Petition Against Obama Decree on Venezuela Tops 8m Signatures

[Little Tich]

Source: TeleSUR

There has been a groundswell of oppostion in Venezuela and internationally to the latest US aggression.

A petition launched in Venezuela opposing President Obama’s latest sanctions and the labelling of Venezuela as a national security threat has topped eight million signatures, it was announced Sunday.

U.S. President Barack Obama issued an Executive Order March 9 declaring a “national emergency with respect to the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States posed by the situation in Venezuela.”

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro thanked the supporters who backed the call for Obama to "repeal the decree” through his twitter account.

Read more: http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Petition-Against-Obama-Decree-on-Venezuela-Tops-8m-Signatures-20150405-0011.html

[delrem]

1. I don't understand what Pres. Obama is thinking. Not at all.

[Enthusiast]

2. Apparently the old cold warriors have the President's ear. And we don't.

I guess the Neo-Cons want a war with anyone anywhere. Any excuse. Well, the nation does have an unlimited budget for perpetual war.

[Adrahil]

5. Yeah, like a deal with Iran is what the Neo-Cons want... n/t

[Enthusiast]

7. Venezuela is a great threat to the US?

In what way? Mushroom cloud? WMDs? They might invade the USA? They threaten their neighbors? Produce too much oil causing a lower price?

[Scuba]

8. A model of successful socialism and nationalization of their resources. But don't worry ...

... because TPTB will meddle and muddle and continue to make life unbearable for Venezuela until they allow the capitalists to own the air they breathe.

[hack89]

12. An imploding economy and an exploding murder rate doesn't sound like success to me. nt

[betterdemsonly]

17. The economy wasn't imploding until the oil prices dropped

as a result of Saudis meddling. Besides a bad economy and high crime isn't justification for a coup. America's economy and crime rates are pretty bad too.

[hack89]

18. Actually it was - there were severe food shortages two years ago.

Our crime rate is a fraction of Venezuela's and has been steadily falling for 20 years.

The most likely coup scenario is a coup from the left as hardcore Chavista's get Maduro out of the way before there is a total collapse.

[betterdemsonly]

19. There are severe food shortages in Ayn Randy Honduras

and right wing Mexico too, and the crime rates are much worse than in Venezuela yet you don't agitate constantly for a coupe against them. In Honduras it would justified as they themselves are a coup government. Those things are only bad in countries where they don't deliberately squash the poor. Most of Venezuelas probems are caused by American destabilization efforts and are exaggerated by the assholes in the right wing media.

[hack89]

20. I have never advocated for a coup.

unless a lack of blind support for Maduro is pro-coup in your eyes.

People don't wait in line for hours in Honduras or Mexico to buy basic necessities.

[betterdemsonly]

21. No they don't have the money period

so they still starve or rot homeless in the streets or sell their children into debt slavery. Big whoop.

[betterdemsonly]

13. I think they do what they do here

Last edited Tue Apr 7, 2015, 03:26 PM - Edit history (1)

where they will pretend to be liberal on every issue but Iran, or every issue but Russia or every issue but the Iraq war and so on and so forth and he just hasn't fully caught on yet.

[cstanleytech]

6. Well then maybe you should read up on it.

Wiki has some of the basics of what happened to cause the rift here

I keep hoping that both sides will show enough common sense to admit they each screwed up a bit but so far neither one seems prepared to do that and it doesnt help when people who are purely pro American or pro Venezuelan chime in with their 2 cents worth of knowledge be it here on the DU or anywhere else.

[Enthusiast]

9. It doesn't help when people chime in? Here on DU or anywhere else? Just STFU, then?

The government will tell us what to think about Venezuela!

The USA has a fucking horrible record of mucking about in these countries. That's my opinion and I believe it constitutes COMMON SENSE. Don't like? Don't tell me to STFU!

[cstanleytech]

11. I am just pointing out the fact that most of our

opinions expressed here don't help to bring about a resolution to the situation, we are still allowed of course to insert our worthless 2 cents if we want to though on who is at fault or how they should resolve the problem.
Good luck in getting either government to listen though

[Zorra]

15. He doesn't have to think on this one. Wall St wants Venezuela. nt

[Tarheel_Dem]

24. Perhaps this will help explain it to you?

Jorge G. Castañeda
Updated: 03/27/2015 4:59 pm EDT


MEXICO CITY -- For the last 15 years, Venezuela has been mired in crisis, characterized by wasteful government spending, rampant corruption, growing authoritarianism, relentless human-rights violations, and now economic collapse. But, beyond the occasional sharp word from the late President Hugo Chávez, the periodic expropriation of a foreign company without adequate compensation, and some minor meddling in the elections of neighboring countries, the crisis barely registered abroad. This is no longer the case.

