Venezuela

Look for Contra War II. 

Pence Tells Canada, Allies to Give Frozen Maduro Assets To Venezuelan Opposition

https://www.cp24.com/news/pence-tells-canada-allies-to-give-frozen-madur...

"...A Canadian security expert says US Vice President Mike Pence's call to allies today to give frozen Venezuelan assets to anti-Maduro forces could pump billions into the coffers of the country's pro-democracy movement.

Pence called on Canada and the Lima Group allies to do just that in a speech at their summit in Colombia, where Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and Canada's hemispheric allies are discussing the ongoing crisis in Venezuela.

The Washington think-tank Inter-American Dialogue and the Centre for International Governance Innovation in Waterloo, Ont, have proposed repurposing the billions of dollars of assets seized from Venezuela's corrupt leaders to help countries coping with Venezuelan refugees and to support Guaido's new government..."

Wow. The audaciousness of these pirates and thieves. As with Libya, they intend to seize all available assets to be distributed among the banditti involved in the crime. Breathtaking...

NDPP wrote 

Wow. The audaciousness of these pirates and thieves. As with Libya, they intend to seize all available assets to be distributed among the banditti involved in the crime. Breathtaking...

I remember getting into a heated debate on babble with Sean in Ottawa about how China was being accused of colonialism over their actions in African nations. 

When the US pulls off this shit with their allies (Canada), the rest of the world watches, and never forgets!  

There’s a serious risk when doing business with the US and it’s allies, having a strong military and arsenal is a must!

Nothing in that video about deploying troops and special ops forces to Puerto Rico and Colombia. No mention of boogyman special forces at all, or any semblance of proof.

There was a clip of what appeared to be a police officer blasting a shotgun at unarmed citizens, but they weren't American. Appeared to be be venezulain police.

Seems like fake news.

Inside Trump's Venezuela Pivot

https://t.co/iexeKFchGh

"...Trump and his advisors see their approach as a way to court Venezuelan expats, who may be friendly to the American right-wing because of the failure of Maduro's leftist government. The fact that the bulk of those expats live and vote in Florida, of all states, is not lost on Trump or his political team. Trump's instincts on Venezuela find daily reinforcement from the growing uprising on the ground there, the rare unity with other democratic Western governments, largely favorable media coverage and bipartisan support on Capitol Hill..."

Good link in comment 460 NDPP!

UNSC Meets on Venezuela

https://youtu.be/GhaXy_VS7iQ

"Trojan-horse. 'Aid trucks' carry nails and wire for barricades - Venezuela FM."

Notes From the Streets of Venezuela—The People Are Resilient in the Face of Foreign Intervention

By Vijay Prashad

Mariela Machado is in her late 50s. She is a leader in the housing complex in Caracas, Venezuela, known as Kaikachi in the neighborhood of La Vega. “What will happen if this government falls?” I ask her. “If the government falls, we will be evicted,” she says. “We—the Black, the poor, the working class—will lose what we have.”

quote:

Kaikachi

Across Venezuela, there are millions of people like Mariela. They are ordinary people, dirt under their fingernails, pride in their hearts. When the Bolivarians won the election and took power in 1999, 10 years after the Caracazo and 20 years ago, people like Mariela demanded more from the system. In La Vega, they spotted an empty plot of land that had been given to some developers. It was likely to be turned into a shopping center. Mariela, her family and 91 other families occupied the land. They approached Chavez and asked to build houses on the plot. “Can you do it?” Chavez said to them. “Yes,” Mariela told Chavez. “We built this city. We can build our own houses. All we want are machines and materials.”

So, they built Kaikachi. It is a clean neighborhood of apartment buildings with a community center at one end. A bust of Chavez stands before the community center, where there is a bakery to provide good quality and low-price bread to the community, where there is a kitchen that feeds 400 people, where there is a community hall (with the obligatory mural of Che Guevara) where there is small room where women sew clothes in a self-help business. “We are Chavistas,” says a woman, her eyes shining, a child at her hip.

The word “Chavista” has a resonance. It refers to those women and men who are loyal to Chavez and to the Bolivarian Revolution. It is not uncommon to see t-shirts with Chavez on them, his image ubiquitous on the walls. These are not people who have become rich or become powerful. They are part of a movement to chip away at hundreds of years of inequality. They remain poor, but now they have some resources to live without desperation.

