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RonZeplin
01-28-2019, 08:43 AM
Trump’s Venezuela Fiasco (http://www.ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/featured-articles/2019/january/28/trump-s-venezuela-fiasco/)

Written by Ron Paul (http://www.ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/featured-articles/?author=Ron+Paul)
Monday January 28, 2019



http://www.ronpaulinstitute.org/media/119308/rp-weekly-button.jpg?width=450&height=185

Last week President Trump announced that the United States would no longer recognize Nicholas Maduro as president of Venezuela and would recognize the head of its national assembly, Jose Guaido, as president instead. US thus openly backs regime change. But what has long been a dream of the neocons may well turn out to be a nightmare for President Trump.

Why did Trump declare that the Venezuelan president was no longer the president? According to the State Department, the Administration was acting to help enforce the Venezuelan constitution. If only they were so eager to enforce our own Constitution!

It’s ironic that a president who has spent the first two years in office fighting charges that a foreign country meddled in the US elections would turn around and not only meddle in foreign elections but actually demand the right to name a foreign country’s president! How would we react if the Chinese and Russians decided that President Trump was not upholding the US Constitution and recognized Speaker Nancy Pelosi as US president instead?

Even those who would like to see a change of government in Venezuela should reject any notion that the change must be “helped” by the United States. According to press reports, Vice President Mike Pence was so involved in internal Venezuelan affairs that he actually urged Guaido to name himself president and promised US support. This is not only foolish, it is very dangerous. A Venezuelan civil war would result in mass death and even more economic misery!

Regime change has long been US policy for Venezuela. The US has been conducting economic warfare practically since Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chavez, was first elected in 1998. The goal of US sanctions and other economic measures against Venezuela (and other countries in Washington’s crosshairs) is to make life so miserable for average citizens that they rise up and overthrow their leaders. But of course once they do so they must replace those leaders with someone approved by Washington. Remember after the “Arab Spring” in Egypt when the people did rise up and overthrow their leader, but they then elected the “wrong” candidate. The army moved in and deposed the elected president and replaced him with a Washington-approved politician. Then-Secretary of State John Kerry called it “restoring democracy.”

It is tragically comical that President Trump has named convicted criminal Elliot Abrams as his point person to “restore democracy” in Venezuela. Abrams played a key role in the Iran-Contra affair and went on to be one of the chief architects of the disastrous US invasion of Iraq in 2003. His role in helping promote the horrible violence in Latin America in the 1980s should disqualify him from ever holding public office again.

Instead of this ham-fisted coup d’etat, a better policy for Venezuela these past 20 years would have been engagement and trade. If we truly believe in the superiority of a free market system we must also believe that we can only lead by example, not by forcing our system on others.

Just four months ago President Trump said at the UN: “I honor the right of every nation in this room to pursue its own customs, beliefs, and traditions. The United States will not tell you how to live or work or worship. We only ask that you honor our sovereignty in return.” Sadly it seems that these were merely empty words. We know from Iraq, Libya, Syria, etc. that this will not end well for President Trump. Or for the United States. We must leave Venezuela alone!

CaptUSA
01-28-2019, 08:55 AM
Regime change has long been US policy for Venezuela. The US has been conducting economic warfare practically since Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chavez, was first elected in 1998. The goal of US sanctions and other economic measures against Venezuela (and other countries in Washington’s crosshairs) is to make life so miserable for average citizens that they rise up and overthrow their leaders.

All about the petrodollar. The neocons see other nations moving away from the petrodollar as one of the biggest weaknesses to the house of cards they've built.

juleswin
01-28-2019, 09:22 AM
The US has been conducting economic warfare practically since Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chavez, was first elected in 1998. The goal of US sanctions and other economic measures against Venezuela (and other countries in Washington’s crosshairs) is to make life so miserable for average citizens that they rise up and overthrow their leaders.

Some people on this forum will read this and come to the conclusion that it is conspiracy theory. Thank you Dr. Ron Paul for stating the obvious.


Even those who would like to see a change of government in Venezuela should reject any notion that the change must be “helped” by the United States.

This should also be highlighted.

angelatc
01-28-2019, 11:27 AM
Regime change has long been US policy for Venezuela. The US has been conducting economic warfare practically since Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chavez, was first elected in 1998.

Still waiting for someone to show me a single sanction against Venezuela.

