Deep State and its blood-drenched errand boys Rubio and Trump failed at their attempted fiery deception at Colombia-Venezulea border-Max Blumenthal…(It’s not “humanitarian” to impersonate Red Cross workers)

Sen. Rubio is experienced at promoting Deep State mass murder, was part of Obama’s elaborate Feb. 2015 attempt to assassinate Venezuela Pres. Maduro. Of course, Venezuela’s “days were numbered” when it ended dealings with World Bank and IMF in 2007. Chavez, not a fan of globalization, had begun loosening ties with them in 1999. 

2/24/19, “Burning Aid: An Interventionist Deception on Colombia-Venezuela Bridge?“ Max Blumenthal, Grayzone, Caracas 

“Sen. Marco Rubio and coup leaders claim the Venezuelan National Guard burned US aid trucks on the bridge in Colombia. But all available evidence points in the opposite direction.” 

“The Trump administration’s coup against Venezuela culminated on February 23 with US-backed opposition attempting to ram several trucks loaded with boxes of USAID “humanitarian aid” across the previously unused Francisco de Paula Santander bridge connecting Colombia to Venezuela. 

The trucks failed to reach the other side — but that was never really the point of the stunt. As Father Sergio Munoz, a right-wing Venezuelan activist posted on the Colombian side of the border, explained to journalist Dan Cohen, the humanitarian “aid” was a purely symbolic provocation aimed at discrediting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in international eyes and generating waves of destabilizing violence. 

By the end of the day, the trucks lined up on the Francisca de Paula Santander bridge were flanked by gangs of guarimberos. 

These were the nihilistic masked youth who form the shock troops of the right-wing opposition, and who placed Caracas under siege with violent barricade protests, known as guarimbas, at several points between 2014 and 2017. A mob of guarimberos burned to death Orlando Figuera, a 22-year old black Venezuelan accused of supporting Maduro, on an eastern Caracas street in broad daylight, back in June 2017. 

On the Santander bridge this February 23, the guarimberos rained down a hail of rocks and molotov cocktails on Venezuelan national guardsmen holding the line against the USAID trucks. Suddenly, the trucks caught fire and the masked youth began unloading boxes of aid before they burned. Within minutes, pro-opposition media reported that the Venezuelan national guard forces [Maduro] were responsible for the fires. 

A reporter for the private anti-government [ie, anti-Maduro, pro US coup] channel NTN24 claimed without evidence that the Venezuelan [Maduro] security forces had caused the fires with tear gas: 

“Another false flag at the border with Colombia. A “reporter” from @NTN24ve (opposition tv known for fake news) said a truck went on fire because the Venezuelan police launched tear gas. Let me know if you’ve seen tear gas burn a truck before #Venezuela #HandsOfVenezuela pic.twitter.com/P5uRWEBgCd— taseenb (@taseenb) February 23, 2019″ 

The claim was absurd on its face. I have personally witnessed tear gas canisters hit every kind of vehicle imaginable in the occupied Palestinian West Bank, and I have never seen a fire like the one that erupted on the Santander bridge. 

In 2013, the San Bernadino Sheriff’s Department deployed special incendiary teargas canisters (“burners”) to torch the house where fugitive cop killer Chris Dorner had holed up. But it is highly unlikely that the Venezuelan national guardsmen had anything like this weapon in their arsenal when they confronted the rioters on February 23. 

The total lack of evidence of Venezuelan [Maduro] culpability did not stop Cuban-American Senator Marco Rubio from tweeting this accusation from nearby in Cucuta, Colombia: 

“The whole world saw the regime [the elected government] use security forces + gangs to injure + kill unarmed civilians. The whole world saw them set fire to 3 trucks carrying food & other humanitarian aid. They will soon realize just how badly they overplayed their hand today.— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 24, 2019″ 

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who is facing calls for her own resignation after video appeared of her condescendingly browbeating a group of environmentalist children, repeated Rubio’s baseless allegation, using it to call for Maduro to step down. 

By blaming the Venezuelan government [Maduro] for burning the USAID trucks, Rubio was clearly attempting to establish the casus belli he had been seeking. Yet neither he nor anyone in the “whole world” had seen the national guard set the fire, as he claimed. In fact, the evidence pointed in the exact opposite direction, suggesting that the masked opposition youth had torched the trucks themselves. 

