How close were Trump or Trumpists to this?

If at all.

'His head wasn't in the world of reality': how the plot to invade Venezuela fell apart

It would be good if he were assassinated, at that. But probably best if not by us. Or anyway not recognizably by us.

Trump denies ties to Venezuelan attack with 2 US men jailed

How Evo fell and why Maduro hasn't fallen

Bolivia's blunt message to leaders drunk on power

Bolivia crisis: Evo Morales says he fled as his life was at risk

Maduro's military stands in the way of a Bolivia repeat in Venezuela

The failed coup in Venezuela. Trump vs. Putin.

From WAPO.

In this matter, anyway, Trump hardly appears Putin's puppet.

Au Venezuela, le plan de l’opposition a raté

“Depuis des semaines, raconte The Washington Post, l’opposition vénézuélienne travaillait à un plan d’ensemble pour chasser enfin du pouvoir le président Nicolás Maduro. 

"Elle aurait convaincu plusieurs figures du régime, militaires et civiles, de changer de camp, tandis que d’autres responsables auraient été autorisés à quitter le pays. 

"Maduro lui-même semblait prêt à partir de façon pacifique pour La Havane.”

Toutefois, ajoute le quotidien américain, ce plan n’a pas fonctionné. 

Venezuela : Moscou met en garde Washington contre toute ingérence militaire

From its high horse in Ukraine, no doubt.

Pour le site Gazeta.ru, le Venezuela se trouve aujourd’hui à “un pas de la guerre civile”. 

Le ministre russe des Affaires étrangères, Sergueï Lavrov, a eu, le 1er mai, un entretien avec le secrétaire d’État américain Mike Pompeo au sujet de la tentative de prise de pouvoir menée à Caracas par le leader de l’opposition, Juan Guaidó.

Selon ce qu’en a rapporté le service de communication du siège de la diplomatie russe, après la “tentative de coup d’État réalisée par l’opposition vénézuélienne avec le soutien évident des États-Unis”, la Russie a rappelé avec insistance que “toute ingérence de Washington dans les affaires intérieures d’un État souverain, ou menace à l’adresse de ses dirigeants, constitue une grossière violation du droit international”. 

Et que la “poursuite de telles menées agressives risque d’avoir des conséquences extrêmement lourdes”.

. . . .

Selon Moskovski Komsomolets, la porte-parole du ministère, Maria Zakharova, a quant à elle qualifié de “fake news” l’information divulguée par Mike Pompeo selon laquelle “dès le 30 avril au matin, Nicolás Maduro était prêt à lâcher le pouvoir et à fuir à La Havane, mais ses conseillers russes l’en auraient dissuadé”.

And Russian threats.

Fin mars, l’atterrissage à Caracas de deux avions des forces aéronautiques russes ainsi que le débarquement d’une centaine de spécialistes militaires et de 35 tonnes de matériel avaient suscité des interrogations et des protestations de la part de Washington. 

Le Kremlin avait précisé qu’il s’agissait de la mise en œuvre de contrats techniques signés entre les deux pays, une présence par conséquent tout à fait légale.

Cependant, cette présence militaire russe prend une dimension inquiétante dans un contexte où le gouvernement Trump évoque la possibilité d’une intervention militaire américaine au Venezuela. 

À ce titre, l’expert cité plus haut reconnaît avoir changé d’avis quant à la position russe : “Si au début de l’année je pouvais affirmer sans hésiter que la Russie ne se lancerait pas dans un conflit armé, je dirais aujourd’hui que Moscou ne peut pas rester en dehors.”

En effet, selon lui, si les Américains interviennent militairement, “une réponse russe n’est pas exclue. La situation en Syrie apparaîtra alors à toutes les parties comme une promenade de santé.”

Why Cuba? Why Venezuela?

They are no threats to the US.

North Korea is a nuclear menace.

The Trumpists are going after both Cuba and Venezuela.

Trump is nothing but hot air and bullshit in his completely failed attempts to get rid of the nuclear threat to the US posed by NK.

Why is he going after two harmless states, one communist and the other on its way to communist, while ignoring the most brutal and dangerous communist state in the world?

The question answers itself.

Republicans in general and Trump in particular are bullies and cowards.

It is astonishing these Bolivarian nitwits still have any public support

After Years of Denial, Venezuela’s President Allows Aid to Enter

After denying for years that Venezuelans were suffering a humanitarian crisis, the government allowed the Red Cross to send in 24 tons of medical equipment on Tuesday, marking the beginning of a large-scale relief campaign intended to ease malnutrition and the spread of disease in the crisis-stricken country.

