(In Spanish here)
When the President of a country calls some of his citizens “stupid” because he brought as his adviser on electric matters, Ramiro Valdes, a man with no experience in the electric sector, but full of experience in repressing, killing and torturing as the Minister of the Interior of Cuba for many years.
Despised by his son and brother, Valdes is a true “esbirro” (the man who carries out executions) of the Cuban revolution, yesterday in charge of murder and torture, toady in charge of Internet censorship.
And Hugo wants to defend him and we are supposed to be the stupid ones.
Because it is Hugo Chavez who is stupid, accepting the advise of a a man who knows nothing about electric power problems, while he neglects those professionals in Venezuela who know the Venezuelan network and its problems inside out, while the previous advise of the Cubans on electric power matters has been an unmitigated disaster. It was Cubans who advised Chavez on a distributed system without interconnection which ha yielded power plants that are working at a fraction of their potential because they have nobody to deliver the power to.
And since Chavez brings up the fact that the Brazilians are also advising the country, maybe he could explain to us how Lula’s adviser and buddy Marco Aurelio Garcia, has said exactly the same thing the “stupid” opposition says, that the problem in Venezuela is not El Niño, but in Garcia’s words: “The Venezuelan system is a bit deteriorated”, which has nothing to do with weather, but with the well known incompetence and neglect of the Bolivarian revolution.
The revolution was supposed to be about progress and sovereignty, by bringing Valdes, Chavez is admitting his incompetence and his willingness to hand over to the bloody hands of a foreign country and dictatorship, the control of key areas in Venezuela’s life. From health, to electric power to identification to security, Cubans are more entrenched into our country’s power structure.
Some revolution!
The Devil's Excrement 
May 8, 2014 at 3:18 pm
[…] problems currently affecting all Venezuelans, $3.2 million could be better spent. Surely a sign of Chavez’s sheer irresponsibility, and of the independence of Golinger, in case she ever enjoyed benefit of doubt. Perhaps the IRS […]
January 14, 2012 at 5:27 am
http://www.rostasmuvesz.hu
February 27, 2010 at 12:16 pm
CASTRO TO RESCUE CHAVEZ
Venezuela is a country that has always been, and still is practically submerged in oil -meaning by this, huge reserves laying underground, as well as plentiful natural wealth. Nonetheless, you’d wonder why electricity won’t reach for its population necessities.
This is the high bill Venezuelans has to pay, like a prey of an influence peddler; a high price for compensation indeed, and many years from misshandling resources while delighting other countries with favors and the home country’s necessities unattended.
But you would figure out Venezuela’s electrical problem should be associated to its 23.300 megawatt installed capacity, meaning this has been sufficient to sustain current 17.250 megawatts demand at this Latin American country, and of course, no failures are not supposed to occur.
Despite huge power capacity mentioned above, actually power electrical plants only generated –produced- as much as 15.650 MHz during last January, obviously one third below capacity. There exist another source that would contribute, like a severe drought going on at this región during these season, where Guri dam –Venezuela’s main dam- is located.
But according to the journal “La Vanguardia,” Chavez has been the only one to blame for this disaster as he never organized due maintenance programs, and the plants to lack maintenance for years now, both at Guri as well as in thermo electrical plants.
According to experts, both used and new turbines are halted, waiting installation, or this being delayed. It’s necessary an estimate $20.000 million U.S. dollars investment on Venezuelan electrical power plants, but a four hour black out decreed was passed on a daily basis by Chavez instead.
Venezuelan fragile economy is being debilitated by such law recently passed while impairing people’s support to government in office. As “Caraqueños” have rejected such power rationing measure in the Capital, but the remainder Venezuelans didn’t escape this.
Chavez has recently came up with a brilliant “solution” to this electrical problem, as he imported, or better to say, brought in an electrician / electrical engineer named “Killer Electrician” Ramiro Valdes, a Cuban to do the hard work. This is nonsense, because Cuba has counted on 50 years to satisfy the country’s necessity without success; they’ve failed instead. Political analysts would wonder about the real goal at Valdés arrival into Venezuela.
Let’s clear this up: Ramiro Valdes is an eminence, but only a prominence specialized in a field that would become anyone chilled, as this character is not only a current Cuban vice-president, but he also apart displays as a top rank member withing the cuban structure government, as the third most important man in significance within the Cuban regime administration. He has been twice in the position of Internal Affairs and master minder of G2, this later the most efficient and shadowy secret services round the world. Besides, Ramiro Valdes is currently the person responsible for censuring Cuban citizen’s access to Internet in his post as Informatics and Communications bureau Minister.
