Twitter just lit up with reports of a SEBIN squad forcing their way into Antonio Ledezma’s office in el Rosal. Ledezma is the metropolitan mayor of Caracas, a post invented by chavismo to sort of oversee all the municipalities that integrate the city. After losing this stewardship to the opposition they have been trying to strip it from any actual power (by eliminating the Metropolitan Police, squandering its budget, and by appointing “protectors” to usurp the mayor’s role).
Ledezma, along with Leopoldo Lopez and Maria Corina Machado, was one of the promoters of “La Salida.”
Apparently, the government’s political police broke into Ledezma’s office and apprehended him violently without showing a warrant. For now, all we have is the bits and pieces that can be gathered from twitter:
Maria Corina was the first to get to SEBIN headquarters in Plaza Venezuela. A source close to MCM says that a SEBIN car is watching her home, however it has not been raided (as it was informed earlier). Henrique Capriles got to Plaza Venezuela as well. Other opposition leaders followed later on.
Some people has gathered in the street in front of SEBIN:
Here’s some video of the SEBIN squad arriving to Ledezma’s office:
More footage surfaces:
Right before Ledezma was taken, Leopoldo’s wife informed via twitter that the guards at Ramo Verde were trying to move him to another prison.
Chavismo thrives in conflict. Right now they need it to appear strong before their supporters, and to divert everyone else’s attention from la gran peladera de bola.
Caracas Chronicles 
María Corina Machado’s house is also apparently being searched by SEBIN. What in the world is happening today…
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@NelsonBocaranda
Reiteró que MARIA CORINA MACHADO @MariaCorinaYA no está detenida ni su casa fue allanada…seguiremos pendientes
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Some twitter voices in politics say that the regime is very bothered (les picó) by the 4-part interview of LL published yesterday by Fernando Del Rincon, formerly of CNÑ.
Here’s part one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbZ5hkTCZQw&feature=youtu.be
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The opposition needs to understand that their admiration towards 1st world countries and supposed repulsion of Chavez’s tactics in ’92 should conduce them towards diplomacy instead of coups.
No one is going to care about Ledezma besides international media. The students (‘resistencia’) really don’t simpathize with the kinds of MCM and this dinosaur.
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The presume that he is guilty.
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Does your roundabout rationalization justify the illegal detention of a Venezuelan citizen and politician?
What crap values you have, dspur.
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“illegal detention of a Venezuelan citizen and politician”
This does touch on an interesting legal precedent. I remember about the detention of Odreman and how his brother, then a police officer, argued that his status as a criminal at large wasn’t reflected in an internal PD database, and at least partly because of that the declarations by the CICPC regarding their confrontation with Odreman and his killing were bogus.
How does the Government proceed when the suspect by virtue of his profession or that of their allies can predict detentions?
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“How does the Government proceed when the suspect by virtue of his profession or that of their allies can predict detentions?”
They get their fucking heads examined by a medical professional.
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I don’t think snappy comments are called for.
You obviously don’t take Ledezma’s imprisonment seriously.
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“the suspect by virtue of his profession or that of their allies can predict detentions”
Nobody can predict detentions, unless the suspect a seer, an oracle, a prophet, a fortune teller, etc.Let’s look at some cases:
– To arrest the head of SEBIN, you need a warrant
– to arrest the head of Military Intelligence, you need a warrant;
– to arrest the head of a police department, you need a warrant
– to arrest a judge, you need a warrant
– to arrest a high officer of the State, you need a warrant AND then strip them of their immunity.
I fail to see how is it any different to arrest a mayor, like Ledezma, who doesn’t even have a police department reporting to him (as the Metropolitan Police was transfered away and then dissolved).
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As to the last paragraph where you ask: “How does the Government proceed when the suspect by virtue of his profession or that of their allies can predict detentions?”, you’re already poisoning the whole question by establishing certain presumptions.
First, how can you determine whether a suspect can or cannot predict the detention of oneself or it’s allies?
Second, this determination on whether someone can predict their detention, thus escaping from it’s prosecutors, is attributed to whom. Does the SEBIN has this faculty (Quick Answer: it does not).
Third, this suspectability upon which you infer is based on what written-in-law crime; and what conduct -or omission- did Ledezma committed that can be attributed to the commission of a crime?
You see, Throughout history, humanity -in their long search for freedom- created a little concept that they named Bona Fides (A.K.A. good faith). This presumption establishes that everyone’s actions are based on good faith, opposed to the contrary, thus allowing for the human race to achieve many other principles such as the presumption of innocence, whereby any person is innocent until proven guilty.
So in order to answer your question. The State should always act as one where the rule of law is clear instead of being more like a Police State. The creation of the State was not for the slavery of its own citizens like a leviathan. Rather to ease and appease social life.
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syd – how do you know it was an ilegal detention? Just because some mendacious opposition politicians said so?
According to Maduro last night in cadena nacional it was due to an arrest order from the Attorney General’s Office.
But I guess from your point of view Maduro’s every word is a pack of lies.
No need to arrest Machado yet as she hs a prohition order from leaving the country.
Otero will be the next arrest for allowing the declaration of proposing a coup to be published in his newspaper.
And there will be others such as Borges.
Let’s wait for the videos in cadena nacional of the conspirators declaring the facts about who was involved from the opposition and functionaries of the US Embassy in Caracas.
The only thing that will stop this roll of justice against these traitors is direct military intervention from the uS which is extememly unlikely.
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Pray tell, what proof has been put forward on ANY of the 30+ coup attempts Maduro has denounced since he took office? Aside from fabricated emails (proven by Google to be farces), and videos of the aforementioned politicians arriving at/leaving embassies?
Maduro has only given his word. His “Chavez is doing fine in Cuba-We will not devaluate-We will not raise gas prices” word. So yes, a pack of lies indeed.
And why is military intervention from the US unlikely according to you, but an ever-constant threat according to Maduro?
