Nicolás Maduro: “Only Socialism can be in balance with nature, it is the only way to the preservation of the environment and the salvation of the human species. Let us save the World!”
There has been a massive oil spill in Venezuela. It happened in early August, 2020.
It has impacted the Morrocoy national park in western Venezuela.
Per the Caracas Chronicles: “There was a new spill in El Palito: the residue pond is full and the experts say that every time it rains, the pond overflows, bringing oil to the sea and accumulating one spill after the other. Up to 40,000 barrels of oil have been spilled into the coasts of Falcón and Carabobo states, causing an ecocide that could be irreversible with how often the spills are happening. There has been no damage control.”
The Environmentalists have said little or nothing.
No word from Leonardo yet. Or Harrison. Or Al. Etc.
One tweet from Greta.
Mass media? Crickets.
Since Venezuela is a Socialist regime, oil spills cannot be reported or made too big a deal about. Goes against the narrative.
Above photos taken August/September, 2020 Before the spill(s)
As a year ends and another begins, it is good to pause and look back at recent events and developments in Venezuela which have been alluded to in the blog.
Malaria is making a comeback in Latin America, with Venezuela earning the unfortunate distinction of leading in this revival. Refer to the August 17, 2019 blog post, “Clouds of DDT” https://thepulloftheland.com/clouds-of-ddt for a discussion of the phenomenally successful control of malaria in Venezuela in the 20th century (we don’t hear much about this because DDT is politically incorrect. Best keep quiet about that!). For an update on the return of malaria to the stricken land, refer to the Caracas Chronicles article, “Blame the Gold Rush: Malaria Keeps Spreading”, link below.
The December 13, 2019 blog post, “The Lost Children of Vargas” The Lost Children of Vargas tells of the terrible events precipitated by the rains of December 1999. For one account of that calamity, you might want to read another Caracas Chronicles narrative, “Only Two of Us Survived”, linked below. It is a heart-wrenching tale about the then-mayor of Vargas. Incredibly, politics intruded in this devastation. Assuming your heart is not made of stone, he will speak to you.
What about the elderly? Again, the redoubtable Caracas Chronicles has an interesting article about the demographic unit, the elderly, included in the millions who have voted with their feet, emigrating from the stricken land. The March 12, 2019 blog post, “Humanitarian Crisis” Humanitarian Crisis tells of this catastrophic migration. The Caracas Chronicles article about the older folks in the throngs is linked below.
You may have read recently about Juan Guaidó’s re-election as Speaker of the Venezuelan National Assembly. His breaking through the wall of Chavista soldiers a few days ago, might inspire hope. However, I’m afraid that hope will likely be dashed absent a true change of heart by Mr. Guaidó, wherein he sincerely rejects Socialism. Otherwise, all we’re talking about is a switch from leaded to slightly-less-leaded Socialism: both more of the same and both deadly. See the September 20, 2019 blog post, “Venezuelan Second Amendment?” for comments on this potential bait and switch A Venezuelan Second Amendment?
Contra Caracas Chronicles, this blogger has little faith in Mr. Guaidó and his party, Mesa de la Unidad Democrática (MUD, no pun intended). First of all, do not put your faith in princes. So says the Good Book. Secondly, MUD and Guaidó may talk “big”, but their actions are sheer accommodation with the tyrannical regime. From gun control to submission to controlled elections, MUD and its supporters are no Founding Fathers.
And Founding Fathers are what Venezuela needs at this moment.
For the second year in a row, Venezuela emigration has been deemed by UN as a top migration issue in the world, second only to Syria’s.The Vargas disaster continues to echo in modern memory twenty years later. Read it and weep
As stated in the “About” page of this blog, my sincere intent is to tell about Venezuela irenically. I want to avoid polemics here, not because polemics are bad or unimportant; they are not. They play a role in aiding our understanding of events and even life and death issues. However, in these polarized times, it is most necessary to first go back to basics. Vince Lombardi once addressed his team after a terrible first half performance and, holding a football aloft, he declared, “Gentlemen, this is a football.” Hard to polemicize about that. And that sort of explains what this blog attempts to do.
So, you may wonder why I might bring up the current humanitarian situation in Venezuela here. Is there sufficient reporting about that readily available in the media? Are there enough debates on Venezuelan Socialism? Are there ample arguments on the competence of the government there?
The obvious answers to the above interrogatives are, of course, “yes, yes, and yes.”
But, and here I must tread on some toes: the reporting is nowhere near thorough.
There is indeed a crisis. And the poor and the indigenous peoples are those who suffer the most.
Today (this was written, mostly, on February 22, 2019), one of the trucks loaded with medicines and food, was burned as it crossed the Colombian frontier onto Venezuelan soil. See photo below and caption for additional commentary.
At the other entry point, in the south, specifically at Kumaracapay, Gran Sabana municipality, near the Venezuela-Brazil border, the actions taken by the national police painted an even worse picture:
From the Caracas Chronicles:
“Chavista officials say there was a shootout, a fight at the border. There was not, they gunned us down!” Very few times I’ve spoken to a man like Aldemaro Pérez. A 36 year-old indigenous leader, he speaks in plain terms, but unambiguously.”
“Is it true there are two Pemones [indigenous Venezuelans] dead?”, I ask.
“That’s absolutely true. We were near the border (with Brazil) expecting what we really want, the humanitarian aid. At five in the morning, a group of soldiers arrived trying to block the border. We tried to stop them, and they shot at us.”
“They killed two of us, Zoraida Rodriguez and her husband, and now we have four national guardsmen arrested. Three lieutenants and a sergeant, they’re our prisoners.”
After filing the above report, Aldemaro Pérez and four other Pemon Indians were arrested by the national police. Their whereabouts are unknown. The four police who had been arrested by the Indians for their atrocities are no longer in Pemon custody.
Seven of the fifteen people shot have since died.
(Above: Friendly fire? Food and medicine burning at the Colombia border. It may have been inadvertently set alight by the Venezuelans who were tossing Molotov Cocktails to disperse the government troops from blocking the truck coming to them. They may have missed and set fire to the truck itself. Others insist that the government forces themselves set the aid on fire. Reporting is sketchy. I cannot confirm either version)
“‘We don’t understand how a policeman can do this. How can they shoot their own people? Why wouldn’t they care they are sick and starving? Why would they burn medicine?’ said a member of the Colombian police while the truck with humanitarian aid burned on the Venezuelan side.”
Many headlines in the United States and Europe have noted the blocked humanitarian aid. Many have also reported the deaths of “protesters.”
However, relatively few have reported the loss of food and medicines and almost no one has emphasized that the dead and wounded — some critically — are indigenous people in desperate need of help. In other words, they are Native American Indians. Twenty-five are missing. Either they fled to the jungles of Venezuela and Brazil or they are detained in undisclosed locations or they are dead.
“… the locals know the regime brought 80 buses full of armed people, so nobody’s going out. ‘This is a ghost town today, and let me be frank with you,” says our man, “We feel abandoned. We feel isolated. Everyone was supporting us until this attack began and now we’re alone and we’re cut off from the rest of the country. How are we supposed to defend ourselves if those attacking are our supposed protectors?”
This area is rich in gold. Might that explain the state’s zealotry?
In a time when just about anything is an outrage and an offense, one would think that shooting unarmed, defenseless, destitute, and ill Indians, in addition to starving them, would merit at least more extensive reporting, let alone a bit of sympathy.
One of the most “left-leaning progressive” Democratic presidential candidates has called for support of the Venezuelan people who are fleeing the dictatorship. In effect, such a pronouncement puts that candidate pretty much in agreement with the President she hopes to unseat.
