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Caribbean-Latin America
CIA Director: Venezuela could become a risk to the United States
2017-08-14
[New York Post] CIA director Mike Pompeo said on Sunday that Venezuela could become a "risk" to the US if chaos continues to roil the South American country.​ ​

"The Cubans are there; the Russians are there, the Iranians, Hezbollah are there​," he said on "Fox News Sunday." "​This is something that has a risk of getting to a very​,​ very bad place, so America needs to take this very seriously."​ ​

He said President Trump was just trying to give the ​country’s ​people hope when he floated the idea ​on Friday that the US would take military action ​after condemning Venezuelan leader Nicholas Maduro for human rights abuses and calling for him to hold "free and fair elections."

​"What I believe the president is trying to accomplish this week was to give the Venezuelan people hope and opportunity to create a situation where democracy can be restored," Pompeo said.

But Trump’s comments led Maduro’s son, Nicolas Maduro Guerra,​ ​to respond by ​warning Washington it would retaliate with force.

​"​​If the US soils the homeland, the rifles would come to New York and take the White House​,​"​ he said, Politico reported on Saturday.

National security adviser H.R. McMaster said Trump has asked for a report on what could happen next in the country.
Posted by:Besoeker

#28  Abu Uluque

You gave your State back to Mexico when you let in all the La Raza people, gave them driver's licenses as identification to vote and permission to collect FEDERAL benefits and didn't revolt.

I just don't care about your whole damn State. Fix yourself or get the fuck out.

California just sucks. Been there, took the inclusionary boss man training. Tried to stop at a rest area between LA and SD for my kids to pee -- yah that was a mistake. Y'all should realize that there are a lot of people who think that without CA the USA would be better, which is your problem not mine.

Smoke some more weed and enjoy your mellow, but I am telling you that you live in a third world country right now, and it will take you 30 years to realize it.
Posted by: rammer   2017-08-14 22:18  

#27  Mexico grows plenty of it own. But yes, they have other sources. One of them might start with a 'V', another starts with a 'C'.
Posted by: Abu Uluque   2017-08-14 13:09  

#26  I'm a little more concerned about Mexico these days.

Where do you think Mexico gets its drugs from?

Oh wait. it's on the tip of my tongue, Starts with "V" I think. "Venti"? No that's my coffee cup size, Darn it, I almost had it...
Posted by: Seeking cure for ignorance   2017-08-14 12:23  

#25  Easy, AU.
China will have finished buying Mexico before California secedes.
Posted by: Skidmark   2017-08-14 12:20  

#24  I'm with ya
Posted by: Frank G on the Road   2017-08-14 11:38  

#23  Can't get any help from you, huh? Could use a little help from my fellow Americans. Please.
Posted by: Abu Uluque   2017-08-14 11:13  

#22  you Rantburgers, who would give my home state of California to Mexico.

Naw, if anything Kalifornia will capitulate or surrender to Mexico.
Posted by: JohnQC   2017-08-14 10:56  

#21  Why is anyone worried about them threatening Rubio? Actors and actresses here have threatened and called for the death or overthrow of Trump. Media seems to not care.
Posted by: chris   2017-08-14 10:43  

#20  Yeah, and what country is a bigger narco regime than Mexico?
Posted by: Abu Uluque   2017-08-14 10:41  

#19  #15 Venezuela is a narco-communist regime, even more so than Castro's dump. They play footsie with Cuba

Obama has played footsie with the Iranians and Cuba. That worked out well (sarc).
Posted by: JohnQC   2017-08-14 10:39  

#18  Sorry. I'm a little more concerned about Mexico these days. There are those, even among you Rantburgers, who would give my home state of California to Mexico. Quite frankly, that's the biggest threat to my security.
Posted by: Abu Uluque   2017-08-14 10:39  

#17  #12 "They are infidels who should be brought to the true faith - by force, if necessary"

