As a Venezuelan, who happens to be a college professor, who has taught among other courses, American Literature and History, who happens to be an anti-anything-that-looks-like-Trump, and who understands the historical dynamics of colonialism/neo-colonialism, I must say you are making the wrong reading of the Venezuelan situation in as much as suggesting that Congressman, and now president (E) Juan Guaidó (he has a name and a last name) is some sort of parachuter who has zero support from the Venezuelan people and is just serving the interests of the Empire. You are echoing the chavista rhetoric and siding with the wrong people.

I am not going to go dissertate about the recent history of Venezuela or about the ongoing series of crimes the chavista government has committed in the last 20 years. If the wave of migration that Venezuela has sent to the neighboring countries and the protests that have been widely covered by all kinds of media and by people themselves thanks to current technology does not tell you anything, there is nothing I will say to persuade you of the opposite.

I am not happy before the prospect of having to thank Trump for the end of the chavista era (I still doubt that can be done right now, we had a similar situation in 2002 and it was disastrous), but to allow Maduro and his criminals to continue destroying my country just because the methods used to depose him are not fair or obey to foreign interests, etc is just simplistic, myopic and even a more criminal position.

What Maduro (and Chavez before him) did to Venezuela has been a crime that cannot be expressed or described in words or images. The proof of that is that after 20 years of reports in words and images there are people around the world defending them.

The only thing I can say is that you have to live it. You have to be where we are and then we can talk about methods or laws or fairness. No American citizen who may identify themselves with leftist ideas would accept what Maduro has done in the last 6 years as legitimate and would do anything, absolutely anything to get rid of him.

The way you have reported what is happening in Venezuela is insulting. It minimizes the level of rejection the Maduro administration has, the gravity of their disastrous measures, and the seriousness of the situation the Venezuelan people are living. This has been hell for more than 6 years now. Previous to that, it was purgatory.

You do a disservice to any progressive cause that opposes abuse and imperialist mentality by just siding with what seems to be the victim now. To show the Maduro government as the victim, as legitimate (ignoring how he got elected) shows either a supine ignorance of the situation or a shameless fidelity to an ideological stance.

I am not friends with far right stance, I now despise far left postures and I would oppose any so-call centrist politics if they turn out to be promoters and perpetuators of injustice. To suggest, like Turkey, China, Russia and other countries which still support Maduro for reasons similar to the ones the US, France, Germany or any other super power may have, that Venezuelans should settle their disputes on their own, that they can have elections and the best man/woman should win and that victory should be respected is to ignore the level of manipulation, corruption, and totalitarianism that has been implemented in Venezuela.

Any intelligent person should understand that even if the method used is illegal, which is not the case here, Maduro is one of those presidents that must be rid of by any means necessary. The decision has been overdue for 6 years and the price has been paid in blood and tears by millions of Venezuelans.