Fausta's Blog

American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture

May 3, 2017 By Fausta

U.S. Senate: Cardin, Rubio & others introduce new Venezuela sanctions bill

LAHT has the bill:

U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) introduced bipartisan legislation Wednesday to provide humanitarian assistance for the Venezuelan people, support a coordinated multilateral response to political and humanitarian challenges, and to defend democratic governance and combat widespread public corruption in Venezuela.
. . .
Included in the bills multiple provisions are funding for essential medicines, nutritional supplements, and technical assistance to improve food and medical distribution; a strategy to engage governments and multilateral organizations throughout the Western Hemisphere in improving the humanitarian situation in Venezuela; support for the OAS ‘ democracy restoration efforts and future electoral-observation missions.

Read it in full.

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Filed Under: Communism, Fausta's blog, Senate, Venezuela Tagged With: Marco Rubio

April 21, 2017 By Fausta

Colombia: Trump meets with Uribe and Pastrana

Former Colombian presidents Álvaro Uribe and Andrés Pastrana met with Pres. Trump at Mar-a-Lago last weekend, in a meeting probably arranged by Marco Rubio:

In a tweet following the meeting, Pastrana thanked Trump for the “cordial and very frank conversation” about problems in Colombia and the region.

Uribe was unavailable for an interview, but his former vice president, Francisco Santos, said it was important that the Trump administration and U.S. Congress hear a more complete picture of the reality in Colombia. He described the meeting as short, but with a clear message. The former presidents raised concerns about the situation in Venezuela and Colombia, including damage they say the peace process has caused.

“We’re very worried,” said Francisco Santos, who is the Bogotá chair of Uribe’s Democratic Center political party and the current president’s cousin. “You have a perfect storm, and the government says everything is going fine and we’re living in peace. And that’s not true.”

The Mar-a-Lago meeting coincided with a letter Uribe wrote to the Trump administration and Congress, which he published on Twitter, warning that President Santos’ efforts to complete a peace deal with the rebels could lead to Colombia becoming an authoritarian state similar to Venezuela.

Here’s Uribe’s letter,

Message to the authorities and the Congress of the United States of America… https://t.co/U1THc37vYn

— Álvaro Uribe Vélez (@AlvaroUribeVel) April 16, 2017

Related:
Prior posts on the FARC and the peace agreement.

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Filed Under: Colombia, FARC, Fausta's blog Tagged With: Andrés Pastrana, Donald Trump, Juan Manuel Santos, Marco Rubio

September 7, 2015 By Fausta

The Labor Day Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

First the Chong Chong Gang, then the Mu Du Bong, now the Haddad 1: Weapons smuggling to and from rogue states.

ARGENTINA
Menem said no: Argentina Former Prez Refuses to Testify in AMIA Bombing Cover Up

Menem refused to testify on grounds that he was under obligation to maintain ‘state secrets’ which only the Senate could lift.

Argentine Jewish leader: What happened to Alberto Nisman?

Lengthy but must-read: Inside the Spyware Campaign Against Argentine Troublemakers, including Lanata and Nisman.

Argentina orders HSBC to replace local bossArgentina’s central bank has ordered HSBC to replace its chief executive in the country within 24 hours and accused the bank of failing to prevent tax evasion and money laundering.

BRAZIL
Raid in Sao Paulo discovers ISIS money-laundering network: Polícia Federal descobre rede de apoiadores do Estado Islâmico em São Paulo. O achado assusta. Ainda mais porque terrorismo, no Brasil, não é crime

Desperate times, desperate movesBeset by dismal economic data, Dilma Rousseff tosses Congress a challenge

On August 31st Dilma Rousseff, their president, sent Congress a budget for 2016 with a gaping primary deficit (before interest payments) of 30.5 billion reais ($8 billion), or 0.5% of GDP, challenging its members to close the gap. It was a break with the sound-money practices that have underpinned Brazil’s economy. It was, some critics say, illegal. Certainly nothing similar has happened since at least 2000, when Fernando Henrique Cardoso, then the president, transformed public finances.

On a charitable view, Ms Rousseff was shocking legislators into making hard decisions rather than simply blocking her fiscal proposals. A harsher reading is that she does not know how to lead Brazil out of recession.

