Frances Martel:
Vladimir Putin is not limiting the extension of his influence to his neighbors. According to Venezuelan president of questionable legitimacy Nicolás Maduro, Putin has signed a “financial agreement” with the totalitarian state and expressed support for the Chavista regime.
“President Vladimir Putin in Moscow met [Venezuelan Foreign Minister Rafael RamÃrez], who sent a message of confidence to Venezuela, also signed financial support agreements,” tweeted Maduro, though not explaining what the objective of the agreement is or what it may include. Maduro also tweeted a message posted on the official Venezuelan government website from Putin in honor of the anniversary of Hugo Chávez’s death.
En Moscú se reunió con El Presidente Vladimir Putin quien envió mensaje de confianza a Venezuela,también firmó acuerdos de apoyo financiero.
— Nicolás Maduro (@NicolasMaduro) March 4, 2014
Venezuelan newspaper El Universal offered some clues as to what the financial agreement may entail. Traveling with the foreign minister was also the Minister of Petroleum and Mining for the Latin American nation, as well as the president of a major state-run oil company, suggesting that Russia may be buying oil in order to further fund the Venezuelan government.
Argentine media outlet Infobae reports that Russia is not the only country supporting the Venezuelan government. Foreign Minister RamÃrez, who was sent to tour Asia in an attempt to woo allies of the country into public support during such a turbulent time, announced that China also “expressed all the support to the Bolivarian government of President Maduro and all the Venezuelan people; we will overcome.” He added that China would participate in “energy projects” with Venezuela, though no more detail than that has surfaced.
Putin needs returns on his rubles.
Since he invaded Ukraine the Russian stock market (which is tiny compared with ours) has lost the equivalent of $12 billion dollars!
This even before any official economic sanctions.
Interestingly I routinely associate at work with people from Venezuela, Ukraine and Moldova (and other places). Reported: The cruelty in Venezuela goes deep. When it is posted that there is a basic food item such as milk at a particular location and there are only 100 containers, the quantity is not declared. Naturally over a thousand people show up and stand in line for hours and things get testy since there is not even a notification to the people in line of the limited supply. People are stamped on their arm to limit one container (to a household but I dunno how they can track that). A practice of government police/army personnel for such lines is to line the people up on the shade-less side in the morning and then move the line to the shade-less side in the afternoon. Keep in mind the proximity to the equator. I figure the wealthy former musician that supports the regime there does not have to frequently endure such. He can go to the next room on his gigantor carbon footprint private jet and get a cold one and some delectable that costs a substantial amount of a V citizens labors and then get a Lewinski. The government confiscates care packages of incoming people at the airport and sell the take for themselves. Extrapolate your personal post hurricane or tornado or ice-storm empty shelves to several years. Socialism, progressivism, liberalism . . . cruel, sick.