Tag Archive for: Venezuela

Venezuela: Amid socialist humanitarian crisis, no improvement in human rights

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The human rights situation in Venezuela has been dire for many years, with little indication of improvement. Since 2014, there have been 15,800 politically motivated arrests, and over 270 political prisoners continue to languish in Venezuelan jails.

The misguided economic policies implemented by successive socialist governments have led to 19 million people facing malnutrition and a severe lack of healthcare. Consequently, a staggering 7.7 million individuals, out of a population of just over 29 million, have fled the country since 2014.

The government has even taken the drastic step of closing the UN Human Rights Office, purportedly due to its alleged involvement in anti-government activities. Furthermore, new legislation threatens to criminalise and impede the work of civil society within the country.

Once considered one of the wealthiest nations in Latin America, Venezuela has descended into a socialist dystopia marred by authoritarianism, a dearth of human rights, insufficient government investment, hyperinflation, rampant corruption, economic mismanagement, the collapse of public services, economic hardship, shortages, and widespread hunger. Currently, fifty percent of the population lives in poverty.

Popular tyrant

Socialism was introduced in Venezuela by Hugo Chávez, a populist who held the presidency from 1999 until his death in 2013. Chávez implemented the nationalisation of industries and directed public funds towards social programs. As a result, schools saw improvement, the unemployment rate halved, and per capita incomes more than doubled. Moreover, both the poverty rate and infant mortality rates decreased by 50 percent.

Chávez was widely praised domestically for his stance against the United States, famously referring to President George W. Bush as “the devil”. Following Chávez’s death from cancer, Nicolás Maduro succeeded him as president.

While Chavez was a charismatic populist, one of the most notable distinctions lies in his ability to forge a coalition comprising leftists, military personnel, and the poor. Furthermore, Chavez was lucky. He capitalised on a surge in oil prices during his presidency. As a prime example of a petrostate, Venezuela’s fortunes are directly tied to the rise and fall of global oil prices. Chavez successfully directed a portion of the $1 trillion windfall in oil revenue towards appeasing the public and solidifying his grip on power.

Despite his widespread popularity, Chavez operated as a dictator and tyrant. He expanded state control over oil companies and suppressed journalists and critics, essentially outlawing government criticism. Consolidating nearly all power into his own hands, he eradicated checks and balances.

Nonetheless, he maintained the façade of democracy by holding elections. Winning 13 out of 14 elections lent an aura of legitimacy to his regime. He utilised state funds for his campaigns and exerted influence over journalists to portray him favourably, although he refrained from outright election fraud. Moreover, he survived a coup attempt, bolstering his image and authority.

Economic woes

Maduro lacks the charisma of Chavez. While Chavez had a military background, Maduro’s career path was rooted in communism. He pursued studies in Cuba, was affiliated with the Socialist League — an extreme left-wing organisation — and prior to entering government, he worked as a union negotiator.

He lost much of Chavez’s support base, securing election with a mere 50.6 percent of the vote. Consequently, he has governed the country as an autocrat. Besides lacking Chavez’s charisma and broad consensus, Maduro hasn’t enjoyed his predecessor’s luck: oil prices plummeted in 2014, leading to the complete collapse of the Venezuelan economy.

At times, annual inflation has soared to as high as 700 percent, reaching about 300 percent in 2022. Between 2015 and 2016, an estimated seventy-five percent of the country’s population experienced an average weight loss of 19 pounds. Diseases such as malaria have ravaged the nation due to the inability of people to afford imported medicines.

While Chavez allocated funds to improve citizens’ lives, he failed to diversify the economy away from oil dependency. Maduro has perpetuated this legacy by neglecting structural economic reforms and instead imposing stricter government controls. He restricted currency exchange systems, leaving ordinary citizens unable to afford medicine, basic household goods, and imported foods that must be purchased with dollars.

In the socialist utopia of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, everyone is purportedly equal, except for those with connections to the Maduro government. They have access to discounted dollars and can afford imported goods, which now encompass almost all but the most essential food items for survival. Necessities like toilet paper must be imported and purchased with dollars. Despite being a major oil producer, the country even grapples with fuel shortages.

Even individuals fortunate enough to possess dollars or receive remittances from friends and family abroad are not immune to the effects of inflation.

For instance, a woman who sells cigarettes and small items on the street disclosed that she earns approximately $20 a week. However, due to the relentless surge in prices, this income barely covers 15 eggs, 3 kilograms (6.6 lb) of corn flour, and a small portion of grain and cheese.

In Venezuela, the average monthly salary in the private sector stands at $139, while it’s a mere $14 in the public sector. Nevertheless, the grocery expenses for an average family amount to about $370 per month.

Deteriorating

Maduro has faced widespread protests and blocked a referendum because he understood that he wouldn’t secure victory, given his approval rating, which frequently dips to as low as 20 percent. Subsequently, he directed the Supreme Court to dissolve a portion of the legislature that opposed him. The state of democracy in Venezuela is deteriorating rapidly.

Recently, a new National Electoral Council (CNE) was formed, and several presidential candidates were disqualified. Additionally, opposition party members were detained prior to elections, indicating that the electoral process is likely to be more of a spectacle than a meaningful exercise in democracy.

Last year, a new National Electoral Council (CNE) was formed, and several presidential candidates were disqualified. Moreover, opposition party members were detained prior to elections, indicating that the electoral process is likely to be more of a spectacle than a substantive exercise in democracy.

Union workers, journalists, and human rights defenders have faced increasing restrictions on their access to civic spaces. Additionally, they’ve endured harassment and persecution orchestrated by the authorities. The rights of indigenous people, as well as those of LGBT individuals and women, have been egregiously disregarded. Notably, a YouTuber was recently charged with terrorism merely for challenging government policies.

The crackdown on dissenters has escalated, with critics subjected to surveillance, harassment, and criminalisation. In the most severe instances, they’ve become victims of torture and murder. In 2017, he secured victory in a rigged election. During this election cycle, he successfully postponed elections for an entire year, but they are anticipated to resume in October 2024. If these elections were fair and transparent, his defeat would be inevitable.

In what appears to be an effort to bolster the country’s revenues and alleviate the people’s suffering ahead of the next election, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro enacted a law annexing the oil-rich region of Essequibo in neighbouring Guyana. A consultative referendum was conducted on this decision last December, garnering a staggering 96 percent approval from the populace.

As per a statement from the presidential palace, Guayana Esequiba will now be recognised as the 24th federal state of Venezuela. Moreover, the inhabitants of the newly annexed territory will be represented in the upcoming parliamentary session in 2025. However, Guyana has sought a ruling from the International Court of Justice (ICJ), although Venezuelan law asserts that the ICJ holds no jurisdiction within the country.

Change in Venezuela appears elusive until Maduro is ousted from power. However, considering his influence over the upcoming elections, it seems unlikely that he will relinquish control voluntarily. The prospect of international military intervention in Venezuela is highly improbable, given the likelihood of opposition from Security Council members China and Russia. As for the alternatives of assassination or coup, history has demonstrated that such actions typically do not lead to positive outcomes, often resulting in the replacement of one authoritarian leader with another.

Can Venezuela’s parlous condition be reversed? Sound off in the comments section below.

