We Never Could Have Imagined (or Prepped For) What Actually Happened in Venezuela

This article was originally published by J. G. Martinez D. at The Organic Prepper

Can we prepare for everything?

We never could have imagined…or prepped for…what happened in Venezuela.

In this article, I wanted to analyze my preps, and the nature of the apocalypse we have been forced to face. I don’t know about you, but anything that kicks you out of your place, of your warm bed, your pets, kids, wife, and the rest of your family, for me does not have another better word to describe it.

My comfort bubble was destroyed, my work of an entire life was thrown out by the window, my family insurance full coverage policy is gone with the wind (although with no medications to be had and doctors running away to Argentina and Colombia, it’s not like it was very useful though), and the few preps I had for 4 or 5 months are history now. Of course, they worked pretty well, and we stretched it a little bit, but once the system collapsed, there is nothing else we can do but close the place and bug out to some other place where we can at least buy food.

What happened was something entirely different from what we had prepared for.

I guess that what I mean is, that, within our means, we prepared more or less adequately, but what really happened was something entirely different that we had not prepared for.

We prepared for some of the consequences of turmoil, unrest, riots, crime. We were able to hunker down for a while and able to defend ourselves silently and seriously, without having to leave our haven. The scarcity problems started back there around 2013-2014. Those years were the last time I remember we could buy large amounts of wheat flour, corn flour for arepas (yes, those yellow packages you see people fist fighting each other for on the web), pasta, powdered and UHT packaged milk, rice, and other staples.

An economic collapse this long seemed like something that was entirely out of the question. It was entirely unpredictable. I would have expected a pandemics or a coup d’etat long before this hungry zombie-like scenario.

We knew something disturbing was going to happen sooner or later. We could feel it in the atmosphere…but nothing like this. We never thought it would be impossible to find a battery, or engine oil, or gasoline (Jeez, this was an oil-producing country!!) or that kids were going to be endangered in the very door of their schools. In the worst of our nightmares we could have imagined that one of our rescued cats that we relocated with one of our friends in a barrio was going to suffer a horrendous death (please don’t ask for details).

We never could have imagined that the oil and electricity state companies employees were going to be threatened with imprisonment for treason if they tried to quit their jobs to leave the country. Because THAT IS HAPPENING. When I found about this, I felt a deep sensation of relief as never in my life because I had left. The only similar feeling I can think about, was when my last son was born, and the doctors told me he was just fine, like a champion, and no reasons to worry about.

Under the current situation, being accused of such terrible charges is a complete nightmare. But with the income from the online freelance work, we have been able to at least keep the home running, without the tiny salary that once was more than enough for a good living. Without it…our family would have been condemned to doom, no matter our preps.

So quitting and leaving the country (and my family) behind was one of the choices that have been the hardest in our lives, but the most sound, and the most assertive in the long run. Just by avoiding the potential danger of being (falsely of course) accused of treason and getting in a messy problem, it’s already a huge benefit. I have always given trust to female intuition. When my wife and I discussed about how bad things were going, and the decision for me to leave first, I knew it was her intuition speaking.

We never imagine that cash was going to be another commodity, and that the prices were going to be much different if you tried to pay with debit card instead of cash. If you pay with a debit card, the price will be double than if paid in cash. This is not surprising: the rate of the circulating cash to the non-circulating is deeply distorted. There are people even SELLING the cash: you transfer them one million BsF to their bank accounts, they will give you 500 or 600.000 cash. And that is barely enough for two dozen eggs and some cheese.

In retrospect, what could we have done to prepare for the current situation?

Let’s see.

• A 5 years antibiotics supply, for each family member (please include pets, they could be sick or get wounded too, and we consider them members too), with the assistance of good will, close doctors. This should be considered as an insurance policy; a non-transferable, secret stash of medications for the worst scenario. Cefadroxil, penicillin, and some other similar stuff.


