A Night of Impossible Tensions

Avianca's rushed suspension of service to Venezuela, together with the decision to evacuate U.S. diplomats' families, builds up a picture of a country under unprecedented pressure.

I don’t remember Venezuela ever being as tense as it is tonight. The announcement that Colombian flag-carrier Avianca was abandoning its Venezuela rights effective right friggin’ now, together with the news that the U.S. is ordering non-essential officers and the families of personnel in general out of the country are coming together to add depth to a thick atmosphere of anticipation and dread.

Preliminary discussions between MUD and the government seem to have gone nowhere. MUD unity is very near cracking. The diplomatic track appears dead. The government is banning protests without formally suspending the constitutional right to assemble. You would say a tense calm has fallen over the country, except there’s no calm — just more tension and violence.