Hyper-inflation is depressing. But, the poor in places like Kaikachi benefit from subsidized flour for the bakery and subsidized food for the kitchen. The distribution of food is not perfect, but it saves people from the worst impact of the collapse of the oil prices and the U.S. sanctions.

Invisible

The day before I meet Mariela, I go to a rally at Santa Capilla on Urdaneta Avenue. It is a rally organized by the Chavistas of Caracas to demonstrate their opposition to the threats of war from the United States. These are women and men who have the marks of hard work and poverty on their bodies. They huddle to each other, homemade signs with the faces of Chavez and Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, with enthusiasm. One sign held by an elderly couple is very moving: We are the Invisible. We are the Invincible. We will overcome.

As I listen to Mariela, I think of that sign. She is not part of the debate in the West around democracy and humanitarianism, about war and peace. Her voice is utterly outside the debate. People like her, she says, have their own criticisms of government policy, but this is—as she put it—an internal debate. “We can deal with the internal struggle,” she says, “and we will fight against any attack on Venezuela. We will defend ourselves.”

"Juan Guaido is set to arrive in Brazil on a flight from Colombia at 10 pm, for meetings with Jair Bolsonaro, to talk about a possible plan of action for renewed aggression against Venezuela..."

https://twitter.com/BrianMteleSUR/status/1100852497000865794

"Ambassador in Brazil Rick Savoner hosted the Interim President of Venezuela, Juan Guaido at the official residence on his arrival in Brazil. Joining our efforts is essential..."

https://twitter.com/CanadaBrazil/status/1101156710553714688

Bolsonaro's victory ramped up the forces in place to try to destroy Maduro and ssocialism in Latin America. It's sickening to see us aligned with the most horrendous leaders in current history.

Trudeau on Venezuela: The Dick on the 'Dictator' (and vid)

https://twitter.com/ngotranslations/status/1085582991496237056

"They need true democracy!"

Yeah. Here too!

His Master's Voice: US Special Representative For Venezuela Elliott Abrams (and vid)

https://twitter.com/StateDept/status/1101521615387529216

War criminal on war crimes in progress.

Why Does the Media Not Show Us These Venezuelans? (and vid)

https://twitter.com/redfishstream/status/1101210430154784768

"Meanwhile, Washington's key junior partner in its ongoing coup effort in Venezuela has just promoted a 9 generals accused of ordering the murder of thousands of Colombian civilians who were dressed up as guerrilas in order to inflate body-counts for Alvaro Uribe's political gains."

https://twitter.com/venanalysis/status/1101190190746472450

Venezuelan VP Tells RT How Caracas Fights Sanctions & What Awaits Juan Guaido (and vid)

https://on.rt.com/9pg4

"Caracas will use all legal means available to protect its assets in Europe and US from illegal seizure..."

US Wants 'Broad' Regime Change Coalition on Venezuela - Bolton

https://on.rt.com/9ph4

"National Security Advisor John Bolton said that the United States will form 'as broad a coalition' as possible to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Bolton went on to call for 'a completely democratic hemisphere.' In this administration we're not afraid to use the phrase 'Monroe Doctrine', he said."

And Canada's Trudeau/Freeland/Scheer/Laverdiere are not afraid to lend their support. Here we call it instead 'a rules-based international order' or a 'feminist foreign policy.'

TRNN: Canada's Hypocritical Double-Standard on Haiti & Venezuela (and vid)

https://therealnews.com/stories/canadas-hypocritical-double-standard-on-...

"Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is supporting Haiti's President Jovenal Moise, who has lost all legitimacy, if he ever had any, and at the same time it is in the forefront in opposing Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, who had a more legitimate election and has more supporters says Yves Engler..."

Venezuela: Guaido Planned To Use Arms - Frustration Over Stalemate Sets In

https://t.co/E8QlCELIWW

"New reports about the US coup attempt in Venezuela describe the current mood in Washington as 'frustration'. They also shine new light on why the opposition's plan failed. It seems that the politicians in Bogota did not object 'to the use of the aid as a political weapon' as the NYT reported, but got cold feet over the plan, initially kept secret from them, to cross the border by military force. It would have been an openly hostile aggression against a neighbor country, something that Colombia is very keen to avoid. Bloomberg further reports that some important people are not happy with Guaido's performance.