Colombian writer Humberto Ortiz produced footage from a pro-opposition channel showing what appears to be the exact moment when a guarimbero sets the aid on fire with a molotov cocktail: 

“Creo que @NoticiasUno nos puede ayudar a aclarar si la molotov lanzada por este muchacho pudo causar el incendio del camión. pic.twitter.com/UCR7x9qNkA— Humberto Ortiz (@graffitiborrao) February 24, 2019″ 

Telesur reporter Madelein Garcia published photographs showing a guarimbero with a gas canister next to one of the burning trucks: 

“1. #ÚltimoMinuto| en #exclusiva @teleSURtv aquí las evidencias de quienes quemaron el camión con supuesta ayuda humanitaria en #Ureña, fueron los mismo guarimberos pic.twitter.com/4gv2K54NpE- Madelein Garcia (@madeleintlSUR) February 23, 2019″ 

Drone footage also published by Garcia shows how far away the trucks were from Venezuelan national guardsmen when they caught fire, and demonstrates that they were clearly on the Colombian side of the border: 

“2. Ahora veamos las imágenes aéreas este fue justo el momento cuando quemaron los camiones pic.twitter.com/M66Wy7nOQM— Madelein Garcia (@madeleintlSUR) February 23, 2019″ 

Even Bloomberg News, which has run a relentless stream of pro-opposition reports, published video showing guarimberos on the bridge making molotov cocktails, which could easily set a truck cabin or its cargo alight: 

“MORE: As a group of Venezuelans, most of them young, attempt to access the Venezuelan side of the border, a group is seen preparing molotov cocktails #tictocnews pic.twitter.com/TG9JSxo5rh— TicToc by Bloomberg (@tictoc) February 23, 2019″ 

Meanwhile, the International Red Cross issued a statement condemning Venezuelan opposition activists [supported by the US] disguising themselves as Red Cross workers – a blatant breach of humanitarian protocol. A screenshot from pro-opposition NTN24 coverage shows a fake Red Cross worker near one of the burning trucks:

 

“Not sure if the Venezuelan opposition activists disguised as Red Cross workers actually mean well pic.twitter.com/Gry9qc7EML— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) February 23, 2019″

.......

Image, 2/23/19, Red Cross confirms imposters are wearing its emblems, IFRC twitter 

Days ago, self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido announced that he would lead a “human wave” across the bridge and into Venezuela. But as darkness fell on February 23, Guaido found himself at a stormy press conference with other right-wing, US-aligned Latin American leaders. By his side was Colombian President Ivan Duque, who repeated the evidence-free allegation that Venezuelan security forces had burned the aid trucks. 

Having failed miserably at every phase of the coup he had attempted engineer, Rubio ended the day with a Twitter tantrum that peaked with a call for “multilateral actions” against Venezuela’s government. What form that action could take is still unclear, but it will certainly be justified by a series of baseless claims about what took place on the Santander bridge.”
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Added: US decrees death of nations:



Image above from TheTechnocraticTyranny.com, published 2/27/2016, “State Department’s Mission: Coup d’etat"




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UPS no longer delivers to areas of Sweden such as Malmo due to crime and attacks on drivers-Aftonbladet, 2/23/19

2/23/19, “Risk of crime stops package delivery,” Aftonbladet, Stockholm, Sweden (google translation from Swedish) 

“The transport company UPS no longer runs packages in Rosengård in Malmö, for security reasons. Postnord does not deliver packages to another area in Malmö, Seved. 

– We must think of our staff in the first place, says Mathias Krümmel at Postnord. 

A person in Malmö who ordered the delivery home to the door received notice from the distribution company UPS that the company no longer supplies to private addresses in the district of Rosengård because of the risk of being exposed to robbery or other crimes, reports Sydsvenskan. 

An employee at the company’s customer service tells the newspaper that the home run in Rosengård was stopped two months ago, when drivers were attacked. Even in some areas in Stockholm, UPS has stopped the delivery of parcels. 

“The stop will not be forever, but we wait until it feels safe for our drivers,” the employee told the newspaper. 

Postnord delivers packages to Rosengård, but the delivery in the district has been temporarily stopped on some occasions, for the safety of the personnel. Some areas in Stockholm have also had temporary delivery stops in recent years, says Mathias Krümmel, head of production in Postnord. 

– I also know that there has been an opportunity where guards have followed our cars, but then it is more often shorter incidents that have solved themselves, he says. 

No packages in Seved 

Today there is only one area in the country where Postnord does not run home packages, and it is Seved in Malmö. There, companies and residents can collect packages at delivery points. 

– The postmen can go there without being threatened, but if we drive there with the package car they will be threatened. Well, it has to do with the value, what is in the packages, guesses Mathias Krümmel. 

He notes that security issues in some areas affect all companies that drive out goods. 

– It’s really regrettable. We want to drive out and deliver everywhere, but of course we have to think about our staff in the first place.”

