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.
Daily Briefing
The Bachelet Effect
Deputy Gilber Caro was released from prison on the same week Michelle Bachelet visits Venezuela. Chavismo accused Juan Guaidó and the opposition of corruption, as if Maduro or Jorge Rodríguez had never heard of Derwick, CADIVI, CLAP, PDVAL or PDVSA.
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?
Previous Posts
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.
The Ideological Necessities That Turned into Collective Punishment
The Left continues touting the paper in which Mark Weisbrot and Jeffrey Sachs claim that 2017’s lending sanctions killed 40,000 people, when in fact, it was ideologically constrained decisions that caused the humanitarian emergency.
The Doctor of the Jail
Carmelo Gallardo is one of the 11 doctors who were detained in the protests of April 30th, 2019, in Venezuela. He’s a hematologist and chief the Blood Bank of Maracay’s Central Hospital, in Aragua, accused of resisting authority, obstructing a public road and incitement. This is his wife’s testimony.
Back to Portugal, 50 Years Later
They made a life in Venezuela, fleeing poverty and dictatorship in Portugal. Now they are returning to the country they were born in, to survive as they can, with a half-forgotten language, at 70 or 80 years old.
The Mystery of the Leaked Ramos-Maduro Interview
The 17-minute long interview with the Venezuelan dictator that caused the detention of Univisión’s star is now public. The news isn't the interview itself, but how it made its way to TV.
Humanitarian Catastrophe
We've gone back 50 years in matters of public health and we're running out of doctors. TSJ moved Ángela Aguirre's case to a court in Caracas, since it had proved impossible to have #JusticiaParaAngelaAguirre in Bolivar State.
Chavismo’s Foreign Allies Have Its Back on Disinformation
The hegemony knows how to create mayhem in social media. But recently, international allies are lending a hand in spreading false info and pushing fake narratives.
The Nightmare of Growing Up in Venezuela
Chavismo stole a whole generation of Venezuelans’ childhood, they have no idea what growing up in a normal country is like. These are indicators that no kid should ever have to experience.
The Quixote Who Defended Caracas Against the English
On the third day of June, 1595, one of the most amazing episodes of early Venezuelan History took place. An old Spaniard charged almost alone against English pirates, giving birth to a legend of useless heroism.
How Cotiza Survives
“Rodríguez, María Fernanda” and her people are a microcosmos of poverty in Venezuela, telling us how life got so much worse. Still, defeat is rare in the Caribbean: despair and joy go hand in hand.
Uncomfortable Questions on a Suffering, Paralyzed Nation
Let’s look carefully at the unprecedented combination of factors that keeps Venezuela in this unbearable state. Let’s try to answer the questions few dare to ask.
No Answers for Dying Kids
While the dictatorship blames the U.S. for the deaths at Caracas Children’s Hospital, the causes seem to be negligence, underfunding and the international agreement for bone marrow transplants, before the OFAC sanctions.
Surviving on the Underground Railroad to Colombia
Thousands flee daily along the main corridor of immigration from Venezuela to Bogota and points beyond, and an informal economy has evolved to help them.
The Regime Keeps Shipping Gas to Cuba While Venezuelans Push Their...
States like Zulia, Tachira, Merida and Lara got the short end of the stick when it comes to gasoline supply and distribution. Experts warn that Caracas will catch up and will soon have to endure several day long lines for fuel, it’s only a matter of time.
Where’s Gilber Caro?
One month ago, deputy Gilber Caro, one of the regime’s usual suspects was taken by SEBIN. Since then, neither his family or Voluntad Popular, same party of caretaker President Guaidó, have heard from him. He disappeared. Why?
Is TPS Coming for Venezuelan Asylum Seekers?
A bill to activate Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans is moving quickly through the U.S. Congress, but how does this affect Venezuelans in the U.S., including those currently seeking asylum?
The Man Who Helped Write Venezuela’s Founding Documents
One of the most important Venezuelans in our republican history is also one of the least known. Juan Germán Roscio, born 256 years ago, co-wrote the Declaration of Independence and our first Constitution.
Chronicles of Us, Part 3: The Shoes of Grief
After his two teenage sons were killed by police officers, Daniel took refuge in repairing torn shoes, in a dying city where oil once meant a great hope. Another moving story by La Vida de Nos.
Changes in FX Controls When It Doesn’t Matter
Did the exchange controls end, as some have said, when the regime announced the new scheme of mesas de dinero? Here’s the real score (SPOILERS: You still can’t freely exchange currency).
The Great March Blackout Never Really Ended
When chavismo talks about “things returning to normal” regarding energy, it means “normal in Caracas.” Most of the nation suffers daily blackouts that freeze people’s lives, institutions and erodes their minds. This is how you live with a broken infrastructure.
The Distorting Power of Opacity
Depriving the public of the access to accurate and timely information is one of the cornerstones of domination and fear. But in a failed state like Venezuela, even self-proclaimed democrats and international institutions use it for their own ends.
Amnesty International: Crimes Against Humanity Have Been Carried Out in Venezuela
A fifty-page long report published earlier this week by the human rights organization presents strong evidence on extrajudicial executions, disproportionate use of lethal force, and illegal arrests.
Reruns in Norway
Be aware: chavismo will try to use the Norwegian offer to conduct a new round of negotiations that buys it more time, fooling everyone again. The question is if Venezuelans (and the international community) will accept it.how
TIAR and the Use of Force
The National Assembly is trying to make Venezuela return to the Interamerican Treaty of Mutual Assistance, that some have seen as a door to invoke a military intervention. But, does membership of the Pact of Rio change the current legal position?
When a Failed State Punches You in the Face Every Day
Spending more than 12 hours a day without electric power, carrying tons of gallons of water, walking hundreds of miles due to the lack of transport, and standing in long lines for gas is the daily life of the people of Mérida. A city in the border that has been emptied.
Chronicles of Us, Part 2: Gladys’ World
In her mind, she’s 19, but she has lived for many decades in a hospital by the Orinoco Delta. Abused, abandoned and also the subject of generosity, Gladys is the star of this amazing real life story, by La Vida de Nos.
The Norwegian Talks
Norway has a tradition of neutrality and solid know-how on international negotiations. Now that it joined the foreign efforts to produce a peaceful outcome in Venezuela, what can we expect?
What Game of Thrones Meant to Venezuelans Around the Globe
We use it to share something with friends who leave the country. We watch it searching for answers for our own ceaseless winter. Few people will miss this show as those who live in a country that feels like scorched by a dragon.
Code Pink: the Worst of American Imperialism
The left-wing organization that occupied the Venezuelan Embassy at Washington, D.C. fell into the same trap that motivated the U.S. to support so many coups and dictators: a sense of superiority that’s only colonialist and racist.
Venezuela’s Second City Has Zero Newspapers
Maracaibo's main newspaper, Panorama, stopped publishing its printed edition. Even if it always had a complacent editorial line with past and present governments, it didn't survive the hegemony.
