The Pull Of The Land

Magnificent Works

August 22, 2026August 22, 2026 Richard Barnes

In this blog I’ve alluded to several monumental feats of engineering and construction such as the Caracas-La Guira Expressway, the Hotel Humboldt, the Pico Bolivar cable transport, the Torres Del Silencio, and more.

Every single one of those works still stands, to this day — 70 years later — having endured the folly of men — coups and coup attempts as well as incredible neglect of maintenance and upkeep — and the vicissitudes of nature — the 1967 and 2026 earthquakes and the horrendous rains of 1999.

They still stand.

In his memorable and enduring book and accompanying video series, How Should We Then Live?, the late Francis Schaeffer demonstrates that a civilization can be judged by its art, its architecture, its engineering, its construction projects, and more. He contrasts the art seen in Florence, Italy, with that which preceded and followed it. He discusses the uniqueness and endurance of Roman roads and aqueducts as well as the exquisite detail of Greek architecture contrasted with that of the more spartan Roman.

If Dr. Schaeffer is correct, then we must reckon with the magnificent works inaugurated during the Pérez Jiménez regime. To do so it is necessary to set aside our egalitarian, democratic prejudices and face reality, unencumbered by politics and ideology.

In the 50s Venezuela was a — several sources insist it was the most — prosperous South American country. She enjoyed economic freedom and was also “free” of the oratory of envy. Sources note that it had the largest middle class in South America.

I was born in the early part of that decade, during the Pérez Jiménez regime. I remember in childhood rubbing shoulders with friends and relatives from all social and economic strata of society. I do not recall folks politically fomenting class warfare or envy of any kind.

Later in life I came to realize that under the dictatorship, we did not enjoy a free press nor did we have universal suffrage. However, we did enjoy high levels of freedom, including freedom of mobility, freedom of commerce, freedom in society, and certainly freedom in our homes. We had nowhere near the restrictions the peoples of Eastern Europe or Mao’s China struggled under. Not to mention Fauci’s America.

In the first half of the 20th Century Venezuela became an economic powerhouse. As the petroleum and later the iron ore industries surged, Venezuela ensured they remained in private hands. The dictators understood that the state did not have the expertise to manage such vast, far flung operations; they left them in the hands of the international companies but did charge royalties and obtained other concessions in return. This arrangement ensured increasing prosperity for her people as well as great advances in local technology and culture.

This was a period of phenomenal progress in research and technology and discovery. “To cite just one example, the diamond knife (or scalpel) was invented in the 50s by Venezuelan Humberto Fernández-Morán Villalobos (1924-1999). This ‘significantly advanced the development of electromagnetic lenses for electron microscopy based on superconductor technology and many other scientific contributions.'”

In the 50s, the Venezuelan state was receiving billions and billions of dollars in monthly revenues (equivalent to today’s values). Well, so did the democratic regimes which followed, including Chávez and Maduro. But, unlike the latter two, the dictatorships were not involved as partners and major investors in illicit drug and mining operations.

The big difference between the 50s and later eras was that state spending focused on the country’s roads, airports, schools, hospitals, and universities. In other words, they benefitted the people of the country. Such spending was represented by major works as the aforementioned, plus the University Hospital of Caracas and her great historic monument and park, Paseo los Próceres (roughly translated as Walkway of the Heroes).

Caracas and La Güira also boasted a breathtaking cable car up Mount Ávila where the cylindrical Hotel Humboldt was built in the same decade and stands to this day. The design of the hotel was not only for beauty but to better withstand the strong winds which flow at those heights. And earthquakes.

In comparison, the 2026 earthquakes uncovered the sand castles nature of the most celebrated works of the Chávez regime: public housing. By now millions have seen the heartbreaking photos or videos of collapsed buildings and their foam — foam! — support.

I do not pretend to believe that corruption was non-existent in the Venezuela of the 1950s or that government functionaries all had clean hands then. However, using our Lord’s measuring stick: “By their fruits ye shall know them”, we can easily conclude that the level of corruption paled exceedingly compared to the mafioso-like environment which followed thereafter.

