Stratfor: Will Venezuela's Military Turn on the President?
* By itself, the theft of arms from Fort Paramacay won't be the downfall of the Venezuelan government.
* The incident does indicate, however, that parts of the military could be turning against Maduro.
* The possibility of a coup isn't the only threat to the government. Steady military defiance could weaken it against the opposition and complicate its efforts to rewrite the constitution.
* But the Maduro government won't go down without a bitter fight.
Something big happened at Venezuela's Fort Paramacay military base early Aug. 6, but the only clear thing about the event is that it's significant. Piecing together information from the Venezuelan government and independent media reports, we can gather that around 5 a.m. local time a group of people entered Fort Paramacay in Valencia. It's unknown how the individuals gained access to the base, but according to government reports they made their way to the armory and stole more than 90 AK-103 rifles and four rocket-propelled grenades. Security forces responded, and two of the intruders were killed in a shootout. Eight people, whom the government accused of being involved, were presented to the press later the same day.
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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- August 8, 2017
The coming collapse of Venezuela -- David Keene, Washington Times
Top Prosecutor’s Removal a Grim Sign of Things to Come in Venezuela -- Alex Remark, Daily Beast
Dear fellow journalists: Let’s stop calling Maduro ‘president.’ He’s a dictator -- Andres Oppenhiemer, Miami Herald
The case for Kurdistan -- Shlomo Ben-Ami, The Strategist
Trump's Anti-Nuclear Playbook Looks a Lot Like Obama's -- Noah Feldman, Bloomberg
Beware a Second Korean War -- Donald Manzullo, National Interest
Another reason China’s adding troops on its border with North Korea -- Robert E. McCoy, Asia Times
Analysis: US, allies slow Beijing’s South China Sea momentum -- Jim Gomez, AP
Calling the Chinese bully’s bluff -- Brahma Chellaney, Asia Times
What is China’s PLA doing in Laos? -- Zi Yang, Asia Times
India Takes a Bold Approach in Border Standoff With China, but the Endgame Is Unclear -- Anubhav Gupta, WPR
Why Does the Left Suddenly Hate Russia? -- Victor Davis Hanson, NRO
Top Trump Aides Clashing Over Direction of U.S. Foreign Policy -- Jonathan Lemire & Bradley Klapper, AP
Tillerson's Tenure: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly -- Daniel R. DePetris, National Interest
Facebook and Twitter Are Too Big to Allow Fake Users -- Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg
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