Dà-Jiāng Innovations (doing business as DJI) is a Chinese technology company headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong with manufacturing facilities throughout the world. It is known as a manufacturer of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), commonly known as drones, for aerial photography and videography. DJI also design and manufacture camera gimbals, flight platforms, cameras, propulsion systems, camera stabilizers, and flight control systems.

DJI is the world's leader in commercial and civilian drone industry, accounting for over 70% of the drone market.[3] Its drone technology has been used globally for the music, television and film industries, including K-pop music videos and the sets of Emmy Award-nominated television productions such as The Amazing Race, American Ninja Warrior, Better Call Saul, Game of Thrones, and many more.[4][5][6][7][8][9]

In 2017, DJI won a Technology & Engineering Emmy Award for its camera drone technology, which was recognized for excellence in engineering creativity, providing directors and cinematographers an affordable and accessible platform to create low-altitude aerial images, opening up creative possibilities and facilitating the distinct looks of some TV shows.[10]

 

Read more:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DJI_(company)

 

Mine is a WLtoys (http://wltoys.wikia.com/wiki/WLToys_Wiki) bought for only AUD$12.50... I could not resist the little ladybird...

 

The Kremlin has said it is concerned about a report by Russia’s Defense Ministry that a US spy plane was in control of a drone attack on Russia's Khmeimim Airbase in Syria in January.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made clear that the military has analyzed all available data and has drawn the necessary conclusions before saying that the drone attack on the Russian airbase was directed from a US P-8 Poseidon surveillance plane.

“This is undoubtedly a very alarming report,” he noted. 

All further details will be provided by the Defense Ministry. But President Vladimir Putin may raise the issue with his US counterpart Donald Trump when the opportunity arises.

READ MORE: US spy plane circled between Russian airbase & port facility during Syria drone attack – MoD

The Kremlin's response comes after Colonel General Alexander Fomin, the deputy defense minister, had reportedly addressed the January drone attack during the Beijing Xiangshan Forum, a high-profile conference on defense and security.

According to the top defense military official, 13 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) had approached Russia’s Khmeimim base at the time when the Poseidon plane was traversing skies over the Mediterranean. When Russian electronic countermeasures were turned on at Khmeimim, the drones continued their flying mission in manual mode.

He said the drones were not manned “by some peasant,” they were flown from “a standard, well-equipped P-8 Poseidon,”which had manual control over the UAVs in question.

When these drones came across Russia’s electronic warfare measures, they pulled back from the kill zone and began receiving some commands via satellite communications, General Fomin explained. Someone, he said, “guided the UAVs to the so-called holes [in Russian defenses],” which they utilized before being downed by Khmeimim’s surface-to-air missiles.

The incident occurred overnight on January 8, involving 10 UAVs targeting Khmeimim itself. Three more drones attempted a strike on the Russian naval facility at the Syrian port city of Tartus. All 13 craft were then engaged by the Pantsir-S1 air-defense system.

READ MORE: Drones are new serious terrorist threat in Syria – Russian defense minister

Three enemy drones, overridden by the Russian electronic warfare team, landed intact outside Khmeimim and were later inspected by the military. It was the first time that Syrian militants had used remote-controlled top-notch weaponry in the war. The Defense Ministry said the drones had been acquired “only from a country possessing state-of-the-art technologies.”

The Pentagon tried to rebut the Russian allegations at the time, with spokesman Adrian Rankin-Galloway claiming “those devices and technologies can easily be obtained in the open market.”

Read more:https://www.rt.com/news/442219-kremlin-attack-us-syria/

According to the US transnational ExxonMobil, on 22 December 2018 the Venezuelan navy expelled two ships that were carrying out prospecting works in the territorial waters between Venezuela and Guyana. Venezuela and Guyana are disputing to which of them these waters belong. On the faith of this communiqué, Guyana, followed by the United States and finally the Lima Group have condemned this military action by Venezuela.

According to Para 9 of the Lima Group’s Declaration on 4 Jan 2019, the thirteen states that are still members of this organization have denounced the military provocation of Venezuela which threatens peace and security in the region [1].

Then on Wednesday 9 January, Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro, presented proof that his country’s territorial waters were violated on 22 December 2018. He denounced this as an international manoeuvre against Venezuela.

He has published videos and recordings of conversations between the captain of one of the two ships at issue and the Venezuelan Navy. In this exchange, the captain gives his precise location and he admits being in waters that are internationally recognized belong to Venezuela. The captain provides an authorization given only by the government of Guyana which had fallen just the day before. The Venezuelan Navy then invites him to leave Venezuela’s territorial waters.

