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Things Not Going Well in Venezuela, 2.0


PittsburghTiger

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3 minutes ago, bad_teammate said:

"possible" is the key word there.

Agree that all of these nations, including our own, should expel their current governments and reconstruct them in line with public needs and attitudes.

They tried to do that when they elected Chavez. Chavez did a pretty bad job of it, but I think he actually did give a shit about the people. Maduro doesn't. 

It seems like every time someone tries out a fascist version of socialism, the second guy to take charge ditches the socialist aspects entirely and goes all in on fascism.  Stalin, Maduro.  The jury is out on Diaz-Canel. Raul was really an extension of Fidel. 

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1 hour ago, FondrenRoad said:

It seems like every time someone tries out a fascist version of socialism, the second guy to take charge ditches the socialist aspects entirely and goes all in on fascism

Part of it is because it’s too easy and tempting to go authoritarian in a socialist system.  Power is already centralized and concentrated in the state.  All it takes is one asshole to make it go to shit. 

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5 hours ago, hpslugga said:

I wouldn't go that far, but you're right in implying that the US getting any more involved than it did would have been exponentially worse.

The best possible news would be that the Venezuelan population itself chose to overthrow the government and reconstructed it with people that actually had responsiveness to public attitudes, namely diversifying the economy so that they don't have to live and die by a single commodity and that they remain at arm's length away from powerful states, namely the US and Russia.  

And maybe, and I am just spit balling here, get them producing oil again to sell.  Right now they are producing what they did in the 1940s.  They fucked up their cash cow.

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And maybe, and I am just spit balling here, get them producing oil again to sell.  Right now they are producing what they did in the 1940s.  They fucked up their cash cow.
They cant reverse the trend. They have neither the human or financial capital to do it.
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34 minutes ago, DCA_HORN said:
42 minutes ago, Johnny Sack said:
And maybe, and I am just spit balling here, get them producing oil again to sell.  Right now they are producing what they did in the 1940s.  They fucked up their cash cow.

They cant reverse the trend. They have neither the human or financial capital to do it.

I'm sure Russia and China would be happy to help, and thats the last thing the Venzuelan people need

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  • 4 months later...
  • 5 months later...

wait....what?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8293817/US-hostage-paraded-Venezuelan-TV.html

Quote

A former U.S. special force soldier arrested in Venezuela was paraded on Venezuelan TV Wednesday as he 'admitted to a plot to capture President Nicolas Maduro'. 

Luke Denman, 34, was arrested Monday alongside six Venezuelan mercenaries as part of the foiled coup.

The plan was coordinated by an ex-Green Beret named Jordan Goudreau, 43, who says the objective was to capture Maduro. Goudreau claims to have built a force of 300 men, reportedly backed by US billionaires.

President Maduro said Wednesday that Goudreau has worked directly for several years with Donald Trump and that he has provided security services, intelligence services in contract with the White House and the Department of State. 

It came after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ridiculed the idea of official government involvement Wednesday, saying: 'There was no U.S. government direct involvement in this operation.

'(If) we'd have been involved, it would have gone differently.'

more at the link. what the actual fuck?

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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ridiculed the idea of official government involvement Wednesday, saying: 'There was no U.S. government direct involvement in this operation.

LOL.  They were chasing a bounty put out by the US government.  But the US government had nothing to do with it. This fucking guy.

 

 

 

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On 6/20/2019 at 6:13 PM, suddenly shaggy said:

Venezuela owes billions of dollars to Rosfnet. In January, Putin sent his favorite mercenary company (Wagner) to make sure they collect. 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/25/venezuela-maduro-russia-private-security-contractors

BTW, where is this fucking dip shit @suddenly shaggy

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One of the idiots was a Westlake grad.  Has any other high school produced such a motley group of alums?  Brees, Foles, the Silk Road guy, etc...

https://www.statesman.com/news/20200507/austin-native-arrested-after-failed-attempt-to-capture-venezuelan-president

A U.S. military veteran who was arrested Monday in what Venezuela officials have described as a failed plot to capture President Nicolás Maduro is an Austin native whose family members say they were stunned to see reports of his apprehension and are praying for his safe return.

