Caracas Chronicles

In their 2019 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders shows great concern for the state of press freedom both Venezuela and in Latin America as a whole, as threats are not only increasing, but also diversifying

Today, Caretaker President Juan Guaidó spoke to a crowd in Chacao, Caracas. His call: the definitive end of usurpation, starting with a great march on May, 1st. Here's his full speech.

For decades, the Berkeley campus of the University of California has been a mecca for the American left. So, for it to gather some important voices on Venezuela who are not part of the regime’s propaganda network meant an opportunity to discover the awful truth of a country in crisis. Can it open some eyes?

Venezuela’s dictatorship uses masked armed civilians to do the dirty work. Colectivos control food sales and now they’re the main repressive body against anti-regime protests, much harder to prosecute by the justice system and apparently without limits of any kind.

CNN published a report on drug-trafficking routes between Colombia and Venezuela. The U.S. imposed new sanctions on the Central Bank and will allow U.S.-based companies to file suits for confiscated property in Cuba. Russia investigates robberies in the construction of an assault rifle assembly plant. The Red Cross continues delivery of humanitarian aid. Guaidó calls for new open assembly on April 19th.

After a month of chaotic blackouts, and without any solution in sight, a once powerful industry is finding it increasingly hard to cope. From former industrial strongholds to rural towns and crop fields, businessmen do their best to survive, but the consequences are impossible to hide.

60 tents from the UN refugee agency now shelter hundreds of Venezuelan migrants on ten acres of scorched and sandy desert outside the Colombian city of Maicao. In the coming months, this encampment will quadruple in size.

Maduro celebrated a Barrio Adentro anniversary the exact day the humanitarian aid arrived to fix the mess Barrio Adentro caused. The Central Bank managed to sell gold despite the sanctions, making the bolivar bleed out in the process. The AN will step up will step up and try to keep track of our tragedy.

The measures that the U.S. and other countries are applying to pressure the dictatorship from abroad are not the cause of Venezuelans’ suffering. But they will have an effect in the near future. This is how the sanctions look when we analyze them for the sake of truth and not propaganda.

We are focusing on how long the regime has resisted and how impatient the opposition is on Twitter, while an important threat for the Venezuelan dictatorship emerges: the information on the criminal deeds of Maduro and his cronies coming to the hands of the U.S. from Hugo Carvajal.

Protests continue to rise in Venezuela despite a increasing regime repression. U.S. State Department releases fact sheet on Maduro's criminal track record. Canada included 43 individuals connected to Maduro to their sanctions list. The Lima Group releases another statement specifically addressing multinational organizations and calling out China, Russia, Turkey and Iran for their continued support for Maduro. On World Art Day, Notre Dame cathedral burns.

Chavismo is on a campaign to shut down freedom of expression, targeting international and national media outlets to keep quiet what's going on in Venezuela. The irony is that, while this goes on, Venezuelan journalism shines.

Caretaker President Juan Guaidó spent the weekend in mass rallies in Zulia and Punto Fijo. Holy Week will be long and improductive by decree. Pompeo has had meetings in Chile, Peru and Colombia. The Red Cross announced they’ll increase their original budget for humanitarian aid in Venezuela

After the blackouts on March 7 and 25, the life of the Venezuelan freelancer has become even more difficult. Many have lost the jobs that support entire families, because workers can’t deliver on time, while others have improvised homemade devices to get energy. Others prowl the city hunting for electricity and internet signal.

Like Maracaibo and Merida, Barquisimeto is one of those Venezuelan cities where power has been more off than on since March 7th. Our man there sent us a short report on how it is to live off the grid, against your wishes and needs

Machiques de Perija and the Guajira are the areas affected the most by the blackouts, as most of the region has been more than 20 days without electricity. This will result in more economic contraction and more violent protests.

Seventy three deaths by measles only. Zero improvements for the patients of the more grave diseases. The update of the “Triple Treat” 2017 Bulletin by ICASO and ACCSI is another sign that Venezuela is a menace for the region.

Juan Guaidó visited José Félix Ribas in Petare while Maduro reminisces about the events of April, 2002. Reuters published a report on the collapse of production in Venezuela due lack of electricity and water. Hugo "El Pollo" Carvajal was arrested in Madrid and SEBIN arrested four BCV employees who met with Guaidó at the AN. UN officials express growing concern for the humanitarian disaster in Venezuela. the U.S. Treasury Department expanded its sanctions list.

Chávez’s government made of Misión Barrio Adentro one of the main tropes of its worldwide propaganda success. But that program was really a fiasco, instrumentalized by its creators: castrismo officers with proven experience in selling a lie for decades.

86% of Venezuelans don’t earn enough to cover their needs, according to a Consultores 21 survey. IMF and World Bank are ready to lend a hand. Ecuadorian embassy in London withdrew Julian Assange’s asylum yesterday. Russia defended Maduro in the UN and Maduro sent oil to Cuba again

Since March 7th, almost all Venezuela, including its capital, has been trying to survive without electricity, internet and running water at the same time, and also overwhelmed by shortages, hyperinflation and crime. This is what life would be like under such conditions.

Gustavo Tarre Briceño is officially the new Venezuelan representative to the OAS. New members of PDVSA’s ad hoc board of directors were appointed. A full report about the Pemon massacre in February was presented in the AN. Pediatric transplant patients are dying in hospitals. Michelle Bachelet said she’ll come, but didn’t say when.

Venezuela’s collapse is usually seen through headlines or figures, and we don’t get the chance to see what it all means and what it does to the ones who endure it. No matter how privileged you think you are, it will all get to you.

In Barquisimeto, 400 km west of Caracas, we haven’t escaped the longest blackout in Venezuelan history. We have survived for a month with no electricity or water, it’s been an emotional roller coaster caused by the lack of basic services.