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Venezuela's Maduro Claims US Pilot Arrested For Espionage, Bans Bush, Cheney From Entering Nation
In case the world needed any more geopolitical risk "hotspots", overnight Venezuela's flailing president Nicolas Maduro, faced with an unprecedented economic crisis at home, decided to do what most authoritarian rulers do when faced with imminent civil unrest: point the finger abroad, and in this case, at Washington, as a distraction. With crude oil plunging, with opposition leaders being arrested, and with the economy generally in shambles, Venezuela has in recent weeks accused the United States of being behind an alleged coup plot. Then overnight, Maduro switched from broad generalizations to specifics when, as CNN reports, Maduro said Saturday an unspecified number of Americans were arrested "a few days ago" for engaging in espionage and recruitment activities.
More from CNN:
The President said they included an American pilot of Latin American origin, arrested in the southwest border state of Táchira.
He said the pilot was found in possession of "all kinds of documents" and was being interrogated by the authorities, though he did not identify him. The Venezuelan government has made many similar claims in recent years, without ever substantiating them.
Maduro also announced Saturday a series of measures, including visa requirements for U.S. citizens and the downsizing of the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, to counteract what he called U.S. "interference" in his country.
Considering the US has not replied officially (yet), there are two possibilities: Maduro made up the whole thing, which is far more likely, or the US did indeed engage in some covert ops in Venezuela. Considering the CIA's recent track record around Africa and Eastern Europe, that possibility certainly can not be discounted.
Speaking at an "anti-imperialist" rally in the capital, Maduro - who is surely feeling slighted following recent US overtures toward former socialist peer Cuba - said visas would now be required for all U.S. visitors and that the U.S. Embassy in Caracas would now need foreign ministry approval for any meetings. The Embassy, which he said had more than 100 staff, is to be reduced to a number closer to the 17 Venezuelan diplomats based in Washington.
Additionally, a group of prominent U.S. officials, current and retired, will be banned from entering Venezuela because of what Maduro said was their involvement in "bombing Iraq, Syria and Vietnam" and other "terrorist" actions. The officials include George W. Bush, former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, former CIA Director George Tenet and several current members of Congress, including Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Bob Menendez and Mario Diaz-Balart.
Following the Maduro's announcement Diaz-Balart reacted via Twitter, saying he has "always wanted to travel to a corrupt country that is not a free democracy. And now Castro's lap dog won't let me!"
The move comes after the U.S. government last month approved a law under which Venezuelan officials allegedly involved in human rights violations are to have their visas revoked and their U.S. assets frozen.
A relatively small, but noisy crowd, dressed mostly in revolutionary red, applauded and cheered the measures announced by the President from a platform outside the presidential palace in downtown Caracas.
Meanwhile, away from the arrest announcement, CNN also reported that "gour missionaries from Bethel Evangelical Free Church in Devils Lake, North Dakota were released by Venezuelan authorities on Saturday, a church official said."
Pastor Bruce Dick said the missionaries arrived in Venezuela on February 20 and were detained a few days ago.
"We love the Venezuelan people and have served alongside them for over 12 years," Dick said. "We have been praying along with hundreds or thousands of others for their release and for those in Venezuela who also have been affected by this."
It is unclear if the detention and release of these Americans is connected to Maduro's charges of espionage.
Should the price of Brent resume its downward trend, or even remain around $60 where it is a loss-maker fro Venezuela, expect even more amusing antics from Maduro, whose regime may be falling apart before his eyes, however if anything, that only makes him more unpredictable and irrational.
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If only we in the US had banned Bush and Cheney.
Better yet, put them on trial for orchestrating 911.
And counterfeiting trillions with OUR money printing press.
So, I guess this means the re-fueling 'stopover' [in Caracas], on the way to Argentina, is off the table for these Nazis
They were spys, their future is not so bright now.
Wouldn't have been surprised to hear a Chavez accusation as well.
Yes, ban the people who aren't going to go down there and personally stir shit up and leave the US embassy up and running so that we have a venue to ship people down there to stir shit up. Brilliant! Because Bush is going to down there personally and bring the country to his knees! The state department would never ship somebody who nobody recognizes down there to the embassy in Caracas to do some CIA work! Nope! Never! Ban the fuckers who anybody could pick out of a crowd, because that'll work!
Fuck me, this is stupid. While I wouldn't put it past the CIA to do some stupid shit down there, destabilizing Venezuela is like harpooning a beached whale.
your awl is write it's awl busch and chainies fawlts an Obama is jus a pupput
Sounds like he's finally getting the Obama campaign's reruns, "It's Bush's fault."
