Sounds like the same popular stalemate as before, with the armed forces still on the side of Maduro as the decisive make-weight. Maybe another Iraqi Kurdish uprising or Hungarian uprising of 1956 in the making?
― A is for (Aimless), Tuesday, 30 April 2019 18:37 (five years ago) link
If really Maduro cared about his people he would have at least have internationally monitored elections by now.
― Van Horn Street, Tuesday, 30 April 2019 18:42 (five years ago) link
don't worry guys, america's best and brightest minds are on the case
― officer sonny bonds, lytton pd (mayor jingleberries), Tuesday, 30 April 2019 18:43 (five years ago) link
don't worry everyone Erik Prince is gonna sort this out
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-erikprince-exclusi/exclusive-blackwater-founders-latest-sales-pitch-mercenaries-for-venezuela-idUSKCN1S608F
― Simon H., Tuesday, 30 April 2019 18:51 (five years ago) link
the el pais live streaming is interesting, in a low-key way. listless protestors throwing stones from behind the cover of a wheely bin, equally listless national guard firing tear gas from an overpass while their colleagues josh around in the background
― findom haddie (jim in vancouver), Tuesday, 30 April 2019 19:36 (five years ago) link
no successful coup today.
Insta-conspiracy theory: Maduro knew the CIA would be sounding out military officers to participate in a coup, so he obligingly provided them with some.
― A is for (Aimless), Tuesday, 30 April 2019 19:58 (five years ago) link
VENEZUELA: US Secretary of State Pompeo tells @CNN @wolfblitzer that Maduro was ready to leave Venezuela this morning, but dissuaded by Russia - @kylieatwood— Conflict News (@Conflicts) April 30, 2019
― ShariVari, Tuesday, 30 April 2019 21:54 (five years ago) link
Genuinely impressed anyone could say that with a straight face.
Guaido's 'UK representative' has just repeated it - with a straight face - on Newsnight.
― Ned Caligari (Tom D.), Tuesday, 30 April 2019 22:08 (five years ago) link
Maduro is very obviously working within the sphere of Russian’s influence.
Now I doubt with this military support that he will ever leave.
― Van Horn Street, Tuesday, 30 April 2019 22:48 (five years ago) link
Lol doubt even The Guardian is saying this but you do you.
Maybe if I read this if I can get past the headline.
Former bus driver Nicolás Maduro clings to wheel in Venezuela https://t.co/UKri7OzEbx— The Guardian (@guardian) April 30, 2019
― xyzzzz__, Wednesday, 1 May 2019 07:35 (five years ago) link
Kissinger or the Dulles brothers woulda gotten the coup done like *snap*
― a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 1 May 2019 12:16 (five years ago) link
you couldn't ask for a clearer indication of america's decline
― michael keaton IS jim thirlwell IN ‘foetaljuice’ (bizarro gazzara), Wednesday, 1 May 2019 12:23 (five years ago) link
It's the 2nd Anniversary of Fyre Festival—See What the Key Players Are Up To Now
― calzino, Wednesday, 1 May 2019 12:26 (five years ago) link
Juan Guiado is the Venezuelan Owen Smith— Bela Lugosi's Red (@GAYLEXITNOW) April 30, 2019
― xyzzzz__, Wednesday, 1 May 2019 17:54 (five years ago) link
― xyzzzz__, Wednesday, May 1, 2019 3:35 AM (eleven hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/venezuela-russia-rosneft/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/as-maduro-confronts-a-crisis-russias-footprint-in-venezuela-grows/2019/03/29/fcf93cec-50b3-11e9-bdb7-44f948cc0605_story.html?utm_term=.7cfadacf3a65
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/08/world/americas/russia-venezuela-maduro-putin.html
MOSCOW — On a rainy afternoon this week, a group of Russian officials and oil executives gathered for Mass in a Catholic church tucked away behind the imposing secret service headquarters in central Moscow.
They did not come to pray. Instead, they were commemorating the late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez, who poured billions of dollars into Russian weapons and machinery, and showing support for his embattled successor, Nicolás Maduro.
Mr. Maduro is fighting to save the political system he and Mr. Chávez have built, with Russian support, for two decades. Mr. Maduro’s catastrophic economic mismanagement has led the opposition to claim the country’s leadership with the support of the United States, the European Union and most South American nations.
Tell me if you need more.
― Van Horn Street, Wednesday, 1 May 2019 19:28 (five years ago) link
Venezuela is under sanctions so it will get cash from wherever. Don't see how it goes from that to Russia having a say on whether Maduro goes or not.
― xyzzzz__, Wednesday, 1 May 2019 20:09 (five years ago) link
Tell me if you need more
if any of these days of protests look like ending in a successful takeover of power maduro will be on his way to cuba quicker than you can grill an arepa
― findom haddie (jim in vancouver), Wednesday, 1 May 2019 20:17 (five years ago) link
Russian meddling and influence started long before economic sanctions.
― Van Horn Street, Wednesday, 1 May 2019 20:23 (five years ago) link
i am reminded of something fidel told allende with reference to the soviet union when he visited chile. something along the lines of "remember they need you as much as you need them". his point was that these relationships are a two-way street. even more so now that the former soviet union is now the much weaker, and less influential russian federation. a good example of this is the relationship between the u.s. and israel. the u.s. give massive support to israel, but you could never say that the government there just acts at the behest of the u.s. see the fractious relationship between obama and netanyahu for an example. symbiosis is the order of the day in these things. if maduro wants to go he'll go, ascribing everything bad to russia is manichean, and assuming actors in the global south are just puppets is condescending (this goes for guaido too).
