Juan Guaido Returns to Venezuela, Facing Threat of Arrest

[Zorro]

Source: New York Times

Juan Guaidó, the Venezuelan opposition leader who defied a travel ban and left the country more than a week ago, returned Monday in what could turn into a new showdown with President Nicolás Maduro.

“Back in our beloved homeland!,” Mr. Guaidó said in a Twitter posting from the Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía, near Caracas, where he landed on a commercial flight from Panama. “We just got through passport control and will head where our people are!”

It was not immediately clear whether Mr. Guaidó would be detained by government security forces. But Mr. Maduro’s government has said Mr. Guaidó violated restrictions on his travel and could face arrest.

Mr. Guaidó returned and was welcomed by cheering crowds in Venezuela as the Trump administration escalated its warnings to Mr. Maduro’s government not to carry out its threat to seize the opposition leader. Mr. Guaidó is recognized by President Trump and more than 50 other heads of government as Venezuela’s rightful president until new elections can be held.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/04/world/americas/juan-guaido-venezuela.html

[DirtEdonE]

1. You just KNOW the trump crime syndicate put him up to this

And someone better tell their guy in Venezuela that U.S. repubicans presidents don't have a very good track record protecting their lackeys.

"Bush and his aides may have recognized that Bhutto was an essential ally for the United States, particularly as an enthusiastic supporter of global efforts to confront Islamic militancy. But they never sent a clear signal to Musharraf or those around him regarding the need to investigate the October assassination attempt, to confront threats to Bhutto and other opposition leaders or to provide basic security.

Just as the dictator was allowed to neglect the task of tracking down Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida operatives within his country, just as he was given a pass when Pakistani officials shared nuclear secrets and technologies with rogue states, just as he was allowed to thwart democratic initiatives in his country and the region, Musharraf never faced a serious demand from the Bush administration to protect Bhutto.

And in the absence of that demand from the government that props him up as what George Bush once referred to as “our guy,” Musharraf – who has survived so many assassination attempts himself – failed to take the steps necessary to save Bhutto or to foster democratic processes.

The Bush administration failed Benazir Bhutto and now she is dead."

https://www.thenation.com/article/bush-musharraf-and-slaying-benazir-bhutto/

[Hulk]

2. I would put damned little trust in the US, regardless of what administration is in power..{revised}

Last edited Tue Mar 5, 2019, 12:27 AM - Edit history (1)

{I edited the word "oligarch" from my original post. My assumption was that he was from a wealthy background, and I really had no basis for that assumption.}

I don’t understand how this politician is the selected heir to the presidency in Venezuela. Sure, the aristocrats and CIA supported mobs support him; but when was HE elected to lead the country. I will confess that I really don't understand the Venezuelan Constitution, nor do I support Maduro. The whole situation seems to be an ugly mess, and that's a shame for a country with so much potential.

At the same time, I fear for OUR intervention, overt or covert.

Been around long enough to remember the Shaw of Iran debacle. Part II???

[DirtEdonE]

3. The USA is all for democratic elections

As long as the USA can pick the winner.

[MRubio]

5. He's not the selected heir to the presidency of Venzuela. He's the elected leader of the AN which..

....is the only remaining legitimate democratically-elected body in the country.

Last year's 20 May presidential election was a fraud. Only the hardest of the hard-core Chavistas try to claim otherwise.

When Maduro was sworn in for a new 5 year term starting on 10 January of this year, Guaido, as leader of the AN, proclaimed that Maduro was usurping the presidency and according to Article 233 of the Venezuelan Constitution, he, the president of the AN, would assume presidential powers until a new election could be called.

I think the interpretation of Article 233 on the part of the opposition is tenuous at best, but at this point, with the shape of the country and the Maduro regime's rampant corruption and abuse of the constitution, anything goes. It was time to break the stalemate and call the man for what he is, a dictator.

I would have preferred that Guaido say from the beginning that he would not be a candidate in the called for presidential elections, but so far he's not done that. Having said that, once Maduro is no longer in a position to pick his opposition, other more qualified candidates will surely rise to the top.

[DirtEdonE]

9. "Last year's 20 May presidential election was a fraud"

What's your point? The last presidential election we had HERE in the USA in 2016 was a fraud.

I understand what Venezuela is facing but why would anyone want trump to decide when we're facing worse here with him?

[Miguel M]

10. Why would anyone want the cretins Trump has put in charge of the coup/transition?

This is a very good question. Who are they, and why do they support the rouge's gallery of US imperialists?

[EX500rider]

25. How did Trump "put them in charge"?

Guaido is the head of the National Assembly, the voters of Venz. put him there, not the US.

[Miguel M]

26. I was referring to Bolton, Abrams, et al.

Nice knee jerk though.

[EX500rider]

27. Not my fault you worded it poorly.

The people in charge of the "coup/transition" are Venezuelans.
I think you meant "the people in charge of the US reaction to the transition".

[Miguel M]

28. If you say so.

[MRubio]

15. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

The Maduro regime needs to be gone.

[DirtEdonE]

22. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Yeah, I know, and keep your friends close but your enemies closer. It's all movie time BS, IMO.

Playing those games is exactly how "w" got us all screwed up in the Middle East. It's just one more way the Fat Cat capitalists keep the upper hand.

Go ahead, let trump redo Venezuela in his image. LOFL Venezuela will be good to go with trump's help, just like the USA.

Make Venezuela Great Again. LOFL!!!

