It seems that Bernie Sanders got it all wrong again, this time regarding the situation in Venezuela - very disappointing

globinfo freexchange

In an unfortunate series of tweets regarding the situation in Venezuela, Bernie Sanders exposed his weak spot again on foreign policy matters.

Sanders tweeted:

The Maduro government has waged a violent crackdown on Venezuelan civil society, violated the constitution by dissolving the National Assembly and was re-elected last year in an election many observers said was fraudulent. The economy is a disaster and millions are migrating. 1/3

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) January 24, 2019

The United States should support the rule of law, fair elections and self-determination for the Venezuelan people. We must condemn the use of violence against unarmed protesters and the suppression of dissent. 2/3

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) January 24, 2019

But we must learn the lessons of the past and not be in the business of regime change or supporting coups—as we have in Chile, Guatemala, Brazil & the DR. The US has a long history of inappropriately intervening in Latin American nations; we must not go down that road again. 3/3

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) January 24, 2019

Bernie should know that many opposition protesters, backed by the US, proceeded in extreme actions of violence and even burned alive supporters of the government. And that, despite a high level of election transparency, one that even Jimmy Carter called “the best in the world”, the US and its allies insisted to accuse Venezuela of election fraud. And that, the economic deterioration is primarily a result of the brutal economic warfare waged by the US, which is also considered illegal under the international law.

As a consequence, the confusion of Bernie on the matter can be identified also by some huge contradictions in these three tweets.

In his first tweet he proves his high level of ignorance on the issue and things get worse when in his second tweet he states that "The United States should support the rule of law, fair elections and self-determination for the Venezuelan people." Considering the awful record of the US interventions in Latin America and Venezuela through dictatorships, attempted coups, puppet regimes and endless propaganda, this is equivalent of asking the 'wolf' to guard the 'sheep'.

And then, something happened, and in his third tweet Bernie states that “But we must learn the lessons of the past and not be in the business of regime change or supporting coups—as we have in Chile, Guatemala, Brazil & the DR. The US has a long history of inappropriately intervening in Latin American nations; we must not go down that road again.” (Notice that from the three tweets, this one had the most likes and the most retweets.)

How does this match the position that the US should support the rule of law, fair elections and self-determination for Venezuela? It almost doesn't make sense, especially under Trump administration. Great confusion.

It is extremely disappointing that Bernie fully adopted the establishment positions in his first tweet. And actually, even worse, he aligned with some of the most hawkish members of the Trump administration, who seek for another regime change by all means. Very unfortunate statement.

It should be useful to mention Ben Norton's replies on Bernie's tweets. They put the issue in the correct framework:

Very bad statement. Disappointing.

Venezuela's US-backed opposition has waged relentless war against the state, burning Chavistas, looting buildings, bombing police, attacking the Supreme Court, etc.

And the opposition keeps boycotting elections. It wants a coup, not elections.

— Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) January 24, 2019

The opposition won the 2015 National Assembly election fairly, then waged an internal war against the state, refusing to follow Supreme Court orders. Then the opposition boycotted the 2017 Constituent Assembly election and 2018 presidential election, all while calling for a coup.

— Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) January 24, 2019

Imagine if US Congress members took over in a fair election, then immediately called for a military coup against the president, disobeying Supreme Court orders, while opposition extremists hijacked helicopters and attacked the court

That's what the Venezuelan opposition has done

— Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) January 25, 2019

We also dedicate the following WikiLeaks revelation to Bernie who himself fights for a social state in the US: US feared that Venezuela's state oil company could become the main carrier of social policies under Chavez. And we call him to get his information from independent media who actually made him widely known to the American public.

Finally, for comparison, we should mention that only Tulsi Gabbard from the progressive camp had the courage to take a clear position on the issue, against the attempted US-backed coup:

The United States needs to stay out of Venezuela. Let the Venezuelan people determine their future. We don't want other countries to choose our leaders--so we have to stop trying to choose theirs.

— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) January 24, 2019

And, of course, Jill Stein:

US has backed right-wing coups up and down Latin America for 100+ years. Not one was about democracy. All have been to enrich the global elite. But we’re supposed to believe this time in Venezuela - which has the world’s largest oil reserves - is different?

— Dr. Jill Stein🌻 (@DrJillStein) January 24, 2019

What does Trump want with Venezuela? He said it clearly in 2011 when asked how he'd deal with Libya & Iraq: the US should topple their governments & reward ourselves by taking their oil. Asked how that would affect those countries, Trump said: "Who cares?" https://t.co/QIOJcyApib

— Dr. Jill Stein🌻 (@DrJillStein) January 24, 2019

The Democrats are backing Trump on regime change in Venezuela, just like they backed disasters in Afghanistan, Iraq, Honduras, Libya, Syria, Ukraine & Yemen. When it comes to regime change, the two parties of War & Wall Street are still marching in lockstep. https://t.co/Yep6QhWIw5

— Dr. Jill Stein🌻 (@DrJillStein) January 25, 2019

Incredible: a video about bringing democracy to Venezuela, starring the person who rigged the 2016 DNC primary & ripped off millions of American voters. Hey Debbie Wasserman Schultz, how about you fix elections in Broward County, Florida before trying to "help" other countries? https://t.co/Yep6QhWIw5

— Dr. Jill Stein🌻 (@DrJillStein) January 25, 2019

The same blowhard politicians talking about "bringing democracy" to Venezuela have aided & abetted the Saudi dictators executing dissidents, murdering journalists & starving millions of kids in Yemen. They don't give a damn about democracy or poor people's lives. It's about OIL.

— Dr. Jill Stein🌻 (@DrJillStein) January 25, 2019

Most of the politicians now calling for humanitarian aid to the people of Venezuela have voted for crippling sanctions on Venezuela, knowing full well they'd make people suffer by depriving them of food & medicine. If they really wanted to help, they'd start by lifting sanctions.

— Dr. Jill Stein🌻 (@DrJillStein) January 25, 2019