Venezuela jails 100 "bourgeois" businessmen in crackdown

[Zorro]

Source: Reuters

Venezuela's socialist governmenthas arrested more than 100 "bourgeois" businessmen in acrackdown on alleged price-gouging at hundreds of shops andcompanies since the weekend, President Nicolas Maduro said onThursday.

"They are barbaric, these capitalist parasites!" Madurothundered in the latest of his lengthy daily speeches. "We havemore than 100 of the bourgeoisie behind bars at the moment."

The successor to the late Hugo Chavez also said hisgovernment was preparing a law to limit Venezuelan businesses'profits to between 15 percent and 30 percent.

Officials say unscrupulous companies have been hiking pricesof electronics and other goods more than 1,000 percent. Criticssay failed socialist economic policies and restricted access toforeign currency are behind Venezuela's runaway inflation.

Read more: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/venezuela-jails-100-bourgeois-businessmen-023227049.html

---

Oh yeah this is gonna end well...

[Ranchemp.]

1. Uh oh.

Expect the usual suspects to chime in on how this is the fault of U.S. imperialism and that Maduro and his Merry Band of Thugs has no choice but to confront the evil empire that is the U.S. and how this is the result of the U.S. meddling in Chile in the 70's.

[delrem]

9. OK. I want to self-alert this response. OK?

This "U.S. meddling in Chile in the 70's" reference is fucking well deranged in every respect.

[Ranchemp.]

26. Struck a nerve did I?

[olddad56]

72. wasn't that the intent of your original comment?

[okaawhatever]

10. +1000 nt

[a la izquierda]

18. So you're okay with the Us having meddled in Chile?

Your cute little avatar makes me think you're one of my thick skulled students who chuckled their way through my lecture on the Guatemalan Civil War.

Funny, that.

[Ranchemp.]

28. My Angels avatar makes you think like that?

I guess I struck a nerve, didn't I?
Looks more and more like Maduro and his Merry Band of Thugs are becoming tin pot dictators.
Don't bother replying, I'm not taking it back nor are you going to change my mind about the corruption and criminal acts of the Ven. govt.

[a la izquierda]

55. No, your ROFL smilie.

And aw, I has a sad that you don't want to discuss. On a discussion board.
You'll last long if you continually get your panties in a wad.

[Ranchemp.]

56. Ok.

[Titonwan]

27. I smell sulphur...

Dat you George Jr?

[Ranchemp.]

29. And the man who said that is now worm food.

[Titonwan]

38. So is everyone else that's dead

You got a point, troll?

[Ranchemp.]

39. No point, just pointing out the fact that Pres. Chavez is now dead.

[nomorenomore08]

104. Never thought I'd see a DUer imply that Chavez was worse than Bush...

Sad, really...

[Ranchemp.]

111. Really, that's what you got out of my reply?

Jaysus Keeerist.

[nomorenomore08]

124. Okay, maybe I jumped to conclusions...

[Ranchemp.]

129. No problem,

I've been known to hop, skip, and jump to conclusions.
And just to be clear, Hugo was much better than Boosh, Hugo didn't lie his way into any wars, kill hundreds of thousands of innocent people, but, his economic policies weren't any better, witness what's happening in Ven. now.

[L0oniX]

33. Do you know what a troll is?

[Ranchemp.]

36. Yes, do you?

[leftynyc]

49. Don't pay any attention

to those who call you a troll. I've been here over a decade and I completely agree with you.

[Ranchemp.]

51. Thank you.

It doesn't really bother me to be called a troll, it just means that they've lost the debate and name calling is all they've got left.
I've got thick skin, I can take it.

[leftynyc]

53. Excellent

And a belated welcome.

[frylock]

62. they've lost the debate and name calling is all they've got left..

i.e. Maduro and his Merry Band of Thugs?

[Ranchemp.]

63. I'm talking about the personal insults from one member to another.

Have a great day.

[frylock]

69. of course you are

[Ranchemp.]

70. Thank you.

Glad you acknowledge that.

[frylock]

73. no, thank you..

I feel that i'm a better person already thanks to your guidance.

[Ranchemp.]

74. Happy to oblige.

Guess I'm good for something.

[frylock]

75. i understand the importance of getting your post count back up..

feel free to reply to this post as well.

[Ranchemp.]

