International Venezuela, The Socialist Dystopia, v2: The region's worst humanitarian crisis in decades

@Arkain2K
I want to give you an atta boy for this thread. It has been very informative.
 
And like in the old days people with guns control the food! Or basically people who can wield power controls the food and bully the un armed and powerless.

When the militar starts to bully the populace they are no longer the peoples Militia nor patriots they are already thugs and goons no different than the barbarians of old who just by virtue of strength controls an entire populace.

Hence forth the Military should be punished by the people in the event their whole society collapses for they are complicit the people should eat them and their families!

They better hide their tattoos that identifies them as part of the MIlitary elite!
Agreed they are what ever example you want them to be. Their primary purpose is to defend the regime and enforce it's laws.
Yes it might be good for now to be in the military, but when this regime falls, it's going to be dangerous imho to be militar even family of military
 
Venezuela Dodges Oil Asset Seizures with Export Transfers at Sea
REUTERS | August 07, 2018
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Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA has limited the damage from an unprecedented slump in crude exports by transferring oil between tankers at sea and loading vessels in neighboring Cuba to avoid asset seizures.

But the OPEC member nation is still fulfilling less than 60 percent of its obligations under supply deals with customers. Venezuela has been pumping oil this year at the lowest rate in three decades after years of underinvestment and a mass exodus of workers. The state-run firm’s collapse has left the country short of cash to fund its embattled socialist government and triggered an economic crisis.

PDVSA’s problems were compounded in May when U.S. oil firm ConocoPhillips began seizing PDVSA assets in the Caribbean as payment for a $2 billion arbitration award. An arbitration panel at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ordered PDVSA to pay the cash to compensate Conoco for expropriating the firm’s Venezuelan assets in 2007.

The seizures left PDVSA without access to facilities such as Isla refinery in Curacao and BOPEC terminal in Bonaire that accounted for almost a quarter of the company’s oil exports. Conoco’s actions also forced PDVSA to stop shipping oil on its own vessels to terminals in the Caribbean, and then onto refineries worldwide, to avoid the risk the cargoes would be seized in international waters or foreign ports.

Instead, PDVSA asked customers to charter tankers to Venezuelan waters and load from the company’s own terminals or from anchored PDVSA vessels acting as floating storage units.

The state-run company told some clients in early June it might impose force majeure, a temporary suspension of export contracts, unless they agreed to such ship-to-ship transfers. PDVSA also requested the customers stop sending vessels to its terminals until it could load those that were already clogging Venezuela’s coastline.

Initially, customers were reluctant to undertake the transfers because of costs, safety concerns and the need for specialist equipment and experienced crew.

But PDVSA has managed to export about 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil since early July, up from just 765,000 bpd in the first half of June, according to Thomson Reuters data and internal PDVSA shipping data seen by Reuters.

That was still 59 percent of the country’s 2.19 million bpd in contractual obligations to customers for that period, and some vessels are still waiting for weeks in Venezuelan waters to load oil.

There were about two dozen tankers waiting this week to load over 22 million barrels of crude and refined products at the country’s largest ports, according to Reuters data.

“We are not tied to one option or a single loading terminal,” PDVSA President Manuel Quevedo said on Tuesday of the company’s exports. “We have several (terminals) in our country and we have some in the Caribbean, which of course facilitate crude shipping to fulfill our supply contracts.”

Cuban connection

PDVSA has also used a route through Cuba to ease the impact of the Conoco seizures. That route is for fuel rather than crude.

The Venezuelan company has used a terminal at the port of Matanzas as a conduit mostly for exporting fuel oil, according to two people familiar with the operations and Thomson Reuters shipping data. Venezuela's fuel oil is burned in some countries to generate electricity.

Two tankers set sail from the Matanzas terminal for Singapore between mid-May and early July, Reuters data showed. Each ship carried around 500,000 barrels of Venezuelan fuel, Reuters data shows.

In recent months, Venezuela has been shipping fuel to Matanzas in small batches, according to the data.

PDVSA and Cuba’s state-run oil firm Cupet have used Matanzas to store Venezuelan crude and fuel in the past but exports from the terminal to Asian destinations are rare.

That is in part because vessels that use Cuban ports cannot subsequently dock in the United States due to the U.S. commercial embargo on Cuba.

