Two decades after leaving Venezuela, I’ve maintained a bond with an active chavista official who insists that the ruling elite remains unchallenged, and unwilling to concede power
Two migratory flows converge around Cúcuta: one entering, one leaving. The lack of international humanitarian support could have devastating consequences
Venezuelan universities face yet another critical moment with the removal of internal admissions exams, while research reveals plummeting school performance. Two old chavista “prospects” lead the charge #NowWhatVenezuela
When economic collapse and a legitimacy crisis ensued, Maduro launched the “Operations for the People’s Liberation” on July 2015, claiming to address rising crime and homicides.
What followed was a systematic policy of extermination in low-income neighborhoods—what we’ve called the War on the Poor—which left at least 12,000 deaths. Below are some works that explore the history and consequences of a brutal era 👇
The so called “Operaciones de Liberación del Pueblo” are just old fashioned police raids. A new HRW/PROVEA reports detail the abuses committed in their name.
If you’re poor in Venezuela, the police can just enter your home, execute your teenage kid and walk out, facing zero scrutiny from anyone. It happened to Nancy. She told exactly how.
While foreign governments, NGOs and UN organizations condemn the extrajudicial killings and impose sanctions, the Venezuelan population still believes in the iron fist speech, to Maduro’s advantage
An investigation shows how FAES, the deadly National Police division, has been violating human rights with impunity in its five years of existence
Genuinely harrowing stories are coming out of Petare, Caracas’s biggest shantytown. As the poor begin to protest, the National Police’s death squad —FAES— has launched an unprecedented rampage.
This grieving group of women organized to force the Venezuelan State to answer for the extrajudicial executions of their sons, husbands, and brothers—and, hopefully, put a stop to this horrific practice
One of the most celebrated writers of contemporary Venezuela just published the first of four novels around a fictional music band. Its goal: To use that story as an indirect mirror of our country’s mutation
Believing there has ever been a just global order—or that Venezuela once belonged to a league of spotless democracies—only distorts our hopes for change and muddles our aspirations as a country
Betancourt’s civilian republic was born out of confrontation rather than consensus, and with the essential support of the Venezuelan armed forces
A combination of global disruptions and local factors makes unusual rainfall more devastating, especially if we fail to learn from our own mistakes
Key roads like the Trasandina highway have collapsed, and Maduro says 8,800 families are now displaced #NowWhatVenezuela