Origanalist
01-28-2019, 11:33 AM
Still waiting for someone to show me a single sanction against Venezuela.

https://www.state.gov/e/eb/tfs/spi/venezuela/

RonZeplin
01-28-2019, 11:36 AM
Still waiting for someone to show me a single sanction against Venezuela.
Sanctions:

United States (https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Pages/venezuela.aspx)



Statutes:

Venezuela Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society Act of 2014 (https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Documents/venezuela_publ_113_278.pdf)
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), 50 U.S.C. §§ 1701-1706 (https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Documents/ieepa.pdf)
National Emergencies Act (NEA), 50 U.S.C. §§ 1601-1651 (https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Documents/nea.pdf)


Executive Orders:

13850 (https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Documents/venezuela_eo_13850.pdf) - Blocking Property of Additional Persons Contributing to the Situation in Venezuela (November 1, 2018)
13835 (https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Documents/venezuela_eo_13835.pdf) – Prohibiting Certain Additional Transactions with Respect to Venezuela (May 21, 2018)
13827 (https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Documents/13827.pdf) – Taking Additional Steps to Deal with the Situation in Venezuela (March 19, 2018)
13808 (https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Documents/13808.pdf) – Imposing Additional Sanctions with Respect to the Situation in Venezuela (August 24, 2017)
13692 (https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Documents/13692.pdf) – Blocking Property and Suspending Entry of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Venezuela (March 8, 2015)




https://www.wikitribune.com/article/84767/

angelatc
01-28-2019, 12:08 PM
https://www.state.gov/e/eb/tfs/spi/venezuela/

Every single sanction listed is against named individuals, and not the country of Venezuela. Corrupt government officials trying to offshore their looting in the evil USA. Every single one.

angelatc
01-28-2019, 12:10 PM
Sanctions:

United States (https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Pages/venezuela.aspx)



Statutes:

Venezuela Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society Act of 2014 (https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Documents/venezuela_publ_113_278.pdf)
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), 50 U.S.C. §§ 1701-1706 (https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Documents/ieepa.pdf)
National Emergencies Act (NEA), 50 U.S.C. §§ 1601-1651 (https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Documents/nea.pdf)


Executive Orders:

13850 (https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Documents/venezuela_eo_13850.pdf) - Blocking Property of Additional Persons Contributing to the Situation in Venezuela (November 1, 2018)
13835 (https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Documents/venezuela_eo_13835.pdf) – Prohibiting Certain Additional Transactions with Respect to Venezuela (May 21, 2018)
13827 (https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Documents/13827.pdf) – Taking Additional Steps to Deal with the Situation in Venezuela (March 19, 2018)
13808 (https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Documents/13808.pdf) – Imposing Additional Sanctions with Respect to the Situation in Venezuela (August 24, 2017)
13692 (https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Documents/13692.pdf) – Blocking Property and Suspending Entry of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Venezuela (March 8, 2015)




https://www.wikitribune.com/article/84767/

I wil post this a thousand times if I have to because I am correct. Not a single sanction is against Venezuela.

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?530814-Venezuela-Propaganda-Debunked-People-Are-Against-Coup&p=6742625&viewfull=1#post6742625

EVERY SINGLE SANCTION IS AGAINST A CORRUPT SOCIALIST GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL WHO IS LOOTING THE COFFERS AND ATTEMPTING TO OFF-SHORE ASSETS IN THE USA

RonZeplin
01-28-2019, 12:18 PM
I wil post this a thousand times if I have to because I am correct. Not a single sanction is against Venezuela.

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?530814-Venezuela-Propaganda-Debunked-People-Are-Against-Coup&p=6742625&viewfull=1#post6742625

EVERY SINGLE SANCTION IS AGAINST A CORRUPT SOCIALIST GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL WHO IS LOOTING THE COFFERS AND ATTEMPTING TO OFF-SHORE ASSETS IN THE USA

The duly elected and/or appointed government of .Venezuela, an act of war. :directhit:

angelatc
01-28-2019, 12:41 PM
The duly elected and/or appointed government of .Venezuela, an act of war.

You just can't admit I'm right.

There are no sanctions against Venezuela. There are sanctions against corrupt individuals in the Venezuelan government who are looting the government's coffers and trying to hide their assets here in this country.

If this were WWII, you'd be here defending the hiding of assets stolen by the German forces. This is literally the same thing.

EVERY SINGLE SANCTION IS AGAINST A CORRUPT SOCIALIST GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL WHO IS LOOTING THE COFFERS AND ATTEMPTING TO OFF-SHORE ASSETS IN THE USA

They don't have any "right" to stash their money here.

If this is war, why would they want their money in our country?

Stratovarious
01-28-2019, 12:43 PM
Trump’s Venezuela Fiasco (http://www.ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/featured-articles/2019/january/28/trump-s-venezuela-fiasco/)

Written by Ron Paul (http://www.ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/featured-articles/?author=Ron+Paul)
Monday January 28, 2019



http://www.ronpaulinstitute.org/media/119308/rp-weekly-button.jpg?width=450&height=185

...

It’s ironic that a president who has spent the first two years in office fighting charges that a foreign country meddled in the US elections would turn around and not only meddle in foreign elections but actually demand the right to name a foreign country’s president! How would we react if the Chinese and Russians decided that President Trump was not upholding the US Constitution and recognized Speaker Nancy Pelosi as US president instead?

...!
And they wonder why we love Ron Paul......
Shame that CNN et al , black listed Ron in 2012.

Origanalist
01-28-2019, 03:27 PM
Every single sanction listed is against named individuals, and not the country of Venezuela. Corrupt government officials trying to offshore their looting in the evil USA. Every single one.

