Venezuela is in even worse shape than you thought

[celedhring]

Yeah, can't see Trump digging salsa. That's a spic thing.

[CountDeMoney]

It's like post-Soviet Afghanistan.  But with a Carribean flair!

[Eddie Teach]

It's nice to be reminded there are countries worse off for leadership than we are. 

[Siege]

I still think Socialism works, if only the world would give it a proper chance.

Doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result is the definition for something.
It escapes my mind. Something about the mind.

[Siege]

Meh, this'll be the US in a few years time.

Seems unlikely.

Famous last words?

[Valmy]

I still think Socialism works, if only the world would give it a proper chance.

Doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result is the definition for something.
It escapes my mind. Something about the mind.

Brain was being very very sarcastic

[Siege]

I still think Socialism works, if only the world would give it a proper chance.

Doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result is the definition for something.
It escapes my mind. Something about the mind.

Brain was being very very sarcastic

Oops.

[Josquius]

In Venezuela the problem is populism, not socialism

[viper37]

I still think Socialism works, if only the world would give it a proper chance.

Doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result is the definition for something.
It escapes my mind. Something about the mind.

Just because it didn't work the last 2 times does not mean it won't work now.  I mean, you voted for a guy who promised to do exactly the same thing as Reagan & Bush even though it didn't work and you hated the guy who tried something different.  I guess you are something!

[Savonarola]

I still think Socialism works, if only the world would give it a proper chance.

Doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result is the definition for something.
It escapes my mind. Something about the mind.

Just because it didn't work the last 2 times does not mean it won't work now.  I mean, you voted for a guy who promised to do exactly the same thing as Reagan & Bush even though it didn't work and you hated the guy who tried something different.  I guess you are something!

Assuming your referring to tax cuts this will be the fourth time; Kennedy also cut income tax.  To be fair to Trump, though, he has promised to raise tariffs substantially; something not tried since 1930.

[derspiess]

In Venezuela the problem is populism, not socialism

  It's both.

[viper37]

Assuming your referring to tax cuts this will be the fourth time; Kennedy also cut income tax.  To be fair to Trump, though, he has promised to raise tariffs substantially; something not tried since 1930.

didn't remember much of fiscality&economic policies prior to the 80s.

Cutting income tax is not bad per se, but it always depends at which point you start, since it's highly relative.

[Admiral Yi]

In Venezuela the problem is populism, not socialism

  It's both.

It's only socialism if things turn out well. 

[CountDeMoney]

No Moose Lamb is safe in TrumpWorld.

Washington Post
National Security
U.S. sanctions Venezuelan vice president as drug kingpin
By Carol Morello
February 13 at 6:49 PM

The Trump administration on Monday slapped sanctions on Venezuela's new vice president, Tareck El Aissami, accusing him of being an international drug kingpin.

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said that El Aissami, who was named vice president just last month, helped facilitate drug shipments out of the country through his control of air bases and shipping ports. Treasury officials said that in his previous positions as governor of Aragua state and the country's interior minister, he was involved in large drug shipments bound from Venezuela to Mexico and the United States.

Also sanctioned was his alleged frontman, Samark José López Bello, and 13 companies he owns or controls in the British Virgin Islands, Panama, the United Kingdom, the United States and Venezuela.

The sanctions against the ­second-highest-ranking government official in Venezuela, who is in line to succeed Socialist President Nicolás Maduro, almost certainly will lead to an erosion in the already strained relations between the two governments.

El Aissami, the son of immigrants from Syria and Lebanon, has had a meteoric political rise. Just over a decade ago, he was a student activist in rural Venezuela. Since then, the 42-year-old has climbed the government ranks to become interior minister and governor.

On Jan. 4, Maduro named El Aissami vice president. El Aissami has a reputation as a hard-line loyalist to the late president Hugo Chávez. He also leads a special task force to root out potential coup plots against Maduro, so he's trusted by Maduro above few others.

The Treasury Department placed him on a list reserved for "specially designated narcotics traffickers," part of what's known as the Kingpin Act. Under the sanctions, assets owned by El Aissami and López Bello are blocked, and it is illegal for U.S. citizens to have any dealings with them.

Two years ago, the Obama administration ordered sanctions against seven government officials it said had repressed political opponents or were corrupt. But in Venezuela, being sanctioned by the United States has become a badge of honor and even grounds for promotion in the government. Among the officials sanctioned for alleged drug trafficking was a top anti-narcotics official, Néstor Reverol.

John E. Smith, acting director of OFAC, said Monday's sanctions resulted from an investigation into narcotics traffickers spanning several years.

"This case highlights our continued focus on narcotics traffickers and those who help launder their illicit proceeds through the United States," Smith said. "Denying a safe haven for illicit assets in the United States and protecting the U.S. financial system from abuse remain top priorities of the Treasury Department."

This month, 34 lawmakers sent a bipartisan letter urging President Trump to place sanctions on Venezuelan government and military officials — including El Aissami — allegedly involved in corruption and human rights abuses.

Venezuela has been under a state of economic emergency for more than a year. Amid hyperinflation and a deep recession caused largely by low oil prices and amplified by mismanagement of the economy, Maduro has pinned the blame on the United States, saying it is plotting to overthrow him.

Hungry Venezuelans must line up for hours to buy food with devalued currency, and Maduro has placed the military in charge of food distribution. Many people have fled to neighboring countries to get medical care.

[viper37]

had this been done under any other President, I would likely get behind it.
Now, I am wondering where is the truth.  Is this another alternative fact?  Is this real?
Corruption, voter suppression, illegal campaigning activities, I get it.  But drug kingpin as a #2 in Venezuela?  It seems like something out of a James Bond movie.

Well, it's Venezuela.  Anything is possible, really.  Their sense of honesty and reality certainly matches the Trump administration.