Tag: Venezuela

What The Hell Did Venezuela Do?

In case you were out of pocket Friday afternoon and missed the big story then I think I can bring you up to speed.

During a press outing at his gold Club in new Jersey Trump was asked about the North Korean posturing and then he went on a different track altogether….

As many fret over the increasingly tense relationship between the US and North Korea, President Trump threw another country into the mix Friday: Venezuela. Speaking to reporters Friday from his New Jersey golf club, flanked by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, and National Security Adviser HR McMaster, Trump offered what Reuters calls a “surprise escalation” on the US response to Venezuela’s currentpoliticalupheaval, in which more than 120 people have been killed and thousands arrested over the past four months. “Venezuela is not very far away, and the people are suffering and they are dying,” Trump told reporters, per the Hill. “We have many options for Venezuela, including a possible military option if necessary.”

When pressed by reporters on whether that meant the US would lead an operation in the South American country, Trump replied, “We don’t talk about it, but a military operation—a military option—is certainly something that we could pursue.” The US just hit Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro with financial sanctions in late July, with a statement from Trump noting: “Maduro is not just a bad leader. He is now a dictator.” The Pentagon told Reuters it has yet to receive any instructions from the president regarding Venezuela.

When I heard this report my first response was…”what the Hell did Venezuela do to deserve that threat?”

(Watch Nikki Haley’s reaction)

I am still trying to find out what they did they would warrant such a threat.

Anyone got any ideas?

 

WTF?

After my Closing Thought I usually shut IST down for the evening but from time to time a story comes out and I just cannot let it go……this is one of those stories…..

We have heard all the “tough” talk that Trump has leveled at the North Korean leader…..the Fire & Fury”…that the US is “Locked & Loaded”…but he has hit a new level of stupid.

Just a short time ago Trump was meeting with the press at his gold club in New Jersey and while answering question he made a bold assertion….

Trump said, “We have many options for Venezuela, and by the way, I’m not going to rule out a military option. We have many options for Venezuela. This is our neighbor. You know, we’re all over the world. We have troops all over the world, in places that are very, very far away. Venezuela is not very far away, and the people are suffering, and they’re dying. We have many options for Venezuela, including a possible military option if necessary.”

If you don’t want to read it then listen to it…..

Now the reason I am posting this immediately is because I have NO idea what Venezuela has done to the US that would warrant an attack.

How many more counties is this mad man going to threaten?

Somebody needs to reel in this person before we are fighting every third world country he can think of…….

The title describes this the best….WTF?

Venezuela: Did I Miss Something?

I realize that I spend too much time reading about politics and international relations…..,but with all the research it seems that I missed something….an issue that is more important than I once considered.

As the story goes the President of the United States has declared Venezuela a threat to the national security.  Huh?  I thought all that posturing died with Chavez.  Apparently I was mistaken.

The White House took a new step toward the theater of the absurd by “declaring a national emergency with respect to the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States posed by the situation in Venezuela,” as President Barack Obama put it in a letter to House Speaker John Boehner.

It remains to be seen whether anyone in the White House press corps will have the courage to ask what in the world the nation’s chief executive could mean by that. Is Venezuela financing a coming terrorist attack on U.S. territory? Planning an invasion? Building a nuclear weapon?

To me those are valid questions.  Just what has the country of Venezuela done to become a threat?  I mean the US has been involved in many operations against Venezuela going back to 2002……so what is the excuse this time?

Washington was involved in the short-lived 2002 military coup in Venezuela; it “provided training, institution building and other support to individuals and organizations understood to be actively involved in the brief ouster” of President Hugo Chávez and his government, according to the U.S. State Department. The U.S. has not changed its policy toward Venezuela since then and has continued funding opposition groups in the country. So it is only natural that everyone familiar with this recent history, with the conflict between the U.S. and the region over the 2009 Honduran military coup and with the current sanctions will assume that Washington is involved in the ongoing efforts to topple what has been its No. 1 or 2 target for regime change for more than a decade.

If it truly is a “national threat” then why has there been little to no media coverage?

A better question to ask….who will benefit the most out of this situation?

I believe that the ineptitude of our current foreign policy precludes this from being a “real” threat….it is a game politicians play.

 

OMG! He Shook Chavez’s Hand!

Is there anything that the Repubs will not jump on to find a hook to the American people?  The airways are full of the political whining and accusations.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich tore into Pres. Obama Monday for his friendly greeting off Hugo Chavez, saying Obama is bolstering the “enemies of America.”

Gingrich appeared on a number of morning talk shows comparing Obama to President Jimmy Carter for the smiling, hearty handshake he offered Chavez, one of the harshest critics of the United States, during the Summit of the Americas.

