Caracas Chronicles

Private pictures of Hugo Chávez’s daughters and other assorted members of their inner posse were leaked this week on a Twitter account that was subsequently closed. In them, the girls and their friends are shown in various countries and parties, enjoying the perks of their salaries, I presume.

A lot has been made about these pictures, but I didn’t want to echo them because, quite frankly, it’s tacky.

I’m sorry, but Chávez’s relatives are private citizens, and they are entitled to their privacy. Chávez’s daughters shop at the Gap and go to Disney World, good for them … And yes, the President’s family uses private planes. It happens all over the world.

In spite of my apprehensions, I’m posting a link because Chávez himself appears in several of these with his family, unguarded and relaxed.

In that sense, the leaked pictures are part of the historical record of the era. Inasmuch as the pictures contain Chávez, Raúl Castro, Minister Arreaza, and other public figures, they belong in the public, just as much as private pictures of Stalin, Hitler, Castro, Franco, or Pinchet should.

At any rate, you be the judge. Here’s the link.

PS.- Toto Aguerrevere has an outstanding piece on one of the pictures, which contains the masterful Diana La Cazadora by XIXth Century master Arturo Michelena. Don’t miss it.