Systemic pillaging in Venezuela: it could have been me

Starting pillaging of a cooking oil truck

UPDATED  In yet another notable "fait-divers", a whole bunch of trucks were pillaged Tuesday night along a few private cars.  This hit home really hard because it happened on a road that I use at least 4 times a month, and that I used last Tuesday afternoon at the same time as it all happened Wednesday late afternoon.

The road I take most of the time between Caracas and San Felipe is the one that goes through Morón, a godawful joint that we call Mojón (turd).  Moron was "founded" at the crossing of the road from Puerto Cabello to Coro, where the branch to Barquisimeto and the Andes start.  It grew with all sorts of squatters (invasores) since the oil industry created a few complexes in the area.  All anarchic of course, over the decades.  Sure enough, it is one of the districts where chavismo gets some of its highest percentages (often above 80%).  The current mayor, a certain Matson Caldera, looks like the kind of guy you would not want to meet in a dark alley.  Yet his personality cult is well advanced, next to Chavez in all sorts of billboards.

Making progress, womenfolk helping, broken oil bottles on road

Not surprisingly since it is a district taken for granted by chavismo, it is also one of the most neglected with extensive slums at each entry of the town (town for lack of a better word to describe a ramshackle of who knows what).

Tuesday, the people from those shanties who probably do not pay for electricity to begin with, were incensed because yet another blackout had lasted for more than half a day.  In the hot and humid climate of the area where no refrigerator can hold cool for more than a few hours without power, it was indeed a problem for these people, even if electricity is stolen by most of them.  So they did the most sensible thing: they blocked the second most strategic road of Venezuela for several hours refusing to lift the barricades until power was restored.  That trucks and drivers also suffer from blackouts was apparently of no concern.  That they could have set seat in front of Matson' offices either did not come to mind, or was too far to walk to, or simply they did not want to jeopardize the occasional free Mercal bag.

Almost done!  No more oil shortage for Moron! 

Sure enough, when the night set, they started pillaging the trucks, women and children giving a helping hand to the males of the pack.  For good measure many cars stuck for hours in a road which was blocked both ways were also relieved of wallets and cel phones.  Shooting was heard but no report on its results.  Twitter was aflame last Tuesday I was told, in the twitter traffic addresses.  The Carabobo state police is the only one that showed up, woefully outnumbered.  No Nazional Guard was seen, even though any opposition rally is quickly surrounded by it in massive shows of strength.  See, el pueblo is allowed to pillage.  What else can we deduct?

Suiii, Suiii, stealing pigs on motor bike barefoot!

Note that none of the pillagers looks particularly malnourished or close to starvation state.   In fact many are rather chubbified.  Which did not stop them from stealing livestock...

Morón shopping spree

That is what 12 years of chavismo did to the country, a descent into anarchy and barbarism.  While now I need to make sure that I always drive through that area before noon.....  because the could have been me is the piglet there, as we are all in Venezuela now, sitting pigs/ducks wherever we are.

UPDATE

Apparently light is not coming back yet, at least not to all sectors of Moron.  Looting spread even to some stores in Moron,  Eventually the regime was bothered enough to send the army in to control the situation.  It is simply unbelievable that it took the authorities so long to react, letting Puerto Cabello police deal with it, eventually, we are told, arresting 19 people.  By the way, I could not find any declaration from the mayor, Matson.  Maybe he is on vacation? (sorry, I did find one 30 min later: he is actually critical of CORPOELEC, he has no choice I guess if he does not want to get lynched by his (ex?) electors)

And of course nothing on the state news.....  It is all a media manipulation and all of these people are paid actors.

Photo Credit el Carabobeño.