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Here’s how we know there wasn’t an arrest warrant, because the 30 goons they sent to “arrest” ( more like kidnap) Ledezma never showed one. And they didn’t because they did not have one.
As Wellborn cross stated, never has any proof been forthcoming about ANY of the hundreds of “death plots” and “coup attempts” that both Chavez and now Maduro have kept lying about for years.
You know Arturo, I don’t mind if you or any of your “camaritas y camaritos” stop by here to try to defend the “experiment” we are suffering through, but when you spew such garbage as what you posted above what it mostly does is sadden me.
If you start by at least showing some semblance of lucidity in your statements it would go far towards having some form of dialogue with you.
It saddens me because you and your “camaradas y camarados” are so obviously deluded, and you seem to be happy about handing over our sovereignty to not one, but two, foreign powers (Cuba & China), while at the same time frothing at the mouth about how the gringos want to invade, depose, take over and what have you.
Pero bueno, a cada cochino le llega su Sabado, and it looks like that Saturday is almost here for the cochinitos of the PUSv.
I hope that someday, soon, you and your ilk begin to think for yourselves.
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Last paragraph mis-spelling–meant “(t)roll of justice”…
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“…how do you know it was an ilegal detention?”
Witnesses stated there were no documents, no orders, no lawyers present, it was also done at the middle of the night, which is illegal.
“…maburro’s every word is a pack of lies.”
Not our fault that you choose to follow some pathological liar as leader.
“Otero will be the next arrest for allowing the declaration of proposing a coup to be published in his newspaper.”
Because proposing something that resembles a government made by someone else than the bastards from la habana is a crime, yep.
“Let’s wait for the videos in cadena nacional of the conspirators declaring the facts about who was involved from the opposition and functionaries of the US Embassy in Caracas.”
Drugs have expiration dates, dude, stop smoking the spoiled stuff.
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Right. Because, as it is in grade 10, where you appear to be stuck, what is important is who cares and who doesn’t care.
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Hay que dejar a loco’ pueblo hablando solo cuando se pone Necio, Chico.
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I’m done!
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So, “dspurs'” moral justification for this outrage is “because we can”.
I am sensing a Rubicon has been crossed here.
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The guy’s a chaburro, no other reason needs to be found.
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No, the moral justification is that Ledezma is a traitor who deserves a good beating and some time in a labour camp. Come to think of it, so do you and your buddies.
Maybe once you people get slapped around a bit, you’ll stop trying to resist the Revolution.
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I don’t sense a lot of love in your comment. Your robolution is supposed to be all about love. What’s the problem Hector. The robolution has been stiffing you lately, forgot to pay you recently or tried to pay you in Bs instead of your usual dollars?
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HSC is a born-again French Revolution freedom/truth/Pueblo fighter, hopefully meeting eventually the same end as his forebears….
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I think Hector’s on the bottom rung of the communicational proletariat. Because we only see him during the more desperate measures of the revolution.
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Traitor to what?
Maybe once YOU get the pointy side of the involution stick, you’ll stop kissing its ass.
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Venezuelan society is infested with cockroaches like yourselves, and what does one do when the house is full of cockroaches? Call in the exterminator!
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Says the one who openly support the government of drug dealers, coupsters, rapists and murderers.
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“…you’ll stop trying to resist the Revolution.”
Speaking in a flat metallic voice: “You will be assimilated by the Borg. Resistance is futile.”
Where DO they find these guys?
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Where DO they find these guys?
The regime doesn’t need to find. All it needs to do is utter airy, opaque and redundant verbiage, masquerading as intelligence, adding a few sprinklings of “CIA” to jumpstart the motors. With that, watch the vermin from the bottom 1/3rd of their schools, scurry to suckle, to prove themselves, and to become hostile towards imaginary slights.
The pool from which the regime can draw is large. For, the dean of faculty at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine considers that mental disorders occur in 50% of any given population. From observation over the long run, I would agree.
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There’s also the wanker explanation, to paraphrase Boris Johnson, Mayor of London…
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Hiya Hector! How’s every little thing going with my favorite Trotskiyite?
Now sports fans, Hector ain’t a concern troll, he’s the real deal. :)
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That’s not what I remember from last year, when Ledezma, MCM, LL and the students supported #LaSalida, together.
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The students were the ones who “created” the so called #LaSalida, which begun as protests due to the raping of a female student by one of vielma “gocho es sabañón” mora’s bodyguards, Táchira’s always got the worst end of chavismo during all this time, so it made sense that protests might erupt there from one moment to another.
Ledezma, MCM and LL were all part of the “let’s wait for 2019” once, it was when the protests had been happening for some time that they joined and were branded as their masterminds.
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Not quite. #LaSalida was announced on January 23rd (and was conceived earlier), while the (unsuccessful) rape attempt and subsequent protests in Táchira occurred on February 4th, although you’re right in that they weren’t main actors in how the protests started beyond helping with the February 12th convocations.
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Correcting my comment (which was typed in a rush).
You seem to presume that he is guilty and that he actually didn’t distance himself from the 92 tactics.
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You have to fight fire with fire. Stalin, Hitler, Botha, Mussolini, Pol Pot did not leave power with diplomacy. Thugs do not understand diplomacy because they detest diplomats. Their only language is force.
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Raf@ @ February 20, 2015 at 1:08 am:Stalin, Hitler, Botha, Mussolini, Pol Pot did not leave power with diplomacy.
Stalin died in bed. His last successor gave up the regime’s power peacefully.
HItler, Mussolini, and Pol Pot (and their regimes) were overthrown by foreign intervention.
(P. W.?) Botha was not a dictator; he resigned after suffering a stroke and then being rejected by his own National Party. His successor gave up the regine’s power through a negotiated process.
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The comparison is wanting in other ways. As immoral and awful as Chavismo is, it doesn’t really hold a candle to any of those named (except Botha, who doesn’t really fit with the rest of that list of rogues).