Earlier this month, U.S. President Barack Obama officially classified Venezuela as an "extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States," and ordered sanctions against seven officials, thereby stoking bilateral tensions. But, while the crisis in Venezuela undoubtedly has far-reaching implications, the precise motivation behind Obama's decision remains unclear.

One possible explanation stems from the enduring passivity of Venezuela's regional neighbors toward its plight. Countries like Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Colombia have remained largely silent in the face of recurring abuses by Chávez and his successor, Nicolás Maduro, including the imprisonment of opposition leaders, repression of public protests, and media censorship. Obama may be trying to force these countries to choose sides: either support Venezuela explicitly or support the U.S. in opposing its leaders' policies.

More important, Obama could be trying to drive a wedge between Venezuela and Cuba at a time when the Cuban leadership is keenly interested in improving its relationship with the U.S.. As it stands, Cuba will sink without Venezuela -- unless, of course, it finds another lifeline. The U.S. -- which in placing itself in direct opposition to Venezuela has also highlighted the country's fragility -- may be an increasingly appealing option. And, indeed, many experts anticipate the eventual normalization of Cuba-U.S. relations, despite short-term political obstacles.

In any case, Maduro has not taken Obama's affront lightly. Employing the age-old tactic of exaggerating the threat of external aggression -- in this case, from what Maduro, like Chávez before him, refers to as the "empire" -- to justify internal repression, he has compelled the legislative assembly to enact a law enabling him to govern temporarily by decree.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jorge-g-castaneda/us-sanctions--venezuela-cuba_b_6955848.html

[Judi Lynn]

25. Your author, Jorge Castañeda is a real genius, isn't he?

From his Wikipedia:

He has published articles in Newsweek. In 2009, he published a theory about the 2009 dismissals by Raúl Castro, suggesting that Hugo Chávez was plotting a coup in Cuba due to concerns that Raul Castro would make concessions that would betray the Cuban Revolution. He has an article in the September–October 2010 issue of Foreign Affairs entitled "Not Ready for Prime Time". He also writes regularly for Project Syndicate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorge_Casta%C3%B1eda_Gutman

[center]~ ~ ~[/center]
Former Ambassador Says Mexico Provoked Cuba to Appease Bush White House


Written by Stephan Lefebvre
Friday, 19 December 2014 13:02

In response to Wednesday’s announcement that the United States would work to restore full diplomatic relations with Cuba, Mexico’s former ambassador to Cuba revealed that his country had pursued a strategy of provoking the Cuban government in order to gain favor with the Bush administration. Ricardo Pascoe, who served as Ambassador from 2000-2002, says that Mexican President Vicente Fox and Foreign Minister Jorge G. Castañeda worked to appease the White House by damaging Mexico’s ties with Cuba, while he fought to maintain the bilateral relationship. Pascoe says his position is now vindicated since Mexico, a natural interlocutor between the U.S. and Cuba, which could have played a large role in the two country’s negotiations, lost out to Canada as host for secret bilateral talks.

“Mexico was in the worst position of all: completely left out,” said Pascoe, also exclaiming: “They didn’t choose Mexican territory for the talks (as would have been natural in other times). But with Fox and Castañeda we lost our historic standing with the island!”

Pascoe explained that the bilateral relationship between Mexico and Cuba could not be repaired under the governments of Felipe Calderón and current President Enrique Peña Nieto. For Pascoe, this not only demonstrates the failure of Mexico’s foreign policy toward Cuba, but more generally the country’s foreign policy toward Latin America.

Speaking more broadly about global issues, Pascoe said that President Obama’s decision to normalize relations with Cuba has significance beyond the domestic Latino/Latina vote and even considerations of Obama’s own legacy. Taken together with the previous day’s announcement that the European Union was removing Hamas from its list of terrorist organizations, Pascoe suggested that this can be seen as an indication that circumstances are forcing our political leaders to support more sensible and pragmatic policies.