I would like to point out a few facts about Venezuela….before the hate starts…..I am speaking of what has been done for the people, not the political posturing that is going on.

Chavez is in a unique position as the democratically elected populist president of 6th largest country in Latin America (and the first in regards to natural resources), to reject the neo-liberal policies of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the U.S. Treasury department and he has the financial ability to do so. This makes him extremely unpopular with the Washington Consensus and the global interests that they advance.

This alone is not enough. The average citizen in the Western world has no idea how the IMF works, who the World Bank is, or what the U.S. Treasury department actually does. If they are lucky enough to have a Union job they may have a vague idea of what the World Trade Organization is about. (Mostly regarding the relocation of their jobs overseas.)

Hugo Chavez is unpopular because the media portrays him as either, a) a charismatic demagogue, or b) a would-be dictator. Rarely is he portrayed as a popularly elected leader and social reformer despite the overwhelming evidence in support of that conclusion. This is because newspaper editors generally defer to stories which support and protect U.S. interests.

For instance, the program that brought 14,000 Cuban doctors who in turn established 11,000 neighborhood clinics in some of the poorest districts in Venezuela has largely gone unnoticed in the Western media. The same oversight applies to the literacy programs that have taught over a million adults how to read and write throughout the country. Where are the stories on the new schools and universities that have been built, most in the poorest districts? Where are the positive reports on the offer to sell discounted fuel for heating after the oil shortages during Hurricane Katrina?

Chavez is openly anti-American. But what exactly does that mean? He doesn’t like American foreign policy and the naked self-interests that it protects. But is the media really that patriotic? Doubtful.

I am not saying that the man is a fine example of how to win friends and influence people, most times he would be more effective if he would just shut up.

Keep in mind, while you are hating, that Chavez was popularly elected, whether you like his politics or not, the people of Venezuela elected him as their president.

Obama Throws First Stone

Is this what we have to look forward to in Latin American policy?

In an interview shown in the past week on the Spanish-language network Univision, U.S. President-elect Barack Obama said that Venezuela’s firebrand president, Hugo Chávez, has hindered progress in Latin America, and he expressed concern that Chávez’s leftist government has assisted Colombia’s biggest guerrilla movement, a group the United States considers a terrorist organization. Chávez responded this weekend by saying that Obama had “the same stench” as President Bush, a frequent target of Chávez’s remarks.

The interview with the president-elect, shown in two segments that aired Sunday and last Tuesday, included Obama’s most extensive comments to date about Venezuela, Cuba and Mexico — countries that are expected to require swift attention from the new administration. Mexico is convulsed by drug violence that is spilling into the United States; Cuba’s longtime leader, Fidel Castro, is suffering from a serious undisclosed illness; and Chávez’s government is reinforcing ties with such U.S. adversaries as Iran and, authorities in Bogota say, Colombian rebels.

Obama said his administration is open to starting talks with Chávez to improve relations, which have frayed badly since the Bush administration celebrated Chávez’s brief overthrow at the hands of rebellious military officers in 2002. But in the 13-minute interview aired by Univision, Obama said Chávez had “been a force that has interrupted progress in the region.”

Ok I have read all this stuff and feel I need to comment……interrupted progress?  what the hell does that mean?  If he is talking aboput the screwing that American corporations took then , it depends on your way of thinking.  If you are talking about the programs that Chavez has started to aid the poor then I would say that it was not interrupted.  Is Chavez a tool?  Most assuredly.  Have the poor of Venezuela profited from his presidency?  Absolutely.

Maybe he, Obama, should wait until he is the official president before he starts alienating other countries.  Just a thought.

Maybe people should realize that Latin America is a two class system…..wealthy and poor, the middle class does not exist Chavez has done some amazing things for the poor, but in the same breath I have to say that he will be a thorn in Obama’s side.  But unfortunately, he has to be dealt with.  And dealings most be done with the poor of the country in mind.

A New Nuke Deal

Russia and Venezuela have signed an agreement to promote the development of nuclear energy for civilian use.

The agreement was signed during a visit by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, on the latest leg of his Latin American tour.

Under the accord, Russia would help Venezuela build a nuclear energy plant. Joint gas projects were also approved

Boosting bilateral trade between Russia and Latin America, which could reach $15bn (£9.9bn) this year, is another priority for the Russian president during his talks.

The Russian leader travelled to Venezuela from Brazil, where he and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva held talks on boosting trade and technical co-operation.

Geez!  I can hear the screams now…..Venezuela is build a nuke bomb why else would they want nuke power.  Wait for it…it is coming.

