Dear Editor,
A Happy New Year, wherever and whenever you can make it happen. In reference to your January 5 editorial, `Venezuela confusion,’[1] I must hand it to whoever is the editorial writer for a cogently and coherently constructed presentation. I can only hope foreigners seeking insight into what transpired since last weekend in Venezuela would read this editorial to help develop an objective and not a selective perspective. There are still to be defined sides to this emerging news story. No one has a full lock on it yet.
Let me be abundantly clear at this juncture and say that, from all media accounts in and out of Guyana, Nicolas Maduro was a terrible political actor who posed an existential threat to Guyana’s sovereignty and, from a Guyanese perspective, therefore, he justly deserved to be removed from power, even if he was manipulated by China and Russia.
Maduro also posed an existential threat towards his fellow Venezuelans, with thousands killed, thousands more jailed, and over 8 million scattered abroad. Fortuitously, Guyana was one of two other nations – Colombia and Brazil – that shared borders with Venezuela, thus allowing for fleeing Venezuelans to seek quick and easy refuge.
Yes, there are and will be debates and discussions about the methods the Trump administration applied to accomplish the mission over the weekend, and even the global impact of the new so-called ‘Don-roe Doctrine’, but, for now, Guyanese can exhale. Breathe a sigh of relief. This is not a time to celebrate because there are still self-serving Maduro remnants in and around Caracas who firmly believe Essequibo belongs to Venezuela.
But even as it is incumbent on Guyanese to remain vigilant in light of possible pro-Maduro actors inside Guyana, political leaders in Guyana and the Caribbean region need to make mental and copious notes about how tenuous their seemingly invincible grasp on power can be given the vagaries of an ever-changing political environment. Wielding power should be seen as an opportunity to serve people, not a God-given right to do whatever leaders want; especially after being repeatedly warned to change course.
Anyone seeing pictures and videos of Maduro in chains and are tempted to feel sympathetic, even if because of the Donald Trump factor, should temper that sympathy by reviewing Maduro’s autocratic history and the fact he willingly dug himself a hole even though he had multiple opportunities to change course after taking over from Hugo Chavez in April 2013.
History is replete with graveyards containing bones of once great leaders and those who sought greatness at the expense of the people. We often reference the fall of the once great Roman Empire, but often times overlook the fact that its fall started within via pervasive corruption, waging wars and overspending, and those same contributing factors became easily compounded by external pressures.
All world leaders, great and not so great, should carefully study the fall of Rome because the winds of change have been blowing for millennia. Kingdoms rise and fall. Superpowers rise and fall. Men rise and fall. It’s the cycle of life.