AUTHOR

Antonio Graceffo, PhD, China-MBA MBA, is a China economic analyst teaching economics at the American University in Mongolia. He has spent 20 years in Asia and is the author of six books about China. His writing has appeared in The Diplomat, South China Morning Post, Jamestown Foundation China Brief, Penthouse, Shanghai Institute of American Studies, Epoch Times, War on the Rocks, Just the News, and Black Belt Magazine.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Mercator column is republished with permission. All rights reserved.

IDF warning: Iran arming Venezuela with weapons ‘very capable of hitting U.S.’

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This IDF revelation should come as no surprise. In 2022, Venezuela provided Iran with 1,000,000 hectares of  alleged “farmland for cultivation.” One hectare is the size of two and a half football fields, so what could Iran possibly have had in mind?

That same year, an independent Israeli intelligence analyst stated that a Venezuelan cargo plane was linked to Iran’s attempts to attack Israelis.

Venezuela has also hosted Hizballah and Fatah cells involved in money laundering, drug dealing, and jihad activity.

As America continues to sink under Joe Biden, America’s enemies are steadily gaining strength, with disastrous consequences now quite possible for American citizens.

IDF Warns Biden: Iran Arming Venezuela with Weapons ‘Very Well Capable’ of Hitting U.S.

by Frances Martel, Breitbart, March 7, 2024:

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) warned in a video published on Tuesday that Iran has successfully expanded its influence in Venezuela to such a degree that it has planted military assets there that pose a threat to American cities within attack distance, such as Miami, Florida.

The video is part of a series by the IDF called “Iran’s Axis of Terror,” explaining how Tehran uses alliances around the world to undermine global security and enable jihadist terrorism that poses a threat far beyond Israel.

Iran’s Islamist “revolutionary” regime and the socialist gang led by dictator Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela conspicuously flaunt their alliance. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi most recently visited Venezuela – and fellow leftist allies Nicaragua and Cuba – in June, inking deals in Caracas to develop a “technology office” and significant expansions of the presence of Iranian mining, education, agriculture, and other industries in the impoverished socialist country…..

Continue reading.

AUTHOR

CHRISTINE DOUGLASS-WILLIAMS

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EDITORS NOTE: This Jihad Watch column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Ghastly 7,300% Surge in Illegal Immigrants from Same Nation as College Student’s Murderer

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While most mainstream media coverage flagrantly omits that the man charged in the murder of a Georgia nursing student is an illegal immigrant who entered the United States through the famously porous southern border, other important nuggets are also being left out of most reports. The 26-year-old suspect, Jose Antonio Ibarra, comes from a country—Venezuela—run by a dictator with close ties to terrorists who refuses to accept deportees. This is especially disturbing because the U.S. has seen a shocking 7,300% spike in migrants from Venezuela under the Biden administration’s disastrous open border policies and now we are stuck with all of them. There is no telling how many other violent criminals or terrorists are among the hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who have been released inside the country by our government in the last few years.

Ibarra and his brother, another delinquent recently charged with possessing a fake green card, crossed into El Paso, Texas in September 2022 and was released in the country like millions of other migrants under the Biden administration’s policies. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed in an Atlanta news report that Ibarra “was paroled and released for further processing.” Federal authorities say the brother, 29-year-old Diego Ibarra “claimed a credible fear” of being returned to his native Venezuela when he got arrested, which is a scandal-plagued tactic used by millions of illegal immigrants to avoid getting deported. Before the most recent arrest for murder the younger Ibarra had been arrested several times, for driving under the influence of alcohol and driving without a license, shoplifting and failure to appear for an offense. One of the arrests occurred in New York City, which offers illegal immigrants sanctuary and does not report criminals to the feds for removal.

A few days ago, Ibarra got charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call, and concealing the death of another. Police say he killed 22-year-old nursing student Laken Hope Riley, whose body was found in the woods behind a lake on the University of Georgia campus. “On February 22, 2024 at approximately 12:07 p.m., the UGA Police Department received a call from a friend of Laken’s who was concerned that she had gone to run at the Intramural Fields earlier in the morning and had not returned as expected,” according to a statement issued by the University of Georgia Police. “Officers responded to the area and immediately began a search at approximately 12:20 p.m. and located her shortly afterward. She was unconscious and not breathing, and had received visible injuries. Officers immediately began rendering medical aid. Emergency medical responders determined that she was deceased upon their arrival.”

Evidence shows that Ibarra acted alone. Only conservative media has bothered to report the highly relevant details surrounding the Venezuelan’s immigration status and that he moved to Athens, Georgia because it offers illegal aliens sanctuary. The mainstream media mostly sugarcoated or avoided the subject altogether. One national news outlet shamefully wrote that Riley’s violent murder has once again put the spotlight on the dangers female runners face. While failing completely to mention pertinent information about the illegal immigrant suspect, the article delves into a survey by athletic wear company Adidas that reveals 92% of women reported feeling concerned for their safety while running with half afraid of being physically attacked. More than a third of women experienced physical or verbal harassment, including sexist comments, and being followed, according to the athletic wear survey.

It is distressing enough that a young woman lost her life to a suspect who should not have been in the country and could have been deported after previous arrests. We must also grapple with the fact that there has been an inconceivable surge in illegal immigrants from Venezuela since Biden became president. This is especially alarming because the South American nation operates under a Marxist regime that encourages international terrorist groups to run free. Venezuela’s government issues travel documents to individuals linked to terrorism and allows terrorists to operate with relative impunity. The country also has close ties with Iran and other notorious state sponsors of terrorism. A State Department report reveals that Venezuelan Dictator Nicolas Maduro and his associates “use criminal activities to help maintain their illegitimate hold on power, fostering a permissive environment for known terrorist groups.” That includes the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-D), the Colombian-origin National Liberation Army (ELN), and Hizballah sympathizers. In a separate assessment the State Department writes that Maduro has defined himself through his opposition to the United States, regularly criticizing the U.S. government, its policies, and its relations with Latin America.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Judicial Watch column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

MIAMI: Venezuelan Gang Member Accused Of Kidnapping, Strangling Florida Man To Death Was In U.S. Illegally

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A member of a violent Venezuelan gang accused of kidnapping and strangling to death a man in Florida was in the U.S. illegally, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Border Patrol in Danie Beach, Florida, issued a detainer with the Miami Dade County Corrections for the arrest of Yurwin Salazar Maita, the illegal alien from Venezuela, on Jan. 10 following his arrest on state homicide and kidnapping charges, ICE told the DCNF. Salazar Maita, who is a member of the Venezuelan gang Tren De Aragua, is accused of kidnapping and murdering Jose Luis Sanchez Valera in November, according to a local news report.

“As part of its mission to identify and arrest removable noncitizens, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) lodges immigration detainers against noncitizens who have been arrested for criminal activity and taken into custody by state or local law enforcement. An immigration detainer is a request from ICE to state or local law enforcement agencies to notify ICE as early as possible before a removable noncitizen is released from their custody,” an ICE spokesperson told the DCNF.

The victim was lured on Nov. 27 by women to a La Quinta Inn & Suites in Doral, Florida, according to the local report. At around 2:35 a.m. on Nov. 28, Sanchez Valera left the hotel room with two women and was ambushed by three individuals, allegedly including Salazar Maita, who kidnapped him in the hotel parking lot.

Two gunmen also broke into Sanchez Valera’s apartment, stealing a safe, according to the local report. Sanchez Valera’s relatives later found his dead body in his car, where he had his hands and feet bound with tape in the back seat, and a medical examiner later ruled his cause of death as asphyxiation.

