Turmoil in Venezuela

[Tintin]

WORLD NEWS
APRIL 30, 2019 / 6:04 AM / UPDATED 18 HOURS AGO
Exclusive -
Blackwater founder’s latest sales pitch: mercenaries for Venezuela
Aram Roston, Matt Spetalnick
7 MIN READ
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Erik Prince - the founder of the controversial private security firm Blackwater and a prominent supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump - has been pushing a plan to deploy a private army to help topple Venezuela’s socialist president, Nicolas Maduro, four sources with knowledge of the effort told Reuters.

FILE PHOTO: Erik Prince, founder of the Blackwater security firm, testifies before a committee of the U.S. Congress about security contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan on Capitol Hill in Washington, October 2, 2007. REUTERS/Larry Downing/File Photo

Over the last several months, the sources said, Prince has sought investment and political support for such an operation from influential Trump supporters and wealthy Venezuelan exiles. In private meetings in the United States and Europe, Prince sketched out a plan to field up to 5,000 soldiers-for-hire on behalf of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, according to two sources with direct knowledge of Prince’s pitch.

One source said Prince has conducted meetings about the issue as recently as mid-April.

White House National Security Council spokesman Garrett Marquis declined to comment when asked whether Prince had proposed his plan to the government and whether it would be considered. A person familiar with the administration’s thinking said the White House would not support such a plan.

Venezuela opposition officials have not discussed security operations with Prince, said Guaido spokesman Edward Rodriguez, who did not answer additional questions from Reuters. The Maduro government did not respond to a request for comment.
Some U.S. and Venezuelan security experts, told of the plan by Reuters, called it politically far-fetched and potentially dangerous because it could set off a civil war. A Venezuelan exile close to the opposition agreed but said private contractors might prove useful, in the event Maduro’s government collapses, by providing security for a new administration in the aftermath.

A spokesman for Prince, Marc Cohen, said this month that Prince “has no plans to operate or implement an operation in Venezuela” and declined to answer further questions.

Lital Leshem - the director of investor relations at Prince’s private equity firm, Frontier Resource Group - earlier confirmed Prince’s interest in Venezuela security operations.

“He does have a solution for Venezuela, just as he has a solution for many other places,” she said, declining to elaborate on his proposal.

The two sources with direct knowledge of Prince’s pitch said it calls for starting with intelligence operations and later deploying 4,000 to 5,000 soldiers-for-hire from Colombia and other Latin American nations to conduct combat and stabilization operations.

‘DYNAMIC EVENT’
For Prince, the unlikely gambit represents the latest effort in a long campaign to privatize warfare. The wealthy son of an auto-parts tycoon has fielded private security contractors in conflict zones from Central Asia to Africa to the Middle East.

One of Prince’s key arguments, one source said, is that Venezuela needs what Prince calls a “dynamic event” to break the stalemate that has existed since January, when Guaido - the head of Venezuela’s National Assembly - declared Maduro’s 2018 re-election illegitimate and invoked the constitution to assume the interim presidency.
Maduro has denounced Guaido, who has been backed by most western nations, as a U.S. puppet who is seeking to foment a coup. Key government institutions – including the military – have not shifted their loyalty to Guaido despite increasing international pressure from sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies.

Guaido has stressed that he wants a peaceful resolution, and Latin American governments recognizing his authority have urged against outside military action. Senior U.S. officials, without ruling out armed intervention, have also emphasized economic and diplomatic measures to pressure Maduro.

CLOSE TIES TO TRUMP
Prince was a pioneer in private military contracting during the Iraq war, when the U.S. government hired Blackwater primarily to provide security for State Department operations there.

In 2007, Blackwater employees shot and killed 17 Iraqi civilians at Nisour Square in Baghdad, sparking international outrage. One of the Blackwater employees involved was convicted of murder in December and three others have been convicted of manslaughter.

Prince renamed the Blackwater security company and sold it in 2010, but he recently opened a company called Blackwater USA, which sells ammunition, silencers and knives. Over the past two years, he has led an unsuccessful campaign to convince the Trump administration to replace U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan with security contractors.

Since 2014, Prince has run the Hong Kong-based Frontier Services Group, which has close ties to the state-owned Chinese investment company CITIC and helps Chinese firms operating in Africa with security, aviation and logistics services.

Prince donated $100,000 to a political action committee that supported Trump’s election. His sister, Betsy DeVos, is the administration’s education secretary.

Prince’s role in Trump’s campaign was highlighted in the report by Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller, released this month, on alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Russian efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election.

The report outlined how Prince financed an effort to authenticate purported Hillary Clinton emails and how in 2016 he met in the Seychelles islands, off east Africa, with a wealthy Russian financial official on behalf of Trump’s presidential transition team.

Prince spokesman Cohen declined to comment on the Mueller report.

TARGETING FROZEN ASSETS
The two sources with direct knowledge of Prince’s Venezuela plan said he is seeking $40 million from private investors. He also aims to get funding from the billions of dollars in Venezuelan assets that have been seized by governments around the world imposing sanctions on the OPEC nation, a major oil exporter.

It’s unclear, however, how the Venezuelan opposition could legally access those assets. Prince told people in pitch meetings, the sources said, that he believes that Guaido has the authority to form his own military force because he has been recognized internationally as Venezuela’s rightful leader.

Prince envisions a force made up of “Peruvians, Ecuadoreans, Colombians, Spanish speakers,” one of the sources said, adding that Prince argued that such soldiers would be more politically palatable than American contractors.

(This story has been refiled to fix typo in the first paragraph.)

Reporting By Aram Roston and Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Kieran Murray and Brian Thevenot

[perolator]

Posted by Tintin (here)
Juan Guaido has been groomed for 15 years as a long-term CIA project. His coup attempt yesterday, which so far appears to have stalled, was the culmination of these efforts to return Venezuela’s oil reserves to US hegemony.

Craig Murray's article referring yesterday's events as a "coup" is a bigger example of journalistic baloney. Maduro is illegally posing as Venezuela's president. Therefore, yesterday's events cannot be classified as a coup; Guaidó and his people are trying to restore democracy in Venezuela. Hard to understand?

Guaido as a long-term CIA project. Okay. After reading the full article, I went straight to the comments section and extracted some interesting snippets. Any emphasis (bold text) is mine.

Arturo
February 1, 2019 at 18:29
This is chutzpah. In a country where the inflation rate is one million percent, where a substantial number of the leaders of the opposition are in jail or in exile, where “experts” trained and employed by the failed Cuban regime but paid with Venezuelan cash sit astride the decision-making centers of the country, Cohen and Blumenthal endeavor to answer that most galling question: what explains the sudden appearance of Juan Guaidó?

They’ve been encouraged to assume this task by the sweet fire that those who are called upon to fight for social justice feel in their bosoms when they fight the right fight. Their war-cry is as follows: “Guaidó was selected by Washington: he is not expected to lead Venezuela towards democracy, but to collapse a country that for the past two decades has been a bulwark of resistance to U.S. hegemony. His unlikely rise signals the culmination of a two decades-long project to destroy a robust socialist experiment.”

[snip]

This logorrheic burst is the best evidence that Maduro has to go. I hope that the transition is a peaceful one. But I doubt it. His supporters believe that the problems facing Venezuela are Guaidó’s skinny buttocks, that the robust socialist experiment taking place there means that the country’s one million percent inflation rate doesn’t justify a change in government, that anyone wishing to change this regime is a right wing extremist, and that Maduro is the best and only Venezuelan worthy of the title of President. Maduro’s opponents point out the influence of Cuba in Venezuela and the bottomless economic. There are substantial allegations to the effect that the regime is involved in massive narcotics trafficking and money laundering. The political opposition is regularly mowed down by the regime despite the fact that there are no guerillas or terror cells. Under the circumstances, the denouement of the current impasse probably won’t be a peaceful affair. And that is unfortunate.

This comment below, angrily describes my feelings reading Max Blumenthal's excremental article:

Derah
February 1, 2019 at 17:34
As an actual Venezuelan, who currently lives in Venezuela, and has been trying to flee from this living nightmare of a country, allow me to say, in the most sincere way:

F**k you.

This has got to be the most ignorant, imbecilic, rambling, incoherent, stupid, biased, soul-sucking, bile-spewing, incomprehensibly moronic, utterly disgusting attempt at journalism I have ever seen in my entire life.

If you think this country even remotely ressembles a “Robust Socialist Experiment”, then tell you what, lets trade places. YOU come live in this socialist paradise, and I’ll go live in your capitalist hellhole.

Come on, lets do it.

And then, some Max Blumenthal supporters surfaced:

JOHN CHUCKMAN
February 4, 2019 at 13:28
Sorry, but your comments, for any person who keeps informed, border on crib notes from a basement room in Langley, Virginia.

Regula
February 1, 2019 at 20:04
Looks like you haven’t had enough yet of US meddling in Venezuela. Though your post doesn’t sound like you actually ever even as much as visited the country in its better times. Your English shows you to be American in America, not an American in Venezuela. Or you would of course know that the US gov doesn’t care if the people of Venezuela suffer more and more. But if it dies come to civil war in Venezuela and the US decides for one more humanitarian action to “liberate” Venezuela’s oil – and that is of course what this all turns around – maybe you will feel all consulates once Venezuela turns into a failed state like Libya.

How much did the US NGO’s pay you for your trolling rant?

bullseye
February 2, 2019 at 06:26
Floridian trolling. Nothing else.

And this lovely quote:

Derah
February 2, 2019 at 12:20
Regula, I do in fact live in venezuela, my entire life. And have been spending the last six years desperately trying to get out.

What, you’re saying that because my english is good, that somehow confirms I’m not a venezuelan? so not only are you an ignorant f**k-face, but also an ignorant, racist f**k-face who assumes all venezuelans are illiterate morons incapable of learning a second language.

Hijo de puta, mi ingles lo aprendi estudiando duro, leyendo bastante, y metiendole horas y horas de practica en el liceo. A ver si dejas de ser tan mamaguevo.

Lastly, if you honestly think anyone, ever, pays actual living people to write comments on a forum, then you are even more of an idiot I initially thought.

Lastly, Venezuela “in its better times” was before the rise of Chavez. Back when I was able to eat meat every day. Back when a slice of cheese didn’t cost half my salary.

The Spanish paragraph was written by a true Venezuelan or at least a CIA well-trained operative. Jokes aside, she roughly said (she) learned English by studying hard, reading a lot and practicing it in high school. I cannot understand why some people think people like her are being paid, are "Floridian Trollers" or backed up by CIA.

The comments section was incredibly similar to this thread.

P.S.
Hey CIA, I am here!! hire me!!! A small house near Langley may be a good place to live.

[Tintin]

Perolator: i'm going to front up to you here.

Correct me if I'm wrong, and I hope you do - I may not be right, whatever that means, but neither may you.

You are an ex-pat - ie, not actually living in Venezuela at the moment: may be you got the heck out of there at some point? How you write suggests to me that you aren't actually there and are disseminating a political bias from a safe distance. Have I got that right?

I don't understand how you could interpret Craig's very fair surmise about what is going on as being at all inaccurate. He has over three decades of experience working within the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office and as an ambassador to boot. His information and candour will be, and is, rock solid. I have a family member who used to work there and they'd back this up, absolutely. He may even be more concerned than you are.

Guaido is a sock-puppet Kissinger/CFR/Rothschild cut-out scum bucket, and you know that but don't have the courage to admit it.

If what is going on in your homeland concerns you so greatly, then take steps to go back there and make a positive difference in some way, and take some steps to desist from playing 'cut-out' in your responses. It's getting a little tiring.

I'm being honest with you. And challenging you from a friendly place. Looking forward to your responses. And you can PM me any time you like.

[Hervé]

Change of tack? EU quieter on latest failed Venezuela coup attempt as Guaido’s influence wanes

RT
Published time: 2 May, 2019 16:04
Get short URL

Guaido takes part in a gathering with supporters in Caracas © REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino

When the US announced support for Venezuela’s self-declared ‘interim president’ Juan Guaido in January, European leaders heartily backed the move — but three months later, after a second failed coup attempt, they are suddenly shy.

With US backing, Guaido attempted to launch a second uprising on Tuesday, urging his supporters to take to the streets and calling on the military to seize power from President Nicolas Maduro. While both pro and anti-government demonstrators held rallies in Caracas, the military did not defect in great numbers and the coup attempt fizzled out.

In January, European leaders instantly fell in line with US talking points on Venezuela. Germany, France and Spain issued almost identical threats to recognize Guaido unless snap elections were held within eight days. UK officials also wasted no time in voicing strong support for Guaido, with little concern for the millions of Venezuelans who support Maduro and worry about the destabilizing effects of US intervention and devastating effects of US sanctions.

This time around, however, having realized Guaido is not as powerful as they expected, Europe has not been as gung-ho in its support for him. Having initially added to the chaos by encouraging the first uprising, suddenly the EU’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini was calling for the “utmost restraint” in order to “avoid the loss of lives.”

Lack of courage?
Venezuelan Ambassador to the EU Claudia Salerno Caldera believes the sudden European reticence shows that EU leaders have “begun to realize that [Guaido] was losing influence, that he was no president at all.” With that realization, they “began to give up their positions” and “change their narrative” in order to make it “more realistic” and reflect the actual situation on the ground in Venezuela, she told Russian news agency RIA Novosti.

It is likely that the EU knows that the US stance toward Venezuela is “wrong, dangerous and illegal,” but it has “not got the courage to stand up and say so,” Dr Michael Derham, senior lecturer in Spanish and Latin American Studies at Northumbria University told RT. The EU “has to be seen to not advocate coups or violence” and it is not convinced by the US ultimatum against Maduro — but at the same time, Europe will “never go against the US, even if it were to invade Venezuela,” Derham said.

Another problem for Europe is that it is divided on the Venezuela issue. Therefore the ideological posture of the EU is “more and more obsolete” and “neutralized between contradictory positions” because it has never defined “common geopolitical objectives,” geopolitical analyst Pierre-Emmanuel Thomann told RT.

Hardline European supporters of Guaido underestimated Maduro’s “capacity of resistance” as well as Russia’s determination to prevent another US-led regime change operation, Thomann said, adding that “mainstream media never show this side of the story.”