This evidence negates the communication of ExxonMobil, the main supplier of oil to the Pentagon and the company previously led by Rex Tillerson (the former US Secretary of State of the Trump Administration) [2]. This evidence also robs the United Kingdom of any justification for its proposal to install a military base in Guyana. Finally it delays the war between the Latin American states that the Pentagon is preparing [3].

Venezuela has given the Lima Group just two days to withdraw para 9 of its declaration.

Translation 
Anoosha Boralessa

 

Read more:

http://www.voltairenet.org/article204689.html

 

 

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Confronted by the evidence revealed by the President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, about the maritime incident provoked by the US transnational ExxonMobil [1], 10 out of the 12 member states of the Lima Group have withdrawn article 9 of the joint communiqué. Under this article, the Group had denounced an alleged Venezuelan provocation, which placed in danger security in the region.‎

Only two countries – Canada and Paraguay – did not make the necessary correction. For the governments of Canada and Paraguay, the version of events given by ExxonMobil and the US State Department continues to be valid… even though there is evidence that negates it; evidence that does not leave space for any doubt. ‎

So what’s the US version? Venezuela expelled a ship (see photo) carrying out prospecting works in waters, title over which is disputed with both Venezuela and Guyana claiming to title to it. ‎

The reality is quite different. President Nicolas Maduro has made public the recordings (video and audio) in which the crew of the boat in question transmits its precise position to the ‎Venezuela coastguards. This makes clear that the ship was located at the opening of River Orinoco. In other words the ship was in the territorial waters that are internationally recognized to belong to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. ‎

The incident took place on the day after a motion of no confidence had been adopted in the Guyanese Parliament that took power away – by just one vote – the government of Guyana. The motion of no confidence was adopted because Charrandas Persaud, a Member of Parliament of the governing party, inexplicably decided to vote against his own party. Afterwards, he suddenly left his country to seek a safe haven in Canada. ‎

This whole drama demonstrates unequivocally that ExxonMobil and the US State Department are turning to manipulation and lies to fuel a war between the countries that make up “la madre America”.

On the other hand, although the Lima Group had decided not to recognize the legitimacy of the new presidential mandate of Nicolas Maduro, 2 member states of this Group –Guyana and ‎Santa Lucía – have just accepted the letters of accreditation of the new ambassadors, emissi Venezuelae.‎

Translation 
Anoosha Boralessa

 

Read more:

https://www.voltairenet.org/article204753.html

 

 

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Venezuela’s would-be president won’t rule out calling for U.S. military intervention:

Venezuela’s self-proclaimed acting president Juan Guaido refused to rule out on Friday the possibility of authorizing United States intervention to help force President Nicolas Maduro from power and alleviate a humanitarian crisis.

National Assembly leader Guaido told AFP he would do “everything that is necessary… to save human lives,” acknowledging that US intervention is “a very controversial subject.”

It is stupid and dangerous for Guaido to be talking about U.S. military intervention, and in doing so he is almost certainly making it more difficult to resolve the crisis in Venezuela peacefully. The military’s support for Maduro remains the largest and most significant obstacle to the opposition’s claim to power. Floating the idea of a foreign invasion for any reason gives the top military commanders an added incentive to stick with Maduro and resist attempts to depose him, and they already have several reasons to remain on his side.

 

 

Read more:

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/americans-should-reject-...

 

 

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Read also:

the big stick...

 

 

my game is freedom to be an arsehole — and to take the liberty to screw your ideals...

 

 

fighting the european for the "americas' delight to be slaves of the USA...

 

 

democratic blues and full-spectrum dominance...

The ongoing crisis in Venezuela has taken a new twist, as Nicolas Maduro's government barred the US-backed parliament leader Juan Guaido from holding public office for 15 years over irregularities in financial records.

The move was announced by state comptroller Elvis Amoroso on Thursday. The 15-year-ban – the longest possible – comes as a result of an audit launched into Guaido's finances back in February.

The self-proclaimed ‘interim president’ has been accused of lying on his personal financial disclosures and receiving funds from irregular sources. Guaido had ultimately failed to explain the origins of funds he spent on travelling abroad since joining the National Assembly, according to Amoroso.

 

Read more:

https://www.rt.com/news/455010-venezuela-govt-guaido-ban/

 

 

 

Read from top.

Riots against President Juan Orlando Hernandez have been raging in Honduras for several days. But the media press coverage has been very different from protests against Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro. And it’s not hard to see why.

Unlike Venezuela, Honduras is a close US ally.

There have been multiple reports of violent clashes between demonstrators and state security forces since the riots broke out last week over Hernandez’s privatization proposal. Hernandez eventually dropped the plan, but the riots have since morphed into a more generalized protest against his government’s corruption and unpopular policies.

