Caracas Chronicles

While Venezuelan political junkies were getting their fix from the war in Ukraine—safely watching from the sidelines—and occasionally sniffing the glue of our very poor and sad celebrity pool, Venezuelan politics were about to get an electric shock to the heart. Over the weekend different outlets reported that there was a meeting underway between the US and the Maduro government. This is the sort of news that burns quickly, as they usually amount to nothing. And, at first, it seemed this way. But as the week has progressed, and both governments have acknowledged the conversation, and chavismo released American political prisoners Gustavo Cárdenas and José Alberto Fernández as tokens of “good faith” (perhaps good faith is not the right expression here), it seems that we’ve entered a new stage of talks toward some sort of relationship between the US and Venezuela.

Bodegón geopolitics, perhaps?

Just an anecdote to kick off things: When I went to Caracas in December I had a meeting with someone in the diplomatic corps who asked my opinion on the new buildings rising over Las Mercedes. I hadn’t been in Caracas since before the pandemic started, and the skyline had indeed changed. “Beautiful, but they’re all empty inside. It’s all probably funds that are easier kept here. If you can’t go to Brickell, bring Brickell to Caracas,” I said, trying to be funny.

He looked me in the eye, and replied: “Do you know any city that has been built on money laundering? Where is it that you live?”

Live from Miami, it’s Pueblo People.

Check out tonight’s Pueblo People episode, where we will discuss Venezuela’s latest geopolitical telenovela. If you catch this post early you can watch it live and jump into the live-chat. If you didn’t, just watch it passively or go rant in the comments: 

Pueblo People is hosted by Oswaldo Graziani and Raúl Stolk. Follow them on any of these platforms:

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