The trial against Maduro by the TSJ in exile is a justice trainwreck – it’s technically not a ruling, because they are not the Supreme Tribunal. It speaks volumes about the lack of leadership and strategy within the opposition.
Daily Briefing
The last mambí
Your daily briefing for Friday, April 20, 2018. Translate by Javier Liendo.
Unconstitutional Decrees from ANC and Maduro Regarding Shady Petro
The government’s erratic, irresponsible, frequently unconstitutional economic behavior had to extend all the way to its handling of their petro atrocity. What else could be expected?
Revisiting April 19th, 1810: The Path to Venezuelan Independence
Celebrated historian, writer and professor Rafael Arráiz Lucca sets the record straight about the events of April 19, 1810. The road to independence and freedom is never as clear (or easy) as we thought.
Explosive Lawsuit Exposes Corruption and Mafia Wars at PDVSA
The plot thickens in one of many PDVSA corruption “guisos”. The goose that had been laying whatever was left of our golden eggs was already being torn apart by rivaling mafias from the inside and is now in serious peril with a new corruption lawsuit.
We Gather Here Today to Mourn the Passing of DolarToday
For years, DolarToday.com was the dominant player in setting prices in bolivars for black market dollars. These last few weeks, confidence in DolarToday has caved-in, leaving a baffling free-for-all in its wake. For all practical purposes, DolarToday is dead. We eulogize it.
Using Corruption As an Excuse, Persecution Spree Hits Chevron
Reuters reports that two Chevron employees were arrested. The persecution of PDVSA employees due to alleged corruption hits an important joint venture partner of the State oil company.
The Day we Dropped a Truth-Bomb at the Women in the...
Astrid Cantor, Caracas Chronicles columnist, took to the global stage of the Women in the World Summit to share her experience as a woman and as a doctor struggling in this broken Venezuela.
Struggling to survive, Venezuelans take the black market blood risk
It's not that there’s no blood; the government hasn't supplied healthcare centers with reagents anymore. Urgent changes are needed while people pay with their lives.
Maduro Defaults on Some Bonds, Pays Others and Nobody Bats an...
The Maduro administration defaulted on the USD 650M payment of Electricidad de Caracas’ 2018 bonds due on April 10, as expected by the market. However, PDVSA 6% 22 bond coupons due since October were released to investors. State media and officials remain in full blackout mode.
Previous Briefings
Wooden terrorism
Your daily briefing for Thursday, April 19, 2018. Translated by Javier Liendo.
Sufficient Merits
Your daily briefing for Wednesday, April 18, 2018. Translated by Javier Liendo.
Another autogol?
Your daily briefing for Tuesday, April 17, 2018. Translated by Javier Liendo.
Previous Posts
Venezuelan photographer wins the World Press Photo of the Year
Last May, AFP’s photojournalist Ronaldo Schemidt captured a powerful image during the months of protests in Venezuela. Now, that photo was recognized as the best of 2017.
Let’s Discuss Nicolás’ Five Years of Epic Victories
From his very first day in office “el hijo del galáctico” has won one battle after another against capitalism. And I can only hope and pray for God to take some of his powers away.
Where to Start Rebuilding the Venezuelan Health System Post-Chavismo
The Venezuelan health system faces the worst crisis in its history. There’s a lot to be done before things can change for the better, and it won’t be easy or fast, but we have a plan.
Frontera Chronicles: Venezuelan Migrants Hope for a Better Life in Brazil
As Venezuela keeps massively exporting both migrants and refugees, the question remains whether the international community is ready to call the situation a crisis. Defining what a “crisis” is remains a challenge.
Venezuela’s Collective Action Problem
The perennial conflict between individual incentives and the common good is the most pressing issue studied by contemporary social sciences. It’s also key to understanding how our country became a mess.
Kids Behind Bars in Venezuela
In Venezuela, the government of President Nicolás Maduro is arresting and detaining—in horrific conditions—teenagers who use Facebook to call on friends to attend anti-government demonstrations.
Localbitcoins.com Replaces DolarToday As Standard Reference
It appears the days when people bought and sold their dollars after checking the infamous website are over. There’s a new website in town and experts in the field trust the newcomer’s transparency more.
A Tale of Two Congressional Visits
Two U.S. congressmen visited Venezuela last week and met with Nicolás Maduro. But one of those visits actually caught many by surprise and raised a lot of questions.
A Pimp Talks about the Venezuelan Prostitution Business in Peru
Venezuelan prostitutes are in high demand in Lima. Their pimp speaks candidly about the business.