At the same time, while the US is criticizing Russia’s posture on the Venezuelan crisis and is telling Moscow to stay out of affairs in the Western Hemisphere, the US and NATO have also been meddling and supporting uprisings in Russia’s own “zone of interest” in eastern Europe for years, he said.

© REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino

While some European countries (France, Germany, Spain, UK) took bold stances in favor of Guaido, apparently believing the January coup would be a success, they are now less and less in a position to renew relations with Maduro, Thomann said.

But Derham said the fact that the UK in particular will need to expand its trade with Latin American when it leaves the EU, means the “venal and hypocritical” politicians in London will be prepared to crawl back to Maduro if he retains power.

Europe’s initial decision to fall in “lock-step” with Washington on Venezuela was not surprising, journalist and political commentator John Wight told RT, describing the coup attempts as “open imperialism that you’d associate with the 19th century.”

What’s more, the US sanctions which the EU supports in addition to its own sanctions on Venezuela, have “only served to heighten the suffering of the Venezuelan people.” To add insult to injury, if the coup attempt had been successful, it is not even Guaido who would be president, Wight said. It would be US National Security Advisor John Bolton who is running the coup effort from Washington and acting like a “thug in a suit.”

Ultimately, while the EU has now realized it “backed a losing horse in Guaido,” and its reactions to the Venezuela crisis have exposed it to be “a supine bloc when it comes to Washington — and lacking any kind of moral or ethical principles.”

[perolator]

Posted by Tintin (here)
Perolator: i'm going to front up to you here.

Disclaimer: I do not want to argue with a moderator. I have to reply, but I cannot front up to you.

Posted by Tintin (here)
Correct me if I'm wrong, and I hope you do - I may not be right, whatever that means, but neither may you.

Alright. Who is right? Somebody has to be. Let's say you're right though. It is okay.

Posted by Tintin (here)
You are an ex-pat - ie, not actually living in Venezuela at the moment: may be you got the heck out of there at some point?

In my first post I clarified that point.

Posted by Tintin (here)
How you write suggests to me that you aren't actually there and are disseminating a political bias from a safe distance. Have I got that right?

With all due respect, what I am doing is exactly the same some forum members do, including yourself. For instance, some forum members are disseminating constantly a political bias completely different and no moderator is fronting them up.

Posted by Tintin (here)
I don't understand how you could interpret Craig's very fair surmise about what is going on as being at all inaccurate.

In this article named "the Vultures of Caracas" Craig Murray is anything but very fair.

These are not the poor and most certainly not the starving. As it chances I have a great deal of life experience working amongst seriously deprived, hungry and despairing people. I know the gaunt face of want and the desperate glance of need.

Look at these Guaido supporters, one by one by one. This designer spectacled, well-coiffed, elegantly dressed, sleekly jowled group does not know hunger. This group does not know want. This is a proper right wing gathering, a gathering of the nicely off section of society.

According to Mr. Murray, people in Caracas has to be in rags to be qualified as poor. People dressed in day clothing are classified as "elegantly dressed, well-coiffed" and he tells readers (those people) does not know hunger. Far from reality. At plain sight, nobody, even myself, can tell whether a person in that photo came from the slums (los cerros), from suburbs or nearby the gathering point. Wealthy people do not care who is in charge of the country as long as their interests are unharmed.

Posted by Tintin (here)
He has over three decades of experience working within the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office and as an ambassador to boot. His information and candour will be, and is, rock solid. I have a family member who used to work there and they'd back this up, absolutely. He may even be more concerned than you are.

Sincerely, my country does not need that kind of help. That's why I post in this thread.

Posted by Tintin (here)
Guaido is a sock-puppet Kissinger/CFR/Rothschild cut-out scum bucket, and you know that but don't have the courage to admit it.

I do not care whether Guaidó is the devil himself, as long as he helps wipe the country of the "Robust Socialist Experiment".

Posted by Tintin (here)
If what is going on in your homeland concerns you so greatly, then take steps to go back there and make a positive difference in some way,

What is going on in my homeland do concern me greatly. Indeed. It affects me in many ways. But, what you are proposing is ridiculous, to put it mildly. I am quite useful to my relatives and friends outside the country.

Posted by Tintin (here)
and take some steps to desist from playing 'cut-out' in your responses. It's getting a little tiring.

Okay, I will do my best to post whatever way moderation see fit.

Posted by Tintin (here)
I'm being honest with you. And challenging you from a friendly place. Looking forward to your responses. And you can PM me any time you like.

Thanks.

[AriG]

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Z8rnWIRrpW0

I have no dog in this race, but I will say that the history of US sponsored regime change must meet its end. its up to the people of Venezuela to work this out.

[Tintin]

Posted by perolator (here)

Posted by Tintin (here)
Perolator: i'm going to front up to you here.

Disclaimer: I do not want to argue with a moderator. I have to reply, but I cannot front up to you.

Posted by Tintin (here)
Correct me if I'm wrong, and I hope you do - I may not be right, whatever that means, but neither may you.

Alright. Who is right? Somebody has to be. Let's say you're right though. It is okay.

Posted by Tintin (here)
You are an ex-pat - ie, not actually living in Venezuela at the moment: may be you got the heck out of there at some point?

In my first post I clarified that point.

Posted by Tintin (here)
How you write suggests to me that you aren't actually there and are disseminating a political bias from a safe distance. Have I got that right?

With all due respect, what I am doing is exactly the same some forum members do, including yourself. For instance, some forum members are disseminating constantly a political bias completely different and no moderator is fronting them up.

Posted by Tintin (here)
I don't understand how you could interpret Craig's very fair surmise about what is going on as being at all inaccurate.

In this article named "the Vultures of Caracas" Craig Murray is anything but very fair.

These are not the poor and most certainly not the starving. As it chances I have a great deal of life experience working amongst seriously deprived, hungry and despairing people. I know the gaunt face of want and the desperate glance of need.

Look at these Guaido supporters, one by one by one. This designer spectacled, well-coiffed, elegantly dressed, sleekly jowled group does not know hunger. This group does not know want. This is a proper right wing gathering, a gathering of the nicely off section of society.

According to Mr. Murray, people in Caracas has to be in rags to be qualified as poor. People dressed in day clothing are classified as "elegantly dressed, well-coiffed" and he tells readers (those people) does not know hunger. Far from reality. At plain sight, nobody, even myself, can tell whether a person in that photo came from the slums (los cerros), from suburbs or nearby the gathering point. Wealthy people do not care who is in charge of the country as long as their interests are unharmed.

Posted by Tintin (here)
He has over three decades of experience working within the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office and as an ambassador to boot. His information and candour will be, and is, rock solid. I have a family member who used to work there and they'd back this up, absolutely. He may even be more concerned than you are.

Sincerely, my country does not need that kind of help. That's why I post in this thread.

Posted by Tintin (here)
Guaido is a sock-puppet Kissinger/CFR/Rothschild cut-out scum bucket, and you know that but don't have the courage to admit it.

I do not care whether Guaidó is the devil himself, as long as he helps wipe the country of the "Robust Socialist Experiment".

Posted by Tintin (here)
If what is going on in your homeland concerns you so greatly, then take steps to go back there and make a positive difference in some way,

What is going on in my homeland do concern me greatly. Indeed. It affects me in many ways. But, what you are proposing is ridiculous, to put it mildly. I am quite useful to my relatives and friends outside the country.

Posted by Tintin (here)
and take some steps to desist from playing 'cut-out' in your responses. It's getting a little tiring.

Okay, I will do my best to post whatever way moderation see fit.

Posted by Tintin (here)
I'm being honest with you. And challenging you from a friendly place. Looking forward to your responses. And you can PM me any time you like.

Thanks.

And thank you too.

I do absolutely love your passion - it's a rare treat these days to experience someone who is so eloquent; thank you for that.

Before I respond to each of your points, many of which I will challenge (of course ) I am going to dangle a spin on this that is totally relevant, and I think interesting (and definitely very real):

For over 4000 years Chinese astrologers have determined, remarkably accurately, personality traits of people based on a lunar cycle; this is an Earth Pig year. On the surface, not terribly revealing. Provided you were honest with your personal information about your age - visible on your profile - you may well have been born in the year of the Wood Snake.

Snakes are under pressure this year because the Pig is in direct opposition. Anyone born, say, after February 2nd in each of the following years: 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989. (different elements apply to each year, but wood is associated with anxiety, in its negative shape.There are of course many positive traits.)

The snake personality is blessed with great intuition, insight, and originality, but tends to operate in the shadows, in the long grass, whereas the Pig energy is more disarmingly up-front honest - more immediately open. The snake type personality may see that as naive; the Pig type personality may perceive using any form of secrecy, or guile, as somewhat dishonest.

This is the energy cycle we are in.

Snakes may at the moment at least, and it will change in the cycle more positively eventually, not quite be at their very best; maybe a little drained and too many obstacles in the path. Discernment in some areas may become scrambled.

I've been there too often in the various cycles to know that this is consistent and, of course, understandable.

This is not a judgement calling - I don't do judgement or patronisation at all. It may be a factor in my understanding of where you are coming from (good) and how it is being translated, or not, more widely.

Speak to you soon.

[Tintin]

Posted by perolator (here)

Posted by Tintin (here)
Perolator: i'm going to front up to you here.

Disclaimer: I do not want to argue with a moderator. I have to reply, but I cannot front up to you.

Posted by Tintin (here)
Correct me if I'm wrong, and I hope you do - I may not be right, whatever that means, but neither may you.

Alright. Who is right? Somebody has to be. Let's say you're right though. It is okay.

Posted by Tintin (here)
You are an ex-pat - ie, not actually living in Venezuela at the moment: may be you got the heck out of there at some point?

In my first post I clarified that point.

Posted by Tintin (here)
How you write suggests to me that you aren't actually there and are disseminating a political bias from a safe distance. Have I got that right?

With all due respect, what I am doing is exactly the same some forum members do, including yourself. For instance, some forum members are disseminating constantly a political bias completely different and no moderator is fronting them up.

Posted by Tintin (here)
I don't understand how you could interpret Craig's very fair surmise about what is going on as being at all inaccurate.

In this article named "the Vultures of Caracas" Craig Murray is anything but very fair.

These are not the poor and most certainly not the starving. As it chances I have a great deal of life experience working amongst seriously deprived, hungry and despairing people. I know the gaunt face of want and the desperate glance of need.

Look at these Guaido supporters, one by one by one. This designer spectacled, well-coiffed, elegantly dressed, sleekly jowled group does not know hunger. This group does not know want. This is a proper right wing gathering, a gathering of the nicely off section of society.

According to Mr. Murray, people in Caracas has to be in rags to be qualified as poor. People dressed in day clothing are classified as "elegantly dressed, well-coiffed" and he tells readers (those people) does not know hunger. Far from reality. At plain sight, nobody, even myself, can tell whether a person in that photo came from the slums (los cerros), from suburbs or nearby the gathering point. Wealthy people do not care who is in charge of the country as long as their interests are unharmed.

Posted by Tintin (here)
He has over three decades of experience working within the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office and as an ambassador to boot. His information and candour will be, and is, rock solid. I have a family member who used to work there and they'd back this up, absolutely. He may even be more concerned than you are.

Sincerely, my country does not need that kind of help. That's why I post in this thread.

Posted by Tintin (here)
Guaido is a sock-puppet Kissinger/CFR/Rothschild cut-out scum bucket, and you know that but don't have the courage to admit it.

I do not care whether Guaidó is the devil himself, as long as he helps wipe the country of the "Robust Socialist Experiment".

Posted by Tintin (here)
If what is going on in your homeland concerns you so greatly, then take steps to go back there and make a positive difference in some way,

What is going on in my homeland do concern me greatly. Indeed. It affects me in many ways. But, what you are proposing is ridiculous, to put it mildly. I am quite useful to my relatives and friends outside the country.

Posted by Tintin (here)
and take some steps to desist from playing 'cut-out' in your responses. It's getting a little tiring.

Okay, I will do my best to post whatever way moderation see fit.

Posted by Tintin (here)
I'm being honest with you. And challenging you from a friendly place. Looking forward to your responses. And you can PM me any time you like.

Thanks.

Perolator:

Being a musician [guitarist] I have an abiding appreciation for the sound of drums being beaten, and with a certain degree of vigour. What gives me pause is that the whole kit-and-caboodle may be in danger of hurtling at speed down the side of a very tall mountain, something which I do not want to see happen on this thread (and neither do you), or more importantly, in Venezuela; her people seem to have great grace and dignity.

Which leads me to this beautiful historical piece: if there was a defining act of grace and dignity I have seen none better than this anywhere - it's how I hope we all wish to conduct ourselves here on the forum, and what I certainly strive to do. Anyone checking in here really should see this:

Sacheen Littlefeather accepting [declining] Marlon Brando's award at the 1973 Oscar ceremony

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=2QUacU0I4yU

Perhaps in a more contemporary setting the people of Venezuela may be inspired to decline the 'award' (sic) of USA Inc. meddling in their nation's affairs.

Another, who has regrettably now left the building, had me in stitches a few months ago when they proposed the really quite absurd notion that I, and another, were insurrectionists, planning a takeover of the forum!!

It took me a week to recover from that - pure comedy gold, albeit delusional beyond absurdity. That was almost as funny as hearing Jordan Peterson in an ABC (Australia) Q&A programme, whilst discussing healthy debating principles and the ills of pejoratives, cracking me up, deliciously so, when he said: "I have been called a Jewish shill and a Nazi both on the same day; that was a kind of high point."

What is much less amusing of course is the very real and transparent takeover of your beloved nation, by forces who couldn't care less for her citizens' welfare; that pains me as I know it does you. (And thank you for directing me to your post providing background regarding your situation. Despite having read the entire thread I hadn't remembered seeing that.)

Here is what I wrote a little while ago concerning the information that is being provided for healthy debate on this very important thread:

Post 147

It did receive a few thanks at the time as well.

I value enormously your input here: it's critical to have all views represented fairly. I don't think we are ever really going to see things quite the same way, but that doesn't matter really very much at all. Having available as much [good] and varied information as possible so that the conversation can hopefully lead toward, and inspire a resolution, whatever shape it may take, takes precedence.

It may also be wise to consider this:

Not all problems have solutions, but most have explanations.

I continue to hold you in very high regard; thank you for your contributions, and long may they continue. Salut.

