Turmoil in Venezuela

[perolator]

Posted by AutumnW (here)
Perolater,
I think that Maduro is definitely exaggerating. I'll grant you that.

Thanks.

But I do believe what he says about accounts being frozen, sanctions placed, etc...and how this has placed an enormous burden on Venezuela. Just out of curiosity, how do you personally feel the sanctions are affecting your country and the issue of hunger?

The first Executive Order, 13692, was issued by Barack Obama on March 8, 2015. That is 17 years after the bolivarian enchilada started.

Source

The first sanctions did nothing to the common man there. It is the truth.

Even now with more sanctions looming the horizon, Venezuela sent 100 tonnes of aid to victims of the Cuban tornado. How did they do it?
How did the top brass and the government import Ferraris, Toyota SUV's and all kinds of delicatessen for them?
We knew sanctions would be the perfect excuse to the government to further damage the general population.

As well, Venezuela has a free press, does it not?

It exists, but it is not "free". There are heavy censorship and control. Read the RCTV history.

Who owns the media, and how do you think those powers affect the general opinion of a government they are opposed to. Bearing in mind, they would be middle, upper middle and wealthy class?

In Venezuela are different shades of poverty. No middle class. Top brass (all branches), upper government, cartel leaders and the traditional wealthy class are the wealthy class.

[Hervé]

Oh, well...


From Jim Stone:

A very interesting post from an American who lived in Venezuela

Venezuela is more American than America , I'll give a list , I've lived there for many years!

This is part of the reason they want to end Venezuela as it is.

Free elections

That's right foreign observers are not even the start of it, you can not vote if you are a not a citizen, in fact it's impossible. Unlike in the USA.

You cannot get a job without being a citizen, that's right the jobs are only for their people. Not so in the USA.

Mom and pop shops run everywhere, If you have a lime tree you have grandma sit in the driveway and sell limes all day, no health dept comes around and shuts you down because your not a Walmart.

Real hardware stores where employees actually know what they are talking about. If they saw how we barricade down entire isles in home depot so they can use the fork truck they would laugh their asses off.

Not a lawsuit culture. Not in the USA we love lawsuits that's why we are treated like little baby girls .

Drink and drive or speed at your own risk. Yes they don't preemptively give you tickets. You are responsible for yourself, if you run someone over while drunk you pay a heavy price. If your in a hurry you speed and use your horn and nobody gets offended. Traffic stopped? they think for them selves and make a line like army ants through the grass and keep moving.

Restaurants are not served by Sysco , you will often find waiters and waitresses from your favorite restaurants running a cart through the grocery store throwing everything from lettuce to fish into the cart . And then running the cart through the mall to get it to the chef in the restaurant. Not in the USA !

Things don't have to be labeled organic or non gmo, know why?? Cause everything is already organic and non gmo, thanks to Chavez. In the USA you can assume quite the opposite.

Taxes are almost non existent, 3000 to 4000 sqft home property taxes are about 6 dollars a year! Not in the USA!

Gas is 1/10 of a penny for a gallon! That's right since it is their gas they get it damn near free. Not in the USA.

You have a choice for healthcare, free or private pay. We used the free ones, we had a military hospital right around the corner to us, we brought our kids in a few times for stitches, they don't even ask your name, they tie the 4 year old down with a towel and stitch up the wounds and your out the door! Not in the USA.

People say good morning and good afternoon religiously! Not in the USA!

You can tow a car down the highway with a motorcycle! Or drive a truck without any doors! Buying long rebar? won't fit in your car?? just strap it to the axles and let it stick out five foot in front of your car and five foot behind while hanging underneath and sometimes scraping the ground. Not in the USA!

Electric bill for our house was never over 12 bucks a month! Not in the USA!

If a major company does not benefit the country, if they are not loyal they are shunned or kicked out. Their resources are for the benefit of the people period! Not in the USA.

They have a more free form of capitalism without all the regulation! Not in the USA !

More then half the people carry around a copy of their constitution! Not in the USA !

The government is not controlled by a foreign gov. As the USA is told exactly what to do and how to act from Israel.

Venezuela does not kill their own with false flags!

Venezuela does not invade other countries to steal their resources!

Venezuela also has heavily armed local militias, they are there In case gov gets out of line!

I could keep going , this is what I can think of now.

Jim's comment:

Mexico is (sort of) similar. Property taxes are higher than that, and the police do DUI checks but the mom and pop stores are common, you can sell whatever you want, and medical is damn near free and VERY high quality and FAST. There's no such thing as "waiting for a doctor" in Mexico. I think the American system is set up the way it is to provide an illusion of scarcity and value, so they can then SCREW YOU.

There's no such thing as health insurance in Mexico, no one would ever consider it because the private medical system is so fast, effective and cheap, and I'm talking, usually 1/100th the price of the U.S. Claudia's heart attack dented the budget a bit, but the biggest expense was paying employees when the alt income plan was not (and still is not) running (and the loss of that income) because Claudia needs more recovery time. But there's no life robbing $50, 000 medical bill leaving a devastating aftermath.

People believe the media in the U.S. telling them how great it is, and how bad everywhere else is. But the reality is that America is so far gone now that former police state sh*t holes look like heaven by comparison now. The illegals only come up because deep state traitors have put in place a system that allows them to break any law they want and not have a consequence, and then hands them free housing, free medical, a welfare paycheck, and then they get to on top of it all work off the books. They have a seriously distorted view of America but it has to be that way to keep them here so they can do their job of undermining the country on behalf of the deep state.

[perolator]

Posted by Hervé (here)
Oh, well...

From Jim Stone: A very interesting post from an American who lived in Venezuela

Venezuela is more American than America , I'll give a list , I've lived there for many years!

This is part of the reason they want to end Venezuela as it is.

Free elections

That's right foreign observers are not even the start of it, you can not vote if you are a not a citizen, in fact it's impossible. Unlike in the USA.

Free as in "you may vote for any candidate" but the government decides who'll win. Who wants that kind of "freedom"?

ID system in Venezuela is crap (thanks "revolution"). Before elections were not easily rigged, the solution was issuing national ID cards to foreigners who were instructed they had to vote for Chavez and his bolivarian enchilada. There are people with 2 or more ID cards. A person was detained with 400 national ID cards (!). There are thousands of Venezuelan passports issued to Chinese, Russian, Cubans, Syrian... When I obtained my last Venezuelan passport, there were several Chinese with no knowledge of Spanish with brand new Venezuelan passports.

