Thanks to the 50 advocacy groups that signed this coalition letter calling for no sanctions and no war in Venezuela! It was sent to every Representative and Senator on Tuesday April 2nd, 2019.
Who are we? We are a diverse coalition of national peace, immigrants rights, veterans, faith based and economic justice advocacy groups representing millions of Americans in every district in the country. We believe there is no military solution to the crisis in Venezuela and our best chance at peace is through dialogue, lifting the sanctions, and taking unauthorized war completely off the table.
Please help us spread the this message by doing the following:
- Send the letter to your Representative and two Senators
- Urge your members to sign on to HR1004 and SJRes11 to prohibit unauthorized use of military force in Venezuela
- Share the letter with your local paper and any media contacts that you know
Thank you for helping us create a more just foreign policy.
Sincerely,
Hassan El-Tayyab, Co-Director at Just Foreign Policy
Dear Members of Congress,
We, the undersigned groups, wish to express our grave concern regarding the Trump administration’s dangerous and destructive regime change strategy targeting Venezuela. Broad economic sanctions unilaterally imposed by the administration since August of 2017 have caused great hardship and loss of life for many Venezuelans. The latest round of sanctions announced in January are expected to worsen the current crisis and provoke even greater human suffering throughout the country.
Though many observers have noted that civil war is an increasingly likely prospect, administration officials are vigorously opposing peaceful dialogue between the country’s political actors and have made open threats of military intervention.
We call on you to take a strong, public stand against these immoral, reckless and illegal policies and to support efforts to advance peaceful dialogue, before it is too late.
We urge you to:
• Oppose economic sanctions: Although government mismanagement and the fall in global oil prices are to blame for much of Venezuela’s deep crisis, the Trump administration’s economic sanctions — both the August 2017 financial sanctions and the January 2019 sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry — are resulting in billions of dollars of additional lost foreign exchange necessary for essential imports, according to experts and even administration officials like NSC Advisor John Bolton. In the current context these sanctions will inevitably generate greater human suffering, including many deaths from lack of medicine and other essential imports. Unilateral economic sanctions are illegal under the UN Charter and the OAS charter; and research shows that they are generally ineffective in achieving desired political results.
• Oppose threats of military intervention: President Trump has reportedly argued for military intervention in Venezuela since early 2017, while he and various other administration officials have repeatedly stated that “all options are on the table” for Venezuela. These threats are absolutely unacceptable, particularly regarding a country that poses no threat to the U.S., and are only increasing the immense political polarization in Venezuela. Members of Congress should firmly denounce these threats and make the adoption of the “Prohibiting Unauthorized Military Action in Venezuela Act” a top priority. They should also commit to invoking the 1973 War Powers Resolution in the event that President Trump and his Administration involve the military in any action directed at Venezuela, thereby triggering a debate and vote in Congress to terminate any unauthorized use of force.
• Support dialogue: US administration officials have rejected the possibility of dialogue and, instead, have pushed for immediate regime change in Venezuela, calling for Venezuela’s armed forces to rebel against the Maduro government. Experts have warned that this strategy could result in a split within the country’s military, with a potentially catastrophic violent outcome. Members of Congress should oppose the administration’s dangerous zero-sum strategy and advocate for peaceful dialogue. The Vatican, the UN Secretary General, Mexico and Uruguay have all offered to help mediate dialogue and political negotiations to resolve the current crisis peacefully. Congress should support these efforts.
With the recent appointment of convicted Iran-Contra veteran Elliott Abrams as Special Envoy to Venezuela and the increasingly hawkish rhetoric coming from the White House, your support could not come at a more crucial time. There is no moral, legal, or political justification for the collective punishment of the economic sanctions, which target the Venezuelan population. There is no military solution; Venezuela’s crisis must be solved through dialogue and negotiations. Congress should therefore insist on lifting destructive economic sanctions, and taking unauthorized war off the table.
Sincerely,
Just Foreign Policy
Demand Progress
Peace Action
American Friends Service Committee
Vote Vets
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas – Institute Justice Team
United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries
Global Ministries of the United Church of Christ and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Presbyterian Church (USA)
About Face: Veterans Against War
Alianza Americas
CASA de Maryland
Franciscan Action Network
Maryknoll Office on Global Concerns
Presbyterian Peace Fellowship
National Day Laborers Organizing Network
Chicago Religious Leadership Network
Historians for Peace and Democracy
Center for International Policy – Americas Program
Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) – New Internationalism Project
CODEPINK
Roots Action
Fellowship of Reconciliation
Environmentalists against War
Arise for Social Justice
Just Associates (JASS)
Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA)
Guatemala Human Rights Commission
Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES)
World Beyond War
Vermont Workers’ Center
ONE DC
Out Now
Bay Area Labor Committee for Peace and Justice
Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Social Justice Committee
Traprock Center for Peace and Justice
Brooklyn for Peace
The Resistance Center for Peace and Justice
One Corea Now
Center for the Study of the Americas (CENSA)
Nation Time Judicial Research
Western Massachusetts Code Pink
Peace Action Montgomery
Veterans for Peace, Chapter 23, Rochester, NY
Peace Action New York State
Massachusetts Peace Action
Western Massachusetts Venezuela Solidarity Coalition
New Jersey Peace Action
Action Corps NYC
Task force on the Americas
Global Exchange