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Botha being named a democrat is something else ! Am I dreaming or did you guys actually said so?
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Who said he was a democrat? I think all Rich meant was that he wasn’t a dictator with absolute power, like the other guys mentioned.
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Yeah, man, it’s a democracy until ten millions get killed.
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Es q me dan unas ganas de caerte a coñazos dspur
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Tranquilo, que ese en su cuadra ni se atreverá a decir que es rojito, porque lo dejan morado xD
Es por eso que todos esos siempre tratan de hacerse pasar por “apolíticos y equilibrados”, pero no se pueden contener el odio de empezar a berrear contra cualquiera que no dobla el pescuezo a esta porquería.
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You can try and intimidate me with beatings, but I will continue to critique paid saboteurs that want to diminish the efforts of the democratic opposition.
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I have never, to date, witnessed you write something complimentary about any aspect of the opposition. Likewise, despite your protestations that you are critical of the government, I have yet to see anything from you regarding a criticism of the government in the most bland and extremely general of terms.
From my viewpoint, claiming to defend the efforts of the democratic opposition is laughable at best.
Congrats, however; by playing the victim in a non-existent physical confrontation, you’ve won the internet!
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It’s a “Concern Troll” http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(Internet)#Concern_troll
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I’m going to tell you exactly what’s going to happen.
CC and others will publish their take on Ledezma and other events, describing them as queues by the government for social unrest.
In other words, they will call for the democratic, moderate opposition that doesn’t fall for these tactics.
Your lazy theory about “concern trolling” is going to look pretty silly.
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LOL sure buddy. Having a fine Saturday I hope.
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Maricon del teclado. Nunca en su vida habra pasado yrabajo o hambre para hablar huevonadas. Pendejo.
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Es que seguirá resentido porque comió arroz con caraotas y su mamá no las cocinaba a su gusto xD
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Chamo yo como arrozcon caraota y queso blanco por encima. No tengo p.O Más de un musiú o musiua que se casa con venezolan@ se vuelve caraotero AJAJAJA
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Ah, pero hay quienes por “no haber podido comer lomito hasta que trabajaron a los 18” se volvieron cubanófilos, y ahora les da gusto ver al país arder por los cuatro costados.
El resentimiento impulsado por la flojera y la envidia son la cadena con la que el chavismo mantiene amarrados a sus radicales, otros de esos “radicales” son simplemente unas mierdas (aka vivos) que querían buscarle una razón a su forma de ser.
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Why do you say paid. Do you have proof of your assertion?
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I will continue to critique paid saboteurs
That is , you will continue to critique yourself.
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The chavistas need to understand that their admiration towards a 5th world country like cuba or north korea and their open admiration towards crime and viveza criolla (aka being a mamagüevo, thanks Chugüire) have driven Venezuela to the sinkhole it’s stuck today and that the first and most important step towards fixing that situation goes by kicking their asses out of every position with power as soon as possible.
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Cuba has the second-highest HDI in Latin America, you ignorant troll. Can you read?
Of course, Cuba got there partly by sticking traitors and fascists like you into labour camps.
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As much as you try to flirt with me, my tastes are others, pal, I like women, for example.
Don’t worry, we can still be friends :D
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Fuck yourself, Ralph.
If you like women, maybe we can put a sexy girl in charge of your work detail at the labour camp.
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Don’t be discouraged, bro, somebody will appreciate you for who you are.
…Just don’t let them read this.
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Maduro’s version of Kristallnacht. Why? Why now? There appears to be a whiff of panic in the air….
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The ludicrous Golpista with the Tucson aircraft makes more sense now. As cover for rounding up the usual suspects.
What’s new now are the Canadian s and British being accused of plotting . Coupsters hiding everywhere , now tune into Diosdado TV for the gory details.
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Nope, Kristallnacht happened last year, when they sent bikers and police to terrorize opposition burroughs.
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Invade Aruba.
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That is the awesome move!
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It is absurd that these fascists have to send in storm troops for Antonio Ledezma. What is disturbing, besides the act itself, is that these people are behaving like they have nothing to lose.
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Think about it . They have nothing to lose. They have committed (allegedly) so many crimes, traffic, farc etc, swiss leaks, corruption, cadivi, sitme, etc etc hat what is their alternative escape? where?
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Of course, we should be patient and wait for elections later this year…
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Actually, it’d be a lot easier if you would support openly UNO/RAV or another violent insurrection so that you could get arrested and the democratic opposition has a chance to develop itself without angry reactionaries telling them what to do.
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It seems he is talking on TV (yes tat is the legacy of the job description of the president of a Country) He talked about the Colombian cartoon, Valentine’s day, and everything with el ALTO MANDO at his side? I did not agree with “La Salida” . However, I can’t not say oh yes go, without a warrant with 80 encapuchados and take an Elected Mayor to the political Police! One if they don’t have followers , the government is giving them a strength that they did not have. And it is true, yes nothing would happen, but without money more difficult for other countries that supported Chavismo to keep doing it saying they are democrats! Y a le han dado patadas a la lampara, por cuanto tiempo van a tapar la hambruna que se les viene? Se sacaran los ojos entre ellos.
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The episode with the Spanish companies , The Ledezma seizure , are acts of gangsters not of any one purporting to act as a State . The whole explanation for the supply crisis and the incredible fables of murderous conspiracies are so blatantly made up that they create the impression that the govt is losing its marbles . Dont they realize that with these measures their badly hurting their international image and unifying the opposition ??
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I think we are past the point of worrying about international image. We are in the succeeding phase of promulgating a paranoid, xenophobic narrative as cover for crushing of real and suspect foes, gulags, etc. There will be no (free) election. It gets worse.
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BB, It is an interesting question: Is, in fact, this government acting irrationally out of panic? Or, are they rational and pursuing a careful plan to eliminate, one by one, all of the leaders of the Opposition?
Yes, they are hurting their image in the international community, but that image was all but shot to hell anyway. And, what difference will it make if the Opposition is unified when all of their leadership is in jail?