An airplane landed in Caracas’s international airport transporting the first in a series of planned shipments of medical supplies and power generators for hospitals that are intended to eventually help 650,000 Venezuelans, according to the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. 

The material is expected to be distributed in the coming days.

Despite the enormity of the population’s need, the delivery of humanitarian aid has become a political battle between the president, Nicolás Maduro, and Venezuela’s opposition.

Only consistent with the recognition of the opposition leader as the legitimate president of Venezuela

‘You Shouldn’t Be Here’: U.S. Pushes U.N. to Pull Venezuela Envoy’s Credentials

Not everything the Trumpists attempt in foreign affairs is stupid, perverse, or criminal.

Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday urged the United Nations to revoke the credentials of Venezuela’s ambassador to the world body, portraying him as a loyalist to the country’s disputed president, Nicolás Maduro, and to a government that has allowed crime, violence and starvation to rise.

In a 20-minute speech to the United Nations Security Council, Mr. Pence called for a formal recognition of Juan Guaidó as the rightful leader of Venezuela, which he called “a failed state — and as history teaches, failed states know no boundaries.”

Mr. Pence turned to the Venezuelan ambassador, Samuel Moncada Acosta, telling him, “You shouldn’t be here.”

“You should return to Venezuela and tell Nicolás Maduro that his time is up,” Mr. Pence said. “It’s time for him to go.”

A Cuban province on the mainland

Cuba Has Hijacked Venezuela

Is Cuba the only country in the world that, besides being run by a Communist family dictatorship, has a fairly heavily top down socialized economy?

Well, there's North Korea.

To be fair, the two countries appear to be at opposite poles of the "better or worse" spectrum among actually existing socialist states, the Cuban economy being far kinder to ordinary people, the Cuban state being far less geared to war, and the Cuban government being considerably less savage toward its own people.

On the other hand, the Bolivarian Revolution is turning Venezuela into a Cuban branch office, and it's not going all that well for the Venezuelans.

Next stop for JG?

Death in prison?

Shot trying to escape?

Venezuela Strips Juan Guaidó, Opposition Leader, of Immunity

A pro-government lawmaking body [unconstitutionally - PV] installed by President Nicolas Maduro voted on Tuesday to strip the opposition leader Juan Guaidó of parliamentary immunity, paving the way for his potential arrest.

The move by the Constituent Assembly represents the government’s latest effort to raise the pressure on Mr. Guaidó, who declared himself interim president in January in the biggest challenge that Mr. Maduro has faced in six years in office.

In recent weeks, the government has barred Mr. Guaidó from traveling, frozen his bank accounts, begun investigating him on terrorism accusations, and prohibited him from running for office.

But thus far the government has stopped short of detaining Mr. Guaidó. 

The United States has repeatedly said that any attack on Mr. Guaidó would draw a severe reaction.

. . . .

Mr. Guaidó has brushed off legal challenges from the government in the past, going so far as touring South American capitals despite the travel ban. 

The opposition does not recognize the Constituent Assembly, a sort of parallel congress [unconstitutionally - PV] created by Mr. Maduro two years ago as a means of circumventing the opposition-controlled National Assembly.

This shows how much Republicans care about what socialism actually is, and what "socialism" actually means

Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks reads from Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' while bashing Democrats, media

About as little as Bernie Sanders and the Democrats on MSNBC who, just for him during the primaries of 2016, helpfully and mendaciously defined the word as "public ownership of any means of production".

Well, any organization devoted to the production of any good or service.

Like schools, fire departments, or the Tennessee Valley Authority.

As for the GOP, part of their warfare against the Dems for 2020 is, thanks to Bernie's personal and apparently entirely sincere and almost lifelong embrace of socialism and Bernie and AOC's embrace of "socialism", to paste that label to the Democratic Party and especially the Bernie/AOC agenda on the one side and onto various political boogey-men on the other.

You know.

Stalin, sure.

But the massively incompetent and idiotic Maduro in Venezuela.

And now that famous national socialist, Adolf Hitler.

When will the OAS put a stop to Maduro's regime?

Guaidó’s Chief of Staff Is Arrested by Venezuela Police

Regime change is exactly what's needed in Venezuela, and I don't want to hear any irrelevant bullshit about the ugly history of past American interventions.

I don't think we should do anything alone or without at least continental support.

But it's time and way past time.

The most incompetent government in the world? Or sabotage? Or yes to all?

Venezuela's power went out five days ago and is still out.