But one need not be a professional auditor with access to all the data, financial or otherwise, to conclude thusly. One need just take a look around and see the fruits and enquire as to when such were sown and/or reaped. Every single major work was either inaugurated or initiated prior to 1959. Even the gargantuan SIDOR, Venezuela’s giant steel corporation, was founded in 1953 although it did not see its greatest expansion until the 1970s. However, today it is dead, its death agonies having accelerated in the Chávez years when the military took over and bled it to the grave.

The marvelous Macagua project, right in the heart of Ciudad Guayana was ideated in 1946 when plans were launched to “electrify” the entire country and to export her fossil fuels for added revenues. Construction began in 1956 for Phase 1 and the plan achieved its Phase 3 in 1997. Today, however, only a fraction of her generators are functioning.

The magnificent Guri Dam project was also included in the 40s electrification plans for Venezuela and construction began in the early 60s, according to plan, after the initiation of the Macagua enterprise. Guri was certainly one of the engineering and construction wonders of the modern world when inaugurated. Today it operates at less than 50% capacity due to woefully neglected maintenance and upkeep.

Put another way, the projects conceived in the 40s and 50s remain in use to this day, although all urgently require professional upkeep, repairs, and maintenance, which, sadly, are woefully lacking in a Socialistic environment where “everybody owns everything” — meaning no one owns anything and the State is god but a terrible administrator and creator.

Should you travel to Venezuela today, you would land in Maiquetía Airport, in La Güaira, and you would take the Caracas-La Güira Expressway. Should you like to visit the Humboldt Hotel atop the massive, imposing Mount Ávila, you could take the cable car from downtown Caracas up there. In the past, you could also take the cable car down to the coast to make a full day of it and return by the same expressway back to the city. However, due to lack of maintenance and upkeep that leg is no longer operational.

You might also like to enjoy the large park, Próceres, with its aesthetically beautiful fountains and extensive mall. Or you might desire to take a cab to the still modern Torres del Silencio, with its traffic proceeding beneath the buildings to allow pedestrian tranquility above. And you might walk about the gardens of the University Hospital which still serves patients 50 years after her inauguration.

All projects noted in the previous two paragraphs were built and inaugurated in the 50s. They were designed and engineered by Venezuelan professionals, as well as Swiss, Italian, German, and North American; and they were built by men from the same or similar origins.

Of course, the upkeep and maintenance have been abysmal; however, the engineering, architecture, and construction have stood the test of time in a natural and human environment which have been exceedingly challenging. One of the great expressway viaducts spanning hundreds of feet of bottomless canyons actually became fearfully unsafe for lack of care. A byway was constructed in its stead in the 90s.

I am not aware of any projects ideated let alone inaugurated after the 50s which come within a mile of those which came before.

What would a visitor a century hence conclude when observing these works?

I am confident that his conclusion would be that the caliber of the people, especially the leaders, in the 50s and prior was superior to that which came after.

For the most part it is principally the people and their faith, not their form of government, which primarily determine her progress or its lack. Many in Venezuela still remember Pérez Jiménez and some even tend to idolize him, which is wrong. However, they do recognize that the man loved his country and was not the corrupt kleptomaniac that politicians insist he was.

The United States government not only dishonored the amnesty he had sought, but put him in jail even though he had paid his bond — this jailing in Miami, Florida, where he was placed with common criminals was so unprecedented and even cruel that many in the international community protested. By the time he was transferred to Venezuela he had lost 40 pounds.

In Venezuela he was jailed for 5 more years while awaiting what to every sentient human being was a political trial, from which he was declared not guilty for the original charges, as per the extradition treaty — peculation (the “fraudulent appropriation of funds or property entrusted to your care but actually owned by someone else”) — but guilty of other charges (enrichment!) — which the politicized judges added towards the end of the legal circus, in violation of the extradition treaty. Even so, the prestige of the judges was by then so soiled that they released him, saying he had already served sufficient years for such incredible charges.

He settled in Spain to live the rest of his life there; however, the people of Venezuela actually elected him to a Senate seat in the 1973 elections; nevertheless, the “democratic” political parties colluded to amend the constitution to prohibit his ever returning to the country.

The corruption and the malfeasance of public funds in Venezuela during the democratic governments were so vast and so obvious that the door was swung wide open to the demagoguery of Chávez. And, as previously noted, corrupt and repressive governments do not leave much of a heritage other than destruction or abandonment of what came before.

