The Devil's Excrement

While we have known that the Chavez Government lacks scruples and has an absolute disregard for the law and the truth, it never ceases to amaze us how cynical they can be in terms of distorting the truth. The savage and brutal attack on the students by a group of Chavista thugs is quickly becoming a sort of Puente del Llaguno II, where the hoodlums that attacked the students returning unarmed from their peaceful march are now supposed to have cornoered and attempted to lynch the “poor” Chavistas who were at the University.

First of all, pro-Chavez and anti-Chavez students coexist peacefully at Central University, so there is no explanation for this sudden impulse to lynch them. They have faced each other in debates and elections and there has only been violence whenever outside groups have gone in and stirred it up. Like yesterday.

Let us first recall, that at around 4 PM, the Vice-Minister of the Interior and Justice sent police groups to all entrances of Central University and appeared on TV saying that he was doing this to stop any extraneous groups from creating violence. Why did he do this and why did he say it? Then the violence began and in most of the videos and pictures (there is one in my mind that is not clear if the guy is  part of the pro-Chavez thugs or not) those armed, organized and attacking the students with weapons and on motorcycles are pro-Chavez groups.

Today one of the readers of the blog posted this link to human rights group Provea which shows pictures which prove very clearly  the impunity with which yesterday’s attack took place and how the Government tacitly had to have allowed these armed groups to go into the University.

The top two pictures show guys on motorcycles, most of them without plates, being directed by an armed person in the background. Even worse, some of the motorcycles without plates happen to be police motorcycles. Below you can see on such motorcycle, no license plate, no required helmet on the passenger and it clearly says Police on it. How could these people get through the police barriers? Why no plates? Who controls the Metropolitan Police? Are any of these people students?

In the bottom you can then see four such motorcycles. The one on the extreme right the guy has a heavy rifle, none of them have helmets and at least one of the motorcycles is a police motorcycles.

These are supposedly the “heroes” who came to aid the people trapped inside and who have even been on the Government’s TV station today explaining what heroes they are.

Thus, we seem to be in the face Of Puente El Llaguno II or perhaps The armed shooters of Puente El LLaguno II. On April 11th. 2002, the peaceful march going under a bridge began being shot at by gunman who were caught on camera. These gunmen, many of them employees of the Chavista City Hall of the Libertador District, were found to be innocent in a speedy trial, while the Metropolitan Police Officers protecting the march below remain in jail to this day without even being brought to trial.

In a few months, these shooters will be in the streets if they are ever jailed, much like the man who killed Maritza Ron on August 15th. 2004,  who curiously attended the burial of Danilo Anderson when he was supposed to be in jail and the Puente El Llaguno shooters who are back at work for the revolution, more loyal than ever.

This is the revolutions without scruples, this is the violent revolution, these are the crimes of Hugo Chavez.

Somebody sent me this picture. The guy below left is the same one on the right as well as being the one in the previous post in the picture that has been seen around the world, shooting at the students behind the door (You can see him in many pictures in Daniel’s blog). Maybe the Minister of the Interior can identify him or maybe he might not if it is not convenient to find him:

Students marched today and introduced an injunction in the Venezuelan Supreme Court asking that the proposed reform be postponed because it is illegal and has not been known and discussed by the people. I was very impressed by the clarity of the concepts expressed by the students that were allowed to speak, as they outlined very succinctly the reasons why they think the proposed changes, as well as the procedures followed, were absolutely illegal and fraudulent.

The march was peaceful, as pro-Chavez groups were kept at bay (at last) by the police, so that they could not interfere with the march. However, as the students returned to their universities, armed groups in motorcycles showed up in at least two universities in Caracas and Merida and began shooting at the students. There are at least nine injured as I write this, and while there has been rumors of one dead person, but this has been denied by authorities.

Below images of the shooters on the left, trying to push a door open to shoot at the students as well as a lone man with a gun and hooded face shooting at the students. There are videos that should reveal more later on. For now, just note that the student on the right has a gas mask on and a t-shirt that says “NO” to the Constitutional reform, clearly coming from the march. One of the guys on the left trying to push the door open has a gun and is trying to shoot them. Who do you think is the aggressor here?

The Minister of the Interior is on TV saying that the students returning from the march ¨trapped¨123 students (how precise!) and tried to lynch them and that is what led to the shootings. Curiously, he did not explain how the motorcycle riders got through the police barriers that were supposedly ¨blocking all entrances¨ to the University or the fact that the students who are injured are mostly coming from the march (I do not say all, because I can not confirm it). The Minister says that the students were frustrated because their march was peaceful. He did talk about the “party” surrounding the approval of the Constitutional reform.

