The Group of 78 has endorsed an open letter from 113 economists—including Jeffrey Sachis, James Galbraith, and Sakiko Fukuda-Parr—calling on the US and other governments to immediately lift economic sanctions on Venezuela to permit greater flows of humanitarian assistance in the wake of the recent disastrous earthquakes in that country.
“The emergency is human before it is political,” the authors write. “Rescue, shelter, hospitals, water, power, transport, food and medicines cannot wait for diplomatic bargaining, creditor committees, or sanctions paperwork. Every hour of delay transforms a natural disaster into an avoidable social catastrophe. We therefore urge immediate action to unfetter Venezuela’s humanitarian response and reconstruction from ongoing economic and financial sanctions, asset freezes, and onerous debt burdens.”
You can read the full letter by downloading the file below.