Originally appeared at ZeroHedge
For the first time since the recent crisis triggered by embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s reelection to a second six-year term began which a dozen countries led by the United States condemned as “illegitimate”, a high ranking general in the country’s armed forces has defected while declaring loyalty to opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim head-of-state.
Air Force General Francisco Yanez
Air Force General Francisco Yanez, identified by Reuters as part of the air force’s high command, published a short video via Twitter on Saturday wherein he called on Venezuela’s armed forces to follow his lead in recognizing Guaido. Notably Gen. Yanez is identified on public state military information web pages as the air force’s head of strategic planning, making him the highest military official to break from the Maduro regime in months.
In the video Yanez urges other members of the military to defect in opposition to “dictator” Maduro’s rule immediately as “the transition to democracy is imminent.” He held up Guaido as the true president of Venezuela. His statement claims further that “90 percent” of Venezuela’s military is against Maduro; however there’s yet to be any signs of a mass waves of defections.
Active division military general in #Venezuela seen in video recognizing @jguaido as interim president. https://t.co/OyeEpFFkbm
— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) February 2, 2019
“The people have already suffered enough”, he says further in the video, describing famine-like conditions for lack of food and basic necessities such as medicine in the severely mismanaged and corrupt socialist country. “Do not repress (them) any more,” he asserts.
Also notable is that Gen. Yanez says “Mr Maduro has two planes on standby to flee the country” should his regime crumble, and Yanez follows by saying “he should go” as “the time for democracy is now.”
Meanwhile Caracas was quick to hit back, as the country’s Twitter account for the Air Force’s High Command issued an alert saying Yanez has committed treason. News of his defection came Saturday morning as opposition protests gained momentum across the country.
Previously the only military defection of note was the Jan. 26 defection of Venezuela’s top military attaché serving at country’s Washington D.C. Embassy. National Guard Col. José Luis Silva, who told reporters “enough already!” and declared, “As the Venezuelan defense attaché in the United States, I do not recognize Mr. Nicolás Maduro as president of Venezuela.” He urged security forces to join the mass anti-Maduro protests taking place, and to ensure the state doesn’t resort to violence, saying “My message to all armed forces members, to everyone who carries a gun, is to please let’s not attack the people.”
Last month National Assembly leader and now US-recognized “Interim President” Guaido first began appealing to the military to switch sides following a local and short-lived attempt of 27 officers to lead a revolt on Jan. 21, quickly put down by security forces after they stormed an armory and police checkpoint.
To encourage more such defections, which so far hasn’t appeared to penetrate the top layers of military leadership, Guaido has offered amnesty protection to any officer previously accused of corruption or human rights abuses should they defect.
And another significant development came Friday night when US National Security Adviser John Bolton tweeted that the United States will begin humanitarian aid shipments into Venezuela, despite Maduro denying acceptance of such aid.
Pursuant to the request of Interim President Juan Guaido, and in consultation with his officials the US will mobilize and transport humanitarian aid—medicine, surgical supplies, and nutritional supplements for the people of Venezuela. It’s time for Maduro to get out of the way. https://t.co/LXZsBf8vq6
— John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) February 2, 2019
This comes after opposition leader Guaido declared his willingness to accept the aid as “interim president” – despite the United Nations days ago reaffirming that Nicolas Maduro is the only legitimate head of state, contradicting the White House position.
Bolton tweeted on Friday: “Pursuant to the request of Interim President Juan Guaido, and in consultation with his officials the US will mobilize and transport humanitarian aid_medicine, surgical supplies, and nutritional supplements for the people of Venezuela. It’s time for Maduro to get out of the way.”
This raises the interesting scenario or possibility of the US initiating covert humanitarian shipments across the border, likely from ally Colombia, in defiance of Maduro’s ban on such aid. And it further raises the question: how long until Syria-style US covert weapons shipments make their way into the “humanitarian” supply line?
Traitor!
If China and Russia do not involve themselves in this story by supporting Maduro with decisiveness then he will end up like Viktor Yanukovych rather than Assad. IMO
Hard telling seeing as how Erdogan himself seemed spring loaded to benefit above all others in that episode.
A ready made list of people to arrest or blacklist, and the very modern cell phone broadcast at just the right moment made it seems a tick too well planned on the part of the Erdogan government.