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Michael Cohen, 9/21/2016: “I’ve lost count as to how many times the disgusting liberal mainstream media have attempted to label Mr. Donald Trump a racist, a xenophobe, and a bigot. And let’s not forget sexist, misogynist, narcissist, Islamophobe, anti-Hispanic, anti-Semite, demagogue, and countless others. It’s disgraceful.”

2/28/19, “2016: Michael Cohen Defending Trump Against Charges of Racism,” Rush Limbaugh



Image, 9/21/2016, At Cleveland, Ohio event Michael Cohen introduces GOP presidential nominee Trump 

“RUSH: We dug something out from the archives, from the Grooveyard of Forgotten Sound Bites. 

So yesterday Cohen is out there talking about what an evil racist Trump is. And, by the way, Cohen knows all of this stuff he said about Trump’s personal character, he knows that’s not true. He knows full well it isn’t. And, by the way, since Cohen was taping his client hour after hour after hour, where are all the tapes showing Trump making racist comments?… 

Well, we went out, found a tape, September 21st, 2016. This in the presidential campaign. You’re not gonna see this anywhere in the Drive-By Media. This is at the New Spirit Revival Center church in Cleveland, September 21st, 2016, campaign event. Donald Trump is there. Michael Cohen introduced Donald Trump. 

Now, at this point in time he is the nominee. He is the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump. Here is a portion of Michael Cohen’s introduction of Trump at the New Spirit Revival Center church, September 2016. 

COHEN: “The word of the 2016 election somehow has become “racist.” And a racist is defined as a person who believes that all members of each race possess characteristics and abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior to another race. I’ve lost count as to how many times the disgusting liberal mainstream media have attempted to label Mr. Donald Trump a racist, a xenophobe, and a bigot. And let’s not forget sexist, misogynist, narcissist, Islamophobe, anti-Hispanic, anti-Semite, demagogue, and countless others. It’s disgraceful.” 

RUSH: Well, how about that? Michael Cohen saying Trump is none of that stuff on the campaign trail, September 2016. A far cry from the script he read yesterday that was no doubt written by Hillary Clinton, Valerie Jarrett, Barack and Michelle Obama, and Lanny Davis.” 

image above from RushLimbaugh.com





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Mickey, don’t pick up the soap. Gambino mob heir says prison inmates love Trump and hate rats-Daily Mail

2/27/19, “EXCLUSIVE: Gambino mob heir predicts Michael Cohen will get WHACKED in prison because ‘inmates love Trump and hate rats’,” Daily Mail, Keith Griffiths

Image: “Giovanni (left) is seen on a prison visit with his father Francesco ‘Ciccio’ Gambino before the Sicilian mob boss died behind bars in 2012″ 

“Giovanni Gambino slammed Michael Cohen for his Congressional testimony. 

Predicted Trump’s former fixer would face a hit behind bars from angry inmates 

Cohen reports to prison in May and will serve three years for lying and fraud  

Giovanni is son of a deceased mobster and cousin to crime boss Carlo Gambino. 

‘He may face the same fate as Whitey Bulger,’ Giovanni says of Cohen” 

“An heir to the Gambino crime family has issued a stark warning to Michael Cohen, predicting that President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney may face retaliation behind bars over his Congressional testimony. 

‘A message for Michael Cohen: He better keep his mouth shut,’ Giovanni Gambino told DailyMail.com on Wednesday morning, blasting Trump’s former fixer shortly before he publicly testified. 

Giovanni, the 43-year-old son of late Sicilian mob boss Francesco ‘Ciccio’ Gambino and cousin to infamous crime boss Carlo Gambino, speculated that Cohen’s withering testimony could have harsh consequences. 

‘Inmates love Trump, and hate rats. If he wants to get out alive, he better keep his mouth shut about Trump,’ Giovanni said. 

Cohen is due to report to federal prison in May. He has been sentenced to serve three years after pleading guilty to campaign finance violations, tax fraud, bank fraud and lying to Congress…. 

In his prepared testimony on Wednesday, Cohen directly accused his former boss of bigotry, dishonesty, and possibly criminal conduct. 

‘He is a racist, he is a conman and he is a cheat,’ Cohen told the House Oversight and Reform Committee in stunning testimony. 

Trump has blasted Cohen as crooked, dishonest and self-serving. 

‘He did bad things unrelated to Trump. He is lying in order to reduce his prison time,’ Trump wrote in a tweet early Wednesday from Hanoi, Vietnam where he was meeting with North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un….

Giovanni, who has left the family business to author crime fiction, agreed with Trump’s assessment. 

‘President Trump is right by calling Cohen a Rat,’ Giovanni said. ‘Cohen unnecessarily lied to the FBI and stupidly incriminated himself.’ 

