Amad plan was stopped, Iran continued to preserve its Amad-era records and its cadre of nuclear weapons scientists, including these individuals, he added.

The Amad Plan started in 1989 with the goal of developing nuclear weapons for the country. Iran in 2015 denied its existence saying it has no program aimed at the development of a nuclear explosive device. In 2018 Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu referred to the Amad Plan saying there were over 100,000 documents smuggled out of Iran by the Mossad that confirmed its existence. The goal, according to the documents, was to produce and test five nuclear warheads, each with a ten kiloton TNT yield for integration on a missile. The five new names continue to bring attention to the need for a full accounting by Iran of its nuclear weapons program.

The way kamagra acts- It cialis no prescription is important to know the mechanism of erection. purchased here buy sildenafil uk It is necessary to develop a cheap iPhone 5 case to carry SIM switcher. But due to depression, sildenafil best price stress, lot of work, anxiety, the chemicals in the body get imbalanced that leads to impotence. However, there cialis 10 mg is no way I can talk to the pharmacist when you buy Kamagra from the drug store.

VIETNAM

Morgan Ortagus, the State Department Spokesperson, said the US is dismayed by the conviction of blogger and Radio Free Asia (RFA) contributor Truong Duy Nhat, and his sentencing to 10 years imprisonment. “The conviction is under vague charges related to fraud allegations dating back nearly 20 years. We remain troubled by Nhat’s sudden disappearance from Bangkok, Thailand on January 25, 2019, the day after he initiated a request to register as a refugee with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and his reappearance in a Vietnamese prison three months later.,” Ortagus added.The State Department called on Vietnam to “immediately release Nhat and all prisoners of conscience and to allow all individuals in Vietnam to express their views freely and assemble peacefully without threat of retribution.” Last year Vietnam ranked 176^th out of 180 countries in the Press Freedom Index—just below Sudan and slightly above China’s ranking. Vietnam is “not free,” according to Freedom House, a US government-funded rights group. At least 30 bloggers and journalists are being held in Vietnamese jails. The communist government employs intimidation tactics to control the free flow of information. Even privately owned news outlets are tightly controlled by the regime. It is believed that the overall number of prisoners in Vietnam has increased by one-third since last year. Many are activists charged under Article 117 of a new 2018 penal code that prohibits “making, storing, disseminating or propagandizing materials and produce that aim to oppose the State…” Journalists who don’t comply are warned, fined, and jailed under horrible conditions.

DARIA NOVAK served in the United States State Department during the Reagan Administration, and currently is on the Board of the American Analysis of News and Media Inc., which publishes usagovpolicy.com and the New York Analysis of Policy and Government. Each Saturday, she presents key updates on U.S. foreign policy from the State Department.

Illustration: Pixabay

Quick Analysis

Russia Expanding Aggression

President Putin is using more than one pathway to enter Europe and undermine the West. While most of the world watches the conflict he initiated in Ukraine, the Russian government is actively pursuing a second front in a little noticed campaign in Cyprus. Although the corrupt Cypriot government ended its issuance of “golden passports” in 2020, Russian intelligence is functioning quietly there to transform this EU country into a Russian beachhead of illicit economic activity aimed at penetrating the capitalist West, according to Paul Goble of the Jamestown Foundation. Cyprus is not a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) nor does it receive as much attention as those countries who are member states. That adds to its allure as a prime location for Russia to attempt to gain a European foothold. Last week a NATO report, cited in the European Daily Monitor, noted that Russian intelligence agents have been plotting to destroy European infrastructure across the continent to disrupt states supporting Ukraine. It further suggests that Putin’s immediate goal is to lay the framework for a future move against the security organization’s members. Hungary, in particular, is another country garnering Moscow’s attention as it opposes the Western response to Russian aggression. Russia is focusing its intelligence efforts on other European, non-NATO member countries in addition to Cyprus, including Austria, Malta, and Ireland. The NATO report suggests that Moscow has had success in disseminating the Russian political narrative in these states to advance its campaign against the West. The island of Cyprus is proving to be a good target for Moscow as it is an ethnically divided island that is part of the EU since 2004. Northern Cyprus, officially called the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a de facto state that is only recognized by Turkey. The division precludes it from joining NATO. As Goble suggests, “it offers Russia troubled waters in which to fish.” Over the last 20 years, he points out, Cyprus’ challenges have opened it to a massive influx of Russian citizens, who now comprise approximately 10 percent of the island state’s population. Over 2,900 residents are Russians who entered until the “golden passport” program that allowed wealthy or well-connected Russians to move to Cyprus. It also provided them with documentation to travel freely throughout Europe! Although less visible on the world’s radar than the war in Ukraine, Moscow is also being helped by Cyprus’ banks opposition to seizing Russian assets and its support in evading Western sanctions. Russia has placed tens of billions of US Dollars there for money laundering. It has been more than two years since a single Russian “diplomat” has been deported and, in fact, the Embassy has grown to over 300 staffers on this tiny island state of only 1.2 million people. The Russian embassy in Nicosia has advanced communications antennae on its roof and opened a consulate on the northern end of the island. Moscow’s Ambassador, Mura Zyazikov, is a lieutenant general in the FSB with no diplomatic experience. The FSB, SVR (Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service), and GRU are actively using the island as a base of operations against NATO Member states, Israel, and other Western allies. Moscow backs pro-Russian political parties who in turn influence Cypriot decisions on education, language, and other issues. “Dmitry Khmelnitsky of the Dossier Center says that its findings should be of concern not only to Cyprus but to the West as a whole. Those who ignore what Moscow is doing because Cyprus does not follow the EU sanctions regime are missing something critical,” says Goble. “Cyprus does not seek to get rid of Russian agents and does not interfere with their work,” Khmelnitsky concludes, “despite the fact that what the Kremlin is doing is so clearly visible.” This has an impact not only on the small island but on the EU, NATO, and the West in general. Earlier this year the Moscow Times reported that when the FBI became more interested in Russian business and oligarchs in Cyprus, at least 10 of the major Russian businesses operating there left. Despite the government of Cyprus’ vow to implement plans for new sanctions against Russia, it continues to ignore Putin’s atrocities in Ukraine and to shield the wealth of the 50,000 wealthy Russian citizens and oligarchs residing there. Daria Novak served in the U.S. State Dept. Illustration: Pixabay