Posted on 05/09/2019 4:07:11 PM PDT by Kaslin
Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro is sending out the goon squad this week to quietly begin rounding up the people who participated in the attempted coup last week. While he’s not yet going after the person who actually sent out the call to revolt, his secret police force started with someone very close to the top. National Assembly Vice President Edgar Zambrano was picked up last night after leaving his office. (Associated Press)
Security forces arrested the No. 2 leader of Venezuela’s opposition-controlled congress Wednesday as President Nicolás Maduro’s government began going after foes tied to a failed attempt to stir up a military uprising last week.
National Assembly Vice President Edgar Zambrano was leaving his Democratic Action party’s headquarters when he was surprised by a commando unit from the feared SEBIN intelligence agency who surrounded his car.
A half hour later, the officers towed the vehicle away with the lawmaker still inside, at the same that Maduro was speaking live on state TV inaugurating an agricultural project. Neighbors looking on shouted “assassins” as the heavily armed agents pulled away.
It seems that Zambrano was unwilling to get out of his car and go along quietly so SEBIN called for a tow truck and dragged the entire vehicle off to some unknown destination. The rest of the Assembly leadership that spoke out in favor of Guaido’s attempted uprising have clearly been put on notice and are probably getting their affairs in order.
The SEBIN intelligence agency is also known as the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service. They’re described as an “internal intelligence service.” In other words, they’re the secret police who check up on the affairs of their own citizens on behalf of the regime and are empowered to make troublesome citizens disappear if it suits the whims of the dictator. They technically report directly to the Vice President of Venezuela, but it’s Maduro’s world, so he’s calling all the shots.
Thus far Maduro has held off from arresting Juan Guaido himself. The interim president was on the road this week, giving speeches in several different locations. The fact that he’s still not behind bars could be a sign that Nicolas Maduro isn’t quite as sure of his absolute authority as he was a year ago. The United States has been warning him of “grave consequences” if any harm comes to Guaido, so I suppose it’s possible that he’s tempering his response to the coup to avoid trouble with us.
Then again, Maduro may simply be taking his time and having his lawyers make sure he has all his ducks in a row before they arrest him. After all, the guy did stand up on an automotive overpass with some soldiers and call for the military to depose the president. Seems like Maduro could definitely come up with some charges based on that. In any event, the military clearly isn’t ready to abandon Maduro yet and the attempted ouster of Nicolas Maduro has failed… for now.
If they towed the vehicle with him in it, I would pretty much bet they shot Marvin in the face.
Maybe overthrow is a better term than coup. Maduro has the power, and Guaido is trying to remove him from that power. Ballot box doesn’t matter. I think that attempt last week did more harm than good in that effort.
This is the democrat dream disarm us to shut us up and shut us down
Yes he does.
From the small amount I’ve been reading on the situation down there, I was led to believe there was a process for replacing Maduro and it had been met legally.
If that’s not the case, then I stand corrected.
*** From the small amount I’ve been reading on the situation down there, I was led to believe there was a process for replacing Maduro and it had been met legally. ***
Even if Guaido had been “legally” interim President, the Venezuelan Constitution specifies 30 days. Didn’t you see Eliot Abrams all tongue tied trying to get around that stipulation? February 14th, IIRC, was the end of the Guaido Pretense.
Agreed. I don’t know why we don’t. Of course with all the immigrants coming north it would all end up here.
No, I don’t have cable any longer. Six years...
I have tried to find that Abrams’ tongue tied vid again. I saw it on Twitter. They have tons of vid’s from independent journalists you will never see on network news.
Of course Twitter is suspending a lot of accounts which go against the neocon/neolib narrative.
Send in the d*mn Marines!!! This indecision is starting to sound like the betrayal of the Green Revolution in Iran a few years ago.
The real problem with Venezuela is that either Russia or China are going to get a strong beach-head in South America just like Cuba.
If that happens, our great great grand-kids will be dealing with it.
*** The real problem with Venezuela is that either Russia or China are going to get a strong beach-head in South America just like Cuba. ***
Russia already has over 6 billion dollars of mining contracts in Venezuela.
China has, IIRC, over 12 billion in oil, housing, agricultural and railway contracts w/ Venezuela. They have established manufacturing plants there
The idea that the US can just threaten, tighten their (since 2011) VZ Sanctions, attempt a coup, and VZ will roll over defies common sense, IMHO.
*** Send in the d*mn Marines!!! ***
Blackwater has offered 5,000 mercenaries. Time for the US taxpayers to whip out their checkbooks...again.
I’m guessing that it would be the wealthy opposition to pay for their services. (I’m assuming they are down there somewhere? Maybe in Colombia for the time being?) I just got done watching the Netflix series “Narcos”. I bet some drug lords would love to rule Venezuela.
Yeah, right...
Venezuela hasn’t got two pesos to rub together. ( or whatever their coinage is )
Russia and China haven’t done squat there economically.
To do what?
Probably not far from the mark with the congressional and Democrat leadership calling to jail subpoena ignorers of the administration in the House dungeon. Not very far to go to see the same frothing faces of the Democrats as the Maduro clan. Surprisingly similar.
Well thats disappointing. The Russians and Chicoms are gaining a foothold there which is never a good thing.
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