Definitely, Valdes is in Caracas by reason of his long experience and familiarity within the electrical matter; yet a specialist ready to use of electricity in torture methods at Cuban jails.
In fact, a well respectable journalist reported in his chronicle at EL UNIVERSAL that some Cuban adviser technicians have made the electricity problem worse in Venezuela, as accidentally damaged six energy generators in four plants, at starting them without proper oil lubricant.
Cuba is aware about Chavez being the hen that lays the golden eggs here, and Venezuela suits to a T, as Cuba profits by Venzuelan shipping more than 36 million dollars yearly of subsidized oil, which means one half regular Cuban consumption.
No doubt this has been Cuban most important foreign trade, while Venezuela is receiving more than 60.000 Cuban experts, as well as food in “exchange.”
Cuba is an island under precarious economy and intensive care economy, and without Chavez assistance, the island would simply collapse, together with castrista regime. That’s why Cuba is clutched, sinking her teeth into the Venezuelan vein like a leech does.
According to serious polls –surveys- Chavez popularity is falling apart too quickly, becoming isolated each time after his vice-president and army chief both resigned recently, claiming Cuba’s meddling and interfering in the Venezuelan army.
On the other hand, Luis Alfonso Davila, former chancellor and old senate president in Venezuelan congress, has just composed a letter aimed at public domains in which it is requested the president’s immediate resign. Chavez former “kitchen cabinet”, the military who participated in an earlier coup, also joined in to write this letter requesting Chavez resign.
Terror and dread would be bigger in Havana than in Caracas, as a general black out ghost in Venezuela is still a threat, and experts reckon a whole black out is certain to take place provided current draught continues for three months more, bringing up a potential political instability both in Cuba and in Venezuela.
Too keep Chavez at power has become top priority for Castro’s regime; such big popularity if lost, can’t get back nor be recuperated in the short term, so this people guess, they’d better be prepared for the worst and would start censorship and repression in Venezuela, and extreme chavismo may well take over again. This is Ramiro Valdes’ job, a certainly skillful guy at this kind of stuff.
Actually, Venezuelan power and authority are handed over to Cuba, and while Venezuela surrender to Cubans, “The Economist” journal has refered that Cuban “advisers” are currently leading harbor, telecommunications operation, as well as police training, issuing ID’s and legal bussiness registration in this country. This why, Venezuela is referred to as “Venecuba.”
“La Vanguardia” tabloid was quoted as saying “There are about 30.000 Cubans on top, important business, as board of directors in dozens of state entities in Venezuela.”
This has been enough, a good chance so experienced Valdes to take advantage of this and ragain control at charge, attack and tighten opposition in the bustle of a controlling dictatorial government.
February 17, 2010 at 10:05 pm
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February 8, 2010 at 7:17 am
Lula is a partner of Chavez and Castro in the Forum de Sao Paulo, an organization with the objective of bringing the Marxist revolution in Latin America.
Brazil is heading towards a kind of socio-fascism.
Marco Aurelio Garcia is a despicable man, known here in Brazil for mocking and making obscene gestures when a plane full of people crashed in Sao Paulo.
February 7, 2010 at 3:42 pm
Miguel;
Another fine post. I have linked it from a new entry I posted today at StJacques Online at:
http://stjacquesonline.blogspot.com/2010/02/caracas-mayor-there-is-cuban-invasion.html
This is a major issue to track in my opinion.
Hope you are well.
StJacques
February 6, 2010 at 9:21 am
The visit of Ramiro Valdes reminds me of one method the old Soviet Union employed from time to time to get rid of high ranking politicians. The man in question was sent somewhere in Western Europre on an impossible mission to be discredited by the locals. On his return to Moscow he was duly purged and given early retirement. Comandante Valdes seems to be reciving the required bad press in Venezuela, and I think he will soon return to Cuba to meet his fate. I don’t think he will be executed like General Arnaldo Ochoa, but perhaps he should.
February 5, 2010 at 9:00 pm
Arturo: Ramiro Valdes just announced that you will be replaced by a Cuban in the comments section of the The Devil’s Excrement. You did not do a good job, looked stupid and like a fool (Ramiro’s words, not mine). You can collect your severance on Monday and you will NOT be assigned a new job, half a Cuban does a better job than you do.
February 5, 2010 at 11:10 am
I just watched the video. And everyone thinks Africa is the backward continent !
When you Latinos lose it you certainly go for broke.
