Venezuela heats up....

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Little Raven
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Venezuela heats up....

Post by Little Raven »

So I went looking, but all the old Venezuela threads were about Chavez, and that chapter closed last year, so perhaps it's time for a new thread.

It's getting downright spring-like in Caracas.

I don't know enough about the country to have much of an opinion either way, but I'm willing to bet that no matter what's going on, our boys at the CIA are in up to their eyeballs.
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

Post by El Guapo »

People tend to vastly overestimate the CIA's capacity to foment this kind of unrest. Chavez had more than enough enemies among the people of Venezuela, and Maduro is like Chavez with the corruption and thuggery but without the skill and acumen.
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

Post by Montag »

Chavez was on my watch list early.

http://octopusoverlords.com/forum/viewt ... ez#p417473

I had a vacation there and a cousin on the wife's side worked for Procter & Gamble. Venezuela was the main hub P&G until Chavez screwed it up. The damage done will take decades to start to fix.
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

Post by Max Peck »

Apparently it's time for a congressional election.

Venezuela vote: Oil row may damage President Maduro
Enlarge Image
Located in the extreme west of Venezuela, the largely rural frontier state of Tachira is a long way from the urban sprawl of the capital Caracas in more ways than one. For trade, commerce and travel, locals tend to look as much to their neighbours in Colombia as they do to the rest of Venezuela and they have often responded with suspicion to attempts by central government to regulate their affairs.

It was here, in the town of San Cristobal, that anti-government protests began in February of 2014 - violent demonstrations, largely over shortages and the government's economic policies that soon spread across the country, leading to the deaths of more than 40 people. Since then, although the protests have waned, the economic crisis in Venezuela has become more acute, just in time for this weekend's congressional elections - arguably the most serious challenge yet to 17 years of socialist revolution launched by the late President Hugo Chavez.

So when, just over three months ago, his successor Nicolas Maduro declared a "state of exception" in Tachira and other frontier areas, many locals were outraged. Some saw it as a crude instrument to divert attention away from economic troubles elsewhere and to lay the blame at anyone's door but the government's.

Ever since its socialist revolution in 1998, Venezuela has had a frosty relationship with more conservative governments in Colombia. The Maduro administration often accuses Bogota of deliberately trying to destabilise Venezuela and of fomenting "economic warfare".

At the heart of the row is oil, specifically petrol. Venezuela has some of the world's biggest oil reserves. Consequently it gives petrol virtually free of charge to its own consumers. But that makes it a very attractive proposition to smugglers looking to make a fat profit in Colombia, where petrol prices are much higher. Hundreds of people were making the journey back and forth across the border every day, making money from the contents of their petrol tanks. So at the end of August the Venezuelan authorities closed the border to all but essential and exceptional travel. And for good measure, it accused the Colombian government of facilitating the illegal trade in cheap Venezuelan fuel.
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

Post by Moliere »

El Guapo wrote:People tend to vastly overestimate the CIA's capacity to foment this kind of unrest.
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

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Venezuela opposition thrashes 'Chavismo' to win legislature
Venezuela's opposition trounced the ruling Socialists on Sunday to win the legislature for the first time in 16 years and gain a long-sought platform to challenge President Nicolas Maduro's rule of the OPEC nation. The opposition Democratic Unity coalition won 99 seats to the Socialists' 46 in the 167-national National Assembly, the election board said, with some districts still to be counted. Fireworks were set off in celebration in pro-opposition districts of Caracas when the results were announced, while government supporters dismantled planned victory parties.

Maduro, 53, quickly acknowledged the defeat, the worst for the ruling "Chavismo" movement since its founder Hugo Chavez took power in 1999. "We are here, with morals and ethics, to recognize these adverse results," Maduro said in a speech to the nation, although he blamed his defeat on a campaign by business leaders and other opponents to sabotage the economy. "The economic war has triumphed today," Maduro said. His quick acceptance of the results eased tensions in the volatile nation where the last presidential election in 2013, narrowly won by Maduro, was bitterly disputed and anti-government protests last year led to 43 deaths.

