Blinken says US has 'serious concerns' about announced result of Venezuelan election

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/blinken-us-concerns-announced-result-venezuelan-election-112359731

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States has ‘serious concerns’ about the announced result of Venezuela’s hotly contested presidential election that authorities say was won by incumbent Nicolas Maduro.

Speaking in Tokyo on Monday shortly after the announcement was made, Blinken said the U.S. was concerned that the result reflected neither the will nor the votes of the Venezuelan people. He called for election officials to publish the full results transparently and immediately and said the U.S. and the international community would respond accordingly.

247 points · 118 comments · view on lemmy.world

118 Comments

NOT_RICK@lemmy.world · 75 pts · 2y (55 replies)

ITT: people that think Maduro’s government isn’t a corrupt clown show.

You guys do know the US state department isn’t always lying, right? If Maduro had such a strong mandate why would poll watchers get turned away?

small44@lemmy.world · 43 pts · 2y (29 replies)

Yes Maduro is a corrupt dictator but the only reason why the state department is saying that is because it goes against Us interest. He couldn't give a damn about venezuelans people. If it was a pro west dictator he wouldn't say that.

DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social · -4 pts · 2y

I think it's more like if the US wants people to believe they didn't try to rig elections in South America they should stop rigging elections and launching coups when that doesn't work in South America.

Snowflake@sh.itjust.works · -71 pts · 2y (27 replies)

It actively effects us when they get together in a caravan and cross our border because their county is corrupt all the way at the highest level.

cyborganism@lemmy.ca · 40 pts · 2y (24 replies)

Maybe if your country didn't get involved into fucking up the democracy of that region for corporate interests, I would have some sympathy.

Snowflake@sh.itjust.works · -36 pts · 2y (23 replies)

Yes, because we printed all the Bolivar they printed causing hyperinflation. What in the fuck are you talking about?

dependencyinjection@discuss.tchncs.de · 24 pts · 2y (8 replies)

I think they’re referring to the countless South American counties that America has meddled with in the past.

Cuba, Venezuela, Argentina, etc.

Basically, you reap what you sow.

cyborganism@lemmy.ca · 12 pts · 2y

Yep. That's it.

Snowflake@sh.itjust.works · -24 pts · 2y (6 replies)

We didn't meddle in Venezuela. Like what are you talking about. The guy thought he had enough oil to not need the u.s as a ally anymore. He cut us off from his country and tried allying with Iraq and Cuba. He failed though.

archomrade@midwest.social · 6 pts · 2y

He cut us off

Cut us off from their oil, then America cut trade ties, then they allied with our adversaries because America turned their back on them simply because they were mad they nationalized their oil.

The guy thought he had enough oil to not need the u.s as a ally

Yea, that's the point: the US views oil access and strategic alliances as interrelated. If anything I think this is just an open admission that the US DGAF about 'democracy' but is really only interested in the willingness of oil states to deal in their oil supply.

Lol America is so fucking entitled

TokenBoomer@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 2y

John Bolton admits to Venezuela coup.

AlteredEgo@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 2y

Economic warfare

cyborganism@lemmy.ca · 15 pts · 2y (12 replies)

LoL sorry buddy, but you clearly don't know your history. Come back after you read about American influence in South American politics since WW2.

Here's a place to start:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_involvement_in_regime_change_in_Latin_America

Snowflake@sh.itjust.works · -15 pts · 2y (11 replies)

Let's just looks at Venezuela.

If we're using Wikipedia as a source you might be interested in these parts

Madsen alleging U.S. Navy involvement.[21] U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd, D-CT, requested an investigation of concerns that Washington appeared to condone the removal of Chávez,[22][23] which found that "U.S. officials acted appropriately and did nothing to encourage an April coup against Venezuela's president" nor did they provide any naval logistical support.[24][25] CIA documents indicate that the Bush administration knew about a plot weeks before the April 2002 military coup. They cite a document dated 6 April 2002, which says: "dissident military factions...are stepping up efforts to organize a coup against President Chávez, possibly as early as this month.

