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Tafadzwa Mugwadi Senior Writer
American-funded Venezuela’s self-declared president and opposition leader Juan Guaido was beaten at Caracas Airport on arrival from the United States by angry citizens.

There lies a Socialist Republic just on the fringes of American borders, a state that has defied all odds and just like Cuba and our homeland Zimbabwe, that defiance has earned it all forms of sanctions, hostility and the threat of military invasion.

The country’s crime was its decision to nationalise oil in order to control it fully against  US oil companies.

America has become a parent of most oil companies in the world which are causing havoc in various countries by sponsoring regime change and civil wars as they back rebellious opposition political parties.

This has become the flagship of the US, from Iraq and the story of fake nuclear weapons and pretexts created around rights violations allegedly by Saddam Hussein, to Afghanistan which has been reduced to rubble, more of a pale shadow of its former self.

Why would one forget the story of America in Libya and the zero-sum games played against Gaddafi?

This will be a story for another day.

The US has thus, however, provoked the mightiness of the Russians and Chinese — the two countries who have made it a foreign policy position that the USA cannot be allowed to continue imposing its will on small countries through military means.

This made recent American military experiments end in stalemate, abject failure and humiliation.

The story of Assad and Syria is all, but a vivid example of how Washington is making the loudest noise, but without decisive unilateral power to impose its will.

Now, the former sole super-power is leaving Syria with its tail behind its legs, humiliated by the Russians having failed to remove Assad after nearly a decade of military assault on Damascus.

However, to avenge the humiliation in Damascus, where the Russians are calling the shots, the US decided to try a new strategy in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela which is just a stone’s throw from American borders.

The country has one of the largest deposits of crude oil, but has rejected American ideas of capitalism, opting for socialism and nationalisation.

This decision, has resulted in it being labelled an “axis of evil” by successive US leaders.

Exactly in 2018, the US upped its regime change antics in Venezuela by recruiting a young gentleman who dresses like a white Victorian namely, Juan Guaido, a coded sworn puppet to Washington, who got recruited to snatch power from President Nicholas Maduro.

Guaido spearheaded an attempted coup through a flimsy constitutional provision on President Maduro who has been under sanctions from America and the EU.

Guaido was an elected leader of Parliament and declared himself the President of Venezuela. This was followed by US-sponsored and incentivised defections of some security apparatus of the state to Guaido’s camp. The drama was followed by the US recognition of Guaido as the new leader of Venezuela.

Unsurprisingly, 60 countries who are part of the US praise and worship choir in South America joined in, followed by EU.

Russia and China, rejected the idea in the UN Security Council and stood with President Maduro.

Protests became the order of the day in Caracas, with Guaido, just like his counterpart here in Zimbabwe trying to exert pressure on President Maduro, buoyed by US threat of military action against Maduro.

Given the existing sanctions against Venezuela, which Guaido called for further tightening, Venezuela has become synonymous with darkness amid electricity and basic food shortages.

Interestingly however, the people of Venezuela have decided to stand firm with President Maduro against the American Trojan horse.

Amid a deteriorating situation, Venezuelans have refused to bend to the US and in spectacular fashion, they have started dealing with puppets in their own way.

How local media was escaped by the spectacular sight at Simón Bolívar International Airport needs no speculation. Guaido escaped Venezuela against a government travel ban and toured across the world calling for more sanctions against the country.

He addressed the EU, Canada, and the US where he was invited to sit in the joint sitting of Congress and House of Representatives during Trump’s SONA.

Of course, you know when America wants to use you, they will shower you with praises, including names that even Jesus the Son of Man was never called.

That is how Mr Juan Guaido was presented by Trump during his SONA, that he is the miracle that Venezuela needs, and that “he is loved by his people”, and that US will be doing all that is necessary to ensure that Maduro is removed.

In return, he called for more sanctions and immediate military intervention against President Maduro which the US tried in 2019, but was deterred and humiliated by the military might of Russia and China.

But dear reader, hold your breath. The worst was still to come from civilian Venezuelans, tired of the suffering they are going through because of the sanctions imposed on them.

Guaido returned to Caracas on February 11, 2020, following the tour of shame.

Unbeknown to him, multitudes were waiting for him at the airport, but for a different ball-game altogether.

There is nothing so dangerous than when a people get united and locate where the real and actual source of their problem is.

He arrived at the airport and all hell broke loose as multitudes of angry and hungry citizens tired of the sanctions beat him thoroughly.

Indeed, it was mob-justice administered upon the US so called “most loved by his people.”

Simón Bolívar International Airport became a violent scene as Guadio and his entourage were beaten like a snake that has strayed into a den of baboons, and called names.

Angry citizens shouted at him “traitor” for calling for sanctions while some held placards inscribed “Guaido, fascist pro-imperialist” and “Out with the right, the homeland is to be respected,” some waved placards written “Guaido, damned bootlicker of the gringos” and “Guaido, faggot.”

Lesson

There is a limit to which people can be expected to be fools and the earlier some politicians know that, the better it is for them.

Zimbabweans have suffered for two decades now since the imposition of sanctions by the US and the EU, at the behest of the MDC.

The same MDC now led by Chamisa has mobilised the renewal of these sanctions through Tendai Biti and their proxies like Dewa Mavhinga who are called to the US annually to justify these sanctions.

Our currency has been hard hit by these sanctions while Zimbabwe can hardly access oil from producing countries directly because those countries are under specific instructions not to trade with us or risk sanctions from the biggest oil market — the USA and EU.

Our health system has not been spared from drug shortages due to these sanctions while our financial returns from exports are intercepted by ZIDERA under its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) facility.

Corresponding banks that have been facilitating transactions for the country have been threatened with sanctions while some like Barclays and Standard Chartered have been fined.

Our economy is screaming and our people are going through trying times.

Amid all these challenges, Chamisa has tried to mimic Guaido in every aspect besides that they are all American-Trojan horses.

Like Guaido, he has declared himself President and self-inaugurated himself, called for more sanctions and send his emissaries to the US to tighten them. Like Guaido he has tried demonstrations and just this week, held a press conference calling for more demonstrations.

The people will one day lose patience. I am no believer in violence as a means of resolving challenges, but certainly, I see the people losing patience for those calling for sanctions against the country, globe-trotting to call for more and campaigning for their renewal.

Beware the ides of March! A word for the wise is a novel.