Observations focused on the problems of an underdeveloped country, Venezuela, with some serendipity about the world (orchids, techs, science, investments, politics) at large. A famous Venezuelan, Juan Pablo Perez Alfonzo, referred to oil as the devil's excrement. For countries, easy wealth appears indeed to be the sure path to failure. Venezuela might be a clear example of that.
Unknown FeedA blog is only as good as its readers as demonstrated by the pictures below sent by JG, who took the trouble to go visit Playa Los Angeles and took pictures with his cell phone from approximate the same angles as those of FARC guerrilla member Carlos Marin Guarin, also known as “Pablito” and his girlfriend. The pictures speak for themselves. Thanks JG!
and the other side:
The Devil's Excrement 
November 30, 2010 at 11:23 pm
[…] FARC in Venezuela! Who woudl have thought that? Those Brazilians are really clever. Do you mean they vacation in Venezuela? Or do you want videos proving […]
August 2, 2010 at 6:07 am
Hey, PSJ,
You are supposed to be “EL pueblo”? The real one?
Geez.
The bloke is National Liberation Army, not FARC.
He is still a terrorist.
Both FARC and ENL are more than tolerated by the
military regime we have in Venezuela.
In some regions they fight each other, as is so common
among those bands: one day they swear fight the government, the other
day they are killing each other to protect drug deals, etc.
See here?
In Apure FARC and ELN are fighting each other but both have bases in the region.
They also have bases in Zulia. There has been plenty of information
about where. The military regime in Venezuela does not
allow people to get to the places now.
Why do you think Hugo asked for a minute of silence for the “hero”
Reyes?
Why don’t you have the cojones and leave the US to experience the real “revolution” in Venezuela?
August 1, 2010 at 12:56 pm
The superficial, uninformed view from New York is always good for a laugh.
August 1, 2010 at 12:51 pm
Wow, I am so glad I get to come to this blog and read the truth instead of the Chavista lies I usually read!
Except, oops, regarding “FARC guerrilla member Carlos Marin Guarin”, your blog seems to be the only place on the planet trying to claim that Carlos Marin Guarin is a “FARC guerrilla member”.
The only question now is, are you purposefully lying for political reasons, since you’re trying to connect FARC and Chavez? Or are you just sloppy and ignorant vis a vis facts and reality and don’t really know any better?
A welcome break from the Chavista media! Devil’s Excrement is gull of lies, mistruth, ignorance, provably wrong facts etc., but it is consistently anti-Chavez, to where it will even be wrong rather than not 100% anti-Chavez! Hurrah!
July 30, 2010 at 4:59 am
“Roberto, thanks to Google! lol”
What did you enter as a search string, Pargo+Playa?
July 29, 2010 at 1:48 pm
My new post with the little story and a few questions about those pictures
http://cuentosintrascendentes.blogspot.com/2010/07/habia-decidido-hacer-un-post-sobre-el.html
July 29, 2010 at 1:32 pm
I see the Bolivar is 20 to the US Dollar on the parallel market. Is that correct?
July 29, 2010 at 12:41 pm
FYI, Noticias24 is censoring… they deleted and closed comments to the Smartmatic story. N24 is the biggest POS website in Venezuela today.
July 29, 2010 at 12:39 pm
Roberto, thanks to Google! lol
July 29, 2010 at 12:02 pm
Francisco C,
Why is this not tomorrow’s front page in all major newspapers?
Most depend on the goverment advertising.
Why isn’t that happening?
Too much to loose. Think RCTV, Globovision, Banco Federal…”expropiese” comes to mind…
Is it because chavistas are immune to being exposed in their lying?
Yes, por ahora…..
July 29, 2010 at 11:42 am
Funny GWEH! Seems like you’re up to speed on all the “right” beaches! 🙂
July 29, 2010 at 11:35 am
Money, FARC motivation is only Money, the young work to the wealth of their boss, if the boss not died or finish in jail, they retired rich capitalistic in Cuba or another outlaw country. Chavez motivation is Money.