According to Michal Hertik, there is no benevolent relationship between the Chávez government and United States as a great power. Chávez is not interested in US foreign policy (actually President Bush's beliefs) including "creating a unipolar or bipolar world, effort to create a powerful empire". So he tried to break US imperialism and its interference in the affairs of foreign nation-states. Although he never tried to make South American countries agree with him.[17]

Chávez initially accepted assistance from anyone who offered, with the United States sending helicopters and dozens of soldiers that arrived two days after the disaster. When defense minister Raúl Salazar complied with the offer of the United States' further aid that included 450 Marines and naval engineers aboard the USS Tortuga which was setting sail to Venezuela, Chávez told Salazar to decline the offer since "[i]t was a matter of sovereignty". Salazar became angry and assumed that Chávez's opinion was influenced by talks with Fidel Castro, though he complied with Chávez's order. Though additional aid was necessary, Chávez thought a more revolutionary image was more important and the USS Tortuga returned to its port.[19]

They always hated us for no reason of our own. And wanted to take our spot as a super power. They failed.

cyborganism@lemmy.ca · 11 pts · 2y

No. Trying to get rid of American influence and being independent without any US involvement is not trying to take a spot at being a super power. Get real.

archomrade@midwest.social · 2 pts · 2y

So he tried to break US imperialism and its interference in the affairs of foreign nation-states.

They always hated us for no reason of our own.

LMAO, yes, NO REASON AT ALL

SSJMarx@lemm.ee · 3 pts · 2y

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ShinkanTrain@lemmy.ml · 28 pts · 2y (1 reply)

Oh no, poor people crossing an imaginary line, how will we survive this

DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social · 3 pts · 2y

Noooo don't work in our economy and produce exploitable value nooooo

TheTimeKnife@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 2y

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UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 2y (1 reply)

You guys do know the US state department isn’t always lying, right?

Only when their lips are moving.

ITT: people that think Maduro’s government isn’t a corrupt clown show.

It's always funny to see folks in Western countries carefully triangulate between corrupt liberal parties, then express slack-jawed horror when foreign voters do the exact same math.

NOT_RICK@lemmy.world · 20 pts · 2y

I’m more than fine with Venezuelan voters choosing their own government. I just don’t trust that this election was anything other than performative considering Maduro agreed to election monitoring and then walked back on it

Edit:

The government has arrested collaborators and closed businesses associated with her [Machado], from a hotel where she stayed during a campaign stop to women that sold empanadas to her from their homes. Her campaign manager has sheltered at an embassy in the capital, Caracas, for months.

This sure screams free and clear election. I was pissed off when the DNC put their thumb on the scale of the primaries against Bernie; it’s logically consistent for me to be annoyed by this bullshit as well.

cygnus@lemmy.ca · -15 pts · 2y (21 replies)

Welcome to Lemmy, where Murica Bad, and the less Murica it is, the more unequivocally good it is.

small44@lemmy.world · 25 pts · 2y (1 reply)

We are not living in a fantasy world where bad always fight good. It's possible for two bad people,organization or country to fight each other. A country like the us who helped many coups and are supporting genocides can't be good

Snowflake@sh.itjust.works · -14 pts · 2y

You live in a world where good always fights bad. We always smoke the bad guys. Try us why don't it.

UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 2y (17 replies)

Murica Bad

Where is the lie?

PiousAgnostic@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 2y (16 replies)

Honestly, it's an oversimplified view on reality. The US is incredibly good and incredibly bad. Just like most countries.

The argument over which country is better is like arguing philosophy. The argument has merit in lifting up both sides. But to say America is bad is sophmoric at best. It comes across like a petulant child.

sandbox@lemmy.world · -10 pts · 2y (15 replies)

I’m willing to bet you can’t tell me a single good thing that the US has done that I’ve heard of that happened within the last 30 years.