Tren de Aragua primarily exploits Venezuelan women and children in trafficking in Peru, according to the State Department. The gang’s leader Héctor Guerrero, 40, fled a prison in Venezuela that he gained control over and is a fugitive wanted in Venezuela, Peru, Chile and by Interpol, according to the local news outlet.

Young members of the Venezuelan gang have been trying to enter the U.S. by forgoing tattoos showing their affiliation to skirt border authorities, Kyle Williamson, the director of the West Texas Anti-Gang Center located in El Paso, Texas, previously told the DCNF.

AUTHOR

JENNIE TAER

Investigative reporter.

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All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Hot Mic Catches Journalists Joking About Trump Assassination

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Many a truth is said in jest. The media is the enemy of the people.

Journalists watched Hamas lynchings, kidnappings, rapings and urged civilians to join the slaughter. So is this surprising?

Bernard Kerik: “[N]o one should be surprised.”

Venezuela, Iran, Russia, China, Cuba, and many others. That’s the way it’s done.

Oppose politically, impeach, use state media to destroy, use your criminal justice system, military, and when all else fails.

Hot Mic Catches Journos Laughing and Joking About Trump Being Assassinated At Appeals Court

By: Tommy Christopher, Mediaite, Jan 9th, 2024:

A hot mic caught journalists joking about former President Donald Trump being assassinated as they awaited his appearance at the federal courthouse where his criminal immunity appeal will be held.

The DC Circuit Court of Appeals is set to hear oral arguments on Tuesday, January 9, on the issue of presidential immunity after Judge Tanya Chutkan denied two motions to dismiss based on First Amendment and presidential immunity claims.

The appeal will be heard by a three-judge panel consisting of Judge J. Michelle Childs, who was nominated by President Joe Biden in January 2022 and confirmed in July 2022; Judge Florence Pan, nominated by Biden in May 2022 and confirmed in September 2022; and Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson, who was appointed by then-President George H.W. Bush in 1990.

On Tuesday morning, news cameras were set up at locations between the Trump National Golf Club in Virginia and the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse in anticipation of Trump’s arrival for the proceedings.

One such live feed caught some banter between journalists grousing about the difficulty of getting a good shot of Trump from their vantage point — banter which veered into gallows humor with some references to the late President John F. Kennedy and a convertible:

JOURNO 1: You know what the worst part is? Even if he has his window open and he’s hanging out of it, he will be on the other side of the street.
JOURNO 2: I mean, if he’s driving, we’ve got a good shot!
JOURNO 1: Yeah, if he’s driving with the front window open?
JOURNO 2: Yeah, or if it’s a convertible?
JOURNO 1: Yeah. I wasn’t thinking about that.
JOURNO 2: Yeah. Like if he just pulls up–
JOURNO 1: Like JFK?
JOURNO 2: (laughs)
JOURNO 1: Maybe someone, just like they told JFK. You know what you should do? You should take a convertible! It’s so nice out!

Watch above via AP [Journalists’ comments are at the 53:00 minute mark].

AUTHOR

Pamela Geller

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Biden Targets and Deports Legitimate Asylum Seekers to Venezuelan Jails

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The installed Marxist dictatorship operating in the White House ran by the corrupt Joe Biden and his evil entourage continue to work closely with the criminal Narco Communist (indicted by the former Trump Administration) the installed President of Communist Venezuela Nicolas Maduro.

Former President Trump’s State Department offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to the arrest of this Narco drug trafficking Communist installed President of Venezuela.

Under the current Biden Administration, whether it’s buying Communist controlled oil from Caracas or deporting Venezuelans with legitimate asylum cases (who fear for their lives) back to Venezuela, Joe Biden is the epitome of pure Marxist tyranny undermining everything Trump put in place to help defeat this horrible Communist regime.

In order to help dismantle and block the flow of hard currency like U.S. dollars into Venezuela (which went directly to the Communist government), former President Trump signed Executive Order (EO) 13884 on August 5th 2019 preventing American citizens from engaging in pretty much all financial transactions with the Venezuelan government. Biden is an American citizen right?

The corrupt Marxist Joe Biden has since been aiding the Marxist Maduro government obtain US dollars by lifting sanctions and purchasing Venezuelan oil which has injected millions and millions of dollars into Maduro’s Marxist regime.

This has significantly helped fund the Venezuelan military and expand the reach of Communist Venezuela enabling Maduro to threaten Venezuela’s local neighbors like the free country of Guyana.

Former President Trump also signed an Executive Order limiting the communist government of Maduro from liquidating assets after the sham/fraud election in Venezuela in 2018. We too experienced a sham fraud election in the USA in 2020.

An estimated 4 – 6 million Venezuelans have fled this Communist dictatorship over the years to countries like the United States, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Argentina, Brazil and Central America.

Including my fiancée living here in Bogotá Colombia who was granted a protective status order by the conservative Colombian congress giving her legal residency here in Colombia for ten years.

The economic destruction of Venezuela by the Communist dictatorship has led to 14,000 percent inflation decimating the minimum wage to a value of less than $2 a month.

The United States is on the same inflationary path as Venezuela as evident by the insane tax and spend and printing of dollars to fund more government socialist crap being intentionally inflicted on our republic by the Biden Administrations reign of terror.

Very important. Former President Trump gave Venezuelans in exile in the United States protection from deportation.

Before leaving office Trump used the Deferred Enforced Departure Program or DED giving temporary legal status to Venezuelans who escaped from the humanitarian crisis created by Maduro’s Communist dictatorship.

Trump put his strong Presidential arm of protection around these good people providing Venezuelans and Cubans an opportunity to get work permits in the USA.

All this while the fake news media in the USA controlled by the Communist Democrats called Trump a racist who hates Latinos and Latina’s all because he wants a secure border.

Only the President has this authority using the DED process overriding the Department of Homeland Security. Now Comrade Biden does the opposite.

Biden, the corrupt Marxist in the White House understands these good people from Venezuela and Cuba given asylum by former President Trump are possibly future Republicans and or political conservative independent voters like myself.

Thus Biden has been coordinating with the Marxist Maduro in Venezuela and the Cuban government in Havana by deporting these courageous Venezuelans and Cubans granted asylum by Trump.

They are continually being rounded up from cities like Miami and deported to Caracas and Havana many of whom are now in Venezuelan and Cuban jails as political prisoners.

As an example, former Venezuelan helicopter pilot lieutenant Pedro Naranjo and his father a retired General in the Venezuelan army plotted against the Venezuelan dictator Maduro to free their country from his tyrannical fist of oppression.

They both finally fled to the USA together out of fear of their lives.

Trump offered them sanctuary but the Biden Administration ordered the deportation of this brave helicopter pilot back to Venezuela.

Lieutenant Pedro Naranjo formerly free in the USA with an extensive knowledge of the Venezuelan flight school operations critical to help US military intelligence now sits in a Venezuelan military prison as a political prisoner of Maduro thanks to Joe Biden.

Lieutenant Naranjo’s father is still in political limbo in the USA separated from his son with threat of a Venezuelan prison after he’s deported much like many of the J6 protesters who are now political prisoners of the corrupt Biden installed government.

In November 2024 we MUST re-elect President Trump and we the people must remove this illegitimate President Joe Biden from office via the electoral process and ensure the integrity of our elections by banning mail in ballots.

