AP EXCLUSIVE: Maduro ally presses for dialogue with Biden

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By SCOTT SMITH and JOSHUA GOODMAN

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — A close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said Friday he’s hopeful the Biden administration will roll back a “cruel” sanctions policy and instead give room for diplomacy that could lead to the reopening of the U.S. Embassy and the release of several jailed American citizens.

Jorge Rodríguez’s comments came in his first interview since taking the helm of Venezuela’s National Assembly over strong protests from the U.S., European Union and domestic opponents.

Rodriguez, extending an olive branch to the incoming U.S. president, said the ruling socialist party is eager for a new start after four years of endless attacks by the Trump administration that he believes not only exacerbated suffering among Venezuelans and failed to unseat Maduro but also punished U.S. investors who historically have been important in the OPEC nation.

“All points and all issues are on the table,” he said, including the future of six Venezuelan-American oil executives arrested on corruption charges and two former Green Berets caught in a failed attempt to overthrow Maduro.



National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez gives an interview at Congress in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 15, 2021. Rodriguez said he’s hopeful the Biden administration will roll back a “cruel” sanctions policy and instead give room for diplomacy that could lead to the reopening of the U.S. Embassy and the release of several jailed American citizens. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/venezuela-caracas-latin-america-diplomacy-dd7de047b619aa0a714a38ae02a4834c

[oldsoftie]

2. Maduro, it is YOU who perpetuates the suffering of the citizens. YOU.

YOU & your cronies theft from the people. Theft from businesses. Turning the one of the richest countries in South America into the poorest & most miserable.

[Jay25]

3. Sounds appropriate to me.

The citizens of Venezuela are beyond hurting. The sanctions imposed upon the country by Trump have effected health care, medication availability, food supply, schools, illegal drug use, abuse, lawlessness...Has made life a living hell for the people. Gang violence has increased and grossly outnumber law enforcement, criminal activity is off the charts.

Biden should speak with Maduro and sanctions need to be lifted. Innocent people are suffering because of these sanctions, which is both immoral and inhumane.

[ripcord]

4. The only thing Biden should talk to Maduro about is when that dictator will step down

[Jay25]

5. Sanctions need to be lifted.

Trump flexed his muscle showing that he could devastate a country, meanwhile the citizens are the ones suffering. These sanctions occurred because the US wanted Guaido for President, there is absolutely no way Trump sanctioned Venezuela for the sole purpose of helping the people. He has more than showed his disdain for minorities over the last 4 years, and could care less about the devastation inflicted upon Venezuelans because of sanctions. Heck, he didn’t care about immigrant children separated from parents or the children that remain missing.
Also, we have dialogue with countries that have done far worse to people, that have not been sanctioned.

[cstanleytech]

6. The sanctions certainly made things worse however what started the ball rolling was the seizure of

varies assets that the Venezuelan government undertook which drove investors to look elsewhere.
That needs to be remedied first otherwise its going to be hard for them to attract new investors.

[ripcord]

7. Venezuala doesn't have a future with Maduro as president

There will be no outside investment in the country when he could confiscate their holdings on a whim. It is Maduro's policies that are hurting the country and negotiating with him only boosts his standing, would you have wanted other countries to negotiate with Trump if he had managed to steal the election?

[JonLP24]

8. Trump wanted to do a coup in Venezuela

I have always been against coups in general but now I'm even more against them because I don't want to cause the same chaos that happened here.


After Right-Wing Coup Effort in DC, Venezuela Offers Sympathy for US Suffering What 'It Has Generated' Elsewhere

While Democratic and Republican lawmakers, political pundits, and angered U.S. citizens of all stripes rightly condemned Wednesday's violent coup attempt by a pro-Trump mob in the nation's capital, at least one foreign government offered its sympathy for the assault while also pointing out that U.S.-backed efforts to subvert democracy abroad are all too common.

In the wake of the day's deadly mayhem at the U.S. Capitol building, the Venezuelan government issued a public statement expressing "concern with the acts of violence that are taking [place] in the city of Washington, D.C."

"Venezuela condemns the political polarization and the spiral of violence that only reflects the deep crisis that the political and social system of the United States is currently going through," the statement continues. "With this unfortunate episode, the United States is suffering the same thing that it has generated in other countries with its policies of aggression."

(Snip)

Juan Guaidó, Venezuela's right-wing opposition figure who in 2019 oversaw a failed U.S.-backed coup attempt after the reelection of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, became a flashpoint for commentators eager to shed light on the hypocrisy of U.S. lawmakers from both major parties who gave Guaidó a standing ovation when the self-anointed leader was erroneously described by President Donald Trump during his 2020 State of the Union address as the "true and legitimate president of Venezuela."

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/01/06/after-right-wing-coup-effort-dc-venezuela-offers-sympathy-us-suffering-what-it-has

Even if you wanted to replace Maduro, Trump set back those efforts.

[ripcord]

9. Just an FYI you can't stage a coup against an illegitimate government

[JonLP24]

10. Trump tried to do that

Trump Just Inspired the Dumbest Damned Coup Plot in LatAm History, Complete with a QAnon Crazy

CALI, Colombia—A small mercenary force led by former U.S. military personnel attempted to invade and conquer Venezuela over the weekend.

Headlines about the op have embarrassed Donald Trump’s U.S. administration even more than earlier failed efforts to oust the putrid dictatorship of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and Trump is saying he had no hand in this thing, which might just be true.

(Snip)


Of course, character is fate, as the old saying goes. So it might come as no surprise to learn that one of the captured ex-Green Berets, Airan Berry, appears to be a devotee of the QAnon conspiracy theory, which posits a “deep state” plot targeting President Trump.

Both Berry and the other captured American, Luke Denman, had worked as private contractors under Goudreau’s Florida-based company, Silvercorp USA. Originally founded to provide “protection” against school shooters by embedding “counter-terror agents in schools disguised as teachers,” Silvercorp eventually was tapped by President Trump’s handlers to provide security for his rallies.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/in-venezuela-trump-just-inspired-the-dumbest-coup-plot-in-latin-american-history-complete-with-a-qanon-crazy