What the hell? When and if our puppet is installed do you think they will santion his corrupt assets? Because I'l bet a bill he's going to have them. No, they won't. Are they going to freeze Pelosi's assets? No. Or any corrupt Israeli's assets? No.

angelatc
01-28-2019, 08:33 PM
What the hell? When and if our puppet is installed do you think they will santion his corrupt assets? Because I'l bet a bill he's going to have them. No, they won't. Are they going to freeze Pelosi's assets? No. Or any corrupt Israeli's assets? No.

Doesn't disprove what I said, now does it?

Venezuela is a banana republic. It is collapsing under it's own weight, and the vultures are circling.

Origanalist
01-28-2019, 09:05 PM
Doesn't disprove what I said, now does it?

Venezuela is a banana republic. It is collapsing under it's own weight, and the vultures are circling.

Sure it does. And when it does collapse it will be our banana republic and we won't be sanctioning our puppets. That will be the major difference. All this altruistic neo con bullshit won't mean a thing.

We'll never really know how that country would have done without our interference will we? All we can do is speculate and there's no shortage of that around here.

There is no defensible way to say we didn't add to the weight.


Today the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Venezuelan national Diosdado Cabello Rondón (Cabello) pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13692, for being a current or former official of the Government of Venezuela. OFAC also designated three other individuals for being current or former officials, or for acting for or on behalf of designated individuals as key figures in Cabello’s corruption network.

According to what I see listed every person affiliated with the government there is sanctioned. In a country like that how could anyone in their right mind think that wouldn't roll downhill?

Origanalist
01-28-2019, 09:13 PM
https://cdn.minds.com/fs/v1/thumbnail/936819586712678400

angelatc
01-28-2019, 09:20 PM
We'll never really know how that country would have done without our interference will we?

We kind of can. It would have collapsed because socialism simply isn't sustainable. What we won't know is what or who would have filled the power vacuum in our absence.

AZJoe
01-28-2019, 09:22 PM
I wil post this a thousand times if I have to because I am correct. Not a single sanction is against Venezuela.

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?530814-Venezuela-Propaganda-Debunked-People-Are-Against-Coup&p=6742625&viewfull=1#post6742625

EVERY SINGLE SANCTION IS AGAINST A CORRUPT SOCIALIST GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL WHO IS LOOTING THE COFFERS AND ATTEMPTING TO OFF-SHORE ASSETS IN THE USA

Read past the titles. Those executive orders specifically target a the government of Venezuela, the economy in general, and the oil and gas companies, and any business owned, run or partially owned or directed byt eh government.

Executive Oder 13835 -

"Prohibiting Certain Additional Transactions With Respect to Venezuela ... hereby order as follows: Section 1. (a) All transactions related to, provision of financing for, and other dealings in the following by a United States person or within the United States are prohibitedi) the purchase of any debt owed to the Government of Venezuela, including accounts receivable;(ii) any debt owed to the Government of Venezuela that is pledged as collateral after the effective date of this order, including accounts receivable; and(iii) the sale, transfer, assignment, or pledging as collateral by the Government of Venezuela of any equity interest in any entity in which the Government of Venezuela has a 50 percent or greater ownership interest. ...

Or Executive Order 13808 -

"Imposing Additional Sanctions With Respect to the Situation in Venezuela ... hereby order as follows: Section 1. (a) All transactions related to, provision of financing for, and other dealings in the following by a United States person or within the United States are prohibited i) new debt with a maturity of greater than 90 days of Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA);(ii) new debt with a maturity of greater than 30 days, or new equity, of the Government of Venezuela, other than debt of PdVSA covered by subsection (a)(i) of this section;(iii) bonds issued by the Government of Venezuela prior to the effective date of this order; or(iv) dividend payments or other distributions of profits to the Government of Venezuela from any entity owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by the Government of Venezuela.(b) The purchase, directly or indirectly, by a United States person or within the United States, of securities from the Government of Venezuela, other than securities qualifying as new debt with a maturity of less than or equal to 90 or 30 days as covered by subsections (a)(i) or (a)(ii) of this section, respectively, is prohibited...."

Or Executive Order 13827 -

"Taking Additional Steps to Address the Situation in Venezuela... hereby order as follows: Section 1. (a) All transactions related to, provision of financing for, and other dealings in, by a United States person or within the United States, any digital currency, digital coin, or digital token, that was issued by ,for, or on behalf of the Government of Venezuela … .(b) The prohibitions in subsection (a) of this section apply … notwithstanding any contract entered ..."