We must not ignore that particularly evil forms of government and culture not only do not foment the creation of beauty and functionality and permanence, but actually destroy what beauty and permanence they find. A brief look at Cuba and the Soviet Union makes this abundantly clear. Not to mention the utter deterioration in Venezuela itself, especially over the past two decades.

But — whether a republic as described in the USA constitution or a monarchy such as England’s during her incomparable industrial revolution or the monarchies of the GCC or the strict, autocratic government of Lee Kuan Yew’s Singapore — a system which allows a certain level of liberty and creativity to her people will enable them to leave us long lasting evidence of beauty and permanence, assuming the caliber of the people is “moral and religious” as per John Adams.

In December, 1961, President John F. Kennedy and the First Lady visited Venezuela as part of the inaugural tour of the Alliance for Progress. You can still find online the short speech given in Spanish by Mrs. Kennedy. In that speech she spoke about the need for progress and opportunity for all, not just for the fortunate. Although I appreciate Mrs. Kennedy and her efforts to speak the local language, her speech is illustrative of the facile politics in the modern Americas.

In the 50s and into 1961 when the Kennedy’s visited, Venezuela had the largest middle class in all of South America. Today it is an impoverished land languishing under a suffocating “democratically elected” corrupt regime. Despite all the evidence right in front of her, the First Lady, like most modern politicos, assumed that the form of government dictates whether or not a people are fortunate. And she — and many, many like her — ignored what was right in front of her eyes.

A classic example of being led by sweet sounding words instead of reality; of being enamored of gestures rather than substance.

Her talk was well meaning but woefully ignorant.

Caracas-La Güaira Expressway construction. Installation of one of her viaducts

Two massive tunnels, with the most modern lighting and exhaust technology were built; one is over a mile long through solid rock. One of the tunnels no longer has lighting which makes it dangerous to traverse, especially at night.

Hotel Humboldt was an extraordinary feat of engineering and architecture. Construction was executed via cable cars which took materials and generator equipment to the summit of Mt. Ávila.

Los Próceres in Caracas, designed and constructed in the 1950s.

Torres del Silencio under construction in the early 50s

Macagua Dam in the heart of Ciudad Guayana: a 45-minute drive from El Pao.

Essequibo II

August 13, 2026August 13, 2026 Richard Barnes

Oilprice.com reported an under-the-radar blockbuster story in late July regarding the amazing surge in oil exports from Guyana.

Brief Background

The reader might want to check my post on Essequibo for some background on the fraught history between Venezuela and Guyana. Very briefly, Guyana was formerly known as British Guiana and was a possession of England long before Venezuela ceased to be a Spanish colony in the 19th Century.

After the wars of independence, Venezuela, seeing that British Guiana had significant gold deposits, claimed most of that territory for herself. The British told them to pound sand, at which Venezuela appealed to the United States for resolution. In a nutshell, President Grover Cleveland persuaded both parties to agree to arbitration and, given the voluminous records available, the results of arbitration, to which both parties officially agreed, established the boundaries as they were taught to me during my childhood years in Venezuela, including Venezuela’s claim to the entirety of the Orinoco Delta.

The level of satisfaction by Venezuela to this resolution can be inferred from the fact that when President Cleveland died in 1908, Venezuela lowered her flags to half-mast.

That was then.

In the latter 20th Century Venezuela again demanded the territory and in late 2024 had moved “tanks, missile equipped patrol boats, and armored carriers” to the border while raising the volume of jingoistic pronouncements to alarming levels. As my Essequibo post noted, “Historically, ‘revolutionary’ regimes, which emphatically include Communist and Socialist inspired governments, seek confrontations and conflicts as they point fingers to ‘the other’ as excuses for their own failures…”

Venezuela’s claims have been ingrained in school children for generations now, so much so that when a recent article published a map of the country sans the claimed territory, the comments by Venezuelan readers were astonishingly virulent, I am sorry to say.

The Essequibo controversy has been subsumed by the events of the past twelve months, including the Maduro capture and the wars with Iran. Not to mention the earthquakes this past June.

Stunning Developments

Such events have also overshadowed some truly stunning developments in Guyana herself.

Her oil exports — close to 1 million barrels daily — will soon surpass Venezuela’s. And, as I understand it, these exports are mostly — if not entirely — from off shore rigs which have achieved such respectable numbers in a mere four years, measured from discovery to extraction and production.