Opposition leaders, who have lost over-and-over since Chavez's first election victory 17 years ago, were jubilant, even though their victory was mainly thanks to public disgust at Venezuela's deep economic recession. "We're going through the worst crisis in our history," coalition head Jesus Torrealba said. "Venezuela wanted a change and that change came ... a new majority expressed itself and sent a clear and resounding message." Opposition sources predicted that once counting was finalised, they would win as many as 113 seats. That would give them a crucial two-thirds majority needed to shake up institutions such as the courts or election board. The result could also embolden government foes to seek a recall election against Maduro in 2016 if they garner the nearly 4 million signatures needed to trigger the referendum.
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

Post by Max Peck »

Surprising nobody, Maduro is proving to be a sore loser...

Maduro threatens seizure of closed factories
The Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, has threatened the seizure of factories that have stopped production and the jailing of their owners. In a speech to supporters in the capital Caracas, he said the country had to recover the means of production, to counter its deep economic crisis. On Friday, he introduced a new, nationwide state of emergency. Opposition protesters have been rallying in Caracas to push for a recall vote to eject him from power. Mr Maduro said the state of emergency was needed to combat foreign aggression, which he blamed for Venezuela's problems. And he said military exercises would take place next weekend to counter "foreign threats". Venezuela has the world's largest oil reserves but its economy has been severely hit by falling global oil prices. Its economy contracted by 5.7% last year and its official inflation rate is estimated to be topping 180%. There are severe shortages of food, medicines and basic goods which Mr Maduro argues are due to business leaders and the US waging an economic war against his government.
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

Post by Isgrimnur »

Yeah, we're responsible for falling oil prices. :roll: Perhaps he should project power and attack OPEC.
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

Post by LawBeefaroni »

Isgrimnur wrote:Yeah, we're responsible for falling oil prices. :roll: Perhaps he should project power and attack OPEC.
Venezuela is an OPEC founding member. No way he's going to blame OPEC.
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

Post by Isgrimnur »

They're in desperate need of updating their logo.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

Post by Max Peck »

If you're going to have a populist leader, he's going to need an outside scapegoat to assign blame for all the things that go wrong. Maduro has the USA, just like Trump has Mexicans and Muslims and China.
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

Post by hepcat »

And if Trump wins, all the leaders of Venezuela need to do is compliment Trump on his looks/hands/penis size and they'll be back in our good graces again. I think they're playing a long game.
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

Post by tgb »

Is Defcon at 2? If not, I say let's just use the NATO card and throw a coup at the bitch.
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

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Are you giving Archinerd strategy tips? Found the CIA and send in those bastards after regaining control of the Panama Canal.
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

Post by Moliere »

Venezuelan President Is Chased by Angry Protesters

Another workers paradise goes hungry.
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

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"The world is suffering more today from the good people who want to mind other men's business than it is from the bad people who are willing to let everybody look after their own individual affairs." - Clarence Darrow
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

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So, it always works out great to elect authoritarian candidates, right?
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

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Venezuelan president called a 'Grinch' after government toy seizure
Venezuelan officials have confiscated nearly 4 million toys from a toy distributor, accusing the company of planning to sell them at inflated prices during the Christmas season.
...
He told reporters, "They say we're stealing the toys from this company, but the company committed fraud against our country."

The government said the 3.821 million toys will now be made available to families in impoverished neighborhoods at lower-than-market prices.
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

Post by malchior »

They better like their cheap toys because they are gonna have to last.
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

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Why you need sackfuls of banknotes to shop in Venezuela
"Have you changed money yet?", my friends asked me on my first evening in Caracas. I hadn't.

"Well, don't," they said. "Not at the official rate. Give us your dollars and we'll change them for you."

So I handed over a single US $100 (£80) note. The next day, I received two huge stacks of bank notes in return - and I mean huge. A thousand notes in each stack, 200,000 bolivars in total. I felt like I'd won the lottery.