76. You think that's what this is about?

Increasing my post count?

I could care less about my post count, but, if it makes you feel better, I won't answer anymore of your posts in this thread, lest you accuse me of attempting to increase my count again.
Have a great day.

[Ranchemp.]

67. Back atcha Comrade Grumpy.

And you have a great day ok?

[Kingofalldems]

64. Who is they? Looks like one person to me.

[Ranchemp.]

65. Ok.

[MyNameGoesHere]

2. Only 100?

Well it's a good start.

[Ranchemp.]

3. You forgot to add this.

[a la izquierda]

17. No.

[Ranchemp.]

30. Yes.

[MyNameGoesHere]

24. Actually I did not forget anything

give me major companies with US owners going to jail then I would get a little exited.

[Archae]

4. A good start is the day Maduro gets perp-walked.

No doubt for drug corruption, torture and murder of his opponents.

Right-wing banana republics do that, so do left-wing.

[delrem]

8. That is stormfront type BS.

[MyNameGoesHere]

23. Drug corruption? Yawn

We have Presidents that get away with war crimes. So what are we some kind of hamburger republic?

[Comrade Grumpy]

68. Do you just make shit up out of whole cloth? Please cite specifics.

[bemildred]

19. An excellent start. nt

[christx30]

5. At this point

anyone that does business with anyone in Venezuela is an idiot. I love watching this stuff. Pass the popcorn.

[littlewolf]

13. I like to add frozen dark chocolate :D

[Ranchemp.]

31. It is entertaining to watch the Maduro defenders and apologists

twist themselves into pretzels justifying this shit. Here's your popcorn with xtra butter.

[leftynyc]

50. Seems they don't mind dictators

as long as they're from the left. Pathetic.

[Ranchemp.]

52. Seems so.

A dictator, is a dictator, no matter if it's from the right or left, and should be condemned.

[delrem]

85. Maybe they're honest about who's democratically elected and who's not. Ever thought of that?

[leftynyc]

86. Spare me

If this was a rightwinger trying to amass this kind of power, you'd have a hissy fit.

[delrem]

87. I would never lie and call a democratically elected leader a "dictator".

Only right-wingers think that by repeating a lie they can create a truth.

[leftynyc]

88. You can call him whatever

you want but arresting your opposition along with their supporters sucks. You have a problem with my definition...tough.

[delrem]

89. you didn't define anything, and you can't redefine 'dictator'

You knowingly lie when you call him a "dictator" - and that has nothing whatever to do with what *I* call him.

[leftynyc]

91. Lol - you nitpicking over nonsense

shows how shallow and what bullshit your position is but go ahead, knock yourself out while the adults concentrate on the real story.

[delrem]

92. A brazen liar is calling the truth a "bullshit position" -

and that the "adults" who go along with the repetitious stream of lies are "deep thinkers".

bye

[leftynyc]

93. ooooooh - a temper tantrum

I haven't seen one of those for a while. No - you're merely trying to distract from Maduro behaving just as a dictator would and you have no defense of it. It's pretty freeking pathetic.

[delrem]

98. ooooh - a fake walkback via rewording!

haven't seen one of those since the last weasel did it.
Pretty freaking pathetic.

[leftynyc]

108. And still can't bring

yourself to defend this behavior. Can't really blame you for lashing out. It's what children do. Ask yourself this if you have the courage - how would you defend this if you weren't busy trying to insult someone who couldn't possibly care less what you think? What would you be saying if this was a right leaning person? Because this isn't the last time Maduro is going to disappoint - I can guarantee it. Better get busy on that defense.

[delrem]

110. If you think I'm going to praise your lie, forget about it. Won't happen.

People don't have to defend against lies, they just have to expose them. Lies don't help make your case, leftynyc - they just show that you live in a bubble.

[delrem]

6. There is a problem, that the productive class gets paid peanuts while retailers gouge.

It bothers me - extremely - that I can't pay the farmer direct the full price of the product, without vulture capitalists interfering and ensuring that the farmer gets the least.

[LTX]

58. Most people can't go out to the farm to shop,

and most farmers don't have the capital for delivery logistics or retail markets to sell. Middle men provide that service, and end consumers pay for it.

[delrem]

84. Right, Walmart provides that "service".

Have you ever heard of farmer/rancher co-ops?

