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Venezuela Expels 3 US Diplomats For "Promoting Instability"
Having been 'busted' for their manipulation of events in Ukraine (and exposing their views of the European Union), it seems US diplomats have been up to their old tricks once again... this time in Venezuela. "Go Conspire In Washington," was the clear message sent to the US as President Maduro expelled three US diplomats from his country, accusing them of plotting with anti-government protesters in an attempt to topple his socialist government. This is the second time Maduro has kicked out US diplomats (3 more were expelled in September for 'conspiring with government opponents') as he blasted comments by John Kerry as "yet another maneuver" by Washington to "legitimize attempts to destabilize the Venezuelan democracy unleashed by violent groups in recent days."
An anti-government student holds a sign reading "There is no way to peace. Peace is the way. Venezuela wake up!" during a protest in Caracas.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro accused Washington of plotting with anti-government protesters and expelled three US diplomats in retaliation.
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The oil-rich country is mired in a deep economic crisis that critics blame on policies that Maduro largely inherited from Chavez.
Strict controls on currency and prices have created huge bottlenecks that have fueled inflation and emptied store shelves.
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"I have ordered the foreign ministry to proceed with declaring those three consular officials persona non grata and expelling them from the country. Let them go conspire in Washington!" Maduro said in a nationally broadcast address.
Maduro said the US diplomats, who have not been named, had met with students involved in anti-government protests under the pretense of offering them "visas to the United States."
In late September Maduro kicked out three other US diplomats, including the charge d'affairs Kelly Keiderling, on accusations of conspiring with government opponents. The two countries have had no ambassadors since 2010.
A foreign ministry statement also said that Maduro's government "flatly rejects" remarks by US Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday voicing alarm at the violence during the marches and criticizing the arrest of protesters.
Kerry's statement is "yet another maneuver" by Washington to "legitimize attempts to destabilize the Venezuelan democracy unleashed by violent groups in recent days," the ministry said.
Of course, it makes sense for Maduro to pitch blame on to the Americans (whether they are to blame or not) as he faces a growing tension among the working Venezuelans that the status quo is not working and a common enemy is required...
As we noted previously (via Stratfor):
The challenge that the student movement will face is in finding a way to include Venezuela's laboring class, which for the most part still supports the government, and relies on its redistributive policies. Their inability to rouse broad support across Venezuela's social and economic classes was in part why previous student uprisings, including significant protests in 2007, failed to generate enough momentum to trigger a significant political shift.
But the situation has changed in Venezuela, and as the economic situation deteriorates there is a chance that protests like this could begin to generate additional social momentum in rejection of the status quo. President Nicolas Maduro has been in office for less than a year, and in that time the inflation rate has surged to over 50 percent and food shortages are a daily problem. Though firmly in power, the Chavista government is still struggling to address massive social and economic challenges. Massive government spending, years of nationalization and an overreliance on imports for basic consumer goods have radically deteriorated inflation levels, and undermined industrial production.
How the government responds will play a key role in the development of these protests going forward. The government cannot afford to crack down too hard without risking even worse unrest in the future. For its part, the mainstream opposition must walk a careful line between supporting the sentiment behind open unrest and being seen as destabilizing the country. Maduro retains the power to punish opposition politicians, and reaffirmed that Feb. 11 when he stated on national television that he intends to renew the law allowing him to outlaw political candidates who threaten the peace of the country. The statement was a clear shot over the bow of opposition leaders, and may foreshadow a more aggressive government policy designed to limit political opposition.
In the meantime, protest leader Leopoldo Lopez said he'll surrender on Feb 18th -
"If anyone has decided to illegally arrest and jail me, you know I will be there," he said. "I have nothing to fear; I have not done anything illegal."
as plain clothes policeman were in the back of a pick-up outside the home of the father of Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez. Reports said the government wants to arrest him in connection with deadly street protests in recent days. “I have committed no crime,” said Lopez. “I have been a Venezuelan committed to our country, our people, and our future.” Earlier, Lopez called Maduro a coward on Twitter. “You won’t make either me or my family bow to you,” he added.
