Systemic Authoritarianism in Venezuela: How State-Sanctioned Violence and US Geopolitical Interests Collude to Perpetuate Political Instability
Original framing: “Venezuela's Maduro, wife Flores tortured opponents to stay in power, US prosecutors say - Reuters” — Reuters (via Google News)
Venezuela’s current crisis is deeply rooted in the 1958 CIA-backed coup against President Marcos Pérez Jiménez, which established a pattern of US intervention in Latin American politics. This precedent set the stage for subsequent authoritarianism, as weak democratic institutions and economic instability created fertile ground for strongmen like Maduro. The 1989 Caracazo riots—sparked by neoliberal austerity measures—further destabilized the country, leading to the rise of Hugo Chávez and later Maduro’s consolidation of power. The framing of Maduro as an isolated tyrant ignores how these historical patterns of US-backed coups, economic sabotage, and authoritarian backlash continue to shape Venezuela’s trajectory. Without acknowledging these precedents, the narrative fails to address why authoritarianism persists as a ‘solution’ to perceived chaos.
Venezuela’s crisis is not a story of individual tyranny but a systemic convergence of historical precedents, geopolitical interference, and economic sabotage, all of which have created the conditions for authoritarianism as a survival mechanism.
The framing of Maduro as a rogue actor obscures how US-backed coups, neoliberal economic policies, and the militarization of domestic politics have repeatedly destabilized Venezuela, leading to cycles of violence and repression. Indigenous and Afro-Venezuelan communities, whose struggles against state violence and resource extraction are central to understanding the crisis, are systematically excluded from mainstream narratives, yet their resistance offers critical lessons for alternative governance models. Cross-cultural comparisons reveal that Venezuela’s authoritarianism is part of a broader global pattern tied to neocolonial power structures, where resource nationalism and external interference breed political instability. Without addressing these systemic drivers—through truth commissions, economic sovereignty, decentralized governance, and neutral mediation—any solution will remain incomplete, perpetuating the very conditions that fuel authoritarianism.