On July 16th, 1799, Alexander von Humboldt arrived to Venezuela, with his fellow scientist, Aimé Bonpland, to start a voyage full of memorable findings.
Daily Briefing
A Country in Ceaseless Protest
During the first half of 2019, there were a total of 10,477 street protests in Venezuela: 58 protests a day. The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) issued a report that proves how the number of undernourished people grew in Latin America in recent years, due to the decline of food security in Venezuela. Victims talk about their political imprisonment cases and the opposition delegation returned to Barbuda to continue the negotiations sponsored by Norway.
Caracas Drinks the Dollar Kool-Aid
The spontaneous dollarization, accelerated by blackouts and remittances, is threatening to restrict the legal currency to those who are forced to use it, and to distort the economy even more than it already is.
Living in Their Cars: Gasoline rationing in Mérida
After getting used to spending days and nights queuing up for fuel, Mérida citizens must now adapt to the classic socialist move of setting restrictions in every service station.
Conspiracy Theories Make Inroads in Venezuelan Politics
Our political discussion and the limits on free press have given more resonance to outlandish interpretations of what’s happening. A new paper explains why their impact could increase further, thanks to state-sponsored disinformation.
A Measure of Our Fragility
How bad did Venezuela get? Among the many ways to answer that question, we can consider Fund for Peace’s Fragile State Index 2019, one of the multidisciplinary approaches that can tell the magnitude of our drama.
An Unraveling Nation-State
Venezuela needed more than four centuries to become a real country. Now, it has started dismantling again, along the petrostate and the army that used to hold it together.
The Voices of Internal Migration
As in the country’s pre-modern era, Venezuelans are moving from their hometowns to the capital, or other cities, looking for water, power, food, jobs. Here are a few testimonies of an increasingly common phenomenon.
Previous Posts
The Uneven Trajectory of Guaidó’s Diplomacy
The representatives of the caretaker president are critical to build and sustain the pressure on Maduro. But several complications muddle the always troubled waters of the ancient trade of international relations.
The Helping Clause of the 1984 Cartagena Declaration
Venezuelan refugees need international protection. One of the instruments that can be of use includes a definition of “refugees’ that could apply to our fellow nationals.
A Prussian-Inspired Institution Gave Venezuela a Professional Army
On July 5th, 1910, Venezuela’s Military Academy was created to make a nation-building army out of the force that finally stabilized the country.
Bachelet Report Released: Damning in All Fronts for the Maduro Regime
After the High Commissioner’s high-profile visit last month, the full UN report about human rights in Venezuela was made public. And it irrefutably confirms what many try to deny.
Nicolás is Naked: Gross
Michelle Bachelet issued her 18-page report about our crisis one day earlier. It makes Maduro and everyone around him look inefficient and cruel. Nobody can say that Venezuelans have been lying anymore.
The International Response to the Venezuelan Exodus: New Measures
While the number of Venezuelans seeking refuge keeps growing, which countries are receiving them, and under what conditions?
Fascism: The Left Project that Keeps Giving
What does the torture-murder of Captain Rafael Acosta Arévalo have to do with a simultaneous outburst of violence in Portland, Oregon by Antifa (“anti-fascist”) protestors? Just everything, that’s all.
An Explosive Venezuelan Diaspora Threatens Latin America
The Organization of American States expects that a quarter of the population of Venezuela will have left the country by the end of 2020. What’s the hemisphere doing about it?
Light Shines Upon Disinformation Darkness
In order to defeat disinformation, it's essential to understand how it works. A new report offers details about the hegemony's efforts to keep Venezuelans confused about what's going on.
Venezuela’s Trailblazers of Pride
As Pride Month comes to an end, Caracas Chronicles brings a small list of some openly gay, lesbian and transgender Venezuelans from every stripe that we can look up to and feel proud of.
The Trans Community Is The Invisible Face of The Crisis
In a country deeply ravaged by a complex humanitarian emergency, hormones are just a part of the innumerable supplies gone from the health system, and they're essential for those desperate to reach their true self.