[FrodosPet]

95. I have a Walmart AND a Meijer within walking distance

Do you know of any farmer/rancher co-ops in the East Central Oakland County (Pontiac / Auburn Hills, MI) area?

Not a lot of farms here, so it does seem like they would be rare and quite expensive.

[delrem]

96. unlucky you

[LTX]

107. And for the millions of other people who live in areas where there are no

"farmer/rancher co-ops" (or who don't have the money, time, or car to drive a couple of hours or more to shop for organic kale and pine nuts at the "farmer/rancher co-op&quot , I suppose your response is also just a shrug of your elitist shoulders and an "unlucky you."

[EX500rider]

114. "Have you ever heard of farmer/rancher co-ops"

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 80 percent of the U.S. population lives in urban areas. Meaning far from farms and ranches.

[EX500rider]

94. So if i start a trucking company to haul produce..

.....I am a "vulture capitalists"?

[delrem]

97. unless you're a major billionaire with lots of influence, you'll be in same position as farmers.

[FrodosPet]

99. Yes you are a vulture if you do that

According to Trotsky, transportation is specifically mentioned as one of the key industry that should be nationalized. Airlines, trucking and railroads, even taxicabs should be under government control and provided with generous subsidies so they can pay generous living wages regardless of how many people or how much stuff they carry.

People need wages, not profits!

[nomorenomore08]

105. Better a small business than a large corporation, I would tend to think.

So long as you treat your employees reasonably well and pay them a living wage.

[Democat]

113. Why isn't the farmer a vulture capitalist if he takes a profit?

Anyone who makes a profit is evil to some people.

[hughee99]

123. Are you sure THAT's the problem?

It sounds like, within the country the exchange rate is 6.3 bolivars to the dollar, while the actual rate is 16 bolivars to the dollar and if you have to deal black market, the rate is going to be even worse than that.

If you buy a cellphone for $20 US from another country, it would have actually cost you 320 Bolivars (at the 16-1 rate), but the government is telling you at 6.3-1 your break even point is 126 bolivars, and anything above that is profit (or if large enough, "gouging&quot . This being the case, why would ANYONE import ANY products to Venezuela? Just for the pleasure of selling them at a massive loss?

[grahamhgreen]

7. Here, we can start with the Waltons, perhaps. lol

[Warpy]

11. Funny, I rather liked Chavez even though I knew he was a nutcase

and his reforms, while necessary, were very badly done.

Maduro seems even more hamfisted. Chavez managed to persuade the capitalist movers and shakers to play ball with him. Maduro is only good at pissing them off and making them destabilize the country through artificial shortages.

Jailing the worst of them isn't going to help him one bit, they'll only escalate the problems.

That's what ideologues never seem to learn, that they have to learn how to play ball with a lot of people they don't like in order to get things done.

Maduro thinks he can bully them into it. Maduro is wrong.

I hope when he goes he won't be replaced by some Pinochet clone. However, when nominal socialists act this badly, it's unavoidable.

[LAGC]

12. Exhibit A in how NOT to run a socialist economy.

If they were smart, they'd try to emulate northern Europe's successful democratic socialist systems, let the markets do most of the heavy-lifting with a very progressive tax system, not go full-blown Zimbabwe-style totalitarian command-economy.

Since the weekend, soldiers and inspectors have gone into 1,400 shops, taken over operations at an electronics firm and abattery-making company, and rounded up a handful of looters.
..
..
Venezuela's official inflation, 54 percent annually, is the highest in the Americas.
..
..
The government has ordered local telecom companies to block various websites showing the bolivar at 10 times the official rate of 6.3 to the greenback on the illegal market.

Shit's about to hit the fan...

[Ranchemp.]

35. And the highest crime rate in Latin America.

I guess the U.S. is responsible for that also.

[Bacchus4.0]

40. highest in South America actually, Honduras and perhaps El Salvador are higher in the whole region

if referring to homicides. Ven keeps rising though with 2012 being the worst.

[Ranchemp.]

43. I meant overall crime rate.

And as the economic situation worsens, it's only going to get worse.

[Bacchus4.0]

45. ok, you may be right. Not sure about overall crimes. and you are definitely right

about it will get worse. So while some are cheering the witch hunt against shop owners, what will happen now is a shortage of electronics and appliances, and then employees will lose their jobs as business owners will not be able to pay workers if profit margins are too small.

