So, you might want to sit down for this, but believe it or not it appears that the US government is using the fallout from its “humanitarian aid” performance to justify further sanctions against the Venezuelan government.
I know, I know. I’m just as shocked as you are.
“This action, taken pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13692, targets six security officials who control many of the groups that prevented humanitarian aid from entering Venezuela, thereby exacerbating the humanitarian crisis that has left millions of Venezuelans starving and without access to medical care under the Maduro regime,” reads a statement from the US Treasury, if you can imagine such a thing.
“Those who continue to support a dictator that violates human rights and steals from the starving should not be allowed to walk around with impunity,” tweeted US National Security Advisor John Bolton of this latest escalation, to everyone’s breathless astonishment. “The United States will continue to take appropriate action against Maduro and those aligned with him.”
“The United States urges all nations to step up economic pressure on Maduro and his corrupt associates, as well as restrict visas for his inner circle,” US special envoy to Venezuela Elliott Abrams told a room full of stunned, slack-jawed reporters, adding, get this, “Now is the time to act in support of democracy and in response to the needs of the Venezuelan people.”
Today, U.S. imposed sanctions against security officials of the illegitimate Maduro regime associated w/violence & obstruction of international humanitarian aid. U.S. & international community continue to stand w/the people of #Venezuela. #EstamosUnidosVE https://t.co/q4XurgQLZL
— Department of State (@StateDept) March 1, 2019
Let’s all take a moment to collect ourselves after receiving this shocking, shocking, astonishing news. If you are hyperventilating, I recommend breathing into a paper bag and envisioning yourself strolling on a tropical beach arm in arm with a Berlin-era David Bowie.
As it turns out (and who could have predicted this?), all that posturing by the United States government about “humanitarian aid” seems to have been a cynical ploy to further escalate against the Venezuelan government, which has been a longtime CIA target for regime change ever since President Hugo Chávez took office in 1999. It may be time to face the cold, stark possibility that, as hard as it is to fathom, the government of the United States of America is interested in Venezuela not for humanitarian reasons at all, but because it has the single largest proven oil reserves of any nation on the entire planet.
After all, if the US were so keen on getting its $20 million of humanitarian aid to the people of Venezuela, it could simply have given that shipment to one of the many nations that Venezuela is currently accepting aid from like Russia, China, India, Turkey or Cuba to deliver instead of instigating a hostile stand-off on Colombian and Brazilian border towns. Or, rather than demanding that a literally besieged government passively allow large, unexamined shipping containers to be delivered by the government orchestrating that siege into the hands of the Venezuelan faction that is collaborating with it, they could simply have given that shipment to the UN or the Red Cross for delivery. But rather than taking those extremely easy and diplomatically simple measures to deliver its relatively small amount of humanitarian aid to the Venezuelan people, the most difficult and provocative path was deliberately taken instead, with some extremely suspicious activity leading to the delivery being set fire to by anti-Maduro protesters.
https://twitter.com/graffitiborrao/status/1099540683575185408
Could it be (and just bear with me here while I spitball) that the Trump administration officials who engineered this media-friendly humanitarian aid performance like Elliott Abrams, John Bolton and Mike Pompeo knew all along that the Venezuelan government would necessarily turn away the delivery under the spotlight of international news media? Could they have known that Abrams’ already established history of using humanitarian aid as a pretext to ship weapons to oppositional militia groups would make it impossible for Maduro to permit such a delivery? Is it possible that they knew that the official US State Department narrative about this rejection would be uncritically regurgitated verbatim as absolute fact by the news media outlets of the US-centralized empire, as such events consistently are?
I know it sounds crazy, but might it just possible that all this Venezuela business is actually about resource control and regional dominance in a strategically crucial location which might otherwise favor US geopolitical opponents like Russia, China and Cuba? What if the US government and its tight empire-like international alliance uses its massive power advantage to bide its time slowly squeezing noncompliant nations into submission using economic sieges and covert disruption operations by intelligence agencies, while manipulating the public narrative to ensure the complicity of the international community, until those noncompliant governments collapse under the pressure and either join the empire-like alliance or plunge into chaos which can be easily capitalized upon? Could it be that this is all just a ploy to shore up control of world affairs by a dominant group of extremely powerful corporate and financial manipulators who exert immense control over political and financial systems, markets, non-government organizations, opaque government agencies, and media around the world?
Nahhh. Perish the thought.
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28 responses to “Shocker: “Humanitarian Aid” Stunt Used To Escalate Against Venezuela”
Read this about VZ:
https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/14372
Groundhog Day number xx,xxx, depending on the exact date you choose for enterng the US MSM’s Punxsutawney Nation, but it’s at the very least 29,961 — since VE Day. (Others might choose the end of WWI, but you decide.)