I don’t actually know the answer to the question of if they are still rational or not. However, if they are still rational, they seem to be going out of their way to appear the opposite. To what end? That is hard to say. But, so long as they appear irrational, the people of Venezuela and all of the rest of the world is going to walk on eggshells around them.
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They are being rational if they think that by imprisoning most oppo leaders (on clearly trumped up charges) they will make it more difficult for the oppo to rally around those figures and lead their followers into actions that will eventually cause them to lose Power . They are irrational if they think that this isnt going to rouse the oppo groups to a more vehement unified response in the streets or electoral booths or elsewhere rallying around new oppo leaders who will be there to replace those which are taken to prison. Sooner or later the pressure will make them start to fracture and go for wild cards to support themselves in a growing maelstrom of anger and dissatisfaction whether seething or overt. See how theyve made LL into a world class hero and martyr which ever more loud voices ask to be released , remember Mandela and the apertheid regime and how it all ended.
They are still sensitive to their world image however battered its become , look at the ‘show event’ they are announcing they will take to Madrid. An isolated country can survive , but then if they ever need the world to support them in certain moments the kind of behaviour they are displaying may cause them to be scorned and left to simmer in their own shit ( forgive my french) . Its happened before and can happen again. !!
Now we are steeped in anger and maybe that makes it difficult for us to think straight , as Rousseau wrote : one can only think in the silence of the passions. Lets wait a while and then asses what is going to happen as a result of these regime abuses.
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Can they survive isolated from the international community? I wonder…?
But, you are right that we probably can’t assess this new development yet One thing that is becoming clear to me though, is that the population is losing their will to resist. Even this latest development did not seem to result in any significant public protest. If all of the primary Oppo leaders are taken out of the game, I don’t see any spontaneous resistance occurring.
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Yes, today’s demonstration barely filled part of a small Chacaito square–the “bravo pueblo” myth once again disproved. It will be up to the local politicos/military to resolve this, if at all, since elections will either be called-off/stolen. Meanwhile, Venezuela will sink further into a Cuban-like quagmire….
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I confess, I feel more negative than ever about the short and medium-term future for Venezuela. And yet, I don’t think that the situation is beyond the capacity of some “black swan” event to galvanize the population. Time will tell, but I think that if the regime survives past April/May, they will be able to consolidate themselves in power sufficiently to last for years, albeit very isolated from the rest of the world. Another North Korea.
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Ugh, this is completely disgusting. The situation has taken a turn for the worse, and it will probably worsen in the coming days.
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… the nightmare continues. One question- where does dspur live?
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Why do you want to know where I live?
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I would be more cautious if I were dpsuvr, after all, there’s no real anonimity on the internet.
…If you don’t believe me, just ask Megaupload’s former owner how many millions he had to pay in royalties once he got busted, or how 4Chan’s admin had his ass hauled to a cell for some time.
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In what way is my situation comparable with those of DotCom’s or 4chan?
Who or what do I need to be cautious of?
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I am against any overt or veiled threats here, but I will point out that you recently out-ed a recent oppo poster who was providing specific information by exposing his operating mode and likely name, using concern for his well-being as a thin ruse. I, for one, do not think you have to be cautious. The Sebin will not be coming come for you.
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“I am against any overt or veiled threats here, but I will point out that you recently out-ed a recent oppo poster who was providing specific information by exposing his operating mode and likely name, using concern for his well-being as a thin ruse.”
I’m not sure why the poster’s political tendencies are relevant, nor am I aware of what you rely on to establish that he was issued a threat.
You should reproduce the comment and link to it so that other’s don’t have to rely on your word.
If you really believe that was a threat, report it to the authorities. I think CC has an email where you can consult them privately.
Speaking about threats, you can even ask them, CC writers, about the time I promised that Infodio was nothing compared to the coverage they would receive on behalf of me and others.
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All you guy are just a bunch of assholes to feed that pathetic troll.
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Charly, I think this surpassed all concerns about trolling and sabotaging the comments section. They’re talking about exchanging threats, and I’m not sure if they’re physical or what. I do hope that they regain composure so that we can continue civil discourse, or at the very least that they identify themselves as saboteurs paid by those who rather not see an opposition capable of diplomacy.
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sorry
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I accept your apologies. Now let’s move on without saboteurs and all is good.
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By which, Charley, I mean to say I am an asshole. I will try to do better.
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You already apologized–no need to call yourself an “asshole”. It’s understandable that emotions take over when discussing subjects like these.
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Sebin? Track anybody through internet? Now THAT’s a good joke, dude xD
Although, cantv controls the internet traffic within Venezuela, so, it’s plausible, if they know where to look, which is a bit of a contradiction given the fact that chavismo basically brain-drained the company just like they did with pdvsa and most stuff they touch.
Those tweeter folks who were caught must have been reckless enough to plaster all their personal information within two clicks from their twitter accounts.
On the other hand, there are angry people, and people that can find an IP address, and there are people who are both.
I don’t need to threaten anybody, there are already many people who would gladly have a payback just for the chavista trolling, after all, mario silva and robert serra were two bigmouths, yet they lived surrounded by bodyguards, holed in fortress-like mansions.
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Good. If he was an oppo poster, he deserves having the government pay him an, um, visit.
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Knock knock
Who’s thar?
Hector
Hector who?
The Hector who is the champion of the proletariat!
Not a funny line Hector
It doesn’t matter, is Soviet Knock Knock Joke, we have millions of ’em.
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Ralph, where are you going with this? FYI, the NSAs capabilties are total. So imagine what the US government knows. They can know it all about Venezuela. So where does a pipsqueak like dspur come in? He’s a fucking shill who gives a fuck
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There’s no hidden message about what I’m saying.
The guy trolls like he thinks he’s completely out of reach of everybody, he’s wrong.
The same way the dictatorship acts like they believe they are completely invincible and untouchable, and they are wrong too.