Chacumbele’s* Cynicism by Teodoro Petkoff in Tal Cual

In front of a crowd that arrived at Avenida
Bolivar without asking for a permit from the Mayor, that marched
without any repressive core opposing them with tanks and water whales
and without anybody throwing stones and bottles at them, Chacumbele
demanded of his henchmen that they prohibit student demonstrations and
that they punish the media which he claimed were trying to stage a
coup. This is the last straw, coming from someone who seems to have no
limit to his abuses and arbitrariness, and above all, his cynicism.
While a gang of motorcycle riders with red t shirts goes into the
Central patio of the Capitol building without being stopped, the
students, in order to hand over a document to the National Assembly,
have to arrive protected by the National Guard and avoiding bottles
thrown by Chacumbele’s hoodlums. Could a group from the opposition have
been standing at the corner of the CNE while Celia Flores and her
pathetic combo marched to hand over the reform proposal to the CNE?
Pointless question. On the other hand when the student commission
arrived at the CNE it was stoned by hoodlums, happily gathered in the
neighboring corner. This inequality, this trampling of denying some
people what is allowed to others is at the origin of the tensions. It
is the feeling of abuse, of cowardly and immoral advantages, which
eventually stirs emotions and also, one should add, facilitates the
actions of the provocateurs interested in creating disturbances. We can
admit that the attitude of some of the young people, hotheaded in the
face of the tanks and the police line of the Metropolitan force, was
not politically the most convenient thing to do (without discarding the
action of the provocateurs) and that trying to chain themselves at the
CNE was not either, and moreover that it was an error. But the
President should not rip his clothes over this, how many burnt vehicles
have in their trajectory the various Ministers, some of them part of
the old hooded demonstrators of UCV? How many fights between police and
students have there not been in this country, so that now Chacumbele
pretends to nullify this constitutional right to demonstrate, since the
events of last Thursday? He must be quite nervous with the numbers in
the polls, so as to prohibit the public rallies of his opponents and to
silence the media through which they express themselves. We do not
share at all neither the tone of the speeches of the sector that met on
Saturday in Avenida Victoria, among other things, because of the
insults that were proffered against other sectors of the opposition,
but the media is not responsible for what was said there, the same way
that the swaggering, the threats and other offenses that Chacumbele
issued in his speech on Sunday,were also registered by the same media.
Take a tranquilizer please.

*Chacumbele killed himself by trying out his own poison, in this case it refers to Chavez

Chavez’
former Minister of Defense Raul Baduel, the man that single-handedly brought
Chavez back to power in April 2002, came
out today to voice his strong opposition to the proposed reform, which “if
approved would consummate in practice a coup d’etat in Venezuela”

Baduel did not mince words
saying “unnecessarily and trampling over procedures, using fraudulent
procedures they want to impose a proposal that requires a wide consultation
process via a Constituent assembly”

“Any Constitution that
reduces regulation (on the Government) and takes away limits to power must be
viewed with suspicion”

Baduel called on
Venezuelans to inform themselves and defense their rights and “not allow their
power to be taken away from them” and on the Armed Forces to be alert about the
content of the articles approved.

“This is not a
Constitutional Reform, it is not a revision…it is a transformation of the
State, thus it should have been assumed by a National Constituent Assembly”
u003c/font>\u003c/p>\nn\u003cp>\u003cfont sizeu003d”3″ faceu003d”Times New Roman”\>u003cspan langu003d”EN-US” styleu003d”font-size:12.0pt”\> u003c/span>\u003c/font>\u003c/p>\nn\u003cp>\u003cfont sizeu003d”3″ faceu003d”Times New Roman”\>u003cspan langu003d”EN-US” styleu003d”font-size:12.0pt”\>“At this moment, both the Executive Power asnwell as the Legislative Power are taking power away from the people alteringntheir values, the principles and structure of the State without having the abilitynto do so”u003c/span>\u003c/font>\u003c/p>\nn\u003cp>\u003cfont sizeu003d”3″ faceu003d”Times New Roman”\>u003cspan langu003d”EN-US” styleu003d”font-size:12.0pt”\> u003c/span>\u003c/font>\u003c/p>\nn\u003cp>\u003cfont sizeu003d”3″ faceu003d”Times New Roman”\>u003cspan langu003d”EN-US” styleu003d”font-size:12.0pt”\>Thus, Baduel concluded that he wanted to publiclynmanifest his rejection to the proposal; because it was regressive one which reducesnthe advances achieved in constitutional rights since 1999 and urged people tonvote NO on the proposal. u003c/span>\u003c/font>\u003c/p>\nn\u003cp>\u003cfont sizeu003d”3″ faceu003d”Times New Roman”\>u003cspan langu003d”EN-US” styleu003d”font-size:12.0pt”\> u003c/span>\u003c/font>\u003c/p>\nn\u003cp>\u003cfont sizeu003d”3″ faceu003d”Times New Roman”\>u003cspan langu003d”EN-US” styleu003d”font-size:12.0pt”\> u003c/span>\u003c/font>\u003c/p>\nn\u003cp>\u003cfont sizeu003d”3″ faceu003d”Times New Roman”\>u003cspan langu003d”EN-US” styleu003d”font-size:12.0pt”\> u003c/span>\u003c/font>\u003c/p>\nn\u003cp>\u003cfont sizeu003d”3″ faceu003d”Times New Roman”\>u003cspan langu003d”EN-US” styleu003d”font-size:12.0pt”\>This is a very interesting development. Baduelncoincides with the view that this is simply a coup against the VenezuelannConstitution and raises all of the relevant issues abut the illegality of thenproposed reform. His words are too strong for this to be some sort of trick. Itnwill be interesting to see the Government’s reactions and whether othernvoices join him. u003c/span>\u003c/font>\u003c/p>\nn\u003cp>\u003cfont sizeu003d”3″ faceu003d”Times New Roman”\>u003cspan langu003d”EN-US” styleu003d”font-size:12.0pt”\> u003c/span>\u003c/font>\u003c/p>\nn\u003cp>\u003cfont sizeu003d”3″ faceu003d”Times New Roman”\>u003cspan langu003d”EN-US” styleu003d”font-size:12.0pt”\>The downside is that Baduel has personal ambitions, isnalso former military and who knows what he wants…u003c/span>\u003c/font>\u003c/p>\nn\u003cp>\u003cfont sizeu003d”2″ faceu003d”Arial”\>u003cspan langu003d”EN-US” styleu003d”font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial”\>”,1]
);

