As someone who lives in Canada but has visited Venezuela seven times and written extensively on the Bolivarian Revolution, I do not have a fixed, original position on the current situation. Strange? I would rather defer to two experts who live in Venezuela.
Firstly, Cira Pascual Marquina is a popular educator at the Pluriversidad Patria Grande in Venezuela, the educational initiative of the El Panal Commune. She is also a member of the International Communal Democracy Network. With Chris Gilbert, Pascual Marquina is co-author of several books on Venezuela, including Venezuela, the Present as Struggle: Voices from the Bolivarian Revolution (Monthly Review Press), the book series Resistencia comunal frente al bloqueo imperialista (Observatorio Venezolano Antibloqueo) and Protagonistas: construcción comunal en tiempos de bloqueo imperialista.
This April 30, 2026 article by Cira Pascual Marquina, republished in Orinoco Tribune from Monthly Review, finally provided me with a compass. Please take the time to read it. Perhaps then you will understand why it had such a profound impact on me and finally provided me with a compass nearly four months after the January 3 US attack on Venezuela and the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and Deputy Celia Flores.
“What cannot be unlearned: The defense of the Bolivarian Revolution”
Cira Pascual Marquina’s second article, published in Monthly Review on May 28, 2026, which also provided me with insight, was co-authored with Chris Gilbert, a professor of political studies at the Universidad Bolivariana de Venezuela, a contributing editor at Monthly Review, and the author of Commune or Nothing! Venezuela’s Communal Movement and Its Socialist Project (Monthly Review Press), among other books and articles. With Cira Pascual Marquina, he is the founder and co-host of Escuela de Cuadros, a Marxist educational program and podcast.
“A great leap into reality: Venezuela today”
Another source from the ground is the insightful video report by Camila Escalante for Kawsachun News, published on May 25, 2026.
“Venezuelans reflect four months on from U.S. attack”
After taking all the above into account, I regretted all this time since January 3, 2026, for not delving more deeply into my own experience in Caracas prior to January 3, 2026.
Why? The common thread in all three of my Caracas video reports, produced in collaboration with Kawsachun News, is the protagonist nature of the Bolivarian Revolution as expressed by Chávez and Maduro.
Thus, this view is also appropriate, both before and since January 3, 2026, as a guide to anticipating the situation in Venezuela.
“Canadian author Arnold August shares his knowledge and observations as an international observer in Venezuela’s 2024 presidential elections”
“Interview: Arnold August on Venezuela’s protagonist democracy”
“Elections in Venezuela: An original observation”