Ideology is only the smoke screen of their scam.
July 29, 2010 at 10:48 am
Chavez has re-politicized FARC thus infusing them with a new raison d’etre. Chavez is using FARC as his proxy. Naive people think Chavez is being used by FARC. Who depends on who? Prior to ’98 Chavez depended on FARC. Things have evolved and Chavez’ generosity towards FARC is tantamount to Chavez having his own private army whose theater of operations straddles the Colombia-Venezuela border and beyond.
July 29, 2010 at 10:33 am
For the record: the only beaches Roy Chaderton knows are 12th street in South Beach, Miami; Key West; Provincetown, MA, Ibiza, Mykonos, etc… you get the drift… lol.
BTW, has anyone heard of the dangerous liason(s) between Chaderton and Chavez. What about Chaderton and Rafael Ramirez? Enquiring minds want to know!
July 29, 2010 at 10:26 am
I disagree FARC rank & file have their own agenda. They are mercenaries recruited from the uneducated ignorant peasantry whose only motivation to rape, pillage and plunder is survival. Maybe they believe the BS from above about taking power in Colombia, I don’t. There is no ideological motive here… their ideological BS is so weak they now fall under the Bolivarian umbrellla for lack of anything better. If there is ideological motivation, it is to be found only among the small percentage of the leadership who have an urban background and even then the monetary motivation overides the ideological. If we look at the behavior of FARC itself, it has morphed from the armed faction of the communist party to narco-terrorist organization sans ideology. These people have institutional amnesia: they lost their bearing a long time ago
July 29, 2010 at 10:16 am
Miguel,
The Venezuelan coast is about 10 degrees north.
Given the angles, how exact can we calculate date and hour?
You are the expert 🙂
I am with GWEH here: preparing the road.
July 29, 2010 at 7:16 am
Oh no! Chaderton was lying and weaseling??
July 29, 2010 at 4:03 am
This is excellent stuff Miguel. JG, whoever you are, many, many thanks! That’s the way to call chavista bullshit, so bravo!!
July 29, 2010 at 2:18 am
MUST BE NOON ON A TUESDAY, THERE ARE NO OTHER PEOPLE THERE
July 28, 2010 at 8:19 pm
GWEH,
The FARC in Venezuela would be part of a plan by the government as long as this plan serves the FARC. Don’t forget that each the FARC and the Venezuelan government really have their own agenda, and they will work together as long as they both get some benefit. However, the FARC following a plan by the Venezuelan government and complying with it thru time to me is similar to someone who raises an African lion in their home thinking they have it under control (certainly they would, but only for the first few months while the lion is still a pup) only to find out sooner than later that this animal cannot be controlled and is, in fact, extremely dangerous. (The lion story is, by the way, not made up; as crazy as it sounds someone I know in Venezuela did go thru this).
My point is that while I’m not underestimating the Venezuelan government, we shouldn’t forget that 1) the FARC have their own agenda, and 2) in the past they have had no problem acting solely by their own interests when they felt they were in a good position for it (i.e. when they’re established in Venezuela to a point comparable to how they were in the past in Colombia). How much and for how long will the FARC cooperate with the Venezuelan government is yet to be seen, but their agenda may very well be to setup shop in Venezuela long term same way they used to operate in Colombia before Uribe came into power. And I also think that, in the best case scenario, should by some miracle Chavez loose the 2012 elections to an oppo candidate, any new government will find themselves not only with pretty much all institutions and the economy destroyed, and rampant violence (“inseguridad”), but also with a new problem (new since Caldera’s 1st term) which is the guerilla now firmly established in Venezuelan soil.
July 28, 2010 at 8:00 pm
Its amazing that when he was taking the picture nobody stole his camera phone!