Cupet did not respond to requests for comment. PDVSA has also used ship-to-ship transfers to fulfill an unusual supply contract it has with Cuba’s Cienfuegos refinery.

The refinery dates from the 1980s — when Cuba was a close ally of the Soviet Union during the Cold War — and the facility was built to process Russian crude.

PDVSA typically uses its own or leased tankers to bring Russian crude from storage in the nearby Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao to Cienfuegos. But it is now discharging the imported Russian oil at sea in Cayman Islands’ waters via these seaborne transfers.

ConocoPhillips last month ratcheted up its collection efforts by moving to depose officials from Citgo Petroleum, PDVSA’s U.S. refining arm, arguing it had improperly claimed ownership of some PDVSA cargoes. Citgo declined to comment.

ConocoPhillips is also preparing new legal actions to get Caribbean courts to recognize its International Chamber of Commerce arbitration award. If it succeeds in those efforts, it would be able to sell the assets to help satisfy the ruling.

https://www.voanews.com/amp/venezue...res-with-export-transfers-at-sea/4517825.html
 
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Agreed they are what ever example you want them to be. Their primary purpose is to defend the regime and enforce it's laws.
Yes it might be good for now to be in the military, but when this regime falls, it's going to be dangerous imho to be militar even family of military


I am not sure If I got this right maybe I am wrong but isn't it the situation in Somalia before the 90s? When the government fell the now disgruntled and radicalized public turned againts regime supporters including former army personel.?
 
I am not sure If I got this right maybe I am wrong but isn't it the situation in Somalia before the 90s? When the government fell the now disgruntled and radicalized public turned againts regime supporters including former army personel.?
Honestly I am not sure the details in how and why Somalia failed. I wonder if there are any parallels or possible parallels here
 
Indeed, this is slower becoming another North Korea like state.
I'll never forget a book that changed how I think about so many things that was recommended to me by a high school teacher.

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The second your society manages its food stores with a lock and key, then hands those keys to its military, you are existing in a military dictatorship. Maduro is no longer a civilian leader. That trapping is a vestige of a former time (if that time was ever authentic at all, and it probably wasn't).
 
I'll never forget a book that changed how I think about so many things that was recommended to me by a high school teacher.

220px-DanielQuinn_Ishmael.jpg


The second your society manages its food stores with a lock and key, then hands those keys to its military, you are existing in a military dictatorship. Maduro is no longer a civilian leader. That trapping is a vestige of a former time (if that time was ever authentic at all, and it probably wasn't).
Oh wow man. That got me. I read that too, was a great and eye opening book on how society functions with goods ie leavers and takers. Was very interesting wow man thanks.

But yes, food isn't money, stocks or anything like that, it's a basic necessity. Controlling that is something a post apocalyptic strong man woukd do. Or a struggling dictator like NK or Venezuela would use. Democracy was strangled in the crib here.
I feel the real danger is that socialism requires or ends up allowing a lot of govt control. Leading to excesses and corruption, which is then spun by the National media.
 
Venezuela’s Capital Is Running Out of Water as Hospitals Forced to Cancel Operations
By David Brennan On 8/15/18​

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Already battling hyperinflation, a lack of medical supplies and empty supermarket shelves, Venezuelans in the capital city of Caracas are now running out of water.

Citizens and businesses are struggling with the shortage while hospitals are being forced to postpone or cancel operations because equipment cannot be washed, Reuters reported.

Even when the water is running, it is often dirty. With the health network already running low on vaccines and antibiotics, using the scant water supply is both a necessity and a health risk.

At the Central Venezuelan University hospital, there is a growing backlog of patients whose operations cannot be completed. “I have gone to the operation bloc and opened the tap to wash my hands, as you must do before a surgery, and nothing comes out,” gynecologist Lina Figueria told Reuters.

Venezuela has been crippled by a five-year economic crisis. This has been exacerbated by the crashing price of crude oil since 2015, leaving gaping holes in the Venezuelan budget. The government has responded by printing more money, but this has led to runaway inflation and made the bolívar effectively worthless.

As many as 3 million Caracas residents face intermittent water cuts. The city sits in a valley almost 3,000 feet above sea level, meaning water must be pumped up from sources lower down. But poor maintenance of the pumps and pipes and a lack of government cash for replacement parts has left the city’s taps running dry.

