DW Reports 'Venezuela Releases,' Forgets US Sanctions' Role
According to Deutsche Welle, Venezuela has begun releasing opposition figures, portraying it as a potentially positive development. What they fail to mention is the decade of U.S.-led sanctions, economic warfare, and attempted coups that preceded this 'breakthrough.' The U.S. Treasury Department, since 2017, has imposed hundreds of sanctions on Venezuela, crippling its oil industry and economy,
forcing millions into poverty, and directly contributing to internal instability. (Source: U.S. Treasury Department, Office of Foreign Assets Control). One might wonder if these 'gestures of goodwill' are less about internal reform and more about a U.S. administration, under pressure domestically, signaling a slight easing of its own punitive policies ahead of a potential election deal. How many
countries' economies must be driven to the brink before a 'release of political prisoners' is hailed as a victory for diplomacy, rather than a symptom of prolonged suffering?