Support how? Both China and Russia recognize the democratically elected president of Venezuela: Maduro. Both countries have condemned US meddling in Venezuela. (((U.S. leaders))) are like a pack of chimps with live hand grenades running around your house. If you want a fast, immediate solution, you can burn your house down. Most people would prefer to avoid that. However, if one of the chimps pulls the pin on his grenade, that might be your best option – you house is gone either way.
Special Envoy to Venezuela Elliott Abrams examines US foreign policy. Decides to pull the pin of liberty and democracy. God bless America!
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/996b8ff33f398fb5e6fec3bc97a64098d186d5dfbdab542edc8e4788bba54f09.png
be sure, none of these two countries wont be involved. they have enough own problems.
Fuck off solomon kupec.
It seems to me that the top priority of the Kremlin machine is protecting the political persona of Vladimir Putin. Accordingly, there has never been a proper reckoning of how badly the ball was dropped during the Maidan, leading to the loss of all Russian influence in Kiev. Certainly, this was not an unavoidable outcome when, at the time and even now, it is a minority of the Ukie population that harbors anti-Russian feelings.
At a minimum, there has been a terrible intelligence failure when Moscow only saw the protests and destabilization (like the rest of us), but missed a hardcore, violent coup being prepared right under their noses. If I were Maduro, the Russkies wouldn’t be my first stop when looking for advice. As you also mention, Erdogan had a much better grip on things.
Ukrainian mess happened on Medvedev’s watch.
I think you’re simply mixing up Ukraine and Libya (remember the Maidan was at the same time as the Sochi Games, the “stupid” Empire had chosen a moment when the Russkies would feel their hands were tied; no Pres. Medvedev was addressing the Sochi crowds). But in the bigger picture this is exactly what I’m talking about of course: Putin is the Man of Steel, energetically staying on top of things. Then when Russia’s “long game” once again turns out to have been too clever for its own good, resulting in another embarrassing retreat, it was all somebody else’s fault.
Fair call
Russia and China will not fight against a coming US military involvement in Venezuela, if this is what you think,
China and Russia always beat around the Bush just like empty containers with lots of sounds no action.
It’s sad to see another act of selling the soul for 30 sheckels.
that would be true if this people HAD a soul in first place.
since they don’t, it’s just whoring.
Air Force General Francisco Yanez, has accepted US$10,000 from Washington.
His proverbial ‘Forty pieces of silver’. Another ‘jewDas’ in the works.
30 shekels is 30 shekels.
Its more comfortable laying on a beach in Florida as a pink swine with a drink and 30 shekels, than die as a man with backbone and soul…………………………..LOL.
Seems he’d get his soul taken soon
This general look like lunatic.
He looks like a ponce.
30 pieces of silver shekels.
Looks like a fake. Who broke the news? Some guy on twitter published the clip, then thrown around with glee by CNN et al. What’s with the name badge anyway? Stuck on at the last minute over the blue tape. Wrong uniform. No cap. Like those two guys on CNN pretending to be defectors from venezuelan army dressed up in out of date uniform (FAN instead of FANB instituted in 2008). Strong smell of horseshit. The US has no shame and no sense.
Yup. Very likely a fake. Video about General Yanez was first streamed by “El Nacional”, a venezuelan newspaper most violently pro-Guaido. Have a look, but only if you have a strong stomach.
I wonder where the general is hiding right now? :)
US Embassy?
Miami, Fl.
Isn’t Marco Rubio behind it all and doesn’t he represent one of the Florida regions?
One thing we can guarantee is we don’t know the names of the men behind it all.
That Zionist monkey Marco Rubio is the Senator from all of Florida. He is a rabid Zionist and has his head stuck up AIPAC’s ass and the U.S. Jewish community.
But I agree with some posters here, the Venezuelan Armed Forces will not defect in mass, nor will Maduro fall. China and Russia will see to that. Venezuela is just another proxy war between the U.S. and China, like Syria and Afghanistan. Even Libya was a victim of this proxy war because Kaddafi was offering the Chinese to build a huge port near Tripoli as part of China’s OBR Silk Road. Acting thus as a gateway for China inti North and sub-Saharan Africa. In fact China was building a rail lines connecting Tunis, Libya and Egypt. Also Kaddafi was proposing selling oil in Chinese currency and starting an African Dinar, transferable to Chinese currency.
Expect more such h proxy wars. Iran comes to mind, with her enormous natural gas fields that are the largest in the world. CNOC- china National Oil Company bought a 80% stake in Irans South Pars natural gas field, the largest in the world.
