Spinning Venezuela

“World leaders back Guaido in a divided Venezuela.” That’s a headline on page A5 in today’s Globe and Mail.

Which world leaders? All of them? Most of them? Some of them? Or the usual gang of Uncle Sam’s flunkies who enthusiastically toady to every whim of the Exceptional Nation?

Seems like it’s the last of those options. Then why not give us an honest headline, something along the lines of “US and some allies back Guaido in divided Venezuela?” After all, anyone remotely informed knows that Venezuela has been in the cross-hairs of America’s military-industrial machine since the election of Chavez twenty years ago, and throughout those twenty years the US has worked tirelessly to undermine the elected government and divide the Venezuelan people.

Stephanie Nolen’s article takes pains to emphasize Canada’s role in the unfolding drama, because “punching above our weight” sells well here. The reality of our involvement is that we’re at every step doing the bidding of the Trump regime, but that’s a truth that won’t go down well with the Canadian public, so let’s bamboozle our readers with loads ‘o horseshit about freedom and democracy and standing up to evil dictators.

Funny how the Nations of Virtue can speak with one voice about authoritarianism in a state on Washington’s shit list, but when a house pet of the West like Paul Kagame wins 99% of the vote in a “free and fair” (nudge, wink, ahem..) election, we congratulate him on his success!

Canada’s official state media take a similar tack on the Venezuela story. Our “quiet diplomacy” is inching that aching land towards freedom, dontcha know! Of course we are! Chrystia Freeland herself takes great pride in her work advancing Washington’s agenda, as is obvious when you read the article. Sometimes the only way to advance democracy is by overthrowing the elected leader and putting in someone more amenable to taking direction from Washington, as we saw a few years ago in Ukraine and Honduras.

Here’s a story I haven’t seen at CBC or in the Globe; UN special rapporteur Alfred de Zaya says US sanctions are killing people in Venezuela. Not only that, but the international law expert says those sanctions are illegal and a crime against humanity.

You’d think an impartial news service interested in informing its readership would throw that into the mix somewhere, wouldn’t you?