Is the US Meddling in Venezuela? Max Blumenthal Asks US Congress Members The Grayzone - January 31, 2019
Amidst Russiagate fever, the Grayzone's Max Blumenthal heads to Capitol Hill to ask members of Congress if they think the US is meddling in Venezuela's political system. The Trump administration had recently recognized the president of the country's National Assembly as interim president of the nation and intensified sanctions on the country.
No Coup! No War! Hands off Venezuela!
Eduardo Correa Senior and James Patrick Jordan examine the threat and military options that are on the table, and propose popular organization to defeat US interventionism in the Latin American nation.
How US trained Juan Guaido for Regime Change
Journalist and author Max Blumenthal joins Rick Sanchez to offer his analysis of Venezuela's political crisis. He says Juan Guaido's "real constituency is in Washington" and that he's at the forefront of a years-long destabilization campaign orchestrated by the US.
Trump's Coup in Venezuela: The Full Story
This point is, or at least should be, indisputable irrespective of one's opinions of Venezuelan President Maduro, the Socialist Party (PSUV), or the progress of the Bolivarian Revolution. Imperialism, and its neocolonial manifestation in the 21st Century, is there to pick clean the bones of the Bolivarian dream and return Venezuela to the role of subservient asset, an oil-soaked proxy state ruled by a right-wing satrap eager to please the colonial lords of capital.
Venezuela's Russian Bank Grows Assets as U.S. Sanctions Hit Home
A small state-run bank in Moscow which is half-owned by Venezuela's government was one of Russia's fastest growing lenders last year at a time when President Nicolas Maduro tries to work around U.S. sanctions and asset freezes that are crippling his country's finances.
'US pawn that can be discarded any time' – Max Blumenthal on 'president' Guaido
The US-backed group "trained" Guaido and a group of selected Venezuelan students between 2005 and 2007, Blumenthal said, arguing that it paved way for his future political career. The journalist described the Popular Will party, which Guaido helped his mentor and former Caracas mayor Leopoldo Lopez to establish, as "the most violent, radical right-wing party in Venezuela functioning as shock troops of oligarchy" and as "an asset of Washington" that has been "largely discredited in Venezuela."
The United States is continuing to ratchet up pressure on the Venezuelan government in an attempt to topple President Nicolás Maduro. On Tuesday, the State Department announced it is giving control of Venezuela's U.S. bank accounts to opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who declared himself to be president last week. Meanwhile, the U.S. has also refused to rule out a military invasion of Venezuela. We spend the hour with prize-winning investigative journalist Allan Nairn.
Sanctions of Mass Destruction: America's War on Venezuela
American economic sanctions have been the worst crime against humanity since World War Two. America's economic sanctions have killed more innocent people than all of the nuclear, biological and chemical weapons ever used in the history of mankind.
In an ongoing effort to topple Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Vice President Mike Pence met with members of the Venezuelan opposition at the White House Tuesday alongside Trump's new special envoy to Venezuela, Elliott Abrams. Elliott Abrams is a right-wing hawk who was convicted in 1991 for lying to Congress during the Iran-Contra scandal, but he was later pardoned by President George H.W. Bush. Abrams defended Guatemalan dictator General Efraín Ríos Montt as he oversaw a campaign of mass murder and torture of indigenous people in Guatemala in the 1980s. Ríos Montt was later convicted of genocide. Abrams was also linked to the 2002 coup in Venezuela that attempted to topple Hugo Chávez. We look at Abrams's track record with prize-winning investigative journalist Allan Nairn, who has closely tracked Abrams for over three decades. Nairn is two-time winner of the George Polk Award and a recipient of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Award.
Venezuela's Slow Coup Continues By George Ciccariello-Maher - January 29, 2019
George Ciccariello-Maher argues that the support for opposition leader Juan Guaido's is not the Venezuelan people but foreign right-wing governments.
Why must Venezuela be destroyed? Club Orlov - January 29, 2019
Last week Trump, his VP Mike Pence, US State Dept. director Mike Pompeo and Trump's national security advisor John Bolton, plus a bunch of Central American countries that are pretty much US colonies and don't have foreign policies of their own, synchronously announced that Venezuela has a new president: a virtual non-entity named Juan Guaidó, who was never even a candidate for that office, but who was sorta-kinda trained for this job in the US. Guaidó appeared at a rally in Caracas, flanked by a tiny claque of highly compensated sycophants. He looked very frightened as he self-appointed himself president of Venezuela and set about discharging his presidential duties by immediately going into hiding.
Russia's Lavrov says U.S. Sanctions on Venezuela oil Company Illegal
U.S. sanctions imposed on Venezuela's state oil company are illegal and Russia will take all necessary steps to support the administration of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted as saying on Tuesday.