Except, of course, this is no lottery and there are very few winners.

[...]

There are in fact three exchange rates in Venezuela.

If you're importing essential goods like staple foods and medicine, and you happen to know the right people in government, you can buy a US dollar for the state-controlled price of just 10 bolivars - a bargain!

Everyone else is supposed to change at the second government-controlled rate, currently 670 bolivars. But there's also a real-world, black-market rate, which has gone through the roof in recent weeks.

In October, there were 1,500 bolivars to the dollar. By late November there were well over 4,000.

The Venezuelan currency has strengthened since then but, even so, it's lost half its value on the black market in just a couple of months. My two towering stacks of bank notes were worth $100 when I entered the country. When I left two weeks later they were worth $50.

The 100-bolivar note, the biggest in circulation, is worth just two US cents. So when heading out for a coffee or a bite to eat, you had to take a sack of cash with you.
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

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Max Peck wrote:Why you need sackfuls of banknotes to shop in Venezuela
"Have you changed money yet?", my friends asked me on my first evening in Caracas. I hadn't.

"Well, don't," they said. "Not at the official rate. Give us your dollars and we'll change them for you."

So I handed over a single US $100 (£80) note. The next day, I received two huge stacks of bank notes in return - and I mean huge. A thousand notes in each stack, 200,000 bolivars in total. I felt like I'd won the lottery.

Except, of course, this is no lottery and there are very few winners.

[...]

There are in fact three exchange rates in Venezuela.

If you're importing essential goods like staple foods and medicine, and you happen to know the right people in government, you can buy a US dollar for the state-controlled price of just 10 bolivars - a bargain!

Everyone else is supposed to change at the second government-controlled rate, currently 670 bolivars. But there's also a real-world, black-market rate, which has gone through the roof in recent weeks.

In October, there were 1,500 bolivars to the dollar. By late November there were well over 4,000.

The Venezuelan currency has strengthened since then but, even so, it's lost half its value on the black market in just a couple of months. My two towering stacks of bank notes were worth $100 when I entered the country. When I left two weeks later they were worth $50.

The 100-bolivar note, the biggest in circulation, is worth just two US cents. So when heading out for a coffee or a bite to eat, you had to take a sack of cash with you.
Chavism is all but dead, the only problem is no has told Maduro yet. If he makes it another year without being over thrown/killed I will be amazed. His people can't buy food, many of them face power shortages, crime is horrendous, and on top of it their currency isn't worth the paper its printed on. These are things he cannot fix through socialism, although he doesn't know that and he will continue to blame all of the countries ills on foreign intervention and capitalism.
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

Post by Max Peck »

AP Analysis: In Venezuela, short on food, short of hope
Venezuela is so short on food that tens of thousands are going hungry or even starving. Its murder rate is among the highest in the world. Its economy is so crippled that the average shopper spends 35 hours a month waiting in line - three times more than in 2014.

Yet even as the country becomes increasingly unlivable, the socialist government is more entrenched than it has been in years. A sense of hopelessness has settled over what was once among the richest nations in South America, a belief that nothing will really change.

To understand why people have given up, look at Jhorman Valero and his family.

Three years ago, Valero dragged his 24-year-old cousin, Bassil da Costa, to join thousands of others in a nationwide protest against the administration of President Nicolas Maduro. Hours later, Bassil was bleeding in his arms, the first of more than 40 people to be killed during weeks of unrest. Staring numbly at the floor, Jhorman recounts how he watched his cousin's skull come apart under his baseball cap from a bullet shot by security forces.

Now Valero and Bassil's sister, Yenicer da Costa, no longer bother to protest, even on the anniversary of the 2014 protest.

"What's the point of protesting if they just kill you in the streets and, three years later, everything is even worse?" she said.
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

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Garbage - it's what's for dinner.
A priest in Venezuela is urging compatriots to label their food waste so people scavenging in bins can find it.

The food shortage in the country is such that influential priest and journalist, Father Jose Palmar, is urging his countrymen to separate food waste in their garbage and to label it clearly, the Pan Am Post website reports.