Bush and Cheney should have been put away for war crimes long ago. Already they are afraid to travel to Europe. They should be afraid to travel out of Texas (Texas is a lost cause).
Naw, we are working to kick the progressives out here too.
Grimaldus
Wonder what idiots are downvoting posts critical of war criminals Bush and Cheney .
We don't recognize the term war criminal.
Please leave Texas out of it, if they ever declare their rightful independence, I'm going with them. Great state and great people.
And the rest of the tribe. Including everyone in the false media.
By Tribe, do you mean the socialist jews who run the media and the majority of the federal reserve member banks, or the conservative Jews who run Israel and kill Muslims for lobbing rockets at them?
Yes
They lob rockets because Anglo-israeli empire stole their land.
"In case the world needed any more geopolitical risk "hotspots", overnight Venezuela's flailing president Nicolas Maduro, faced with an unprecedented economic crisis at home, decided to do what most authoritarian rulers do when faced with imminent civil unrest: point the finger abroad..."
Seems harsh. Just four more words would make it better — and I doubt Tyler would mind adding one more clause to any sentence ;-) :
"In case the world needed any more geopolitical risk "hotspots", overnight Venezuela's flailing president Nicolas Maduro, faced with an unprecedented economic crisis at home, decided to do what most authoritarian rulers do, particularly in the US, when faced with imminent civil unrest: point the finger abroad..."
Obama is still much worse than these two.Obama is worse in fact than Maduro.
Why can't he organize a hit on Bush and Cheney?
That's a very good point. Forget "banning" them. Fucking arrest warrents & APB's should but put out for them, their whole families & be delt with extreme predjudice.
Bingo.
Fortunately we live in the US so we don't round up the parents, children, grand children, spouses, aunts, uncles, cousins of people suspected of criminal activities. "Round up their families" go to Home Depot and buy yourself a nail gun.
Wendigo, terrible idea, you would create martyrs out of criminals, just like the false flag murder of Nemtsov.
Why is that a terrible idea?
Um, he gave his reason (right or wrong) in his post. Yea, youre a slave.
Bush a martyr? LOL. For anyone to become a martyr, they would have had to represent some larger movement.
The larger movement of GW is the election of the next Bush.
They would use that to get the next Bush into the WH.
Enough with family dynasties!!!
I agree, but Obama is not from a family dynasty and is still a continuation of the same ideology. Some people don't understand martyrs and political movements.
It only proves that the first father's dick worked. For a fast forward to dynasty degeneration simply observe Prince Charles and you see the Gores and Bushes. The Kennedys have already regressed into oblivion, they have reached the zenith of self destruction.
Well that'll save the bombers some serious flight time.
Yea, because this is what Venezuela's leaders should be worried about right now. Making sure BOOOSH doesn't come in their country.
How about focusing on toilet paper instead?
That's the real bingo. As if we are to believe one government is better then another. Of course it is Venezuela's government that created the problem in the first place. If they didn't blame Bush, they'd blame Putin or Saudi Arabia for selling oil so at lower levels. It's always someone else's fault when government fails.
Bush and Cheney? I'm quite certain Venezuela isn't in their travel plans.
Why not ban more current figureheads like the Droner, his pal Boner, and the Bitch of Benghazi? It's not as if they represent anything different from Punch Drunk and Darth.
Never know when those dickheads might need a non-extradition country to go Eichmann in.
Let's not discount this recent attempt by the Nobel Prize Winner - with oil prices so low, it is the best time to destabilize Venezuela. It's oil reserves are higher than Saudi Arabia's - in fact, the highest in the world:
Obama failed his coup in Venezuela
by Thierry Meyssan
Once again, the Obama administration has tried to force the change of a political regime that resists it. On February 12, an Academi (formerly Blackwater) plane disguised as an aircraft of the Venezuelan army was supposed to bomb the presidential palace and kill President Nicolas Maduro. The plotters had planned to place former MP María Corina Machado in power and have her immediately acclaimed by former Latin American presidents.
http://www.voltairenet.org/article186879.html
Obama is just a puppet for the TRIBE.
obama threatened to shoot down the zionist jets en route to iran. His nazi neocons own him.
I'm getting a "Bad Gateway" message for Voltairenet.org.
Yes, I had been getting that for the last hour or so. It worked just now.