February 4, 2010 at 8:16 pm
Another day, another repression in Venezuela.
February 4, 2010 at 5:10 pm
Great example of ingenuity, resourcefulness, etc. etc… but what do they do in an El Nino?
February 4, 2010 at 4:21 pm
SOmebody send the Cuchuflta video to Globovision Please! Alo Ciudadano would love it!
February 4, 2010 at 4:11 pm
And that’s where we’re headed if we let this handover to Cuba continue.
Very resourceful folks, coming up with a solution with what they have in hand.
But Cuba would be so much richer if they took this resourcefulness and applied it differently.
February 4, 2010 at 1:22 pm
Juan- what a fantastic video! The revolution of electricity reaches Cuba! The only problem with this and Venezuela is there are not spare car parts to use and no water to drive the power generation.
February 4, 2010 at 11:40 am
speed Gibson, you hear it too? Thank god, I thought I had lost it. And now Bugs is peering out the circle, saying “that’s all folks”.
February 4, 2010 at 9:36 am
Juan, that video is brilliant.
Thanks!
February 4, 2010 at 9:01 am
Please take a look a this video
La cuchufleta is the Cuban answer to the electricity crisis!!! Poor people, poor Venezuela, this Valdes guy is a bloody bastard that comes to control the venezuelan contra
February 4, 2010 at 8:59 am
so…..is it time to start shooting these bastards…yet?
you can almost hear The Loony Tunes theme song playing in the background……what would we do for comical entertainment if we didnt have South America?
February 4, 2010 at 8:45 am
Unfortunately Robert, “guest” run out short as a description of their present role here
February 4, 2010 at 7:14 am
So the cuban revolution continues. It’s amazing that cubans have gone from uninvited guests in the 60’s to invited guests now.
February 4, 2010 at 6:33 am
Paul, that factoid makes me wonder if the plan to fix things involves reducing the number of internet complaints about it, or at least the ability of Venezuelans to read those complaints. If he sets up office in the CANTV building, that would certainly confirm it – not that he couldn’t accomplish the same thing from elsewhere. It’s like trying to stick everyone else’s head in the sand.
Bois, you should realize that the military uniform is precisely Ramiro’s top qualification, because Hugo values competence in what seems like the important area much less than loyalty and unquestioned obedience. This is just the latest example of a very, very long list.
Hey, in a lot of countries, going to work for a foreign government is tantamount to renouncing your citizenship. Not that that will happen, but I don’t recall anything similar ever being so blatant.
February 3, 2010 at 11:54 pm
did not take long for the press to feed on this one…. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100204/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_venezuela_energy_crisis talk about the blind leading the blind!
February 3, 2010 at 11:29 pm
[…] Hugo; ¿Que tan insensible puedes ser? Ramiro Valdes es un asesino Febrero 4, 2010 (In English here) […]
February 3, 2010 at 11:26 pm
The minute I saw a picture of Ramiro Valdes, in his military uniform, I was suspicious. What electrical engineer do you know wears a military uniform?
I checked his bio out and Paul is right. This man was brought in to put down the demonstrators, he knows nothing about power generation or power grids.
Why would Chavez bring in a technical adviser, Venezuela is full of competent electrical engineers. All he has to do is listen to them and implement their suggestions.
No, he’s lying through his teeth, Valdes is here to stamp out the demonstrations, he could care less about the electrical problems facing the country.
February 3, 2010 at 10:42 pm
Miguel wrote: “Minister of Planning and Finance Giordani said yesterday there was a de-institutionalization of the regulating entities, but did not explain that it was the Chavez administration that caused it. For example, the Chavez administration named two Heads of the CNV who were former military with no experience in capital markets, both of whom are currently either indicted or have an order to be captured for corruption, one when he was Head of the CNV, the other after wards when he was named President of one of the failed banks.”
Now your boy Hugo is once again assigning someone to a tech. job for which he has NO experience – a policy no one EVER actually practices in real life. Any industry or endeavor ran by someone who hasn’t a clue about the subject, is bound to fail. How could it possibly be otherwise?
Pretty astonising, when you think about it….
Juancho
February 3, 2010 at 10:15 pm
Further to Hugo’s claim that “twitter” and the internet are tools of terrorism, I stumbled upon the following comment when looking at Ramiro’s bio on wikipedia……. At an international conference on communications in Havana, Valdés defended Cuba’s “rational and efficient” use of the Internet but warned that “the wild colt of new technologies can and must be controlled.”
Hmmmmm…maybe Ramiro is arriving to work on other issues in addition to electric problems in Ven?