08-11-2018, 11:33 PM
*** 12-Aug-18 World View -- Colombia's president Ivan Duque takes office amidst accusations from Venezuela
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** Colombia's president Ivan Duque takes office amidst accusations from Venezuela
****
![[Image: g180811b.jpg]](http://Media.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g180811b.jpg)
Venezuelans walk across Simón Bolívar bridge into Cúcuta, Colombia to flee violence from the Socialist government. (National Geographic)
A new president took office in Colombia on Tuesday of last
week. Right-wing Ivan Duque took office, replacing left-wing
Juan Manuel Santos. The inauguration occurred in the midst
of a major diplomatic clash between Colombia and Venezuela.
Last weekend on Saturday evening, a live drama unfolded on nationwide
TV in Venezuela. Socialist President Nicolás Maduro, was giving a
televised speech when suddenly he stopped speaking and looked up at
the sky. Two drones armed with explosives detonated near Maduro, who,
however, was not hurt. Three hours later, he was on nationwide tv
again, saying:
<QUOTE>"I am fine, I am alive, and after this attack I'm more
determined than ever to follow the path of the revolution. ... I
have no doubt that the name Juan Manuel Santos is behind this
attack."<END QUOTE>
According to Maduro, Santos acted in coordination with the former
president of the Venezuelan Parliament, Julio Borges, who had
been in the political opposition to Maduro.
Last year, the Socialist Maduro dissolved the democratically
elected parliament and replaced with a "Constituent Assembly"
consisting of Maduro's political cronies. Last week, the Constituent
Assembly revoked the immunity that Borges had as an opposition
lawmaker, and the Supreme Court called for his arrest. However,
Borges has apparently fled Venezuela. According to Maduro, Borges had
fled to Colombia.
Now Maduro is demanding that Colombia and the United States extradite
Borges and other opposition lawmakers that have fled to those
countries. These extradition requests have been refused.
On Thursday, the European Union in Brussels issued a statement
on the drone attack:
<QUOTE>"The latest events have further inflated the tensions
in Venezuela. The European Union rejects any form of violence and
expects that a comprehensive and transparent investigation of
Saturday´s drone attack is conducted to establish the facts, in
full respect for the rule of law and for human rights.
In this regard, the EU expects the recognition of the National
Assembly's constitutional powers, including the full respect of
its prerogatives concerning the parliamentary immunity of its
members, in line with established constitutional rights,
legislation and procedures.
The EU reiterates its support for a negotiated, democratic and
peaceful solution for the multiple crises affecting the country as
the only way forward. This needs to encompass a return to
constitutional normality restoring democratic process and the rule
of law, respect for fundamental rights and freedoms, release of
all political prisoners, and addressing the pressing humanitarian
needs of the population."<END QUOTE>
This statement infuriated Maduro. According to Maduro , Santos acted
in coordination with Borges, "who receives the order, the resources,
the logistics, the support and the plan [and] is the one who takes
responsibility for the history of assassinating the president."
Maduro condemned the statement by the EU:
<QUOTE>"It is truly deplorable the communique of the European
Union, they go out to protect the terrorists, in their communiqué
they protect the terrorists, in their communique they are not
capable of condemning the attack that had as objective to
assassinate the president of this country."<END QUOTE>
Thanks to Socialist policies, Venezuela is suffering the worst
economic depression ever recorded in Latin America. The International
Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates gross domestic product (GDP) contracted
by 16.5 percent in 2016 and 12 percent in 2017, and forecasts a 15
percent contraction for 2018. Inflation reached more than 2,600
percent in 2017, the highest in the world by a wide margin, and the
IMF forecasts 13,000 percent for 2018.
Thanks to the Socialist policies, Venezuelans are starving, and are
unable to feed their kids or obtain medicines to care for them when
they're sick. The Socialist government of Venezuela has created a
massive refugee problem that's destabilizing the entire region. By
some estimates, 35,000 Venezuelan refugees flee across the border into
Colombia every day, although many return after acquiring basic items,
like food. Some one million are staying in Colombia. About 4,000
migrants enter Ecuador every day, fleeing violence in Venezuela.
