Juan Guaidó, the self-proclaimed president of Venezuela, was a big hit two weeks ago when he was given a seat of honor by President Trump at his State of the Union address.
Given a rousing standing ovation for regime change by virtually the entire U.S. Congress, Guaidó was championed as their hero, who, with the backing of Washington, could overthrow the Venezuelan government of Nicolás Maduro.
The following day, Mr. Guaidó was a special guest at the White House.
But, when he returned to Venezuela, the greeting from the crowd waiting for his arrival at the airport was dramatically less enthusiastic than he received at the State of the Union address. Videos taken at the scene show angry Venezuelan citizens cursing; kicking his car; and throwing water, beer, and other liquids at him.
In one video, a woman working at the airport, who was an immigration worker, yelled to Guaidó, “You are a traitor to our country!” Others can be heard yelling, “Fascist!”
After leaving the angry, jeering airport crowd, Guaidó’s welcome home rally was only attended by a few hundred supporters.
TRENDPOST: Despite long-standing support from the U.S. and some fifty other nations, Mr. Guaidó has failed deliver on his pledge to oust Nicolás Maduro, the sitting president who came into office in 2018 after an election monitored by international observers.
Guiado’s attempt to win over the military last summer failed, and his support among Venezuelans has greatly diminished, despite his recent whirlwind tour at Davos and his meeting with several world leaders.
TREND TRACKING LESSON: After reading accounts from western mainstream media covering Guaidó’s return, one gets a completely different picture than what videos confirm.
The New York Times, which has replaced reporters with page after page of photos and drawings filling the pages, offered no photos of the “unwelcome” Mr. Guaidó received. Instead, it led its report stating, “President Nicolás Maduro appeared to greet his rival Juan Guaidó with the same policy of slow strangulation that has drained the opposition of much of its momentum over the past year.”
The “Paper of Record” also stated, “Mr. Guaidó also said he would be announcing the creation of a ‘Venezuela Fund,’ a multilateral program meant to help the country recover from its long and devastating economic crisis.”
The New York Times failed to mention the main reason for the economic crisis: the crippling U.S. sanctions that the UN’s Chief of Human Rights has confirmed, which have caused drastic food and health care shortages responsible for the suffering of millions of poor Venezuelans.
The Reuters news organization was even more deceptive in its coverage. The feature photograph under the headline reporting on Mr. Guaidó’s return wasn’t of the angry crowd meeting him at the airport and calling him a traitor – it was at the staged press conference he went to after fleeing the airport, giving the impression he was welcomed home.
Reuters distorted the truth by writing, “Guaidó arrived at Maiquetia International Airport outside Caracas to a throng of supporters….”
It followed the line echoed by the Times and other mainstream media:
“Guaidó, who is recognized by more than 50 countries as Venezuela’s legitimate president, hopes to revive the inertia of 2019 when he led a groundswell of protests against Maduro over human rights violations and a collapsed economy.”
