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This article documents truly harrowing conditions of childbirth in Venezuela. Yet it almost completely discounts the critical and criminal and yes partial but still very significant responsibility of the US government for the situation due to sanctions 1/ https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/10/world/americas/venezuela-pregnancy-birth-death.html
No serious analyst of Venezuela would fail to note the government's responsibility for the harrowing situation. Yet how can a serious account fail to place more weight on the absolutely devastating effect of sanctions on the current situation. The US is aware and proud of this 2/
Indeed US officials gleefully talk about 'pressure' and 'easing the pain' of Venezuelans, which shows their clear awareness that sanctions are killing ordinary Venezuelans. Yet @nytimes does not even mention sanctions until 30+ paragraphs into the story 3/
And they do so in context of a critique of Maduro (who of course deserves much critique), as though he's the only one who blames sanctions for the extremely dire situation. He is not. Even @FT calls to end US sanctions to let Venezuela have a better shot fighting coronavirus 4/
Serious analysis of Venezuela's dire situation is crucial right now. But anything that fails to include sanctions as an absolutely central cause of current suffering, and not an easily-discounted afterthought, is serving as US propaganda more than serious analysis. 5/
Venezuela's problems obviously cannot be blamed solely on sanctions. Nor, from a historical point, are sanctions the primary cause. But since Jan 2019 sanctions have certainly been a and likely *the* leading proximate cause of suffering. This needs to be acknowledged by all. 6/6