“For many years this deterioration process was not noticeable. But now the water transport systems are very damaged,” said Jose De Viana, former president of Hidrocapital, the state-run company that looks after Caracas’s water supply network.


rts1xfs3.jpg


Citing surveys conducted by Venezuelan NGOs, Reuters notes roughly 75 percent of Caracas residents say they do not have regular access to water. About 11 percent are suffering skin and stomach problems from the dirty water they do receive.

In July, Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said there was a “special plan” to address the water crisis but did not specify any details. The government blames the water crisis on right-wing terrorists intent on taking down President Nicolas Maduro. The president and his allies say the wider economic situation is caused by an “economic war” waged by domestic opponents with the support of the U.S.

The collapsing currency has left the government unable to import food stuffs, medical supplies or fuel. Last month, the International Monetary Fund predicted inflation would hit 1 million percent by the end of this year, describing the situation as “a profound economic and social crisis.” Exact inflation figures are difficult to gauge because the government no longer publishes official data.

As day-to-day life becomes more difficult, Venezuelans are fleeing the country in droves, many to neighboring Colombia. The U.N. estimates that 2.3 million citizens have left the country, with around 5,000 crossing the border every day.

Those who remain are becoming more desperate, but Maduro’s government has refused to change course. Earlier this month, the president survived an apparent assassination attempt using two explosive drones. Maduro alleged it was supported by America and Colombia, though has not yet provided evidence to back up his assertions.

The little-known “Soldiers in T-shirts” group claimed responsibility for the attack, which would make it the latest anti-government operation by rogue elements within the military.

https://www.newsweek.com/venezuelas-capital-running-out-water-hospitals-forced-cancel-operations-1074253
 
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Venezuela Has $1.1 Billion Due Today. The Bonds Trade at 28 Cents on the Dollar.
By Daniel Cancel | August 15, 2018

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It’s pay day for $1.125 billion of Venezuelan sovereign bonds. But no one is expecting to get any money.

After all, the bond in question is already in default due to a missed interest payment back in February. Why would Nicolas Maduro’s government fork over hundreds of millions of dollars it can’t afford to part with when the nation and its flagship oil company are already about $5 billion in the hole with creditors?

The one new thing today is that this missed payment will mark the first default on government bond principal, rather than just interest payments. The notes are already trading at just 28 cents on the dollar, indicating the low level of hope among investors.

Still, creditors are beginning to get restless. Mining company Crystallex -- which was forced into bankruptcy after Venezuela nationalized the Las Cristinas deposit -- was told by a Delaware judge last week that it can seize shares of the nation’s largest U.S. asset, PDV Holding, the U.S. parent of PDVSA’s refining unit Citgo. Separately, an $8 billion bondholder group advised by Millstein & Co. has said it’s “exploring options” to ensure that Venezuela’s overseas assets are available to satisfy creditor claims.

Even the Petroleos de Venezuela bonds due in 2020 backed by a slice of Citgo which the government has been careful to pay have retreated to about 86 cents from 90 cents after the Delaware court decision, which is being appealed.

According to Siobhan Morden, Nomura’s Latin America fixed income strategist, the cash crunch is worsening with oil production collapsing another 50,000 barrels a day in July and the future looks bleak for Maduro -- who is just beginning his second six-year term.

“We assume no funds allocated to make the sovereign amortization today as the first sovereign default and headline confirmation of cashflow stress,” Morden wrote in a note. “It still looks like a countdown with economic crisis morphing into political crisis for the Maduro administration.”

Where investors used to desperately ring public credit and payment agencies for signs of movement, all channels have gone quiet. Even the public credit office, which used to tweet out confirmation of payment, hasn’t sent a message related to sovereign bonds since November (hat tip to Siobhan). That was way back when Maduro called for an impossible debt restructuring that’s currently prohibited by U.S. sanctions.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...aking-every-opportunity-to-fade-the-steepener
 
Venezuela’s Capital Is Running Out of Water as Hospitals Forced to Cancel Operations
By David Brennan On 8/15/18​

rts1xfrh.jpg

Already battling hyperinflation, a lack of medical supplies and empty supermarket shelves, Venezuelans in the capital city of Caracas are now running out of water.

Citizens and businesses are struggling with the shortage while hospitals are being forced to postpone or cancel operations because equipment cannot be washed, Reuters reported.

