Latin America
Related: About this forumVenezuelan president removes chief prosecutor, a leading critic, from office
LBN thread: Venezuela Troops Take Prosecutor Office as Enemies Targeted
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Source: Washington Post
By Mariana Zuniga and Anthony Faiola August 5 at 12:02 PM
BREAKING NEWS, 11:43 a.m.: Venezuelas chief prosecutor, a vocal critic of the president, has been removed from office in a crackdown on dissent. A new governing body of President Nicolás Maduro, stripped Luisa Ortega of her title and replaced her with a government loyalist.
CARACAS Government forces surrounded the offices of Venezuelas independent chief prosecutor early Saturday as signs grew that President Nicolás Maduro was moving fast to consolidate authoritarian rule and squelch dissent following the installation of what critics call a puppet congress.
In a telephone interview with The Washington Post, chief prosecutor Luisa Ortega, who broke with Maduro last March, said she was not inside the building but was en route to her office, where government forces had sequestered her staff.
I can inform you that my office has been taken by public security forces, including national guards and policemen, between 400 and 500 troops, she said. We still dont know how many of our employees are inside. Theyre not permitting us to go in, or anyone to go out.
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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/government-forces-surround-office-of-venezuelas-chief-prosecutor/2017/08/05/2a7c76a2-79e2-11e7-8f39-eeb7d3a2d304_story.html
Marksman_91
(2,035 posts)I hate to say it, but at this point, nothing's gonna save the Venezuelan people now. The motherfuckers of the PSUV have usurped all political power, and will remain in said power for the foreseeable future unless a fucking MOAB is detonated at the legislative palace while they're all gathered, but I don't see that happening. Looks like Venezuela's lost for good now like Cuba, only it'll be even more brutal and repressive, and with the highest crime rate on the planet. We're gonna be seeing a massive exodus of Venezuelans fleeing like Cubans have been doing for the last 60 years since the world never bothered to do shit about that dictatorship either when it showed its authoritarian face. Sad to say I won't be returning to my home country now probably for the rest of my life.
EX500rider
(10,874 posts).....will eventually get a successful coup going.
GatoGordo
(2,412 posts)That vast majority love freedom, and the differences between an isolated island surrounded by water, and a country that depends upon commerce (Capitalism) that is surround by unfriendly countries are myriad.
In about 45 days, Maduro's bills come due, and Russia/China are done throwing money at The Venezuela Problem. They are already owed billions that Maduro has no way to repay. When Maduro runs out of cash, the whole house of cards comes down. He can't pump oil, because he needs cash to pump the oil. He can't buy food, medicine, nor anything for infrastructure. There is an brain drain of epic proportions (most of the educated and highly skilled have left Venezuela for greener pastures) and nobody will work for Bolivars. The country is flooding. The grid is failing. Venezuela pumps out only half of the oil that they did only a year or two ago.
Most importantly, he cannot pay his "generals" (about 4000) in his military to toe the line. They are used to being kept in the money. When the teat runs dry, he and his ilk (Cabello, Delcy Rodriguez, Al Assaimi, etc.) will be fleeing to Cuba. (Delcy already has the Cuban accent down pat!)
There is no need for any American (nor any Venezuelan) to die for Venezuela's freedom. The Mighty Greenback will do what a gun can never do. Plus, Maduro is an idiot, and every time he does something, it makes things worse. (His nationalizations, for example) We may not have to wait 45 days for Chavismo to collapse.
Keep the faith, Marksman.