No End in Sight to Venezuela’s Blackout, Experts Warn

Sporadic looting and spontaneous protests. Desperate patients begging doctors to be kept alive. 

Residents bracing for wider attacks on markets and restaurants after the sun goes down.

Sunday was the fourth day since Venezuela’s power system went down, plunging most of the country, including Caracas, the capital, into sporadic darkness and dampening hopes of imminent resolution to a devastating blackout that has brought the country to the verge of social implosion.

“We’re going to arrive at a moment when we’re going to eat each other,” said Zuly González, 40, a resident of Caracas’s Chacao neighborhood.

The blackout is the latest crisis to befall a country in seemingly perpetual crisis. 

Venezuela has been devastated for years by hyperinflation and a failing economy that has led millions to flee. 

But the country has been further torn since January, when opposition political leaders refused to acknowledge as legitimate the re-election of President Nicolás Maduro.

. . . .

The government said the blackout was caused by an unspecified fault at Guri, which provides 80 percent of the country’s electricity. 

Mr. Maduro and his ministers have insisted the blackout is the result of sabotage and cyberattacks organized by the United States and the opposition, without providing any evidence.

. . . .

Energy experts, Venezuelan power sector contractors and current and former Corpoelec employees have dismissed accusations of sabotage, saying the blackout was the result of years of underinvestment, corruption and brain drain.

The San Geronimo B substation connects eight out of Venezuela’s 10 largest cities to the Guri hydropower plant via one of the longest high-voltage lines in the world.

When visited on Sunday, the substation’s usual buzz of high-voltage cross currents had been replaced by total silence.

Why do the Turks support this incompetent ass?

Venezuela's Maduro denounces election call but says ready to talk

The Guardian and the too far left everywhere are more worried about US intervention than the utter mess this fool and the Bolivarian Revolution have made of the country.

But so long as the Venezuela military continue to support him, I don't see any room for intervention, anyway.

And considering that pretty much nobody but the Russians, the Cubans, and the Turks (why?) support him and everybody else is sick of him, why would the US have to intervene alone, anyway?

Neighboring countries might be willing to help.

Europe joins in

Venezuela crisis: Maduro given ultimatum by European leaders

Spain, Germany, France and the UK have warned Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro that he must call elections within eight days - or they will officially recognise the opposition.

A way out for Venezuela?

Venezuela

Maduro could renounce the presidency if he’s able to choose a new leader who subscribes to the same political ideology he does.

He is a chavista, someone who believes former President Hugo Chávez’s brand of populist, authoritarian socialism is the best way to govern.

Chávez is a legendary figure in Venezuela who transformed the country’s political and economic landscape by nationalizing industries and funneling enormous amounts of government money into social programs.

Under his rule, Venezuela’s unemployment rate decreased by nearly 50 percent, income per capita more than doubled, the poverty rate fell by more than half, education improved, and infant mortality rates declined.

But he also stacked the country’s courts with political allies, passed laws restricting the ability of journalists to criticize the government, and consistently sought ways to remove checks on his power.

Maduro tried to follow Chávez’s playbook, but the results were ruinous for the country. 

Oil prices crashed in late 2014, and the economy crashed with it. 

And after political opponents took control of the National Assembly in December 15, he tried to dissolve it while placing his cronies in the Supreme Court and elsewhere. 

What Venezuela got was an increasingly authoritarian leader overseeing a crumbling economy.

Now, roughly 80 percent of the country — and thousands on the streets — oppose him. 

That may compel leaders of Maduro’s socialist party to ask him to step aside and see if another chavista can do better as president. 

There are at least four people, including a governor and a mayor, waiting in the wings for their moment. 

This may be it.

If this scenario plays out, it means Venezuela’s future will look fairly similar to if Maduro remains in office. 

Basically: new face, same government.

The mounting domestic and international pressure may ultimately prove too much for Maduro, forcing him to cut a deal with the opposition and step aside.

It’s unclear what that deal might look like. 

One possibility is Maduro agrees to remain in power until a fair election is held and then departs so the winner can take over. 

Another is Maduro willingly hands the country over to Guaidó as a caretaker while he calls for new elections.

Late on Thursday, Guaidó told Univision that he might consider offering Maduro amnesty if he willingly leaves office. 

“In transitional periods, we’ve seen similar things happening,” he said. 

“We can’t discard any element. We have to be firm, to get humanitarian assistance. Our priority is our people.”

The hope is that a new leader, presumably not from Maduro’s socialist party, would steer the country back toward a democracy. 