Rio attempts to tackle widespread homelessness ahead of OlympicsAn estimated 5,600 people live on the streets of Rio, of which more than 340 are children

CHILE
Chile on Path to “Modest” Recovery, Central Bank Says

COLOMBIA
COLOMBIAN MAN DETAILS SEXUAL ASSAULT BY VENEZUELAN SOLDIERS DURING DEPORTATION

CUBA
Russian Spy Ship Targets U.S. Nuclear Submarines, Then Heads to Cuba

Hope in change: August was worst month for political repression in Cuba since June 2014

ECUADOR
Ecuadorian Watchdog Warns Journos, Activists of Spyware Attacks. Emails Circulate the Same Infected Files That Targeted Nisman in Argentina

Canada’s Top Court Rules in Favor of Ecuador Villagers in Chevron Case. The case will go back to an Ontario court, where the two sides will argue over a $9.5 billion judgment against Chevron

EL SALVADOR
MS-13 GANG MEMBER IN U.S. ILLEGALLY WANTED FOR SALVADORAN PROSECUTOR’S MURDER

GUATEMALA
What’s Happening in Guatemala?With its government about to fall, Guatemala is finally questioning the neoliberal orthodoxy of the post–Cold War world. Not that they actually tried it.

MEXICO
Excuse me while I whip this out: *GRAPHIC CONTENT* WATCH ‘DISABLED’ MAN DISPLAY HIS 19-INCH PENIS

PANAMA
Leaks Sink Deadline for Panama Canal Expansion
All Hands on Deck after Structural Flaws Circulate on Social Media

PARAGUAY
In Paraguay’s remote north guerrillas are still at large, armed and dangerous. The Paraguayan People’s Army (EPP) have killed more than 50 people in the last two years but some wonder if the government is really trying to defeat them

PERU
Newly buzzing Lima vies with Peru’s ancient sites for visitor attention. Tourists who once made a beeline for Machu Picchu are now finding the contemporary art and food scene of Peru’s capital, Lima, as much of a draw

PUERTO RICO
Marco Rubio and Hillary Clinton lock horns over Puerto Rico’s financesPresidential candidates offer opposing solutions to commonwealth’s $72bn debt, with Democrat backing bankruptcy status. Rubio:

“I don’t believe Chapter 9 would solve Puerto Rico’s problems,” he said. “I believe what would solve Puerto Rico’s problems is the same thing that would solve Washington’s problems, and that is to restructure the way government spends its money.

“No organisation, whether it’s a government, a company or a family, can survive long-term spending more money than it takes in.”

Aides: Clinton raised up to $500,000 during Puerto Rico trip

You can’t cure stupid: Puerto Rico Senate Declares Spanish over English as First Official Language

VENEZUELA
Maduro castiga a Colombia para proteger al Cartel de los Soles [Maduro punishes Colombia to protect the Cartel of the Suns.]

Cartel de los Soles busca jefatura del Ministerio de Defensa en Venezuela. Cáncer de Vladimir Padrino López genera dudas sobre si continuará como Ministro de Defensa. Diosdado Cabello y Tarek El Aissami compiten por colocar sus fichas en el cargo. Los dos potenciales candidatos están siendo investigados en EEUU por narcotráfico

Read more here:

Why is China Bankrolling Venezuela?

Whatever Beijing’s motivations, the practical effect of said loans, according to Ellis [Evan Ellis of the U.S. Army War College], has “enabled countries such as Venezuela to continue as de facto sanctuaries for criminal and insurgent groups, and also, as points of entry into the region for Russia, Iran and other actors with potentially hostile intentions toward the United States.”

Woman, 80, trampled to death in Venezuelan supermarket stampede. Rush for subsidized goods sees 75 people injured as thousands besiege supermarket

The week’s posts and podcast:
The mysterious Bolivian ship and its tons of weapons UPDATED

Guatemala: President resigns, is charged and jailed

Labor Day weekend film review: Wild about Wild Tales

Brazil: U.S. fast food chains expanding

Venezuela: Well on the road from “malgoverned space” to failed state

Haiti: Hillary’s “campaign against the negative stories concerning our involvement in Haiti”

Breaking: Obama Clinches Vote to Secure Iran Nuclear Deal

Pedro Pan exhibit and panel coming up

Wikileaks is a Front for Russian Intelligence

Guatemala: Central America’s Next Flashpoint

Chile: Bachelet’s proposal for failure

En español: Mensaje a Jorge Ramos (with English excerpts)

8PM Eastern Podcasting live on Latin America, Trump, http://t.co/HNZscHnzzt

— Fausta (@Fausta) September 2, 2015



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Filed Under: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Carnival of Latin America, Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Hillary Clinton, Latin America, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Venezuela Tagged With: Alberto Nisman, AMIA, Chevron, EPP, Fausta' blog, Jorge Lanata, Marco Rubio

June 10, 2015 By Fausta

Rubio Vice

This is Marco Rubio’s ‘luxury speedboat’ http://t.co/XvMaUJo02m pic.twitter.com/FIWI29pm46

— Blake Hounshell (@blakehounshell) June 9, 2015

Having lived in the resort areas of the tropics for years, I actually laughed when the NYT described Marco Rubio’s modest fishing boat as a “luxury speedboat”. Viking Pundit’s uncle from New Jersey had one like that.