[AutumnW]

Posted by perolator (here)

Posted by latte (here)
This heart wrenching article addresses some of the effects of the sanctions and other actions taken by the US. Truly horrendous.

The 27-page paper was authored by economists Mark Weisbrot and Jeffrey Sachs, who determined that sanctions have “inflicted very serious harm to human life” in Venezuela.

“The sanctions are depriving Venezuelans of lifesaving medicines, medical equipment, food, and other essential imports,” Weisbrot, Co-Director of CEPR, said in a press release. For his part, Sachs added, “American sanctions are deliberately aiming to wreck Venezuela’s economy and thereby lead to regime change.”

Sanctions are nothing compared to the Venezuelan government. Cuba has survived tighter sanctions for 60 years.

Right now riots are occurring, I hope the criminal regime ends ASAP.

The current sanctions are the main culprit here. To suggest otherwise is rather bizarre. Imho, the sanctions were imposed to put the squeeze on Venezuela, so Big Oil could move in and buy (take) oil wealth for cents on the dollar.

Most of what you are currently experiencing has been imposed from outside--including concerted Yankee efforts to keep the price of oil relatively cheap. They anxiously await a fire sale after Venezuela beats itself to death in a civil war. Perolator, you are not helping your countrymen by siding with the greater evil.

[Hervé]

Details Emerge on Failed US-Backed Coup in Venezuela


Jason Ditz
Posted on May 2, 2019

Opposition figure Lopez met with generals while under house arrest

Venezuela has a recent history replete with cases of failed opposition uprisings, rebellions, and coup attempts. US involvement is usually alleged, often with evidence, but rarely confirmed. This week, however, the US was quick to put its stamp on the coup attempt, and seemed highly confident that it would be a great success.

Once it failed, it was a bit too late for the administration to deny involvement. Days later, information continues to emerge on what happened, why the US was so confident, and how ultimately the assured victory they thought they had didn’t pan out.

Much of the coup, after all, is in the planning stages. The US spent weeks getting what was thought sufficient support on their side to force Maduro from power. This network of support was built by US diplomats and, in part, opposition figure Leopoldo Lopez.

Mike Pompeo and others have claimed the US got together a deal with the Supreme Court chief justice, the defense minister, and the head of the presidential guard. Lopez, despite the considerable disadvantage of being under house arrest, said he met with a number of generals.

All told, everyone seemed to think this would be enough. The plan was for the chief justice to rule Maduro’s inauguration invalid, giving Guaido pretext to name himself interim president. Then the defense ministry and generals would just fall into line.

Instead, almost none of the pieces fell into place, leaving the US just confidently predicting victory for a Guaido side, and then trying to blame Cuba, Russia, and everyone else when it didn’t go to plan.

The end result has Maduro still in power, Lopez managing to get from house arrest into the Spanish Embassy, and the Trump Administration with egg all over its face. Individual officials are scrambling for excuses, Pompeo claiming Russia talked Maduro off the tarmac at the airport, while John Bolton came up with allegations of 25,000 Cuban troops being present.

This embarrassing state of affairs is fueling a new round of threats for the US to invade outright and impose Guaido’s rulership. Large turnout at the pro-Maduro May Day rally, however, are raising questions about everything the US is claiming, particularly the unity behind Guaido.

Some officials are still suggesting there might be some other way to oust Maduro, and Elliott Abrams is even claiming a secret document exists that was supposed to guarantee that the coup would work. Since it didn’t, however, the value of the document seems questionable.

[Hervé]

Alleged US government doc from February 2018 details planned coup in Venezuela

Eric Zuesse Sott.net
Sat, 04 May 2019 11:37 UTC

Kurt W. Tidd © Ezequiel Becerra / AFP

A detailed plan from "UNITED STATES SOUTHERN COMMAND" dated "23 FEBRUARY 2018" was issued with the title "PLAN TO OVERTHROW THE VENEZUELAN DICTATORSHIP 'MASTERSTROKE'" and is here presented complete.

This document was personally signed by Admiral Kurt W. Tidd, who was the Commander (the chief), at SOUTHCOM, and he was thus the top U.S. military official handling Venezuela. But this was far more than just a military plan. It was comprehensive - directing military, diplomatic, and propaganda, policies - regarding the Trump Administration's planned "Overthrow" of Venezuela's Government. His plan has since guided the Administration's entire operation, including "the capacities of the psychological war," regarding Venezuela.

It instructed SOUTHCOM:

"Encouraging popular dissatisfaction by increasing scarcity and rise in price of the foodstuffs, medicines and other essential goods for the inhabitants. Making more harrowing and painful the scarcities of the main basic merchandises." ...

"intensifying the undercapitalization of the country, the leaking out of foreign currency and the deterioration of its monetary base, bringing about the application of new inflationary measures." ...

"Fully obstruct imports, and at the same time discouraging potential foreign investors in order to make the situation more critical for the population." ...

"compelling him to fall into mistakes that generate greater distrust and rejection domestically" ...

"To besiege him, to ridicule him and to pose him as symbol of awkwardness and incompetence. To expose him as a puppet of Cuba." ...

"Appealing to domestic allies as well as other people inserted from abroad in the national scenario in order to generate protests, riots and insecurity, plunders, thefts, assaults and highjacking of vessels as well as other means of transportation, with the intention of deserting this country in crisis through all borderlands and other possible ways, jeopardizing in such a way the National Security of neighboring frontier nations. Causing victims and holding the Government responsible for them. Magnifying, in front of the world, the humanitarian crisis in which the country has been submitted to." ...

"Structuring a plan to get the profuse desertion of the most qualified professionals from the country, in order 'to leave it with no professionals at all', which will aggravate even more the internal situation and along these lines putting the blame on of Government." ...

"the presence of combat units from the United States of America and the other named countries, under the command of a Joint General Staff led by the USA."

It was posted online at the Voltairenet site, and was first copied to a web archive on 14 May 2018. So, it has been online since at least that date. However, because the photo in it of the document wasn't made available via software which includes the individual symbols, but presented only the full visual image of the paper document, it still hasn't yet gone viral on the Web. Here, therefore, is the first appearance, on the Web, of the full document, that's manually copied, character-by-character, so that each phrase in this document becomes, for the first time, web-searchable, and thereby conveniently available for journalists and historians to quote from. This prophetic document - the source for what has happened afterward in and to Venezuela - might therefore finally receive the public attention that it so clearly merits.

The document starts with propaganda against Venezuela's existing Government (and it totally ignores the extent to which the pre-existing U.S. economic sanctions against Venezuela had actually caused these problems), and it then proceeds to present the U.S. plan to overthrow the 'dictatorship'. (Tidd refers to Maduro only as "the Dictator," except at the very start and very end. At the end, he commands "the denouncement toward Maduro's regimen" and he also uses the phrase "the enemy" to refer to him - as if there had been the U.S. Constitutionally required authorization, by the U.S. Congress, of this "war." The close urges "the dispatch of a UNO military force for the imposition of peace, once Nicolas Maduro's corrupt dictatorship is defeated." The U.N. is militarily to "impose" "peace," after the U.S. and its allies have conquered Venezuela.)

Although Tidd placed 100% of the blame for Venezuela's problems upon Maduro, and ignored the crucial extent to which U.S. economic sanctions had caused them, his plan emphasized that the U.S. must actively make things even worse for the Venezuelan public than America's economic sanctions had yet done. His coup-plan is loaded with such statements, and, in fact, opens with one: "Encouraging popular dissatisfaction by increasing scarcity and rise in price of the foodstuffs, medicines and other essential goods for the inhabitants. Making more harrowing and painful the scarcities of the main basic merchandises." So: he wasn't naive. America's induced suffering upon Venezuelans was part of his plan for Venezuelans, in order to get them to do what the U.S. regime wants them to do - overthrow Maduro. Furthermore, the United States Government has had extensive successes in previous such operations. One example is that this was how Chile's Salvador Allende was brought down in 1973 (at a time when the U.S. Government's claims to have done it for 'national security' reasons had much more credibility than its current excuse of helping the Venezuelan people does, because the supposedly ideological Cold War was still on). The only excuse that the perpetrators can come up with, this time around, is "to put an end to the Venezuelan nightmare and the awakening of theirs beloved nation at a luminous dawn, in which the vision of fortune, true peace and tranquility predominate for their fellow citizens." Impoverish the nation, in order to help Venezuelans attain "true peace and tranquility." That's the plan.

Below is the document's entire text.

SOUTHCOM
TOP SECRET
23 FEB 2018

PLAN TO OVERTHROW
THE VENEZUELAN DICTATORSHIP
"MASTERSTROKE"

UNITED STATES SOUTHERN COMMAND
23 FEBRUARY 2018

TOP SECRET/20180223

CURRENT SITUATION

The Venezuelan Chavista dictatorship staggers as a result of its frequent internal problems; there is a great shortage of foodstuffs, an exhaustion of the sources of foreign currency and a rampant corruption. The international support, won with petrodollars, becomes scarcer each time and the purchasing power of its national currency is in a constant downfall.

Such scenario is not supposed to change, but the Venezuelan present-day leaders, as they usually do, in their despair to preserve their power, are capable to appeal to new populist measures that perpetuate their positions of privilege; the only mechanism that sustains them obstinate to the struggle to hold on their positions.

Maduro's corrupt regimen will collapse but regrettably, the divided opposing forces, legitimate defenders of democracy and the well-being of their people, do not have power enough to put an end to the Venezuelan nightmare and the awakening of theirs beloved nation at a luminous dawn, in which the vision of fortune, true peace and tranquility predominate for their fellow citizens.

The internal disputes, the supreme particular likings, the corruption similar to the one of their rivals, as well as the scarcity of rooting, do not grant them the opportunity to make the most of this situation and to give the necessary step to overturn the state of penury and precariousness in which the pressure group, that exercises the leftist dictatorship, has submerged the country. We are at the presence of an unprecedented criminal action in Latin America.

This affects the entire region, there is no respect to international right and local political alternatives are unacceptable.

Democracy spreads out in America, continent in which radical populism was intended to take over. Argentina, Ecuador and Brazil are examples of it. The rebirth of democracy has the support of the most valuable determinations, and the conditions in the regions run in its favour.

It is the time for the United States to prove, with concrete actions, that they are implicated in that process, where overthrowing Venezuelan dictatorship will surely mean a continental turning point.

It is the first opportunity of the Trump Administration to bring forward the vision in reference to security and democracy. Showing its active commitment is crucial, not only for the administration, but also for the continent and for the world.

The time has come to

Steps to speed up the definite overthrow of Chavismo and the expulsion of its representative:

Undermining the decadent popular support to Government.

• Encouraging popular dissatisfaction by increasing scarcity and rise in price of the foodstuffs, medicines and other essential goods for the inhabitants. Making more harrowing and painful the scarcities of the main basic merchandises.

Securing he the present-day dictator's irreversible deterioration

• Developing actions to encourage the egocentrism and the verbal incontinence of the Dictator, compelling him to fall into mistakes that generate greater distrust and rejection domestically, while continuing to minimize the international significance of his public figure.
• To beseige him, to ridicule him and to pose him as symbol of awkwardness and incompetence. To expose him as a puppet of Cuba. Exacerbating the division among members of the governing group. Revealing the differences in his living conditions with respect to those of his followers, at the same time to incite them to keep on increasing those divergences. Highlighting examples as the ones of Rafael Ramirez from PDVSA and Nelson Mercengtes from gthe BCV.
• Making his government unsustainable, forcing him to claudication, to negotiate or to run away, as other close collaborators have done.
• Making provisions for a back or escaping door, in case he finally chooses to look for a safe port out of his country.

Increasing the internal instability to a critical level.

• Intensifying the undercapitalization of the country, the leaking out of foreign currency and the deterioration of its monetary base, bringing about the application of new inflationary measures that increase its deterioration and that simultaneously provoke the citizens with less access - who support the present-day rulers - and those who are best positioned, to see their social status threatened or affected. Establishing that the use of bitcoin, Petro, is a key element in the deterioration of the economy, which is an unconstitutional and illegal manipulation of the national currency, useable for money laundering.
• Fully obstructing imports, and at the same time, discouraging potential foreign investors in order to contribute to make more critical the situation of the population - mainly in the sphere of oil, essential for any attempt of recuperation of the national economy.
• Appealing to domestic allies as well as other people inserted from abroad in the national scenario in order to generate protests, riots and insecurity, plunders, thefts, assaults and highjacking of vessels as well as other means of transportation, with the intention of deserting this country in crisis through all borderlands and other possible ways, jeopardizing in such a way the National Security of neighboring frontier nations. Causing victims and holding the Government responsible for them. Magnifying, in front of the world, the humanitarian crisis in which the country has been submitted to.
• Making use of the generalized corruption and the originating profits from their operations with prohibited drugs, to do away with their image in front of the world and their domestic followers.
• Promoting fatigue inside the members of the PSUV, inciting the annoyance and nonconformity among themselves, for them to break noisily away from the line of the Government; for them to refuse the measures and restrictions which also affect them, inciting the rising of internal politic factions, which divides it in its schism, making it as weak as the the opposition is. Creating frictions between the PSUV and "Somos Venezuela".
• Structuring a plan to get the profuse desertion of the most qualified professionals from the country, in order "to leave it with no professionals at all", which will aggravate even more the internal situation and along these lines putting the blame on of Government.

Using the army officers as an alternative of definite solution.