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The NSAs capabilities are total? What a sick joke. The whole purpose of the NSA is to fish out devious characters, like little Snowden you know, yet this little guy screwed them big time, Lord of the Ring allover again, little Hobbit against mighty Sauron.
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Little Snowden might have leaked some interesting info.
But the fact that he’s still at large proves the stuff he snitched wasn’t that much valuable after all.
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Dspur in these moments is irrelevant , a distraction , concentrate on the meaning of the events and what can be done in response that might hurt the regime , nothing he says if of any relevance to the situation at hand.!!
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Ledezma is the father-in-law of Andrés Izarra (his step-daughter is married to him). I wonder how they are dealing with this.
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Perhaphs maburro will just tell him to shut up and deal with it, well, diablodado would make maburro say that, everybody knows the moron is deathly afraid of any coups/attepmts.
Or, they’ll embarrass themselves like they always do, having to release him in a few days (And making the trolls in noticiero digital squirm like maggots xD)
The other case might be the worst I guess, maybe Ledezma isn’t in good speaking terms with rizarrita and the douchebag will enjoy this just as he enjoys laughing his ass off the murdered venezuelans.
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dspur—I was wondering if you live in Venezuela. Your comments suggest that you do not and that you are making fun of the difficulties in the daily life of the Venezuelan citizens.
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I do live in Venezuela, Alejandro.
It’s a stretch to say that “I’m making fun of the difficulties in the daily life of Venezuelan citizens” when I’m expressing my opinion on Ledezma, a well-known coupster, and his rightful capture.
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Well-known how?
Because he openly refers to the government as totalitarian? Is that plotting for a coup?
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Chavez was a well-known coupster, and he ended being the president.
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Chavez also was detained and went to prison…. So where is the contradiction here?
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The wax doll was guilty.
LL is innocent.
That’s the difference, as much burn and itch it causes you.
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Wow Ralph, what an incredibly strong argument you make for Ledezma’s innocence. I know you’ve convinced me….
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You asked for the difference, I told you which was such difference.
It’s not my fault that you can’t accept the reality.
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Well, we know he’s paid for babbling the same idiocy about coups and all that bullshit and mocking the people’s suffering.
Or maybe he’s just a little chaburrito that simply enjoys doing that, which is, worse.
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Could all of this be pretextual. Are the Bolivarians begging for public riots so that they can institute a military dictatorship that will oust the hapless Maduro and install a different faction of Chavistas. This arrest seems unnecessary if Ledezma has already been stripped of his power.
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They’re trying to scare the people into submission, while getting rid of any possible opossition leader that might become a threat.
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They might just want to provoke a reaction from the opposition that allows the gov’t to cancel the coming elections. Also, there is a subset of chavismo (judging from the reaction in aporrea) who have questioned how it is possible to know all the details of a planned coup (including the leadership) yet have no one arrested. Maduro is being branded “hablador de pendejadas” among loyalists.
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Riots are never provoked when opposition people get jailed. Riots are provoked when the poorest can’t get cheap food. The regime is trying to control what it can there but it is also getting hard there as queues are getting longer
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Antonio Ledezma, I truly wish you will be defended by better than this inept misogynistic linkjacking coño ‘e su madre blogger.
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I have a feeling that everyone that is in the “free Leopoldo” video, including the beautiful celebrities there, are a government target. I wouldn’t be surprised if the likes of Laureano Marquez and Luis Chataing start getting arrested too.
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This seems to be a crude and clumsy move reflecting desperation by the chavernment.
If I was running the chavernment’s black ops, the opposition would have been ruined by now.
For instance, in this case, I would have planted a substantial stash of drugs and other contraband in Ledezma’s home or workspace, together with documents or e-mails showing extensive contact with narcotraficantes. Or better yet, plant it on one of his top aides, with evidence of Ledezma as the head of the operation. Plant other evidence on a narco who is “killed resisting arrest”. (How to get the stuff in? Blackmail one of his staff: arrest the staffer’s child, with the threat of imprisonment at the mercy of some pran.)
Is there an oppo leader who is young, unmarried, and sometimes goes to clubs? Frame him for rape and murder, complete with witnesses and DNA.
Entangle some of a leader’s staff in a kickback scheme, and then implicate him.
These aren’t especially difficult, and would be far more effective than the wild claims of assassination plots the chavernment emits.
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Rich, you have a good imagination. The problem with what you suggest is the government is full of folks tied to the narcotics trade, rape and murder. The government has done what you suggest but it’s usually reserved for their own such as Makled and Anderson. There are countless more cases known and not known. It’s too dirty and messy to do this against high profile oppo figures….no need for this. They have plenty of other means.
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Man, one has to wonder, exactly how many people are plotting a coup against Maduro? I mean, at this point, is anybody NOT doing it? Seems everywhere you look, from a closed cashier in a drugstore to the mayor, there are plotters.
I’m sure we are going to have a quick revelation of all the hard data that supports this “aborted coup”, right? As with the one by LL, a speedy trial where we can all see the damning evidence.
… bloody farce.
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…The people wanting to kick maburro, diablodado and every red turd in the balls are waiting in the longest line ever made in Venezuela.
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Eva Golinger claimed that Biden had sent some secret coup message in a speech he made about Carribean countries and oil.
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It was an embedded crossword puzzle in the back of a Condorito magazine.
We know it was Biden because he didn’t remove the subscription label and it has his name and address right there.
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Evidently he rubbed Eva the wrong way.
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Is there a right way to rub Eva Golinger? (shuddering)
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I do find it fascinating that all of this is taking place while the world is preoccupied with Iran nuclear negotiations and Russia intervention in the Ukraine. The Venezuelan government knows that this is much lower priority vs.the other 2, so they are taking their gamble now. Am just surprised they started with Ledezma. In all reality, he is not their biggest political threat…
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That is a good point, CP. The U.S. and Europe have their plates full. I had noticed that the story of the extortion of Spanish companies never even made the English language press. Considering that the purpose of the extortion was to control the press, you would have thought that journalists everywhere would have been outraged. So, they they are indeed occupied with other stories.