‘Unfortunately he might face the same fate as Whitey Bulger,‘ Giovanni added, referring to the infamous Boston crime boss turned FBI informant. 

In October, Bulger was brutally killed inside a federal prison in West Virginia in a suspected mafia hit. 

Cohen addressed the allegation that he is a ‘rat’ in his testimony on Wednesday, saying: ‘I have been smeared as a rat by the President of the United States. The truth is much different … I have always tried to live a life of loyalty, friendship, generosity and compassion.’…

 

On May 6, Cohen is scheduled to report to prison to serve his 36-month sentence. 

 

In December, US District Judge William Pauley recommended that Cohen serve his sentence at FCI Otisville, about 70 miles northwest of New York City. 

The minimum-security camp at Otisville is known as one of the ‘cushiest’ in the federal prison system, and is often requested by Jewish inmates due to the special religious and dietary provisions offered there. Cohen is Jewish. 

However, the Bureau of Prisons alone makes the final determination on where offenders serve their sentences.”

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Venezuela has been trying to free itself from US domination and assassination since 2001. Venezuela’s “days were numbered” when it made clear it wanted no part of IMF or World Bank. US supported 2002 coup of Chavez and planned elaborate assassination of Pres. Maduro in Feb. 2015

August 2001-Venezuela asked the US to close its military missions there: 

“In August 2001, Venezuela’s government asked the American military mission to leave the Fuerte Tiuna site it had occupied for more than 50 years. But [as of May 2004] the US mission continued to operate there, even through the coup the following year [2002] that briefly ousted Mr. Chávez. Asked why the new request to vacate the offices had been made, Mr. García said, “Because they are still there.”” May 13, 2004, “Venezuela is Evicting US Attaches from Bases,” Reuters, Caracas
………………………….. 

April 2002-Chavez survives coup attempt, US admits to talks at White House with groups supporting a coup in weeks and months leading up to the 48 hour event: 

“The Bush administration was under intense scrutiny yesterday for its role in last weekend’s abortive [48 hour] coup in Venezuela, after admitting that US officials had held a series of meetings in recent months with Venezuelan military officers and opposition activists. The White House yesterday confirmed that a few weeks before the coup attempt, administration officials met Pedro Carmona, the business leader who took over the interim government after President Hugo Chavez was arrested on Friday. [Chavez returned to power 48 hours later]. 

The US defence department also confirmed that the Venezuelan army’s chief of staff, General Lucas Romero Rincon, visited the Pentagon in December and met the assistant secretary of defence for western hemispheric affairs, Roger Pardo-Maurer.”…4/17/2002, “US ‘gave the nod’ to Venezuelan coup,“ UK Guardian, Julian Borger, Alex Bellos
………………………….. 

April 2002 Venezuela coup attempt: Elliott Abrams was “crucial figure” on Bush White House coup team: 

“The crucial figure around the coup was [Elliott] Abrams, who operates in the White House as senior director of the National Security Council for ‘democracy, human rights and international operations‘. He was a leading theoretician of the school known as ‘Hemispherism’, which put a priority on combating Marxism in the Americas.”…4/22/2002, “Venezuela coup linked to Bush team,“ UK Guardian, Ed Vulliamy
……………………. 

April 2002: Just hours after overthrow of Venezuela’s democratically elected government, the IMF stated publicly it was ready to support new self-proclaimed president, Carmona: 

“On April 12, 2002, just hours after Venezuela’s democratically elected government was overthrown in a military coup, the IMF stated publicly that it was “ready to assist the new administration [of Pedro Carmona] in whatever manner they find suitable."

This instantaneous show of financial support for a newly installed dictatorship – one which immediately dissolved the country’s constitution, general assembly, and Supreme Court – was unprecedented in the IMF’s history. Typically the IMF does not react so quickly, even to an elected government. It is no wonder that this move was seen in Venezuela and elsewhere as an attempt by the IMF to support the coup itself.“...May 10, 2007, “IMF and World Bank Face Declining Authority as Venezuela Announces Withdrawal,” McClatchy, Mark Weisbrot
……………………… 

April 2002: New York Times happy about undemocratic removal of Chavez: 

“On 4/13/2002: “The New York Times penned its own love note to the new government. In an editorial, the paper stated: “Venezuelan democracy is no longer threatened by a would-be dictator … [because] the military intervened and handed power to a respected business leader.””
………………………………. 

2004: Chavez was against globalization so “his days were numbered” as they say: 

“Hugo Chávez is against the excesses of US foreign policy and globalization and has let the world know this, which makes it plain to Washington that he’s not of suitable client material. For the empire to let him get away with this would be to set a very bad example for other non-believers. 

