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Latest US Attempt at Regime Change Hits a Snag

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The human toll is also staggering. Noted economist Jeffrey Sachs has said that since 2017, 40,000 Venezuelans have died because of the sanctions. Critics blame the sanctions and corruption and mismanagement of the Maduro government for shortages of food, medicine and other basic commodities and the collapse of oil prices and the strangulation of the economy by the US has made the lives of Venezuelans still in the country a living misery.

Published

7 years ago

May 15, 2019

Oakland Post

By Barrington M. Salmon, Contributing Writer, NNPA Newswire
@bsalmondc

The crisis that has engulfed Venezuela represents an international power struggle that has, for the last five months, defied resolution.

At one side of the turmoil is the Trump administration and at the other is President Nicolás Maduro, who officials in Washington have vowed to remove from office. The person chosen by administration officials to replace Maduro and the socialist government is Juan Guaidó, president of the National Assembly. Angered by the presence of a socialist country in the Western Hemisphere, the US has been flexing its muscle and exerting its considerable power economically and in other ways in an attempt to force Maduro out of office.

The latest chapter of the saga occurred on April 30, That’s when Guaidó, the man who has declared himself interim president in January, appeared on social media in the pre-dawn hours of April 30 proclaiming the imminent end of the government of President Nicolas Maduro. But by day’s end, the expected uprising had fizzled out as defections from the military didn’t happen and the people failed to rally around Guaidó.

“Today, brave soldiers, brave patriots, brave men loyal to the constitution have heard our call. We have finally met on the streets of Venezuela,” Guaidó said near the La Carlota airbase in eastern Caracas. “The time is now. We are going to achieve freedom and democracy in Venezuela.”

Standing beside Guaidó in the video was Leopoldo López, a fellow opposition member who had been under house arrest since 2014. His movements had been curtailed after López – former mayor of a municipality in Caracas – lead violent anti-government protests. Those with knowledge of Venezuela said Lopez’ presence very likely rattled those who may have considered joining because he is considered a radical. The Supreme Court has issued a warrant for López’ arrest which may have prompted his decision to seek asylum, first in the Chilean and then Spanish embassy.

Cultural educator and activist James Early, a frequent visitor to Venezuela and a vocal opponent of US intervention, blasted the US attempts to depose Maduro.

“This is a dangerous escalation of a violent sector of the opposition in cooperation with the most violent sector of the Trump administration,” he said during an April 30 discussion about Venezuela on WPFW 89.3 FM. “For Eliot Abrams and Mike Pompeo, this was a gamble. They tricked a number of soldiers and are willing to put people’s lives in danger. The fascist Trump administration is trying to overthrow a government that the majority of Venezuelans voted for.”

“They need to call off the dogs of war. Citizens must press the elites in both parties,” continued Early, a member of the Institute of Policy Studies’ Board of Trustees. “This is a threat exercised by a rightwing government and will likely open a civil war an extend wars in Latin America. This is a bloody onslaught of Trump carried out by (Sen.) Marco Rubio. We must stand up to protect the international sovereignty and independence of Venezuela and act as global citizens to aid Venezuela.”

Latin and Central America expert Alex Main agreed, expressing increasing concern for ordinary Venezuelans and fearing that US aggression could lead to civil war.

“I was expecting this,” said Main, director of International Policy at the Center for Economic and Policy Research of Guaidó’s abortive coup. “This administration is hell-bent on producing a military coup. They are putting pressure on the military and civilians which economic sanctions. This shows that from Day 1, the military coup strategy is based on a lot of wishful thinking.”

“Threats and pressure for the US government show that they don’t have a plan. This strategy is doomed. They don’t have a Plan B. They should initiate dialogue towards a negotiated settlement but they (The US) has been openly hostile to any dialogue. Maduro is open to dialogue and Mexico, Norway, Switzerland and the Vatican have offered to mediate. That’s where things stand.”

Journalist Anya Parampil warned during an anti-US intervention rally in March that a sustained war against Venezuela is already underway.

