The people of Venezuela are currently suffering through what can only be described as a full blown humanitarian crisis, and some big name celebrities are partly to blame for the nightmarish conditions that plague the South American country.
Venezuela’s problems began when far-left wing dictator Hugo Chavez grabbed hold of the reins of power in 1999, after having failed in a coup attempt to take control six years earlier.
Chavez told the same malevolent tale that socialists always use to manipulate the populace, each and every person will have an equal share in the prosperity that is sure to come.
All would live in a socialist paradise, he falsely promised the Venezuelan people. Now, four years after his death, Chavez’s handpicked successor, former bus driver Nicolas Maduro, presides over a nation on the brink of collapse.
As a result of the socialist policies of Chavez and Maduro, a former land of promise, which once laid claim to being a thriving democracy — and the wealthiest country in South America — is now a territorial abyss, one in which corruption and violence are increasing, as the necessities to sustain life and health are on the wane.
It's difficult to fathom that all of this is occurring in a country that has the world’s largest oil reserves.
Nevertheless, the disastrous results in Venezuela serve as a warning to the U.S. of what could happen if the socialist principles espoused by far-left figures in the Democratic Party and the Hollywood community were fully implemented in this country.
The pernicious consequences of socialist oppression have brought Venezuela’s economy to its knees. In February 2017 the nation’s consumer prices rose 741 percent, as reported by Trading Economics. In December 2016 the inflation rate hit an all-time high of 800 percent.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) inflation may rise to an astounding 1,660 percent this year, and in 2016 Venezuela experienced a negative growth rate of -11.6 percent, according to the World Bank.
To make matters worse, General Motors (GM) had to withdraw its operations in the South American country after local authorities illegally seized the company’s factory.
Unprecedented economic crises inevitably lead to humanitarian suffering. The nation is facing severe shortages of food. Basic personal supplies such as toiletries and hygiene products are simply unavailable; the country now possesses the highest crime rate in the world.
The Venezuelan people are starving, so much so that in order to survive some individuals are reportedly being forced to eat cats, birds, and other creatures that are located in the area. Protests, riots, and violence have become an everyday occurrence.
This is a country that is now being devoured by chaos. Looking back, though, liberal celebrities such as Sean Penn, Harry Belafonte, Jamie Foxx, Danny Glover, Michael Moore, Susan Sarandon, Oliver Stone, and Naomi Campbell supported Chavez while he ransacked the country, and/or they oftentimes lent their influence to assist his chosen replacement Maduro.
Some of the Hollywood glitterati actually traveled to Venezuela multiple times to aid Chavez’s socialist oppression. Penn acted as a surrogate for Chavez during the dictator’s campaigns. Moore praised the despot for redistributing oil company profits. And Campbell gave kudos to Chavez, even referring to him as a "rebel angel."
When Chavez died, Hollywood supporters mourned while conversely the citizens of Venezuela rejoiced. "Today the people of the United States lost a friend it never knew it had. And poor people around the world lost a champion," Penn said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter (THR), adding, "I lost a friend I was blessed to have."
Penn even traveled to Venezuela to attend the dictator’s funeral.
Stone said in a statement to THR that he mourned for "a great hero." The director also added that although the tyrant of Venezuela was "hated by the entrenched classes" he would "live forever in history."
The Hollywood left continued its support for handpicked socialist successor Maduro, who doubled down on Chavez’s failing policies. Penn explicitly endorsed the new dictator Maduro, and Foxx appeared at a staged media event for Chavez’s replacement.
The Chavez-Maduro fans in Hollywood have been unusually quiet as news from Venezuela becomes increasingly grim.
It is time for the far-left in Hollywood to speak out against an ideology built on the greed and egos of power hungry elites, one fueled by the envy and resentment manipulatively induced in the poor and disenfranchised.
James Hirsen, J.D., M.A., in media psychology, is a New York Times best-selling author, media analyst, and law professor. Visit Newsmax TV Hollywood. Read more reports from James Hirsen — Click Here Now.
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