2018-08-04, 20:01 | Link #1 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
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Venezuela situation
I guess it was only a matter of time before someone used drones to attempt the
assassination of a head of state: Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro survives drone assassination attempt: "The Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, has survived an apparent assassination attempt involving drones that exploded close to him while he was speaking at an event in Caracas. State television showed Maduro abruptly cutting short his speech during a celebration of the National Guard’s 81st anniversary. The hundreds of soldiers present were shown breaking ranks and scattering. The Venezuelan information minister, Jorge Rodríguez, said there had been an “attack” against the president involving drones loaded with explosives. Maduro was “fine” and continuing to work, he said. Rodríguez said seven National Guard soldiers were injured in the apparent attack." See: https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...ldiers-scatter |
2018-08-05, 22:07 | Link #2 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
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The Explosive-Carrying Drones in Venezuela Won't Be the Last:
"On Saturday, as Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro gave a speech in Caracas before a large military assemblage, drones carrying explosives approached, officials there said, detonating near the stage. While Maduro was unharmed, Venezuelan information minister Jorge Rodriguez said that the attack injured seven soldiers. It's a method of assault that only a few years ago felt unthinkable, but has quickly become inevitable. Details remain scarce about the exact nature of the attack, which Rodriguez characterized as an “assassination attempt,” including what type of drones were used and the nature of the explosives involved. In a televised address to his country, Maduro appeared to attribute the strike to far-right factions in Venezuela and Columbia. “They have tried to kill me today,” Maduro said. As the hours passed, some reports disputed the drone attack narrative. The Associated Press reported that three unnamed firefighters say it was actually an apartment gas tank explosion. A military expert quoted in The Washington Post posited that the government lost control of its own drone, and had to take it down. But local witnesses later confirmed seeing a drone explode. Not long after the attack, Venezuelan authorities arrested six suspects, according to interior minister Nestor Reverol. Reverol also provided more details about the incident, alleging that the suspects used two DJI M600 drones, each loaded down with 1 kilogram of C-4 explosive, capable of creating a blast radius of 50 meters. The DJI M600 is generally considered a professional-grade drone, primarily for filmmakers and photographers, but has a strong build, and can handle a relatively heavy payload. "It's clear that increasingly capable and hard-to-stop drones will become a key instrument of revolutionaries going forward," says Todd Humphreys, associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin who has researched security issues around unmanned aerial vehicles. "The technical challenge of defending a head of state in a public venue against a small drone carrying explosives is much greater than that of building one." See: https://www.wired.com/story/venezuel...maduro-threat/ |
2019-03-12, 11:27 | Link #5 |
Kurumada's lost child
Join Date: Nov 2003
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^ I don't know how any of this would reflect positively on this administration. There are presidential candidates that are openly against a war with Venezuela. On top of that, such an event would certainly destabilize the region; Colombia is already overwhelmed with refugees. Brazil, Peru and Ecuador are also seeing a massive influx of immigrants. You would also see a massive surge of Venezuelan refugees coming to the United Stated.
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2019-03-12, 20:20 | Link #6 | |
Banned
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: A city with a small mountain in the middle
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Quote:
The only hope is for the people at the Pentagon to stall any invasion plan for as long as possible. Unlike 1962 when it was JFK who stalled the military for enough time until a deal was reached, it's the military that must stall the President's plans now. Last edited by Toukairin; 2019-03-12 at 20:42. |
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2019-03-12, 23:52 | Link #7 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
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This is the reason for a strong legislative, judicial and executive branches for a government, they voted in a dictator promising them everything under the sun but once he was there they can't get him out since he controls the whole government with no checks or balances in place. A co-worker's wife is from there and her family is suffering hard but they can't come here to the US because of the immigration BS. Honestly from everything I've been told going on inside the country they need to get him and his buddies out but any country that goes in is going for their own benefit first and Venezuela's benefit second. I hate to say that there is no easy path for the citizens there
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2019-03-13, 00:49 | Link #8 |
Kurumada's lost child
Join Date: Nov 2003
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^ You have to realize that the sanctions imposed on Venezuela by the US are one of the major driving factors for the fast deterioration of the country. Venezuela cannot profit from its oil, and much of its accounts have been frozen. Iran is also going through some very hard times due to sanctions as well. God, I am getting Libia flash backs... Oh lets not forget Syria...
Personally, I see the current US policy on Iran and Venezuela as an absolute disaster for the long term global stability. Those two countries are not a direct threat to US national security; but our willingness to meddle in other countries' affairs is unnerving. The major news channels did not cover the drone strikes and are "oddly" enough, in lock step with the Trump administration pro-intervention agenda.. I wonder why...
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2019-03-13, 01:14 | Link #9 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
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Quote:
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2019-03-13, 18:53 | Link #10 |
Banned
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: A city with a small mountain in the middle
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As far as sanctions are concerned, I don't think Russia nor China would give a flying feck about them since those were not enforced by the UN. Are they not supposed to be huge buyers of Venezuelan oil?
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2019-03-13, 22:41 | Link #13 |
Gamilas Falls
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Republic of California
Age: 46
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The majority of Venezuela's oil exports were to the United States and the Caribbean, with China be a distant third after that. Following that it traded to other Asian and European countries (India being likely a large importer), and some African nations from time to time.
Remember that Venezuela is part of OPEC. Apparently its been leaning in its oil industry too much this last decade or two and basically crippled itself. It seems their state run oil company can't afford to even cover maritime law safety inspections and cleanings of their own ships, effectively stopping commerce anyway.
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