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USCGC James violated Venezuelan EEZ. The persistent violations of Venezuela's souvereignty by the USA invading Venezuelan waters and air-space are so frequent and happen since so long that now international legal action must be taken to restrain the global lawbreaker USA.
Update FRI 10. May 2019 (vf): BREAKING: Venezuelan Navy wards off US Coast Guard ship at Venezuelan territorial waters violating Venezuela's 200nm EEZ.
The USCGC James, one of the US Navy's most technologically advanced ships, was sailing towards Venezuela's territorial waters when a patrol boat was sent to warn it off. The US vessel backed off after radio communication.
The Venezuelan Navy released a statement on Friday, saying the incident took place on Thursday (09. May 2019 ~ 18h00 local time = 22h00 UTC) and involved a US Coast Guard vessel heading towards the Latin American country's main port of La Guaira.
The USCGC James was 14 nautical miles (16 miles) off Venezuela's coast when Caracas sent a patrol vessel to intercept it. In the course of subsequent radio communications, the USCGC James agreed to turn away.
"The USCG James was encouraged to change its course and leave our jurisdictional waters. The instruction was obeyed," the Venezuelan Navy said in a statement.
The Navy had already spotted the vessel a day before when it was transiting through Venezuela's exclusive economic zone, and sent a patrol vessel to start monitoring its maneuvers.
Only in U.S. understandings a state's territorial waters reaches up to 12 nautical miles, while a "contiguous zone" in which a state can enforce limited control for the purpose of preventing "infringement of its customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary laws and regulations" extends up to 24 nautical miles. Several states like Peru and Somalia have territorial waters of 200nm - which is and always has been a thorn in the side of the US-American canon-boat politics. However, also for Venezuela the exclusive economic zone under the United Nation Common Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) extends up to 200 nautical miles and the USA can not claim innocent passage, if not permittted by Caracas.
Venezuela's UN envoy, Samuel Moncada, slammed the US ship's actions as a clear provocation aimed at inciting unrest.
"War traffickers get excited because they see a US Coast Guard very close to Venezuelan territorial waters. It's a typical provocation to ramp up tensions," Moncada tweeted.
The USCGC James, described as the most technologically advanced ship in the US Coast Guard fleet, is fitted with modern surveillance and reconnaissance equipment.
According to the US Navy, the 45,000 ton vessel can also serve as command post for "complex law enforcement and national security missions involving the Coast Guard and numerous partner agencies."
U.S. Navy caught red-handed in Venezuelan waters
Here are the Exact Coordinates of the US Ship that Just Violated Venezuela's Territory (SatNavMaps)
The warship of the United States, CG James WMSL754, of the U.S. Coast Guard, was found this Thursday May 9 at 18 nautical miles from the Port of La Guaira, in the territorial waters of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in violation of international maritime law.
The troops of the Venezuelan Navy informed them that the enforcement of law in that zone was the exclusive responsibility of the Venezuelan State.
This ship was moving towards Puerto Cabello, which triggered the deployment of a Venezuelan Navy patrol to the site, because it was located in the exclusive economic zone of Venezuela, reported the national authorities.
It was known that this boat belongs to the latest generation of U.S. naval coat guard ships and is equipped with latest spy technology. It is characterized as one of the most advanced of the US fleet and is fully equipped for electronic warfare equipment and also artillery. Apparently, the ship did "reconnaissance work" in the area.
For its part, the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) dispatched the coastguard vessel Yekuana, in order to dissuade the US ship from remaining in Venezuelan territory. (OT/vf)
WANTED: Luis Germán Florido - seen here in the early morning of 30. April 2019 with the mutineers and coup instigator Juan Guaido (right).
Juan Guaido's Deputy Luis Florido - Prosecuted For Failed Coup - Flees to Colombia
A deputy to self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido, earlier prosecuted for his role in the failed coup on 30 April, has fled to Colombia. This comes after one of Guaido's deputies Edgar Zambrano was jailed for treason, conspiracy, civil rebellion, while another - Americo de Grazia, reportedly took refuge in the Italian embassy in Caracas.
Luis Florido announced he has fled Venezuela for neighbouring Colombia, in a video posted on Twitter Friday night.
"I am out of the country in Colombia, safe from a regime ready to imprison deputies," said Juan Guaido's deputy in the video. The Venezuelan prosecution charged them with high treason, public conspiring for violating law, inciting civil uprising, and power usurpation, among other crimes.
Earlier in the day Venezuela's Supreme Court has decreed to put the deputy speaker of the National Assembly, Edgar Zambrano who was arrested yesterday on a warrant, in pretrial detention at a military jail in the capital Caracas.
Tareck Zaidan El Aissami (centre) announces border normalization with Aruba and Brazil.
Venezuela Announces Re-opening Borders With Brazil, Aruba
In a Friday press conference the Venezuelan Vice President of Economy stated the nation is reopening its borders with Brazil and the island of Aruba.
The announcement was delivered by Venezuelan Vice President of the Economy Tareck Zaidan El Aissami Friday morning. The government official said the country will begin to re-establish all daily flights and communication systems with Aruba.
El Aissami said the move comes after diplomatic talks with Brazil and Aruba whose authorities have expressed that Venezuela deserves political sovereignty and diplomatic respect. The vice president said they hope Venezuela's other neighbors follow the example of Brazil and Aruba in order to increase peaceful diplomacy within the region.
The official stressed that the United States government needs to lift the economic sanctions it has placed on the Venezuelan government, Russian businesses and individuals in order for the South Americ an nation to gain access to its rightful billions of dollars.
Manuel Ricardo Cristopher Figuera (left), the still wanted fugitive exGeneral, who was recruited by the CIA to betray his fatherland and the Bolivarian revolution is said to have fled to the USA. President Maduro hasd trusted him. Figuera's statement is not convincing.
President Maduro Reveals General Behind Coup Recruited by the CIA The CIA had infiltrated Venezuela's military, but was quickly foiled.
General Manuel Ricardo Cristopher Figuera, one of the masterminds behind the coup attempt of April 30, had been recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States for more than a year, the president said and the traitor was about to be disimissed and detained on April 30. It seems that this was one of the reasons for the hastily launched insurrection, that led to the failure of the coup d'etat. However, fice people were killed. Hundreds of people were seriously injured in the skirmish and military officers, who defended the airbase Guaido wanted to take, were seriouly wounded by gunshots of the attackers.
President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro also revealed new details Friday about those responsible for the attempted coup this past April 30, supported and directed by the United States.
He specifically referred to the participation of the former director of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (Sebin) General Manuel Ricardo Cristopher Figuera, who was expelled and demoted along with 54 other rebels.
The president indicated that after the investigations they were able to verify "that General Manuel Ricardo Cristopher had been recruited by the CIA more than a year ago. This Venezuelan justice will come sooner rather than later!"
Also, the president also revealed that he was alerted to Cristopher Figuera's intentions a week before he acted on them. In fact, on April 30, he was meant to be replaced by the Chief General Gustavo Gonzalez Lopez.
"It was General Padrino Lopez, Maikel Moreno and General Hernandez Dala who warned me of the strange behavior of this General who would be dismissed from office and arrested on Tuesday, 30 April at 9 am," he said during a graduation speech at the 16th Victor's Parade of the "Mision Ribas" in the halls of Miraflores Palace.
Venezuela's former national intelligence service (SEBIN) chief Gen. Manuel Ricardo Cristopher Figuera has claimed that US President Donald Trump said "no" to his request to scrap sanctions against the South American country.
"I asked President Donald Trump to lift sanctions on our country and he said that he would as soon as there was another administration in charge in our country because the current one would continue to steal our resources and continue the suffering of our society", Figuera argued in the video released on Friday.
He added that it was "one of [his] detractors" who asked him to call on Washington to annul sanctions against Venezuela.
"I sacrificed everything […]. Those who know me in sports, academics, the military, and family spheres know […] my head-on struggle with the revolution and against injustice", Figuera said, referring to the Bolivarian socialist political changes that characterised the administrations of Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chavez.
The remarks come as Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro slammed Fuguera as "a traitor," claiming that the former SEBIN chief helped plan the 30 April coup attempt.
Maduro also argued that Figuera "was captured by the CIA a year ago and was working as a mole and infiltrator".
This followed US Vice President Mike Pence saying on Wednesday that the White House had lifted all sanctions on Figuera after he broke ranks with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro last week to support the country's opposition leader Juan Guaido.
MUST WATCH: Backers of Coup Attempt in Venezuela on the Run
As the dust continues to settle following the failed coup attempt in Venezuela, arrests are being made and lawmakers who supported the coup have gone into hiding. @madeleintlSUR breaks down the events of April 30 and the repercussions of right-wing violence.
Former CIA boss Mike Pompeo obviously suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) while making such utterances as "on behalf of Venezuelans".
The fact that the ratings of the USA worldwide have never been so low in all history as right now is caused by the fact that U.S. President Donald Trump obviously does not understand that one can not let a copy-cat bully run the U.S. State Department with CIA methods, if one has to achieve understanding among peoples and cooperation. BIG FAIL DONALD.
Pompeo Demands 'Justice' For Guaido's Detained Deputy on Behalf of Venezuelans
Earlier, Diosdado Cabello, the head of Venezuelan government-led National Constituent Assembly confirmed reports that Edgar Zambrano, the deputy speaker of the Venezuelan opposition-controlled National Assembly, has been detained in the wake of the failed coup in the country, which took place on 30 April.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo turned to Twitter to criticize, yet again, the legitimate Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, after the detention of self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido's deputy Edgar Jose Zambrano.
Pompeo, while dubbing Maduro's government a "tyrannical regime," claimed that the "Venezuelan people demand justice" with respect to the detained Zambrano. The latter, Pompeo said, "deserves to be free."
At the same time a press statement by Pompeo, released on U.S. Department of State website calls out against the detention of Zambrano, who was, along with other opposition lawmakers stripped of his immunity and charged with high treason, public conspiracy to violate the law, inciting civil uprising, usurpation of power and other crimes characterized as "unacceptable and illegal acts."
When referring to Nicolas Maduro's regime, Pompeo, according to the statement, calls it "former," while accusing the latter of "continued attempts to crush dissent and free debate in Venezuela."
Earlier in the day, one of those opposition lawmakers who was suspected in taking part in the coup attempt, Americo de Grazia entered the Italian embassy in Caracas.
"I thank Italy for the welcome," De Grazia wrote on Twitter, though he did not say he had taken refuge in the embassy, Reuters report says.
Juan Guaido, following the arrest of Zambrano, accused Maduro of "state terrorism," Reuters reported.
Earlier Guaido admitted that he is considering the possibility of foreign intervention in his country in order to achieve his goal of ousting democratically elected President Nicolas Maduro.
When asked by CBS about the possibility of a US military intervention in Venezuela, opposition leader Juan Guaido confirmed that he is still considering it an "option", claiming that he is trying to find the "best exit out of [the] conflict".
"We are open to options that offer a low social cost and that will grant us the ability and the stability to hold a truly free election", he said.
Meanwhile, Nicolas Maduro announced the initiative of a public dialogue on economic development for the crisis-torn country.
"I have initiated a process of dialogue with the public in an effort to create a plan of action, reconstruction and change in the Bolivarian Revolution. I need a plan… for changing the economic and political life of the country completely. The first events happened on Saturday and Sunday and they were very interesting. Now, I want such public meetings to be held at the end of this week, and thousands of public meetings to be held in order to hear the people, their criticism and suggestions […] People know everything", Maduro said.
Maduro has accused the United States of trying to orchestrate a coup in order to install Jaun Guaido as a US puppet.
The crisis in Venezuela began when opposition leader Juan Guaido proclaimed himself Venezuela's interim president on 23 January, two weeks after President Nicolas Maduro's inauguration for a second term following elections in May 2018.
The US, Canada, some Latin American and European nations were quick to recognize Guaido as the new legitimate leader of Venezuela and have supported him in his attempts to oust Maduro from power.
Russia, Bolivia, China, Cuba, Turkey and a number of other countries have voiced their support for constitutionally-elected Maduro as the only legitimate president of Venezuela. [But only about 25% of all the world's countries want to have anything to do with Juan Guaido.]
Moscow accused the US of supporting coup attempts and planning a military intervention in the Latin American state.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the US has a "full-scale set of options" to resolve the Venezuelan crisis, claiming that any actions that the US takes in the country would be "lawful". (Sputnik)
We still don't have enough for our retirement.
US Contacts With Venezuelan Military Figures Up Dramatically - Report
US contacts with Venezuelan military figures have increased significantly since last week's attempted coup d'etat by self-proclaimed Interim President of Venezuela Juan Guaido, a US officials told Reuters Friday, the outlet reports.
The official also told the news agency that they were in contact with former Venezuelan general and SEBIN intelligence service head Manuel Cristopher Figuera, who supported Guaido's putsch and subsequently fled the country when it failed, to offer him support, and that the US Treasury had determined that any US or foreign company doing business with Venezuela's defence or security services would be subject to US sanctions.
US National Security Adviser John Bolton slammed "malign actors Russia & Cuba" on Twitter Friday for "enabling repression of the people" in Venezuela.
John Bolton ✔ @AmbJohnBolton
"In response to increasing acts of intimidation by the former Maduro regime, the U.S. has determined that #Venezuela defense & security sector is subject to sanctions. Malign actors like Russia & Cuba enabling repression of the people should take notice."
US officials reportedly told Reuters that Russian President Vladimir Putin was cynical about his country's involvement in the Venezuelan crisis, telling the news agency "Putin doesn't care about Venezuela" and is using it as "a chit for bigger geopolitical issues."
The US Treasury also announced Friday that persons operating in Venezuela's defence or security services would be subject to US sanctions and specified two new vessels and companies for sanction.
MUST READ: Trump, Guaido, Angered by Arrest of Coup Plotter Zambrano
and New Exchange Rate Policy: This is How the Forex Dealing Desks Will Work
US Sanctions 2 more Entities, 2 Vessels Over Venezuela Links - Treasury
Washington has issued several rounds of increasingly tough sanctions against Caracas, targeting its banking and oil sectors, as well as foreign companies, individuals and state assets in countries abroad.
The US Treasury Department has added two companies and two vessels to its list of sanctions against Venezuela, publishing details regarding the designations on its website.
The restrictions target Monsoon Navigation Corporation, a Marshall Islands-registered company, as well as Serenity Maritime Limited, a Liberia-registered firm. They also target Leon Dias and Ocean Elegance, two oil tankers with Panama flags. The Treasury Department said on Friday that U.S. and foreign companies working with Venezuela's defense and security services sectors can now be sanctioned, adding to penalties for companies working in the oil and banking sectors.
The move puts on notice foreign suppliers of military spare parts or telecommunications equipment and services, the U.S. official said.
Monsoon's tanker Ocean Elegance and Serenity Maritime's Leon Dias delivered crude oil from Venezuela to Cuba from late 2018 through March 2019, the Treasury Department said. Both tankers have Panama flags.
The sanctions block the firms and ships from dealings with U.S. persons and companies, and freeze any assets the firms may own or control in the United States.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro sent Friday a message of gratitude to the "Embassy Protection Collective" which is in the Embassy of Venezuela in Washington in order to prevent the delegation sent by Juan Guaidó from taking possession of it illegally.
Through his account on the social network Twitter, the national leader said: "I send a greeting of solidarity, full of deep admiration and gratitude to the Protection Collective in our embassy in Washington, who have bravely faced the aggressions of a sick right wing and a criminal empire. That is the worthy people of the USA. "
Putting your funds into a bank you don't control is like handing a loaded gun to an assassin!
Portugal Bank Kidnaps Over US$1.7 Billion in Venezuelan Cash
President Maduro holds that the U.S. government blockade is an arbitrary action which has allowed bankers to grab more than US$30 billion from the Venezuelan people so far.
President Nicolas Maduro has denounced the fact that several foreign countries are blocking funds from being transferred to Venezuelan government bank accounts. One of them is Portugal whose Novo Banco has blocked US$1.726 billion from making its way to Venezuela where the Maduro administration intended to use the funds to purchase basic goods for the Venezuelan people.
"I ask the Portuguese government to issue a statement. The Novo Banco kidnapped US$1,726 million which were meant to purchase medicines, food and supplies," said Maduro during a press conference Thursday.
"I will not tire of denouncing the U.S. government of stealing more than US$30 billion from Venezuela," tweeted the Bolivarian president, who added that his country will increase its defense against United States President Donald Trump's imperialist blockade that is an "inhuman sabotage against all our imports."
Venezuela is currently conducting a global campaign to denounce the U.S. financial blockade and economic sanctions that for nearly two years have prevented the purchase of medicines and food and impede the development of the South American nation.
Since January 2019 alone, the Trump administration has slapped sanctions on the state-run Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), its Central Bank and individuals working in the South American country's gold industry. These decrees have made it impossible for the Venezuelan government to transfer funds or pay its debts, driving down the economy.
MUST READ: Tales of Resistance: Checkmate?
STRONG UUP RESOLUTION OPPOSES U.S. INTERVENTION IN VENEZUELA
The Delegate Assembly of the United University Professions (UUP), the nation's largest higher education union, with more than 42,000 academic and professional faculty and retirees, passed the following NonIntervention resolution at its most recent meeting May 10 in Albany, New York:
Whereas the U.S. has no legitimate claim to intervene in the internal affairs of other countries or take sides in internal political disputes, and
Whereas we have seen the disastrous consequences of recent U.S. interventions in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and through the alliance with Saudi Arabia in Yemen, and,
Whereas U.S. intervention in Venezuela can only bring further hardship and suffering, as followed U.S. support for the 2009 coup in Honduras that overthrew the elected government there and contributed to the stream of asylum seekers now on our southern border seeking relief from that disaster, and
Whereas it reveals the deep cynicism of U.S. policy makers that they denounce what they call a dictatorial regime in Venezuela while providing unlimited support to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the murderous absolute dictatorship of its royal family, and to a host of other autocrats, authoritarians, absolute monarchs and dictators in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, United Arab Emirates, and Egypt, to name a few, and
Whereas there is no case in which U.S. intervention in the internal affairs of other countries has led to greater democracy and better conditions of life for the people, there be it
Resolved that UUP opposes U.S. military intervention in Venezuela and all US. Efforts to intervene in the internal affairs of that country to destabilize its society and be it further
Resolved that UUP officers will distribute this resolution to NUSUT and AFT ofr their consideration, and to the U.S. Congressional and Senate delegations from New York, and to U.S. Labor Against the War for circulation to the broader U.S. labor and peace movements.
Frank Goldsmith, delegate, Stonybrook Health Science Center Chapter And Labor Today Associate Editor
In Spanish: RESOLUCIÓN FUERTE DE LA UUP OPUESTA A LA INTERVENCIÓN DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS EN VENEZUELA
INTERNATIONAL CALL TO BOYCOTT THE FOLLOWING BANKS: Bank of England, Citibank, Bank of Glemstrem, North Capita, Novo Bank, Sumitomo
"Trump's appropriation of Venezuelan financial resources: Bank of England US$1,359 million, Citibank US$220 million, Bank of Glemstrem US$509 million, North Capita US$267 million, Novo Bank US$1,726 million, Sumitomo US$467 million."
Here are the 36 banks the ANTI-TRUMP, ANTI-DAPL movement is boycotting already (with very good divestment results):
Just walk away from them !
Citibank (and Citigroup)
TD Securities
The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ
DNB Capital
BBVA Securities
SunTrust
Sumitomo Mitsui Bank
ABN Amro Capital
ICBC London
Societe General
Compass Bank
DNB Capital/ASA
Origin Bank (formerly Community Trust)
Underlined banks are target of multiple campaigns
OTHER IMPORTANT BANKS TO BOYCOTT: Bank of England, DBS, Rothschild & Co, Santander, Unicredit, First Trust, Capital One, ally, USbancorp, NovoBanco, North Capita, Bank of Glemstren
Subscribe to BANK TRACK to stay informed.
SEE ALSO: Boycott the Banks Funding the Dakota APL
MUST READ: Venezuelan Central Bank Liberalizes Forex Operations
This evening dozens of people protested the "media lies and propaganda" of The Guardian's #Venezuela coverage outside the newspaper's HQ in central #London.
U.N. General Assembly President Maria Fernanda Espinosa is Ecuador's newest victim of political persecution. | Photo: EFE
Ecuador Politically Persecutes UN Assembly President for Link to Julian Assange
U.N. General Assembly President Maria Fernanda Espinosa is the newest victim of Ecuador's political persecution, Espinosa said Thursday, announcing Ecuador's plans to prosecute her for the role she played in obtaining citizenship for WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange.
U.N. General Assembly President Maria Fernanda Espinosa rejected the 'irregularities' cited by Ecuador surrounding Assange's citizenship.
Appearing on teleSUR's program, EnClave Politica, the U.N. official reported complaints were filed against her by Ecuador's Legislative Justice Commission implying some 'regrettable' irregularities in the citizenship process which was awarded to Assange in 2017, while she was Ecuador's foreign minister.
Espinosa told teleSUR's Luis Orlando Perez that the country has "political sectors insulting and arguing issues that reveal their immense level of ignorance about international relations and the U.N." Offering Assange Ecuadorean nationality status was a "fully thought out" decision, she said.
"In the first place it was due to the request of the asylum's defense attorneys. We checked that it met all the requirements, then a legal analysis of the case was made," she said, citing the 1951 Convention.
Among the other allegations, Espinosa is being accused of using public resources to finance her U.N. presidential campaign and of negligence in the case of the three Ecuadorean El Comercio journalists who were kidnapped and killed in Colombia in 2017.
However, an audio file was released in December, which showed President Lenin Moreno had the opportunity to save the trio but chose not to. In the recording, Moreno said he was "very sorry for all those deaths that may come after this situation, but … I believe that the elementary principle of dignity of a people, of the citizenship, of a government and of a state goes well beyond the life of one or a few or of some people," Moreno said in the Dec. 18 recording.
Espinosa's responsibilities, on the other hand, were carried out to the letter, the official maintained. She followed procedure, first by activating security measures along the Oliver Sinisterra front, then by forming agreements on operations, following up with the international Red Cross in Colombia, providing logistical and human support for the journalists' families, and finally by filing a declaration for support on Ecuador's behalf at the Summit of the Americas.
As to her campaign, it was financed by Ecuadorean embassies around the globe, according to the law, she said. Her defense has been presented to the Legislative Commission in writing with an assortment of documents. (tS)
VERY IMPORTANT READ: Bolivia Showcases New Approach to Drugs After Expelling DEA "The United States used the war on drugs in order to control the country's politics and loot our natural resources"
HORRORTERROR: Colombian Filmmaker Killed Making Doc on Victims of Violence
Colombia: 4 Reportedly Killed, 26 Hurt in Powerful Blast at Pyrotechnics Factory in Bogota
Four people have died and at least 26 were injured on Friday during a powerful explosion at a pyrotechnics factory in Bogota, local media reported.
According to the Colombian Cablenoticias TV broadcaster, the explosion took placeJUST BEFORE 13h local time (17h GMT/UTC). Pedro Manosalva, the chief of the Bogota fire department, said that firefighters were at the scene tending to the victims.
The loud explosion tore through two levels of a brick building and also damaged several nearby vehicles and another building.
According to media reports, the Colombian authorities do not suspect the incident was terror-related and are reportedly looking into a possible cause, which might hav bee a leaking LPG-cylinder.
Colombian authorities are also reportedly investigating whether the property was being used for the production of gunpowder for use in the popular game of "tejo".
The centuries-old game is played by hurling a metal disc at little packets of gunpowder.
Ecuadorian ex-Foreign-Minister Ricardo Patino is steadfast in walking the path of truth - © Photo : AFP Photo/ Rodrigo Buendia
Ecuadorian Court Grants $50,000 Bail to Ex-FM Supporting Julian Assange
A court in Ecuador has revoked the decision on pre-trial detention of Ecuadorian ex-Foreign-Minister Ricardo Patino, known to be a supporter of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, ruling that Patino should pay a bail of $50,000 to avoid detention.
"The judge has granted the motion to set a bail of $50,000 for ex-foreign minister, Ricardo P.," the prosecution said in a statement.
The Ecuadorian attorney general has pledged to continue investigation in order to prove Patino's guilt.
An Ecuadorian judge requested in mid-April the Interpol to detain Patino, who reportedly had left the country following Assange's arrest in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Patino, who served as the foreign minister under the previous government between 2010 and 2016, is charged with instigation and is also suspected of having links to Assange's associates. The instigation charge is based on Patino's statement, made last fall, in which he called on his supporters to take over public institutions and protest against the government of President Lenin Moreno.
The Ecuadorian Interior Ministry has claimed that an important WikiLeaks member, who is a close associate of Assange, has travelled to Colombia, Spain and Venezuela with Patino. (Sputnik)
The Cuban government announced Friday that it is launching widespread rationing of chicken, eggs, rice, beans, soap and other basic products in the face of a grave economic crisis.
Commerce Minister Betsy Díaz Velázquez told the state-run Cuban News Agency that various forms of rationing would be employed in order to deal with shortages of staple foods. She blamed the hardening of the U.S. trade embargo by the Trump administration. Economists give equal or greater blame to a plunge in aid from Venezuela, where the collapse of the state-run oil company has led to a nearly two-thirds cut in shipments of subsidized fuel that Cuba used for power and to earn hard currency on the open market.
"We're calling for calm," Díaz said, adding that Cubans should feel reassured that at least cooking oil would be in ample supply. "It's not a product that will be absent from the market in any way."
Cuba imports roughly two thirds of its food at an annual cost of more than $2 billion and brief shortages of individual products have been common for years. In recent months, a growing number of products have started to go missing for days or weeks at a time, and long lines have sprung up within minutes of the appearance of scarce products like chicken or flour. Many shoppers find themselves still standing in line when the products run out, a problem the government has been blaming on "hoarders."
READ ALSO: Honduras: Murder Rate Surges Deflating Hopes for Better 2019
AND Media Silence Over Mass Protests in Honduras Shows How Corporate Media "Serves the Global Economic Elite"
Nicolas Maduro speaks his mind to USA's Mike Pence
Update THU 09. May 2019 (vf): Maduro Hits Back at 'Gringo' Pence Over Effort to Spark Army Defections
Earlier, Vice President Pence announced that the US Treasury had lifted all sanctions against a former Venezuelan intelligence service chief who broke ranks with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro last week and voiced his support for opposition leader Juan Guaido.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has blasted the Trump administration and Vice President Mike Pence personally over their alleged attempts to bribe the Venezuelan military into siding with the coup plotters.
"Yesterday, Mike Pence declared that the soldier who betrays the homeland and switches to the side of the gringos –that they will reward him. [This is] a lack of respect for honour, morals, and the dignity of the Bolivarian Armed Forces," Maduro said, speaking in the state of Aragua, northern Venezuela.
Maduro stressed that Pence had no authority to advise the Venezuelan military in any way.
"This is an imperialist colonialist view of things. They think that having given the orders, Venezuela's military will just say 'understood Mr. Pence.' No! Mike Pence, the constitutional, legitimate commander in chief of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces is here before you and his name is Nicolas Maduro Moros," Maduro said.
The Venezuelan president warned that his country was well defended, with 2.3 million militia members being trained to "defend every inch of the nation's territory" if need be. Maduro stressed that Venezuela is equipped with modern weapons systems, with the military prepared to wage a defensive war based on "a new structure, a new strategic concept" across every province.
Venezuela's Freign Minister Jorge Arreaza tweeted today: "It is a contradiction that the UN High Commissioner Office for Human Rights has not condemned the attempted military coup of 30th April and [OHCHR] defend the coup leaders who must respond to justice. Are military coup d'état's set up in defense of Human Rights?"
Human rights defenders responded: "Well, history shows that in most cases a coup d'état is indeed arising from a situation where an oppressive governance has committed too many human rights abuses and the people revolt together with the likewise oppressed armed forces. In the South American context the military has always played an important role - be it as force of a dictatorial oppressor - colonial or post-colonial - or in defence of and in solidarity with the majority of the people, whose human rights were violated. In the Venezuelan situation of today its is a great challenge in the face of illegal and inhuman sanctions imposed by the imperialist USA to maintain the independence of Venezuela despite all the hardships this struggle brings for the people and their leaders. But a people united in equality together with their freely chosen leaders will not be defeated by foreign scams, if people of the targeted country are determined and have the vision."
Bolton obviously knows too much to get fired - picture: AP Eva Vucci
Trump Ticked by Bolton's Attempt to Pull Him 'INTO A WAR' in Venezuela - Report
Earlier, Vice President Mike Pence urged Venezuelan officials to follow a former intelligence chief in breaking ranks with Caracas and joining the opposition, saying that the ex-official has had all previously imposed sanctions against him lifted.
US President Donald Trump has expressed frustration with his senior officials over how difficult a task removing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has proven, anonymous senior administration officials and advisers to the White House have told the Washington Post.
According to one senior official, Trump recently joked that National Security Adviser John Bolton wanted to pull him "into a war" in Venezuela, with the joke reportedly revealing more senior concerns. He also complained about Bolton's attempt to box him 'into a corner' and go 'beyond where he felt comfortable' on Venezuela policy, another official familiar with US Venezuela policy said.
Furthermore, White House officials said that although the president had an affinity for Juan Guaido, he has also 'wondered aloud' about how much the US really knows about him, and questioned whether he is really ready to take over governing the country.
Three other officials also told WP that the president has complained openly about Bolton and others underestimating the strength of President Maduro, who Trump has reportedly referred to as a "tough cookie."
Officials said that the failure of last Tuesday's military coup have 'effectively shelved serious discussion' of major US military action in Venezuela, with the White House now hoping to wait Maduro out. Two officials and an outside adviser said that Trump is now disinterested in approving any kind of direct military intervention against the Latin American country. Options now reportedly include sending troops to neighbouring countries and/or the Navy to Venezuela's shores as a show of force, ramping up aid to Venezuela's neighbours, and providing more aid to Venezuelans who fled their home country during the crisis.