But even this rosy outcome has its challenges.

That’s because some of Maduro policies remain popular, particularly his party’s emphasis on spending large amounts of state revenue on funding social programs such as free medical care and affordable food. 

And a new leader would almost certainly have to make tough choices — including cutting funding for some of those programs — to end Venezuela’s economic collapse.

That could lead citizens to bristle, and possibly push out, the new leader in a short amount of time. 

In other words, the person who replaces Maduro with sincere hopes of fixing Venezuela will have a very tough job — and may not be very popular for doing it.

The end of a nightmare for Venezuela?

The too far left of the Democratic Party is stooging for Maduro and already damning a coup that hasn't happened and the US for supporting it.

The Venezuelan military isn't going to dump Maduro.

His civilian political opponents, committed to legitimate republican government far more than he is, are trying to.

Trump of course does not give a fig for legitimate republican government.

His only concern is the truly epically failing, utterly incompetent quasi-socialism of the Bolivarian Revolution, more aspirational than real, that's wrecked the Venezuelan economy.

That is true as well of these too far leftists.

The only difference is he wants the socialist chaos to end and they want to protect it.

New liberals in Congress call Trump’s Venezuela action ‘a U.S. backed coup’

It is in no way a surprise that the also too far left Bernie also opposes any suggestion of US interference in Venezuela.

Three members of Congress, California Rep. Ro Khanna, Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar and Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, have released statements condemning the U.S. action in Venezuela, which so far amounts to the recognitio of Guaidó, $20 million in humanitarian assistance to the Venezuelan opposition and the threat of further action if Nicolas Maduro, whom the administration sees as an illegitimate president, resorts to violence.

. . . .

The position of Gabbard, Khanna and Omar is not shared by a majority of Democrats in Congress, including congressional leaders. 

. . . .

The U.S. is not alone in its decision to recognize Guaidó. 

The United Kingdom, Canada, Brazil and Colombia, and most other Latin American nations have also recognized the opposition leader. 

China, Russia, Turkey, Cuba and Bolivia are opposed to the decision, while Mexico, Uruguay and the European Union have called for more dialogue.

Gabbard, a noted opponent of U.S. involvement in foreign countries who is running for president in 2020, also opposed the decision.

“The United States needs to stay out of Venezuela,’ Gabbard tweeted. 

“Let the Venezuelan people determine their future. We don’t want other countries to choose our leaders — so we have to stop trying to choose theirs.”

. . . .

Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is mulling a 2020 presidential bid of his own, condemned recent events in Venezuela but also said the U.S. should “not be in the business of regime change or supporting coups.” 

His comments condemning Venezuela’s economic situation drew criticism from some of his supporters.

“We must learn the lessons of the past and not be in the business of regime change or supporting coups — as we have in Chile, Guatemala, Brazil & the DR, [Domincan Republic]” Sanders said in a statement. 

“The US has a long history of inappropriately intervening in Latin American nations; we must not go down that road again.”

South Florida Democrats, including Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Donna Shalala and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, whose districts have significant numbers of Venezuelans, are supportive of the administration’s steps and have introduced bills that would hinder Maduro’s ability to obtain arms and sell oil. 

Mucarsel-Powell also spoke at a pro-Venezuela opposition rally on Wednesday in Washington, and Wasserman Schultz is hosting an event with Venezuelan community leaders in her district on Friday.

The Democratic Socialists of America, which count U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as members, also called the decision to recognize Guaidó a “U.S.-backed coup.”

Former U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo pointed out to Omar that Guaidó’s political party, Popular Will, is described as center-left or center. Guaido’s party includes the first transgender congresswoman elected in Latin America, and party leader Leopoldo Lopez remains under house arrest by Maduro’s regime.

“You’d think a progressive would be a little more supportive. But no, the sick obsession w/ Donald Trump is blinding,” Curbelo tweeted.

Curbelo is wrong.

It's not about Trump, it's about the further left's genuine commitment to socialism.

And by "socialism" here I mean the real thing and not the so-called "social democracy" that represents a penchant within liberalism for moderate increases in the dosage of public provision of goods or services within a fundamentally capitalist society.

Think of Bernie's signature agenda items, Medicare for All and free tuition for undergrads at public colleges and universities.

As for the DSA, of which I was for a time a member, even in the days of Michael Harrington, himself personally an anti-Communist and supporter of the US in the Vietnam War, the organization always had a strong wing that prioritized socialism - real socialism, collective ownership of the means of production - over democracy so far that they defended every one of the Latin American socialist dictatorships and every effort to create new ones.

