I’m late discovering Marcel Ventura’s work (here is his stuff for Prodavinci) but … what a stylish writer. His latest for The Daily Beast – on the military, drugs, and how it all gels together in a government he somehow stops short of calling a narco-state – is a keeper.
The money quote:
“According to every reliable poll, Maduro is steadily losing popularity and his many militant speeches qualifying the opposition as fascists and traitors are not much help. But Maduro’s weakness is not translating into strength for the opposition forces. They always had problems addressing the old populism of chavismo, and they’ve also been slow to adapt their tactics to the new militarism. Street barricades are fading, but they will mean nothing if politicians don’t show more ability to confront an ever less democratic government. So far, Maduro’s falling popularity only means the triumph of militarization.”
Go read it. And if you thirst for more, here is some background on the Googlis Caballero story (yes, Googlis is his name, I googlis-sed it). Don’t miss Googlis’s sparse-yet-eye-opening NSFW Twitter account.
Caracas Chronicles 
A militarized narco-state. Sounds like Colombia.
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That’s what the farcassassins want.
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So far, Maduro’s falling popularity only means the triumph of militarization.
Which points to the inherent conflict between the Cuban/Maduro versus the Military/Cabello wings of Chavismo. The article’s conclusion that in the last year the Military/Cabello wing has been in the ascendant reminds me that Commies have always emphasized the political controlling the military. Such as Fidel getting rid of General Arnaldo Ochoa in 1989.
Will we be seeing some intra-Chavista fireworks soon, in attempt to re-establish that control?
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Well, you don’t have to be particularly enlighten to realise that the Venezuelan dictatorship it’s run by Malandros dressed in green. Good article by Marcel btw… but it’s not only the military: it is the whole systems who discourage preparation and hard-work as a way to make a decent living. The only way to make money in Venezuela is through crime and/or corruption. Anything different is a waste of energy
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Er, ah, no aces here. Perhaps a pair of jacks, …at best. To go through an entire article on political power in Venezuela, and see only ONE mention of Cuba, is a bit shocking. Ventura simply missed the point. The Cubans are pulling the strings behind the throne. No question. They have to. Their nearly 60 year record of political brutality on that island depends entirely on the outcome of what takes place behind closed doors a Miraflores.
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Speaking of which, what ever happened to Walid Makled?
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Actually: what happened to the three little pigs?
José Daniel Machillanda Díaz, born in 1966
Oswaldo Hernández Sánchez, born in 1961
Carlos Alberto Millán Yaguaracuto, born in 1961
I wrote something about them in a German post. Basically two of these blokes were very much into
big projects, one had been involved in a trial for abuse of power-corruption a year or two before Chavez made him general and the other was very much involved in one of the companies Chavismo created for importing weapons.
Was that just a little bit of cleaning or does it have to do with more? We haven’t heard more about that.
Only San Pedro was interested in finding out more.
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Here is a statement from Maduro that is dripping with unintentional irony. From El Universal April 12:
I am reminded of what Thomas Jefferson wrote.
Justice- Divine or not- hit the US with 600,000 killed in the Civil War, when the US had a population of about 30 million. While Maduro deserves justice – not the “everything for my friends and the law for my enemies” kind of “justice” that is Chavismo incarnate- let us pray that Venezuela doesn’t suffer the same magnitude of justice that the US did in its Civil War.
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