Nevertheless, despite his irritation with Bolton on Venezuela, Trump has no plans to fire him and told him to continue focusing on the country, two senior administration officials told WP. (Sputnik)
Mike Pompeo is not the brightest candle in the room. If Americans let him play with the triggers there will be bloody war - Homo cro-magnon style. The Torah and Trump are the only hard-and software this cyborg runs on.
Trump's secretary of state calls UK opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn 'disgusting' for supporting Venezuela's Maduro
Mike Pompeo condemns UK leaders who 'continue to provide support and comfort to a regime that has created so much devastation'
Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, has attacked Jeremy Corbyn over his "disgusting" support for Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro.
The close ally of Donald Trump hit out at the Labour leader during a visit to London, saying "no leader in a country with western democratic values" should offer support to a regime "that has created so much devastation".
Mr Corbyn has often spoken in support of Venezuela's socialist leaders and criticised international sanctions against the country's government.
Asked about Mr Corbyn's defence of Mr Maduro during a joint press conference with foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, Mr Pompeo said: "It is disgusting to see leaders in not only the United Kingdom but in the United States as well who continue to support the murderous dictator Maduro.
"It is not in either of our countries' best interests for those people to continue to advocate on their behalf."
He said the Venezuelan president was on "borrowed time" and condemned "American leaders or leaders from this country [who] continue to provide support and comfort to a regime that has created so much devastation, so much destruction".
He added: "No leader in a country with western democratic values ought to stand behind [Mr Maduro]."
During the press conference, Mr Pompeo also:
* Suggested defence cooperation with the US would be put at risk if the UK gave Huawei a role in operating its 5G infrastructure – saying: "We are making our views very well known."
Mr Pompeo said the US had "an obligation" to ensure its information, where there were security risks, was "inside trusted networks", adding: "And that's what we will do."
* Cited Winston Churchill in defending pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal, saying the wartime leader had also "stared evil in the face and recognised the threat that evil presented to the entire world".
On Iran, he insisted: "We're on the same side, we're on the side of values-driven democracy, we're on the side of freedom, we're on the side of creating a nation for the Iranian people."
* Urged the UK and other US allies to take back foreign fighters detained in Syria following the collapse of Isis, arguing that was "essential".
"We've rounded them up, they are now detained and they need to continue to be detained so they cannot present additional risk to anyone anywhere in the world," Mr Pompeo said.
Speaking immediately afterwards, Mr Hunt suggested that Labour's support for the Venezuelan government was evidence of its vision for the UK, quoting shadow chancellor John McDonnell's claim, made in 2014, that the South American country was an example of "socialism in action".
Mr Hunt said: "This is a country where 3 million people have fled the country, GDP has gone down by 40 per cent in the last four years, people can't access basic medicine, people are rifling through rubbish bags to get food in the streets.
"John McDonnell describes this as socialism in action and I think people need to draw their own conclusions about what his own plans might be for the UK."
Earlier this year, Mr Corbyn criticised the UK government's calls for further sanctions against Mr Maduro, who is blamed for crippling Venezuela's economy and triggering widespread food shortages in the country.
The Labour leader said: "The future of Venezuela is a matter for Venezuelans. Jeremy Hunt's call for more sanctions on Venezuela is wrong. We oppose outside interference in Venezuela, whether from the US or anywhere else.
"There needs to be dialogue and a negotiated settlement to overcome the crisis."
Mr Maduro has fought to maintain his grip on power despite countries including the UK, US, Canada, France and Spain formally recognising Juan Guaido, president of Venezuela's national assembly, as the country's interim president.
Responding to Mr Pompeo's comments, a Labour spokesperson said: "We oppose outside interference in Venezuela, whether from the US or anywhere else. The future of Venezuela is a matter for Venezuelans." (Independent)
READ ALSO: Trump's Latin American allies want change in Venezuela, but not U.S. intervention
and: Trump says senior adviser wants to get him 'into a war' in Venezuela after failure to oust Maduro
and: Venezuela's opposition vow to defy Maduro after key figure detained
At least nine lawmakers face detention after Edgar Zambrano was arrested on Wednesday, signalling the start of a crackdownher
Richard José Blanco Delgado - another agitator of the failed coup d'etat instigated by Juan Guaido and the USA fled into embassy safe haven.
More wanted Venezuelan opposition lawmakers sought refuge According to an Argentine foreign ministry source and a Reuters witness, after Edgar Zambrano - another top figure in the opposition-controlled legislature - was arrested on Wednesday, Richard Blanco of the Brave Peoples' Alliance party - fled into the Argentine embassy in Caracas on Thursday. He is one of 10 opposition lawmakers stripped of parliamentary immunity by the Venezuelan Supreme Court this week.
The crackdown came after they joined opposition leader Juan Guaido in rallies last month tried to spur a military uprising against socialist President Nicolas Maduro. Guaido himself is a fugive with a refuge base at the Chilean embassy, but also hides by changing locations.
"He (Blanco) is there as a guest, we can confirm that," said the Argentine official, who asked not to be identified.
Two days ago already coup plotter Marianela Magallanes López (aka Mariela) fled into the Italian Embassy, and likewise fugitive Leopoldo Eduardo López Mendoza is holed up in the Spanish embassy in Caracas, where also 25 mutineering soldiers had rescued themselves into the Brazilian embassy - fleeing from lawful arrest for their deeds.
On Thursday afternoon, the deputy and leader of the Causa R party, Américo De Grazia, also fled into the Italian Embassy
It should be noted that the countries that have received the fugitive opposition figures in their embassies obviously support the opposition and the coup attempts instigated by the USA with the task to enforce regime change. "I thank Italy", De Grazia wrote on Twitter.
Reortedly the transport workers went on a strike today, blocking several roads in Caracas.
READ ALSO: Venezuela and Iran high on Pompeo's agenda during upcoming trip to Russia for meeing Tuesday
#Guatemala | Hundreds of #Indigenous people finished a 200 km march to protest against systemic #corruption and grafting in the country's upcoming June 16 #elections.
Free and safe Julian Assange NOW from torture and illegal imprisonment by the British Queen's Kingdom !!!
MUST WATCH: UN Rapporteur on torture talks after meeting Julian Assange at Belmarsh Prison, but didn't release any findings yet. WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange met with the UN's Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment at Her Majesty's Prison Belmarsh in London on Thursday, May 9. Assange was arrested by British police on 11 April 2019 after Ecuador officially revoked his asylum status and allowed UK police to escort him from the embassy and into custody. Assange was sentenced to 50 weeks in prison by a court in London for violating bail conditions after spending seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy.
Extended VIDEO - 'We need to save his life' - (shorter version see on 7th below. Search this site with "Assange" for all other info)
Pamela Anderson and WikiLeaks editor-in-chief visit Julian Assange in high security prison of HM the Queen of Britain and Northern Ireland. It's a disgrace for so called Western "democracy" that a courageous publisher, who revealed war crimes in Afghanistan & Iraq, is imprisoned in the British Guantánamo.
An emotional Pamela Anderson and WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson opened up to reporters following the first 'social' visit to Julian Assange since the whistleblower was imprisoned last month.
Anderson and Hrafnsson were the first people allowed to visit Assange, aside from his lawyer, since the 47-year-old was sentenced to 50 weeks imprisonment for violating bail conditions.
The pair looked solemn following the visit on Tuesday, and spoke to reporters outside of the prison about the "shocking" conditions the WikiLeaks founder is being held in. Friend and public advocate Anderson spoke of her love for the Australian and said he has not been able to speak to his children or access a computer or library since his incarceration.
"Justice will depend on public support," said a "sick" Anderson as she faced the media. "He's a good man. I love him I can't imagine what he's been going through," she added.
"I have to say from my heart that this visit did not reflect well on society here," Hrafnsson added. "This is not justice this is an abomination."
Both condemned the decision to house Assange in a high security prison, in which he spends 23 hours per day in his cell, with 30 minutes allotted to go outside – weather permitting – and 30 minutes to "do anything else."
"I can say Julian Assange is bent but not broken," said Hrafnsson. "He is an extremely resilient person. Such reliance comes from the fact that he knows he is innocent. He knows he has done nothing wrong, he knows he is being persecuted for the simple fact of doing journalistic work."
"We need to save his life. That's how serious it is," Anderson said, with Hrafnsonn adding that "it is a question of life and death."
Assange was arrested on April 11 and sentenced to 50 weeks imprisonment for violating bail conditions on May 1. He now faces the possibility of extradition to the US, where he is wanted for "conspiracy to commit computer intrusion." An extradition hearing has been adjourned until May 30.
MUST LISTEN TO: John Pilger on Julian Assange and Venezuela
The persecution of Julian Assange and the US assault on Venezuela are two urgent issues. In this interview on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, John refutes the disinformation campaigns against both.
Julian Assange is fighting an extradition request from the US, over charges relating to the leaks of classified government material.
Srećko Horvat @HorvatSrecko "It's a disgrace for so called Western "democracy" that a courageous publisher, who revealed war crimes in Afghanistan & Iraq, is imprisoned in the British Guantánamo. Even the #UN thinks so. Quo vadis UK? #Assange"
Chelsea Manning free for now.
BREAKING: Chelsea Manning Released From Jail
She was simultaneously subpoenaed to appear before a different grand jury on May 16, meaning she could be found in contempt again for refusing to testify and returned to jail, her lawyers said in a statement.
Former U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, who was being detained for refusing to testify before a grand jury, was released on Thursday and immediately summoned to appear before a new grand jury next week, her lawyers said.
Manning was released after the term expired for the previous grand jury in Virginia that was seeking her testimony in connection with what is believed to be the government's long-running investigation into WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange.
Manning had appeared before the grand jury in early March but declined to answer questions.
She was jailed for 62 days for contempt of court. A U.S. appeals court denied her request to be released on bail and upheld the lower court's decision to hold her in civil contempt for refusing to testify.
"Chelsea will continue to refuse to answer questions, and will use every available legal defense to prove to District Judge (Anthony) Trenga that she has just cause for her refusal to give testimony," the statement said.
Chelsea E. Manning ✔ @xychelsea
** Feds released Chelsea a few hours ago after Grand Jury expired - @EDVAnews prosecutors subpoenaed her to appear a 2nd time for a different grand jury - but for same questions - on May 16th - official statement from her pending It is unclear exactly why federal prosecutors want Manning to testify, although her representatives say the questions she was asked concern the release of information she disclosed to the public in 2010 through WikiLeaks.
Manning was convicted by court-martial in 2013 of espionage and other offenses for furnishing more than 700,000 documents, videos, diplomatic cables and battlefield accounts to WikiLeaks while she was an intelligence analyst in Iraq.
Former U.S. President Barack Obama, in his final days in office, commuted the final 28 years of Manning's 35-year sentence.
After nearly seven years of giving Assange refuge in its embassy in London, Ecuador on April 11 ended its protection and he was arrested by British police.
The United States is seeking his extradition to face charges of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion. Assange plans to fight the U.S. extradition request.
WikiLeaks published a classified U.S. military video showing a 2007 attack by Apache helicopters in Baghdad that killed a dozen people, including two Reuters news staff.
The U.S. government said Assange tried to help Manning gain access to a government computer. It is not clear if the alleged collaboration between Manning and Assange led to a successful intrusion into any U.S. government computer.
READ ALSO: Chelsea Manning Released from Alexandria Detention Center After Grand Jury Lapses
MUST KNOW - DON'T TRUST THE INTERCEPT: Ex-US intelligence analyst charged with leaking top-secret drone war docs
MUST UNDERSTAND: Trump's "Deal of the Century" Will Use Sanctions, Military Threats to Force Palestinian Acceptance Recently leaked provisions of the plan include threats of US sanctions & military force if Palestinians reject the plan and a requirement for Palestinians to pay the Israeli Defense Forces for protection.
MUST READ: Forward Guidance - Venezuela's Failed Cryptocurrency Is the Future of Money - El Petro couldn't save Venezuela, but may save the world.
Stay Off Fakebook turned Facistbook
Facebook's 'Power Is Unprecedented', Should Be Broken Up, Says Co-founder
"We are a nation with a tradition of reining in monopolies, no matter how well-intentioned the leaders of these companies may be. Mark's [Zuckerberg] power is unprecedented and un-American," Hughes wrote.
Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes has called for the break-up of the social network, making an argument against the unchecked power Mark Zuckerberg has with the company, in an opinion piece published Thursday by the New York Times.
"We are a nation with a tradition of reining in monopolies, no matter how well-intentioned the leaders of these companies may be. Mark's power is unprecedented and un-American," Hughes wrote.
Hughes was Zuckerberg's room-mate at Harvard University and co-founded Facebook in 2004 with Dustin Moskovitz. He quit the company in 2007 to work as an online strategist for Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign.
"It's been 15 years since I co-founded Facebook at Harvard, and I haven't worked at the company in a decade. But I feel a sense of anger and responsibility," added Hughes.
This op-ed comes as Facebook is facing many security and privacy scandals, which worry many as the tech-company owns the biggest social network, with more than two billion users across the world. It also owns the private messaging platforms WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram, each used by more than one billion people.
Facebook is accused of inappropriately sharing around 87 million users' information with the U.K. political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica. On April 9, two U.S. senators introduced a bill to ban online social media companies, like Facebook and Twitter, from tricking consumers into unknowingly giving up their personal data.
U.S. legislators have called for federal privacy regulation and anti-trust action to break up big tech companies. Democratic presidential candidate Senator Elizabeth Warren has vowed promote competition in the technology sector by disbanding Facebook, Amazon, and Alphabet Inc's Google if elected U.S. president.
Edgar Zambrano had supported the armed violence himself during the attempted coup d'etat, but thought wrongly that the U.S. shield of outlaw Juan Guaido (right) would protect him too.
Update WED 08. May 2019 (vf): Finally at least the so-called Vice President of Venezuela's 'National Assembly' (in contempt) Edgar Zambrano was arrested tonight for having been part of the recent coup attempt. He will now face justice. The deputy of Venezuelan opposition figure Juan Guaidó has been detained by the country's intelligence services.
Edgar Zambrano, vice-president of the so-called National Assembly (in contempt), refused to leave his car when approached, and as a result he and his car were towed to prison.
It is the first arrest of a senior opposition figure since attempts to spark a military rebellion against President Nicolás Maduro last week.
Democratic Action party leader Carlos Prosperi told reporters that he had been at a party meeting with Mr Zambrano in the capital Caracas moments before the latter was arrested by agents from Venezuela's Bolivarian Intelligence Service (Sebin).
"The vehicle was surrounded," he said. "They [Sebin agents] wouldn't allow us to get to him. They brought a tow truck and his vehicle was towed away."
In a quick determined action by SEBIN forces arrested coup agitator Edgar Zambrano and brought him into the detention centre at the SEBIN headquarters.
Mr Prosperi said that he believes Mr Zambrano was taken to El Helicoide, a the intelligene hub with prison in the centre of the city.
"We don't know anything about what physical condition he's in and we don't know what is happening at El Helicoide at the moment," he told the BBC.
Zambrano's arrest comes a day after Venezuela's Supreme Court ordered that Mr Zambrano and six other National Assembly deputies be charged with treason for their alleged participation in the failed military uprising.
On the Twitter account of its "virtual" embassy in Caracas - the embassy closed in March amid growing tensions - the US called the detention "illegal and inexcusable" and warned that if he was not released immediately, there would be consequences. However, the tweet did not spell out what those consequences would be.
Meanwhile, the head of the National Constituent Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, boasted about the arrest on his TV show.
To the applause and loud cheers of government supporters, he mocked the arrested lawmaker, saying that he would have to pay for the towing of his vehicle.
Zambrano had bragged earlier that he is not afraid of being brought to justice, but then refused to leave his car, which subsequently was then towed together with him into prison.
Earlier Mr Cabello called Mr Zambrano "one of the principal conspirators of the coup" and said that he and his "co-conspirators" would have to "pay before the courts for the failed coup that they have attempted". The botched action of Guaido and Leopoldo Lopez caused the death of for people and injured around 500.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had earlier signed a decree either reducing in rank or expelling dozens of officers, including high-ranking ones, from the country's armed forces due to their involvement in a recent coup attempt, local media reported.
According to Gaceta Oficial cited by local radio, these measures affected the former head of the Bolivarian intelligence service SEBIN, Gen. Manuel Figuera, five lieutenant colonels, four majors, four captains, six lieutenants and 35 sergeants.
Lt. Col. Ilich Sanchez of the Venezuelan National Guard, who in recent months led the security services of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, is among those expelled. Around 25 soldiers had then sought refuge in the Brazilian Embassy.
Was the German Foreign Office ordered by the Trump White House to protest? The German Foreign Office sent at 23h38 Venezuelan Time on 08. 05 2019 (03h38 UTC) - just shortly after the arrest of Zambrano, which is 05h38 German summertime and very early for the ministerial fellows) the following twitter message: We condemn the unconstitutional arrest of Edgar Zambrano, Vice- President of the National Assembly of Venezuela, by the Venezuelan Intelligence Service. @edgarzambranoad must be released immediately and his immunity as a member of parliament respected." Who is "We" or does German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas by himself now consider terrorist activities as being constitutional and law enforcement based on properly issued arrest warrant "unconstitutional"? Also in Germany parlamentarians were stripped of their immunity and then prosecuted in the past. Or is was it a personal solidarity tweet, while being afraid that the wave of the brunt of the people could also soon reach him ?
Maikel Moreno, the President of Venezuela's Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) denounced threats of sanctions by United States Vice President Mike Pence.
Venezuela's Top Court Rejects US VP Pence's Threat of Sanctions
Venezuela's Supreme Court of Justice rejected U.S. Vice President Mike Pence's threats of sanctions if they do not oppose President Nicolas Maduro.
On Wednesday, Maikel Moreno, the President of Venezuela's Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) denounced threats of sanctions by United States Vice President Mike Pence.
Pence threatened to sanction all magistrates of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
Moreno read a statement by the TSJ rejecting the interventionist threats made by the U.S. vice president.
"The judges and magistrates of the TSJ categorically and forcefully reject the threat made by Mr. Pence, who, in a disrespectful and interfering manner seeks to subjugate the highest Venezuelan judicial authorities through threats that violate the principles of independence of self-determination and sovereignty," he said.
"This unlawful, despicable and intolerable action violates the norms and principles of international law that govern the relations between civilized nations. This is a case of a new unilateral threat laid upon the Venezuelan Judicial Power, specifically on the TSJ composed of 32 magistrates."
"We denounce the fact that the United States is trying to get the Venezuelan judicial power to step away from democracy and promote a coup d'état."
He also denounced this threat of sanction on a democratic institution and favoring the coup. The president reiterated that the TSJ will not be blackmailed or subordinate itself to a foreign government "that seeks to circumvent the sovereignty of our country."
The vice president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez wrote on Twitter, "The countries that decide to choose the path of violence will be condemned by the people of the world, who will defend their sovereignty."
On Tuesday, Mike Pence threatened to sanction the magistrates of the TSJ if they do not oppose the legitimate President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro.
"If the Supreme Court of Venezuela does not return to its constitutional mandate to defend the rule of law, the U.S. will hold its 25 magistrates accountable for their actions," he said.
"We do not yield to blackmailing. We will never yield to [the pressure of] the foreign government which is seeking to break the sovereignty [of Venezuela]", President Moreno said as quoted by the Globovision news outlet on Wednesday. Moreno added that the Supreme Court would continue taking action against those who failed to support independence, security, peace and territorial integrity of Venezuela.
Economic defence plans drawn up to stand strong against U.S. meddling in the internal and external economic affairs of Venezuela.
Venezuelan Authorities Initiate Public Dialogue on Economic Development – Maduro
Venezuelan authorities will engage the general public in discussions on the economic development of the crisis-hit country, President Nicolas Maduro has said.
In an address, broadcast live on Twitter on Wednesday, Maduro said that 4 and 5 May were "the great national days of dialogue", when representatives of all branches of the government discussed changes to the strategy of the country's development and sought to create a special development plan.
"I have initiated a process of dialogue with the public in an effort to create a plan of action, reconstruction and change in the Bolivarian Revolution. I need a plan … for changing the economic and political life of the country completely. The first events happened on Saturday and Sunday and they were very interesting. Now, I want such public meetings to be held at the end of this week, and thousands of public meetings to be held in order to hear the people, their criticism and suggestions […] People know everything", Maduro said.
With the introduction of the new US sanctions in January, Venezuelan oil production has reportedly fallen by 431,000 barrels per day or 36.4 percent, depriving the nation of the ability to improve economic conditions. Meanwhile, Caracas reportedly derives more than 90 percent of its export earnings from the oil trade.
The Venezuelan Central Bank revealed on Tuesday, that Caracas will stick to its policy of liberalizing its currency market since introducing absolutely free sale and purchase of foreign currencies in commercial banks. The Venezuelan government established control over all currency operations in the country since 2003. This resulted in an illegal market for currency in the country, with its exchange rate exceeding official ones by dozens of times. Venezuela liberalized dollar operations only in August 2018.
Dollarization of the Venezuelan economy has been underway since the country officially legalized foreign currency turnover. Hotels, restaurants and shops across the country have started, gradually, to accept US dollars officially amid lack of cash bolivars.
Venezuela has been suffering from an acute economic crisis, exacerbated by various international sanctions imposed for months. The situation worsened on the back of the political instability, which has been rocking the country since January. (Sputnik)
Venezuelans want peace but are prepared for war.
Maduro Warns of Possible Military Conflict With Colombia - Reports
The Colombian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday, that a Venezuelan unit crossed over about 200 meters onto its territory.
According to the statement, cited by AFP, around 30 military personnel were "identified by locals as belonging to the Bolivarian Armed Forces […] who remained for around 20 minutes". The Colombian Foreign Ministry said the alleged Venezuelan forces withdrew after Bogota sent a helicopter with soldiers to the area in response to calls from locals, AFP reported.
Later in the day, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro threatened a possible "military escalation" with neighbouring Colombia in a televised speech.
"There is an escalation of statements that could end in a military escalation on the border […] involving the criminal forces of Colombia against Venezuela […] Everything is part of the U.S. imperialist plan", Maduro said, quoted by AFP.
Over the past years, Colombia and Venezuela have recalled their ambassadors multiple times amid tense relations between the two neighbouring countries. Tensions escalated further after the assassination attempt on Maduro in August 2018. Caracas accused Bogota, particularly then-Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos, of having a role in the attack. The Colombian Foreign Ministry denied any involvement of Bogota in the assassination attempt on Maduro.
Back in February, Bogota decided to partially shut the country's northeastern border with Venezuela after efforts by the Venezuelan opposition allowing trucks with unauthorized humanitarian aid into the country, led to clashes between Venezuelan security officers and pro-aid protesters.
Following the attempts to illegally bring unvetted cargo disguised as humanitarian aid into Venezuela from Colombia, Maduro announced that Caracas was cutting off diplomatic and political relations with Bogota.
REMINDER: The following demand was made already on 01. May 2019 (see below):
Antonio Tajani can no longer be the president of the EP ! In addition a full criminal investigation must be launched to establish if he received any money or other benefits directly or indirectly from lobbyists linked to the coup d'état or the plotters incl. the USA themselves.
EP PRESIDENT MUST STEP DOWN!
The European Parliament (EP) can no longer tolerate the President of the EP Antonio Tajani, since he was fully informed and obviously in consent with the treasonous coup attempt on 30. April 2019 in Venezuela. He tweeted already at 03:43 AM (twitter time = UTC) in the European morning of the 30th of April 2019 [which was 23h43 at night on the 29th in Venezuela):
Hoy #30abr, marca un momento histórico para el regreso a la democracia y la libertad en Venezuela,que el Parlamento Europeo siempre ha apoyado. La liberación del Premio Sajarov @leopoldolopez por militares a la orden de la Constitución,es una gran noticia. ¡Vamos Venezuela libre! 3:43 AM - 30 Apr 2019
Tajani was not asleep at that time and and sent out his own tweet long before coup-leader Juan Guaido himself together with Leopoldo Lopez made their fake claims public at around 06h00 Venezuelan time (10h00 UTC) on the highway flyover in Caracas with arranged reporters (e.g. from Reuters). This means Tajani had earlier knowledge - over 6 hours before the coup was announced to the public. He had received the pre-fabricated video in which Guaido presented the coup at 2:46 AM (twitter time = UTC) - 30 Apr 2019 directly from Leopoldo Lopez. Juan Guaido himself had also put his pre-shot video calling out the coup d'etat at 02:46 AM (twitter time = UTC) on his twitter account linking to the video on his video account where it was timestamped 03:30 (UTC) - 30 Apr. 2019. Though there might be some small (~ +/- 1-2 h) time differences in the server's time stamps, it shows clearly that Antonio Tajani had knowledge long before the actors appeared on the flyover - falsely claiming that they had taken over the airbase. Antonio Tajani therefore was obviously part of the criminal coup plotters and co-conspirator of the illegal attempt to overthrow a legit and UN-recognized sovereign government. He therefore can NOT any longer be tolerated as the president of the EP or representing over 500 million Europeans. He must step down or be impeached and removed for having been aiding and abetting terrorism and being part of an act to violate international law.
- But so far Antonio Tajani is still in his seat. The elections for the European Parliament are coming up and we will see who adheres to this call to have Antonio Tajani impeached and removed, since obviously he doesn't want to step down by himself for his involvement in the coup attempt. The fact that the coup attempt fortunately failed does not wipe off the stain of guilt on the anyway not so white vest of Antonio Tajani.
.@SecretService brutally assaulted and arrested 70 yr old Gerry Condon President of Veterans of Peace @VFPNational for attempting to deliver food to Embassy Protectors. Public officials including Joe Biden shamefully silent.
OUTRAGEOUS: U.S.American government is a rogue outlaw - even inside the U.S.: Lawless governmental actions - especially from so called law-enforcement - can no longer be tolerated. The President of Veterans for Peace @VFPNational has been injured by police, he was trying to deliver food to the activists defending Venezuela's embassy in Washington D.C., USA, from stooges of outlawed Juan Guaido. Like Arizona's Department Of Child Safety Has A Pattern Of Sending SWAT Teams For 'Medical Kidnapping' in Washington it is the 'Secret Service' dudes who have to do the dirty work on behalf of the stringers. The U.S.American government is so sick and broken like never before. Regarding the lack of electricity inside the Venezuelan embassy, Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin maintained that the U.S. State Department told the local power company PEPCO that the building's owner is Carlos Veccio, "who is the fake ambassador of the fake government of Juan Guaido ... and told them to turn off the electricity."
Venezuela' Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza M @jaarreaza: We recognize the dignity and firmness of the Protection Collective of our Embassy in the US. They are under siege, attacked, blocked and even had the power cut off. Sounds familiar? It's imperialism's same illegal strategy against the Venezuelan people. "Once again, we demand that the U.S. State Department to comply with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and protect the building of our former embassy in Washington, avoiding aggression against guests who are avoiding an illegal occupation."
MUST WATCH - VIDEO: Electricity at the Venezuelan embassy in Washington D.C. was shut down though account balance of Venezuelan Embassy is $0.00 - with proof provided 07.05.2019. The building's legal owners had paid the bill. Sources say electricity provider PEPCO promised not to shutoff power as of yesterday, but then did. @PepcoConnect are you aware this shutoff is a violation of international law (Vienna Diplomatic Conventions, Article 25)?
Reporter @anyaparampil asks Secret Service how she should describe them after assaulting a 70-year-old veteran. "I am stunned. US @SecretService just slammed the head of the President of Veterans for Peace into the cement because he tried to deliver a cucumber to Embassy Protectors. They let him bleed on the ground and did not provide med. attention. @DrMFlowers had to call an ambulance."
VIDEO FOOTAGE of the incident has emerged, which shows clearly the use of excessive force in these completely inappropriate and highly disproportional actions committed by the Secret Service police detail. Any decent commander of this unit would take immediately disciplinary actions against these men in black uniform, but their "commander in chief" Donald Trump, who is ultimately responsible.
Donald Trump's behaviour as the world's top bully has now influenced all public life in the USA and elsewhere. There those in themselves insecure male and female subordinates copycat that rogue behaviour - believing and knowing they can get away with anything. And if it is coming to the worst like in the case of the U.S. soldier who was prosecuted and found guilty killing an innocent civilian Iraqi whom he had to guard - those criminals get a handshake and pardon by The Donald himself. There is a murderous mob in charge of the U.S. government right now.
MUST READ: Teri Mattson: "The Coup is Not Going to Happen in Venezuela, it's Going to Happen in the DC Embassy" – Interview
Spain's Foreign Minister Josep Borrell to USA: You behave like a 'Cowboy' on Venezuela.
Spain's Foreign Minister Says U.S. Behaves as 'Cowboy' in Venezuela
Josep Borrell stressed that the international community should be working towards a "peaceful, negotiated and democratic" solution to the political impasse.
Spain's Foreign Minister Josep Borrell Wednesday accused the United States of behaving like a "cowboy" in Venezuela and stressed that a solution to its current political impasse should be "peaceful, negotiated and democratic."
"The contact group which we are part of is not on the same wavelength as the U.S. administration, which is like a cowboy who says 'look at me, I will draw my gun,'" Borrell said during an interview with TV Espanola. We don't want someone who draws their weapon. On the contrary, we call for a peaceful, negotiated and democratic solution", he added.
Regarding the failed military uprising against President Nicolas Maduro, which was led by the opposition politician Juan Guaido and backed by the U.S. on April 30, the Spanish top diplomat described it as an "attempted military coup," adding that "you have to call things by their name."
During the interview, Minister Forrell also criticized the U.S. government's adoption of extra-territorial measures against Cuba and described them as "an abuse of power which we oppose."
Borrell's statements happened on the same day in which U.S. Vice President Mike Pence launched new implicit threats against the Bolivarian Revolution by announcing that his country will soon deploy a military ship.
"Today I announce that the U.S. Navy will deploy the USNS Comfort to the Caribbean, Central America and South America," said Pence during a speech at the Washington Conference of the Americas.
The U.S. Vice President also offered new incentives to Venezuela's military to turn against President Maduro. In addition, President Donald Trump's administration will move to impose sanctions on twenty-five Venezuelan Supreme Court Judges.
