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AT LEAST TWO people have died after an attempt to get humanitarian aid into Venezuela descended into deadly chaos as President Nicolas Maduro’s security forces fired on demonstrators.
The clashes with security forces left more than 300 people wounded at various border crossings.
The country is gripped by a humanitarian crisis that has seen poverty soar during a prolonged recession and hyperinflation.
Despite a blockade by Maduro, opposition leader Juan Guaido had set yesterday as a deadline for the delivery of food and medical aid stockpiled in Colombia and Brazil. Aid is also being held on the Caribbean island of Curacao.
Humanitarian aid has become the centerpiece of the standoff between Maduro and Guaido, the 35-year-old leader of Venezuela’s National Assembly who declared himself interim president exactly one month ago.
Since dawn, protesters in the border towns of Urena and San Antonio were held at bay by the Venezuelan National Guard firing tear gas and rubber bullets.
Gunshots could be heard in the streets of Urena during hours of rioting.
Civil defence officials in Colombia said at least 285 people had been injured in clashes at border bridge crossings. Colombia also ordered aid trucks to return from the border after the violence.
Most were Venezuelan nationals who were trying to cross with aid parcels when they were pushed back by Venezuelan forces.
The most serious incident came hundreds of kilometres away, at a crossing point on the southern border with Brazil where the killings took place. A 14-year-old boy was among those killed.
Another 31 people were wounded when troops blocking the entry of aid opened fire on civilians hoping to collect it, according to rights group Foro Penal.
Guaido, who was in Cucuta, Colombia coordinating the aid operation, told reporters:
They are massacring the people of Venezuela in Santa Elena de Uairen and San Antonio, where from seven o’clock in the morning they did not allow Venezuelans to gather to bring in humanitarian aid.
Maduro’s supporters set on fire two trucks loaded with aid driven through barricades on a border bridge.
Another two trucks carrying aid sent by Brazil to Venezuela returned to a Brazilian city after Venezuelan troops barred them from crossing for several hours.
Fighting back
A number of National Guard troops took advantage of the chaos and abandoned their posts to cross into Colombia.
At least 60 members of the armed forces had deserted the “Maduro dictatorship” by last night, according to Colombia’s immigration service.
Guaido, who has been recognised as interim leader by more than 50 countries, said they would be welcomed and not treated as traitors.
Yesterday, Guaido formally launched a long-planned distribution operation at a warehouse at the Tienditas border bridge in Cucuta.
Guaido had vowed humanitarian aid would enter his country despite the blockade.
Maduro standing strong
Socialist leader Maduro has rejected the aid, which he’s dismissed as a show and pretext for a US invasion.
Angered by Colombia’s support for Guaido, Maduro announced Venezuela was severing diplomatic ties with Bogota, and gave Colombian diplomats 24 hours to leave the country.
He told a rally of his supporters in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas:
I will never bow down, I will never give in. I will always defend our country with my own life if necessary.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said the US “will take action” as be condemned the violence.
As many as 300,000 Venezuelans are in dire need of food and medicine after years of shortages and malnutrition, according to Guaido, who has accused Maduro of rigging his re-election and is demanding a new vote.
- Includes reporting by © AFP 2019
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There is a video on Twitter or armed gunmen on the bridge. It’s on the Columbia side where the aid is. There another video where there are young masked men making petrol bombs….. it’s all relative… there was riots in Paris and lots of people injured yet… the journal doesn’t mention this at all. There was also 7 US citizens and former soldiers arrested in Haiti caught smuggling weapons into the country during the protests. The Haiti government let them go back to the US where they were released without charges… these two events were not covered at all this weekend. makes me think that if Venezuela did have all that oil then Maduro be such a bad guy after all..
@great gael of Eire: Guaidó came out last week giving his support to start talks with Israel and recognise Jerusalem as its capital. But for some reason Irish media outlets chose not to come out with this story. Now I can get why American and British media outlets have blatant agendas and will attempt to hide facts for the sake of these agendas. But these outlets are utterly compromised and were heavily responsible for the dispicable invasions of Iraq, Libya and Syria and needs to take care responsibility for the ridiculous number of civilian deaths. But why do RTÉ and thejournal feel the need to deliberately be partial in the their reporting?
@Cormac Ó Braonáin: Agreed Cormac. It’s not journalism any more. It’s a political agenda. .
This has become a dangerous flashpoint. And “socialism” has nothing to do with it. Authoritarian rule beginning with Chavez doomed democracy in Venezuela. Talk about a need for regime change.