The REAL US “foreign policy” has abslutely nothing to do with “freedom and democracy”. In reality it is to maintain USD hegemony AT ALL COST, including killing any person who lives INSIDE or OUTSIDE of the US border who refuses to ACCEPT printed-out-of-thin-air USD in payment for their REAL resources or products, or refuses to follow US diktat to the US’s satisfaction.
..
WHAT IF every person in the US fully realized the no-longer-possible-to-ignore-or-rationalize TRUE US foreign policy, as I just stated it? AND, and it’s a big AND, they ALSO realized that that same “foreign policy” was the one and the only way to MAINTAIN the present whatever-you-want-to-call-it “system” (in which a microscopic percentage of the human population owns or controls the vast majority of land, wealth and LARGE-SCALE- capital equipment for its own astronomical profit) or US citizens would suffer a massive reduction in their “standard of living” and the resulting political/social chaos, as well as certain, quite-justified punishment from the nations and peoples of the world that had suffered under US exploitation, repression and downright genocide for at least the past 70 years?
..
WHAT IF all US persons realized that they would perhaps be subjected to a modern-day Treaty of Versailles with its onerous restrictions and “reparations”, or even worse, if “their” government/leaders” and “their” military did not continue a never-ending Global War oF Terror to what will ALMOST certainly be a very bitter end? Are the voters of the US willing to risk nuclear war for an “almost”, in order to avoid atoning for historic atrocities? So far, the answer to that question is, quite obviously, “yes”.
..
IMO, we’ll soon know how the victims of that “War” respond to that answer. I’m instantly reminded of the sign in the warden’s office in the movie “Shawshank Redemption”:
“His Judgement Cometh
and that Right Soon”
It’s all so blatant now. The entire world is growing to hate the Empire, as it shows it’s true, ugly colors in these days of it’s decline. This is a very good thing, and may in the end save us from the worst these madmen can do. I pray that this be so.
It’s time for Juan Guaido to start to worry about his security. He hasn’t delivered the oil to it’s rightful owners, and his death would be another reason for the US to ratchet up the tension.
What a bunch of asswipes! Sanctioning those that are in the government (of a Socialist country) guarantees that absolutely NO RELIEF EFFORTS WILL WORK, unless there’s cooperation with the host government.
If they do a border drop of supplies, how are those supplies supposed to make it to those who are in need? There is no non-governmental distribution network.
Those who need sanctioning would be John Bolt-on and Elliott Abrams, two of the most misguided morons ever put in charge of a relief mission. Or would they prefer being called, “intransigent imbeciles”? Either way, blowing their brains out would be a waste of good dynamite; there’s nothing inside.
Elliott Abrams has a dangerous attitude, matched with a record unblemished with success, that can only bring about ill repute for anyone that associates with that jackass.
Once a war criminal, always a war criminal.
No Blood For Oil.
Eliott Abrams looks like a sexually deviant weirdo, aside from being a criminal. Imagine being so wracked with fear, and paranoia that you would be a hard core criminal thug as is Abrams just so you could make money, and have weirdos that work in government, and the big business that owns it laud you. What a sick fuck Elliott is. I bet his dad was an abusive asshole, and that Elliott got his ass kicked regularly in school, Having an abusive father and being bullied in school is often how psychopaths, and sociopaths like Elliott, and sexual deviants like John Bolton are molded into the twisted fucks they become as adults.
Caitlin…your observations continue to blow against the fog of war.
Keep on keeping it real!
As the “evil dictator” Maduro has closed borders to the hostile American “colonies” Colombia and Brazil the next step after another humanitarian hoax like this could be that “the dictator” will use poison gas against his own citizens. Clooney’s white helmets may come in handy being out of work in Syria. Poisoning babies and filming it is one of their humanitarian specialties to speed up military invasion and public support to sort out the oil issue that since Chavez is nagging on the “mother of all demockcazies”.
# Posts
It is an amazing spectacle to watch US media decry Russian meddling in US elections (in partisan ploy to excuse proven DNC corruption and attack Trump), while the US media openly pedals far more significant AIPAC Israeli meddling on a routine business. Clearly influencing USA elections is supported internally by whomever when it is done to benefit the oligarchy. Just witness K-street and Citizen’s United. The lack of any real preference for “democracy” extends to the international arena where our diplomats cozy up to murderous dictators, and plot against democratically elected governments. In Saudi Arabia we empower dictators responsible for humanitarian disasters in Yemen, and who oppress their own people, and who got caught red handed murdering a media opponent. In Venezuela the USA has been at war at since the Obama years, against twice elected Maduro, by taking action to block his government from obtaining financial loans help to cushion the 50% drop in oil prices that occurred in 2014.