 

Read more:

https://www.rt.com/news/461081-media-silence-honduras-double-standards/

...

In the leaked recording, Pompeo allegedly speculated that Maduro "is mostly surrounded by Cubans."

 

"He doesn't trust Venezuelans a lick. I don't blame him. He shouldn't. They were all plotting against him. Sadly, they were all plotting for themselves," Pompeo says in the recording.

The United States backed the self-proclaimed "interim president" Juan Guaido in his bid to oust legitimate President Maduro. However, Guaido's attempts at taking power have proven unsuccessful, despite the alleged help of US saboteurs (according to official Caracas.)

Russia, China, Turkey and a number of other nations recognize Maduro as the only leader of Venezuela, while Washington and its allies consider Guaido the full-fledged President.

 

Read more:

https://sputniknews.com/world/201906061075672653-pompeo-leaked-audio-ven...

 

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With Trump tweeting about the "Russians leaving Venezuela" forcing the Russian to say this is bullshit and with this "leak" of Pompeo talking about Cubans in Venezuela, you can smell the CIA/US administration LYING-machine working overtime to disrupt the legitimate government in Venezuela. 

In a video, a Venezuelan minister reveals alleged exchanges between opponents, captured by infiltrators. He alleges that a coup was foiled and that "terrorists" were to preparing to kill Nicolas Maduro. Decryption.

140,000 cartons of machine guns and attempts at "incursions of Israeli, North American and Colombian special agents terrorists" to "kill President Nicolas Maduro and overthrow the government — and take the presidential palace": this is the project that the Venezuelan government claims to have updated. In an hour-long video broadcast on public television on June 26, Jorge Rodriguez, Venezuelan Minister of Communication, revealed alleged conversations between opponents intercepted by inflitrated government agents. Pictures worthy of an episode of the "One Nation Gun US expedition".

 

See video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAu00wv9_oU&fbclid=

 

Read from top.

 

US President Donald Trump has denied that US efforts to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro have lost momentum, telling reporters “things take time” and that he has five alternative strategies for Venezuela.

Speaking at a press conference at the end of the G20 Summit in Osaka on Saturday, Trump was asked about his earlier response to the suggestion that the US had lost momentum in Venezuela, to which he replied it “takes time.” 

“Problem is so many people are leaving Venezuela, it’s, like, going to be a ghost town. It’s a very bad thing that’s happening in Venezuela, nobody has seen anything quite like it, actually,” he told reporters. 

Read more:

https://www.rt.com/news/462988-trump-venezuela-regime-time/

Israël against the Venezuelans

by Thierry Meyssan

A new coup d’etat was attempted on 24 June in Venezuela. Thierry Meyssan reveals that it was directed both against the administration of Nicolás Maduro and his pro-US opponent Juan Guaidó. Furthermore, according to the recordings of the conversations between the conspirators, it was supervised by the Israëlis.

Yet another attempted coup d’etat took place the 24 June 2019 in Venezuela. All the protagonists were arrested, and the Minister for Information, Jorge Rodríguez, delivered a lengthy explanation on television about the ins and outs of the affair.

Indeed, unlike the previous attempts, this conspiracy had been observed for 14 months by a unit of Military Intelligence which had been trained by Cuban Intelligence. During this whole period, the Venezuelans had penetrated the group and monitored their audio and video communications. As a result, they now have 56 hours of recordings which compose a wealth of irrefutable proof.

Several of the individuals arrested had already been involved in the previous conspiracies, and so it is difficult to imagine that this operation is distinct and separate from those commanded earlier by the CIA.

No better future for the opposition than for the government

Two remarks must be made. First of all, this conspiracy was directed both at Constitutional President Nicolás Maduro and also the self-proclaimed president Juan Guaidó, in order to bring a third man to power, General Raúl Isaías Baduel.

The latter, ex-head of the Chiefs of Staff, then Minister for Defense, had been relieved of his functions by President Hugo Chávez. Baduel then turned against Chavez and took the head of the opposition in 2009. However, it became known that he had misappropriated money from his Ministry. He was tried and condemned to 7 years of imprisonment, a sentence which he served. He was once again incarcerated during the mandate of President Nicolás Maduro, and is still in prison. A commando was supposed to free him and take him to the national television studios, from where he would announce the change of régime.

The fact of the promotion of a third president confirms our analysis, published two years ago [1], according to which the aim of the United States is not to replace the Bolivarian régime with another, more obedient government, but to destroy the state structures of the country. From the US point of view, neither the nationalist majority nor the pro-US opposition need waste time with hopes for the future.