@John Flood:
Socialism doesn’t breed corruption,
Capitalism doesn’t breed corruption,
Power does.
@John Flood: John, you are beginning to sound like a broken record with your defense of socialism. Just a reminder that socialism never has, or never will work.
@Patrick Nolan: Humans do
@John Flood: There’s nothing authoritarian about the Chavez or Maduro regime. They haven’t silenced or imprisoned opposition politicians who openly incite violent overthrow of the government.
@Wastrel:
If you spoke to a few Venezuelans you may change your opinion.
@The Great Unwashed: only the Venezuelans that have been indoctrinated in the US. If you actually go to Venezuela, you will see how loved Chavez was by the people.
@Cormac Ó Braonáin:
Been to Venezuela yourself recently? Thought not.
There are plenty of Venezuelans living right here in Ireland that have a much better insight into what’s happening in their own country than you or Wastrel will ever have.
@Wastrel: Amnesty International -just this week. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/02/venezuela-hunger-punishment-and-fear-the-formula-for-repression-used-by-authorities-under-nicolas-maduro/
@The Great Unwashed: plenty of Venezuelans here in Holland telling us the truth about how the opposition right back by the filthy west are causing all this mayhem in their country, these are the children of the generation that gained massively from Chavez’s social programs that raised the masses out of extreme poverty!
Are you the idiots who are falling for the “regime change charade” yet again!
@The Great Unwashed: I see your problem. You don’t read books. Easily cured.
@Cormac Ó Braonáin:
Books are the perfect source of confirmation bias when you get to choose which ones you will and won’t read.
Instead of lapping up your chosen propaganda I feel it’s much better to talk to real people with no particular agenda other than to accurately relate the real world experiences of themselves and their families on the ground.
Opposition leader who did not contest presidental election, there is the American chosen dictator.
@KJmadra.:
Would that be because anyone that was seen as realistic competition to Maduro was promptly arrested?
@Patrick Nolan: yes Patrick this is all about the people and democracy nothing to do with oil and the US dollar…..
@Patrick Nolan: In the 2018 elections Maduro was re-elected President. A section of the opposition boycotted them, this was also tried against Chavez. In this case 9,389,056 people voted sixteen parties participated and six candidates stood for the Presidency. Maduro won 6,248,864 votes or 67.84 per cent. 150 foreign election observers monitored and said there was no fraud none of the lurid media claims stood up zero.
@Patrick Nolan: Has haa… Egypt executed 10 political activists in the last 7 days. It’s President (who got into power through a military coup) has just announced he is going to stay in power for life. No opposition allowed to run in elections. 1000s more in prison for protesting and the US and Europe have not said a word. But Venezuala with the world’s largest oil reserves ….
@Cal Mooney: it should be noted that the Egypt dictator in question was put there with the help of American Foreign intervention to overthrow a democratically elected leader. What was the first thing the Egyptian puppet do? He closed the border to Gaza and started diplomatic relations with Israel. The parallels with Venezuela are obvious albeit been around oil this time.
@Cal Mooney: Except for US and Europe not protesting bit that reads a lot like ….Cuba?
Burning aid trucks is such a low. This may not be all of Maduras making but he has definitely turned on his own countrymen at this stage.
@Jane: Aid trucks were burnt by Guaido supporters on the Columbia side of the border there is a video online of them making petrol bombs.. then they could blame Maudro… it’s all a game played by the US…
@great gael of Eire: well supposing that’s true, and I’m not saying it’s not because fankly it’s hard to know what is going on, why block the aid coming through?
@Jane: USAID is being blocked, aid from other countries is getting through.
@great gael of Eire: Oh Were you there? You got home very quick!
@Jane: Maduro has said they would welcome any aid from Europe. He said he would not allow the US to send in aid in case they are found to be snuggling weapons in, like they did in previous South American interventions in the 1980s.
@Jane: aid trucks smuggling in weapons for Guaidos regime no doubt.
@Jane: “Aid” from US government agencies to relieve a crisis caused by economic sanctions the US is imposing is an insult. Venezuela is already receiving humanitarian aid from disinterested parties, this stunt is just to lay the groundwork for a coming coup or invasion.
@Wastrel:
What you’re effectively saying is that a socialist country can never survive without trade with capitalist countries.
