We’re going to hold off heading back Down The Rabbit Hole for another day as there is plenty of insanity and stupidity in the news feed ,however, when we get to chapter 5 “Control Freaks” it will be worth the wait.

 First up, Maduro has named Telesur, our favorite source for Chavista propoganda, one of the recipients of this years Bolivarian Journalism Awards. Big surprise huh? Let’s have a look at some of their can’t miss news stories today.

 Telesur – “China Declared A Malaria Free Country” Hmmm… I looked closely and couldn’t find anything about how pre-Chavismo malaria was definitely under control but with the advent of the “Bolivarian Revolution” malaria cases have skyrocketed as well as a major rebound in cases of diseases previously thought to be eradicated like polio and those old favorites tuberculosis and diphtheria.

 Another thing Telesur didn’t want us to miss was ” Petrocaribe Celebrates 16 Years Of Regional Cooperation And Integration.” I didn’t see anything in there about Chavez founding Petrocaribe to advance his political agenda, paying for it with money borrowed from China, and how now that the Chavistas have squandered all their money and destroyed oil production there  is basically nothing left for the Petrocaribe member countries although Maduro always manages to send oil to Cuba.

 Oh, and how about this Telesur blockbuster, ” Violence Displaced 8,000 Colombians In The Last Five Months.” That comes out to around 53 people a day. What were those reports we saw over the last couple of weeks…? Oh yeah, one had the number of 900 people a day and the other had up to 2,000 people a day fleeing Venezuela. I guess that doesn’t count since they are leaving due to almost every aspect of their lives having been destroyed by Chavismo. Wait! There is one violence related tidbit. Since the Chavistas have been in charge of providing security for the population it has been safer to live in Kabul, Afganistan than Caracas,Venezuela. This has been widely reported and corroborated by many news outlets over their years reporting on the glories of Chavismo.

 Caracas Chronicles had a good piece about the difference between the attacks on societies in Latin American countries versus the attacks on societies in North America. In Latino countries the attacks are physical confrontations, the killing of those who disagree with the governmental policies of those in power while the attacks in North America are not quite as direct but I would contend even more dangerous in the long run. In North America the attacks on societal freedoms comes from a constant assault of censoring by woke culture. Academic freedom is in dire need of defense from “wokeness” in the US and Canada.

 Our friends at C.C. also reported that a deputy to Maduro’s Assembly tells us that the lack of water experienced by most in Venezuela is a result of sanctions. He went on to say that there would be new subsidized water prices to deal with the situation. This is quite timely given this week’s Venezuela Down The Rabbit Hole chapter and the upcoming “Control Freaks”.

 We told you earlier that the Maduro regime’s version of concessions prior to proposed negotiations revolves around giving things back to the people that they had no constitutional right to take away in the first place. (Are you listening, folks in the US?) Buenos Aires Times reports that Venezuela’s CNE (electoral council) will allow MUD to participate in the upcoming elections. They had previously stated they were in the process of configuring a new umbrella party for the opposition.I guess it’s easier to just reinstate the opposition’s former umbrella, MUD, which was unconstitutionally shut down by the TSJ (supreme court) in 2018. Remember, the Venezuelan constitution isn’t what is written. It isn’t their laws provided for in said constitution. It’s whatever Maduro (and the TSJ) tell you it is.

 InSight Crime had a good article on the black market in vaccines in Venezuela. It’s no surprise that, as reported, black market vaccines are going for $600 a pop (or a jab). What did surprise me was the article referred to Chavismo’s vaccination campaign as entering it’s second phase. Other than well connected Chavistas there are many in Venezuela who would contend there is no vaccination plan in Venezuela so how could they be entering phase two?

 The Daily Caller reports that many Venezuelans interviewed at the Texas/Mexico border say they left Venezuela primarily due to high crime and inflation. Since crime has been up there in the stratosphere in Venezuela for quite some time and hyperinflation has been around for three years ( remember, a year is a long time in hyperinflation terms) my question is… why now? What’s new? Unless maybe they’re like me and my family and just couldn’t get out before. I must say though, for us it wasn’t high crime and inflation we were fleeing although that was certainly a part of it. The straw(s) that broke the camel’s back was no power and water.

 In the “everything’s a crisis in Venezuela ” category we have the governor of Zulia state announcing that he has the solution to the crisis among seniors and dialysis patients that have no access to affordable gasoline. The government will take control of a gas station thereby eliminating the black market. That’s if you believe the government guys put in charge won’t just do the same thing.

 Oh, and the latest results are in on the number of Covid cases and deaths in Latin America and the Caribbean along with vaccination rates in various. Conspicuously absent are stats from Venezuela. They could not be included in the report due to opacity.

 I’ve got more but I think I’ll save it for tomorrow. I’ve reached my threshold of Venezuela pain for today….Happy Trails…