You cannot get a job without being a citizen, that's right the jobs are only for their people. Not so in the USA.

Cubans manage most of government offices and customs. Not in the USA.

Mom and pop shops run everywhere, If you have a lime tree you have grandma sit in the driveway and sell limes all day, no health dept comes around and shuts you down because your not a Walmart.

True. Now fueled by National Guard contraband.

Real hardware stores where employees actually know what they are talking about. If they saw how we barricade down entire isles in home depot so they can use the fork truck they would laugh their asses off.

Not a lawsuit culture. Not in the USA we love lawsuits that's why we are treated like little baby girls .

With a law system in ruins, lawsuits are useless.

Drink and drive or speed at your own risk. Yes they don't preemptively give you tickets. You are responsible for yourself, if you run someone over while drunk you pay a heavy price. If your in a hurry you speed and use your horn and nobody gets offended. Traffic stopped? they think for them selves and make a line like army ants through the grass and keep moving.

Third world country. This man left Venezuela years ago. If traffic stops, you have to have your cellphone, money, laptop and any valuables handy, because thieves go stealing all the cars in the line, one by one, until they reach a government escort, police or military. In that case, they simply flee. If you don't have your belongings handy, they knock your door or your window with their gun and may hit you (or even kill you) until they get what they want. I have seen this with my own eyes in horror and disbelief. I have been kidnapped. Thus, I know.

I prefer to stop here.

[Dennis Leahy]

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)
I was asked to post this by a guest who contacted me by e-mail. It's copied verbatim, but I broke up some of the long paragraphs for easier reading.

• https://caracaschronicles.com/2019/0...from-venezuela

Open Letter From Peace Activists And Organizations From Venezuela

We, the organizations and people who defend human rights, activists and promoters of Non-Violence and Peace, conscientious objectors and anti-militarists, who take action in Venezuela, address this open letter to our friends throughout the world, sharing our opinion about the conflict which is currently unfolding in our country.

...

Abby Martin (in one of the videos shot in Venezuela) showed some newspaper front pages and mentioned that there are a few pro-Chavista newspapers, and a few anti-Chavista newspapers in Venezuela. (I think she said one of the papers was sort of balanced.) If anyone takes a peek at Caracas Chronicals website, it is pretty easy to see that the publication is anti-Bolivarian Revolution, anti-Chavista, anti-Maduro. The piece Bill referenced is noteworthy in that it calls for peace and not US military "intervention." The angle is different here - they say they want new elections and decry the Maduro election outcome.

By not calling for the USA to "intervene" - a euphemism for "take over" - they certainly seem less aligned with the globalists (that trump and the US military are providing the muscle for.) At least, at first blush. So, my first inclination would be to think that this might be some of the authentic anti-Maduro/anti-Chavista voices in Venezuela, which of course certainly do exist. But is it the left jab before the right cross? The "set-up' punch (try to delegitimize Maduro's election by demanding a new elections) followed by the knockout punch (inevitable hot war, when Maduro won't leave his legitimate office, bowing to globalist/US/anti-Chavista demands.)

If the figures I've read (a huge percentage of the population supports the Bolivarian Revolucion, supported Chavez, support Maduro) are anywhere close to the real pulse of the country, the anti-Chavista people don't have much of a chance to win any seats at all in a national election. So, I don't believe they really want transparent free elections. Not yet. The plan is probably to sustain the economic war, and probably to double-down on generating the physical violence. The longer the US sustains the economic war, the more Venezuelans will be suffering for lack of critical basic supplies - and the US/globalists calculate that more Venezuelan citizens will be "flipped" into blaming Maduro for the hardships. Adding more violence does the same thing, especially with the injected propaganda blaming it on Maduro. I'm thinking a lot of saber-rattling on the part of the globalists' army, the USA iNC.-controlled* US Army, but that they will likely keep destabilizing Maduro until a (fixed or controlled-outcome) election can be injected.

The US-Venezuela War is well underway, and is currently still in the economic warfare phase and propaganda warfare phase, with a little bit of US-backed, US-armed mercenaries creating 'hot war' incidents. Hot war is easy to see, economic war is pretty obvious as well, but the propaganda war is much more subtle, much sneakier. War hawk think-tanks in the US have a massive amount of expertise in propaganda, and the US military has groups dedicated to psychological operations. The US also has a fully complicit mass media to broadcast the think-tank propaganda and call it "news."

*(note that what I call the "USA, INC." is the USA government under the control of militarist-corporatist-fascist-bankster/plutocratic globalists. It's not the USA.)

[perolator]

@Dennis Leahy,

Posted by Dennis Leahy (here)
Abby Martin (in one of the videos shot in Venezuela) showed some newspaper front pages and mentioned that there are a few pro-Chavista newspapers, and a few anti-Chavista newspapers in Venezuela. (I think she said one of the papers was sort of balanced.)

Let me help you a bit. She got from the newsstand:

• Ultimas Noticias: Critic, Popular. Sold in 2013 to an unidentified party. Criticism towards government decreased dramatically since. 2014 protests not covered, led to resignation of several journalists. Right now: Pro-government. Abby said it is neutral.
• Diario VEA: Pro-government, Abby said it is leftist.
• Correo del Orinoco: Pro-government, Abby said it is leftist.
• Diario La Razón: Neutral. Abby said it is pro-opposition.
• Diario "Las Verdades de Miguel": Not a traditional newspaper. Miguel Salazar, the editor, was a journalist for Quinto Día, a known weekly newspaper, published on Fridays. "Las Verdades de Miguel" was formerly printed on the last page of that newspaper. Fervent Chavez supporter, Miguel obtained financing to create his own newspaper and webpage. Salazar learned that in journalism, criticism sells. He still supports the government. Abby said "Las Verdades de Miguel" is pro-opposition.
• Zeta: Was a magazine, now is a newspaper. Rafael Poleo, Editor. Pro-opposition. As of now, out of print. Poleo said it is temporary. Abby said it is pro-opposition.
• Diario Tal Cual: This was? is a weekly (former daily) newspaper also from Poleo. Pro-opposition. As of now, out of print. Poleo said it is temporary. Abby said it is pro-opposition.

7 newspapers, 1 neutral, 2 opposition and from the same editor *and* out of print. Therefore, 4 pro-government newspapers, 1 neutral. The most important nationwide newspapers were not considered. Abby was right only two times. You cannot judge a newspaper by its cover.

