Venezuela Government blames airlines suspending/cancelling flights on... the World Cup

[Marksman_91]

I wish I was joking, but plenty of news sites confirm it. Still hasn't shown up in any English-language sites, but I'm sure more than enough people here know Spanish well enough. If not, they can just translate it to broken English via Google Translate, which hopefully is enough to get the message across:

http://www.noticierovenevision.net/economia/2014/mayo/21/98806=rafael-ramirez-vinculo-salida-de-aerolineas-de-venezuela-con-desvio-de-aviones-para-el-mundial-de-futbol

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/ultimas_noticias/2014/05/140521_ultnot_venezuela_aerolineas_mundial_ng.shtml

http://elvenezolanonews.com/la-asombrosa-explicacion-de-rafael-ramirez-sobre-crisis-con-aerolineas/

http://www.laverdad.com/economia/52729-aerolineas-estan-suspendiendo-vuelos-en-el-pais-por-el-mundial.html

Essentially Rafael Ramirez, the Minister of PDVSA, is claiming that airlines are not suspending their flights due to the the over $4 billion owed to them by the Venezuelan government, but rather that they are simply prioritizing routes to Brazil due to the World Cup... You just can't make this shit up. This regime is running out of excuses and are pretty much scraping the bottom of the barrel now to find any scapegoat they can for their ineptitude and corruption.

Chavistas in this forum, I'd REALLY love to hear your input regarding this.

[COLGATE4]

1. The only sound you'll hear from

the Chavez-Maduro cheerleaders on this topic is crickets...

[MADem]

2. Hilarity ensues!

Most people realize that when you don't pay the electric bill, the electricity gets cut off. You don't pay the phone, the phone gets cut off. You don't pay your car note, they come and take your car.

You don't pay your bill, you aren't getting that service!!!!

Maduro has been saying the check is in the mail for over a month now! It's got to be REALLY bad if he can't make good on at least some of that debt--he just got a ton of money from China for mortgaging Venezuela's future oil revenues to them, sometimes for PENNIES on the dollar.

He is stupid, incompetent, and he is selling Venezuela up the river.

[Bacchus4.0]

3. Sounds like the WC fans are getting an early start. What other reason could there be? n/t

[Oele]

4. Here's one in English..

http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/140522/venezuela-ponders-replacing-international-airlines-with-conviasa

Airline crisis

Maduro said the airline crisis facing Venezuela is the result of some European airlines "rescheduling their flights to Brazil for the World Cup."

"The message of the European airlines has been manipulated. The bourgeois press makes people believe that these airlines are leaving Venezuela," said Maduro.

However, he said that any international airline leaving the country will not return to Venezuela. "Anyone leaving Venezuela amid this economic war will never come back. Stay over there! Respect Venezuela!" he added.