US Applauds Venezuela's 'Human Rights,' Forgetting Our Own
The Guardian heralded Venezuela’s release of 99 political prisoners, begrudgingly attributing it to 'unrestricted respect for human rights' amidst US pressure, while still labeling the 2024 election as 'widely believed to have been stolen.' This narrative is a classic exercise in selective outrage. Just last year, Senators like Bob Menendez, a vocal critic of foreign 'authoritarianism,' was
indicted on charges including acting as an unregistered foreign agent for Egypt, a country notorious for its own brutal suppression of dissent. Funny how our 'values' apply so differently depending on who the dictator is buying. We're meant to believe Venezuela's moves are purely self-serving, while ignoring how billions in US aid, much of which flows from defense contractors' lobbying efforts,
props up numerous regimes with human rights records far worse than anything Caracas is accused of. One might ask, how many 'political prisoners' does it take for a US ally to lose its 'democratic' label? Apparently, more than fit in a dozen Venezuelan prisons.