After getting caught with his hand in an empty cashier's till, he shouts the loudest about unfair treatment. In all his wailing, he seems to forget to bring up the missing money, but his noise certainly does fill the room.

Venezuela = the guy caught with his hand where it doesn't belong. Yet, it doesn't stop them from screaming.

A Familiar Accusation From a Familiar Regime

The United States is committing the "greatest act of extortion in the country's history," according to the government of Venezuela. The charge reads like it was written by a keen marketing committee, with emotional language and sweeping claims that frame it as a moral outrage rather than a political tactic.

Their accusation is based on sanctions and diplomatic pressure tied to corruption, human rights abuses, and election manipulation. Caracas claims those measures amount to economic warfare rather than accountability.

Emotional Appeals Replace Accountability

Whenever pressure increases, Venezuela's leadership leans heavily on international sympathy. Words like "extortion" and "persecution" aim to shift any blame outward, away from years of misrule that brought down one of South America's wealthiest economies.

Once upon a time, schools, infrastructure, and food programs were funded by the country's oil wealth, revenue that vanished through corruption, patronage networks, and political purges. 

Actions lead to consequences: inflation soared, millions fled, and hospitals emptied. Nary a one of those outcomes came from foreign pressure; instead they came from choices made at the top.

Sanctions Did Not Create the Crisis

Venezuela's economic collapse began long before any U.S. sanctions took effect; years of price controls, nationalized industries, and currency manipulation committed far worse damage than any sanctions could. A once-wealthy country watched as food shortages spread, power grids failed, and oil output cratered.

The U.S. sanctions went after specific officials and sectors after democratic norms collapsed, responding to rigged elections and repression, not prosperity. Claiming that sanctions caused the collapse ignores a long history of mismanagement.

A Regime Running Out of Leverage

Whenever tyrants lose leverage, accusations fly around the world. In Venezuela's case, it's extortion; their leadership faces shrinking regional patience and growing skepticism. Their allies hesitate to defend a government that jails opponents, silences the media, and blocks any thoughts of credible elections.

Any international pleas aiming to recast the regime as a victim instead of a perpetrator lose any hope of gaining outrage and overlook evidence. That's a ploy that rarely works for very long.

Corruption Remains the Core Issue

Senior officials within Venezuela were the targets of independent investigations and sanctions, listing extensive corruption among senior officials; billions disappeared through oil contracts, shell companies, and state enterprises.

The prices paid were those of ordinary citizens who lived through shortages and poverty. Empty stomachs have always been the result of tyranny. Who can forget Stalin's starvations, among many.

Theatrics Cannot Feed a Nation

Words don't restore electricity, stock grocery shelves, or reopen hospitals. Venezuela's leadership is spending more time blaming foreign enemies than looking inward to fix domestic failures.

When played on sympathetic stages, emotional appeals may work, but facts remain stubborn. When any government dismantles institutions, they simply can't demand trust when oversight arrives.

Why the World Should Remain Skeptical

When used for good, international pressure pushes for reform rather than punishing populations. Sanctions include exemptions for humanitarian reasons, and aid flows through approved channels. 

Unfortunately, the regime controls all access, not foreign governments. There's a mathematical equation that always holds: whenever leaders can't change, isolation follows, and the sequence repeats across history.

A pattern that Venezuela is continuing without fail.

Final Thoughts

When a man shouts about robbery as he stands in the wreckage of his own house, he doesn't convince anybody. His shouting fades, but the damage he incurred remains.

Venezuela's leadership could end isolation tomorrow by restoring elections, freeing opponents, and opening institutions shut down years ago.

Until then, cries of extortion sound less like injustice.

Just panic.

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