Just listening to the Lee Camp take on things. Happily enjoying his take on things.
‘US creating coup in Venezuela, backed by every MSM outlet from MSNBC to Fox News’ – Lee Camp
https://www.rt.com/news/450399-us-media-venezuela-coup-support/
I also enjoy Lee Camp, AM.
He says it as it is :)
I like his energy, plus, cut to the chase style.
It looks like a chessboard deal. Iran oil/gas to China and Russia, Venezuela oil/gas to US. Time will tell.
It is time for China to assert her power I think, and to thwart the evil Empire in South America.
Russia has enough to cope with in Syria, Ukraine, her Southern Borders and Turkey.
Yes, that POS is.
Cuban ex-pat mafia. They’ve controlled southern Florida for decades…part of the the old Lansky Florida/Cuban mob. Today they run most of Florida politics…they know how to pull the chain of the retired wealthy yankees that have moved to their gated communities. What is going on there is the same as what is going on in most off the ‘old south’. It’s Trump (Israel) land. Florida of today bears no resemblance to Florida of 50 years ago. The ‘Israel friendly’ laws they’ve passed are enough to gag a person. Florida also just recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, as they rush to kiss Zionist ass.
in tank from the ww2 :))
Again fuck off solomon kupec.
All the way back to the beginning of the Syrian war too.
Top generals defecting for the dollars, but no so brave as to give their life killing Assad, or now Maduro.
Fucking traitors and cowards.
ZeroHedge slowly morphed into typical/standard zionist/khazarian liesmadia/hasbara
Didn’t morph into it, it always was from the beginning.
They always have been. Some truths, obscured by deception, the whole western alternative media are in on the take. They all answer to AIPAC and U.S. Jews. Especially imbeciles like Alex Jones from Infowars, who’s own wife is Jewish. Its a con game, to mislead the newly awakened people out there that something is amiss. They are what you call Gate-keepers.
Several controlled media do the same. Money talks.
But as long people can see it, the common sense is intact. So wtf.
Maybe, maybe not. Or maybe this time, the message is not to our liking? Pray tell, do you claim that Gen. Yanez is still at his post, vowing to protect Venezuela with everything he’s got?
The change started after they printed this story.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-01-16/exclusive-dallas-fed-quietly-suspends-energy-mark-market-tells-banks-not-force-shale
If/When the U.S. coup and occupation succeed, guess who stands to make millions by shifting all AMNBv (Venezuelan Air Force) purchases to U.S. ‘products’. They have 23 Su-30s and 23 F-16s. Guess what those numbers will look like a few years AFTER the occupation.
The Venezuelan Army should confiscate all such aid as it crosses Venezuela’s borders and enters the country, then search it for contraband and distribute true humanitarian aid on a fair and equal basis. Should the convoy refuse, it should be treated as an invasion force.
It wont end with regime change. It will go to splitting the country. The idiots!
So much ti loyality of the army. :)
The fall of maduro has begun.
The internal divisions in the US itself are far worse.
The US Deep State needs to divert domestic US anger toward another nation, and what better than a nation close to the US and allied regimes, with the largest known oil reserves in the world , that has no nuclear weapons.
|Fuck off you neoliberal hack..
One thing for sure- his claim of 90% support is BS.
It turns out that the hapless Maduro has a fetish for following every step from the Maidan playbook. He imposes no consequences on the traitors plotting a coup against his country, while on the other side you can be sure that Uncle Sam is waving the dolares around furiously. Sorry but if you do nothing, you’ll get an outcome commensurate with the effort.
But remember: the last step in that Maidan playbook, of Russian spetznatz coming to rescue your sorry ass, is not available to you because you don’t live in the neighborhood.
He was doing well before the US sanctions, years ago. The playbook is identical to Syria….sanctions for 6/7 years, then stirring up a colour revolution and the rest you should know.
He was doing well–apart lack of food self-sufficiency etc I guess. Venezuela’s overall dysfunction makes the Chavistas look like starry-eyed ideologues, excepts that they do corruption with the best of them. Of course nobody is perfect especially in S America, but such shortcomings count more when you’re in Uncle Sam’s cross-hairs.
Of course this is all the same playbook as Syria, and the dozen countries before that.