• Continuing hardening the conditions inside the Armed Forces to carry out a coup d'etat before concluding 2018, if the crisis does not make the dictatorship to collapse or the dictator does not decide to move aside.
• Continuing setting fire to the common frontier with Colombia. Multiplying the traffic of fuel and other goods. The movement of paramilitaries, armed raids and drug trafficking. Provoking armed incidents with the Venezuelan frontier security forces.
• Recruiting paramilitaries mainly in the campsites of refugees in Cucuta, La Guajira and the north of Santander, areas largely populated by Colombian citizens who emigrated to Venezuela and now return, run away from the regimen to intensify the destabilizing activities in the common frontier between both countries. Making use of the empty space left by the FARC, the belligerency of the ELN and the activities in the area of the Gulf Clan.
• Preparing the involvement of allied forces in support of the Venezuelan army officers or to control the internal crisis, in the event they delay too much in taking the initiative.
• Establishing a speedy time line that prevents the Dictator to continue winning control on the internal scenario. If it's necessary, act before the elections stipulated for next April.
• Getting the support of the allied authorities of friendly countries (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Panama and Guyana).
• Organizing the provisioning, relief of troops, medical and logistic support from Panama. Making good use of the facilities of electronic surveillance and signals intelligence, the hospitals and its deployed endowments in Danen, the equipped airdromes for the Colombian Plan, as well as the landing fields of the old-time military bases of Howard and Albrook, as well as the one belonging to "Rio Halo". In addition, the Humanitarian Regional Center of the United Nations, designed for situations of catastrophes and humanitarian emergency, which has an aerial landing field and its own warehouses.
• Moving on the basification of combat airplanes and choppers, armored conveyances, intelligence positions, and special military and logistics units (police and military district attorneys and prisons).
• Developing the military operation under international flag, patronized by the Conference of American Armies, under the protection of the OAS and the supervision, in the legal and media context, of the Secretary General Luis Almagro. Declaring the necessity that the continental commandment be strengthened to act, using the instrument of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, in order to avoid the democratic rupture.
• Binding Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Panama to the contribution of greater number of troops, to make use of their geographic proximity and experience in operations in forest regions. Strengthening their international condition with the presence of combat units from the United States of America and the other named countries, under the command of a Joint General Staff led by the USA.
• Using the facilities at Panamanian territory for the rear guard and the capacities of Argentina for the securing of the ports and the maritime positions.
• Leaning on Brazil and Guyana to make use of the migratory situation that we intend to encourage in the border with Guyana.
• Coordinating the support to Colombia, Brazil, Guyana, Aruba, Curacao, Trinidad and Tabago and other States in front of the flow of Venezuelan immigrants in the event of the crisis. Promoting international participation in this effort, as part of the multilateral operation with contribution of the States, Non-Profit Organizations and international bodies. Supplying the adequate logistic, intelligence, surveillance and control support.
• Anticipating, specially, the most vulnerable points in Arauca, Puerto Carreno and Ininda, Maicao, Barranquilla and Sincelejo, in Colombia, and Roramia, Manaos and Boa Vista, in Brazil.

Information Strategie

• Silencing the symbolic presence of Chavez-representative of unit and popular support-, and in the other way around, keeping the harassment to the Dictator as the only responsible of the crisis in which he has submerged the nation.
• Holding the Dictator and his closer followers responsible, in the first place, for the prevailing crisis due to his inability to find the way out that the Venezuelans are in need of.
• Intensifying the media denouncement about the cubanization of Venezuela.
• Outstandingly intensifying the denouncement toward Maduro's regimen, considering him

1. A criminal
2. A illegitimate
3. A thief of the wealth of the Venezuelan people
4. Someone who plunders the national treasury to carry out his evasion

• Highlighting the incompetence of the mechanisms of integration created by the regimens of Cuba and Venezuela, specially the ALBA and PETROCARIBE, in order to tackle the situation of the country and their inability to find solutions to the problems that the citizens are facing.
• Increasing, inside the country and through the mass media established abroad, the dissemination of designed messages based on testimonies and publications originated in the country, making use of all the possible capacities, including the social networks.
• Claiming, through that mass media, the need to put an end to this situation because of its unsustainable essence.
• Justifying and assuring through violent means the international backup to the deposal of the dictatorship, displaying an extensive dissemination, inside the country and to the entire world, through all the open means and the capacities of the psychological war of the US ARMY.
• Assuring that the disclosed images and reports of the military actions are approved by the General Staff to prevent their manipulation and use by the enemy.
• The United States should entirely back up the OAS, strengthening the image of the OAS and other multilateral institutions for the inter-American system, as instruments for the solution to the regional problems.
• Promoting the request of the the dispatch of a UNO military force for the imposition of peace, once Nicolas Maduro's corrupt dictatorship is defeated.

[signature]
K.W. TIDD
Admiral, USN
COMMANDER

Investigative historian Eric Zuesse is the author, most recently, of They're Not Even Close: The Democratic vs. Republican Economic Records, 1910-2010, and of CHRIST'S VENTRILOQUISTS: The Event that Created Christianity.

Related:

• Support the legal government in Venezuela not the US warmongers

• 'United as never before' Maduro leads a military march and thanks the army for its loyalty

• Tension rises between US and Russia over Venezuela standoff

• Trump and Putin discuss Venezuela and North Korea during phone call, Mueller report 'only briefly'

[Hervé]

Coup flops in Venezuela and Guaido's shadow 'ambassador' flees in failure as DC embassy protectors hold their ground

Max Blumenthal The Gray Zone
Thu, 02 May 2019 15:27 UTC

© The Gray Zone

A group of determined US activists forced Juan Guaido's shadow ambassador, Carlos Vecchio, to flee from a rally that was supposed to mark his triumphant entry into the Venezuelan embassy in Washington

It was supposed to be a day of triumph for Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido and his forces in Washington DC. In Caracas, the opposition had launched "Operacion Libertad," a coup attempt that promised to flip high level figures in the military and Maduro's inner circle and deliver Miraflores Palace to Guaido. And in Washington, self-declared ambassador Carlos Vecchio was poised to take control of Venezuela's embassy from Maduro's representatives.

But by the end of the Mayday holiday, Guaido's plot had been resoundingly defeated, while Vecchio was seen fleeing the embassy after his speech before 50 or so fanatical right-wing supporters was overwhelmed by a group of anti-coup protesters both inside and outside the embassy. It was a humiliating defeat for a US-backed opposition that has not achieved a single concrete victory since launching its coup attempt over 75 days ago.

For over a week, a group of US citizens calling itself the "Embassy Protection Collective" has stymied the opposition's plans to seize the embassy, denying its leadership the veneer of legitimacy it has been desperately seeking. Members of the collective moved into the embassy at the invitation of its official owners in the Venezuelan government, and have maintained a round-the-clock presence to prevent a growing mob of opposition activists from occupying the grounds.

On April 30, the pro-coup mob outside turned violent, physically assaulting embassy protectors, and hurling racist, sexist and homophobic abuse at others. The following day, an opposition activist broke into the embassy and ransacked a room before he was removed by Secret Service officers. Hours later, a small band of opposition members destroyed security cameras attached to the embassy. The Secret Service has done nothing so far to prevent or punish criminal acts that violate DC's civil code and Article 22 of the Vienna Conventions on the protection of diplomatic facilities.

(click on picture to go to twitter video)

Alex Rubinstein ✔ @RealAlexRubi
Replying to @RealAlexRubi

George Roy talks about how opposition activists compared him to a monkey and called him "negrito"

7:41 PM - May 1, 2019

At 5 PM on May 1, Vecchio arrived with a gaggle of carefully coiffed supporters in formal wear, presenting the image of a team of professionals ready to get to work. In expectation of the takeover, they brought an official-looking placard and equipment to affix it to the embassy's front door.

(click on picture to go to twitter video)

Adrienne Pine @adriennepine

The Secret Service just helped some “embassy workers” get their formal placard and equipment out so they can try to take over the embassy.

11:03 PM - May 1, 2019

But the changing of the guard would never take place. As soon as Vecchio launched into what was supposed to be a victory speech, he was drowned out by chanting from inside the embassy, and from across the street, where anti-coup protesters had filled the sidewalk.

Alex Rubinstein ✔ @RealAlexRubi
· May 1, 2019

Replying to @RealAlexRubi

Embassy protectors chant "Trump's stooge" as Guiado ambassador's Carlos Vecchio speaks

(click on picture to go to twitter video)

Alex Rubinstein ✔ @RealAlexRubi

Maybe it's because it's in my ear, but @ArielElyseGold seems to be drowning out Vecchio pic.twitter.com/wzwoOYfsQI

11:44 PM - May 1, 2019

(click on picture to go to twitter video)

Minutes after his abbreviated speech concluded, Vecchio bolted from the rally and fled down a sidewalk, with Secret Service agents and opposition vigilantes pushing reporters away. His hurried exit from the scene marked the failure of an obviously ill-conceived publicity stunt.

Max Blumenthal ✔ @MaxBlumenthal
· May 2, 2019
Replying to @MaxBlumenthal

Amazing scene at the Venezuelan embassy as fake ambassador @carlosvecchio was unable to finish his own speech and overwhelmed by anti-coup protesters and embassy protectors. Vecchio fled with secret service.

(click on picture to go to twitter video)

Max Blumenthal ✔ @MaxBlumenthal

Here is @carlosvecchio fleeing at full speed from what was supposed to be his own triumphant moment, and bolting from the press.

The Venezuelan embassy remains under the control of the country’s elected government. pic.twitter.com/ChoQm3bQmb


12:25 AM - May 2, 2019

(click on picture to go to twitter video)

After Vecchio fled the scene, the remains of the opposition mob returned to its favorite practices: hurling racist and sexist invective and death threats at the embassy protectors, vandalizing the embassy, and palling around with Secret Service officers.

Inside the embassy, the embassy protectors celebrated another success. They had held off a takeover attempt on a momentous day, while Guaido's coup flopped in Caracas.

"Today was a major victory for the Embassy Protection Collective," Kevin Zeese, an organizer of the embassy action, told The Grayzone. "Vecchio was embarrassed coming to 'his' embassy and being shouted down. He was unable to demand that we leave the embassy. Now we can say that the US coup is failing even in the United States."

Max Blumenthal is an award-winning journalist and the author of several books, including best-selling Republican Gomorrah, Goliath, The Fifty One Day War, and The Management of Savagery. He has produced print articles for an array of publications, many video reports, and several documentaries, including Killing Gaza. Blumenthal founded The Grayzone in 2015 to shine a journalistic light on America's state of perpetual war and its dangerous domestic repercussions.

Related:
Pro Guaido supporters harass journalists, anti-war activists outside Venezuela’s US embassy (VIDEOS)

[Hervé]

“Psychopath Capitalism”: US Economic Terrorism and Genocide Against the People of Venezuela

By Carla Stea Global Research
May 03, 2019

April 25: Foreign Minister Arreaza Describes Excruciating Suffering of the Venezuelan People Resulting From US Sanctions;

April 26: US Violates its Obligation as UN Host Country and Sanctions the Foreign Minister for Speaking Truth to Power

“We are not only on the wrong side, we are the wrong side.”
Pentagon Papers Expert Daniel Elllsberg

“American sanctions are deliberately aiming to wreck Venezuela’s economy and thereby lead to regime change. It’s a fruitless, heartless, illegal, and failed policy, causing grave harm to the Venezuelan people.”
Professor Jeffrey Sachs

US Maneuvers at the United Nations
The entire official schedule of meetings of the United Nations Commission on Disarmament – April 8 through April 29 – was forced to cancel because the United States, in violation of its obligations as host country, refused a visa to important Russian delegates.



On April 25, Venezuela’s brilliant, charismatic Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza (above) detailed, in a United Nations press briefing, the horrific suffering the Venezuelan people are enduring as a result of the dictatorship of US sanctions against his country, and US terrorization of each and every global institution and nation which the US is demanding sever all economic and diplomatic ties with Venezuela.

In a stealthy, deadly march to global dictatorship, and consistent with its attempt to subjugate the United Nations to the interests of US oligarchic power, the United States is abusing its membership in the United Nations, attempting to force regime change on Venezuela, using criminal methods in violation of the Hague Convention, the Geneva Convention, the United Nations Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Charter of the Organization of American States, the Venezuelan Constitution, and in violation of U.S. law itself.

The U.S. maneuvers to destroy the Maduro government’s UN accreditation, and replace it with their puppet Guaido are horrifying and Machiavellian, and, quite realistically, since the US has absolutely no scruples, nor any respect for international law, there is an ominous possibility that they may succeed. Numerous diplomats of many countries, with whom I have spoken, are terrified by the sanctions the US just placed on the Venezuelan Foreign Minister, recognizing the threat to their own sovereignty, and sophisticated Iranian specialists delineated the dangerous possibilities the US has to use this method to force out the Venezuelan delegation to the UN, and de facto denude the Maduro government’s access to the UN. If the US succeeds in this criminal scheme, the credibility of the UN will be entirely and irreparably destroyed, as the many diplomats with whom I have spoken have confirmed. Many delegates are now saying that the UN would be better based in another more reliable and respectful country. Venezuela is Chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement, an organization of 120 member states. For the US to sanction her Foreign Minister is an unconscionable and intolerable abuse of the host country status.

The US has, furthermore, forged another mafia-style organization of flunkey Latin American “governments” which give every indication of becoming a new Operation Condor, that systematically organized engine of murder arranged by Augusto Pinochet and Henry Kissinger, (image above) an international organized criminal plan to exterminate all progressive and humanitarian efforts throughout Latin America and beyond.

Operation Condor orchestrated the slaughter of Chilean former Foreign Minister Orlando Letelier in Sheridan Circle, Washington, DC in 1976. Letelier bled to death after a car bomb arranged by Anti-Castro Cuban terrorists tore off his legs. An American girl working for the Institute of Policy Studies, Ronni Moffett was also killed in that terrorist action. In Argentina, Chilean General Carlos Prats was murdered when his Buenos Aires home was bombed; in Rome, Chilean Senator Bernardo Leighton’s wife was crippled by an assassin’s bullet intended for him; Operation Condor arranged the murder of former progressive Bolivian President Torres in Argentina.

Diabolic Methods Used by the US to Wreck Venezuela
In a colossal report entitled: “Economic Sanctions as Collective Punishment: The Case of Venezuela,” and corroborating everything stated by Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza, economist Jeffrey Sachs and Mark Weisbrot describe the diabolic methods used by the United States to wreck Venezuela and discredit socialism, resulting in the deliberate murder of at least 40,000 Venezuelan people, including children, the elderly, the infirm and other of the most vulnerable civilians. This is a systematic and deliberate policy of the US government, a heinous plan to exterminate socialism and massacre the Venezuelan people in order to steal their oil, a spectacular act of piracy brazenly conducted with the collusion of obedient puppets in Western Europe and Canada, and craven, obsequious Latin American states whose shameful obedience to Washington is breathtaking.

Complete Blockade
Washington is now threatening to completely blockade and sanction Cuba to force that country to sever relations with Venezuela. Nicaragua is, of course, also in the crosshairs.



