Venezuela's socialists not too pleased U.S. is encouraging a military coup

I wonder if Nicolas Maduro would be glad to renounce all foreign involvement in Venezuela's politics, which would mean among other things no bailouts from Russia when the socialist workers' paradise can't pay its bills. Bet not. When you're starving your people and arresting your political opponents, it's unsurprising that some people would want you gone. Actually it would be surprising if anyone apart from your most shameless cronies don't want you gone. The U.S. has been known to invade countries with dictators that treated their people badly. Maduro should be pleased the Trump Administration is merely suggesting the Venezuelan military take care of the problem on their own.

He doesn't seem to feel that way, though:

Venezuela condemned on Friday U.S. comments that its own military could topple President Nicolas Maduro and said a Latin American tour by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was seeking a regional “intervention” against the socialist government. Accusing Washington of seeking to undermine democracy in Latin America and return to the days of “imperialism,” Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino lashed out at Tillerson during a broadcast on state television. “Every day he distances himself more from diplomacy to enter into war-mongering. You have no moral authority,” said Padrino, flanked by armed forces’ top brass who swore loyalty to Maduro. “This man... will try to persuade Latin America governments to intervene in Venezuela. That’s a publicity stunt,” he added, blaming U.S. President Donald Trump’s sanctions for economic hardship in Venezuela.

The talk of "undermining democracy" is rich from the man responsible for the fate of Leonardo Lopez, as well as the effort to sideline Venezuela's entire legislature. Maduro is about as democratic as a game of Simon Says, and at least Simon takes responsibility for his commands. The intractability of the Venezuela problem stems from the fact that Maduro controls so many constitutional mechanisms, it's almost impossible to remove him from power bloodlessly. He's learned well from his patron Vladimir Putin, and he's completely shameless about jailing or otherwise disqualifying political opponents, while also exercising the power to decide which branches of the government are actually allowed to function, and which ones he can and will pack with his own cronies. Maduro has none of the charisma of Hugo Chavez, but he has all the shameless lust for power and all the relentless determination to hang onto it regardless of what he has to do or who knows it. Venezuela is suffering from shortages of goods, hyperinflation and overall economic deprivation. Any effort by the people to demonstrate about their plight is met with violent resistance if not arrest and imprisonment. And when Venezuela's economy behaves as you might expect when it's ravaged by such a regime, Maduro's protectors in Moscow, Tehran and Havana come to his rescue because they believe it's beneficial for them to have a regime like this in the Western Hemisphere causing headaches for the United States. How do you get rid of a man like this? I remember a time when it seemed impossible to get rid of Nicolae Ceaucescu as well. Romanians found a way and it wasn't pretty, but it was very effective.

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