[Ranchemp.]

47. Very true,

and because of Maduro govt policy of confiscating and arresting shop owners/managers, no foreign business is going to risk investing in Ven. and many others will leave, thus creating more unemployed and poverty.

My heart weeps for the ordinary Venezuelan citizen, who really have no say over the govt anymore.

[Bacchus4.0]

57. I suspect that Maduro would step in to prevent employers from laying off workers

and I assume the state would have to begin paying the workers at some point as businesses go under and shortages continue.

Police are being used to check prices at businesses but not combat crime apparently.

Venezuela is already like the plague to foreign investors. Its a disaster.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

14. Jewelry stores routinely keystone....

But they're considered a luxury item.

Necessities like milk and eggs should be subject to oversight to make sure people aren't getting screwed and part of what's going on there are attempts to make people suffer and then blame the government.

There is this whole Ann Rand thing amongst the elite that they are god-like examples we are all to aspire to and without them the rest of us would revert back to a state of utter savagery.

I've run into that attitude from people who own a print shop.

[christx30]

101. She was right about one thing

If you're a business owner, get your shit out of these countries before the government comes along and nationalizes (steals) everything.
That's why is would never do business with them. Anyone that does is stupid.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

102. As opposed to the United States where the business model is to keep two sets of books.

[DeSwiss]

15. When you're done, send them over to Wall Street.

- K&R

[fasttense]

16. Wow what a hit piece.

This article is designed to send capitalist into a tizzy. It attacks all the sacred cows of capitalism - limiting profits, looting, government control of business. Now if they added making the uber rich and corporations pay actual real taxes then capitalist heads will explode. They even managed to add the words "enabling act" at the end. Wow talk about biased reporting.

I think I will wait for more realistic news reporting before believing any of this.

[bemildred]

20. Yep, lots of cognitive disconnect.

All this stuff that just can't work and yet it just keeps being there.

[bitchkitty]

21. If you don't find Yahoo News reputable

then you'll have to wait for someone else to post. Zorro only ever posts hit pieces from Yahoo. He posts only about Maduro. When Chavez was alive he posted only about Chavez.

[Zorro]

32. So what do you dispute in the article?

Apparently nothing.

[hack89]

41. VZ made a horrible decision in 2003 when they implemented currency controls

to prevent capital flight. The result has been 50% inflation, food shortages and massive debt. VZ depends on capitalism to survive - they sell oil on the global markets while importing many basic consumer goods including food.

A fundamental problem is that business owners don't have access to US dollars they need to buy goods on the international market. So they either buy dollars on the black market and increase their prices to cover the actual costs or they stop selling altogether.

Their problems are self inflicted - they even admit it:

Venezuela's finance minister has acknowledged that the economic policies of late President Hugo Chavez and his successor have not yet succeeded.

Nelson Merentes said the government had "improved" the living standards of many Venezuelans, but not solved the "structural problems" of the economy.

But his government's monetary policy, nationalisation of key industries and management of public funds have been blamed for high inflation, under-performing industry and shortages of basic supplies.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-23924372

[tclambert]

22. And how many Wall Street bankers have we jailed?

NOT ENOUGH!

The rule of law works better in Venezuela than it does here. In the US, the rich get a pass . . . or a bailout.

[Titonwan]

54. I know, hunh

And the freebooters here defend this hogwash of reporting. Greedy gougers get their due and people are crying about their 'free market' right to operate unabated.
Wait, isn't this a 'democratic' blog?

[Ranchemp.]

59. Yes, this is a democratic blog,

which means that we can express our opinions, subject to the TOS and the admins approval.

[EX500rider]

115. "The rule of law works better in Venezuela than it does here."

Rightttttt......................that's why Venz. murder rate is about 10 times worse the the US's.

[Ranchemp.]

119. And the highest overall crime rate in all of Latin America.

Because their criminal justice system is better the ours......Oh, wait.

[RedstDem]

25. love this guy

so far

go man go!!!!

[L0oniX]

34. "They are barbaric, these capitalist parasites!" Well ...looks like the US has something in common.

[Titonwan]

37. I miss Hugo

He had guts and was actually concerned for the little people. Of course the capitalist defenders here will disagree but sometimes you have to wrench power from the corporatists and we are hardly anyone to talk about hypocrisy.

