Submitted by Gabriel Varvaro
Venezuelan Ambassador to Barbados Jose Gomez Febres
Just read the interview by Barbados Today with the Venezuelan Ambassador … what a shower of old left wing garbage that was. I made some pertinent comments as I was left outrage by this but it seems like Barbados Today did not find them adequate for their news outlet.
My comments on the article:
Unfortunately the Ambassador (who by the way doesn’t even speak English and is not a career diplomat) is telling the same big set of lies that leftish cleptocrats continue to tell inside and outside Venezuela. Venezuela has had an unprecedented oil revenue during the Chavez administration, in the region of US$120 BILLION and it only takes someone to have a look around its cities, highways, hospitals and fields to realise that the money has evaporated. Not only has earned a lot more than the previous 40 years of democratic governments but it has also TRIPLED the foreign debt by numerous loans from China and Russia to buy from TVs and washing machines to AK47 and Sukoi planes.
This same regime, the one that named the Ambassador can be clearly defined as CLEPTOCRACY, in which all it matters to its officials is to steal the country’s revenue and firmly grip to power in order to continue the robbery.
One of the main causes of the revenue bleeding is the currency exchange commission (CADIVI) in which a new oligarchy (called Boligarchy) has been getting preferential forex to import all sort of things. This is so true, that the regime in the voice of its central bank president and also the minister of planning and economy acknowledged that there were $25 BILLION that were simply used for personal gains and not for the intended imports by the use of Briefcase Companies, (that is companies that only exist in paper and do not really operate but act as intermediaries sometimes and forgers in other).
Yes, the government has started (and abandoned) many social policies, specially many “grants” for all sorts of “needs”, even the spouses of jailed men were at some point receiving hand outs. The problem with this is clear and widely recognise as a source of long term poverty and oppression since it makes the citizen directly dependent on the government and limits its freedom to think to the line of thought imposed from the party-government.
Furthermore, the above is just compounded by the improvisation and inefficiency of these programmes in which people that would benefit is made queue for hours and sometimes days to either cash the cheque or to buy the subsidized food or even to access a bottle of gas for their stoves (all utilities have been nationalized, so no private company participates in the supply of electricity, phones, gas, water, etc). Just imagine how unproductive a country would be if its citizens have to spend working hours just queuing to access basic goods?
Regarding the allegations made by the Ambassador on the murder of the beauty queen, this was done (along with other 37 people to this date) by the government backed thugs (euphemistically called “Colectivos”). There is plenty of footage to back this and the many other murders enacted by the regime’s supporters. This is not gossip or rumour, it is actually recognised by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the UN plus the hundreds of videos posted in YouTube, Facebook and Twitter by the very same people living in the war zone that has become Venezuela.
Shame on you ambassador.
PS: one little old joke tells of how does a tyrant, a democrat and a leftie deal with his wife infidelity…. the tale goes that the tyrant would hit the woman, the democrat would talk it through and the leftie would blame the USA…
No more needs to be said about this sad situation. We will be picking up the pieces in about 5 years time.
@ David
This post is over-emotional and extremely subjective. I have posted an article which I sourced from the UK Guardian which presents a more objective reflection on the current situation in Venezuela.
We should remember that right-wing fascists and neo-liberalists are not unique to Venezuela. it is important that Barbados remains vigilant to both internal and external threats:
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/09/venezuela-protest-defence-privilege-maduro-elites
We must factor that Venezuelans will be emotional when discussing what is happening in their country.
a country rich in OIL ..with No MORAL compass…….what more should we expect………..
@ac
Like the USA with children stabbing others, with soldiers shooting others. You are the judge and rule now are you. What ignorance.
@ David
Could you imagine what would happen if we found real oil bout here…?
Can you picture the Auditor general’s report…?
Can you picture idiots like ac WITH oil money…?
Shiite boss….perhaps there needs to be a law against digging any holes ’bout here yuh…!
A Country which was dictated by and adhere to the principles of greed and corruption now find itself seeking and looking to outsiders for redemption ..but must first start with a cleansing from within
@ac
A Country which was dictated by and adhere to the principles of greed and corruption now find itself seeking and looking to outsiders for redemption ..but must first start with a cleansing from within
ac – are you referring to Venezuela or Barbados?
I have worked in and visited Venezuela over a period of 25 years. It is truly disasterous what has happened to the country. What I find shocking is the lack of coverage the main stream North American media has dedicated to the country. Given that about 100,000 murders have occurred there in the past five years (Iraq, Afghanistan, Central Africa…none of these places other than Syria have been more gun related deaths); yet Venezuela has been all but invisible. It has only been in the past couple of months when demonstrations flooded the streets of Caracas and elsewhere that the world has turned a weary eye to what has been going on under Chavez’s rule. Now that Chavez has been replaced by Maduro the mantle of ‘revolution’ has been uncovered to reveal a tired, broken and corrupt government unable to defend its policies and left with the old saw that it’s all the fault of the Yankee imperialists. Give me a break!
