Contributed by Joe Montero
The United State’s led intervention into Venezuela continues to move along, and it does so, in open violation of the nation’s sovereignty, lack of respect for national and international law.
There have now been some incidents on the borders with Colombia and Brazil, brought about by the attempted use of aid, to smuggle in hostile elements into Venezuelan territory from outside, under cover of foreign aid. This foreign aid is also being used to convey the false impression that Maduro is stopping aid for his people.
No country would allow so-called aid from anyone who declared themselves as an enemy and used for political meddling and armed incursion.
Whether one likes the policies of Nicolas Maduro and his Chavista government, or has issue with them, it is hard to ignore the reality that they have been elected under the nation’s law and constitution.
If the democratic will of the people of Venezuela is to be respected, their choice must be accepted.
The waters revealing this core principle have been muddied by a concerted dirt campaign of vilification, carried out by the Murdoch empire and some others of a similar character, and repeated by political leaders of questionable political morality.
It has had an influence. But as the truth begins to rise to the surface, a growing number of people are beginning to see what is really going on, and this is happening in Australia.
Meanwhile, the European Union has come out in opposition to military intervention.
For Juan Guaido, who declared himself president without standing for election, the situation is becoming more desperate, He is now in Colombia and has almost no authority in Venezuela. And the Australian government continues to play along with the farce.
The truth is that since the people of Venezuela are not rising to topple Maduro, and the army and the courts are remaining loyal to the elected president and government, Guaido’s presidency can only be enforced with outside military intervention.
A crisis of legitimacy is also rising for Guaido’s backers. As they increasingly worry about the prospect of failure, provocations mount and the prospect of military intervention becomes more real, Australia risks the possibility of being drawn into a new war as a surrogate fore someone else.
Here are some video clips, which help to tell the story of current developments.
Tariq Ali spoke at a public meeting in London, where many attended to express their solidarity with the people of Venezuela, and to reject the coup attempt by the United States and their allies.
Video from TeleSUR English
The clash on border with Columbia was a deliberate provocation by supporters of Guaido crossing over from Columbia to create an incident. This has been widely distorted by media reports. The Venezuelan army reacted to stop unauthorised violation of its borders.
Video from Ruptly
Meanwhile, under the publicity of humanitarian talk there is evidence that arms are being smuggled in.
A North Carolina-based air freight company has halted flights to Venezuela following a report by McClatchy linking it to possible arms smuggling. Last week, Venezuelan authorities claimed they had uncovered 19 assault weapons, 118 ammunition cartridges and 90 military-grade radio antennas on board a U.S.-owned plane that had flown from Miami into Valencia, Venezuela’s third-largest city. The Boeing 767 is owned by a company called 21 Air based in Greensboro, North Carolina.
The plane had made nearly 40 round-trip flights between Miami and spots in Venezuela and Colombia since January 11, the day after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was sworn in to a second term. The flights ended after McClatchy first reported on them.
Venezuela accused the U.S. government of sending the arms as part of its attempt to topple the Maduro government.
While no definitive links between 21 Air and the U.S. government have been established, McClatchy reports the chairman of 21 Air, Adolfo Moreno, as well as another employee at the company have ties to Gemini Air Cargo, which was involved in the CIA’s rendition program during the administration of George W. Bush.
Democracy Now speaks to McClatchy reporter Tim Johnson, who broke the story. Johnson was part of a team that shared a 2017 Pulitzer Prize for its investigation of the Panama Papers.
Video from Democracy Now!
A huge number of Venezuelans came out into the streets on 23 February,
to support who they regard their real president. The turnout dwarfed those who were out out for Guaido.
Maduro remains firm in his commitment to resist the coup attempt and foreign intervention.
Video from TeleSUR
This, the fact that many major aid organisations, including the Red Cross, are questioning the so called aid from the coup supporters and the genuine aid coming in from other countries, is the sort of news that is ignored by big media, in favour of beat up stories and complete fabrications.
Video from RT America
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