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They are so far down the list of priorities, it’s not even on the list. Many in the opposition (particularly sifrinos I meet here the states) seem to think Venezuela is much more important than it is. Particularly at this point, with the country in shambles, the regime is incapable of doing much of anything that would hurt US interests.
As for public opinion in the US and elsewhere, few really care. Sure, aware people want the country to recover and get rid of these fascists in the regime, but to most it’s just another country with a corrupt, authoritarian government. There are plenty of those all over the world, unless massacres or genocide starts it will never really register on the public’s radar.
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CP, don’t be so fascinated. Iran nuclear and Russia Ukraine will serve their courses. This is no gamble when you own it lock stock and barrel. They have a lot of room to maneuver. You aint seen nothing yet IMO.
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Infuriating, sickening and outrageous, but not unexpected.
Chavismo needs to strangle what’s left of the opposition, please its hordes of idiot supporters and inch more towards a fully fledged dictatorship to gather absolute power. The jailing of our leaders on a whim is all but inevitable.
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It’s an important moment in the swing towards overt fascism in Venezuela, and Venezuelans had better respond. If the government doesn’t mind insulting the democratic will of 750,000 people, there are not too many milestones left to reach before they are at Full Franco.
Here in Canada, the prime effect has been an immediate rise in Ledesma’s profile. He’s gone from somebody-or-other to Political Prisoner of the Dictatorship. It’s a surprisingly powerful role.
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Jeffry,
It is not so much a swing I think..They have planned the takeover for years….things had to be done little by little with the use of images and other things to work well.
I am very upset about Ledezma, just as I have been upset about most everything else, but Ledezma is someone I knew for years, starting back when we lived in San Juan and he worked with my husband…I remember him well….a young , skinny, absolutely tireless worker for AD.He worked directly with Claudio Pino( one of CAP’S best friends at the time) and was personally trained by him…My husband was not a party member but they did some social projects together .I remember a road trip we made to Valle de la Pascua,.On the way our car broke down at the ‘Anima de Pica Pica’, about halfway there and we I had hours to get to know each other a bit.He is perhaps one of the most serious young men I ever met.My husband always told me that Ledezma was perhaps the only politician he knew who was guaranteed not to corrupt, and my husband remained a life long friend of his.
The world is turned upside down
Silence is part of the evil
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That was a nice story about Ledezma.
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Also, dspur has succeeded yet again in making the conversation about anything but the topic at hand, and he’s reached the troll’s orgasm, which is making some of the commenters here angry enough to say they want to beat him up. Which contributes jack shit for this conversation.
Given the fact that sometimes it’s difficult to not take the troll bait, can we please just all agree that if you must engage the troll, you should keep it limited to 1 reply?
Avoid reading his moronic comments altogether if that’s what it takes.
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Well, I guess you can say every chavista trolls on different levels depending on how much they can compensate.
The guerrilla comunicacional goon here? A nobody tha doesn’t even dare to say in person he supports this idiocy; the imbeciles with power? They are able to troll on a greater scale.
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Wellborn Cross,
dspur does not do it alone….he has many allies who can’t seem to ignore him
there are just he other side of the same coin
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Firepigette: I hope you including yourself among the “allies who can’t seem to ignore” trolls, when you get on your high horse and lecture us in that inimitable style of yours. And you know perfectly well that you have fallen for the bait on occasion. Suggest you cut people slack and recognize your own foibles. Just sayin’ …
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why can’t we all get along? It seems to me the “enemy” is in Venezuela. Why do we pick on others on the same side? Who gives a shit about what people say. Let people say what they want. Would I want to go into battle with you?
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“Let people say what they want.” Agree! Including what a sane commenter recently suggested: that replies to trolls be limited to one. It’s a healthy compromise for those who have difficulties restraining themselves. And I, for one, can understand it.
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TW,
The trick is to know when we have a made a mistake and stop.It’s not about perfection, it’s about recognition.
There is a new age saying : ” Don’t Judge “….says he who judges, hehe
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Agree with you. But something with this guy that just make my ears blow steam
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The fascists are jailing their enemies as fascists always do. No dissent is allowed and all problems are caused by the scapegoats they manufacture.
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The same as communism, the gangrene rots and stinks everywhere regardless of what caused it.
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The most comical element of Marxist ideology has always been that you can manufacture reality with lies. A lie told often enough becomes the truth – adapted from Goebbels. If you nationalize a milk factory and ruin it with stupid management, there is no milk on the shelves. When people complain, you say the CIA stole the cows and the bourgeois are hoarding the milk. When people continue to complain, you put soldiers in the street and fill the prisons with dangerous dissenters/scapegoats. The revolution is perfect, infallible, and enemies are everywhere who must be rooted out. Make the children spy on their parents (Mao). How long can the Venezuelans be fooled by this chavista/castrista/marxista insanity that has taken root?
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My initial take on the Ledezma Affair:Maburro’s handlers called trhe shots (way-to-go Obama, for initiating Cuba normalization, although strategically it’s probably a good idea long-term); Maburro is stupid enough to really believe the “Tucano” Golpe fabrication, so, after all, justice should be served on the perpetrators, especially those signing a Manifesto asking for his resignation and a transition, right?; Maburro is stupid enough to think he actually has broad Pueblo support and broad military support, as evidenced by his attitude in his Miraflores cadena last night,in front of a few “Communal Leaders” chanting his/Govt. slogans (amply interspersed with GN and bodyguards); Maduro, not really being Venezuelan, is too stupid to understand that in the “Quitate Tu Para Ponerme Yo” traditional Venezuelan politico culture of splitting the Petrostate spoils, there are certain up-to-now no-no’s you don’t do, like jailing high-profile especially elected, political figures on trumped-up charges, especially if those are older AD politicos who have a lot in common with current Chavista older politicos, many of whom are just turncoat former AD politicos who are currently “Chavistas” just for the money; finally, there has been, up to now, a Venezuelan high-level political understanding that really important political figures aren’t punished too greatly, as witnessed by PJ being allowed to fly out of La Carlota with the Treasury’s gold, Chavez/et. al. getting a virtual slap on the wrist for a failed armed insurrection with hundreds of innocents dead, etc. Perhaps the rubricon has really been crossed, but I doubt it. Either the Govt. backs down, or there will be consequences–there’s still a lot of pie out there to be split up….
