This US-Backed Rightwing Coup Attempt in Venezuela Must Be Condemned

[Judi Lynn]

Published on
Wednesday, May 01, 2019
by Common Dreams

We must do all we can to join this historic struggle for peace, justice and self-determination in our hemisphere.

by Gerry Condon

I am watching the cable news coverage of the latest escalation of the U.S.-orchestrated attempted coup in Venezuela. And I am disgusted. As far as I can tell from checking out a broader variety of news sources, the violent protests called by self-proclaimed president Juan Guaido are relatively small and pathetic.

A more robust war is being waged, however, on the cable networks themselves. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tells CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that “we only care about the welfare of the Venezuelan people.” Which makes Venezuela pretty darn special. Since when do Trump, Pence, Bolton, Pompeo, Abrams and Rubio care about anybody but the billionaires whom they serve?

“It’s not a coup,” says National Security Advisor John Bolton. Because we have already declared Juan Guaido to be our hand-picked president in Venezuela. So Guaido can do anything he wants, and so can we. It’s not a coup, they claim. And night is day.

Pompeo and Bolton blame the Cubans and the Russians for supporting the democratically-elected president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro. They threaten the Russians with consequences, but they save their bitterest bile for the “Cuban thugs.” Thugs? Who are the thugs? Who are the punks? Who are the bullies? Let me say their names again. Donald Trump. Mike Pence. John Bolton. Mike Pompeo. Elliott Abrams. Marco Rubio.

More:
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/05/01/us-backed-rightwing-coup-attempt-venezuela-must-be-condemned

[still_one]

1. I am not going to weigh in on the election results one way or another, but observe as far as

Congress is concerned this is about 2020, and Florida.

The republicans are clearly playing for this by using sanctions against Cuba, which may sound like macho testosterone from the republicans and trump, but it has no substance. Cuba hasn't depended on the U.S. since the Bay of Pigs, and this is all for appearance sake without any impact.

Yes, oil is also a factor, but there is no doubt in my mind that this is about Florida and the 2020 election.