Hey check it out: I put Rubio’s boat in Hillary’s swimming pool to scale. pic.twitter.com/VFpxsvYtnV

— John Ekdahl (@JohnEkdahl) June 10, 2015


Rubio Vice by trueholygoat

Side-by-side: Marco Rubio’s Boat vs. John Kerry’s Boat.

More, much more at Twitchy.

The Rubio campaign ought to send a thank you note to the NY Times and a dozen roses by now.

Now I want the NYT to try Ted Cruz next!

UPDATE

Left: Marco Rubio's house. Right: Hillary Clinton's house. Clearly, Hillary can identify with the common man. pic.twitter.com/3gLEXcpdmW

— Bill Sanderson (@mrgeology) June 9, 2015

The NYT has accomplished what I believed impossible, up to now: To show a regular guy in Washington politics.

Favorable publicity money didn’t buy,

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,The Daily Show on Facebook,Daily Show Video Archive

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Filed Under: humor, politics, Republicans Tagged With: Fausta's blog, Marco Rubio

March 27, 2014 By Fausta

#SOSVenezuela: Marco Rubio’s speech

Rubio Delivers Floor Speech On Crisis In Venezuela (emphasis added)

In fact, it is now known that the Interior Ministry of Venezuela authorized snipers to travel to Táchira state and fire on demonstrators. Here is a picture of a government official, of a law enforcement or army or National Guard individual, or Interior Ministry individual, on a rooftop with a rifle and a scope aiming into a crowd. Here is a picture of a sniper. It doesn’t end there. Those aren’t the only pictures we have. Here are more pictures of more snipers on rooftops. Here is another sniper aiming into the crowd, with a spotter next to them. Here is another picture of the same sniper blown up.

These are government-sponsored individuals. What civilized [country] on Earth sends the National Guard and the Interior Ministry of their own government, of their own country, with snipers to fire on their own people who are demonstrating because of the lack of freedoms and opportunity and economic degradation that exists in a country? They cannot deny this. Here are pictures taken by demonstrators themselves of the snipers ready to shoot down people. In fact, 36 people have lost their lives.

But it doesn’t end just with the government snipers. Because what the government is trying to do here to hide their involvement is they have organized these pro-government militia groups, basically, these militant groups that they hide behind. These groups don’t wear uniforms. They’re called ‘colectivos.’ They drive around the city in motorcycles, and they assault protesters, they break in and vandalize their homes, they have weapons that they use to shoot into the crowds and kill or harm people.

There are three main groups. By the way, these groups began under Hugo Chavez’s reign, and these groups are actually organized around a concept that has existed for years in Cuba — these committees to defend the Revolution. These are neighborhood groups, so they know your family, they know who you are, they’re always watching, and they organize themselves into armed militias. The government’s claim is, ‘Well, these groups are on their own, we’re not coordinating with them,’ but in fact, there have been multiple reports that these groups coordinate with the National Guard to take down barricades set up by protesters, to break into the homes of protesters, to vandalize homes, to terrorize people, and to kill.

There are three main groups that I want to point out, these ‘colectivos.’ La Piedrita is one of them, it’s based in a working class neighborhood of Caracas. It has a far-left ideology, it is armed, it is comprised of radicals, who claim to be willing to die for their revolutionary ideals, whatever those are. In January, this group, by the way, tweeted that Henrique Capriles, the opposition party’s nominee for president in the last elections, is a racist and a fascist and accused him of intending to launch attacks on the poor and on impoverished neighborhoods.

Read the whole thing.


