US forces capturing the President/Dictator of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, is a milestone for the Venezuelans, per se. Maduro’s capture sparked celebrations by the Venezuelan people, who were struggling economically under the oppression of his regime and who had to flee Venezuela to the U.S. Alejandro Flores, who fled Venezuela over a decade ago, said, “The fact that Maduro is in court means justice is being served. He is the reason Venezuela saw millions of people leaving their country, looking for something to eat.”
In fact, Flores was not the only Venezuelan to express his joy and support for the U.S operation capturing Maduro; thousands of Venezuelans have joyfully received the news and celebrated. Indeed, many Venezuelans have thanked President Donald Trump for his executive order and for sending the U.S forces to capture and bring Maduro to the U.S to be tried.
But in contrast, groups of American people, mainly liberals and leftists, have protested against the U.S operation of capturing Maduro and called for him to be freed. As Maduro was brought to the New York Federal Court on Monday, January 5, and charged with international drug trafficking and possession of machine guns and destructive devices, many spoke on his behalf. According to The Guardian, Izzy McCabe, 21 years old, arrived in New York City from Seattle, Washington, to protest the U.S operation in Venezuela.
“I am here to protest against US intervention and to remind people that there are international laws that need to be respected,” McCabe said. However, according to The Guardian, McCabe is a member of the Freedom Road Socialist organization, a fringe communist group.
Living here in relative luxury and freedom, most Americans cannot imagine the viciousness of dictators across the world, and obviously, in America, it is usually the younger and middle class who mostly embrace the ideology of Socialism without understanding the consequences of its harmful impacts on American society. That means Socialism paves the path for dictatorship. Living in America with no fear of political prosecution, people can simply trend toward any ideology or belief. This is a privilege that many Americans are not able to see.
Apparently, while some Americans were practicing their right of protest and calling to free Maduro, many Venezuelans have been arrested, tortured, and killed by Maduro’s regime during his era in Venezuela, as their freedom was abridged.
According to The Guardian, the Venezuelans who rallied and gathered in New York in lower Manhattan outside the Federal Court while Maduro had the first hearing said, “If you want to know what is happening in Venezuela, ask a Venezuelan.” Moreover, many Venezuelans across the U.S rallied and raised signs of “Thank you, President Donald Trump,” but conversely, some Americans carried signs of “Free President Maduro.”
The joy of the Venezuelans cannot be fully understood by the majority of Americans, as they were born in a free society established on the Constitution that has been a shield to protect democracy and prevent dictatorship. Apparently, practicing freedom of speech and assembly under the US Constitution is what allows the American people to travel across the states and protest against their own country. Americans ought to understand the privilege of being an American.
The rejoicing of many Venezuelans in capturing Maduro correlates with the joy of the Kurds of Iraq at the time US forces captured the late Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, in 2003. For decades, the Kurds had suffered under Hussein’s regime, as through his executive orders, thousands of people ended up in mass graves. Former President George W. Bush was honored by the Kurds in response to Operation Iraqi Freedom, which resulted in Hussein’s capture. Obviously, the same definition of “dictator” applies to both Maduro and Hussein as they have imposed fear and poverty on their citizens.
But seemingly, some Americans are either not able to understand the definition of “dictator” or have a different definition for it.
– Serwan Zangana
