U.S. Intelligence: Venezuela Heading For A Collapse

Anti-government protesters clash with police during a protest at Altamira square in Caracas March 10, 2014. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

Washington Post: U.S. intelligence officials: Venezuela could be headed for collapse

Venezuela, where clashes erupted this week between security forces and demonstrators protesting food shortages, power blackouts and political gridlock, may be headed toward an all-out popular uprising that could lead to the overthrow of its government this year, senior U.S. intelligence officials said.

“You can hear the ice cracking,” an intelligence official said. “You know there’s a crisis coming.”

Disaster is pending in Venezuela at the same time the Obama administration believes that it has vastly improved U.S. standing in Latin America, compared with the days when political and economic turmoil in the hemisphere was blamed, sometimes with reason, on either interference or disregard by Washington.

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Update #1: US officials: Venezuelan president's hold on power weakening (AP)
Update #2: Venezuela president declares emergency, cites U.S., domestic 'threats' (Reuters)

WNU Editor: Hugo Chavez and now Nicolás Maduro have been in power since 1999 .... and during this time the Venezuelan government generated approximately $650 billion in revenues from oil sales alone. So the question needs to be asked .... where did all the money go?