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Filed Under: Communism, Cubazuela, Venezuela Tagged With: #SOSVenezuela, Fausta's blog, Marco Rubio

March 7, 2014 By Fausta

Marco Rubio at #CPAC2014: “America must be involved in leading the world”

My latest article at Da Tech Guy blog, Marco Rubio at #CPAC2014: “America must be involved in leading the world”

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Filed Under: CPAC Tagged With: Da Tech Guy, Fausta's blog, Marco Rubio

February 27, 2014 By Fausta

Rubio’s speech on Cuba and Venezuela

“Let me tell you what the Cubans are really good at, because they don’t know how to run their economy, they don’t know how to build, they don’t know how to govern a people. What they are really good at is repression. What they are really good at is shutting off information to the Internet and to radio and television and social media. That’s what they’re really good at. And they’re not just good at it domestically, they’re good exporters of these things. And you want to see exhibit A, B, C and D? I’m going to show them to you right now. They have exported repression in real-time, in our hemisphere, right now.”
Marco Rubio

I posted the YouTube here, but this is worth reading in full while listening:

Full text below the fold:
[Read more…]

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Filed Under: Communism, Cuba, politics, Venezuela Tagged With: Fausta's blog, Marco Rubio

February 25, 2014 By Fausta

Venezuela: Tweeting the barricades #SOSVenezuela

Finally, a CNN reporter on the job,

Dando un tour por Caracas, buscando info hasta debajo de las piedras, excelente periodista #24FGranBarricadaNacional pic.twitter.com/RoU3LkoONQ

— AnonymousBolivar (@WilliamsXtreme) February 25, 2014

“Since when does the National Guard wear white sneakers?”

"@soydirecto: De cuando aca la GNB usa zapatos de goma blancos??? #VzlaElQueSeCansaPierde #24FGranBarricadaNacional pic.twitter.com/U0DbMnmYQL"

— Richard (@RNCF2012) February 25, 2014

“A woman was brutally beaten by female operative of the People’s Guard in Valencia” The perpetrator was later identified as Josneidy Castillo.

Una mujer fue brutalmente golpeada por efectivos Mujer de la Guardia Del Pueblo en Valencia. pic.twitter.com/5MQvdYEqsJ @willycochez @clemulu

— Boina Verde (@cesago) February 24, 2014

Sonrie Josneidy Castillo ESTAS EN LAS REDES SOCIALES y con evidencia para q pagues con carcel tu abuso #SOSVenezuela pic.twitter.com/JB0aROHuJu

— Judith Alves 350 (@LocaLuzCaraball) February 25, 2014

Barinas Hugo Chavez Home Town doesn't want CastroComunist Govt. #24FGranBarricadaNacional #VzlaElQueSeCansaPierde pic.twitter.com/ehx2cef2Z8"""

— MAIPO GOLD (@goldtwittee) February 24, 2014

Marco Rubio’s speech on Cuba and Venezuela,

The speech of the USA senator Marco Rubio about the crisis in Venezuela http://t.co/gOrBHh7yM4 #SOSVenezuela

— Ricardo Ramírez. (@RicardoARM_) February 25, 2014

SOS Venezuela video:

El Carabobeño daily’s Flickr photos of the National Guard attacking civilians.

Alex Beech explains media indifference to Venezuela on her Facebook page.

Caracas Gringo: Maduro Must Resign Now! translates the following video,

Monica Showalter‘s Facebook page: Cuban troops instructing Venezuelan goons how to build barricades. Venezuela’s freedom fighters are up against the muscle of Castro

Also via Monica, an article from 2005, Hugo Chávez Enlists a Kennedy for Anti-U.S. Campaign

WSJ: Venezuela’s Maduro Faces Internal Criticism
Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro encountered the first criticism from within his ruling coalition when a state governor criticized the government’s crackdown on a growing student movement.

Devil’s Excrement:
Tachira Governor Distances Himself From Venezuelan Government and A Confusing Day: Confession, Repression And Backtracking In Venezuela

I don’t know, but when two such dissimilar political figures act the same way, something is afoot. Some crack in the facade is showing. Some weakness is being perceived and they both want to take advantage of it.

Breitbart: 500 ATTACKED BY POLICE, TEN DEAD IN VENEZUELA AS WORLD UNITES TO PROTEST MADURO REGIME

Caracas Chronicle: The Full Scale of What’s Happening in San Cristóbal Isn’t Getting Through Because of the Media Blackout

NYT slideshow

Victoria Henderson writing at PanAm Post, Chavismo Apologists: The Long Arm of the “Official” Story
Canadian Media Extends Olive Branch to Venezuelan Regime

There’s a women’s protest scheduled for tomorrow. There’s also an initiative to cancel the upcoming Carnival festivities,

A entregar Volantes como este. ¡NO AL CARNAVAL! VENEZUELA DE LUTO #26FMegaTranca #concluBARRRICADA pic.twitter.com/YWpYbGa9fN

— Nicolás Maburro (@Maburrito) February 25, 2014

Special thanks to my former classmate Doris for her Facebook posts.

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Filed Under: Communism, news, VaTech Tagged With: #LaSalida, Fausta's blog, Marco Rubio

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