Not only for the sake of our Republic but for global peace and security and freedom for the good citizens of Venezuela, Cuba and all of Central and South America.

©2023. Geoff Ross. All rights reserved.

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Here’s How The Biden Admin Treated Countries Who Kicked Candidates Off The Ballot

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The Biden administration has enacted or threatened sanctions against foreign nations who have kicked opposition candidates off the ballot, leading some lawmakers to question the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling this week to remove former President Donald Trump from the state’s 2024 election ballot.

The Colorado Supreme Court ruled in a 4-3 decision on Tuesday to remove Trump from the state 2024 election ballots, having decided he is disqualified to run for office under the 14th Amendment’s “insurrectionist ban,” despite the former president not being criminally convicted of such an offense. The Biden administration has previously used sanctions in retaliation against foreign nations who engaged in stifling political competition and removing opponents from election ballots, as several lawmakers have pointed out this week.

“The U.S. has put sanctions on other countries for doing exactly what the Colorado Supreme Court has done today,” Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said on Tuesday.

“We’d threaten sanctions against countries that had their courts exclude a challenger to protect the incumbent,” Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee said Tuesday.

Venezuela, a socialist dictatorship in Central America, was sanctioned by the former Trump administration for undemocratic practices. The Biden administration started to lift some of those sanctions in October if Venezuela agreeing to certain conditions, including a commitment to holding fair elections in 2024 and allowing dictator Nicolas Maduro’s political opponents to appear on the ballot.

“Failure to abide by the terms of the agreement will lead the United States to reconsider steps we have taken, including the easing of sanctions,” Biden’s State Department told the DCNF in November.

However, less than a month after agreeing to the Biden administration’s terms, Venezuelan courts suspended the results of his political opposition leader’s primary election victory results. The suspension was handed down by Venezuela’s top court, which ruled that the opposition leader must be investigated for alleged identity theft, money laundering and conspiracy.

The Biden administration continues to push Venezuela toward holding free elections next year. The administration maintains its warning that it will take measures, including reimposing sanctions, if Maduro’s government does not hold to its word.

However, no sanctions have thus far been reimposed.

Nicaragua, a nation under dictatorship in Central America, had its government hit with sanctions from the Biden administration in 2021, according to the Treasury Department. The Biden administration explained they were imposing sanctions against Nicaragua because of its 2021 “sham election,” as the country’s government removed most of incumbent President Daniel Ortega‘s political opponents from the ballot.

Only five of Ortega’s political opponents were on the ballot in 2021, all of whom were not well known and had little chance of winning, according to CNN. Seven of Ortega’s other political opponents were not allowed to appear on the ballot after being “unjustly arrested” prior to elections, ensuring a “rigged outcome well before election day,” according to the Treasury Department and USA Today.

The Biden administration pointed to the government’s “groundless” misuse of Nicaragua’s Law 1055, which bans anyone deemed as a “traitor” by the country’s government from running for public office.

“The Ortega regime is using laws and institutions to detain members of the political opposition and deprive Nicaraguans from the right to vote,” Office of Foreign Assets Control Director Andrea M. Gacki said in a November 2021 statement. “We stand with the Nicaraguan people in their calls for reform and a return to democracy.”

Belarus, a country in eastern Europe with close ties to Russia, was hit with sanctions by the former Trump administration in 2020 over concerns the country held “fraudulent” elections that year by barring political opponents from the ballot and falsifying voting records, according to the Treasury Department. The Biden administration upheld these sanctions and castigated Belarus in a June 2021 statement for holding illegitimate elections by preventing “multiple opposition candidates from appearing on the ballot and restrictions on the ability of the opposition to campaign,” according to the Treasury.

“The United States and its partners will not tolerate continued attacks on democracy and the ceaseless repression of independent voices in Belarus,” Gacki said in a June 2021 statement. “Today’s actions, taken on both sides of the Atlantic, hold accountable those who continue to suppress the democratic aspirations of the Belarusian people.”

Several lawmakers and legal experts have denounced the Colorado Supreme Court’s Tuesday ruling as unconstitutional. The Trump campaign immediately disputed the court’s ruling and said it would quickly move to appeal.

Though he wouldn’t comment on the Colorado Supreme Court’s Tuesday ruling, Biden did tell reporters on Wednesday that there’s “no question” Trump incited an insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

“Well, I think certain things are self-evident. You saw it all,” Biden said Wednesday. “Now, whether the 14th Amendment applies, I’ll let the court make that decision. But he certainly supported an insurrection. No question about it. None. Zero.”

The White House did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

AUTHOR

JAKE SMITH

Contributor.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Here’s How Biden Could Embroil America In Yet Another Foreign War

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  • The Biden administration could put U.S. troops on the ground in Guyana to defend the threatened democracy against a Venezuelan invasion, experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
  • Although an invasion is unlikely, recent U.S. actions send a signal to Venezuela that America is prepared to intervene if Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro acts on his pledge.
  • “The U.S. should work to create strong disincentives for Venezuela to carry out any aggression, including helping to establish stronger military deterrence. It remains to be seen how compelling these disincentives will be and how Maduro will respond to them,” Daniel Batlle, an adjunct fellow at the Hudson Institute and a former State Department official, told the DCNF.

The Biden administration could be compelled to put U.S. military boots on the ground to defend Guyana, a democratic South American country with a history of cooperation with the U.S., from a potential Venezuelan invasion, experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has threatened to annex by force large swaths of oil-rich territory in neighboring Guyana following a manufactured referendum as troops mass on both sides of the border in a bid to consolidate support for the country’s 2024 elections. A full-scale invasion resembling Russia’s attempt to conquer Ukraine is unlikely, but possible, placing pressure on the U.S., and international partners, to respond in defense of a democratic country, the experts told the DCNF.

The Biden administration would want to intervene to show it will “credibly defend its friends against external aggression,” just as it has done with Israel and Ukraine, Evan Ellis, a research professor of Latin American studies at the U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute, told the DCNF. “Once we make that commitment, it sends a very strong signal that we can’t just walk away from.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has pledged “unwavering support” for Guyana’s sovereignty.

Other experts questioned the administration’s commitment to defending democratic partners in light of sweeping sanctions relief Biden offered Venezuela in the fall of 2023 in exchange for yet-unfulfilled promises to conduct legitimate elections and free political prisoners — which could further embolden Maduro.

“It is unclear what precisely is motivating the current administration in its policy toward Venezuela, but it is clearly not democracy, human rights, or electoral freedom. I do not see how anyone, including the Maduro regime, will take American threats seriously when they offer sanctions relief under such insane conditions,” former Deputy Special Representative for Venezuela Carrie Filipetti told the DCNF.

U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) has made conspicuous shows of force as Maduro carried out a national referendum on the annexation question. Such displays are “firm, clear signals” from the U.S. that if Venezuela takes action, “it will not be unopposed,” Ellis told the DCNF.

SOUTHCOM and the Guyana Defense Force (GDF) conducted flight operations in country on Dec. 7, according to the U.S. Embassy in Guyana.

“This exercise builds upon routine engagement and operations to enhance security partnership between the United States and Guyana, and to strengthen regional cooperation,” the embassy said in the statement.

In an unusual step, U.S. Air Force special operations later showed several videos of an AC-130J Ghostrider gunship, equipped with precision-guided missiles and cannons capable of “measured, but ruinous fire” that can rip people and armored vehicles to shreds, training against targets.

