Caracas Chronicles

Arts by @modografico

“‘Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me.’ The disciples began looking at one another, at a loss to know of which one He was speaking.” John 13:21-22

Though the Cabinet Table sits way more than 12 disciples, when the failed Socialist government’s crucifixion is at hand, one of two things tend to happen: the disciples leave the table a couple of seconds before the administration outs them, or they, smelling betrayal, point at each other publicly, so the actions of the “traitor” seem like vengeance and not repentance.

No matter how they leave, traitors become Judases. They sell-out the Socialist government for 30 silver coins and the satisfaction of seeing the boat sink from afar.

The Judases, however, are ensnared; they betrayed the Son, but still defend the Father and the Holy Spirit. They want to give their 30 silver coins back to Venezuelans, to protect the so-called legacy of Chávez and Fidel, even if they still want to see the Son burn in hell.

Who are these Judases?

Jorge Giordani, engineer behind the main policies of control and economic intervention, gave Maduro a kiss on the cheek in an open letter, in which he states that, since Maduro took office, “I was concerned with two things. The first was tackling corruption and holding it in check for a new control of the large funds of the State. The second was introducing new mechanisms to handle public spending and take it back to courses that are sustainable in time.” However, “it’s painful and alarming to see a presidency transmitting no leadership, seemingly looking for it in the repetition, without coherence, of Commander Chávez’ proposed guidelines.”

Luisa Ortega Díaz, former Prosecutor General, took a longer, more proactive road. In the words of Raúl Stolk, “she went from moving against the constituyente to moving against its enablers. She’s been working her way to the top, methodically.” This, by the way, is the same Ortega Díaz that, in 2014, stated: “Human rights violations are not a state policy, but there are always individuals within the police force that can commit excesses. That is where the State and the office I preside guarantee that the violation will be investigated and prosecuted, and that those responsible will be held accountable (…) the most humanist man to ever walk the Earth was Hugo Chávez.” Moreover, after years of condoning this disastrous government, she now claims to have several files with evidence of corruption that splash many of the high-end Madurista — and she seeks justice.

Gabriela del Mar Ramírez, who left the Ombudsman office in December 2014, and a position as attached advisor to the Legal Counsel of the Supreme Tribunal in mid-2017. Ramírez broke away from Maduro’s government when it convened the National Constituent Assembly, tweeting on August 5:

Las exequias del legado chavista se llevan a cabo en este momento en el Palacio Federal Legislativo. Protocolo: Se puede vestir de rojo.

— Gabriela del Mar ⚖️ (@gabrieladelmarp) August 5, 2017

Remember, Ramírez was Ombudsman during the 2014 protests, becoming infamous after saying “Torture… inflicts physical suffering to an individual in order to obtain a confession and we have to set it apart from cruel treatments or disproportionate use of force.” Looks like it’s more important to differentiate the types of abuse, than to avoid them.

Rafael Ramírez, President of PDVSA for close to a decade, held five, five simultaneous high-level positions in the government at the time of his destitution in September 2014. After he resigned as Venezuela’s Ambassador to the UN, on December 31, 2017, Ramírez published an open letter in Aporrea, stating: “You’re killing the Revolution that El Comandante Chávez entrusted us with, you’ve surrounded yourself of an inner circle and think you can do whatever you want with this country and with our legacy. In a mixture of arrogance, ignorance, incapacity, cynicism and great irresponsibility, you’ve pushed our People to an unimaginable situation of suffering and humiliation. A huge setback. El Comandante Chávez didn’t ask us to support what’s happening, he would never have done that.”

Miguel Rodríguez Torres is not your average dissident chavista: Armed Forces’ Major and co-conspirator on Chávez’s 1992 coup, he led the Venezuelan intelligence services between 2002-2005 and 2009-2013. Minister of Interior, Justice and Peace between 2013 and 2014, one of his bodyguards was even involved in the murder of Bassil Da Costa on February, 2014. On October of that year, President Nicolás Maduro removed Rodriguez Torres from his post after a clash between the CICPC and colectivos leading to the death of five members and two leaders of the latter. Since then, Rodríguez Torres has become a hard critic of Maduro and thinks it’s time to refound chavismo. He’s now in prison, we’re not sure which.

Holy Week is the perfect time for repentance and forgiveness. I, for one, will do my best to forgive these, and many other Judases, including those bound to come.

Just don’t expect me to forget what they’ve done to our country.