Since the debacle of 2002, Chávez’s natural enemies at home and in Washington have not relaxed their crusade against him. Opponents have been trying to unseat him through a recall referendum, a drive that is funded in part, if not in full, by, yes, [US group] The National Endowment for Democracy. NED gave a grant of $53,400 to an organization called Sœmate, which appears to be running the referendum campaign. The NED grant document, after castigating Chávez for polarizing Venezuelan society, specifies that Sœmate will “Develop a net of volunteers and [apartidistas] trained to work in elections and in a referendum … [and] promote popular support for the referendum.””…“Financing the [2002 Venezuela] coup,” from 2004 book, “Freeing the World to Death,” by William Blum. The presence of oil wasn’t necessary: “Washington has opposed governments and movements throughout Latin America and elsewhere in the world with equal determination, without oil or any other resource being a factor.”
………………………. 

May 2007: Venezuela withdraws from IMF and World Bank . “Chavez began loosening ties with them in 1999:” 

“Venezuela’s decision this week to pull out of the IMF and the World Bank will be seen in the United States as just another example of the ongoing feud between Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and the Bush Administration. But it is likely to be viewed differently in the rest of the world, and could have an impact on both institutions, whose power and legitimacy in developing countries has been waning steadily in recent years.”…May 10, 2007, “IMF and World Bank Face Declining Authority as Venezuela Announces Withdrawal,” McClatchy, Mark Weisbrot 

Added: Founded in 1944, the World Bank and IMF “are twin intergovernmental pillars supporting the structure of the world’s economic and financial order.“
……………………………….. 

June 2012-Venezuela and 5 other Latin American countries request expulsion of USAID for interference in internal politics of ALBA countries under the excuse of “planning and administering economic and humanitarian assistance:” 

6/22/2012, “ALBA Expels USAID from Member Countries,” VenezuelaAnalysys.com, via DiarioGranma 

Signed by: Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Dominica Island, Cuba
……………………………….. 

Feb. 2015-Obama orders assassination of Venezuela Pres. Maduro: 

2/24/2015, “Obama failed his coup in Venezuela,“ Voltaire Network, Thierry Meyssan 

“Once again, the Obama administration has tried to force the change of a political regime that resists it. On February 12, [2015] an Academi (formerly Blackwater) plane disguised as an aircraft of the Venezuelan army was supposed to bomb the presidential palace and kill President Nicolas Maduro. The plotters had planned to place former MP María Corina Machado in power…. 

President Obama had given a warning. In his new doctrine of Defence (National Security Strategy), he wrote: “We stand with citizens whose full exercise of democracy is in danger, as the Venezuelans.” Yet, Venezuela is, since the adoption of the 1999 constitution, one of the most democratic countries in the world…. 

Washington was finishing developing the plan for the overthrow of the democratic institutions of Venezuela. The coup was planned for February 12.”…

………………………………….. 

Feb. 2019: Humanitarian Aid Is Used as a Weapon against Venezuela’s government: 

2/21/19, “When Humanitarian Aid Is Used as a Weapon to Bring Down Regimes,“ The Atlantic, Dylan Baddour, Cucuta, Colombia
………………………………. 

March 2007: There’s no such thing as humanitarian intervention: 

“There is no such thing as humanitarian military intervention distinct from war or counterinsurgency. Intervention and occupation should not be confused with classic peacekeeping, which is difficult enough even with a ceasefire agreement and the consent of the parties. If we want an intervention to overthrow a tyranny, protect citizens from their own government, or deliver humanitarian aid during an ongoing conflict, we should be honest with ourselves – we are arguing for a just war. And if we wish to make this case, let us be clear that the war is political (and must be very smartly political to succeed); that military logic will dictate what happens (including probable escalation and various unpredictable factors); and that it will entail bloodshed including the killing of innocent people.…Chasing the chimera of humanitarian intervention distracts us and impedes the search for real solutions to crises such as Darfur.” 

March 21, 2007, “No Such Thing as Humanitarian Intervention,“ Harvard International Review, hir.harvard.edu, Alex De Waal
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Added: US decrees deaths of nations:


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Image above from TheTechnocraticTyranny.com, published 2/27/2016, “State Department’s Mission: Coup d’etat"
………………………………….. 

Comment: The most important function of the Endless Foreign War Industry is to silence and enslave all Americans from birth. Whatever else it does is of secondary importance. 

The “peace” movement was loud and strong until Nov. 2008. It abruptly ended when Obama was elected. During his 8 years Obama transformed the Democrat Party into the home of the Endless US Taxpayer Funded Foreign War Industry. He remade government into something about which everything was said to be “classified.” Should a clueless rube dare ask a question about why this was happening, the rube was told, “That information is classified, national security, you hick.” This must be one those “US values” we hear about that you have to share if you don’t want to be executed or bombed by the US.

