Venezuelan security forces surround Argentine embassy after opposition members take refuge inside

[LauraInLA]

Source: CNN

Venezuelan security forces surrounded the Argentine embassy in the capital Caracas on Friday after two opposition members took refuge inside, according to posts by the opposition on social media.

The pair joined four other Venezuelan opposition figures who have taken refuge in the embassy this year.

CNN has also sought comment from the foreign ministry of Brazil, whose government assumed the protection of the diplomatic building, after Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro expelled Argentine diplomatic personnel from the country.

On Saturday, Venezuela said it had revoked Brazil’s authorization to represent Argentina’s interests in the country, including the protection of the diplomatic building. It claimed the decision was due to evidence that the embassy was being used to plan an attempted “magnicide” against Maduro and his Vice President Delcy Rodriguez.


Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/07/americas/venezuelan-security-forces-surround-argentine-embassy-intl/index.html

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I included a couple of paragraphs further down in the article because I thought the Brazil connection should not be missed.

[JoseBalow]

1. "magnicide" - The assassination of a major political figure.

From Latin magnus (“great, important”) + -cide.

[Marcuse]

2. A new word for me

Magnicide > Assassination > Murder

[peppertree]

7. All too common in Latin America however

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_assassinations#The_Americas

That said, I should note that the Trumpian Chucky doll that runs Argentina currently (Milei) is obsessed with endearing himself to GOP neo-cons by toppling Maduro.

And while he subjects Argentina to the worst crisis since their 2001 collapse - Milei decreed a $100 million supplemental earmark to their "intelligence" agency.

$80 million of that disappeared within a month - with zero accounting.

A lot of it no doubt ended up in Milei's U.S. accounts (which we look the other way at for pointless geopolitical reasons).

But a lot else was reputedly used for this "epic" intelligence operation against Venezuela - which by Argentine law he would need congressional authorization for.

Not that it's ever stopped him - since he's ruled mostly be decree since December (with disastrous results).

Cry for Argentina.

[Polybius]

11. I'll still take Milei any day of the week over Maduro though, and twice on Tuesdays

Although that's not saying much.

[peppertree]

12. I agree

Though I wouldn't be surprised to see Milei disregard what will probably be a sharp rebuke in '27 - and to try to install himself for a second term à la Maduro or Bolsonaro (or of course El Trumpo).

His Security Minister, that fascist lush Patricia Bullrich, is certainly on board with that plan.

And most Argentine right-wingers will contort themselves like a folding balloon, to support him - even though they themselves (like most others in Argentina) have fallen by a whole social class economically since last November.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

3. Typical tyrant that Maduro is.

But that's to be expected, he did steal the election when there is clear evidence that he lost and lost big.

[Igel]

4. Venezuela went from good system to obviously horrible system in what, 25 years?

24?

Russia managed to do it in 11. China took about the same as Russia.

Then again, Maduro was iron-first-in-painted-on-glove despotism for years before this, so maybe that's being a bit lenient in assigning guilt. 7 million Venezuelans voted with their feet before this year and they probably weren't wrong.


It's like Russian and Ukraine in 2014. Russia was obviously unchanged from 2013 to 2014, but it became too obvious to ignore what was obvious to all but the self-deluded by 2006. Still, we had the "looked into his soul" ridiculosity and the "reset" parody, with Russia's not being a "geopolitical foe" and the '80s calling to get their foreign policy back.

[Jk23]

8. I'm no China fan

Exactly how far back do you have to go to find a Chinese government that worked.

At least the current one isn't killing all the songbirds and starving 50 million people.

[C0RI0LANUS]

9. Jk23: About China...

Radio Free Asia: "Tibetans Chafe at Repression as China Celebrates 70 Years of Rule over Tibet" and "Hundreds of Taiwanese 'disappear' in China over past ten years."

Human Rights Watch (HRW): "A report OHCHR released last year concluded that since 2017, the Chinese government had committed grave rights violations against millions of Uyghurs and other Turkic people in Xinjiang, abuses so systematic and widespread that they “may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity.”

Sources:

https://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/china-occupation-70th-08212021113934.html

https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/taiwanese-disappear-08302024151407.html

https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/09/13/chinas-beautiful-xinjiang-continues-oppress-uighurs

[peppertree]

6. Though the Trumpian Chucky doll currently in charge in Argentina is little better

In June - while he subjects his country to the worst crisis since Argentina's 2001 collapse - Milei decreed a $100 million "supplemental earmark" to their "intelligence" agency.

$80 million of that disappeared within a month - with zero accounting.

A lot of it no doubt ended up in Milei's U.S. accounts (which we look the other way at for pointless geopolitical reasons).

But a lot else was reputedly used for what he believes is an "epic" intelligence operation against Venezuela.

And because it's Argentine intelligence, the whole thing was like something out of a Clouseau movie - except pointless through and through (Clouseau at least usually got his man - however inadvertently).

As they say: Don't Spy for Me, Argentina.

https://geopolitics.co/2019/03/23/dont-spy-for-me-argentina/

[LeftInTX]

10. I think Argentina is more stable and diverse. I think Milei will only last one term. Just My Opinion.

Yes, there is the RW authoritarian over there. It would have been better if Massa won.

[peppertree]

13. Hear, hear

With the record 2023 drought behind them, Argentina's economy was projected to grow by 4% this year.

It's now projected to fall by 4% (–6% if you exclude volatile agriculture) - with no recovery in sight for '25. And no federal public works - which Massa invested heavily in (and they need those).

Plus Massa wouldn't have ruled by decree or pawed $100 million in taxpayer dollars for vanity projects like toppling Maduro (whom I, too, would like to see resign - but it's none of Argentina' business), or controlling social media.

Qué será.

[LeftInTX]

14. I don't what got into them...I sometimes wonder if the terrorist attack in Israel was also a factor?

It looks like Massa may have gotten off to a slow start. Milei pandered to Jewish voters. Although the Jewish community is small, it is quite unique and has been subjected to terrorist attacks in the past. (I saw this movie about a guy who disappeared and started a new life with another woman after a terrorist attack. ) They even spoke their own dialect of Spanish.

[peppertree]

15. Milei was an impulse purchase - heavily promoted by Argentina's Big Media (think multiple Fox Newses, and one MSNBC)

What created the underlying discontent, more than anything, was Fernández's failure to tackle inflation - which tripled from an already-high 54% when he took office, to 160% by the time he left (as well as a birthday party stupidly held amid social gathering restrictions in 2020 - not unlike Newsom's 'French Laundry' scandal).

Massa, as economy minister during Fernández's last 18 months, was easily blamed by Milei and RW media for the failure (which I mainly attribute to the foreign debt crisis left over by Trump's pal Macri - as well as IMF interference).

Milei - who became a household word for his rowdy "anti-quarantine" protests in 2020 - quickly emerged as the "outsider" candidate (though, like Trump, actually a puppet of RW elites).

Now - his shock policy has succeeded in bring inflation down to a still-high 4% monthly (from 12% in November); but at the cost of a severe recession, with no recovery in sight (and his devaluation did push up the rate to 25.5% his first month).

So Argentines have a term for that: "the peace of cemeteries."

Sure, it's quieter - because everything's dead.

[Eko]

5. Wow, Kick!