2/12/19, CNN: Protesters flood Venezuela’s streets to call for change. Reported by Stefano Pozzebon, Sam Kiley, and Lauren Said-Moorhouse — owned by AT&T.

This article and video chalk up the current crisis in Venezuela to “extreme economic mismanagement, corruption, and greed,” on the part of the Chavez and Maduro regimes.

The focus is largely on protesters calling for Maduro to allow U.S. aid into Venezuela, and military loyalty is cited as the main reason he remains in power. Juan Guaido is mentioned as an integral force in unifying international support against the Maduro regime and in favor of humanitarian aid.

Sources include Venezuelan protesters, Juan Guaido, Nicolas Maduro, a UN spokesperson, and a UK international development secretary.

2/13/19, Politico: Trump preps Venezuela aid package amid push to oust Maduro. Reported by Nancy Cook, Andrew Restuccia, and Eliana Johnson — owned by Robert Allbritton.

This article explores the political context of the $97 million humanitarian aid package Trump sent to Venezuela and his plan to request more funding from Congress.

The authors don’t avoid the fact that the aid is a political tool for Trump to ratchet up pressure on Maduro, and they were unable to verify how much of the aid has actually made it into Venezuela despite U.S. claims.

They speculate that Trump might propose a significantly larger aid package dependent on Maduro’s resignation.

Sources include senior administration officials, President Trump, John Bolton, TV anchors, a former special assistant to President Obama, and other U.S. officials.

2/13/19, CNBC: Don’t expect US sanctions against Venezuela to fuel a rally in oil prices, IEA says. Reported by Sam Meredith, owned by Comcast.

This article covers a recent statement by the IEA (International Energy Agency), an intergovernmental organization formed in 1974, that “markets may be able to adjust after initial logistical dislocations.”

“Logistical dislocations” is, of course, a euphemism for the complete implosion of the Venezuelan economy — a process that is already well under way. People in Venezuela may be starving, but the good news is your gas prices won’t go up. Sources include the IEA report.

2/14/19, Washington Post: ‘Someone is not being honest’ — Elliott Abrams, Trump’s Venezuela envoy, trailed by mistrust. Reported by Isaac Stanley-Becker, owned by Jeff Bezos.

This article is a profile of Trump’s special envoy to Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, largely framed around an intense round of questioning Rep. Ilhan Omar put him through during a Congressional hearing.

His history is portrayed as complex and representative of the ideological and moral journey many other neoconservatives embarked on as they reluctantly embraced President Trump.

Stanley-Becker likens Omar’s critiques to those leveled against Abrams in 1987 over his involvement in the Iran-Contra scandal, and raises serious questions about Abrams’ record on human rights.

Sources include Elliott Abrams, Ilhan Omar, Mark Twain, a former NATO ambassador, a professor of international security, and a professor of journalism.

2/18/19, New York Times: Trump delivers blunt warning to Venezuela military over aid impasse. Reporteed by Annie Karni, Nicholas Casey, and Anatoly Kurmanaev — owned by Carlos Slim, the Sulzberger family, and other stakeholders.

This article summarizes the Trump administration’s efforts to force a conflict over humanitarian aid in Venezuela. The authors cite dramatic statements Trump has directed at Venezuelan military officials, and includes on the ground reporting from Venezuela about citizens’ thoughts on the crisis.

They also point out that the administration has yet to clarify how the aid will penetrate Maduro’s blockade, aside from using volunteers to smuggle small amounts of it through porous lang borders.

Sources include President Trump, National Security Advisor John Bolton, Senator Marco Rubio, the Latin America director at the Woodrow Wilson Center, the Washington office on Latin America, opposition lawmaker Gaby Arellano, the Venezuelan communications minister, and various Venezuelan citizens.

2/19/19, Bloomberg Opinion: Mexico is making the wrong bet on Venezuela. Written by Shannon K. O’Neil, owned by Michael Bloomberg.

This piece strongly criticizes Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador for his opposition to holding new elections in Venezuela. O’Neil equates Obrador’s opposition to calling for new elections with support for the Maduro regime, and lumps Mexico in with a group of authoritarian nations including Russia, China, and Turkey.

O’Neil also highlights the broad coalition calling for a transitional government led by Juan Guaido to hold new elections in Venezuela. One key cause for Obrador’s decision O’Neil cites is the overlap between the populist Mexican President’s base and Hugo Chavez’s base.

2/20/19, Chicago Tribune Opinion: Trump and Venezuela — We’ve seen this movie before. Written by Steve Chapman, owned by Oaktree Capital Management and other shareholders.

This is the first source so far that has even mentioned the United States’ history of fucking up major foreign policy issues. Chapman compares Obama’s failed attempt to oust Assad with the potential that Trump’s attempt to oust Maduro will fail, and hints at the atrocities a military intervention would entail.

Chapman also references Bush’s endorsement of a failed coup against Chavez, and points out that if Maduro falls there will be a not insignificant potential for civil war.

2/23/19, The Guardian: Venezuela — At least four dead and hundreds injured in border standoff. Reported by Emma Graham-Harrison, Joe Parkin Daniels, and Clavel Rangel — owned by Scott Trust Limited.

This article covers clashes along Venezuela’s borders between Maduro’s forces and those attempting to bring in humanitarian aid.

As has been the case with other news sources so far, all of the Venezuelan civilians quoted in this article support the opposition. A doctor quoted says that the opposition is not about ideology, it’s about “human lives and dignity.”

Sources include Juan Guaido, Marco Rubio, opposition activists, Maduro, a military defector, a Venezuelan doctor, and a Venezuelan student.

