Relations between the United States and Venezuela are continuing to worsen today, with President Obama issuing an executive order declaring the South American nation a “threat to national security.”
The executive order seeks to impose sanctions on several Venezuelan officials, though the administration assured that they do not intend to target Venezuela’s valuable oil sector in the latest round of sanctions.
The White House said Obama’s order was aimed at Venezuelan officials who “undermine democratic processes” in the country, or were involved in “public corruption.”
The move comes amid accusations from the Venezuelan government that the US is trying to undermine them, and has been plotting a coup d’etat with opposition leaders.
Venezuela followed today’s announced sanctions with an announcement that Maximilien Sanchez Arvelaiz, thje highest ranking Venezuelan diplomat in the United States, will be recalled to Caracas in protest.
Is Obama preparing for a covert operation or will this imperial action be an outright invasion?
Coincidentally, I just found the cookie jar padlocked again. While rummaging around for the bolt cutters I also was heard to mutter something about 'thwarting my democratic advances.' Or so I'm told.
Great transparency! They just said they thwarted a coup, and then you say they're 'undermining the democratic process.'
It's not really new that their glittering terms mean something very different, even opposite, e.g. what they do. Remember that 'freedom'/'they hate your freedom' bits right around the time they were screwing you with 'The Patriot Act'? Or, hey—their history of, say, refusing to deal with democratically elected gov'ts they don't like (Hamas?)…
Where's the 'national security threat' part? Does Obama understand the words he chooses?
Exactly. All I see are criticisms of Venezuela's internal policies. They might be bad, but I fail to see how they "threaten" the USA in any way.
Any Country that stands on its own two Feet is a National Security to the United States
Well, the national security threat, as always, is that other nations might follow Venezuela's example of thumbing its nose at Uncle Sam. Cuba, Haiti, Vietnam, Korea, Nicaragua, Panama, Iraq, Iran, etc. etc. all told Uncle Sam to pound sand, so he pounded them instead, just to make sure everyone else stays in line.
Providing heating oil alone to 400,000 poor Americans – to this government that's terrorism.
We know what the US government really means through its embracement of the illegal and violent military coup d’état in Honduras. In order to understand true US intentions anywhere in the world, remember the words of Jesus; “We will know them by their deeds.”
No, Venezuela is not a "threat to the national security" of the US; in truth, the US is a threat to the national security of Venezuela. Our (US) Government has been supporting the destabilization and violent overthrow of the democratically elected government of Venezuela for more than a decade, starting with the coup in 2002 (which, with the approval of our Government briefly succeeded in forcibly removing the President and other elected officials — and declaring the Venezuelan Constitution void), followed by continued attempts by our Government to undermine the elected government and divide the elected government majority party (GOOGLE "wikileaks publication of US State Department 2006 cable from US Embassy outlining 5-point program to undermine Chavez government"), to falsely characterize opposition street violence in 2014 as "peaceful demonstrations", and very recently to support (and deny the existence of) a new coup plot which was to take action on February 12, 2015. Our Government has lied to the American people about its subversive activities in Venezuela and in several other countries (Bolivia, Ecuador, Honduras, Argentina), where it insists upon interfering with and destabilizing democratically elected governments. And unfortunately, the Obama Administration has been no improvement over the Bush Administration regarding our Government's long contempt for smaller and weaker nations. Obama doesn't have a clue that the day of US dominance over our neighbors to the south has passed, and that these peoples are never again going to accept being the "backyard" of the US. Just this week, all members of UNASUR (all nations of South America) united in supporting the Venezuelan government against current destabilization attempts by the Venezuela opposition backed by the US. The President ought to withdraw his head from his posterior and take a look at what support the US has from nations south of our borders — namely, none.
Of course. The hubris here is amazing. The USA is a clear security threat to Venezuela, but the reverse is not remotely the case.
Invasion when?
Obama
“We are deeply concerned by the Venezuelan government’s efforts to escalate intimidation of its political opponents,”
Not hardly, for neither Chavez nor Maduro have done a thing to stop the rich ruling class from hoarding three-fourths of the wealth, absolutely nothing to stop the rich from owning most all of the radio and TV stations.
“President Barack Obama, representing the US imperialist elite, has personally decided to take on the task of defeating my government and intervening in Venezuela to control it, “Maduro said in a national TV address. “That’s why they have taken today’s measure.”
http://rt.com/news/239161-maduro-us-sanctions-ven…
It's all about oil. After Canada, Mexico and Saudi Arabia, Venezuela is our 4th largest source of imported oil.
Why is it that every country that emerges as a threat to US national security just happen to be countries loaded with oil, timber, rare minerals and other natural resources?
Because over the last 150 years the United States has consumed all its own natural resources and now it considers everybody else's natural resources are the property of the USA or should be delivered to US multinationals for free.
Sounds like a story cooked-up by Mr. Obama's harem; aka the 3 witches, the poor spineless OB fell for it. He should dispatch Ms. Nuland to Caracas immediately, to build on her success in Ukraine.
Certainly sounds like he thinks of himself as some kind of Emperor of the World, eh?
But in reality Obama is just hired help as a Faux-Emperor/president installed in the nominal HQ of this Disguised Global Capitalist Empire, which is just 'posing' as the country previously known as the US.
And Obama was auditioned and pre-selected for this 'role' he is playing because, "Nobody Does it Better" in terms of convincing people that they live as 'citizens' in any kind of functioning democratic Republic, when they are actually mere 'subjects' of the Disguised Global Empire that has them all by the throat.
Just listen to the lyrics:
"Nobody Does It Better"
"Makes us feel sad for the rest"
"We weren't looking but somehow he found us"
"How'd he learn to do the things he does"
Yes, Secret Agent 008 (and 012) is certainly licensed to kill for this Disguised Global Capitalist Empire — but he's a hired puppet of the Empire not its Emperor.
"The U.S. state is a key point of condensation for pressures from dominant groups around the world to resolve problems of global capitalism and to secure the legitimacy of the system overall. In this regard, “U.S.” imperialism refers to the use by transnational elites of the U.S. state apparatus to continue to attempt to expand, defend, and stabilize the global capitalist system. We are witness less to a “U.S.” imperialism per se than to a global capitalist imperialism. We face an EMPIRE of global capital, headquartered, for evident historical reasons, in Washington." [caps added]
Robinson, William I. (2014-07-31). Global Capitalism and the Crisis of Humanity (p. 122). Cambridge University Press. Kindle Edition.