The country has faced a severe shortage of food and basic goods for months. A survey in February found nearly three-quarters of the population had lost an average of 8.6kg over 2016 because they were eating less, the pan-Latin American Telesur website says.
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

Post by Moliere »

Venezuela has a bread shortage. The government has decided bakers are the problem.
Facing a bread shortage that is spawning massive lines and souring the national mood, the Venezuelan government is responding this week by detaining bakers and seizing establishments.

In a press release, the National Superintendent for the Defense of Socioeconomic Rights said it had charged four people and temporarily seized two bakeries as the socialist administration accused bakers of being part of a broad “economic war” aimed at destabilizing the country.
Because government run bakeries sounds like a great idea.
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

Post by Isgrimnur »

It worked for the Soviets, right?
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

Post by stessier »

I'm assuming those bakers were making cake instead?
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

Post by Isgrimnur »

:clap:
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

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Venezuela's Maduro decried as 'dictator' after Congress annulled
Opposition leaders branded Venezuela's socialist President Nicolas Maduro a "dictator" on Thursday after the Supreme Court took over the functions of Congress and pushed a lengthy political standoff to new heights.

There was swift and widespread international condemnation of the de facto annulment of the National Assembly, where the opposition won a majority in late 2015 amid an unprecedented economic crisis that has seen Maduro's popularity plummet.

The head of the 34-nation Organization of International States (OAS), Luis Almagro, said the Venezuelan court had dealt the final blows to democracy and accused Maduro's "regime" of carrying out a "coup."

Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Guatemala and Panama expressed strong concerns while Peru withdrew its envoy after what it termed a rupture of democracy.

The United States described the move as a "serious setback for democracy in Venezuela" while the European Union called for a "clear electoral calendar" going forward.
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

Post by Scraper »

They are officially screwed now. Within a year they will either be a full blown dictatorship​ or Maduro will be in jail. I can't see any middle ground here.
Last edited by Scraper on Thu May 03, 2018 9:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

Post by Carpet_pissr »

Or dead. And I think you can pretty much call it a dictatorship already.
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

Post by Grifman »

The big problem is that in about 3 months, the country runs out of money. Due to price controls, which make it uneconomical to grow or produce anything, the country has to import food. But when the money runs out? People are going hungry now, but I don't see anything but mass starvation unless immediate international aid is provided.
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

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Supreme court backtracks on powers bid
The Venezuelan supreme court has reversed its ruling to strip congress of its legislative powers.

It made the decision after the government of President Nicolas Maduro urged it to review the ruling "to maintain institutional stability".

The initial decision - announced on Wednesday - had been denounced as a "coup" by the opposition, which dominates the National Assembly.

Anti-government protesters have staged daily protests against the move.

The supreme court announced the reversal on its website.

A day earlier, chief prosecutor Luisa Ortega, an ally of President Nicolas Maduro, became the first high-ranking official to criticise the judges.

Speaking live on TV, she expressed "great concern" about a measure which, she said, violated the constitution.

Promising dialogue to end the crisis, Mr Maduro had convened a late-night meeting of the state security council.

Afterwards Vice-President Tareck El Aissami said: "We urge the supreme court to review the decisions... in order to maintain institutional stability and the balance of powers."

Mr Maduro said: "This controversy has been overcome, showing the power of dialogue."
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

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GM halts operations in Venezuela after factory is seized
General Motors has stopped doing business in Venezuela after authorities took control of its only factory there in what GM called an illegal judicial seizure of its assets.

The plant was confiscated on Wednesday as anti-government protesters clashed with authorities in a country that is roiling in economic troubles such as food shortages and triple-digit inflation.

The Detroit automaker said in a statement Thursday that other assets such as vehicles were taken from the plant, causing irreparable damage to the company.

GM says the plant was taken in disregard of its right to due process. The company says it will defend itself legally and that it's confident that justice eventually will prevail.