 

 

 

 

 

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Typical US elite blunder in Ukraine: their corrupt puppet Pres. Poroshenko faces impeachment for smuggling and money laundering $9 million in military parts–from Russia. A comedian leads pres. election polls there-UK Independent…(US elites spent 20 yrs. and $5 billion US tax dollars to put this guy in the job)

A comedian currently leads presidential polls in Ukraine for the March 31, 2019 election.….In a 9/26/2013 Washington Post op-ed Carl “Gershman called Ukraine “the biggest prize” and an important interim step toward toppling Putin."…In 2014, after two decades and $5 billion US tax dollars US won the “the biggest prize” by engineering a “regime change” coup  in Ukraine.…On 10/6/2016 in another Washington Post op-ed Gershman hopes Americans “can summon the will” to remove the popular President Putin from office.“…Certainly Gershman knows but apparently doesn’t care that Russia would be completely justified in bombing the US or assassinating a US president in return.

2/27/19, “Ukraine president Poroshenko accused of ‘state treason’ as rival attempts impeachment process," UK Independent, Oliver Carroll, Moscow 

“Allegations of smuggling and corruption in the military sphere come a month before elections.” 

“Ukrainian presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko has initiated impeachment proceedings against the sitting president Petro Poroshenko — a little more than a month before the two go head to head in elections. 

Ms Tymoshenko, a former prime minister, made her move on the back of a new investigation that linked Mr Poroshenko’s entourage to an embezzlement scheme involving the smuggling of military spare parts from Russia. 
 

[Image, Dec. 2016 in Ukraine with President Poroshenko and Ukraine military promising US weapons are Senators McCain, Graham, and Klobuchar over the New Year, Dec. 2016-Jan. 2017. Image above, screen shot from video…via, 2/2/2017, “Interfering in Ukraine – A Breach of U.S. Law?” viableopposition.blogspot.ca. And: 10/14/2017, “Fueling More Bloodshed in Ukraine,“ Consortium News, James W. Carden: “Nato itself had held exercises in the Black Sea and before that in and around the western borderlands of Ukraine. Who, it has to be asked here, is threatening whom?”] 

(continuing): “Speaking in the Verkhovna Rada —Ukraine’s parliament — on Tuesday, Ms Tymoshenko said the findings were “consistent with state treason.”

Given the lack of time before the elections and parliamentary arithmetic which still favours the president, the move has little prospect for success. 

But the scandal has hit Mr Poroshenko at a moment when he appeared to be gaining electoral momentum [a comedian still leads] — if polls are to be believed, pipping Ms Tymoshenko to second spot behind comedian Volodymyr Zelensky— and may yet decide who wins on 31 March. 

For a country at war, the revelations made in the investigation are shocking enough.

The authors of the report, a group of independent Ukrainian journalists, link a close Poroshenko associate with an embezzlement scandal that eventually cost the military £7 million. [$9.2 million US dollars] 

The scheme involved the selling of spare parts for tanks at three times market value. Not only this, the parts were smuggled in from Russia, a [supposedly] hostile power. 

While the contracts were signed between by a 27-year-old called Ihor Hladovsky, the investigation concludes that they were in fact facilitated by his father, Oleh Hladovskiy, the deputy chair of Ukraine’s security council and key presidential ally.

 Profits were siphoned away through three companies, including one that earlier belonged to the president. This, the journalists suggested, was evidence the corruption “likely went higher.” 

Speaking with The Independent, journalist Denys Bihous, who led the investigation, said President Poroshenko was implicated by design. 

“If he really didn’t want to know about it, then he’d find a way of not knowing about it,” he said. “But Hladkovskiy is an old, old friend. He got his government job because of this friendship.” 

Sergii Leschenko, a member of parliament and a Poroshenko critic, described Mr Hladkovskiy as one of the president’s “closest associates” in politics — pointing to how the two had bought holiday homes close to each other in Marbella. 

“This isn’t the first time president had been implicated in corruption,” he said, “but what gives the revelations more weight is that they come a month before elections, concern corruption in the military sphere, and involve Russia.” 

According to Mr Leshchenko, still notionally a member of Mr Poroshenko’s fraction in parliament, Ms Tymoshenko’s proposal was a “fair price” for what the president had done. Mr Poroshenko “deserved not only impeachment but jail,” he said. 

In a sign of the seriousness of the scandal engulfing Ukraine’s president, on Tuesday Oleh Hladkovskiy was temporarily suspended from his position on the Ukrainian Security Council. 