Or Executive Order 13850 …
… hereby order as follows:
Section 1. (a) All property and interests in property that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of any United States person of the following persons are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in: any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State:
(i) to operate in the gold sector of the Venezuelan economy or in any other sector of the Venezuelan economy as may be determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State;
(ii) to be responsible for or complicit in, or to have directly or indirectly engaged in, any transaction or series of transactions involving deceptive practices or corruption and the Government of Venezuela or projects or programs administered by the Government of Venezuela …
Sec. 4. The prohibitions in section 1 of this order include:
(a) the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order; and (b) the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.
Sec. 5. (a) Any transaction that evades or avoids, has the purpose of evading or avoiding, causes a violation of, or attempts to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited. …
Sec. 6. For the purposes of this order: …
(d) the term “Government of Venezuela” means the Government of Venezuela, any political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof, including the Central Bank of Venezuela, and any person owned or controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of, the Government of Venezuela.
Sec. 8. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, is hereby authorized to take such actions, including promulgating rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA as may be necessary to implement this order. The Secretary of the Treasury may, consistent with applicable law, redelegate any of these functions …
Sec. 9. The Secretary of State is hereby authorized to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted … to carry out section 2 of this order and the relevant provisions of section 5 …

AZJoe
01-28-2019, 09:29 PM
Ron Paul's genius. -

US thus openly backs regime change. But what has long been a dream of the neocons may well turn out to be a nightmare for President Trump.

Why did Trump declare that the Venezuelan president was no longer the president? According to the State Department, the Administration was acting to help enforce the Venezuelan constitution. If only they were so eager to enforce our own Constitution!

It’s ironic that a president who has spent the first two years in office fighting charges that a foreign country meddled in the US elections would turn around and not only meddle in foreign elections but actually demand the right to name a foreign country’s president! How would we react if the Chinese and Russians decided that President Trump was not upholding the US Constitution and recognized Speaker Nancy Pelosi as US president instead?

Even those who would like to see a change of government in Venezuela should reject any notion that the change must be “helped” by the United States. … Mike Pence was so involved in internal Venezuelan affairs that he actually urged Guaido to name himself president and promised US support. This is not only foolish, it is very dangerous. …

Regime change has long been US policy for Venezuela. The US has been conducting economic warfare practically since Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chavez, was first elected in 1998. The goal of US sanctions and other economic measures against Venezuela (and other countries in Washington’s crosshairs) is to make life so miserable for average citizens that they rise up and overthrow their leaders. …

It is tragically comical that President Trump has named convicted criminal Elliot Abrams as his point person to “restore democracy” in Venezuela. Abrams played a key role in the Iran-Contra affair … one of the chief architects of the disastrous US invasion of Iraq … His role in helping promote the horrible violence in Latin America …

Instead of this ham-fisted coup d’etat, a better policy for Venezuela these past 20 years would have been engagement and trade. If we truly believe in the superiority of a free market system we must also believe that we can only lead by example, not by forcing our system on others.

Just four months ago President Trump said at the UN: “I honor the right of every nation in this room to pursue its own customs, beliefs, and traditions. The United States will not tell you how to live or work or worship. We only ask that you honor our sovereignty in return.” … these were merely empty words. … leave Venezuela alone!

AZJoe
01-28-2019, 09:53 PM
https://scontent-sjc3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/50889899_531010787386483_2789795246907588608_n.jpg ?_nc_cat=111&_nc_ht=scontent-sjc3-1.xx&oh=dc71daefecfce131e6e2284464b26cf3&oe=5CF809B5

dannno
01-28-2019, 10:23 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfTpLKNn9iM

RonZeplin
01-28-2019, 10:46 PM
"5,000 Troops To Colombia" To Quell Venezuela Crisis? John Bolton Flashes Notepad Contents At Briefing (https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-28/5000-troops-colombia-quell-venezuela-crisis-john-bolton-flashes-notepad-contents)

During a Monday White House press briefing national security adviser John Bolton was photographed carrying a notepad — presumably as he was fresh out of a national security meeting — and one of the things which appears to be handwritten on the pad is "5,000 troops to Colombia".

The contents of the notepad were spotted almost immediately by multiple journalists online after an NBC news release featuring the AP photo was published. More precisely the full contents appear to read:

"Afghanistan -> Welcome the Talks. 5,000 troops to Colombia."

https://zh-prod-1cc738ca-7d3b-4a72-b792-20bd8d8fa069.storage.googleapis.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_desktop/public/inline-images/Bolton%20press%20briefing.jpg?itok=iIbT__LYhttps://pbs.twimg.com/media/DyCK3XEX4AA9qxJ?format=jpg&name=small

Bolton during the White House presser revealed that President Trump is "leaving open the possibility of a U.S. military intervention to protect opposition leader Juan Guaidó, members of the nation's assembly and American diplomatic personnel," according to NBC (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/bolton-all-options-are-table-trump-venezuela-n963681).

"The president has made it clear that all options are on the table," Bolton told reporters while holding the yellow notepad. "We also today call on the Venezuelan military and security forces to accept the peaceful, democratic and constitutional transfer of power," Bolton said.

But could, as the notepad suggests, this involve plans to send 5,000 American troops to neighboring Columbia, a close US ally in Latin America?

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-28/5000-troops-colombia-quell-venezuela-crisis-john-bolton-flashes-notepad-contents

dannno
01-29-2019, 01:20 AM
https://zh-prod-1cc738ca-7d3b-4a72-b792-20bd8d8fa069.storage.googleapis.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_desktop/public/inline-images/Bolton%20press%20briefing.jpg?itok=iIbT__LYhttps://pbs.twimg.com/media/DyCK3XEX4AA9qxJ?format=jpg&name=small



John Bolton: "What's a mega.....pixel??"