Posted by Dennis Leahy (here)
If anyone takes a peek at Caracas Chronicals website, it is pretty easy to see that the publication is anti-Bolivarian Revolution, anti-Chavista, anti-Maduro.

According to Wikipedia,

Abigail Suzanne Martin is an American citizen journalist and presenter, who currently hosts the investigative web series The Empire Files, which, until August 2018, was hosted on and funded by the Venezuelan Telesur network.[2][3][4][5][6] Martin serves on the board of directors for the Media Freedom Foundation which manages Project Censored.[7][8] She is the former host of Breaking the Set on the Russian network RT America, working from the Washington, D.C. bureau.[9] Before hosting her own show, she had worked for two years as a correspondent for RT America.

So, it is fair to say Abby IS pro-bolivarian enchilada, pro-Chavista, pro-Maduro, right?

Posted by Dennis Leahy (here)
The piece Bill referenced is noteworthy in that it calls for peace and not US military "intervention." The angle is different here - they say they want new elections and decry the Maduro election outcome.

I am grateful Bill posted this document on this thread. Dennis Leahy portrays this people as the bad guys, as "they" having a hidden agenda, et. al. Far from the truth, they are identifying themselves as peace activists, noting the organizations where they belong and posting their names in that open letter. They ARE peace activists. There is no hidden agenda here. SEBIN, DGCIM or even worse, FAES may knock their doors and get them as new political prisoners. Please be respectful of them.

Posted by Dennis Leahy (here)
... (try to delegitimize Maduro's election by demanding a new elections) followed by the knockout punch (inevitable hot war, when Maduro won't leave his legitimate office, bowing to globalist/US/anti-Chavista demands.)

From the document:
Nicolas Maduro violated the Constitution by calling for a National Constituent Assembly, (and without calling a national referendum, my words) with supra-constitutional powers, declaring a (continuous, my words) state of emergency to govern without a balance of powers with the legislative body, with which he brought the date of the presidential elections forward, (also ILLEGAL, my words) without the minimum conditions of fair elections for Venezuelans to choose a president freely.

@Dennis Leahy, is this your definition of "legitimate office"? I think it is a bit off.

Posted by Dennis Leahy (here)
If the figures I've read (a huge percentage of the population supports the Bolivarian Revolucion, supported Chavez, support Maduro) are anywhere close to the real pulse of the country, the anti-Chavista people don't have much of a chance to win any seats at all in a national election.

Sorry your figures are like your Minnesota-based socialism, completely out of the picture. Your figures are from 1998-2002, the popularity peak of the filthy enchilada known as 21st century socialism. Look for #MaduroChallenge in social media and you will start to comprehend. Maybe not, social media are used by the elites, oligarchs and such...

Posted by Dennis Leahy (here)
So, I don't believe they really want transparent free elections. Not yet. The plan is probably to sustain the economic war, and probably to double-down on generating the physical violence. The longer the US sustains the economic war,...

Economic war. Okay. Are you a member of the Venezuelan government? Sounds the same.

Posted by Dennis Leahy (here)
The US-Venezuela War is well underway...

Está equivocado. The US-Cartel de los Soles War is about to begin.

[perolator]

Posted by Joe (here)
That’s kind of funny, the irony is that article is from the Washington Post. America’s top propaganda rag...

With all due respect, @Joe, I do not care the article is from MAD Magazine, as long as the article reflects my thoughts.

Posted by Joe (here)
I’ve got to ask perolator, you are aware that 9/11 was a false flag operation against the American people? And that the executive branch was overthrown with a coup from the JFK assasination? You understand the number of false flags against my people every year, and the level of systemic control it takes to cover up?

That’s a serious question I pose to you, because the difference of opinion you express seems to miss that point entirely.

I would like to share with you my thoughts about 9/11. Not in this thread, of course. I decided not to intervene in any other threads, because I want people to know about what is happening in Venezuela from my particular perspective. I am currently reading the topic started by Dennis Leahy about socialism and sometimes wanted to post my thoughts, but I prefer to stick to this thread right now, just to differ with pro-bolivarian enchilada advocates.

[Dennis Leahy]

Posted by perolator (here)
... So, it is fair to say Abby IS pro-bolivarian enchilada, pro-Chavista, pro-Maduro, right?

I can't know the intent in someone's heart and mind, but Abby Martin went to occupied Palestine (zionist israel) to expose the truth about what US protectorate, israel, and certainly went there knowing in advance some of what she concluded. When she went to Venezuela, her information and knowledge about Venezuela and of the mobster empire that took over the USA and how they operate (see John Perkins book, Confessions of an Economic Hitman, again) would almost undoubtedly have given her strong bias. Note that she did record some people who were anti-Maduro or anti-Chavista. It wasn't edited out. I know you don't like her but she did try to provide opportunity for balance, in an unbalanced situation.

The phrase "bolivarian enchilada" sounds like an epithet. Is it racist? Did you make up the phrase? Do you realize that your US audience is quite familiar with demeaning a group of Spanish-speaking people this way, using the word "taco?" If you do not intend to demean a race/ethnicity/class of people, you may want to drop that phrase.

Posted by perolator (here)
Dennis Leahy portrays this people as the bad guys, as "they" having a hidden agenda, et. al. Far from the truth, they are identifying themselves as peace activists, noting the organizations where they belong and posting their names in that open letter. They ARE peace activists. There is no hidden agenda here. ...

These may all be good people, my kind of people (anti-war, pro-peace.) That doesn't mean they cannot get used. The globalist machine that is about to annex Venezuela's resources will use and discard anyone that helps them - deliberately or inadvertently - achieve their agenda.

Posted by perolator (here)
Sorry your figures are like your Minnesota-based socialism, completely out of the picture.

Hmmmmm... I think you may be jumping to conclusions. You don't know my political ideology.

Posted by perolator (here)
Economic war. Okay. Are you a member of the Venezuelan government? Sounds the same.

You said you read John Perkins' first book, right? It doesn't matter how much you despise Maduro, the US economic sanctions and UK refusal to release physical gold is an economic war. You can put some lipstick on it and say, "no, it's only sanctions and refusal to allow Venezuela to have some gold stored in the UK", but what would John Perkins call it?

Posted by perolator (here)
... I am currently reading the topic started by Dennis Leahy about socialism and sometimes wanted to post my thoughts, but I prefer to stick to this thread right now, just to differ with pro-bolivarian enchilada advocates.

