Venezuela – Page 12 – The Pull Of The Land

Understanding the Cuba – Venezuela Nexus V: Fidel’s Revenge III

August 18, 2021August 18, 2021 Richard Barnes

“The ‘continuity of the great work of Chávez’ does not rest on Maduro’s shoulders only. A large supporting politico-military cast of Fidel Castro devotees is key to maintaining the Communist regime in place. Above all, these powerful and dangerous functionaries admire and keenly study the Cuban regime’s ability to maintain herd control over the Cuban people while ensuring their perpetual grip on total power, all under the complacent gaze of a great part of the world.” — Diego G. Maldonado (pseudonym)

In this, our final post in the series on the Cuba – Venezuela nexus, we address the question asked in the prior installment: Cuba’s reason for these asymmetrical exchanges and contracts with astronomical profit margins is “to provide the island with needed currency. But what is Venezuela’s reason for them?”

In these posts, we’ve gotten a glimpse of Venezuela’s financial rescue of the bankrupt Cuban fiscal house. Reliable, recent figures are hard to come by and sketchy when obtained; however, most intelligence sources as well as financial publications agree that Venezuela has been Cuba’s principal source of revenue since the turn of this century. And that, at devastating financial and productivity cost to Venezuela.

But, as far as the Venezuelan regime is concerned, this devastation to the country has been well worth the pain because it has enabled the imposition of the Cuban political model onto Venezuela. A model which, above all else, maintains the rulers in perpetual power through electoral fraud, economic and social devastation, and intimidation.

As noted in other posts, the Venezuelan electoral process is “owned” by the long-dead Chavez, thereby assuring perpetuity to the state. As per Stalin, “It doesn’t matter who votes (or how many people vote), what matters is who counts the votes.” This aphorism has been vindicated time and again in Venezuela, and only cynics and fools discount it or ignore it. The effects of the collapse of Venezuela’s currency, the utter scarcity of foodstuffs, and the frightening level of crime have had the effect of propelling the largest ever emigration in Latin American history. But some have also discerned an incipient silver lining: the regime is actually talking about some electoral reforms. We’ll see.

As for the economic devastation visited on the country, Amherst Professor Javier Corrales well summarizes its purpose: “Maduro prefers economic devastation … because misery destroys civil society, and that in turn destroys all possibility to resist tyranny.” I would add that the terrible crime now rampant in Venezuela also reduces the will to resist tyranny. How effective would you be in promoting opposition to sitting politicians or filing complaints against a corrupt, unjust bureaucracy, when most of your time is focused on keeping vandals away from your front door?

Finally, to mount a truly effective opposition, the Venezuelan people would have to first overthrow a very well rooted, multi-faceted Cuban intelligence apparatus and its control accoutrements that are now pervasive. This domination pervades all civil institutions in Venezuela, even including the issuance of passports and cédulas, the Venezuelan internal passport card, without which a citizen pretty much is barred from everyday life (a powerful argument against anything even approaching this in the United States, by the way).

It betrays ignorance (and insensitivity) to minimize the deleterious impact of the cuban regiment’s experience in corralling (figuratively and literally) and demoralizing dissidence to the administrative state, i.e., the bureaucracy that was spawned with the advent of democracy in the late 40s and early 50s and has been thoroughly co-opted by the Cuba – Venezuela Nexus. Sowing fear and desperation are very valuable tools to those whose raison de e’tre is to perpetuate themselves while accumulating ever increasing power over others.

There is much more to Castro’s interest in Venezuela, an interest which predates his notoriety and which has had nefarious effects on both Cuba and Venezuela, as well as the rest of Latin America. We will touch upon this interesting and ever current subject on occasion.

Banner at Venezuela oil refinery: *Alianza Bolivariana Para Los Pueblos de Nuestra América*. A Cuba – Venezuela project seeking to integrate all Latin American countries. Other posts will address this age-old dream which actually existed during the Spanish colonial era.

Snippets II

August 11, 2021August 11, 2021 Richard Barnes

Much has been happening in or concerning Venezuela in recent weeks.

This, the second “Snippets” post in the blog will mention several of the more critical events.

Venezuela had its best Olympics showing

“It’s nice to feel this, it’s nice to cry hearing “Gloria al bravo pueblo” for a good reason, it’s fun to feel happy about being from Venezuela. The Olympic team made me connect with a country I felt had kicked me out, it made me feel our colors and our symbols like they were mine again, and that’s worth more than any medal they can bring home.”

