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Incident I00050: #HandsOffVenezuela

  • Summary: Venezuela has been thrown into turmoil after Guaidó declared himself interim president Jan. 23. The 35-year-old president of the National Assembly says Venezuela's constitution grants him power to take control of the government because Maduro was re-elected last year by fraud. Guaidó has called for Maduro to leave office and call new elections.

More than 50 nations, including the United States and most of Latin America, concluded that Maduro's re-election last year was a fraud. They have recognized Juan Guaidó, president of the opposition-led National Assembly, as Venezuela's legitimate head of state, endorsing his mission to establish a transitional government and hold fresh elections. Maduro has remained defiant in the face of domestic and international pressure, securing the support of the governments of Iran and Russia, as well as the loyalty of the Venezuelan military.

  • incident type: incident

  • Year started: 2019

  • Countries: Russia , World

  • Found via:

  • Date added: 2019-03-20

Technique Description given for this incident
T0010 Cultivate ignorant agents IT00000148 cultivate, manipulate, exploit useful idiots (Roger Waters)
T0019 Generate information pollution IT00000146 RT & Sputnik generate information pollution (synthetic media)
T0031 YouTube IT00000151 YouTube; Reddit;
T0032 Reddit IT00000152 YouTube; Reddit;
T0046 Search Engine Optimization IT00000149 SEO optimisation/manipulation ("key words")
T0052 Tertiary sites amplify news IT00000150 News circulated/amplifed by tertiary sites (Mint Press News, globalresearch.ca)
T0053 Twitter trolls amplify and manipulate IT00000145 Twitter trolls amplify & manipulate
T0054 Twitter bots amplify IT00000144 Twitter bots amplify & manipulate
T0056 Dedicated channels disseminate information pollution IT00000147 RT & Sputnik generate information pollution (synthetic media)

DO NOT EDIT ABOVE THIS LINE - PLEASE ADD NOTES BELOW

Actor: Russia, Cuba, China, Iran

Timeframe: January 23, 2019

Date: January 29, 2019 - ongoing

Presumed goals:

  • Given the history (going back to the Monroe Doctrine) the US is easily characterized with “imperialist” aspirations. Of course there’s the connected issue of oil and Venezuela’s indebtedness to Russia and China. The relationship between Cuba and Venezuela can not be underscored going back to Castro & Chavez’s relationship.

  • Search (google) #handsofvenezuela the results are largely linking to articles denouncing the US and those countries opposed to the Maduro regime. “There's been a lot of misinformation in the international media about whether what is happening in Venezuela is a brazen US-led power grab or a constitutional …” Jan 13, 2019 - An attempt at an imperialist coup d'état is underway in Venezuela. It must ... Most likely this is another attempt by Washington to spread misinformation and ... socialist and anti-imperialist, is to reject this scandalous imperialist …

  • Activists to Trump: 'Hands Off Venezuela' - Truthdig https://www.truthdig.com/articles/activists-to-trump-hands-off-venezuela/ Mar 17, 2019 - medeabenjamin “We are absolutely opposed to economic sanctions in Venezuela” at the #HandsOffVenezuela rally. pic.twitter.com/ ... Packed London meeting says: “US-UK, hands off Venezuela!" https://www.marxist.com/packed-london-meeting-says-us-uk-hands-off-venezuela.htm Jan 31, 2019 - Nearly 100 people packed the #HandsOffVenezuela meeting in London on 30 January, and heard Venezuelan ambassador Rocío Manero, ...

Method:

  • From efforts via blogs, “news” sites and media supporting the left/socialism/stateism positioning anti-Maduro efforts as “imperialisitic” it’s noteworthy to documented the efforts in February to deliver aid to the country. For instance this case study - analysis demonstrates that the depiction of Russia’s role as “peacekeeper” and “defender” has had a big impact on the networks. We filtered all mentions to include only those containing the words “Russia”, “Moscow” or “Putin” in reference to Venezuela. This resulted in a total number of 60,315 tweets for the period. A few peaks can be noticed at times when Russian sources, mainly RT and Sputnik, forward Venezuela-related news. A: Russia expresses an adamant position that Maduro is the legitimate president of Venezuela B: Russia will defend the Venezuelan Constitution C: The US is massing troops at the Venezuelan border E: Russia is sending humanitarian aid to Venezuela

  • The Trojan Horse. The most striking success of the Russian disinformation campaign is the impact of the Trojan Horse Narrative. The first case of describing US and EU humanitarian aid to Venezuela as a Trojan horse, in Spanish Caballo de Troya, appeared in Spanish language networks on 24 January: From February 23, 2019 - Billionaire businessman Richard Branson says he hopes his Live Aid-inspired concert to raise funds for Venezuelans will persuade members of the country's military to defy President Nicolas Maduro and allow humanitarian aid to cross the border. Branson, who will host "Venezuela Aid Live" on Friday in the Colombian border town of Cucuta, said he is aiming to raise about $100 million to buy food and medicine, essential supplies for the country, which is gripped by a political and humanitarian crisis. In reaction to - Maduro’s government announced that it would accept contributions from China and Cuba, but called Guaidó-organized aid, which includes contributions from the United States, a “handout.” In an interview with the Associated Press this week, Maduro blamed U.S. sanctions for Venezuela’s economic woes, saying “the infected hand of Donald Trump is hurting Venezuela.”