Brazil has taken in over 41,000 Venezuelans.
Every Socialist government in history has failed, either peacefully or
disastrously. Even Cuba has given up Socialism. The only two
Socialist governments left are Venezuela and North Korea. However,
Venezuela destabilizing the entire region, and with Maduro making
threatening accusations like the one last week, it's possible that
Venezuela's Socialist government will end with war. AFP and Europa (EU) and Diario Las Americas (Trans) and Al Jazeera
****
**** Brief generational history of Colombia
****
The Trump administration has high hopes for Ivan Duque, because Duque
has promised to tackle the drug problem. Last year, president Trump
suggested stopping aid to countries that are "pouring" drugs into the
US. In Colombia, some 209,000 hectares (516,500 acres) of land are
used to grow coca, the principal ingredient used to manufacture
cocaine. Colombia is the largest cocaine producer in the world.
Colombia's last generational crisis war was shared with Venezuela. It
was called "La Violencia," or the Colombian Revolt, 1948-1959. More
than 200,000 persons lost their lives and more than a billion dollars
of property damage was done.
As we've written many times in the past, when a generational crisis
war is an ethnic or tribal civil war, it really never ends. One side
may force the other into submission, but the people on both sides are
traumatized by the murders, mutilations, rapes, and torturing that
they performed on people who lived in the same cities and even on the
same streets, where the mothers exchanged recipes and the children
played together. All the survivors continue to feel the lingering
horror of the atrocities that were committed on both sides. After the
war ends, there is continuing sporadic violence as we've described in
many countries, including Syria, Cambodia, Cameroon, Burundi, Congo,
and others.
In post-war Colombia, the government confiscated small farms in
order to create large farms, but in doing so left large pools
of unemployed people.
By the mid-1960s. two Marxist-Leninist guerrilla terrorist groups had
formed: the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Las Fuerzas
Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – FARC) and the National
Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional – ELN). Both groups
have massive criminal histories, using drug trafficking, violence,
bombings, murders, kidnappings for ransom, and extortion as sources of
leverage and income. Billions of dollars of income have been derived
from the sale of narcotics each year. In the last 50 years, as many
as 220,000 people are dead, 25,000 are disappeared, and 5.7 million
are displaced.
In December 2016, the government signed a peace agreement with the
FARC. The agreement ended much of the violence, but it was highly
controversial because it specified that all FARC members would walk
free with no punishment for the 50 years of horrific crimes, which
infuriated the relatives of the violence by the FARC. Duque made a
campaign promise to revise and renegotiate the peacekeeping deal to
provide for the relatives of the victims.
Duque has also promised to fix the drug problem:
<QUOTE>"We will be effective in the eradication and
substitution of illegal crops, accompanied by productive
opportunities [for farmers]."<END QUOTE>
That remains to be seen. Other attempts to reduce coca production have
failed. Coca production surged to historically high levels in 2017,
and among the reasons is a crop-substitution program tied to
Colombia’s peace deal that offered incentives to coca farmers to
switch to legal crops. Those incentives were so lucrative that some
rural dwellers planted more coca to earn more cash. In addition,
Colombia in 2015 banned aerial spraying of coca crops after a
determination that the herbicide being used could cause cancer in
humans. Duque is committed to be much more aggressive, including a
return to using the banned herbicide. Stanford Univ and Insight Crime and Council on Foreign Relations (11-Jan-2017) and Washington Post
Related articles:
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Colombia, Ivan Duque, Jose Manuel Santos,
Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, Julio Borges, La Violencia,
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia,
Las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, FARC,
National Liberation Army, Ejército de Liberación Nacional, ELN
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Colombia's president Ivan Duque takes office amidst accusations from Venezuela
- Brief generational history of Colombia
****
**** Colombia's president Ivan Duque takes office amidst accusations from Venezuela
****
Venezuelans walk across Simón Bolívar bridge into Cúcuta, Colombia to flee violence from the Socialist government. (National Geographic)
A new president took office in Colombia on Tuesday of last
week. Right-wing Ivan Duque took office, replacing left-wing
Juan Manuel Santos. The inauguration occurred in the midst
of a major diplomatic clash between Colombia and Venezuela.