Exxon-Mobile has done a phenomenal job working with Guyana and getting this multi-billion dollar project to succeed. This was despite the aforementioned territorial dispute with Venezuela which, if Venezuela had succeeded, would have expropriated territorial waters where Exxon is operating — almost 7 million acres holding an estimated 11 billion barrels of oil and the only operational oil fields in Guyana.

And there is an additional floating production site expected to go online this year. Should that go as planned, Guyana will surpass Venezuela’s output. That site and related storage and extraction investments are estimated to cost about $13 Billion.

Exxon continues to invest in Guyana, with yet another project expected to go online next year and others in 2029 and 2030.

Guyana has provided a measure of stability and political predictability which in turn encourage private enterprises to risk billions of dollars in exploration and extraction, not to mention ongoing maintenance and calibration which extend and expand the productive life of the massive operations.

This was the environment in Venezuela in the first half of the 20th Century. For just two posts descriptive of that era see An Empire Named San Tomé and Ranchitos IV.

At present, after the extraction of Maduro, Venezuela is doing her best to expand production; however, her growth is “constrained by the need to rebuild her heavily corroded petroleum infrastructure. This will require billions of dollars and at least a decade.” That’s billions of dollars, not to expand new production, but to get its massive infrastructure back up to par, to where it was at the turn of this century.

However, Maduro’s extraction was good news for Guyana as it removed that ongoing threat of military action against her.

A stable political and economic environment in a resource rich land will do wonders for its people as well as for the world.

This good news from Guyana will not immediately offset the loss of global supply caused by the wars on Iran — where 20 million barrels of oil shipped daily prior to hostilities. That is down to a fraction today. However, at least for the Americas, Guyana is welcome news, especially when considering that she is in the early stages of development: similar to Venezuela in the early 20th Century.

Guyana, coupled with Brazil and Argentina, may upend the global energy map away from the Gulf Cooperating Council (GCC) to our continent, which as far as we know, is not expected to be as volatile a region as the Middle East thereby allowing its energy economic activities to proceed without “choke points” and other turmoil.

This post is intended to give information about hopeful developments in South America. I have no illusions concerning the very serious disruptions caused by the Iran wars and sincerely hope and pray they come to a conclusion “yesterday”. The hopeful developments in Guyana will not cover or cancel the impact of the drastic reduction of Hormuz traffic anytime soon.

But the news that is bubbling up down there is good and, all things being equal, will eventually give us a greater measure of energy self-sufficiency.

An Exxon Mobile floating production storage and offloading vessel offshore Guyana

Exxon’s ninth discovery; they waste no time in building for it

Macuto Sheraton

July 30, 2026July 30, 2026 Richard Barnes

That name likely means little to most, if not all, readers. But for many who lived or worked in Venezuela in the mid-20th Century that name brings a flood of memories to both children and adults.

In brief, after the Caracas-La Güira Expressway was inaugurated in the early 50s, enabling better access not only to the international airport but also to the spectacular beaches north of Caracas, entrepreneurs saw the potential for a 5-Star hotel/resort. This project was launched and successfully completed in 1957; however, January of the following year brought the coup overthrowing the Pérez Jimenez regime and the ensuing upheavals and political posturing delayed the inauguration, including the determination of just who would administer the property.

Finally, in 1963, after a bidding process, Sheraton Hotels was awarded the property on a royalty-type basis. This was the first Sheraton hotel in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Up to that point, most international travelers would spend the night in one of the Caracas hotels, such as El Conde or the Hotel Tamanaco before leaving early the next morning for the 30-minute drive (before the expressway was built it took about an hour) to catch a flight from Maiquetía.

The Macuto Sheraton was a leisurely 20 minute littoral drive from the airport. It rapidly became the preferred spot not only for Americans (and international flight crews) but for Venezuelans on either an overnight stop during travels, a weekend get-away, or a family vacation. The Spanish Meliá chain had built a major hotel near the Macuto Sheraton in the early 90s. The competition had energized both hotels and both operated successfully during the 90s.

