First, I want to start by responding to a comment from a user who, because of what happened in Venezuela, confessed to feeling ashamed of being American. This user responded in the journal of an artist I follow. Even though the artist has a completely opposite political stance to mine, I enjoy their art. Judge me for that if you want, but credit where credit is due. This also applies to everyone who feels similarly.
As a Venezuelan, I'm actually grateful. Look, I don't exactly like Trump, and I don't agree with the United States meddling in other people's affairs, but given the situation in my country, I'm satisfied that this criminal is about to be tried for all the harm he's caused to both Venezuelans and Americans. Don't feel bad about being American; there have been times when I've felt bad about being Venezuelan, just like thousands of others who are ashamed to have such a character representing their country.
Venezuelans can't own weapons unless they're police officers or soldiers, which is why we're defenseless. Many people died in the 2017 protests simply for asking someone else to take charge and solve the shortages... Have you ever seen shelves with empty shelves? Or cardboard-colored cereal boxes, I mean, colorless?
Would I have liked the dictator to fall at the hands of his own people and end up like Mussolini or Ceaușescu? Of course, I would have loved to, but unfortunately, they had the weapons and the corrupt state powers on their side, the military like loyal dogs waiting for a scrap.
And look, I truly believe that Trump would have preferred not to send troops. It's clear he wouldn't want to set foot in Latin America for anything, but the options were exhausted, and to be honest, the operation was quite clean and quick. Only military barracks (and Chavez's tomb, yay!) were targeted. There was no civilian damage.
So, don't feel bad for being American. Your country was founded on the ideals of freedom. Maybe sometimes... several times, it's not perfect, but you don't lack food, you have options, you can protest, you can say that Trump is a complete imbecile and that he should eat cat shit in the street, and the worst that can happen is that people look at you like you're crazy. Not me... here, only the silence of the innocent reigned.
What I'm about to say is for all those who continue to defend communism and its dictators.
Now that things are happening in Venezuela, it's very likely that the Cuban dictatorship will eventually fall as well, just like the one in Nicaragua. Many of you defend regimes like the Venezuelan and Cuban ones, saying they are merely victims of the actions of the United States, many of you being Americans, others Latin Americans.
I've always found it ironic, hypocritical, and especially disgusting that you talk about the great wonders of the communist paradise in Cuba, that you say there's no hunger in Venezuela, and if there is, it's the fault of the United States, but you wouldn't dare set foot there if you supposedly have it so bad in the United States. Speaking frankly about all those communists living in the United States, suffering the ills of the United States and ignoring the advantages they have of living in a country that respects the freedoms of its citizens, freedoms that have been built up over the years, such as sexual freedom, freedom of expression, and freedom of the press—please, there are plenty of people who can profess the communist religion in the USSR's rival country. Even a mayor of New York with communist leanings is currently publicly declaring his opposition to Maduro's arrest. Here in Venezuela, if you say, "I think Chávez was wrong to expropriate so many companies," that's reason enough to throw you in a prison worse than Bukele's. Here, if you're imprisoned, you're unlikely to get out alive.
Seriously, you idiots, do you think millions of Venezuelans went on vacation around the world because the "supreme and benevolent" socialist state allowed us to go off and "profess the faith of the Communist Manifesto of the wise prophet Marx"? Are the thousands of Cubans in Miami there on vacation, waiting for the signal to topple the White House and force the United States to follow Castro's lead? Praising Che Guevara and creating a country where the state provides everything you need to live because resources are infinite and priceless? I don't know what kind of world you envision, but this is the reality. Right now in South America, almost every country, especially those that played along with Chávez, has shifted toward right-wing ideologies. Am I wrong? Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile, Peru, and, judging by how things are going, Brazil and Colombia will make the change this year. And why?
Since the massive fraud in the last presidential elections two years ago, Latinos have been thinking, "Damn, if that tyrant, with ideas very similar to my president's, committed such fraud, what guarantees do I have?" It's been more than 20 years of decline in the region, but suddenly someone arrives shouting "VIVA LA LIBERTAD CARAJO" and everyone loses their minds seeing how little by little they fix the disasters in their country.
I also won't say that my ideas and political position are correct... because there's no right answer, but there are ideas that are terrible, and there's plenty of historical evidence showing how socialism not only doesn't work, but that when the socialist/communist leader realizes they're messing things up, their pride gets the better of them, and they decide to start repressing and sweeping everything under the rug, like when your mom asked you how your exam went.
It's still too early to know what will happen from now on, but I'm grateful, not to Trump, but to the United States for having done what many were asking for, what no one dared to do, and what had to be done... if they ask for something in return, I accept it, because as the song says... "sea con dinero o no, siempre se paga un favor y si veo que algo es gratis you dudo en seguida, pague antes o despues la cuenta va a aparecer Y está claro de que nada es gratis en la vida"
Now allow me to unleash the worst part of myself and vent my bile on those who know they're wrong... Fuck you, you imbecile communists, and get to work. To be free is to be responsible for yourselves; to be a slave is to be dependent on someone else. Go to hell. I'm happy that Maduro is going to get a huge dick shoved up his ass. I hope so, and that when he dies, he descends to the depths of hell along with Chavez, if hell even exists. For now, I wish that criminal a long life of suffering and regret.