Last weekend on Saturday evening, a live drama unfolded on nationwide
TV in Venezuela. Socialist President Nicolás Maduro, was giving a
televised speech when suddenly he stopped speaking and looked up at
the sky. Two drones armed with explosives detonated near Maduro, who,
however, was not hurt. Three hours later, he was on nationwide tv
again, saying:
<QUOTE>"I am fine, I am alive, and after this attack I'm more
determined than ever to follow the path of the revolution. ... I
have no doubt that the name Juan Manuel Santos is behind this
attack."<END QUOTE>
According to Maduro, Santos acted in coordination with the former
president of the Venezuelan Parliament, Julio Borges, who had
been in the political opposition to Maduro.
Last year, the Socialist Maduro dissolved the democratically
elected parliament and replaced with a "Constituent Assembly"
consisting of Maduro's political cronies. Last week, the Constituent
Assembly revoked the immunity that Borges had as an opposition
lawmaker, and the Supreme Court called for his arrest. However,
Borges has apparently fled Venezuela. According to Maduro, Borges had
fled to Colombia.
Now Maduro is demanding that Colombia and the United States extradite
Borges and other opposition lawmakers that have fled to those
countries. These extradition requests have been refused.
On Thursday, the European Union in Brussels issued a statement
on the drone attack:
<QUOTE>"The latest events have further inflated the tensions
in Venezuela. The European Union rejects any form of violence and
expects that a comprehensive and transparent investigation of
Saturday´s drone attack is conducted to establish the facts, in
full respect for the rule of law and for human rights.
In this regard, the EU expects the recognition of the National
Assembly's constitutional powers, including the full respect of
its prerogatives concerning the parliamentary immunity of its
members, in line with established constitutional rights,
legislation and procedures.
The EU reiterates its support for a negotiated, democratic and
peaceful solution for the multiple crises affecting the country as
the only way forward. This needs to encompass a return to
constitutional normality restoring democratic process and the rule
of law, respect for fundamental rights and freedoms, release of
all political prisoners, and addressing the pressing humanitarian
needs of the population."<END QUOTE>
This statement infuriated Maduro. According to Maduro , Santos acted
in coordination with Borges, "who receives the order, the resources,
the logistics, the support and the plan [and] is the one who takes
responsibility for the history of assassinating the president."
Maduro condemned the statement by the EU:
<QUOTE>"It is truly deplorable the communique of the European
Union, they go out to protect the terrorists, in their communiqué
they protect the terrorists, in their communique they are not
capable of condemning the attack that had as objective to
assassinate the president of this country."<END QUOTE>
Thanks to Socialist policies, Venezuela is suffering the worst
economic depression ever recorded in Latin America. The International
Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates gross domestic product (GDP) contracted
by 16.5 percent in 2016 and 12 percent in 2017, and forecasts a 15
percent contraction for 2018. Inflation reached more than 2,600
percent in 2017, the highest in the world by a wide margin, and the
IMF forecasts 13,000 percent for 2018.
Thanks to the Socialist policies, Venezuelans are starving, and are
unable to feed their kids or obtain medicines to care for them when
they're sick. The Socialist government of Venezuela has created a
massive refugee problem that's destabilizing the entire region. By
some estimates, 35,000 Venezuelan refugees flee across the border into
Colombia every day, although many return after acquiring basic items,
like food. Some one million are staying in Colombia. About 4,000
migrants enter Ecuador every day, fleeing violence in Venezuela.
Brazil has taken in over 41,000 Venezuelans.
