Thread by @HereticNoir

Okay, so putting this out there. There are two narratives on #Venezuela. 1. People are starving and the nation is an abject hellhole bc #Maduro is a dictator driving the nation into the ground and supporting #Guiado is the will of the people.

2. Though Maduro is def a pretty bad person and no benevolent ruler, he still has real support. The idea that most Venezuelans want him deposed, much less replaced with Guiado is manufactured by our media inflating the sentiments of a decent but not overwhelming pt of ppl.

So I wanted to reach out here to get some better info, hopefully from Venezuelans). I think there's probably some truth in the middle of the various narratives. Here's some of the concepts I have about the issue (as a person just looking at US policy and various news)

1st: I in no way believe for 1 sec that the US is supporting Guiado bc of their undying concern for the ppl of Ven, loyalty to justice/fairness/democracy, or bc Guiado's a great guy. Separate of what the ppl want, they're supporting who will profit them.

The US is concerned with what leader is best for business and military interests, period. In nations like Saudi Arabia we could really care less about the freedom and human rights of people, bc it's good for business.

This makes me skeptical of whether or not Guiado has been bought off by the US to serve US interests. IDK shit about him, so who knows, but I haven't seen a nation we've "helped" with their democracy that hasn't ended tragically in my almost 35 years on this planet.

In discussion of whether this is a #USCoup or not, I feel that whether or not change is the will of the Venezuelan ppl, the results of that change are not going to be toward their goals. Even if most Ven support change, the US has started intervention in its interests.

2nd: I've heard a few sources say that the lines between the #Chavistas and the #Opposition is racially/class divided. That the #Indigenous Venezuelans and the #AfroVenezuelans along with the ppl in #Barrios are Maduro's base and often ignored by media

While the Opposition is more aligned with the better off and whiter Venezuelans. I have noticed I've seen almost no Venezuelans with African features in interviews. This leads me to question where the most marginalized sit on the issue versus those with the biggest platform.

3rd: There are questions on how much of the economic distress in Venezuela is due to Maduro v due to US/Western sabotage of the economy. I know this isn't totally untrue. I can't speak to what Maduro has done, but I know the US def has wreaked havoc.

We worked with the Saudis to drive the price of oil down to pennies on the dollar, essentially strangling Ven's major source of income. This impacts their food subsidies. All only exacerbated by sanctions. It's hard to know where Ven or Maduro would be if petro $ wasn't killed

So finally, admitting I come from a place of knowing very little what is "real" in Ven and 0 trust for our media and basing my ideas more one what I can and do know about how my nation (USA) conducts biz and foreign policy...

I guess I'm saying I don't know shit except our govt is prob involved for evil reasons and I don't trust any media sources on it, so anyone from Ven, esp indigenous/Afro Ven who don't mind giving me 2 cents on the matter.