• Diarrhea stopping meds


• Serum


• Needles and tubing


• Surgical gloves


• Breath cover masks, and a couple of reusable syringes that you could sterilize in a small backpack stove or a bonfire in the backyard…


• A solar power array with a small battery pack just for lighting


• A large, buried diesel custom-made aluminum tank with a proper sized generator (there is not too much space left in our place: we live in a subdivision, houses are wall to wall next to each other) with a homemade silencer, and adequately rigged to the wiring of the house for the largest systems, like freezers and air conditioning. Specially designed plastic diesel tanks would have been best as they don’t rust and they are cheap and strong; but the aluminum seemed a better idea because they make it with the size you want, and as the space is limited I would have optimized it. It could have been possible even designing an aesthetically attractive setup, something like a strong wood frame with the tank on top, and with a small hanging plants gardening to obstruct the view of the tank, and wrapping the feeding lines to the generator in ivy.


• Enclosing our garage before the steel rebar disappeared from the white market and the production was destined to the black and grey market. (I hate fencing, it is like living in a birdcage, but this would helped a lot for peace of mind).


• A sun-protected small herb garden in the roof of the small workshop in the back of the house, with spices and medicinal plants. The excess of production (These are the tropics, plants here grow like weeds from one week to another, remember, lots of sun and rain) could be exchanged for some staples.


• Perhaps a chicken coop with a couple of hens. The eggs price has been so inflated this days that a single egg costs more than the minimum wage. A hen produces more than a laborer. Do you remember that stories about the eggs, chocolate, and potatoes acting as currency in the WWII? It is becoming currency here too.


• Perhaps even growing our own sugar cane to squeeze, grind and get what we call here “papelon” (solidified sugar cane juice) for sweetening would be possible in our small front garden


• A couple of corn rows, not the hybrid Monsanto genetically modified crap that needs industrial fertilizer, weed killers and unable to generate seed, but the Amazonic variety: larger production in much smaller time, just needs sun (we have more of it than what we would like) and water.


• Another SUV, with a much taller ground clearance, larger tires, diesel-powered with no electronics and a huge front fender. Something heavy, strong, black or dark grey, windows covered by that plastic clear bullet proof sheeting, able to plow a pack of thugs in motorcycles out of the way without a blink.

Yes, I know how it sounds. But I don’t care after some things I have known these MFs can do, like a guy being shot 30 meters from the person who told me the story by a criminal in a motorcycle, and me and my family almost being stopped in a desert road at 8pm in the middle of nowhere with a log in the middle of the way (I just push it to the floorboard, and we jumped over it).

There is no possible way to have stockpiled pasta and other dry goods for such a long period without buying another house, or building a second floor adding about 60 or 70 square meters to the house. And even so it would have been risky: someone watching in the wrong moment and we would have been in deep trouble, accused of “hoarding” and yadda yadda (insert your favorite “socialist” excuse for stealing private property here). Our goods seized, the 10% sold in public to “the poor people” for the government-owned newspapers and the 90% stolen by you-know-who.

Self-supplying proteins with our current setup in a subdivision is much harder. There is not too much space. Rabbits and other rodents are out of the question as the flies their poop attract here in the tropics are a problem, and economically not viable by the way. The cleaning products and food are too expensive and, as you must suppose, scarce. The people in country cottages already will be much better prepared than we nerdy, espresso-addicted, city dwellers.

In this light, it seems that the best choices would have been moving out to a cottage, don’t you think?

It’s not that easy.

Our laws don’t approve home schooling; driving one hour from the country cottage to the school everyday is out of the question because getting car parts and consumables is nearly impossible, or too expensive.

Crime is getting increasingly nasty. A cottage with crops and cattle is an easy target for hungry people that was too lazy and ignorant to prepare themselves when they could. Getting a tool like a shotgun for defense just would bring more problems. Thugs see this as an attraction too big to resist. Since weapons and ammo are scarce, they are a real treasure. They know where you are, and they are organized and have the proper contacts to be able to put you in a  very difficult position.