Every Socialist government in history has failed, either peacefully or
disastrously. Even Cuba has given up Socialism. The only two
Socialist governments left are Venezuela and North Korea. However,
Venezuela destabilizing the entire region, and with Maduro making
threatening accusations like the one last week, it's possible that
Venezuela's Socialist government will end with war. AFP and Europa (EU) and Diario Las Americas (Trans) and Al Jazeera
****
**** Brief generational history of Colombia
****
The Trump administration has high hopes for Ivan Duque, because Duque
has promised to tackle the drug problem. Last year, president Trump
suggested stopping aid to countries that are "pouring" drugs into the
US. In Colombia, some 209,000 hectares (516,500 acres) of land are
used to grow coca, the principal ingredient used to manufacture
cocaine. Colombia is the largest cocaine producer in the world.
Colombia's last generational crisis war was shared with Venezuela. It
was called "La Violencia," or the Colombian Revolt, 1948-1959. More
than 200,000 persons lost their lives and more than a billion dollars
of property damage was done.
As we've written many times in the past, when a generational crisis
war is an ethnic or tribal civil war, it really never ends. One side
may force the other into submission, but the people on both sides are
traumatized by the murders, mutilations, rapes, and torturing that
they performed on people who lived in the same cities and even on the
same streets, where the mothers exchanged recipes and the children
played together. All the survivors continue to feel the lingering
horror of the atrocities that were committed on both sides. After the
war ends, there is continuing sporadic violence as we've described in
many countries, including Syria, Cambodia, Cameroon, Burundi, Congo,
and others.
In post-war Colombia, the government confiscated small farms in
order to create large farms, but in doing so left large pools
of unemployed people.
By the mid-1960s. two Marxist-Leninist guerrilla terrorist groups had
formed: the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Las Fuerzas
Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – FARC) and the National
Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional – ELN). Both groups
have massive criminal histories, using drug trafficking, violence,
bombings, murders, kidnappings for ransom, and extortion as sources of
leverage and income. Billions of dollars of income have been derived
from the sale of narcotics each year. In the last 50 years, as many
as 220,000 people are dead, 25,000 are disappeared, and 5.7 million
are displaced.
In December 2016, the government signed a peace agreement with the
FARC. The agreement ended much of the violence, but it was highly
controversial because it specified that all FARC members would walk
free with no punishment for the 50 years of horrific crimes, which
infuriated the relatives of the violence by the FARC. Duque made a
campaign promise to revise and renegotiate the peacekeeping deal to
provide for the relatives of the victims.
Duque has also promised to fix the drug problem:
<QUOTE>"We will be effective in the eradication and
substitution of illegal crops, accompanied by productive
opportunities [for farmers]."<END QUOTE>
That remains to be seen. Other attempts to reduce coca production have
failed. Coca production surged to historically high levels in 2017,
and among the reasons is a crop-substitution program tied to
Colombia’s peace deal that offered incentives to coca farmers to
switch to legal crops. Those incentives were so lucrative that some
rural dwellers planted more coca to earn more cash. In addition,
Colombia in 2015 banned aerial spraying of coca crops after a
determination that the herbicide being used could cause cancer in
humans. Duque is committed to be much more aggressive, including a
return to using the banned herbicide. Stanford Univ and Insight Crime and Council on Foreign Relations (11-Jan-2017) and Washington Post
Related articles:
- Colombia and Brazil close borders with Venezuela amid talk of possible military intervention (14-Feb-2018)
- Venezuela threatens to close borders with Colombia and Dutch territories (10-Jan-2018)
- Russia considers taking on a huge financial burden - Venezuela (05-Oct-2017)
- Venezuela's economic crisis is hitting Cuba hard (06-Aug-2016)
- Students riot against Hugo Chavez in Venezuela (30-May-2007)
- Hugo Chávez dismantled Venezuela's businesses on purpose to create Socialist Paradise (29-May-2016)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Colombia, Ivan Duque, Jose Manuel Santos,
Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, Julio Borges, La Violencia,
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia,
Las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, FARC,
National Liberation Army, Ejército de Liberación Nacional, ELN
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