Yesterday there was a failed coup, provoked by the Quisling Juan Guaido, (image above with Lopez) who incited a military revolt to violently overthrow the democratically elected government of Nicholas Maduro. If Joseph Biden or Bernie Sanders, or any American citizen advocated the violent overthrow of the US government, they would be imprisoned and/or executed. It is astounding that the Manchurian candidate Juan Guaido, advocating the violent overthrow of the Venezuelan government, is allowed to roam free, throughout Venezuela. This is incontestable proof of the impeccably democratic character of the Maduro government. And perhaps it is proof of Maduro’s strength and trust in the Venezuelan people. But Maduro’s life is at risk for his country. During yesterday’s emergency, Venezuelan Ambassador Samuel Moncada convened a UN press conference, and skillfully replied to often slanted and biased questions for which Moncada was well prepared, and had no doubt anticipated.

The US government is disintegrating, and has been for many years, with the current administration rife with internecine warfare. The French government is confronting an incipient popular revolution of the Yellow Jackets, the British government stymied by Brexit and separatist movements threatening the survival of the “United Kingdom.” It is only with the most flagrant arrogance that they criticize Venezuela.

It is agonizing to witness the mass murder of a heroic and progressive Venezuelan people, by a psychopathic capitalism which has not one iota of human decency, and wallowing in its cannibalistic behavior, desecrates the very concept of human rights. But that is the essence of monopoly capitalism, whose “highest” stage is fascism. One can only hope that Russia and China will recognize the future menace to their own survival, and will not indulge in the wishful thinking of a “win-win” arrangement with Washington. One can only hope that the crucible of Venezuela will prove to be the Stalingrad of this de facto World War III, and it will be on the battlefield of Venezuela, with its transgenerational legacy of Simon Bolivar, that fascism is defeated, and the future progressive destiny of humanity will be forged.

*

Carla Stea is Global Research’s correspondent at United Nations Headquarters, New York, N.Y.

Related:
The US Is Orchestrating a Coup in Venezuela


===============================================


One may wonder why - if the economic state of Venezuela was indeed already so dire - would the US scavengers need to put all their might behind all possible sanctions to bring the Venezuelan population to its knees to trigger a revolution against their Bolivarian government? If the rumors of rampant corruption and criminal activities (the de-facto products of previous sanctions) of a bona fide dictatorship have any truth to it, the US scavengers would only need to wait a little while longer to scoop Venezuela into their pocket... instead, with their sanctions, embargoes and blockades, these scavengers are helping build an incredible united resistance of the remaining Venezuelan population.

[Hervé]

MAJOR: Inside How the Coup was Foiled – Venezuela’s Army Chief Padrino TRICKED Trump & Abrams

By Vladimir Dobrynin Guest Author
May 5, 2019 @ 01:09
Last updated May 5, 2019

[Editors note – Head of Venezuela’s armed forces, Padrino, entirely conned Abrams, and the April 30th event was supposed to be major with Padrino backing it. This explanation below uses all the facts, including official statements, and puts them all together. It also is based on highly reputable Spanish sources. Moreover this conforms to how CSS already understands regime-change operations to have been foiled in various places, and significantly as we have written before, in 2002 in Venezuela itself. That is why it is necessary for the military intelligence to work on coup operations, so that they can reverse them. This story explains several others factors, such as the sporadic and pre-planned violence we saw on April 30th, such as a few armored cars fighting each other, as well as a likely fake situation where protesters were run over. In that scenario, its likely that the coup-involved personnel themselves ran over their own opposition protesters. We’ve seen it many times before, with the use of snipers, so why not with an armored car? FRN earlier today ran two stories which this amazing story below refer to, one that Trump talked to Putin after the failed coup attempt where Putin got to be extra firm, and second that Trump expressed distrust in US intelligence on Venezuela. This explains, of course, why. –
J. Flores]

While Juan Guaido and Nicolas Maduro played cat and mouse on Wednesday in the streets of Caracas with protests caused by the first of the two politicians named, the Trump administration tried to find out why the impostor was abandoned by the country on Tuesday, April 30th, and gave up on the coup operation.

According to confidential information obtained by the Spanish edition of ABC, the regime change plan arose from an agreement between US National Security Advisor John Bolton and Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino , which was concluded during several telephone conversations held in recent months. Padrino, and along with him, some other ministers and generals had to sign onto the agreement with the U.S president-appointed President Juan Guaido of the plan drawn up by opponents of Nicolas Maduro.

These documents contained a “road map”, according to which a coup would end with the election of the head of Venezuela “30 days after the Chavista regime surrendered and recognized Guaido as the person legally acting as head of the Republic.”

In parallel, the Supreme Court of Venezuela represented by its chairman, Michel Moreno , was to declare illegal the Constituent Assembly (National Constitutional Assembly), the branch of the legislative power created and controlled by Nicolas Maduro. And “with the observance of the necessary legal procedures and formalities to the head of the National Guard, General Ivan Rafael Hernandez Dala was charged with the duty to inform Maduro that he had only two options in the current situation: either he would leave the country, fleeing to Cuba, or be arrested at the request of the court. After that, a “top secret document from the depths of American intelligence” was supposed to appear on the scene, that in Venezuela there are between 20 and 25 thousand armed Cuban mercenaries supporting Maduro and keeping the whole Bolivarian Republic in fear ” (the armed forces of which have 235 thousand active military and 200 thousand more – reservists – author’s note.) Thus, by joint efforts of the USA and the Venezuelan military “the country would have been spared by the U.S appointed president of the dictator Maduro and from his support by battalions of soldiers of fortune from Cuba” .

But something went wrong. Maduro did not flee to Cuba, Padrino suddenly changed his mind about becoming the “godfather of the Venezuelan revolution” (by the way, Padrino translated from Spanish means “godfather”), and the vast majority of Venezuelan generals did not get in touch at the time appointed by the Americans. (There is an interesting moment during Guaido’s call to arms, with the 14 soldiers behind him, when a cell-phone goes off and distracts him – maybe that was the call, ‘it’s not happening’ – J. Flores)

Elliott Abrams, the special envoy of the US administration for Venezuela, complained that “he could not get through to anyone to give the right signal, as if by agreement, they turned off their mobile phones.”

ABC is a serious newspaper, not “jaundice” of any kind, operating with “phrases taken out of context and misinterpreted”. David Alandet , Lyudmila Vinogradoff and Imaru Rojas , three reporters of the publication, sharing information “received directly from a person at the US National Security Council”, never could be considered fans of Maduro (as is, incidentally, the leadership of Cuba and the Russian Federation), so to assert that their publication is fiction or fake, is baseless on those grounds.

“Agreements between representatives of the Washington administration and Venezuelan generals in the presence of Juan Guaido were to be signed on Tuesday (May 1) at the location of the La Carlota military base near Caracas. Together with the self-styled president, another opposition leader, Leopoldo Lopez , was supposed to put his signature on the document. But strangely, instead of La Carlota, Lopez entered the Spanish embassy in the Venezuelan capital and asked for political asylum there. (FRN previously, and in error, reported that he arrived at the Chilean embassy – now we are clear that Chilean consular vehicles escorted him to the Spanish embassy – J. Flores)

“High-ranking sources” indicate a complete lack of information about what exactly went wrong with the American scenario. They know only the final result: Nicolas Maduro did not leave the presidential palace Miraflores on Tuesday. Some other unnamed experts say that “Vladimir Padrino [Defense Minister] is to blame for everything, at the last moment he made a total reversal”.

Elliott, according to the authors, “expressed particular disappointment with the position of Vladimir Padrino, a key figure of both the Chavistas and the intended revolution, designed to overthrow it.”

“They talked a lot, but they way it all came down, it was for nothing,” the special representative of the White House for Venezuela stated with frustration. But it was all a con-job by the Venezuelan military intelligence against the U.S coup plan. Acting US Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan even surprised many and canceled his visit to Europe – according to the Pentagon spokesman, he wanted to “personally coordinate the actions of the National Security Council and the Department of Homeland Security, taking into account what is happening in Venezuela and on the border of the States with Mexico. ” It is possible that champagne, in order to “raise the glasses and toast them all at once,” was also purchased and were kept in the refrigerator for the celebration.

But the hour did not come. Not as expected. Nicolas Maduro, who, according to the calculations of American strategists, was to be already hiding somewhere in the suburbs of Havana, suddenly appeared on May Day in the evening on the Republic’s television screens and said that “for betraying the interests of the state, aiding the self-proclaiming Guaido and American imperialism, SEBIN’s Venezuelan intelligence officer Manuel Christopher Figuera is removed from his post and arrested. ”

On Wednesday morning, a video clip went viral in social networks in which a group of Vladimir Padrino’s relatives, including his mother, appealed to the Minister of Defense with an appeal “to break with Maduro and make a courageous step towards the people.”

But Padrino did not heed the requests of relatives.

Guaido managed to raise his followers (in accordance with the plan) and organize crowds of protesters in as many as 14 areas in Caracas. The impostor arrived at one of them himself and delivered an inspired speech, from time to time choking on saliva and stating that “there is no way back, call everyone you know, we will win, the usurper will be removed from power, he has already lost”.

Maduro’s supporters had a different opinion on this matter, but it still didn’t come to a collision with the opposition: National Guard units intervened, initially separating the opposing sides, and then surrounding the military rebels (they counted about 300) at La Carlota.

John Bolton and Mike Pompeo called Padrino a traitor (to American interests, of course) and “a key figure guilty of Maduro remaining in power.” The Venezuelan defense minister was promised to “block the oxygen” by arresting all the assets and real estate he had in Canada and the United States if he did not give the order to the officers to take the army to the streets.

“They want to drown Venezuela in blood,” said Defense Minister Padrino, addressing the country’s population in a video broadcast on the Internet. – That is why I ordered all the military to remain in the barracks. And deal with the unrest with the National Guard”.

US President Donald Trump didn’t understand why the remarkably elaborated Elliott Abrams Plan for Venezuela didn’t work, it would seem, and on Friday called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, and the Russian President reminded the American during the hour and a half that “interference from outside to internal affairs, attempts by forceful change of power in Caracas that undermine the prospects for a political settlement of the crisis would not be acceptable. ” Did Trump get it? We’ll find out later.


Vladimir Dobrynin, Madrid – translated by and for FRN –

[Hervé]

Here is a (long) summary of what has occurred in Venezuela in the past few months:

Solidarity, Survival and Sabotage: Reconstructing the History of the Blackouts Tormenting Venezuela

By Misión Verdad
April 1, 2019

While Venezuela’s government and the Chavista movement proclaimed victory over the worst blackouts to plague the country, Washington’s coup masters have promised more darkness until their goals are complete.

[Editor’s note: Between March 7th and 10th of 2019, Venezuela experienced the longest interruption of its electric system in the country’s history. The government alleged that the blackout was the result of a sabotage directed against the central computer of the main hydroelectric power station at El Guri in Bolívar State.

If the electrical collapse was indeed the result of an outside attack, it represented the most severe escalation of hostilities since the beginning of the latest regime change campaign. The blackout significantly disrupted Venezuelan society and showed that the war against the country targeted everyone, regardless of their political affiliations.

What follows is a reconstruction of those moments of darkness, showing how the deluge of fake news and humanitarian propaganda, the interruption and recovery of the electrical services, the calls for violence and the organization of the people and their families transformed daily life into a struggle for peace and coexistence. As in the past, the Chavismo movement successfully resisted Washington’s attempts to foment a civil war.

This analysis was originally published at the Venezuelan independent website Misión Verdad, and has been edited and adapted by The Grayzone]

Threats of intervention and the failure of “Plan Guaidó”
On January 23 of this year, the United States and its allies recognized Juan Guaidó as “President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela”, completely ignoring the Venezuelan Constitution and the more than 6 million Venezuelans who voted for Nicolas Maduro in the elections of May 20, 2018.

During the last two months, all mechanisms of economic suffocation against the country have been deployed. Everything from bank accounts to the assets of the Republic have been frozen by the U.S. government. Most glaring among these cases was the blockage of $1.2 billion in gold owned by Venezuela, located in the Bank of England, and the confiscation of CITGO, a subsidiary of PDVSA on US soil.

The amount of Venezuelan assets that the United States have seized is calculated at approximately $30 billion. Washington has used the excuse that it is merely “protecting those resources” to justify funneling them to the faux government of Guaidó.

Tactics of diplomatic and public relations harassment have also been escalated, with the intention of isolating the country internationally. But the plan has suffered multiple failures. The first occurred on February 23rd, the day when the “humanitarian aid” farce was used to generate an internal rupture in the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) and remove President Nicolás Maduro from power.

The hoopla of the ‘Aid Venezuela’ concert in Cúcuta, Colombia, and the supposed peaceful nature of the aid itself were exposed within a few hours as the violence on both international bridges and the failed attempt to ferry violent groups into Venezuela became impossible to ignore. When the opposition was exposed for burning trucks loaded with US aid, it suffered a powerful public relations blow.

Meanwhile, the country maintained a state of relative calm while the military remained cohesive and composed, degrading the regime change agenda. The coup was losing momentum by the day.

Bloomberg reported that while in Colombia, Juan Guaidó planned a European tour, but US officials ordered him to return to Venezuela to “take advantage of the momentum” and, in the process, “to seek his imprisonment.” In other words, the US was dangling Guaidó before the Venezuelan government, hoping to provoke them into arresting him and thereby generating the pretext for a military response. They knew that they were running against time and needed to stimulate military intervention.

Bloomberg also highlighted the declining importance of Guaidó in Venezuela and abroad. With Venezuelan institutions maintaining loyalty to Maduro, Guaidó’s promises of the “end of the usurpation” became increasingly improbable.

Meanwhile, in the UN Security Council, Venezuela’s diplomatic body pushed back in a meaningful way against the US agenda with the help of vetoes from the Russian and Chinese administrations against a US promoted draft resolution that aimed to further destabilize the country.

The double veto of Russia and China prevented the approval of the resolution presented by Elliott Abrams in the Security Council (Foto: Lucas Jackson / Reuters)

The US had planned on a lightning coup through a combination of massive external pressure and internal destabilization. But they failed to dislodge Maduro, and were unable to trigger the fragmentation of Venezuelan society that would have justified intervention.

On March 7, as the pressure mounted on the US to deliver losses to a government it had clearly underestimated, the electrical grid went dark.

