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Venezuelans take to streets as uprising attempt sputters

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CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelans heeded opposition leader Juan Guaidó’s call to fill streets around the nation Wednesday but security forces showed no sign of answering his cry for a widespread military uprising, instead dispersing crowds with tear gas as the political crisis threatened to deepen.

Thousands cheered Guaidó in Caracas as he rolled up his sleeves and called on Venezuelans to remain out in force and prepare for a general strike, a day after his bold attempt to spark a mass military defection against President Nicolas Maduro failed to tilt the balance of power.

“It’s totally clear now the usurper has lost,” Guaidó proclaimed, a declaration belied by events on the ground.

Across town at the Carlota air base near where Guaidó made his plea a day earlier for a revolt, intense clashes raged between protesters and troops loyal to Maduro, making clear the standoff would drag on. There and elsewhere, state security forces launched tear gas and fired rubber bullets while bands of mostly young men armed with makeshift shields threw rocks and set a motorcycle ablaze.

“I don’t want to say it was a disaster, but it wasn’t a success,” said Marilina Carillo, who was standing in a crowd of anti-government protesters blowing horns and whistles.

Opposition leaders hoped Guaidó’s risky move would stir a string of high-ranking defections and shake Maduro’s grip on power. But only the chief of Venezuela’s feared intelligence agency broke ranks, while most others stood steadfast. Some analysts predicted that would make Maduro more emboldened.

The dramatic events could spell even more uncertainty for Venezuela, which has been rocked by three months of political upheaval since Guaidó re-energized a flagging opposition movement by declaring himself interim president, saying Maduro had usurped power.

Now the struggle has heightened geopolitical dimensions, with the United States and more than 50 other nations backing Guaidó as Venezuela’s legitimate president and Maduro allies like Russia lending the beleaguered president military and economic support.

U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton said Wednesday that Maduro is surrounded by “scorpions in a bottle” and that key figures among his inner circle had been “outed” as dealing with the opposition.

The United States contends Maduro had been ready to flee Tuesday, an airplane already on the tarmac, but was talked out of it by Russian advisers.

Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, said such assertions were part of a “global information and psychological war against Venezuela and Caracas.”

“There is no proof there was a Russian plane there,” she said. “The U.S. is big on Venezuela and wants to bring this to an end but that cannot do that.”

Protesters like Beatriz Pino, who took to the streets Wednesday waving flags and banging pots and pans, said they weren’t entirely surprised by the military’s response to Guaidó. She said the late President Hugo Chavez politicized Venezuela’s military as he installed a socialist system. Despite the setback, she said she remained committed to the opposition’s call for protest.

“We can’t leave the streets,” she said. “We’ve been in this for years.”

As the standoff drags on, life is becoming even more difficult for Venezuelans, who are struggling with hyperinflation that has rendered salaries worthless as well as severe shortages of food and medicine that have driven about 3 million people to flee the country in recent years.

“We need to get out of this tragedy,” said Ana Camarillo, a housewife.

David Smilde, a Venezuela expert, said the opposition’s thus far unsuccessful attempt to trigger an uprising should provoke a round of reflection.

“Given the balance of power within Venezuela and the geopolitical struggle around it, they need to engage in real politics and real negotiations to move this conflict to a different place,” he said.

At a large pro-Maduro rally Wednesday, ruling party leader Diosdado Cabello said that “as a bloc” Venezuela’s military remained intact and united behind Maduro. He likened opposition leaders to “walking zombies.”

Luis Scott was among those wearing bright red shirts in solidarity with the socialist government and said he travelled seven hours on a bus to participate in the rally. He conceded Venezuela has deep economic troubles, but said the path set by Chavez and Maduro is firm.

“We are fighting for our freedom,” the fisherman said.

While Maduro maintains a devout core of fervent supporters first inspired by Chavez, attendance at such shows of support is viewed as a requirement of their jobs.

At the Plaza Francia in Caracas’ Altamira neighbourhood, protesters jammed the streets in one of the opposition’s biggest demonstrations yet. A few blocks away the scene quickly turned ugly. Protesters surrounded a suspected thief, beating him until he bled. A man with a megaphone appealed to the crowd to return to the fight against police.

“The fight is down there!” he said, gesturing to the direction of a military base.

Mayor Gustavo Duque said the Salud Chacao medical centre took in 27 patients by late afternoon Wednesday, one of whom was shot in the foot by a firearm. Those injuries are on top of more than 50 reported by the hospital’s director during clashes Tuesday.

Maduro appeared at the socialist party rally Wednesday afternoon, saying U.S. leaders had been fooled by the opposition into believing he was about to flee Venezuela. He said the Trump administration was part of a “pot of lies” and likened the ordeal to “fake news.”

He promised to put all conspirators behind bars.

“Sooner or later they’ll go to jail and pay for their betrayal and their crimes,” he said.

Giancarlo Morelli of the British analysis group Economist Intelligence Unit said Maduro faces peril whatever path he takes with Guaidó over the uprising attempt.

“Failing to arrest Mr. Guaidó would be perceived as an important sign for weakness from Mr. Maduro,” Morelli said. “But arresting Mr. Guaidó risks a strong counter-reaction from the U.S.,” which has been ratcheting up sanctions.

For many Venezuelans, the turmoil has become an almost normal state of affairs.

Johanns Davila walked his dog along a street in the capital littered with shotgun shells, tear gas canisters and a charred motorcycle, the remnants of skirmishes between the opposition and state security.

“We need to get people out and recover the country,” Davila said.

