Panama OAS summit for dummies

OK, real quick.

The OAS summit, for Venezuela's Maduro regime it was supposed to be the trashing of Obama and the US.

For the US and Cuba it was going to be the start of something and a positive PR for both battered leaders.

The results?

Winners?

No winners. There are never clear winners in an OAS summit because of the nature of the participants there, all prima donne that will always find a way to say that "yes, they did this and that but I told them so" and make this pass as a dramatic victory for home consumption. The saddest part here is that it tends to work....

However there are two winning moments: 1) when Raul Castro says that the US is horrible but whatever happened was not Obama's fault and 2) when they both sat together in front of cameras to chat a little bit. From here to eternity there is a long way, and even from here to get some sort of real agreement there is quite a way as the US Congress will never vote any treaty that does not include a clear improvement of human rights in Cuba. So we cannot call Casto and Obama winners but their moments under the flashes have erased any other "winning" moment at the summit, Better, it made worse the loser moments...

Losers!

Let's start with the minor losers. The tirades of Cristina Kirchener was not even attended by Obama I understand. The ones of Correa and Evo were, well, tired and out of the point considering the momentous tectonic shift further north.  In short the axis of evil-ALBA looked passé and lonely.  Obama had made sure the day before that CARICOM and Central America would remain at the very least neutral. Even Dilma for the first time in a pre summit interview started putting a tiny bit of distance with Maduro.

The loser was, of course, and by far, Maduro and Venezuela. Clearly the least influential country of our hemisphere (even Canada weighs much more by blocking by itself a final declaration without remorse, I understand).

Maduro did not even get to have Obama sit down to listen while he ranted about Miami plots.

Maduro did not get to deliver his 10 million petitions.

Maduro did not get to have the OAS rage at Obama and the US.

Maduro was caught bringing a double for him and his wife. Nobody knows why. Some suggest it was to fake an assassination attempt.

In fact Maduro did not get anything.  Worse, at the very end, it seems that it was Obama, like an afterthought, who in fact sort of cornered Maduro to let him have it. No photo we know of at this point. Of course chavismo is pretending that this is a great victory.  Never mind the ridicule from months of insults to rejoice about 5 minutes in between doors, But even if it were true that Maduro had cornered Obama it would look more like the stalker that finally got after the star victim he had been tracking all day long...

There, I think I got it all.

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Preparing the OAS Panama summit, at Raul's good will

Now, before anyone says anything I am a great fan of Andres Oppenheimer from the Miami Herald whose columns and books on Latin America are a must read. But his latest OpEd piece has a je ne sais quoi off.

At first glance his argument is impeccable; Obama should use the next variety of meetings in the Americas to start a rapprochement with some of the countries in difficulty, mainly ailing Brazil (the biggie is OAS in Panama April 10) . Certainly since September 11 the US has been distracted from Latin America and others have step in to pick up the slack, namely China buying and pushing up the commodities market.

However if it takes two to tango, it also takes at least 2 NOT to tango. This blog has noted that the Afghanistan war and the much more questionable one in Iraq have been a huge distraction on what should have been the US real interests, namely South America its nearest neighbor. Certainly this helped a lot the chavista regime to take hold. But it was also good news for other assorted lefts that could count on US silence no matter what they did to reach office.

Yet the distancing of the US was also met by a deliberate distancing from the South. After all, someone like Lina Ron in Venezuela may not have risen to fame, and to perpetrate the damage she did, had she not been burning an US flag in front of the US Caracas embassy within hours of September 11.  She was extreme but she was not alone in smiling at a US disaster. One could have certainly expected most of "the West" to participate in the anti Taliban operation, but that did not stop countries from other continents of Asia and Africa to send in some support. South of the Rio Grande I think only Salvador expressed support of any type. I understand that Afghanistan was more of NATO problem than an OAS problem but that Cardoso or Fox were not more participative is kind of a mystery. If I am wrong in my recollections, please, do correct me.

The fact of the matter is that the US did try to have some links. For example George Bush braved the continent to have diner at a Montevideo steak house while in Buenos Aires Chavez paid for an anti US meeting. But in the end people like Lula were delighted at the opportunity offered by US pusillanimity to flex Brazilian imperialism through proxies like UNASUR, Chavez and others.

Poor Obama did not have much of chance. He tried to ingratiate himself at first, even receiving an idiotic book from Chavez at the Trinidad summit. In the Honduras fiasco he tried to see things Latin America way. To which result? Now, in his lameduckness I suppose that Obama is recentering the US interests where they truly belong, or at least where the US can hope for some significant influence or even alliances.  In 2015 what matters to the US are its partners Europe/Japan/Aussieland/likewise; middle East; and Central America and the Caribbean, the source of great immigration problems. Even Israel seems on its way to be demoted from numero 1. In South America the lone interest seems to be Colombia and I even start doubting it now that Santos seems to bent on sabotaging Uribe's successes while ignoring Venezuela narco state.

Obama's administration has the right perspective, at least it seems to be from this blogger point of view. In 6 years South America has been unable to make any significant rapprochement with the US (outside of the Pacific Alliance, still to prove itself, and a market thing rather than espousing US "ideology"). Not only that but Obama has found no support against the insults from Chavez, no understanding on how Venezuela having become a drug highway is damaging to US interests, no reprobation from the Venezuela financial corruption spilling over. Enough is enough and Obama has simply demanded that South America do its share, to straighten up their act.  Meanwhile some political capital is spent, wisely or not, on Cuba and the Caribbean basin. The rest may go to hell. After all the rich in South America keep buying at a steady pace Real Estate in the US, so where is the problem?

That is why when I read Oppenheimer question: Has the United States given up on South America? I can only but smile. I think that it is too easy to put all the blame on the US. Indeed the guilt of the failed relationship is to be shared in equal parts (I think less on the US actually).  And when I read "It’s a new regional scene. Obama should keep this in mind, and try to reset ties with South America — especially with financially ailing Brazil — at the summit." it sounds to me that the US should be the forgiving one, or that rather Oppenheimer in spite of, or because of, all his years in the US feels like the jilted party.

No matter what Caracas would like us to believe, the US is not anymore the imperial power it used to be. There is only so much resources available and it is fair for the US to start dealing only with amenable interested parties. If South America wants a better relationship with the US it is up to them, not to Obama or his successors. And it is not by promoting UNASUR, electing Almagro at the OAS or refusing to put pressure on Maduro that South America is acting like the responsible partner that the US need in this multipolar world.

In short, I have the feeling that Panama will be only another bust in the collection of failed OAS meeting. Unless of course Raul Castro decides it to be otherwise.  If he reins in Venezuela, if he convinces Maduro to go somewhere else during the summit, the cameras will be fixed on Barack/Raul hug. If Raul is pissed at his shadow he can wreck the whole summit by letting loose idiot Maduro. After all that would be quite a triumph for Raul, to spit on the OAS when this one is starting to allow the Cuban tyranny to go back in the concert of democracies.

It is quite amazing to see how a whole continent is hostage to the most archaic regime left in the world after North Korea. Though I suppose circumspect Canadians probably think that their own huge country could qualify as a separate continent and they will pretend to be in Panama on holiday.

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The renovated Tascon list

I know, I know...  It has been over a week I have not written, all sorts of things happening.  But I have other preoccupations and, at any rate, the dice have been thrown, we are waiting to see where will they roll to. Besides, in case you forgot, a blog is not a source of news but an informed source of opinion, at best.

I could tell you about my ordeal to find medication for 4 different treatments I am supposed to take. I had to look for them in about a dozen pharmacies in Caracas and about half a dozen in San Felipe. In the end I could sort of put together with substitutes and incompletes three of them, Fortunately none was vital, one was preventive and one "just in case" otherwise I probably would not be typing today.

I could tell you that toilet paper, powder milk, coffee, laundry detergent, soap, shampoo seem to have disappeared for good. Corn flour, despite its recent price increase, is still nowhere to be found. But we do have tooth paste and mouth wash aplenty, something that was missing badly last year. I have stocked just in case.