[EX500rider]

116. "sometimes you have to wrench power from the corporatists"

I guess it depends on whether you think if a oil rich govt that can't keep the lights on should also go into the TV/Stereo business.

[hack89]

42. Venezuela admits its economy has 'structural problems'

Venezuela's finance minister has acknowledged that the economic policies of late President Hugo Chavez and his successor have not yet succeeded. Nelson Merentes said the government had "improved" the living standards of many Venezuelans, but not solved the "structural problems" of the economy.

Generous government subsidies have slashed poverty and inequality.

But Venezuelans are suffering from the highest inflation in Latin America, sluggish growth and shortages

But his government's monetary policy, nationalisation of key industries and management of public funds have been blamed for high inflation, under-performing industry and shortages of basic supplies.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-23924372

[yurbud]

78. Remember what Nixon said to do to Chile under Allende in the 70's?

"Make the economy scream."

And we have seen similar tactics done to other countries thereafter.

Even if it isn't the US's doing, the local elite could doing their own version of it.

[Ranchemp.]

79. Or it could be, as most respected economists have said,

the massive mismanagement and corruption of the Ven. govt.

[yurbud]

83. Is it heritage foundation, Cato institute, or did Rush not bother to say?

[Theyletmeeatcake2]

109. Respected economists who are 100% correct describing

What happened.... I expect you to start with the Hayek mantra soon and throw in a bit of trickle down economics....not even good in theory....you right wing funnies are so full of it!!!

[Ranchemp.]

112. That's the best you can come up with?

RW funnies?
Are you saying that the economists are liars with regards to the Ven. govt?

[Theyletmeeatcake2]

125. Hey,I don't have to come up with much do I?

As regards the previous Venezuelan governments ,they were voted out fair and square ....that is democracy my friend....and they weren't voted out because things were going swimmingly...and what about the attempted overthrow of Chavez...I meant rw fundies but I think funnies is a more apt description.

[Ranchemp.]

126. I notice you refuse to answer.

Are the economists wrong about the govt. mismanagement and corruption?

[Theyletmeeatcake2]

127. And what were these same economists saying about Venezuela .....

During their 'GOLDEN AGE' ? Assets that belonged to the people were returned to the people ....how is that wrong my democratic friend?

[Ranchemp.]

128. Congratulations, you've still managed to avoid answering the question.

[Theyletmeeatcake2]

130. Thank you!!! The economists report it as they see it in your opinion but

Reading it can give the impression that Venezuela was better off in the old days of wine and roses.....maybe for the ruling class that controlled(and still does !) the media ....I notice that these reporters have links to Miami newspapers that have anti Cuban links....follow the money trail is the golden rule as you should know....if not ! do you shit stir for fun? So in answer to your question all i say is that the mark of good journalism is that both sides are put so a person can get a grounding in the facts and then it puts a light on the jist of the report ....do you think FOXNEWS is news?Venezuela was not a Rolls Royce to start off with so reporting that's it turned into a clunker is deceptive ...Facts are just that ..have a nice day ya hear!!!

[Ranchemp.]

131. The economists don't report is as they see it in my opinion,

they report the facts, they take a set of numbers and statistics and report the facts, not opinion, and their determination has been that the official exchange rate, coupled with massive mismanagement and widespread corruption within the Chavez, now Maduro govt. is the root of Ven. economic meltdown, and to top it off, you've got an electrical infrastructure that's been ignored and is failing, the highest overall crime rate in Latin America, chronic shortages of basic goods, and that's a recipe for disaster.

Ignore it all you want, but the facts are the fact.

[Theyletmeeatcake2]

133. Have a look at pre 1999 figures to see what was going on....

FACTS are great when you look at all of them

[hack89]

136. So things improved for a short time and now are getting very bad very fast

Referring to pre-1999 is meaningful only if things are getting better right now. At their present pace they will be back exactly where they started - and still heading downwards.

[Ranchemp.]

139. Things weren't any better then and they're not better now.

matter of fact, except for a brief time when it looked like the Chavez admin. might have gotten their economic house in order, they're on a course of complete economic destruction.