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rubicon.
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Interesting perspective, NET. But from my little perch far away, I would say that Maburro knows he doesn’t have broad support from the Pueblo nor the military. That’s why he notches up the rhetoric with a few communal leaders on TV. It’s all a show at close-up range of the lens.
Interesting, too, to see that MCM was also part of the Manifesto to a Transition. But unlike Ledezma, she has not been arraigned — that would flatten the government’s reputation in an instant. And OMG, how would Podemos fare then? Oh, you’ll get one of the rabid little trolls spouting excuses, such as the reason MCM was not arraigned was because she is already prohibited from leaving the country. But we all know that regardless of that prohibition, she has already packed a wallop in the court of opinion among international media and governments.
That’s why Maburro in his threatening mode to silence the opposition, chose Ledezma, a relatively unknown political operative in that same international court of opinion, the one that most hurts the regime’s chances for healthy recognition.
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Syd, all possible, but Maburro himself doesn’t call the shots–his Cuban handlers do, and, neither they, nor Maburro, understand the ideosyncracies of Venezuelan politics. Finally, never underestimate the utter stupidity of Maburro….
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You’re right about the Cuban angle. It’s generally so well veiled that one can easily forget that it calls the shots.
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BTW, agreed on your take on MCM.
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net, it would be harder for them to arrest MCM with her outside ties to Human rights, but it could happen later
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True, if they cross the rubicon.
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They have “crossed the Rubicon” so many times there might as well be a suspension bridge across it. They long ago passed the point at which is was possible for them to back up and reverse course. They can only go forward with more repression.
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All very subjective, of course, but I believe the Rubicon (an X on a Rubik’s cube?) will be crossed when/if Ledezma’s detention is allowed to stand, since: the fall of the facade of democracy claimed by this Govt. will be completed (witness Isabel ALLENDE’S condemnation of the detention, for example); in the irresponsible game that has always been Venezuelan politics, mainly pawns have been sacrificed up to now (Scarano/Ceballos/etc., even LL, who was more of a pawn at the time, but who has grown into a more important piece in/by captivity), whereas Ledezma is is no pawn; and, by AL’s detention, Ven. politicos/military of all stripes/beliefs can clearly see that the future of Venezuela , and, even though they are temporarily chupando, most of their numerous extended family members who are probably pelando bola, and their future generations, is at stake–and for what-a failed Cuban social/economic experiment run by a Cuban puppet, and for a small Little Caesar-led coterie of narco-military mega-rich trying to raspar el barril? Finally, in Venezuela, at least, lately February has been “the cruelest month”.
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NET.
“…the fall of the facade of democracy claimed by this Govt. will be completed…”
Said facade fell a long time ago:
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MCM has a lot worse than ‘being arrested’ to look forward.
Maybe we should break her nose for her again.
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“we???”
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The men of the Revolution.
As distinct from jezebels like MCM and cockroaches like yourself.
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“The men of the Revolution'” breaking women’s noses, and stomping on cockroaches (presumably Pueblerinos)–good self-definition, “Emancipator”.
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NET,
The only thing that traitors like you understand is force, so yes, force is the way you need to be dealt with.
As for MCM and her nose, you realize that was a joke, right? Can’t you people take a joke?
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With Maduro I’m still not sure.
Is he that stupid to take at face value all of these spurious claims, or is he smart enough to play the role assigned?
Keep in mind, he spent quite some time in Cuba from when he was 15, ostensibly having his brain washed, only to then return and begin a few years later a career as a union organizer.
I think he is smarter than most give him credit for, but he’s no genius either.
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“Brain”- washed–nonsequitur?
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“I think he is smarter than most give him credit for, but he’s no genius either.”
To paraphrase Rafael Poleo:
“Maduro isn’t a stupid person per se, he is inexperienced and unelightened, but he’s not the retarded idiot without two working brain cells like many opposition people insist to say.”
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Rafael Poleo, who used to say on TV that Chavez was just a “misunderstood muchacho”–until Chavez shut down his publication and he had to run….
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Most criminals started as “misunderstood muchachos”, but not every “misunderstood muchacho” ends turning into a criminal (And this comes from someone who would be considered extremely “fascist and right-wing regarding crime and criminals)
Also, Poleo also used to warn the last adecoyepano governments about the clusterfuck they were stuck, and how any fascist opportunist could come and take advantage of that to destroy them, and destroy Venezuela as well.
And, I guess you misunderstood the comment, that was no defense for maburro, the man just said maburro isn’t retarded or mentally crippled, ignorant, hell yeah, the moron takes pride in his ignorance, like a huge part of chavistas who think “being ignorant and not a faggot nerd” is something to be proud of.
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Like many Chavistas who apparently think being a faggot t*rd (an unprecedented number in this Govt.) IS something to be proud of….
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NET,
One of these days the army is going to come to your home and teach you a lesson.
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Oh, Hector, thank God you’re such a “jokester” (when you’re not breaking women’s noses)….
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The guy starts to sound like one of those multi account trolls from noticiero digital or gonorrea xDD
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Be nice to Hector, it’s like seeing Emma Goldberg doing her stand up-cross dressing act. You’re look at the real deal here a slice of 1912 Kooky preserved in the Amber of the Internet.