Thus it is more relaxing to discuss the latest adventures of Obama's executive order and Maduro/Cabello hysteria. As you may recall Obama signed about a moth ago an executive order that bans 7 (SEVEN) Venezuelans from entry in the US, from having checking accounts in the US, from having property in the US, from having business deal with US citizens. They can go and do such things ANYWHERE else in the world but not in the US.

PERIOD.

Well, this sent the regime in a frothing in the mouth frenzy. First, they decided that this decree was about Venezuela, not 7 corrupt officials with crimes ranging from drug trafficking to human rights abuse. Of course NO SINGLE investigation was started inside Venezuela to prove the US wrong. But who is counting? They moved swiftly to bring to the dark side as many international players as possible. In Latin America this was not too difficult as chavista money has corrupted so many already that they better support any criminal in Venezuela least they are placed in the list next. By the said criminal probably. Blackmail has its advantages and when you can do it to others because you owe them so much money it is even funnier.

But this was not the worst, by far. The worst was the campaign started all across the country to have people sign a "petition" to have Obama withdraw the executive order. You may ask: what is wrong with that? Well, not only school children in public schools were drafted (and their parents along), but they even went to jails to gather signatures from inmates. The pressure on public servants was, well, you can imagine. Even Maduro went door to door (in San Felipe the fascist governor sent plenty to collect door to door).

Now, I am asking you, Maduro or a red shirted group shows up at your door and asks you to sign. What would you do if you disagree but lived in Podunck Venezuela while a Nazional Guard or militia accompanies the party that goes door to door?

Right.....

The amazing thing is that Maduro, Cabello et al. probably think that the world will not take notice on how these signatures have been taken. There are embassies, you know. But in the end the regime could not care less because this going to be another huge political tool for them: the renewal of the Tascon List. Those that will not appear in the data base currently elaborated out of these sheets (even the phone number was requested) will be a new Tascon List of sorts and will be used to actively discriminate against them in the future, as traitors preferably. The regime claims already 4.5 million signatures, This is enough to insure a chavista base easily blackmailed in the future to control both sides of the populace as need arises. They want 10 millions. Who knows, they may come to my office and I may sign. Twice if necessary. Who cares? What credibility in that process? I promise to take a picture if the day comes.

At least there is a silver lining: many inside the opposition will have their political career seriously dented for having supported the regime on that without having dared to demand at least an investigation. In particular the various flip.flops of Lara governor Heni Falcon will have a big cost. Good riddance.

So there you are, any excuse to advance the totalitarian state. Even Twitter is now threatened...

But what else can Cabello and Maduro do? If they are ousted from power they go to jail. All criminals know that when their weapons are taken away what is left is jail. So we can expect them to forge ahead with more crimes and abuses.

PS: more than ever I support the Obama executive order because it has revealed how rotten is Venezuela as a whole. Even if that was not necessarily the original intent.

And Pooh-Pooh on all who think that "the timing was bad" "the opposition will be hurt" "it helps Maduro in Latin America" and assorted idiocies.

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A thank you note to President Barak Obama and Senator Marco Rubio

I suppose that it will seem weird to read that I am thanking at the same time both sides of US political divide. Or that, for that matter, I am picking Senator Rubio over, say, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. But please, bear with me, those will be, at the end, mere details.

What you have achieved in Venezuela, the Senator and his allies by forcing passage of a sanction law against Human Rights violators in Venezuela, and the President by finally applying it to 7 serious cases (and more to come?), is quite remarkable even if right now the casual observer may think it to be a diplomatic disaster for the US. Like many an historical good and well intentioned initiative from the US this one came out in a rather clunky presentation and on the surface seems to have united Latin America around its atavic anti US posture. Some even say that Maduro is reinforced, that the opposition received a patriotic blow that could endanger the electoral results of this year. All this is irrelevant.


First, no matter what the US did in recent weeks, its influence on Venezuelan elections is near nil. These will be rigged, if held at all. That the US may be offering an excuse to Maduro's regime to cancel the election is just that, an excuse for Maduro who probably had 10 other excuses in the waiting. One cannot bend to the foul winds of excuses.

