With the attempted coup in Venezuela now nearing its four-month mark, commentators in the corporate-owned Western press are scratching their heads as to why Washington’s plan for its proxy, Juan Guaido, to topple the government of Nicolas Maduro has so far failed to materialize. Of course, all of the real reasons elude them because they have never so much as crossed their minds. It is beyond their mental world to consider the lasting popularity of the late Hugo Chavez’s policies and lasting suspicion toward the right-wing opposition amongst large swathes of the population – or the deep revulsion at the thought of US (and especially US military) intervention into their country held by the vast majority of Venezuelans (and, indeed, Latin Americans generally). Rather, both the coup attempt’s puppeteers in Washington and their ventriloquist dummies in the mainstream media have been coming up with ever-more desperate excuses for why Guaido’s attempt to take power has not been a swift and decisive success. The so-called “propping up” of the Maduro “regime” by the traditional the US boogeymen of Russia, China and Cuba seems to have been the most frequently touted explanation. This has manifested itself in increasingly bizarre ways, such as the recent claim by Mike Pompeo that Maduro was at the point of fleeing the country before being convinced otherwise by Russia.
Monthly Archives: May 2019
The Washington Post’s “Cartel of the Suns” Theory is the Latest Desperate Excuse for Why the Coup Attempt in Venezuela has Failed
Filed under Counterpunch
Coup supporters in Washington try to smear peace group with misleading video
As The Canary previously reported, the Venezuelan embassy in Washington is currently under siege by coup supporters. Peace activists of the Embassy Protection Collective have been living inside since the last remaining diplomatic staff left last month. But now, coup backers have sought to smear these activists with a misleading video.
Peace activists holding firm despite heightened tensions
Anti-war group CODEPINK has been leading efforts to support the embassy activists. On 30 April, supporters of US-backed Venezuelan coup leader Juan Guaidó came to protest its presence. They have repeatedly attempted to gain entry to the building in spite of the activists being there legally as guests of the rightful tenants, according to international law and the Vienna Convention. So far, they have not succeeded. But as time has passed, they’ve been resorting to increasingly desperate and aggressive tactics. In addition to hurling racist, homophobic and sexist abuse at the activists and their supporters, there have also been reports of physical assaults against anti-coup activists.
Filed under The Canary
Pro-coup protesters surround Venezuelan embassy in Washington but meet resistance from peace activists
As the coup attempts in Venezuela rage on, a battle over the country’s embassy in Washington has been raging too. As The Canary previously reported, a group of activists called the ‘Embassy Protection Collective’ have been living in the embassy as guests. Their aim is to keep it out of the hands of opposition leader Juan Guaidó’s self-proclaimed shadow government. Pro-Guaidó protesters, meanwhile, have been demonstrating in support of seizing the embassy. And now, things have turned ugly, with these protesters facing off with the embassy protectors – resulting in violence and multiple arrests.
At the same time, there have been reports of authorities preventing food from getting into the embassy.
Filed under The Canary