Why We’re Innovating in the Venezuelan Blockchain Space
Despite the economic crisis in Venezuela, there’s one sector where business is booming: cryptocurrencies. From mining to exchanges, Venezuelans are finding ways to make a living around a new technology that’s on its way to mainstream adoption.
Human Rights Watch and Ricardo Montaner Launch #TodosConVenezuela
A leading human rights NGO joins forces with a Lifetime Achievement Latin Grammy winner to create awareness about what’s going on in Venezuela.
WhatsApp Deliveries: A New, Effective Marketing Strategy
You don’t have to worry when you can’t find products in the supermarket. WhatsApp has got your back, since many distributors offer a good range of products and services that way.
Venezuelan Robotics Delegation Needs Your Help to Get to Mexico
The Venebot platform trains young Venezuelans and helps them with their interests in science and technology, specifically in robotics. Sounds surreal, but somebody has to prepare us for the future, especially now that the country seems to be stuck in the past.
Miseducation At Schools Keeps Venezuela Out of the International Development Ranking...
The government, with its current system of slave production, keeps kids at jails called “schools” where there’s no qualified learning and international indicators point that out.
The Chigüire Bipolar Has Spoken: Is It Too Much to Ask...
You know it’s getting real and shit has hit the fan when the most celebrated Venezuelan parody website starts writing seriously.
Opposition parties remain crucial in fighting the regime
Opposition parties have fought hard for a shy success in recent years. One of their main challenges is to recover people's trust.
Guyana Requests the ICJ to Resolve Its Esequibo Dispute with Venezuela
Guyana is making its legal move in The Hague to settle the Esequibo dispute for good. But does Venezuela have any reason to be concerned about the recent actions by Georgetown?
Leopoldo López Defies SEBIN and Speaks Out in NYT Podcast
Leopoldo and New York Times journalist Wil Hylton arranged several interviews saying they were old classmates. They managed to do so right under SEBIN officials’ noses and the result is a two-part podcast where Leopoldo speaks his mind.
Legal Dissection of the Petro: Questions You Were Afraid to Ask...
All the legal myths surrounding the evermore confusing petro will be debunked and your questions will be answered by our trustworthy experts.
Venezuelan Cam Girls: A Desperate Option to Make Ends Meet
As Venezuela spirals deeper into the sinkhole of hyperinflation and socio-economic crisis, webcam pornography platforms are depicted as plausible income sources for those in need, raising legal, ethical and economic dilemmas.
New Banco Central de Venezuela Website: Trust at Your Own Risk
The BCV revamped and refreshed the look and feel of its online platform, but opacity, secrecy and misconduct in madurismo’s economic policies haven’t changed one bit. You have been warned.
ONG Proyecto Salto Needs Help to Keep Helping Venezuelan Expats
Proyecto Salto helps individuals and entire families leave the country, providing immigrants with resources to start their new life abroad. It’s no easy task, and they need support in order to keep doing it.
Transitions Suck But You Wish Venezuela Were Near One
An answer to Quico’s “¿Y tú qué propones?” could be that wishful thinking, inaction and having doubts about the true nature of the monster are not the answer.
The Catholic Church in Venezuela Turns the Other Cheek Amidst the...
On this Easter Sunday, let’s take a moment to appreciate the effort and struggle of the Catholic Church in Venezuela.
Who Wouldn’t Sell Maduro for a Fistful of Lochas?
21st Century Judases: Chavismo has weeded out its internal enemies, publicly flogged them in cadenas and branded them as traitors. We know what they did and we know we’ll need them, but we also want to make them pay. Not very holy.
In Venezuela, Every Day Feels Like a Via Crucis
Venezuelans are forced to go through hell whenever they need to get pretty much anything done. We don’t carry the burden of the cross, but we carry and are burdened by chavismo even when we don’t deserve it.
No Food for You… If You Don’t Vote for Us
In a country where 60% of the population lives in extreme poverty, the clearest sign of Nicolás Maduro’s terrible job as president might be his most powerful electoral weapon. When you need votes, threatening to starve people to death works like a charm.
Jogging in Ciudad Guayana Became Obstacle Course Racing
Going for a run is considered an extreme sport in places like Ciudad Guayana, since malandros, garbage, stray dogs and vultures, to name a few obstacles, abound.
No Electricity Also Means Staying Trapped in a Powerless Country
The fact there’s an electric crisis in Western states makes life even harder for everyone across the Colombian-Venezuelan border, for those who are staying and for those who are trying to flee.