“With that gang that has taken over in the White House, anything is possible,” Parampil, a writer with The Grayzone told the rally crowd at Lafayette Park. “They have filled the administration with John Bolton and Eliot Abrams. They are creating terror in Venezuela. People are terrified, afraid of a US intervention. I woman I talked to down there said we watched the US destroy Iraq and Syria. And now they want to do the same to us. It’s psychological warfare. The US is creating a pretext for a military invasion, but it didn’t happen. Venezuelans aren’t afraid to fight.”

“We need to recognize that war of Venezuela is already being waged. I don’t believe that we’ll see an Iraq-style war. We have entered a new phase of using the media and the weaponizing international capital and finances. It’s financial terrorism. All of this is a direct result of US policy.”

To illustrate Parampil’s point, earlier this year the US government seized $7 billion of Venezuelan oils assets from Venezuelan state-owned oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), leaving it “at the disposal of the legitimate interim president,” Guaidó. Meanwhile, after pressure from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Advisor John Bolton, The Bank of England has refused to release 14 tons of gold valued at $1.2 billion to the Venezuelan government, and according to Jorge Martin of Marxist.com, Guaidó has lobbied the British government to put these assets at his disposal as well.

The human toll is also staggering. Noted economist Jeffrey Sachs has said that since 2017, 40,000 Venezuelans have died because of the sanctions. Critics blame the sanctions and corruption and mismanagement of the Maduro government for shortages of food, medicine and other basic commodities and the collapse of oil prices and the strangulation of the economy by the US has made the lives of Venezuelans still in the country a living misery.

Guaidó said in the pre-dawn video that he was not a advocating a coup but a “peaceful rebellion,” adding that Maduro no longer had the backing of the armed forces. But both he and Trump officials miscalculated because both groups have so far remained loyal to the president.

Clearly embarrassed, Bolton tried to shame Venezuelan military leaders, including Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López, and other officials by naming them publicly. He contends that they agreed to switch sides in a secret agreement but reneged on their promise.

In the aftermath of the failed coup, the sabre-rattling is continuing with Bolton and Pompeo signaling the administration’s willingness to send in the military. Yet, several media accounts note that Trump is trying to avoid stepping into yet another military conflict. Then there is consideration for the valid concerns of some regional leaders who are against military intervention because that would destabilize the region and cause more undue suffering for the Venezuelan people.

One aspect often ignored by mainstream media is that what is playing in Venezuela is suffused with class AND race. Many or most of those opposed to Maduro are from the upper and middle class and are, or identify as, white. When the late President Hugo Chávez won the presidency in 1998, he implemented the Bolivarian Revolution which filmmaker and educator Catherine Murphy said, completely transformed the lives and livelihoods of Afro-Venezuelans. Chávez brought the previously dispossessed into the political process, helping educate them and enshrining their citizenhood into the amended Constitution.

Several analysts point out that racism is one of the main engines and expressions of the counter revolution. This is best illustrated by the fact that the National Assembly is overwhelmingly white, while the Constituent Assembly appointed by Maduro much more accurately reflects the makeup of the country.

“Venezuela is deeply divided politically and there is a financial/wealth divide but so many people are devoted to the revolution,” said Catherine Murphy, a DC resident who lived in Venezuela from 2006-2010. “He acted, started to run PDVSA, and the money went to pay for housing, paving streets, providing clean running water and nation-building. It benefitted everyone. He started the Mission Robinson Literacy Program and invited thousands of Cuban doctors who lived in communities practicing medicine for free.”

“Chávez also restored indigenous Ancestral land rights and gave rights that have never been afforded to Afro-Venezuelans. The people who oppose the Venezuelan government and those out here at the embassy in DC are fascists and the elite who can’t handle losing their privilege. The middle class had maids who started going to literacy classes, voting, organizing, mobilizing and having a dignified place in society and these people can’t get used to that.”

The power struggle occurring in the international arena is being played out locally at the Venezuelan embassy in Georgetown. Murphy said she responded to the call put out by activists who have occupied and protected the embassy for almost three weeks. She got there at 1.30 p.m. on May 2, and stayed out there until well past midnight of the next day, she said.

“It was an ugly scene going down,” said Murphy, activist, teacher and director of Maestra, a film that chronicles the year that Fidel Castro orchestrated to dramatically increase Cuba’s literacy rate in 1961. “It was so crazy out there. The Venezuelan opposition are almost all white and reek of privilege based on how they act. It was so aggressive and nasty. I wish I had taken some video.”

