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Foreign diplomats urge Venezuela's Maduro to hand over power

23 Comments
By FRANKLIN BRICENO and SCOTT SMITH

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US, Russia and China: leave Venezuela alone.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

The article needs to focus on over two decades of destabilising interference by the US, CIA and big business.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

The article needs to focus on over two decades of destabilising interference by the US, CIA and big business.

The floor is yours. Please tell us all about these cases of interference. Don't hesitate to be specific.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Rather, the coalition should push for neutral actors to open dialogues between Maduro's government and opposition leaders,

That will fail. Maduro is a dictator. No doubt about it.

finding ways to reduce mounting international pressure and reaching a peaceful resolution in Venezuela, Ramsey said.

In other words, just let the issue run so Maduro is allowed to further ruin his country. He is totally incompetent.

That's not a plan, its admission of defeat and it will do nothing positive for Venezuelans.

Need something better than that.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Why would anyone invest in Venezuela or start a business when the state nationalizes every successful company and expropriates every valuable asset without compensation? Why would you bother importing food to feed starving Venezuelans when the government will throw you in jail for violating artificial price controls? Why would you increase crop yields on your farm if the government is just going to steal the surplus? State socialism is the only reason the unemployment rate is approaching 40%+ and people are eating zoo animal and digging through trash bins for food scraps. Even if you believe that the Venezuelan government has been forced to adopt these disastrous policies just to harden their grip on power in the face of CIA coup threats, the fact remains that they are disastrous socialist policies.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Any nation who has oil is asking for American interference. Moral of the story...don’t have any oil!

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Any nation who has oil is asking for American interference. Moral of the story...don’t have any oil!

Isn't this narrative a bit outdated give that America is now the world's #1 producer of crude oil thanks to fracking? America now pumps more crude oil out of the ground than Saudi Arabia. The fall in oil prices that accompanied America's increasing energy independence has made Venezuela's inefficient state oil sector unprofitable, but I don't think you can blame America for that.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

it won't involve a dismally familiar swap between a failed left-wing regime and a new right-wing one which will just enrich a different group of people

Yet, the Chilean people are still the wealthiest in South America. The raw data suggests that right-wing governments which embrace free markets and give out free helicopter rides are the most successful in lifting people out of poverty and into relative prosperity.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Just as we and our country do not want other countries telling us what to do... we should leave other countries alone... regardless of their consequences...

That is LIFE.., and it is for the people of that country to rise up and if necessary actually ask for help.

The biggest problem here are not national interests but "corporate" interests that are more interested in their own profitability and power than the rights and well-being of the people of any country, including our own. Because money / wealth buys everything including people.., those that control money, including the banks use politicians and the governments for their own benefit.

In that sense, sometimes a dictator type totalitarian government often helps in negating and in controlling the power brokers that in fact hurt rather than benefit the country and its people.

For Venezuela.. it is not like Cuba of old... it is difficult to say which may be better... or for that matter why are the outsiders so concerned..? Why are they getting so involved..?

It certainly does not appear top be for the benefit of the people of Venezuela.

Rightfully, Trump is waiting it out.

And it does not make sense for US to get directly involved at this time anyway...

1 ( +1 / -0 )

And it does not make sense for US to get directly involved at this time anyway...

At least when the Obama acted against Libya (like Reagan in the 80s) it was against a sociopathic boorish dictator who loved to cause problems - thru terrorism. And when Obama intervened in 2011 the Libyan people were rising up and asked for help.

Venezuela is not a problem except maybe to its immediate neighbors and with no uprising there at the time, the US ought to leave Venezuela alone.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Foreign intervention by other countries and US influence , into the affairs of another country, now were have we seen that before ??

2 ( +2 / -0 )

It's only since the demise of Pinochet and the accession of more or less centrist governments that they've become something of an example for the rest of the continent to follow.