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As a US Citizen and military Officer, allow me to say that expelling our diplomats is "BRILLIANT!"
The End Of Bretton Woods And The Race To The Bottom, 1971
http://www.ingoldwetrust.ch/the-end-of-bretton-woods-and-the-race-to-the...
fuck all that...the sign chick is smokin....
"Diplomats" = CIA
No commentary on the result of Venezuelan politics is complete without this image:
http://venezuelanalysis.com/files/imagecache/images_set/images/2009/04/venezuela-hugo-chavez-barack-obama-summit1.jpg
Nice - however Jamie wants the gold back, so priorities you know.
obviously you missed Tyler's post on why venezuela matters. by Venezuelan standards, the sign chick is pretty homely... not to mention that muffin top. libertad, dieta, o muerte!!
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-01-23/thursday-humor-real-reason-vene...
still, get me drunk enough and I might have sex with her.
Only to discover that she has bigger balls than you (or Yellen)...
Daddy, tell me, a color revolution in America - is that possible?
- No my son, it's fantastic.
Dad, but why?
Because America, - it is the only one country in the world, in the territory of which is no U.S. embassy!
So in other words they kicked out 3 CIA agents posing as diplomats.
Fuck. That drop of polonium210 really came off my Google glasses?
You mean there still exist US diplomats that are not CIA agents?
Kerry's denials are a chancy gambit here now that we know the FSB can break the phone encryption. He's got to be asking "How much data have they shared?" Of course it's only Kerry, if he's caught lying it's no big deal. If Obama got caught he would have to claim he didn't know the facts until he saw them reported on the news.
The Assad government endorsed the Kerry-Lavrov ceasefire plan and, perhaps forgetting that it was his idea, Kerry criticized them for doing so.
http://news.antiwar.com/2014/02/16/kerry-assad-supporters-need-to-endors...
This is considered normal and sensible inside the short-bus beltway of Vichy DC.
The last time Venezuela expelled US "diplomats", they had them dead to rights. The State Department issued an explicit denial and an explanation that sounds a lot like this one.
Venezuela then turned around and publicly released fotos proving the facts, incriminating audio and explicit video. They also released specific dollar amounts and routing, along with exact times and dates, solidly proving their acusations.
They did this after the State Department denials. It was hilarious. Of course, you did not see any of it or even mentioned in passing in the compliant US media. Not a peep.
I am certain you won't see any media coverage in this case either, but I suspect the same thing might happen again. If it does, I will post it up and toss some red meat to the ZH'ers.
Should be fun...
The Nuland tape was an inside job. FSB cant deny or confirm, sittin' duck.
If you consider the Brits inside then yeah.
The BBC wouldn't have confirmed secret agreements between the Brits and Russians concerning the Ukraine when that tape was leaked at the same time if they weren't in on it somehow. The BBC is state media for the British intelligence community like CNN is for the the Americans. They don't expose that type of information unless they are using it for political cover to back Putin over the US in the Ukraine.
The US government SUCKS!
Yeah..I said it you fuckers....if you're reading this
FUCK YOU!
The US government is the largest terrorist organization in the world.
By far.
"If anyone has decided to illegally arrest and jail me, you know I will be there," he said. "I have nothing to fear; I have not done anything illegal."
If you turn yourself in does it still count as an illegal arrest?
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Yes, indeed it does, unless you say, "Simon* says: arrest me."
*...of course, referring to Simon Bolivar...
fantastic, more countries should follow this example
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Venezuela can get away with this because their government hasn't yet been bought off to some necessary threshold.
Ukraine is probably watching this, but I'd be surprised if they tossed out any US "diplomatic personnel". An adequate minimum number of officials would see the suspension of the monthly bribe deposits into their Cayman Islands accounts as to make this a difficult task.