It's hosted in the Ukraine.
Communism working as designed
Any country that bans Bush, Cheney and missionaries can do nothing but improve by their absence.
This is your idea of improving?
The religion of something for nothing ultimately always starves.
Clearly an prove meant. Ban all selfishite parasite chosenites and those friendl to the tribe.
There is nothing positive about distracting from the real issues. Creating straw men to swing at is pure political desperation.
If that were the case, he would ban himself from the Venezuela govenment.
Maybe someday you will realize that bad government is just that, bad government. It has existed for thousands of years, way before Bush/Cheney and it exists today. Don't fall for the crap. This is simply a matter of one foriegn politician blaming other nations for their own problems and bad policies.
And why didn't he ban Obama? Obama has conducted military bombings in Syria?
It's called sarcasm. Unclench and you might enjoy life a little more.
Once again Tyler shows that he's completely schizo!
"flailing president Nicolas Maduro, faced with an unprecedented economic crisis at home, decided to do what most authoritarian rulers do when faced with imminent civil unrest: point the finger abroad, and in this case, at Washington, as a distraction."
Are you doubting Washington is up to ite eyeballs in trying to overthrow this government? When the people of Venezuela acted together to take control of their oil and their future, was there ever any other possible outcome but a no holds barred struggle with the Empire?
On a scale of 1 to 100, how do you rate it as authoritarian, and how do you compare it with the US and its allies? Were their elections less fair and honest than those in the US? Are the government's moves to provent economic collapse and conquest more forceful than necessary? Do you have any alternative to offer other than surrender?
And why do you hold such a different standard, such a different narrative, for Venezuela than for Ukraine or Russia?
Quite frankly I have weveral thoughts.
Yes, Maduro is pointing the blame to others. That is what politicians do when they are failing. You are correct on that.
Secondly, I don't think the US really gives much of a crap about Venezuela. And the fact that Maduro is blaming Bush/Cheney when Obama is the person in office during this Venezuela crisis should tell you that Maduro is full of crap and grasping at straws.
Thirdly, Ukraine involves NATO. Venezuela doesn't. Additionally, the problem in Ukraine impacts Europe while Venezuela does not.
"I don't think the US really gives much of a crap about Venezuela."
What??? Since when did the US not give a crap about ANYPLACE that had a lot of oil?
"And the fact that Maduro is blaming Bush/Cheney when Obama is the person in office during this Venezuela crisis ..."
What?? Do you read ZH?? Have you been paying attention to how power is organized in the Empire and who's at the heart of the ruling paradigm? Yes Obama's president - the third generation of a family of mid-level CIA operatives who was groomed for the job and bankrolled by Goldman Sachs and CitiBank. But the Bush and Cheney families have been at the HEART of the CIA from the beginning, with solid roots in both the Texas Oil and Wall Street branches. They're still there, still setting agenda and still dangerous as rabid cobras.
"Thirdly, Ukraine involves NATO. Venezuela doesn't. Additionally, the problem in Ukraine impacts Europe while Venezuela does not."
What?? Venezuela doesn't matter because it's only in South America? Maybe because most of the people have brown skins and speak Spanish?
Forgive me if I'm reading you wrong.
His name is sessinpo. Sounds like sessinpool or cesspool. Laugh the clueless, brainless idiot off.
Do I think the US government is tring to overthrow Maduro?
Well, actually no.
Is it a US ally or friend?
Is it a moderate Arab state that stands in the way of the Twelfth Imam uniting the Arab world and moving west to the plains of Armageddon?
On the other hand, is it a shithole socialist dictatorship that serves as a model for Obama's plans for the United States?
So, no, I don't think we're trying to overthrow Presidente Ralph Kramden. Regardless of what they say about us, we are the only cash market for their oil so we got what we want out of them no matter what they yap about.
Ah yes-we have found the 21st century Castro...
"The religion of something for nothing ultimately always starves."
Kind of like the whole of the financial sector in the US.
The work of a salesman is to convince you that you are getting more than you are paying for, especially relative to the competition. Everything about human nature...and maybe nature in general, is something for nothing. It is our core motivation in life...getting ahead. Those who understand the risk of surrendering completely to our base nature will self restrict. They accept that gains are meager in nature and any offer too good to be true is very likely not. But a salesman can not afford such ideas, they must believe and sell those beliefs, that there is more. More for less. Cheap foreign goods with no cost to our jobs. The imposition of our will on others with no blow back or resentment. Borrow endlessly to buy our consumer dreams firmly planted inside our brains by marketers, regardless of if we actually can afford it. Elect politicians who will promise to take from those who have too much and give to us, to provide our utopian dreams.