The State Department's frustration that its plans failed are also visible in this clip from its press conference when the spokesperson scolded the media for calling Guaido 'opposition leader' or 'self- proclaimed president' instead of 'interim president'. AP's Mark Lee then reminds the spokesperson that some 140 countries simply do not recognize him as such.

The State Department's frustration will increase over this prank (audio) by two Russian comedians who phoned up Elliott Abrams and induced him to demand the closing of non-existing 'Venezuelan accounts' in Switzerland..." ** VERY FUNNY**

Maduro Fails 'Dictator Test'

https://youtu.be/_CM8skPT8Sg

Caleb Maupin takes a look at Maduro's record as a supposed 'dictator.'

The Jimmy Dore Show

https://youtu.be/gs-FiLFFDnk

"BBC reporter slams NY Times for 'lazy f***ism' - w/Greg Palast

Back to Square One? Washington Now Says 'No Timeline' For Regime Change in Venezuela (and vid)

https://on.rt.com/9pue

"After weeks of insinuating that Nicolas Maduro's ouster was imminent, Washington now insists that there's 'no timeline' for regime change in Venezuela. RT looks at how the US' best-laid plans haven't panned out..."

Venezuela Wins Round One Against the Empire

https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/03/08/venezuela-wins-round-one-against...

"The clash between Venezuela and the Empire last weekend ended with a humilitating defeat for Elliott Abrams, the alleged designer of the operation. What the neocons [including Trudeau/Freeland] initially planned may never be known, but what is known is that they could not culminate in an invasion or another false-flag operation..."

https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/pull-back-the-curtain-to-find-out-the-truth-about-venezuelas-oppressive-regime/

JKR wrote:

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2019/02/venezuela-a-lesson-on-how-not-to-manage-an-economy/

This is an interesting article that misses the elephant in the room. The first rule is do not become subject to US sanctions designed to cripple your economy. All the other rules are good advice to countries who are not being subjected to this modern day style of imperial economic  war.

JKR wrote:

How can Venezuela reduce or remove US sanctions?

They can't, which is why ignoring the principal cause of their economic misery is facile at best.

Quote:

They can't, which is why ignoring the principal cause of their economic misery is facile at best.

What was the principal cause of their economic misery prior to Trump's sanctions?

Obama sanctioned a handful of individuals -- surely we're not supposed to believe that that somehow brought down an entire economy.  Venezuela's inflation rate, for example, was over 400% prior to Trump.   I think the whole "it's just the sanctions" canard is an example of post hoc ergo propter hoc.  And it beats looking at the real problems.

'The Opposition Movement is Not 'Organic'

https://twitter.com/BootsRiley/status/1104465654273400832

"WikiLeaks cables show that the US through USAID has been working with and funding organizations in Venezuela for many years to build the opposition and promote the right-wing. The opposition is not 'organic'."

'No food. No medicine. Now, no Power. Next, no Maduro' - Pompeo

https://twitter.com/AbbyMartin/status/1104287743582953472

"You're a very sick man for bragging about the widespread suffering US sanctions have unleashed."

Venezuela - Three Total Blackouts in Three Days - Govt Presumes US Cyberattack

https://t.co/T5Wqzxz78N

"Venezuela currently experiences multiple total outages of its electricity network. It is quite possible or even likely that the US is causing these incidents..."

It looks like the viral false story "Madura burns aid trucks" has finally been acknowledged as false by a MSM story (NYT) and video.

The question remains does it really make any difference? 

As justicication for regime change, I'd guess that the great majority of people who have heard this propaganda justification for regime change will still believe it. 

The initial phase of a propaganda news cycle for regime change is by far the most powerful, garnering great attention and indignation.  Attention to contrary evidence is ignored, or or not seen as it is swamped by endless repitition of the original consensus falsehood by the MSM and politicos. If it is seen, changing one's mind means revising emotional and belief commitments; rationalizations are more likely.

NYT’s Exposé on the Lies About Burning Humanitarian Trucks in Venezuela Shows How US Govt and Media Spread Fake News

EVERY MAJOR U.S. WAR of the last several decades has begun the same way: the U.S. Government fabricates an inflammatory, emotionally provocative lie which large U.S. [and Canada and EU] media outlets uncritically treat as truth while refusing at air questioning or dissent, thus inflaming primal anger against the country the U.S. wants to attack. That’s how we got the Vietnam War (North Vietnam attacks U.S. ships in the Gulf of Tonkin); the Gulf War (Saddam ripped babies from incubators); and, of course, the war in Iraq (Saddam had WMDs and formed an alliance with Al Qaeda).