Not to mention Mao and Soviet Russia.

In short, they were Leninists, Communists, who lied about what they were.

Even the Duce can be right

US backs opposition as Venezuela president

US President Donald Trump has said he recognises Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó as interim president.

A very unlikely champion of the legislative branch and the rule of law, is our president, against an authoritarian thug he would love if he were not far too red for any Republican.

The Duce starting a slomo coup?

President Trump says he plans to end birthright citizenship with an executive order

President Donald Trump said in an interview that he plans to sign an executive order ending "birthright citizenship" for the children of non-American citizens who are born on U.S. soil, a move that would likely be challenged immediately in the courts over its constitutionality.

"It was always told to me that you needed a constitutional amendment. Guess what? You don't," Trump told "Axios on HBO" in an interview set to air Sunday, just two days before the midterm election. 

"You can definitely do it with an act of Congress. But now they're saying I can do it just with an executive order."

"We're the only country in the world where a person comes in and has a baby, and the baby is essentially a citizen of the United States, with all of those benefits," Trump said. 

(Per WorldAtlas, about 30 nations grant birthright citizenship.)

Several lies there.

The 14th Amendment says in pertinent part "All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."

Numerous Supreme Court decisions since then have affirmed that the language of the Amendment covers persons born in the US to non-citizens, whether here legally or illegally.

The constitution nowhere says nobody else is a citizen, and the Congress in the early 20th Century extended citizenship to Native Americans.

So, two hypotheses apply, whether or not Trump believes his own garbage and sincerely thinks he can constitutionally deny the application of birthright citizenship to children of non-citizens.

First, his voters will believe his claim and, when the courts stop him, he and they will howl and scream but beyond increasing the hatred of his base for the actually existing constitution and government, that will be an end to it.

Or, second, when the courts stop him he will order the AG and all executive branch agencies and persons to act in a manner consistent with his EO.

That will precipitate a crisis first within the executive branch and, if successful there, amounting to successful defiance of the authority of the Supremes and the authority of the constitution, ending subjection of the presidency to either and to actual law.

That's the first big step in a slomo coup to get rid of the legitimate and lawful republican government he and his deplorables hate and replace it with something more, uh, Venezuelan.

Yep.

I said that.

The Democrats would certainly impeach him in the house.

What would happen in the senate?

Now that McCain is gone . . . .

Republicans Will Repeal Obamacare If They Get The Chance, Mitch McConnell Says

Republicans could make another run at repealing the Affordable Care Act if they retain control of Congress next year, the Senate’s GOP leader said on Wednesday.

The statement, which Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) made in an interview with Reuters, came in response to a question about what the GOP had accomplished since President Donald Trump took office ― and what business McConnell felt was unfinished.

He called the failure to repeal the law known as Obamacare his singular disappointment but promised that Republicans haven’t given up. 

“If we had the votes to completely start over, we’d do it,” McConnell said. 

“But that depends on what happens in a couple weeks. ... We’re not satisfied with the way Obamacare is working.”

I guess it looks a little too much like Venezuela.

Clash of the uglies

Will the oafish admirer of autocrats who calls his adversaries in the press "enemies of the people" and has abused his power in seeking to do some of them harm really pursue "severe punishment" of the reformist autocrat who has apparently ordered the murder of an annoying critic in the press?

He is very clear he won't cancel the arms deal.

But what if they do, in response to something he does by way of "punishment"?

Saudi Arabia Rejects Trump Comments, Threatens Retaliation For Any Punishment

Turkish officials say they fear Saudi agents killed and dismembered Khashoggi after he entered the consulate, saying they have audio and video recordings of it that they have not released. 

The kingdom has called the allegations “baseless,” but has offered no evidence the writer ever left the consulate.

Hmm. A pattern emerges.

He can't say there was Russian interference because Putin and the other Russians deny it.

He rejects charges against Kavanaugh because Kavanaugh denies them.

He saying the claims the Saudis killed that fellow might well be false because the Saudis deny them.

This from a man whose own vehement denials are so often so egregiously lies.

By the way, one of his and other Republicans' current campaign charges is that Democrats want to turn America into Venezuela.

That, of course, is just another lie.

Democrats want to turn America into Denmark. Or maybe Norway. Or Sweden.

Well, at least Canada.

Medicare for all, you know.

Right up until Kavanaugh and the conservative majority of the Supremes tell us that not only Medicare but Social Security and every other progressive creation all the way back to the New Deal, or even McKinley, is unconstitutional.