Bernie_Sandals@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 2y (14 replies)

that I’ve heard

Well that kind of defeats the point doesn't it? If you're so far within a rabbithole of politics that you never hear anything positive about the U.S. then that's on you.

Just one example out of many, the Biden administration stopped a fascist coup in Brazil and protected the democratic legitimacy of the socialist who won the election.

sandbox@lemmy.world · -7 pts · 2y (13 replies)

I get my news from pretty diverse sources, so it shouldn’t be that hard. If the US is so incredibly good then it would be relatively easy to point to a recent event or something. Jog my memory on some incredible good that I’ve forgotten.

As for what you linked, I’ve never heard of that one, also never even heard of that organisation. It’s also pay-walled, so I couldn’t even read it if I wanted to.

Bernie_Sandals@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 2y

I get my news from pretty diverse sources, so it shouldn’t be that hard

Diversity of sources almost doesn't matter, quality does, you could watch a hundred different Trumpist YT channels, Fox, and OAN, and you're not going to know basically anything factual because all of those sources are trash. The same could easily be said for questionable left wing sources too.

also never even heard of that organisation

It's one of the most reputable foreign policy publications in the U.S, founded to give an academic counterweight to government statements during the Vietnam War.

It’s also pay-walled, so I couldn’t even read it if I wanted to.

It's not hard to get past paywalls: https://archive.ph/rOXvz

cyborganism@lemmy.ca · -7 pts · 2y

It actually is.

I'm so sick of American imperialism and it's unfettered capitalism.

ElectricAirship@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 33 pts · 2y (4 replies)

Why is the US concerned? Oil companies pleaded for the US to intervene when Venezuela nationalized their economy. Then Venezuela nationalized many other sectors, and the US got morw angry.

https://www.reuters.com/article/world/factbox-venezuelas-nationalizations-under-chavez-idUSBRE89701X/

Emmy@lemmy.nz · 17 pts · 2y (3 replies)

At this point I'm more concerned about the American election results, which could result in an authoritarian regime...

greywolf0x1@lemmy.ml · -41 pts · 2y (2 replies)

I hope it does

Emmy@lemmy.nz · 21 pts · 2y

Bootlickers always do

YeetPics@mander.xyz · 9 pts · 2y

We know, you got the .ml to prove it.

RyanLiu@lemmy.world · 22 pts · 2y (16 replies)

So, a coup in a couple years then?

NOT_RICK@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 2y

Trump already tried, it was pretty harebrained even by CIA standards.

Caligvla@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 6 pts · 2y (2 replies)

Suddenly a far right military dictator that very much likes the US takes power in the near future. Wouldn't be the first time, or second or third...

UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 2y

One of the problems with the Maduro government is that he keeps arming his working class supporters. Consequently, you have dipshit wanna-be commandos getting held up at gunpoint in small fishing towns.

ShinkanTrain@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 2y

And suddenly US media stops caring about all the bad things happening in Vuvuzela

wurzelgummidge@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 2y

Student protests is the go to these days

apfelwoiSchoppen@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 2y (8 replies)

America, coup thyself.

cygnus@lemmy.ca · 14 pts · 2y (5 replies)

Congratulations on coming out of your coma! There's a lot you need to get caught up on...

apfelwoiSchoppen@lemmy.world · -11 pts · 2y (4 replies)

Cool.

Edit: sorry to stoop to ad hominem to combat yours. Edited to remove.

NOT_RICK@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 2y (3 replies)

It’s not an ad hominem to make a joke pointing out that there was an attempted coup in the US three years ago

apfelwoiSchoppen@lemmy.world · -7 pts · 2y (2 replies)

Its ad hominem to say I'm in a coma, ableist. Yes I fucking know a coup was attempted. The US has a long history to the present about backing coups across the world. JFC.

