RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.wsj.com/articles/aid-showdown-in-venezuela-11550795476

The fight for democracy in Venezuela has retreated from the front pages, but an important moment arrives Saturday when thousands of Venezuelan exiles will try to deliver food and medical supplies to their suffering compatriots. Dictator Nicolás Maduro may try to block the aid, and his forces may resort to violence.

The help from abroad is welcomed by Juan Guaidó, who has been recognized by more than 50 countries as Venezuela’s legitimate government since the elected parliament recognized him as Interim President under the constitution last month. The U.S. has promised $20 million in assistance and Canada has pledged $40 million, though some of that is for refugees in neighboring countries.

Mr. Maduro won’t let the aid arrive via normal port or airport destinations. So the humanitarian convoys plan to cross into Venezuela at two locations across the Colombian and Brazilian borders, as well as via the island government of Curaçao. The volunteers delivering the supplies are taking great personal risks because no one knows how the Maduro forces will respond if the convoys insist on entering and setting up distribution centers. A surrounding swell of public support could protect them, but not if the military or regime militia start shooting.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13788/make-turkey-great-again

One of Erdoğan’s regional policy priorities, as U.S. troops in neighboring northern Syria prepare to leave, is to prevent Turkey’s south from witnessing the emergence of “a Kurdish belt”.

While the U.S. supports the idea of a buffer zone in northern Syria to keep Kurdish militants and Turkish troops at a safe distance from each other, Erdoğan insists on sole Turkish control over the planned 20-mile-deep strip.

If Turkey, a NATO member, goes ahead with purchasing Russia’s S-400 air and anti-missile defense system, the U.S. Congressional bill requires the departments to include a detailed description of plans for the imposition of sanctions, pursuant to section 231 of the Countering Russian Influence in Europe and Eurasia Act of 2017 (Public Law 115-44).The summer peak of the crisis between Turkey and the United States, two NATO allies in theory, has been replaced by cautious pessimism.

Few Turks today remember the days of massive Turkish protests against President Donald Trump and his administration, often exhibited in childish ways such as groups gathering to burn fake U.S. dollars or smashing iPhones in front of cameras.

This is, however, an extremely fragile tranquility.On February 25, after keeping the position vacant since October 2017, Washington nominated David Satterfield, a career diplomat, as new ambassador to Ankara, an appointment that still needs to be confirmed by the Senate. In Ankara, a complex puzzle awaits Ambassador Satterfield.

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/272952/canada-scandal-involving-pm-trudeau-linked-libya-christine-douglass-williams

Four years ago, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officially leveled corruption and fraud charges against Montreal engineering firm SNC-Lavalin, over alleged criminal acts that occurred while that firm was doing business in Libya. The Globe and Mail broke the biggest scandal since Canada’s Adscam scandal, which cost the Liberals dearly in election year 2006. This latest scandal, also breaking in an election year, has to do with the involvement of Justin Trudeau and the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in the SNC-Lavalin case.SNC-Lavalin operates in a variety of sectors globally, including mining and metallurgy, oil and gas, and the fraud and corruption charges against it include nearly $48 million in payments made to Libyan government officials between 2001 and 2011.The case centers around Liberal MP Jody Wilson-Raybould (JWR), who served as Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada from 2015 until January 2019.

She was then demoted in a cabinet shuffle to the position of Minister of Veterans Affairs, and suddenly resigned several days ago (February 12) following the Globe and Mail report, which alleged that the PMO “attempted to press” her to intervene in the corruption and fraud prosecution of SNC-Lavalin in her role as Attorney General, in order to spare the engineering giant — deemed to be a crown jewel in Quebec — from criminal prosecution. The story also indicated that she “came under heavy pressure.”