Blackwater founder Erik Prince has been pushing for mercenaries in Venezuela
13 replies, posted
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-erikprince-exclusi-idUSKCN1S608F?utm_source=reddit.com
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Erik Prince - the founder of the controversial private security firm Blackwater and a prominent supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump - has been pushing a
plan to deploy a private army to help topple Venezuela’s socialist president, Nicolas Maduro, four sources with knowledge of the effort told Reuters.
Over the last several months, the sources said, Prince has sought investment and political support for such an operation from influential Trump supporters and wealthy Venezuelan exiles.
In private meetings in the United States and Europe, Prince sketched out a plan to field up to 5,000 soldiers-for-hire on behalf of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, according to
two sources with direct knowledge of Prince’s pitch. One source said Prince has conducted meetings about the issue as recently as mid-April.
Some U.S. and Venezuelan security experts, told of the plan by Reuters, called it politically far-fetched and potentially dangerous because it could set off a civil war. A Venezuelan exile
close to the opposition agreed but said private contractors might prove useful, in the event Maduro’s government collapses, by providing security for a new administration in the
aftermath.
The two sources with direct knowledge of Prince’s pitch said it calls for starting with intelligence operations and later deploying 4,000 to 5,000 soldiers-for-hire from Colombia and
other Latin American nations to conduct combat and stabilization operations. The two sources with direct knowledge of Prince’s Venezuela plan said he is seeking $40 million from
private investors. He also aims to get funding from the billions of dollars in Venezuelan assets that have been seized by governments around the world imposing sanctions on the OPEC
nation, a major oil exporter.
The two sources with direct knowledge of Prince’s pitch said it calls for starting with intelligence operations and later deploying 4,000 to 5,000 soldiers-for-hire from Colombia and
other Latin American nations to conduct combat and stabilization operations.
Wait, so this is what that clipboard of that PR guy from the White House shown by accident meant?
A military solution will make the things much worse ( and likely what Maduro is awaiting, so he has an excuse to gun down anyone seen at the streets ), but sending mercenaries of all the possibilities is the worst one.
Privatizing wars, MGS4 was just off by a few years
fuck off erik prince, go crawl back up your moms cunt and bring your piece of shit mercenaries with you
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hK9Ie3Fp7yg
And like Obama, both bushes, and other past presidents this wont be repaired or changed regardless which party wins 2020 election.
The past few decades, especially after 9/11, foregin policy would have never led anything else.
Where have you been? Africa and the Middle East have been effectively PMC-based conflicts for awhile now. Most of our logistics in Iraq/Afghanistan was operated by PMCs and their transportation groups.
And they're our biggest reason why there's a money hole there as well.
PMCs are literally the worst 'money savers' you could ever have.
It's done to make war more palletable for the public - to make war and imperialism compatible with liberal democracy.
When a soldier dies it's bad news for the country, when a PMC dies nobody even hears about it. When 10000 troops are withdrawn and replaced with PMCs a head of state/government can celebrate the war is over. When a PMC is sent in convoy without a vest or an armoured car it won't make headlines back home. When a mentally unstable PMC shoots up a market in afghanistan it's not a national disgrace.
While this is true, it is important to also recognize that it is done because the military can only be so involved in reconstruction efforts.
PMC's show up a lot in Iraq and Afghanistan in large part due to the fact that we blew a lot of shit up. Now private companies rebuild, but being a private organization does not make you immune to attacks on your construction crews. The military can't really be super involved, so they employ PMC groups. They are, by and large, guards. Which is infinitely less sinister.
THAT SAID, watching the situation to ensure it doesn't devolve into private armies replacing military forces is vital.
Not sure why the military couldn't do that themselves.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/32/Mercenaries_2_cover_art.jpg/220px-Mercenaries_2_cover_art.jpg
????
Yeah I know the circumstances are pretty different but still.
Honestly the situation in that isn't too dissimilar, it's kind of weird.
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