In 1999 the catastrophic Vargas cataclysm hit the area. The Macuto Sheraton was not greatly damaged (nor was the Meliá) and it rapidly converted to a shelter for the thousands left homeless. Although the victims were eventually re-housed away from the hotel, the cost of repairs and refurbishing added to the immensely aggravated political and regulatory environment brought on by the Chávez regime eventuated in Sheraton’s decision to cede the property and its administration to the Venezuelan state. However, the property itself was mostly intact at the time.

Despite promises and assurances of converting the property along with the neighboring Meliá Hotel into a major 6-star resort, such visions remained as ephemeral as the utopian dreams of Socialists everywhere.

Our family stayed in the Macuto Sheraton during a trip to Venezuela in 1994 when we had four children, the youngest being about a year old, and we can attest that it was still a great family friendly, bustling property.

If the 1999 Vargas tragedy nevertheless left room for hope of an eventual restoration, the 2026 earthquakes put the kibosh on such. The materialization of the Macuto Sheraton and Meliá under whatever names the Venezuelan regime might favor is now out of the question. At least for my lifetime.

(This area of Venezuela has had two name changes since my childhood. It used to be known as the Central Littoral, a section of Caracas to the north, on the coast, where the major airport and seaport are. In 1998, the area was turned into Vargas state, named after Venezuela’s first civilian president, elected in the early 19th Century. In 2019 the name was changed once again, this time to La Guaira, the country’s largest seaport. So when reading Litoral Central or Vargas (such as when discussing the terrible mountain slides of 1999), or La Guaira (such as when reading reports of the earthquakes last month, they are the same area.)

Last week I was in a tiny Caribbean coastal town where one shoreline reminded me of my childhood on the coast along the Macuto Sheraton, even to a leaning palm tree silhouetted against the gentle sea at dusk. And that sight brought the above thoughts to mind.

And such thoughts in turn brought to my memory a trip I took to Venezuela when I was in my mid-teens. Having departed late from Miami, the flight arrived at Maiquetía (Caracas’s airport) late at night. An elderly, American gentleman and I found ourselves, with our baggage, waiting for a taxi. When one finally arrived, he asked me where I was headed, “Macuto Sheraton,” I replied.

“Well, that’s where I am going so would you like to share the taxi ride? There don’t seem to be many taxis tonight.”

We agreed to board the same taxi and we headed to the hotel.

Having paid the fare we approached the front desk. The American spoke Spanish although with a bit of difficulty and he did not notice that the hotel clerk was assuming that he and I were father and son.

So I spoke to the clerk directly to advise that he was to check in the gentleman separately and then he was to take care of me. If he would check the hotel reservations he would see that our names were different. I explained this to the gentleman and he was surprised at the confusion since he thought he had clearly told the clerk the same thing!

We eventually got checked in and bid our farewells, never to see each other again.

On another occasion, also in my teens, I arrived with limited funds, having determined to surprise my family. I walked up to the hotel desk letting them know that I only had enough money to pay for a taxi to return to the airport the following morning.

But I offered them my watch and assured them that my father would arrange to have the Bethlehem Steel pay for my night and my father would reimburse the company. The young men behind the desk were a bit taken aback but after checking with their manager, they accepted my watch and gave me a key.

I arrived in El Pao the next afternoon to the great shock and surprise of all. My father arranged for the company to get my watch and pay the hotel on his behalf which he of course reimbursed.

There was at least one other time where I arrived late, with little money. On that occasion, the taxi driver would not take me to the Sheraton because I had told him how much I had and he and I calculated it was enough to go a certain distance, pay the absolute minimum for an accommodation and pay the fare (discounted!) to the airport the next day.

So he took me to a very dilapidated, shady looking joint and spoke to the clerk on my behalf. I paid the lodging, went to my room, placed my luggage against the door, and went to sleep. The next morning, as promised, the cab driver came right on time and took me to the airport.

“I am sorry you had to stay in that place, but it was safer than to have stayed on the street or at the airport,” he said.

“Oh, no problem at all. On the contrary, I thank you for taking care of me,” I replied. He had truly been very kind.

Although, at first glance, it seems to be the case that times were different in those days, that is actually not true.

It was that the people saw themselves as responsible first to God and second to one another. In other words, it’s not the times that change, it’s whom people see as their gods. If we see ourselves as completely autonomous beings — our own little gods — or as products of blind forces of chaos, we feel no moral obligation to anyone. If, however, we see ourselves as responsible to our Creator, we will be kind to our neighbors, who are made in the image of our Creator to Whom we will one day give account.