Time for fatwas on dictators?
Posted by: JohnQC   2017-08-14 10:38  

#16  ed in texas nailed it.
Posted by: rjschwarz   2017-08-14 10:28  

#15  Venezuela is a narco-communist regime, even more so than Castro's dump. They play footsie with Cuba, China, and Iran. Their very indebtedness to all of teh above make them the perfect "launching point" in the western hemisphere against their neighbors and the US
Posted by: Frank G on the Road   2017-08-14 09:43  

#14  Besoeker?????????????
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2017-08-14 09:35  

#13  they are a rabidly Socialist dictatorship, which frankly deserves overthrow and trial

How did the discussion veer off to American academia?
Posted by: Procopius2k   2017-08-14 09:31  

#12  "They are infidels who should be brought to the true faith - by force, if necessary"

They simply must be stopped before they begin establishing rural agricultural and high-tech industrial settlements.

[sarc tag added]
Posted by: Besoeker   2017-08-14 09:31  

#11  they are a rabidly Socialist dictatorship, which frankly deserves overthrow and trial

"They are infidels who should be brought to the true faith - by force, if necessary"
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2017-08-14 09:16  

#10  ...that, and its heavy oil with a limited number of cracking plants able to handle it (like Houston).
Posted by: Procopius2k   2017-08-14 09:07  

#9  "The Cubans are there; the Russians are there, the Iranians, Hezbollah are there​"

Many Venezuelans would like to see the Cubans gone. I don't know how many Russians, Iranians and Hezbollah are there but Probably, Venezuelans would like to see them gone too.

Venezuela is a member of OPEC and they are sitting on a lot of oil. They are having trouble getting it to market because they don't have the money to get their ships certified as sea-worthy or rather port-worthy.
Posted by: JohnQC   2017-08-14 09:04  

#8  Surely the CIA can find a couple of capable local hombres who can encourage Maduro to return to his bus route.
Posted by: Besoeker   2017-08-14 09:00  

#7  
And then there is this.


One of Venezuela’s most powerful leaders may have put out an order to kill Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a fervent critic of the South American country’s government, according to intelligence obtained by the U.S. last month.

Though federal authorities couldn’t be sure at the time if the uncorroborated threat was real, they took it seriously enough that Rubio has been guarded by a security detail for several weeks in both Washington and Miami.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2017-08-14 08:40  

#6  Why Venezuela?
I'll give you a quote: (Mel Brooks, Blazing Saddles)
"Gentlemen, we've got to protect our phony baloney jobs!"
Posted by: ed in texas   2017-08-14 08:26  

#5  There are many bad actors in this world. They are not all our concern. NK and Iran have often threatened the U.S. and we should be concerned with them and their aggression towards us.

However, the larger question is: What should we be concerned about and what should we address?
Posted by: JohnQC   2017-08-14 08:14  

#4  (g)rom,

Good question, and I should have been more clear. Venezuela has done no more than bad mouth us, but they are a rabidly Socialist dictatorship, which frankly deserves overthrow and trial. On the other hand, 'deserving' and 'practical/desirable' are two very different things. Their only real asset now is their oil, and we have shown that we don't have to care about that the way we used to. (Twenty years ago, had we been faced with the loss of their oil, we'd be spinning up the 82nd Airborne)

Mike

Posted by: Mike Kozlowski   2017-08-14 07:37  

#3  As much as Venezuela deserves it

I must admit I don't understand how deserves comes into it - did they attack USA, except verbally? And they do provide a horrible lesson - except the people who could benefit by it remain oblivious.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2017-08-14 06:21  

#2  #1 Wunderbar. So, ignore Norks, invade another South American country to make the plebs happy?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2017-08-14 03:43


...As much as Venezuela deserves it, not only no but hell no. Pi$$ing off all of South America just so we can create another martyr? That nonsense would be enough to get me to vote Democrat/Socialist as a matter of principle.

Now, on the other hand...Venezuela has a nearby target they might go after that could (stress the could) end up bringing us in: the Netherlands Antilles. It's very much a potential Argentina-vs-UK situation, and has been for decades.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski   2017-08-14 06:05  

#1  Wunderbar. So, ignore Norks, invade another South American country to make the plebs happy?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2017-08-14 03:43  

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