Venezuela Violence Following Election
Fallout from the election in Venezuela is turning violent. A military base near the capital, Caracas, was attacked by armed men. The government claims to have quelled the attack, but not before some of the assailants made off with weapons.
A YouTube video was released early Sunday morning calling for Venezuelans to rebel against President Nicolas Maduro after his party established an all-powerful assembly meant to secure its grip over the country.
A man wearing military garb said in the video, “We declare ourselves in legitimate rebellion, united more than ever with the valiant state of Venezuela, to disavow the murderous tyranny of Nicolas Maduro."
After the attack, Maduro's government released a video stating, “We were the target of a terrorist, paramilitary, mercenary attack against peace. But they found us as a single fist, like an oak tree, united for peace.”
Maduro came to power after a contentious election July 30. In the vote, Venezuelans were asked to choose delegates from a list of party allies who would rewrite the Constitution and rule the nation while they did so. Voters were not given the option of rejecting the plan.
UN Gets Support for North Korea
On Saturday, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution bringing new sanctions to North Korea for its continued ballistic missile testing. Resolution 2371 was passed unanimously.
The costly sanctions target North Korea's exports, including coal, iron, iron ore, lead, lead ore and seafood.
Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, said the sanctions will slash North Korea's annual export revenue of $3 billion by more than a third.
In a statement Haley noted, "this resolution represents the strongest sanctions ever imposed in response to a ballistic missile test."
Surprisingly, Russia and China did not vote against the Sanctions.
North Korea's state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun carried an article Sunday warning that the United States' only option will be self-destruction unless it gives up its "hostile policy" against Pyongyang.
Sunday evening President Trump spoke with South Korean President Moon Jae In. The South Korean President requested the call.
According to a White House readout of the call, the leaders "affirmed that North Korea poses a grave and growing direct threat to the United States, South Korea, and Japan, as well as to most countries around the world."
IVN Podcast
If you haven't had a chance to check out the IVN Podcast, you should check out our latest edition.
T.J. O'Hara and Nick Troiano, executive director of The Centrist Project discuss the latest endeavors of The Centrist Project, including projects in support of independent candidates across the nation, how independents could change the US’s health care discussion, what an independent caucus would look like, and more.
The Centrist Project joined a coalition, including Represent.Us and the Independent Voter Project, to organize, educate, and empower grassroots activists through the event Unrig the System, on August 5 in Denver, Colorado.
“Our goal is that there would be a third box on the screen. Instead of just having your left wing representative screaming at your right wing representative, there’d be someone in the center to offer a perspective that would resonate with the common sense approach of most Americans."