The Macuto Sheraton is now gone. As, very likely, are that elderly American gentleman and the cab driver. The clerks may still be around. As am I. We’ve seen and lived among people who remember Whose image we bear. And we’ve seen and lived among people who forget Whose image we bear.

And we agree on this: the former is better.

“Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein [Jer. 6:16].”

The Macuto Sheraton, circa 1975

View from a room circa 1967

A few short years after Sheraton bowed out and the property was officially expropriated in 2002

The below YouTube video is in Spanish but is a good birds eye view of the Macuto Sheraton’s history.

The rise and fall of the Macuto Sheraton: the hotel that marked the Venezuelan coast.

Fourth and Fifth of July: Declarations of Independence

July 4, 2026July 4, 2026 Richard Barnes

(First posted on July 4, 2020)

Those who grew up in El Pao will remember celebrating both the Fourth and the Fifth of July, reflecting yet another similarity between the two countries. The American and Venezuelan holidays afforded an opportunity for executives to declare and affirm ongoing genuine friendship and a collaborative spirit between both peoples while we children looked forward to a long “recess” as well as having our fathers home for a more extended time than usual, and also learning a bit more to understand and appreciate our liberties. I was fortunate to have had a father and mother who, as best they knew how, taught us appreciation and gratitude for America and also for Venezuela.

Venezuela history was a required subject in school. And a most frustrating one it was for me. For the life of me, I could not understand what the early 19th century fighting was about. My teachers seemed to tell stories assuming we students possessed presupposed knowledge as to why the revolutionaries rose against Madrid. But I had no such knowledge. My father had told me about the North American colonies and how they had a history of self-government and liberties and how England had begun taking those liberties away, even to the point of stationing mercenary troops in private homes where they abused and in some cases even defiled the mothers and daughters.

Furthermore, the English parliament had decreed the assignment of Church of England bishops to the colonies: a last straw. I could see why folks would resist and seek to stop that, even if it meant overthrowing the rule of the English king.

Although my mother and father taught me to respect and honor Venezuela, my teachers told no stories about Spain’s abuses against Venezuela. We heard much about abstract concepts of liberty and fraternity and equality. However, all stratospheric disquisitions about intangible concepts did not satisfy me as to why the Criollos rose against Madrid initially, let alone explain the eventual extermination of over one-third of their number. The entire country churned with violence and at the end had been practically depopulated. It was clear to me that the savagery and atrocities occurred not prior to, but during the Revolution. I do remember hearing a teacher quote the words uttered by Simón Bolivar as he approached death in the late 1820’s, “I have plowed in the sea….” And, “…those countries will infallibly fall into chaos and dictatorships….”

But why cast off Spanish rule for intangible concepts only to install tangibly cruel “chaos and dictatorships”?

To read the July 4, 1776 and the July 5, 1811 declarations of independence back to back is an instructive exercise which might help explain why.

The Venezuelan is over 800 words longer and reflects allusions to French revolutionary thinking that is absent from the American. Consistent with the American, it also alludes to the Christian religion which sounds discordant if one has a basic understanding of Rousseau and the Declaration of the Rights of Man.

The Venezuelan opens by alluding to a former declaration (April 19, 1810) which was adopted as a result of Spain’s occupation by France. It goes on to complain about three centuries of suppressed rights and that recent political events in Europe had served to offer an opportunity to restore those rights. They then, following the 1776 Declaration, proceed to justify their actions.

The United States [American] declaration does not complain about 150 years of colonial rule. Rather it expresses concern that, when abuses make it necessary to dissolve long-standing political bands, that such action must be taken carefully and with strong justification. It expresses the need and the willingness to “suffer, while evils are sufferable” before abolishing government and relations to “which they are accustomed.”

I know this is simplistic, and historians will disagree, but to the layman, the 1811 comes across as willful, the 1776, as reluctant.

