En Venezuela las cosas han entrado en un carril de crisis terminal. Sí, hay conspiraciones y sabotajes de todo tipo, pero no es menos cierto que la inoperancia del gobierno de Nicolás Maduro (foto) facilita muchísimo las cosas. Esta vez la oposición no quiere golpe. Quiere que la cosa decante y se pudra sola. El clima social acompaña, y no sólo la derecha reaccionaria.
Lo que sigue es una entrevista que realizara un periodista del sitio web PanAmPost a un miembro de rango medio de la Guardia Nacional Bolivariana:
Título:
“Venezuela Is on the Brink of Social Collapse,” National Guardsman
Subtítulo: Food
Shortages Cause Daily Looting, Energy Crisis Worsens as National State of
Emergency Approaches
Texto: In recent
months, Venezuelan citizens have taken to the streets to demand solutions to
the current economic crisis from the government. Many have even requested
President Nicolás Maduro’s resignation.
The Venezuelan
state has responded to these protests with repression. Certain office holders
have been accused of committing human rights violations. As a result, political
leaders from the opposition have asked the Venezuelan security forces —
especially the army and the Bolivarian National Guard — to denounce any crimes
that the state has committed.
At the moment,
the armed forces’ position vis-à-vis the government is not clear. Some
speculate that the Bolivarian National Guard is divided. Others claim that the
regime exerts full control over the Bolivarian National Guard’s members. The
only certainty is that uncertainty abounds.
The PanAm Post
had the opportunity to interview a Bolivarian National Guard member of middle
rank, who asked to remain anonymous since his views could expose him to danger.
Why has the state
launched an offensive against criminal groups?
The situation was
getting out of hand for political reasons. The state has no means to control
criminal groups. The country’s jails are in chaos. The streets themselves are
in chaos. The state’s security personnel are unarmed.
The Maduro regime
created the Organization for the Protection and Liberation for the People (OLP)
to fight organized crime. Has that organization committed illegal acts as well?
From a legal
standpoint, yes. Now from the point of view of the general population, no,
because they tolerate harsh methods against the criminal bands.
¿But do they only
kill criminals?
In the majority
of cases.
Is the OLP really
carrying out its operations strictly to end gang violence?
That is their
main purpose. But there is also a political element. The OLP’s creation was a
desperate measure. The government had given liberty to the gangs to do what
they please. They armed them and now they are attacking them.
Is the OLP at war
with gangs and with government officials at the same time?
Yes, because they
can’t control them. They have become too powerful. They are armed and they
teach military strategy. These criminals used to fight against each other. Now
they have a truce between them and they fight the military and other security
forces. They say, “as long as we kill them, we’ll survive.”
Does the state
benefit by arming gangs? What is the regime trying to achieve?
Their goal is to
have armed groups on their side in case of political turmoil. That is the final
goal. Disarmament laws only affect innocent people. Criminal have many more
weapons than we do at the National Guard. They also have much more power. We
can’t control that now. Any solution will come too late.
The economic
crisis and the public health crisis are becoming uncontrollable. The security
forces are competent, but the government had to realize that the criminals were
killing us all before they acted against them.
How corrupt is is
the National Guard?
There is
corruption in the National Guard, and there always has been. The difference is
that, before, the system was more efficient. The National Guard decayed when it
became political. Since we started to vote and to take part in the country’s
political life, there has been no peace in the ranks.
Now there is
pressure on us because we have to follow the constitution, but we also have to
be loyal to our higher officers even when their orders don’t correspond to the
laws. If their orders contradict the laws, you can’t follow them. So there is a
rift between the security forces and the other institutions.
The government
has an apparatus for persecution and espionage, so you can’t make negative
statements about functionaries. The security services themselves are plagued by
informants. You have to watch your every word.
All of those
military upheavals denouncing the government, those attempts to overthrow the
government — are they real?
No, the majority
are false. There won’t be any coup attempts in Venezuela.
Why not?
Right now, all elements
of the armed forces are under control. A coup-d’état takes place when you reach
a breaking point and someone in the higher echelons of the armed forces decides
that it’s time to act against the government. Right now in Venezuela, there are
political divisions within the armed forces. There is neither the necessary
unity nor the necessary organization for a coup to take place. Besides,
officers fear the government’s informants. Everyone is on guard.
What will result
from the current discontent?
The army and the
National Guard are waiting. I can assure you that we are quite unhappy. But
there is an entire structure above us, so it’s not easy to act. We receive
criticism from all sides. Wherever I go, I come face to face with civilians’
displeasure and complaints. I also think the opposition has failed to take
advantage of its opportunities to topple the government.
How so?
For example, when
they won the parliamentary elections last December, the atmosphere was tense.
The entire leadership knew what would happen. So did we. Former Speaker of the
House Diosdado Cabello was willing to take the armed forces to the street
against the opposition, but Padrino López, the Minister of Defense, didn’t
allow him to do so.
What happened
exactly on December 6?
The stories are
true. That day there was a strong discussion between Padrino López and Cabello.
López told Cabello that, if he ordered the troops to take the streets, he was
going to have the army kill him.
But did Padrino
López only do it to save his own skin?
Of course. He
would have been responsible if the army started to massacre people. López was
not going to allow that to happen. So that day the army was ordered to guard
the opposition.
On whose side
does Padrino López find himself? That day, a rumor got out that he was
defending the opposition.
Padrino López is
intelligent, and I don’t doubt that he’s a chavista. But all branches of the
armed forces are dissatisfied with the current situation. Imagine if one day
they let Diosdado Cabello commit a massacre. If something like that occurs, the
army will support President Maduro.
And what has the
Bolivarian National Guard done during the recent demonstrations? Why has the
army remained silent?
Those are two
different situations. Like I said, government intelligence is an obstacle to
action. The risk of not obeying orders is very large, but there is a lot of
discontent and resentment due to the measures carried out by the Bolivarian
National Guard and other officials.
If discontent is
so widespread, why is there no talk of a coup?
That’s already
been discussed. The coup d’état, we hope, will not be repeated. We remember
what happened in 2002 with Chávez and we don’t want something similar to happen
in the future.
We are rather
waiting for things to get truly out of hand. And that will happen in the
following months. The situation is extremely unstable and the status quo can’t
last. We are witnessing daily looting at supermarkets, and people are
protesting.
The crisis at
Guri Dam (Venezuela’s most important hydroelectric power station) will get
worse. Everything will get worse and there will be an implosion.
At that moment,
the country’s future will be determined. I don’t believe there’s much time
left.
Are you sure that
something drastic will happen soon?
Without a doubt.
The Bolivarian National Guard has already discussed the matter.
The situation in
Venezuela has never been as bad as it is now. The breaking point is near, but
still not at hand. My recommendation is for people to prepare, to look for food
and then to store it. Obviously, when the implosion occurs , it won’t last
long. I believe it will last something like 10 days, but they will be difficult
days.
There will be a
state of emergency, and that will bring the crisis to an end.
What will happen
with the recall referendum that the opposition is trying to unleash against
President Maduro?
That’s not a
serious option. The regime has demonstrated that it can violate the
constitution without second thoughts. They are going to accept the referendum,
but only if they know they can win with any method available. The situation
will only come to a head when hunger and the lack of electricity force people
to take direct action.
So are the Armed
Forces for a social catastrophe to take place?
We are really
willing to intervene if the country undergoes a social catastrophe. It’s as if
we have water in a pot and it begins to boil very slowly. There will be a
moment when, if the gas is not turned off, the water begins to overflow and
disaster ensues.
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