July 28, 2010 at 5:19 pm
instead of FARC acting autonomously in Vzla have you considered the possibility that their being in vzla is part of a deliberate plan to integrate them under Chavez? Who believes these narcoguerillas have a future in Colombia? Chavez knows it so why not invite them over away from the fighting and shitty jungle existence, show them a good life where they are protected even glamorized by the chavista heirarchy and when the time comes, have them return the favor. This MO is not new: have foreigners do your dirty work for they will not have qualms about killing innocent civilians. It has been rumoured over the years that Cubans have been imbedded among GN troops during opposition demonstrations.
As the country starts to implode and violence climbs so will the death toll. Chavez will have to pull out all the stops and if you are looking for ruthless murderers look no farther than the FARC he’s harboring.
The suggestion that these FARC will become stragglers is a valid one but without support from chavez they too become targets for I don’t think the locals will allow foreigners like these to move in on their businesses of extortion and kidnapping. For these FARC to survive they will have to do as chavez says otherwise they will have to defect and disappear.
PS I am familiar with GN GAES (anti-extortion/kidnapping) unit that dealt with Colombian irregulars along the frontier pre-Chavez. I don’t know the situation today but I would think that this criminal activity by foreigners inside vzla is today being done with a blind eye by chavez. The government has the means to stop this if they wanted so for FARC to go autonomous in vzla would have to be with approval from above.
July 28, 2010 at 5:19 pm
Now you see it, now you don’t.
This must be a daily oppo rant (as the pudreval case) until Sept 28th.
July 28, 2010 at 4:49 pm
See Miguel, two reader photos at the same spot and not a single FARC rebel in sight. I hope you’re willing to admit you’re wrong now.
July 28, 2010 at 4:14 pm
Megaescualidus makes an excellente point. If the media has lost power and relevance in that way, I think we’re most definitely screwed. Your comment reminded me of this article that appeared recently in Prodavinci (http://prodavinci.com/2010/07/19/zeta-el-periodismo-suicida/). Its about how in Latinamerica sometimes good investigative journalism is synonymous to suicide.
July 28, 2010 at 3:52 pm
Francisco, since reports about numerous guerilla camps in Venezuela are not new (Roberto Giusti wrote articles in El Universal at least 5 years ago) I’ve asked myself the same question over and over for a few years now.
I really think the answer is not that chavistas are inmune to being exposed in their lying, but that there’s a fine line beyond which too much rattling can only leave whoever talks or says too much about it dead, and their families dead, and so forth. In other words, a little talk about it here and there in the media is tolerated, but too much talk about it (such as what you suggest, making mayor newspaper’s front page) would only put media owners in the FARC’s crosshairs (literally). In this case it wouldn’t even be the Venezuelan government taking action, but the FARC in Venezuela themselves taking action.
Also, I also think it is only a matter of time for the FARC/Venezuelan government relationship to go out of control and the FARC start acting autonomously, not undercover anymore. Since the FARC is being slowly displaced from Colombia (a trend that will, most surely, continue once Santos takes over) their best strategy would be to establish themselves in Venezuela, not just in “hidden camps”, but to, at some point, trasnfer all their operations to Venezuela. Thus there will be a point where the Venezuelan government (and poor Venezuelans citizens trying to have a dignified life in their own country) will realize there is an a parallel “order” holding land, having tremendous power, etc., which is the FARC (perhaps in a similar way the Taliban was a parallel state along the failed state that was, and is, Afganistan).
Finally, I really think the FARC is in Venezuela for the long term and the Venezuelan government is just the perfect “ally” they’d want in their neighbor nextdoor. And, we all know (as Colombians have surely experienced for 40+ years) that given the opportunity and depending on the situation the FARC could stab in the back their best ally without shedding the smallest tear.
July 28, 2010 at 2:59 pm
This is really amazing. And the best part is that almost insultingly easy to do. Now comes the part I don’t get about how our country works. Why is this not tomorrow’s front page in all major newspapers? Any paper could easily send a reporter to do this exact same thing and the story should be huge. Why isn’t that happening? Is it because chavistas are immune to being exposed in their lying?