jeezum crow; time to head back to VZ…& Iran…& China...again?

First, Las Vegas bookies are only offering 1-3 odds on bets that the will CIA take out one of its own (Juan Guaido) in a false flag event since the most recent version of the coup…has failed as well.  Guaisoistas don’t even mind betting against the odds, even if they only get a buck on their $3, a peso on their 3 peso bets: the stubs will be divine memorabilia.

Offered with no comment: from Amerika’s chief diplomat: ‘Any US action in Venezuela would be lawful’: Pompeo drums up invasion option after failed coup’, 5 May, 2019, RT.com, essentially: Cuz we say so.

From telesurenglish, May 6: US Gloats Own Actions to Economically Ruin Venezuela’

“The United States (U.S) government’s involvement in the destabilization attempts against Venezuela can no longer be denied or ignored after a document has resurfaced regarding its central role in the operations aimed to oust the legitimate and democratically elected government of the Latin American nation.”

Telesur is reporting that the grayzone project had noted that the US State Dept. had deleted the document ‘after its release “after realizing the incriminating nature of its error”.

“Although true, teleSUR found that the document is still published in its entirety in the official website of the U.S. Embassy in Brazil.”

https://br.usembassy.gov/western-hemisphere-fact-sheet-u-s-actions-on-venezuela/

“The document details that the U.S. government has made over 150 sanction designations to individuals and entities in Venezuela since 2017 via Executive Orders (E.O.) and the so-called Kingpin Act. This includes 10 sets of designations in 2019 alone to multiple individuals, entities, and listings of properties.

It continues to list the State Department’s self-described “key outcomes for 2019” which include an economic hit list describing the illegal seizure of the refiner Citgo, over US$3.2 billion in overseas assets frozen, the political pressure to deter third parties to take Venezuelan gold and buy the country’s oil.”

““They’re proud of saying that we are destroying the economy of our neighbor; we are proud that we destroyed the political system of our neighbor; we are proud that they are suffering. They are saying we are waging war against Venezuela,” Venezuela’s ambassador to the United Nations Samuel Moncada told The Grayzone.”

The Head Cheese of US Gunboat Diplomacy was due to meet with actual diplomat Sergey Lavrov yesterday in Finland to discuss Venezuela, among other things. 

From telesurenglish (by far the best coverage I could find): May 6: After Pompeo Meeting, Russia’s Lavrov Says US Military Action in Venezuela Would Be ‘Catastrophic’

“The two men met on the sidelines of a meeting of the Arctic Council in Finland.

Lavrov told reporters his meeting had been constructive and that the two top diplomats had made decent progress when it came to discussing strategic nuclear stability.

Lavrov also said he was sure that Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump would have another chance to meet again after their summit in Helsinki last year.

“We strongly oppose military actions wherever they violate international law, the use of force can be authorized only by the U.N. Security Council or the force can be used in response to an aggression against a sovereign state, nothing similar is Watch in Venezuela,” Lavrov told reporters.” [snip]

“”We reviewed several regional situations that are on the current agenda, international relations in general, and we discussed issues related to strategic stability,.”

In reference to the situation in Venezuela, Lavrov stressed that “among my contacts with American, European and Latin American colleagues I do not see supporters of a reckless military solution .”

He added that he hopes that this understanding “becomes a practical policy, and that there is no military solution, because it would be catastrophic.”

The U.S. secretary of state said that the two had discussed Venezuela and that Washington wants Cuba, Iran and Russia out of the OPEC nation.

He added that the United States has seen activity from Iran that indicated a possible “escalation,” one day after the United States said it would send a carrier strike group to the Middle East to counter a “credible threat by Iranian regime forces.”

And of course Bombastic Bolton as well:

US threatens Iran with war’, wsws.org, 7 May 2019

“Will US bombs and missiles soon be raining down on Iran? The dispatch of US warplanes and an aircraft carrier strike group to the Persian Gulf region with the express aim of sending “a clear and unmistakable message” that Washington is ready to attack Iran, along with other bellicose US actions, indicates that preparations are far advanced for a provocation that could—and most likely would—trigger a catastrophic war.