Just a week before the blackout, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had warned that the US would “take action” against anyone who obstructed entry of the humanitarian aid. When the blackout hit, it became increasingly clear what Pompeo was referring to.


The attack on the electrical power grid and the case for sabotage
Around 5pm on Thursday, March 7, there was a plunge in the essential electricity supply systems in more than 80% of the national territory. The blackout was immediate and comprehensive.

Luis Motta Dominguez, the Minister of Electric Power, informed the government that the event was an act of sabotage to the main hydroelectric plant in the Guri Dam, Bolivar State, Venezuela. President Maduro, during his first appearance before the country, reported that the attack on the national electric system occurred in three stages.

The first stage, according to Dominguez, was the hacking the main computer and control systems. These systems would have been electronically assaulted, “leaving all computer screens black,” said the President. On Monday the 11th, Maduro also indicated that the attacks were made from Houston and Chicago, reaffirming that the US government itself was responsible for the cyber attack.

The second stage, Dominguez said, consisted of the use of electromagnetic pulse devices. Highly sophisticated devices of electronic warfare were aimed at the transmission systems and the control platform, disabling them and inducing the system to overload and fail.

The third stage was a direct physical attack to the intermediate platforms of electric distribution. There were five attacks on four substations, with little time between each one them; they were carried out simultaneously to stabilize the general electricity supply.

In the midst of the attack, Forbes published a piece by artificial intelligence and Big Data specialist Kalev Leetaru. While seeming to downplay the possibility of electrical sabotage, Leetaru made a remarkable concession.

“In the case of Venezuela,” he wrote, “the idea of a government like the United States remotely interfering with its power grid is actually quite realistic. Remote cyber operations rarely require a significant ground presence, making them the ideal deniable influence operation. Given the U.S. government’s longstanding concern with Venezuela’s government, it is likely that the U.S. already maintains a deep presence within the country’s national infrastructure grid, making it relatively straightforward to interfere with grid operations.”

Ver imagen en Twitter

MV English @MV_Eng

It's not sci-fi: the blackout in Venezuela could have been US-made. Even Forbes magazine says so.

4:58 - 13 mar. 2019

Leetaru added that, “The idea of ​​a foreign state manipulating the electricity grid to force a transitional government, is very real.” He added that these methods of attacks “are increasingly being discussed in national (US) security communities as legitimate and legal tactics to undermine a foreign state.”

The striking comments from a widely recognized tech expert reinforced the Venezuelan government’s assessment of the situation.

Though it did not mention Venezuela, a recent analysis by the World Economic Forum warned that “hackers are causing blackouts” in countries across the world, and demanded new policies to build up “cyber resilience.”

World Economic Forum ✔ @Davos

A blackspot for cybersecurity?

Read more: https://wef.ch/2U1xmn8 #electricity #technology

4:00 PM - Mar 27, 2019

On March 26, less than three weeks after the blackout in Venezuela, the White House quietly issued an executive order warning that “an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) has the potential to disrupt, degrade, and damage technology and critical infrastructure systems.” The order stated that EMP’s could “affect large geographic areas, disrupting elements critical to the Nation’s security and economic prosperity, and could adversely affect global commerce and stability.”

The curiously timed assessment suggested that the US had no shortage of familiarity with the potential havoc that could be wreaked with EMP’s.

As The Grayzone previously reported, Otpor – the US-funded soft power NGO that trained Guaido and other Voluntad Popular activists – composed a regime change strategy blueprint in 2010 that explicitly urged Venezuela’s opposition to exploit massive electricity blackouts.

Authored by Otpor co-founder Srdja Popovic, the memo described the potential collapse of the country’s electrical sector as “a watershed event” that “would likely have the impact of galvanizing public unrest in a way that no opposition group could ever hope to generate.”


Prophecies of doom from Washington’s coup masters
Just hours before the collapse of the Venezuelan electric system, the American lawmaker at the forefront of the campaign of destabilization issued a doomsday prophesy for the country.

Senator Marco Rubio visited Cúcuta to capitalize politically on the arrival of “humanitarian aid” (Foto: Archive)

At midday, March 7, during a hearing in the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Rubio warned that Venezuela was “going to enter a period of suffering that no nation has confronted in modern history.” He explicitly called for the US to stir “widespread unrest,” declaring that it “needs to happen” in order to achieve regime change. The blackout hit exactly five hours later.

Even before Minister of Communication Jorge Rodríguez was able to inform the media about the scope of the attack on the electric system, Rubio declared through his Twitter account that “backup generators have failed,” barely concealing his excitement.

On Friday 8th and Saturday 9th, the senator blamed the Maduro government for a “lack of diligence.”

At the same time, Guaidó took to Twitter to declare that ”the light would return to Venezuela when the “usurpation is terminated,” suggesting that the blackouts would only end once Maduro was out of power.

Rubio proceeded to publicize fake news about alleged newborn casualties at the University Hospital of Maracaibo, Zulia, and other hospitals of the national public health system. At the same time, several NGOs, such as Codevida, blasted out announcements of unconfirmed events regarding deaths, chaos and loss of public order in the national territory, creating a disproportionate and distorted perception of the events in order to market the theme of a supposed humanitarian crisis.

NGOs such as Codevida and others echoed Rubio’s false claim that 80 neonatal deaths had occurred, along with more than 200 deaths. This figure was denied by the president of the Medical Association of Zulia, Dianela Parra.

Meanwhile, Pompeo announced through social media platforms that Venezuela was, ”without medicine, without food, now without electricity and soon, without Maduro.”

Secretary Pompeo ✔ @SecPompeo
· Mar 8, 2019

The power outage and the devastation hurting ordinary Venezuelans is not because of the USA. It’s not because of Colombia. It’s not Ecuador or Brazil, Europe or anywhere else. Power shortages and starvation are the result of the Maduro regime’s incompetence.

Secretary Pompeo ✔ @SecPompeo

Maduro’s policies bring nothing but darkness.

6:11 AM - Mar 8, 2019

The statement sounded less like a prediction than a strategic blueprint for regime change. His comments were echoed by Eliot Abrams, who proclaimed in a radio interview that “pressure will increase, US pressure and internal pressure also. Especially this week, when there’s no light!”

Meanwhile, John Bolton urged the Venezuelan military to accept the amnesty offer put forward by Guaidó. It was just the latest attempt to promote rifts in the army’s officer corps and promote rebellion in the army, which was working to protect the national electric system from further damage.

Western media exploited the situation to amplify the narrative of a humanitarian crisis and portray a nation submerged in chaos. New York Times correspondent Anatoly Kurmanaev claimed hyperbolically that Venezuela had descended into the “law of the jungle,” and predicted a post-apocalyptic “Mad Max” scenario just over the horizon. In this way, the international press reinforced the messaging of the Trump administration.

(continued below)

...

[Hervé]

...

... continued:

Life during the blackout
The blackout coincided with the end of workday for the majority of the population. Traffic was interrupted by the non operational lights. In cities with underground public transportation, such as Caracas, Los Teques, Valencia and Maracaibo, overground traffic was overloaded with the population that could not use the tunnels. Similarly, the collapse of the rail system that connected Valles del Tuy with Caracas made the transportation situation even more difficult.

The blackout interrupted all public services, including ground transportation that was replaced by Metrobus units (Foto: AFP)

The telephone communication system was affected and only those who were within reach of radio repeaters with an alternative source of power could communicate by cell phone. Thanks to radio broadcasts, many knew that the blackout was nationwide. Those who owned cars used them as a source of power to recharge phones and listen to the radio.

For many people, the first night consisted of staying home and waiting for news. Friday the 8th brought official confirmation that the blackout had done deep damage across the country. School and work activities were suspended, but news of a gradual and progressive recovery of the electric service soon arrived, starting with the eastern states of the country, communicated through official and extra-official means.

Still for many, there was a second night with absolutely no power.

On Saturday morning, after a significant recovery of the service, another widespread blackout hit the country. On top of the lack of electricity, there was the challenge to get basic goods like gasoline, food and drinking water.

Caracas in the first hours of the blackout (Foto: Reuters)

Getting gasoline was possible only if a station had its own generator. The banking system did not work or was working intermittently, affecting all commercial activities. In Caracas, businesses lacked staff and last but not least, the supply of potable water to most areas of the country was limited because its pumping system relied on electricity. Only those communities with water supply sources at above ground level could access the service.

Instead of assuming a collaborative attitude and support to the community to overcome the crisis, the Venezuelan opposition led by Guaidó attempted to magnify the anxiety and anguish by attempting to ignite chaos in the streets and encouraging violent looting.

The cyber attack against Corpoelec’s computerized system at the Guri hydroelectric plant and against the main operational ’brain’ in Caracas, was followed by attacks explained by President Maduro as electromagnetic operations and, simultaneously, a sabotage to other infrastructure which halted and reversed the recovery process, with the apparent intention to make a total collapse irreversible.

President Nicolás Maduro placed special emphasis on one of the sabotages of this operation: the explosion of the electrical substations in Baruta and El Hatillo, which caused fires in the early hours of Monday morning. Much of Caracas suffered a power outage again.

Explosion of two transformers of the electricity substation of Terrazas of the Club Hipico of Baruta (Foto: Gaby Oráa / RMTF)

The Communications Minister, Rodríguez, added that the Tacoa thermoelectric plant in Vargas had been sabotaged as well. He said that the gas that supplied the station had been cut off, causing an explosion and depriving the capital, Caracas, of a backup supply of energy.

It’s important to note that Venezuela has a mixed energy generation system. First, there is the hydroelectric power plant at Guri that supplies the majority of the country, and then there is a thermoelectric power plant at Tacoa. The capital, with the largest concentration of the population, feeds from both sources. Rodriguez explained that if the blackout happened under normal circumstances, “Greater Caracas could have easily been supplied on the Tacoa system.”

Other explosions of transformers were reported in the interior of the country, affecting mainly the western region. In Zulia, the explosion was reported on Tuesday 12th in the afternoon, in the Las Cabillas sector of the Cabimas municipality. This state has also suffered from violent and irregular actions that have affected several businesses. Also in the Larense municipality of Cabudare, the explosion of another substation occurred on Monday 11th, causing greater delays in the restitution of energy in the area.

The harsh consequences of the blackout and Guaidó’s destabilization plan
The blackouts caused serious discomfort and inconvenience for most Venezuelans. But they also prompted a striking show of resilience, as citizens came together to defy the attempts to destabilize their society.

National media outlets like El Universal and El Correo del Orinoco reported through their social media platforms that the traffic system of Caracas had collapsed due mainly to the interruption of electric power during peak hours. The operations of the Caracas Metro were stopped and the population had to travel by foot or by other means in order to get home on March 7.

The interruption of the electricity system brought down telecommunications and banking platforms (Foto: Reuters)

The loss of electricity led to the collapse of the electronic payment platforms and their systems, generating serious complications for consumers throughout the country soon after the blackout. This platform malfunctions would only worsen, as banking institutions saw their backup generating systems also collapse because of the excessive number of transactions made during those hours. Offline points of sale, combined with the deficiencies in cash flow, limited the purchasing capabilities of the Venezuelan population during the following Friday and Saturday.

Sales and perishable goods such as meats and vegetables were also affected. The National Federation of Cattle Management reported a 2 million kg of beef loss during the blackout in slaughterhouses across the nation. In the majority of households, families chose to consume these foods as soon as possible.

In cities with high temperatures, such as Maracaibo, where the use of air conditioners is common, the discomfort was even greater. The water service was affected in cities and towns that depend on hydraulic pumps for their supply.

A Caracas resident collects water from the Waraira Repano Hill after the blackout that stopped water pumping in the city (Foto: Federico Parra / AFP)

There was also a telephone and internet interruption throughout the country. The CANTV, ABA, Movilnet, Digitel and Movistar servers, which rely on battery powered transmitting antennas, experienced a progressive drop of their signals as the power of their antennas ran out. Cable service platforms were also affected, with the exception of satellite platforms such as DirectTv. Many families and businesses with power plants were able to access national and foreign TV services through these satellite signals.

In many cities, the interruption of open radio and television signals was reported. Many stations don’t have power plants and those that did survived thanks to backup generators. This meant that besides the electrical blackout, there was also an information blackout, given that many of the few private broadcasters still on air were simply playing music, violating their obligation to keep the population informed about the events under development.

The interference in communication systems and the radio-electric spectrum was the perfect recipe for a toxic broth of misinformation, especially in the Andean region, allowing fake news to overwhelm the reality of the situation.

All these components – rumors, false information, distortions and half truths – pushed a noticeable percentage of the population into a frenzied and anxious state of mind.

In the State of Zulia, violent groups looted deposits belonging to Empresas Polar: beer, soft drinks and other beverages. Guaidó justified the looting on the grounds that it was motivated by hunger.

Juan Guaidó’s call for looting generated destruction and violence in shops in the state of Zulia (Foto: Reuters)

Many service stations do not have a generator to support the supply of fuel. Lines for gasoline were seen in places throughout the country and the mobility of the population was seriously affected, while gas was redirected to supplying generators around the country. Rubio’s prophecy of the collapse of gasoline and food distribution had begun to to materialize. But the continuity of the PDVSA system of fuel distribution mitigated the impact, and the transportation of people and food was maintained, albeit at half throttle.

In some cities, barricades and road closures appeared as an immediate response to Guaidó’s calls for violence. Other known figures from the Venezuelan political opposition tried to provoke reactions among the population and called for their followers to spread the chaos nationwide. But most rejected the appeals for chaos, ensuring that any eruptions of violence that did occur were isolated and insignificant. The ultimate effect of the blackout was keep most people in their homes.

By Sunday the 10th, the government announced the partial restoration of electricity in several cities throughout the country. This helped restore calm while testifying to the resilience of a population that was able to manage the dire situation with support from their families and through communal solidarity.

Information began circulating on cellular platforms and TV networks about the recovery of the electrical system as well as news of nationwide social stability and the noticeable absence of violent elements seeking destabilization.

By Monday, Maduro had informed the nation about the army’s actions during the contingency plan, the deployment of its security mechanisms and declared victory over the electric sabotage. The president instructed the military corps to supply fuel to all health center plants in areas that were still affected and emphasized the return of communication platforms and other services dependent on the electrical system.