I am glad that you have not posted about "political socialism" in that thread on "socialism", where the basic concept of social interaction for group survival is the topic, not political socialism. I do want to start another thread about political socialism, and your thoughts would be most welcome. Further down the road, I'd like to start yet another topic about people's ideas of an intelligent solution for governance, and I'll hint, again, that you may be surprised at my views on whether having 100% socialist governance is the solution.

Again, if "bolivarian enchilada" is a racial epithet or socioeconomic class slur, as it sounds, you may want to self moderate and edit those out.

[perolator]

Posted by Dennis Leahy (here)

Posted by perolator (here)
... So, it is fair to say Abby IS pro-bolivarian enchilada, pro-Chavista, pro-Maduro, right?

I can't know the intent in someone's heart and mind, but Abby Martin went to occupied Palestine (zionist israel) to expose the truth about what US protectorate, israel, and certainly went there knowing in advance some of what she concluded. When she went to Venezuela, her information and knowledge about Venezuela and of the mobster empire that took over the USA and how they operate (see John Perkins book, Confessions of an Economic Hitman, again) would almost undoubtedly have given her strong bias. Note that she did record some people who were anti-Maduro or anti-Chavista. It wasn't edited out. I know you don't like her but she did try to provide opportunity for balance, in an unbalanced situation.

@Dennis Leahy: Do you know why teleSUR exists? It was created by the twisted mind of Hugo Chavez to satisfy his narcissistic and megalomaniac self. He wanted a TV network capable of echoing his babbling without questioning anything, because he wanted to be praised no matter what he were doing, right or wrong. Chavez had to be obeyed. As simple as that. He fought with news reporters when unwanted questions were directed to him. Frustrated, he funded a news network. Remember, Venezuela was his personal money machine.

Abby Martin is a cute and intelligent woman. But, she cannot deviate from the teleSUR raison d'etre. Knowing that, she is succeeding to remove teleSUR's stain from her career. But, she is not balanced at all. She's the new and improved version of Eva Golinger.

I already read John Perkins' book. Why do I have to read it again?

Posted by Dennis Leahy (here)
The phrase "bolivarian enchilada" sounds like an epithet. Is it racist? Did you make up the phrase? Do you realize that your US audience is quite familiar with demeaning a group of Spanish-speaking people this way, using the word "taco?" If you do not intend to demean a race/ethnicity/class of people, you may want to drop that phrase.

Do I have an US audience?

Good question. Why Bolivarian Enchilada?

No, it is not racist, @Dennis Leahy.

Here is the post I read that made me use that word. Quoting:

Posted by Carmody (here)
Thus, attack Venezuela, and destabilize the bolivarian initiative...

Simón Bolívar, to we Venezuelans, is more than a national hero. He was an inspiration, a role model, a subject of study in my country. The University named after him has an institute devoted to all things related to him and his quest for independence. All the major cities has a Bolivar square. The most important country milestones are named after him. The national currency is named after him. Knowing this affiliation of Venezuelans with Bolívar, Fidel Castro and his puppet Chávez used this to their advantage. They created with fanfare the "Bolivarian Revolution", to "liberate" the poor from the corrupt and oppresive government that had the people submerged in poverty. At least, this is the theoretical concept.

@Dennis Leahy: Do you know what the Machurucuto incident was?

Quoting Wikipedia:

The Machurucuto incident, also known as the Invasion of Machurucuto, was a battle involving Venezuelan Army and National Guard troops against Cuban trained guerrillas. On 10 May 1967, a dozen guerrillas landed in Venezuela at the beach of Machurucuto. The Army of Venezuela and the National Guard engaged them on the night of 10 May and the battle lasted into 11 May. Two men were captured while the remaining were killed in battle. The guerrillas had completed paramilitary training in Cuba so they could recruit guerrillas in the Venezuelan Andes region to overthrow President Raúl Leoni.

It was planned for months. Venezuelan Army went to the mountains and wiped guerrillas. Unfortunately, some of them became politicians and waited. The rest is history and now my country is ruined.

Yes, we Venezuelans fought Cuba once. We had our own Bay of Pigs incident.

That's why the demonic Fidel Castro had to infiltrate Venezuelan military and use a way to undermine the deeply democratic nature of our people. What a better way to wash Venezuelan brains using the most revered and respected leader, Bolívar himself, to institutionalize a "Revolution"?

Why enchilada?

According to Wikipedia, The Real Academia Española defines the word enchilada, as used in Mexico, as a rolled maize tortilla stuffed with meat and covered with a tomato and chili sauce.[1][2] Enchilada is the past participle of Spanish enchilar, "to add chili pepper to", literally to "season (or decorate) with chili".[3]

I used "bolivarian crap" before "enchilada", but crap is not the right word to define the movement. Is an enchilada because it is not socialism, it is not communism, it has elements of populism and it is demagogic. They were aligned with Catolicism, (or not, depended on Chavez mood), they aligned with Chinese beliefs and Buddah, Jesus, Sai Baba... Marxism, Salvador Allende, Gandhi... Why they aligned with Colombian guerrillas? To fullfill the Pablo Escobar dream of sinking the U.S. in cocaine and become millionaires. The bolivarian initiative is not an initiative, is the systematic robbery of Venezuelan resources. It is an ideological enchilada and the chili is the oppressed people. They want the poor to be poor, therefore, they may be easy to control and subjugate.

As you can see, there is no racism, no veiled demeanor. I AM VENEZUELAN. Please respect my urge of calling this "revolution" any way I wish. Yes, I made up the phrase. Feel free to use it. I have suffered in the flesh this (not you) and my family and friends are still suffering each second the nightmare of the bolivarian enchilada.

Posted by Dennis Leahy (here)
These may all be good people, my kind of people (anti-war, pro-peace.) That doesn't mean they cannot get used. The globalist machine that is about to annex Venezuela's resources will use and discard anyone that helps them - deliberately or inadvertently - achieve their agenda.

No, @Dennis Leahy. We want Cuba out. We do not care about the globalist machine.

Posted by Dennis Leahy (here)
Hmmmmm... I think you may be jumping to conclusions. You don't know my political ideology.

Okay. But, If quacks like a duck and walks like a duck and it looks like a duck...
Promise I will not speak about your ideology, from now on.

Posted by Dennis Leahy (here)
You said you read John Perkins' first book, right? It doesn't matter how much you despise Maduro, the US economic sanctions and UK refusal to release physical gold is an economic war. You can put some lipstick on it and say, "no, it's only sanctions and refusal to allow Venezuela to have some gold stored in the UK", but what would John Perkins call it?

