It is a monumental act of war. After being kidnapped and flown to the United States, President Nicolás Maduro has pled not guilty to spurious drugs charges in New York - even as U.S. government documents admit that Venezuela is not a major drugs producer, and prosecutors concede that Maduro's supposed Cartel of the Suns never existed.
Moreover, Trump's star key witness, former Venezuelan Gen. Hugo "El Pollo" Carvajal, is a deeply compromised figure. Once a senior official in military intelligence, Carvajal has long been frozen out of power in Venezuela, and became a vocal supporter of U.S.-backed, self-proclaimed president, Juan Guaidó. Moreover, Carvajal himself pled guilty to narcotics charges, with The Miami Herald reporting that he had truck a plea deal which would grant him "a considerable sentence reduction if he provides 'substantial assistance' to US investigations" - i.e., to lie in the service of the American government.
Despite videos circulating on social media (many of which have been produced by A.I.) Sequera noted that the United States' blatant act of aggression is not playing well in Venezuela, with more liberal opposition sectors rejecting the move as an act of imperial violence. Millions of people have come out on the streets to demand the return of Maduro and his First Lady, Cilia Flores.
Venezuela has been in the United States' crosshairs since the 1998 election of Hugo Chavez. Chavez proposed that Venezuela could choose an alternative path to that of "savage capitalism," and began reorientating the country's economy towards the needs of the people. Under Chavez, poverty and unemployment were halved, and extreme poverty fell by 75%. The undernourished population fell from 3.8 million to virtually zero by 2012. Chavez's United Socialist Party built schools and free healthcare clinics across the country, and UNESCO declared Venezuela illiteracy free in 2005.
Over the past decade, however, the United States has carried out a campaign of economic warfare against the country, strangling Venezuela and bringing it to its knees. Now, it wishes to finish the job off.
Trump's actions are rapidly eroding international law, a concept which he said today that he "doesn't need" anymore. He has also stated that Colombian president Gustavo Petro is "next" in line for regime change. "Colombia is very sick, too, run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States. And he's not going to be doing it very long, let me tell you," he stated, adding that a military operation against Petro "sounds good" to him. In recent days, Trump has also noted that Cuba looks "ready to fall," and that the United States intends to annex Greenland.
Corporate media has steadfastly supported Trump's decision to kidnap a democratically-elected head of state. Yet the reality inside Venezuela is very different to the one we are being presented, argues Sequera.
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