Venezuelan Lives Drift Away at Sea
In the past six months, three Venezuelan boats carrying Venezuelan migrants have sunk at sea. At least 50 people have disappeared on these dangerous journeys to the neighboring insular States.
96 Hours in Line for Fuel
The fuel crisis reaches the Venezuelan south, drivers in Bolivar State spend between 24 to 96 hours waiting to fill up their tanks. New social habits and political tricks converge in the new normality of this oil-producing country without fuel.
How the Red Sox Saved Me from the Venezuelan Dictatorship
A bittersweet account—and instruction manual—about experiencing a demonstration in extreme heat and risk of violent death, from a baseball-loving protester in apocalyptic Maracaibo.
Ampli: Real Journalism from Venezuela’s Top Satirists
The creators of beloved website El Chigüire Bipolar launched an animated show online, made by investigative reporters, where Monty Python-like shorts explain the delirious absurdity of Latin American current affairs.
The Double Crossroads
Isa used to be a Venezuelan woman. Today, he is a migrant transgender man. The story of his transition can't be understood without the story of his migration. Isa is a man because he left Venezuela.
The Time Travel of Venezuelan Women
The Maduro regime is worse than negligent with women: it made them live again without the rights and securities they acquired during 20th century democracy
In Barquisimeto, Paramilitaries Are in Charge of Repression
The so called colectivos have all the support from the military and the police to keep this city of Western Venezuela from rebelling against the regime.
‘Mrs. Bachelet, Maduro Is Pinochet!’
Bachelet leaves Venezuela today. Bachelet heard and met with both victims of human rights violations and human rights activists. She'll talk to the press today, before she leaves the country and her official report will be presented in two weeks.
Charities Are Running Out of Time in Venezuela
A new NPR report shows how charities and NGOs, the last hope for thousands of neglected victims of Venezuela’s crisis, are facing extreme difficulties to keep doing their already diminished work.
The Day Miraflores Palace Was Closed for Good
On June 19th, 1923, Juan Vicente Gómez’s brother was murdered inside the official seat of Venezuelan presidents. Miraflores was then empty for 12 years.
The Old Ways Come Back to Face the Hardships of the...
In the middle of Merida’s mountains, an isolated village learned how to keep living while ignoring the widespread socio-economic collapse of Venezuela.
Talking Censorship with Desorden Público
A true Venezuelan institution, the band just played in Berkeley, California, and gave us a chance to think on the meaning of being an artist in today’s Venezuela, and how does it feel to be censored by your own government.
The Defender of Venezuelans’ Right to Internet
Marianne Diaz Hernández was recently recognized with an important international award, after her years of activism and research on the now universal, but poorly understood, field of digital rights.
Chronicles of Us, Part 5: Yerwins and Harold’s Mysterious Foul
Harold Añez and Yerwins Elías were two teenagers who dreamed of becoming big leaguers. An academy in Colombia was waiting for them. They kept training while they found the resources for the trip, but their plans went wrong.
Chavismo Speaking of Corruption
PanAm Post published an article purportedly revealing corrupt activities in Cúcuta, involving the delegation appointed by Juan Guaidó to handle expenses for soldiers who deserted to Colombia on February 23rd. The veracity of this accusation is yet to be seen, but the storm it caused underscores the need for more transparency in the opposition's camp.
Some Useful Songs of Experience
The rappers of Free Convict aren’t ordinary singers: they’re former inmates now trying to keep Venezuelan kids far from jail. With Caracas Mi Convive and Alimenta la Solidaridad, they work to share what they learned.
Can Blockchain Help Rebuild Venezuela?
The challenges associated with the Venezuelan crisis can be addressed with blockchain technology. It’s not easy to understand, but here we show you four simple use cases.
The Human Bargaining Chips of the Maduro Regime
All kinds of irregularities surround the incarceration of more than 800 political prisoners in Venezuela, among them the first vice-president of the National Assembly. Are they still isolated, waiting for their fates to be decided over a talk in Norway?
Leaving Home Through a Darkened Border
Although Maduro ordered opening the border with Colombia, the migrant situation remains critical. Due to the gas shortage, reaching Cucuta is harder, and colectivos make unregulated crossings more dangerous than ever.