Salesmen are the facilitators that attempt to keep our ponzi inflated just one more day, another check to clear, and deny reality in every breath, as reality threatens their very existence. The most admired salesman is one who sells cigarettes while suffering lung cancer. Obama.
Agreed. You know the whole thing is faulty when it's based on the concept of endless growth.
The last frantic gasp of progressive tyranny dying! Ha Ha
The stupid, it burns!
And in typically stupid progressive fashion, the progressive tyrants blame other progressives for the problems. Bush and Cheney should be welcomed there as fellow progressives. They damn sure are not constitutional conservatives. Not a bone of conservative between them.
Banning the murdering thieving progressives would be a smarter strategy.
Now watch as the progressive tyrant Maduro murders and crushes his own citizens. Oh wait, he already is, just like obama is killing thousand of innocent law abiding American citizens with his criminal alien invasion.
They need Sean Penn and some other hollyweird progressives to go down there and lead the cheers for death.
Grimaldus
"500 British Redcoats were shockingly defeated by over 5000 Massachusetts militia men in Lexington and Concord."
As a consequence the term "militia" does in fact appear in the US Constitution.
”es muy popular."
I wouldn't let the Bush's or Cheney's stop at my house either...Slam!
Why doesn't Maduro want them? They are both progs? Curious.
Wish we could ban them from ours too! (US Citizen)
President Cheney and BushCo... lmao
Big hit for the Venezuelan economy to ban US tourism!
Where is the Bush clan's ranch? I am not sure which country in south america it was,, just that it was very large.
Peru - on top of the world's biggest fresh water aquifer and possible location of some lost inca gold mines.
Maybe it was in Poland. That starts with a P too.
Paraguay.
Why would Bush, Cheney, etc. want to go to a place where on cannot wipe his ass?
Can you just imaging the smell?
"Let them wipe .... with oral sex !" .... Marie Antoinette
Keys began and continued Maduro.
They have close ties with Cuba, Moscow and are in Mercosur (per table in BRICS).
If he took the CIA guys with his hand in the pot (the expression is, "with his hand in Gourds"), may believe that was not the Secret Service of Venezuela who made the discovery.
Colombia is almost a protectorate USA, is near the Amazon is bordering the two countries
Venezuela has Migs and recently received for peaceful purposes (presentation) two TU-160 before Keys die.
This was unheard of!
The best oil to grease (heavy) comes from Venezuela (which also has refineries in the US).
hehe.
My father was a union leader in the 1970s in Cubatão-SP Brazil.
I saw with my own eyes the CIA agents disguised harassment of Mormon in front of my house.
My father walked with security guards, always walked armed.
Do not come to this that these sons of bitches who call themselves religious has nothing to do.
US long finger in NGOs and institutions who claim to be religious.
There are tribes in Amazonia who speak the native language and English!
Do not speak Spanish or Portuguese!
For me sent back these bastards today!
If you want your evangelical, stay with their Gospel.
hehe.
If you believe that I am radical, fuck you!
I have the right to say that I see in my country.
:-)
Why would the CIA wear disguises to harass Mormons in front of your house?
Was it a No Mormon Zone or something?
What about Joe Biden, I thought that was the guy who's out to get him.
They should have arrested Bush and Cheney and banned the pilot.
So what's Kissinger? Chopped liver? Feel free to reply or provide your own description...
Obama gets a pass .... if you are black .... and are in the New World .... you are very, very probably .... not only a Muslim descendant .... but, a descendant of a slave of Muslims .... SOLIDARITY ! LOL
As Maduro and Obama .... should know .... slavery of blacks .... did not begin in Selma (boring) .... it goes waaaaaaaaaay back .... perhaps, it's always been that way .... until the Civil War .... and some English connivance before ! LOL
Pretty amusing. It seems that Puutie gave Maduro one of the Dog Whistles the Puppies were trained with.
The Puutie Paid Puppies respond to offer support for another communist totalitarian dictator, Maduro. The lovers of the kleptocrat rulers of Russia, Cuba, and Venezuela are their fantasy heroes.
When a nation suffers from shortages of toilet paper and soap one wonders whether it is time for any sort of change. The reality is that Venezuela is so far behind the eight ball that it is destined to become an even greater mess with the passage of time as the main players all vie for the last remaining piece of the pie.