Second, that this has united Latin America around Venezuela and against the US is a non sequitur. Just as in the US the far right used anti USSR rhetoric, and then anti gay rhetoric for fund raising, so keeps doing all of Latin America when convenient with anti US positions. Even your supposed ally, Colombia with president Santos, has certainly not rushed forward to offer himself as a mediator in your dispute with Venezuela. Resentment and envy will magnify for the foreseeable future any historical grievance, justified or not, against the US. It is a fact of life, no matter what the US does, it will be ALWAYS too much or too little, NEVER just right.

The fact of the matter here is that as long as Latin America does not decide to deal with the chavista monster inside that hey have been enabling there is nothing the US can do to help. And if right now they are jumping at you it is because they do not like to have their faces rubbed into their stinky mess. They all know that in the end the US will be proven right, and thus they do all what they can to push you aside. And they will continue and will do so until the whole thing explodes in their face. This week, for example, they elected Almagro for OAS secretary, who promises to work even harder than outgoing Insulza did at degrading the OAS to below nothingness. But trust me, the US will have the last laugh. Then again I am silly, you probably know that already.

But back to Venezuela and the successes that you have already achieved and that nobody seems to be noticing except a few trained Cassandras like me.

On the regime side you have exposed its crassness to levels that even myself find surprising. Forcing school students, even elementary school students, to sign a petition against President Obama executive order to remove US visas to a few crooks, abusers and narco traffickers, is a good candidate for the annals of "ridicule in fascism". Many of these kids belong to a hugely dysfunctional education system and thus may not know anything about the US but McDonald and TV cartoons.  A limited knowledge in the best of cases to take such a transcendental political stand. There have been more pressures from the regime to force people to support its cause, but after the one about school kids signing there is no point in discussing these other psychological crimes.

I, for one, suspect that many a parent that was sitting on the fence will secretly be upset at the manipulation of their kid and may now come down from that fence sooner than later.

But on the opposite side you scored big, really big. There has been a clear divide exposed inside the opposition reactions. On one side there has been a minority of principled leaders that have not been afraid to state that the US action is justified, that the 7 (and more to come?) that were banned from any type of intercourse with the US are indeed a danger. A danger because indeed they are human right violators (promoting immigration to the US?). A danger because their money laundering operations can only bring to the US Venezuelan corruption. A danger because Venezuela has become a narco traffic highway.

What is sad, really sad, is that a larger sector of the opposition has chosen to either remain silent or play the regime's game of pretending that this visa removal is actually a direct intervention into our internal affairs. I even heard the argument that if you do ban a criminal from going to the US then you can ban anyone that looks crossly at you. Not one of them, of course, demands investigations inside Venezuela of those 7 to prove the US decision wrong... they do not even question that one of them was immediately named interior minister! Cheap patriotism at its worst.

I think that exposing this divide is an excellent thing. If by any chance elections are indeed held; if by any chance, no matter how biased toward the regime the election is, the opposition were to win; even if by any chance UNASUR would find some guts to demand to Maduro that at least his electoral cheating is not that obvious, the winning side will implode fast. Nothing less than the secretary of a large opposition group has his relatives involved in all sorts of business deals with the regime. Nothing less than an opposition governor is positioning himself as the regime's choice to lead the opposition. For too many inside the opposition the goal is to seek an elected job so that they can share some of the loot with the regime. Making the necessary painful changes? No way, Jose!

In short what I am stating is that the Presidential order to ban 7 crooks from the US has revealed that the regime is in a move that may include methods that would make the Prince of Salina proud (Il Gattopardo). Change something, give the opposition some stuff, so that the core of power (and freedom from judicial prosecution) remains in the hands of the regime. Whether this move is real is irrelevant: we know now that there are enough inside the opposition willing to play a game that will prolong Venezuela's agony.

That is why I hope that you will keep a steady hand, that you will not cave into the ridiculous hand wringing of some morally corrupt leaders of the sub continent (a sub well deserved these days). After all you do hold the master card, the one that has the cash that Cuba needs to survive though a transition that has started, even if due to old age. Play that card well and without firing a shot, without decreeing the faintest embargo, the house of cards of chavismo (and its collaborationist opposition) will crumble faster than expected.

