Maduro says Venezuela is breaking relations with US, gives American diplomats 72 hours to leave country
Earlier, the Trump administration said it recognizes opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country’s interim president.
Maduro says U.S. diplomatic personnel have 72 hours to leave the country. The U.S. State Department said it would not comply with that order. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president on Wednesday, winning over the backing of the Washington and many Latin American nations and prompting socialist Nicolas Maduro to break relations with the United States.
U.S. President Donald Trump formally recognized Guaido shortly after his announcement and praised his plan to hold elections. That was swiftly followed by similar statements from Canada and a slew of right-leaning Latin American governments, including Venezuela’s neighbors Brazil and Colombia.
The Kremlin’s support for Venezuela
Maduro welcomed the deployment of two Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers. The Russian aircraft, capable of carrying nuclear weapons, landed in Caracas last month in a move designed to show Moscow’s support of Venezuela’s socialist regime.
The Pentagon swiftly criticized the Russian deployment of warplanes to Venezuela.
“The Venezuelan government should be focusing on providing humanitarian assistance and aid to lessen the suffering of its people and not on Russian warplanes,” Pentagon spokesman U.S. Army Col. Rob Manning said last month.
Since the US just recognized Guaido as the president, it means Maduros order is irrelevant to the USA. That means the US diplomats will (or should) now stay in the country. If Maduro takes actions against them, it would be like if a warlord attacks an embassy (in the eyes of the USA). Which means military retaliation in all likelyhood. I still think they will leave though. Security can no longer be guaranteed. I’d guess families and nonessential personnel are evacuated, but the Marines, intelligence staff, and high level diplomats will stay. I hope it doesn’t turn into another Benghazi.
Brayden James
So, with the opposition leader claiming the Presidency, does this mean civil war is probable? Time will tell?
No if the army sticks to one side and the protesters don't have weapons
The army has to know if general revolt starts there will be no country left to profit from. Their best option has to be the Egyptian way, overthrow the president, declare state of emergency, crack down on opposition from his party and hold onto power for themselves. The generals almost certainly have connections and funds to flee to a friendly country if things go south. They'll stick with the regime unless things really get ugly. The army is paid and fed, and not having difficulty like the rest of the people.
What is happening there is due to Maduro's ineptitude.He never was the smartest tool in the shed. People, including several Chavez supporters, have been pointing out his ineptitude for several years now.
Brody Nguyen
So some commie spic is fueling an international crisis because he wants to stay president of a broken and battered shithole?
Jason Richardson
No ishouldn't. It should be focused on culling its population to a more manageable size and getting rid of all its deadweight.
Landon Adams
I am not surprissed, but my position still stands, neither (((USA))) nor USSRRussia should intervene in this and let the spic solve their conflicts for themselves, but the truth of the matter is that silly idealisms like communism or democracy are nothing but fronts to own one of the most oil rich territories on south america.
Benjamin Nelson
make no mistake, the USA personnel will likely get killed if they follow your logic, a storm is a brewin' and intimidation via words mean nothing in this state of affairs, all that is left is to jump into action.
Christopher Jackson
Venezuela today has the largest known oil reserves in the world and the fourth largest deposits of gas. The shipment of Venezuelan oil across the Caribbean to the refineries in Texas takes only four to five days, compared to up to six weeks of long and costly ocean travel from the Middle East, subject to many risk factors, including passage through Iranian waters in the Gulf of Hormuz.
The imperialists are not going to abandon this prize. The US military is the single largest consumer of oil in the world. Access to strategic oil reserves was a significant cause of World War II. Venezuela rather than the Middle East may well be the flash point of mankind’s final world war.
This is all you need to know to understand US policy toward that unfortunate land and its people. That and the fact that for Washington it is totally intolerable to have a sovereign socialist republic in its backyard.
Heaven forbid if a socialist nation should be left unmolested to demonstrate the superiority of the system that fairly shares the national wealth among all its citizens (like, oh, Iraq and Libya) – damn, the next thing you know Americans would want it too, and our one percenters might have to go out and actually do honest work to earn their daily bread.
Mason Hughes
Says who? The fat neckbeard who worships the girly-pig b/o of leftypol? Or the rich little girl that daddy sent to lefty college who hasn't ever had a job?
Ryan Wood
Thats like calling the kettle black at this point. We ain't in the 1950s no more, look around you honey. We are just as insolvent and fraudulent as Venezuela today, the ONLY difference between us and them is America enjoys a global reserve currency status (which mandates other countries use the dollar). God forbid we didn't and it would all come crashing down by now, just as hard as socialist Venezuela.
Jacob Wood
So you admit Venezuela is real socialism?
Dominic Rivera
Send in teh marines and then deport all dreamers to Venezuela tbh. Win-win.
Adrian Davis
Dont forget since Trump became god emperor of the free world, the US became a net exporter of energy. If they are too lazy to drill their own oil those faggot Venezuelans will all have to save up and put their money together to afford US oil like everyone else.
Both countries have yuge external debts but the US economy is far more diverse than Venezuela and so it will continue to grow and produce wealth. When the Venezuelan economy is rapidly shrinking. When you decided to base your entire economy on oil, because you are fucking lazy spic then you are basing your peoples quality of life on the price of oil. Which is influenced by lots of other people including muh russia and the nigger east.
Ayden Robinson
I was with you until: Lel! Did you even hear yourself?
Joseph King
is that why you still have to buy surplus from canada?
Ryder Russell
Israel and it's north american colony need to be wiped out from the face of the earth.
Zachary Sanchez
My country is 4,000 miles from Canada. We dont buy surplus of any kind from them. We use a lot of renewables so even though we do have to buy energy from other countries when there isnt enough wind or sun to generate enregy that way. But not Canada as they are on a whole other continent.
Colton Reed
Hugo got the socialism bug into more action and fucked the country over nicely
