Hello again. This just arrived.
Matilda.
Disculpen que escriba en Ingles, pero este capitulo va para cierto grupo en "especial".
Condition Orange one shade away from Red.
It's been a while since I had so much adrenalin pumping. While walking around Downtown Caracas with Pana (Buddy) you could not help but have the spidey senses out there in full sensory perception. The whole area is Pro-Chavez or dominated by his minions and/or Bad Guys galore. To tell you the truth, you cannot tell one from the other at the low levels. The higher ups could be identified by clothing and the SUVs or high end import cars they were driving.
First thing driving me nuts was the constant Surveillance/Observation you were under by the BGs. You were being measured and analyzed as a potential victim. The back of my head was screaming "Predator Alert. Take Action." but I sensed that following US Standards would create unnecessary troubles. I stared back and did scanning of my own while being blatant about it. I was trying to tell them, I am a bad ass worse than you. Fuck with me and pay the price. It must have worked because I do not have any extra holes in my body.
Old Clint says: "Wolves travel in packs" and here was no exception. The BGs were indeed in loose packs either roaming or staying at a particular corner or area. The political wolves would interact with other political wolves while the criminal packs kept pretty much on their own and moved away if they sensed that a Gov Pack may want to give them trouble. Guns were barely concealed under loose shirts. Lots of Mexican Carry with no spare mags or mags deep in trouser pockets. Civilians packed none and hurried to their business as fast as they could. I am guessing lots of praying was done by them in this area. Yep, gun control does work.
We stopped to have a "negrito" (Venezuela's equivalent of cuban coffee) at a coffee shop and proceeded to Plaza Bolivar, the heart of downtown. I never liked the area way before Chavez took over but now it was downright nasty. Imagine if you please being in the middle of a field covered hyenas and jackals stalking prey and you may get the idea. Official Gov jackals intermixed with Pro-Gov hyenas (no obvious career BGs in the area, but again the line blurs on who is who.) This square is a political higher ground and they claim sole possession of it. Dissension is not allowed and repercussions are severe. Imagine the Lincoln Memorial cordoned off by the moonbats of Code Pink with the firepower and political backing to keep anybody out.
After some 30 minutes I had enough. We returned to our car and went up Av. Baralt and to the Cota Mil expressway. I was quiet still absorbing what I saw and Pana did not have to say much either, he lives here and knows the score damn well. He pulled over in a rest area that overlooks Caracas and we got off. The damn city looked dirty even this high up in the mountains. Pana got a cooler off the trunk and we sat on the lawn sucking on a pair of cold Regionales. I pointed to my ear and twirled my finger asking if it was safe to talk and he nodded. I gave him a quick summary of my impressions and he nodded: "The Predators have taken over and the Sheep are powerless. They bleat pretty good, but that is all they can do. They are seriously fucked and either don't know it yet or know it and can't do shit about it." said Pana.
"So, if history repeats itself, when do the purges start?" I asked. "From what I have seen and read in the news, there is a 'dissident' faction or at least people that are not liking the hard core communist turn and they must be purged before they contaminate the 'process'."
Pana looked at me and just said: "Soon."
We kept drinking.
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