Maduro propped up by armed gangs

[COLGATE4]

The ever-growing popular demonstrations against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro are now being attacked by armed gangs (colectivos) created by the government. They are increasingly using firearms to disperse the demonstrations with the resulting casualties and now, even fatalities.

Maduro knows he's swirling the bowl and will now resort to any means at his disposal to avoid the inevitable. Democracy, Bolivarian Revolution style.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/22/world/americas/armed-civilian-bands-in-venezuela-prop-up-unpopular-president.html

[EX500rider]

1. I guess instead of Brownshirts he has Redshirts....poor Venezuela

[Oneironaut]

2. Another example of a terribly corrupt country run by thieves. It started with Chavez,

and his legacy continues. Of course, Maduro is a joke compared to Chavez, but both had their hand in the cookie jar.

It's not looking good for Venezuela. Hope for a bloodless revolution.

[moondust]

3. Maybe, maybe not.

I think Chavez, Maduro, and the socialists have always claimed that the oil-hungry U.S. and its greedy "business" allies in VZ are behind a lot of the trouble in VZ, presumably because the socialists wouldn't let them in to rape their oil reserves. If there's any truth to that then it's probably worse under a fossil-fuel regime in the U.S. whose State Department is headed by a big oil tycoon. Many people have always believed the invasion of Iraq was all about the GOP's fossil-fuel regime in the White House serving big oil's greed for Iraq's oil.

I don't know what to believe about VZ.

[Yupster]

6. People screw up all around the world all the time

and sometimes it's not the fault of the USA.

[L. Coyote]

4. Propaganda piece?

[COLGATE4]

5. What makes you think this is a propaganda piece?

If you've been following the situation in Venezuela at all you'd know that this isn't a new phenomenon. Chavez started arming the colectivos in order to have his own 'militia'. Now they're carrying out the function for which they were designed - serve as 21st Century brownshirts trying to stave off the inevitable collapse of the kleptocracy which passes for Venezuela's government.