It would have been much worse to take down something trying to mess with you in your own home, as they never steal alone. The castle laws won’t apply, unless the deceased has been a real pain in the backside and a dangerous criminal in his life, and if that’s the case, chances are that a lot of his friends are similar. A second “visit”, perhaps with more prepared thugs will come, because they know you will be able to do whatever you need and won’t take horse manure from anyone.

Or even worse, LEOs will prosecute the cottage owner because they are a ‘threat to the government.’ They will empty the house of whatever is inside as possible “products of a crime” and the owner will be unable to prove the contrary from inside the jail. I have known from several people who had to pay monthly to the guerrilla militia the products that they preferred to sell at a loss.

Having kids to take care of and provide for, the lone wolf option is not really an option. If the BOL is not far away enough or well hidden enough, sooner or later someone will discover it. The best option is to band together with some other families, each in their cottage, and build a communications network reliable enough and with good backup, in case some packs try to attack. I know this would be much easier for USA people, as their access to all kind of defense tools is much better.

Personal note:

I want to thank to those who have sent assistance, from the bottom of my heart. However, building the needed amount has been slow: I have still to buy some mattresses, a small table with chairs, and some other stuff, despite sending some money home weekly for food as well, before getting the tickets to get my people out. I had to leave all of my gear back at home, and starting from zero.

I appreciate your comments, even if I have not responded to most of them yet, but I promise you I will submit a special article with the answers to all your questions, as they are very interesting and I know you will be interested in a lot of what I have to say about those topics!

Thanks, my dear readers, and see you next week!

About the Author

Jose is an upper middle class professional. He is a former worker of the oil state company with a Bachelor’s degree from one of the best national Universities. He has a small 4 members family, plus two cats and a dog. An old but in good shape SUV, a good 150 square meters house in a nice neighborhood, in a small but (formerly) prosperous city with two middle size malls. Jose is a prepper and shares his eyewitness accounts and survival stories from the collapse of his beloved Venezuela. If you’d like to donate to help Jose get his family out of Venezuela, you can do so here: paypal.me/JoseM151

Fearful Politicians Now Prepping In Case “Public Turns Violent Against Them”

Image, Alton, Wikimedia Commons

This article was written by James Holbrooks and originally published at The Anti-Media.

Editor’s Comment: It is safe to say that things are unraveling. While a good self-defense strategy is a always a good thing for individuals to think through – many politicians are now taking things to the next level. With the population sufficiently riled up to a near revolutionary point, and President Trump raising the bar for acceptable extremes in politics, many of the elected officials and appointed bureaucrats who sold the American public on a failed Obamacare plan are now fearful that they could be targeted at political events or out of control demonstrations against forced health care or any other policy. Republicans involved in repealing the legislation are also fearful, and part of the left has become violent and anarchistic.

In addition to personal body guards and considerable distance from the general public, politicians are now considering exit drills for public events including extra points of retreat in case things go too far. But when things are this far gone, no one can guarantee that violence won’t occur. It is a sign of the times, a time of revolutionary discontent. Let’s just hope someone sensible is ready to hold back the political vacuum that will occur when the establishment is uprooted. The tail can sting as sharply as the head that bites. For better or worse, everything is changing, and people in all parts of society had better prepare for the unexpected, the unstable and the potential for widespread violence and unrest.

Politicians Are Now Making Plans in Case the Public Turns Against Them Violently

by James Holbrooks

As protests continue to break out all around the nation over President Donald Trump’s desire to scrap Obamacare, Politico reported Tuesday that many politicians are beginning to worry about their own personal safety — to the point where some are having private sessions to discuss the matter.

Citing sources who were in the room, Politico writes:

“House Republicans during a closed-door meeting Tuesday discussed how to protect themselves and their staffs from protesters storming town halls and offices in opposition to repealing Obamacare.”

Some of the suggestions, the news outlet reports, include “having a physical exit strategy at town halls, or a backdoor at congressional offices to slip out of, in case demonstrations turn violent; having local police monitor town halls; replacing any glass office-door entrances with heavy doors and deadbolts; and setting up intercoms to ensure those entering congressional offices are there for appointments, not to cause chaos.”

