[READ: Caught in a lie, US & allies bomb Syria the night before international inspectors arrive]
Last year, Syrian-American doctor Hussam al-Samman told me about his efforts to send to Syria chemotherapy medications for cancer patients in remission. He jumped through various hoops of America's unforgiving bureaucracy, to no avail. It was never possible in the first place.
"We managed to get a meeting in the White House. We met Rob Malley, a top-notch assistant or adviser of Obama at that time. I asked them: 'How in the world could your heart let you block chemotherapy from going to people with cancer in Syria?'
They said: 'We will not allow Bashar al-Assad to have anything that will make people love him. We will not support anything that will help Bashar al-Assad look good'."
Fast forward to the present: in spite of the sanctions, or precisely because of the sanctions, Syria recently opened its first anti-cancer drugs factory. President Assad is, again, looking rather good to Syrians.
UN expert: Sanctions on Venezuela "a form of terrorism"Alfred de Zayas, the human rights lawyer and former UN official, aptly calls sanctions a form of terrorism, "because they invariably impact, directly or indirectly, the poor and vulnerable."
Earlier this year, The Center for Economic and Policy Research estimated 40,000 deaths had occurred due to sanctions in 2017-2018.
While in Venezuela in March this year, I spoke with people from poor communities about the effects of sanctions. Most I met were very well aware of the US economic war against their country, and rallied alongside their government.
[READ: US is manufacturing a crisis in Venezuela so that there is chaos and 'needed' intervention]
[READ: Venezuela isn't Syria" but America's war tactics are the same ]
One woman told me:
"If you don't have water, don't have electricity, the basics, how would you feel, as a mother? This makes some of the population, that doesn't understand about the sanctions, blame the government."
Venezuela's Foreign Minister, Jorge Arreaza, said during that visit:
"We told [American diplomat and Trump envoy] Mr Elliott Abrams, 'the coup has failed, so now what are you going to do?' He kind-of nodded and said, 'Well, this is going to be a long-term action, then, and we are looking forward to the collapse of your economy.'"
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