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Associated Press writers Christine Armario in Cucuta, Colombia, Fabiola Sanchez and Jorge Rueda in Caracas contributed to this report.

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This story deletes extraneous ‘against’ in 4th paragraph.

Scott Smith And Christopher Torchia, The Associated Press



















































































































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UK Government And Media Spread Disinformation About Southport Killer, Evidence Suggests

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Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer answers questions during a press conference following clashes after the Southport stabbing on August 1, 2024. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images)

This is a preview of a breaking story.  Click below for the full report

UK police now say that the alleged killer possessed an al-Qaeda training manual and a deadly biological toxin

The riots in England this summer were motivated by far-right Islamophobia and driven by disinformation online, argued the UK media and government at the time. In July and August, social media posts claimed that a Muslim migrant was responsible for a mass stabbing in the seaside town of Southport. Those claims were false, according to officials and fact-checkers.

The riots began after a 17-year-old named Axel Rudakubana allegedly stabbed to death three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop. Rudakubana was born in the UK and raised Christian, the media reported. The rioters, said Prime Minister Keir Starmer, were “far-right thugs” seeking to exploit the tragedy and “target people because of the color of their skin.”

But it now appears that the UK government may have deliberately spread disinformation and used it to justify censorship and repression. Police yesterday issued new charges under the Terrorism Act against Rudakubana, now 18, for allegedly producing ricin, a biological toxin, and possessing an al-Qaeda training manual titled “Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants.” Since police arrested Rudakubana at the scene of the stabbings, it’s likely they searched his home shortly after, and thus may have discovered the ricin and manual within hours of the attack.

Ricin is a protein toxin derived from the castor bean plant and has no known antidotes. The terrorism charges identify the al-Qaeda training manual as “of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.” Although the police stated that the case is not yet classified as a “terrorist incident,” these new charges suggest that radical Islamism motivated the attack, contradicting authorities’ previous narrative.

“It is not plausible for the police, Home Secretary, Prime Minister not to have known about the suspect’s background until this week,” said conservative Member of Parliament and former Home Secretary, Dame Priti Patel, in a statement to The Telegraph. “This detail would have materialized within 2-3 days of such a devastating and serious incident with the entire security apparatus focusing on finding answers to key questions.

Mourners gather for the funeral of a nine-year-old victim of a knife attack in Southport on August 11, 2024 (left); Axel Rudakubana, Southport stabbing suspect (center); Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street on August 1, 2024 (right). [Getty Images and Liverpool Crown Court drawing]…

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Canadian man euthanized after COVID shot injuries

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From LifeSiteNews

By Clare Marie Merkowsky

An Ontario man in his late 40s has been euthanized after doctors diagnosed him with ‘post COVID-19 vaccination syndrome’ following three COVID jabs, which caused him to suffer ‘severe functional decline.’

An Ontario man has been granted euthanasia for “post COVID-19 vaccination syndrome.”

According to an October report by the National Post, an anonymous Ontario man in his late 40s has been euthanized after doctors determined his COVID shot injuries qualified him for assisted suicide or “Medical Assistance in Dying” (MAiD) under Canada’s euthanasia regime.

“Amongst his multiple specialists, no unifying diagnosis was confirmed,” the reports issued by a 16-member MAiD death review committee found.

Nevertheless, the doctors “opined that the most reasonable diagnosis for Mr. A’s clinical presentation (severe functional decline) was a post-vaccine syndrome, in keeping with chronic fatigue syndrome.”

The man experienced “suffering and functional decline” following three doses of the experimental COVID shots.

He also suffered from a slew of mental illnesses, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and personality disorders. He was admitted to the hospital twice “while navigating his physical symptoms” with thoughts of suicide.

He was eventually diagnosed “post COVID-19 vaccination syndrome,” which is not currently include in Canada’s current vaccine reporting system. Notably, Canada’s program to compensate those injured by the so-called “safe and effective” COVID shots has now spent $14 million, but the vast majority of claims remain unpaid.

His death is further complicated by the fact that multiple specialists failed to agree on his diagnosis, with many questioning if his condition met the criteria for an “irremediable” condition, which is required to seek euthanasia in Canada. Many also questioned if his mental health disqualified him from undergoing assisted suicide.

The man’s death is considered “Track 2,” part of a group who are not “terminally ill” and whose natural deaths are not reasonably foreseeable.

“I think we have gone so far over the line with Track 2 that people cannot even see the line that we’ve crossed,” said Gaind.

“It’s pretty clear that some providers are going up to that line, and maybe beyond it,” Gaind said.

As LifeSiteNews previously reported, internal information has revealed that Canadian doctors are questioning the morality of euthanizing vulnerable and impoverished patients who are choosing death because of poverty and loneliness.

During his time in office, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government have worked to expand assisted suicide 13-fold since it was legalized, making Canada’s euthanasia program the fastest growing in the world.

Currently, wait times to receive actual health care in Canada have increased to an average of 27.7 weeks, leading some Canadians to despair and opt for euthanasia instead of waiting for genuine assistance. At the same time, sick and elderly Canadians who have refused to end their lives via “MAiD” have reported being called “selfish” by their providers.

The most recent reports show that euthanasia is the sixth highest cause of death in Canada. However, it was not listed as such in Statistics Canada’s top 10 leading causes of death from 2019 to 2022.

When asked why it was left off the list, the agency said that it records the illnesses that led Canadians to choose to end their lives via euthanasia, not the actual cause of death, as the primary cause of death.

According to Health Canada, in 2022, 13,241 Canadians died by MAiD lethal injections. This accounts for 4.1 percent of all deaths in the country for that year, a 31.2 percent increase from 2021.

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