While protests are popping up all over, the Republicans’ private session was no doubt prompted by events that happened over the weekend. While speaking before a raucous crowd in Roseville, California, Representative Tom McClintock had to be escorted from the stage and away from the event by local police officers.

McClintock, who held town hall meetings during the politically volatile days of both the Tea Party and Occupy movements, told The Hill he’s never seen anything like it:

“This was something very different. After an hour, the incident commander for the Roseville Police Department advised us the situation was deteriorating and felt it necessary to get me out of the venue. That’s never happened before.”

This sentiment appeared to be echoed at Tuesday’s closed-door session. Commenting on the meeting, Republican Study Committee Chairman Mark Walker of North Carolina stated:

“The message was: One, be careful for security purposes. Watch your back. And two, be receptive. Honor the First Amendment, engage, be friendly, be nice. Because it is toxic out there right now. Even some of the guys who have been around here a lot longer than I have, have never seen it to this level.”

Sources told Politico that the potential for violence is serious enough, in fact, that the House sergeant-at-arms has asked congressional offices to report any threat. That office is also passing out manuals on best practices to keep staffers safe.

Ironically, the backlash over the possible repeal of Obamacare that Republicans are facing now is similar to the backlash faced by Democrats years back as they were trying to force Obamacare into law.

“It’s not that you run from protesters,” Representative David Reichert of Washington said during an interview after the meeting, “but if someone presents some sort of physical threat or are espousing a verbal threat that could lead to a physical threat, if you feel that you’re in danger and your staff is in danger, call 911 and leave and go out the back door.”

In other words…run. Call the cops and run.

This article was written by James Holbrooks and originally published at The Anti-Media.

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Author: James Holbrooks
Views: Read by 256 people
Date: February 9th, 2017
Website: http://theantimedia.org/politicians-plans-public-turns-violently/

Copyright Information: This content has been contributed to SHTFplan by a third-party or has been republished with permission from the author. Please contact the author directly for republishing information.

This Underground Survival Community Proves Preppers “Don’t Just Survive, They Thrive”

This article was written by Amanda Froelich and originally published at TrueActivist.

Editor’s Comment: Increasingly, society is poised to be separated into two groups – those who are completely vulnerable during a collapse, and those who will be ready to survive.

The latter group will not just include the wealthy, but also the frugal and prepared type who take nothing for granted, and make extra preparations in case of the worst. While a major catastrophe may not fall upon the country, there are many crisis flashpoints that could strike at any moment – and put entire regions into danger.

These underground survival communities are everything that cities are not – they are isolated, self-contained and self-sufficient – all great assets during a prolonged disaster that could include rioting, looting and roaming gangs looking for easy targets.

World’s Largest Survival Community Has 575 Off-Grid Bunkers [Take A Peek]

By Amanda Froelich

In an unsuspecting location exists the world’s largest survival community, where doomsday preppers can invest in an eco-friendly bunker for just $25,000.

In one of the most unassuming locations exists the world’s largest survival community, complete with 575 off-grid doomsday bunkers. Near the southern edge of Edgemont, South Dakota (population 740),  the Vivos xPoint community can be found.

Survivalists who wish to prepare for the worst can lease an off-grid bunker in a high-security area for $25,000. Additionally, there is a $1,000 per year ground lease that extends for 99 years.

The survival community was once an Army depot that used to store ammunition and bombs from 1942 to 1967. Now, it exists as a potential refuge located about 100 miles from the “nearest known military nuclear targets.” In the case of WWIII, a zombie apocalypse, or (more likely) an economic collapse, at least 5,000 people can find security while the world falls apart. According to Vivos, each bunker can endure a 500,000-pound internal blast – just to be safe.

Each bunker, which is approximately 1,800 to 2,400 square feet, is covered by a berm. Inside, residents will find life-sustaining resources, including water which can be acquired via two wells and is stored in reinforced concrete tanks.

The company claims 10 to 20 people can subsist in a bunker for an entire year. And, those who lease a spot in the community can hire a contractor to outfit the shelter however they please. Additionally, Vivos sells a turnkey shelter.

Credit: Vivos

Credit: Vivos

Tenants of a bunker can choose geothermal heating, solar or wind to provide backup power for a generator, or even a nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) air filtration system, reports Inhabitat. As the potential for “SHTF” increases, Vivos intends to install a general store, shooting range, hydroponic gardens, horse stables, medical clinic, classroom, and a members-only restaurant. Of course, other planned amenities will likely also be included.

Credit: Vivos

In fact, Vivos wants to make sure those who prep ahead don’t just survive, they thrive. The company has suggested creating more shelters to store art, wine, cars, and other fine things of modern life.

According to Business Insider, the community is presently empty. However, it’s the place one will want to be in the case of impending disaster. And if South Dakota doesn’t seem appealing, Vivos also offers communities in Indiana and Europe.

This article was written by Amanda Froelich and originally published at TrueActivist.

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Divided America Poised For Riots: “95% Chance of Widespread Post-Election Violence”

This article was written by Mike Adams and originally published at Natural News.com.

Editor’s Comment: Take a look at the possibilities – Trump could win the popular vote, but lose badly in the electoral college, or the “official” vote tally, for popular and electoral could be called for Hillary; Trump might even win the electoral college… maybe. Either which way this thing goes, there are going to be millions and millions of angry voters in this country, and there is no sense of normalcy at all. Things are at fever pitch, and the country is at a revolutionary point.

There is a usurper at work stealing the election – or so it would appear – and there is every chance that patriotic Americans aren’t going to stand for it. Whether they remain peaceful or not, there very well could be a clash with the police state, the establishment and their loyal media cohorts. Things could get very ugly in this country, and the constitutional republic may well be past the point of resuscitation. If there is violence, it may be staged; but either way this could be the kick off point from which we can never return. Then again, there is always the chance that life will go on, not too much differently then it always has… but that seems to be a very low chance. What do you think will happen?

ANALYSIS: Election outcome scenarios reveal 95% chance of widespread post-election violence… streets of America to run red with blood

by Mike Adams

My ANALYSIS of possible outcomes from the upcoming presidential election reveals that America only has a 5% chance of remaining peaceful after November 8. This does not mean the violence will occur on November 9th, but rather that events will be set into motion on that day which will lead to an escalation of violence (95% chance, see below).

Here are the scenarios I see unfolding, all based on the best available information right now:

Scenario #1) Trump wins popular vote

There are three sub-scenarios under this outcome:

Scenario 1A (10% chance): Trump wins popular vote, but democrats steal electoral vote to claim victory, overriding the voters

Even though Donald Trump wins the popular vote, the democrats have bribed enough electoral college representatives to sway the vote to Clinton, even in contradiction to their own states’ voters.

Should this occur, expect mass protests, violence, bloodshed and many legal challenges in those states where the electoral college votes do not reflect the popular vote. There is no question that the Trump-supporting citizens of America will not accept a “rigged” election outcome where the electoral college votes are essentially stolen from the People. This would very quickly escalate into armed citizens marching in the streets and occupying key government buildings in an armed revolution against corruption.

Scenario 1B (60% chance): Obama declares Trump victory invalid, claiming the Russians hacked the vote

In my analysis, this is the most likely outcome of the upcoming election, and the democrats have been planting this narrative in advance with ridiculous claims that “the Russians” are running Wikileaks and that Trump is a “Putin puppet” (direct claim from Hillary Clinton in the third debate).

The purpose of all this is to create the narrative where a Trump victory can be declared invalid by Obama. Despite all the talk among democrats about how much they love and respect democracy, the simple truth is that they deeply hate it (and don’t trust it). There is almost no chance that Obama and the Clintons will voluntarily cede power to Donald Trump.

If Obama declares a Trump victory invalid, all hell breaks loose across the nation, with leftists going “full terrorism” and patriots taking up arms to defend democracy against the anti-American traitors in Washington D.C.

Scenario 1C (5% chance): Democrats accept the Trump victory and agree to peacefully transition power.

Even if Obama and the Clintons admit defeat and agree that Donald Trump is the next President, the liberal voters go nuts and begin firebombing buildings all across America. You’ll see mass riots breaking out everywhere. Obama can then use this to declare Martial Law and, if he wishes, postpone the transfer of power to Donald Trump (or blame him for all the violence, of course).

Remember, the democrats are already running mass staged violence across America (ProjectVeritasAction.com). They can easily stage riots, arson, bombings and much more in order to maximize chaos in the streets.

Scenario #2) Clinton wins popular vote

Based on current information (and considering just how much the “official” polls are completely rigged by deliberately oversampling democrats), in my analysis, there is only a 25% total chance that Hillary Clinton wins the popular vote. Here are the sub-scenarios under that 25%:

Scenario 2A (20% chance): Clinton wins the reported vote, but Trump challenges the validity of the election results

This scenario very likely starts with legal challenges to the mass election fraud, but could quickly escalate to a military coup or an armed citizens’ revolt where outraged Americans literally march on Washington and depose the corrupt regime in power.

Expect huge bloodshed in this scenario. There is no question that roughly half of America simply cannot and will not accept Hillary Clinton as their president. She is too corrupt, too evil and too dangerous to maintain the consent of the governed. (Hillary Clinton is a serial criminal who must be indicted and imprisoned if America is to remain anything resembling a legitimate nation that respects law.)

Thanks to Wikileaks and Project Veritas, everyone with a working brain now knows the democrats are hopelessly corrupt and deeply invested in widespread voter fraud to steal the White House.

Scenario 2B (5% chance): Trump accepts the election results and tells supporters to get behind Hillary Clinton

If Clinton wins and Trump admits she won fair and square (which seems VERY unlikely), he could publicly call for everyone to back down and accept the Clinton presidency.

I see the chance of this at only 5%. And even then, so many conservatives and patriots are going to be so angry at this outcome that they may decide to stage their own peaceful protests.

95% chance of mass violence in one form or another

The upshot of all this is that I see only a 5% chance of a peaceful, non-violent outcome to this election. In most conceivable scenarios, America descends into mass violence of one form or another.

This is a direct result of the extreme polarization of political beliefs in America today, where we have an entire class of illiterate, ignorant Hillary Clinton supporters who only watch CNN and have no idea whatsoever that the Clintons are corrupt criminals. Witness the depth of the democrats’ corruption in this Project Veritas veritas (part 3), just released today:

On the other side, we have informed, awake Americans who understand how this election is their very last chance to restore democracy by voting against the corrupt establishment.

These two groups cannot reason with each other. They cannot compromise, and frankly, you can’t even reason with democrats anymore because they are all so propagandized and brain damaged that they have utterly abandoned the very concept of “facts.” (To them, a “fact” is anything Hillary Clinton says, while a “lie” is anything Donald Trump says.)

We are so far beyond the realm of reason that democrats are now essentially running America like a massive political CULT steeped in delusion and mental illness. Believing in the lies of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton has very nearly become a psychiatric disorder, as their ideas are rooted in such lunacy that only a mentally ill person could possibly believe them (or vote for them).

In essence, this vote on November 8th is not merely a vote to find out whether America will reject the insane corruption of Hillary Clinton, it’s also a vote to find out whether the American people have collectively lost their minds.

If Clinton wins, it means we will all find ourselves living in a society of mentally ill zombies and cultists who are a danger to everyone (including themselves).

The global debt collapse will be initiated no matter who wins

Importantly, no matter who wins, the global debt collapse is imminent, which means the entire scam of Big Government, endless growth and high entitlement payouts is going to come to a catastrophic end. And that’s mathematically guaranteed to unfold no matter who wins the presidency.

Make sure you understand the if Donald Trump wins and takes office, the central bankers of the world will deliberately crash the system so that Donald Trump can be blamed for everything.

I’ve even published an entire video detailing this scenario. View it here:

This article was written by Mike Adams and originally published at Natural News.com.