“The Venezuelan opposition were right on the edge of being violent. They were insulting people saying nasty, disgusting things, making racist, sexist and homophobic comments. They were yelling at a member of embassy staff saying they knew where he lived and would come to get him. That’s some nasty sh**. They had bullhorns and emergency sirens and were blasting it forever. It made me think about torture.”

Since Carlos Vecchio went to the embassy and spoke to pro-Guaidó supporters last week, more than 100 of them have laid siege on the embassy building. Guaidó appointed Vecchio as “ambassador.”

Murphy said representatives of almost a dozen organizations have added their support to the Embassy Protection Collective. This includes Code Pink, BYP 100, members of the DMV Black Lives Matter Movement, a Peace and Justice organization from Richmond, the ANSWER Coalition and others.

She said the pro-Guaidó contingent broke through police lines several times and assaulted people bringing food to the Embassy Protection Collective, as well as verbally berating journalists and those who came out to support those occupying the embassy. To her consternation, Murphy said DC police and the Secret Service stood by and did nothing. Journalists and supporters of the collective have been sharing video on social media showing the aggressiveness of the other side.

“I didn’t expect to stay that long but I couldn’t leave. I was so concerned,” Murphy said. The opposition was so horrible. The sirens and yelling went on for 12 f**** hours. The good news is people are still inside. They’re holding it down. The embassy supporters outside held it down too.”

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A Nation in Freefall While the Powerful Feast: Trump Calls Affordability a ‘Con Job’

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — There are seasons in this country when the struggle of ordinary Americans is not merely a condition but a kind of weather that settles over everything.

Published

2 weeks ago

December 3, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

There are seasons in this country when the struggle of ordinary Americans is not merely a condition but a kind of weather that settles over everything. It enters the grocery aisle, the overdue bill, the rent notice, and the long nights spent calculating how to get through the next week. The latest numbers show that this season has not passed. It has deepened.

Private employers cut 32,000 jobs in November, according to ADP. Because the nation has been hemorrhaging jobs since President Trump took office, the administration has halted publishing the traditional monthly report. The ADP report revealed that small businesses suffered the heaviest losses. Establishments with fewer than 50 workers shed 120,000 positions, including 74,000 from companies with 20 to 49 workers. Larger firms added 90,000 jobs, widening the split between those rising and those falling.

Meanwhile, wealth continues to climb for the few who already possess most of it. Federal Reserve data shows the top 1 percent now holds $52 trillion. The top 10 percent added $5 trillion in the second quarter alone. The bottom half gained only 6 percent over the past year, a number so small it fades beside the towering fortunes above it.

“Less educated and poorer people tend to make worse mistakes,” John Campbell said to CBS News, while noting that the complexity of the system leaves many families lost before they even begin. Campbell, a Harvard University economist and coauthor of a book examining the country’s broken personal finance structure, pointed to a system built to confuse and punish those who lack time, training, or access.

“Creditors are just breathing down their necks,” Carol Fox told Bloomberg News, while noting that rising borrowing costs, shrinking consumer spending, and trade battles under the current administration have left owners desperate. Fox serves as a court-appointed Subchapter V trustee in Southern Florida and has watched the crisis unfold case by case.

During a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Trump told those present that affordability “doesn’t mean anything to anybody.” He added that Democrats created a “con job” to mislead the public.

However, more than $30 million in taxpayer funds reportedly have supported his golf travel. Reports show Kristi Noem and FBI Director Kash Patel have also made extensive use of private jets through government and political networks. The administration approved a $40 billion bailout of Argentina. The president’s wealthy donors recently gathered for a dinner celebrating his planned $300 million White House ballroom.

During an appearance on CNBC, Mark Zandi, an economist, warned that the country could face serious economic threats. “We have learned that people make many mistakes,” Campbell added. “And particularly, sadly, less educated and poorer people tend to make worse mistakes.”

Stacy M. Brown

Posts by Stacy M. Brown

#NNPA BlackPress

The Numbers Behind the Myth of the Hundred Million Dollar Contract

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Odell Beckham Jr. did not spark controversy on purpose. He sat on The Pivot Podcast and tried to explain the math behind a deal that looks limitless from the outside but shrinks fast once the system takes its cut.