@Dennis Leahy, why is so hard for you to understand Maduro is not the owner of the gold or the owner of the country's resources? Physical gold is the backup of the Venezuela National Reserve, not Maduro's possession. I already told you that. Venezuelan Constitution is being violated by Maduro when he tried to release gold. The Bolivar currency is 1/3000 of an U.S. dollar. If Maduro gets the gold, Venezuelans will never recover it and the Bolivar will be less valuable, and the poor even poorer.

Posted by Dennis Leahy (here)
I am glad that you have not posted about "political socialism" in that thread on "socialism", where the basic concept of social interaction for group survival is the topic, not political socialism.

Oh, beautiful.

Posted by Dennis Leahy (here)
I do want to start another thread about political socialism, and your thoughts would be most welcome. Further down the road, I'd like to start yet another topic about people's ideas of an intelligent solution for governance, and I'll hint, again, that you may be surprised at my views on whether having 100% socialist governance is the solution.

Again, if "bolivarian enchilada" is a racial epithet or socioeconomic class slur, as it sounds, you may want to self moderate and edit those out.

I am very sorry, but I have made clear "bolivarian enchilada" is neither a racial epithet nor socioeconomic class slur.

I know the path you are trying to go insinuating my definition as racial epithet. Forum Guidelines, Section B, subsection 1.

I am not editing my posts. I consider this as censorship. Do I have to censor my own posts? Maybe bolivarian rolled tortilla? or bolivarian spaghetti? or bolivarian arepa? No, not bolivarian arepa. I am thinking "bolivarian arroz con mango" should be okay.

[Tintin]

From the Empire Files and published in 2015 an important historical summary of the activities of, and prominent figures who have graduated from, the "School of the Americas."

Summary below video.

WARNING: contains graphic images.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=SGtegY0S3yo

On November 22, thousands gathered at the gates of Fort Benning, GA at the 25th annual protest of the School of the Americas to memorialize the tens of thousands of people who lost their lives at the hands of the U.S. Empire’s brutally repressive juntas it used to rule Latin America by force.

The dictators and death squad leaders, who committed acts of genocide, were trained within the gates of Fort Benning, at the School of the Americas – otherwise known as the “School Of Assassins.”

Abby Martin investigates this notorious school that is largely hidden from the American public; its crimes around the world, its star graduates, why it exists and the movement to shut it down.

Featuring interviews with School Of the Americas Watch founder Father Roy Bourgeois and other SOAW leaders. [Follow @SOAWatch and visit SOAW.org for more info on the movement]

[perolator]

Disclaimer: I am not a supporter of David Smolansky; I am not endorsing any individual, Venezuelan opposition or government related.

Posted by Joe (here)
...Opposition mayor David Smolanksy falsely claimed that President Maduro had used chemical weapons against the Venezuelan people.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro condemned opposition politician David Smolansky’s accusations on social media last weekend, alleging that the Bolivarian government had used chemical weapons against its people in recent stand-offs with opposition protestors. Maduro has requested a national investigation into these claims which he suggests seek to legitimate US intervention into the South American nation.

Smolansky, mayor of the elite Caracas municipality of El Hatillo and national coordinator for the hard-right Popular Will Party (VP), published a tweet Saturday suggesting that, “the National Bolivarian Guard has a chemical that they are using so that people lose their balance, vomit and even lose their eyesight.”

In 2009, Venezuelan National Guard exhausted tear gas supplies. With almost daily protests, the goal of the government was to clear those ASAP. National guardsmen were tired and Chavez started to use what he called "gas del bueno" ("del bueno" loosely translate to "best of breed" or "the best available". So it translates to "gas them with the best we got"). And the best they had, reportedly (sincerely, I have no way to prove it, but I have seen the effects of the gas), is Adamsite, known as DM gas.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Xoh_TKgWE9U

Red colored gas was first used in 2014 at San Cristóbal (Táchira). In that city, protests spanned several hours. When red "gas del bueno" was used, people started vomiting in seconds. Protesters lost balance, falling everywhere; and some of them, (young men mostly) were unconscious almost immediately. I saw a protest in Caracas, in "Los Proceres" broadcast by the local TV channel Globovisión. National guardsmen used tear gas, but protesters regrouped. When red gas was used, even National guardsmen, with their RoboCop-esque outfit and gas masks, were affected. Protesters collected empty canisters, all were labeled as country-made.

In 2017, Amnesty International once again criticized the Bolivarian government's usage of chemical agents, expressing concern of a "red gas" used to suppress protesters in Chacao on 8 April 2017, demanding "clarification of the components of the red tear gas used by state security forces against the opposition demonstrations".[151] Experts stated that all tear gas used by authorities should originally be colorless, noting that the color may be added to provoke or "color" protesters so they can easily be identified and arrested.[152] On 10 April 2017, Venezuelan police fired tear gas at protesters from helicopters flying overhead, resulting with demonstrators running from projectiles to avoid being hit by the canisters.[153]

The Venezuelan authorities using "Gas del bueno" are worse than some war criminals.

Source

Some mysterious chemical agents were used in Venezuela as well. On 20 March 2014, the appearance of “red gas” first occurred when it was used in San Cristóbal against protesters, with reports that it was CN gas. The first reported use of “green gas” was on 15 February 2014 against demonstrations in Altamira. On 25 April 2014, “green gas” was reportedly used again on protesters in Mérida. Venezuelan-American Ricardo Hausmann, director of the Center for International Development at Harvard made statements that this gas caused protestors to vomit. Some reported that the chemical used was adamsite, a yellow-green arsenical chemical weapon that can cause respiratory distress, nausea and vomiting.

Source

There are also reports of expired tear gas canisters used in protests.

A study by Mónica Krauter, a chemist and professor, involved the collection of thousands of tear gas canisters fired by Venezuelan authorities in 2014. She stated that the majority of canisters used the main component CS gas, supplied by Cóndor of Brazil, which meets Geneva Convention requirements. However, 72% of the tear gas used was expired and other canisters produced in Venezuela by Cavim did not show adequate labels or expiration dates. Following the expiration of tear gas, Krauter notes that it "breaks down into cyanide oxide, phosgenes and nitrogens that are extremely dangerous".[150]

Source

[AutumnW]

Purolater, If you hate the Cubans and the Enchiladas so much and consider them the sole source of Venezuela's problems, you are in for a real treat with Elliot Abrams, and Bolton. I know it's probably hard to believe, as things are bleak in your country now, but it could get much worse.

