I wish I could prove to you the truth behind all of the lies told about other countries in the Americas, but I cannot, it’s too vast. It is painful to see the false information that gets inside people’s heads — put there by politicians from across the political spectrum and across media outlets from FOX to PBS — in a deliberate attempt at “ignoration” not education. Recently, because of the outsized and outrageous attacks on Venezuela, folks are becoming more skeptical, and more knowledgeable.
What I can do is to suggest a few tips so that when you take in news, you have more reason to question it, and take action in whatever way you can.
I hope these FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) will help.
Why is the US administration attacking Venezuela?
Is it about drug trafficking?
No. That’s a blatantly fabricated excuse for attacking Venezuela. Fortunately, most readers of the news these days realize it is wrong to sink civilian boats with no right to do so, no evidence obtained before the bombings, and no possibility of evidence afterward. In the United Nations World Drug Report 2025, Venezuela is not a targeted drug trafficking nation.
Is it all about oil and resources?
Not totally. Although access to oil and other rich resources is a key US interest, even without resources, what really gets a country targeted by US military and economic weapons is simple resistance to US domination. Just look at the list of countries in the Americas sanctioned (illegally) by the US government: Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
In the informative English-language website venezuelanalysis.com an article neatly sums it up, “Attacking Venezuela serves two purposes: to loot our resources and to extinguish the example of participatory democracy.” Ana Maldonado’s interview continues, “Since 2021, Venezuela has experienced renewed economic growth and the strengthening of its communes and popular power. That is precisely what Washington wants to halt: they fear that the peoples of Latin America, and even within the United States, will draw inspiration from our experience.” Note that she said, “even within the United States.” Noam Chomsky used the phrase “the threat of a good example.”
How can you tell in news stories which countries are not aligned with US domination?
One tip is to hear how their leadership is described by the mainstream media and Washington. They use words like “authoritarian,” “dictator,” and “regime.” Also, non-aligned nations are frequently accused of election fraud and human rights abuses, while “friendly” nations with worse records are given a pass.
“For forty years you (USA) try to strangle us.
And then you criticize us for the way we breathe.”
— Fidel Castro —
Aren’t sanctions and boycotts a good alternative to direct military action?
Sanctions kill. “Sanctions” are unilateral economic coercive measures prohibited by the United Nations Charter. Like military interventions, they are used as weapons of war to try to effect “regime change.” When you hear news stories or politicians saying that people are suffering and emigrating in Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, or Venezuela, and the stories do not state that the US has placed deadly sanctions on them, you can be sure you are not being given the whole story in other areas as well.
How can we trust the results of elections? For example, in Venezuela or Nicaragua.
The first question to ask when analyzing news reports about fraudulent elections is this, “Is the candidate who won (or who may win) the first choice of the US governmental and corporate powers-that-be?” If not, then doubt the accusations of fraud. These accusations begin even before elections take place, and continue despite evidence of legitimacy from international election observers.
Keep in mind that these are sovereign nations. The US should be about the last country on earth to criticize other countries’ electoral policies.
And the US can hardly cast itself as a model of freedom of the press, given how many investigative journalists have lost their jobs for straying from the party line.
What countries in the region have resisted US influence/imperialism? What is the Pink Tide?
Especially during this millennium, many nations refused to be the “backyard” of the US, as the Monroe Doctrine dictated over 200 years ago. A majority of South American countries elected progressive leaders. The “Pink Tide” has suffered reversals, and then regained leadership. Regional integration of Latin American and Caribbean nations helped them regain strength. These solidarity efforts were greatly helped by Hugo Chávez, president of Venezuela from 1999 to 2013. Chávez had learned from history that no nation was strong enough to stand alone against the military and economic super-power
Solidarity is a lesson we can all learn, in our efforts toward a better world.
I hope we all learn to better analyze the information we take in, and also, to realize that when news makes us feel that we don’t have power, that is the biggest lie there is.
PROPOSITION 50
Prop 50 is the only item on the CA November 4 ballot. It is very flawed, like so many propositions, meaning that for different reasons both YES and NO are bad choices. Most Green Party endorsements on Prop 50 are NEUTRAL. So make your bad choice!
However, Green Parties are not neutral in their support for the real solution, one that more than 90 nations have used to make their representative democracies more … representative! That solution is PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION.
What can we do? There is an organization focused specifically on California that you can support, ProRep Coalition. Please at least subscribe, and better yet, donate and take action.
FOOTNOTE ON MY EXPERIENCE: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
My experience in the southern Americas is that I traveled to Venezuela on political delegations half a dozen times starting in 2005, soon after I saw the documentary The Revolution Will Not Be Televised. In 2002 two Irish filmmakers traveled to Venezuela to do a simple profile of Hugo Chávez, the president of Venezuela, and to everyone’s surprise, ended up filming a coup attempt against Chávez. You can watch the film HERE.
I also participated in political delegations to Ecuador, Bolivia, Honduras, Cuba, Nicaragua and Mexico. I not only learned a lot, I saw a lot of beauty in the land and people.