Those are words by a Venezuelan emigrant, now seeking work in Spain. The Venezuelans, with no support from their country, shone unexpectedly. Every medal winner got a call from “President” Maduro, but the calls were strained and everyone could tell.

I did not watch the Olympics this year, so you can blame me for being one of those who ensured this Olympics had the worst viewership ever.

However, I did keep tabs on Venezuela. And I too was proud.

Ahymara Espinoza did not win a medal for shot put, but she did qualify, training alone in an abandoned lot. Below is her training site:

Others did medal: Yulimar Rojas, triple jumper, won the gold as she broke the world record. Cyclist, Daniel Dhers won the silver in freestyle BMX, a sport that Mr. Dhers helped get into the Olympics. Weightlifters Julio Mayora and Keydomar Vallenilla also won silvers. With four medals, this was Venezuela’s best Olympics performance ever.

Regional Elections Approach

“[E]very Venezuelan election since 2017 has lacked any legitimacy, not only due to the partisan nature of the National Electoral Council (CNE), the country’s top election arbiter, but also because there haven’t been enough guarantees for elections to meet the universally accepted attributes of freedom, fairness, transparency, and competitiveness needed for them to be considered truly democratic processes.”

I would say that has been the case since even earlier this century. But now, this understanding is widespread and the Venezuelan people are very much aware. Chavez, though long dead, still has a tight grip over the election administration process through his Communist heirs, including a heavy assist from Cuba (see the “Nexus” posts, which will continue presently). At the very least, serious audits are needed, but loudly rejected. Wonder why.

Food Appears Anew

“Before there was nothing; now there’s everything.”

Above was expressed by Jesús Barríos in Maracaibo.

The Maduro regime has begun lifting price controls in some areas, thereby allowing the market to determine price points and thereby allowing the law of supply and demand to function more freely, resulting in the creation of goods that Venezuelans need, namely, food.

Of course, these economic realities cannot be restored, like a light switch, without causing even greater pain. In this case, food prices have reached beyond the moon, adding greater misery to a desperate people. I am personally aware of others who are looking for means to leave, and leave now.

Do not forget this:

Latin America will never be the same

July 28, 2021July 28, 2021 Richard Barnes

The above is the verbatim title of a Guardian article published about a month ago. It is taken from an exclamation by one of the aid executives working on aiding the Venezuelan’s who have emigrated from their country of birth.

To give an idea of the catastrophe, over 5.6 Million Venezuelans have left the country since 2015. That is 18.7% of its population. It is the largest displacement crisis in Latin America’s history. Ever.

But relatively few of us hear about this debacle. We have heard much about the Syrian displacement halfway around the world. That is certainly also catastrophic.

But, how is it that we know more about Syria than we do about Venezuela?

This “knowledge deficit” has a real life impact on people. For instance, at last count, total funding per capita for Syrian refugees is more than 10 times that for Venezuelans — $3,150 compared with $265.

And Syrians, for the most part, head to Europe via modern transit and infrastructure, and generous welfare and support mechanisms. But Venezuelans tramp through inhospitable, impenetrable jungles, rivers, and/or seas, oftentimes traversing one or more less developed countries before arriving at a final destination. We do not know how many have perished in their attempts, but we do know many hundreds if not thousands have. I personally know of one who set out for Colombia and has not been heard from since.

I suppose the reasons for the Venezuelan exodus are not popular with the reigning Zeitgeist, hence it is played down. If so, shame on the reigning Zeitgeist.

Venezuelans have had a difficult history since the early 19th century as has been written in this blog many times (see here and here for two examples). However, they are a resourceful and energetic people, not to mention a beautiful people. And they are our neighbors. I say “they” because I am not in Venezuela. However, I was born there and consider myself Venezuelan as much as American.

If charity begins at home, and it does. And if we are to love our neighbor as ourselves, and we are. Then we should demand more honest reporting about what goes on in the land of Venezuela.

Lizbeth and Cyril

July 19, 2021July 19, 2021 Richard Barnes

I am pausing the series on the Cuba – Venezuela nexus in order to pay my sincere and loving respects to two childhood friends who (after my family) are among the first memories to come to mind every time I think of El Pao or Venezuela. And I think of El Pao or Venezuela on a daily basis.

Elizabeth (Lizbeth) Beran was born on a Saturday in 1953, November 7, to be precise. I was born exactly 10 days after she. We often joked about that. Children in my generation sought to be adults as quickly as possible. So, for instance, I did not like to wear short pants, because those were children’s clothing; I fought long and hard to graduate to long pants and after I did I never looked back. So, to me, Lizbeth was 10 days ahead and I could never catch up, no matter how hard I tried!