Guyanese President Irfaan Ali and Maduro met Thursday to hash out an agreement on where the border line should be drawn, and both sides agreed not to use force, the Associated Press reported. But they did resolve the issue.

“I have made it very clear that on the issue of the border controversy, Guyana’s position is non-negotiable,” Ali said in a national broadcast, indicating that any negotiations over the territory are likely to be fraught.

Maduro claimed sovereignty over the territory encompassing two-thirds of Guyana, which also includes the coastline near two massive offshore oil deposits, according to The New York Times. The claim depends on a referendum held to shore up his control over domestic politics and built on an internationally-unrecognized pretext of historical control over Essequibo.

On Dec. 5, Maduro ordered state-owned oil companies to begin granting licenses and doing exploration in Essequibo, the Financial Times reported.

He likely won’t order an invasion, experts told the DCNF. The Venezuelan military is afraid of revealing systemic deficiencies, but more importantly, Maduro could put his regime at risk by becoming embroiled in protracted fighting through inhospitable jungles against guerilla forces.

And, there’s the possibility of U.S. involvement, most likely alongside other countries.

“Maduro could essentially stumble into hostilities, whether it’s sending troops to the border or something that sparks military action, and that’s always a risk,” Ellis told the DCNF.

“The U.S. has to be careful of portraying the image that it is acting unilaterally in South America, especially in a militarized manner,” Aileen Teague, a professor at Texas A&M University who studies U.S. history and relations with Latin America, told the DCNF. “Working through diplomatic channels is the United States’ best option for success. ”

Any American-led intervention would not take place without extensive coordination with regional and global partners, including Brazil, which has massed troops on the border to ward off Venezuelan aggression, the experts said.

The GDF comprises of just 3,000 troops compared to Venezuela’s estimated 130,000 active duty and 1.6 million paramilitary troops.

But the U.S. can “wreak havoc on those Venezuelan forces within that jungle environment by  taking advantage of the ability to control the air and do select targeting,” Ellis explained, to “essentially make the few roads that are there impassable” for the Venezuelan military and supply lines.

“You basically turn an occupying force very quickly into a lot of Venezuelans trapped in a jungle,” he said.

AUTHOR

MICAELA BURROW

Investigative reporter, defense.

RELATED ARTICL: EXCLUSIVE: Illegal Venezuelan Migrants Continue To Pour Into US Despite Biden Admin Beginning Deportation Flights

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

The Killing of Western Civilization

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The Hamas terrorist attack on Israel was just a recent atrocious assault against Western civilization, a war that started a hundred years ago. In fact, I have been writing about that global cabal, which was waging WWIII against Western civilization for forty-two years.  “This global cabal is capable of anything. They are already responsible for the deaths of millions. They use lies as easily as they breathe. Everywhere they have gone, there is death and destruction.” If you read my column: Putin’s Socialist Revolution in America published October 6, 2023, one day prior to the Hamas attack, you will learn about this global cabal—I called them a new “Axis of Evil” under the Russian umbrella.

Yes, this global cabal is the new” Axis of Evil,” under the Russian umbrella: Cuba, China, North Korea, Syria, Iran and Venezuela. But only people who read my columns or books know that. Iran is a Russian proxy and to know Iran you have to know Russia and its Intel. Because there are the patterns of Soviet Socialism, Russia implements into all its proxies, including the terror groups, especially in the Mideast: ISIS, Taliban, al-Qaeda, Hezb’allah, Hamas, and others. That was the essence of Stalin’s legacy: brainwashing Muslims groups, and marring Islam with Communist ideology. That way we got a Fascist-Jihad of Stalinist era in the 20th century. A misleading system of disinformation, an instrument designed by Stalin was executed by all his devoted disciples after his death. To educate America, I have been writing about that system of Stalinist Soviet Socialism, which I called Soviet Fascism, for the last forty-two years…

The new “Axis of Evil—the Evil Doer” has not been known to the vast majority of Americans. Yes, all mentioned above terror groups have the same parents–the Russian Intel. The KGB Chairman Yuri Andropov 1967-1982 has designed two-states solution in the Mideast, when the KGB has begun controlling Hamas—anti-Semitism has united them. The same unity had been achieved for all terror groups in the 20th century. We have dealt with strategic partnerships against Western civilization. Russian expansion of Soviet Socialism, which I called Soviet fascism was the goal for the Mideast region. I have been writing this story of the people’s suffering, griefs, and killings to make you familiar with the KGB’s Mafia/Army—the Evil Doer for forty-two years. You can find the details in my columns…

Forty-two years is a pretty long-time and I am tired, very tired of being alone writing to educate and convince the American people with my poor English. Nobody helped me. I was writing about terrorist Russia and its expansion of terrorism throughout the globe. A devoted disciple of Stalin/Andropov Vladimir Putin was doing that for the last thirty years… I couldn’t believe a word, listening from the actively-destructive Biden’s team, I don’t trust them… Can you imagine how excited I’ve become reading the column with the warning, I was yelling for forty-two years:

“People living in modern civilization—especially in the West—play by the rules, live within their means, love their families, and cherish their children’s future. We get up in the morning, go to our jobs, or to our tasks, not thinking about any threats that may be formulating to destroy our lives. And yet, the threats are there, and they persist. For those of us who do our research and read what these enemies are plotting against us—and we do have enemies—we start to understand how dangerous they really are, these globalist elites. They have told us numerous times, both in print and in speech, what they are planning. And yet they are ignored when all we have to do is take them seriously and act accordingly.” War Is Upon You, By Ray DiLorenzo, Canada Free Press, October 8, 2023 

The author described the current events in the world, as if he came from the society of Soviet Socialism. But he didn’t indicate any specific country, only a new foreign predicament in America. He loves America, and is suffering watching how America loses its moral compass. I felt an alarm and pain in his every word. I believe, he read my columns or books and now expressing his sincere warning to Americans and the world:

“Anyone can see that society is changing, and not for the better. The Greatest Generation is long gone. The self-image and desire generation of fifty years ago, especially in government, is hanging on by threads, unwilling to give in to time and poor decisions. We are now witnesses to a society and a generation no longer American, heavily influenced by social media, with narcissism transformed into amorality, hysteria, self-indulgence, and violence.” By Ray DiLorenzo– Friday, October 6, 2023

Meanwhile the killing in Israel is going on… I’d like to remind you of the Vietnam war, because the Russian military Doctrine is active here in the Hamas assaults of Israel. Do you remember the Vietnam War? The North Vietnamese used the tunnels for unexpected access and assaults against the South Vietnamese. You can see exact the same Russian Doctrine used against Israel by Hamas. History is the mother of all sciences and I know who helped the North Vietnamese. I had a client, a Soviet pilot, who participated in the Vietnam War. You can find this story in my books and articles. There is another Stalinist Doctrine: “No lives matter.” Have you heard Hamas tell Palestinians to stay in Gaza and not evacuate: for Hamas “No lives matter,” Stalinist Doctrine is alive and well in the 21st century Mideast. The Russian tentacles are all over the region and the globe.

“No lives matter” under Soviet Fascism!

The picture of Stalin, the greatest mass murderer of the 20th century is here.