Published

2 weeks ago

December 3, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

Odell Beckham Jr. did not spark controversy on purpose. He sat on The Pivot Podcast and tried to explain the math behind a deal that looks limitless from the outside but shrinks fast once the system takes its cut. He looked into the camera and tried to offer a truth most fans never hear. “You give somebody a five-year $100 million contract, right? What is it really? It is five years for sixty. You are getting taxed. Do the math. That is twelve million a year that you have to spend, use, save, invest, flaunt,” said Beckham. He added that buying a car, buying his mother a house, and covering the costs of life all chip away at what people assume lasts forever.

The reaction was instant. Many heard entitlement. Many heard a millionaire complaining. What they missed was a glimpse into a professional world built on big numbers up front and a quiet erasing of those numbers behind the scenes.

The tax data in Beckham’s world is not speculation. SmartAsset’s research shows that top NFL players often lose close to half their income to federal taxes, state taxes, and local taxes. The analysis explains that athletes in California face a state rate of 13.3 percent and that players are also taxed in every state where they play road games, a structure widely known as the jock tax. For many players, that means filing up to ten separate returns and facing a combined tax burden that reaches or exceeds 50 percent.

A look across the league paints the same picture. The research lists star players in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland, all giving up between 43 and 47 percent of their football income before they ever touch a dollar. Star quarterback Phillip Rivers, at one point, was projected to lose half of his playing income to taxes alone.

A second financial breakdown from MGO CPA shows that the problem does not only affect the highest earners. A $1 million salary falls to about $529,000 after federal taxes, state and city taxes, an agent fee, and a contract deduction. According to that analysis, professional athletes typically take home around half of their contract value, and that is before rent, meals, training, travel, and support obligations are counted.

The structure of professional sports contracts adds another layer. A study of major deals across MLB, the NBA, and the NFL notes that long-term agreements lose value over time because the dollar today has more power than the dollar paid in the future. Even the largest deals shrink once adjusted for time. The study explains that contract size alone does not guarantee financial success and that structure and timing play a crucial role in a player’s long-term outcomes.

Beckham has also faced headlines claiming he is “on the brink of bankruptcy despite earning over one hundred million” in his career. Those reports repeated his statement that “after taxes, it is only sixty million” and captured the disbelief from fans who could not understand how money at that level could ever tighten.

Other reactions lacked nuance. One article wrote that no one could relate to any struggle on eight million dollars a year. Another described his approach as “the definition of a new-money move” and argued that it signaled poor financial choices and inflated spending.

But the underlying truth reaches far beyond Beckham. Professional athletes enter sudden wealth without preparation. They carry the weight of family support. They navigate teams, agents, advisors, and expectations from every direction. Their earning window is brief. Their career can end in a moment. Their income is fragmented, taxed, and carved up before the public ever sees the real number.

The math is unflinching. Twenty million dollars becomes something closer to $8 million after federal taxes, state taxes, jock taxes, agent fees, training costs, and family responsibilities. Over five years, that is about $40 million of real, spendable income. It is transformative money, but not infinite. Not guaranteed. Not protected.

Beckham offered a question at the heart of this entire debate. “Can you make that last forever?”

Stacy M. Brown

Posts by Stacy M. Brown

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FBI Report Warns of Fear, Paralysis, And Political Turmoil Under Director Kash Patel

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Six months into Kash Patel’s tenure as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a newly compiled internal report from a national alliance of retired and active-duty FBI agents and analysts delivers a stark warning about what the Bureau has become under his leadership.

Published

2 weeks ago

December 2, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown

Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

Six months into Kash Patel’s tenure as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a newly compiled internal report from a national alliance of retired and active-duty FBI agents and analysts delivers a stark warning about what the Bureau has become under his leadership. The 115-page document, submitted to Congress this month, is built entirely on verified reporting from inside field offices across the country and paints a picture of an agency gripped by fear, divided by ideology, and drifting without direction.

The report’s authors write that they launched their inquiry after receiving troubling accounts from inside the Bureau only four months into Patel’s tenure. They describe their goal as a pulse check on whether the ninth FBI director was reforming the Bureau or destabilizing it. Their conclusion: the preliminary findings were discouraging.