The Venezuelans who follow Guaidó and believe that US support will lead them to victory must now admit their mistake. The Iraqi Ahmed Chalabi and the Libyan Mahmoud Jibril returned to their countries in the backpacks of American G I’s. They never knew the destiny for which they had hoped.

Classical analyses of the 20th century, according to which the United States prefer vassal governments to equals are currently overtaken by transnational financial capitalism. This is the meaning of the Rumsfeld/Cebrowski military doctrine, operational since 2001 [2], which has already devastated the « Greater Middle East » and is now crashing down on the « Caribbean Basin ».

According to the recordings of the conspiracy, this was not organised by the United States, even if it is probable that they supervised it, but by the Israëlis. Over the last 72 years, the CIA has organised an incredible quantity of « régime changes » by way of « coups d’etat » or « colour revolutions ». For reasons of efficiency, the Agency can simultaneously hand identical missions to several units, even delegate certain operations to sub-contractors. This is also the case of Mossad, which hires its services to numerous other clients.

Thus, four years ago, another attempt at a coup d’etat occurred in Venezuela. The operation planned for several assassinations and a demonstration which was intended to attack the Presidential palace of Miraflores. TeleSurrevealed that this attempt was supervised by foreigners who arrived specially in the country a few days before the events. They did not speak Spanish. The intended route of the demonstration had been mysteriously signposted with graffitis of the star of David and instructions in Hebrew.

Israël in Latin America

Prudently, Minister Jorge Rodríguez avoided making a public statement as to whether the Israëlis who directed the conspiracy of 22 June were or were not mandated by their own state. Numerous examples attest that this is highly possible.

The rôle of the Israëli secret services in Latin America dates from 1982. In Guatemala, Judeo-Christian President Efraín Ríos Montt [3] massacred 18,000 Indians. While Ariel Sharon invaded Lebanon, the Mossad pursued, in his shadow, the social experiments that had been on-going since 1975 in apartheid South Africa – to create Bantoustans for the Mayas – a model which would be applied to the Palestinians after the Oslo Agreements (1994). Contrary to an optimistic reading of events, the fact that Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin personally supervised these social experiments in South Africa [4] does not speak well of his sincerity when he agreed in Oslo to recognise a demilitarised Palestinian state.

Over the last ten years, the Israëli secret services 
 have « authorised» the « private » Israëli company Global CST to lead operation « Jaque » for the liberation of Íngrid Betancourt, held hostage by the Colombian FARC (2008) [5]. 
 sent snipers to Honduras to assassinate the leaders of the pro-democratic demonstrations during the coup d’etat against Constitutional President Manuel Zelaya (2009) [6]. 
 actively participated in the overthrow of Brazilian Presidente Dilma Rousseff within the Central Bank, the security of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and the Senate (2016).

Besides this, the Israëli Defence Forces 
 have rented a submarine base in Chile; 
 have sent thousands of soldiers to follow two-week training courses on the property of Joe Lewis in Argentinian Patagonia [7].

Thierry Meyssan

Translation 
Pete Kimberley

Source 
Al-Watan (Syria)

 

Read more:

https://www.voltairenet.org/article206898.html

 

 

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US Grounds All Non-Emergency Drones Made in China - Manufacturer

 

The news comes just a week after Chinese aerospace company Rainbow UAV Technology announced the first test flight of the Rainbow-drone, produced at a plant in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province.

The world's leading manufacturer of commercial unmanned aerial vehicles, DJI, claimed on Thursday that the United States Department of Interior has grounded Chinese unmanned aircraft in the country, except for emergency drones.

The Chinese company is a global monopoly in the drone industry, controlling a 74% share of the world market in 2018. French, Dutch, German, and UK military and police units widely use DJI's products for observation and inspection purposes.

 

Read more:

https://sputniknews.com/world/201910311077186696-us-grounds-all-non-emer...

The Chinese drone has been operational for a few years...This "Rainbow-drone" could be a newer version built by a new factory, with better capabilities. DJI controls more than 75 percent of the world market.

Read from top.

There's No Records of How Guaido's Spending Funds

 

According to Dr Angel Rafael Tortolero Leal, professor at the Universidad Nacional Experimental de los Llanos Centrales Rómulo Gallegos, diplomat and former ambassador, in the eyes of the Venezuelan people Guaido is "a thief who in just one year managed to accumulate a great fortune with the looting of [Venezuelan] companies abroad".

 

Days after Guaido declared himself the "interim president" of the country, the US announced that it had handed him control of Venezuela's holdings in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and federally insured banks. Later, the then National Assembly president gained control over Venezuelan public companies operating outside the country.

In addition, according to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) website, since Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 the US has allocated more than $656 million in humanitarian and development assistance to address the Venezuelan crisis. In its FAQ section USAID insists that "no funds are provided directly" to the Guaido administration.

