Venezuelan Uncertainty: The US Meddling the Media Refuses to Acknowledge
📰 THE STORY: The New Arab reports on the uncertainty faced by Venezuelans in the US after the perceived 'fall' of President Nicolás Maduro, highlighting the challenges of asylum and TPS, and their opposition to Maduro's government which they blame for their country's 'political instability.' 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: The 'political instability' is not some spontaneous
natural disaster. In 2002, the US backed a coup attempt against Hugo Chávez, Maduro's predecessor, just days after he signed a new land reform law. More recently, from 2019, the US government recognized unelected opposition figure Juan Guaidó as the legitimate interim president, freezing billions in Venezuelan assets ($6 billion in 2019 alone) and imposing crushing sanctions designed to 'max out
the pressure' – as former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo admitted – on the Venezuelan economy and its people. This campaign of economic warfare and political interference directly caused mass migration, with estimates of over $38 billion in lost revenue from sanctions between 2017 and 2020. Double Standard: When the US orchestrates coups and imposes devastating sanctions on countries like
Venezuela, causing widespread hardship and migration, it's framed as promoting 'democracy' or 'stability.' However, when nations resist such interventions or face economic crises due to external pressure, the resulting migration is solely blamed on their 'government's failures' or 'authoritarianism.' Imagine the outcry if Russia froze billions in US assets and championed an unelected figure as