She was kind to me and always courteous to my parents. Once, in class (5th grade?), the teacher asked us what would be the proper thing to do if we were at a dinner and found that we could not properly chew down a piece of meat. I proposed that the proper thing to do would be to surreptitiously wipe your mouth with a napkin, deposit the offending morsel therein, and later dispose of the napkin. After several equally imaginative solutions offered by my classmates, Lizbeth finally spoke up, “You should use your fork and take the piece out of your mouth and place it on your plate,” she offered. And, of course, she was right.

I was fond of penguins in those days; therefore, when the class worked on a paper mache project, I made a penguin and offered it for sale, “It is yours for Bs (Bolivars) 20! And, if you buy 2, you can have both for Bs 40!.” That was my pitch. She smiled. Later that evening, at the club, before that night’s movie, her father approached me, “Ricky, if you have a product for Bs 20, and you want people to buy 2, you should offer the two for something less than Bs 40.” She was too embarrassed for me to tell me to my face. So she told her father.

Cyril (Cirilito) Serrao was born in British Guyana 5 months after Lizbeth and I were born. His family then came to El Pao and we became close childhood friends. A very vivid El Pao memory, one of the first that comes to mind whenever I think of Venezuela, is my racing, along with several buddies, down “the hill” of the mining camp. The hill was steep enough to propel us to high speeds. It was one of our daily adventures for a while in our early childhood. On one occasion, I had come down the hill, exhilarated and happy, had set my bike aside, and then waited for my fellow cyclists to come on down. As I strained to see who might come next, I saw Cyril expertly taking the next to last turn, a left from “up-the-hill” down towards the mess hall where he would then have to take a right towards the club’s parking area. But as he flew towards the mess hall, his countenance took on a look of horror (his brakes had failed) and he realized he would not be able to turn right. He let out a loud, guttural yell as he opened his eyes as wide has I’d ever seen them. Sure enough, he missed the turn and catapulted into the 4 foot deep ravine. We ran to him, fully expecting him to be dead. But no, he was OK and was bravely extricating himself from the wreck, saying, “I’m OK. I’m OK.”

His family moved to Bethlehem, PA, in 1962 and he and at least one of his brothers deeply missed El Pao for many years afterwards. His brother was the little boy I told about in my June 29, 2019 post, Gone Fishing. He had “run away from home”, telling a baffled policeman that he wanted to be taken to El Pao. We stayed in touch for many years, including my visits to Bethlehem and Los Angeles, where he lived for a while. He always sought to help me with my Uncle’s case and was one of the first to call me upon the death of my father in 1982. Once, when we had sought to look into some leads on my Uncle’s death, he said we should be called The Hardy Boys.

Lizbeth and Cyril have been the source of good memories and are reminders of the importance of decent childhood friends. I thank the Good Lord for having known them.

Lizbeth passed away yesterday. Cyril passed away in May this year, but I only learned about it a few days ago.

I miss them dearly.

Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God Who gave it.

Lizbeth at one our birthday parties in El Pao, circa 1958.

Lizbeth to my left, as I spoke with Mr. Beran in Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela, 1978.

Cyril at an El Pao birthday party, circa 1959.

Cyril (left) with his brother Gregory (center) and me years later, when we were more mature.

All Within the State: Understanding the Cuba – Venezuela Nexus IV: Fidel’s Revenge Part II

July 13, 2021July 13, 2021 Richard Barnes

“Havana obtained and retains full access to the data of all Venezuelans, of all foreigners who reside in Venezuela, and of all industries and companies. The Cuban government knows where each of the 30 Million Venezuelans live, whether they change residences, what properties they have, if they marry or divorce, what transactions they perform, and whether they enter or exit the country. ‘Yes, everything is in Cuba, of course, the data base of all Venezuelans. From [Havana] the data base is accessed, it can be altered with added or deleted data, for instance to prohibit or allow travel….'” La Invasión Consentida, Diego G. Maldonado (pseudonym)

This is the fourth in a series of posts which seek to give an overview of Castro’s intense interest in Venezuela since before his descent from the Sierra Madre in 1958. Early on, the scent of petroleum and the power and riches it had generated for Venezuela was something he was compelled to harness to enable his hold onto power as well as to extend his influence and revolution to other countries. Success in this endeavor required that Venezuela be converted into a Cuban colony.

President Rómulo Betancourt saw and understood this immediately and, in effect, told Castro to bug off, which rejection served to intensify both Castro’s hatred towards Betancourt and his obsession with Venezuela, as manifested by numerous blood soaked guerrilla and sabotage efforts throughout the sixties. Betancourt sought to raise a multinational Latin American army to deal with Castro head on but his efforts foundered on rapidly declining health in the 70s in death in 1981.