However, an internal memo obtained by The Los Angeles Times in July 2019 said that about $40 million of US aid was specifically allocated to pay for the salaries of the interim government, airfares, good governance training, etc.

To date, the Guaido-led team has failed to present any comprehensive reports on how the money gained from Venezuela's extraterritorial assets and provided by USAID and other agencies for the country are being spent.

"Guaidó never reported anything about the funds received and that is why more than half of the opposition deputies have abandoned him", Dr Tortolero elaborates. "The discrepancy between what is said by USAID and what is revealed by the journalistic investigations allows us to see clearly that there is a multifactorial war in Venezuela which directly and criminally affects the Venezuelan people and ordinary American citizens who sees how their taxes are diverted by the political class that rules them".

Justice in Venezuela 'Slow but Sure'

On 20 January, National Assembly President Luis Parra announced the creation of a special commission that will supervise an investigation into the use of the alleged humanitarian aid funds sent to the Venezuelan opposition by USAID.

In a January interview with the Diário do Centro do Mundo Parra expressed concerns that Guaido's management of Venezuela's public companies abroad also raises suspicions of potentially massive misappropriations, referring, in particular to Colombia-based PDVSA's Monomeros and US-based Citgo.

"In Venezuela, justice is slow, but sure", Dr Tortolero underscores. "Guaido is facing an ordeal of lawsuits and accusations from the justice and from people cheated by his promises, for which he will soon have to pay. Remember that, in our legislation, criminal offenses against the 'good of the community' ('cosa pública') have no statute of limitations, which means that justice will take its time and every day there will be more crimes added to the judicial process that corresponds to Guaidó for his acts".

According to the former ambassador, there is enough evidence of Guaido and his associates' corruption and there is no doubt that the state will continue investigations into them.

"In the meantime, the governments of the region that threw their weight behind him and the opposition figures who believed that he could take power by assault, will continue to withdraw their support from him, which is evidenced in diminished public response to his calls for marches, meetings and rallies", the professor says.

Why Patriots Should Continue to Stand by Maduro

According to Dr Tortolero, the figure of Guaido personifies "an opposition without leadership, without a national project, which embraced the signs and symbols of the supposed supremacy of the US Empire over the rest of the people of the world".

"The character representing the self-proclaimed President Guaido is 'made in USA'", the former ambassador opines. "He greets people like Obama; he dresses like a gringo and even poses in front of the camera to obtain graphic images which would demonstrate his 'heroism'".

However, in reality, Guaido is "a politician of little importance, with no coherence in his actions, who tried to cause chaos to overthrow the Bolivarian government, and the only thing he can achieve is to pulverise the opposition that followed him", the diplomat highlights.

He notes that the self-proclaimed president pales into insignificance when compared to the legitimate leader of the country, Nicolas Maduro.

"If it were not for the strong will of President Maduro and the team of patriots who loyally accompany him in all actions of defense of the Bolivarian State of Law and Justice, we would certainly be in chaos", Dr Tortolero underscores. "It is not a matter of boosting the president's ego, making odes to him, flattering his power and sinning as a flatterer, it is, on the contrary, recognising in him the values of our Venezuelanity and the expression of our strong will to remain free. That is why the call is for tactical unity with Commander in Chief Nicolás Maduro Moros, who will undoubtedly continue to lead us on the path of victory. Juan Guaido and the right wing that supports him are defeated, Trump failed with this [coup] attempt and we will continue to overcome the difficulties".

Alan Dantas, a Brazilian journalist and editor of Dossier Sul contributed to this article.

 

Read more:

https://sputniknews.com/analysis/202002251078396274-wheres-the-money-leb...

 

You won't see such quite close to the truth analysis in the western media... Becauae the media barons support the theives and the despots of the right wing who gather the loot... The attemped assassination on Maduro (read at top) wasn't a fake...

Attempted coup & assassinations: Venezuelan prosecutors subpoena Guaido as ‘among main perpetrators’ in US-backed regime-change op

Venezuela’s prosecutors have summoned Juan Guaido over his role in the “attempted coup d’etat,” as well as in alleged assassination attempts. Guaido is the main figure in US-backed efforts to oust President Nicolas Maduro.

The move was announced by Attorney General Tarek William Saab on Tuesday in a televised speech. The official described Guaido as “one of the main perpetrators” of a "new" attempted coup.

The move comes after a cache of weaponry, said to be smuggled into Venezuela, was seized in neighboring Colombia last week.

“As part of last week's initial investigation into an attempted coup and assassination, following the unveiling of an arsenal of war, we have issued a summons for one of those responsible to appear next Thursday in the Prosecutor's Office,” Saab stated.

