Rubio's 'Patience': A Code Word for Prolonged Suffering
📰 THE STORY: Senator Marco Rubio, a long-time hawk on Venezuela, advocates for 'patience' regarding the nation's political situation, implying that current US strategies will eventually lead to a desired outcome. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: In 2002, the US backed a failed coup attempt against Hugo Chávez. More recently, in 2019, the US recognized Juan Guaidó as
Venezuela's 'interim president,' despite his lack of popular support or control, pushing for regime change while imposing severe sanctions. These sanctions, intensifying significantly from 2017 onwards, have blocked Venezuela's access to international markets and its own assets abroad, including an estimated $24 billion in frozen funds. A 2019 report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research
found that US sanctions were responsible for over 40,000 deaths in Venezuela between 2017 and 2018 alone, through reduced access to food, medicine, and healthcare. Double Standard: The media often frames Venezuelan hardship as solely the fault of the Maduro government, while simultaneously downplaying the devastating impact of US-led sanctions. When Russia is sanctioned, Western media widely
reports on the economic pain inflicted upon its citizens, but similar or even greater suffering in Venezuela is blamed internally. Similarly, calls for 'patience' are rarely applied to nations challenging US hegemony when it's American citizens enduring hardship, yet it's deemed acceptable for Venezuelans to suffer indefinitely under economic blockade. Follow the Money: Hardline stances on