Venezuelan officials say Luke Denman, 34, was apprehended at gunpoint on a beach near the port city of La Guaira, where eight others allegedly involved in the plot were killed by local security forces. Denman remained in custody Wednesday as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed to “use every tool” to secure his release along with a second U.S. military veteran who also was arrested, Airan Berry.

Denman appeared in a video aired on state TV in Venezuela on Wednesday.

Although the U.S. is among dozens of countries wanting Maduro ousted, Pompeo and President Donald Trump have insisted Washington was not involved in the incursion and had no prior knowledge of it. The U.S. government recognizes opposition leader Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s rightful leader and in late March indicted Maduro on drug trafficking charges related to alleged shipments of cocaine to the United States. Federal officials announced a reward of up to $15 million for information related to his arrest.

On Wednesday, Denman’s father, Frank, answered the door at his West Austin home and declined to discuss his son’s arrest. He instead directed the American-Statesman to a statement attributed to the Denman family that was provided by another son.

Denman, the statement reads, left the military in 2014 to focus on family life and since that time has worked in a number of civilian jobs. Most recently, he was in Florida working as a deep sea diver.

“The first indication we had of anything different is the images coming out of Venezuela,” the family says in the statement. “I cannot say enough positive things about Luke’s character and cannot imagine him involved in any nefarious activities. Our only concern at this time is getting Luke home safely.”

Luke Denman is a graduate of Westlake High School. KVUE-TV in Austin interviewed Denman in 2015 after a steel bar flew toward him and lodged into his helmet while he was riding his motorcycle on MoPac Boulevard.

During a news conference Monday, Maduro said Denman and Berry “were playing Rambo.”

Maduro held up what appeared to be their U.S. passports and read off their names and birth dates. He showed images of fishing boats the pair allegedly rode in on and tactical equipment that he said they were carrying, like walkie-talkies. In one of the photos, Denman appears to be lying on his stomach with his head resting on a pair of shoes and his arms tied behind his back.

 

Six Venezuelan citizens were arrested alongside the Americans, Venezuelan officials said.

Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab said authorities have arrested 114 people suspected in the attack and are searching for 92 others.

According to ABC News, Denman and Berry are associated with Silvercorp USA, a private firm founded by Jordan Goudreau, an ex-Green Beret based in Florida who claimed responsibility for the incursion. Denman served in Iraq with Goudreau, according to comments the Canadian-born Goudreau made to The Associated Press.

Venezuelan military deserters were being readied for combat at three camps in Colombia with the help of Goudreau and Silvercorp USA, multiple opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and aspiring freedom fighters told the AP.

In the video released Wednesday, Denman says he arrived to Venezuela to train rebel troops and that Trump was behind Silvercorp’s incursion. However, experts say the testimony should be taken with a grain of salt because Venezuelan authorities have a record of forcing statements.

Goudreau said he launched the attack after reaching an agreement with Guaidó to overthrow Maduro. Guaidó has denied having anything to do with it.

Goudreau said Guaidó never fulfilled his side of the agreement, but the attack went forward anyway in an underfunded operation with just 60 fighters. The plan to overthrow Maduro was detailed days before the attack by the AP, which relied on interviews with Goudreau associates to portray the ex-Green Beret as a “freedom-loving patriot, a mercenary and a gifted warrior scarred by battle and in way over his head.”

After Denman and Berry’s capture, Goudreau told AP he had reached out to people who he thinks can help bring them home, but “nobody’s returning my calls.”

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Guest Lobo

Go Chaps, I guess?  What a bizarre story.  I'm curious to see how this all ties back to Russia.  And of course, to us. 

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