On Sunday evening, US National Security Adviser John Bolton announced that the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and US Air Force bombers were being deployed to threaten Iran. Claiming that there were “troubling and escalatory indications and warnings,” Bolton vowed “that any attack on United States interests or those of our allies will be met with unrelenting force.” “We are fully prepared,” added Bolton, “to respond to any attack, whether by proxy, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or regular Iranian forces.”

Bolton’s threats were echoed by fellow anti-Iran war-hawk, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. He too advanced a sweeping justification for possible military action against Iran, including any “attack” on US “interests” and those of its allies by a long and diverse list of groups that Washington castigates Tehran for backing, from Shia militias in Iraq and Houthi fighters in Yemen to the Palestinian group Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

“We will hold the Iranians accountable for attacks on American interests,” Pompeo told reporters late Sunday, “The fact that those actions take place, if they do, by some third-party proxy, whether that’s a Shia militia group or the Houthis or Hezbollah, we will hold the Iranians—Iranian leadership—directly accountable for that.”

“Washington’s preparations for a military provocation against Iran and proclamation of a total banking and energy embargo on Iran in defiance of the world is part of a dramatic escalation of US aggression and militarism around the world, with Washington acting as a power unto itself, dictating to foe and ostensible friend alike.

The Trump administration is escalating its offensive against Iran even as it brandishes the threat of a military assault on Venezuela aimed at completing its regime-change coup against the country’s elected president, Nicolas Maduro.”

Oh, my; it’s a hair-raisingly long piece, as it needed to be; check out the rest when you have time.

A top Russian MP responded, RT.com, May 6 2019:

“We can’t be idle, we must beat the alarm and take a stand against such behavior from Washington in all international organizations, especially in BRICS,” Leonid Slutsky said, after the deployment of the naval force was announced by US National Security Advisor John Bolton.

Though Bolton insisted that the US “is not seeking war with the Iranian regime,” he warned that the carrier group that will soon arrive in the Persian Gulf is “fully prepared to respond to any attack” by Tehran.

Slutsky, head of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, said that Bolton had failed to provide a clear explanation for the move, despite calling Tehran a threat.

These signals, along with Washington’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal and its declaration of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization, lead to further escalation, he said.”

And of course: further muscular Gunboat Diplomacy aimed at the Great Competitor China:

(Additional jaw-droppingly hideous stories and inspirational videos from the Embassy Collective are here).
‘(On May 1) Carlos Vecchio, Guaido’s fake “ambassador” showed up, with the intention of taking over the embassy.
‘We are asking people to come to DC to surround this embassy with love and resistance. Let’s show that love will prevail.’

(cross-posted from Café Babylon)

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Cassiodorus's picture

It's like that Roger Waters song: "It's not enough that we succeed/ we still need others to fail"

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"The war on Gaza, backed by the West, is a demonstration that the West is willing to cross all lines. That it will discard any nuance of humanity. That it is willing to commit genocide" -- Moon of Alabama

wendy davis's picture

@Cassiodorus

'the new normal' isn't it? how many other prezes might have been in the images? any idea if pink floyd choose them? most especially st. obomba with his VZ policy (sanctions, and 'all options are on the table' and 'pivot to asia' (read: china). small wonder the US empire is the most despised on the planet, is it?

but the lyrics are right: it's all zero sum with the flailing and failing western empire. who will stop 'us'; those who can.

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Cassiodorus's picture

@wendy davis Richard Wright passed, and the others, well, David Gilmour plays guitar a lot and Nick Mason likes to revisit anything in the repertoire before "Dark Side of the Moon." Roger Waters is the only one of the bunch sticking up for the Venezuelans, the Palestinians, and anyone else who is being killed off while America sits and drinks its unfair-trade coffees.

