U.S. Has Little Leverage To Stop Political Violence In Venezuela

[Zorro]

The escalating political crisis in Venezuela has set off alarms in Washington. But there's little the U.S. has been able to do, aside from criticize the jailing of opposition figures or the rising death toll as protesters continue to take to the streets, blaming the government for high inflation and crime.

The Obama administration had tried to improve relations with Venezuela, but the new president, Nicolas Maduro, like the late Hugo Chavez before him, tends to blame the U.S. for the country's problems. The two countries haven't even exchanged ambassadors in recent years.

Maduro says he wants to send an ambassador to Washington to better explain what's happening in his country. But just recently he expelled three U.S. diplomats, accusing them of plotting against his government.

That has U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry sounding frustrated. He told MSNBC he has tried reaching out to Maduro's administration in the past year.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2014/02/26/282929459/u-s-has-little-leverage-to-stop-political-violence-in-venezuela

[MADem]

1. El pueblo unido jamás será vencido...

And they're in the streets right now, demanding change.

The government is either going to have to change, or they'll feel the wrath of the people. It's not rocket science--people just aren't going to put up with rampant crime, out-of-control inflation, and dire shortages of basic goods. They've had ENOUGH. Their patience is at an end. That's why "the poor" are out there too.

And no one is feeling these murderous attacks by the national guard on the citizenry...and the lame attempts to blame others? Cell phones are set to record, and they can't play that game any more.

There's not much if anything we can do. The UN, perhaps...

[Paolo123]

2. thank god

The last thing the world needs is the US killing tens of thousands while further bankrupting itself.

[Bacchus4.0]

3. no arguing with that one!!! n/t

[delrem]

4. Oh gee, what a shame!

And guess what, campers. Venezuela Has Little Leverage To Stop Political Violence in USA!

On the other hand, the USA has a *lot* of leverage to escalate political violence wherever it wants, whereas few other countries do.