Opposition leader Juan Guaido proclaimed himself Venezuela’s “interim president” back then, trying to oust the sitting president, Nicolas Maduro. The takeover effort received broad support from the US and its allies, who rushed to recognize Guaido as the ‘legitimate’ leader of Venezuela.

However, repeated attempts to dislodge Maduro from power, including mass-protests, a failed military coup and a thinly-veiled yet persistent threat of a US-backed invasion, have been unsuccessful so far.

Guaido’s subpoena comes shortly after Washington again ramped up its anti-Maduro game and indicted Venezuela’s president on drug charges. The Venezuelan foreign ministry has brushed off the allegations as “a new form of coup d’etat”that just showed the “desperation” of the “Washington elite.”

 

Read more:

https://www.rt.com/news/484602-coup-assassinations-venezuela-guaido/

 

 

Meanwhile:

 

The arrest of self-appointed ‘interim’ president of Venezuela Juan Guaido’s uncle on explosives smuggling charges has been spun as a ‘kidnapping’ – or even ‘revenge’ for Guaido’s State of the Union stunt - by credulous MSM.

Juan José Marquez, uncle to thrice-failed coup leader Guaido, was arrested on Tuesday after returning to Caracas from Lisbon, where he had been accompanying his relative on a world tour to shore up support for the latter’s flagging efforts to depose Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

While Marquez was charged with smuggling “dangerous materials” – a stash of C4 explosives concealed in flashlight batteries and perfume capsules – into the country, sympathetic media have lined up behind Guaido’s explanation for the arrest. Marquez, Guaido insisted, had been “forcibly disappeared by the dictatorship” in a “cowardly move” meant to intimidate the wannabe leader.

Vice President Diosdado Cabello poured cold water on that theory. “He's detained, not forcibly disappeared, he's detained for bringing prohibited substances onto a flight,” the statesman explained on his Wednesday night TV program, showing photos of the explosives and a bulletproof vest – also contraband – allegedly taken off Marquez after he went through immigration control at Caracas airport. The supposedly apolitical uncle, whose wife insisted he was an airplane pilot who merely accompanied Guaido for protection, was also in possession of an electronic file with information about “operations against Venezuela” and contact information for a US secret service agent, Cabello said. 

Maduro's second-in-command also showed an image of Guaido’s ID card cut up, explaining it had been confiscated at the airport upon his return to Caracas. Guaido embarked on his three-week ‘last chance’ tour in violation of a travel ban placed upon him by the government, whose promises to bring him to justice upon his return triggered warnings of a “swift” – presumably military – “response” from the US government. While friendly media at first claimed Guaido was embraced by supporters as he arrived at the airport, later stories admitted he was actually met by an enraged group who threw things at him, denouncing the US-imposed sanctions that have produced dire shortages of needed supplies – though that group was framed as a “pro-government mob,” or even organized by “the Maduro regime.” Guaido has defended the sanctions and warned there would be more to come.

 

Read more:

https://www.rt.com/news/480778-guaido-uncle-arrested-explosives-media/

 

The US State Department is dangling millions of dollars in reward money in exchange for information that could be used to arrest Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, his VP, or other senior officials on drug trafficking charges.

The eye-popping reward of up to $15 million is being offered for “information related to Nicolas Maduro Moros” with regard to his alleged involvement in “international narcotics trafficking,” the State Department announced on Thursday, signaling a hard shift in its regime-change policy against the socialist nation.

Tips leading to the narcotrafficking arrest or conviction of National Constituent Assembly President Diosdado Cabello Rondon, retired generals Hugo Carvajal Barrios and Clive Alcala Cordones, or Minister for Industry and National Production Tareck Zaidan El Aissami Maddah can net as much as $10 million, the statement continued.

 

Read more:

https://www.rt.com/news/484186-us-reward-arrest-conviction-maduro/

 

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The Venezuelan government of Nicolas Maduro reported it had foiled an armed coup led by a former U.S. special operations soldier on Sunday. The bizarre tale raises a lot of serious questions about the competence of Pompeo’s State Department and the Trump administration’s intelligence services. What did the U.S. government know about the coup, were any U.S. funds involved, and why was nothing done to squash this outlandish and embarrassing attempt at regime change?

Here’s what we know: Jordan Goudreau, an American citizen, former Green beret, and three-time Bronze Star recipient for bravery in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with Javier Nieto, a retired Venezuelan military captain, posted a video from an undisclosed location saying they had launched an attack which was meant to begin a rebellion that would lead to President Nicolás Maduro’s arrest and installation of U.S-backed Juan Guaido.

