Maduro Issues Christmas Message: War Threats Are the Real Gift
Newsweek highlighted Nicolás Maduro's 2018 Christmas message, where he warned against a 'war threat' from Donald Trump's administration. The article positions this as a seasonal address, eliding the very real, very un-festive history of US attempts at regime change in Venezuela. One might almost forget that in 2002, the George W. Bush administration actively supported a coup attempt against Hugo
Chávez, Maduro's predecessor, a fact meticulously documented by declassified US documents. This isn't about Santa; it's about oil and influence. The US has imposed sanctions on Venezuela since 2005, tightening them significantly under Trump, leading to severe economic hardship for ordinary Venezuelans – a humanitarian crisis often blamed solely on Maduro without acknowledging the external
chokehold. How many Christmas messages does a nation get to send before their sovereignty is taken seriously, not just as a seasonal aside?