Bernie and the Dems Flunk Trump's Test On Venezuela's Coup
When Trump announced his support for the unfolding coup in Venezuela, Bernie Sanders remained silent for 24 hours. This matters because coups are made or broken in the first moments or hours; a day during a coup can feel like a month or more.
Coup in Venezuela: What Next?
Marco Teruggi, a Caracas-based political commentator, examines the situation of the Bolivarian Government in the international chessboard.
Venezuela - Trump's Coup Plan Has Big Flaws
While U.S. coup plotting against Venezuela goes back to at least 1998 when the deceased President Chavez won his first election, the actual planning for this coup attempt was only done during the last two month. There are many holes in the plan and it involves a lot of wishful thinking. That might give the Maduro government openings to deflect the attack.
January 27, 2019
The History Boys 16: Venezuela, Maduro and Latin America
To get a broader understanding of what's going on with the coup in Venezuela, George Galloway and Adam Garrie discuss the historical background to the country and its Bolivarian Revolution.
Top 5 Dumbest Arguments Defending Trump's Venezuela Interventionism
...sure there are Venezuelans who don't like their government, but their existence doesn't justify US interventionism. Secondly, it's a known fact that online trolls will be employed to help manufacture support for all sorts of geopolitical agendas, from Israel's shill army to the MEK terror cult's anti-Iran troll farm to the Bana Alabed psyop for Syria. And here's this example, just for your information, of a Twitter account talking about how much fun she's having in Paris and then a few days later claiming she's in Venezuela waiting in "5+ hour queues to buy a loaf of bread." Be skeptical of what strangers on social media tell you about what's happening inside a nation that's been targeted by the empire, please.
The US Strategy for Regime Change in Venezuela
The CEPR's Alex Main and TRNN's Greg Wilpert discuss the trajectory of US regime change policy in Venezuela through to the present coup in progress backed by the Trump administration.
From economic sanctions to international pressure, how has the US strategy for regime change in Venezuela worked until now? An analysis with CEPR's Alex Main and TRNN's Greg Wilpert
In Images: Venezuelan People Mobilize In Support of Maduro
During a hectic day in Venezuela, the mainstream media coverage focused on the mobilization of the opposition and the opinions of a select group of international figures, ignoring the thousands who took to the streets in defense of democracy, national sovereignty, peace and the Bolivarian Revolution.
Venezuela Propaganda Debunked - People Are Against Coup
Moderate Rebels' Ben Norton joined Status Coup with Jordan Chariton to discuss the US-led coup in Venezuela. Trump and right-wing allies are trying to depose President Nicolás Maduro by knighting the unelected opposition, which seeks neoliberal capitalist policies, mass privatization, and a total reversal of the progressive gains of the Bolivarian Revolution.
Chavista 'thugs' vs. opposition 'civil society': western media on Venezuela
Since the election of Hugo Chavez in 1998, Venezuela has undergone a period of intense racial and class conflict, as a multiethnic subaltern coalition has begun to assert itself politically against a previously hegemonic and inordinately dominant white elite. Scholars have highlighted the local media's racial and class snobbery when covering social movements and civil society, attempting to split the country into two groups: 'underclass mobs' and 'respectable' civil society.
US Regime Change in Venezuela: The Documented Evidence
The US doesn't necessarily need this oil in terms of energy – but in terms of maintaining a US-led unipolar international order – controlling or crippling nations with large amounts of hydrocarbons prevents the emergence of a multipolar world nations across the developing world seek, led by reemerging global power – Russia – and newly emerging global power – China.
In Images: Venezuelan People Mobilize In Support of Maduro During a hectic day in Venezuela, the mainstream media coverage focused on the mobilization of the opposition and the opinions of a select group of international figures, ignoring the thousands who took to the streets in defense of democracy, national sovereignty, peace and the Bolivarian Revolution.
Washington Has Appointed A President For Venezuela After listening since 2016 to the American presstitutes complain, without providing a mere scrap of evidence, of Russia meddling in US elections, a person would think that the last thing Washington would do would be to meddle in other countries' elections.
Repeated History, US Backs Another Coup in Venezuela {AUDIO} Eugene Puryear interviews VA's Lucas Koerner about the US-backed coup attempt in Venezuela and the illegitimacy of Juan Guaidó's claim to the presidency of the Caribbean nation.
Dangerous consequences in Venezuela regime change plan
RT CrossTalk host Peter Lavelle and The Duran's Alex Christoforou take a quick look at the deepening and dangerous crisis evolving in Venezuela.
Why Is Canada So Hot Under the Collar About Venezuela?