2/23/19, PBS Newshour: Why Chavistas are loyal to Maduro, despite economic crisis. Reported by Nadja Drost and Bruno Federico, owned by Public Broadcasting Service.

This segment explains how Hugo Chávez founded neighborhood centers to provide public goods for residents including education, exercise classes, healthcare, and entertainment.

The reporters use interviews with various Chavistas to explain how Chávez built such a massive, loyal base — a base that manifests itself today in the form of a 2 million strong volunteer militia loyal to Maduro.

They also interview a sociologist who explains that many Venezuelans who have concerns about Maduro won’t support the opposition because it’s controlled by the U.S. Ultimately, they conclude that “Chavistas won’t let the government be toppled without a fight.”

I found it significant that this was the first source in my analysis to mention both the support Chávez earned through his popular social welfare programs and the massive volunteer militia of Chavistas.

2/25/19, Vox: Today, Explained: Aiding Chaos. Reported by Sean Rameswaram, Alex Ward, and Emiliana Duarte — owned by Vox Media.

The discussion in this podcast summarizes the border clashes in Venezuela and includes details about government forces opening fire on non-violent protestors.

They also place the current conflict in the context of increasing tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela, extreme economic mismanagement by Maduro, poverty, and food and medicine shortages.

They discuss the seriousness of Trump’s threats against Maduro and cite Colin Powell’s infamous, “you break it, you buy it,” doctrine. They conclude by outlining a range of possible outcomes in order of likelihood: Maduro stays in power as a weakened leader, he steps down, the military turns on him, or a civil war breaks out.

2/28/19, Wall Street Journal: UN hits stalemate over Venezuela diplomatic efforts. Reported by Farnaz Fassihi, owned by the Murdoch family.

This article covers Russia and China’s veto of a UN resolution calling for new elections and allowing international humanitarian aid in Venezuela. The veto was fairly predictable given Russia and China’s authoritarian regimes.

Sources included US officials, U.N. officials, and various other government sources.

3/1/19, NPR: All Things Considered — The United States’ strategy for Venezuela. Hosted by Mary Louise Kelly, featuring Elliott Abrams, owned by National Public Radio.

In this interview, Abrams frames U.S. policy as determined to “support the Venezuelan people no matter how long it takes.” Kelly cites Jorge Ramos, who says Maduro is “feeling very powerful” and is unlikely to step down any time soon.

Abrams says we aren’t underestimating Maduro, and cites the 9 votes in favor of the UN resolution as evidence of broad support for the U.S. strategy, relative to measly 4 votes an opposing Russian resolution earned.

Kelly quotes Trump saying that military action is “on the table” and asks Abrams whether it’s likely — he demurs and instead discusses diplomacy.

Kelly asks about a note reading, “5,000 troops to Columbia” that was visible on National Security Advisor John Bolton’s notepad in a January photo, to which Abrams responds that he won’t speak for Bolton or his “yellow pad.”

3/3/19, Reuters: Russia tells U.S. it is ready for bilateral talks on Venezuela. Reported by Andrey Ostroukh, owned by the Woodbridge Company.

This article provides basic coverage of a statement by Russia’s foreign ministry that they are willing to engage in bilateral talks with the U.S. on Venezuela.

Of course, any negotiations with Russia at this point will be pointless unless China also comes around.

3/4/19, Al Jazeera: Venezuela’s Juan Guaido returns home, calls for more protests. Reported by Erika Fiorucci, owned by Al Jazeera Media Network, Qatar Media Corporation.

This article describes opposition leader Juan Guaido’s return home after he secretly left Venezuela on a campaign to generate regional support for his transitional government.

Fiorucci cites a Venezuelan political scientist who says Guaido’s return is a direct challenge to Maduro. Despite his frustration with Guaido, Maduro is portrayed as understanding that it’s not in his best interest to arrest him.

3/9/19, Forbes: Could Venezuela’s power outage really be a cyber attack? Reported by Kalev Leetaru, owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family.

This article is a bit of an exception, as most mainstream corporate news outlets have steered clear of any insinuation that the U.S. is engaging in offensive efforts to destabilize Venezuela.

Leetaru discusses the technology that makes it possible for the U.S. to remotely hobble a nation’s infrastructure, and ponders whether recent blackouts in Venezuela have been caused by cyberattacks.

Granted, he makes it explicitly clear numerous times throughout the article that the blackouts are most likely caused by aging and under-maintained infrastructure.

The most salient point Leetaru makes is that regardless of what is actually causing the blackouts, there is no definitive way to prove we did it. This is exactly what makes our potential to launch such attacks so powerful.

3/12/19, Vice: Venezuela’s government is so corrupt it basically has its own cartel. Reported by Deborah Bonello, owned by Shane Smith, A&E Networks, Disney, TPG Capital, Fox, and other shareholders.

This article cites Hugo Carvajal, the former head of Venezuelan intelligence, and other former officials who have “implicate[d] senior players in the government in the narcotics trade.”

Bonello cites an Air France flight that departed Venezuela and landed in Paris with 1.3 tons of cocaine in 2013, resulting in the arrest of numerous Venezuelan officials, as evidence of a government run cartel.

The cartel, known as Cartel de los Soles (Cartel of the Suns), is described as a wide reaching network of government officials who profit off of drug trafficking.

Bonello cites Venezuela’s geographical proximity to Columbia, the cocaine capital of the world, as well as a lack of transparency in public institutions as the driving factors behind the growth of the Cartel of the Suns.

Drug trafficking by high ranking officials has been a key justification for U.S. sanctions imposed on Venezuela in recent years.