“Operation Gideon” was supposedly launched about 20 miles from Caracas. According to Sky News, Goudreau and Nieto, both who live in Florida, were not with the “rebels” on the incursion but hoped to join them soon. An Associated Press report found that both men, along with Cliver Alcalá, a retired Venezuelan general, had been working to train dozens of deserting Venezuelan soldiers at secret camps inside Colombia for a year. He was arrested in March on U.S. drug smuggling charges, and is in custody in New York.

While the plan was for the cross-border raid to end with Maduro’s arrest, instead, sources tell TAC that close to a third of the Venezuelan military sources allegedly working with Goudreau on the coup spilled the details of the operation to Maduro’s government beforehand.

Backed by Cuban security forces, Maduro’s government said they were able to foil the plot. At least eight of the attackers were reportedly killed, and two were arrested on Sunday, according to the Venezuelan government. The AP story, on the other hand, said that “skimpy planning, feuding among opposition politicians and a poorly trained force” doomed the plan long before it was launched.

The 1961 Cuban Bay of Pigs-like overtones are a public relations victory for the Venezuelan president, and this failure helps reinforce his narrative that the U.S. is seeking military-backed regime change. “A group of terrorist mercenaries, organized and trained in Colombia, tried to disembark with war material off the coast of La Guaira,” a statement released by the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) reads.

 

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https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/how-did-a-bronze-star-g...

 

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The "invasion" of a handful of combatants in Venezuela is the result of a contract signed between members of the opposition and the company Silvercorp. The Washington Post published the document, which it claims to have obtained from the opposition.

Venezuelan opposition members very close to Juan Guaido - the self-proclaimed president of the country supported by Westerners — last October negotiated an agreement with a small Florida security company, Silvercorp USA, to lead in the country an operation to remove from power President Nicolas Maduro.

Information confirmed — and assumed — by one of the signatories of this contract, Juan José Rendon, head of the strategic committee of Guaido based in Miami, who however assured that he had not followed up on the operation. The Washington Post published on May 7 a document in scanned form which would reproduce this expurgated contract of certain parts, which mentions an agreement of nearly 213 million dollars between the American company and the signatories for this project of political overthrow.

According to the newspaper, the general terms of the "service agreement" were drafted by Silvercorp director Jordan Goudreau, who publicly claimed responsibility for organizing the operation. "This document was provided by officials of the Venezuelan opposition on the condition that one of the attachments be redacted," said the American daily.

 

Find out more about RT France: https://francais.rt.com/international/74944-venezuela-contrat-qui-a-cond...

 

 

Where the money is coming from is anyone guess... The CIA slush fund comes to mind...

Earlier this week, Iran’s Foreign Ministry pledged a “decisive response” to possible US attempts to intercept Iranian tankers that are currently en route to Venezuela with a cargo of fuel.

Venezuela’s permanent envoy to the UN Samuel Moncada has warned of a threat which he argued is posed by Washington to Iranian tankers bound for the South American country.

In a tweet on Friday, Moncada announced that Venezuela had alerted the UN Security Council and its Secretary General Antonio Guterres of "the threat of imminent use of military force by the United States against Iranian vessels carrying Venezuelan-directed gasoline". 

In another tweet, Moncada insisted that an "armed attack on tankers, exercising free trade and navigation between sovereign nations, is a crime of aggression".

He added that "a naval blockade is aggravated by the fact that it aims to deprive an entire population of its vital means of subsistence" and that "it is a crime of extermination".

The remarks come after The Wall Street Journal cited unnamed US officials as saying on Wednesday that the Trump administration is considering new sanctions and "other legal steps to disrupt Iranian oil exports to Venezuela", in response to what Washington sees as Tehran's attempts "to make inroads into Latin America".

Tehran Warns About ‘Repercussions’ From Potential Interception of Iranian Tankers by US

This followed Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi warning late last week that the US may "suffer repercussions that arise out of any unthinking measure [that it could take]" against Venezuelan-bound Iranian fuel tankers.

"Should the Americans take any measure against our vessels’ free and legal movement around, they would face our decisive response", Mousavi told reporters in Tehran on Sunday.

He said that if the US "does not like a country, this does not give it any grounds to prevent legal trade among countries, [take them under] sanctions, and cause trouble for them".

Mousavi spoke after Tehran summoned the Swiss ambassador representing Washington's interests in the Islamic Republic to lodge a protest against the US Navy's alleged plans to intercept Iranian tankers, which were not officially confirmed by either the White House or the Pentagon.

Speaking to the ambassador, Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi described US efforts to resort to bullying in order to hamper international trade as a serious human rights abuse and a clear "act of piracy"

Earlier, Iran rejected what it described as "baseless" allegations by US Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams who asserted that Tehran is supplying Caracas with equipment needed to restart the South American country's refineries in exchange for gold from Venezuelan reserves.