RonZeplin
01-29-2019, 01:28 AM
John Bolton: "What's a mega.....pixel??"

Bolty's tie is interesting, flying elephants, long neck geese, and porcupines. Ya figure he's a neo-libertarian?

AZJoe
01-29-2019, 01:27 PM
President Bolton reveals a motive for latest regime change fiasco - We're taking Venezuela's oil.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=WTE0SQA2jU8

CaptUSA
01-29-2019, 01:33 PM
This belongs here:


https://cdn.minds.com/fs/v1/thumbnail/937023482293141504

Swordsmyth
01-29-2019, 06:33 PM
Colombia is downplaying Monday's incident in which US national security advisor John Bolton perhaps inadvertently flashed the contents (https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-28/5000-troops-colombia-quell-venezuela-crisis-john-bolton-flashes-notepad-contents) a yellow notepad he was holding during a White House press briefing to reveal handwritten text “5,000 troops to Colombia,” which was picked up by photographers. The words were seen scribbled behind “Afghanistan – welcome the talks” in apparent notes made while previously discussing White House foreign policy and national security.

Colombian Foreign Minister Carlos Holmes dismissed the possibility of any impending joint action with its close ally the US, saying in a brief address (https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/jan/28/colombia-says-it-cant-explain-john-bolton-5000-tro/) late Monday that he does not know the "importance and reason" for Bolton's note. Holmes further said noting that his country will only act “politically and diplomatically” to restore order in neighboring Venezuela and will attempt to ensure new elections are held.

Concerning Bolton's "leaked" notepad contents, there remains the possibility that having clearly written words on a mostly blank pad indicating that disengagement from Afghanistan equals ramping up engagement and intervention in South America is actually intentional signalling to both enemies and allies alike. It could have been a ploy to let Maduro know the White House means business and he better step aside and announce new elections "within eight days" according to prior EU demands.
When asked following the briefing by eagle-eyed reporters who caught a glimpse of the notepad's contents about the "5,000 troops to Colombia" memo, the White House spokesperson responded, "As the President has said, all options are on the table."

At this point, I’m thinking he did this on purpose. https://t.co/YA2jA0XBZl
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) January 28, 2019 (https://twitter.com/RadioFreeTom/status/1090022915062620160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) During Monday's comments, Bolton confirmed that President Trump is "leaving open the possibility of a U.S. military intervention to protect opposition leader Juan Guaidó, members of the nation's assembly and American diplomatic personnel," according to NBC (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/bolton-all-options-are-table-trump-venezuela-n963681).
"The president has made it clear that all options are on the table," Bolton told reporters while holding the yellow notepad. "We also today call on the Venezuelan military and security forces to accept the peaceful, democratic and constitutional transfer of power," Bolton said.

More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-29/colombia-says-its-puzzled-over-john-boltons-5000-troops-colombia-note

RonZeplin
01-29-2019, 07:06 PM
Making of Juan Guaidó: How the US Regime Change Laboratory Created Venezuela’s Coup Leader

(https://grayzoneproject.com/2019/01/29/the-making-of-juan-guaido-how-the-us-regime-change-laboratory-created-venezuelas-coup-leader/)Juan Guaidó is the product of a decade-long project overseen by Washington’s elite regime change trainers. While posing as a champion of democracy, he has spent years at the forefront of a violent campaign of destabilization.

Before the fateful day of January 22, fewer than one in five (https://twitter.com/venanalysis/status/1087447663153500166) Venezuelans had heard of Juan Guaidó. Only a few months ago, the 35-year-old was an obscure character in a politically marginal far-right group closely associated with gruesome acts of street violence. Even in his own party, Guaidó had been a mid-level figure in the opposition-dominated National Assembly, which is now held under contempt according to Venezuela’s constitution.

But after a single phone call from from US Vice President Mike Pence, Guaidó proclaimed himself as president of Venezuela. Anointed as the leader of his country by Washington, a previously unknown political bottom dweller was vaulted onto the international stage as the US-selected leader of the nation with the world’s largest oil reserves.

Echoing the Washington consensus, the New York Times editorial board hailed (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/24/opinion/venezuela-guaido-maduro.html) Guaidó as a “credible rival” to Maduro with a “refreshing style and vision of taking the country forward.” The Bloomberg News editorial board applauded (https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-01-25/guaido-s-bold-stroke-for-democracy-in-venezuela) him for seeking “restoration of democracy” and the Wall Street Journal declared (https://www.wsj.com/articles/revolt-in-venezuela-11548289111) him “a new democratic leader.” Meanwhile, Canada, numerous European nations, Israel, and the bloc of right-wing Latin American governments known as the Lima Group recognized Guaidó as the legitimate leader of Venezuela.

