Posted on 05/14/2016 1:23:57 PM PDT by Kaslin
U.S. intelligence officials said Friday they are concerned Venezuela is slipping into a crisis that could lead to a coup attempt or a government crackdown on dissent. Reuters reports:
In a bleak assessment of Venezuela’s worsening crisis, the senior officials expressed doubt that unpopular leftist President Nicolas Maduro would allow a recall referendum this year, despite opposition-led protests demanding a vote to decide whether he stays in office…
They said one “plausible” scenario would be that Maduro’s own party or powerful political figures would force him out and would not rule out the possibility of a military coup. Still, they said there was no evidence of any active plotting or that he had lost support from the country’s generals…
“You can hear the ice cracking. You know there’s a crisis coming,” one U.S. official said. “Our pressure on this isn’t going to resolve this issue.”
Having witnessed the fall this week of fellow leftist President Dilma Rousseff in Brazil (in what Rousseff termed a coup), Venezuela’s President Maduro is acting more paranoid than usual. Friday he announced a 60-day emergency measure designed to, “neutralize and defeat the external foreign aggression that has been initiated against our country.” The Wall Street Journal reports it could be the first step toward a crackdown on dissent:
To the opposition and constitutional experts in Venezuela, though, the decree sounded like it would lead to a crackdown on dissent. “That decree can restrict the right to hold demonstrations to protest scarcities or the lack of light,” said José Vicente Haro, a constitutional lawyer in Caracas.
Maduro has vowed not to leave office before his current term expires in two years. An opposition attempt to remove Maduro by referendum is being stalled by the socialist government so that, even if the referendum succeeds, Maduro’s vice president would serve out the remainder of his term. That would leave the socialists with enough power to continue blocking any attempts at reform proposed by the recently elected member of the opposition party in the National Assembly.
Maduro has already declared a 2-day work week for government workers in addition to rolling blackouts. Shortages of food and medicine have been a growing problem for more than a year. The country has triple-digit inflation and one of the highest murder rates in the world.
Who cares?
U.S. intelligence officials said Friday they are concerned Venezuela is slipping into a crisis
I’m so glad they’re on top of it.
Teamobama only worried about a coup in that country. What if a non-socialist took over, that worries our regime I bet. I also wonder if teamobama will now let thousands of Venezuelans in our country because of this. You know they need those invader/votes for life.
You should care. The Chavez plan is the Clinton/Sanders plan.
They are just showing us the future of modern socialism.
Where are the Castro bros when they are needed most? Or a 911 call to Rome?
They pretty much slipped into a crisis before this guy... when they elected old Hugo Chavez. Been heading downhill ever since.
Oooooh, let’s get in there and show ‘em how socialism is REALLY done.
So their “fear” is that Maduro is going to be overthrown.
It’s amazing to me how much suffering the people will actually tolerate. Venezuelans should have thrown a revolution years ago.
A coup there might be good thing.
No...no...it’s always a good idea to not feed the soldiers.
You know.....the guys with all the weapons and ammunition.
Oh, pshaw....really?
Pray tell, what foreign forces are destabilizing poor old Venezuela? It sure isn't the USA.
Their destabilization is 100% homegrown.
Meanwhile Hugo Chavez’s daughter is the richest individual in Venezuela with 4.2 billion. With Hugo’s brand of socialism, much like charity, redistribution begins at home
I’d be willing to send them some aid if they sent up regular citizens to give mandatory-attendance classes to our college kids and professors about socialism.
So long as we don’t let any Venezuelans to come here, so long as it does not threaten the US, WHO CARES?! Let them have their revolution. Maybe send some arms to everyone and settle things themselves. Else, blockade and ignore them. It is not the US, not our country, they are nothing to us, leave them be.
” U.S. intelligence officials fear Venezuelan coup, government crackdown”
I fail to see how this could be any worst than what is happening now.
I think the headline was messed up. “Obama Intelligence officials fear Venezuela coup, government crackdown.
It appears that Atlas (finally) shrugged...
>>> .... and show ‘em how socialism is REALLY done.
I wouldn’t mind all those Bernie supporters and socialists get shipped there to implement their paradise. That’ll show them!
Yeah, that’s the ticket.
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