In response to these threats, Supreme Court President Maikel Moreno Wednesday said the Venezuelan magistrates cannot be "blackmailed."
"We categorically and forcefully reject the threat of Mike Pence, who in a disrespectful and interfering manner seeks to subject the high-ranking judicial authorities to threats which violate independence, self-determination and sovereignty principles," Moreno said and added that the Venezuelan judges would never be subordinated to a foreign government seeking to violate "our country's sovereignty."
In an interview with Spanish public broadcaster TVE, the official warned that this could open a legal battle and threatened that Spain "will go to the WTO" (World Trade Organisation).
"This is further proof of a lack of cooperation on the part of the US administration and the adoption of extra-territorial measures which, according to us, are an abuse of power which we oppose", Borrell stated.
He also took an aim at Trump's administration over Washington's repeated warnings that "all options" are on the table in order to oust Nicolas Maduro, including military intervention. He pointed to the contact group of EU and some Latin American governments that are seeking to talk the Venezuelan president into holding new elections, highlighting the differences between the group's stance and that of the US.
MUST READ: A Permanent, Soylent-Based Solution to Capitalism
The architects of "regime change" in Venezuela and Iran know only too well that their interventions never bring about anything beyond chaos, destruction and death. Our Overlords are not deluded, pie-in-the-sky dreamers but clear-sighted, rational merchants of nightmares. Where we see endless despair and violence as a result of their meddling, they see a surge in share prices.
MUST READ: Wait, You're Sanctioning Us?! It's time for the world to blacklist Trump, his associates, and his businesses.
Argentinians Celebrate #EvaPeron's 100th Birthday. Eva introduced social justice and equality into the national discourse and was soon a legendary figure in Argentine politics.
Update TUE 07. May 2019 (vf): BREAKING NEWS: Juan Guaido re-appeared at the hall of the National Assembly (in contempt), despite the fact that the Venezuelan Supreme Court has now opened legal proceedings against 7 opposition law-makers as coup-leaders and ordered their arrest - but as reported by the BBC now (correcting an earlier BBC report) not including Juan Guaido, against whom already another case is pending and who was stripped of his immunity as lawmaker. Venezuela's Supreme Court has also already delivered a ruling banning him from holding public office. But he had made another call for insurrection from his hideout - most likely at the embassy of Chile.
The seven opposition lawmakers are accused of illicit activity linked to treason, conspiracy, instigation for civil rebellion among other crimes.
Nevertheless Guaido and other traitors then staged a session. Guaidó sent a tweet saying that the session planned to consider a proposal to re-enter the U.S.-led defense treaty, the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assisance. Venezuela and other left-governed nations pulled out of the treaty years ago.
The media were banned to enter and Military Police had to prevent journalists from entering the National Assembly, whereby some reporters were allegedly harassed.
Guaido earlier had met diplomats from some of the countries that support his campaign to seize power from President Maduro, and appeared from his hiding place at the parliamentay hall by using them as human shields.
Outlawed Juan Guaido, who himself has been stripped of immunity as parlamentarian, and his few remaining 'Human Shield Ambassadors' in Caracas on 07. May 2019
Venezuela's Constituent Assembly stripped on Tuesday seven lawmakers of their paliamentary immunity for supporting last week's failed coup against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, AFP reported.
Earlier, Venezuela's Supreme Court opened a criminal action against seven opposition lawmakers for treason and rebellion.
According to the statutes of the Constitutional Chamber of the High Court, in this case the preliminary hearing of merit against the seven Venezuelan officials has to take place in ordinary courts in criminal matters of the South American nation to expedite the prosecution of these citizens.
Maikel Moreno, the President of Venezuela's Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) representing th independent judiciary of Venezuela and the bench foun 7 coup plotters guilty as charged.
The Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela, found seven opposition lawmakers of the Venezuelan National Assembly, which has been in contempt of that very court since 2016, guilty for illicit activity linked to treason, conspiracy, instigation for civil rebellion, conspiracy to commit a crime, usurpation of functions, and public instigation for disobedience of the laws, after their participation in the attempted coup on April 30.
WANTED ARE: Among those deputies facing charges over their alleged role in the coup attempt are two high profile members of the conservative Democratic Action party, National Assembly Vice President Edgar Zambrano (Lara State) and former National Assembly President and party head Henry Ramos Allup (Capital District). Parliamentary immunity from prosecution has also been revoked for Americo de Grazia (Bolivar State) and Marianela Magallanes López (Aragua State) from the Causa R party, Popular Will legislator Luis Germán Florido (Lara State), Alianza Bravo Pueblo President Richard José Blanco Delgado (Capital District), and Venezuelan Progressive Movement Secretary General José Simón Calzadilla Peraza (Aragua State) as well as Andrés Enrique Delgado Velázquez.
Wanted agitators of the opposition. Six of the seven opposition deputies accused of treason following the events of April 30. Simon Calzadilla (top left), Henry Ramos Allup (top center), Richard Blanco (top right), Marianela Magallanes Lopez (bottom left), Americo de Grazia (bottom center) and Luis Florido (bottom right). (EFE)
All have been held responsible for the violation of articles 128, 132, 143, 145 , 163, 213, 285, stipulated in the Venezuelan Penal Code, before the Flagrant Commission of Common Crimes.
This request for indictment was made official by the Attorney General of the Public Ministry of Venezuela Tarek Willian Saab.
Meanwhile, the Plenary Chamber of the Venezuelan Supreme Court decided to send a certified copy to the President of the National Constituent Assembly of Venezuela (ANC), Diosdado Cabello, so that he continues the judicial process against the seven opposition deputies.
The lights in the chamber went out temporarily as a senior assembly member, Edgar Zambrano, was speaking. The cause of the power cut was unclear.
Last week, Venezuela's pro-Maduro top court opened a treason investigation of Zambrano, who had joined opposition leader Juan Guaidó outside a military base in Caracas during a failed call on the armed forces to overthrow Maduro.
Reportedly the Deputy Marianela Magallanes (aka Mariela) fled the pending arrest and took already refuge in the Italian embassy in Caracas.
The Constitutional Asembly of Venezuela - the actual parliament of the legitimate government of Venezuela works and operates in a very transparent way.
ANC Lifts Parliamentary Immunity From 7 Deputies for Participating in Failed Coup (WATCH Video)
The National Constituent Assembly (ANC) of Venezuela approved on Tuesday unanimously, the lifting of the parliamentary immunity of six male deputies and one female deputy for being involved in the attempted coup last April 30. After the interventions of several constituents, the President of the ANC, Diosdado Cabello, called the vote, approving the withdrawal of immunity from Edgar Zambrano, Luis Florido, Henry Ramos Allup, Richard Blanco, Marianella Magallanes, Simón Calzadilla and Américo Di Grazia .
"It is now on behalf of the competent authorities that justice is done," said Cabello, who also said that there will be 3 more deputies, who will be lose immunity at the next session.
In VTV broadcast, the constituent Darío Vivas, said that these citizens are part of a group that does not have a political project, "their only intention is to deliver our independence and sovereignty to the transnationals." Vivas extended his congratulations and thanks for his loyalty and commitment to the homeland to the commander of the REDI Capital, Alexis Rodríguez Cabello, who "appeared alone at the scene of the coup d'etat where those guys were armed, without caring in the least."
For his part, the constituent for the elderly, Rafael Argoti, said it is the duty of parliament to deepen justice to stop the coup actions of the Venezuelan opposition and make them understand that there is a Chavista force that has seized the bosom and the spirit of the people through the Constitution of the Republic. "This request is for once and for all to begin to materialize the peace and calm of the Venezuelan people," he said.
Also, Fernando Rivero, stressed that the right seeks a military intervention seeking to snatch the gains achieved by the Bolivarian Government. "We Bolivarians are going to succeed."
Likewise, the president of the commission on Women's Rights and Gender Equity, María León, recalled the permanent defeats that the United States (US) Government has suffered in countries with awareness and ideas of social inclusion for their peoples, on the continent. He highlighted among these peoples' deeds, the victory of Playa Girón in Cuba, when the united people defeated a brigade of American mercenaries, this being the first defeat of imperialism in Latin America.
"We have been defeating them (the US) for four consecutive years since our President arrived, which hurts them. They came with the April 30 maneuver wanting to overshadow May 1st and we gave it a great defeat," Leon said. (Alba Ciudad - Translated by: EF-OT)
MUST READ: Fake News: CNN Falsely Claims US-Appointed Venezuelan Coup Plotter Guaidó was "Elected"
Venezuela Lifts Controls on Banks Trading Foreign Currency
Venezuela's opposition-led National Assembly [in contempt] voted unanimously Tuesday to make a $71 million interest payment
At the call of Venezuelan President @NicolasMaduro, citizens across #Venezuela are gathering to discuss changes improvements to the Bolivarian Revolution with regards to the social and economic plan 2019 - 2025.
The Venezuelan government will take three airports in Caracas under direct control in order to prevent illicit activities on their territory, Venezuelan Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said on Tuesday.
"On the instruction of our President Nicolas Maduro, we announce that the government undertakes administrative and operative control over the airports of Caracas, Higuerote and Metropolitano in order to take effective measures and prevent illicit activities," he wrote on Twitter.
The minister noted that the officials will restructure the offices of Interpol, criminal investigation department, border, drug control and immigration services at those airports.
More than 2,000 people have been arrested in Venezuela for political reasons since the beginning of the year, most of them detained during anti-government protests, an NGO reported Tuesday.
"Between January 1 and the month of May 2019, 2,014 persons have been arrested, the majority of them protesters," said Alfredo Romero, head of Venezuela's Foro Penal prisoners' rights NGO. More than 800 are still in detention, Romero told a press conference.
France and Britain hold a similar number of recent street protesters in their jails, while the USA outnumbers them all, and that since years.
Juan Guaido and his mentor Leopoldo Lopez are now both fugitives in hiding after botched coup and only live by twitter - cartoon credit: @CuatroFWeb
Guaido blames coup backers for 'failing to follow through' in Venezuela
US-backed Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido blames "people who failed to follow through" for the demise of last week's attempt to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro's government – but believes there's still hope.
"There were people who failed to follow through," Guaido told AFP on Monday, but "it doesn't mean that they won't do it soon." The self-appointed interim president didn't specify who his backers were, but they aren't the only ones he has blamed for Maduro's refusal to quietly go away.
Guaido previously blamed the military for not rushing to his side after he called on them to defect last Tuesday, though he stressed his door is still open to anyone who wants to defect. "We still need more soldiers, and maybe we need more officials of the regime to be willing to support it," he told the Washington Post on Saturday, and he indicated to AFP that interest has increased. "There have been discussions…with civil and military officials," he said, insisting "we are very close to achieving change in Venezuela."
Freddy Superlano, who the Post calls the "architect" of Guaido's "Operation Freedom," blamed turncoat Maduro loyalists for the coup's failure, claiming a cell of top Maduro officials – including defense minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez – had secretly hatched a plot with Guaido mentor Leopoldo Lopez to "give Maduro up" in exchange for holding on to their positions in the new regime. "We moved forward out of trust that the top ranks [of the government] would make announcements against Maduro," Superlano complained, though he claims negotiations with the officials "are still happening" despite their unequivocal condemnation of the coup, and that Maduro's government will collapse any minute now.
Guaido's supporters might be next on the blame list. Protesters are reportedly weary of being used as "cannon fodder" and have gone public with their discontent as the opposition leader called for still more street protests on Sunday. Efforts to flood the streets with supporters in order to hand-deliver another call to arms to military barracks also fizzled as "hundreds rather than the anticipated thousands" turned out to do Guaido's bidding.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza has pinned responsibility for the failed coup on the CIA as well as his country's opposition, claiming the US agency had a "joint plan" with Guaido's Venezuelan backers, while Maduro placed the blame squarely on Guaido and his inner circle's heads, in a speech the day after the failed coup, telling the crowd that "the Venezuelan coup leaders not only deceived themselves, but also deceived US imperialists, saying that I was going to leave the country." Maduro affirmed the "total loyalty" of all senior military officers and called on them to be ready to defend Venezuela against an invasion by the US, which was operating "a conspiracy with a lot of money in order to destroy and divide our armed forces from the inside, with the help of a group of traitors."
The Trump administration has not given up on regime change, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo continuing to insist that "all options are on the table" in Venezuela and claiming "any action we took in Venezuela would be lawful" as he commanded Russian personnel to leave "our hemisphere."
"Every country that is interfering with the Venezuelan people's right to restore their own democracy needs to leave," Pompeo said.
MUST READ: Fabricating a Coup D'Etat: Lessons From April 30
Alfred de Zayas: "U.S. may try to kill the legitimate head of Venezuela - President Maduro."
U.S. to Increase Pressure on Venezuela, May Try to Kill Maduro – Ex-UN Rapporteur
The U.S.-backed coup attempt in Venezuela is not going well, with the Bolivarian Republic's army and senior officials still standing up for legitimately elected President Nicolas Maduro. Speaking to Sputnik, Alfred de Zayas, an American lawyer, and Professor Julia Buxton shared their views on Washington's failed efforts to oust Maduro.
According to Alfred de Zayas, an American lawyer, writer, historian, and former UN rapporteur to Venezuela, Washington's failure to replace Maduro with Juan Guaido, the self-proclaimed interim president, may prompt the U.S. to try to kill the legitimate head of Venezuela.
"I know from reliable sources that for several months now the U.S. has been offering vast amounts of money and promising other perks to any military who will defect", he told Sputnik. "Undoubtedly they have financed each and every coup attempt, including failed attempts to have Maduro assassinated. The U.S. will continue on this path, and maybe they will succeed in having Maduro murdered".
However, according to Zayas, even if they get rid of Maduro, the U.S. would not have got closer to their goal: "Pursuant to article 233 of the Venezuelan Constitution, the current vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, would become interim president, and not Gauido, who has zero legitimacy under the Venezuelan Constitution".
There could be yet another scenario, a false flag operation, under which the CIA would kill Guaido and use it as a pretext for intervention, the lawyer suggested.
"Of course, [it would be] totally illegal, but when has international law deterred Washington?" he asked rhetorically.
Meanwhile, U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton has repeatedly stated that when it comes to Venezuela, all options are on the table.
Julia Buxton: The failing Venezuelan opposition "needs to reconnect with the majority of the Venezuelan people."
Julia Buxton, professor of comparative politics at the Central European University, highlighted that the international community is increasingly concerned about the potential military scenario. Mexico and Germany have recently made it clear that a potential U.S. intervention would lead to catastrophic consequences.
"I think Mexico and Germany and many other countries are quite right in being deeply concerned about the impact and consequences of any type of U.S. military intervention", she said. "I think right now there is concern, there is a worry, there is the threat that the U.S. might engage in some form of military strike or military action. I wouldn't rule it out; it's a very unpredictable U.S. government right now".
However, President Trump has recently urged caution among senior advisers, warning them against bellicose rhetoric. Apparently, Trump's change of heart was prompted by the fact that the military uprising that Guaido and Washington were laying hopes on had failed to gain steam.
USA Fuelling Guaido Opposition With Influx of Cash
Referring to reports that the Trump administration was seeking a way to further financially support Guaido, with an "influx of cash", the former UN rapporteur suggested that Washington would not spend its own money, but rather use frozen Venezuelan assets.
"The U.S. has already frozen or stolen as much as $30 billion worth of Venezuelan assets in the U.S.", he elaborated. "They are making this money available to Guaido already. No need to touch U.S. assets".
For her part, Buxton pointed out that the U.S. had "already been sending substantial amounts of money to the Venezuelan opposition movement for at least two decades".
"This has been mainly through the umbrella of the so-called Democracy Promotion Assistance. It's been a considerable amount of money, it's funded a lot of opposition activities over the years, and it has been a real problem and wholly counterproductive for the opposition, because what the opposition needs to do is reconnect with the majority of the Venezuelan people", she explained.
Regardless of these efforts, as well as the asset freeze and unilateral sanctions, the Venezuelan government continues to resist Washington's pressure. The truth of the matter is that Donald Trump and his aides "understand nothing of the Venezuelan mentality", Zayas opined.
"Some Venezuelan officials and military have allowed themselves to be bribed. Corruption does exist and is avidly promoted by Washington. But Abrams is deluding himself if he thinks that all Venezuelans can be bought by the CIA", he said.
According to Zayas, a lot depends on the loyalty of the Venezuelan military. If the U.S. succeeds in reaching an agreement with the Bolivarian Republic's high-ranking officers, the country would be dragged into a civil war, he believes, "because there are many soldiers and nine million committed Chavistas, who will not roll over".
"What the U.S. hopes is that there will be chaos as in Iraq and Libya, and there will always be good business opportunities. It is unlikely that Venezuela will join the Club of Lima and the assembly of U.S. puppet governments in Latin America. Chaos and destabilisation can serve U.S. geopolitical interests well", the lawyer warned.
Meanwhile, officials in Washington are making attempts to pin the blame for their failure on Russia, which continues to support the legitimate Venezuelan government, along with China, Turkey, Cuba, Mexico, and many other international players. On 5 May, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News that "every country must get out" of Venezuela "including the Russians".
On 6 May, following talks with Secretary of State Pompeo in the Finnish city of Rovaniemi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov ruled out the possibility of foreign military intervention in Venezuela.
"We are against hostilities anywhere in violation of international law, the use of force may only be authorised by the UN Security Council, or force may be used in response to aggression against a sovereign state. Nothing of the kind is observed in Venezuela in any variants", Lavrov stressed.
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The national coordinator of the Local Supply and Production Committees (CLAP), Freddy Bernal, said on Tuesday in the TV show "Al Aire" in VTV, that "it is not possible" that the food box containing basic basket products arrive every 15 days – as ordered by the president of the Republic, Nicolás Maduro- to the 6 million households serve by this key social program. Reason are the inhumane U.S. sanctions.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence seems to still not have realized what he is up against.
International Civil Society groups have now begun to ask banks and financial institutions if they hold any account for Donald Trump (see Deutsche Bank), for Mike Pence, for Mike "Fats" Pompeo, for John Bolton or for Ellias Abrams. Failure to disclose would let the civil rights groups assume that these banksters hold such accounts and such will then lead to calls whereby these financial institutions will be subjected to BDS measures by the world community and all people worldwide.
Pence to offer 'carrots' to Venezuela military, warnings to judges
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is set on Tuesday to offer new incentives to Venezuela's military to turn against President Nicolas Maduro, responding to an attempted uprising that fizzled out last week, a senior administration official told Reuters.
In a speech to the Americas Society at the State Department, scheduled for 3:25 p.m. (19:25 GMT/UTC) today, Pence will also warn that the United States will soon move to sanction 25 additional magistrates on Venezuela's supreme court, the official said on Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Pence will also offer assistance for refugees who have fled the country, and an economic aid package contingent on a political transition, according to the official.
Pence's speech will be the first look at the Trump administration's recalibrated strategy following massive street protests last week led by Juan Guaido, the opposition leader backed by the United States and most other Western countries.
Guaido had described the protests as the start of his "final phase" to oust Maduro, but mass military defections failed to come to fruition.
President Donald Trump has invested considerable political capital in the diplomatic and economic intervention in the Venezuela crisis.
Although Guaido's attempted uprising failed to immediately dislodge Maduro, it exposed new fissures within the country, the official said.
"A week before last, all the media - including you guys, everybody - was writing about how there's no way forward, complete stalemate," the official said.
"Suddenly last week, everyone woke up."
NEW CARROTS, AND A STICK
Guaido, the president of the country's national assembly, invoked Venezuela's constitution in January to declare himself interim president of the country, arguing that Maduro's 2018 re-election was illegitimate.
Maduro - who has said Guaido is a puppet of Washington - has sought to show that the military remains on his side, but opposition leaders and U.S. officials have said that support is tenuous.
"They sat back in the barracks and they're there, but they don't want to be identified as the institutional source of repression," the official said.
Pence will offer new "carrots" to the Venezuelan military, the senior official told Reuters, declining to provide details of the incentives ahead of the speech.
"He'll be showing where the opportunities lay if people do the right thing moving forward," the official said.
Pence is also set to outline new assistance for Venezuelans who have fled the oil-rich OPEC member, which has been plagued by hyperinflation and shortages of food, water, power and medicine - and a "Day One" economic assistance plan for Venezuela contingent on Maduro's departure, the official added.
The vice president in addition will deliver a "warning shot" to magistrates on Venezuela's supreme court. The Treasury Department sanctioned the court's president, Maikel Moreno, in 2017 and the seven principal members of its constitutional chamber - and is now preparing to sanction the 25 remaining members of the court, the official said.
"We feel like that's where the pressure needs to be," according to the official.
"All 32 magistrates in the TSJ are going to sink or swim together," the official said, using the acronym for Tribunal Supremo de Justicia.
The court would be responsible for signing off on any warrant for an arrest of Guaido - a move the U.S. official emphasized would have severe consequences.
The United States imposed sweeping sanctions on Venezuela's state-owned oil company, PDVSA, in January. Oil provides 90 percent of export revenue for Venezuela.
The administration also continues to work on other responses to increase financial pressure on Maduro, including "secondary sanctions" on companies from other countries that do business with Venezuela, and additional shipping sanctions for oil, the official said.
The Donald and Mike Pence have made a name for themselves as the top-mobsters from the USA in the global arena trying to impose their want on the free world.
COMMENT: Editor: Does REUTERS now want to camouflage the facts of the failed coup attempt by Pence's posterboy Guaido by calling it just street protests? Please note that the so-called Venezuelan National Assembly is in contempt of Supreme Court orders, that Guaido has been stripped of his post and his parliamentarian immunity and has criminal charges to answer. How do you call a government that backs criminals in other countries? This kind of pre-release of "news" via the usual suspects like REUTERS is obviously an attempt to massage public opinion and it is very clearly an attempt to intimidate independent judges of a sovereign nation. That is simply going much too far. Necessary response: Suspend the present U.S.American administration from all international diplomatic venues until they learn to respect international laws and regulations, which were agreed and made to maintain peace. Venezuela and its 32 million people are in the throes of a worsening economic crisis that has spawned rampant inflation and a scarcity in medical and other supplies due to the U.S. imposed sanctions, the freezing of governmental funds and gold reserves, which were entrusted by the Venezuelans to U.S., European and international banks - and are now withheld in a way that amounts to outright theft and daylight robbery. Pompeo's behaviour in foreign politics is damaging foreign relations for the USA seriously, not only reflected by the now broken relationship Trump had initially built with North Korea, based on their good will, but now even China declared today that #China will not participate in negotiations on any trilateral nuclear disarmament agreement with the #UnitedStates and #Russia. Trump's "AMERICA" gets isolated more and more - whereby the Europeans have now officially broken with the White House policy on Iran. 3D chess is not for Pompeo, who could not even manage that his old CIA networks in Venezuela function and he could tell Trump only the nonsense that had been spun for them.
A FACTSHEET details that the U.S. government has made over 150 sanction designations to individuals and entities in Venezuela since 2017 via Executive Orders (E.O.) and the so-called Kingpin Act. This includes 10 sets of designations in 2019 alone to multiple individuals, entities, and listings of properties. It continues to list the State Department's self-described "key outcomes for 2019" which include an economic hitlist describing the illegal seizure of the Venzuelan refiner Citgo, over US$3.2 billion in overseas assets frozen, the political pressure to deter third parties to take Venezuelan gold and buy the country's oil. The factsheet, though it was takn down from the U.S. State Departments website shortly after publication (see THE VENEZUELA FILES IV) is still available at least on one U.S. embassy website and saved HERE.
MUST READ: D Is for a Dictatorship Disguised as a Democracy
WANTED: Former head of Venezuela's intelligence service and U.S. paid double agent Manuel Ricardo Cristopher Figuera
Pence: US Removes All Sanctions on their Venezuelan Double Agent, the Military Official Who Joined Guaido
The United States has lifted all sanctions on Venezuela's former intelligence service chief Gen. Manuel Cristopher Figuera after he broke ranks with President Nicolas Maduro last week to support opposition leader Juan Guaido, US Vice President Mike Pence said in a speech.
"In recognition of his recent actions in support of democracy and the rule of law, I'm announcing today that the United States of American is removing all sanctions on General Manuel Cristopher Figuera effective immediately", Pence told the Washington Conference on the Americas held at the State Department on Tuesday.
The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Figuera on 15 February under the heading current or former official in the Maduro government.
The Treasury Department said in a statement on Tuesday that the decision to remove all of Figuera's sanctions demonstrates Washington's intent to bring a positive change of behavior through sanctions.
Figuera was the sole regime insider to defy Maduro during the uprising, although the White House contends several others, including Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino, had been in talks for weeks with the opposition to oust Maduro but backed away from the plan at the last minute.
On Wednesday, Maduro discharged Figuera from service along with 55 other soldiers accused of taking part in Guaido's uprising.
Among them was National Guard Lt. Col. Illich Sanchez, who oversaw protection to the opposition-controlled National Assembly and accompanied Guaidó during the uprising last week. US-Backed Guaido Claims 'Military Intervention' is Still on Table for Venezuela
Moreover, the US will hold all 25 Venezuelan Supreme Court magistrates accountable if they do not uphold the rule of law in the country, Pence said
"It is time for the Supreme Court in Venezuela to return to its founding purpose", Pence said on Tuesday. If the Supreme Court of Venezuela does not return to its constitutional mandate to uphold the rule of law, the United States of America will hold all 25 of its magistrates accountable for their actions," stated Pence in a clear violation of international law, which does not permit him to give instructions to independent judges in any sovereign nation.Pence said the Venezuelan Supreme Court has undermined its constitutional mandate and become a political tool.
Russian Senator Konstantin Kosacho: Moscow will interpret any scenario of U.S. military intervention as an illegal aggression under international. law.
Russian Senator: We Will See Everything Implying US Military Intervention in Venezuela as an Aggression
Senator Konstantin Kosachov, head of the international committee of the Upper House of the Russian Federation, said that everything that implies a US military intervention in Venezuela will be seen by Russia as an aggression, Sputnik said on its web portal.
Kosachov affirmed that "of course we are going to interpret as an aggression any scenario of US military intervention, because Venezuela only has one president", and stressed that the oppositor Juan Guaidó has confirmed that he does not have the support of the people or the army.
Also, on the willingness of Juan Guaidó to study the offer of military US intervention, the senator said that "it completely dispels the doubts about the interests he is serving."
He also stressed that "the United States would have to assume in fact the reprehensible role of invader and aggressor, instead of inspiring and instigating as now. Even assuming that Guaidó came to power thanks to American bayonets, he would hardly gain popularity and legitimacy in the country and in the world.
This assertion was made by the senator after an interview with The Washington Post newspaper, where the self-proclaimed Juan Guaidó acknowledged that he needs "more soldiers" and "support from higher positions in the regime" to overthrow the government of Nicolás Maduro.
To the question of what he would do in the face of an intervention offer by the US, Guaidó declared that it would be considered and, perhaps, approved by the National Assembly in contempt. (Alba Ciudad - Translated by JRE\EF-OT)
MUST READ: Cuba Says Maduro Must Be at Negotiating Table to Fix Venezuela
A group of mostly European nations is looking to send a high-level delegation to Caracas in the coming days. European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini made the announcement in Costa Rica after a meeting of the countries. The International Contact Group wants to facilitate free presidential elections in Venezuela as soon as possible
Spain To Create Countermeasures Against U.S. Helms-Burton Act
An investment fund and advisory offices will help Spanish companies working in Cuba to face threats from the application of the U.S. sanction measure.
The Spanish government will open a US$420 million investment fund and advisory offices to protect its companies from the threat of U.S.-based lawsuits due to President Donald Trump's new sanctions against Cuba, Spain's Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism Reyes Maroto announced Monday.
A U.S. Department of State spokeswoman told EFE that the Helms-Burton Act seeks to "deprive the Cuban government of the wealth it needs to stay in power" and punish it for supporting Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro.
Spain: Communist Party Demands Pedro Sánchez Deliver Leopoldo López to Venezuelan Authorities
The Communist Party of Spain (PCE) asked the Spanish government, chaired by Pedro Sánchez, to abide by international standards and "stop giving shelter" to the fugitive from Venezuelan justice Leopoldo López, who fled the Spanish embassy in Caracas after failing in the attempt of the coup d'etat.
Through a communiqué, the PCE demanded that Sánchez deliver the leader of the right-wing Popular Will (VP) party to the Venezuelan authorities, since he is currently in that diplomatic headquarters as a "guest".
"We call for the socialist government to reflect and to move away from the path of servility to Trump, which it is on, along with other rulers such as Macri, Duque or Bolsonaro and to embark on the path that Mexico has followed from the beginning and Uruguay, recognizing the sovereignty of Venezuela and betting on peace and dialogue ", details the letter.
WANTED: Fugitive Leopoldo Lopez harboured and shielded by Spanish Ambassador in Caracas from re-arrest to serve his sentence for the serious crimes for which he was already prosecuted and from facing the fresh charges including treason, armed insurrection and incitement to violence, which caused five people to die.
Here, the full text of the statement:
After the events that took place on January 23, the date on which the opposition Juan Guaidó proclaimed himself President of Venezuela in a square in Caracas, there have been several coup attempts by this puppet of the Trump Administration.
After these acts governments servile to the United States as the Spanish one, immediately recognized the usurper as "President in Charge".
The last attempt to overthrow the legitimate president, Nicolás Maduro, by the United States took place on April 30, in the vicinity of the La Carlota air base, from where Guaidó and Leopoldo López, who violated his house arrest, made numerous calls for a military coup against the Venezuelan Government.
After a new failure in this attempted coup, López took refuge for a few hours at the Embassy of Chile, from which he moved to the Spanish Ambassador's Residence, where he is still today as a "guest", a position that does not have legal backing and that is not recognized by international law.
From this Spanish diplomatic headquarters in Caracas, López has acknowledged that he has not requested asylum from the Spanish Government and that he does not intend to do so, while at the same time he has continued to encourage the military coup against Nicolás Maduro.
The Government of Sánchez, showing a total servility to the dictates of the Trump Administration, has declared in a statement that it will continue to allow López to remain in the Ambassador's Residence as a "guest" and that they do not intend to deliver him to the Venezuelan authorities , though the Supreme Court has requested the arrest of the offender, for the breach of the house arrest in which he was after his involvement in the murder of 43 people in the context of the anti-government riots, promoted by him, in 2014.