While Guaidó seemed to have materialized out of nowhere, he was, in fact, the product of more than a decade of assiduous grooming by the US government’s elite regime change factories. Alongside a cadre of right-wing student activists, Guaidó was cultivated to undermine Venezuela’s socialist-oriented government, destabilize the country, and one day seize power. Though he has been a minor figure in Venezuelan politics, he had spent years quietly demonstrated his worthiness in Washington’s halls of power.

“Juan Guaidó is a character that has been created for this circumstance,” Marco Teruggi, an Argentinian sociologist and leading chronicler of Venezuelan politics, told the Grayzone. “It’s the logic of a laboratory – Guaidó is like a mixture of several elements that create a character who, in all honesty, oscillates between laughable and worrying.”

Diego Sequera, a Venezuelan journalist and writer for the investigative outlet, Mision Verdad, agreed: “Guaidó is more popular outside Venezuela than inside, especially in the elite Ivy League and Washington circles,” Sequera remarked to the Grayzone, “He’s a known character there, is predictably right-wing, and is considered loyal to the program.”

[......]

Training from the “‘export-a-revolution’ group that sowed the seeds for a NUMBER of color revolutions”

On October 5, 2005, with Chavez’s popularity at its peak and his government planning sweeping socialist programs, five Venezuelan “student leaders” arrived (https://worldview.stratfor.com/article/venezuela-marigold-revolution) in Belgrade, Serbia to begin training for an insurrection.

The students had arrived from Venezuela courtesy of the Center for Applied Non-Violent Action and Strategies, or CANVAS. This group is funded (http://www.wrongkindofgreen.org/2013/01/14/breaking-desperate-for-destabilization-in-venezuela-us-funded-otpor-rears-its-ugly-head/) largely through the National Endowment for Democracy (https://grayzoneproject.com/2018/08/20/inside-americas-meddling-machine-the-us-funded-group-that-interferes-in-elections-around-the-globe/), a CIA cut-out that functions as the US government’s main arm of promoting regime change; and offshoots like the International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs. According to leaked internal emails (https://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/17/1792423_information-on-canvas-.html) from Stratfor, an intelligence firm known as the “shadow CIA,” (https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/12/15/stratfor-canadian-government_n_4449505.html) “[CANVAS] may have also received CIA funding and training during the 1999/2000 anti-Milosevic struggle.”

CANVAS is a spinoff of Otpor, a Serbian protest group founded by Srdja Popovic (http://www.williamengdahl.com/englishNEO1Oct2017.php) in 1998 at the University of Belgrade. Otpor, which means “resistance” in Serbian, was the student group that gained international fame – and Hollywood-level promotion (https://vimeo.com/143379353) – by mobilizing the protests that eventually toppled Slobodan Milosevic. This small cell of regime change specialists was operating according to the theories of the late Gene Sharp, the so-called “Clausewitz of non-violent struggle.” Sharp had worked with a former Defense Intelligence Agency analyst, Col. Robert Helvey (http://peacemagazine.org/archive/v24n1p12.htm), to conceive a strategic blueprint that weaponized protest as a form of hybrid warfare, aiming it at states that resisted Washington’s unipolar domination.

Otpor was supported by the National Endowment for Democracy, USAID and Sharp’s Albert Einstein Institute. Sinisa Sikman, one of Otpor’s main trainers, once said (https://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/17/1792423_information-on-canvas-.html) the group even received direct CIA funding. According to a leaked email (https://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/17/1713359_re-insight-venezuela-canvas-analysis-.html) from a Stratfor staffer, after running Milosevic out of power, “the kids who ran OTPOR grew up, got suits and designed CANVAS… or in other words a ;export-a-revolution’ group that sowed the seeds for a NUMBER of color revolutions. They are still hooked into U.S. funding and basically go around the world trying to topple dictators and autocratic governments (ones that U.S. does not like ;).”

Stratfor revealed that CANVAS “turned its attention to Venezuela” in 2005 after training opposition movements that led pro-NATO regime change operations across Eastern Europe.

While monitoring the CANVAS training program, Stratfor outlined its insurrectionist agenda in strikingly blunt language: “Success is by no means guaranteed, and student movements are only at the beginning of what could be a years-long effort to trigger a revolution in Venezuela, but the trainers themselves are the people who cut their teeth on the ‘Butcher of the Balkans.’ť They’ve got mad skills. When you see students at five Venezuelan universities hold simultaneous demonstrations, you will know that the training is over and the real work has begun.”

Birthing the “Generation 2007” regime change cadre

[.....]

