Posted on 03/09/2014 10:40:52 PM PDT by Nextrush
Vice-President Joe Biden has given a stark assessment of the ongoing unrest in Venezuela, accusing President Nicolas Maduro of widespread human rights violations and saying the situation reminded him of Latin America's troubled and violent past.
In a written interview with El Mercurio of Chile where Biden arrived on Sunday at the start of his seventh official visit to the region, he called the unstable situation in Venezuela "alarming" and said the Caracas government lacked even basic respect for human rights.
"Confronting peaceful protestors with force and in some cases armed militias, limiting freedom of press and assembly...is not in line with the solid standards of democracy that we have in most of our hemisphere. The situation in Venezuela reminds me of past times, when strongmen governed using violence and oppression: human rights, hyperinflation, shortages and extreme poverty ravaged the peoples of the hemisphere," Biden wrote according to the Spanish translation published by El Mercurio....
Maduro has laid blame for the unrest against far-right provocateurs, the implication being that the US is fomenting the trouble.
In his El Mercurio interview, Biden disputed the claim riposting that Maduro was 'trying to distract his people from the most important issues that are at play in Venezuela by inventing totally false and outlandish conspiracies about the United States'......
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
Chavez was never a good leader. He was an agent for Fidel Castro, and surrendered Venezuela to the Cubans just to gratify his ego. Chavez was very charismatic, though. His charisma enabled Castro to conquer Venezuela without a shot. Maduro is charisma-challenged, and the Vens now want him to deliver on promises he cannot keep.
Don’t get overly concerned.
He also said that about a piece of toast this morning.
And about his big toe yesterday.
Can Biden see Venezuela from the Virgin Islands? That seems to be his vacation spot of choice.
I wonder why Biden is “in” this (probably because he has been told to say nothing!). But I wonder more why a reporter thinks what he says has merit,
Biden would not really be alarmed unless Venezuelans were about to throw off Communism.
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