Therefore, the Communist Party of Spain requires the Government of Pedro Sánchez to comply with international law and stop giving shelter to a criminal convicted by the courts of a sovereign country, such as Venezuela, and deliver López to the Venezuelan authorities.
We call for reflection from the Socialist Government to move away from the path of servility to Trump, which it is on, along with other rulers such as Macri, Duque or Bolsonaro and to embark on the path that from the first moment Mexico or Uruguay have followed, recognizing the sovereignty of Venezuela and betting on peace and dialogue.
Continuing with an attitude of support for the dictates of Trump's most warlike "hawks", could lead us to the rupture of diplomatic relations with a brother country such as Venezuela, at the same time that it brings us back to a lamentable past portrayed in the picture of the Azores.
The PCE reiterates its commitment and support to the legitimate Venezuelan Government and the Bolivarian Revolution. (La Iguana - Translated by: EF/JRE-OT)
Already earlier, on 11. February 2019, the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) condemned the Portuguese government's recognition of the deputy of the National Assembly in contempt, Juan Guaidó, who on January 23 proclaimed himself illegally "interim president" of Venezuela on the bequest of the USA.
Former Prime Minister of Spain Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero insisted on the better option of "negotiation, dialogue, and agreement" regarding the situation in Venezuela.
Spain's Zapatero Criticizes Trump, Calls for Venezuela Dialogue
"I feel sad to hear many opinions about Venezuela from people who have never been there," the former Spanish Prime Minister said.
Former Prime Minister of Spain Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero defended Tuesday the option of "negotiation, dialogue, and agreement" regarding the situation in Venezuela "because any other alternative will not prosper."
Zapatero also criticized United States president, Donald Trump, and his administration's advisers for speaking of the Latin American country without having actually visited it, saying it is "very disturbing, very serious" some of the positions held by the United States administration "since President Trump made Venezuela a target."
Of "the great advisers and strategists of the American administration who speak every day, how many know Venezuela? How many have spoken with a Venezuelan who is not just those who mark the line?"
Spain became entangled in the ongoing situation in Venezuela since Opposition leader Leopold Lopez sought refuge in the country's embassy in Caracas April 30 after evading house arrest and appearing beside the self-proclaimed interim President Juan Guaido, in a video calling for a military uprising earlier that same day.
On Thursday, May 2, the Fifth Court of the Criminal Judicial District of Caracas ordered his re-arrest and for the opposition figure to carry out the remainder of his sentence in the National Military Center at Ramo Verd.
That night, Spain's acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, whose Socialist Party (PSOE) won general elections last Sunday, announced his government has no plans at the moment to turn over the politician to Venezuelan authorities.
"We have the fundamental responsibility in a friendly country, brother, to bet for peace, not for force, for dialogue, not for confrontation, for aid and not for sanctions," Zapatero said.
"These are my very deep convictions after having an intense understanding of the country, and I feel sad to hear many opinions about Venezuela from people who have never been there."
Laurentino "Nito" Cortizo is set to review Panama's stand concerning Guaido. Already earlier Germany and Spain had not recognized the envoys Juan Guaido wanted to impose, but rather stayed with the ambassadors of the Maduro government.
Panama's New Presidential Agenda:
Review Guido's Recognition and Panama's Roll in the Lima Group
On May 5, Panama chose Laurentino "Nito" Cortizo as its new president. Among the issues raised during his electoral campaign was to review the positions assumed by his country with respect to Venezuela. This includes the recognition given to Juan Guaidó as "interim president" and the position before the Lima Group by outgoing President Juan Carlos Varela.
The member of the Democratic Revolutionary Party, of a social democratic nature and founded by the nationalist leader Omar Torrijos, assured that he will put the support of his country to Guaidó "under the microscope". "I will talk face to face with each of the authors in this situation of bloodshed that no Venezuelan deserves." At the time he said that really hurts the circumstances in the South American country.
He also said that he knew that Venezuela is governed by Acción Democrática and Copei "and much of what has been presented is the product of situations that occurred at that time, in the name of democracy and their abuses," he said. (La IguanaTV - Translated by JRE\EF-OT)
MUST READ: How a Chinese venture in Venezuela made millions while locals grew hungry
and Which New War Next: Iran or Venezuela?
Pompeo Makes Surprise Visit to Iraq Amid Turmoil With Iran, and skips meeting with German Chancellor Merkel and his counterpart Heiko Maas.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made a surprise visit to Baghdad Tuesday in order to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi, the Reuters News Agency reported.
The visit came two days after U.S. national security adviser John Bolton said the United States was deploying the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and a bomber task force to the region because of a "credible threat by Iranian regime forces." Pompeo said the purpose of the meeting also was to let Iraqi officials know more about "the increased threat stream that we had seen" so they could effectively protect U.S. forces.
These "threats", analysts say, are actually not threats, but Washington realizes that more and more nations and their people turn their backs on the USA and just walk away from them.
Pompeo said he expressed U.S. support for Iraqi sovereignty, noting, "We don't want anyone interfering in their country, certainly not by attacking another nation inside of Iraq" - except themselves of course.
Despite Pompeo's attempts to persuade Iraq to cutoff ties with their neighbor to the east, Baghdad has remained neutral and maintains diplomatic and economic relations with Tehran.
"#Iran threatens to resume higher uranium enrichment in 60 days if world powers don't renegotiate nuclear deal a year after Trump withdrew from accord, raising tensions as #US carrier and bomber wing deploy to confront unspecified threats from #Tehran"
MUST READ: But who is Eva Bartlett? Why can we trust her?
Good Way also for Venezuela to Leave U.S. American Intermediaries in the Cold
Central Banks Settle Cross-Border Payments With Blockchain for First Time
The central banks of Canada and Singapore have concluded a trial of cross-border payments using blockchain technology and central bank digital currencies.
The Bank of Canada (BoC) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) jointly announced Thursday that the successful trial – the first of its kind between two central banks – showed "great potential to increase efficiencies and reduce risks for cross-border payments."
The effort saw BoC and MAS linking up their respective blockchain projects, Jasper and Ubin, which are built on two different blockchain networks: R3's Corda and JPMorgan's Quorum, respectively. The two networks were connected using a technique called hashed time-locked contracts and allowed direct Payment versus Payment (PvP) settlement without the use of an intermediary. BUT: Hackers Steal Over US$40M from Cryptocurrency Company Binance
However: Major Think Tank Envisions a Bright Future for Cryptocurrency in Venezuela
The USNS Comfort - a U.S. Navy hospital ship - will be deployed in Southern American waters, to help and provide Venezuelan refugees who fled #Venezuela the last couple of years for medical care in the docks of #Colombia. Analyst wonder what pain-causing heavy military cargo this naval vessel might carry apart from the pain-killers.
MUST READ: Hondurans defeat privatization measure with massive mobilizations
Honduras must now unfortunately be deleted from the list of states from Middle-America with any real hope for de-colonization and freedom. A multilateral military treaty between #Honduras, #Israel, and the #UnitedStates will see the deployment of 1000 #Israeli soldiers in Honduras. Also other South-American countries face Israeli military influx. The UN is utterly failing to assist the Indigenous Peoples of Honduras in their rights to see true decolonization taking place.
We Have to Save His Life: Pamela Anderson Visits Julian Assange in Prison Celebrity Activist Pamela Anderson Tuesday called to "save the life" of Julian Assange whom she visited in the London prison of Belmarsh where he has been held since his illegal expulsion on April 11 from the Ecuadorean embassy and subsequent arrest by the British government. @pamfoundation This (Assange arrest) is a threat to journalists but it's also something that threatens everyone.
First visitors to high security prison where Julian #Assange is: @pamfoundation @SwaziJAF and @khrafnsson
VIDEO: 'I feel sick': Pamela Anderson after she visited Julian Assange in jail
The @UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention is demanding the immediate release of @wikileaks founder: ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24552&LangID
… Demand his release! #FreeAssange
Afshin Rattansi: Not one tweet today from "Committee to Protect Journalists" @pressfreedom (sic) about #JulianAssange of #WikiLeaks who exposed the murder of @Reuters journalists & was visited today by @pamfoundation while arbitrarily detained by UK authorities..but they had time to attack #AMLO
Likewise the Anglo-American "Human Rights" figleave and smokescreen Amnesty International still doesn't recognise Chelsea Manning as a Prisoner of Conscience
Chelsea Manning in her own words denounces torturous conditions and 'abuse of the judicial system for political ends'
Father Trump was the winner, though with shady businesses like brothels, but son Donald has been the business looser - though he got a lot for his personal gains.
Glenn Greenwald: The NYT, and its reporters, have been encouraging people to break the law to get Trump's tax info & send it to them. It worked. And that's good! That's what journalists do. And that's what makes the indictment of Assange so dangerous: it attempts to criminalize actions like this.
NYT: FATHER & SON: We now have tax info on Fred Trump & Donald Trump for a number of years. The upshot: Fred always made a lot of money. Donald always lost a lot of money. For a reminder on just how rich Fred was, here's our 2018 tax fraud investigation. Trump, a real estate magnate who turned over the running of his businesses to his sons after his election in 2016, touted his business acumen and negotiating skills on the campaign trail.
Trump broke with a decades-old precedent by refusing to release his tax returns as a presidential candidate in 2016 or since being elected, saying he could not do so while his taxes were being audited.
On Monday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin refused a request by the Democratic chairman of the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee for Trump's tax returns.
MUST READ: Shadow Government - Trump's Iran Policy Is Becoming Dangerous
Growing evidence suggests the U.S. president is traveling a path toward war—whether he knows it or not.
Two Reuters journalists were released unexpectedly today in a presidential prisoner-release pardon-show of several thousand prisoners, after the duo had spent 511 days in Myanmar detention and jail, to which they had been sentenced on espionage charges allegedly committed during their investigation of the genocide the military part of the government launched against the Rohingya people. They were prosecuted for this true report. Still media freedom in Myanmar is getting worse, while the own party of ruling president Aung San Suu Kyi - one person on the long list of Nobel prize receipients who committed crimes against humanity or did nothing against it though they could - finds it quite convenient to maintain the oppressive laws to stifle opposition members and dissidents.
#OnThisDay we remember #JosipBrozTito, the Yugoslav leader during #WWII. He fought #Nazi occupation, made #Yugoslavia independent from the Soviet Union in 1948, and served as President until 1980. Tito served in the Red Army during the Russian civil war of 1918 to 1920. He was first elected president in 1953 and reelected several times thereafter until 1980, the year of his death. Tito was the only leader who managed to keep Yugoslavia together.
Update MON 06. May 2019 (vf): Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza @jaarreaza denounced the criminal blockade that has been imposed by the #UnitedStates and its allies against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and that more than five billion dollars of the Venezuelan government are blocked by the #US in European and international banks. Through the policy 'change by force', the U.S. has decided to drown the #Venezuelan economy. The people of the world join their voices to support #Venezuela in the fight against the criminal blockade imposed by the U.S. Government which has done so much damage to our people. Today the world favours #TrumpUnblockVenezuela
The #Russian Chancellor intends to create a countries coalition in the #UN to counteract a possible US invasion of #Venezuela. This group of countries has the support in @ONU_es because it is about defending the norms of international law.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza sets the record straight at special press conference in Moscow. He agreed with Russian FM Lavrov who has stated categorically in reference to the sabre-rattling by the USA against Venezuela: "The use of force can only be authorized by the UN Security Council, or it can be applied in response to an aggression against a sovereign State. None of that, none of those options, is observed in Venezuela."
Venezuela Vows Response if US Takes Military Action
Venezuela's Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza stressed on Monday that Caracas prefers diplomacy to solve the ongoing political crisis, but is ready for any scenario, and will retaliate if the United States chooses to take military action against the government of President Nicolas Maduro.
"We are prepared for any scenario… If [the US] prefers the military path, we are ready to resist — we have an army, police, our people, and we are ready to destroy any army, no matter how powerful it is", he said, adding that Caracas has consistently called on Washington to resolve all issues through dialogue.
The foreign minister continued by saying that the number of Russian military experts in Venezuela may be increased.
"I would like to remind [you] that a large part of military equipment in Venezuela is Russian… [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin has offered us the best equipment that exists now and it allowed us to create a strong defence structure. All this requires maintenance. We need to improve it, exchange information. Currently, there is a commission of specialists in Venezuela, of course, it can be expanded", Arreaza told reporters.
Arreaza then claimed that the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Venezuelan opposition have devised a plan to oust Maduro in order to get hold of the country's natural resources.
The foreign minister's comments come shortly after Juan Guaido, Venezuela's self-proclaimed interim president, told the BBC that he "will evaluate all options if necessary" when asked if he would welcome US military intervention.
Even though his coup attempt failed last week, Guaido claims that it is "clearly visible that the armed forces no longer support Maduro". "I think the only one who really hurts himself is Maduro. He has been losing again and again. He is increasingly weak, increasingly alone, and has no international support. On the contrary, we gain acceptance, support and future options", he said.
Speaking with The Washington Post after the botched coup attempt, Guaido branded the discussions of military options in the US "great news".
"That's great news to Venezuela because we are evaluating all options. It's good to know that important allies like the US are also evaluating the option. That gives us the possibility that if we need cooperation, we know we can get it", Guaido told the news outlet.
The developments follow US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's interview with ABC, in which he claimed that any US action in the Latin American country would be "lawful".
Pompeo went as far as to say that US President Donald Trump "has his full range of Article 2 authorities", when asked if POTUS believed he could intervene militarily in Venezuela without congressional approval.
In the meantime, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has announced that Moscow is planning to create a bloc of countries to counter a potential US intervention.
"I hope that it will receive serious support from the organisation, because we're talking about a very simple issue — one that's hard to distort: the defence of the fundamental norms and principles of international law as they are defined in the UN Charter". "Venezuelan gold worth 1.359 billion Euros is blocked at the Bank of England, 1.043 billion Euros belonging to PDVSA are blocked at (Portugal's) Novo Banco. Part of that money is used to pay for the treatment of 26 patients needing bone marrow transplants," Arreaza said, referring to a PDVSA program that funds medical treatment for children abroad.
The "U.S. criminal blockade against Venezuela seeks a leadership change in the Venezuelan government through the suffering of the people," the Venezuelan Foreign Minister said during his press conference after his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Arreaza pointed out that while Venezuela does not pose a threat to the people of the United States, Venezuelans will not hesitate to defend themselves from any military intervention.
"The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela does not represent a threat to the United States, but also in the case of a military intervention, the Bolivarian National Armed Forces and the people of Venezuela are prepared to defend their sovereignty," Arreaza said. "We are creating alternate routes with Russia, China and other allies in order to counter this economic blockade. Even the ships that carry the oil to Cuba are being sanctioned. It is a criminal blockade."
Last week, Guaido released a video in which he encouraged civilians and soldiers to join his so-called Operation Freedom to drive out legitimately elected Maduro, claiming that he had the backing of the armed forces.
Maduro, for his part, reassured the people that he had spoken with the country's military chiefs, who reaffirmed their "complete loyalty to the people, the Constitution and homeland". His comments were supported by Venezuela's defence minister.
Fugitive outlaw Juan Guaido later admitted that the opposition had overestimated its backing within the military and said that they had expected Maduro to resign in the face of an increasing number of defectors; but only a handful of soldiers decided to turn their backs on the president.
Venezuela has been mired in an ongoing political crisis since early January, when Guaido was elected the head of the opposition-led National Assembly that all other government branches have been refusing to recognise since 2016.
In mid-January, two days after the Venezuelan Supreme Court annulled his election, Guaido proclaimed himself interim president in defiance of legitimate President Maduro, who was sworn in for a second term on 10 January.
Guaido's move was immediately recognised by the United States, with other countries around the world following suit, while Maduro blasted Guaido as a US "puppet" and dismissed the entire situation as a coup attempt staged by Washington.
Venezuela and Iran have a long history of amicable respect, cooperation and friendship between their peoples.
Iran, which has been living under tight US sanctions for several decades, is consulting the crisis-hit Venezuela on how to overcome economic blockade and boost production, Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza revealed.
For several decades, Tehran "has been growing its economy under the [US-imposed] sanctions in a bid to seek independence in various industries," Arreaza told reporters during his visit to Moscow. Explaining further, he said Iran has indispensable experience in defying continuous US pressure.
We have a lot to learn from Iran. We have Iranian consultants in Venezuelan government that help us survive the blockade and boost production.
Iran has been suffering from US-imposed sanctions since the 1979 Islamic Revolution which toppled the pro-Western Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The restrictions targeted Iranian finances, exports and imports, as well as energy and the military.
Most of the sanctions that crippled Iran's economy were lifted after Iran and the five world powers, the US, the UK, France, China and Russia, plus Germany, signed the 2015 nuclear deal. But the US has unilaterally quit the landmark accord under President Donald Trump who labelled it as "the worst deal ever," and reimposed the sanctions last November.
Likewise, the US slapped Venezuela with restrictions targeting the Latin American country's oil industry, including the major state-run company PDVSA. These sanctions were strongly condemned by Caracas which dismissed them as economic blackmail.
Iranian advisory aside, Venezuela is seeking alternative ways of dealing with friendly countries around the world, including China and Russia. "These methods and routes aren't built up overnight, we need much time to create them," he admitted.
Lavrov and Pompeo held a brief, uneasy meeting in which Pompeo also tried to tell Russia to keep their hands off the Arctic - just hillarious given the fact that the Russians are much longer in the Arctic than the colonial Americans and so long that they could unfortunately sell Alaska to the U.S.Americans, which remains a case for de-colonization until today by which the Inuit must get their full rights back. Alaska must be free again.
After Pompeo Meeting, Russia's Lavrov Says US Military Action in Venezuela Would Be 'Catastrophic'
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made the comments after hold a rare face-to-face meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Finland.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held talks with his U.S. counterpart Mike Pompeo in Finland Monday after which he warned that U.S. military intervention in Venezuela would be catastrophic and unjustified.
The two men met on the sidelines of a meeting of the Arctic Council in Finland.
Lavrov told reporters his meeting had been constructive and that the two top diplomats had made decent progress when it came to discussing strategic nuclear stability.
Lavrov also said he was sure that Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump would have another chance to meet again after their summit in Helsinki last year.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Reuters he brought up the issue of 'Russian interference' in US elections with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Finland. There was no confirmation of this from Moscow, however.
Lavrov had a brief press conference following his meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, on the sidelines of the Arctic Council in Rovaniemi, Finland on Monday. One of the few questions came from CNN, asking what "leverage or opportunities" Russia had to stop a US military intervention in Venezuela.
"Some call your company CNN 'fake news,' and now you are asking a fake question," Lavrov replied.
Joking aside, the Russian top diplomat continued, Russia is categorically against any military intervention anywhere without UN Security Council authorization.
RELATED CONTENT: Foreign Minister Arreaza: "The People of Venezuela Are Prepared to Defend Their Sovereignty"
ICG Believes Russia Should Be Part of Dialogue on Venezuela - Swedish Diplomat
The members of the International Contact Group (ICG) on Venezuela are convinced that no country, including Russia, should be kept out of dialogue aimed at finding a solution to the political crisis in Venezuela, Swedish State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Annika Soder told Sputnik in an interview.
Swedish State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Annika Soder promoted the approach to involve all stakeholder to find peaceful solution for the benefit of the people of Venezuela.
"Everyone should be included in conversations. Sweden strongly believes in talking instead of fighting, so we don't exclude anyone in being involved in trying to find a solution in Venezuela. So, it's not about excluding anyone, it's really about talking and reaching out to everyone", Soder said when asked whether Russia should participate in the discussions of the Venezuelan crisis.
Speaking about the extension of the ICG mandate, the Swedish diplomat said that the group was already preparing a declaration, which would lay out the future of the body.
"We are preparing a declaration now and I hope it will be explanatory in itself on what we think is the best way forward both when it comes to our principles and when it comes to what we plan to do", Soder said.
In the meantime, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed the situation in Caracas with his Canadian counterpart Chrystia Freeland ahead of the 11th Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting in Finland.
The Latin American country has been suffering from severe political crisis since late January when US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido proclaimed himself interim president in a bid to oust President Nicolas Maduro from power, as the opposition did not recognise his re-election last year.
Washington and its allies have endorsed Guaido, calling on Maduro to step down and for a new election to be held. Bolivia, China, Russia, Turkey and a number of other states, however, have voiced their support for Maduro as Venezuela's only legitimate president.
The International Contact Group, which was established soon after the beginning of the crisis, held its inaugural meeting in early February. Late on Monday, the ICG started its third meeting in Costa Rica, following Guaido's attempt to organise a coup in Venezuela on 30 April.
The group has a limited, 90-day mandate, and is set to be terminated after the mandate expires if it does not make any significant progress. (Sputnik)
"Tempora mutantur et nos in illis!" - but Juan Guaido seems still not to have realized that he is toast.
"Every country that is interfering with the Venezuelan people's right to restore their own democracy needs to leave," Pompeo said. (RT)
READ ALSO: Trump's 'Troika of Tyranny' Meddles in Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini stands for dialogue to achieve a solution by the Venezuelans and against any military intervention.
Mogherini: Events In Venezuela Show Lack of Political Horizon to End Crisis
The recent events in Venezuela demonstrate the lack of a political horizon that could bring an end to the ongoing crisis in the Latin American country, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Monday.
"The recent events are the result of desperation and the lack of a political horizon that can end the current crisis, and confirm the urgent need for a political and peaceful process that leads to a democratic and Venezuelan solution", Mogherini said at the opening of the two-day meeting of the International Contact Group (ICG) on Venezuela in the Costa Rican capital of San Jose.
The EU foreign policy chief stressed that the main priority of the ICG was to avoid an escalation, to prevent repression and greater violence, and also to preserve the space to establish a political process.
"The solution must be Venezuelan, but the international community has the duty and responsibility to facilitate that solution without any interference and without any form of military deployment", Mogherini added.
Mogherini also stressed that it was essential for the ICG to reinforce the existing bridges with key international actors, such as the United Nations, Vatican, the Lima Group and the Caribbean Community, to reinforce a common understanding and to clear the way for a political, peaceful and democratic solution.
Last week, US-backed Venezuelan opposition leader, Juan Guaido made a new attempt to depose the legitimate President Nicolas Maduro, staging a demonstration in front of La Carlota military base in Caracas.
Guaido called on the people of Venezuela, and the army to take to the streets in order to complete the process of overthrowing Venezuela's legitimate president. Maduro responded by reaffirming that commanders of all regions and zones of integral defence had reiterated their full loyalty to the current regime.
Meanwhile, US National Security Adviser John Bolton reiterated that "all options are on the table" in regards to Venezuela adding, that Washington hoped for a peaceful transfer of power.
The situation in Venezuela remains tense since January when Guaido illegally proclaimed himself an interim president. Washington immediately endorsed Guaido, called on Maduro to step down, and seized billions of dollars worth of the country's oil assets.
A number of high-ranking US officials have repeatedly stated that all options remain on the table with regard to the Venezuelan crisis, including a military operation. Russia, China and a number of other countries have voiced their support for constitutionally elected Maduro as the only legitimate president of Venezuela. (Sputnik)
How long can Trump afford the damage these two sabre-rattling but dumb demagoges Pompeo and Bolton do to the USA?
Hawks at the wheel: Bolton and Pompeo 'steering US towards confrontation everywhere'
From Iran and Venezuela to China, President Donald Trump's foreign policy is being shaped by hawks who believe that the US cannot be challenged militarily, a political analyst told RT, adding that Washington is now risking war.
Sidelining even the president himself, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Advisor John Bolton are now in the driver's seat, steering US policy into ever greater provocation and conflict across several continents, independent political analyst Alessandro Bruno told RT.
"These two are dangerous," Bruno said. "Pompeo and Bolton have control of US foreign policy right now. I don't think Trump has any control."
President Trump's hawkish advisers are putting the US on a collision course with other world powers, and the chances for diplomatic solutions diminish by the day.
"There's no diplomacy potential... Pompeo and Bolton seem to be oblivious to the fact that the US isn't the only power around anymore."
The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group will soon arrive in the Persian Gulf – some 7,000 miles away from its home port in Virginia – in order to "send a clear message" to Tehran. While Bolton, a longtime Iran hawk, claims the move is meant to preempt an Iranian attack, the adviser's eye may actually be on the country's oil trade.
"Bolton is speaking from both sides of his mouth," Bruno said. "This is clearly a military provocation. [T]hese deployments are made regularly…[but] the fact that Bolton has specifically said now that the mission of the Lincoln is to counter Iran's efforts to sell oil on the grey market makes it very specific. There's a real target, here."
Also on rt.com Oil prices tumble over Washington's sharp rhetoric against China & Iran
As US sanctions tighten around Iran, the country's oil sector has looked for ways to defy the restrictions and maintain sales. Iran's recent turn to the 'grey market,' as well as assistance from Europe, could help exports stay afloat, but the American military presence in the Gulf could hamper those efforts.
By cutting off oil revenues and hampering Iran's ability to operate outside of its borders, Washington seeks to "limit Iran's influence in the region," Bruno said, but such "gunboat diplomacy" risks kicking off a bloody conflict.
"This is the real danger," Bruno said. "The United States has used situations like these, particularly with ships, particularly in gulfs, to start various wars," he added, referring to the wars with Spain (1898) and Vietnam (1964), which both started after alleged attacks on US warships in foreign waters.
Iran isn't the only country in Pompeo and Bolton's crosshairs. US warships recently sailed through the South China Sea in a blatant violation of Chinese territory, while Washington threatens 'humanitarian intervention' in Venezuela, sure to turn the country into a smoldering ruin.
"The hardline policies aimed at China, Iran and Venezuela could backfire. Everyone is scared of the United States now, nobody can trust the United States as a reasonable partner. We're back to 2003, with George Bush and Iraq."
The reckless behavior not only risks bloodshed, Bruno said, but has seriously damaged American credibility around the globe – or whatever remained of it. In an attempt to isolate its 'adversaries,' Washington might find itself isolated instead.
"China and Russia have considerable military capabilities. And China will not allow the US to stop its [economic] growth," Bruno said. (RT)
Five people were killed and around 233 people were arrested in Venezuela last week as a result of protests, sparked by an opposition coup attempt, Venezuelan Prosecutor General Tarek William Saab has said in an interview with Mexican broadcaster Televisa.
"Around 233 people were arrested, and five people were killed. All these cases are being investigated", Saab told Televisa late on Monday.
Saab said that his office had requested 18 arrest warrants to be issued in connection with the coup attempt.
MUST READ: Secret Service Blocking Food From Reaching Activists Inside Venezuelan Embassy
One million #species could #disappear over the next ten years - teleSUR spoke with Dr Dolors Armenteras from the University of Colombia about the recently released UN report on the issue, which she co-authored. WATCH
Also in Venezuela environmental issues are pressing verywhere, especially where the destruction is caused by the oil and gold sectors. The Venezuelan communities and collectives must make nature protection a top priority in all planning stages.
MUST READ: Planting the Seeds of Regime Change
FM Lavrov (right) and FM Arreaza see both the strengthening of dialogue mechanisms that advocate a peaceful solution in the South American country as utmost important and urge the United States to cancel its "irresponsible" plans to oust President Nicolas Maduro.
Update SUN 05. May 2019 (vf): The Foreign Ministers of #Russia and #Venezuela made statements in a joint press conference after meeting in Moscow. Foreign Minister Lavrov: "We are convinced that force can not be used outside international law. Only Venezuela can determine its destiny within the framework of peaceful dialogue." Venezuelan Foreign Minister @jaarreaza: "We offer the Venezuelan opposition dialogue and understanding. A dialogue will triumph over war." "The US Monroe Doctrine from 1823 is anachronistic and contrary to international law." "The suffering today in Venezuela we endure is thanks to how the financial system based on U.S. sanctions has blocked our resources."
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza has stated that the coup attempt had totally failed in the Latin American country.
"No one and nothing could break down our spirit. The national sovereignty of Venezuela will not be overthrown by this imperialist government", Arreaza said, referring to Washington and added: "We are certain that those who have been advising #DonaldTrump are wrong. In Venezuela, we can work out any situation through dialogue, not hinder it, or threaten it with the use of force. It's time for diplomacy.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in turn, reaffirmed Moscow's support for the people of Venezuela and for President Nicolas Maduro.
"We have confirmed our solidarity with the friendly people of Venezuela. We have confirmed our support for the legitimate president, whom the Venezuelan people elected on 20 May 2018. We have welcomed the measures that the government of Nicolas Maduro is taking in order to prevent further destabilisation", Lavrov said after talks with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza in Moscow.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Sputnik a day earlier that the talks between Lavrov and Arreaza would also be devoted to the provocations by the US-backed Venezuelan opposition and Washington's pressure against Caracas.
Lavrov stated clearly: "We think that when we hear all these threats against Venezuela mainly from Washington and the U.S. says "All Options are on the Table" that means all that lessons from the tragedies of Yugoslavia, Syria, Libya, Ukraine, Iraq haven't been learned by Washington and other Western Capitals.
Venezuela and Russia today at the meeting of both country's Foreign Ministers in Moskow. "We are certain that those who have been advising #DonaldTrump are wrong. In Venezuela, we can work out any situation through dialogue, not hinder it, or threaten it with the use of force. It's time for diplomacy."
US attempt to topple the Venezuelan government by force would lead to grave consequences – Lavrov
Washington's "irresponsible" plan to overthrow the Caracas government by force would result in a catastrophe, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned, calling on the US to stick to the international law on Venezuela.
Lavrov denounced "an unprecedented campaign led by the US and aimed at toppling Venezuela's legitimate government." What Venezuela needs right now is political dialogue, not power grab attempts, the Russian minister said.
"Attempts to stage a violent upheaval in Caracas have nothing to do with democratic process, and only disrupt any prospects of political settlement."
Only Venezuelans themselves can define the fate of their state, Lavrov said, as he called for "inclusive political dialogue."