(https://grayzoneproject.com/2019/01/29/the-making-of-juan-guaido-how-the-us-regime-change-laboratory-created-venezuelas-coup-leader/)While video of the protest is not available, many Venezuelans have identified (http://www.lechuguinos.com/juan-guaido-pela-nalgas/) Guaidó as one of its key participants. While the allegation is unconfirmed, it is certainly plausible; the bare-buttocks protesters were members of the Generation 2007 inner core that Guaidó belonged to, and were clad in their trademark Resistencia! Venezuela t-shirts, as seen below:

https://i0.wp.com/grayzoneproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/GUAIDO.jpg?resize=630%2C390&ssl=1

Is this the ass that Trump wants to install in Venezuela’s seat of power?

https://grayzoneproject.com/2019/01/29/the-making-of-juan-guaido-how-the-us-regime-change-laboratory-created-venezuelas-coup-leader/ (https://grayzoneproject.com/2019/01/29/the-making-of-juan-guaido-how-the-us-regime-change-laboratory-created-venezuelas-coup-leader/)

Occam's Banana
01-29-2019, 08:14 PM
[...] John Bolton perhaps inadvertently flashed the contents (https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-28/5000-troops-colombia-quell-venezuela-crisis-john-bolton-flashes-notepad-contents) a yellow notepad [...]

Perhaps? Yeah, but no.

"Inadvertently", my ass ...

Swordsmyth
01-29-2019, 08:16 PM
Perhaps? Yeah, but no.

"Inadvertently", my ass ...
That's the way I see it too.

AZJoe
03-18-2019, 10:24 PM
https://gallery.mailchimp.com/a6b3044a9fe8889c822d11c16/images/1e51cb73-7d4d-412a-95e8-e2dc76c1ef37.jpg

shakey1
03-19-2019, 10:20 AM
https://gallery.mailchimp.com/a6b3044a9fe8889c822d11c16/images/1e51cb73-7d4d-412a-95e8-e2dc76c1ef37.jpg

LOL

juleswin
03-19-2019, 10:37 AM
https://gallery.mailchimp.com/a6b3044a9fe8889c822d11c16/images/1e51cb73-7d4d-412a-95e8-e2dc76c1ef37.jpg

+rep

That is what the people voted for, warmongering neocon President Trump is what we got.


The winners of elections will always be the candidates who tells the best lies to the people while continuing the deep state agenda of the previous president.

AZJoe
04-09-2019, 10:28 PM
The Empire Tried to Isolate Venezuela. It has Only Isolated Itself (https://www.lewrockwell.com/2019/03/no_author/the-us-tried-to-isolate-venezuela-it-has-only-isolated-itself/)
Trump team's increasingly hare-brained schemes at trying to overthrow the government are backfiring. …

United States has long been plotting regime change in Venezuela. For over 18 months President Trump has been publicly floating a military invasion of the country. … the US has leveled multiple rounds of punishing (and illegal) sanctions on the country, and encouraged and intimidated others to do the same in an effort to isolate Venezuela politically and economically.

The US managed to convince a number of Western European and Latin American states to back their version of events. However, despite the best attempts … the US plan is failing badly.

In reality, the international community has rejected the US and its candidate Juan Guaidó, with around 75 percent of countries expressing support for Maduro. Completely unreported in the media was the decision by the UN Human Rights Council to unequivocally condemn the US sanctions … The UN called on all member states to break them … This startling news has been widely reported internationally but has been virtually completely ignored by the mainstream Western press. …

Trump’s regime change strategy has been nothing short of comically incompetent. Marco Rubio’s constant calls for the Venezuelan military to defect and overthrow Maduro have fallen completely flat … The UN and Red Cross refused to participate in the charade of American “humanitarian aid” … noting it did not meet the minimal requirements to be considered aid … The US attempt to force its “aid” through the border and provoke a bloodbath failed, as the supposedly pro-democracy aid workers appear to have set fire to their own aid trucks. Meanwhile, billionaire celebrity Richard Branson’s Venezuela Aid Live concert, headlined by massive stars like Luis Fonsi and Maluma garnered an attendance of barely a few thousand. …

The appointment of Elliot Abrams, a man infamous in Latin America for his role in regime change and genocide was a clear signal to all what was about to happen. Trump’s special advisor John Bolton said the quiet part loud … noting that “it would make a big difference to the US” if American companies could take over Venezuela’s oil production. Bolton also revealed he was considering sending President Maduro to the Guantanamo Bay torture camp. Meanwhile, Marco Rubio shocked the world by tweeting out pictures of Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi’s mutilated corpse … a crude statement of intent for Venezuela.

Another embarrassing incident occurred just after Elliot Abrams, a man known for smuggling weapons to Nicaragua under the guise of aid, was appointed. … an American plane from Miami was caught smuggling weapons and ammunition into Venezuela. The plane had made over 40 round trips that year alone. …

Worse still for the US, even the resolve of the Lima Group – and organization of right-wing Latin American countries set up by the Trump administration with the express goal of bringing about regime change in Venezuela – is beginning to crumble. Brazil’s fascist president Jair Bolsonaro … has backed away from the US; Brazil declared that under no circumstances would it be any part of an invasion. … Colombia, Chile and Peru made similar statements. … Spain and Germany, have also categorically rejected the military option …

the US has isolated itself while trying to isolate Venezuela. … The Bank of England’s extraordinary decision to freeze over a billion dollars in Venezuelan gold was a clear signal to the world that the UK could not be trusted as a neutral arbiter. Italy has reportedly begun discussions to repatriate their gold in Britain. If an allied state such as Italy has done so, the likes of China, India and Russia must be thinking the same. One of the few industries the UK has left is finance, and this decision could have huge ramifications for Britain’s economy. Furthermore, the government’s acceptance of the Trump regime change plan has sparked a massive uprising across Haiti that threatens to bring down a US-client government.

