“CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido has taken to the streets with detained activist Leopoldo Lopez and a small contingent of heavily armed soldiers in a military uprising.

“This is the moment of all Venezuelans, those in uniform and those who aren’t,” said Lopez in his first public appearance since being detained in 2014 for leading anti-government protests.“Everyone should come to the streets, in peace.”

Lopez said he has been freed by the military.

Moments earlier, Guaidó appeared in an early morning video shot next to a Caracas air base surrounded by several heavily armed soldiers backed by a few armored vehicles…”

https://apnews.com/0153cace08c84c8fbf34f9c6a7bdd4dd

If you want to follow in real time, you can go to this link and get updates and video:

https://twitter.com/trish_regan/with_replies


The Maduro regime has been blocking news outlets and Youtube - so far Twitter has not been blocked.

Eh? Last weekend Guaido was just asking the soldiers to not interfere with demonstrations. As of three hours ago, at least, it wasn't quite clear that there's a mass uprising yet - and with all due respect, I'd still be looking for more confirmation than I can find on social media.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/v...sing-caracas-airbase

Maduro is blocking Youtube and foreign journalists internet access. They haven't been able to block Twitter yet and you can see live videos of the protests, not just from the link I posted but multiple others as well. This link and others you can follow are actual reporters, not just some random Schmo on social media..

Will this lead to the mass uprising and overthrow of Maduro? No one knows yet, but there are definitely protests and clashes going on in the streets right now. I don't think US officials would be commenting if they didn't have information that something is going on.

From your lips to God's ears. If this is premature, it'll not only end in catastrophe but shut down the likelihood of a successful overthrow of Maduro for a long time to come. The bit about "dozens" (rather than thousands) of soldiers makes me nervous as hell.

“Heavy gunfire crackled through the Venezuelan capital of Caracas on Tuesday after opposition leader Juan Guaido called for a military uprising to oust President Nicolas Maduro.

Guaido urged protesters and members of the military to join what he called the 'final phase of Operation Liberty' in a video taken at La Carlota airbase in the capital Caracas while surrounded by heavily-armed soldiers.

The troops then set up defensive positions around the base before Maduro's forces arrived and opened fire with teargas followed by live rounds, according to witnesses.

Guaido claimed that Maduro had lost the support of the military, by the President said he had spoken with his officers who had assured him of their 'total loyalty'…”

https://mol.im/a/6975871

quote:

Will this lead to the mass uprising and overthrow of Maduro? No one knows yet, but there are definitely protests and clashes going on in the streets right now.

There are further unconfirmed reports suggesting limited groups of National Guard soldiers may be defecting to the Guaido-led opposition, and at least some videos coming out of Caracas appear to show clashes between the rival factions, but Maduro is claiming to have the "total loyalty" of the armed forces.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news...g-armed-coup-attempt

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:

quote:

Will this lead to the mass uprising and overthrow of Maduro? No one knows yet, but there are definitely protests and clashes going on in the streets right now.

There are further unconfirmed reports suggesting limited groups of National Guard soldiers may be defecting to the Guaido-led opposition, and at least some videos coming out of Caracas appear to show clashes between the rival factions, but Maduro is claiming to have the "total loyalty" of the armed forces.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news...g-armed-coup-attempt

Without near full support or at least a large majority of the military I hope this goes smoothly. I pray that no one has to shoot their countryman. Good luck Venezuela.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:
Without near full support or at least a large majority of the military I hope this goes smoothly. I pray that no one has to shoot their countryman. Good luck Venezuela.

I'm with you 100% but I'm pretty sure this is going to get really ugly. The entire country has been eating out of dumpsters for a very long time and they seem like they're very pissed off.

The Russians and the Chinese are already there. We are attempting to prevent another Cuba. But Venezuela is Cuba on steroids. Cuba has no natural resources. Venezuela has a ton of oil.

There is so much oil in Venezuela. We can not just let our enemies take it over. This could get ugly.

This is not about socialism or how bad things are for the locals. This is all about oil and money and political alliances.

quote:

The Russians and the Chinese are already there.
We can not just let our enemies take it over.

Yeah... if they would stay out, we could stay out. But I think you're right, unfortunately.
It's really not our national interest at stake when another country makes the mistake of falling for the siren song of socialism.
However, we can't allow the Russians and the Chinese to control Venezuela.
It's a mess.

quote:

Guaido claimed that Maduro had lost the support of the military, by the President said he had spoken with his officers who had assured him of their 'total loyalty'…”

There's the brass hats, and there's everybody else - especially in Venezuela. Fingers crossed.

As for the Cubans and Russians, the Cubans are there to beef up Maduro's secret police and it's still not clear what the Russians are doing there. They may not have all that much of a role to play if there's an outbreak of open civil war.

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:

quote:

The Russians and the Chinese are already there.
We can not just let our enemies take it over.

Yeah... if they would stay out, we could stay out. But I think you're right, unfortunately.
It's really not our national interest at stake when another country makes the mistake of falling for the siren song of socialism.
However, we can't allow the Russians and the Chinese to control Venezuela.
It's a mess.

Correct.

Any Americans who fight for Venezuelas independence should get a cut of the pie at the end, since its all about the money.

“WASHINGTON (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leaders calling for a military uprising against the government of President Nicolás Maduro gained quick messages of support Tuesday from the Trump administration amid a possible turning point in the South American nation’s political crisis.

Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton all expressed support for the opposition as its two most prominent figures, Juan Guaidó and Leopoldo Lopez, stood with soldiers and called for the people, and the security forces, to rise up against Maduro.

“We are with you!” Pence tweeted to the opposition, in the most direct message of the three. “America will stand with you until freedom & democracy are restored.” …”

https://apnews.com/8a18145f858e41e88475360b9a7decee

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:
Any Americans who fight for Venezuelas independence should get a cut of the pie at the end, since its all about the money.

We need a friendly government in Venezuela. This issue will not go away any time soon. This is very important. If we allow Russia and China to take over the political situation in Venezuela, it will be a huge mistake. I do not believe we will allow this to happen. I am sure our CIA is all over this. We need to spend whatever it takes to achieve the endgame in our favor. This is very important and I am glad our government is all over this situation.

Most Americans do not understand how important this is. This is far more important than Grenada. We must protect our "back yard".

One can only hope and pray the end of the regime is near. In the protests today in Caracas, Venezuelan security forces drive a military armored vehicle into the crowd. Unbelievable.

https://youtu.be/fQQzg2VfJME

quote:

Originally posted by mjlennon:
One can only hope and pray the end of the regime is near. In the protests today in Caracas, Venezuelan security forces drive a military armored vehicle into the crowd. Unbelievable.

https://youtu.be/fQQzg2VfJME

Better to believe our special forces are at work.

And they are.

I wonder how long it will take for Russian advisors to start dropping hammers like they did in the Ukraine...

quote:

Originally posted by FishOn:

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:
Any Americans who fight for Venezuelas independence should get a cut of the pie at the end, since its all about the money.

We need a friendly government in Venezuela. This issue will not go away any time soon. This is very important. If we allow Russia and China to take over the political situation in Venezuela, it will be a huge mistake. I do not believe we will allow this to happen. I am sure our CIA is all over this. We need to spend whatever it takes to achieve the endgame in our favor. This is very important and I am glad our government is all over this situation.

Most Americans do not understand how important this is. This is far more important than Grenada. We must protect our "back yard".

Make the Monroe Doctrine Great Again!