From that point, Maduro made it clear that it was the Bolivarian Government and not any other political element that would use strategic management to assume the task of normalizing daily activities. The announcement was a substantial setback to the destabilization plans. The ultimate goals of Washington – social fragmentation and chaos – remained unmet thanks to the rapid government and society-wide response.

By Tuesday, the electrical system appeared to be returning to normal and was overcoming its vulnerabilities. The reinstallation and start-up of the electric distribution was similar to the recovery of the main PDVSA system in 2003 during the oil industry sabotage enacted by the opposition, but this time, with a greater sense of commitment and a greater level of clarity about the severity of the scenario.

March 7, Bellas Artes Metro station. Some people tried unsuccessfully to agitate against President Nicolas Maduro (Foto: Rosana Silva)

Maduro declared victory over the assault on the electricity grid, framing the event as one of the most significant events in the protection of the country’s population.

Solidarity and communal strength: the people pool together
The magnitude of the electric attack would have resulted in a total collapse of Venezuela and its society, realizing the “failed state” label that Washington evokes constantly to justify direct military aggression.

But throughout Venezuela, the population rejected impulses to surrender to anguish, relying on family and community structures to address their needs. Resistance and community are constant themes in the culture of Chavismo, however, it is notable that despite calls to turn to violent protest, most opposition supporters stayed home – a tactic rejection of Guaidó’s divisive appeals.

In the barrios and countryside across the country, firewood was used to cook food, while neighbors scouted nearby areas for drinking water. Using cars only to make emergency trips and charge cellphones, communities were able to stay in touch and keep their members informed about the progress with respect to the restoration of the power supply.

8th of March, Bolivar Square. Women gathered to commemorate women’s day and show support for the government in the face of the sabotage on the electricity system (Foto: Rosana Silva)

The previous work of the Committees of Local Supply and Production (CLAP) was also a highlight. This organization was established to provide food at low cost to over six million citizens. In some states the distribution of food and domestic gas continued even with all communications cut off.

The CLAP program has complete records of the populations they support. It has served as a support network with a comprehensive map of the strongest and weakest areas, allowing each community to act according to its needs. Thanks to CLAP, government was able to maximize its effectiveness during the blackout by targeting the communities with the greatest needs.

Other organized groups accompanied the state with the smaller tasks to support the most vulnerable. One example took place at the JM de los Ríos Hospital, where in addition to guaranteeing medical attention to the hospitalized children. There, they were visited by artists who provided hours of healthy entertainment in the midst of the uncertainty and helping stave off fear.

The civic-military union that forms the linchpin of the Bolivarian Revolution was also at the heart of the counterattack. Minister of Defense Vladimir Padrino López highlighted the deployment of different elements of the Bolivarian National Armed Force to restore basic services and protect the Venezuelan population.

Instead of intimidating citizens accustomed to being locked in their homes lit with televisions and computers, the blackout served as an opportunity to improvise community activities, exchange ideas to protect food, and share information about medical care locations, commercial options and functional pharmacies.

The popular organization, CLAP, was key to meet the pressing needs left by the blackout (Foto: Archive)

Each community’s story of persisting through the blackout paints a broader portrait of a society that has been shaped by the culture of Chavismo, where popular participation is seen as the most precious feature of the Venezuelan identity.

It was this feature of Venezuelan society that enabled it to effectively resist the most prolonged and massive attack on its infrastructure since the dawn of the Bolivarian Revolution. And it contrasted sharply with the negative solutions spun out of the “entrepreneurship” sector, which chose to privatize services during such a critical time, exploiting citizens in need by selling ice, water, candles and electricity supply in foreign currency.

Assessing the damage, charting a path back to normalcy
72 hours after the attack, the city of Caracas had recovered energy in most of its neighborhoods. In the the following hours, the eastern, central and southern states also recovered their power. The Western region had delays, extending the power stabilization up to 24 hours more in Táchira, Mérida, Trujillo, Zulia and Lara.

Five days after the continuous attacks to multiple substations and the parallel sabotage to the Guri dam, preventing the stabilization of the National Electric System, the entire country had managed to return to normal.

Through social media, the opposition attempted to deceive outsiders with images purporting to show desperate Venezuelans collecting water from the Guaire River, which is filled with sewage. Western outlets like Reuters, which serve as faithful stenographers of the opposition’s narrative, fell for the lie. However, a report made by the Catia TV team debunked the bogus claims. In fact, those people were drinking from a natural well.

What’s more, cistern trucks were set up to transport water to communities in need, a mechanism made possible by communal councils. Others supplied their homes by using buckets and wheelbarrows.

Although the exhaustion of those days was felt across the country, the government’s array of social programs were resumed as soon as the communications were fully operational. The food assistance policy of the CLAPs was reinforced by orders of Maduro, softening the blow for those whose food spoiled during the blackout.

The official balance on Wednesday presented by Minister Jorge Rodríguez was favorable, despite the fact that the cyberattack to the nation’s power grid caused losses of $877 million to the Venezuelan nation.

The country’s business class, meanwhile, made a stunning admission: the ‘regime change’ plan they supported had caused them massive losses. For instance, the National Federation of Cattle Ranchers of Venezuela (Fedenaga) stated $1.4 million were lost in the course of the coup and subsequent blackout.

One million kilograms of cheese and 900,000 kilograms of meat decomposed due to a lack of refrigeration. Another 6 million liters of milk were damaged while waiting for the electric power restitution.

The firm Ecoanalítica put the losses for the country were $875 million – approximately $100 million of damage per day – which reduced the gross domestic product by 1%.

Commercial establishments were also the target of vandalism, especially in the state of Zulia and, to a lesser degree, in Lara, Monagas, Miranda and Barinas. While the political opposition’s agenda was to whitewash these criminal acts, parading them internationally as consequences of the social crisis triggered by the blackout, they omitted the role that the national security forces played in protecting businesses
Long hours of intensive effort from the majority of the Venezuelan population alongside the government ensured an effective response. One week after the attack, the public and private labor, trade, production and industrial activities were resumed.

But just as life appeared to be returning to normal, the country was plunged into darkness again on March 29. From Washington, coup czar Elliot Abrams confidently stated, “The likelihood is the blackouts will continue.”

Mision Verdad

Mision Verdad is an independent Venezuelan website delivering news and analysis

[Franny]

Do take a look at the State Dept's PDF at the link below, it's very informative and disgusting.

US State Department Publishes, Then Deletes Sadistic Venezuela Hit List Boasting of Economic Ruin

The Grayzone obtained a list of “key outcomes” on Venezuela deleted out of apparent embarrassment by the State Department. It boasts of wrecking the nation’s economy, destabilizing its military, and puppeteering its political opposition.

Grayzone — On April 24, six days before self-proclaimed Venezuelan “interim president” Juan Guaido’s attempt to violently overthrow Venezuela’s democratically elected government alongside a handful of military defectors, the U.S. State Department published a fact sheet that boasted of Washington’s central role in the ongoing coup attempt. After realizing the incriminating nature of its error, the State Department quickly acted to remove the page.

The Grayzone has obtained a full copy of the expunged report. The deleted page puts to bed any claims of Guaido’s independence from Washington, as the State Department emphasizes the fact that he “announced his interim presidency… in January” at the top of a section dedicated to breaking down “key outcomes” of U.S. efforts with regard to Venezuela.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Kimberly Breier recently took to Twitter to claim that “since he became acting president, Juan Guaido has given tangible results to the people of Venezuela.” Her tweet was accompanied with an infographic detailing alleged accomplishments of the powerless coup administration based on data compiled by the legally defunct National Assembly, the only governing body actually controlled by Guaido.

But the Venezuela fact sheet posted and then deleted days earlier by the State Department told a dramatically different story.

[Read the entire expunged fact sheet here [PDF]



The State Department’s economic hit list

Entitled “U.S. Actions on Venezuela,” the document boasted that U.S. policy had effectively prevented the Venezuelan government from participating in the international market and has led to the freezing of its overseas assets. It read like a sadistic celebration of Washington’s retribution against the Venezuelan population as a whole, the kind of collective punishment which is illegal according to Article 33 of the Geneva Conventions.

The State Department gloated in the deleted fact sheet that its policy had ensured that the Maduro government “cannot rely on the U.S. financial system” to conduct business, noting “key outcomes” of U.S. actions include the fact that “roughly $3.2 billion of Venezuela’s overseas are frozen.” It went on to boast that “Venezuela’s oil production fell to 736,000 barrels per day in March… substantially reducing” government revenue.

“If I were the State Department I wouldn’t brag about causing a cut in oil production to 763,000 barrels per day — which is a 36 percent drop, in just the two months of February and March this year,” Mark Weisbrot, Co-Director at the Center For Economic and Policy Research, told The Grayzone. “This means even more premature deaths than the tens of thousands that resulted from sanctions last year.”

Weisbrot recently co-authored a bracing report which found that 40,000 Venezuelans died between 2017 and 2018 as a direct result of U.S. sanctions. The State Department patted itself on the back for announcing its preparedness “to provide an additional $20 million in initial humanitarian assistance” to Venezuela, however, the CEPR report concluded that Trump Administration sanctions implemented in August 2017 resulted in “a loss of $6 billion in oil revenue over the ensuing year” alone.

While the State Department praised the opposition for “providing medical and hygiene attention to over 6,000” Venezuelans, those numbers dwarf in comparison to the 300,000 people CEPR “estimated to be at risk because of lack of access to medicines or treatment… [including] 80,000 people with HIV who have not had antiretroviral treatment since 2017, 16,000 people who need dialysis, 16,000 people with cancer, and 4 million with diabetes and hypertension.”

In other words, the supposed “Venezuela Crisis Response Assistance” touted by the State Department is not even a band-aid over the gaping wound that US unilateral coercive measures have inflicted on the country.

In Weisbrot’s view, the “policy” and “outcomes” promoted by the State Department in the disappeared document will merely lead to “more cuts in imports of medicine, food, medical equipment, and inputs necessary to maintain water, health, and sanitation infrastructure.”

Having denied the Venezuelan government the ability to provide for its own population, the U.S. has essentially promised that thousands more deaths will occur.

The State Department did not respond to The Grayzone’s request for a comment on the fact sheet it deleted.

“A list of confessions”

In a recent interview with The Grayzone, Venezuela’s ambassador to the United Nations Samuel Moncada characterized the deleted State Department fact sheet as “a list of confessions.”

“Imagine if any other country says… it’s proud of saying that we are destroying the economy of our neighbor; we are proud that we destroyed the political system of our neighbor; we are proud that they are suffering. They are saying we are waging war against Venezuela,” Moncada emphasized.

The ambassador went on to accuse the U.S. of engaging in “bullying” rather than international diplomacy.

The State Department’s own fact sheet appears to support this accusation, as it asserts “diplomatic pressure resulted in fewer markets for Venezuelan gold.” The document further highlighted U.S. actions that have supposedly led “more than 1,000 members of the military [to recognize] Juan Guaido as interim President” and defect to Colombia, as well as stranding “an estimated 25 crude oil tankers with 12 million barrels” off Venezuela’s coast.

“They [say] it’s our ‘key’ achievements,” Moncada commented. “They are saying that they are causing trouble in our military and inducing a military coup, [which] so far they haven’t achieved, but they are working towards.”

“If any other person says that themselves,” the ambassador concluded, “and you take that confession to court, they would be in prison.”

The State Department’s fact sheet even frames recent decisions by the Organization of American States, Lima Group, Inter-American Development Bank, and European Union to either recognize or support Guaido’s shadow administration as a U.S. achievement, highlighting Washington’s outsized influence within each of these supposedly international governing bodies. The decision to mention the E.U. and Lima Group is particularly noteworthy considering the United States is not a member of either organization.

“They are so far out of any normal parameters of decency, morality, legality, reason, that really they are dangerous,” Moncada said of the Trump administration. “They are a real threat to international peace, and they are a real threat to my people.”

Anya Parampil is a Washington, DC-based journalist. She previously hosted a daily progressive afternoon news program called In Question on RT America. She has produced and reported several documentaries, including on the ground reports from the Korean peninsula and Palestine.

[AutumnW]

Abby Martin on Maduro. It's all so sickening.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ii5MlQgGXyk

[Hervé]

Beside BigOil, let's have a peek at the other vested interests/vultures active in Venezuela's downfall... BigAgro and its Bigpharma backers:


How GMO Seeds and Monsanto /Bayer’s “RoundUp” Are Driving US Policy in Venezuela

By Whitney Webb Global Research,
May 07, 2019
MintPress News 6 May 2019

With Juan Guaidó’s parallel government attempting to take power with the backing of the U.S., it is telling that the top political donors of those in the U.S. most fervently pushing regime change in Venezuela have close ties to Monsanto and major financial stakes in Bayer.

***

As the political crisis in Venezuela has unfolded, much has been said about the Trump administration’s clear interest in the privatization and exploitation of Venezuela’s oil reserves, the largest in the world, by American oil giants like Chevron and ExxonMobil.

Yet the influence of another notorious American company, Monsanto — now a subsidiary of Bayer — has gone largely unmentioned.

While numerous other Latin American nations have become a “free for all” for the biotech company and its affiliates, Venezuela has been one of the few countries to fight Monsanto and other international agrochemical giants and win. However, since that victory — which was won under Chavista rule — the U.S.-backed Venezuelan opposition has been working to undo it.

Now, with Juan Guaidó’s parallel government attempting to take power with the backing of the U.S., it is telling that the top political donors of those in the U.S. most fervently pushing regime change in Venezuela have close ties to Monsanto and major financial stakes in Bayer.

In recent months, Monsanto’s most controversial and notorious product — the pesticide glyphosate, branded as Roundup, and linked to cancer in recent U.S. court rulings — has threatened Bayer’s financial future as never before, with a litany of new court cases barking at Bayer’s door. It appears that many of the forces in the U.S. now seeking to overthrow the Venezuelan government are hoping that a new Guaidó-led government will provide Bayer with a fresh, much-needed market for its agrochemicals and transgenic seeds, particularly those products that now face bans in countries all over the world, including once-defoliated and still-poisoned Vietnam.