[Theyletmeeatcake2]

142. So how is that it's bad if the common people do benefit ?

aAs long as they pay their bills...vz has a history of inflation( even pre Chavez ) and they've survived and now with the oil revenues actually going to the rightful owners they are in a better position and the people have a better standard of living....i don't see the constant harping about the economy is anything other than scare mongering from anti bolivarian interests..Hayek loving economists are great at predicting everything other than what happens ,has anyone ever had success with his ideas...interesting to hear of examples of the successes...i'm all ears ....as a matter of fact generally people are better off now than before so what you talking about Lewis????? i think you have a problem with VZ so let it go Man!!!

[hack89]

132. Their golden age was pretty short

Considering it was funded in part by misguided currrency reform and massive debt. The present mess has been easy to forecast for years.

I can give the appearance of prosperity if I max out my credit cards but eventually I run out of credit and all I have are massive bills.

[Theyletmeeatcake2]

134. The golden age I was referring to was pre1999.

This article gives the illusion Chavez inherited a model economy....99% inflation in 1999!!!

[hack89]

135. And Hugo's "solutions" to those economic problems are why they are where they are at.

a decade of economic mismanagement has caught up with them - hence my analogy of maxing out credit cards. Yes - the pre-1999 economy was not good. There were better ways to fix them as we are currently learning.

on edit: My reference to a golden age was that brief moment when VZ appeared to have their economic house in order under Hugo.

[hack89]

82. It is due to government imposed currency controls that were implemented in 2003

when you restrict dollars that businesses need to import merchandize then the results are inflation and shortages.

Socialist economies are still held captive to the basic laws of economics, especially one dependent like VZ is to the global economy.

[Theyletmeeatcake2]

141. According to a recent article VZ still has a positive budget situation

which i think means they can still pay their way .Damn them for gaining benefits from THEIR oil industry.Getting those US companies out has been a good move in the long run as their poverty figures have reduced. Better in many pockets than just a greedy few.

[AngryAmish]

44. The next needed step is the arrest of the spies, wreckers and sabatuers

There should be a series of jails deep in the jungle where these parasites should work to repay the people for what they have stolen.

[hack89]

61. How about VZ's economic policy makers

that make idiotic decisions like restricting access to dollars?

[Titonwan]

46. "They are barbaric, these capitalist parasites!"

JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and many others will strongly disagree, natch. I say we give Native Americans back a LOT of their land, pay African Americans (of slavery lineage) compensation and nationalize vital resources by seizing all oil/mineral rights from corporate dominance. Now if that makes me a socialist, thank you for the compliment!

[geek tragedy]

48. Not logical to throw retailers in jail and then complain about product shortages.

Maduro is looking less like Chavez and more like Mugabe.

[duplex]

60. Maduro should change his name to Mugabe

His confiscatory policies are putting Venezuela into the same situation that Zimbabwe has been suffering through.

[Throd]

77. There used to be some Mugabe fans here on DU, but they faded away.

I wonder how long some DUers will continue to support Maduro if he continues on his present path.

[Ranchemp.]

80. Probably to the bitter end.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

140. Most of them were banned, a couple went quite.

Interestingly enough there was a strong correlation between supporting Robert Mugabe and posting anti-Obama anarchist nonsense.

[penultimate]

90. What's wrong with Mugabe?

[EX500rider]

117. What's right with Mugabe? nt

[penultimate]

122. At least one of his arms, feet, legs, eyes and ears.

[Ranchemp.]

120. Besides being a murdering thug dictator?

He was the best.

[penultimate]

121. That's how see it. ;)

[gopiscrap]

100. welcome to DU

[Beacool]

71. Venezuela continues to go down the rabbit hole.

[idwiyo]

81. That's a good srart! Wish arseholes responcible for the last financial crisis would be in jail too.

I feel absolutely no pity for parasites who feed off poor and try to destabilise the country by raising prices on goods. They belong in prison. period.

[hrmjustin]

103. Are these 100 business people going to get due process?

[Pterodactyl]

137. Of course not.

[hrmjustin]

138. I hope they do. Not good.

[nomorenomore08]

106. Oof... I don't even want to take a side here...

Maduro may be the lesser evil compared to a "Pinochet clone" (as someone put it upthread) but still...

[spanza]

118. Here's one of the "parasites"!

Parasites, "apatrids", oligarchs, speculators, as the Venezuelan government calls them. Here's one of them being caught speculating by the military police. He really looks like a mix of Samuel Sachs and Donald Trump, right fellow zealots? Rejoice!