Financial Times Discovers Venezuela's Economy Suffers… After Sanctions
The Financial Times highlights Venezuela's 'dismal economy' piling pressure on Nicolás Maduro, a curious observation for a financial publication. One might even wonder if the nearly ten-year-long, sweeping U.S. sanctions regime—imposed specifically to isolate and destabilize the Venezuelan government—played some small part in this economic 'dismalness.' The U.S. Treasury, through numerous
executive orders (e.g., EO 13808, issued August 2017), systematically blocked Venezuela's access to international financial markets and crippled its vital oil sector, cutting off up to 99% of its revenue, according to CEPR. So, when the FT reports on a struggling economy, it’s not really news; it’s confirmation that the sanctions are 'working' as intended. The question isn't whether Maduro is
under pressure, but why the architects of that pressure then feign surprise at the outcome. It's a classic case of 'we broke it, but look how broken it is!' journalism—a convenient omission of context that allows the narrative of Maduro's self-inflicted wounds to persist.