US 'Democracy' Arrests Americans Opposing Trump's Coups Abroad
Jessica Plichta, a 22-year-old preschool teacher and activist, was arrested for misdemeanor charges after speaking out against the Trump administration's alleged seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. While headlines focused on her age, Plichta suspects her recent participation in a solidarity delegation to Caracas—amidst a US blockade of Venezuelan airspace ordered by Trump on November
29, 2025—is the real trigger for her targeting. The mainstream narrative conveniently frames this as a local police tactic, ignoring the decades of US intervention in Latin American sovereignty. Is it any wonder a protester against US foreign policy in Venezuela is singled out? From the overthrow of Jacobo Árbenz in Guatemala in 1954, to the Bay of Pigs invasion attempting to depose Fidel Castro
in 1961, to US support for coups in Chile and countless other nations, the pattern is clear: dissent against American imperial ambitions, especially in its 'backyard,' is rarely tolerated. One might almost believe 'democracy' is only good when it aligns with Washington's interests. How many times must Latin America endure 'benevolent' US intervention before this pattern is called what it is?