The Venezuela migrant crisis has never been a sexy story…I get it.Even when the numbers got really big, like over 5 million people having fled the country big, the international media just never really got behind the story.To get their attention you need a more compelling story, like the migrants fleeing the civil war in Syria or what’s going on in Libya. The US VP,Kamala Harris, is over in France talking about the situation with the Libyans right now. She previously met with authorities in Central America to address the root causes of migration from Central American countries through Mexico and on to the Southern border of the US. I haven’t heard of any plans by our “Migrant Czar” to talk to the Chavistas.

 When the Coronavirus hit, the flow of people fleeing Venezuela slowed significantly but it never stopped. It currently stands at about 6 million migrants and counting out of a population of (pre migration) 33 million. That, my friends is a huge number and it keeps going…and going…and going. The largest number of migrants in the world currently are from Syria with about 7 million. Now that things are easing a bit and countries are opening up the migration from Venezuela has increased…and nobody’s talking about it. The Washington Examiner reports that at the Southern border of the US the number one country for migrants in custody with the Border Patrol isn’t the usual suspects from Central America or Mexico. It’s Venezuelans!

 From 2007 – 2018 the average apprehensions of Venezuelans by the Border Patrol was 80 per year. As of September that number stands at about 10,000 and growing. Many of the earlier migrants left because things were bad. People were starving and dying every day. However those early migrants had dreams of possibly returning to Venezuela one day when the populace was no longer oppressed (afflicted?) by the Maduro regime. Now people are leaving because,yes.they’re still starving and dying but now people no longer seem to have any illusion of things getting better. Unlike the other migrant crises around the world there are no bombs, no gunfire, no clash of opposing force. There is no natural disaster. It just the slow motion death of a population at the hands of Maduro and his Chavista compatriots. Maybe when the numbers get over 7 million, surpassing Syria for the number one spot, the world will pay attention? Or maybe not?

 And it’s not just people dying from lack of food and medicine in Venezuela. Latin Times reminds us that between 2016-2018 18,000 people were killed in Venezuela for “resisting authorities.” The UNOHCHR has concluded that many of these were extrajudicial executions. The problem for the long suffering Venezuelan people is that numbers like these reflect something more systematic. It’s not a major clash between the people and government forces. It’s just the government killing people every day. And yet Telesur (government media) celebrates the extension of the sentences for a couple of members of the Pinochet regime in Chile. Now keep in mind, we are decades removed from the oppression of the Pinochet regime. Yes, Pinochet’s death squads killed a lot of people. Most estimates put the number at between 3,000 – 3,500 while some put the number as high as 7,000 over Pinochet’s 17 reign. It’s not even close to the 18,000 killed by the Maduro regime in two years! And yet people still talk about Pinochet and there’s not much talk about Maduro… even with the big news last week about the ICC opening an official investigation into Haman Rights violations and possible crimes against humanity committed by Maduro and the Chavistas. Why is that?

 We also have Telesur telling us that Maduro has challenged the presidents of Paraguay and Uruguay to a debate on democracy…”Revolution versus Neoliberalism”. So how’s that “21st Century Bolivarian Socialist Revolution” working out for the Venezuelan people?

 We also have Translating Cuba reporting  that Maduro is celebrating the 21st anniversary of the Cuba – Venezuela agreement between Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez. (by the way, both are now dead and no longer in the picture) A group of journalists maintains that the agreement was “The Consented Invasion” of Venezuela.

 And how about Fars News Agency (Iran) reporting that Iran and Venezuela are looking to expand tourism. Good luck with that. We also had an article in Caracas Chronicles about the growing popularity of Bird Watching Tourism. What a shame it is that even though it’s become more popular, due to safety (and survival) concerns most bird watchers won’t be flocking (pun intended) to Venezuela. It’s a little known fact that one region of Venezuela alone, Los Llanos, has more species of birds than the entire US and UK combined. Too bad nobody’s going to see it as long as the brutal,oppressive Maduro regime remains in power.

 And speaking of remaining in power, let’s not forget about those elections coming up. Although Maduro isn’t up for reelection, these are state and local contests, Maduro has an approval rating of about 15% so it strains credibility that Chavismo can win a free and fair election, as reported by The Economist. As we’ve said before, The EU, The Carter Center, the UN, and others (even the Russians are getting in on the action) will be observing the elections. The issue is that the fraud has already taken place so the vote count is,for all intents and purposes, irrelevant. Ugghh…

 More tomorrow….