Welcome! This is an unapologetic, agenda-free zone. Just commentaries on current events that’ll move you to think, laugh, rage, and even cry.
There’s clear and convincing evidence that strongman Nicolás Maduro suffered a humiliating defeat in last month’s election. But no one should’ve been surprised that he claimed victory and refused to cede power. Then, on Sunday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Biden administration held secret talks to offer Maduro amnesty. The administration made a… Read more.
Three years ago, Washington was hailing Venezuela’s opposition leader, Juan Guaidó. He was the most celebrated exiled leader since France’s Charles de Gaulle. President Trump even invited Guaidó as his guest of honor at the 2020 State of the Union Address. US Abandons Venezuela’s Opposition Leader Guaidó I was neither impressed nor encouraged. The title… Read more.
Ukraine is begging NATO to enforce a no-fly zone to help it fend off Russian bombs. Short of that, it’s begging for fighter jets. But NATO leaders fear both would escalate the War in Ukraine into World War III . Therefore, NATO is refusing. For obvious reasons, refusing to enforce a no-fly zone makes sense.… Read more.
When President Trump began threatening to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, here is how I ridiculed him in “Cry for Venezuela,” March 4, 2019: Trump is offering [opposition leader Juan Guaido] little more than trademark bluster with his saber-rattling rhetoric. He clearly does not have the cojones to launch military intervention to remove Maduro; you… Read more.
Washington was abuzz last year with predictions of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s imminent ouster. But here in part is how I pooh-poohed those predictions in “Maduro Defying (and May Outlast) Trump, Just Like Assad Did Obama (and Castro Did Kennedy),” May 6, 2019: ____________________ Trump would have you believe that [opposition leader] Juan Guaidó is… Read more.
President Trump is notoriously thin-skinned. And nothing gets under it quite like observations that he’s behaving just like his predecessor, Barack Obama. Yet there’s no denying that he’s behaving towards Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro just as Obama did towards Syrian President Bashir al-Assad. No doubt you recall Obama declaring that Assad must go: The future… Read more.
Venezuela might not be a “shithole country,” but it’s certainly a basket case — so much so that it’s making Zimbabwe look like a paragon of political stability and economic sustainability. Five years ago, there were 4000 white-owned farms in Zimbabwe; today, there are only 400 (mostly unproductive) farms left. Five years ago, Zimbabwe was… Read more.
Venezuela’s controversial new assembly has opened despite fierce opposition at home and abroad. President Nicolás Maduro says the constituent assembly is needed to bring peace after months of crisis. But the opposition says the new body, which has the ability to rewrite the constitution, is a way for the president to cling to power. (BBC,… Read more.
Venezuela has been on a political and economic descent into the heart of darkness for years. I have bemoaned this unfolding tragedy in many commentaries, including most recently in “Venezuela’s Death Spiral of Recession, Protest, and Repression,” April 24, 2017. But it speaks volumes that so much is being made of Sunday’s pyrrhic reprieve –… Read more.
Despite having the world’s largest proven oil reserves, Venezuela has suffered for several years from high inflation, rampant crime and a shortage of basic goods. The protests taking place across the country were expected to be the biggest in three years, putting extra pressure on President Maduro to negotiate with the opposition and find a… Read more.