  • Like the White Helmets (Musician) Roger Waters (willing idiot) weighs in - In a two-minute video posted on Twitter, the musician says Mr Branson's "Live-Aid-ish" concert has "nothing to do with humanitarian aid at all". "It has to do with Richard Branson, and I'm not surprised by this, having bought the US saying: 'We have decided to take over Venezuela, for whatever our reasons may be,'" Mr Waters says. "But it has nothing to do with the needs of the Venezuelan people, it has nothing to do with democracy, it has nothing to do with freedom, and it has nothing to do with aid." He adds that he has "friends that are in Caracas" who claim there is "no civil war, no mayhem, no murder, no apparent dictatorship, no suppression of the press" Maduro government holds their own concert to counter Branson’s efforts https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/19/richard-branson-maduro-concert-on-venezuela-border.html https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/19/maduro-government-richard-branson-rival-venezuela-concerts Just 300 metres away, the first of some 150 artists began performing at Maduro's Hands off Venezuela festival. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/02/rival-concerts-backdrop-venezuela-power-struggle-190222142807321.html

  • The Russian official line - (talking points for trolls & willing/unwitting idiots) On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov criticized the U.S. sanctions, which meant that proceeds from the sale of Venezuelan oil would be withheld from Maduro’s government. In a press conference, Lavrov dubbed the U.S. sanctions “illegitimate” and “cynical,” adding that Russia “along with other responsible members of the global community will do everything to support the legal government of the president,” RIA Novosti reported. There is concern in Moscow about the level of debt Caracas owes Russia. Russian Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak said the sanctions may mean Venezuela will have problems servicing sovereign debt to Russia. Venezuela has two months to pay Russian $100 million and there is uncertainty as to whether PDVSA can service its debt to Russia’s state energy giant Rosneft, Radio Free Europe reported The evolution/spread of talking points But while the Canadian government, which accused Maduro of seizing power through fraudulent elections, has expressed full support for Guaido, some Canadian protesters are calling it out for what they say is an attack on Venezuela’s sovereignty. “What is brewing, what is being organized is an actual military intervention of Venezuela,” said Margaret Villamizar, who attended a protest in Windsor, Ont. “If it doesn’t turn out to be full-scale military, what’s being called diplomacy is really an attack on Venezuela’s sovereignty.”

  • Also - In an interview with Foreign Policy, Adm. Craig Faller, the four-star military officer who heads U.S. Southern Command, pointed to a Chinese disinformation campaign designed to blame the United States for the blackouts that devastated Venezuela in recent weeks. https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/04/08/us-military-wary-of-chinas-foothold-in-venezuela-maduro-faller-guaido-trump-pentagon/ A Chinese plane loaded with 65 tons of medical supplies landed in Venezuela's capital of Caracas on Friday amid a power struggle between President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido. Maduro welcomed the arrival of the humanitarian aid on Twitter, saying "Venezuela is breaking the imperialist siege and advancing with a victory." He shared photos showing the arrival of the aid as well as a photo of him taken with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during his visit to China last year. China's move came after Russia sent humanitarian aid to Caracas last week. Venezuela has been rocked by protests since Jan. 10, when Maduro was sworn in for a second term following a vote boycotted by the opposition. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/venezuela-welcomes-arrival-of-chinese-medical-aid/1435166

Counters:

  • Every report suggesting that Venezuela is mired in a humanitarian crisis. April 10, 2019 The UN reports “There is a very real humanitarian problem in Venezuela,” said Mark Lowcock, the UN humanitarian chief. “We estimate that 7 million people in Venezuela need humanitarian assistance. That is some 25 per cent of the population,” April 10, 2019 NY Times ‘You Shouldn’t Be Here’: U.S. Pushes U.N. to Pull Venezuela Envoy’s Credentials Go back to October 2018 Washington Post: A humanitarian crisis in Venezuela? Nothing to see here, government says. Human Rights Watch Report

Related incidents:

  • Speculation but research worthy… right/left regional binary pitting new right wing governments in Brazil & Columbia and hosility/percieved hosility to regimes like Venezuela & Ecuador

References:

Notes: