Obama Throws Another Bone to the Right on Venezuela

[Judi Lynn]

Obama Throws Another Bone to the Right on Venezuela
Written by Mark Weisbrot
Wednesday, 30 July 2014 14:39

On Monday, I wrote this article looking at the splits within the Obama administration on policy toward Venezuela and how they were manifested in the case of Venezuela’s former military intelligence chief Hugo Carvajal. Carvajal was arrested last Wednesday in the Dutch island of Aruba with the help of the DEA, after he arrived to take up a post as Consular-General at the Venezuelan embassy there. Washington’s attempt to extradite him to the U.S., despite his diplomatic immunity, collapsed on Sunday night when the government of the Netherlands acknowledged Carvajal’s protected diplomatic status.

My argument was that the failed extradition was another attempt by the hard right to blow up diplomatic relations with Venezuela. It failed for the same reason that the previous attempt – the proposed economic sanctions against Venezuela that passed the House of Representatives on May 28, did not become law: President Obama (or whoever is in charge of U.S. foreign policy in the hemisphere), does not want to break diplomatic relations with Venezuela at this point.

Since yesterday, three more developments have followed the failed extradition attempt: first, Senator Bob Corker (the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee) released his hold on the sanctions legislation. This was what was officially holding up the sanctions bill in the Senate.

At the same time, a group of senators including Robert Menendez, Bill Nelson, and Marco Rubio, the co-sponsors of the Senate’s version of the proposed Venezuela sanctions bill, released a letter urging Secretary of State John Kerry to “use the existing authorities that the Administration has to levy targeted sanctions against individuals that have been complicit in human rights violations in Venezuela.” This may be a signal from the most militant anti-Venezuela members of the Senate that they have reached some sort of agreement not to push forward with their own sanctions legislation, which the State Department has referred to as “unhelpful,” if the Obama administration utilizes its “existing authorities” to pressure Venezuela.

More:
http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/the-americas-blog/obama-throws-another-bone-to-the-right-on-venezuela

[Socialistlemur]

1. Nah, it was the DEA trying to get his cell phones

The whole issue was a DEA move to get Carvajal, who is indicted in the USA for shipping cocaine in large volumes. I think the DEA went at this on their own, and the Kerry state department doesn't get much respect from anybody.

On the other hand, maybe the set up was to toss him in a cell for 72 hours while USA technicians got into his cell phones. Those five cell phones he carried were probably priceless.

Regarding USA interest in relations with Venezuela, it has none. Venezuela has emerged as a wounded mixture of a corrupt military mafia ( some of which do engage in the drug trade) and a Maduro led faction which is forced by circumstances to move towards capitalism (just like Cuba's government is doing).

Given the cuban's influence on Maduro, he has a really difficult task: he has to turn around the economic crash, implement more capitalist measures, avoid a communist backlash, get rid of the narco generals and eventually end corruption. But ending corruption and Venezuelan military participation in the drug trade means getting rid of Diosdado Cabello.

And meanwhile over 50 % of the population is now opposing the whole chavista revolution concept. So the only way they can keep the lid on the pressure cooker is repression. Venezuela is going to get even uglier, and this means we will see a much heavier middle class flight with the associated brain drain. I don't think Raul Castro is happy seeing the mess Chavez left behind for him to try to straighten out.

[flamingdem]

2. If Maduro is listening to Raul

he'll work on corruption and avoid stepping on US interests.

I'm glad Obama doesn't go along with the idiots Robert Menendez, Bill Nelson, and Marco Rubio

[Judi Lynn]

3. It's so ugly to witness so many Florida "Democratic" politicians bowing to exile interests,

year in, year out. I can't remember even one U.S. Democrat in Florida daring to stand up to them, can you?

They had Debbie Wasserman Schultz from the start, Senator Bob Graham, Carrie Meeks, her son, Kendrick, Robert Torricelli, from New Jersey, etc., etc., etc.

Very creepy sight, Democrats bending over for right-wing reactionary Battistianos.

[flamingdem]

4. Ironically Christ is the best at this point

since he advocated for ending the embargo, at least I think he want that far.