Government security forces have been fighting El Koki’s mega-gang for over 24 hours in downtown and Western Caracas.
As expected, it’s the innocent who pay for crime and incompetence.
Yep, mega-gang: when two or more criminal organizations unite into a single group of more than fifty thugs.
Leopoldo López talks to a group of frenzied journalists at the gates of the Spanish ambassador's residency, where he's been staying with his family since the night of Tuesday, April 30th. His message: he expects the usurpation will end in "weeks"
While the regime's forces were seen during the day close to the Spanish consulate, López stands on the threshold of the diplomatic property where he took refuge—without requisting asylum, so far—to say that the international community told him Venezuela won't be abandoned
Apr 5, 2019 • 10 tweets • 4 min read
The electric crisis in Zulia is very different from other states, not only because the blackouts are longer and the consequences are much more severe, but also because it isn't new.
In 2018, the region suffered an unprecedented crisis that lasted months. There were millions of losses in butcher shops and thousands of rotten liters of milk.
There are things we don’t say to avoid causing alarm, but it’s time to talk about how it’s like to live in Zulia without electricity: there’s no garbage collection service here, so everything’s full of trash
Consequently, we’re besieged by flies and rodents… Due to scorching temperatures, we sleep outdoors, on our roofs or with windows and doors open. Bugs, spiders, cockroaches, bats, mosquitoes and more invade our homes.
Mar 12, 2019 • 10 tweets • 5 min read
After 8 hours without news of journalist and human rights activist @LuisCarlos, @Naky reports that a SEBIN commission took her husband to their home where he remained handcuffed while they performed a search.
He is to be presented before the prosecutor's office today.
In the video, @Naky is asking the press, human rights activists, and anyone sensible to their cause to join her at the Chief Prosecutor's office at 11:00 a.m. to demand the immediate release of @LuisCarlos
After several hours of desolated paramos with shacks made of plastic and sticks where they sell candy and contraband gasoil, our driver advised us to stop taking pictures since we were in “paraco territory”.
“They have control over this area, anyone can be a paraco, it’s best to not draw attention to ourselves.” We were approaching one of the most illegal yet most surveilled places in the world. #CucutaChronicles
Feb 9, 2019 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
1/4
All those years ago, Orwell had already noticed how the far left uses abstract language to shield itself from facing the actual human suffering their regimes provoke.
Politics and the English Language is a masterclass on this topic.
orwell.ru/library/essays… …
2/4
When you're defending the indefensible, he said, your priority is "to name things without calling up mental pictures of them." And you do that through abstraction.
Feb 2, 2019 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
1/Thing is, Venezuelans have a hyper-developed ear for communist propaganda. We've been on the receiving end to this stuff for *decades*.
So when a first world leftie like @IlhanMN or @BootsRiley starts parroting state media, we notice *immediately.*
2/You might think you're putting out a bold and fearless new radical analysis by railing against a "U.S.-backed coup" designed to install a "far-right U.S. puppet" in Venezuela.
But Venezuelans are bombarded with this shit 24/7 on state radio, state TV, state websites...
Jan 24, 2019 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
The basics:
Everybody hates Maduro.
Four out of five Venezuelans want him out.
It's not just the U.S.: every major country in the Americas (except Mexico) is calling for him to go.
He has destroyed the country in every way you can imagine, and some ways you can't.
He hangs on ***EXCLUSIVELY*** because he's managed to keep the Army on his side.
He's kept them onside through patronage.
He's given the generals control of the oil industry.
He lets generals to grow rich through corruption, illegal gold mining and drug trafficking.
