Maduro threatens to bomb an entire state (Updated)
If I have to decree a state of exception especially for the state of Táchira, I am ready to do so. I am ready to decree it, and I will send in the tanks, the troops, the Air Force, the entire armed forces of the fatherland, because we will preserve Táchira as Venezuelan territory, as belonging to Venezuela. I am ready to do it now! I have the constitutional authority to do it, I have the clear strategic vision for it, and ultimately, I have the Enabling Law. I have the Enabling Law. I am willing to do anything for Táchira, anything.”
Nicolás Maduro, March 30th, 2014
It takes a special kind of unhinged to threaten a whole state with the “entire” armed forces in order to end popular discontent. Putting aside the question of the kind of ruler that uses the army to quash unrest (Gaddafi? Assad? Milosevic? Putin? Saddam?), in what universe does Maduro live to think the Enabling Law gives him permission to bomb Táchira? And while we’re at it, since when does “state of exception” mean “I can bomb and send in the troops if I want to”? Did we learn nothing from El Caracazo, and from the Plan Ávila fracas on April 11th, 2002?
As the unrest in San Cristóbal and elsewhere teeters into its second month, an exasperated government feeds us with delectable morsels of chavista wisdom such as the quote above.
Keep at it, Nicolás. These may just come in handy some day.
UPDATE- This is apparently from last February. I was not really aware of it until DolarToday noted it, and the YouTube video says it was posted on March 30th. Apologies for the “caliche.” HT: Santiago.
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