As a result of the hare-brained incompetence and the naked audacity of the Trump/Abrams/Bolton regime change gambit in Venezuela, the US now finds itself almost completely isolated in the world. … The US is the world’s only superpower and can act unilaterally whenever it pleases. But the battle for world opinion has been lost. …

AZJoe
04-14-2019, 10:54 AM
From Tom Luongo: Gold, Goats ‘n Guns (https://tomluongo.me)

The Slippage Continues – India Resists Trump On Everything (https://tomluongo.me/2019/03/05/trade-empire-india-slipping/)

With the U.S.’s attempt at regime change in Venezuela going nowhere fast it’s becoming increasingly obvious that major vassals allies aren’t scared of the consequences of defying us.

India, in particular, has been quite clear in its opposition to Trump’s edicts on who they can and cannot trade with. … Prime Minister Narendra Modi … [made] it clear he isn’t going to give Trump an inch on important trade issues, especially with Modi in full re-election mode.

Not only has India defied the U.S. over buying Iranian oil and Russian S-400 missile defense systems but now they continue to flaunt U.S. sanctions on Venezuela upping its purchases from 400,000 barrels per day to more than 600,000. (https://www.oneindia.com/international/as-us-bans-oil-import-from-venezuela-india-emerges-as-no-1-buyer-2853120.html) The quantity of exports to India has jumped 66 per cent to 620,000 barrels a day and the boost is being driven by refiners like Reliance Industries Ltd and Nayara Energy Ltd, backed by Rosneft, Russia. …

The response from the U.S. was the nearly inconsequential removing India from the Generalized System of Preferences which created tariff-free trade on a number of products between the U.S. and India. … It amounts to $190 million in net benefit to India a year. (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-india/trump-scraps-trade-privilege-for-india-delhi-plays-down-impact-idUSKCN1QM007) The preferential treatment brought India an annual “actual benefit” of just $190 million …

Trump is also hitting wayward Turkey with the same stick. I’m sure Erdogan didn’t even bother to notice.

Let’s put this in context shall we? Even at a heavy discount to current prices ($55 vs. $65 per bbl), India is paying Venezuela over a billion dollars a month. And that’s part of the reason why India raised its purchases of Venezuelan oil, it’s available at a steep discount. Playing this out a little further, a $10 per barrel discount times 600,000 per month is a $72 million net benefit to India offsetting a large chunk of Trump’s temper tantrum.

Because that’s what this amounts to, a tantrum. John Bolton and Mike Pompeo began a regime change operation that they shouldn’t have to take control of Venezuela’s oil and stick it in the eye of China and Russia who support Maduro financially and politically. Everyone else then has to take sides because in Trump’s mind our allies aren’t supporting us. Boo freaking hoo.

Allies No More … empires do not have allies, they have vassals. And when the vassals get uppity they need to be slapped down. But, what happens when they refuse to sit down? What happens when they continue to defy the imperial edicts of the Orange Obama and his Mustachioed Mafiosi? Exactly what we’re seeing now. Did anyone in the White House really think India and Modi would back down over $190 million in tariffs? … to think it was going to scare India into cutting its own throat economically is simply the height of hubris and, worse, paranoia.

India is a massive energy importer. And all the Trump administration has done is antagonize India over issue after issue.: S-400s, Iranian oil, now Venezuela, destabilizing its relationship with Pakistan and China. And to make matters worse, Trump’s lack of a coherent foreign policy has alienated India on multiple occasions. Think back to the cancellation of the important 2+2 meeting last year (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/its-now-confirmed-why-us-canceled-22-talks-with-india/articleshow/64834683.cms)because the North Korea Summit took precedence. Do you really think that sat well with the very proud Indians? No it didn’t. This was a meeting postponed for over a year already and once the U.S. canceled it again, it told India all it needed to know about its future relationship with Trump.

Moreover, why would anyone spend one minute hoping that Trump will treat them with even a modicum of respect when it comes to trade? He already slapped major tariffs on steel (10%) and Aluminum (25%) and threatened the world with worse if they did any trade with Iran.

This is why India was nonplussed when Trump hit back at their refusal to stop buying Venezuelan oil with the only thing he can hurt them with…. essentially nothing.

The Asian Pivot
All this is doing is confirming that the emerging powers of Asia — North, Central, South and East — will coalesce over time around a shared platform of intertwined goals.

Pakistan’s Imran Khan is working hard to defuse the hostilities between it and India. The U.S. foreign policy establishment under John Bolton are freaking out at the idea of detente between India and Pakistan while they are trying to squeeze China and Russia …

Trump knows the U.S.’s unipolar moment is behind us, but he can’t let go of it …

Trump has no real leverage over China in trade talks. If he can’t control emerging powers like India or effect regime change in a basket case like Venezuela, what does he really have to threaten China with