More:
http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/the-americas-blog/former-ambassador-says-mexico-provoked-cuba-to-appease-bush-white-house

[Little Tich]

28. I personally can’t really see the link to Cuba.

However, several South American countries are not happy with the US designating Venezuela a threat, obviously.

The problem is that if and when Venezuela implodes, it will be a problem much more for its neighbours rather than the US.

[Judi Lynn]

29. Can you see the link he is hostile to leftist governments, and sucks up to the U.S.? n/t

[Little Tich]

31. He’s been pushing for ending the US embargo of Cuba.

But frankly, I don’t think things are as convoluted as he thinks.

I also think that Venezuela has serious problems, and that the way out is the removal of Maduro.

[Judi Lynn]

32. The oligarchy got a few right-wing military officials to help them kidnap Hugo Chavez at gunpoint,

and try to put in their own filthy business-friendly a##hole, while blacking out all news regarding it, and floating the rumor Chavez had "retired" while George W Bush's White House, after entertaining the coup plotters in Washington in the weeks running up to the coup, claimed Chavez brought it on himself.

The people who elected that President disagreed, when they finally found out in time, even though the anti-Chavist Caracas mayor had shut down all the independent radio stations who could have gotten the word out the President had been kidnapped, and when the people heard, they rushed into the streets around the Presidential buildings, and demanded their president BACK where he belonged.

First time one of these filthy right-wing coups has been blocked. The next time they are going to try to do it differently so they will get to overturn the will of the people in spite of the election.

Removing Maduro? Do you believe it's appropriate for the U.S. to decide what elected Presidents are going to be allowed to finish their elected terms in office? I don't. That's not democratic, is it?

[Little Tich]

33. I have a slight dislike of having the US toppling regimes by force,

and I really didn’t suggest that. It’s the Venezuelan people who have to get rid of him, and I’m not so sure it can wait until the next election either.

When it comes to Chavez being arrested and the coup, any evidence of US involvment was never found. It’s no secret that Bush and his handlers preferred the other guy.

I watched “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised ” too, you know.

[Judi Lynn]

34. Try some research.You won't get it from the corporate "news" media, in case you haven't noticed.n/t

[Cryptoad]

3. May be more idiots in this ole world that I had realized,,,,,,,,,,nt

[DeSwiss]

4. ''Suuure.....

...just give us all your oil and we'll all be friends again.''

- I don't know. I somehow expected more finesse from a community organizer. He doesn't work well with the people in the community at all. Unless he gets his way.



K&R

[stevenleser]

10. We get a ton of Venezuelan oil all the time. You might want to rest that tired narrative.

http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=MTTIMUSVE1&f=M

[betterdemsonly]

14. It profits the Venezuelan people not the oil companies

and that is why the government has to go.

[stevenleser]

16. That you think Obama and his cabinet care about that is hilarious. nt

[LiberalLovinLug]

22. That you don't think Obama and his cabinet are not influenced by moneyed interests

from multinational energy companies, and the threat to them of a domino effect in SA if Venezuela's socialist experiment is a success is hysterically laughable.

[stevenleser]

23. In other words, you have no idea and are making unsupported allegations. Got it. nt

[LiberalLovinLug]

36. You make no sense

What "allegations"?

So I take it you believe that old moneyed families, some with ties to the US, are perfectly fine with Maduro and before him Chavez and the partial nationalizaiton of the oil industries and other more socialist policies? And, let me guess, the CIA are just friendly James Bond style good guys fighting for justice around the world. Must be nice in your world of rainbows and unicorns.

[MrBig]

26. According to some

Americans supporting this petition should be considered an act of treason, or at the very least, traitorous action. It's funny when words have different meanings for different situations.

[Judi Lynn]

30. US Americans who believe Venezuelans have the right to their elected President's NOT being bullied

by the US officials trying to overthrow him are TRAITORS, and TREASONOUS?

Is that your view? Why would you want to tell anyone at a Democratic message board?

On edit:

Democrats believe that the people of the country have the right to vote for the President they want, and that he be allowed to serve his allotted term. With no interference. Period. Another period. Exclamation mark.

[MrBig]

35. Nope, not my view

Merely taking the numerous statements from another thread and applying them here to a different set of facts.

I happen to believe one can disagree with the President on a foreign policy matter and not be a traitor or commit treason. Others don't quite see it that way.

[goldent]

27. I'll support Obama on this

He has advisers who actually understand the issues.