You have had money stolen or frozen. You have been sanctioned. Oil prices have collapsed. Drug trade flourishes in this scenario, and if government is involved, it may have as much to do with shoring up tax revenue in order to insure continuity of government, as enriching govt officials.

[perolator]

Posted by AutumnW (here)
Purolater, If you hate the Cubans and the Enchiladas so much

@AutumnW: I do not hate enchiladas. Enchiladas are actually delicious. I chose to name the thing happening in my country that way because it was conceived as socialism, but contains elements so dissimilar, it looks like an enchilada. That's it.

I do not hate Cuban people, the common man. Actually, I have good Cuban friends. I loathe Cubans in charge (managing) my country.

Posted by AutumnW (here)
...and consider them the sole source of Venezuela's problems,

Venezuela's source of all problems is the actual (20 years) government. They allowed all kinds of ways to steal money, resources, lead people to poverty and ruin the infrastructure. You know, in Venezuela we changed government each 5 years, we had a democracy. Chavez arrived and gave the country to Cubans.

Posted by AutumnW (here)
you are in for a real treat with Elliot Abrams, and Bolton. I know it's probably hard to believe, as things are bleak in your country now, but it could get much worse.

Sincerely, let's wait and see.

Posted by AutumnW (here)
You have had money stolen or frozen.

Stolen by chavistas: 700 billion dollars.
Retained by sanctions: less than 20 billion.

Posted by AutumnW (here)
You have been sanctioned.

Okay.

Posted by AutumnW (here)
Oil prices have collapsed.

My country had a special fund (FONDEN) to overcome variances in oil prices. Chavistas also stole it.

Posted by AutumnW (here)
Drug trade flourishes in this scenario, and if government is involved, it may have as much to do with shoring up tax revenue in order to insure continuity of government, as enriching govt officials.

Agree. Government is involved, indeed.

[AutumnW]

Perolater,

You have mentioned several times that resources have been 'stolen' by Chavistas? Chavez regained control of the nation's oil when he came to power. The oil companies were state owned, prior to Chavez, but controlled by an elite fiefdom of Venezuelans who ran it as if it was privately held, and became very rich doing so.

A few years after Chavez gained control of oil resources the global price of oil collapsed. Do you think the poor and middle class would have fared any better under a different government? If so...why?

You also mentioned that there was money set aside, in the event of a collapse in oil prices but the government, "stole," it. What is your proof of that and also, where is your proof that the government didn't use it in a desperate bid to keep things going?

Also, feel free to answer or not. Do you have a background in political economy or are you simply fed up and want some change, any change?

[Hervé]

Russia, China & Turkey ignore US blockade to deliver critical aid to Venezuela

Paul Antonopoulos Fort Russ
Mon, 18 Feb 2019 10:38 UTC

Venezuelan Health Minister Carlos Humberto Alvarado González reported that humanitarian aid made up of drugs from the Allied countries reached Venezuela.

"Despite the blockade, the Bolivarian government through agreements with Cuba, China, Russia, Palestine, Turkey, and cooperation with multilateral organizations of the UN, Pan American Health Organization, United Nations Children's Fund, Population Fund of the United Nations, among others, is responding to the population's health needs," Alvarado wrote on his Twitter account .

The minister also published photos of the containers with the help of the humanitarian who arrived in the country.

According to the Telesur channel, only on Wednesday, 64 containers were delivered to the port of La Guaira with 933 tonnes of medicines and equipment.

In all, according to Alvarado, since the beginning of the year, 99 containers with medicines and equipment worth €28 million arrived in the country, while in 2018 Venezuela received 918 containers with evaluated humanitarian aid in €254 million.

Venezuela's opposition insists on the immediate opening of humanitarian channels to the delivery of humanitarian aid from the United States, which is being concentrated on the border between Venezuela and Colombia, in the Las Tienditas bridge area.

Venezuelan officials have dismissed US aid, calling it "a border show," in which they have every right to say considering that US sanctions take out over $15 billion from the Venezuelan economy while the paltry US aid is worth only $50 million.

[Hervé]

What’s Not Being Said About the Venezuela Oil War


By F. William Engdahl williamengdahl.com
17 February 2019

Image: Caracas, Canciller Ricardo Patiño participó en los actos de conmemoración de la muerte de Hugo Chávez Credit: Cancillería del Ecuador License: CC Some Rights Reserved https://bit.ly/2NfbhLi

So far much of the discussion over what is driving the bizarre Trump Administration intervention into Venezuela centers around the comments of National Security Adviser John Bolton to claim it’s about oil. In a previous analysis we looked at the prospects of the huge Chavez Basin, formerly the Orinoco Basin, said to hold the world’s largest reserves of oil by some definitions. Now it’s becoming clearer that this de facto war is about far more than control of the heavy oil of the Chavez Basin in Venezuela. .

First it’s important to look at which oil companies were already staking various claims on the region’s oil prospects. Within Venezuela, Chinese oil companies led by China National Petroleum Corporation, and the Chinese government have been playing a major role since the Chavez era. In fact the role has become so great Venezuela’s government owes China some $61 billion. Because of the financial problems of the Maduro government, China has been taking debt repayment in form of oil. Since 2010 the Russian state oil company, Rosneft has been involved in joint projects with the Venezuela state PDVSA, mainly in the Orinoco/Chavez Belt. Some years ago Rosneft extended some $6 billion in loans to Venezuela to be also repaid in oil. A recent statement from Rosneft says that $2.3 billion is due by end of this year. Rosneft has participation in five oil projects and 100 percent in a gas project. In addition to CNPC and Rosneft, France’s Total SA, Norway’s Equinor, and US Chevron all hold minority stakes in Venezuela projects, with most vowing to stay despite the political crisis. That raises the question what they know beyond the well-documented heavy oil of Venezuela.

The real prize?

The real prize that these powerful international oil giants are eyeing likely lies well to the east of the Orinoco heavy oil fields where they now operate. The real prize is the ultimate control over one of the best-kept secrets in the oil industry, the huge oil reserves of a disputed area straddling Venezuela, Guyana and Brazil. The region is called Guayana Esequiba. Some geologists believe the Esequiba region and its offshore could contain the world’s largest reserves of oil, oil of far better quality that the heavy Orinoco crude of Venezuela. The problem is that owing to the decades-long dispute between Venezuela and Guyana the true extent of that oil is not yet known.