GM has about 2,700 workers in the troubled country, where it's been the market leader for over 35 years. It also has 79 dealers that employ 3,900 people, and its parts suppliers make up more than half of Venezuela's auto parts market, the company said.

If the government permits it, workers will get separation benefits "arising from the termination of employment relationships due to causes beyond the parties' control," the GM statement said.

Dealers will continue to service vehicles and provide parts, the company said.
I'm surprised that it took them so long to "nationalize" the assets of such an iconic American company.
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

Post by DD* »

Was just about to post the bit about GM... Socialism in action, now all those workers are equally unemployed! Feel the Bern! :roll:
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

Post by Unagi »

DD* wrote:Was just about to post the bit about GM... Socialism in action, now all those workers are equally unemployed! Feel the Bern! :roll:
Huh?

Socialism in action?

edit: you liken Venezuela to Bernie? That's a remarkable leap.
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

Post by Remus West »

yeah. I'm confused now.
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

Post by Paingod »

Max Peck wrote:I'm surprised that it took them so long to "nationalize" the assets of such an iconic American company.
By what I read, that factory had all but stopped real production and was just making spare parts at this point. Not a huge loss, but I'm sure OEM parts for GM vehicles are about to spike in cost. :D

I feel badly for the people there. I've read about out-of-control spiraling inflation, and can't imagine how much it sucks for all of your money to suddenly be worth less than toilet paper.
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

Post by Unagi »

Well, the smart socialist governments print their money with a "clean ripple texture" to mitigate that possibility.
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

Post by Max Peck »

I'm surprised it's taken this long for them to get to this point.

Venezuela Maduro: military courts 'used against protesters'
Venezuela's opposition, non-government organisations and international bodies have accused the government of using military courts against its critics.

The courts have detained at least 50 protesters, according to a local human rights organisation.

The secretary general of the Organisation of American States (OAS) likened the country to a dictatorship.

Government officials have not confirmed the arrests or the military processing of civilian suspects.

"The right and basic guarantees of due process no longer exist in Venezuela from the moment a civilian is forced to appear before a military court," said Luis Almagro, the Uruguayan head of the OAS, in a video statement on Monday.

Venezuela announced its withdrawal from the OAS last month, accusing the US-based group of meddling in its affairs.

President Nicolás Maduro said on Monday he planned to create a "military constituency" to deepen his revolution.

He wants to involve the armed forces in his new citizen's assembly, which he says is needed to restore peace as the country deals with daily protests that have claimed more than 30 lives in recent weeks.

His critics say the new assembly is being designed to neutralise the opposition-led legislature, the National Assembly.
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Scraper
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Re: Venezuela heats up....

Post by Scraper »

Max Peck wrote:I'm surprised it's taken this long for them to get to this point.

Venezuela Maduro: military courts 'used against protesters'
Venezuela's opposition, non-government organisations and international bodies have accused the government of using military courts against its critics.

The courts have detained at least 50 protesters, according to a local human rights organisation.

The secretary general of the Organisation of American States (OAS) likened the country to a dictatorship.

Government officials have not confirmed the arrests or the military processing of civilian suspects.

"The right and basic guarantees of due process no longer exist in Venezuela from the moment a civilian is forced to appear before a military court," said Luis Almagro, the Uruguayan head of the OAS, in a video statement on Monday.

Venezuela announced its withdrawal from the OAS last month, accusing the US-based group of meddling in its affairs.

President Nicolás Maduro said on Monday he planned to create a "military constituency" to deepen his revolution.

He wants to involve the armed forces in his new citizen's assembly, which he says is needed to restore peace as the country deals with daily protests that have claimed more than 30 lives in recent weeks.

His critics say the new assembly is being designed to neutralist the opposition-led legislature, the National Assembly.
That's one more box checked in the Dictator column. By my estimate he still has to completely dissolve the legislature, halt all future presidential elections in which opposition can actually run against him and completely remove all opposition party members from local government. Then his "people's revolution" will be complete. My guess is the guy is assassinated within 2 years though.
FTE
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