“and the rest you should know” Rather more important if Maduro knows. In the abstract, he will know. But does he feel in his bones that characters like Bolton and Abrams won’t hesitate to do to Caracas everything which their ilk inflicted on Aleppo? Rather, it seems he thinks he can avert the worst by playing nice; if so, he’s learned nothing and doesn’t deserve to hold the job.
Yes, I must agree.
Do like Lee Camp’s take on Venezuela. Listening to the CNN sector, I cannot stop laughing, sound like the UK charity adverts, seriously patronising.
‘US creating coup in Venezuela, backed by every MSM outlet from MSNBC to Fox News’ – Lee Camp…https://www.rt.com/news/450399-us-media-venezuela-coup-support/
Yes I watched it as well. I have watched a couple of shows recently and he is very humorous and spot on the money (so to speak).
They are not too bright. Its a true copy of Syria. The cowards in Syrian Army defecting to “moderate rebels” on US dollar salaries.
All right, Maduro only has to follow Assad´s example. At least he has S-300 already and dont have to wait 9 years because of “training issues” to please Israel.
Russia supplied him with the top shelf S-300VM in 2012, so at least his skies are safe. With Cuba’s help, expect his ground to be safe as well.
It happened in the beginning of the Syria aggression where traitors from the SAA were bribed to betray. The same occurs in Venezuela. Let the traitors be exposed. May more come out. One can see from his face that he is associated with the racist and corrupt and traitorous oligarchy. He is not the only traitor. Let the rest be exposed.
Yep, same MO as in Syria. Let the clock tick, let us see how many people declare “Maduro must go” and go themselves first without achieving nothing.
Sigh, and now Maduro is calling for early Parliamentary elections–legitimizing the Dark Throne’s narrative that their coup has anything to do with democracy?! Go ahead, show them how you’ve been intimidated; I’m sure Elliot Abrams will take pity on you. I just don’t understand why the Cubans can’t point out such beginner’s mistakes to Yanukovich ehmm sorry I meant Maduro. Pathetic.
Wouldn’t that mean that Guano would have to contest his seat?
No; you’re not keeping up. Guaido is now President: he negotiates Venezuela’s debts to Russia and China, and appeals for US humanitarian aid. Any parliamentary election would have nothing to do with him–at most with his party, but like with Russian liberals his true base resides in Washington, so what does he care.
Admittedly I do like “Guano”, but you join the confused Maduro in discussing this character as if he were Venezuelan democratic opposition as opposed to an American spy–who should be in jail.
The “pro-Russian” side think they understand propaganda because of the Soviet heritage, but all of that is positively ancient compared to the Rovian “create your own reality”. The Kremlin makes this mistake in Syria as well, talking about “opposition” at the most inopportune moments, even when discussing the most atrocious Turkish proxies. Instead, the story should be nonstop about how the secular Assad Govt is helping the West by fighting al-Qaeda for them.
I suspect that Maduro will use those planes very soon. The US has finally decided he should go and is bringing massive pressure now to bare. Nobody in Venezuela really likes Maduro anyway, as he totally lacks the charisma that Chavez at least had. And its not like he has to offer anyone in the country anything long term. Bolivarian socialism fails as hard as any other form of socialism at tanking the economy even without sanctions. He only survives by bribing the top army commanders, but if he can no longer bribe them due to increasing US sanctions they might decide to stand a better future to seek a deal with Guaido. We will see what happens. I reckon that we should expect that a tipping point might occur soon and that Maduro is no Assad, who managed to survive at least because the armed opposition against him turned out to be an even worse alternative made of rapid lunatic Jihadis. No such chance of that happening in Venezuela.
So US proxy death squads , as in Chile et al, are the way forward then are they ?
Venezuela is essentially a nation of the tribes before Spanish colonisation and the descendants of the Spanish Conquistadors.
European conquests of South America in the 1500’s – 1700’s are said to have exterminated circa 56 million of the estimated 60 million ethnic populations of South America.
A recent study by Oxford University and others , asserts that the Great Freeze of the 18th century, when the Thames in London UK frequently froze over, was partially due to the hundreds of thousands of hectares of farm land being abandoned and reclaimed by nature in South America.
Wow. ! Muy interesante.
Oxford U assertion is just Climate change bs that’s been touted at every corner. “Look, man-made climate change already at 18the century”. It’s not happening now, it wasn’t happening then.
Climate on earth is and always has been in a constant state of change.