It’s bad enough living in one of the five ass vassal countries watching your sovereignty handed to these neocon war mongers; however it must also be exceedingly difficult to live in the US today if you are not already brain washed. A shout out to the suffering of the American people themselves as they witness their country being destroyed inwardly by rampant militarism and perpetual wars. It could very well be our last desparate hope that the future may rely on the US military rank and file disobeying orders to kill. A military coupe in the US might avert a nuclear war cause it sure looks like that’s what the war party wants. If they get Venezuela, I shudder to think what will come next.
Has everyone seen this YouTube blog by Abby Martin?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ii5MlQgGXyk&feature=youtu.be&2m43s=
Speaks volumes on Caitlin’s side.
If anyone wants to do a stage version of The Simpsons, Elliott Abrams is a shoo-in to get the part of Mr. Burns. He’s got that look down cold, very, very cold.
Ah, see, now you’ve made go watch Casablanca again. Just to see the French police major saying how shocked, shocked he is that there is gambling in Sam’s place. Hey, its better drama than this stuff that the Elliott Abrams Studio is churning out these days.
I am a fan who values substance geometrically over style, but I can’t resist mentioning two pet peeves of mine in case anyone gives a s**t
It is an unfortunate feature of postmodern English communication to start a large number of sentences with the word “so.” Unless the sentence is in direct response to a “why” or “how” question, it’s an analog of the superfluous “like” and “you know.”
Another ubiquitous error that I see here is following “try” with “and.” The proper form is “try to…”
Granted that raising these has a self-indulgent component, but maybe some of those here — starting with our heroine — who obviously care about the quality of their writing will extend one free pass.
By the way, Elliott Abrams is Beelzebub’s first cousin; Bolton and Pompeo are each merely second-level kin.
So …..what’s the point.
I would like to draw attention to this well-researched article:
‘Venezuela should function as a warning sign as to what can happen when we bury our heads in the (oil) sands.’ Nafeez Ahmed.
From
I see “my” senator is spewing the same BS as the corporate controlled media, since when has the US congress declaired war since WW2? All our wars since then did NOT get congressional approval & neither will the war we intend to fight against Venenzualia so we can STEAL THEIR OIL.
I long ago decided not to “vote” for Sen. Merkley or Sen. Wyden, more fake “progressives” just as Bernie showed himself to be when after being cheated of his nomination, he then turns around & supports that warmongering Hillery!
I am not shocked at anything this LYING, WARMONGERING, CORPORATE CONTROLLED government does anymore, I have seen this crap played out too many times before, Korea, Vietnaum, Cambodia, Laos, Hondourus, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, Grenada, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, Yemen, etc etc etc, we are now engaged in 80+ military actions with no end in sight.
Okinawa is STILL fighting to get the US military to remove their unwanted military base from their island, the US refuses to leave so it’s soldiers can continue to RAPE Okinawan girls!
Maduro is not a “brutal dictator” unlike Trump, he was DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED WITH UN VERIFICATIONS, SOMETHING WE REFUSE TO ALLOW IN OUR FAKE, RIGGED “ELECTIONS”!
I am going to BOYCOT the 2020 “elections” as they will like all others before it, RIGGED, HACKED, DISENFRANCHISED, GERRYMANDERED & FAKE! Every working class person should boycott these fake “elections”!
I used to put in a protest “vote” for a 3rd party but why bother when it’s so dam obvious that no 3rd party will ever be allowed to “win” in such a corrupt system, the OLIGARCHS always “win” & the electoral collage sees to it that THEIR candidate always “wins”, Hillery wasn’t controllable enough for them so Trump “won” by losing 3 million votes to his opponent. DISGUSTING & so DAM PREDICTABLE!
Sheila, I’m with you on everything except your no-vote protest. Perhaps you’ll reconsider if there’s a candidate whose platform you support AND whose past record suggests he/she is honest and not just another pretty-face front person/puppet put up by the World Oligarchs. Third party votes won’t make a difference to US foreign policy, but the message to TPTB – that people are seeing through their ‘democracy’ fraud – has to start somewhere.
Even if there are real progressives in that huge mob running for the 2020 “election” they will not be allowed to “win”, the oligarchs that are the real power behind the curtain will make sure that a compliant candidate will get the nod & we will continue on with BAU, endless wars, support of terrorist & dictators like Saudi Arabia & we the people will have been disenfranchised AGAIN!
