Venezuela is deeply shaken by the brutal murder of Mónica Spear and her ex-husband. Mónica, sadly, is one of the 24,763 senseless deaths that have devastated countless Venezuelan families last year alone. And the year before? And the year before that? We’ve been here before. We know this situation. We’ve lived through it countless times in the past. If we take a moment to examine our consciences objectively and without passion: who in Venezuela can say they haven’t been touched by violence, by rampant crime? No one. Whether it’s robbery, being threatened, insulted, hurt, or killed, if someone has escaped all of that, the tragedy has likely affected someone in their family, social circle, or work environment. The crime wave isn’t just rampant; CRIME IS THE GOVERNMENT! The 32 ministers and the president are common criminals. Anyone who has no moral issues with working for, defending, or profiting from a regime like Chavism while violating numerous human, civil, and political rights is a criminal. Period. There’s nothing more to discuss. And those 33 criminals will do absolutely nothing to end their own transgressions. If there are 33 individuals utterly incapable of putting an end to the crime plague in Venezuela, it’s Maduro and his ministers. Besides being criminals, they are traitors, having allowed and encouraged abuses against Venezuelans and among them. They have promoted these abuses as state policy. Read carefully: AS STATE POLICY. It is nearly impossible for the unworthy to defend the dignity of others. There is no respect for the disrespectful, nor compassion for a murderer and their accomplices.
Recently, someone asked me to write an essay about the promising future of Venezuela despite Chavism. I replied that such a future does not exist because, despite the immense natural resources the country possesses—resources that could make us the envy of the world in the hands of competent people—we lack the human capital. This is the most important factor, and it’s the only thing we don’t have. There are decent people in Venezuela, of course. However, the decent ones do not engage in politics. They refuse to take part in this nightmarish spectacle, which requires, above all, a lack of morals, indifference, and the ability to make pacts with the immoral and the criminal for political gain. The decent don’t seek positions or jobs as public employees. They may wish to become police officers, firefighters, or nurses, but never police officers. Decent individuals don’t study law to become judges. Who constitutes the armed forces? Where does the human capital come from if we can stretch the definitions of capital and human to describe the Venezuelan military that permit violations of our sovereignty, integrity, and security?
I am saddened, like all decent people, but I am not deceived. No matter how often we watch the video of Belen Marrero, or read the letter from Bertin Osborne, and the many sincere expressions of pain and outrage following Mónica’s murder, nothing will change. Absolutely nothing. Those in power in Venezuela resemble “Adolfito” and “the ugly one.” In fact, they are not even the ones primarily responsible; “the ugly one” and “Adolfito” are merely the material authors of one out of the 24,763 murders last year and over 100,000 since that cursed chavista mob took power in 1998. Since the tragic death of Mónica, who so deeply affected her daughter’s life, several more have been murdered without anyone mentioning them, their killers remain at large, living their lives without fear of prosecution or police hunts. The real culprits are Hugo Chavez and especially those who have been part of the chavista regime since 1998. The current responsible parties are listed in the attachment. Every time one of them makes a public appearance, they must be challenged with demands. Every single time. That should be the mantra of decent Venezuela. Justice. Because without justice, there is no peace, and without peace, there is no progress. Sixteen years have passed. Those who have achieved nothing in sixteen years lack not time, but will.
President: Nicolás Maduro
Executive Vice President: Jorge Arreaza
Vice President of Planning: Jorge Giordani
Vice President of Social Area: Héctor Rodríguez
Economic Vice President: Rafael Ramírez
Political Vice President: Elías Jaua
Minister of Interior, Justice, and Peace: Miguel Rodríguez Torres
Minister of Planning: Jorge Giordani
Minister of Finance: Nelson Merentes
Minister of Foreign Trade: Alejandro Flemimng
Minister of Foreign Affairs: Elías Jaua
Minister of Defense: Carmen Meléndez
Minister of Tourism: Andrés Izarra
Minister of Agriculture: Iván Gil
Minister of Health: Francisco Armada
Minister of Terrestrial Transport: Haiman el Troudi
Minister of Aquatic and Aerial Transport: Hebert García Plaza
Minister of Housing and Habitat: Ricardo Molina
Minister of Oil and Mining: Rafael Ramírez
Minister of the Environment: Miguel Tadeo Rodríguez
Minister of Science and Technology: Manuel Fernández
Minister of Communication and Information: Delcy Rodríguez
Ministry of Education: Héctor Rodríguez
Ministry of Higher Education: Ricardo Menéndez
Ministry of Industry: Wilmer Barrientos
Ministry of Youth: Víctor Clark
Ministry of Sports: Antonio Álvarez
Ministry of Labor: Jesús Martínez
Ministry of the Presidency: Hugo Cabezas
Minister of Communes: Reinaldo Iturriza
Minister of Food: Félix Osorio
Minister of Culture: Fidel Barbarito
Minister of Indigenous Peoples: Aloha Núñez
Minister of Women: Andreína Tarazón
Ministry of Electric Energy: Jesse Chacón
Minister of Penitentiary Services: Iris Varela
Minister of Public Banking: Rodolfo Marco Torres
Minister of Urban Transformation of Caracas: Ernesto Villegas