Rattling The Chains Of A Cold War

Russian warships sailed into a Venezuelan port Tuesday, greeted by a 21-gun salute and an eager welcome from President Hugo Chavez as Moscow seeks to expand its influence in Latin America.

Russians sailors dressed in black-and-white uniforms lined up along the bow of the destroyer Admiral Chabanenko as it docked in La Guaira, near Caracas. The deployment is the first of its kind in the Caribbean since the Cold War and was timed to coincide with President Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to Caracas — the first ever by a Russian president.

Chavez, basking in the support of a powerful ally and traditional U.S. rival, wants Russian help to build a nuclear reactor, invest in oil and natural gas projects and bolster his leftist opposition to U.S. influence in Latin America.

Chavez also wants weapons — he has bought more than $4 billion in Russian arms, including Sukhoi fighter jets, helicopters and 100,000 Kalashnikov rifles, and more deals for Russian tanks or other weaponry may be discussed after Medvedev arrives Wednesday.

Russia’s deployment of the naval squadron — the behemoth flagship Peter the Great, the missile destroyer and two support vessels — is widely seen as a demonstration of Kremlin anger over the U.S. decision to send warships to deliver aid to Georgia after its battles with Russia, and U.S. plans for a European missile-defense system.

Rejoice!  All you hawks!  looks like the Cold War is still trying to make a return.

Oh Yeah, Russia’s War Games

With the economic stuff that is controlling the news, there is another situation that needs to be watched.

A fleet of Russian warships led by a massive missile cruiser set sail from their Arctic base on Monday for naval exercises off Venezuela near US waters that have not been seen since the Cold War.

The deployment follows the arrival of two Russian Tu-160 nuclear bombers in Venezuela earlier this month also for exercises, an event that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez branded a “warning” to the US “empire.

The state-owned Vesti-24 television channel, broadcasting from the deck of the Peter the Great, on Monday showed the vessel’s heavy artillery firing to test their readiness for the joint exercises with the Venezuelan navy.

“The planned naval exercises by Russia and Venezuela are not aimed at third countries and do not have an aggressive character. There is no political subtext to these exercises,” Dygalo said, Interfax news agency reported.

The nuclear-powered Peter the Great is one of the largest warships of its kind and carries a variety of weapons systems including Granit anti-ship cruise missiles that can be armed with nuclear warheads.

The pro-Kremlin daily Izvestia speculated the ships could stop in Syria as part of a broader show of force in the Mediterranean, quoting a navy source who said Russian engineers were expanding the Syrian ports of Tartus and Latakia.

“The possibility of basing aircraft carriers and missile cruisers there is foreseen,” the source told Izvestia, referring to the ports in Syria, a Moscow ally during the Cold War that hosted a Soviet naval supply base.

Their visit to the Caribbean is the first such manoeuvre in the vicinity of the United States since the Cold War and it comes as relations between Moscow and Washington are in a deep chill over Russia’s war in Georgia last month.

Moscow’s decision to send warships to the Caribbean also came after Russian officials reacted angrily to the deployment of US naval vessels, including the flagship of the US Sixth Fleet, to Georgia for humanitarian aid deliveries.

Stop!  What’s that sound?  A new Cold War coming down……..to paraphrase Buffalo Springfield.

A New Cold War–Part 2

Recently I posted an article about a deal from Russian long bombers to use the island of Cuba as a base or a refuelling stop, at least.  And now the news is that Russia and Venezuela are negotiating.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez visited Russia on Tuesday, cutting business deals, complaining about the United States and extolling the friendship between the two oil-rich nations.

He pressed Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to pay him a visit in Venezuela. He subtly ribbed President Dmitry Medvedev, who has been widely portrayed as Putin’s hand-picked puppet. And Chavez announced that his country would buy Russian weapons “to guarantee the sovereignty of Venezuela, which is being threatened by the United States.”

The visit played out against a backdrop of global tension over high oil prices, inflation and a weakened dollar. But some analysts dismissed the back-slapping and dealing between the rulers as a largely empty display.
Russia and Venezuela are riding high on record-breaking oil prices. And Tuesday, the two presidents pledged to form a strategic energy alliance.

“Our relations have reached a totally new level,” Medvedev said after he and Chavez watched Russia’s oil and gas companies sign a host of deals with their Venezuelan counterparts. The deals clear the way for Russian companies to develop Venezuelan fields, beginning with Russian giant Gazprom drilling in western Venezuela while Lukoil drills in the Orinoco valley.

Wider exploration as well as joint railroad, infrastructure and banking projects will follow, the presidents said.