US Media Anoints Shadow President for Venezuela
📰 THE STORY: The Hill reports on comments from María Corina Machado, an opposition leader in Venezuela, asserting she will be president 'when the time comes,' framing her as a legitimate and inevitable force despite being barred from holding office in Venezuela due to alleged administrative irregularities. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: This isn't the first time the US media
has attempted to anoint Venezuela's leadership. In 2019, the US government, alongside European allies, recognized Juan Guaidó as Venezuela's interim president, a self-proclaimed leader who held no real power and never won a popular election. This mirrors the 2002 US-backed coup attempt against Hugo Chávez , which briefly installed Pedro Carmona as president before popular protest restored Chávez
to power. The US has a long history of meddling in Latin American democracies, from the 1973 CIA coup in Chile to the 1954 CIA overthrow of Guatemala's democratically elected government , all to secure corporate interests and geopolitical influence. Double Standard: The same media outlets that champion 'democracy' and 'rule of law' in their own countries readily dismiss Venezuela's electoral
processes and legal rulings against Machado. If a US politician were legally barred from running due to financial irregularities or attempting to undermine an election, they would be rightly condemned. Yet, for figures like Machado, whose political career has been heavily subsidized by foreign interests, her disqualification is framed as an act of authoritarianism, not the upholding of sovereign