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Unfortunately the only people aware of Ledezma’s incarceration are Venezuelans or people who read the Venezuelan press and blogs. It still has not made the headlines on most mainstream media… Ukraine and Isis have everyone looking elsewhere with no time for venezuela- if they ever had an interest…
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Not so true. It was in CNN last night.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/19/americas/venezuela-caracas-mayor/
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Good. May the news (and video clips of the arrest goons) get broader coverage. But I suspect the red-sympathizing BBC will frame it with an edge on behalf of the regime.
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Also in one of the Chilean news channels
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And in Italy & in the Netherlands:
http://www.repubblica.it/esteri/2015/02/20/news/sindaco_caracas_arrestato-107784723/
http://www.telegraaf.nl/buitenland/23708677/___Leider_oppositie_opgepakt___.html?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=facebook
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AP and Reuters did major stories that were published here in the US and the Wall St Journal ran a story today. All very critical of the government. But please don’t count on the US. Obama will do nothing for you other than sanctions. You are on your own. I am sad to report.
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What do you want him to do? The US shouldn’t do anything. If help comes, it will have to come from other Latin American countries.
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CBC, the oldest, nation-wide broadcaster in Canada has just published the Thomson Reuters write-up: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/antonio-ledezma-venezuela-opposition-leader-arrested-1.2964357?cmp=rss
Love the bold hyperlinked bullets, among them: Venezuela a ‘laughing stock’ due to economy, says ex-Chavez adviser, and the US government denials of involvement in promoting the unrest in Vzla, particularly the last perfect sentence — for those who see CIA operatives in their soup: “We remain Venezuela’s largest trading partner.”
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Yeah, I liked how they added the bit about the U.S. being “Venezuela’s largest trading partner.” The unspoken threat in that statement was that the U.S. could easily stop being that too.
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But, they wont–$ trump principles….
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The USA could make life just a tad bit more uncomfortable for the chavistas by imposing some minor restrictions on imports of Venezuelan oil (a quota or a “freedom tax”, that would be the irony of ironies). You can imagine what effect an embargo would have on internal events in Venezuela, that would really set things off. I sense the US government is happy with the low prices as they have provided relief to consumers, no point imposing a levy on their own consumers by imposing sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector.
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Another viewpoint, perhaps accurate, given the prior threats that led to the goon-squad arrest last night:
Diego E. Arria @Diego_Arria
Detrás secuestro Ledezma está el terror x denuncia Cap.Salazar q involucra no solo al capo jefe Cabello sino entorno personal Maduro.
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Playbook move.
Now its the Resistencia’s move!
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The arrest of Ledezma is garnering a lot of international coverage. Even Clinton has tweeted stating he should be released immediately. Sadly, there will never be any intervention in Venezuela by any country or international body. Venezuela will become an isolated country until the population decides it is finally time to clean house.
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Nah.. no one here really cares, Vzla is much like an African nation to the US and Europe, esp/ now cheap oil is everywhere. Get real.
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It’s very simple. Cuba/Venezuela decided it’s time to shake things up before the elections, since Chavismo popularity is down the drain. So they will create more conspiracy theories, provoke civil unrest, and then tighten the bolt&nuts with force. Typical dictatorship. That’s the only way now for the to stay in power. Stealing the next elections won’t be as easy as before, so they need a tighter grip to do it again.
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Agreed Sledge. Anyone who seriously believes there will be a “fair” election is delusional. Vzla is a narco-state with major government involvement. No way those in power are going to relinquish control with the millions being siphoned from oil revenue and millions from the drug trade.
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The opposition is calling this a “kidnapping,” which it clearly is. But I wonder if adopting the “coup” word and throwing it back in their face. Especially if they appoint someone to take his place.
Off-topic, sort of: Will there be a special election that his wife could run in to replace him?
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“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism , it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”
– July 1776 –
These very famous words were written long ago by another group of oppressed people. It is time for the Venezuela’s to take note, take action, and to stop waiting for “Someone” else to do it for them July 1776
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Although the principles/reasoning are the same, the demographics then vs. those of Venezuela today are quite different–ergo, no similar response to date from the usurped.
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Historically, Venezuela is not so different. It has a history of strong responses to tyrants and dictators. At various point in their history they rid themselves of such oppressors: 1814-1819, 1958. Leaders stepped forward! Where are the leaders of today’s Venezuela? Where are the Bolivars, De Mirandas, Piars, and Ribas,? Is there no one who is willing to stand up to this dictator and his cronies.
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They’re in jail….
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Or Maybe Florida, Panama, Chile, Columbia, ……
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Well, of course that this is more circus, a flagrant violation of human rights and an attempt to make the Venezuelan people just submit without complaints, but this is also a show for the bases.
You see, the pueblo mismo, bunch of power-worshipping bootlickers that they are, wanted to see some blood to not feel like a bunch of clowns every time that they make a line to buy toiled paper. So, Maduro gave it to them because they could support someone else that enacted the fantasies on their sick minds.
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It’s discouraging how the people of this comment section let the trolls hijack the discussion again, and again, and again. Stay focus, people. These site and this comment section has a very important role to play during critical times. Stay focus.
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Reported on Dolartoday: Maduro da ultimatum a Lorenzo Mendoza: “Pelucón” trabaja o te vas.
I think that translates to: “Maduro said to the hand that feeds him, keep feeding me or I’m going to bite you!”
This is were things are gong?
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Chavismo, without oil money, cannot provide for the country. no amount of suppression can provide food and basic goods that aren’t already there. Maduro is not a hero or martyr type. I think he got to where he is by kissing backsides. I predict he will resign.
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More like he will run without telling anybody to cry in “la china”‘s lap xD
“la china” is the nickname several bodyguards of raul castro gave him, according to some other former bodyguards who got away from the island.
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Come to think of it, you are probably right. I stand corrected!
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Thank you a bunch for sharing this with all folks you really know what you’re
talking approximately! Bookmarked. Kindly also visit my site
=). We could have a hyperlink change arrangement among us
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