//–>

“At this moment, both the
Executive Power as well as the Legislative Power are taking power away from the
people altering their values, the principles and structure of the State without
having the ability to do so”

Thus, Baduel concluded
that he wanted to publicly manifest his rejection to the proposal; because it was
regressive one which reduces the advances achieved in constitutional rights
since 1999 and urged people to vote NO on the proposal.

This is a very interesting
development. Baduel coincides with the view that this is simply a coup against
the Venezuelan Constitution and raises all of the relevant issues abut the
illegality of the proposed reform. His words are too strong for this to be some
sort of trick. It will be interesting to see the Government’s reactions and
whether other voices join him.

The downside is that
Baduel has personal ambitions, was a strong collaborator in many abuses of this
Government and has his own personal political agenda, he is also former
military and who knows what he wants…In fact. his announcement even comes with
the creation of his blog with
a statement on his position on the reform.

What does Baduel really
want? Stay tuned…

The democratic wisdom
and goodwill of autocrat/dictator Hugo Chavez when referring to those that
disagree with him yesterday during his rally pro reform of the Constitution:

On the
middle class that lives in the east of Caracas:

“Imagine a
million people marching towards the East of Caracas burning palm trees and other
trees. We would be that million, not you, because you don’t even reach one
million. There would no stone left of this oligarchy without a fatherland”

On the
church that has opposed the proposed Constitutional Reform:

“The
Cardinal and the bishops are leaving the same pile of shit. Mr. Cardinal you
continue with the same pile of shit. Ali Primera used to say, don’t look for
the Cardinal because God is happy with the revolution”

On student
marches:

“Next time
you have to evaluate if you give them the permit to march, because you are
going to give it to them so that they can come and burn downtown Caracas. What Government can be so weak to
give a permit to some fascists that are threatening to burn cars with people inside?”

On the
leaders of the protests:

“I have
ordered to open case file on them…Barreto, open cases against them…because they are
looking for a dead body… what happened at the CNE was planned. I am sure they
were sorry nothing bad happened, but they want a bloody show. Don’t let
yourselves (the students) be used to march like peasants to a bloodshed”

On the
media:

“What is
this Conatel? What is this Barreto, Rodriguez and Bernal? Jesse Chacon
(Minister of Telecommunications). The TV stations call for a march with no
point of return (sic) and nothing happens. Apply the law. And if you don’t dare
do it, I sign it. Each of us has to assume his own responsibility.”

On what may
happen if he loses

“I prefer a
peaceful outcome, but if for any reason I fail, I would go to the mountains of
Falcon, the plains of Portuguesa, Lara and the South of the Orinoco. Is that what they want? If I have to
grab a rifle, I have no problem in ending my life like that”

Spoken like
a true democrat, no?

The New York Times looks at Venezuela and revisits the effect of the Devil´s Excrement in tomorrow´s Sunday magazine under the title ¨The Perils of Petrocracy¨A good look and description of why Pdvsa and Venezuela are in trouble. The more things change the more they stay the same…

With
the same lack of scruples that has characterized so many actions of
Chavez and his cronies in the last nine years, Chavismo set the stage
for the final coup d’etat against Venezuela’s Constitution, when it
handed in today the final proposal for its reform to the Electoral
Board in order to hold a referendum to approve it next December 2nd.