My deep appreciation to President Obama, Senator Rubio, Congresswoman Ros-Lethinen and others that have shown they know better (on Venezuela), even if they do not express it in unison. No matter what mistakes some say you are making, you are on the right track.

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That South African feeling...

Unfuckingbeleivably there are those among the opposition that actually think we should condemn the US for the "sanctions" against a whole brunch of crooks and criminals. Apparently that opposition light, which I shall not mention at this time so embarrassed I am by them, would want us to support the regime in this particular issue, brandishing useless arguments like "avoiding" an enabling law that would "give more power" to Maduro. Apparently there are people that still are not aware we live under a dictatorship, a new type of course, but a tyranny nevertheless.

That a portion of the opposition is unable/unwilling to make a campaign stating the obvious, that the sanctions ARE NOT AGAINST Venezuelans, just against corrupt/human rights abusers Venezuelan officials, has to be considered as either mental laziness, sheer stupidity or outright corruption.

I am reminded that once upon a time there was that argument in favor of limiting sanctions against the apartheid government of South Africa, that the people would suffer more than the whites, etc. Eventually it was ANC and the people that demanded tougher sanctions, that they were willing to put up with the consequences in the search for freedom. That was a courageous people! And in the end they won.

I would hate to compare Venezuela to South Africa, their epic being of a different nature. But comparison points abound. The Venezuelan regime is based on a political apartheid. Only those associated with the regime benefit from it. There is no justice for any side, which is an obvious suffering for the opposing side but also visible for the regime side as none inside can express any criticism under the risk of a worse fate than the actual opposition critic. The differences are also notable: at least the Afrikaners did run a solid economy that took years to be affected by the sanctions. Corruption in Venezuela goes beyond the pale as I cannot think of any regime in the past century that has been as corrupt as the Venezuelan one today.

But in the end the big difference is that we have a spineless leadership that is willing to put up with a lot as long as they can keep some of the chips. And a populace that the regime has learned to control though hand outs, something that the apartheid never truly could manage  because of its "racial superiority ideology" rather than the plain scoundrel ideology that drives our locals...

Today the opposition should be in unison demanding that more and more Venezuelan corrupt officials be pointed, no matter what the repressive risks are. Instead there is either a deafening silence or an actual support. Few have the guts to speak out, clear and loud. As long as we have leaders like Ramos Allup of Henri Falcon, and even Capriles that seems to wake up a little bit lately, but too late, we will never get rid of the tyranny. As long as the populace is willing to accommodate itself with long lines, murdered students, lack of medicine while refusing to talk real principles of universal equality, we have the fate we deserve.

I admire more than ever Mandela and his people.

PS: I, for one, thank Obama`s administration and demand that the whole list of sanctions is made public and expanded. I wish he had started earlier, but at least he has started.

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Habilitando las sanciones al palo de gallinero

El anuncio de Obama ayer sobre sanciones a 7 abusadores de DDHH y el anuncio de una habilitante por Nicolás Maburro Maduro me ha sorprendido más por la reacción de algunos opositores que por la noticia en si. Para ellos es un error porque le da más argumentos y fuerza a Maduro. ¡De bolas! Claro, ¡ESO ES EL OBJETIVO! ¡Que el chavismo termine de enredarse en sus patrañas de una buena vez!

Vamos a ir por parte para que entiendan bien.

1- la habilitante. La rapidez de Maduro en anunciar anoche que iban a pedir una habilitante es porque ya la tenían lista. Que Obama les haya dado la oportunidad de hacerlo es irrelevante. El gobierno que sabe que perderá las elecciones de este año tiene meses trabajando en anular los efectos de una muy posible Asamblea adversa. Ya coparon todos los poderes con arrastrados. Lo único que le faltaba era una habilitante para controlar la nueva asamblea por un par de años, por lo menos. ¿O es que ustedes se olvidaron ya que eso fue lo que hizo Chávez en el 2009 previendo que no tendría el 2/3?

En otras palabras, ¡con o sin Obama, con la habilitante me resteo!