Truth or Consequences: A Cold, Hard Look at “¿Y Tú Qué...
Fighting a dictatorship means facing nothing but bad options. Choosing one is a responsibility our politicians have mostly defaulted on. So, what are the real options on the table? And who will dare to look at them dispassionately?
Saving One Child at a Time, One Meal at a Time
NGO Alimenta la Solidaridad - Petare helps families in one of the largest slums in the continent. These are the stories of people who can’t afford to feed their children and of those fighting hunger in Venezuela’s less fortunate communities.
Bring Your Own Popcorn: Watching Movies Amidst Venezuela’s Hyperinflation
With fewer places to go and options to spend their money, Venezuelans go to the movies to forget their problems, even though the movie theater industry has seen better days.
Human Rights Attorney Escapes House Arrest, Flees to Argentina
After four years of judicial ordeal, human rights lawyer Marcelo Crovato fled Venezuela with his family. Before his new life in Argentina, a look at what he went through.
Maduro Announced a New Currency Redenomination: Less Zeros, More Inflation
10 years ago the government took off three 0’s from the bolivar, saying it was a cosmetic fix and would strengthen the economy. Now, they will try to do it again.
Venezuelan Hospitals’ Condition Worsens: The 2018 National Hospital Poll
For the fifth year in a row, NGO Médicos por la Salud and the National Assembly dare to do what the government has refused to: expose the chaotic reality in the Venezuelan Hospital Network and how the health crisis has gotten worse than ever.
Venezuelans in Need of Blood Transfusions Must Scavenge the Black Market
It doesn’t end with finding blood donors, reagent scarcity got so bad that there’s a black market for blood transfusions operating in Venezuelan hospitals. You’ll live, sure… If you can pay up to ten minimum wages per transfusion.
Tales of Heat and Death: Blackout Season Re-Inaugurated in Western States
Blackout season is back to stay. To some Venezuelans, the collapse of the national electric grid means heat and even more stress in their homes. For others, like patients in hospitals, it’s a death sentence.
Venezuela’s Hyperinflation Is Breaking Deli Scales
There are just too many digits and the scales can’t keep up. So, Venezuelans simplify, dividing the number in their minds and using those numbers in their language.
Fake News About Vandalism to Cover Up Maiquetía Airport’s True Disrepair
Social media went wild because of rumors about Cruz Diez’ tile floor at Maiquetía Airport, his “Cromointerferencia de color aditivo”. Once a symbol of modern Venezuela, it has suffered years of deterioration and official negligence.
New Bolichico Subspecies Alert: Petro is the New Derwick
Like every mediocre enchufado before him, the new accomplice to the regime is brainless, unoriginal and unscrupulous. His only talent is his bolichico-ridden phonebook and that’s nice for them, they can share a cell down the road.
Political Prisoner Gilber Caro Resists From Jail
We know what every political prisoner is being subjected to. Unfortunately, Gilber Caro, substitute deputy to the National Assembly, is no exception to the dictatorship’s rulebook of psychological torture, isolation, coercion and an overall unfair process.
Young People Are Now House-Hopping, Because Going to Bars Is Too...
The new generation of “rumberos” has no money to drink in bars and the odds of being shot are way too high at night. So, they adapted and now, they bring the party (and the ice box) home.
Like Every Other Chavista Ministry, the Ministry of Happiness Sucks at...
The most recent World Happiness Report determines Latin Americans are fairly happier than other regions. However, shouldn’t Venezuelans be the happiest people on the planet due to the fact that we have an entire ministry devoted to it?
A Guide to Colombia’s Complex Election
Colombia just elected its Congress and started its presidential campaign. With Venezuelan eyes on Gustavo Petro leading the polls, a guide to making sense of the results.
Colombia Held Normal and Peaceful Elections: A Hopeful Tale for your...
Colombian candidates used to run on platforms like their right to live peacefully. Now they campaigned debating on climate change and other normal topics of modern democracies. Yes, we are a little jealous.
Beggars Outside Venezuelan Supermarkets Dare to be Choosers
What happens when you are bad at saying no and there’s too many people struggling that need you to say yes. In the land of the hungry, he who can afford groceries is king.
Five Years of Post-Chavismo and His Siembra Seems Grim
Every Venezuelan remembers his burial. Now, five years later, Chavismo has proven it can survive without its founder despite everyone’s predictions.
What Dollarization Supporters Deliberately Neglect to Mention
Dollarization is sexy, but the argument for why we need it is weak.