Venezuela a country which rather not practice the principles of Right…Fairn
ess and equality have now found itself and innocent people caught in a web of political and social violence and mayhem..To those outside looking in please take note cause when greed and corruption take root .the final downfall is an ugly picture for all to see
ss
AC…….tell that to the ministers who make up the DLP and are now in bed with criminals who don’t give two hoots about the people who suffer crippling injuries, disability or who have left penniless families because of death by accident and those left in pain and suffering years after any incident involving motor vehicles, tell your ministers that there are claims to be paid and speak to their criminal friends…….tell that to the Transport Board that is now devalued and no one except the insurers will be interested in buying the entity….then you can talk about Venezuela
Interesting to note that Venezuela owns CITGO in the USA. Sometime ago 7/11 did not renew its contract with Citgo because Chavez kept poking the USA in the eye. Citgo is now one of the few remaining sources Venezuela have for FX generation. The oil refined by CITGO comes mostly from Venezuela. When you have a currency that has draconian FX controls, you end up with a currency that becomes worthless. Worthless currencies eventually lead to social unrest when there is no money to pay for imports. Inflation, lack of goods on store shelves, and lack of medicines are all traceable to a inadequate monetary system.
It is becoming increasingly hard for leadership in Venezuela to suck and whistle at the same time. FX from the USA could dry up pretty quickly.
Sith……..fantastic, now if we can only get the DLP to understand that they cannot let the business people in Barbados, Cow et al, their yardfolws, etc, suck while the government whistles at the same time, the battle would have been won, that’s for sure.
@ Gabriel Varvaro
“Unfortunately the Ambassador(who by the way doesn’t speak English and is not a career diplomat) ”
Mr. Vavaro, Please! The Venezuelan Ambassador to Barbados does speak English. About a year and a half ago i was invited to a private dinner party and sat next to Mr,Jose Gomez Febres. We were engaged in a conversation most of the evening and practically all of that time we spoke in English. Although the Ambassador’s English may not be perfect, I was surprised at his fluency in the language and I can only say that I wish I could speak Spanish as well as he spoke English. Let’s be fair! I certainly do not agree with his political views and it was obvious to see that he had been completely indoctrinated into the Bolivarian way of thinking, but we spoke of many interesting topics, one of which was Admiral Miranda, a CD of whose life he sent to me afterwards. I too was very disgusted by his remarks against the Venezuelans (in opposition to the Maduro Regime) living in Barbados, simply because they did not share his own view on the present protest and disturbances taking place in Venezuela. As The Ambassador to Barbados for Venezuela, he should represent all Venezuelans, not just the Chavistas living here.in Barbados. Democracy is defined in the dictionary as a government by all the people and tolerating minority views. It is obvious therefore that the Venezuelan Ambassador is not representing a Democratic Country and has to follow orders from the authoritarian brutal Maduro regime, or else he too would have a gun at his head.
With regard to the rest of your article, Mr Varvaro, you have given a true picture of what is really happening in Venezuela and the cause behind the continuing catastrophe taking place there. Another little suggestion, if you don’t mind? It’s not nice to use the word ‘steal’ in the disappearance of monies during the Chavez/Maduro regimes. Remember, there are a lot of magicians in these regimes who are capable of making money just disappear without buying or producing anything. Do you remember the one billion dollars allocated to the Army by the Chavista regime to build a Sugar Factory.(supposed to have been the largest and most modern sugar factory in the world. Last time i heard, the trees are still growing on the land it was supposed to have been built on.See what I mean, quite a magical act! However, I think you still do owe the Ambassador an apology for saying he doesn’t even speak English.
I thought AC would have nothing but talk for me, what is she running from?
well… well…..girl……i got a business to ran..ain’t go tno time to ran up and down behind wunna yardfowls 24/7,,,,,,,,,,any how i passed on you misinformation to a higher source,,,ask BT,,,
well….. welll…..then again the blog has become boring……..nobody cussing nobody,,,,,,everybody prim and proper,,except for the last time when i shove a lightning bolt up the backside of DAvid rectum……..now listen up,,,,, u got balance,,,,,,too ole school boring,,,,bust tea wid he nrass bowl gooobly junk………hants wanting every body to be a farmer,,,,,,ad u kissing every body a,sss………and the other guy Money Brains, trying to blow mchale brains out,,,,,,,,,,so wuh about loveridge,,,,,wid the same ole sh,,t talk,,,,,,enuffffff .
@ac
Yet you are logon to BU longer than David and registers more comments.
Liar liar feet on fire.
HA………ha,,,david…………..oh wellll,,,,,
And the complete lack of HUMAN RIGHTS? Nobody cares?