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"The war on Gaza, backed by the West, is a demonstration that the West is willing to cross all lines. That it will discard any nuance of humanity. That it is willing to commit genocide" -- Moon of Alabama

wendy davis's picture

@Cassiodorus

but i do remember his light shows at concerts w/ words in support of (iirc) julian assange as well. and good on him. and you, cass.

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given the many disasters Bolton and the neocons have urged in the past, that they are consciously dedicated to destroying America. That doesn't rule out that they are also insane. But it's pretty obvious he, and they, are a disaster for the US.

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Orwell: Where's the omelette?

snoopydawg's picture

@jim p

Helping companies off shore our jobs. Not make them pay taxes. Transferring our money to the rich, the corporations and the military while underfunding every thing that helps us wee folks. The thing that is different with Trump and his merry men is that they don't try to hide their contempt for us and anyone living on their resources.

Smile

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

wendy davis's picture

@jim p

full command and control. but it's not just this bunch, of course. they're just the next generation crass blowhards, who can't help themselves to alerting us in their hubris, i think.

i'm sorry; i'm so fooking depressed about this. i know more folks care when they're not otherwise engaged, but the vimeo of anderson and hrfansson coming out of belmarsh was hard not to keep repeating in my head. i keep wondering why no one had asked if he'd had medical attention (the sort he needs, not...the other kind.

ah, g'night. can i even think of a sign-off song? sigh. i'll try.

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wendy davis's picture

guess i'll just go with lyle lovett; if you've ever played a bar and had to pack up your equipment late at night, countin' yer tips in the jars. this is even better than it often is,. ; )

kathy's laughin', kathy' always laughin'...gawd's blood, i love this...

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o80pVLDDJh4]

g' night; sleep well if you can; maybe even have 'sweet dreams'.

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Big Al's picture

was campaigning for president. But man, could they be more brazen? I could say that's all part of the act, i.e., using threats as a negotiating tactic, but they're not trying to negotiate anything and they, or the United States of Amerika, is already waging war against Venezuela and Iran. So who knows what these fuckers will do next.
The contrast between the protests prior to the 2003 Iraq war and the public reaction now is startling. I think a part is because the Democratic party is officially with Trump and his gang on Iran and Venezuela, therefore their supporters are not against what Trump is doing like they were with Bush.

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Big Al's picture

“Washington’s preparations for a military provocation against Iran and proclamation of a total banking and energy embargo on Iran in defiance of the world is part of a dramatic escalation of US aggression and militarism around the world, with Washington acting as a power unto itself, dictating to foe and ostensible friend alike."

Quite the statement considering what's happened since 9/11. But it's true when you view this stage of this global conflict, WWIII in effect, which is now at the end game stage with Iran, China, Russia, and Zionist Israel and it's quest for Greater Israel.

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snoopydawg's picture

@Big Al

Does Trump Have Control of His Government, or Is It His Government?

May 07, 2019 "Information Clearing House" - I smell a rat. John Bolton, Trump’s national security adviser or, more correctly, Israel’s agent, has assembled a team consisting of himself, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Emirati crown prince Mohammed bin Zayed, and Saudi ruler Mohammed bin Salman. These men are Iran’s four worst enemies.

The purpose of the team is to produce a false flag event that will provide an excuse for Washington to attack Iran. As the Israelis are the most competent member of this team, the speculation is that Israel will shoot down an American aircraft or attack a US Navy vessel, and Washington will have the presstitute media blame it on Iran. In other words, a revival of the Northwoods Project that the US Joint Chiefs presented to President Kennedy in hopes of setting up a US invasion of Cuba.

The plot seems already to have been set in motion. Both Bolton and acting Pentagon secretary Patrick Shanahan have announced their detection of a “credible threat by Iranian regime forces. We call on the Iranian regime to cease all provocation. We will hold the Iranian regime accountable for any attack on US forces or our interests.”

To be clear, the “threat” and the “provocation” are not identified. But they are somehow happening even though no news services and no governments anywhere in the world, excepting Washington, Israel and Saudi Arabia, are aware of the “escalatory action from the Iranians.”

Bolton has sent an aircraft carrier strike group and bomber taskforce to quell the unidentified “threat.”

It turns out that the Iranian threat to America was uncovered by—you guessed it—Israel.

Russia and China should insert themselves in the middle of this conflict or send Bolton and Bibi a strong message saying that they will not tolerate us taking out Iran because once Iran, Venezuela and Cuba are dealt with they will be next. If they can't see the writing on the wall then they are blind. This country is out of control with its aggression being played out everywhere. But as you mentioned up stream there doesn't seem to be any pushback against the upcoming war with Iran like there was for Iraq. In fact I've seen people expressing approval for it and was just flabbergasted!

I think the only way for us to put a stop to it would be a massive work stoppage, but too many people still think that we're a force for good with the military stomping around the world.

I've been meaning to essay this but haven't gotten around to it. Suzie Dawson writes about how we're already in WWIII There is a video linked in this article that is very much worth watching.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

wendy davis's picture

@snoopydawg

is correct in all likelihood as the false flag intel is by way of israel, but the way he'd written these two lines one after the other kinda made me wonder...if he's implying that zarif knows that israel'd supplied the 'intel'.

"It turns out that the Iranian threat to America was uncovered by—you guessed it—Israel.

The Iranian foreign minister, Javad Zarif, has denounced the false accusation against Iran as fake news to justify an attack on Iran."

did cnn seem to be advancing the meme to you, snoopy? i'd clicked into haaretz, jpost, and israelitimes early this a.m. this morning, saw little about iran (lots about bombing those evil gazans, noting that bibi says that the ceasefire is 'only temporary', of course, and the city naming a public square for Trump), but at haaretz was a piece on 'how the US war with iran will start', but...it was behind a paywall. (queen of the run-on sentence? sorry)

but that's one of the key things this empire does, as do many nations like israel: call those victims on which you make war on...evil to the Nth degree to justify their actions.

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The Aspie Corner's picture

@Big Al They'll go the way of the dodo once the US Empire falls. Good riddance.

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Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.

Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.

wendy davis's picture

@Big Al

but construct false intel from 'insiders' on stuff like 'the reason the US sent in the abraham lincoln aircraft carrier is due to the fact that iran's been sending missiles on ships to use against 'US interests' in yemen, syria, wherever the fuck they want to declare. israel wasn't named, but that would be the idea, wouldn't it?

oh, and bibi's up yelling that there's no way 'we'll allow' iran to further nuclearize!' how many undeclared nukes does israel have? it's hard not to get frazzled by so much lying bellicosity, but yes, i'd agree that in amerika, there'd only be token resistance from either party.

but the troika of tyrrany got what they were after...for now, with their war-by-other-means heavy sanctions, and pulling out of the JCPOA, then not renewing the waivers to the iranian oil embargo for those 8 nations.

US responsible for ‘unacceptable’ deadlock on JCPOA – Lavrov', RT.com today

"Iran on Wednesday announced that it will no longer observe the limits on reserves of enriched uranium and heavy water established by the deal, calling it a response to the US withdrawal from the JCPOA exactly a year ago. Unless European signatories of the agreement deliver on their promise to protect the Iranian economy from unilateral sanctions reimposed by the US over the last 12 months, Iran would take further action, President Hassan Rouhani said in a televised address.

All signatories were formally notified about Tehran’s decision, with Zarif using his coinciding visit to Moscow to offer personal explanations about why it was taken.

Lavrov stressed that Russia appreciated Iran’s continued compliance with the JCPOA even after the US broke its side of the bargain.

my guess is that most folks are blithely unaware of the fact that the IAEA has constantly found iran in complete compliance with the JCPOA rules.