2- reforzando Maduro. Esto es una dictadura. El que todavía argumenta lo contrario o es un bolsa o es un chavista interesado. Disculpen la franqueza. ¿Cuantos periódicos independientes, de verdad, existen? ¿Cuantas televisoras y radios independientes, de verdad, existen? ¿A que tribunal va la gente injustamente expropiada? ¿No es verdad que se le prohibió a dueños de clínicas, dueños de supermercados y farmacias, dueños de empresas productivas decir que se muere la gente por falta de insumos médicos? ¿Que no hay producción porque el gobierno no permite la llegada de materia prima? Empresario/clínica que lo denuncie allí mismo le cae el SUNDEE, la inspectoría, la Guardia, lo que sea, si es que no lo meten preso de frente.

¿Y los pobres en eso? Pues que hagan las colas sin ruido y en los sótanos para que no se vean.

¿Reforzar a Maduro que? ¡No me vengan con vainas!

3- radicalizando al chavismo. Allí no hay nada que radicalizar. Eso es una cuerda de delincuentes mafiosos y narco traficantes. Es mas, si hubiese una radicalización hacia la izquierda ideológica del chavismo sería hasta positivo ya que ese en ese tipo de revolución no retoñan los pescuezos de los traficantes. Todos los chavistas que han sido marginados, desde Marea Roja a pare de contar, estarían felicisimos de poder radicalizar la vaina y sacar del poder escorias como Cabello. Que más tarde ellos se vuelvan tan corruptos como el combo actual es otro cuento.

4- uniendo y reviviendo el chavismo para las elecciones. ¿Y ustedes creen que eso va a cambiar? ¿Que los chavistas no están requete chantajeados en votar por el gobierno? ¿Que UNASUR va a hacer que las elecciones sean limpias? Personalmente dudo que la gente se olvide de las colas, de la falta de champu y pañales porque EEUU puso sanciones a unos corruptos. Si al momento de las elecciones no desembarcaron los Marines y no apareció la leche y el Ace, ¿Que piensan que pasará?

El asunto aquí es que mientras la oposición no se una, mientras siga el guabineo de AD y Primero Justicia, mientras los opositores no levanten ese culo para ir a votar y quedarse para supervisar el conteo de los votos, el chavismo va a tener una gran ventaja, una ventaja que con o sin Obama existe y existirá mientras no se enserie la oposición.

5- uniendo al continente en apoyo a Venezuela contra los gringos malucos. Ese es tal vez el argumento que mas me disfrutaré desbaratando porque parecería ser para algunos el más obvio error de Obama.  Pues no, no va a cambiar mucho a corto plazo y a largo plazo va a ayudar.

Ustedes tiene que entender que para la mayoría de los gobiernos de América Latina Venezuela se ha convertido en ese tío loco y gritón que uno trata de sedar o meter en la buhardilla cuando vienen las visitas. El tío quebrado, desaliñado, con mal aliento. Claro, como es familia y nos ayudó a comprar la casa vamos a tener que calarnos al tío. Pero eso es lo que se ha vuelto Venezuela, el pariente recogido.

Lo que pasa es que el metamensaje de la decisión de Obama no es para Venezuela, es para la alcahueta de América Latina. Ya los EEUU se están cansado. Ellos pusieron un negro en la casa blanca, mujeres, una negra, en la cancillería, etc, y etc, pero para América Latina lo único que cuenta es Iraq y pendejadas como Ferguson cuando por aquí nuestras, plural, policías cometen todos los días peores abusos, sea en las favelas de Rio, los barrios de Caracas o las complicidades con narco traficantes mas o menos en todas partes. Ya basta de la falta de respeto y consideración. Si quieren seguir criticando a los EEUU por lo menos tengan la decencia de dar el ejemplo.