The article below, published in one of Canada's main daily newspapers, makes a few points that we find questionable. For example, we think it's disingenuous to compare the May 20 Venezuelan election with Brazil's presidential vote. Whereas in Brazil, the leftist frontrunner Lula da Silva was barred from running on dubious legal grounds with no protest from Washington, the Trump administration reportedly threatened to sanction Venezuela's opposition candidate Henri Falcón if he proceeded with his presidential bid in violation of a US-backed boycott. Nevertheless, it makes a very important point, namely that Ottawa's foreign policy towards Venezuela is, at best, incredibly hypocritical.
Trish Regan Primetime features Regan as she expands upon the leading headlines of the day and their economic impact on the country.
Flashback
Are we all punished? An analysis of the sanctions against Venezuela October 21, 2018
It is important to bear in mind that this analysis comes after former U.S. ambassador in Venezuela, William Brownfield, declared that "the United States must make Venezuelans suffer and die to bring about a change of government." It is precisely this line of action that we intend to denounce.
The Politics of Food in Venezuela By Ana Felicien, Christina Schiavoni and Liccia Romero - June 01, 2018
Few countries and political processes have been subject to such scrutiny, yet so generally misunderstood, as Venezuela and the Bolivarian Revolution.1 This is particularly true today, as the international media paints an image of absolute devastation in the country, wrought by failed policies and government mismanagement.
The real Venezuela is not what you think By Daniel Kovalik - May 25, 2018
I just returned from observing my fourth election in Venezuela in less than a year. Jimmy Carter has called Venezuela's electoral system "the best in the world," and what I witnessed was an inspiring process that guarantees one person, one vote, and includes multiple auditing procedures to ensure a free and fair election.
Today in the corporate media, Venezuela's economic problems are used to paint the country as a failed state, in need of foreign-backed regime change. To get the Bolivarian government's side of the crisis, Abby Martin interviews Venezuela's Minister of Economic Planning, Ricardo Menéndez. They discuss shortages, oil dependency, the role of the US-backed opposition movement and more. The Empire Files joined him in Cojedes, Venezuela, where he was speaking to mass community meetings, organizing the population to fight against what he calls an economic war.
The Case for the Legitimacy of Maduro's Second Term The presidential elections of May 20, 2018, were carried out under the strict audition and preparation of a non-partisan National Electoral Council (CNE). The elections called by the CNE, were ratified by all the presidential elections candidates, including opposition candidate Henri Falcon, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and the opposition parties Avanzada Progresista (AP), Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) and Political Organization of Electoral Independence (Copei). All signed the "Guarantees Agreement," for said elections.
Venezuela Holds Presidential Election But Main Opposition Is Boycotting It "There are many [vested] interests right now in our country [aiming] to keep the status quo," she said. "Some people believe it will be possible for Maduro to go, but leave all the mafias in place. That is not going to happen."
Why Venezuela's opposition has been unable to effectively challenge Maduro The coalition is fragile precisely because it is not much more than an election-winning machine. There is little underlying comity, ideological affinity, or shared policy consensus to hold the member parties together. It exists because Venezuela's electoral rules create an incentive for regime opponents to collectively field one candidate per office to have any chance of winning an election. Otherwise, the government's single candidate will defeat a divided opposition. To form a single nationwide ticket, the leaders of the opposition have had to check their ambitions and paper over their widely varying political platforms that run the gamut from neoliberal to socialist. International advisers and supporters from the United States, the European Union, and democracy promotion NGOs have also consistently supported this strategy. So the decision by the MUD to focus principally on winning votes is understandable. And the MUD succeeded, nearly winning the 2013 presidential elections and achieving a landslide in 2015 legislative elections.
Explained: How Voting Works in Venezuela Find out here how the Venezuelan electoral process works and why -despite US-led political criticism- it is considered one of the most reliable in the world.
John Bolton threatens war crimes court with sanctions in virulent attack John Bolton, the hawkish US national security adviser, has threatened the international criminal court (ICC) with sanctions and made an excoriating attack on the institution in a speech in Washington.
Bolton pushed for sanctions over an ICC investigation into alleged American war crimes in Afghanistan. He also announced on Monday the closure of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) office in Washington because of its calls for an ICC inquiry into Israel.
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, Chavez, The 2002 Coup
"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" directed and photographed by Kim Bartley and Dnnacha O'Briain Ireland, 2003 74 minutes in spanish with english subtitles Hugo Chavez elected president of Venezuela in 1998, is a colorful, unpredictable folk hero, beloved by his nation's working class and a tough-as-nails, quixotic opponent to the power structure that would see him deposed. Two independent filmmakers were inside the presidential palace on April 11, 2002, when he was forcibly removed from office. They were also present 48 hours later when, remarkably, he returned to power amid cheering aides. Their film records what was probably history's shortest-lived coup d'état. It's a unique document about political muscle and an extraordinary portrait of the man The Wall Street Journal credits with making Venezuela "Washington‚s biggest Latin American headache after the old standby, Cuba."