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wendy davis's picture

@Big Al

your first comment in the wrong place; it's down thread. but i did want to add that wsws had included an (eye-popping, if true) article on bernie sanders' nationalism, and the ways he's been out flanking the DT administration on the right on trade talks and tariffs...on china. but right on cue, along w/ the US carrier groups in the south china sea, Rt.com has this up:

US raises tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports from 10% to 25%

...in which boss tweet brags that his eleventy-dimensional chess moves have succeeded brilliantly, and that the chinese trade rep will be in amerika to re-negotiate: MAGA!

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Jen's picture

What I have been trying to figure out is why is the US is beholden to Israel? I get why Saudi Arabia - because of oil. But what does Israel have that makes them fall over themselves to kiss their ass? I've probably read the answer somewhere before. But I'm drawing a blank at the moment.

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Is it great yet?

wendy davis's picture

@Jen

veritable book or three to answer, but then it all depends on one's point of view. but no, it's not about natural resources, nor is trumps' allegiance to saudi arabia, really. i need to go take care of some RL obligations and chores, and i'll hope that in the meantime someone else might field your question.

a quickie: but the actual creation (not just the 1917 balfour declaration) o the state of israel was in 1948 post-holocaust when british occupied palestine turned away holcaust survivors seeking their own homeland, and it finally came to a vote at the UN during david ben gurion's time.

and depending on one's point of view, the partition either did or didn't serve to drive palestinians from their homeland and over time...create an apartheid state. guess you could bingle about it, but by now the US gives billions in aid including billions expressly for military hardware to 'help' israel.

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wendy davis's picture

@wendy davis

one of my favorite journalists, jonathan cook, writes from nazareth and has written three books about I/P. you might want to click on his individual book titles hypelinked on his wiki 'books' category and see if there might be brief synopses.

mondoweiss is a site edited and written by anti-zionist jews, looks loaded with 'kushner's peace plan'.

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Jen's picture

@wendy davis Thank you for the reply and the links. I hope I wasn't derailing the thread with my question. It's like a puzzle coming together for me but the Israel piece doesn't look like it fits anywhere. I think I ended up with more questions than answers when I read the wiki link, but I will look into it some more later.

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Is it great yet?

wendy davis's picture

@Jen

and i do understand that it's hard to play catch up by 2019; lotta history between 1948 and now.

i have only vague memories of this author, but here's allison weir's ‘The Real Story of How Israel Was Created’, counterpunch, oct. 2011

myownself, as a teen i'd read every book leon uris ever'd written, a hundred books on the holocaust, thus was quite the young zionist back in the day. i'd loved it that hollywood had made uris's 'Exodus' into a film in 1960. it took me a long time to learn what zionism really meant, and means, to the palestinians. once trump moved the US embassy from tel aviv to jerusalem (and many amerikan puppets have followed suit) it pretty much gave the IDF free reign to shoot, bomb, and injure their 'enemies' with impunity.

the recent missiles israel say came from the golan heights this week, who can say if they did? then...israel bombed the crap outta the golan heights. RT.com seems not to question israel's take, i will say that. well, anyway...dunno if it's still so, but in the past in was almost a requirement for every candidate for US prez to show up at AIPAC, the american israeli public affairs committee, but i don't remember whether of not they contribute to candidates or not, but i do know it's a powerful group (the wiki might say).

but challenging their power is taken as anti-semistism, as is challenging likkud party (netanyahu) israel.

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wendy davis's picture

into the haaretz article, but i found a 'one page news' link to it

"Iran is laying trip-wires for a violent, costly escalation with the U.S. America’s response will be determined by a besieged president, an administration led by anti-Iran hawks and a pre-occupied Congress."

... with this al jazeera video on it sp]eaking of calling 'evil':

it seems like the videos and news kept on rolling... i grabbed this as welh while i was on AJE's twit account:

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wendy davis's picture

withdrawing from the inf treaty:

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wendy davis's picture

just can't keep his big yap shut, and boy, howdy, is this a non-starter: ‘US must prevent construction of Nord Stream 2 pipeline to counter Russia – Pompeo’, RT.com, today

““Russia wants Nord Stream 2 to use energy as a leverage over Europe. We shouldn't allow it to proceed,” Pompeo stated, while praising the close relationship between the US and the UK.
The pipeline, constructed by Russia's Gazprom in partnership with five European energy majors under the Baltic Sea, has been repeatedly criticized by Washington and others, including Kiev. The criticism has included speculation that the new pipeline would bring the amount of Russian transit gas – and profits from it – for the Ukrainian authorities to zero.

