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In the latest escalation of tensions between the United States and Venezuela, on December 17, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a “complete blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers going into and out of Venezuela. His Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolás Maduro, called the move “warmongering threats,” and accused the U.S. of trying to steal its resources.
Since September, U.S. military operations in the Caribbean have killed at least 95 people in 25 strikes. The Trump administration says it is targeting drug traffickers, but US lawmakers are now investigating some of the strikes amid mounting criticism of their scope and intent.
Meanwhile, Trump has placed a $50 million bounty on the head of Maduro and authorized the CIA to conduct covert lethal operations inside Venezuela.
In this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, we speak to Pablo Uchoa, a PhD candidate researching Venezuela’s military scenario planning, on how Venezuela has long been preparing for this moment.
He traces that planning back to 2002 and an unsuccessful coup attempt against former Venezuelan leader, Hugo Chávez. Uchoa explains that two important influences on Chávez’s thinking at the time were Vietnam and Iraq:
Obviously, the Vietnamese army expelled the Americans just by making it so hard for the Americans to stay in — and the same thing with Iraq, in different ways. The basic idea here is that the fight is not just army against army. This is… people against an army.
Listen to the interview with Pablo Uchoa about the Venezuelan military scenario planning on The Conversation Weekly podcast.
This episode was written and produced by Mend Mariwany and Gemma Ware with production assistance from Katie Flood. Mixing by Michelle Macklem and theme music by Neeta Sarl.
Newsclips in this episode from NBC News, BBC News, Geopolitical Economy Report, Al Jazeera English, AP Archive, the Straits Times, Euronews, CBS News, and Reuters.
Listen to The Conversation Weekly via any of the apps listed above, download it directly via our RSS feed, or find out how else to listen here. A transcript of this episode is available via the Apple Podcasts or Spotify apps.
Originally published at The Conversation.
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What We’re Watching (and Reading)
Andrea Flores on Redesigning the System: The video version of our latest podcast episode is now on our YouTube channel. Andrea Flores reflects on her journey as an immigration lawyer and policy advocate, sharing firsthand insights from her work in both the Obama and Biden administrations. She discusses the challenges of navigating a broken immigration system, the creation of DACA, and how the Biden administration may have paved the way for deportations under Trump. The conversation explores the evolving landscape at the U.S. border, the political complexities facing lawmakers, and the power of local communities to drive change when national leadership falls short.
Jersey City Library Update: I wanted to share an update on my story from last week about the formal civil rights complaint filed by the Puerto Rican nonprofit The Boricua Community Building Center against the Jersey City Free Public Library system. On Friday, the library published a lengthy joint statement from the library and its board of trustees.
“We recognize that concerns have been raised regarding alleged recent cancellations of programs, specifically proposed by a Puerto Rican community group. However, many of the allegations we have seen regarding the Library appear to be based on inaccurate information,” part of the statement says,
“Because the Library is in the business of conducting programs, we only cancel programs with good reason,” the statement later adds. “The Library cooperates with partner organizations in a respectful and professional manner and expects the same courtesies in return. We will not move forward with programs involving partners who do not demonstrate the same level of professionalism, cooperation, and respect towards our Library and our staff. If the conduct of any individual is egregious, they risk suspension or banning under our Patron Conduct policy. We will not tolerate anyone subjecting our staff to harassment nor will we require our staff to engage with persons who make them feel unsafe.”
“Despite these unfortunate allegations and misinformation, we remain grateful for the many individuals and organizations who work with us year after year to bring meaningful, high-quality programming to Jersey City,” the statement notes.
In response to the statement, Guzmán-Caraballo said the following to The Latino Newsletter: “The core issue remains whether access was applied consistently, transparently, and without bias or retaliation, which is now under formal state review. The statement does not address the complaint as a civil rights issue or provide documentation related to the allegations cited.”
The Jersey City Free Public Library’s leadership has yet to respond to The Latino Newsletter’s specific request for comment about the complaint.
Vizguerra-Ramírez Released: From an American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) media release: “Today, Jeannette Vizguerra-Ramírez walked out of the for-profit GEO Immigration Detention Center into the loving arms of her family. A federal immigration judge ordered her release on bond after finding that the Department of Homeland Security failed to justify her continued detention. Ms. Vizguerra-Ramírez’s family posted the bond with support from the Immigrant Freedom Fund. She will address her community of supporters at noon on Tuesday, December 23 at the Alfred A. Arraj Courthouse at 901 19th Street in Denver.”
Julio Ricardo Varela edited and published this edition of The Latino Newsletter.
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