FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 17, 2025
Media Contact: Melissa Garriga | [email protected]
CODEPINK Disrupted Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent With a Toast to His Economic War Crimes
WASHINGTON – As the Trump administration has announced a naval blockade around Venezuela and continues to threaten war on the small, sovereign Latin American country, CODEPINK took the opportunity to call our Secretary Scott Bessent for his role in killing innocent people.
At a wine bar in DC, CODEPINK DC organizer Olivia DiNucci “toasted” Bessent:
“We wanna make an announcement! We have a special guest here, and we wanna make a toast for the Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent! So let's give it up for the man who is eating in peace as people starve across the world based on his sanctions, which are economic warfare.”
After some back and forth with some people booing, DiNucci continued, “He oversees the deaths of 600,000 people due to sanctions annually! How many people are going to die because of the blood that's on your hands?” she continued.
A recent report by The Lancet states that unilateral sanctions now kill around 564K people annually due to severe food insecurity, disease, and lack of water/electricity. Former UN Special Rapporteur Alfred de Zayas estimated that as of 2020, around 100,000 Venezuelans had died due to years of U.S.-imposed sanctions.
Bessent was reportedly so mad at being called out for having blood on his hands that he spat in his food and left the restaurant.
For more information about the encounter or for unbranded video footage, please contact Melissa at [email protected].
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