This was exactly the tactic used on February 23, when the narrative shifted radically in favor of those U.S. officials who want regime change operations in Venezuela. That’s because images were broadcast all over the world of trucks carrying humanitarian aid burning in Colombia on the Venezuela border. U.S. officials who have been agitating for a regime change war in Venezuela – Marco Rubio, John Bolton, Mike Pompeo, the head of USAid Mark Green – used Twitter to spread classic Fake News: they vehemently stated that the trucks were set on fire, on purpose, by President Nicolas Maduro’s forces....

But on Saturday night, the New York Times published a detailed video and accompanying article proving that this entire story was a lie. The humanitarian trucks were not set on fire by Maduro’s forces. They were set on fire by anti-Maduro protesters who threw a molotov cocktail that hit one of the trucks. And the NYT’s video traces how the lie spread: from U.S. officials who baselessly announced that Maduro burned them to media outlets that mindlessly repeated the lie.....

While the NYT’s article and video are perfectly good and necessary journalism, the credit they are implicitly claiming for themselves for exposing this lie is totally undeserved. That’s because independent journalists – the kind who question rather than mindlessly repeat government claims and are therefore mocked and marginalized and kept off mainstream television – used exactly this same evidence on the day of the incident to debunk the lies being told by Rubio, Pompeo, Bolton and CNN.On February 24, the day the lie spread, Max Blumenthal wrote from Venezuela, on the independent reporting Grazyzone site, that “the claim was absurd on its face,” ....

"I did not see any Venezuelan government forces set fire to US aid trucks on the Colombian side of the border. And neither did you. Actually, the evidence so far is pointing in the other direction."  https://t.co/AVBPYtFMiR

— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) February 24, 2019 ....

Full story here:

https://theintercept.com/2019/03/10/nyts-expose-on-the-lies-about-burnin...

US Aims to 'Make Venezuelans Suffer' - Prof Dan Kovalik

https://youtu.be/1xpCKVN8NnY

"Dan Kovalik, author and professor of international human rights joins NVH to discuss continuing US efforts to undermine President Maduro's government."

The Jimmy Dore Show

https://youtu.be/4HqA02PaAYc

"Venezuela aided poor Americans with free heating oil."

Ken Burch wrote:

JKR wrote:

Betting your economy and society on continuous high oil prices seems very problematic.

If no previous Venezuelan government ever managed-or, for that matter, ever even tried-to diversify that country's economy, why should not diversifying be held against the PSUV?  Has it occurred to anyone that maybe it isn't actually POSSIBLE to diversify the Venezuelan economy?  

Would it even have been worth diversifying it if that had meant treating international corporations like local governments in the US do when they bend the knee to Amazon?  If it meant making unions sign no-strike pledges?  If it had meant agreeing to permanent spending constraints on human services?   The fact is, there's probably no way to diversify the economy of a place like Venezuela without simply abandoning any semblance of human dignity.

Could Venezuela have emulated Norway and saved the earnings they make from their petroleum industry in a sovereign wealth fund? 

JKR wrote:

Ken Burch wrote:

JKR wrote:

Betting your economy and society on continuous high oil prices seems very problematic.

If no previous Venezuelan government ever managed-or, for that matter, ever even tried-to diversify that country's economy, why should not diversifying be held against the PSUV?  Has it occurred to anyone that maybe it isn't actually POSSIBLE to diversify the Venezuelan economy?  

Would it even have been worth diversifying it if that had meant treating international corporations like local governments in the US do when they bend the knee to Amazon?  If it meant making unions sign no-strike pledges?  If it had meant agreeing to permanent spending constraints on human services?   The fact is, there's probably no way to diversify the economy of a place like Venezuela without simply abandoning any semblance of human dignity.

Could Venezuela have emulated Norway and saved the earnings they make from their petroleum industry in a sovereign wealth fund? 

It depends on who was holding the funds. If they were held in any accounts that the US can control or even have an ally freeze then they would have already been taken out of play. The global oligarchy wants a compliant neo-con government to give them control over the oil. The idea that it is about the state of the economy is laughably naive.