Bolivarian Venezuela, the Most Acute Point of Anti-imperialist Confrontation

By Carlos Aznárez on February 13, 2018

Bolivarian militia, Photo: Bill Hackwell

It is not about dramatizing, exaggerating or outlining apocalyptic conspiracies, but each of the pieces that the Empire is moving on the Latin American chess board aims to establish a scenario of military intervention against Bolivarian Venezuela. It may be outsourced or executed directly with the false excuses of “humanitarianism”. The situation becomes more serious if one takes into account that all this warmongering scaffolding could be aimed at preventing the Chavista people from another strong electoral beating in April of the oligarchic power.

There are multiple elements that would help to assemble an imminent interventionist staging after the decision of the U.S. government to expedite the fall of the ultra-legitimate government of Nicolas Maduro.  First, a few months ago the envoy was Vice President Mike Pence who toured the continent visiting “friendly” presidents to order them to tighten the nuts of the economic war against Venezuela. It did not work quite as expected but it planted the seed that a few days ago, was revived by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. This time the proposal was an escalation to increase the belligerence against the “dictator” Maduro and was whole heartedly bought by the two representatives of the most aggressive neoliberal team. Both lapdogs Macri and Santos climbed onto the aircraft carrier made in the USA and promised to be among the first in the onslaught that Washington is concocting.   This was followed up with an accumulation of gestures indicative of the danger in the making. Namely: the declarations of the undersecretary of State for Latin America and the Caribbean, Francisco Palmieri, offering aid to Colombia and Brazil due to “the gigantic and continuous migration of Venezuelans to both territories”. Palmieri used the “humanitarian” interventionist angle, the same one insisted upon by the CIA cadet, Luis Almagro of the OAS and his Peruvian accomplice Kuzinsky, one of the main promoters of that presidential mafia calling itself the “Group of Lima”. In that same line Macri gave the green light so that Venezuelan students “who come to Argentina fleeing the dictatorial chaos do not suffer more troubles”, and therefore, unlike those who come from other countries, they will be legalized immediately for their educational situation.

The maneuver is to demonstrate that “the Venezuelan dictatorship” has no room for anyone to survive. This is something very similar to what the United States tried for years with Cuba and very recently with the “Syrian dictatorship” and is summarized something like this.”I make your life impossible, I will force your people to emigrate, I welcome them with open arms and then I invade you humanely.” In terms of military intervention there is also disturbing data. First there is the presence of the Commander of the US Southern Command in Colombia, then there is the movement of troops in the Amazonian border of Brazil and Colombia, again with the Venezuelan migratory excuse. The central point of confluence of these preparations is the Brazilian mobile base of Tabatinga, which was inaugurated last November with the joint military exercises of the USA, Brazil, Colombia and Peru, in which mock invasion was practiced “to a country under communist domain.” Just like in the old days.

The interventionist plans, then turned to the U.S. ambassador in Bogotá, Kevin Whitaker, who affirmed that Venezuela needs “a democratic, institutional and rapid solution”. Immediately, Santos and Uribe, each applauded the offer and while the Colombian president assured that he will not recognize the April elections, the paramilitary Uribe poured more gasoline onto the fire urging to hurry a military intervention that has ” the Colombian approval.” All this comes in the context of the territorial re-occupation of Colombian paramilitary groups in Cúcuta, in Catatumbo and other points close to Venezuela. Not to mention the recent presence of U.S. soldiers in the area of Tumaco, the same area where last year several peasants were murdered. There is also intense entry and exiting of men and equipment at the nine US bases in Colombia.

With total precision the former military and now geostrategic analyst William Izarra is now speaking of “Operadora Tenazas” and mentions as territories that could be used for a large-scale intervention, apart from Colombia, Guyana and the Dutch islands-colonies of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao, all of them places where the US military walks around like it is their home.

This being the case, and with Trump barking, the most logical thing is that in the internal scenario things will tighten up. Faced with the expected withdrawal of the opposition from the Dominican negotiating table, fulfilling an order from their imperial masters, and the increase in the escalation of the blockade and economic war imposed by Washington, its Latin American acolytes and the European Union, the Venezuelan people are preparing to repeat the victory of July 31.  Without a single doubt, everyone is convinced that in April the second part of the mother of all battles will arrive, and that unlike the one faced by the United States before it began to massacre the Iraqi people in 1991, it will be to ratify once more that the Revolution is necessary not only to ensure peace in Venezuela but to stir up the fire of continental and world rebellion. No, this will not be another election to endorse all that Chavez won, but rather to support Maduro unitarily.

This would serve as a big kick in the ass to those who are trying to get our people, all of them, back to the Middle Ages.  Now, if the brazenness being displayed by Trump, Rajoy, Macri and Santos continues with their plans and decide to launch a military escalation directly or indirectly, before or after the elections, at the local level in Venezuela there are no doubts as Diosdado Cabello pointed out, concerning an invasion disguised as humanitarian aid: “You are likely to enter, but we are going to see how you will come out.” And on the continental stage the time will have come to “make the prairie burn.” These are not the times of great speeches and promises of solidarity with the fate of socialism in Our America. It will be a time when those faithful to the insurgent legacy of Hugo Chavez to demonstrate with ideas, heart and by putting their body on the line as the eternal Commander did.

Venezuela Bolivariana, el punto máximo de la confrontación antiimperialista (por Carlos Aznárez)

Source: Resumen Latinoamericano, translation Resumen North American Bureau