Writing on Facebook, spokesman Svyatoslav Tsegolko said that Mr Poroshenko supported the suspension. He also asked law enforcement to undergo an urgent review of the information contained in the investigation. 

Those concessions are unlikely to make Mr Poroshenko’s problem disappear. 

On Tuesday, another presidential rival, the Lviv mayor Andriy Sadovyi, piled on the pressure by concurring Mr Poroshenko had committed an offence “impeachable in any other country.” But his solution was not the “PR” favoured by Ms Tymoshenko. 

Instead, Ukrainians should “to declare their own impeachment on 31 March.”  

Mayor Sadovyi remains a rank outsider for the presidential post, but Ms Tymoshenko on the other hand will hope her intuitive move will reverse what had up to now been a disappointing campaign. In the space of a month, the one-time poll frontrunner has seen her rating overtaken by her two main rivals — comedian Volodymyr Zelensky and now incumbent Petro Poroshenko too. 

Bihous said he had few illusions about the electoral sensitivity of his work. 

In the days leading up to publication, their office was conspicuously staked out by security officers, he said. They arrived in cars with replacement number-plates, “disappearing only when we approached.” 

But their unwelcome presence would not get in the way of publishing a second and final part of the investigation, he said.”
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Added: “Obama-era” elites “backed the wrong man in Ukraine:” 

12/5/2017, “The West Backed the Wrong Man in Ukraine,” Bloomberg View, by Leonid Bershidsky 

“It’s become increasingly clear that Obama-era US politicians backed the wrong people in Ukraine. President Petro Poroshenko’s moves to consolidate his power now include sidelining the anti-corruption institutions he was forced to set up by Ukraine’s Western allies…. 

At this point, even the most vocal Western supporters of the post-revolutionary Ukrainian government have realized that something is wrong with Poroshenko. “President Poroshenko appears to have abandoned the fight against corruption, any ambition for economic growth, EU or IMF funding, ” economist Anders Aslund, who has long been optimistic about Ukrainian reforms, tweeted recently.”…
…………………………. 

Added: Additional source: 

2/26/19, “Ukraine Parliament Starts Impeachment Process on President," telesurenglish.net 

“Member’s of Ukraine’s parliament started the impeachment proceedings against President Petro Poroshenko…. 

This move came a day after BIHUS.infor, an investigative journalism unit from Kiev, released a report that revealed Poroshenko’s involvement in a money laundering scandal cover-up together with some defense officials. 

The report said that the allegedly smuggled spare parts for Ukrainian army from Russia at over-inflated prices. 

“This is actually assisting the enemy and destroying the Ukrainian army. This is a cognizable case. We believe this falls under Section 111 of the Criminal Code (high treason),” said Timoshenko. 

The report named Oleh Hladkovskyi, a member of Ukraine’s National Security Council and a close friend of Poroshenko. The latter allegedly ignored the corruption allegations in order to protect Hladkovskyi. 

According to Article 111 of Ukraine’s Constitution, a president can be impeached if found to have committed high treason or another crime. But the process needs a special mechanism which should be enshrined in a special impeachment law. However, Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada (parliament) has been unable to pass the said law since 1996. 

The scandal comes at a time when the country is gearing up for presidential elections on Mar. 31. 

Poroshenko, who came to power in [a US engineered coup in] 2014, is seeking re-election and hasn’t expressed his views on the impeachment process. 

Timoshenko had said in past that, if she is elected as president, the law on the impeachment of the president will be passed under her leadership.”



 
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Six Latin American countries in 2012 requested USAID be expelled for interfering in their national sovereignty using the excuse of “humanitarian assistance:” Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Dominica Island, and Cuba-6/22/2012

Source article in original Spanish below:

6/22/2012, “ALBA Expels USAID from Member Countries,” VenezuelaAnalysys.com, via DiarioGranma

“Given the recent events in Paraguay, where the opposition senate has brought impeachment proceedings against leftist president, Fernando Lugo, ALBA countries have issued a statement requesting that USAID be expelled from member countries for interfering with national sovereignty.” 

“Resolution from the Political Council of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) for the immediate withdrawal of USAID from member countries of the alliance.” 

“On behalf of the Chancellors of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America, gathered in Rio de Janeiro, Federal Republic of Brazil, on June 21^st 2012. 

Given the open interference of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in the internal politics of the ALBA countries, under the excuse of “planning and administering economic and humanitarian assistance for the whole world outside of the United States,” financing non-governmental organizations and actions and projects designed to destabilise the legitimate governments which do not share their common interests. 

