As nations turn on Maduro, Venezuelan leader parades with military

It's very difficult for the USA to try to take down a criminal empire when you look around at all the indictments and realize that's what we have here.

Madura quote from article:

“"Nobody respects the weak, cowards, traitors. In this world what's respected is the brave, the courageous, power," Maduro said as the dust settled on the base.

”Power” is the key word. Left or right, the strongmen have ruled much of Latin America for many years. Is it the culture of machismo? Maduro is but the latest.

Watch as the US tries to coax a few high ranking officers to defect with offers of cash and promises of perks in the upcoming US puppet government.

At the direction of your boy Trump.

Once a few defect, Blackwater will be sent in to help them out and voila, a Syrian style bloodbath ensues.

Blackwater no longer exists.

This does not even slightly accurately reflect what occurred in Syria.

Incredible how the lessons from Iraq, Libya and recently Syria were not heeded

Except for the fact The US hasn't sent troops into Venezuela yet.

Seth MToday  09:50 am JST

Looks like the Russians already have troops and warplanes there. Another Syria in the making?

I don't think there are any troops. Russian mercenaries from the Ward Group.

Might as well say the obvious that Venezuela will not be paying for a US border thingamabob either.

Chip StarToday  07:00 am JS 'Blackwater no longer exists.'

WRONG! They simply changed their name in 1997 from Blackwater to Academi.

Maduro has no indictments at all against him. That must mean he is scandal free and honest. Guaido will soon be indicted though.

That's a false duality. There are numerous reasons beyond being scandal free and honest that explain no indictments.

Except in the USA, right?

One of the few countries left in the world with a communism dicatorship and bunch of corrupted politicians at the helm.

Maduro and his men are the negation of democracy and human rights

So your solution is invasion/ sanctions/ coup? Have you learnt absolutely nothing this past 70+ years?

As long as I remember West Germany,Italy and Japan were not conquered but free from dictatorships.

Let me see if I understand you correctly. You're still claiming that us meddling in the affairs of other countries is the solution? Have you seen the state of Libya? Have you heard of the slave markets that are thriving there all because of the meddling? Don't go kidding yourself into the belief that just because japan or Germany was relieved of communism which by the way is not what socialism is, the same will work in all known nations. Oh and did you know that all dictatorships you referred to where one supported and or propped up by the us government? Wake up man!!

Another futile effort by Trump to try and change the subject.

“... Don't go kidding yourself into the belief that just because japan or Germany was relieved of communism which by the way is not what socialism is, the same will work in all known nations”

I’m not sure what you mean by “relieved of communism”. By including Japan and Germany in the same sentence I assume you mean the Bundesrepublik Deutschland, i.e. West Germany. So, do you mean “saved from”, “spared” or “not re-established under a ‘communist’ system”?

The writer says: “... communism which by the way is not what socialism is, ...” You yourself give no definition of socialism, or communism for that matter. I know posting space is limited and definitions of socialism are many and diverse, but a clarification would help.

I’m curious. By socialism do you actually mean syndicalism? This -ism has been described not as centrist, but federalist where large industrial unions exercise power directly and not through the filter of a political party per se.

As one might gather from my previous post, “power” is the word that bothers me. It is so easily abused. The Bolshevik slogan “All power to the workers’ councils (soviets)”, often misunderstood to mean “All power to the people”, soon became a very thin mask for Lenin’s seizure of total - and I mean TOTAL - power.

Tell me this hasn’t happened in Venezuela.

wow you mean a dictator is friends with Russia and China? Shocker...

wow you mean a dictator is friends with Russia and China? Shocker...

Tbf, I don't think we westerners can/should take the moral high ground on this. Euros (mostly in Africa) and the US (in South & Central America and the ME) in particular have propped up dozens of dictators.

The US should name another president of France as apparently Macron cannot restore peace with the yellow vests. Worked for Venezuela and several other countries too.

The only fat man left in the country.

A government should appeal to the people, not to the military. Power should be asked from the people, not from the military

Are the Venezuelan people better off now than last year? Or the year before that? Does Maduro deserve to lead the Venezuelan people?

Like the yellow vests in France, people power

Maduro has no indictments at all against him. That must mean he is scandal free and honest.

That's a false duality. There are numerous reasons beyond being scandal free and honest that explain no indictments.

Fred Wallace wrote:

> So your solution is invasion/ sanctions/ coup? Have you learnt absolutely nothing this past 70+ years?