There are lakes in permafrost areas of Siberia where it is possible to make a hole in the ice and light the methane gas produced by rotting vegetation beneath. Mammoth remains are being found to this day as the areas become warmer. A baby mammoth was found there a few years ago with a full stomach of its last meal, thousands of years ago. The permafrost areas were grasslands then.
It is a fact that active volcano’s and meteor strikes , have put so much dust into the atmosphere that they caused several years or more of cold weather.
Man today is depositing dust/gas into the atmosphere that also has an impact. How much is debatable I agree. There is an argument that a warmer climate would enable Northern lands to be farmed more productively , I suppose.
Either way, the loss of farmland that fed circa 54 million people in South America and the subsequent heavy vegetation that reclaimed the man made pastures, would have had an impact on world climate.
Indeed the climate is in constant change. But after the Global Warming alarmists changed their “issue” to Climate Change it has become less easy to discuss the real climate change rationally, because the alarmists still believe in the Warming despite the change in nomenclature. It is to this warming that I referred to as climate change bs. And I’m afraid that Oxford assertion comes across as something the alarmists are keen to say, i.e. that man-mad-climate-change is real. It may be possible to link microscopic changes in the climate to some of man’s industrial activities but they have never been, and are not currently even close to being the main drivers.
If you haven’t seen it yet do watch the brilliant video called “The Great Global Warming Swindle”. You’ll never look back after that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYhCQv5tNsQ
I agree with you and a consequence of current ‘ Climate Change policy’ will also be that travel, domestic and international, will again become a habitude of the wealthy.
Your imperialist necon bull shit is showing, I always thought alt-rights where trojan horses to the antiwar crowd, and see you spewing your ant-communist hysteria to justify military involvement shows your true colors. Your no different then jihadis, zionist, globalist, and neocons you have typed about, scumbag.
… “banking system is the eighth world wonder” – Baron de Rothschild.
… money is the devil.
Traitorous whore.
Money talks, money decides,
until people realize that money has no real value (at least fiat currency like dollars), and that the cabals which control it will give everyone tons of it in exchange for the things that have real value (Minerary resources, Food, water, and populations themselves).
Until 1913, all the dollars had a writing on them, “can be reclaimed in gold”.
Since then, every dollar you have in your pockets, it’s just debt you own from the US government, a debt that they will not repay you.
f u traitors, you will have to give up the money in the end and just might finish at the firing squad! dont by like them cowardly boycows, fight the zio fifth column without mercy! bresil bring back lula and jail the zio terrorist
“bresil bring back lula and jail the zio terrorist”
besides, when that will happen, Embraer will be gone anyway, and the Brazilians will have to do without the most successful, valuable enterprise they ever made – with their own hands, only to give it away for change to Boeing.
Wilma Roussef may have been corrupt, but certainly hasn’t been the one who took money to allow Brazil to bend over to Boeing.
yes there is corruption everywhere . everybody liks to hire freinds and family. if you allow the ziochitts in, there will be inifinitly more corruption and thiefery and looting ! bresil , save yourself Brazil bring back lula!, jail the zio-sobs ! before they pull another 911
Police and army officials stand under oath.The moment their defect their betray citizens and sovereign state which their protect.Coup is 80% of the time perfect but I dont favor both. Free elections with observers are the perfect way.
The election did have international observers, and was judged fair. Maduro won by a landslide, because the main opposition boycotted the election, because they knew they didn’t have a chance of winning.
Because they boycotted it, does not make the election invalid, nor does the knee-jerk reaction of the US and its cronies and lackeys of saying it was not a genuine election (they are good at knee-jerks, and other sorts).
What are the odds that if the Labour Party had boycotted the last General Election because they did not think they could beat the Tories, Trump and the EU and half of Latin America would have said the election was not valid, and supported a self-proclaiming Jeremy Corbyn as Prime Minister?
Yep, I suspect you get the drift…
Thank you Babs.
This is exactly same early element of the regime change plan US attempted to apply to Syria in 2011 – try and recruit military officers with huge cash incentives, to both publicly act as high profiles defectors, and if possible buy enough officers to stage a coup against sitting leadership. Only US efforts failed dismally in Syria as only limited low end officers took up the CIA cash. Likelly be few money grubbers in Venezuela too
No, Yanez, ‘… “90 percent” of Venezuela’s military is NOT against Maduro…’; just a small minority of scumbag traitors like you, selling out your country, fellow citizens and your soul for the Yanqui dollar.