(Incidentally, there is much evidence of Venezuelan assistance to Castro during his guerrilla wars in Cuba in the 1950s. A classic case of be-careful-what-you-wish-for. But that is a story for another day.)

Whereas Castro and his designs on Venezuela were ruthlessly blocked by Betancourt, they, however, were magnanimously and joyfully welcomed by Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro. Understanding this reality, sheds light on the grotesque yet very real anomaly of a small, poor island boasting outdated technology in every endeavor of life (save that of domestic espionage and terror) dominating and directing a country which is vastly larger, more modern, more powerful, and astronomically richer. It took over a half century to get to this point, although the denouement (1999 to the present) was very rapid. And there is no end in sight.

The absolute submission of Venezuela to Cuba is no longer a secret to the Venezuelan people, although the exact terms of the hundreds of multi-billion-dollar agreements and contracts are known to very few.

For example, incredibly, Chávez contracted the Cuban state as consultant for the operations of the country’s electrical grid. The picture is jolting: an island with a geographical area of under 45,000 square miles is hired to “technically assess and assist” a land 8 times the size of Cuba (over 352,000 square miles) including the 5th largest hydroelectric power station on earth! “In the 90s I had traveled to Cuba to give courses to a group of laborers. I would never have imagined that, a few years later, one of them would come here as my boss,” said an engineer of Corpolec (Venezuela’s electric company). “The Cubans had never seen a hydroelectric system and now they were assigned to lead the maintenance operations in Guri, the fifth largest hydroelectric plant in the world.”

Venezuela also contracted over 100,000 Cubans as “social workers” to go door-to-door to install fluorescent light bulbs in Venezuelan homes, as if Venezuelans needed strangers to teach them how to change lighting. She also agreed to purchase thermoelectric power plants from Cuba, paying astronomically for the privilege. Cuba imported these from Brazil. So, here is the picture: Venezuela and Brazil are among the world’s leaders in the production of electricity. They are neighbors. They share a border. Yet, in the infinite wisdom of Venezuela’s “Energy Revolution”, it was necessary to purchase thermoelectric plants from Cuba, who would in turn purchase them from Brazil, and export them to Venezuela.

All to which the Venezuelan people are heard to say, “Oh, yes! The Cubans are real experts! In blackouts, that is. So, if you have power, and are in need of a blackout, just call them.” Venezuelans are known to have a wonderfully crazy sense of humor. As my madrina used to say, “The Venezuelan will manage to come up with a joke while he is being strangled to death.” And that remains true through these desperate times.

Another climax of the absurd is the “Misión Cultural Corazón Adentro” (Cultural Mission) whereby 1,200 Cubans were contracted to “rescue” the Venezuelan culture. “When I arrived, I had to learn to play the cuatro so that I could in turn teach it to the people here,” said the leader of a Cuban squadron sent to Venezuela. The cuatro is a 4-stringed guitar played in various Latin American countries, including Venezuela, where it is considered the fundamental instrument of the country’s folklore. A Venezuelan group — C4 Trío — won a Grammy with a cuatro album. But it was necessary for Cubans to come, learn the Venezuelan cuatro, and then teach it to the benighted locals.

The profit margin on these contracts are astronomical, based on the few that have been obtained or leaked. That is Cuba’s reason for them: to provide the island with needed currency.

But what is Venezuela’s reason for them?

To be continued.

(As I write the above, tens of thousands of Cubans have taken to march on streets throughout the island to loudly and intensely protest the Communist regime and its tyranny. The demonstrators are wearing and waving American and Cuban flags and chanting “freedom”, “Cuba libre”, and many other such expressions of acute longing to be set at liberty. These manifestations reflect almost unimaginable courage. The regime has called its minions to “combat” and has attempted to shut down the internet and attacked the few reporters that are there. “This is why we are calling all the revolutionaries of our country, all the Communists, to go to the streets anywhere that these provocations are happening today, from now on through all these days,” Miguel Díaz-Canel, the “president” of Cuba declared late Sunday. True to form, Cuban military has already opened fire on unarmed, defenseless Cuban villagers. There are reports, albeit spotty, that over 50 demonstrators or opponents of the regime have either disappeared or been arrested. Cuba is applying the same measures they imposed on Venezuela to violently suppress the demonstrations against the Chávez and Maduro regimes and their fraudulent elections. Pray for the people of Cuba.)