"All that's left is for them to shoot at the buildings we're sitting in, damn it, sums up a senior official who is close to President Nicolas Maduro. The Venezuelan leader and his closest circle initially thought, when a military fleet was deployed on the border with Venezuelan waters, that it was a U.S. tactic to open up some kind of political negotiation. As the days passed, however, they have become convinced that Washington is preparing for an invasion."
"A priest is currently walking around the country sprinkling holy water on Bolivarian Army tanks. They're in the first phase of the threat, the same source adds. With this, they're hoping to make people panic and start stockpiling food. And no, they didn't succeed. That was a way to trigger an internal rift, to get military units to rebel. Without that, what's left for them to do? To destroy this country at missile point, concludes the same source."
"The government, in any case, doesn't trust its internal solidity and is conducting constant investigations among its troops. The regime's number two, Diosdado Cabello, shows up for televised events wearing a cap that reads Doubting is treason, just in case anyone had any doubts. Cabello is a man of arms, an army captain who accompanied Commander Hugo Chavez in a failed coup d'etat in 1992. Riding in a tank that day, he earned the respect of the Bolivarian Revolution."
Venezuelan Chavista leadership progressed from disbelief to horror after a foreign naval fleet appeared near national waters, interpreting the deployment as a possible precursor to invasion. Initial hopes that the move signaled negotiations faded as officials became convinced Washington prepared to invade. Public gestures, such as a priest sprinkling holy water on army tanks, coincided with fears that panic and stockpiling might be induced to spark military defections. The government conducts constant investigations within the armed forces. Diosdado Cabello enforces loyalty visibly, wearing a cap that reads "Doubting is treason." Cabello and President Maduro maintain tight, complementary control over the state and military.
Read at english.elpais.com
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