The meeting comes after Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido admitted the failure of his latest attempt to oust President Nicolas Maduro, adding that the National Assembly would probably approve a US intervention in Venezuela, if Washington were to make such an offer.
On 30 April, the Venezuelan opposition carried out a new attempt to overthrow Maduro. At least 300 people were injured in violent rallies on 30 April and 1 May, according to a local human rights group.
The situation in Venezuela has remained tense since January, when opposition leader Juan Guaido proclaimed himself an "interim president". Washington immediately supported Guaido, called on Nicolas Maduro to step down, and seized billions of dollars' worth of the country's oil assets.
LIVE-FEED from Moscow (careful this is Fascistbook linked)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warns USA but offers dialoque and cooperation.
Lavrov Warns Attempts to Overthrow Venezuelan Gov't to Cause 'Catastrophe'
"You are aware about our principled, consistent, and firm support for the legitimate government of Venezuela, headed by President Maduro. We now see an unprecedented campaign, led by the United States, to overthrow the legitimate authorities of Venezuela. We condemn this campaign for violating the principles of international law", Lavrov said.
The Russian foreign minister has made several further comments today on the recent attempt to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by the opposition during violent rallies on 30 April and 1 May.
Russia calls on the US to abstain from provocative moves directed at Venezuela and to act within the framework of international law, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said in a statement.
"We never meddle in the domestic affairs of other states, and we are urging all others to act precisely like this", Lavrov said already ahead of talks with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza in Moscow.
Attempts at a forced change of power in Venezuela undermine the crisis settlement process and carry a risk of catastrophe, Lavrov stated.
The top Russian diplomat stressed that Moscow condemns the unprecedented US campaign aimed at overthrowing the legitimate Venezuelan government.
President Maduro sent his heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the fallen officers.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has sent condolences to the families of the servicemen killed in a helicopter crash in the northern Miranda state on Saturday, his statement released on Sunday said.
"Venezuelan people! On the morning of May 4, a helicopter of our armed forces crashed, seven servicemen died. I deeply regret the incident and express my condolences to their families and friends," he tweeted.
The Venezuelan military helicopter crashed on Saturday morning, killing all seven people on board, Defence Ministry had said in their statement.
The helicopter crashed close to Caracas on its way to the west-central state of Cojedes, the ministry said. It was found in a mountain area. The ministry added that authorities launched investigation into the incident.
Last month, another helicopter crashed in the area of the city of Maracaibo in western Venezuela. At least two generals were on board, one of them was killed and another one injured.
Listen to: Daily Life Resumes After Failed Coup in Venezuela
Covering the failed coup d'etat, the economy, and a range of other issues, Venezuelanalysis' Paul Dobson speaks to Lester Kiewit from Cape Talk Radio in South Africa.
The Canadian government today maintains the position that no decision issued under Title III of the Helms-Burton Act, activated two days ago in the United States against Cuba, will be recognized or executed in this country.
This was ratified by the Canadian Chancellor, Chrystia Freeland, and the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, David Lametti, in a statement addressed to the companies of this nation that operate on the Caribbean island.
"Canada's opposition to the Helms-Burton Act is based on the principles of international law and reflects our long-standing objection to the extraterritorial application of laws by another country," the senior officials said in that statement issued yesterday.
MUST READ: Washington's hybrid war on Venezuela – a very 21st-century attempt at regime change
As opposition mounts to Trump's hybrid war targeting Venezuela, more states and institutions may soon back Uruguay and Mexico's plan for a negotiated settlement. Much will also depend on - if Trump gets a second term - who exactly the Democratic primary nominee is.
Mike "Fats" Pompeo, the former CIA director and now Secr. of State, who had promised that the USA would get its 'swagger' back, has caused havoc the world over with his U.S. foreign policy. Never before the USA is so much hated in all four corners of our planet like today. But he is not only a PR disaster, Pompeo is outright dangerous - first of all for the USA, which will never become great again with such politicians and policies.
Amid political unrest in Venezuela, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday that President Nicolas Maduro is "ruling for the moment," but cannot be part of the country's future, reiterating the Trump administration's support for what the USA 'interim President' Juan Guaidó.
"We've supported the National Assembly's choice. Juan Guaidó is the interim president of the country, and as you know, these things sometimes have bumpy roads." Pompeo told ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl on "This Week" Sunday.
"(Maduro's) ruling for the moment, but he can't govern. There's enormous poverty, enormous starvation, sick children that can't get medicine," Pompeo added. "This is not someone who can be part of Venezuela's future and whether that change takes place today or tomorrow or a week from now, one can't predict."
Pompeo also said on Sunday, "Maduro cannot feel good about the security of his position today, and he shouldn't. Because the Venezuelan people will demand, ultimately, that he leave."
The opposition-controlled National Assembly, which Pompeo refers to is only 'operating' in contempt of a supreme court order and outlaw Guaidó was not only stripped of his immunity as parliamentarian, but was sentenced to not be able to hold public office. This the allegedly still 50 countries (out of 194), which had recognized Guaido siftly based on US pressure, must understand and reconsider their misstep. In addition Guaido faces now fresh criminal charges after two failed coup attempts, which caused violence, damages, injuries and death. All of Pompeo'smachinations only made the Venezueelan people stonger in their unity to defend their legitimately elected president and their homeland against the Gringos and their traitor-stooges by all means.
Nazanin Ash, the vice president of the International Rescue Committee (IRC): The discrepancy in US officials' vocal claims regarding the situation in Venezuela and their real actions is obvious.
US' Real Actions Contradict Verbal Crusade Over Venezuela 'Humanitarian Crisis'
The US has recently been imposing sanctions on Venezuela and is supporting the calls of opposition leader Juan Guaido to overthrow the elected Venezuelan president, while at the same time calling for a return to "the road to stability".
Despite loud vocal support for the Venezuelan people, the White House has done little to help those who have sought asylum in the US, The Guardian has reported. On the contrary, Washington has ignored all possible ways to help Venezuelans seeking to enter and stay in the US, instead sticking to the Trump administration's policy of reducing the influx of immigrants.
As the newspaper stressed, there are three tools available for Washington to help such refugees. One is the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) mechanism, which allows residents of certain states to remain in the U.S. due to the extraordinary situation in their home country. Another is Deferred Enforced Departure, which gives those scheduled for deportation additional time to stay in the U.S.
The White House has opted not to use any of them, the media outlet indicated. What is more grave, those Venezuelans who have applied for regular asylum rarely receive a positive decision from the immigration services. Rebecca Press, a New York City immigration attorney cited by The Guardian, claims that even those with "strong" applications are refused and end up in lengthy immigration court proceedings for further review.
The discrepancy in US officials' vocal claims regarding the situation in Venezuela and their real actions is obvious, stated Nazanin Ash, the vice president of the International Rescue Committee (IRC).
"Here you have the U.S. administration standing with Venezuelans seeking freedom — and banning them from seeking that freedom in the United States at the same time. This administration has demonstrated again and again over the last several years that crises and vulnerability […] have not been the factors that have moved them", she said.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump called on Venezuelan citizens to stand up for "freedom and democracy", claiming that the U.S. would be "standing right by their side". The tweet came amid an ongoing US policy of support for self-proclaimed interim President Juan Guaido and his desire to forcibly oust democratically elected President Nicolas Maduro. In statements by U.S. officials, the military option has not been ruled out in resolving the Venezuelan crisis.
President Maduro has slammed Guaido's claims to the presidency, calling him a US "puppet" and condemned Washington, accusing it of attempting to carry out a coup in the country.
Republican U.S. Senator Todd Young calls for hearings on possible military intervention targeting Venezuela. It seems, however, he needs to be briefed better on the real situation in that country.
U.S. Republican Senator Urges Hearing on Potential US Military Intervention in Venezuela
Just a few days after the opposition carried out a failed attempt to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Republican Indiana Senator Todd Young urged leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to hold a hearing next week over concerns of a report of potential US military intervention in Venezuela.
"The brutal Maduro Regime has caused unspeakable suffering among the citizens in Venezuela and I commend the brave Venezuelans who are standing up for their freedom and for their basic human rights," Young said Saturday, the Hill reported.
"However, I am concerned by reports of possible US military intervention in Venezuela," he added.
"I am calling on the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to hold immediate hearings with key members of the administration next week to discuss their plans for Venezuela and to explain any plans to deploy US forces to the country," he stated.
On Tuesday, opposition leader Juan Guaido, recognized by the US as Venezuela's interim president as of January 23, urged Venezuelan civilians and military forces to overthrow Maduro in "the final phase of Operation Liberty." Maduro has repeatedly accused the US of trying to orchestrate a coup, with Guiado as its puppet, to take over Venezuela's natural resources, namely oil reserves, which are recognized as the largest in the world.
According to data from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Venezuela's oil reserves were equal to around 303 billion barrels in 2017.
However, the attempted coup on Tuesday last week was a failure, with military forces retaining loyalty to Maduro.
The coup attempt led to clashes in Caracas between opposition protesters and security forces and resulted in around 300 people injured and at least five dead, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights reported.
Earlier this week, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News that "military action is possible," adding that, "if that's what's required, that's what the United States will do."
In a similar vein, US National Security Adviser John Bolton told reporters outside the White House on Tuesday that "all options are on the table," similar to rhetoric previously used by US President Donald Trump.
Kim Jong-un of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has vast experiences how to handle U.S. sanctions.
Pyongyang Supports Venezuela
North Korea condemns the coup attempt in Venezuela and accuses the US of issuing a "reckless" message for threatening Caracas with a "military action".
Pyongyang believes that what happened on April 30 in Venezuela was an "attempted coup d'état" carried out by "anti-government forces" to expel the country's "legitimately elected president," Nicolás Maduro, a spokesman said on Sunday from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of North Korea, quoted by the North Korean official news agency, KCNA .
"The last coup attempt is an extremely dangerous act of violence, which leads Venezuela's situation to extreme instability; this abnormal incident has a very negative impact on the general situation in the region, " added the North Korean diplomat.
This official statement considers that the "manoeuvrers of the hostile forces" are trying to "deprive Venezuela's right of representation", in addition to criticizing the US, whose Administration, presided over by Donald Trump, has insisted on a possible military intervention against Venezuela after the frustration of the coup plan on Tuesday.
The US, acting as a 'unique superpower', is making such reckless comments that military action is possible with respect to the Venezuelan situation, and the US will carry out this action if necessary," said the spokesman of the North Korean Foreign Portfolio.
Last February, a spokesman for the North Korean Foreign Ministry supported the Venezuelan president and defended his legitimacy days after the opposition coup leader Juan Guaidó proclaimed himself "interim president" with the support of the United States.
The comments of the North Korean spokesman are produced after a small group of soldiers deceived by Guaidó revolted and helped Leopoldo López escape from house arrest, and then try to trigger a coup d'état.
Hours after the announcement of the coup, US National Security Adviser John Bolton called on the Venezuelan military to join Guaidó and support the uprising, but Venezuela's Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) rejected the plot and assured that it will remain firm in the defense of the Government of Maduro. (HispanTV - Translated by EF/JRE-OT)
Not welcome: Bolsonaro
Brazil Prez Cancels NYC Gala After Backers Pull Support
Jair Bolsonussaro, Brazil's recently-elected president, has cancelled an upcoming trip to New York in which he was slated to receive an award at a gala dinner, after facing criticism from a wide range of cultural influencers including US lawmakers, gay rights activists and environmental advocates.
Bolsonaro was expected to receive an award from the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce at its annual NYC gala. According to the organization's website, Bolsonaro was set to receive a "Person of the Year award" for "his intention of fostering closer commercial and diplomatic ties between Brazil and the United States."
Several corporate sponsors, including Delta Air Lines and the Financial Times, withdrew support for the event. In addition, several venues, including the American Museum of Natural History, passed on hosting the May 14 event.
Bolsonaro also wants more Police-run schools to "improve behaviour," re[orts stated.
"Jair Bolsonaro is a dangerous man," Bill de Blasio, the mayor of New York City, tweeted April 16. "His overt racism, homophobia and destructive decisions will have a devastating impact on the future of our planet."
According to Bolsonaro spokesperson Otavio Rego Barros, the newly-elected politician will not come to New York due to what Brasilia described as "resistance and deliberate attacks by the mayor of New York and the pressure of interest groups," multiple sources reported.
Bolsonaro, who became president in January, claims "homosexual fundamentalists" brainwash heterosexual children to "become gays and lesbians to satisfy them sexually in the future".
In addition, last month, Bolsonaro was lambasted by the LGBT community for promoting fear among the nation's populace that Brazil must not become a "gay tourism paradise."
"If you want to come here and have sex with a woman, go for your life. But we can't let this place become known as a gay tourism paradise. Brazil can't be a country of the gay world, of gay tourism. We have families," Bolsonaro told a Brasilia news conference last month.
Left-wing Brazilian congressman and LGBT activist David Miranda noted that Bolsonaro is "a national disgrace" rather than "a head of state" in a recent interview with The Guardian.
Bolsonaro has advocated displacing indigenous people from their Amazon rainforest homes so that the region can be mined and stripped to grow palm oil crops. The nationalist South American president also shuttered the Brazilian indigenous affairs agency FUNAI, giving the country's agriculture ministry control of how untouched tribal lands are used, Reuters reported.
While Bolsonaro will now be a no-show at the party, it will nonetheless take place at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York's Times Square May 14. Protests are expected outside of the event location.
Spain: A large protest march was held in #Bilbao to oppose the #US backed coup attempt in #Venezuela
Today is the 126th birth anniversary of Salvadoran #revolutionary leader and #Marxist, #FarabundoMarti.His legacy is invoked in the name of the Salvadoran political party @FMLNoficial , which fought, during the 1980s, against the #US -backed Salvadoran military govt.
Brigadier General of the Bolivarian Military Aviation (AMB), Jackson Silva Zapata, and two Chief Officers were killed in a deadly ambush.
Update SAT 04. May 2019 (vf): Venezuelan Air Force Commander killed in Ambush
An attack on a military convoy left three soldiers dead. An unidentified group of heavily armed people ambushed a mixed military convoy early this Saturday morning.
The ambush occurred in the state of Aragua, Venezuela with an attack by a group of unknown assailants in the early hours of Saturday, which left three troops dead on the Magdaleno Highway in the city of Palo Negro in the state of Aragua, Venezuela, state television reported.
The Venezuelan Minister of Defence condemned these as coup actions.
According to preliminary information from Venezuelan security forces, the attack took place in the "La Guacamaya" sector when the convoy was travelling along the highway after supporting another military group that guarded the Hacienda Arenales facilities, an industrial complex belonging to the state agricultural company of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (Agrofanb).
After shots were fired in exchange with an unidentified group of heavily armed attackers, the brigadier general of the Bolivarian Military Aviation (AMB), Jackson Silva Zapata, and two officers of the Aragua Police identified as Bruno Manuel Benavidez, 34 and Jesús Eduardo Arraiz Sánchez, 30, both with the rank of chief officer were killed.
The Cougar Siglas helicopter 59580 produced by Eurocopter was en route from Caracas to San Carlos Cojedes when the incident occurred. Venezuela has a whole fleet of that helicopter type. This one was obviously fitted as combat helicopter with missile launchers. Foul play hasn't been ruled out.
Investigative teams have been deployed and are combing the scene of the helicopter crash.
Seven members of Venezuela's guard of honour went missing after a military helicopter carrying crew and passengers crashed to the ground in El Hatillo, Venezuela, an official communique reported Saturday. "An army helicopter fell this morning in the green zone in Oripoto, more precisely in El Volkan, with seven passengers on board. Our team of El Hatillo civil defense forces helps with search operations," Sayegh wrote on Twitter.
The Cougar Siglas helicopter was covering the Caracas to San Carlos Cojedes route when the incident occurred.
The official statement reads, "At the moment authorities are meeting at the site of the accident, performing the necessary task of finding the crew and the passengers of the helicopter.
"An air incident investigation team has been called in by the military in order to begin to determine the causes of the accident," the report said. Foul play has not been ruled out and
Among the missing are pilot Alexis Alejandro Avila Guerrero, Copilot Carlos Eugenio Ramirez Davila; engineer Jacinto Alexander Rengifo Rodriguez; technicians Tomas Enrique Ortega Valero and Fernando Betancourt Ponte; and passengers Cesar Barreto Galan and Felipe Amaya Villafran.
Earlier President Nicolas Maduro had tweeted, "Venezuelan people! In the morning hours of today #4May a helicopter of our #FANB crashed, losing the life 7 valued officers of the fatherland. I deeply regret this incident and express my heartfelt condolences to your families and friends."
GOOD READ: Venezuela: Establishment Talking Points Translation Key
Violent opposition groups attacked overnight the local headquarters of the United Socialist Party of #Venezuela in Caracas. The local headquarters of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) in San Agustin, Caracas, was the scene of arson early Saturday morning in an act of targeted violence. The criminals set fire to the building though people were sleeping inside. This is just one of a number of such attacks in recent days, carried out by goons agitated and instigated by Juan Guaido and Leopoldo Lopez. #PSUV
Today, President Maduro was overseeing training exercises in El Pao, Cojedes state. Addressing the troops he accused Washington and supporters of opposition leader Juan Guaido of conspiracy "to weaken, divide and destroy the Bolivarian Armed Forces from within" with lots of money. He called on the soldiers to say no to traitors and has urged his country's military to be ready to defend against a military intervention by the Americans.
Venezuelan troops should "be ready to defend the country with weapons in hand if one day the North American empire dares to touch this land, this sacred ground," Maduro said, addressing thousands of young cadets at a training range in the state of Cojedes.
"We are not a weak or helpless country. We are a country with a powerful Bolivarian National Armed Force that should be more united and loyal than ever."
WATCH: Venezuelan soldiers have a warning for Trump
Listen Yankee to what we are going to say:
You won't intervene in my country.
If you come here, you can expect a beating.
We will be your Latin-American Vietnam.
Officers of the Venezuelan National Guard stationed in La Casona in Caracas burned today on 4th of May documents of the Amnesty Law and assurance that the self-styled "president" Juan Guaido had granted to actual or potential military defectors with regards to Article 328 of the Constitution of Venezuela, which were handed to them in an attempt to request their defection.
Juan Guaido, who seems to have 24/7 cover by CIA operatives, brought his wife and child already to the USA, while he continues to agitate in Venezuela, but does not even attend opposition demonstrations for which he had called. However, there are voices saying that particularly the CIA may now see Guaidó as more valuable dead than alive. So he hides.
Guaido Admits Failure in Staging Coup Against Maduro
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido acknowledged on Saturday that errors were made in an attempt to start a military uprising and that he would take any offer from the US to provide a military option in Venezuela to a vote.
After the coup attempt against legitimate Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday fell apart, Guaido conceded that the opposition had miscalculated its support within the military, revealing in an exclusive interview with the Washington Post that they had expected Maduro to step down amid a groundswell of defectors within the military.
"Because the fact that we did what we did and it didn't succeed on the first time, doesn't mean it's not valid," he said. "We are confronting a wall that is an absolute dictatorship. We have recognized our mistakes — what we didn't do, and [what] we did too much of," he said.
Guaido's call for the rank and file and senior brass of the military to abandon Maduro did not produce mass defections, the opposition leader noted.
While outlaw Juan Guaido tries to stirr up more unrest in Venezuela, his wife cum envoy tours the far-right outfits of the USA. Here with McCain's widow at an event last week about "The Future of Venezuela", from which the media had been banned but where she was addressed as "First Lady of Venezuela."
"Maybe because we still need more soldiers, and maybe we need more officials of the regime to be willing to support it, to back the constitution," Guaido said. "I think the variables are obvious at this point."
Guaido also indicated that any American military support must be alongside Venezuelan forces who have turned against Maduro but gave no further specifics on what would be acceptable. Trump administration officials, including National Security Advisor John Bolton and Pentagon generals, made clear on Friday that all options to solve the Venezuelan conflict are "on the table."
Asked what he would do if National Security Advisor John Bolton called him up with an offer of US intervention, Guaido said he would reply by saying: "Dear friend, ambassador John Bolton, thank you for all the help you have given to the just cause here. Thank you for the option, we will evaluate it, and will probably consider it in parliament to solve this crisis. If it's necessary, maybe we will approve it."
The opposition figure also said he welcomed the recent discussions of military options in Washington, calling them "great news."
"That's great news to Venezuela because we are evaluating all options. It's good to know that important allies like the US are also evaluating the option. That gives us the possibility that if we need cooperation, we know we can get it," he said.
He added that there are Venezuelan soldiers that want "to put an end to [leftist guerrillas], and help humanitarian aid get in, who would be happy to receive cooperation to end usurpation."
Asked if Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had damaged opposition negotiations by mentioning the names of the alleged conspirators who were willing to turn against Maduro — including his defenсe minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez — Guaidó said Pompeo had not. Rather, he called Pompeo's move a demonstration of "important support."
He also revealed that he would not agree to sit down and negotiate with Maduro unless he departed from his position as president of Venezuela.
"Sitting down with Maduro is not an option," he said. "That happened in 2014, in 2016, in 2017…The end of usurpation is a precondition to any possible dialogue," he said.
The situation around Venezuela has been intense since January when Guaido illegally proclaimed himself the interim president and was immediately supported by the United States and its allies. Nicolas Maduro, in turn, was backed by multiple countries including Russia and China, as the only legitimate president of Venezuela. (sputnik)
READ ALSO: Trump loses confidence in U.S intelligence on Venezuela
Guaido absent from own ralley - Where Is Guaido? Coup Leader Doesn't Show Up To Own Protest Rally
Following the failed coup attempt against the President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, several supporters of the opposition held a peaceful demonstration in which Juan Guaido was suspiciously absent, though he had called for it.
Supporters of the Venezuelan opposition figure then held their demonstration without Guaido on Saturday as the government security forces protected their right to protest.
The protest was even smaller to their previous demonstrations, which was a major blow to the opposition as they were looking to gain momentum after their failed coup.
The main objective of the call made by Juan Guaidó , which he inexplicably did not participate in, was to convince the military command to ditch President Maduro and side with him.
The troops listened to the statements of the opposition and reiterated their loyalty to their homeland and President Maduro.
The Venezuelan people have rejected the recent call promoted this Saturday by the leaders of the far-right to demonstrate in front of the main military barracks of the Bolivarian Republic.One of the military installations visited was the Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda Airbase, better known as La Carlota, east of Caracas. The base was the main site of the April 30th coup. Despite their best effort to break into the military installation, they were unable to penetrate its walls.
During the opposition's protest on Saturday, a much larger rally in honor of Dialogue and Rectification Day was held in Caracas. The participants held the rally in order to promote a plan to optimize social action in coordination with the government.
Trump must not make the same mistakes as Obama and destroy another country, like Libya or Somalia, that had governments that really caring about its people and improved the lives of millions. Something the USA governance hasn't shown for a long time.
(RightClick/view to enlarge)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will hold talks with his Venezuelan counterpart, Jorge Arreaza tomorrow, on Sunday in Moscow, Interfax reported Saturday, citing the Russian foreign ministry; and later Lavrov will hold a meeting with United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo next week in Rovaniemi, Finland, to discuss, among other topics, their countries differing approaches to the current political scenario in Venezuela.
It appears that Trump and Putin have now come to an understanding and since Lavrov has an excellent relationship with Arreaza, it only remains to whistle the evil trio Pompeo, Bolton and Abrams back and put them on a leash together with Juan Guaido and Leoplodo Lopez - and that is Trump's job to prevent further disasters.
Pence, as diplomat, will understand the change of tide, while backbiters like Marco Rubio and his Venezuelan stooge Vecchio as well as those foot-soldiers of fortune, who were placed as "representatives" in different places or jumped on the bandwagon, will leave the turf with their tails between their legs.
The European, Caribbean an South-American states will applaud, since they already realized that they also were mislead, like maybe even Trump himself.
Trump will then only have the task to lift the people-choking sanctions without loosing his sabre-rattling face and the Venezuelans would then be able to decide about the way forward, which at one point of time also will include elections - but decided by themselves and not under dictate from abroad.
MUST READ: Massive Psychological Operation Aiming at the FANB
Mike "Fats" Pompeo, the former CIA stooge, who admittedly stole, lied and cheated, dares to tell the honest people of Venezuela, whom the administration he serves now impoverishes every day more, anything? He obviously does not even know what democracy is.
Pompeo's Message to the Venezuelan People: 'The Time of Transition is Now'
Last Tuesday, the opposition carried out a failed attempt to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The coup attempt failed but turned violent and resulted in at least 5 death and 300 people injured, according to a local human rights group.
In what must be seen as the boldest illegal foreign interference and criminal call to insurrection and armed rebellion, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a video addressing the Venezuelan nation on Saturday that "the time for transition is now", and Washington will serve as the Latin American state's partner "every step of the way."
He urged the Venezuelan public to seek Nicolas Maduro's removal, claiming that they should "demand a return to democracy."
Pompeo's statement comes after CNN reported on Friday that National Security Adviser John Bolton, acting Secretary of Defence Patrick Shanahan and Under Secretary of Defence for Policy John Rood met on that day at the Pentagon's primary secure meeting space for senior officials to hold discussions dedicated to the current crisis in Venezuela.
On the same day, the broadcaster said that the White House was looking for ways to provide financial assistance to Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido.
Washington has repeatedly stressed that it hasn't ruled out the option of military intervention in Venezuela.
Speaking with ABC, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has stated that Donald Trump "has his full range of Article 2 authorities", when asked if the US president believes he could intervene militarily in Venezuela without congressional approval.
While emphasising that the US still has a "full scale set of options," Pompeo added that he is fully confident that "any action" the US takes in Venezuela would be "lawful". "So when the situation arises, we are not flat-footed."
In a series of tweets, Maduro noted that Venezuelan troops are "perfectly trained, prepared and united": "We are not a weak or helpless country, we have a military power that guarantees peace and national defence. Always Loyal, Never Traitors!" he tweeted.
Venezuela Crisis All About US Regional Dominance, Not Democracy – Journalist
Donald Trump's US administration is preparing to ramp up its backing of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido. But could this be a precursor to direct military intervention? Sputnik spoke with journalist Nick MacWilliam for more.
Sputnik: Could the US intervene militarily in Venezuela?
Nick MacWilliam: This is the line that the US wants to promote. We've just heard Mike Pompeo saying that military intervention will go ahead if Maduro is not removed by other means, but at this stage I think this is a bluff, it's designed to maintain the pressure on the Maduro government, to increase the instability and to basically terrorise and to pressure the people of Venezuela into taking a stand against Maduro.
In terms of the other Latin American countries; the likes of Bolsonaro in Brazil and Duque in Colombia seem to all be in competition with one another, as to who can please the US the most, and who can make themselves the most subservient to the United States.
Sputnik: Why is the US so determined to install Guaido as leader of Venezuela?
Nick MacWilliam: If this had anything to do with human rights or democracy; there are countries which are very close allies of the US which are far more anti-democratic, which are far more repressive of human rights.[…]
In Colombia there have been five hundred social activists murdered there. Each year in Brazil the police kill thousands of predominately black men in the favelas then. Brazil's situation with the former President Lula, who was locked up on very dubious charges, and was declared favourite to win the election that saw Bolsonaro elected in October last year.
Bolsonaro is a very close ally of Donald Trump, as is Duque in Colombia, and also we see the likes of Honduras where there are currently massive anti-government protests going on, which was also after the government was re-elected in November 2017, in what appears to have been a very fraudulent election.
This has nothing to do with democracy or human rights; it is entirely about removing a government that is opposed to US dominance in the region, which has shown an alternative path is possible, and getting hold of the country that has either the first or second largest oil reserves in the world.
Our media has played a massive role in promoting that line, in depicting Maduro as a tyrant. If Maduro was a tyrant; Guaido wouldn't be walking the streets and continuously trying to provoke some kind of uprising, trying to provoke a military invasion under the guise of humanitarian aid, and to provoke a coup d'état.
If Maduro was a tyrant; Guaido would have been taken out a while ago, yet he is still walking the streets freely, and able to organise against the government, and basically to assume power so that he can essentially hand over Venezuela's massive reserves to the United States, and Guaido appears ready to support military action in his own country and against his own people.
This is not an 'interim president', this is not a 'leader', this is a farce.
Bruno Rodriguez as well as many other politicians and people the world over call USAmerican top officials liars.
US Creates Lies to Up Aggression Against Venezuela
Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez: 'US officials are claiming presence of 'Cuban troops" in Venezuela ... Those are ill-intended lies which I deny.'
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez says the United States administration under President Donald Trump is creating lies around his country in order to escalate aggression against Venezuela.
In a Friday afternoon tweet Rodriguez said: "Among the most infamous lies by top #US officials are claiming presence of "Cuban troops" in #Venezuela; labeling more than 20,000 Cuban cooperation workers in that country as "thugs" and accusing Cuba of "invading" and "controlling" Vzla. Those are ill-intended lies which I deny," wrote the foreign minister.
Back in April, U.S. National Security Council John Bolton baselessly said Rodriguez had confirmed the presence of 20,000 "Cuban thugs" in Venezuela.
On Wednesday U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Russia and Cuba of "intervening" in Venezuela to "destabilize" the nation. Rodriguez says the U.S. is "the true imperialist power in Venezuela" saying that Pompeo "makes a fool of himself with such a claim."
Pompeo himself, along with U.S. President Donald Trump and his other top advisors have largely been responsible for the current scenario in Venezuela by orchestrating coups, implementing sanctions that are killing thousands of citizens there, and attacking Venezuela's electrical system. The administration has brazenly admitted they are trying to take down Nicolas Maduro as president.
On Thursday, May 2, the day the U.S. government fully implemented the Helms-Burton Act, Rodriguez tweeted: "Bolton and Pompeo lie again and again (...) Accusations vs. #Cuba is a vulgar slander. Blackmail is unacceptable. They look for pretexts to intensify the blockade and hostility against the Island."
The law, passed in 1996, but never put enforce, allows U.S. companies and citizens, including Cubans with U.S. nationality, to file lawsuits against foreign companies linked to properties nationalized after the Cuban Revolution in 1959. ExxonMobil has already filed a claim against the island.
Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment Rodrigo Malmierca, denounced on Friday the new measure and said his government would use "all appropriate measures" to combat the U.S. move, including bringing a case to the World Trade Organization.
Cuba's government considers that the full application of the Helms-Burton Act is a form of "political blackmail" to toughen the economic and financial blockade against its people and for its continued support of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who the U.S. government is trying to overthrow to control its massive oil reserves.
"There is no force, threat or blockade that can separate us from our principles of solidarity, internationalism, Latin Americanism, Bolivarianism and Martians. Latin America is a Zone of Peace. Viva Cuba libre," President Miguel Diaz-Canel tweeted Thursday.
In addition, the Cuban head diplomat reaffirmed that Cuba does not intervene in the internal aff of that South American nation, denounced 'the tendency to lie without limit or any restraint of government of the United States' and warned of its dangerous consequences. Meanwhile the Rusian Foreign Ministry urged the international community to unite in condemning the new anti-Cuban blockade measures, that the USA want to impose.
Canadian Mining - including oil and gas - with companies like BRE-X Mining, IMPERIAL, ACORN, BARRIO GOLD, TIOMIN, BELO SUN Mining, GLENCORE, Pacific Rim, Gabriel Resources, Crystallex, Uranium One, Sibanye Gold, vedanta, and even the 'crown jewel of Quebec' SNC-Lavalin, where Trudeau junior - Justin who stepped into the too big shoes of his father as president - got his own hands dirty but still hasn't stepped down, are the secret killers and human rights violators behind many incidences and atrocities in Africa, Asia and Latin America - and even in North-American First Nation lands occupied by Canadian and U.S. governances.
The Cuban government earlier held talks with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a bid to improve relations, however, Cuba also used the opportunity to speak up for Venezuela, asking Canada not to follow Trump in sponsoring the ongoing coup. However, Canada is unlikely to shift its position.
Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel posted on Twitter following the talks with Trudeau, saying; "I spoke with the Prime Minister of Canada, [Justin] Trudeau. I emphasized the need for dialogue with President Maduro based on respect for the sovereignty of Venezuela and international law, without threats or foreign intervention. I thanked [Trudeau] for his opposition to the Helms-Burton act," in reference to Canada's opposition to U.S. attempts to isolate the island.
However, Canada's position is unlikely to have changed. The Prime Minister's office said in an official statement that Trudeau was speaking on behalf of the so-called Lima Group, the coalition of right-wing governments that have sought to isolate the Bolivarian government.
Some have suggested that Canada has ambitions of its own in regards to Venezuela's natural resources, and would benefit from a new government prepared to privatize oil and gold reserves.
In an opinion piece, academic and teleSUR contributor, Nino Pagliccia, argues that "the US and Canada appear to have established a tactical division of tasks against Venezuela. The U.S. is using heavy-duty pounding through military threats to undermine the popular will of Venezuelans, together with unilateral financial sanctions and blockade to cripple the Venezuelan economy and cause havoc. Canada's task is mainly luring the political will of right-wing regional governments through the illegitimate regime change intentions of the "Lima Group."
Canadians a themselves fed up with the misdees of their mining companies. More than 60% of the world's mining companies are headquartered in Canada (about 1,700 companies), operating more than 8,000 mining sites in over 100 countries.
He further argues that Canada could have plans to win control of Venezuela large gold reserves, as gold mining in Latin America is currently dominated by Canadian firms such as Glencore. Canadian amoral mining stinks and despite asbestos bans in many Western countries and the fact that Canadians themselves have to spend millions each year to safely remove the substance from their buildings - including Parliament Hill - Canada remains a world leader in asbestos exports. The Canadian mining interests also are said to be behind the recent "soft-coup" in Ethiopia, where - up front orchestrated by the USA and hailed by the mass media - the former intelligence chief was installed as president, who still hunts especially Oromo dissidents from the gold and oil rich areas with Ethiopan agents, though the recognized refugees and asylum seekers among the anti-mining activists are mostly under international and UNHCR protection.
A February 2017 report from Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) called Gold-Digging with Investor-State Lawsuits sheds some further light on the situation. It states that Canadian mining corporations are "among the worst in the world when it comes to using investor-state lawsuits to bully governments" into backtracking on environmental regulations: "62% of the 55 ISDS cases that involved a Canadian investor until 2015 were in the resource or energy sectors. And 58% of the cases challenged resource management or environmental protection measures."
Ali Larijani: USA is the key problem maker.
Iran again condemned recent US attempts to stage a coup against the government of President Nicolas Maduro, with Iran's Foreign Ministry warning Washington against any type of meddling in Venezuela.
Appearing at a Saturday ceremony in Tehran, Ali Larijani, Speaker of the Parliament of Iran, accused Washington of eyeing petroleum in oil-rich states, such as Venezuela, thus, deliberately triggering chaos there.
"The war they launched in Libya is aimed at [seizing] land and oil. That is why they triggered chaos in Libya's political landscape. The same goes for Venezuela. Saudi Arabia's oil is in the United States' hands, but a few oil-rich regions, including Venezuela, are not under the United States' control, that is why the USA has created problems for them and has created unrest in that country," he claimed.
In his appearance, Larijani also touched upon Washington's sanctions on Iran, saying the US had made plans to seize Iraqi oil, but failed because of the Iraqi people.
"By imposing sanctions, the USA puts pressure on Iran and puts forward issues such as human rights as well as missile and atomic issues, but the main reason [behind the sanctions] is something else," he said.
The speaker claimed the USA was waging psychological warfare, in the knowledge that when Iran's oil is not sold, the country faces problems.
Larijani claimed Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates lack potential to increase their oil sales, otherwise, they already would have.
A man in the United States of America is facing felony charges for spray painting 'Yemen' on the Palo Alto offices of arms manufacturers Lockheed Martin. The act was in protest of the U.S.-backed Saudi war in Yemen, which Lockheed Martin has profited from, through arms sales.
Bryce Druzin has been branded a 'hero' by peace activists after spraying 'Yemen' in blood red spray paint, on the offices of weapons giant Lockheed Martin. Below that, he also sprayed "8-9-18," the date when the Saudis dropped a bomb on a school bus that killed 44 children. The 500-pound, laser-guided bomb was manufactured by Lockheed Martin. Druzin then called the police and waited at the office until they arrived, at which point he handed himself in.
BOYCOTT EXXON MOBILE: U.S. oil and gas company, Exxon Mobil Corp., has filed a federal suit against two Cuban companies after the waiver on Title III of the 1996 Helms-Burton Act was officially lifted by U.S. President Donald Trump on May 2.
Tarek William Saab seeks the arrest of 18 coup plotters, who incited violence and caused death.
Update FRI 03. May 2019 (vf): Venezuelan Prosecutor General Says He's Seeking 18 Arrest Warrants Over Latest Coup Attempt
On Wednesday, US special envoy on Venezuela Elliott Abrams appeared to confirm the existence of a plot, saying that high-ranking Venezuelan officials who had earlier negotiated Maduro's ouster had "turned off" their cell phones.
On Friday, unnamed sources told CNN that President Trump had begun to question the credibility and interpretation of Washington's intelligence about Venezuela and its leadership in light of recent events in the Latin American country, attributing his scepticism to the failure of senior members of Maduro's inner circle to defect as planned.
Also Friday, Venezuelan Prosecutor General Tarek William Saab said his office had requested 18 arrest warrants to be issued in connection with Tuesday's coup attempt. According to Saab, opposition politician Leopoldo Lopez, who escaped house arrest earlier this week and took shelter at the Spanish ambassador's residence in Caracas, was one of the figures behind the coup attempt. He also noted that three prosecutors had been appointed to investigate the coup attempt.
The Spanish ambassador is talking nonsense, because the Spanish embassy and likewise the residence of the ambassador in Caracas are actually Spanish territory. However, Spain is not signatory to the Caracas Convention of 1954. Since the Spanish say that Lopez is just a guest, they would have to hand him over to law enforcement. Lopez must have had another reason to change from the Chilean into the Spanish embassy - is he also a citizen of Spain?
Spain declared they will not hand over Leopoldo López, who is a wanted fugitive hiding behind their diplomatic shields in Caracas. Spain States that Leopoldo López Can Not Request Asylum - he is just a "guest".
The Government of Spain acknowledged that the fugitive from justice and one of the main authors of the attempted coup last Tuesday, Leopoldo López, can not apply for political asylum from Venezuela because "such a request must be made only within Spanish territory", according to Prensa Latina.
The statement was issued on Thursday by the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell in reference to the stay of Lopez at the premises of Spain in Caracas, after the violent events on Tuesday - led by Lopez, the former mayor at the Altamira Intersection of the Eastern Highway in the vicinity of the Venezuelan capital.
The head of Spanish diplomacy, when interviewed during an official visit to Jordan, explained that the Venezuelan opponent, who also violated a precautionary measure from house detention on Tuesday, April 30, has not filed a claim for asylum, because "he would have to do it from Spanish territory ".
Likewise, Borrell confirmed that López is indeed in the Spanish diplomatic premises in Caracas, as a "guest" and not as an asylum seeker.
"According to our legislation, asylum claims must be produced in Spanish territory, therefore, Mr. López is not an asylee," he said.
The previous day, in an official statement, Spain reported that Lopez, along with his family, were in the diplomatic headquarters located in the Venezuelan capital.
"Given the contradictory information, we confirm again from the Government that the opposition leader Leopoldo López, along with his wife and daughter, are in the residence of the ambassador of Spain in Caracas," said the Palacio de la Moncloa. (Alba Ciudad - Translated by JRE\EF-OT-vf)
Spain's foreign minister, Josep Borrell, vowed on Friday that his country would not allow its embassy in the capital of Venezuela to become a centre for political activity for opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez.
"Spain will not permit its embassy to be converted into a centre for the political activity of Mr. Lopez, or anyone else," Borrell told reporters during a visit to Beirut, Lebanon.
In clear violation of these rule set for the "guest", Venezuelan opposition figure Leopoldo Lopez said Thursday from his refuge in the Spanish ambassador's residence in Caracas that it was clear more "military movements" were on the way.
Lopez, who has taken up refuge there after escaping from house arrest with the help of opposition forces earlier this week, said in a statement Thursday that he'd met with commanders and generals of the Venezuelan military at his house during his time in house arrest and warned that more military defections like those seen earlier this week could follow.
Venezuela's envoy in Madrid, Mario Isea, has lashed out at Spain for permitting Lopez to abet the recent botched military uprising, led by the opposition leader Juan Guaido, from the ambassador's residence.
The Spanish government said it was not going to hand Lopez over to Venezuelan authorities, in defiance of the arrest warrant issued for him by Nicolas Maduro's government.
The order followed the Tuesday coup attempt orchestrated by the Venezuelan opposition. The authorities believe Lopez to be one of the key figures behind the failed government overthrow.
Lopez was sentenced to 14 years in prison for his role in the violent 2014 anti-government protests, which claimed the lives of over 40 people. He was put under house arrest in 2017 but escaped on Tuesday amid the Juan Guaido-led coup attempt. The activist was caught on camera standing at a military base alongside the opposition leader, calling on the armed forces and civilians to join the protesters in their bid to oust Maduro.
It appeared that Guaido was backed only by a small group of military officers, while top defence officials endorsed President Maduro.
Josep Borrell knows very well how many people the Spanish embassies got out of various countries under their diplomatic cover over the years, but now he harbours a fugitive and criminal. Will he be able to convince escapee Leopoldo Lopez to go back to jail to complete serving his sentence and stand trial for the new crimes he committed?
Spain still keeps five Catalan separatists and freedom fighters, who are not convicted criminals but even were elected to the Spain's parliament last Sunday, in jail. Different set of morals and rule books?
The Spanish government noted that it trusts the Venezuelan authorities will respect the inviolability of Spanish Ambassador's residence in Caracas but also stated that it has no intention of turning over Venezuelan opposition figure Leopoldo Lopez to Venezuelan authorities.
Spain has been home to a number of Venezuelan opposition politicians, including former Caracas mayor Antonio Ledezma, who escaped from house arrest in Caracas in November 2017. Lopez's father also lives in Spain and holds the Spanish kingdom's citizenship.
Earlier, National Security Adviser John Bolton publicly called on senior Venezuelan generals to make good on commitments they supposedly made to support the opposition in its push to overthrow the Maduro government.
In May 2017, the Trump administration rejected a visa request by General Ivan Hernandez, the head of Venezuelan military counter-intelligence and commander of the presidential guard, to send his 3-year-old son to the United States for brain surgery, two people familiar with the internal discussions, including a former US official, have told AP.
According to the news agency, the "missed opportunity," presumably to use Hernandez's family as collateral, was one of several botched chances to "curry favour with Venezuela's normally impenetrable armed forces."
Another of these alleged attempts to curry favour was an attempt create a back channel with Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, who allegedly sought to make contact with the US Defence Intelligence Agency through an intermediary in early 2016, only to be rebuffed by Washington after Diosdado Cabello, leader of Venezuela's ruling Socialist Party, made a television address accusing the Venezuelans abroad who had brokered the creation of the back channel of working with the US to carry out a coup.
One of AP's sources said that contacts with the Venezuelan defence minister were cut off amid fears that he may have simply been feigning an interest in cooperation to try to collect information for Caracas about the extent of US plans.
On Tuesday, the same day that opposition leader Juan Guaido announced the beginning of the "final phase" of the opposition's push to overthrow the government and called on the military to support the plot, Secretary of State Bolton gave a speech at the White House, calling on generals Padrino and Hernandez, as well as Supreme Court Chief Justice Maikel Moreno, to fulfil promises they supposedly made to the opposition to ensure a transition of power.
A day later, after it became evident that the "final phase" had failed, a source in the US National Security Council told Spanish daily ABC that Lopez, who had supposedly reached a deal with Guaido and the US to support the coup, had a change of heart at the last minute. According to ABC, the White House wasn't immediately aware of what happened on Tuesday, with some believing that the coup was derailed by Padrino.
Admiral Kurt W. Tidd, the "mastermind" behind the "MASTERSTROKE" against Venezuela. It didn't bring the envisaged regime change in 2018 and neither in 2019 BUT it caused untold suffering to the Venezuelan people - with up to 40,000 unnatural death according to a study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR).
These crimes against humanity must be brought to justice.
KaaBooom:
MUST READ: Leaked: USA's Feb 2018 Plan for Coup in Venezuela revisited! The complete plan drafted by the U.S. Southern Command includes fooling U.S. allies to believe the Fake News and propaganda. The searchable document can also be found HERE and its original (photo) leak HERE.
This document was personally signed by Admiral Kurt W. Tidd, who was the Commander (the chief), at SOUTHCOM, and he was thus the top U.S. military official handling Venezuela. But this was far more than just a military plan. It was comprehensive — directing military, diplomatic, and propaganda, policies — regarding the Trump Administration's planned "Overthrow" of Venezuela's Government. His plan has since guided the Administration's entire operation, including "the capacities of the psychological war," regarding Venezuela.
Unnamed officials told US media that President Trump has expressed a lack of interest in conducting a military operation in Venezuela, with National Security Advisor John Bolton sparring with Pentagon generals over a supposed lack of military options for intervention in the Latin American country.
John Bolton, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting Secretary of Defence Patrick Shanahan met in the Pentagon on Friday morning to discuss military options in Venezuela.
Speaking to reporters outside the Pentagon after the meeting, Shanahan, who cancelled a planned trip to Europe earlier this week to focus on Venezuela, did not detail any of the possible military options being considered, and did not say whether the Trump administration had approved military action in the Latin American country.
"We have a comprehensive set of options tailored to certain conditions, and I'm just going to leave it at that," the Pentagon chief said.
Shanahan reiterated the White House's oft-repeated statement about all options remaining "on the table," and said there was a "depth" to US military planning, with Friday morning's session being "really a true review" to make sure the administration was "in alignment" on the situation.
Shanahan also dismissed a reporter's concerns of a possible repeat of the kind of intelligence failures which preceded the 2003 Iraq War, saying he didn't feel "like we have an intelligence gap" on Venezuela. "We have multiple sources that we constantly sample, and then we have all sorts of other ways of doing collection…I feel very confident in the quality and the accuracy of the information that we're getting," the secretary of defence said.
Bolton was a key advocate of the 2003 US invasion of Iraq while serving as a senior adviser to President George W. Bush. Unlike many of his colleagues who have since switched their positions, he has continued to support the invasion in interviews as recently as 2018. President Trump was a strong critic of the Iraq War during the 2016 election, calling it "a big fat mistake" that cost trillions of dollars and thousands of American lives.
Earlier this week, unnamed officials told the Washington Post that Trump showed more interest in Florida politics and his golf courses than a possible US military operation in Venezuela, and that John Bolton had been given purview over Venezuela policy. According to officials, Bolton staffers got into a heated debate with Joint Chiefs of Staff Vice Chairman Gen. Paul. J. Selva last week after Selva advised against escalating the situation in the Latin American country and failed to provide them with the requested military options.
US Southern Command chief Admiral Charles Faller, who said earlier this year that the military should be "ready to go" to support the Venezuelan opposition's bid to overthrow the government, sat in on Friday morning's meeting and briefed the senior officials on military options.
MUST READ: US Corporate Media Are All-In On Venezuela Regime Change
Why U.S. military intervention in Venezuela is 'possible' — but improbable
U.S. Naval Spy Plane observed over Venezuelan Coast The plane U.S. plane EP-3E Aries II SWORD15 model SIGINT was observed today again over the Venezuelan coast in an operation that must be noted as blatant airspace violation.
The Lima Group wants Cuba to participate in resolving the crisis in Venezuela, according to the declaration of the group's Friday meeting. "Lima Group… decides to make the necessary arrangements for Cuba to participate in the search for a solution to the crisis in Venezuela," the declaration says.
The group also reiterated its call on Russia, Turkey and other countries that support Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to "promote a return to democracy in the country."
The Lima Group also invited the International Contact Group on Venezuela to convene a meeting with all parties to find a solution.
On Tuesday, the opposition carried out a failed attempt to overthrow Maduro. The coup attempt turned violent and resulted in at least 300 people injured, according to a local human rights group.
Venezuela has been rocked by unrest since January, when opposition leader Juan Guaido proclaimed himself an interim president and was recognized by the United States and 54 other nations.
Maduro, recognized by China and Russia among numerous other countries, has accused the United States of seeking to overthrow his government and install Guaido in a bid to get hold of Venezuela's resources. Over 150 countries of the United Nations do not support that policy of the USA.
READ ALSO: Lies and Silences About Venezuela
and Venezuelan economist: 'Hyperinflation is a powerful imperialist weapon'
and Russian Nukes And Cuban Intelligence Threaten Venezuelan Democracy
and: How a plot filled with intrigue and betrayal failed to oust Venezuela's president
Venezuelan Military Deserters Removed From Hotel in Cúcuta for Late Payments
On Friday afternoon, the suspension of the lodging services received by Venezuelan military deserters became official due to the fact that food payments are not up to date. According to an official statement from the hotel, the management immediately requested they check-out from rooms occupied by the ex-officers of the Armed Forces of Venezuela and the Bolivarian National Police.
In a video posted on twitter the deserters said a check of 60 million pesos handed to the hotel by Guaido's "ambassador" in Colombia bounced because of insufficient funds. In the video it's clear these military defectors feel betrayed by Guaido, Colombian authorities and Guaido's "ambassador" in Colombia.
Brazil's VP Hamilton Mourao wonders about the failing U.S. machinations in Venezuela and also sees that his boss got now dis-invited from receiving a honour in the USA. Due to Bosonaro's past racist, homophobic and misogynist remarks, organizers saw multiple venues in New York refuse to host the gala dinner for the still-president of Brazil.
Brazil's VP Breaks With Pres. Bolsonaro, Says Venezuela Coup Attempt Premature
Brasilia enthusiastically joined Washington in supporting opposition leader Juan Guaido's attempt to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro's government in January, but the country's vice president now fears the prospects of a civil war engulfing its northern neighbour.
Brazilian Vice President Hamilton Mourao has criticised the Venezuelan opposition's failed efforts this week to convince the country's military to break with President Nicolas Maduro and join its uprising, saying that the move may have been premature.
Speaking to reporters, Mourao said that he did not know "whether [Guaido] was afraid of being arrested or if some elements of the Armed Forces had promised some support," but "looking at it now, we think it was not the best [decision]."
In separate interview with Radio Gaucha, Mourao, a retired army general who has spent time in Venezuela as a military attaché, said that while cracks did appear to exist among the lower ranks in the Venezuelan military in terms of loyalty to Maduro, the commanders appeared unaffected, with Brasilia now left "in a position of expectation" regarding the situation in Venezuela.
"We don't see light at the end of the tunnel for Venezuela," the vice president said, stressing that Brasilia was now worried that the ongoing crisis could turn into a civil war scenario. "From the outset, the government has been concerned that this conflict would degenerate into a civil war. This would be the worst possible outcome," he said.
Mourao added that he does not have information about Guaido's possible present whereabouts, saying he is likely moving "house to house" amid government efforts to arrest him.
Mourao's sentiments appear to stand at odds with views expressed by President Jair Bolsonaro, who said Wednesday that the failed Tuesday uprising was not a defeat, and that Brazil has information regarding "factures" in the Venezuelan military hierarchy. Bolsonaro urged other nations to join Brasilia in supporting Guaido's continued attempts to oust Maduro.
Mourao has previously offered public support for the attempt to topple the Venezuelan government earlier this year. In February, he hinted at the need for foreign intervention, saying that Venezuela could not "free itself from the Chavista regime on its own." Mourao has also consistently emphasised however that Brazil would not allow the US to use its territory for any possible intervention in Venezuela, and indicated early on that Brasilia would not take part in any such operation itself.
JOKE OF THE DAY: U.S. intelligence on Venezuela 'very good,' acting defense chief says
Chrystia Freeland
Canada Rejects U.S. Imposing Title III of Helms-Burton Act
This was confirmed by the Canadian Chancellor, Chrystia Freeland, and the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, David Lametti, in a statement addressed to the companies of this nation that operate on the Caribbean island.
"Canada's opposition to the Helms-Burton Act is based on the principles of international law and reflects our long-standing objection to the extraterritorial application of laws by another country," the senior officials said in that statement issued today.
They recalled that since 1996, under its Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act (FEMA), Ottawa has implemented actions to help protect Canadian citizens and businesses, as well as workers employed by it.
Our FEMA legislation is strong and we are prepared to apply it, they added, on the regulations by which it is established that the country will not recognize or execute the decisions issued as a result of Title III.
In the document issued this Friday, the Ottawa executive also pointed out that FEMA allows the Canadian courts to sue those who initiate an action under the Helms-Burton, even when the proceedings are still in progress.
Such a step will allow citizens of the northern territory to recover any amount that has been assessed for them, including legal expenses, and losses or damages, the statement said.
The Government of Canada will always defend Canadian citizens and businesses that conduct legitimate business and investments with Cuba, and is reviewing all options in response to the US decision, the statement said. She also indicated that Ottawa will continue working with its international partners, including the European Union, 'to defend our companies'.
The Iranian government urged the international community to react against the United States' attempts to carry out "a coup d'état or military action" in Venezuela against President Nicolás Maduro.
"Threatening to use force against other countries is a flagrant violation of international law, especially the UN Charter," the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Foreign spokesman Abas Musaví expressed hope that the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, and the international community will denounce these positions and show "an adequate reaction" to them.
"Unfortunately, global stability is threatened by those seeking war and chaos (the US authorities), and it is imperative that all members of the international community use the power within their reach to solve the problem," he said.
The US "should not be going to war" with Venezuela, says @JoeBiden , former Vice President and presidential candidate. He is aware of the situation at the Venezuelan Embassy in DC responds to @ArielElyseGold - see VIDEO
READ ALSO: Media Silence Over Mass Protests in Honduras Shows How Corporate Media "Serves the Global Economic Elite"
Today is World Press Freedom Day!
There is no future for anyone – no true democracy – without freedom of the press. We'll always stand with whistleblowers who expose the crimes of the powerful. They must be protected, not hunted down!
Manufacturing death for innocent children and adults: Lockheed Martin - USA
Wikileaks Section Editor Sarah Harrison:
«When you speak truth to power and speak loudly, it will bite back. That is when you know you have exposed the secrets they want to keep hidden.»
Activist Bryce Druzin is facing felony charges in the United States for spray painting 'Yemen' on the Palo Alto offices of arms manufacturers Lockheed Martin. The act was in protest of the U.S.-backed Saudi war in Yemen, which Lockheed Martin has profited from, through arms sales.
Druzin has been following the U.S.-backed Saudi war in Yemen, and told reporters, "I grew up in Palo Alto, and it's just embarrassing to have this company in my hometown. ...We should all be embarrassed. I mean, if we have a neighbor who helped kill tens of thousands of people, I wouldn't want them in our neighborhood."
Over 7,000 civilians have been killed by Saudi forces, and 14 million are said to be on the brink of starvation. The war began in 2016 when the Saudi government decided to rid Yemen of it's Houthi-led government. Since then, the U.S. and the U.K. have been the leading arms exporters to Saudi Arabia's war effort.
Journalist and peace campaigner Ben Norton said on the matter. "A hero in California spraypainted 'Yemen' in blood red on the main sign for the office of death profiteer Lockheed Martin. He added '8-9-18,' the date when Saudi dropped a Lockheed bomb on a school bus, killing 44 children. He faces a *felony* charge now."
Update THU 02. May 2019 (vf): New chant in the streets of Caracas directed at the USA:
"Hey, Hey Fascistas - We won't say it no more - If you mess with Maduro - the People will respond!"
Indeed the USA has devolved into a fascist state, if one takes all the daily deeds the world over and at home into account. All USAmericans who want to clean this slate have to stand up in a way that the world can see it and crush the U.S. fascist circles that hold the country and its people in a deadly grip.
President Maduro is conciliatory but firm to bring the culprits responsible for the skirmish to justice.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday called on the armed forces to oppose "any coup plotter" after a failed military uprising by forces supporting opposition leader Juan Guaido.
"Yes, we are in combat, keep morale high in this fight to disarm any traitor, any coup plotter," Maduro said at a televised event with the military high command in which he appeared surrounded by soldiers.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro reported eight officers were injured during the skirmishes at the Altamira Highway Interchange in Caracas, as a result of the attempted coup on Tuesday. Of these, three are police officers and five are officers of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB), including two colonels who are in serious condition from gunshot wounds.
Maduro was emphatic when he stated that he expressly ordered the officers who came to the site not to favour a military engagement on the Francisco Fajardo highway. Those involved had to surrender peacefully.
In this regard, he reported that the rebels' response to the tear gas was live gunfire, also from high-calibre weapons, including four 7.66 millimetres AFAG machine guns with which they also tried to create anxiety by pointing them at the highway and from roof-tops.
Maduro announced that Attorney General, Tarek William Saab, appointed three prosecutors "who are directing the investigations and criminal proceedings that will go before the Courts of Justice" against the actors who staged the attempted coup.
"You have to identify all those people who fired and bring them to justice. There can not be impunity! There must be justice for there to be peace in Venezuela!" the President of the Republic insisted.
Juan Gerardo Guaidó Márquez (born 28 July 1983) and Leopoldo Eduardo López Mendoza (born 29 April 1971) are now wanted men and have to face justice not only for the crimes they committed themselves (first: armed insurrection and high treason) but they also have to take responsibility for those crimes they tricked or forced others to commit.
He stressed that initially Leopoldo López led the coup attempt.
He presented two videos in which he showed part of the weapons that rebel military had.
He also showed the testimony of several of the military who claimed that, under false pretences, they were taken to the Altamira Distributor from the headquarters of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN) in El Helicoide, to allegedly participate in a high-risk operation at the prison of Tocorón .
He said that these uniformed soldiers, when noticing the presence of Juan Guaidó and Leopoldo López in the place, were leaving. Instantly when the SEBIN officials left, then also those of the National Guard and each of the eight VN-4 anti-riot tanks of the Bolivarian National Guard went back to their military units.
He asserted that they were leaving the coup leaders alone, leaving him with just some 20 officials, who are now fully identified "for giving their souls to the Venezuelan ultra-right and that will be used and abandoned like the military in Colombia (…) You will see the fate of traitors to the oath, the cause, the legacy, the Constitution and our people. "
President Maduro confirmed the return of Gustavo González López to the leadership of SEBIN, following the dismissal of Manuel Ricardo Cristopher Figuera, who was a participant in the coup plot.
He instructed the sectoral vice-president of Communication, Culture and Tourism, Jorge Rodríguez, to disseminate evidence of the coup attempt in the coming days because "we must show the full truth of the armed and violent action".
President Maduro and his core garde.
The head of state congratulated the FANB for their loyalty.
He also praised the performance of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces, in the midst of the civil-military rebellion led by the opposition leader, Juan Guaidó.
On the military operation, the president said the following: "I want to congratulate you for the firm, loyal, courageous attitude, of enormous wisdom with which you have led the resolution and defeat of the small group that tried to inject violence into the coup and asked the people of Venezuela to applaud these loyal, steady, obedient, disciplined FANB, subordinated to the Constitution and its Commander in Chief ".
During his speech, Maduro reiterated that the Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda air base (La Carlota) was never taken, as several media reported falsely from dawn onwards. In this regard, he condemned the position assumed by some of these media that spread the false news. "Right there was the news that the military base of La Carlota was taken. It was never taken! " he clarified.
He argued that the military bases of the country, including this one, "were on alert, loyal to the Revolution, the Commander in Chief and the Constitution" and as the operations centre, the officers must take care of their facilities and avoid damage like that which occurred in 2017.
The head of state recalled: "Tuesday has been an intense day, reflecting on what Venezuela should be, there was a day of contrast between the Venezuela of peace and the Venezuela of violence, of violation of political rights, of the Constitution, of coups d'état".
He reiterated his complaint that, as in previous opportunities, the radical right sought a confrontation between Venezuelans to encourage military intervention in the country." They do not have pacifistic or democratic pretensions, they want to impose themselves through violence (…) they wanted an armed confrontation," he said.