Tehran also blamed Washington for trying to destroy the Venezuelan economy and topple Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, suggesting that Iran-related allegations were made only to serve as a pretext for new sanctions against both countries.

On 15 May, the online media outlet Al-Masdar News reported that five Iranian fuel tankers, the Fortune, the Petunia, the Forest, the Faxon, and the Clavel were crossing the Mediterranean Sea into the Atlantic Ocean, and that the vessels were most likely on their way to Venezuela.

 

Read more:

https://sputniknews.com/latam/202005231079396321-us-threatens-venezuela-...

 

 

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Opinion: Venezuela's opposition is falling apart

The Juan Guaido-led opposition wants to boycott the election in December. Another former presidential candidate, Henrique Capriles, has also entered the fray. Attempts to end this crisis will fail, says Johan Ramirez.

Henrique Capriles and his followers apparently want to run their own candidates in Venezuela's upcoming parliamentary election — at least, if the regime promises to meet certain criteria. But Capriles — a two-time presidential candidate — doesn't want to negotiate with the Maduro regime directly. The Turkish government, which in recent days has spoken of a "positive dialogue," should act as a mediator.

Meanwhile, opposition leader Juan Guaido, whom Germany, the United States and several dozen other countries have recognized as interim president since early 2019, sees no chance for a free of fair election. He has condemned Capriles' move.

Read more: Venezuela's opposition sees a 'trap' in Maduro's preelection pardons

Yet another political dance is underway in Caracas, one that I dare to predict will once again culminate with a crashing defeat for the opposition and renewed victory for President Nicolas Maduro.

Failure is inevitable

There are several reasons for this expected defeat. First, Maduro's regime is not interested in negotiation. Secondly, Turkey is a questionable mediator. Thirdly, this new scenario is unlikely to receive the support of the international community. Above all though, Venezuela's opposition does not enjoy the support and trust of the population, which is a prerequisite if a political movement is to gain legitimacy.

But first things first.

The "dialogue" between the opposition and the socialist regime in Caracas over the past 20 years can be summed up in one word: failure. The political system established by Maduro's predecessor, Hugo Chavez, has demonstrated an extraordinary ability to use democratic institutions, international bodies and the rules of politics to its own advantage.

Venezuela's rulers only sit down at the negotiating table to win time, quell protests or lend themselves the appearance of acting democratically. An authoritarian regime only negotiates when it is certain to win.

Read more: Displaced Venezuelans face poverty and pandemic in Colombia

Various international actors have attempted to mediate between Venezuela's opposition and the regime over the years: Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Chile, Canada, Norway and even the Vatican. All have failed.

Turkey ill-suited to the task

Turkey, an ally of the socialist regime ever since Chavez was in power, has itself been criticized for its authoritarian practices, persecution of political opponents and manipulation of democratic institutions. What could President Recep Tayyip Erdogan possibly contribute to peaceful, pluralistic and democratic transition?

Turkey in the role of mediator puts any international consensus at risk. Will Washington support any initiative launched by Ankara in the current geopolitical context? Unlikely!

 

Regime can prepare for victory

The opposition is likely to split even more with the return of Capriles to the scene, a controversial figure who had all but disappeared when Guaido took his place in the spotlight in 2018.

Capriles was criticized after the 2013 election that brought Maduro to power, for not exerting enough pressure on the regime and not presenting enough evidence to back up his accusations of election rigging.

His credibility has since taken a real hit. So will he now be able to muster up enough support? Some factions desperate for an end to the crisis might back him, but this will only serve to further divide the opposition.

Three months before the parliamentary election, the divided opposition seems to be going nowhere. It is losing precious time with its infighting, paving the way for another regime victory.

This commentary has been translated from German

 

Read more:

https://www.dw.com/en/opinion-venezuelas-opposition-is-falling-apart/a-54828220

 

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See also: navalny, poisoned by the CIA...

The United States government has added the massive Chinese drone company SZ DJI Technology Co, the largest in the world, to its economic blacklist alongside a batch of about 80 other Chinese companies, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said Friday morning.

The U.S. Department of Commerce said it was adding DJI, AGCU Scientech, China National Scientific Instruments and Materials, and Kuang-Chi Group because the four companies “enabled wide-scale human rights abuses within China through abusive genetic collection and analysis or high-technology surveillance,” Fox News reports.

 

Read more:

https://saraacarter.com/u-s-blacklists-chinese-drone-company-dozens-of-other-chinese-companies/

 

Read from top. Gus's first drone is the lovely one at top. Gus's second drone with camera and smartPhone controls is a DJI drone bought about a year ago...