Senior US officials, including Pompeo, have repeatedly “warned” Europe of the alleged threats that Nord Stream 2 bears, claiming it would deepen the EU’s dependence on Russian energy. Despite the pressure from the US, Europe – namely Germany, the major partner in the project – has not caved in to it and the construction of the pipeline, expected to provide transit for 70 percent of Russian gas sales to the EU, goes on.

While Washington's concerns about the “dependence” of the EU on Russia might appear genuine, the US has actually been actively seeking to get its own share in the European energy market, trying to sell more of its liquefied natural gas (LNG).

pepe ecobar uses the term 'pipelineistan' as the overarching term for the hidden casus belli for war in the middle east, of course; syria as one epicenter.

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wendy davis's picture

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Brett Wilkins's picture

I wish it were so but there's still plenty of imperialism left in the tank here.

And by the way, can you really bet on whether the CIA will take out Guaido or did I just smoke too much weed an hour ago?

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wendy davis's picture

@Brett Wilkins

and counter view, brett, dying empires have always over-extended themselves in hubristic claims to command and control, not accept a multipolar world, as in: 'who will stop them ('us'?) those who can should, and must'.

no, i can't be sure that the cia will take out guaidio, but i do believe false flags are on their way. it's been written in the hegemon's stars, imo. but keep on smokin'/vapin' cannabis, please. it can get some folks thru the night, though not me so much, but i till find what we grow here at home...of immnse value.

always lovely to see you, but... i don't know nothin' bout no Uber. ; )
about to sign off...exhausted. sleep well, amigo, abut as AIM leader john trudell had said: 'there may have been a better world...except we weren't better'.

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wendy davis's picture

and i can't think of a better lullaby than this from john gorka pinging MLK, jr.

i always wonder about 'the arc of the moral universe is long but...it bends toward justice'..d do you? g' night all, and thank you and dear john gorka, too.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWQeyy8hfqg]

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wendy davis's picture

US cuts off power to Venezuelan Embassy with activists besieged inside’, RT.com, 9 May, 2019

After weeks of tense standoff between the 'Embassy Civilian Protection Collective' and supporters of US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido outside the Venezuelan diplomatic compound, the US authorities attempted to drive the temporary occupants out by depriving them of electricity.

The activists in the embassy are staying put despite the cut-off.

"We are not leaving. We are gonna resist. We are going to stay in solidarity with Venezuelan people and elected government of Venezuela," the activist in the video says.

The blackout was reportedly ordered by Guaido's 'ambassador' to Venezuela, Carlos Vecchio, who announced the move to loud applause and cheers from the crowd outside the building.

"We have decided to give them a bit of the experience of living in Venezuela under the failed socialism of Maduro. As of this moment they will not have electric power. Next step: your exit ," Vecchio tweeted.

Last week, the US State Department urged the activists to vacate the premises, calling them "trespassers" and claiming that self-proclaimed "interim president" Guaido "has legal authority" over the embassy. On Friday, Republican Congressman Scott Tipton asked US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to evict the Collective. However, Washington has made no attempt to forcibly remove them.

yessir; Tea Party Tipton is my representative, dumb as a box of rocks, but loyal to their cause.

Pro-Guaido protesters have made a human chain to stop people from sneaking food and basic supplies, such as tampons and toothbrushes, into the embassy. Several activists, including Code Pink's national co-director, were briefly detained as they attempted to throw food and supplies to the besieged members of the Collective from the outside. The Secret Service has been on stand-by at the embassy to prevent possible skirmishes between the two rival groups.

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