The Republican Ignorance

“Those who don’t know Stalinist legacy of the 20th century will pay a dear price for their ignorance. “I wrote that one day prior to the Hamas invasion: Putin’s Socialist Revolution in America: The Stalinist Mexican Cartels, October 6, 2023. I had in mind Fox News and the firing of two talented men: Dan Bongino and Tucker Carlson. I knew that Putin was preparing something bad. I wrote it purposely to alert the ignorant and remind them about Holocaust of Jews by German-Nazis. It is for a reason I have been writing about Soviet Fascism for decades. Russia is a terrorist, anti-Semitic country with close and long-term relations to all Middle Eastern countries through its KGB, which was implementing Soviet Fascism there, while the FBI didn’t know Russia and the KGB’s Mafia/Army—the Evil Doer, I’ve been writing about for decades. I had to write it–the FBI has not protected us!

Moreover, “According to a White House pool report, President Biden told the two dozen who were in attendance why he decided to run for president in 2020. He mentioned Charlottesville and the events that transpired there in 2017 as his reason for running.” Joe Biden has a meltdown that leaves Democrats sick with worry, The Federalist Wire, September 26, 2023. Reading this information my antenna went up. As a matter of fact, I was writing about Charlottesville in many columns: like Jan.6, on Capitol Hill, Charlottesville was the KGB’s Mafia/Army—Evil Doer operation to build a fascist movement in America.    

A Controlled Opposition  

Charlottesville happened in August 2017, in Unite the Right, the violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. In fact, it was the KGB operation in cahoots with the Democrat Party to establish and built a fascist movement in America. The designers and organizers were the Governor of Virginia Terry McAuliffe and the FBI deputy Director Andrew McCabe. I wrote this in my column: Origin of the Washington Spy Ring and the Swamp, March 31, 2018:

“Yes, firing Andrew McCabe was the beginning of a huge international case of conspiracy against the U.S.A, because those two are the accomplices of the crime or even crimes. To investigate the case, you have to know the KGB well and I’ll try to give you some tips. It was Andropov’s idea to invent a “controlled opposition.” The KGB had practiced it in Russia for many years. It is very simple to achieve, just infiltrate the opposition with a couple of people, promote them to the leadership and act in a way that is beneficial for your initial design. That exact move was realized and implanted in America. The result you see in August 2017, in Unite the Right, the violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.’’

It was the time for the FBI to do their job. But as we found out today the FBI didn’t want to do the job and the Democrat Party had been left not being exposed… I don’t want to impose my opinion and conclusion, I rely on each of you to make your own decision, watching Biden/Obama and their team for many years. We are living in the predicament of global disinformation where truth is hard to find. By the way, the House of Representatives, the only Republican power, has no Speaker for 12 days, because of the same dysfunctional FBI. I hope, sooner or later the truth will shine to disinfect the globe, I hope…You can read my columns for free now.

Don’t be surprised by the large-scale rally at the U.S. Colleges and Universities in defense of Hamas. Just watch TV. Have you heard about the group Students for Justice in Palestine? They are sponsored by Hamas and Iran.  And they are not alone, there are a hundred of these organizations around the world. Please, read about one of them:

National Students for JUSTICE IN PALESTINE

Supporting over hundred Palestine solidarity organizations across occupied Turtle Island, we aim to develop a student movement that is connected, disciplined, and equipped with the tools necessary achieve Palestinian liberation

Please, pay attention to the last two words—Palestinian liberation. These words should bring your memory back to Yasser Arafat, President of Palestinian Liberation Organization–PLO. Arafat’s lieutenant Abbas is still there. To make a long story short, read my columns and learn that Yasser Arafat was recruited by the KGB’s Mafia/Army in 1957. The cycle of War Crimes committed by the Russian Government and its KGB’s Mafia/Army—the Evil Doer is in front of the world. Now, as usual I rely on people’s imagination and knowledge…

Today I receive an email from Rep. Chip Roy–This is existential.

The Biden administration is allowing over 10,000+ illegal crossings a day – mostly adult males from 150+ countries, including these latest numbers from CBP:

  • Syria: 538
  • Yemen: 139
  • Iran: 659
  • Iraq: 123
  • Afghanistan: 6,386
  • Lebanon: 164
  • Egypt: 3,153
  • Pakistan: 1,613
  • Mauritania: 15,594
  • Uzbekistan: 13,624
  • Turkey: 30,830

As we watch what is going on in Israel right now, how can we be safe in America without securing our border?

My fellow Americans!

The U.S.A. is under an existential threat—we have Hamas and the KGB’s Mafia/Army—the Evil Doer with their deadly activities on our soil! The Killing of Western Civilization is on a progress, before your eyes!

Equip yourselves with knowledge and act decisively! Save the American Constitutional Republic for our children, grandchildren, and the world!

To be continued www.simonapipko.com and atwww.drrichswier.com/author/spipko/

©2023. Simona Pipko. All rights reserved.

Over A Dozen Illegal Migrants Escaped From Border Patrol Bus, Union Says

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Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include additional information about the escape.

A group of illegal migrants from Venezuela broke out of a Border Patrol bus Wednesday and are currently unaccounted for in the city of El Paso, Texas, President for the National Border Patrol Council for the El Paso sector Durango Ayala told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

One Border Patrol agent, the driver, accompanied the group of 18 illegal migrants bound for expulsion under Title 42, a Trump-era order applied to certain nationalities in an effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, at the Stanton bridge commuter crossing, Ayala told the DCNF. As of late Wednesday, Ayala said the group escaped by kicking open a hatch in the bus, and was currently unaccounted for.

Two Border Patrol agents, who requested anonymity to speak publicly on the matter, confirmed the illegal migrants’ escape.

Having only one agent accompany the group was a violation of policy, Ayala said.

“The never-ending disregard to enforce immigration law by the current administration is causing frustration throughout CBP [Customs and Border Protection]. Overcrowded detention facilities and limited transportation is a daily occurrence,” a Border Patrol agent working in the El Paso sector, who requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly, told the DCNF. “Migrants that are still arriving at the southern border from the original surge invitation by the president are becoming impatient with extended processing times and turning frustrations against CBP personnel.”

“Damaging facilities, creating unrest and escaping while in custody are just a glimpse of what this president has allowed into our communities,” the agent added.

Venezuelans are currently expelled under Title 42 and face an entry ban of up to five years, according to CBP. The Biden administration plans to end Title 42 on May 11.

Migrants amenable to Title 42 have the option to apply for an exemption before entering the U.S. through the CBP One phone app. However, many have had issues with getting prompt appointments and avoiding glitches with the process.

The migrants’ frustrations with the process contributed to an incident in which hundreds of them stormed the Paso del Norte bridge in El Paso on March 12.

CBP recorded more than 2.3 million migrant encounters in fiscal year 2022 and another roughly 1 million between October 2022 and February 2023.

A CBP spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment about Wednesday’s incident.

AUTHOR

JENNIE TAER

Investigative reporter.

RELATED ARTICLE: Biden Admin Flew Migrants Caught Illegally Crossing Over From Canada To The Southern Border, Memo Reveals

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

EXCLUSIVE: Immigrants Travel To Schools With Warning: Socialism Is Deadly

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Immigrants who have fled socialist countries are travelling to schools across the U.S. for free under a new program to teach students about the dangers of socialism.

The Dissident Project launched Monday with speakers set to “travel to high schools across the U.S. to speak to students about authoritarian socialism” at no cost to the schools, Dissident Project founder and Venezuelan-born economist Daniel Di Martino told the Daily Caller.