@The Great Unwashed: I’m sorry but you’re going to have to explain that interpretation. As far as I can see, this has nothing to do with political ideology. Venezuela, while being more socialist than most in its policies is still capitalist. Private businesses are free to operate there as many already do. They also get protection from the Venezuelan government.
@Cormac Ó Braonáin:
Venezuela is a capitalist country? Better tell Maduro that.
@The Great Unwashed: yes Venezuela is a capitalist country. Time to turn off the tv and read books.
@Cormac Ó Braonáin:
You can read as many books as you like but if you think you can convince Maduro that he’s heading up a capitalist government overseeing a capitalist country then you’re completely deluded!
Maduro has repeatedly described capitalism as the enemy.
To quote John Bolton who is leading the push for “Bringing Democracy to Venezuela”
“We’re in conversation with major American companies now…It would make a difference if we could have American companies produce the oil in Venezuela. It would be good for Venezuela and the people of the United States.”
To Quote Trump in relation to the Iraq war
“The old expression, to the victor belong the spoils, We should’ve kept the oil.”
Hard to believe that these men are so dumb to be saying in recorded interviews what the real goal is…. normally like all other presidents it used to be about “bringing democracy to the Middle East”
@Diarmuid O’Braonáin: doesn’t matter whether they say it or not, they’re still going to try and subvert Venezuelan autonomy and put in their own dictator (I mean “president”, my bad) and the Western media will continue to churn out any bullshit they’re told to expect reports of people starving in the streets, WMDS, chemical weapons, torture, genetically engineered superbugs, you name it….
@Diarmuid O’Braonáin: When Syria discovers new oil well, what did the US do but send John McCain out to meet the so called rebels…
It’s arrogance because that has been US foreign policy since the end of WW2.
@Sarah: They say the oil be gone by 2075, you can imagine the wars and invasions countries will do before then, the closer it gets to 2075 then the more the masks these evil beasts have on them will slip and I think it’s started to happen already. Who’s next Cuba but what have they???
The only authoritarian regime in this story is the one America tries to put on the rest of the world. They tried to put their own unelected leader in charge and then created a flashpoint to stir up sentiment against their enemy. Classic USA policy.
@Patrick Ingram: They changed 72 governments mainly due to their foreign policies towards US companies. At the same time they trained and put into power, Pol Pot, Taliban, Saddam Hussein, Bin Laden, Pinochet, supplied weapons to Isis and created most of the worlds messes as Iran now is what the CIA made it in the 1950′s. John McCain was there in Kiev when that all kicked off as he was with a head member of Isis and the Syrian rebels before that kicked off as well. US foreign policy is a history of making money at the expense of others that then ends badly years later…
https://twitter.com/massif2019/status/1097920838031020035
https://twitter.com/massif2019/status/1097925183669788673
That is what there is in U.S. Humanitarian Aid for Venezuela… Washing powder, shampoo, toothpaste, tooth brushes, clothe pegs… Where’s the food?
Both photos taken from the BBC News, it’s a joke what these countries pass as Aid as Aid isn’t Aid in many cases. When the US does Aid they expect always something in return… If the US gives rice as food aid to Africa, then the first thing that African country has to do is never grow its own rice in order to get US rice as food aid. How many times has the US sent out medicines as aid when they were beyond their best before dates. The US never does any charitable Aid without getting something in return.
Anyone else notice the amount of fat women and bellied men protesting for food???
“To leaders around the world: it’s time. There can be no bystanders in Venezuela’s struggle for freedom,” he said. “We hope for a peaceful transition to democracy, but as President Trump has made clear, all options are on the table.”
- Mick Pence
Well Mick, I’m no bystander. I’m ready to fight for what is right
Isn’t it weird that Trump hasn’t done a thing to help 40M Americans in poverty, 29M without health insurance, 500K living on the streets, or entire cities without clean water… but suddenly he cares so much about humanitarian aid to #Venezuela that he’s willing to start a war?
Jill Stein
It is sad that so many of my friends on the left stick up for this complete gowl. USA being wrong does not make Maduro right nor are they the author of his or Venezuelas misfortunes. He is no socialist. He is an absolute scobe and a proud homophobe with it. I have no interest in seeing the US launch any military action there nor do I think they will. Trumps supporters are isolationist and frankly even if military intervention was merited it’d be too nuanced to explain to them.
@niall quinn:
Niall Quinn; a nuanced supporter of imperialism!
Nice “corporate” press release straight from yhe CIA’s mouth from thr journal.ie …. Search around onlibe theres plenty of other view poibts grom more genuine sourses on this border incident
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