I have seen this play out too many time in the past.
In the 2016 “election” Sanders looked good, he sounded good, he seemed like a true progressive until he was cheated of his likely win by the DNC & “Killery” was anointed, he turns right around & SUPPORTED THAT WAR MONGER!
Sanders showed his real alliance & it’s not we the working class but the real RULERS of this oligarchy the rich & large corporations, he is just a good sounding hunk of HOT AIR!
Since we don’t have an actual democracy or even a republic, I’m not wasting my time any more “voting” in a RIGGED, FAKE “election” when any real progressive hasn’t a chance of a snowball transversing HELL of winning!
This country is hopelessly CORRUPT, the “elections” are FAKE & RIGGED & we are DISENFRANCHISED, BOYCOT these FAKE “ELECTIONS”!
“Voting” just let’s your RULERS know your still a DUPE!
Among the many things we need to change is the trivialization of the term “sanctions”. We talk as if economic warfare were somehow not warfare at all.
Our sanctions are applied to a whole country, and extended to anyone trading with the country. They are designed to choke off all international trade, which in our interdependent world, is close to a death sentence by starvation. Remember that the sanctions against Iraq led to the deaths of as many as 500,000 children.
Sanctions are the modern equivalent of medieval sieges. They are designed to starve the populace into submission. They are an abomination that should be resisted by all.
I agree regarding the term. The U.N. moved away from endorsing “economic” sanctions after the Iraq debacle (500,000 children dead – a reasonable price to pay according to that psychopath Madeline Albright), preferring “targetted” sanctions against individuals. And when was the last time “targetted” sanctions caused a change of behavior in the targetted individuals? As best I can tell, never. They just reinforce toxic narratives of regime change endorsed by both factions of the U.S. war party.
Well, its not so much that the UN moved away for moral reasons. Its that Russia and China started veto’ing most of the resolutions. Otherwise, the UN would vote tomorrow for sanctions against Venezuela. But, yes, back when all of this started, it was rather common to see sanctions described as an act of war and the equivalent of a medieval siege. Goebbels statement about telling a Big Lie often seems to be borne out as over time as the Big Lie that sanctions are not an act of war gets rarer to hear.
Julio, a solid take.
Forgive the length of my post, but it’s an email from my U.S. Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley (considered a “progressive”) and shows just how far down the rabbit hole even “progressives” like Merkley, Sanders, AOC, etc., have gone:
Dear xxx,
When the founding fathers drafted our constitution, they intentionally gave the responsibility of declaring military action to the United States Congress. The principle is simple: if the federal government is going to send our sons and daughters into harm’s way, the people should get a say in that decision, through their representatives in Congress.
Unfortunately, the Trump Administration is hinting at a military intervention in Venezuela that would violate this cornerstone principle. That’s why I’m introducing a Senate resolution that would prohibit any such military action in Venezuela without explicit congressional approval.
It’s critical that the Venezuelan people are the ones to determine their own future, and that the U.S. does not repeat a failed strategy of military intervention in Latin America.
Nicolas Maduro is a brutal dictator, who should heed the will of his people, step down, and allow new elections to occur while an interim government leads. The U.S. can and must support the people of Venezuela not through an unconstitutional, unauthorized military intervention, but with humanitarian aid and targeted economic pressure to hasten the day Maduro leaves power.
As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I’m committed to making sure that no unconstitutional military action takes place. There is no viable military option to remove Maduro from power and any move by President Trump to deploy U.S. armed forces to Venezuela must be put to a vote before the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Please know that I will continue to advocate both for the upholding of our centuries-old institutions and for the people of Venezuela on their path to a democratic future.
All my best,
Jeff
It’s disheartening that we all have to agree that Maduro is Satan before we can have any conversation with our elected representatives.
FWIW, I will cc Markley (I’ve written to my Senators) to let them know that there are, at least, opposing views.
Senator Merkley remains popular despite his vote (along with EVERY Democratic Senator) FOR the bloated $716 billion 2019 WAR bill (I refuse to call it a defense bill). And watching the wave of ecstasy sweeping through Oregon supporting Bernie makes me believe there is no limit as to how gullible voters can be.
https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=115&session=2&vote=00212
I suspect that if you go into any Congressional office, a ‘news’ channel such as Fox, CNN, or MSNBC will be on 24/7. It is very hard to escape the brainwashing when the brainwashing machine is never turned off. The stuff is dangerous because when you are not an expert in a subject, then the brainwashing starts seeping into the brain and before you know it you are echoing a talking head. That of course is not even getting to the famous Sinclair quote about ““It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”