The speakers include activists from Venezuela, Cuba, Hong Kong and North Korea who have immigrated to the U.S. and are dedicated to speaking about how socialism has destroyed their countries.

Grace Jo, a speaker from North Korea, came to the U.S. after almost starving “to death as a child” under the country’s socialist regime. Two of her brothers and her father died from starvation, according to the Dissident Project’s website.

“All of us Dissident Project speakers came to America for freedom, and it is our duty to preserve that love for freedom among the youngest generation. That’s why we’re stepping up and doing our part so Americans never forget that this is an exceptional nation, that free enterprise and the rule of law made it great and that socialism can destroy it all like it did in our native countries,” Di Martino said.

The project was inspired by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ legislation recognizing a statewide “Victims of Communism Day” annually on Nov. 7 and requiring Florida schools to teach students about “the evils of communism.”

“Honoring the people that have fallen victim to communist regimes and teaching our students about those atrocities is the best way to ensure that history does not repeat itself,” DeSantis said in a statement about the bill in May.

Starting in the 2023-2024 school year, students in Florida will be mandated to receive at least 45 minutes of instruction in their required U.S. Government class about the evils of communism. Potential topics to cover include “Mao Zedong and the Cultural Revolution, Joseph Stalin and the Soviet System, Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution, Vladimir Lenin and the Russian Revolution, Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, and Nicolás Maduro and the Chavismo movement,” according to the bill.

Di Martino began the Dissident Project “after learning about Florida’s new curriculum.”

“I thought we needed a unified platform where schools could find immigrants from socialist countries to speak there at no cost to them so we could reach every single American,” he said.

The Dissident Project will focus its efforts in speaking to school districts in Florida, given DeSantis’ legislation, but will also advertise the opportunity to teachers across the country, Di Martino concluded. Teachers who wish to host a speaker can do so for free by filling out a form.

AUTHOR

DIANA GLEBOVA

Associate editor. 

RELATED ARTICLES:

Immigrants From Communist And Socialist Countries Spell Out Why The GOP Is The Party Of Freedom

Communism is Treason!

Americanism vs. Communism

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Venezuela: A Case Study On What Happens When Gun Rights Are Trampled.

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With all deference to hunters and sportsmen, it wasn’t their right to hunt that inspired James Madison and our nation’s First Congress to include the Second Amendment in their proposed Bill of Rights.  There’s was a much greater concern, that of checking the power of a potentially tyrannical state.  The modern left dismisses this argument as nonsensical, superfluous, and yes, even hysterical.  But despite its foolish attempts at diminishing the importance of gun ownership as a check on government, the fact still remains that the concern was central in the minds of the Framers.  Perhaps Noah Webster, that great American scholar and teacher whom we have all come to know by way of his dictionary, put it best when he wrote, “The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops.”

Indeed, history has seen the pattern of gun right suppression in coordination with the rise of tyranny and oppression play out time and again.  China, Nazi Germany, communist Cuba, Russia, North Korea are but a few examples.  In fact, in keeping with Webster’s observation, the propagation of a dictatorship would be difficult to conceive if imposed upon a well-armed population.  And now, as we witness the financial and societal collapse of our southern neighbor, it is evident that Venezuela is no exception. 

In 2012, Venezuela’s, communist National Assembly banned gun ownership.  The stated reason for such an intervention is the oft-quoted safety argument.  In 2011, 40% of Caracas’s homicides were robbery related with armed robberies accounting for 70% of all major crimes.

Predictably, the government’s call for voluntary disarmament produced virtually no results, leading to the forcible confiscation of 12,603 firearms in 2013 alone.

The result? A rise in violence against police officers, and most ominously, a rise in violence by the state against its own citizens.  

In 2015 alone, 252 law enforcement officers were killed in Venezuela.  Why?  Well, in Venezuela, police officers are targeted for their firearms![1]

Additionally, when Venezuelans took to the streets to protest the “unjust laws” of which Webster wrote centuries ago, the state used live ammunition to quiet them down.  And like Cuba, Maduro’s regime established a group of colectivos, groups of local individuals charged with the implementation and enforcement of Maduro’s policies, except that, in Venezuela, 400,000 of them were officially armed and allowed to “carry out the regime’s rule by violence.” 

And what about the national homicide rate?  The rate government was trying to suppress? It actually rose from 73 per 100,000 in 2012 right before the ban was implemented to 90 per 100,000 in 2015.  In fact, in 2015 Venezuela faced the world’s highest homicide rate with 27,875 murders.  

There are elements within our country obsessed with restricting our gun rights.  Yes, there are sections in our country where gun violence reigns supreme.  And yes, the recurrently played out stories of senseless killings and associated suffering is tragic beyond words.  But there is no greater tragedy than a people who once given freedom are robbed of their liberties in pursuit of false assurances of safety and protection.  

Truly, Madison was not thinking of our right to hunt when he penned our Second Amendment.  He was thinking of much more ominous possibilities, the same eventualities that inspired Thomas Jefferson to proclaim, “it is [our] right and [our] duty to be at all times armed.”

The Author acknowledges the work of David Kopel and Vincent Harinam, cited below, on which the Author relied heavily.

[1]  David Kopel, Vincent Harinam, In The Wake Of A Gun Ban Venezuela Sees Rising Homicide Rate, The Hill, April 19, 2018.

RELATED ARTICLES:

Countries Where Citizens Don’t Have Guns and Become Subjects

The Second Amendment Now Applies To More Than Just Firearms.

EDITORS NOTE: This The Federalist Pages column is republished with permission. The featured image is from Pixabay.

Why do we have an Oil Glut?

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The world is awash in oil and gas. Amazing.  Less than two decades ago in 1998, the predictions were by this time in 2016 oil production would be past its peak. In fact the gloom and doom experts were called Oil Peakists. Note this from Science magazine back in 1998:

From Science magazine’s “The Next Oil Crisis Looms Large—and Perhaps Close,” Aug. 21, 1998:

This spring . . . the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reported for the first time that the peak of world oil production is in sight. Even taking into account the best efforts of the explorationists and the discovery of new fields in frontier areas like the Caspian Sea . . . sometime between 2010 and 2020 the gush of oil from wells around the world will peak at 80 million barrels per day, then begin a steady, inevitable decline, the report says.

However, technology, especially here in the U.S., relegated that prediction to the proverbial dust bin of history. With the private developments of  revolutionary shale fracking and horizontal drilling technology, vast new energy resources were opened up in places like North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and even in the older Permian field in West Texas. The U.S. is now pumping 9 million barrels of oil a day, and trillions of cubic yards of gas. We are no longer dependent on importing Middle East oil. In fact much of the oil that we import comes from our neighbors Canada and Mexico.

In the wake of lifting sanctions against nuclear Iran, oil is beginning to flow again to the European Union from Tehran which says it could add another 500,000 barrels in production this year.  U.S. oil is also flowing to Europe now that the 43 year old ban on oil exports was lifted and signed in law late in 2015. The first shipment of sweet crude drawn from the Eagle Ford Shale field in South Texas left the port of Corpus Christi, Texas on New Year’s eve and landed at the port of Marseilles on Friday. Another shipment out of Houston made it to Rotterdam on Thursday. A third one out of Houston is on its way to Marseilles. The oil is the equivalent of the so-called Saudi light or sweet crude which doesn’t require as much refining producing profit margins for the refiners.

