Updated 4-28-17: (Because I forgot to include a couple links 😳 )
 
Our mainstream media apparently doesn’t care – probably because it would reflect negatively on their preferred form of government: socialism – but so far at least 31 people have been killed in the month-long protests against President Nicolas Maduro and his failed policies ~

The latest series of protests began after the Supreme Court took over powers from the opposition-controlled National Assembly on 29 March.
 
It reversed its decision three days later, but opposition protesters were already on the streets in large numbers, seizing the opportunity to strike against Mr Maduro’s government.
 
The opposition wants early elections and the release of politicians arrested since the president took office in 2013.

Source: BBC

Never mind that Venezuela is facing a healthcare crisis, that its people are starving, the tyrants aren’t backing down. In fact, in a country where the average citizen has been stripped of their right to bear arms, the government is actually passing out weapons to their supporters ~ Socialist Venezuelan Leader Steps Up Arming of Supporters After Outlawing, Confiscating Civilian Guns ~

The socialist leader of Venezuela announced in a speech to regime loyalists his plan to arm hundreds of thousands of supporters after a years-long campaign to confiscate civilian-owned guns.
 
“A gun for every militiaman!” Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro said to uniformed militia members outside the presidential palace, Fox News reported on Tuesday. The Bolivarian militias, created by Maduro’s predecessor Hugo Chavez, already number in the hundreds of thousands and are being used to supplement the regime’s armed forces. Maduro is boosting the number of armed supporters in hopes of keeping control over the country from what he labels “imperialist aggression.”

Deliberately distancing themselves from their nominally-democratic neighbors, and furthering their descent into a full-fledged dictatorship, Venezuela has now stated its intention to withdraw from the Organization of American States (OAS), accusing the US-based grouping of meddling in its internal affairs ~

The government made the announcement after the OAS voted to hold a meeting of foreign ministers to discuss the spiralling crisis in Venezuela.
 
The OAS, headquartered in Washington DC ~
• Was founded in 1948 as a body to promote regional solidarity and co-operation
• Has 34 participating member states in the Caribbean and North, Central and South America
• Current secretary general is Uruguayan former Foreign Minister Luis Almagro
 
Tensions in the organisation – and among Venezuela’s neighbours – have grown over what is seen by several member states as the government’s disregard for democracy amid mounting unrest.

Even more ominous, and an indication that Maduro is only becoming more committed to continuing his despotic rule ➡ New Venezuelan Vice-President Has Ties to Hezbollah and Transnational Crime ~

In a move to protect his totalitarian regime and subjugate the Venezuelan people, President Nicolas Maduro appointed Tareck El Aissami as his vice-president and successor.
 
This appointment, made on January 4th, is not coincidental. It comes at a time when the Venezuelan government is facing a huge crisis of legitimacy that can no longer be denied. Starvation, violence, and chaos now characterize Venezuela. Even the Vatican supported the call of the Venezuelan Church for civil disobedience and rebellion. The Vatican quoted the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas who gave validity to sedition in the case of a government that is evil and does not deserve to hold power.
 
As Maduro made the announcement, he pointed out that the reason why he brought El Aissami is because he is concerned about “citizens’ security”. Speaking directly to El Aissami, Maduro said “Get heavily involved, day and night, in the issue of citizens’ security and the need to purge local and regional police. Be ready terrorists, we are coming strong”.
 
This means that El Aissami is coming not to restore citizens’ security but to eliminate the last bastion of resistance to the powers that challenge the tyranny of the Maduro government. El Aissami has been the governor of Aragua state for the last several years; the most violent state in the country. Restoring security is not really his forte.

 
Last week, in a move that Stalin would have appreciated, Venezuela seized a General Motors plant in Valencia as property of the state ~

GM’s Venezuelan operation was already pretty much at the point of stagnation. Productivity was approaching zero because their currency had collapsed and they couldn’t order parts to keep the lines running. Also, the domestic market for cars wasn’t exactly booming because their potential customers have money which is basically worthless and they’re mostly too busy looking for scraps of food to worry about a new set of wheels.
 
If nothing else, this incident will provide an enlightening, educational moment for the rest of the world. It’s a given that this is bad news for General Motors, for the workers there… let’s just say it. This is bad news for everyone except Maduro and his cronies. But it also serves to further pull away the mask, allowing the rest of the world to see what’s actually going on. So gather around, kids, because we’re not only seeing how socialism ends (and it always ends this way) but also how the socialist machinery operates through the various phases of its life cycle.

 
Don’t hold your breath that the Trump administration will do the right thing here and bring diplomatic pressure to bear on Maduro. Not only do they have their hands full with North Korea, Trump’s inexperience in international affairs has already resulted in his mishandling of the Middle East mess in Syria and Turkey.
 
The poor, suffering people of Venezuela are on their own.

THIS IS WHAT SOCIALISM LOOKS LIKE!

Protests ERUPT in the streets of Venezuela.

No food, no law & order, no hope!

RT to show the TRUTH! pic.twitter.com/2SOfsDX0Sq

— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) April 19, 2017

Isn’t socialism wonderful?

 
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Related:
Meanwhile, in another part of the world… Living conditions in Venezuela are growing ever grimmer

Hungry Venezuelans killing flamingos and anteaters for food, biologists say Quick someone tell PETA! Maybe western media will finally pay attention to the crisis ~

There are other signs that food shortages have led to the slaughtering of animals not generally considered meat: giant anteaters, for one. The university investigators — biologists and biology students — say they have kept records to show that dozens of the slow-moving creatures, classified as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, also have been killed for food.
 
In the city’s dump, more evidence of hunger-driven desperation: dismembered dogs, cats, donkeys, horses and pigeons have been found since last year, all skinned or plucked, with signs of having been eaten, according to the city’s garbage teams.

Venezuelan Oppression – and we thought Hugo was bad

 
Just an aside, from Washington Free Beacon, as evidence that the gun banners don’t really care about reducing crime (Sort of like gun-controlled Chicago) ~

The Venezuelan government justified the gun bans and confiscations by saying they were needed to combat the country’s violent crime and murder epidemic. However, statistics reported by the nonprofit Venezuelan Violence Observatory show the murder rate in Venezuela increased from 73 murders per 100,000 inhabitants the year the gun ban was instituted to 91.8 murders per 100,000 inhabitants in 2016. Statistics from the Federal Bureau of Investigation show the United States murder rate in the most recent year available, 2015, was 5 murders per 100,000 inhabitants.