I'm in no way supporting Maduro socialist gov, but this time good move to ban Bush, Cheney and consort.
Fuckstick ought to call for the immediate assassination of Obama and ALL that voted for him. "it's Bush's fault" is clearly not the case a decade later. Obama and he's clown patrol have fucked up this economy all on their own.
Down vote only if you love Bush.
Just when you think US Pols lead the world in being the most fucked up, along comes this asshat to take over first place. Once this banana republic folds, I think he has a future running for Congress in California.
www.traderzoo.mobi
He won't live long enough for Pelosi or someone else to die in office since they will never retire.
But he certainly has a shot at Governor. They like governors with accents.
Maduro and Kirchner in a dog fight for nuttiest South American leader. Check out the plane this coup was going to use:
http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/11212
Nobody told this one Obongo is American presidente, and not Bush? Even if he's using Bush as a personification of American agression abroad, Nobel Peace Prize winner is a champion. Obongo's attacked more countries than his predecessor Bush. Someone ought to tell the poor soul.
It is strange thing though, how USSA hasn't attacked that rich oil country so close to her, whereas in the Middle East USSA has made herself a name by attacking everyone except Saudia and Israel, don't you think? And yet according to some Corporate media, we are supposed to believe that wars are about oil. They are not. This example clearly demonstrates that point.
Even Israel isn't immune to regime change.
Netanyahu made the mistake of telling the White House Negro to FOADIAF, in public. For that Obama is doing everything in his power to see Netanyahu loses the Israeli election in favour of someone more compliant and willing to sell even more of the Land of Israel to Pali sand-niggers and suicide bombers. Jesus Christ, even Mossad are doing the CIA's dirty work against Bibi. Imagine that.
The only truly untouchable regime in the Middle East? The House of Saud crime family. DC needs them to keep oil prices low, keep Putin at bay and keep debt-ridden western economies from total collapse.
If only we could do the same.
I'm praying that the Mossad takes out the Obowelmovement and makes it look like stray bullets fired by a protesting illegal alien using a Fast and Furious weapon were responsible.
Pretty amazing how regime change is never in the cards for countries who actually need it---Venezuela, "Zimbabwe..."
Maduro and Mugabe could be removed in a matter of hours were Wall Street vultures not licking their chops at the prospect of stealing eveeything that wasn't nailed down when Caracas and Harare ran out of other people's money.
As it is, the people the money, land and resources were stolen from in the first place will never see any of it again. Maduro and Mugabe will leave at Wall Street's convenience, not the convenience of long-suffering Venezuelans and Rhodesians, black and white alike.
You have our permission to execute them on site.
Tenet- I'm bored.
W- hey! Let's go to Caracas. We can have a fun time!
Dick- I'm in!
Tenet- Hey! Look at the TV. We've been banned by that Mait're D guy!
W-I'll call Chalky and drone him.
Dick- W, let me do the thinking here.
W-Awright.
When Zerohedge reposts government (CNN) propaganda verbatim without bothering to explain the US role in the continuous economic war and repeated (and proven) US putsch attempts on a democratic country with a much more representative democracy than the US and an electoral system far superior to our own, you can be certain that it has officially become a .gov propaganda site.
You are being lied to; you are munching on bovine excrement, thinking it is a tasty burger.
The sleeper must wake the fuck up.
Why does Latin America produce such cartoonish leaders?
Why does the US?
How come Obama and his ilk are nor banned?
perhaps to give the puppet and the Establishment a little diplomatic leeway (however undeserved) to get the hint and think twice about plotting the next coup or assassination in Venezuela.
Why would the Venezuela government allow more in the US embassy in Venezuela than the number in the Venezuela embassy in the US? Venezuela should kick out all but 17.
The article above is a hatchet job - The USA has been trying to destabilise Venezuela for a very long time - regime change -thats what they want . Well I for one hope they don't get it regardless of how tough it gets for the citizens.
F&%K CIA/ USA interference in ANY other Country.
I guess some one was reading "The Bear and the Dragon" (; Clancy).
It is disappointing to see Tyler joining the propaganda chorus drummed up by the CIA and State Department against the government of Venezuela. It seems that even ZH has forgotten (or never learned) that all sovereign state members of the United Nations are treaty bound to not interfere in the internal affairs of other sovereign states. Maduro may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he is the legally elected president of a sovereign nation.
Question: Where is the CIA hiding the toilet paper this time?