[MRubio]

24. Actually, I think it's ROFL. :) n/t

[Perseus]

16. This oligarch? Who are you referring to?

Read Guiado's biography, where do you get this oligarchy stuff?

Maduro and Cabello are the real oligarchs, they have stolen millions of dollars. Cabello is worth 1.6 billion, all stolen and obtained from drug traffic, and between Maduro and his wife they are most probably worth as much as Cabello, the Chavez family is worth billions, all stolen from Venezuela, none of it earned...

Do people on this board take the time to research the people they are about to bash?

Maduro was a bus driver, born in Colombia, raised in Cuba, if you think the orange buffoon is dumb, you have not heard Maduro. He is a puppet of the Castro regime who usually dancing salsa while his militia and military are out there killing innocent people.

Guaido comes from a humble family, he is an engineer, studied hard, is an educated man.

Here is some of it you can find on Wikipedia...

Early life and education

Part of a large family,[a] and of modest origins,[1] Guaidó was raised in a middle-class home by his parents, Wilmer and Norka.[11] His father was an airline pilot and his mother, a teacher.[9] One grandfather was a sergeant of the Venezuelan National Guard while another grandfather was a captain in the Venezuelan Navy.[12]

Guaidó lived through the 1999 Vargas tragedy which left his family temporarily homeless;[2] he lost friends and his school.[13] The tragedy, according to his colleagues, influenced his political views after the then-new government of Hugo Chávez allegedly provided ineffective response to the disaster.[14] He said, "I saw that if I wanted a better future for my country I had to roll up my sleeves and give my life to public service."[13] He earned his high school diploma in 2000[15] and earned his undergraduate degree in 2007 in industrial engineering from Andrés Bello Catholic University. He also completed two postgraduate programs in public administration at George Washington University in the United States and at the Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración in Caracas.[2][15]

He is married to Fabiana Rosales, a journalist,[16] and they have one daughter.[17]

[ripcord]

4. If he is arrested it could be a turning point

Anything would help in getting rid of a heartless dictator who blocked aid to starving Venezuelans while his fat.ass is well fed, Maduro is disgusting.

[Mr. Smith]

6. You do realize that whole humanitarian aid thing was a publicity stunt?

Designed to put pressure on Maduro so Bolton and Pompeo and the war criminal Elliot Abrams can get rid of a left-leaning government.

Maduro has really screwed up the economy, but this is an attempted putsch by the ultra-rightist leaders of Colombia and Brazil and the ultra-rightists running the Trump foreign policy.

If John Bolton and Elliot Abrams are in on this--and they are--that should be a huge red flag.

And by the way, that "heartless dictator" still has the support of millions of Venezuelans.

[ripcord]

7. You can put any spin on it but

Turning away food when your citizens are starving is indefensible.

[Miguel M]

11. Sanctioning a nation that ends up starving people is indefensible also.

Yet... some are defending it.

[ripcord]

12. Where did I defend the sanctions?

[Miguel M]

13. Apologies. I messed up the reply threads. Sorry.

New to DU. I messed up.
I edited the comment. Apologies for the mistake.

[ripcord]

14. No problem

Done the same thing myself.

[Perseus]

18. The sanctions were not against the people, the sanctions targeted the money

the crooks from the regime have in the USA, and there is a lot of it.

Not sure if anyone knows here, but a couple of Maduro wife's nephews are in jail in NY for drug traffic, they also seem to have committed murder.

The people on Venezuela don't have food or medicines and its not because of the sanctions, it is because of the corruption of the regime...

[Miguel M]

21. As I understand it, there are also banking sanctions that prevent purchases by Ven.

... and transfers, such as from US based CITGO to PDVSA, etc.

Am I wrong?

[NYC Democrat]

23. It 's complicated

Sanctions until about a month or so ago were entirely target toward some top officials, the US was VN's top trading partner despite all the public hostility till literally months ago when Maduro took a new term on an illigitmate election (there's multiple reasons for why)

But essentially the US and Ven were slap fighting each other for years through different administrations but it was pretty meaningless it's only now with the current crisis that the US is saying the government isn't legitimate, and like 90% of the hempsihere agrees.

Having said anything the current crisis is almost entirely on the current government from Chavez to Maduro, they used money from an oil boom to create programs that improved peoples lives.. for like 5 years before the fact it was all unsustainable due to many reasons but primarily the failure to diversify their economy with the money they had just completely refused to build an actually sustainable system, so there was a collapse when oil prices dropped and then on Maduro and his people alone even more with their ridiculously bad monetary policy which has led to near Zimbabwe inflation.

[MRubio]

8. I agree that it was a publicity stunt but.......

......would add that millions more oppose Maduro than support him. They've been waiting for someone to pull their fat out of the fire.

Maduro's wrecked the place, absolutely wrecked it most every way that counts. He needs to be gone.

[Perseus]

17. And you have proof of that because?

I am really interested in knowing...thank you

[ripcord]

19. Maduro said it was part of a coup attempt

He must have thought the US had hidden really small soldiers in the bags of rice. The most telling thing about this whole situation is that Maduro henchmen have stashed their families in the US so they can live the good life while their countrymen starve, if people don't find that disgusting there is something wrong with them.

[MRubio]

20. the US had hidden really small soldiers in the bags of rice.

Remember as a kid never knowing what you were going to get in a box of this? Hint, there's even a serviceman on the cover.

[]