In Intensive Therapy!

Published in El Universal
(Venezuela) on 14 June 2015
by Carlos A. Romero (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Tristan Franz. Edited by Helaine Schweitzer.
The United States and the Western alliance have improved their relations with Iran and Cuba, Venezuela's partners, and other countries sympathetic to the revolutionary cause. However, commercial and diplomatic relations between the U.S. and our country still face considerable obstacles.

President Maduro's government has been on the defensive toward Washington as it has had to respond to the numerous warnings, accusations and points of view Americans have thrown at it; this, in the context of severely limited democratic functions, the declining oil industry and a black-hole economic crisis.

In the past, the now-deceased President Chavez had a more transformative, offensive foreign policy. Chavez pushed forward to establish the bilateral and regional agendas, confronting the White House on various issues and at times cornering it against the wall.

Venezuela's view of the United States is framed by the long struggles of countries that have tried to develop policies that do not align with Washington's interests. Venezuela’s own experience in this context is extensive; in truth, Caracas has been the biggest troublemaker [for the U.S.], something that has not been seen in Latin America and the Caribbean since the beginning of the Cuban Revolution

Venezuela remains a permanent contradiction for the U.S., at once a valuable commercial partner and also a country deliberately isolating itself from the hemisphere in order to limit America's influence in the region and world.

The future only shows a continuation of this complex conflict. Bilateral relations haven't been broken yet, but they are definitely in "intensive therapy." This doesn't mean we don't hope for a favorable and beneficial outcome for both peoples.


Estados Unidos y la alianza occidental han mejorado sus relaciones con Irán y con Cuba que son socios de Venezuela y con otros países simpatizantes de la causa revolucionaria. Sin embargo, las relaciones diplomáticas y comerciales entre Estados Unidos y nuestro país confrontan considerables obstáculos.

El gobierno del presidente Maduro ha estado a la defensiva frente a Washington, en la medida en que ha tenido que responder a los señalamientos, acusaciones, puntos de vista y reservas que diferentes actores de la vida estadounidense han tenido sobre Venezuela, dentro del contexto de una severa crítica a las limitaciones democráticas internas, la reducción de los ingresos petroleros y de una aguda crisis económica

En el pasado, el fallecido presidente Chávez tuvo una política exterior ofensiva y transformadora. Chávez "picó adelante" en establecer la agenda bilateral y en parte la regional, confrontando a la Casa Blanca y a veces colocándola contra la pared.

La posición venezolana sobre Estados Unidos se ha nutrido de la larga experiencia de los países que han tratado de desarrollar un política distinta de los intereses de Washington. En el caso de Venezuela se ha ido más allá y en verdad, Caracas ha sido un troublemaker de una importancia singular, algo que no se veía en América Latina y el Caribe desde el comienzo de la revolución cubana.

La contradicción permanente de Venezuela frente a Estados Unidos, caracterizándose como un valioso socio comercial y a la vez, como un país que deliberadamente se aleja del hemisferio obedece más que todo a una decisión racional de limitar deliberadamente la influencia estadounidense, tanto a nivel mundial como regional.

A futuro no se ve sino la continuidad de este complejo conflicto. No se han roto las relaciones bilaterales pero ellas están en "terapia intensiva". Esto no significa que no aspiremos a un entorno más favorable y beneficioso para ambos pueblos.
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