Nicolas Maduro

William Finnegan's lengthy report from Venezuela in the November 14 edition of the New Yorker begs two obvious questions: Where have you guys been? And why did you wait until the wee hours on November 7, the day before Election Day in the U.S., when almost everyone's attention was on the presidential and other contests, to post it online? The report's headline asks a question: "How did this…

Thursday evening, Venezuela's Bolivarian Socialist government arbitrarily suspended the recall effort against "President" Nicolas Maduro, demonstrating beyond any doubt that the South American country now functions as a dictatorship. Given its gravity, this news, described in coverage at the Wall Street Journal as "a crisis of democracy," is not getting the visibility it should be receiving.

The absurd headline at a September 20 story at the New York Times is a sight to behold: "How Bad Off Is Oil-Rich Venezuela? It’s Buying U.S. Oil." As formulated, the headline is clearly meant to communicate something that is supposedly a surprising new development in that country, which, thanks to 17 years of Bolivarian socialist rule, has turned into a financially destitute humanitarian…

Over two weeks ago, the Bolivarian socialist government of Venezuela under de facto dictator Nicolas Maduro decreed that private-sector and government workers can be forced to work on farms if the military, which is now responsible for food production and distribution in that shortage-wracked country, deems it necessary. Relevant site searches indicate that the country's forced-labor decree…

Now we know why Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela's de facto dictator, recently handed over responsibility for food production to the military: He's going to need soldiers on farms and elsewhere in the food distribution chain to keep conscripted workers in line. That's because on July 22, now over a week ago, Maduro's government decreed "... that any employee in Venezuela can be effectively made to work…

The latest installment in leftist excuse-making when socialism fails goes into the "It would work if leaders just had the right people handling things" file. It comes in the form of a Friday morning "analysis" at the Associated Press. Writers Jorge Rueda and Joshua Goodman want readers to believe that the economy in the Bolivarian socialist and once fairly prosperous nation of Venezuela would be…

It would be far too kind to give three cheers to CNN for exposing the disastrous conditions in a children's hospital in Caracas, Venezuela caused by over 15 years of Bolivarian socialism in a July 13 broadcast report. The network gets one hearty cheer for the detailed report's existence. It lost a chance for a second cheer when it failed to mention the country's socialist form of government…

Tuesday's coverage at the Associated Press of the deepening humanitarian crisis in the Bolivarian socialist disaster known as Venezuela focused on the conditions in the ever-lengthening lines its citizens must endure in hopes of obtaining enough of the basics of everyday life just to survive. Wire service reports often start off relatively brief and expand as reporters gather more information.…

On May 1, the Washington Post's Jackson Diehl warned: "We ignore Venezuela’s imminent implosion at our peril," noting that the South American nation of 30 million "has descended into a dystopia where food, medicine, water and electric power are critically scarce." Given the dire humanitarian crisis which has enveloped that country, broadcast media coverage during the ensuing seven weeks,…

Curiosamente, los canales en español Números 1 y 2 de Estados Unidos, Univisión y Telemundo respectivamente, hasta ahora no han informado a sus televidentes que el presidente socialista de Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, ha dado un rotundo respaldo de la candidatura presidencial de su camarada estadounidense, Bernie Sanders.

Curiously, America’s top Spanish-language networks Univision and Telemundo have so far failed to inform their viewers that socialist Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has issued a ringing endorsement of the presidential candidacy of his comrade in the United States, Bernie Sanders.

Los espectadores de los noticieros de ABC, CBS o NBC podrían ser perdonados si piensan que no está pasando nada de interés periodístico en Venezuela, donde una oposición envalentonada en las últimas semanas está trabajando para sacar del poder al presidente socialista Nicolás Maduro por medio de un referendo revocatorio. El país está pasando por una crisis humana devastadora, en la que los…

Viewers of ABC, CBS or NBC morning shows and evening news programs could be forgiven for thinking nothing newsworthy is going on in Venezuela, where an emboldened opposition in recent weeks has been working to remove incumbent socialist President Nicolás Maduro through a recall referendum. The country is currently going through a devastating humanitarian crisis, in which food is scarce, medicine…

On Sunday's Last Week Tonight, HBO's John Oliver blamed oil prices for the current chaos in Venezuela: "What is wrong with Venezuela? Well, the short answer is everything. The low price of oil, which accounts for 96 percent of Venezuela's exports, has triggered an economic collapse — causing massive inflation and shortages of food and medicine." While Oliver rightly mocked Venezuelan President…