If socialism does such a fine of job of destoying itself, why does the CIA feel they need to help?
Socialism will indeed destroy itself, but that doesn't mean that whoever ends up on top after its implosion is the right party the CIA wants...
And it really is about the CIA after all.
Maduro is soon to go the way of the of the Ceausescu's...the Colombian's might do it if no one else will...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJ6q1a6aDbA
I think Mossadegh is a better example, he was, at least, elected.
Al Jazeera is reporting the 'protest' consisted of about 3000 people. by myself i could muster 3000 people in any city in America by just offering free weed. wake me when these protests reach a critical mass.
They hate us for our lack of mustaches.
PS: Their men hate us for the same reason, too.
They don't hate ME then!
Hey, I haven't shaved my upper lip once in almost 30 years!
Haven't shaved in 30 years.
My kids would walk past me in the street if I shaved my beard off!
I am instinctively suspicious of any clean-shaven man.
And any man who would shave his arms or chest or back is simply totally pussy-whipped.
We're from the (US) Government, and we're here to help.
If you believe that, you will believe ANYTHING!
How many Aircraft Carrier Battle Groups does Venezuela have?
They don't need any, except as targets. The rumor is that they have at least 9 to 14 Chinese DF-21D (NATO CSS-5D "Dong Feng") ASMs deployed and operational in Maracaibo, Punto Fijo and Puerto Caballo. Their operating range extends to well north of Cuba.
If they aimed them for parts of miami it might be considered a domestic attack
Let them expell our foreign service officers. Most of the FSO are disloyal to the USA! If we want to screw with Venezuela, then cut off all of the tourist and business visas, the B1 and B2 visas. Then cut off all EITC, SSA, EBT and tax refunds of any kind. Then watch them scream bloody murder and demand that we put their money back to them. This illustrates the hypocrisy of these third-world hellholes and their relationship with us. It's time to screw them and watch them suffer! And they deserve it.
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Thanks for the concise summary of post-WW2 US foreign policy. Very insightful of you to present it here as a potential explanation for the actions of the Venezuelan government.
And then they retaliate by cutting off the oil.
And the US loses whatever leverage they have over Venezuela.
Great plan Colonel Custer...
Who run barter town?
http://www.eia.gov/petroleum/imports/companylevel/
Venezuela certainly has a good grip on the nuts if they want to squeeze. If they do though you can bet some of these groups like the FARC in Colombia will be paid off like Sinola in Mexico to cross the border and raise hell.
You are exactly right- Colombia is a US proxy. Have you heard the things Alvaro Uribe says? His rhetoric is explosive and incendiary. He has been aboard that plan for awhile now, and has been very active in Venezuela destabilization efforts.
That guy may be pure evil and a monster, but he is our monster. And now, with a little "encouragement" from an interested party (can you guess who?) he is trying to become President of Colombia again.
Oh boy!
It would be interesting to see what would happen if Venezuela stopped exporting oil.
Not that they could afford to do so in this fucked up world, but it would, for sure, be interesting.
Out with Venezuelan Socialism and in with US Corporate Fascism. Your oil and natural resources is belong to us now. In return you can have these fabulous GMO's, a croney led federal reserve bank, and be looted by the TBTF fail banks, IMF and World bank. It will be a liberating experience.
one more case of problem, reaction, solution playing out in real time.
If you like your Chavismo - you can keep your Chavismo.
But for the CIA 'controls the weather' bedwetter crowd it'll be all on us because 'we lust for their (low grade, heavy tar content shit) oil".
Long Alcoa for tin foil hats. Viva la' Revolution bitchez.....
Es "Chavismo" como el Ciudadanismo 'americano' estadounidense?
Hagame reir.
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Although my knowledge of Spanish is limited to maybe a dozen words and the phrase "vamoos a la playa", it looks to me like you're asking:
Is Chavismo a US 'american' citizen?
(Is Chavismo a citizen 'american' of United States?)