Historically, both Venezuela and Guyana, a former British colony, laid claim to Esequiba. In 1983 a so-called Port of Spain Protocol, between the governments of Venezuela and Guyana, declared a 12-year moratorium on the Venezuelan reclamation of Esequiba to allow time for peaceful resolution. Since then a special UN Representative has kept the situation frozen. Neither party has developed exploration of the reported huge oil deposits in the territory. In January 2018 the UN Secretary General referred the status of Esequiba to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, where it sits today.

Now it gets messy. In September 2011 the government of Guyana filed for an extension of its offshore Exclusive Economic Zone to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in order to extend its continental shelf by a further 150 nautical miles. To get UN permission, they declared the area was subject to no territorial disputes, ignoring the very active Venezuela dispute over Guayana Esequiba. Venezuela filed a strong protest. To further complicate the situation, Guyana awarded international oil exploration rights in the disputed maritime area.

Exxon in Guyana

In 2015 Guyana awarded an oil exploration contract to ExxonMobil, former company of former US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Exxon soon discovered an oil field estimated at 5 billion barrels, significant enough to change the economy of tiny Guyana once production begins next year. Unlike the heavy and expensive oil of Orinoco/Chavez, the oil found offshore Guyana is high quality, light. Oil analysts cite an astonishing 82% success rate for Exxon drilling in frontier areas compared with industry averages of 35%. Wood Mackenzies analysts say the offshore region “will easily become the fourth largest oil producing nation in Latin America by the next decade, with chances to outperform the countries preceding it. If Venezuela and Mexico fail to address production declines, Guyana could quickly surpass them to number two.”

Keep in mind until now this entire Esequiba region, offshore and on, had been off limits to oil exploration by mutual agreement of the countries. The Exxon Guyana discoveries confirmed the belief that the Esequiba region holds enormous oil resources.

Here enters the complication of Venezuela’s Maduro government and the bizarre declaration of opposition National Assembly President Juan Guaido to be deemed legitimate president. The entire tragic drama now unfolding can be better understood if we look beyond Orinoco Belt oil to the huge untapped potential reserves of Esequiba.

Since the 2015 Exxon finds, Venezuela has launched complaints with Guyana and on occasion interdicted Exxon oil exploration vessels. Complicating the situation for the Maduro regime is the fact that a partner of Exxon offshore Guyana in the disputed waters is the state oil company of Maduro’s largest creditor, China’s CNOOC.

Imagine a scenario where Maduro’s regime is replaced by a free-market Guaido who reopens Venezuela to foreign oil interests and reprivatizes the state PDVSA. Then Guaido, with help from his various international friends, aggressively asserts Venezuela’s claims to Esequiba. Britain, France and Spain, all with major oil companies in the region, have joined the US in recognizing Guaido as interim president. So long as Venezuela was controlled by Maduro, it suited Exxon and their backers in Washington to recognize Guyana’s legitimacy to the offshore Esequiba fields. Were Guaido to come in, that could easily change and a fragile Guyana could be arm-twisted to resolve the Esequiba issue to the benefit of Venezuela.

Right now we find Maduro with the open support of China and Russia, opposed by Guaido with the open backing of Washington, London, France, Brazil (also bordering on the Esequiba region) and others. Further adding to the explosive geopolitical cocktail of the region is the fact that China has formally incorporated Guyana into its Belt, Road Initiative and is building a highway link from Manaus in Northern Brazil through Guyana giving Brazil far more efficient access to the Panama Canal, cutting thousands of miles off the shipping route. Notable also are Chinese efforts in Panama, the central shipping crossing between Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In 2016 China’s Landbridge Group bought Panama’s Margarita Island Port, the largest port, on the canal’s Atlantic side, giving the Chinese company intimate access to one of the most important goods distribution centers in the world.

It doesn’t take much imagination to realize that the geopolitical stakes in the Venezuela crisis go far beyond issues of legitimacy or democratic elections and far beyond the borders of Venezuela. And this is only the oil.

F. William Engdahl is strategic risk consultant and lecturer, he holds a degree in politics from Princeton University and is a best-selling author on oil and geopolitics, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”

[perolator]

Posted by AutumnW (here)
Perolater,
You have mentioned several times that resources have been 'stolen' by Chavistas? Chavez regained control of the nation's oil when he came to power.

Let me clarify: Money has been stolen by chavistas and their allies. Mineral Resources have been sequestered (hijacked) by chavistas and their allies.

@AutumnW: Chavez did not "regained" control of the nation's oil, Robin Hood style. He took it in an arbitrary and authoritarian way, even grotesque, blowing a whistle on live national TV broadcasting. His decisions at that time and afterwards led my country to ashes. That's the simplified story. The myth of a Chavez Robin Hood defending poor people are in the minds of the few who are brainwashed with bolivarian enchilada propaganda.

There is a tale from 2010 I want to share with you. It is here.

Please read the excerpt below.

Foreign Friend who does not follow Venezuela closely (call him F): How expensive is gas in Venezuela?

Devil: Gasoline is essentially free in Venezuela.

F: Free? Are you nuts? How can they give it away?

Devil: Ok, I lied, it’s not free, it’s 50 cents…

F: Woa! 50 cents a gallon that is truly cheap, almost free.

Devil: no, no, not for a gallon, it takes about 50 dollar cents to fill the full gas tank of a medium to large size car. It’s easier to calculate it that way than to figure out per liter or per gallon cost, but basically it is 1.1 cent per liter or 4.2 cents per gallon.

F: (puzzled look, glassy eyes): but this makes no sense, the poor have no cars, it is the rich that benefit from this. You can’t produce gasoline at that price.

Devil: You are absolutely right. Chavez says that profit is a capitalistic concept and the “people” own the oil anyway, so he has kept the price fixed for 11 years as inflation has hit 1,000% in the same period.

Now inflation is 1,000,000%, @AutumnW. And growing. There were no sanctions in 2010. Chavez has complete control of the country and some popularity. So what happened? Sanctions? Globalists? CIA? NSA?

Posted by AutumnW (here)
The oil companies were state owned, prior to Chavez, but controlled by an elite fiefdom of Venezuelans who ran it as if it was privately held, and became very rich doing so.

@AutumnW: There is one national corporation charred remains: PDVSA, Petróleos de Venezuela. It was autonomous, not controlled by an elite fiefdom (sic) of Venezuelans. It was the best company of my country, and working there was one of the goals of many Venezuelans, a reason to be proud.