Even when the water is running, it is often dirty. With the health network already running low on vaccines and antibiotics, using the scant water supply is both a necessity and a health risk.

At the Central Venezuelan University hospital, there is a growing backlog of patients whose operations cannot be completed. “I have gone to the operation bloc and opened the tap to wash my hands, as you must do before a surgery, and nothing comes out,” gynecologist Lina Figueria told Reuters.

Venezuela has been crippled by a five-year economic crisis. This has been exacerbated by the crashing price of crude oil since 2015, leaving gaping holes in the Venezuelan budget. The government has responded by printing more money, but this has led to runaway inflation and made the bolívar effectively worthless.

As many as 3 million Caracas residents face intermittent water cuts. The city sits in a valley almost 3,000 feet above sea level, meaning water must be pumped up from sources lower down. But poor maintenance of the pumps and pipes and a lack of government cash for replacement parts has left the city’s taps running dry.

“For many years this deterioration process was not noticeable. But now the water transport systems are very damaged,” said Jose De Viana, former president of Hidrocapital, the state-run company that looks after Caracas’s water supply network.


rts1xfs3.jpg


Citing surveys conducted by Venezuelan NGOs, Reuters notes roughly 75 percent of Caracas residents say they do not have regular access to water. About 11 percent are suffering skin and stomach problems from the dirty water they do receive.

In July, Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said there was a “special plan” to address the water crisis but did not specify any details. The government blames the water crisis on right-wing terrorists intent on taking down President Nicolas Maduro. The president and his allies say the wider economic situation is caused by an “economic war” waged by domestic opponents with the support of the U.S.

The collapsing currency has left the government unable to import food stuffs, medical supplies or fuel. Last month, the International Monetary Fund predicted inflation would hit 1 million percent by the end of this year, describing the situation as “a profound economic and social crisis.” Exact inflation figures are difficult to gauge because the government no longer publishes official data.

As day-to-day life becomes more difficult, Venezuelans are fleeing the country in droves, many to neighboring Colombia. The U.N. estimates that 2.3 million citizens have left the country, with around 5,000 crossing the border every day.

Those who remain are becoming more desperate, but Maduro’s government has refused to change course. Earlier this month, the president survived an apparent assassination attempt using two explosive drones. Maduro alleged it was supported by America and Colombia, though has not yet provided evidence to back up his assertions.

The little-known “Soldiers in T-shirts” group claimed responsibility for the attack, which would make it the latest anti-government operation by rogue elements within the military.

https://www.newsweek.com/venezuelas-capital-running-out-water-hospitals-forced-cancel-operations-1074253

Jesus...

I couldn't imagine
 
Agreed they are what ever example you want them to be. Their primary purpose is to defend the regime and enforce it's laws.
Yes it might be good for now to be in the military, but when this regime falls, it's going to be dangerous imho to be militar even family of military

When corruption reaches this caliber, there will be some figureheads offered up to the angry mob when the regime falls for sure, most likely the Generals with official office titles bestowed on them by Emperor Maduro, but I predict that the vast majority of the military and police will get off scotch-free, even the ones who personally sprayed real bullets on protesters in Caracas.

We have seen it many times before, from the Vichy French military and police officers who voluntarily committed terrible crimes against their own citizens in collaboration with Nazi Germany, to the Iraqi soldiers and policemen who worked for ISIS during the heyday of the caliphate. So too, will the Venezuelan soldiers and police who are enforcing Maduro's grip of power in exchange for 3 meals a day while their countrymen starves around them.
 
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When corruption reaches this caliber, there will be some figureheads offered up to the angry mob when the regime falls for sure, most likely the Generals with official office titles bestowed on them by Emperor Maduro, but I predict that the vast majority of the military and police will get off scotch-free, even the ones who personally sprayed real bullets on protesters in Caracas.

We have seen it many times before, from the Vichy French military and police officers who voluntarily committed terrible crimes against their own citizens in collaboration with Nazi Germany, to the Iraqi soldiers and policemen who worked for ISIS during the heyday of the caliphate. So too, will the Venezuelan soldiers and police who are enforcing Maduro's grip of power in exchange for 3 meals a day while their countrymen starves around them.
The thing is mass clemency is how you move forward. Otherwise you have revenge killings and the such going on for decades.
 