Actually, FourthStooge-ing, it was:
Arroyos, arroyos, tres times arroyos, la naturo el Ciudadanismo 'americano' estadounidense es eternalismo.
Urso with es.
Tu spanglish es tan malo como el engrish de AnAnonymous --- y tan comico tambien.
Pero oye, el monolizar del modo de offuscacionar es un parte integral de la clase media 'americana' estadounidense, cual es la clase real, la naturaleza de cual es eterna.
Solo hay que tener paciencia con lo.
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RORUC!
(raughing out roud until coughing)
Non-autoindicto y propogandoleo economicale es dos partes integrale el ciudadanismo 'americano' estadounidense. Mui extortando fragilistas y rancho impoverishmentales.
Ah, mucho verdad en sus palabras, gargantuar la mente en la manera typica de ciudadanos del ciudadanismo 'americano' estadounidense.
Bienvenidos al mundo sino-hispano-'americano', es un lugar comodo y loquisimo, va a ver.
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Ah, ah, remindmentacion AnAnonymous, de ciudadano del ciudadanismo orientales communautista propagandejo.
Bienvenidos al mundo sino-hispano-'excremendito' AnAnonymense, es un lugar non-commodo y insanitaciones, va a ver.
That was funny, man...
You two crazies need some remedial Spanish classes.
Hey, my neighbor down the block is named Karl Chavismo
I have no real clue what is being asked but my interpretation is...
"All civilizations, to date, these have been based on private ownership of the means of production and private property. Civilization always went hand in hand" - Ludwig Von Mises
Or if you like your trickle down collectivism you can keep your trickle down collectivism.
Smart move on the part of the Venezuelan communist dictatorship......There's nothing worse than having diplomats representing an incompetent bungling socialist communist regime operating inside your country!
To be fair, shouldn't the word "diplomat" be in quotes as well in the title?
State Dept reply:
"What difference does it make ?"
KerryKohn is boarding his green, swift-boat as I type.
He's gonna wind surf down and sort it all out with his comrade.
Still working to get that gold back in time to make the payment to Germany.
As we noted previously (via Stratfor)...
Mr. Tyler Echo Chamber, are you serious?
John Kerry has already exonerated his fascist minion Leopoldo Lopez.
Move along, nothing to see here...
What is amazing is that almost all the turmoil going on in all thses countries, about 20 or so, is being casued by the FED and the power of the reserve currency. That and the fact Israel dictates our MIC and foreign affairs.
The sheep in these countries need to open their eyes and back off of their own governmnets and start sending the people that are the cause of this problem back to NYC, London, Tel Aviv and DC in boxes!!
Why they sending those globalist traitors back here. I didn't do anything to Venezuela..
Hagmann and Hagman is having "V" discuss the bankster deaths at 5 PST.
V called theier deaths ahead of time.. A couple dozen more aree susposed to follow.
Get used to this America ... we don't like you and don't want you anymore <);o)
Yaay for communism! I guess. Meh.
well, maduro is a dead man walking and talking. fuck the usa.........and i am american. i understand the business of business and the real politick behind international relations but i am sick of being associated with the bad guys by the rest of the world
...and in other Breaking News:
the occupant of the White House has still not been expelled for "promoting instability" in USA
Another foreign policy sucess for the clown from Kenyan!
So when Cuban Mil Itel starts hosing down these demos with full auto fire....it's Langley, Rothchilds, The Polesmoker In Chief that are the Black Hands??
The purpose of having an anarchy ridden, Iranian/Cuban controlled petro/narco state whose shit grade oil is China's for the next 500 years destabiling the Andes is what again???
Can you get me some of what you've been smoking, please?!
Oh, and make mine a double, it obviously works.
Every time I go for shit I feel like I've expelled a US diplomat and it feels great.
Hell, 0bozo, Kerry, Murdo (sp) are all marxist socialist birds of a feather. You'd think they could get along.