The longest body in each is the justification. The Venezuelan uses 1,156 words, beginning with another allusion to 300 years of Spanish rule and affirming that a people has a right to govern themselves. Then the author expresses a willingness to overlook those 300 years by “placing a veil” over them (“corriendo un velo sobre los trescientos años“) and proceeds to recent European events which had dissolved the Spanish nation. It goes at length criticizing the Spanish monarchy for its abandonment of her throne in favor of the French and how this state of affairs had left Venezuela without legal recourse (“dejándola sin el amparo y garantía de las leyes“).

It asserts, furthermore, that the vast territories of the Americas with far more population than Spain itself cannot be governed from afar, etc. Here, the author presumes to speak for all the Spanish Americas. The layman is justified in wondering if this misdirection is inserted to remove attention from special pleading in the document that does not wholly stand up.

This section is not easy to follow today without some knowledge of the events current in 1811.

This was not a unanimous declaration; three provinces did not join, presaging the terrible bloodletting which was to follow.

For its justification, the American declaration uses 824 words (332 less than the Venezuelan), to list the abuses and their attempts to humbly address these legally only to have their attempts rebuffed. They make no allusions to 150 years of oppression or of unhappiness with their colonial status. They address only relatively recent abuses, including violence against life and property, mercenaries on their way to fight against them, war waged against them, threats to their religious liberty (the Quebec allusion), and much more. These are listed almost in bullet point format, but without the bullets, and are easy to understand, even 244 years later. It reads as if the document were a declaration of the right to self defense.

This was a unanimous declaration signed by representatives of each of the thirteen colonies.

In their conclusion, the Venezuelans, yet again, allude to centuries of oppression and their natural right to govern themselves. They assert they have a right to establish a government according to the general will (“voluntad general“) of her people.

It is hard to miss the influence of French revolutionary thinking in the Venezuelan document, despite allusions to a Supreme Being (“Ser Supremo”) and to Jesus Christ (“Jesucristo”). Its reference to the “General Will” is Rousseauean and is also found in the atheistic French Declaration of the Rights of Man.

They also state they will defend their religion.

The layman can’t help but be impressed by the schizophrenic nature of this document which contained appeals to atheistic revolutionary thinking then in vogue, while recognizing that the “regular folk” were still very religious and needed to hear allusions to religious fidelity.

The American conclusion appealed to the Supreme Judge of the world and in the name and authority of the people in the colonies they declared independence.

I know that professors delight in pointing out that Thomas Jefferson was the “author” of the American declaration and that he was not a Christian, etc.

However, one does not read the Virginia Fairfax Resolves (1774), or the Virginia Declaration of Rights (May, 1776), both of whose primary author was George Mason, a Christian, nor does one read clergyman, John Wise, who in 1710 wrote, “Every man must be acknowledged equal to every man,” and “The end of all good government is to cultivate humanity and promote the happiness of all and the good of every man in all his rights, his life, liberty, estate, honor, and so forth…” and “Democracy is Christ’s government in church and state.” Jefferson drew from a rich, deep Christian well. According to President Calvin Coolidge, Jefferson himself “acknowledged that his ‘best ideas of democracy’ had been secured at church meetings.”

The American declaration was followed by seven more years of war whose official end was the Treaty of Paris in 1783 and a constitution, still in effect, whose final ratification was in 1790. The Venezuelan declaration was followed by nineteen years of wars (plural) characterized by unspeakable cruelties and tortures, including a proclamation of “war to the death” by Simón Bolivar. By their end in 1830, one third of Venezuela’s population had perished. These wars were followed by more wars and rebellions which continued to the end of the century. She’s had at least 27 constitutions.

In sum, the American hearkened to her Christian heritage and history; the Venezuelan, to French revolutionary atheism, most starkly demonstrated by yet another revolution, the Russian, in 1917. Both the American and the Venezuelan shed blood. But the latter, like the French, shed it more abundantly.

I love the United States of America and its history. I love her Christian heritage and her pioneers. She is a wonderfully great country with a people who will always pull at my heart. I also love Venezuela and the warmth and genuine friendship of her people. I am grateful the Good Lord has exposed me to both and shown me that, in Christ, our best days are yet ahead.

Declaration of Independence – Text of the Declaration of Independence | Britannica

Text of the July 4, 1776 Declaration of Independence

Acta de la Declaración de Independencia de Venezuela – Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre

Towards the bottom of article linked above, the reader will find the text of the July 5, 1811 Venezuela Declaration of Independence. It is in Spanish.

