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By Matthew Russell Lee, CJR Letter PFT Q&A

UNITED NATIONS GATE, January 5 – US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for New Years was in Brazil for the inauguration of Jair Bolsonaro. While there, he met Peru's foreign minster and his Deputy Spokesperson Robert Palladino issued this read out: "Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo met today with Peruvian Foreign Minister Néstor Popolizio Bardales in Brasilia, Brazil.  The two leaders discussed ongoing U.S.-Peru cooperation on counter-narcotics and the importance of implementing a comprehensive approach to counter-narcotics efforts.  Secretary Pompeo thanked Foreign Minister Popolizio for his leadership in tackling corruption and promoting transparency and good governance for investment in the region.  He also applauded Peru’s efforts in accommodating more than 600,000 Venezuelan refugees and migrants who have fled the worsening economic and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela.  Secretary Pompeo and Foreign Minister Popolizio discussed the need to increase pressure on the Maduro regime to return democracy and prosperity to the Venezuelan people." Now on January 5, Palladino has issued this: "Today the United States celebrates the swearing-in of the new Executive Board of Venezuela’s National Assembly led by Deputy Juan Guaidó as its President.  Chargé d’Affaires James Story attended this important event.  The National Assembly is the only legitimate and last remaining democratically elected institution that truly represents the will of the Venezuelan people.  This democratic transition is a powerful confirmation of the National Assembly’s unity and commitment to the Venezuelan people above all personal and political concerns.  The National Assembly should inspire hope in the Venezuelan people for a peaceful, prosperous, and democratic future, even as the corrupt and authoritarian Maduro regime and its allies seek to deny Venezuelans that right.  The United States stands with the National Assembly and all democratic actors in Venezuela in their commitment to defend democracy, human rights, and the 1999 Constitution.  We join their call for a democratic solution that returns Venezuela to democracy, stability, and prosperity.  We thank all those nations that have stepped forward to applaud the National Assembly’s peaceful transition and rebuke Nicolas Maduro and his brutal regime through economic and diplomatic initiatives.  Every nation must take strong action to help the Venezuelan people reclaim their democracy." On corruption, UNSG Antonio Guterres has for weeks refused Inner City Press' questions about why it is not a conflict of interest to refuse to audit CEFC when in 2018 it tried to buy Partex Oil & Gas from the Gulbenkian Foundation of which Guterres has been a paid board member... Following the second round of elections in Brazil, on October 29 UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres congratulated the Brazilian people or so his Spokesman said at noon and US State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert in the afternoon provided this read out: "Secretary Michael R. Pompeo spoke by phone today with Brazilian President-elect Jair Bolsonaro. The Secretary congratulated Mr. Bolsonaro on his win and reinforced the vibrant partnership between the United States and Brazil based on our mutual commitment to promote security, democracy, economic prosperity, and human rights. They discussed collaboration on priority foreign policy issues including Venezuela, countering transnational crime, and ways to strengthen economic ties between the United States and Brazil, the two largest economies in the Western Hemisphere." Will have more on this - and on Brazil and the UN now. When the UN's First Committee met for the first time in this 73rd session of the UN General Assembly, it was a fight and recorded vote on Day 1. Brazil proposed a briefing by the Secretary-General of the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean; Syria said there should be more time to consider it. Finally Brazil called for action, and it was the United States and Israel which voted No, along with 27 abstentions, and 86 for. Elected Noël Diarra (Mali) and José Ataíde Amaral (Portugal) as Vice-Chairs joining Vice-Chair Marissa Edwards (Guyana) and Muna Zawani Idris (Brunei), the Rapporteur. Inner City Press, banned from the UN and its General Assembly and member states for the 93d day by Secreary General Antonio Guterres, could only live tweet, not ask questions. Committee chair Ion Jirga repeated told member states, the ball is is your court. It is not a good beginning. Nor this: When the Security Council President for October, Ambassador Sacha Sergio Llorentty Solíz of Bolivia, held a Press-less press conference on October 3, he was asked by a Yemeni journalist "with the Atlantic Council" about being blocked by the Bolivian Mission. He said, We will unblock you right away - in contrast to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres' spokesman Stephane Dujarric, who blocks banned Inner City Press with no reversal and these days, no answers. With Inner City Press not able to be present, the Western Sahara question Llorenti received was why it wasn't move covered up, why there was so many meetings about MINURSO. (It is only one month a year, the renewal, with consultations and adoption and one TCC meeting.) There was nothing on Cameroon. Llorenti talked up his upcoming field trip to DR Congo, like the Security Council visit he led to Haiti, which Inner City Press went on and reported from. But now that Guterres for his own reasons has had Inner City Press roughed up and banned since July 3, Llorenti's Mission has yet to respond to this, regarding (now) October 11: "find myself banned from even entering the UN, since 3 July 2018 when I was physically ousted while staking out the Fifth Committee meeting from the Vienna Cafe area, at the invitation of member states on the Committee. I would like to request that you / your Mission ensure that I can enter the UN to cover and hopefully ask a question at your Program of Work press conference tomorrow, and after that to cover / stakeout such meetings at the October 11 consultations on Western Sahara / MINURSO, which is almost impossible to cover without being in the building. As you may know, there are numerous Morocco state media given office space and resident correspondent status by DPI under USG Alison Smale, who has refused to answer a single one of my 10 e-mails. They will cover the Western Sahara meeting, from their perspective. I believe I have a similar right to continue this issue.
Responsible are Chef de Cabinet Viotti (who was called by the Reporters Committee on Freedom of the Press) and/or DSG Amina Mohammed. Or, pending that, please have the Mission bring me in to these meetings. The only written communication I have received from the UN is this letter from USG Smale, here." We'll have more on this.

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