Venezuela’s Capital Is Running Out of Water as Hospitals Forced to Cancel Operations
By David Brennan On 8/15/18​

rts1xfrh.jpg

Already battling hyperinflation, a lack of medical supplies and empty supermarket shelves, Venezuelans in the capital city of Caracas are now running out of water.

Citizens and businesses are struggling with the shortage while hospitals are being forced to postpone or cancel operations because equipment cannot be washed, Reuters reported.

Even when the water is running, it is often dirty. With the health network already running low on vaccines and antibiotics, using the scant water supply is both a necessity and a health risk.

At the Central Venezuelan University hospital, there is a growing backlog of patients whose operations cannot be completed. “I have gone to the operation bloc and opened the tap to wash my hands, as you must do before a surgery, and nothing comes out,” gynecologist Lina Figueria told Reuters.

Venezuela has been crippled by a five-year economic crisis. This has been exacerbated by the crashing price of crude oil since 2015, leaving gaping holes in the Venezuelan budget. The government has responded by printing more money, but this has led to runaway inflation and made the bolívar effectively worthless.

As many as 3 million Caracas residents face intermittent water cuts. The city sits in a valley almost 3,000 feet above sea level, meaning water must be pumped up from sources lower down. But poor maintenance of the pumps and pipes and a lack of government cash for replacement parts has left the city’s taps running dry.

“For many years this deterioration process was not noticeable. But now the water transport systems are very damaged,” said Jose De Viana, former president of Hidrocapital, the state-run company that looks after Caracas’s water supply network.


rts1xfs3.jpg


Citing surveys conducted by Venezuelan NGOs, Reuters notes roughly 75 percent of Caracas residents say they do not have regular access to water. About 11 percent are suffering skin and stomach problems from the dirty water they do receive.

In July, Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said there was a “special plan” to address the water crisis but did not specify any details. The government blames the water crisis on right-wing terrorists intent on taking down President Nicolas Maduro. The president and his allies say the wider economic situation is caused by an “economic war” waged by domestic opponents with the support of the U.S.

The collapsing currency has left the government unable to import food stuffs, medical supplies or fuel. Last month, the International Monetary Fund predicted inflation would hit 1 million percent by the end of this year, describing the situation as “a profound economic and social crisis.” Exact inflation figures are difficult to gauge because the government no longer publishes official data.

As day-to-day life becomes more difficult, Venezuelans are fleeing the country in droves, many to neighboring Colombia. The U.N. estimates that 2.3 million citizens have left the country, with around 5,000 crossing the border every day.

Those who remain are becoming more desperate, but Maduro’s government has refused to change course. Earlier this month, the president survived an apparent assassination attempt using two explosive drones. Maduro alleged it was supported by America and Colombia, though has not yet provided evidence to back up his assertions.

The little-known “Soldiers in T-shirts” group claimed responsibility for the attack, which would make it the latest anti-government operation by rogue elements within the military.

https://www.newsweek.com/venezuelas-capital-running-out-water-hospitals-forced-cancel-operations-1074253

Socialists always figure out a way to make shit holes even shittier.
 
The thing is mass clemency is how you move forward. Otherwise you have revenge killings and the such going on for decades.


Yup unfortunately that is how things work for the better mass clemancy mass revenge killings will further terrorize the nation and could lead to one dictatorship to another.

As just being merely accused of suporting Maduro can result in you ending up castrated in public if a climate of revenge is fostered by the next leadership.

I am for the heads of all these dictator enablers but I do understand how this could end bad if pursued extremely.

From what I can see now that they are running out of water if things continue the way Maduro runs the country I wont be surprise if they run out of farts too.
 
When corruption reaches this caliber, there will be some figureheads offered up to the angry mob when the regime falls for sure, most likely the Generals with official office titles bestowed on them by Emperor Maduro, but I predict that the vast majority of the military and police will get off scotch-free, even the ones who personally sprayed real bullets on protesters in Caracas.

We have seen it many times before, from the Vichy French military and police officers who voluntarily committed terrible crimes against their own citizens in collaboration with Nazi Germany, to the Iraqi soldiers and policemen who worked for ISIS during the heyday of the caliphate. So too, will the Venezuelan soldiers and police who are enforcing Maduro's grip of power in exchange for 3 meals a day while their countrymen starves around them.
3 meals a day and a roll of toilet paper, dont forget the TP!
 
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