Finally he called for dialogue and national understanding through peaceful means. "We have to settle our differences in peace," he explained. (Alba Ciudad - Translated by JRE\EF-OT)
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro suggested that if the conflict in Venezuela had escalated and turned violent, the United States would use this massacre to launch a military intervention in the South American country.
"They [the opposition] want to lead us to a civil war. I am asking — what would happen if we sent tanks, armored vehicles and specials forces that we have? There would be a slaughter among Venezuelans and Washington would celebrate and order the beginning of a military intervention in order to occupy the land of Bolivar", Maduro said in an address at a Labor Day demonstration in Caracas, as aired by a state-run TV broadcaster.
"If Guaido, the self-proclaimed 'interim president' really wants to reach the Miraflores Palace, all he has to do is win an election" - Maduro
Rebellion instigator Juan Guaido, who clearly visible sported his blue rebel-ribbon in the morning of the attempted coup on 30. April, was told by Washington to just continue. How long will the Maduro government let this clown create havoc in Venezuela?
Venezuelan opposition figure Juan Guaido, who had in February illegally proclaimed himself the country's interim president, said the country's public servants would carry out a strike, beginning on Thursday, while the Venezuelan authorities expressed reservations that the opposition would be able to implement these plans.
Completely delusional Guaido wrote on Twitter on Wednesday: "The final phase of the operation 'Liberation' began yesterday with the participation of our Armed Forces. And now, public servants will join. We will support them in increasing strikes which will begin tomorrow and will continue until a general strike takes place," .
Meanwhile, Diosdado Cabello, the head of the Venezuelan government-controlled National Constituent Assembly, speaking at a rally, suggested that the opposition would not be capable of implementing these pledges.
One of the negotiators of the planned but failed coup attempt on the Venezuelan side was allegedly Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, who is thought to have had a last-minute change of heart.
The Trump administration had an agreement in place with Venezuela's military that President Nicolas Maduro would be arrested during this week's attempted coup, the Spanish newspaper ABC reports, citing a source in the US National Security Council.
Washington apparently reached the deal with Venezuelan Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez via phone talks conducted over the past few months.
Padrino, alongside other ministers and generals, is said to have accepted the agreements drafted by the self-proclaimed acting president, Juan Guaido. This roadmap would include a call for fresh elections within a month — one of Guaido's main promises — and the recognition of the opposition lawmaker as the "legitimate and interim" head of state.
In turn, president of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice Maikel Moreno, a Maduro ally, had reportedly planned to declare illegitimate the Constituent Assembly, a parallel legislature loyal to Maduro convened by a presidential decree in 2017 in defiance of the opposition-held National Assembly.
This move, as per the report, would legally allow the military to notify Maduro that he was either leaving the country for Cuba or would be detained by court order.
The agreements were supposed be signed at the military base La Carlota in Caracas, from where Guaido, on Tuesday, urged the armed forces and civilians in a video address to join what he called the final push to topple Maduro.
However, his coup attempt did not gain enough traction to oust the president, with the military leadership voicing their support for the government.
According to ABC, White House officials are not aware of what happened on Tuesday, while some sources apparently believe that the coup was derailed by Padrino, who backed out at the last minute.
Incidentally, the US special envoy to the Bolivarian republic, Elliott Abrams, said on Wednesday that the high-ranking Venezuelan officials who had earlier negotiated Maduro's departure had "turned off their cellular".
More than 300 people were injured in clashes that followed protest demonstrations in Venezuela on Tuesday and Wednesday, head of the Foro Penal non-governmental organization Alfredo Romero tweeted on Thursday.
"Five people were killed, 240 were detained, and more than 300 were injured (including gunshot wounds and other) during demonstrations held from April 30 to May 1," Romero wrote.
According to Romero, two people were killed in the capital district, where one woman was shot in the head, and two others in the Aragua State. Two of the victims were minors.
MUST READ: Venezuela – Another Failed Coup Attempt – What's Next?
2019 Venezuela Cup - Maduro 2 : Trump 0
Trump should urgently change players and game-plan to not risk the USA being banned from playing in the premier league of nations.
Coup Attempt or Maduro's Trap for Guaido and Trump?
Although the American strategists understand the troyka of evil, formed by Mike Pompeo, Elliott Abrams and Johan Bolton, strive to make President Nicolás Maduro looks weakened after the attempted coup of this April 30, the reality is that the constitutional government of Venezuela is more united than ever.
This was revealed by an item carried by the Iberian newspaper La Vanguardia, in reference to the event held on Thursday by the head of state at Fort Tiuna, where he appeared flanked by Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López and the head of Special Operations, Remigio Ceballos. In this event, the president said that the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (Fanb) are "united, cohesive and subordinate to their constitutional mandate."
The report entitled: Did you try a coup or was it a Maduro's trap for Guaidó and Washington? It is detailed that from Washington several analysts warn about the excessive dependence of the Administration of Donald Trump on the information provided by the little experienced team that surrounds the self-proclaimed "president in charge" of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó.
"Bolton and Pompeo are hawks of the hard line; they wanted to show that they are the ones that rule; they were convinced of his invincibility," Peter Hakim, a veteran analyst on US Latin American policy at the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington, said in a telephone interview to La Vanguardia. "But you have to know who is doing the negotiations for you."
The newspaper also consulted Venezuelan political analyst and analyst Miguel Pérez Pirela, director of LaIguana.TV, who said that Trump is looking for a success in Venezuela for his dubious international policy.
"But what comes out of Washington looks like science fiction. It is obvious that there have been negotiations between the government and the opposition. But has Maduro participated in them?" Pérez Pirela asked. (La IguanaTV - Translated by JRE\EF-OT)
Sorry Vladimir, my boys messed up - you win, but let's have a deal.
Trump: "Putin is Not Thinking of Intervening in Venezuela and I Feel the Same Way"
US President Donald Trump said Friday that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, does not want to intervene in Venezuela, and said that both share the desire to find a "positive solution" to the crisis in that country.
"The president reiterated the need for a peaceful transition" in Venezuela, said White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders, speaking to reporters.
Had a long and very good conversation with President Putin of Russia. As I have always said, long before the Witch Hunt started, getting along with Russia, China, and everyone is a good thing, not a bad thing…. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2019
The phone call came as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and White House national security adviser John Bolton visited the Pentagon to study possible military options on Venezuela. Asked about it, Sanders reiterated that "all options are on the table." "The president will do what is required if necessary," stressed the spokeswoman for Trump.
President Trump: "I had a very good talk with President Putin, probably over an hour. We talked about many things. Venezuela was one of the topics." pic.twitter.com/X7GMixJGAP
In his conversation with Putin, the US president made it "clear that the United States is on the side of the people of Venezuela," according to Sanders, who avoided criticizing Russia's actions in the South American country, as other White House figures have done.
"The president was focused on the call on how to help the people of Venezuela and make sure they get the food, water and help they need," Sanders explained. ( La IguanaTV - Translated by JRE\EF-OT)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has denounced the statement of Russia's role in the situation in Venezuela made by the US representatives as untrue.
"The enumeration all that official representatives for the American administration say about Venezuela leads to endless questions, and as a rule, diplomatically speaking, the answer to all these questions would be 'wrong,'" the top diplomat said, answering a TASS question.
Russia will mobilize the efforts of the states that respect the UN Charter for countering the US' plans on Venezuela, Lavrov told reporters.
"Our position [on the US' plans on Venezuela] will be very simple. We will mobilize a group of states that, like us, respect the UN Charter to counter such schemes," he said.
"This group is being formed in the UN, and I hope that it will receive serious support in the organization," the minister noted. "Because the issue is about a very simple thing which can hardly be distorted: the protection of the basic norms and principles of international law, the way they are enshrined in the UN Charter."
Disrespect for the peoples
Lavrov reiterated about the telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo held on Wednesday. "[Pompeo] called for abandoning support for Maduro and called on us and on Cuba not to interfere with Venezuela's domestic affairs. All this story sounds rather surrealistic," the minister pointed out. "I answered him, proceeding from our principled position, that we never interfere with other's affairs and call on others to do the same."
"I warned the US against returning to the Monroe Doctrine, as Washington had proclaimed to do, as it is possible to go too far this way. I believe that such vociferous statements to return to the 200-year doctrine mainly reflect disrespect not just for the Venezuelan people, but for the Latin American peoples in general," the minister said.
Input equals Output. Get one guy do the legwork and a psychopath to scam, feed them with BS from an exWarcriminal and a Warhawk, back them with a pathological liar, cheater and thief as well as with a whitehaired dumbass - and you get .... DISASTER - as seen now in Venezuela. Trump team lost big time and The Donald is biting his fingernails.
Meanwhile Bolton and Abrams now even engage bottom-feeders of the mainstream media like CNN to peddle stories, which shall convince Trump that the scheming duo actually had worked out proper plans and are still "working hard" for the takeover, though all turned out to be futile,while the Trump administration was fooled.
CNN citing unnamed White House sources was reporting that the Trump administration wants to find a way to financially support Venezuelan opposition leader and self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido with an "influx of cash".
"They are trying to figure out how do you help the interim government be able to provide pay-checks, that kind of stuff, so that there is an ability to say, 'hey we are a functioning government'. That would include payments to various people, including those in the military," one source allegedly said.
The remarks come after US National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow said last month that Washington has "a lot of plans to revitalise the Venezuelan economy and move very rapidly".
"There's a financial plan. There's food planning. Getting cash to the people on the streets. Working with banks in the region to help us," he said, adding that the US may use "banks, iPhones, apps and many clever ways to get cash" into Venezuela in order to support Guaido.
Abrams claimed that international financial institutions were already making plans to lend the country billions more dollars.
Mexico and Germany oppose any scenario of military intervention in Venezuela, believing that it would lead to catastrophic consequences, the two countries' foreign ministers said at the joint press conference on Thursday.
"Mexico condemns any attempt of military intervention in Venezuela or any other country in Latin America. It will be a disaster and a huge mistake if it happens," Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said at the press conference in Mexico City.
According to Ebrard, Mexico strongly advocates a peaceful solution to the Venezuelan conflict, and this stance coincides with the one of Berlin.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, in turn, reiterated that the European Union was always open to facilitate the dialogue between the parties to the Venezuelan political conflict. At the same time, he did not rule out the possibility of strengthening EU sanctions to influence the situation in Venezuela, according to the Economista media outlet.
READ ALSO: New False Flag Attacks Being Planned Against Venezuela
New details emerge of failed plot to oust Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro
Donald Trump's Special Envoy for Venezuela Elliott Abrams suggested that Venezuela's elected President Nicolas Maduro cannot trust anyone in his environment, "especially the Cubans and the Russians."
Speaking to US-Venezuelan TV channel VPItv, the US special envoy for Venezuela said opposition leader Juan Guaido was engaged in negotiations with senior military commanders on the terms of their turning their back on Maduro, who, according to Abrams, was not aware of the meeting.
"Maduro cannot trust his environment, including anyone who claims to be loyal to him. He cannot count on that. Especially the Cubans and the Russians," he said.
Mrs. Ariel Elyse Gold arrested
RED ALERT (19h UTC): What the USA is doing to Venezuela, U.S. Secret Service agents are now doing to the Venezuelan embassy in Washington D/C and to the embassy protection team, which is legitimized by the Venezuelan government. Police arrests supporters. Secret service tells legal officer to call public affairs office if they have a problem with the fact that they're not letting people bring food in. Message from the protector team: " @ArielElyseGold was prevented from entering Venezuela's embassy to deliver supplies to the building's protectors. We are out of food on the inside, and the opposition has stated their intention to starve out the collective." Police and Secret Service have now arrested Mrs. Gold for attempting to throw food up to members of the embassy protection collective, who are out of supplies. Peace-activist Ariel Gold was inside the Embassy building with the consent of the legitimate Venezuelan officials. Also another embassy potector was arrested. Their arrest is outrageous. Meanwhile the opposition protesters vandalizing our building are being protected by authorities in open disregard for int'l law. The police and Secret Service have totally supported the right-wing opposition mob. It is absolutely vile—and clearly illegal! Mrs. Ariel Elyse Gold now arrested for trying to bring food to the besieged embassy protectors in Washington D/C (=District of Criminals). Mrs. Gold later was released from the polic station where she had been held and tweeted: "I have been charged with [bread] missile throwing. I hope this US Federal government takes this to trial. Oh the irony. I was released from jail 30 minutes ago and already one of these thugs assaulted me. I'm filing charges."
Tonight, as the Embassy Protection Collective lives to fight another day opposition activists continue their vile behavior from outside, but inside the group feels nothing but love and peace!
Tossing a loaf of bread to the hungry is "Throwing Missile!" in these days of The Donald's Imperium - the USA. Unfortunately they are not joking - they are such sick in their heads!
Support the brave people on the front lines protecting the Venezuela embassy in Washingtn D/C @anyaparampil @ArielElyseGold @wyattreed13 @tangibleunknown @RealAlexRubi @medeabenjamin @DrMFlowers @KBZeese from being attacked by opposition goons & donate to @answercoalition @codepink @PopResistance
URGENT: US Secret Service do NOTHING as rightwing opposition illegally attacks the Embassy of Venezuela with lynnch-mob!
<---- Yes this is true. Peace activist @ArielElyseGold was arrested at DC Venezuela embassy for tossing food to the hungry people under siege inside. Her charge: THROWING MISSILE - STANDS FOR TOSSING A LOAF OF BREAD on the charge sheet!!!
The Partnership for Civil Justice Fund is urging the Washington DC Police Department, US Department of State and the Secret Service to prevent violent actions against the embassy and its staff.
.@ThePCJF law firm has sent this letter to the @DCPoliceDept, @StateDept & @SecretService asking them to do something about the violent mob trying to break into the Venezuelan Embassy. The Embassy Protection Collective is asking for everyone to share it widely.
The opposition is still trying to break in from multiple entrances. Secret Service does nothing pic.twitter.com/ajJ57bW9pI
Congress woman Ilhan Omar is able to smile at racist remarks of Pence but shows superior and profound knowledge on the issues of Venezuela.
She stands opposed to the leadership of the Democratic Party in congress, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer have both officially recognised right wing opposition figure, Juan Guaido, who illegally tried to self-impose himself as President of Venezuela. Ilhan Omar is not like Congress woman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, who cowardly just stated she will follow the Democratic Party's leadership in regards to Venezuela
Pence Fails Miserably as he Tries to Dismiss Ilhan Omar on Venezuela
Progressive United States lawmaker Ilhan Omar has called out U.S. Vice President Mike Pence's implicit racism and sexism for seeking to dismiss her comments in support of the legitimate government of Venezuela without engaging her on the merits of the argument.
Speaking to Democracy Now! Thursday, the freshman congresswoman had issued critiques against the U.S.-backed attempted coup in Venezuela saying, ""A lot of the policies that we have put in place has kind of helped lead the devastation in Venezuela, and we've sort of set the stage for where we're arriving today. .... This particular bullying and the use of sanctions to eventually intervene and make regime change really does not help the people of countries like Venezuela, and it certainly does not help and is not in the interest of the United States."
The response came in an interview with the vice president that aired on Fox News Friday, in which was asked about her comments. He replied simply that "she doesn't know what she's talking about."
Omar was quick to point out the arrogance behind his dismissive remarks, saying; "Women of color have heard this before. Instead of 'we disagree,' it's 'she doesn't know what she's talking about.' They have to make us feel small. This from an Administration that thinks climate change is a Chinese hoax."
Ilhan Omar is one of the only politicians in the U.S. to not only oppose war on Venezuela, but also to oppose economic sanctions that have sought to asphyxiate the Bolivarian country.
Presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard, a representative from Hawaii, has also been vocal in opposing the coup attempts in Venezuela saying, "This administration and the neocon war hawks that surround President Trump have made no secret about what their intentions are to further this regime change effort both in Venezuela as well as in Iran."
However, other progressive Democrats have not engaged a great deal on the issue. Brooklyn's well-known House Represenative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez has refused to say whether the U.S. should back Maduro or Guaido, and has generally failed to take any strong stances on foreign policy issues. (tS)
Mr. Ladar Levison, the owner of Lavabit[dot]com, which was forcibly shut, because whistle-blowers had their e-mail addresses hosted there and the owner was served with a FISA warrant, thereafter said: "...I would strongly recommend against anyone trusting their private data to a company with physical ties to the United States of America."
It is amazing how many people still fall into the USdataTrap and subscribe to their services, but it doesn't show much intellect.
Many people get now a https://vk.com/ account as backup for their fascistbook account.
Twitter is a damned US Political Player - BEWARE!
Twitter blocked the Account of Corpoelec, Venezuela's State Electric Power Company, of media etc.
The official Twitter account @CORPOELECinfo of the Corporación Eléctrica Nacional (Corpoelec), Venezuela's state-owned public electric utility, was "temporarily restricted" on the twitter network for reasons that are unknown. The restriction has prevented it from publishing information since April 29. Apparently, it would be part of the series of restrictions that the US company made a few days ago, also affecting the accounts of three Venezuelan media and several public entities.
The blocking of the Corpoelec account on Twitter mainly harms the Venezuelan citizens who use this account to keep informed about the load management plans (electrical service interruptions) of the company in numerous cities throughout the country, as part of the contingency while the national electrical system recovers from the attacks that occurred last March, which left most of the country without electric service for several days.
Citizens used the @CORPOELECinfo account as one of the mechanisms to report service failures, and the account was also used to inform the public when these problems were being resolved. However, since April 29 at 7:02 pm, no new messages have been posted.
The suspension of this and other accounts occurred before or during an attempted coup on April 30, led by the outlawed actors Juan Guaidó and Leopoldo López, supported by a small group of soldiers.
Between Tuesday, April 30 and Wednesday, May 1, the US corporation Twitter has suspended, without explanation, the accounts of several Venezuelan media and various government institutions led by President Nicolás Maduro. Among others, the accounts of the newspapers El Correo del Orinoco ( @correoorinoco ), the Diario Vea ( @DiarioVEAVen ) and the television station ViVe Televisión ( @ViVetvoficial ), as well as the accounts of the Ministry of Popular Power for Women ( @MinMujer ); of the Ministry of Popular Power for Education (@ mppeducacion ) and the Ministry of Popular Power for Petroleum ( @MinPetroleoVE ) were suspended.
The newspaper Vea is a private media outlet whose editorial line is favorable to the Venezuelan revolutionary process, while El Correo del Orinoco and Vive Televisión are state media.
These actions occurred almost simultaneously with an attempted coup on April 30 against the government of President Nicolás Maduro, as part of the maneuvers that the opposition deputy Juan Guaidó, with the support of the US government, has been attempting since the 23rd of January to overthrow him.
It is noteworthy that the opposition deputy Juan Guaidó, who claims to be "President in charge" of Venezuela, announced last week the creation of a "National Communication Center", which will function as an "official communications organ" or a kind of ministry of parallel communication. It will be directed by Alberto Federico Ravell, a journalist known for having directed the private channel Globovisión during the years in which it worked as a communication weapon to try to overthrow the then President Hugo Chávez, and later became the director of the opposition digital medium, La Patilla, of identical characteristics.
The (coup's) "National Communication Center" announced on Monday that its social networks were already active, having created the @Presidencia_VE account , which they describe as the "Official Account of the Presidency (E) of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela." This account, surprisingly, already appears as "verified account" (with the blue check that denotes that the Twitter company has verified the legitimacy of this account), although the real account of the Presidency of Venezuela, @PresidencialVen , which records the activities of the Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, was never verified by this company, despite the fact that it was created in April 2010 and has more than 1 million followers.
The verification to the @Presidencia_VE account of Juan Guaidó is, moreover, strange given that Twitter announced in November 2017 that its program for verification of accounts (to place the famous "blue check") was temporarily suspended , and until today he has not reactivated it .
The blue check denotes that the Twitter company verified that the account belongs to its legitimate user. Generally it was approved for journalists, politicians, celebrities and famous people or of the world of show business, which allows to distinguish the legitimate accounts of impersonations, usurpers, false accounts and parodies.
For some, the fact that the Twitter company has decided to place as "verified account" the one of Guaidó seems to indicate in a brazen way what their political preferences are.
Worse yet: the @PresidencialVen account has been suspended this year on at least two occasions: March 12 and April 1 . It was also suspended in September 2018 . The restrictions lasted a few days; The reasons were never reported.
The account of Correo del Orinoco has been suspended several times, the most recent being on January 29. This account has more than 829 thousand followers and mainly publishes contents of the newspaper's website , which is attached to the Venezuelan Ministry of Communication and Information and is directed by the journalist Desiré Santos Amaral. It is noteworthy that last year they celebrated the 200th anniversary of the creation of Correo del Orinoco by the Venezuelan Liberator Simón Bolívar, a newspaper that played an important role during the war of independence against Spain. The account was unlocked a few days later.
At that time, the @ViceVenezuela account of the Vice Presidency of the Republic, which has 329 thousand followers, was also restricted for several days .
It is not the first time that major Twitter accounts linked to the Chavista government are massively blocked, particularly during politically critical moments.
In November 2013, Twitter suspended some 6,600 accounts of supporters of President Nicolás Maduro or of officials or institutions of his government, including two media outlets (CiudadCCS and the radio network La Radio del Sur). Among those blocked were the then Minister of Communication and Information, Delcy Rodríguez; Wilmer Barrientos, who at that time was assigned to the Office of the Presidency; the then Minister of Agriculture and Lands, Yvan Gil; the governor of Anzoátegui at that time, Aristóbulo Istúriz ( @psuvaristobulo); as well as the official accounts of the ministries of University Education, Land Transportation, for Women, Corpomiranda, the Social Vice Presidency, the Bolivarian University of Venezuela (UBV), the National Experimental University of Security (UNES), Pdval, Mercal, and networks of supporters of Maduro such as ForoCandanga, in addition to numerous journalists, professionals and recognized individuals. The accounts were restored days later, claiming that it was "an error" .
In June 2017, dozens of media accounts and chavismo activists were suspended without explanation. At least thirteen accounts of the state-run Radio Nacional de Venezuela were suspended, including its main account, @RNVContigo , and the accounts of regional broadcasters @rnvcentral , @rnvtachirafm , @rnvzulia , @rnvanzoategui , @rnvlosllanosfm , @rnvtachirafm and @rnvportuguesa , as well as the @rnvmusical and @rnvindigena channels , and the @rnvcultura , @rnvdeportes sections and @rnvinter . In addition, the accounts of Radio Miraflores ( @MirafloresFM ) and Miraflores TV ( @MIRAFLORES_TV ), media of the Presidency of the Republic, as well as important Chavez influencers and tweeters were blocked. None of these accounts could be recovered. (Kudos to Orinoco Tribune for providing the details.)
AND THE HYPER-TWIT IS: The latest twit from Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump "I am continuing to monitor the censorship of AMERICAN CITIZENS on social media platforms. This is the United States of America — and we have what's known as FREEDOM OF SPEECH! We are monitoring and watching, closely." It means: "Let them speak, we need to have the AMERICANS under total surveillance!" - and the "rest of it: "just block'em"
Bolivar banknotes no longer printed in Brazil. The Brazilian state-owned mint, the Casa da Moeda do Brasil, has recently stopped printing Venezuelan Bolivar banknotes, the national currency of the neighboring country, the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper reports. The newspaper notes that the money-printing contract was signed in 2018 and expired in March this year, with Brazil's mint revealing that the agreement was not made directly with Caracas but rather via a subcontract by an undisclosed "multinational company".
Julian Assange told a London court Thursday he will fight extradition to the United States
A defiant Julian Assange told a London court Thursday he will fight extradition to the United States to face charges of conspiring to hack into a Pentagon computer, arguing that his work as WikiLeaks founder has benefited the public.
Speaking by video link from Belmarsh Prison in southeast London, Assange said: "I do not wish to surrender myself for extradition for doing journalism that has won many awards and protected many people."
His formal refusal to be extradited marks the start of what is expected to be a bruising legal battle over whether he will be brought to trial in the United States.
Assange, wearing jeans and a sports jacket, appeared calm during the brief hearing at London's Westminster Magistrates' Court. Some of his supporters who couldn't get seats in the small courtroom chanted support for Assange from the hallways, shouting "Shame on you" at the judge.
Judge Michael Snow said it would likely be "many months" before a full hearing was held on the substance of the U.S. extradition case. The judge set a procedural hearing for May 30, with a substantive hearing to follow on June 12 once a full U.S. extradition request has been received and studied by Assange's lawyers.
Legal experts predict it will likely take 18 months or longer to resolve the case, with each side able to make several appeals of unfavorable rulings.
Very strong statement of @UN WG on Arbitrary Detention denouncing disproportionality of UK Court's sentence against Assange, his incarceration in a high-security prison as if he was a serious criminal, & UK's violation of its opinion54. It calls on UK to restore Assange's freedom.
In a separate case, the 47-year-old Australian was sentenced Wednesday to 50 weeks in prison in the U.K. for jumping bail in 2012 and holing up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. At the time, he was facing extradition to Sweden for questioning over rape and sexual assault allegations made by two women.
That extradition request is no longer active, but Swedish officials say the rape investigation may be revived now that Assange is no longer out of reach in the Ecuadorian Embassy.
Assange says he sought asylum in the embassy because he feared being sent to the U.S. to face charges related to WikiLeaks' publication of classified U.S. military documents.
U.S. authorities accuse Assange of scheming with former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to break a password for a classified government computer.
Manning served several years in prison for leaking classified documents to WikiLeaks. She was jailed again in March after refusing to testify to a grand jury investigating the secret-spilling organization.
Ben Brandon, a lawyer representing the U.S. government, said in court Thursday that U.S. investigators had obtained details of chatroom communications between Manning and Assange in 2010. Brandon said the pair had "engaged in real-time discussions regarding Chelsea Manning's dissemination of confidential records to Mr. Assange."
He said the documents allegedly downloaded from a classified U.S. computer included 90,000 activity reports from the war in Afghanistan, 400,000 Iraq war-related reports, 800 Guantanamo Bay detainee assessments and 250,000 State Department cables.
The U.S. charge against Assange carries a maximum five-year prison sentence, but Assange is worried the U.S. could add further, more serious allegations against him.
"The fight has just begun. It will be a long one and a hard one," said WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson, who claimed Assange was being held in "appalling" conditions at Belmarsh Prison.
He said Assange was confined to his cell 23 hours a day, "what we call in general terms solitary confinement."
WikiLeaks supporters holding signs reading "Free Assange" and "No extradition" gathered outside the London courthouse before Thursday's hearing.
Some who had waited for two hours hoping to get in were bitterly disappointed when those seats were filled by journalists and lawyers. They shouted angrily at court staff and complained they were being discriminated against for backing Assange. Some later blocked a busy main road outside the court, bringing traffic to a halt.
Assange was arrested last month in London after Ecuador revoked his political asylum.
Lauri Love expresses it loud and clear.
United Nations human rights experts have voiced criticism over the UK's decision to imprison WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for nearly one year for skipping bail, describing the harsh sentence as excessive.
Comprised of five independent experts, the UN rights group said that Assange's 50-week internment at the high-security Belmarsh prison made it seem "as if he were convicted for a serious criminal offense."
Claiming that Assange had received a "disproportionate sentence," the UN experts argued in a statement that his punishment "appears to contravene principles of necessity and proportionality." The statement also described the skipping bail charge as a relatively "minor violation."
The same panel issued an opinion in 2015 that Assange was being arbitrarily detained, after the WikiLeaks figurehead was forced to seek political asylum at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, in order to avoid extradition to Sweden to face allegations of sexual assault.
A London court ruled on May 1 that Assange was guilty of "violating bail conditions." The Southwark Crown Court in London said that he had shown disdain for the British justice system by skipping bail.
During the hearing, Assange apologized for not honoring the terms of his temporary release, but insisted that his decision to seek asylum was "the best or perhaps the only thing" that he could have done under the circumstances.
He now faces the possibility of extradition to the US, where he is wanted for "conspiracy to commit computer intrusion." An extradition hearing was originally scheduled for Thursday, but has been adjourned until May 30.
WikiLeaks denounced its founder's 50-week sentence as "shocking" and "vindictive." The outlet also expressed "grave concerns" as to whether Assange will receive a fair extradition hearing.
Assange was forcibly dragged out of the Ecuadorian Embassy last month by British undercover police after the South American nation decided to evict him.
READ ALSO: Martyrdom of Assange or death blow for journalism?
Ola Bini remains in jails on orders of Lenin Moreno and his cangaroo-court while U.S. agents try to dig up links with WikiLeaks.
In Ecuador the Pichincha Tribunal Court of Justice ratified and upheld the detention of Ola Bini, Swedish information technology privacy advocate, on Thursday night, El Comercio reported.
Ola Bini was placed in 90-day preventative custody April 13 by Ecuadorean police authorities.
Judges Juana Pacheco, Ines Romero and Fabian Fabara reviewed the case appeal made by Bini's legal team, listening to the defence for 90 minutes before withdrawing from the courtroom to deliberate for over three hours before returning with a decision.
The 36-year-old web programmer was arrested April 11 after being linked to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Bini's parents assure the pair were friends and not guilty of attempting to destabilize the government by "collaborating" with Assange, as implied by the Ecuadorean government.
Bini was initially arrested two days prior at the Quito international airport as he tried to board his flight to Japan after being declared a "flight-risk," due to his frequent trips to Europe and the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, allegedly to visit Assange. Ecuadorean police put the Swedish programmer in 90-day preventative custody April 13.
Ola Bini, an author and prominent advocate for free software and comprehensive digital privacy, has worked with a variety of organizations on anonymity and secure communication.
The computer scientist, originally from Sweden, has lived in Ecuador for several years. His detention occured hours after Interior Minister Maria Paula Romo claimed there were "Russian hackers" in the country. In his last tweet before his arrest, Bini accused the government of a witch hunt.
Romo said that Bini was arrested as part of an investigation to verify information about Wikileaks.
The United Nations has denounced the Swede's detainment as arbitrary, saying the Ecuadorean government has nothing to connect him to Assange or to any crime.
US Senate Rejects Veto Override of Yemen War Resolution
The war in Yemen has already, according to a United Nation's report, cost 230,000 lives and has left almost 14 million people at increased risk of famine.