NOT_RICK@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 2y (1 reply)

Just to double down on my ableism, you may want a doctor to examine your paper thin skin

apfelwoiSchoppen@lemmy.world · -2 pts · 2y

I guess go fuck yourself.

homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 2y (1 reply)

You must have missed the news. That was a few years ago.

apfelwoiSchoppen@lemmy.world · -3 pts · 2y

Nope, didn't miss that. Those assholes aren't getting enough jail time. But that wasn't the point.

ShinkanTrain@lemmy.ml · 3 pts · 2y

It's on the docket after the one in January, though if another one in the middle east comes up that takes precedence.

joyjoy@lemm.ee · 3 pts · 2y

Followed shortly by Russia invading to "cleanse the area of nazis"

TankovayaDiviziya@lemmy.world · 21 pts · 2y (9 replies)

ITT: Tankies being apologists for an equally corrupt regime who obviously rigged an election.

I also rolled my eyes when I saw the headline. US don't really have much of credibility on this one. But tankie wankers think the election result is perfectly okay simply because "suck it 'Murica".

SSJMarx@lemm.ee · 6 pts · 2y (1 reply)

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UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world · -2 pts · 2y

It's more that we've got a long history of Sec of States going on record saying things that are categorically untrue. Could ABC News find us a slightly more trustworthy source? Perhaps an unnamed Iraq informant code-named Curveball? Or an FBI informant with Neo-Nazi ties looking to rat on a civil rights icon? Bill Clinton talking about a blowjob? Literally anyone more trustworthy.

archomrade@midwest.social · -4 pts · 2y (6 replies)

US don’t really have much of credibility on this one.

fuckin'.... Yea, that's the point

The US doesn't dispute foreign election results unless it benefits them; their complaint is essentially unrelated to the actual legitimacy of the results.

Venezuela has been a target of US diplomatic aggression since they nationalized their oil. Say whatever you want about their government but their history has been fucked beyond recognition by US diplomatic intervention. That Blinken is wasting air commenting on it is simply more evidence of the US weighing in on affairs they ought to have fuck-all to do with.

TankovayaDiviziya@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 2y (1 reply)

Yes but two wrongs don't make a right.

archomrade@midwest.social · 0 pts · 2y

Pot calling the kettle black, more like.

Samueru@lemmy.ml · 5 pts · 2y (1 reply)

Venezuela has been a target of US diplomatic aggression since they nationalized their oil.

Since 1976? Venezuela's oil was nationalized by Rafael Caldera in that year.

And yes that Rafael Caldera, the guy Chavez tried to overthrow lmao.

archomrade@midwest.social · 1 pts · 2y

Yes, it may be surprising that US relations with Venezuela began before Chavez, but it's true

DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social · 1 pts · 2y (1 reply)

If the American government wants me to doubt the integrity of their election they should have kept their mouths shut and let the evidence speak for itself.

We know they were suppressing the opposition, and by definition that means the election wasn't free and fair. You want to do anything else? Find some proof and publish that.

rbesfe@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 2y

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Sgt_choke_n_stroke@lemmy.world · 13 pts · 2y (16 replies)

O boy this is gonna be civil. Does the United States have an interest in Venezuelas election because they have the largest oil reserves in the world? Or do they really care about the people in a foreign nation?

Gsus4@mander.xyz · 17 pts · 2y (15 replies)

Venezuelan oil is rich in sulphur, so it is less attractive. It requires special infrastructure and buyers who have the installed capacity to deal with heavy crudes, like China and India.

PS: funnily enough, Guyana's crude is from a different geological segment and of higher quality and highly valuable, no wonder Maduro wants to annex it.

UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 2y (14 replies)

Guyana’s crude is from a different geological segment and of higher quality and highly valuable

The US couped Guyana back in the 60s and never let the country out from under its boot heel.

NOT_RICK@lemmy.world · 13 pts · 2y (4 replies)

That’s an extremely flimsy claim given the PPP, an explicitly Marxist party, has held power in Guyana multiple times including this exact moment. I guess socialist solidarity ends when there are resources to extract?

And yes I am aware the party just removed ML and socialism from their constitution but that hardly makes them US stooges.

UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 2y (3 replies)

PPP, an explicitly Marxist party, has held power in Guyana multiple times

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irfaan_Ali#Candidacy

Immediately following his selection, Ali was accused of academic fraud, with opponents claiming that when Ali was in his early 20s, he had misrepresented one of his qualifications. Ali was also indicted on 19 charges of other fraud for allegedly defrauding the state of over $174M between 2011 and 2015, allegedly conspiring with persons unknown to "greatly undersell" 19 plots of state lands at Plantation Sparendaam and Goedverwagting in Demerara-Mahaica to current or former government officials.

The trial on the matters was postponed several times. He was granted self bail on the charges. The lands, which were sold for $39.8M, are valued at $212.4M, according to the Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU). On 14 August, the charges were dismissed.

Explicitly Marxist guy who privatizes state lands to his business buddies for a fifth their asking price. Sounds very Marxist.

NOT_RICK@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 2y (2 replies)

And yet he’s still a leader of the party that Kennedy tried to sideline in the coup you mentioned. He’s hardly the first person to sell out for personal gain.

UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 2y (1 reply)

A party that's been hollowed out by corruption. It's no more the Party of Marxism than the American Republican Party is the Party of Lincoln.

NOT_RICK@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 2y

I don’t disagree. It also fittingly applies to PSUV

Gsus4@mander.xyz · 5 pts · 2y (8 replies)

Great, even if true, let's start an international war to fix it, right Sr. Maduro?

UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world · -4 pts · 2y (7 replies)

One man's illegal invasion is another man's democratic liberation. But this whole thing reeks of the Iraq/Kuwait conflict of '91, complete with arguments over who owns which oil field and shady corporate executives leaning on domestic news media to get people's hate up.

Gsus4@mander.xyz · 2 pts · 2y (6 replies)

No, no it isn't, Saddam invaded Kuwait to annex it. Let's hope Maduro does not try to invade Guyana to annex it.

UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world · -5 pts · 2y (5 replies)

Saddam invaded Kuwait to annex it

Saddam invaded Kuwait to halt their slant drilling project into the transboundary Rumaila oil field.

Gsus4@mander.xyz · 2 pts · 2y

Even if that were the only reason, that has no relation to Guyana, because these are geologically independent reservoirs.

wildbus8979@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 2y

And also because Kuwait was the only party involved that refused some debt forgiveness for Iraq's losses in the Iran/Iraq war backed by the US and its allies.

ShinkanTrain@lemmy.ml · 11 pts · 2y

Here comes Juan Guaido again

p5yk0t1km1r4ge@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 2y (1 reply)

We have our own corrupt dictator looming on the horizon. How about we redirect these concerns to our own country?

Gsus4@mander.xyz · 19 pts · 2y

Being consistent about transparent elections no matter where they are is one way to assert how important that is, including in the US.

RizzRustbolt@lemmy.world · -3 pts · 2y (1 reply)

"None of ~~our~~ the other candidates got any votes!"

UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 2y

The opposition ran a bunch of far-right reactionary psychos and still crested 44% of the vote. That's definitely indicative of how far Maduro has fallen in popularity, even after an economic rebound in the wake of COVID.

But when you run stupid candidates, you win stupid prizes. They tried to get another Jeanine Áñez white nationalist style lunatic into the President's mansion and they flopped.

SuperCub@sh.itjust.works · -8 pts · 2y (6 replies)

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Etterra@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 2y (5 replies)

"Democratic." Right.

selokichtli@lemmy.ml · -4 pts · 2y (4 replies)

Is it better to just proclaim a president as interim out of ~~nowhere~~ the CIA? Let's be honest here, at least Maduro calls for elections.

Valmond@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 2y (3 replies)

At least Putin holds elections!!

selokichtli@lemmy.ml · -4 pts · 2y (2 replies)

Well, why don't the USA proclaim a Russian president too? It's a masterplan.

Valmond@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 2y (1 reply)

Nah Putin elects himself.