Reports Describe Widespread Internal Distrust and Open Hostility Toward President Trump

Sources across the country told investigators that a large number of FBI employees openly express hostility toward President Donald Trump. One source reported seeing an “increasing number of FBI Special Agents who dislike the President,” adding that these employees were exhibiting what they called “TDS” and had lost “their ability to think critically about an issue and distinguish fact from fiction.” Another source described employees making off-color comments about the administration during office conversations.

The sentiment reportedly extends beyond domestic lines. Law enforcement and intelligence partners in allied countries have privately expressed fear that the Trump administration could damage long-term international cooperation according to a sub-source who reported those concerns directly to investigators.

Pardon Backlash and Fear of Retaliation

The President’s January 20 pardons of individuals convicted for their roles in the January 6 attack ignited what the report calls demoralization inside the Bureau. One FBI employee said they were “demoralized” that individuals “rightfully convicted” were pardoned and feared that some of those individuals or their supporters might target them or their family for carrying out their duties. Another source described widespread anger that lists of personnel who worked on January 6 investigations had been provided to the Justice Department for review, noting that agents “were just following orders” and now worry those lists could leak publicly.

Morale In Decline

Morale among FBI employees appears to be sinking fast. There were a few scattered positive notes, but the weight of the reporting describes morale as low, bad, or terrible. Agents with more than a decade of service told investigators they feel marginalized or ignored. Some are counting the days until they can retire. One even uses a countdown app on their phone.

Culture Of Fear

Layered over that unhappiness is something far more corrosive. A culture of fear. Sources say Patel, though personable, created mistrust from the start because of harsh remarks he made about the FBI before taking office. Agents took those comments personally. They now work in an atmosphere where employees keep their heads down and speak carefully. Managers wait for directions because they are afraid a wrong move could cost them their jobs. One source said agents dread coming to work because nobody knows who will be reassigned or fired next.

Leadership Concerns

The report also paints a picture of leaders unprepared for the jobs they hold. Multiple sources said Patel is in over his head and lacks the breadth of experience required to understand the Bureau’s complex programs. Some said Deputy Director Dan Bongino should never have been appointed because the role requires deep institutional knowledge of FBI operations. A sub-source recounted Bongino telling employees during a field office visit that “the truth is for chumps.” Employees who heard it were stunned and offended.

Social Media and Communication Breakdowns

Communication inside the Bureau has become another source of frustration. Sources said Patel and Bongino spend too much time posting on social media and not enough time communicating with employees in clear and official ways. Several told investigators they learn more about FBI operations from tweets than from internal channels.

ICE Assignments Raise Alarm

Nothing has sparked more frustration inside the FBI than the orders requiring agents to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The reporting shows widespread resentment and fear over these assignments. Agents say they have little training in immigration law and were ordered into operations without proper planning. Some said they were put in tactically unsafe positions. They also warned that being pulled away from counterterrorism and counterintelligence investigations threatens national security. One sub-source asked, “If we’re not working CT and CI, then who is?”

DEI Program Removal

Even the future of diversity programs became a point of division. Some agents praised Patel’s removal of DEI initiatives. Others said the old system left them afraid to speak honestly because they worried about being labeled racist. The reporting shows a deep and unresolved conflict over whether DEI strengthened the organization or weakened it.

Notable Incidents

The document also details several incidents that have become part of FBI lore. Patel ordered all employees to remove pronouns and personal messages from their email signatures yet used the number nine in his own. Agents laughed at what they saw as hypocrisy. In another episode, FBI employees who discussed Patel’s request for an FBI-issued firearm were ordered to take polygraph examinations, which one respected source described as punitive. And in Utah, Patel refused to exit a plane without a medium-sized FBI raid jacket. A team scrambled to find one and finally secured a female agent’s jacket. Patel still refused to step out until patches were added. SWAT members removed patches from their own uniforms to satisfy the demand.

A Bureau at a Crossroad

The Alliance warns that the Bureau stands at a difficult crossroads. They write that the FBI faces some of the most daunting challenges in its history. But even in despair, a few voices say something different. One veteran source said “It is early, but most can see the mission is now the priority. Case work and threats are the focus again. Reform is headed in the right direction.”