Pero va mas allá. También los EEUU se cansan de tanta corrupción y narco trafico, tanto dinero lavado, sea en PETROBRAS o PDVSA. El mensaje a esos malucos es que si quieren que su dinero prospere van a tener que ponerlo a producir en EEUU (y Europa y Japon). Allá las reglas no son las de America Latina. Allá no es que la justicie funcione, pero funciona muchísimo mejor que en cualquier país de América Latina (aunque hay que reconocer que países como Chile o Uruguay han progresado mucho en este aspecto). Si los EEUU deciden que los corruptos y abusadores criollos son los peores y que hay que ponerlos en cintura eso también significa que poco a poco corruptos y abusadores en otros países podrían verse afectados en lo único que les importa de verdad, el bolsillo.

En otras palabras, la decisión de Obama no tiene NADA QUE VER CON EL PUEBLO DE VENEZUELA QUE NO ESTA SANCIONADO. Si algún chavista lee esto le puedo asegurar que Obama no va a sacrificar ni un solo Marine por sacudirse esa cuerda de corruptos, ladrones, drogos y terroristas que asaltaron los altos escaños de lo que antes fue una república decente.  Para Obama nos podemos joder y morir de hambre, nosotros nos lo buscamos por estar entregando nuestra soberanía y nuestro futuro a un loco como Chávez que nos arruinó y nos convirtió en colonia cubana. Allá nosotros.

La decision de Obama es un mensaje a Latino América. Si el se sienta a negociar con Castro, que América Latina le dé algo a cambio. Porque para que lo sepan Venezuela NO ES PROBLEMA de los EEUU. Ya la flor y nata de nuestro país se esta instalando en el norte y progresan y ayudan en el desarrollo gringo y europeo. Dentro de poco veremos a quien vendemos nuestro petroleo ya que los EEUU pronto no tendrá que calarse un proveedor grosero.

Venezuela es problema de América Latina, de la alcahueta de UNASUR. Eso es el mensaje. Poco le importa a Obama y los gringos lo que pase en Caracas en las próximas semanas. Total, mejor que se caigan todas las caretas y se sincere el gobierno en la brutal dictadura que en le fondo es y siempre ha sido.

Yo estoy de acuerdo con esas "sanciones", a ver si la gente deja de hablar pendejadas por aquí y por fin ve la realidad tal como es, que se quiten todas la caretas. Porque el palo de gallinero no es exclusivo a Diosdado y Maduro, también a muchos otros que no se atreven ni a decir lo que hay que decir. #tropa tranquila, que aquí no va a llegar ningún Marine, a menos que les traiga comida para que no se mueran de hambre, despues que Nico y Diosdi terminen de arrasar con todo.

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Another day, another US sanction against Venezuelan apparatchicks

There was a small surprise of sorts today: an executive order from the White House removing visa to a few Venezuelan officials, with possible sanctions to follow of a strictly material nature. That is right, 7 Venezuelans folks who are accused justifiedly of human rights violations have had their travel visas to the US revoked. And they are under investigation for possible assets in the US that will be frozen. That is all, nothing much really, considering that today few chavistas should have significant assets in the US after the Carvajal affair.

Still, that was enough to make chavismo hyperventilate, reaching paroxysms such at Telesur which has totally forgotten what international media is supposed to be all about. I translate for you the tile of an article there: Threatening Venezuela, Obama declares war on the continent.

Just like that.

Of course, as usual, the regime reaction is anything but. But being to stop the shipments of oil to the US. Do not worry about searching for that, you will not find it but you will find plenty of hot air, envoys recalled and what not. When all is said Venezuela will never take any serious action against the only client left that pays in cash and in had currency. Revolutions do not last much on empty stomachs.

This being said why is suddenly Obama toughening up?

There is GOP pressure and that bone will do for the time being. But somehow that is not enough to explain it.

There is the blunder by Maduro of reducing US embassy staff. But the US should be delighted to reciprocate and send back Venezuelans home and close the consulates.

Or simply put the US has decided to assume its role in the continent, to demand that the other countries decide between the US and Venezuela. Enough of looking the other way. Even being quiet the US is being aggressed non stop by Venezuela (and friends elsewhere). Time to demand the cowardly establishment to do its job and at least silence the roquet.

Note: never mind that it sends a message to the Castros stalling the negotiations with the US and on the FARC. Also, did Colombia and Brazil knew about that before visiting Caracas last Friday?

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