― findom haddie (jim in vancouver), Wednesday, 1 May 2019 20:31 (five years ago) link
4 billions in weapons from Russia during Chavez era + joint military exercises, onwards with the Bolivarian revolution!
xpost
― Van Horn Street, Wednesday, 1 May 2019 20:34 (five years ago) link
Yeah I agree to a certain extent, it is true that sometimes interests just aligns. My two point are mainly that the notion that Maduro is a benevolent protector of Venezuela's sovereignty vs imperial interests are naive. The two way street relationships could exist with other more peaceful nations but there is a reason both Chavez and Maduro chose the Russia-China sorta coalition. It is not the EU or Canada that puts lots of journalists in prison. My other point is that as long Russia credits the Maduro regime and sell weapons, Maduro will stay in power. He has abused his military power to win the last elections and as of right now, it is the military who can do the necessary exchange of currency for to obtain primary needs, meaning a whole bunch of generals are getting rich of the disaster. Considering his past behavior, and Putin's past behavior, and how lamentable whatever Guaido tried to do yesterday, I don't see how or why the tyrants would change course right now.
― Van Horn Street, Wednesday, 1 May 2019 20:48 (five years ago) link
It is not the EU or Canada that puts lots of journalists in prison
They kill them in Malta.
― Ned Caligari (Tom D.), Wednesday, 1 May 2019 20:50 (five years ago) link
... and Slovakia.
― Ned Caligari (Tom D.), Wednesday, 1 May 2019 20:52 (five years ago) link
And Northern Ireland.
Am I doing this right?
― Frederik B, Wednesday, 1 May 2019 20:55 (five years ago) link
No.
― Ned Caligari (Tom D.), Wednesday, 1 May 2019 21:00 (five years ago) link
Yes freedom of the press is equivalent in Austria and Venezuela. Absolutely. Bravo guys.
― Van Horn Street, Wednesday, 1 May 2019 21:01 (five years ago) link
"It is not the EU or Canada that puts lots of journalists in prison."
Plenty of other people EU and Canada kill and mis-treat, if that's the road you wanna walk.
― xyzzzz__, Wednesday, 1 May 2019 21:03 (five years ago) link
No-one mentioned Austria but, since you have, another wonderful EU country with Nazis in its government.
― Ned Caligari (Tom D.), Wednesday, 1 May 2019 21:03 (five years ago) link
Heh, Venezuela is just ahead of Russia:
https://rsf.org/en/ranking
― pomenitul, Wednesday, 1 May 2019 21:03 (five years ago) link
I mean, I'm not about to support Maduro but LOL @ the EU as some kind of exemplar of democracy and freedom - home of Orban, the FPO, the Law and Justice Party, Salvini...
― Ned Caligari (Tom D.), Wednesday, 1 May 2019 21:08 (five years ago) link
And even with all these terrible people and parties, it remains a much freer place than Maduro's Venezuela. Post and pre-2018 economic sanctions. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
― Van Horn Street, Wednesday, 1 May 2019 21:12 (five years ago) link
LOL @ the EU as some kind of exemplar of democracy and freedom
This is such a weird sentiment
― Frederik B, Wednesday, 1 May 2019 21:13 (five years ago) link
The EU is a fairly decentralized entity that also happens to be home to exemplars of democracy and freedom? Which are ever relative terms to begin with? Because no country could ever live up to the kind of absolutist standards you no doubt have in mind, at least not in the foreseeable future?
― pomenitul, Wednesday, 1 May 2019 21:13 (five years ago) link
How do you know what I have in mind?
― Ned Caligari (Tom D.), Wednesday, 1 May 2019 21:14 (five years ago) link
I tell you what's weird, using Canada and the EU as a stick to beat Maduro!
― Ned Caligari (Tom D.), Wednesday, 1 May 2019 21:15 (five years ago) link
Sorry I should have used Australia and Norway.
― Van Horn Street, Wednesday, 1 May 2019 21:16 (five years ago) link
xp: It's not really what anybody here is doing, but it wouldn't be weird at all?
― Frederik B, Wednesday, 1 May 2019 21:17 (five years ago) link
Seems pretty arbritrary to wheel out the EU as a comparison for Venezuela?
― Ned Caligari (Tom D.), Wednesday, 1 May 2019 21:19 (five years ago) link
I mean,
Yah boo sucks or what?
― Ned Caligari (Tom D.), Wednesday, 1 May 2019 21:22 (five years ago) link
The comparison was with China and Russia, as potential alliance partners.
― Frederik B, Wednesday, 1 May 2019 21:22 (five years ago) link
In the context of my post I was speaking about mutual interests and how Russia and Venezuela's aligns as opposed to say, western nations.
― Van Horn Street, Wednesday, 1 May 2019 21:22 (five years ago) link
And Canada?
― Ned Caligari (Tom D.), Wednesday, 1 May 2019 21:24 (five years ago) link
Russia, China, the EU, Canada?
What are you even talking about.
― Van Horn Street, Wednesday, 1 May 2019 21:25 (five years ago) link
Potential alliance partners, instead of Russia and China? Canada.
― Ned Caligari (Tom D.), Wednesday, 1 May 2019 21:26 (five years ago) link
― pomenitul, Wednesday, 1 May 2019 Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Well certain liberal standards are being used against Venezuela but the whole picture isn't being looked at.
― xyzzzz__, Wednesday, 1 May 2019 21:27 (five years ago) link
Yanukovich, Karapetyan, Bouteflika, etc, highlight pretty clearly that a Russian line of credit and arms sales don’t guarantee much in the face of popular protests capable of shutting down a country. Guaido’s ongoing problem is that there isn’t enough support and the more he messes up with stunts like yesterday, the more that support evaporates.
― ShariVari, Wednesday, 1 May 2019 21:31 (five years ago) link