Posted by AutumnW (here)
A few years after Chavez gained control of oil resources the global price of oil collapsed. Do you think the poor and middle class would have fared any better under a different government? If so...why?

Venezuela is an oil producer and exporter since 1922 (I am not sure, some historians say 1908). Our country was okay without Chavez. Oil prices fluctuate constantly. Our country was okay with oil prices as low as US$ 4.35 (1973). In 1998, when the late Chavez took office, oil was US$ 11.91. Some Venezuelans (myself included) knew la parranda chavista would halt with oil prices as low as US$ 35.

Source

I have no crystal ball to to know whether the poor (there are no middle class in my country) would fare better under a different government. But without the chavista gang, the country will be better. That's for sure.

Posted by AutumnW (here)
You also mentioned that there was money set aside, in the event of a collapse in oil prices but the government, "stole," it. What is your proof of that and also, where is your proof that the government didn't use it in a desperate bid to keep things going?

I am not going to prove anything. The reason I am posting here is to show a different point of view for people who does not know what is really happening in Venezuela. There are some reliable sources of information in English. I need to make this crystal clear. I know what is happening, some people do not. Basically, that is the reason I am sharing information here.

Posted by AutumnW (here)
Also, feel free to answer or not. Do you have a background in political economy or are you simply fed up and want some change, any change?

@AutumnW, I am covered with an anonymity cloak, just like yourself. That allows me to post in this forum freely. Therefore, I won't tell you about my background. I am a simple forum member. And yes, I am fed up. I (like millions of hopeless Venezuelans) want my country back.

[perolator]

Posted by Joe (here)
Report from The Corbett Report
[snip]

In the latest Ron Paul Liberty report, published Monday February 18th, McAdams suggests that the coup will further galvanize support of Maduro and make him stronger politically by rallying the country against foreign intervention.

I just watched the interview. It is excellent.

I don't think Maduro tighten his arse on the presidential chair after this. He has some international support (from friend/ally countries) but almost no support in Venezuela.

The problem with most international analysts is about Maduro's (and Chavez's) legitimacy. There is an understatement: it is a coup, and Maduro is legitimate. Article 233 of the Venezuelan Constitution was analyzed superficially, for instance. Discussion revolves on oil and Neo-con influence. I know Neo-con influence shall be considered and it is important, but, Venezuela has to be seen as a failed narco-state with close ties with international crime. When the picture is seen under the lens of a legitimate presidency, the image blurs considerably.

[Yetti]

Herve, you are wrong , in venezuela there is no respect people other than any obedient to the regime , I AM FROM VENEZUELA ! I know exactly what's going on there, still have family there. Economy totally destroyed ( 2000000 = % of devaluation) A month of income to buy a galon of milk. come on man why is so hard to understand socialism does not work, has fail everywhere in the world. and what we have in Venezuela is a dictatorship from the far left engaged in drug cartel ( the nephew of the pfirst lady are in jail for traffiking 800 lb of cocaine to US using diplomatic passports)

[perolator]

@Joe:

Thank you for bringing in this article.

I agree with a lot of the things Georgy Zotov exposed in the 3-part article. My comments below.

Posted by Joe (here)
Judging by the stories on the Internet, in Venezuelan people should simply kill each other for dollars, but this is not the case.

Although having foreign currency is strictly forbidden as per Venezuelan government's policy, Venezuelans kill each other for dollars. Letting know people you have dollars in your possession is suicidal. A woman near my former neighborhood was beheaded in December because of that. I think she did not disclose the location of the dollars inside her apartment, and thugs (her own neighbors, by the way) tortured her to death. Right now, more and more services and goods are being paid in dollars. You cannot pay in dollars at a store, of course. In this context, either Zotov was extremely lucky (I don't think so) or he had an powerful and well-equipped escort protecting him, who knows.

Second photograph of day one was taken at the Urdaneta Avenue, in front of Plaza Candelaria, downtown Caracas. That area is mostly filled with government offices. It is easy to spot plenty of people there in daylight. It gives the impression of a normal city. I would like him going to the same spot in the middle of the night.

Posted by Joe (here)
On the street there is a long line into a “social supermarket,” a place you can buy 400 types of goods at the solid low prices. These shops were established by the late President Hugo Chavez “to fight inflation and protect the poor.” The stores are funded by the Venezuelan government.

It sounds so romantic... "social supermarkets" are part of a mass expropriation Chavez did to two national-wide supermarkets: Automercados CADA (a former of those shops is the place where the photographs were taken) and Hipermercados EXITO (from the French Casino Group). Chavez settled with Casino Group and they got an undisclosed payment for expropriation, but CADA owners were less lucky, AFAIK. Chavez tried to compete with the big companies with their "social supermarkets" and failed. This is a 2018 photo of one of the "social supermarkets" and here is the link to the article (in Spanish).

Posted by Joe (here)
...I’ve been all over the town. Restaurants, cafes, eateries, during the lunch hour are crowded, and people look well-dressed. The mass hunger, the Western media paints for us, doesn’t exist in reality...

One of the photographs shows a lot of unbranded tissue paper (imported, for sure). I tried to zoom in the price, but it was fuzzy. The price + VAT is about 5,000 Bs.S. (family and friends told me today is more than 6,500... yes, it's a "social supermarket") Last monthly decreed minimum wage is 18,000 Bs.S. You have to decide between food and hygiene. I know, no mass hunger.

Posted by Joe (here)
According to CNN and BBC, impoverished people in Venezuela are revolting against the government. Nothing can be further from the truth; it’s a wealthy middle class that goes to demonstrate.

I am sick of comments like this... That means those crowded demonstrations all over the country are filled with the wealthy middle class?

Posted by Joe (here)
Maduro is applauded in poor neighborhoods, because the President gives their residents free food sets enough for a month and gives free (!) apartments. Formally, they belong to the state, but people live in them for generations.

People are allowed to live in those "free" apartments as long as they support the government. I have seen families thrown out because they were seen in an anti-government protest.

[perolator]

Posted by Hervé (here)
According to the Telesur channel, only on Wednesday, 64 containers were delivered to the port of La Guaira with 933 tonnes of medicines and equipment.
In all, according to Alvarado, since the beginning of the year, 99 containers with medicines and equipment worth €28 million arrived in the country, while in 2018 Venezuela received 918 containers with evaluated humanitarian aid in €254 million.

The Venezuelan government is so criminal, 99% of that aid will go straight to the black market. Venezuelans going to national hospitals have to pay for supplies. Not only medicines.