Centrist also being non-socialist governments which have embraced free market economics. As unsavoury as the Pinochet dictatorship was in many respects, it did set into motion the economic freedoms that Chileans enjoy today. Nobody would justify the abuses commited in Chile but Venezuela is orders of magnitude worse than the Pinochet regime if we compare deathtolls. The roughly 4000 killed and disappeared in Chile during the entire dictatorship is surpassed each and every year in Venezuela simply by the increase in child mortality due to malnutrition... even according to the government's own statistics.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

the US ought to leave Venezuela alone.

This is a genuine question. What is America doing to cause the problems in Venezuela? Can somebody answer this?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Funny how these states had no problem recognizing the Brazilian President as such, despite an 'election' that featured the previous, actually democratically elected President being held incommunicado in jail on trumped up charges, who has sent the military to suppress protests.

Ah, the joys of living in a post-truth world.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

The Lima Group is made up of these countries:

Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Guyana and Saint Lucia.

Venezuela started their own issues when they decided to nationalized oil, agriculture, banking, gold, steel, telecom, power, transportation and tourism industries into their socialist ideals. That failed. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-election-nationalizations/factbox-venezuelas-nationalizations-under-chavez-idUSBRE89701X20121008

Venezuela has forced over 3M citizens to migrate into neighboring countries causing huge, region-wide, issues for Brazil, Peru, Colombia, and others nearby pais. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-migration-insight/fleeing-hardship-at-home-venezuelan-migrants-struggle-abroad-too-idUSKCN1MP192

Election monitors found big irregularities in the last election. Only 30% of registered voters voted this time. Prior elections had 80% turnout: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-election/venezuelas-maduro-re-elected-amid-outcry-over-vote-idUSKCN1IL05U

Venezuela leadership is trying to create a socialist dictatorship. I hope they fail and all the Venezuelan people forced to migrate can return to their homes and a prosperous, democratic, country.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

BTW, Chile is a healthy, prosperous, democracy with a slightly socialist lean today. They aren't hiding their terrible history and they know they have more to do to treat indigenous peoples better, but they are trying to be better for all Chileans.

They have huge, wonderful, national parks too. Highly recommended, if you like to hike or camp or backpack.

Santiago is an upbeat city, full of youth and life. You can ski and surf in the same day there.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

@starpunk

And when Obama intervened in 2011 the Libyan people were rising up and asked for help

And now, almost eight years after this aggression, Libyans enjoy free, happy, prosperious lives! Oh, wait, it's not the case. Let's talk about Iraq and Afghanistan. Umm... Actually, there is no dysfunctional country in the world where American intervention could not make the situation even worse.

It's interesting to note how Western media is focused on the crisis in Venezuela but ignores another crisis, in its darling of 2014 but now forgotten Ukraine. After the Western-orchestrated coup five years ago (which began exactly as in this article, with "foreign diplomats urging to hand over power"), millions of Ukrainians emigrated to neighboring countries, Ukraine's economy in shambles and its president constanly begs IMF for loans. Not only socialist experiments, capitalist experiments can also be ruinous.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Isn't this narrative a bit outdated give that America is now the world's #1 producer of crude oil thanks to fracking?

It is indeed an outdated narrative but to those with anti-American sentiment, of which there are plenty, they still see mileage in it.

This is a genuine question. What is America doing to cause the problems in Venezuela? Can somebody answer this?

Nothing, other than banning its banking sector from doing business with Venezuela, which in turn no doubts stops a lot of U.S businesses and South American from doing the same.

The U.S government is well within its rights to stop ANY American entity from engaging with that of another country.

Again, a lot of anti-U.S hysteria backed up by hot air and not a lot else.

Maduro needs to go.

I'm not advocating U.S military intervention or any other, but we need a plan that is better than "oh lets just wait it out for eternity or until Maduro dies, whichever comes first"

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Venezuela leadership is trying to create a socialist dictatorship.

Chavez was doing that himself, remember? Actually the problem itself isn't the 'socialism' - that's a type of economy many countries utilize to a degree, or some aspects of it.

The big problem then was Chavez and his rotten obnoxious personality cult and this 'Bolivarian' BS and now it's Maduro himself. He's a JERK. Venezuela deserves better but the US is no position to impose a better way for them.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

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