Andreína Chávez, a Caracas-based journalist who reports on Venezuelan politics from an anti-imperialist perspective. She recounts waking to explosions and drones during the night of Maduro and Cilia Flores's abduction. Short scenes of damaged housing and civilian casualties. Discussion of U.S. intervention, oil negotiations, regional implications, and popular mobilization in Venezuela.
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Civilian Harm And Social Resilience
The U.S. operation hit civilian housing and social missions, causing broad social trauma beyond military targets.
Andreína emphasizes community-led recovery and widespread rallies as resistance and normalization of life.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Impromptu Rallies At Miraflores
After the attack, improvised rallies formed near Miraflores where ordinary people spoke into open mics demanding sovereignty.
Andreína links these scenes to past resistance moments and Venezuelan democratic culture.
insights INSIGHT
Normality As Political Resistance
Public demonstrations and 'peace and normality' are treated as active resistance and political messaging.
Andreína stresses that maintaining daily life rebuts attempts to provoke chaos.
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In Part 6 of our ongoing series on Venezuela, José Luis Granados Ceja and Andreína Chávez join us to discuss the aftermath of the abduction of Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores and the United States' attempted takeover of Venezuela. José Luis Granados Ceja is a journalist with Drop Site News based in Mexico City who has been covering Venezuela for 20 years. Andreína Chávez is a Venezuelan journalist based in Caracas.
Our conversation begins with an overview of the night of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores's kidnapping, told by Andreína who was in Caracas at the time. We also get an update on Maduro and Flores's detention in the United States and the charges they are facing. We then explore the US's intentions behind the kidnapping, the oil deals that are being "negotiated," and the rumors that Acting President Delcy Rodriguez was involved in the Special Forces operation (she wasn't) and that Chavismo is dead (it isn't). Andreína then gives us a bit of background on Maduro and his rise to the presidency, highlighting his working class background and underscoring his support among the Venezuelan people. We then zoom out and take a look at what this all means in terms of the Monroe Doctrine 2.0 and what it means in the context of the new Cold War. Finally, we discuss the implications for the globe as the United States rips off its mask and escalates its campaign of terror at home and abroad.
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