Speech on the 150th Anniversary of the Declaration – Teaching American History

Highly recommended to all, not just Americans

Venezuela Earthquakes — June, 24, 2026

June 26, 2026June 26, 2026 Richard Barnes

Two powerful earthquakes shook northern Venezuela this past Wednesday, causing severe damage and loss of life especially in La Guaira, Caracas, and the surrounding areas. Relatives and friends tell me the tremors were felt as far away as Ciudad Guayana, though no damage was reported there.

Many people are still refusing to return to their homes out of fear.

Churches are in prayer and ready to provide aid. We are grateful for the relief efforts being organized in the United States, El Salvador, and other countries across the Americas, as well as in Qatar. More on these efforts further below.

A terrible earthquake struck Caracas in 1967; it had a magnitude of 6.8 and caused severe damage, resulting in around 300 deaths. This week’s quakes were of far greater magnitude, and the damage, exponential given that Venezuela’s infrastructure has not been modernized in many decades.

We have been able to get confirmation from friends and family in the Ciudad Guayana, El Pao, and Caracas environs that they are well or have been rescued. I am sorry to say that others do not have such encouraging news.

It is difficult to watch, hear, or read about people buried beneath tons of rubble whose voices can still be heard but who, despite many willing hands, cannot be rescued for lack of proper machinery and technology. Not to mention the many cases of children and babies rescued but whose parents and relatives are unknown or lost.

Perhaps more difficult is to once again be reminded of the absolute pitilessness of atheistic Communism / Socialism.

The last two or three generations of American schoolchildren have no idea of the evil, wicked nature of atheistic systems of government, especially those spawned in modern times since the French Revolution. For example, see Bands of Robbers II for a quick summary of the deleterious impact of forsaking and even denouncing our rich Christian heritage, which is what our betters, meaning our educators and lecturers, have been busy doing for over a century now.

How does this solipsistic philosophy — for it is concerned not for the well-being of others, but rather for oneself and power and control over others, even to the point of death — manifest itself in a calamity such as has befallen Venezuela this week?

We are seeing and hearing reports from reputable sources that the Venezuelan dictatorship has been closing donation centers and demanding that such have “official authorization” from the Communist government. Without such authorization from the Communists, the people of Venezuela can neither donate nor receive donations.

This is what is to be expected from a hellish ideology that demands total submission to the atheistic state.

Furthermore, we are hearing complaints from various parts of the country indicating that government officials are blocking the entry of trucks and moving equipment that desperate Venezuelan citizens — in great self-sacrifice — are procuring and convoying to the affected zones where are thousands of people, including children, desperate for help and rescue.

Thank the Lord, aid shipments have finally arrived from other countries such as El Salvador, Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia, and the United States. The positive aspect of this—beyond the assistance itself—is that it will be more difficult for the communist government to obstruct or block this aid, given that the “eyes of the world” are upon them and they do not wish to face further embarrassment.

We must understand that the very countries the communists in power in Venezuela praised most—such as China and Cuba—have not lifted a finger nor offered any assistance. Conversely, the countries that such Venezuelan communism attacked the most—such as the United States, El Salvador, and Colombia—are the ones stepping up with their voices, labor, and equipment.

Finally, we must emphasize that when the “Vargas tragedy” struck in December 1999, the Hugo Chávez communist government refused all aid offered by the United States. Days of rain triggered massive landslides that destroyed or completely buried—or swept out to sea—countless people and entire towns. U.S. aid was rejected because Hugo Chávez—in line with his good friend Fidel Castro—considered maintaining a revolutionary stance more important than saving lives. Many children were handed over to the authorities by desperate parents. What became of them? The question remains unanswered twenty-seven years later.

Furthermore, the housing structures the Chávez/Maduro communist government “built” to replace a mere fraction of what was lost were thrown together haphazardly. And, unsurprisingly, most of them did not withstand this week’s earthquakes.

I hope we have learned enough from the Vargas tragedy to at least focus on truly rescuing the children lost in this week’s earthquakes and not simply trust government agents to take care of them.

Communism is atheism, atheism is a lie, and a lie cannot endure. Nor can it do lasting good to anyone. On the contrary, ever since the Lie in the Garden of Eden, we can rest assured that lies result in death.

Pray for Venezuela.