Venezuela Archives

What Ten Seconds Doesn't Show

The video lasts ten seconds. A drone hovers over the jungle of southeastern Bolívar; a building with a green metal roof fills the frame, and then it explodes in a white flash. The President of the United States posts it on Truth Social and adds: “a swift and lethal”

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June 18, 2026

'My cousin is dying'

As soon as I walk through the gate of her home in Cabimas, I get a hug that doesn't seem to stop. These have been difficult days for her. Last week, she received her first cancer treatment. She was lucky; the drugs needed for treatment were crowdfunded by her daughter

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October 14, 2018

Opinion: the Netherlands fatally irresponsible

While all of Venezuela's neighbors are making every effort to control the flow of refugees and increase pressure on Maduro's dictatorial regime, refugees must be deported from the Dutch Kingdom at all costs, with all the consequences that entails. Even making deals with

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October 6, 2018

How one of the richest countries in the world can be poor - Part 1

Yesterday in Venezuela, following an investigation into "illegal exchange rates," 86 people were arrested, 112 arrest warrants issued, 596 raids conducted and 1133 bank accounts frozen. Maduro calls it the outcome of one of the largest criminal investigations in history. But really, it is nothing more than a distraction from

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April 19, 2018

Oscar Perez. Public enemy No. 1, or an invention of Maduro?

After a seven-month manhunt, a standoff took place yesterday in a suburb of Caracas (El Junquito) between security forces and several people from Oscar Perez's group. This standoff could be followed minutely via social media until 16:11, the moment when another part of his group indicated

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January 16, 2018

An ordinary day in a bankrupt Venezuela

Our fixer Cheo runs back and forth to the gate of the prison while Joris and I sit a little further down the street, anxiously waiting on the hood of our car. In the street outside the prison, a daily market develops; it is a coming and going of

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August 2, 2017

Opinion: Venezuela, a dictatorship headed for civil war.

Those who still had doubts about democracy in Venezuela need fret no longer. The last little bit of democracy was thrown overboard the sinking ship yesterday. While the world watched and slapped Maduro's regime around with sanctions and requests for dialogue, Venezuelans fled

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August 1, 2017

New Revu | The World of Niño Guerrero

While Venezuela is on hiatus, in prison life goes on as usual. Journalist Michel Baljet and photographer Joris van Gennip are met at the entrance by two armed prisoners, meant to keep guards out. Welcome to Tocoron, one of Venezuela's most notorious prisons. Next to me walks

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July 11, 2017

From unemployed hipster to UN Security Council member

Maria Gabriela Chavéz, the daughter of Hugo Chavéz, was recently appointed to the 15-member UN Security Council. This is the first job in Maria's life. How did Maria go from party girl, to member of the UN? Maria Gabriela Chavéz (34), born March 12, 1980, is one of the

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November 30, 2014

Voluntarily incarcerated in Tocoron, Venezuela's most notorious prison

Tocoron is Venezuela's most notorious prison. There are hundreds of deaths every year and really anything can be had there. Weapons, cocktails and even a crocodile can be found within the walls. I volunteered to be locked up there. Normally the access road to the prison that overlooks an open

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October 16, 2014