Knowing the evidence brought to light by the declassified documents of the North American State Department in which the financing of organisations and political parties in opposition to ALBA countries is made evident, in a clear and shameless interference in the internal political processes of each nation. 

Given that this intervention of a foreign country in the internal politics of a country is contrary to the internal legislation of each nation.

On the understanding that in the majority of ALBA countries, USAID, through its different organisations and disguises, acts in an illegal manner with impunity, without possessing a legal framework to support this action, and illegally financing the media, political leaders and non-governmental organisations, amongst others. 

On the understanding that through these financing programmes they are supporting NGOs which promote all kind of fundamentalism in order to conspire and limit the legal authority of our states, and in many cases, widely loot our natural resources on territory which they claim to control at their own free will. 

Conscious of the fact that our countries do not need any kind of external financing for the maintenance of our democracies, which are consolidated through the will of the Latin American and Caribbean people, in the same way that we do not need organisations in the charge of foreign powers which, in practice, usurp and weaken the presence of state organisms and prevent them from developing the role that corresponds to them in the economic and social arena of our populations. 

We resolve to:

Request that the heads of state and the government of the states who are members of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America, immediately expel USAID and its delegates or representatives from their countries, due to the fact that we consider their presence and actions to constitute an interference which threatens the sovereignty and stability of our nations. 

In the city of Rio de Janeiro, Federal Republic of Brazil, June 21st 2012. 

Signed by: 

The government of the Pluri-national state of Bolivia.

The government of the Republic of Cuba.
The government of the Republic of Ecuador.
The government of the Commonwealth of Dominica [a West Indies island].
The government of the Republic of Nicaragua.
The government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. 

Translated by Rachael Boothroyd for Venezuelanalysis 

Source: Diaro Granma

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Added: Above article in original Spanish:

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6/22/2012, “Resolucion del Consejo Político de la Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América (ALBA) para el inmediato retiro de las USAID de los países miembros de la Alianza,” diariogranma.cu

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“Los Cancilleres partes de la Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América, reunidos en la ciudad de Río de Janeiro, República Federativa de Brasil, el día 21 de junio de 2012. 

Ante la injerencia abierta en la política interna de los países ALBA de la Agencia de los Estados Unidos para el Desarrollo Internacional (USAID), que bajo la excusa de “planificar y administrar la asistencia económica y humanitaria exterior de los Estados Unidos en todo el mundo” financia Organizaciones No Gubernamentales, acciones y proyectos dirigidos a desestabilizar los legítimos gobiernos que no les son afines a sus intereses. 

Conociendo las evidencias aportadas por los archivos desclasificados del Departamento de Estado Norteamericano en las cuales se demuestra el financiamiento a organizaciones y partidos políticos opositores a los Gobiernos de los países ALBA, en una clara y descarada intromisión en los procesos políticos internos de cada nación. 

Siendo contrario a las legislaciones internas de cada país la intervención de un país extranjero en la política interna nacional.

Entendiendo además que en la mayoría de los países ALBA la USAID, a través de sus diferentes organizaciones y fachadas, actúa de manera ilegal e impune, sin contar con un marco jurídico para ello, y financiando ilegalmente a medios de comunicación, líderes políticos, organizaciones no gubernamentales, entre otros. 

Conociendo que a través de estos programas de financiamiento se amparan un conjunto de ONGs que promueven toda clase de fundamentalismos para conspirar y limitar las potestades de nuestros Estados y en muchos casos saquear nuestros recursos naturales en amplios territorios que pretenden dominar a su libre antojo. 

Estando conscientes que nuestros países no requieren ningún tipo de financiamiento externo para el sostenimiento de nuestras democracias que se consolida por la voluntad de los pueblos latinoamericanos y caribeños, así como tampoco necesitamos de organizaciones tuteladas por potencias extrajeras que en la práctica usurpan y debilitan la presencia de los organismos del Estado, impidiéndoles desarrollar el rol que les corresponde en el desarrollo económico y social de nuestras poblaciones. 

RESUELVEN 

Solicitar a los Jefes de Estado y de Gobierno de los Estados parte de la Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América la inmediata expulsión en sus países de la USAID, sus delegados o representantes, por considerar que su presencia y actuación constituyen un factor de perturbación que atenta contra la soberanía y la estabilidad política de nuestras naciones. 

En la ciudad de Río de Janeiro, República Federativa de Brasil, el 21 del mes de junio de 2012. 

Por el Gobierno del Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia.
Por el Gobierno de la República de Cuba.
Por el Gobierno de la República de Ecuador.
Por el Gobierno de la mancomunidad de Dominica.
Por el Gobierno de la República de Nicaragua.
Por el Gobierno de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela.”




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