U.S.-Backed Venezuelan opposition seeks to reverse Chavista seed law and GMO ban
In 2004, then-president of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, surprised many when he announced the cancellation of Monsanto’s plans to plant 500,000 acres of Venezuelan agricultural land in genetically modified (GM) soybeans. The cancellation of Monsanto’s Venezuela contract led to what became an ad hoc ban on all GM seeds in the entire country, a move that was praised by local farmer groups and environmental activists. In contrast to anti-GM movements that have sprung up in other countries, Venezuela’s resistance to GM crops was based more on concerns about the country’s food sovereignty and protecting the livelihoods of farmers.

Although the ban has failed to keep GM products out of Venezuela — as Venezuela has long imported a majority of its food, much of it originating in countries that are among the world’s largest producers of genetically modified foods — one clear effect has been preventing companies like Monsanto and other major agrochemical and seed companies from gaining any significant foothold in the Venezuelan market.

In 2013, a new seed law was nearly passed that would have allowed GM seeds to be sold in Venezuela through a legal loophole. That law, which was authored by a member of the Chavista United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), was widely protested by farmers, indigenous activists, environmentalists, and eco-socialist groups, which led to the law’s transformation into what has been nicknamed the “People’s Seed Law.” That law, passed in 2015, went even farther than the original 2004 ban by banning not just GM seeds but several toxic agrochemicals, while also strengthening heirloom seed varieties through the creation of the National Seed Institute.

Soon after the new seed law was passed in 2015, the U.S.-backed Venezuelan opposition led by the Roundtable of Democratic Unity (MUD) — a group comprised of numerous U.S.-funded political parties, including Guaidó’s Popular Will — took control of the country’s National Assembly. Until Venezuela’s Supreme Court dissolved the assembly in 2017, the MUD-legislature attempted to repeal the seed law on several occasions. Those in favor of the repeal called the seed bill “anti-scientific” and damaging to the economy.

Despite the 2017 Supreme Court decision, the National Assembly has continued to meet, but the body holds no real power in the current Venezuelan government. However, if the current government is overthrown and Guaidó — the “interim president” who is also president of the dissolved National Assembly — comes to power, it seems almost certain that the “People’s Seed Law” will be one of the first pieces of legislation on the chopping block.

The AEI axis
Some of the key figures and loudest voices supporting the efforts of the Trump administration to overthrow the Venezuelan government in the United States are well-connected to one particular think-tank, the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). For instance, John Bolton — now Trump’s national security advisor and a major player in the administration’s aggressive Venezuela policy — was a senior fellow at AEI until he became Trump’s top national security official. As national security adviser, Bolton advises the president on foreign policy and issues of national security while also advising both the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense. As of late, he has been pushing for military action in Venezuela, according to media reports.

Another key figure in Trump’s Venezuela policy — Elliott Abrams, the State Department’s Special Representative for Venezuela — has been regularly featured at AEI summits and as a guest on its panels and podcasts. According to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Abrams’ current role gives him the “responsibility for all things related to our efforts to restore democracy” in Venezuela. Other top figures in the administration, including Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, were featured guests at the AEI’s “secretive” gathering in early March. As MintPress and other outlets have reported, Guaidó declared himself “interim president” of Venezuela at Pence’s behest. Pompeo is also intimately involved in directing Trump’s Venezuela policy as the president’s main adviser on foreign affairs.

Other connections to the Trump administration include Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos who was previously on AEI’s board of trustees.

AEI has long been a key part of the “neoconservative” establishment and employs well-known neoconservatives such as Fred Kagan — the architect of the Iraq “troop surge” — and Paul Wolfowitz, the architect of the Iraq War. Its connections to the George W. Bush administration were particularly notable and controversial, as more than 20 AEI employees were given top positions under Bush. Several of them, such as Bolton, have enjoyed new prominence in Trump’s administration.

Other key Bush officials joined the AEI soon after leaving their posts in the administration. One such was Roger Noriega, who was the U.S. representative to the Organization of American States (OAS) during the failed, U.S.-backed 2002 coup and went on to be assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs from 2003 to 2005, where he was extremely influential in the administration’s policies towards Venezuela and Cuba.

Since leaving the Bush administration and promptly joining the AEI, Noriega has been instrumental in pushing claims that lack evidence but aim to paint Venezuela’s current President Nicolas Maduro-led government as a national security threat, such as claiming that Venezuela is helping Iran acquire nuclear weapons and hosts soldiers from Lebanon’s Hezbollah. He also lobbied Congress to support Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López, Guaidó’s political mentor and leader of his political party, Popular Will.

Not only that, but Noreiga teamed up with Martin Rodil, a Venezuelan exile formerly employed by the IMF, and José Cardenas, who served in the Bush administration, to found Visión Américas, a private risk-assessment and lobbying firm that was hired to “support the efforts of the Honduran private sector to help consolidate the democratic transition in their country” after the U.S.-backed Honduran coup in 2009. In recent months, Noriega and his associates have been very focused on Venezuela, with Cardenas offering Trump public advice about how “to hasten Maduro’s exit,” while Rodil has publicly offered “to get you a deal” if you have dirt on Venezuela’s government.

While the AEI is best known for its hawkishness, it is also a promoter of big agricultural interests. Since 2000, It has hosted several conferences on the promise of “biotechnology” and genetically modified seeds and has heavily promoted the work of former Monsanto lobbyist Jon Entine, who was an AEI visiting fellow for several years. The AEI also has long-time connections to Dow Chemical.

The most likely reason for the AEI’s interest in promoting biotech, however, can be found in its links to Monsanto. In 2013, The Nation acquired a 2009 AEI document, obtained through a filing error and not intended for public disclosure, that revealed the think tank’s top donors. The form, known as the “schedule of contributors,” revealed that the AEI’s top two donors at the time were the Donors Capital Fund and billionaire Paul Singer.

The Donors Capital Fund, which remains a major contributor to the AEI, is linked to Monsanto interests through the vice chairman of its board, Kimberly O. Dennis, who is also currently a member of the AEI’s National Council. According to AEI, the National Council is composed of “business and community leaders from across the country who are committed to AEI’s success and serve as ambassadors for AEI, providing us with advice, insight, and guidance.”

Dennis is the long-time executive chairwoman of the Searle Freedom Trust, which was founded in 1988 by Daniel Searle after he oversaw the sale of his family pharmaceutical company — G.D. Searle and Company — to Monsanto in 1985 for $2.7 billion. The money Searle had made from that merger was used to fund the trust that now funds the AEI and other right-wing think tanks. Searle was also close to Donald Rumsfeld, who led G.D. Searle and Co. for years and was Secretary of Defense under Gerald Ford and George W. Bush. Searle was also a trustee of the Hudson Institute, which once employed Elliott Abrams.

After the family company — which gained notoriety for faking research about the safety of its sweetener, aspartame or NutraSweet — was sold to Monsanto, G.D. Searle executives close to Daniel Searle rose to prominence within the company. Robert Shapiro, who was G.D. Searle’s long-time attorney and head of its NutraSweet division, would go on to become Monsanto’s vice president, president and later CEO. Notably, Daniel Searle’s grandson, D. Gideon Searle, was an AEI trustee until relatively recently.

Why is a top donor to Marco Rubio increasing his stake in Bayer while others flee?

Yet, it is AEI’s top individual donor noted in the accidental “schedule of contributors” disclosure who is most telling about the private biotech interests guiding the Trump administration’s Venezuela policy. Paul Singer (image above), the controversial billionaire hedge fund manager, has long been a major donor to neoconservative and Zionist causes — helping fund the Foreign Policy Initiative (FPI), the successor to the Project for a New American Century (PNAC); and the neoconservative and islamophobic Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD), in addition to the AEI.

Singer is notably one of the top political donors to Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and has been intimately involved in the recent chaos in Venezuela. He has been called one of the architects of the administration’s current regime-change policy, and was the top donor to Rubio’s presidential campaign, as well as a key figure behind the controversial “dossier” on Donald Trump that was compiled by Fusion GPS. Indeed, Singer had been the first person to hire Fusion GPS to do “opposition research” on Trump. However, Singer has largely since evaded much scrutiny for his role in the dossier’s creation, likely because he became a key donor to Trump following his election win in 2016, giving $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund.

Singer has a storied history in South America, though he has been relatively quiet about Venezuela. However, a long-time manager of Singer’s hedge fund, Jay Newman, recently told Bloomberg that a Guaidó-led government would recognize that foreign creditors “aren’t the enemy,” and hinted that Newman himself was weighing whether to join a growing “list of bond veterans [that have] already begun staking out positions, anticipating a $60 billion debt restructuring once the U.S.-backed Guaidó manages to oust President Nicolas Maduro and take control.” In addition, the Washington Free Beacon, which is largely funded by Singer, has been a vocal advocate for the Trump administration’s regime-change policy in Venezuela.

Beyond that, Singer’s Elliott Management Corporation gave Roger Noriega, the former assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs under Bush, $60,000 in 2007 to lobby on the issue of sovereign debt and for “federal advocacy on behalf of U.S. investors in Latin America.” During the time Noriega was on Singer’s payroll, he wrote articles linking Argentina and Venezuela to Iran’s nonexistent nuclear program. At the time, Singer was aggressively pursuing the government of Argentina in an effort to obtain more money from the country’s prior default on its sovereign debt.

While Singer has been mum himself on Venezuela, he has been making business decisions that have raised eyebrows, such as significantly increasing his stake in Bayer. This move seems at odds with Bayer’s financial troubles, a direct result of the slew of court cases regarding the link between Monsanto’s glyphosate and cancer. The first ruling that signaled trouble for Monsanto and its new parent company Bayer took place last August, but Singer increased his stake in the company starting last December, even though it was already clear by then that Bayer’s financial troubles in relation to the glyphosate court cases were only beginning.

Since the year began, Bayer’s problems with the Monsanto merger have only worsened, with Bayer’s CEO recently stating that the lawsuits had “massively affected” the company’s stock prices and financial performance.

Forcing open a new market for RoundUp
Part of Singer’s interest in Bayer may relate to Venezuela, given that Juan Guaido’s “Plan País” to “rescue” the Venezuelan economy includes a focus on the country’s agricultural sector. Notably, prior to and under Chavismo, agricultural productivity and investment in the agricultural sector took a backseat to oil production, resulting in under 25 percent of Venezuelan land being used for agricultural purposes despite the fact that the nation has a wealth of arable land. The result has been that Venezuela needs to import much of its food from abroad, most of which originate in Colombia or the United States.

Under Chávez and his successor, Maduro, there has been a renewed focus on small-scale farming, food sovereignty and organic agriculture. However, if Maduro is ousted and Guaidó moves to implement his “Plan País,” the opposition’s coziness with foreign corporations, the interests of U.S. coup architects in Bayer/Monsanto, and the opposition’s past efforts to overturn the GM seed ban all suggest that a new market for Bayer/Monsanto products — particularly glyphosate — will open up.

South America has long been a key market for Monsanto and — as the company’s problems began to mount prior to the merger with Bayer — it became a lifeline for the company due to less stringent environmental and consumer regulations that many Western countries. In recent years, when South American governments have opened their countries to more “market-friendly” policies in their agricultural sectors, Monsanto has made millions.

For instance, when Brazil sought to expand biotechnology (i.e. GM seed) investment in 2012, Monsanto saw a 21% increase in its sales of GM corn seed alone, generating an additional $1 billion in profits for the company. A similar comeback scenario is needed more than every by Bayer/Monsanto, as Monsanto’s legal troubles saw the company’s profits plunge late last year.

With countries around the world now weighing glyphosate bans as a result of increased litigation over the chemical’s links to cancer, Bayer needs a new market for the chemical to avoid financial ruin. As Singer now has a significant stake in the company, he — along with the politicians and think tanks he funds — may see promise in the end of the anti-GM seed ban that a Guaidó-led government would bring.

Furthermore, given that Guaidó’s top adviser wants the Trump administration to have a direct role in governing Venezuela if Maduro is ousted, it seems likely that Singer would leverage his connections to keep Bayer/Monsanto afloat amid the growing controversy surrounding glyphosate. Such behavior on the part of Singer would hardly be surprising in light of the fact that international financial media have characterized him as a “ruthless opportunist” and “overly aggressive.”

Such an outcome would be in keeping with the increased profit margins for Monsanto and related companies that have followed its expansion into countries following U.S.-backed coups. For instance, after the U.S.-backed coup in Ukraine in 2014, the loans given to Ukraine by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank forced the country to open up and expand the use of “biotechnology” and GM crops in its agricultural sector, and Monsanto, in particular, made millions as the prior government’s ban on GM seeds and their associated agrochemicals was reversed. If Maduro is ousted, a similar scenario is likely to play out in Venezuela, given that the Guaidó-led government made known its intention to borrow heavily from these institutions just days after Guaidó declared himself “interim president.”

*

Whitney Webb is a MintPress News journalist based in Chile. She has contributed to several independent media outlets including Global Research, EcoWatch, the Ron Paul Institute and 21st Century Wire, among others. She has made several radio and television appearances and is the 2019 winner of the Serena Shim Award for Uncompromised Integrity in Journalism.

Related:
Who Owns the US Congress, Really?

[ThePythonicCow]

Posted by Hervé (here)
Beside BigOil, let's have a peek at the other vested interests/vultures active in Venezuela's downfall... BigAgro and its Bigpharma backers:


How GMO Seeds and Monsanto /Bayer’s “RoundUp” Are Driving US Policy in Venezuela

By Whitney Webb Global Research,
May 07, 2019
MintPress News 6 May 2019

With Juan Guaidó’s parallel government attempting to take power with the backing of the U.S., it is telling that the top political donors of those in the U.S. most fervently pushing regime change in Venezuela have close ties to Monsanto and major financial stakes in Bayer.

***

As the political crisis in Venezuela has unfolded, much has been said about the Trump administration’s clear interest in the privatization and exploitation of Venezuela’s oil reserves, the largest in the world, by American oil giants like Chevron and ExxonMobil.

Yet the influence of another notorious American company, Monsanto — now a subsidiary of Bayer — has gone largely unmentioned.

While numerous other Latin American nations have become a “free for all” for the biotech company and its affiliates, Venezuela has been one of the few countries to fight Monsanto and other international agrochemical giants and win. However, since that victory — which was won under Chavista rule — the U.S.-backed Venezuelan opposition has been working to undo it.

Joseph P. Farrell presents this article, reading a few key portions of it and putting it context:

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=YuXlQTAxPiQ