Yes,that all the countries that lived under such kind of regime ended up in deep poverty and without the right to express their opinion or they would have ended in a Gulag or some concentration camp,

Vietnam,Romania,East Germany,Ukraine,Bielorussia,Poland an many many other countries like them.

The U.S. are no saint but at least you have the right to express your opiniom thanks to them as you obviously refer from the last 70 years.

As long as I remember West Germany,Italy and Japan were not conquered but free from dictatorships.

Maduro is no exeption.

@Joeintokyo

Maduro was elected. And the economic system a sovereign country chooses does not give the U.S. a right to be regional hegemon. This illegal intervention is not about dictatorships and communism/socialism--it's about oil.

That being the case, the majority of Venezuelans only have themselves to blame for this mess if they continued voting for Chavez and then Maduro. It's a struggle to feel sorry for people who keep voting these despots in - can't deny them their agency, but not for the ones who vote against them.

The problem is that Trump has so discredited himself that, even when he stumbles upon doing the right thing, no one trusts his motives.

Let's hope Trump does not invade. That would be a disaster.

Maybe Russia and perhaps China should do these interventions in US backed countries so that America will learn there will be a ti-for-tat and hopefully stop all the coups and wars. Ukraine redo (Americans got tab last time in 2014), UK, new zealand, etc.

Britain, Germany, France and Spain all said they would recognize Guaido if Maduro failed to call fresh elections within eight days... Washington, Canada, most Latin American nations and many European states say Maduro stole his second-term election win last May. 

And then we have

Watch as the US tries to coax a few high ranking officers to defect with offers of cash and promises of perks in the upcoming US puppet government.

At the direction of your boy Trump.

Perhaps you boys are on the wrong side here.

Please replace "maybe" and "perhaps" with "I wonder if" we really need an edit button.

Unfortunately the way repressive regimes work is they manage to hold "elections" in which the outcome is predetermined and the peoples' votes just a charade. I wonder when Chavez was in power whether he was rightfully the winner or were the circumstances arranged as to make sure there wasn't a clear and true opponent to vote for. Mr. Putin is a perfect example. Of course he stands up for this "President". These low-life dictators really know how to look out for each other. And, it's a bit disheartening to see that they have such a following beyond their borders as well. We, members of the "free world", should be careful what we wish for.

Farmboy:

US bases and troops are permanent and closer to the US than the temporary Russian troops to the US border. How many overseas bases does Russia have? Yes, getting dangerous, but Russia's not the country in looking at for that.

In regards to American foreign policy, this looks like a case of history repeating itself but because this is a slightly different from the playbook used in the ME, I'll rephrase.

'History doesn't repeat itself but it often rhymes'

This is why Chip Star and others don't recognize the playbook pattern.

Looks like the Russians already have troops and warplanes there. Another Syria in the making?

One of the few countries left in the world with a communism dicatorship and bunch of corrupted politicians at the helm.

Maduro and his men are the negation of democracy and human rights.

I hope these events will make crumble this horrific regime.

And Moscow lost the Soviet Union but didn’t lose it’s dispotic arrogant behavioir.

The constant barrage of propaganda in the western media diagnosing the ailing and failing economy of Venezuela as terminal "Bolivarism" ( Latin American "socialism") has to be balanced against the conspicuous under-reporting of the malevolent role played by the USA and its "international community" in conspiring by means of attempted coups, sanctions and trade embargos to "make the Venezuelan economy scream", get "our" oil back and make the country safe again for Amerikan business. Unfortunately, Russia and China have a very different view of Venezuela's condition which will certainly narrow Trump's options. So probably the time-tested practice of covertly purchasing military brass would be the cheapest and quickest one. The sooner we install another South American military junta the sooner we can all live happily ever is the never-ending story of Amerika's fathering "democracies".

If the nationwide Presidential election was fraudulent, doesn't that mean the local elections, held under the same laws, run by the same people, with the same safeguards, would have to have been fraudulent, too?

That Maduro and those supporting him are holding to a consistent stance (both elections are legitimate, it is Guaido's actions that aren't), while Guaido and those supporting him are holding to contradictory stances (one election is a fraud, the other one honest) when the only difference is that one of the was of the entire population, and the other was of a very small fragment, is important.

But, strangely enough, none of the media seems to be willing to confront those whose position is that black is white in one case, and white is white in the other over their inconsistencies.

Incredible how the lessons from Iraq, Libya and recently Syria were not heeded. This incessant desire to impose ones rules on other sovereign states would make Monroe proud. Disgusting!!