The United States Senate Thursday voted down a bill introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders to override U.S. President Donald Trump's veto of a previous bipartisan resolution to end U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen that has caused a humanitarian catastrophe in the country.
The U.S. Senate, controlled by Republicans and led by majority leader Mitch McConnell voted Thursday on the override, but ended up shy of the 67 votes required to override a presidential veto. The votes were tallied at 53-45 with several Republicans voting with Democrats on the issue.
Following the vote, Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut vowed to continue working with his colleagues "to bring an end to our involvement in this humanitarian disaster."
Republicans who voted "no" to override the veto are following Mitch McConnell's lead by saying that the entire idea is a based on the "false premise" that the U.S. is somehow involved in the Yemen War. "We're not parties to the civil war in Yemen," he said.
The United States has had a long-standing relationship supplying weapons to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In the Trump era, close senior White House advisors, like Jared Kushner have continued the trend by helping to carve out US$100 billion in weapons contracts with Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman.
The war in Yemen has already, according to a United Nation's report, cost 230,000 lives, many of those civilian, and has left almost 14 million people at increased risk of famine. Ahead of Thursday's vote, Sanders's staff delivered copies of the U.N. report to Republican senators in an effort to build support for the override and "make sure they understand the catastrophe that the United States is creating in Yemen."
After the vote, Sanders said, "The bad news today: we were unable today to override Trump's veto regarding U.S. intervention in this horrific war in Yemen. … The good news: for the first time in 45 years, Congress used the War Powers Act to reassert its constitutional responsibility over the use of armed forces."
The War Powers Act was enacted in 1973 during Richard Nixon's term as a way to prevent any acting president from embroiling the United States into foreign conflicts without Congressional approval.
Update WED 01. May 2019 (vf): BREAKING: Julian Assange sentenced in UK (see below)
As Venezuelans gathered to commemorate International Workers Day today on Wednesday, one could not fathom that just a day earlier the country experienced an attempted coup d'etat. (see Huge support from tens of thousands of supporters of President @NicolasMaduro is being shown on #InternationalWorkersDay in Caracas.
"MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MADAY!" - this international distress signal is what the coup plotters of the Trump administration like Pence, Pompeo, Bolton and Abrams and he himself wanted to hear today on the First of May from Venezuela in order to send their troops "to help". But instead Donald Trump hears the joy from the resisting people in Venezuela and the laughter from all over the world about the miserably failed coup d'état staged yesterday by his boy-scouts in the core country of the Bolivarian Revolution, Venezuela.
Maduro has repeatedly called for the restoration of talks between his government and the opposition in order to maintain peace and avoid a U.S.-backed coup, or even military intervention by the United States in favor of removing him and placing an unelected right-wing government.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has congratulated the military for "defeating" the plotters of a coup after a day of protests called for by opposition leader Juan Guaido.
Maduro called the opposition supporters a "small group that tried to fill the country with violence" and confirmed his government has faced several "incidences" of a coup d'état.
The president also announced the appointment of "three special prosecutors" to examine "criminal" actions by the opposition, noting that "we have colonels wounded by bullets and in intensive care."
Some of the protests were peaceful and others led to intense skirmishes, yet fatalities were avoided throughout the day. A few dozen people were injured by rubber bullets, tear gas and – allegedly – live ammunition. An armoured vehicle was also recorded ramming into a cluster of protestors.
At least five soldiers and two colonels were also injured in the clashes after being shot by coup plotters, Maduro reported. At the onset of the violence, Venezuela's defence minister warned early in the day that the army would resort to force if necessary.
MUST SEE: Here is the Chavista First of May march to defend the Bolivarian revolution in Venezuela, clearly pro Maduro, and to fight against the puppets of the United States of America. But the media only shows you the opposition. Ask yourself why the mainstream media did not show you this. The opposition in Venezuela does not have the support of the working class. The opposition are very few far-right, mostly white, neo-colonial elite-class fellows who hire and pay some poor garimbas to create havoc or try to trick or bribe some soldiers. But speak to and listen to the Venezualan population of 30 million Venezuelans. And, even during his failed attempt of January 23 and the failed coup of 30. March Guaido's demonstrations have been small
MUST SEE: Drone footage of a pro Maduro march. You don't see THIS on CNN or in the NY or LA Times. Source: pic.twitter.com/RaJyD88s1P h/t @ErikaOSanoja @RojoCamacaro #HandsOffVenezuela #Venezuela
Game Over Juan Guaido - and as already Bob Marley sang: "You can fool someone sometimes, but not everybody all the time!"
Meanwhile fugitive outlaw Juan Guaido called for more protests on Wednesday, as part of what he titled 'Operation Freedom'. He insisted once again that the opposition is supported by the military. His mentor Leopoldo Lopez already abandoned him and is now hiding in the Spanish embassy in Caracas.
Maduro stated that 80 percent of troops involved in the mutiny attempt had abandoned Guaido, with only a small group of about 20 officers "handing over their souls to the coup-mongering far right." Those military officers who answered Guaido's calls for regime change in the country, Maduro noted, were lured by the opposition "under false pretences," but once they came to their senses, they "left the coup leaders alone" and surrendered.
As of now, there is no indication of any military support outside of this very small detachment of troops," reporter Lucas Koerner told RT America from Caracas, claiming that many officers had been deceived into believing that Tuesday's events were a "drill led by the government."
"None of them are ranking officers that command troops of any standing, therefore they are largely irrelevant," Koerner added.
Maduro defended the use of force, saying the opposition planned to lead the country into a "civil war." The president also vowed that Venezuela would stay on the course of the Bolivarian Revolution and fight the interventionist Monroe Doctrine of the US.
President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro has shown restrained and leadership on the national as well as on the international level and in the face of constant harassment by the USA and their traitor-stooges.
"Today was peace in Venezuela in contrast to the violence and that attempted coup d'état, carried out by foreign interests," said President Nicolas Maduro regarding the coup on Tuesday, adding that despite been pushed towards a "civil war" his government acted in a cool and well-thought out manner in order to promote public order and peace.
As Venezuelans gathered to commemorate International Workers Day on Wednesday, one could not fathom that just a day earlier the country experienced an attempted coup d'etat. The tranquillity felt in the capital city Caracas showed its people and the world that violence or oppression against the opposition is and won't be government policy.
In contrast to other nations such as Sudan whose army, after overthrowing President Omar al-Bashir, declared a three-month state of emergency. Or neighbouring Colombia, whose far-right government has systematically repressed opposition protests organised by Indigenous campesinos, students and social movements.
"Mass media in my country and around the world have portrayed Maduro's government as a violent dictatorship, yet the government has reacted very carefully against those extreme violent acts that for a long time the opposition has tried. This contrasts to a very democratic behaviour by the Venezuelan government," Valter Pomar from the Brazilian Worker's Party (PT) told teleSUR.
This comes as lawmaker Juan Guaido Tuesday urged the armed forces to support his effort to oust Maduro and appeared outside an air force base with dozens of National Guard members, which later turned out that had been tricked into showing up at the highway interchange of Altamira. Guaido and opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, who violated his house arrest, tried to get the army and people to join their coup but failed.
Following their move against the government, protests took place across the capital Caracas and several clashes took place in which multiple injuries from both sides were reported, including eight security forces, one which was shot in the neck. During these clashes, the Bolivarian Armed Forces were ordered to not draw their weapons against civilians, while opposition "guarimbas" were seen and recorded using live ammunition against the National Guard and Army.
"Let's remember that back in 2002 shots against civilians were blamed on Chavez's government to later find out they were actually perpetrated by the same opposition. So it is not crazy to assume that they might try to use that excuse once again," added Pomar.
While the coup attempt was immediately supported by the U.S. government of Donald Trump, nations as Mexico, Cuba and Russia rejected the escalation of violence. Just as Maduro called for dialogue and restraint, the opposition called for more violence and chaos.
However, the government has been clear that they will not fall into the opposition and the U.S.'s "games" that are waiting for the government to violently react or imprisoning Guaido in order to justify an intervention in the name of so-called human rights violations.
President Maduro's reaction has been the complete opposite, allowing opposition civilians to peaceful protests and even allowing those that lead the coup attempt, such as Lopez and his family, secure their rights by asking for refugee in a foreign diplomatic mission.
So as many have pointed out, it is rather a very "strange dictatorship" the one Venezuelans are experiencing, where the government calls for dialogue and order while the opposition for repression and war.
MUST WATCH: EVIDENCE IS EMERGING: Young Venezuelan soldiers were TRICKED BY GUAIDO/LOPEZ:
These young Venezuelan soldiers say they were tricked by their superiors into participating in a propaganda photo op for Juan Guaidó. They claim they were told by one of their captains that they were going out on a mission, and that they had to go stand in front of the big La Carlota military base in Caracas. It was this staged event that prompted CNN, and even the BBC, to report a military coup was in progress. Source: pic.twitter.com/CAx6EAAORh h/t @ErikaOSanoja @RojoCamacaro #HandsOffVenezuela #Venezuela
MUST READ: Venezuela - Guaidó Got Snookered - White House Starts Beating War Drums
MUST WATCH: Our working class president Maduro is indestructible (Yes, that is somehow also propaganda, BUT our people in Venezuela confirm that the majority of Venezuelans are well represented by this piece and are UNITED in their stand that does not want any USA- or for that fact Gringo-imposed regime change.)
MUST WATCH: The Grayzone's @anyaparampil demolishes the Trump administration's push for regime change in Venezuela on Fox News with @TuckerCarlson
Prof. Juan Carlos Mondenero:" I think we have to listen to Pope Francisco, to ( Jose Luis Rodriguez ) Zapatero, to Andres Manuel López Obrador, that is, to the people who are presenting dialogues."
Juan Carlos Monedero, ideologue and member of Spanish left party Podemos ( fourth political force in Spanish parliament and able to add significantly to gain a majority for a government of the left in coalition with "socialist" party PSOE, winner of the recent parliamentary election ) interviewed about events in Venezuela:
https://twitter.com/publico_es/status/1123539265508397056
Transcript translation:
Journalist: An assessment, Juan Carlos Monedero, on Venezuela, about what happened yesterday and also about that Leopoldo López stayed at the Spanish embassy in Caracas?:
Juan Carlos Monedero: We have seen yesterday, again, the media construction of a pantomime. Guaidó has been saying for 4 months that it was the definitive one, trying to mobilize a people that does not move with him, and trying to call a coup d'état with an army that is being loyal to the Constitution of Venezuela.
It was the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Spain, Borrell, who said that Guaidó had been recognized by US pressure, and, therefore, we ask the government of Spain to stop making a fool of himself. It can not be that we reclaim national sovereignty at the same time that a call from Donald Trump causes us to make stupid decisions, such as recognizing an "interim president" who has proclaimed himself on the street, in the name of a constitution that, with a tortuous interpretation, could give him coverage of 30 days, and he has taken already 100 days, and, therefore, I think it's time for Spain to stop playing the fool and listen to the voices that demand dialogue and peace in Venezuela.
It is evident that in Venezuela there must be a dialogue between the opposition and the government. You can not govern a confronted country as Venezuela is right now. But the US has to get its dirty hands out of Venezuela because it wants to turn it into a new Syria, or into a new Iraq, or into a new Afghanistan, and that is a disaster.
And that Spain and the EU are collaborating with a climate of war is terrible. It breaks my soul to see a guy who is a neo-fascist, like Tajani, who is the President of the European Parliament, call a coup d'etat.
Is that the EU? An EU that at one time was a human rights defender and today calls for a coup d'état, in a Latin American country?
They have lost all reason, they have lost all intelligence and they have lost the slightest common sense.
They have tried again a coup d'état, Leopoldo López, who is a guy who has broken house arrest by jail, and, therefore, has to be subject to Venezuelan laws.
If one compares those who are supporting the blows in Venezuela, as they want to treat the people who put urns on ( past ) October 1 in Catalonia, it shows that these people are constitutionalist of the articles of the Constitution that interest them, because they are kicking the Rule of Law. What has happened in Venezuela is an attempted coup and those who support an attempted coup d'etat are going against the Spanish Constitution of 1978.
Journalist: What do you think will happen in the next few days?
Juan Carlos Monedero: We are seeing that the US wants to surround Venezuela with hunger, with a brutal blockade, with media pressure that is always smoke. So, if we continue to listen to the US, the only thing we will do is to help see Venezuela as a new Syria, and I believe that doing that to our Venezuelan brothers and sisters would be an insult to the tradition of brotherhood between the two countries.
I think we have to listen to Pope Francisco, to ( Jose Luis Rodriguez ) Zapatero, to Andres Manuel López Obrador, that is, to the people who are presenting dialogues.
Outside of dialogue, the only thing that there is always is war, hunger, suffering, that the people always pay for. And that Spain has lost the opportunity to lead the dialogue demonstrates the lack of a country project that, to this day, Sanchez is demeaning.
All the more reason for there to be a government that allows you to have a state vision that you do not have right now.
Venezuelan opposition figure Juan Guaido failed to kick-start a military uprising yesterday - Tuesday. After this fizzle, his life may be in danger from his own CIA backers, the director of the Ron Paul Institute, Daniel McAdams argued in a debate.
McAdams and Dr. Ron Paul, the former libertarian representative from Texas, discussed the repeated attempts by Guaido to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro with the backing from the US government. Despite all the efforts, Maduro remains in power, supported by many Venezuelans and in control of its military and police forces.
McAdams pointed out that Guaido himself, with his record of failing to mobilise the protest against the Maduro government, could be a target for such a provocation.
"He has been a kind of a hapless figure so far. He calls for mass protests and no one shows up. I don't think he realizes right now that he is actually now worth more dead than alive not only to the CIA, but also to his own opposition people. A shot in the crowd or something like that to take Guaido out. It might shock you, Dr. Paul, but the CIA is pretty good at this kind of things."
The devoted constitutionalist Ron Paul added people like Secretary of State Mike Pompeo or National Security Advisor John Bolton, who appealed to Venezuelan soldiers to protect their nation's constitution by siding with Guaido, were "a bunch of clowns."
"They don't have the vaguest notion about what the constitutional law in our country would be like. And they are going to restore the constitutional law in other countries? It's just clichés and nonsense!"
The Waltz of the Russian Satellites around Venezuela
- takes away the spectre of war in the region
By Valentin Vasilescu - 01. May 2019
Some of the Russian military satellites usually work along elongated elliptic orbits at an altitude of 39 700 km. Satellites hold almost permanent observation of certain geographical areas of the size of a continent. The satellite for this type of monitoring has a diameter of 2.7 m, a length of 7 m and a mass of 5 to 6 tons. The satellite also has rocket engines, with which it can modify its initial trajectory.
When the Russian military contingent landed in Caracas, a change of orbit was observed in the trajectory of several Russian military satellites. Some of the satellites belong to the network that monitors the electromagnetic emissions of American ground and naval combat vehicles. At the same time, satellites also possess radar equipment that identifies the coordinates and the target type.
Others are part of the network of optical research satellites, including high-resolution telescopes in the visual and infrared spectra. These satellites even detect the launch of cruise missiles on submerged submarines. They follow the path of the missiles and can determine their probable targets.
The orbital parameters of these satellites were modified by Moscow to observe naval bases and American military ships that could participate in an invasion of Venezuela. This unprecedented fact is tantamount to a warning issued to the United States that Russia will retaliate in the event of an attack on Venezuela.
Due to the heavy traffic through the Panama Canal, the United States cannot transport its heavy war machinery across the continent on land roads. Therefore, American tanks will be pre-positioned on the offensive basis of Colombia, by specially built Watson class ships for this purpose.
These commercial ship convoys will be tracked by Russian satellites from the time of their boarding phase at the American ports all along their voyage. It should be noted that Colombia's ports are within the reach of the site where KH-59MK2 anti-ship missiles of Russian production are based and under command of the Venezuelan army. In addition, Venezuela may also receive Kalibr anti-ship missiles from Russia in the event of imminent invasion. Kalibr missiles have a range of 1 500 km.
The sinking of 5 Watson class ships means the loss of 5 x 16 000 tonnes of cargo, i.e. the elimination of 2 mechanized U.S. divisions and tanks, knowing that four American divisions would be required for the invasion.
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) members
CARICOM Chairman to earnestly promote now meaningful dialogue and diplomacy to assist Venezuela
On Tuesday, April 30, U.S. President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton all publicly backed what Caracas described as 'a failed coup attempt' that featured clear threats to national security and edged Venezuela closer to civil war.
Bolton, in a press conference during the day, also called on the top Venezuelan military officers, including the commanders of the army and the National Guard, to back Guaido, warning of untold consequences if they didn't.
But Venezuela's Caribbean neighbours, including those that support Washington's tough anti-Venezuela stance at the Organization of American States (OAS), all signed-up to the Chairman's declaration of the regional grouping's continuing preference for a peaceful solution to the Venezuelan crisis.
Chairman of the 13-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Dr. Timothy Harris, worked the phones Tuesday to remain apprised of the situation in Venezuela, where self-imposed U.S.-backed 'Interim President' Guaido had called for a national uprising and for the national army to help him unseat President Nicolas Maduro.
Harris, who is also Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, spent much of the day in consultation with other Caribbean leaders and CARICOM Secretary General Edwin LaRocque regarding developments in Venezuela, where an opposition figure serving a jail term under house arrest had joined Guaido's street protest and participated in what Caracas says was 'an attempt to mislead soldiers' at a military base in the capital city.
Venezuela's military spokesmen had also reported attacks during the day by Guaido supporters on soldiers, resulting in several senior officers being shot and critically wounded.
"I appeal for calm and peace," Harris said Tuesday afternoon, while reiterating his pledge that "CARICOM will continue to make every effort to help bring a peaceful resolution to Venezuela's political crisis."
"My colleague Heads of Government and I are collectively charged with ensuring the continued security and stability of our beloved Caribbean region," Prime Minister Harris added, noting that "This responsibility is our first and foremost priority, as we work in unison to safeguard our people's future."
On the last day of April 2019, as the first clear signs of a final, all-out, externally-backed attempt to topple the Venezuelan Government by force became clear, Caribbean Governments reiterated their determination to work with regional and international governments and entities to press for a peaceful solution.
The Chairman said CARICOM "has been working earnestly to promote meaningful dialogue and diplomacy, as well as a four-phased process called the Montevideo Mechanism, whose aim is an inclusive and lasting solution."
"Such a considered approach," he added, "can only redound to the benefit of the country and people of Venezuela -- and, by extension, the countries and citizens of Latin America and the Caribbean."
CARICOM has continued its painful search for a peaceful solution, engaging in the process with Guaido's forces and working with Latin American states as well as international bodies.
CARICOM has also established a special sub-committee on Venezuela that includes the Prime Ministers of Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad & Tobago, Mia Mottley, Dr Ralph Gonsalves and Dr Keith Rowley, respectively.
Chairman Harris has led Caribbean delegations to several meetings on Venezuela's political crisis, including in Guyana, Uruguay and Ecuador, as well as at the United Nations.
The CARICOM Chairman is also scheduled to engage in follow-up high-level talks with the International Contact Group (ICG) on Venezuela in Costa Rica next week.
Carlos Vecchio, representantive of extreme-right opposition figure Juan Guaidó in the USA, was shielded and aided by the U.S. Secret Service (call to protest: +1 202-406-8800 or 202-406-5708 x1 or 202-287-0007) at the embattled embassy of Venezuela in Washington D/C on 1st May 2019.
Trump shadow puppet "ambassador" @carlosvecchio (unrecognized by the diplomatic corps) was forced to leave the area of the Venezuelan embassy in Washington D/C after US citizens shut him down. He was forced to flee the scene in humiliation.
Time line: (Times in UTC = local Venezuelan time + 4h)
UPDATE 17:50 UTC (13:50)
The Pentagon has conducted extensive planning to prepare for any scenario that could unfold in Venezuela, Acting Secretary of Defence Patrick Shanahan said during a congressional hearing on Wednesday.
"We have done exhaustive planning so there's not a situation or scenario that we don't have a contingency for," Shanahan told the House Appropriations Subcommittee.
He added that the United States is addressing the situation in Venezuela with a whole-of-government approach, which is primarily focused on imposing diplomatic and economic pressure. However, the defence chief emphasised that all options were still on the table.
Socialist party leader Diosdado Cabello says Venezuela's armed forces remain united behind Nicolás Maduro despite opposition calls for them to revolt.
Speaking at a pro-Maduro rally Wednesday, Cabello said the military "as a block" stood their ground, but for a handful of exceptions.
He said opposition leaders are now "walking like zombies" after failing to provoke the widespread uprising urged by opposition leader Juan Guaidó.
The opposition and Maduro loyalists are staging duelling protests as they try to get the upper hand in the nation's power struggle.
Supporters of the Venezuelan opposition are gathering in Caracas after #JuanGuaido called for protests on #MayDay.
Chavistas have begun to gather in Caracas to support the legitimate government of President @NicolasMaduro just a day after the failed coup against him. LIVESTREAM
At this time some "guarimberos" are blocking the Altamira highway, Caracas. #MayDay #InternationalWorkersDay #LabourDay
COME OUT ALL!
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has warned his US counterpart Mike Pompeo that the continuation of the US's "aggressive steps" towards Venezuela will be fought with "serious consequences."
Earlier, Secretary Pompeo said that while the US would prefer to see a peaceful 'transition' in Venezuela, it would not take the military option off the table. "Military action is possible. If that's what's required, that's what the United States will do," Pompeo said.
"It was indicated that the continuation of aggressive steps will be fought with the most serious consequences. Only the Venezuelan people have the right to determine their destiny, for which dialogue between all political forces in the country is needed, and for which the government has long called for. Destructive pressure from outside, especially force, has nothing to do with the democratic process," Lavrov said, according to a statement summarising his remarks which was published on the Russian Foreign Ministry's website.
Lavrov spoke to Pompeo by telephone on Wednesday, one day after Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido announced the beginning of the "final phase" in the opposition's bid to seize power in the Latin American country.
The telephone call was requested by the US side, also concerning other issues, including future Russian-US diplomatic contacts, and the humanitarian situation in Syria was also touched, according to the foreign ministry.
Earlier, the Russian foreign ministry dismissed Pompeo's claim that Moscow supposedly convinced President Maduro not to flee his country for Cuba. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the claim a 'fake' that was just part of the US information war aimed against the Latin American country. Venezuelan officials similarly dismissed Pompeo's claim as "fake news," adding that they demonstrated the failure of the 'US-backed coup attempt.'
Venezuela does not expect the European Union to support a US-led military intervention in the Latin American country, the ambassador of Venezuela to Belgium and the European Union told Sputnik on Wednesday.
"They [the European Union] already said that they were against it [military intervention in Venezuela]. They said it during the second contact group and they were strong about it… They were not in favour or considering that war [with Venezuela] would help at all," Claudia Salerno Caldera said.
U.S. Secretary @SecPompeo still says military action in #Venezuela is possible 'if that's what's required' would prefer peaceful transition
UPDATE 10:30 UTC (06:30) Local Time today in Venezuela)
After a failed coup led by the opposition, Caracas dawns calmly.
UPDATE 00:31 UTC (21:00 Local Time yesterday in Venezuela)
Lima Group Once Again Calls on Venezuelan Military to Support Guaido
The Lima Group countries in a joint communique issued following its meeting on Tuesday once again called on the Venezuelan armed forces to support opposition leader Juan Guaido, who had illegally proclaimed himself president of the country.
"The governments of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela ... Once again call on the Venezuelan national armed forces to demonstrate their loyalty to acting President Juan Guaido," the document said.
The Lima Group called on the world community to closely monitor recent developments in Venezuela and to offer its political and diplomatic support to the Venezuelan people. The next meeting of the Lima Group will be held on May 3 in Peru.
The US Federal Aviation Administration gave US air operators (and personnel) 48 hours to depart Venezuela by "the most expeditious possible route".
The US Federal Aviation Administration has issued an order prohibiting US carriers from flying below 26,000 feet (approx. 8000 metres) over Venezuelan airspace, citing "increasing political instability and tensions" and "inadvertent risk to flight operations".
Violence also broke out in other parts of the country, such as in Barquisimeto, Lara State, with opposition demonstrators torching a local government building charged with child protection services allegedly claiming that there were Chavistas inside.
barquisimeto_fire.jpg
Opposition supporters march through Barquisimeto City as a local government child protection services office is torched. (@AndrewsAbreu / Twitter)
More than five thousand young people from different parts of the world will participate in the XVIII Congress of Students of Latin America and the Caribbean (CLAE) that will be held from May 20 to 26 in Venezuela, reported the first vice president of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela ( Psuv), Diosdado Cabello.
In a VTV broadcast, he stressed that this will be the 18th edition of this congress that will be held at the initiative of Venezuelan youth.
He also added that this event will serve to show the world the model of participatory and protagonist democracy that has driven the Bolivarian Revolution.
The European Parliament (EP) can no longer tolerate the President of the EP Antonio Tajani, since he was fully informed and obviously in consent with the treasonous coup attempt on 30. April 2019 in Venezuela. He tweeted already at 03:43 AM (UTC) in the European morning of the 30th of April 2019 [which was 23h at night on the 29th in Venezuela) and long before coup-leader Juan Guaido himself made his video announcement and fake claims at around 06h00 Venezuelan time (10h00 UTC) - means over 6 hours before the coup was announced:
Tajani was not asleep at that time and he also received the pre-fabricated video of Guaido at 2:46 AM (UTC) - 30 Apr 2019 directly from Leopoldo Lopez. That shows clearly that he was part of the criminal coup plotters and co-conspirator of the illegal attempt to overthrow a legit and UN-recognized sovereign government. He therefore can NOT any longer be tolerated as the president of the EP or representing over 500 million Europeans. He must step down or be impeached and removed for having been aiding and abetting terrorism and being part of an act to violate international law.
MUST WATCH:
African scolar Dr. Gnaka Lagoke Reacts to Coup Attempt in Venezuela (poor audio but worth it)
Margaret Kimberley on Imperialist Agression Against Venezuela (Black Alliance for Peace)
Critical Moves: Failed Opposition Coup Attempt in Venezuela
Good example of how "balanced journalism" sends the wrong messages in a sublime way: Aljazeera on Venezuela.
READ ALSO: Green Oscars: Venezuelan naturalist wins prestigious Whitley Gold Award for saving endangered parrot
First they came for ....
OUTRAGEOUS: Julian Assange sentenced by British Court to 50 weeks jail for skipping bail.
WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange, 47, has been sentenced to fifty weeks in prison by UK Court for breaching his bail conditions.
This outrageous sentence for seeking and receiving political asylum is TWICE as much as the so-called speedboat killer, convicted for manslaughter, received for failing to appear in court.
Judge Deborah Taylor noted that the hearing, which was originally scheduled for tomorrow, did not relate to an appeal against the conviction or to extradition proceedings.
"So far as Assange concerned he was during 2010 acutely aware that US authorities were interested in him, to put it diplomatically as I can," defence lawyer Mark Summors said noting that Assange feared kidnapping and to be taken to the USA. Defence argued Assange was living under overwhelmingly fear of being rendered by the US.
Julian Assange skipping bail was a deliberate attempt to avoid or delay justice, Judge Taylor said and added: "Your actions undoubtedly affected the Swedish proceedings"
Julian Assange at the British cangaroo-court
When taken from the courtroom, Assange puts a fist in the air an shouts: "Shame on you!"
Tomorrow on Thursday, 2 May, at 10 AM there will be a hearing in Westminster Magistrate Court in London on the US extradition request, WikiLeaks said on Twitter yesterday on 30 April. Assange is facing US federal conspiracy charges related to the leak of government classified data. If convicted, he could face up to five years in a US prison.
That hearing also was now pulled to an earlier date, since it was scheduled for 12. May 2019.
Someone somewhere is pushing for a speedy process. Do they want to hand him to Trump during the State Dinner he is set to have with the British Queen?
WikiLeaks has slammed a UK court's sentencing of its co-founder Julian Assange as "vindictive." It also raised major concerns about whether Assange will be treated fairly during an upcoming extradition hearing.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange being taken from court, where he appeared on charges of jumping British bail seven years ago, in London, Wednesday May 1, 2019. Assange has been jailed for 50 weeks for breaching his bail after going into hiding in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.(AP Photo/Matt Dunham) © The Associated Press
The whistle-blowers' legal team had earlier revealed that several members of the Ecuadorian Embassy's staff had extorted him for money, threatening to otherwise publish Assange's videos and personal documents.
One of Julian Assange's lawyers, Carlos Poveda, has shared that he filed a complaint with the attorney general's office in Ecuador over the country's embassy's alleged spying on his client. Poveda said that embassy staff in London, including diplomats and employees of a security firm, organised surveillance on the WikiLeaks' founder while he was residing in the embassy fearing prosecution and extradition to the US.
Poveda argued that the espionage could have been used to disclose Assange's legal defence strategy, as well as information about his medical conditions.
The information comes in the wake of the WikiLeaks founder's legal team filing a suit against several staffers of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for allegedly trying to extort $3.3 million from Assange in exchange for not publishing his personal documents and videos.
Sentenced for skipping bail, #Assange going back to British Guantanamo to wait for extradition hearing tomorrow. We will be at Brandenburger Tor in #Berlin with @AngelaRichter_ @yanisvaroufakis @Snowden and all who care about freedom of press.
MUST READ: Assange Sentenced 50 Weeks For Bogus Bail Charge
VIPS: Extradition of Julian Assange Threatens Us All
Why Australians Should Fight To Bring Assange Home
USA, the prison planet's top prison state
The report (pdf), which was released by criminal justice advocacy group Worth Rises, is based on a database run by the organization that lists a total 3,900 companies in 12 sectors that make money off of the prison industrial complex.
The scope of the income taken in by these companies, the report says, is in the tens of billions.
Today, more than half of the $80 billion spent annually on incarceration by government agencies is used to pay the thousands of vendors that serve the criminal legal system. They are healthcare providers, food suppliers, and commissary merchants, among others. And many have devised strategies to extract billions more from the directly impacted communities supporting their incarcerated loved ones.
Venezuela: If You Want Peace Prepare for War
The War on Venezuela is Built on Lies
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