So, why do we have this glut? 

The world’s economies are not growing as fast or rather slowing down, especially in the big consumer of raw materials and energy, China.  China’s economy and trade is impacting on those exporters of commodities like oil, gas,  copper, aluminum  and  iron ore like Australia,  Brazil, Canada,  Russia, Venezuela  and African countries. Where China was growing at a purported 10 percent plus, annually, the evidence is it has fallen to less than a third of that towering inflated level. We have come to realize those growth estimates were based on questionable figures  prepared by the Chinese government.  Some economic experts suggest the annual growth in GDP may be less than three percent.  So with that news came the sudden plummeting in the world trading markets for commodities, especially oil.

There is  also the great geo-resource political game in the Middle East going on between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and let’s not forget Russia.  Saudi Arabia as the keystone in the OPEC oil Cartel is not listening to the complaints of the other members of the group at meetings in Vienna demanding that it reduce domestic production. It is pumping oil and still making money, because it costs less than $5 a barrel. This despite a yawning budget deficit of $98 billion. The Saudis have an estimated $600 billion in hard currency reserves, which provides a cushion to ride out the geo-political storm. They are using the oil weapon to beat back competitors including Iran across the Persian Gulf, Russia which  has military in Syria supporting the Assad regime, and  the newly resurgent producer, the US.   Russia, as Shoshana Bryen of the Washington, D.C.-based Jewish Policy Center pointed out in a recent interview, mispriced its budget at $119 a barrel of oil, then redid the numbers at $87 dollars only to see it plummet to less than $30 at one point.

So what is the impact here in the U.S.?

When was your last trip to fill up your car at the gas station?  Here on the Gulf Coast in the U.S., regular unleaded gas is currently selling for less than $1.80 a gallon.  That means savings to consumers who appear to be putting away the difference awaiting a return to a more confident economy.   Diesel that at one point was priced at nearly $1 dollar a gallon above gasoline has shrunk to less than ten cents a gallon differential. That means that the cost for moving shipments via long haul truckers has gotten cheaper. It means that jet fuel cost is less reflected in the huge profits being declared by the major airlines. Some of that may be due to the lagging airline ticket surcharges that remain in place.  However, the drop in oil production is also impacting the profit margins of rail carriers who minted money from train loads of combustible leaving the Bakken formation in North Dakota. The drop in oil prices occasioned by the glut also means that the cost of petro chemical feed stocks is enhancing profit margins for plastics,.

Remember, the discussion about lifting the 43 year old oil export ban?

One of the by-products of that was the convergent pricing of U.S. crude has converged with world pricing.  If you went onto the COMDEX oil trading floor in lower Manhattan, you would see traders vying for futures contracts in West Texas Intermediate (WTI) versus Brent-the so-called North Sea crude oil benchmark. The lifting of the oil export ban in the U.S. virtually eliminated the difference making Brent the world standard.  As of Friday, January 22, 2016 WTI was $32.19 per barrel for March 2016 deliveries, a 9.0 % jump, and Brent priced out of the London ICE was $32.18. Heavier grades like Canadian Tar sands or Venezuelan heavy sulfur crude require more refining to produce various products. These grades actually sell at discounts from those benchmarks by as much as five dollars.

Can we expect the oil glut to last? Hardly. The current excess supply will work itself off and oil futures will gradually begin to rise again. That will bring rigs on stream here in the U.S. to start producing again, it may cause Iran to produce more than the declared 500,000 barrels  annually and the Saudis would just be minting more billions to add to its hard currency reserves. However, by mid century those fabled Saudi sweet crude reserves may likely begin to tail off. Energy, whether oil or gas will reflect the cyclical demands of the world economies.  The U.S. stands in pretty good shape to weather the current volatility in trading markets; thanks to technology, entrepreneurial prowess and the lifting of the oil export embargo. Don’t panic and consider investing in contrarian values in the equity and debt markets. That is what the long term value investors do. They buy when values are relatively cheap compared to long term returns.

EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared in the New English Review. An earlier version was published in the Newsletter of the Lisa Benson Show National Security Task Force Newsletter, January 23, 2016.

Unrest in Venezuela and Ukraine coming to America?

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The prevailing theme for this week is liberty. A lot of attention is being focused towards the events in Ukraine. However, just south of us here in South Florida there is another example, Venezuela.

In Venezuela we see what always happens when socialism takes root, as described so aptly by Margaret Thatcher, “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.” When Hugo Chavez rose to power in Venezuela, he promised everything for everyone: shared prosperity, fair share, economic equality. He enacted policies that directed the government to nationalize more of the country’s production — especially the lucrative oil industry.

He took over the means of informing the people – hm, I wonder if he started with a “critical information needs” study similar to what the Obama administration’s FCC is seeking to initiate?

What resulted? The same that always happens when you punish, demonize, and denigrate the individual entrepreneurial spirit. The same that always happens when you disincentivize work for a government subsidy check. The same that always happens when there is a promotion of a welfare nanny-state focused on dependency rather than opportunity.

The producers stop producing and flee. We see it right here in South Florida in Broward County in the city of Weston, where the Venezuelan flag flies right along with the American. So as Prime Minister Thatcher poignantly stated, socialism fails because its empty promises are rooted in the legal plunder of others based upon some ill-conceived – I submit, actually demented — sense of benevolence. And then come the riots — because after all, you promised stuff but in the end what do the people gain? Nothing. What do they lose? Liberty.

In the Ukraine the fight for liberty is not against socialism but rather totalitarianism. A quarter of a century ago, Ukraine was given a new lease on life, a chance to determine its own future. It had once been a central part of the Soviet Union but then became an independent state.

However, old desires don’t fade away easily and control is a powerful motivator. Ukraine is caught in the middle of a fight to gain control of its future and it centers around a very important commodity: natural gas. Control of energy resources is a vital aspect of foreign policy and national security strategy — as well as important to the resurgence of Putin’s Russia. Liberty is the result of independence. Subjugation is the result of totalitarianism. Ukrainians seek the former, not the latter, and so they are making a stand.

There are lessons to be learned for us here in America. Venezuelans and many from Eastern Europe have fled to our shores to enjoy liberty and freedom as they escape the ills of their home countries. But if America succumbs to progressive socialism and totalitarian control of our government, where will people go? If America succumbs, who will be the beacon of liberty and freedom? Let me refresh your memory about what’s happening in America. Democrats and the New York Times are advocating for the IRS to eliminate and attack Americans. The FCC is seeking to put monitors into newsrooms. Our president feels he does not need to govern by legislative process but rule by edict — executive order. Elected officials such as Obama and DeBlasio are leading the charge to punish hard-working successful Americans — for what purpose? Redistribute their wealth.

So where do Americans flee? What is actually perplexing is that liberal progressives run away from failing liberal states such as California and New York. Unfortunately, they do not leave behind their damaging political beliefs. Like locusts they migrate to states like Colorado, Montana, and Florida with their cancerous political philosophy and destroy those states — message to Texans: you may want to stop asking Californians to relocate, unless they renounce liberal progressivism!

As we watch unrest in Venezuela and Ukraine unfold, I wonder, will we soon reach a tipping point in America?

EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared on AllenBWest.com.

RELATED COLUMN: Americans rising up against government – USA Today